Facing the Future Page 8

  “I thought maybe face-to-face, like in the kitchen. That is if you think it would be OK.”

  “Is it an emergency, Vicki?”

  “No,” she said sadly. “I guess it can wait until tomorrow.”

  “No!” he said. “If it was worth calling in the middle of the night, it’s worth talking about now. I’ll meet you in five minutes.”

  Judd changed into jeans and a sweatshirt, splashed cold water on his face, and headed down to the kitchen.

  A few minutes later he and Vicki sat sipping milk while she unburdened herself. “I just feel guilty, I guess,” she said. “I mean, I love Bruce just like we all do, and his arguments are really convincing.”

  “I’m not following you,” Judd said. “What is it you’re feeling guilty about?”

  “I don’t believe him, that’s all!” she blurted.

  “Don’t believe him about what?”

  “The Antichrist!”

  Judd slid his chair back and looked at her, brows raised. “After all Bruce has told us and explained to us about prophecy and the characteristics of the Antichrist, you don’t think Nicolae Carpathia is the guy?”

  Vicki was fighting tears. “Don’t put me down about it, Judd, please!”

  “I’m not! I’m just stunned. Tell me why.”

  “I don’t know, and I’m afraid to tell Bruce. I see this Carpathia guy on TV, and he’s so charming and smooth and convincing—I guess I’m one of the deceived. I can’t seem to get into my mind that he’s a bad guy.”

  “You know what Bruce would say, Vicki. He would say that that alone almost proves that Carpathia is the Antichrist.”

  Vicki nodded miserably. “I know,” she said. “I feel like such a fool. But I can’t just decide something is true only because the people I know and love and respect say it is. I want to agree with Bruce and all of you, but that’s why I feel so guilty. I guess I need to be convinced.”

  “Are you looking to me to convince you? It’s true I agree with Bruce on this, but I’m no more of a student of it than you are. If Bruce can’t convince you, I sure can’t.”

  “I know,” Vicki said. “I guess what I’m looking for is just some sympathy and someone to talk to.”

  “I can do that,” Judd said. “But what do you think it will take to convince you?”

  “I don’t know, but I sure wouldn’t mind talking to that Global Weekly writer.”

  “Cameron Williams?”

  “Yes.”

  “I thought he was based in New York,” Judd said, “but he must have been around here. He talked to Bruce, and Bruce says he’s a friend of the Steeles.”

  “If he has actually talked to Carpathia,” Vicki said, “I think it would be fantastic for him to come and talk to us. In fact, I think it would be great if he came and talked to the whole church.”

  “Slow down there, Vicki. Bruce hasn’t even said whether or not Williams is a Christian. And if he is, he sure can’t be talking about Carpathia in public, especially if he believes Carpathia is the Antichrist.”

  Vicki slumped in the kitchen chair, her arms folded. She looked down. “I know,” she whispered.

  “But, hey, it sure wouldn’t hurt to ask Bruce about him. You want me to?”

  “I can ask him myself,” Vicki said. “I just don’t want to tell Bruce yet that I am not convinced about Carpathia.”

  Judd rinsed their glasses in the sink. He turned and looked expectantly at Vicki, who still sat there, staring at the floor. “You think I’m awful?” she asked.

  “Hardly,” he said. “The truth is, I think you’re pretty special.”

  She looked up at him shyly. “I wasn’t looking for a compliment,” she said. “But I appreciate that.”

  Judd had not planned to say anything like that, and he had nothing to follow it with. “I’m good at keeping secrets,” he said, “if that means anything to you.”

  “Of course it does, Judd. It means a lot to me that I can talk to you without the fear of being quoted.”

  Judd had trouble getting back to sleep, and early in the morning he felt the need to talk directly with Bruce. He would not betray Vicki’s confidence, but he agreed that getting a chance to meet Cameron Williams would be a great thing for him and his friends. Also, he wanted to talk about his idea for Talia Grey.

  When Judd called, Bruce told him he had another appointment in half an hour, but that he could see Judd right away, if he was available. “If I’m available?” Judd said. “It seems all I have is time. If they don’t reopen our high school soon, what else am I going to do but talk to you?”

  “Frankly, Judd,” Bruce said, “time is something I wish I had more of.”

  Judd hurried to the church. Bruce’s secretary, Loretta, ushered him into Bruce’s office, where he found Bruce hunched over his Bible and several commentaries. “I know you don’t have much time, so let me get right to it. I was wondering if you’ve already found a lawyer to help Talia Grey.”

  “As a matter of fact, I have. That’s my next appointment.”

  “I don’t suppose it would be possible for me to talk to him.”

  “Sure it would. Why not? But why are you assuming it’s a him?”

  “Oh, it’s not?”

  “Her name is Beth Murray. If you can hang around, you’ll meet her in a few minutes. What else was on your mind?”

  “This one might be tougher, Bruce. When you said you spoke with Cameron Williams, was that on the phone, or was he at the church here?”

  “He was here,” Bruce said. Bruce sat studying Judd, his eyes narrowing. “Why do you ask?”

  “Is he a Christian?”

  “As a matter of fact, he is. And he just happens to have one of the most incredible stories I’ve ever heard. The only problem is, I’m not sure he’s at liberty to share it widely.”

  “Will he be back? Would he be able to meet with us? I think we’d all love to hear his experiences, especially if he’s actually talked with Carpathia.”

  “Let me think about this for a minute,” Bruce said. He stood, turned his back, and strode to the window. He peered into the parking lot for several seconds. When he turned back to face Judd, he appeared to have come to a decision. “You know what?” he said. “This is going to be totally up to Mr. Williams, of course, but I think I’m going to give the Junior Tribulation Force the true test.”

  “I hope you know I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Judd said.

  Bruce sat on the edge of his desk and looked down kindly at Judd. “It just so happens that Cameron Williams has been reassigned to Chicago. He had been headquartered in New York for several years, but he will be living in this area now for a while.”

  “And he’ll be coming to this church?”

  Bruce nodded. “He’s become the fourth member of the Tribulation Force, along with the Steeles and me.”

  “And what’s this about some sort of a test?”

  “Yes, a true test for you kids.”

  “By the way, Bruce, we don’t mind being referred to as kids, because that’s what we are. But I don’t think any of us would be excited about the term Junior Tribulation Force, or whatever.”

  “Sorry. It’s just that your adult counterparts, the four people who make up the inner core of serious Bible students here, as I’ve told you, refer to themselves as the Tribulation Force.”

  “Call us the Kids Tribulation Force then,” Judd suggested.

  “Fair enough,” Bruce said.

  “And this big test . . . ?”

  “No promises now,” Bruce cautioned, “but I think I’m going to ask Cameron Williams to tell you kids his story. The reason I call that a big test is that if you are going to be called the younger version of the Tribulation Force, it requires keeping life-and-death secrets. Buck Williams—”

  “Buck?”

  “That’s his nickname, yes. Buck Williams is privileged to have personal access to Nicolae Carpathia himself. As a new Christian, that puts him in a very dangerous situation. All I
can do is ask him to tell you his story. If he chooses not to, we’ll all have to accept that. If, however, he does decide to entrust you with the story, it must never be repeated to anyone anywhere without Buck’s express permission. Is that understood?”

  Judd nodded, his pulse quickening. What in the world might the story be? “Can I ask you something else, Bruce?”

  “Of course.”

  “You did say that Williams believes Nicolae Carpathia is the Antichrist?”

  “The fact is, Judd, Buck believed Nicolae Carpathia was the Antichrist even before Buck became a believer. In fact, I believe his coming to that conclusion helped persuade Buck to come to Christ.”

  “Wow! Do you think Buck would have any trouble convincing someone that Carpathia is the Antichrist?”

  “Absolutely none,” Bruce said. “Why? You know someone who needs convincing?”

  “I didn’t say that.”

  “But I asked you that.”

  “Let’s just say I could use some more convincing myself,” Judd said. “It seems this is an important enough deal that we should all be very sure about it. You have to admit, we could sure use somebody like Carpathia, I mean if he was for real.”

  “He appears as an angel of light,” Bruce said, sighing. “Don’t ever forget that.”

  Loretta poked her head into Bruce’s office. “Excuse me, gentlemen,” she said. “Pastor Barnes, your next appointment is here.”

  TEN

  Facing the Future

  JUDD appreciated Bruce’s custom of having strangers tell their stories immediately after being introduced. Everyone now attending New Hope had, of course, been left behind at the Rapture, and so each had a story to tell. Where were they when it happened? How had they missed out? Whom had they lost? How did they find the truth? And what were they doing now?

  The lawyer, Beth Murray, was an extremely tall, dark-haired woman with sharp features but a soft smile. When she and Bruce and Judd were seated, Bruce asked Judd to tell his story first. As many times as he had told it, it never grew old for him. There were sad parts, of course. Regrets. Fear. Even terror. There were parts he didn’t much enjoy rehashing—discovering his family was gone, realizing he was alone in the world.

  And yet Judd loved to get to the grace part. He never grew tired of telling the wonderful news that he had been given a second chance. God’s grace extended to him despite his rebellion and failure the first time around. He realized he had been more than fortunate. He could easily have been killed in an accident during the Rapture, as so many others had. His voice grew quavery when he told how he had learned from Bruce that the Christian life was a series of new beginnings.

  Judd became quickly aware that Beth Murray had learned well the listening part of her craft. She leaned forward, rested her chin on her fist, and locked in to his gaze. She made him feel as if he were the most important person in her world just then. It seemed she didn’t want to miss a word. It nearly made Judd uncomfortable, but soon he realized it was her way of encouraging him, and he plunged ahead.

  Ms. Murray grew emotional along with Judd as he recounted how he had met the other three kids and had invited them to live with him. She particularly enjoyed the brief stories of how each had come to Christ. “I can’t wait to meet each of them and hear them tell of their own journeys.”

  Her story was a new one to Judd. She said she had been an atheist, “but in actuality, describing myself as an agnostic would have been more precise. I worshiped at the altar of education, achievement, and materialism. I married a nonpracticing Jewish man ten years ago, and we got along fine until about eighteen months ago. I believed I was the most open-minded and tolerant person in the world until Isaiah converted to Christianity and began attending a messianic synagogue. I was mortified. I was angry. I refused to discuss it. I would not attend with him. Our marriage was nearly on the rocks, and yet I could not deny the change in him. No matter how I treated him, he loved me and forgave me and treated me kindly.

  “I was not happy in a marriage with a man I respected but whose belief system I could not respect. Much as I love children, I’m so grateful Isaiah and I decided not to have any. I was on the brink of an affair when the Rapture occurred. Isaiah had warned me of that, and so I was speeding toward that messianic synagogue within ten minutes of the disappearances. No one was there. Every person associated with that fellowship was gone. I stumbled across New Hope. I simply drove past and saw it here, a church with a few people milling about. I met Pastor Barnes, I watched the videotape that had been prepared for people just like me, and I joined the kingdom.”

  With their stories—which Bruce sometimes referred to as “testimonies”—out of the way, they got down to the reason for their meeting. Beth Murray told Judd that Bruce had brought her up-to-date on Talia Grey’s case. “I have studied her file, and it doesn’t look good for her at this point. She was much more deeply involved than you might have assumed in many of the crimes committed by her brother and his friend. The best thing we have going for us is that court dockets are jammed and only getting worse. I have a few ideas, but Bruce tells me you have one too.”

  “If you don’t mind,” Judd said.

  “Let’s hear it,” she said.

  Judd told her of the idea that had come to him in the middle of the night. “I don’t claim to know much about the law, and I guess I thought of this because of the things I’ve seen on TV. But I was just wondering whether she might be able to help herself by agreeing to testify against LeRoy and Cornelius.”

  “That’s an excellent idea, Judd,” she said. “I had been thinking of something along those lines as well. If she is willing and brave enough to withstand the threats of LeRoy’s and her brother’s associates, she just may be able to do herself lot of good. Good thinking.”

  “Actually,” Judd said, “now that I have met you and think about it a little, I see one more big advantage to having you working with Talia.”

  “And what’s that?” Ms. Murray said.

  “You’ll have to interview Sergeant Tom Fogarty, won’t you?”

  “Yes. In fact, I already have.”

  “And did you meet his wife?”

  “Just briefly. It was long enough, however, for me to sense that there’s some tension there.”

  Judd and Bruce filled her in, and the three of them agreed to be praying for just the right opening for Beth to support Mrs. Fogarty in her new faith and to perhaps reach Tom for Christ.

  Judd drove home that day feeling better than he had in a long time. He was glad he had met Beth Murray, and he was optimistic about the futures of his new acquaintances. He knew there were no guarantees. He knew that in real life, not everyone made decisions or took the actions one might want them to.

  He enjoyed being able to tell Vicki that he had not only kept her confidence but that she would also get her wish to meet Cameron Williams and hear of his experiences with Nicolae Carpathia. That meeting came one momentous afternoon the following week, when Mr. Williams was able to get away from the Chicago bureau office of Global Weekly magazine and join the Kids Tribulation Force and Bruce for a highly secret meeting.

  To Vicki, the ruggedly handsome thirtyish Buck Williams seemed like a man more comfortable with adults than with teenagers. He greeted them warmly enough, but he was a bit formal and quiet, something she knew he couldn’t be normally with a job like his. He joined them in their prayer time, but then he sat behind the kids.

  Bruce began the meeting by finishing his promised lesson on the time chart of the seven-year tribulation. “It looks to me,” he said, “and to many of the experts who came before us, like this period of history we’re in right now will last for the first twenty-one months of the Tribulation. They encompass what the Bible calls the seven Seal Judgments, or the judgments of the seven-sealed scroll. Then comes another twenty-one-month period in which we will see the seven Trumpet Judgments. In the last forty-two months of the seven years, if we have survived, we will endure the most severe test, the s
even Vial Judgments. The last half of the seven years is called the Great Tribulation, and if we are alive at the end of it, we will be rewarded by seeing the glorious appearing of Christ.

  “These judgments get progressively worse, and they will be harder and harder to survive. If we die, we will be in heaven with Christ and our loved ones. But we may suffer horrible deaths. If we somehow make it through the seven terrible years, especially the last half, the Glorious Appearing will be all that more glorious. Christ will come back to set up his thousand-year reign on Earth, the Millennium.

  “Let me just briefly outline the seven-sealed scroll from Revelation 5 and 6, and then we’ll hear from Mr. Williams. On the one hand, I don’t want to give you a spirit of fear, but we all know we’re still here because we neglected salvation before the Rapture. I know we’re all grateful for the second chance, but we cannot expect to escape the trials that are coming.”

  Bruce explained that the first four seals in this scroll were described as men on four horses: a white horse, a red horse, a black horse, and a pale horse. “The white horseman apparently is the Antichrist, who ushers in one to three months of diplomacy while getting organized and promising peace.

  “The red horse signifies war. Three rulers from the south will oppose the Antichrist, and millions will be killed.”

  Bruce turned a sheet on his flip chart. “All that killing will likely come within the next eighteen months. Immediately following that, which will take only three to six months because of the nuclear weaponry available, the Bible predicts inflation and famine—the black horse. As the rich get richer, the poor starve to death. More millions will die that way. Sad to say, it gets worse. That killer famine could be as short as two or three months before the arrival of the fourth Seal Judgment, the fourth horseman on a pale horse—the symbol of death. Besides the postwar famine, a plague will sweep the entire world. Before the fifth Seal Judgment a quarter of the world’s current population will be dead. You’re going to recognize this judgment, because we’ve talked about it before. Remember my telling you about 144,000 Jewish witnesses who evangelize the world for Christ? The world leader and the harlot, which is the name for the one-world religion that denies Christ, will murder many of the converts, perhaps millions.