"It's absolute chaos out there, Dmitri," Doron confessed. "Avi Zadok has been talking to his sources around the clock, and he's telling me his initial estimate puts the number of missing people worldwide at north of one billion."
Galishnikov gasped. It didn't seem possible.
"Tens of thousands more have died from the chaos created by the disappearances,"
Doron continued. "And that, of course, is all on top of the fact that four American cities have been wiped off the face of the earth. Manhattan is gone, along with the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ. Washington is a smoldering wreckage, along with the White
House, Capitol, and U.S. Treasury. The dollar has lost all value. The yen has collapsed.
Only the euro is holding, and that's largely because Europe seems to have come through all this pretty much unscathed. I'm not sure how, but they just don't seem to have lost as many people as other regions have. Meanwhile, gold and oil and food prices are soaring. But I don't have to tell you that. The point is, the world is suddenly very unstable and Israel, I'm afraid, is suddenly very vulnerable. Lucente's suggesting we go from Rome to
Babylon and have some time alone with Al-Hassani. He wants us to hammer out some kind
of fast regional peace treaty—even a temporary one, something that might last five or ten years, or so. He's hoping meeting together we might be able to join forces to get more oil flowing to the world and try to help rebuild the international financial markets. To be
honest, Dmitri, given all that's happening, I'm inclined to say yes, and to that end, I'd be deeply grateful for your help."
Galishnikov was suddenly seized with a fear that he had never experienced before. Not in Russia. Not during his time in the Israeli army. Not during all his years in business. Based on his own study of the prophecies, and what he had been reading on Eli's weblog,
Galishnikov could suddenly so clearly see what was coming at him like a freight train. Yet there was nothing he could do to stop it, and that thought terrified him even more. Lucente and Al-Hassani were about to persuade Doron to sign a "covenant with the many," just as the prophet Daniel had foretold. The Third Temple was on the verge of being completed.
The daily sacrifices were about to begin. Babylon had risen like a phoenix from the
ashes. And the church was gone. He and Katya had missed the boat, as it were. They were rushing headlong into what the Scriptures called "the Great Tribulation," which meant the worst was yet to come.
"Give me a few hours, David," he said softly. "I'd like to talk with Katya and I'll get back to you."
"Very well," Doron replied. "But don't wait too long. I need you, my friend. I'm counting on you."
Galishnikov thanked the prime minister and gently hung up the phone.
"What is it?" asked Katya, coming back into the room with two steaming cups of coffee in her hands. "You look like you've just seen a ghost."
Galishnikov could barely breathe, barely think, barely speak. He looked deeply into
his wife's eyes and tears suddenly welled up in his own. He had always loved this woman, but now more than ever. From the day they had met as freshmen at Moscow State University, he had always wanted her, always needed her. He couldn't imagine his life without her.
He could never have survived this long much less succeeded this much in life without her at his side. Nor would he have ever wanted to.
Far more importantly, though, he shuddered to think of how desperate and alone he
would be if Katya had not chosen to follow Yeshua in the same moment he had, the very instant they had watched President James disappear before their eyes. Their boys thought they were crazy, and that broke their hearts. The senior executives of Medexco—those
who were left, at least—also thought they had lost their senses. But it did not matter, Galishnikov realized. Not anymore. Everything they believed in, everything they valued, had changed in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye. He was only beginning to grasp the horrors that lay ahead. But at least he no longer had any doubt about where the two of them would spend eternity—and the friends that would be waiting for them there—and somehow
that gave him a peace he couldn't explain to face what was coming.
Galishnikov took one of the piping hot mugs from his dear wife's hands and asked
her to sit down. They had decisions to make, he said, and not much time to make them. He summarized Doron's call and then picked up off his desk the leather Hebrew-Greek study
Bible that Jon and Erin had given him at their wedding. He opened to a passage of
Scripture he had just studied and underlined a few hours earlier, put on his glasses, and explained to Katya it was from the apostle Peter's second letter to the believers, the third chapter, talking about "the last days" and the coming judgments of God.
"The day of the Lord will come like a thief,"' Galishnikov began to read. "The heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. Since all these things are to be destroyed in this
way, what sort of people ought you to be?"
He paused for a moment, then looked up and took off his glasses.
"This is the only question we really need to answer, my love," he said at last. "What kind of people ought we to be? Peter goes on to encourage us to live holy and godly lives.
A few verses later, he tells us to be 'spotless and blameless' and to be 'diligent to be found by Him in peace.' That's all I want now, Katya. I want to be spotless and blameless before our Lord when we finally see Him face-to-face. I don't want Him to be ashamed of us. I
don't want to shrink away from Him when we are bowing before Him in heaven."
"Me too," Katya said, tears now streaming down her cheeks. Galishnikov took her in his arms and held her tight. "I love you, sweetheart."
"I love you too, Dmitri."
"Are you ready for all this?" he asked.
"I don't know," she conceded, her voice catching. "I want to be, but I'm so scared."
"I am too, darling—I am too," he said, and then added, "Someday— maybe soon—I would love to have the awesome privilege of watching our Yeshua, the King of kings and the Lord of lords, say to you, 'Well done, Katya, my good and faithful servant. You were
faithful with a few things. I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your Master.' And I'd love for you to see Him say the same thing to me."
"Then we cannot go to Rome tomorrow," Katya said, as the tears flowed faster. "Or Babylon thereafter."
"Then what are we supposed to do?" he cried, his body shaking now. "What are we supposed to do?"
"Preach the gospel, I think," she replied, holding him tightly. "Preach and pray and use the money He's given us to lift up His name in the time we have left."
"This old Russian Jew ain't much of a preacher, I'm afraid," he said, wiping his wife's tears away. "That was Eli's calling, not my own."
"Who knows, Dmitri?" she replied, a twinkle coming back to her otherwise bloodshot eyes. "We might both be surprised by how the Lord chooses to use us in these final days."
"Maybe so," he sighed. "But where should I start?"
Katya turned and looked at the laptop on the desk behind them. "How about with an e-mail?" she said.
And a moment later, they were composing their first e-pistle, side by side.
TO: The 9,214 employees of Medexco worldwide
FROM: Dmitri and Katya Galishnikov
SUBJECT: Discovering the things that matter most
Dear friends, we have a story to tell you goodnews amid all the bad—and we
hope you will indulge us for a moment while we tell you something that has changed
our lives. Exactly nine days ago today, as the world began spinning out of control, the two of us discovered just how much G-d loves us and what an amazing plan and purpose He has for our lives, and we would love nothing more than for you to discover the G-d who loves you, too.
. . .
IS IT TRUE?
✮
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✮
To learn more about the research used for Dead Heat; to track the latest
political, economic, and military developments in the Middle East and
around the world; to learn more about the Joshua Fund’s mission “to bless
Israel and her neighbors in the name of Jesus, according to Genesis 12:1-3”
and our “Operation Epicenter” humanitarian relief strategy, please visit:
www.joelrosenberg.com
www.joshuafund.net
Also, be sure to sign up to receive Joel C. Rosenberg’s free e-mail news letter
with geopolitical updates and analyses and Joshua Fund prayer alerts,
>> FLASH TRAFFIC <<
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
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When you write your first novel, you just hope your parents can find it
at a bookstore within a hundred miles of their house. Anything beyond
this is a miracle, and I find myself stunned by the miracle of having the
privilege of writing not just one novel but five.
Time and space do not even begin to make it possible to thank ev-
eryone who has made The Last Jihad series so special and accessible to
readers in the U.S. and Canada and around the globe. But to all I have
named in my previous acknowledgments, please let me say thank you
again from the bottom of my heart, especially the entire Tyndale publish-
ing and PR family and Scott Miller of Trident Media Group, my literary
agent extraordinaire.
Many, many thanks to our Joshua Fund team for translating our small
initial vision to bless Israel and her neighbors into a vibrant and ever-
expanding reality: Edward and Kailea Hunt, Tim and Carolyn Lugbill,
Steve and Barb Klemke, Amy Knapp, John and Cheryl Moser, and June
“Bubbe” Meyers. Thanks to our many strategic allies and silent partners
throughout the U.S., Canada, and Europe. Thanks to everyone in the
Calvary Chapel family—especially those in Rio Rancho and Albuquerque,
New Mexico—for all you’ve done to help us this year. Words cannot begin
to adequately express how much we love and appreciate you all.
Finally, and most importantly, I want to express my deepest gratitude
to Lynn, the love of my life and God’s greatest gift to me, apart from salva-
tion itself; to my four wonderful sons and prayer warriors—Caleb, Jacob,
Jonah, and Noah; to Lynn’s entire family; and to my parents, Len and
Mary Rosenberg, and the entire Rosenberg team. May we never forget
how blessed we are by God’s rich mercy and love or cease to do everything
we possibly can to bless others in His matchless name.
JOEL C. ROSENBERG
Joel C. Rosenberg is the New York Times best-selling author of The Last Jihad, The Last Days, The Ezekiel Option, The Copper Scroll, and Epicenter, with more than one million copies in print. As a communications strategist, he has worked
with some of the world’s most influential leaders in business, politics, and me-
dia, including Steve Forbes, Rush Limbaugh, and former Israeli prime minister
Benjamin Netanyahu. As a novelist, he has been interviewed on hundreds of
radio and TV programs, including ABC’s Nightline, CNN Headline News, FOX
News Channel, The History Channel, MSNBC, The Rush Limbaugh Show,
and The Sean Hannity Show. He has been profiled by the New York Times, the Washing ton Times, and the Jerusalem Post, and was the subject of two cover stories in World magazine. He has addressed audiences all over the world, includ-
ing Russia, Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, and Belgium, and has spoken at the
White House.
The first page of his first novel— The Last Jihad—puts readers inside the cockpit of a hijacked jet, coming in on a kamikaze attack into an American city, which
leads to a war with Saddam Hussein over weapons of mass destruction. Yet it was
written before 9/11 and published before the actual war with Iraq. The Last Jihad
spent eleven weeks on the New York Times hardcover fiction best-seller list, reaching as high as #7. It raced up the USA Today and Publishers Weekly best-seller lists, hit #4 on the Wall Street Journal list, and hit #1 on Amazon.com.
His second thriller— The Last Days—opens with the death of Yasser Arafat
and a U.S. diplomatic convoy ambushed in Gaza. Two weeks before The Last Days
was published in hardcover, a U.S. diplomatic convoy was ambushed in Gaza.
Thirteen months later, Yasser Arafat was dead. The Last Days spent four weeks
on the New York Times hardcover fiction best-seller list, hit #5 on the Denver Post
list, and #8 on the Dallas Morning News list. Both books have been optioned by a Hollywood producer.
The Ezekiel Option centers on a dictator rising in Russia who forms a military
alliance with the leaders of Iran as they feverishly pursue nuclear weapons and
threaten to wipe Israel off the face of the earth. On the very day it was published
in June 2005, Iran elected a new leader who vowed to accelerate the country’s
nuclear program and later threatened to “wipe Israel off the map.” Six months
after it was published, Moscow signed a $1 billion arms deal with Tehran. The
Ezekiel Option spent four weeks on the New York Times hardcover fiction best-seller list and five months on the Christian Bookseller Association best-seller list,
reaching as high as #4. It won the 2006 Christian Book Award for fiction.
In The Copper Scroll, an ancient scroll describes unimaginable treasures worth
untold billions buried in the hills east of Jerusalem and under the Holy City
itself—treasures that could come from the Second Temple and whose discovery
could lead to the building of the Third Temple and a war of biblical propor-
tions. One month after it was released, Biblical Archeology Review published a story describing the real-life, intensified hunt for the treasures of the actual Copper
Scroll. The Copper Scroll spent four weeks on the New York Times hardcover fiction best-seller list, two weeks on the Wall Street Journal best-seller list, two weeks on the Publishers Weekly hardcover fiction list, and several months on the CBA best-seller list. It won 2007 Logos Bookstores Best Fiction Award.
www.joelrosenberg.com
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