Arrived

by Jerry B. Jenkins

  “But for you it is too late,” Jesus said with sorrow in his voice. “You were once angelic beings, in heaven with God. Yet you were cast down because of your own prideful decisions. Rather than resist the evil one, you chose to serve him.”

  “We were wrong! Wrong! We acknowledge you as Lord!”

  “Like my Father, with whom I am one, I take no pleasure in the death of wicked people, but that is justice, and that is your sentence.”

  The three look-alikes screamed in pain, their snakelike bodies shedding their clothes. Then they burst into flames and were finally carried away by the wind.

  Now it was Leon’s turn. He wailed and sobbed, casting away his robe and shoes. “Oh, my Lord and my God! I have been so blind, so wrong, so wicked!”

  “Do you know who I am?” Jesus said. “Who I truly am?”

  “Yes! Yes! I have always known, Lord! You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God!”

  “You would blaspheme by quoting my servant Simon, whom I blessed,” Jesus said, “because my Father in heaven revealed this to him? He did not learn this from any human being.”

  “No, Lord! Your Father revealed it to me too!”

  “I tell you the truth, woe to you for not making that discovery while there was yet time. Rather, you rejected me and my Father’s plan for the world. You pitted your will against mine and became the False Prophet, committing the greatest sin known under heaven: rejecting me as the only way to God the Father and spending seven years deceiving the world.”

  “Jesus is Lord! Jesus is Lord! Don’t kill me! I beg you! Please!”

  “Death is too good for you. How many souls are separated from me forever because of you and the words that came from your mouth?”

  “I’m sorry! Forgive me! I renounce all the works of Satan and Antichrist! I pledge my allegiance to you!”

  “You are sentenced to eternity in the lake of fire.”

  “Oh, God, no!”

  “Silence!” Gabriel said, and Leon crawled away sobbing.

  Vicki had prayed for Leon’s and Nicolae’s demise, but she couldn’t help feeling sorry for both of them. They had defied God and persecuted his people. Now they would pay.

  Michael grabbed the elbow of a defiant Carpathia and spun him around. “Kneel before your Lord!”

  Carpathia sneered and wrenched away from Michael.

  Jesus said, “Lucifer, leave this man!”

  With that, the air seemed to go out of Nicolae. His hands and fingers became bony. He looked like a helium-filled balloon a week after the party, all shriveled and shrunken. When Gabriel ordered him to kneel, the potentate got on all fours.

  As Nicolae lowered his head, Jesus said, “You became a willing tool of the devil himself. You were a rebel against the things of God and his kingdom. You caused more suffering than anyone in the history of the world. God bestowed upon you gifts of intelligence, beauty, wisdom, and personality, and you had the opportunity to make the most of these in the face of the most pivotal events in the annals of creation.

  “Yet you used every gift for personal gain. You led millions to worship you and your father, Satan. You were the cunning destroyer of my followers and accomplished more to damn the souls of men and women than anyone else in your time.

  “Ultimately your plans and your regime have failed. And now, who do you say that I am?”

  Silence. Then a weak voice said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God, who died for the sins of the world and rose again the third day as the Scriptures predicted.”

  “And what does that say about you and what you made of your life?”

  “I confess that my life was a waste,” Nicolae whispered. “Worthless. A mistake. I rebelled against the God of the universe, whom I now know loved me.”

  With sadness Jesus said, “You are responsible for the fate of billions. You and your False Prophet, with whom you shed the blood of the innocents—my followers, the prophets, and my servants who believed in me—shall be cast alive into the lake of fire.”

  Gabriel stepped forward and said, “Then I saw the beast gathering the kings of the earth and their armies in order to fight against the one sitting on the horse and his army.

  “And the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who did mighty miracles on behalf of the beast—miracles that deceived all who had accepted the mark of the beast and who worshiped his statue.

  “Both the beast and his false prophet were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.”

  When Gabriel moved, a hole a yard in diameter opened in the ground, and a stinky smell burst forth. Flames erupted from the hole, and the crowd backed away. Michael walked Nicolae and Leon forward. Leon cried like a baby and tried to get away, but Michael pushed him into the fire, his cries fading as he fell. Then Michael pushed Nicolae in, and the man’s screams echoed throughout Jerusalem. The hole closed, and the Beast and the False Prophet were gone.

  Gabriel addressed the people. “Jesus is the true light, who gives light to everyone. But although the world was made through him, the world didn’t recognize him when he came. Even in his own land and among his own people, he was not accepted. But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn! This is not a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan—this rebirth comes from God.

  “So the Word became human and lived here on earth among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the only Son of the Father. Amen.”

  Vicki hugged Judd and thought about all they had seen and heard. That Nicolae and Leon were gone was a relief, but what about Satan himself?

  The answer came a few minutes later when Gabriel said, “But now you belong to Christ Jesus. Though you once were far away from God, now you have been brought near to him because of the blood of Christ. For Christ himself has made peace, and he has brought this Good News of peace to you Gentiles who were far away from him, and to you Jews who were near. Now all of you, both Jews and Gentiles, may come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for you.

  “So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family. You are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Jesus Christ himself. You who believe are carefully joined together, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. Through him you Gentiles are also joined together as part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit.

  “Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits at God’s right hand in the place of honor and power.

  “Let heaven fill your thoughts. Do not think only about things down here on earth. For you died when Christ died, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your real life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.

  “Be careful! Watch out for attacks from the Devil, your great enemy. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for some victim to devour. Take a firm stand against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that Christians all over the world are going through the same kind of suffering you are. In his kindness God called you to his eternal glory by means of Jesus Christ. After you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation. All power is his forever and ever. Amen.”

  The crowd shouted “Amen!” and the multitude began worshiping and singing as Gabriel shouted, “Then I saw an angel come down from heaven with the key to the bottomless pit and a heavy chain in his hand.”

  The crowd cheered.

  “He seized the dragon—that old serpent, the Devil, Satan—and bound him in chains for a thousand years.”

  People screamed, their hands raised.

  “The angel threw him into the bottomless pit, which he then shut and locked so Satan could not
deceive the nations anymore until the thousand years were finished.”

  Now the people seemed to quiet, then gasped in fear as the archangel Michael came forward with an enormous lion. Gabriel quieted them by saying, “But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won your fight with these false prophets, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.”

  The lion’s roar shook the buildings around them. Vicki dipped her head and clamped her hands over her ears. When she looked again, the lion had transformed into a giant snake and coiled himself around Michael’s arms and legs. Michael wrestled it to the ground, but then it turned into a dragonlike monster. Michael pulled a heavy chain from thin air and subdued the flame-snorting creature.

  Finally, the dragon calmed and became an angel brighter than any behind Jesus. The chain slid to the ground in a pile, and the being argued with Michael.

  Jesus took control and said, “Kneel at my feet.”

  “I will do no such thing!” Lucifer hissed.

  “Kneel.”

  Lucifer hunched his shoulders but knelt.

  “I have fought against you from shortly after your creation,” Jesus said.

  “My creation! I was no more created than you! And who are you to have anything against me?!”

  “You shall be silent.”

  It looked like Lucifer tried to stand and speak, but he could do neither.

  Jesus continued, “For all your lies about having evolved, you are a created being.”

  The creature shook his head.

  “Only God has the power to create, and you were our creation. You were in Eden, the garden of God, before it was a paradise for Adam and Eve. You were there as an exalted servant when Eden was a beautiful rock garden.”

  Jesus gave Satan’s history as the being writhed silently. “You have opposed my Father and me from before the creation of man. A third of the angels in heaven and most of the population of the earth followed your model of rebellion and pride. This will earn for them and for you separation from almighty God in the everlasting fire prepared for you and your angels.”

  Jesus accused Lucifer of deceiving Eve, putting murder into Cain’s heart, causing the suffering of mankind, blinding the minds of millions who did not believe in the gospel, and many more sins.

  When Jesus finished detailing Satan’s crimes, Lucifer gasped through clenched teeth, unable to speak.

  Gabriel leaned over the angel of light and shouted, “Acknowledge Jesus as Lord!”

  Satan clenched his fists and shook his head.

  Jesus looked left where another hole opened and black smoke billowed. Michael moved to Satan with the chain. Satan fought him as a dragon, then a snake, and finally a lion. Michael struggled to chain the animal, picked him up under one arm, and flew into the smoky hole.

  The crowd cheered but quieted when Jesus raised a hand. “Glory and honor to God forever and ever. He is the eternal King, the unseen one who never dies; he alone is God. Just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful kindness rules instead, giving you right standing with God and resulting in eternal life though Jesus Christ your Lord. I stand before you this day as the King of Israel, he who comes in the name of the Lord.”

  From the clouds came praises and singing. Then Michael flew out of the hole holding a key. Satan and the chain were gone.

  Jesus led his horse to the Temple Mount, where Vicki knew he would take his place on King David’s throne. The crowds slowly scattered, many of them going back to their homes.

  Vicki took Lionel’s hand in one hand and Judd’s in the other, and they walked through the streets, now filled with green plants and trees. It was a brand-new world.

  47

  JUDD and Vicki took Lionel to Jamal and Lina’s apartment and were surprised to find them preparing a huge meal. The two had escaped the Unity Army and had hidden near the Siloam Pool. They had fresh fruit, vegetables, and meat from a nearby market.

  When they prayed for the meal, thanking God, Jesus answered. In fact, each time Judd spoke with the Lord, he spoke to Judd personally.

  Their talk over the meal centered on Jesus and how his presence had changed things. Wild animals seemed tame and walked through the streets without attacking other animals. And the fruits and vegetables were said to ripen on the vine right in front of those who picked it.

  Lina and Jamal said they couldn’t wait to see their children who had died, but they understood it might be some time before that happened.

  “Why’s that?” Lionel said.

  “You know how there was a gap between the Rapture and the beginning of the Tribulation?” Vicki said, taking a bite of steak. “It’s the same with the Glorious Appearing and the beginning of the Millennium.”

  “How do you figure that?” Judd said.

  “It’s in Daniel’s prophecy,” Vicki said. “Something like seventy-five days. I can show you after dinner.”

  Jamal and Lina seemed impressed with Vicki’s knowledge and wanted to know more. Vicki explained what she knew of prophecies from Daniel 12 and Ezekiel 40.

  “So you’re saying this seventy-five days is preparation time for Jesus?” Jamal said.

  “Yes, at least that’s what Tsion Ben-Judah taught,” Vicki said.

  “It only took six days for God to create the world,” Lionel said. “Think of what this world is going to look like after seventy-five.”

  “So much has been destroyed through the judgments,” Vicki said. “Tsion said God wants the earth to be like it was back in the Garden of Eden.”

  The conversation turned to when they would see those who had died during the Tribulation, and Lionel raised a hand. “I’ve been studying this one. From what Tsion wrote and what I read in the Scriptures, we’ll be seeing people like your kids—” he nodded to Jamal and Lina—“at the same time the Old Testament saints are resurrected. Old Testament people like Moses and David and Daniel will rule with Christ during the next one thousand years along with martyrs who died during the Tribulation.”

  “What about Christians who died before the Rapture?” Lina said.

  “They were resurrected at the time of the Rapture,” Lionel said. “They were part of the heavenly army behind Jesus.”

  Vicki looked away. “Which means my mom and dad were there. It all seems so unbelievable, and yet we saw it today.”

  “But my son and daughter, Kasim and Nada, they will be resurrected when?” Jamal said.

  “Soon,” Lionel said.

  Conrad was so curious about what had happened to Global Community workers that he drove to a GC police station a few miles from Enoch’s house. What he saw amazed him. All employees of Carpathia had died— presumably at the time Jesus spoke. Enoch taught that all unbelievers still alive would die soon.

  Conrad, Shelly, and other members of the Young Trib Force had decided they would head toward Mount Prospect rather than toward Chicago with Enoch, but that changed when Enoch stood before the young people. He had just returned from a drive through Chicago.

  “I know you’ve heard Jesus’ voice just like I have,” Enoch began. “I’ve been asking him what we should do, especially since prophecy seems to ignore America. I thought we might try to rebuild this as a Christian nation, but the Lord made it clear he wants us with him.”

  “What did he say?” Darrion said.

  “He said, ‘Fear not, Enoch, for you have rightly deduced that you and your flock are to be with me.’ He said he would transport us, that we shouldn’t be worried.”

  “When?” Janie said.

  “That’s what I asked.” Enoch chuckled. “And Jesus said, ‘Enoch, if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and gone tomorrow, won’t he more surely care for you? You have so little faith! So don’t worry about having enough food or drink or clothing. Your heavenly Father already knows all your needs, and he will give you all you need from day to day. So don’t worry about tomorrow.”

  Enoch’s eyes t
winkled. “So we’re going to Israel. I don’t know how. I don’t know exactly when, but I do know God is going to make a way.”

  When Vicki awoke the next morning one thought sprung to her mind. She was to go to the Valley of Jehoshaphat— the one created when Jesus set foot on the Mount of Olives. She nudged Judd awake and they dressed.

  “I don’t think we—”

  “—should eat,” Judd finished. “We should just go right to the valley. That’s what the Lord seems to be saying to me too.”

  Jamal, Lina, and Lionel felt the same way.

  Incredible, Vicki thought. Jesus is speaking to us, leading us, and showing us exactly what to do. And he’s doing it for everyone!

  Conrad and Shelly had taken a walk with Phoenix and now sat on a stone bench in the courtyard of the nearby mall. They had talked about Jesus the whole day, and when they weren’t talking about him, they were talking with him or he was talking to them.

  Shelly held Phoenix on her lap, scratching under his collar. The dog’s eyes closed with contentment, and Shelly leaned over to Conrad. “He’s asleep now. You can kiss me if you’d like.”

  Conrad smiled. Since Jesus had come, everyone had worked together, and no one argued or squabbled over petty things. He and Shelly had discussed their problems and worked things out, but now there seemed to be a new depth to their love.

  Conrad leaned forward, closed his eyes, and kissed Shelly. When he opened his eyes, he saw that things were different. Instead of sitting on a stone bench in Palos Hills, Illinois, they were sitting on the sand in Israel in some kind of valley. And there were millions of people passing by them. Phoenix, still on Shelly’s lap, opened his eyes, wagged his tail, and leaped to the ground.

  The sky above filled with angels and the heavenly army. Conrad shielded his eyes—the light was so intense.

  “Do you believe this?” Shelly gasped.

  Conrad shook his head and smiled. “That was a great kiss.”

  They both laughed and stood.

  Then the voice of Jesus spoke to Conrad’s heart, and from the look on Shelly’s face, he was speaking to her too. “Conrad, when you see my throne, join those on my right, your left.”