Deceived (36 page)

“I'll tell the others here and we'll pray for them,” Judd said. “Did you write back?”

“Yes. I pleaded with her to give her life to God before it is too late.”

“I hope one day she'll be part of the Tribulation Force,” Judd said.

Chang's voice broke up and the phone finally went dead. Judd ran to the Hummer and plugged in the recharger, then found Mr. Stein and the others. The sun had gone down and Judd closed his eyes and listened to the noise of thousands of Israelis talking among themselves. Judd checked his watch. It was only an hour before the lifting of the plague.

Will God allow Carpathia to bomb these people?
Judd thought.

Mr. Stein motioned to a robed figure at the other end of the fortress. The man's head was bowed in prayer. Mr. Stein joined hands with Judd and the others. “Righteous Father, those gathered here have not known you, but we ask that you will open ears and eyes tonight, and give your servant a strong voice and mind. We ask in the name of Jesus, amen.”

As Mr. Stein finished, Dr. Rosenzweig stood on high ground and raised his arms. People around the fortress pointed, and Judd noticed that those outside became quiet.

“My friends,” Micah said with power, “I cannot guarantee your safety here tonight. Your very presence makes you an enemy and a threat to the ruler of this world, and when the plague of sores upon his people is lifted at nine o'clock tonight, they may target you with a vengeance.”

Judd watched the man's lips move. It looked like a foreign movie dubbed into English. Mr. Stein leaned over and whispered, “He is speaking in Hebrew, but we understand in English.”

“I will keep my remarks brief,” Dr. Rosenzweig said, “but I will be asking you to make a decision that will change your destiny. If you agree with me and make this commitment, cars, trucks, and helicopters will ferry you to a place of refuge. If you do not, you may return to your homes and face the gruesome choice between the guillotine or the mark of loyalty to the man who sat in your temple this very day and proclaimed himself god. He is the man who defiled God's house with murder and with the blood of swine, who installed his own throne and the very image of himself in the Holy of Holies, who put an end to all sacrifices to the true and living God, and who withdrew his promise of peace for Israel.”

Judd looked at the people around him. No one strained or acted like they couldn't hear.

“I must tell you sadly that many of you will make that choice. You will choose sin over God. You will choose pride and selfishness and life over the threat of death. Some of you have already rejected God's gift so many times that your heart has been hardened. And though your risky sojourn to this meeting may indicate a change of mind on your part, it is too late for a change of heart. Only God knows.

“Because of who you are and where you come from, and because of who I am and where I come from, we can stipulate that we agree on many things. We believe there is one God, creator of the universe and sustainer of life, that all good and perfect things come from him alone. But I tell you that the disappearances that ravaged our world three and a half years ago were the work of his Son, the Messiah, who was foretold in the Scriptures and whose prophecies did Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ, fulfill.”

Vicki was mobbed as she walked into Colin Dial's home. Mark gave the full story of Manny's decision to stay with the gang and the kids prayed for him, his sister, and that Hector would respond to the truth.

Darrion burst through the door, hugged Vicki, and urged the kids to follow her downstairs to hear the meeting at Masada.

“How are you getting it?” Mark said.

“Chang found a way to send it,” Darrion said.

Mark guessed by the tinny sound that they were using a cell phone. However they were doing it, Dr. Rosenzweig's voice was clear.

The room was electrified as he spoke of Jesus as the Messiah the Jews had long awaited. He gave prophecy after prophecy from the Scriptures that Jesus had fulfilled. Vicki noticed Tom and Josey Fogarty furiously taking notes.

“He is the only One who could be the Messiah,” Dr. Rosenzweig declared. “He also died unlike anyone else in history. He gave himself willingly as a sacrifice and then proved himself worthy when God raised him from the dead. Even skeptics and unbelievers have called Jesus the most influential person in history.

“Of the billions and billions of people who have ever lived, One stands head and shoulders above the rest in terms of influence. More schools, colleges, hospitals, and orphanages have been started because of him than because of anyone else. More art was created, more music written, and more humanitarian acts performed due to him and his influence than anyone else ever. Great international encyclopedias devote twenty thousand words to describing him and his influence on the world. Even our calendar is based on his birth. And all this he accomplished in a public ministry that lasted just three and a half years!

“Jesus of Nazareth, Son of God, Savior of the world, and Messiah, predicted that he would build his church and the gates of hell would not prevail against it. Centuries after his public, unmerciful mocking, his persecution and martyrdom, billions claimed membership in his church, making it by far the largest religion in the world. And when he returned, as he said he would, to take his faithful to heaven, the disappearance of so many had the most profound impact on this globe that man has ever seen.

“Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem to a virgin, to live a sinless life, to serve as God's spotless Lamb of sacrifice, to give himself willingly to die on a cross for the sins of the world, to rise again three days later, and to sit at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. Jesus fulfilled these and all the other 109 prophecies, proving he is the Son of God.”

Vicki closed her eyes and tried to picture the gathering in Masada. She wondered if, at that same moment, Manny might be speaking to the gang, using different words, but giving the same message.

“Tonight, Messiah calls to you from down through the ages. He is the answer to your condition. He offers forgiveness for your sins. He paid the penalty for you. As the most prolific writer of Scripture, a Jew himself, wrote, ‘If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, ‘Whoever believes on him will not be put to shame.' For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon him. For ‘whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.'

“For years skeptics have made fun of the evangelist's plea, ‘Do you want to be saved tonight?' and yet that is what I ask you right now. Do not expect God to be fooled. Be not deceived. God will not be mocked. Do not do this to avoid a confrontation with Antichrist. You need to be saved because you cannot save yourself.

“The cost is great but the reward greater. This may cost you your freedom, your family, your very head. You may not survive the journey to safety. But you will spend eternity with God, worshiping the Lord Christ, Messiah, Jesus.”

The kids didn't make a sound. Vicki prayed silently for the people in Masada and that Judd and Lionel would soon return.

Judd stood, his mouth open, excited at what was happening around him. Seeing Chaim Rosenzweig speak with such authority to so many Israelis was worth any danger he would face. Judd knew the Bible predicted that Jewish people would one day recognize Jesus as Messiah. Could this be the day?

As Chaim listed more prophecies Jesus fulfilled, Judd noticed people standing, responding to the message. People hung on every word. As Dr. Rosenzweig came to the end of his presentation, he invited people to pray with him. All around the fortress, inside and out, Israelis repeated the prayer. Judd looked over the crowd and saw many with the mark of God on their foreheads. Dr. Rosenzweig walked down the steps and thousands followed him.

Judd drew close as Mr. Stein talked with Rabbi Ben-Eliezar and his wife.

“Jesus is the fulfillment of all of those prophecies,” Mr. Stein said.

The rabbi put a hand through his hair. “To say that Jesus is the Jewish Messiah is to go against everything I have been taught. I don't know …”

Mr. Stein lowered his voice. “Which is better? To continue believing a teaching that is in error or to believe the truth?”

Mr. Stein turned to Mrs. Ben-Eliezar. “You have heard the evidence. You know Nicolae Carpathia is anti-God. God has spared your lives for this time. But you must make your decision.”

The woman huddled close to her husband. “I don't think we have a choice, Ethan. To put our trust in Jesus seems like spiritual suicide, but I feel in my heart that we may have been wrong all these years.”

The rabbi gave Mr. Stein a terrified look. His eyes flashed as he turned to his wife. “How could I have been so blind? I have trampled the gift of God all of these years.”

“Give your lives to the master now,” Mr. Stein said. “Don't wait another minute.”

“I can't remember the prayer,” the rabbi said. “Will you help us?”

Mr. Stein nodded and the rabbi and his wife repeated his words. “Dear God, I know that I am separated from you because I am a sinner. I believe Jesus is the Messiah and that he died on the cross to pay the penalty for my sins. I believe he rose again the third day and that by receiving his gift of love I will have the power to become a son of God because I believe on his name. Thank you for hearing me and saving me, and I pledge the rest of my life to you.”

Rabbi Ben-Eliezar and his wife looked up, and Judd saw the mark of the believer on their foreheads. Mr. Stein wept with them and Judd turned away. What he saw both thrilled and horrified him. Dr. Rosenzweig moved toward hundreds of vehicles and helicopters that waited in long lines. But thousands of others ran from Masada. They looked hopeless, like people with no direction, fear etched on their faces. They called out, looking for rides back to Jerusalem.

Judd shuddered when he thought of all those people turning their backs on God. Judd had done the same thing many times when he was younger.

Is this their last chance?
he thought.

34

LIONEL
and Sam helped Mac and the others tear down the medical tent and load it in a truck. People streamed out of Masada and into helicopters, cars, and trucks.

When the supplies were loaded, Mac yelled for new believers to get in the back of the truck. “Next stop, Petra!”

Israelis streamed toward them. One grabbed Sam by the arm. “When we pray to God now, should we pray to Jesus?” he said.

As Sam talked with him, Leah, a member of the Tribulation Force, turned to Lionel. “Are you coming with us?”

Lionel looked around for Judd. He didn't want to leave again without talking with his friend. Before Lionel could answer, Sam said, “I'll go.”

“Then get in,” Leah said. “And you?”

“I have to talk to my friend,” Lionel said. “Go ahead.”

Leah ran to the front and hopped in. Sam shook hands with Lionel and smiled. “Thanks for everything you've done. I hope to see you at Petra.”

“If not,” Lionel said, “call or write us. I want to hear about everything.”

Sam jumped in the back of the truck. As they drove away, the Israelis peppered Sam with questions.