CHAPTER 8

Andrew stepped forward. “It’s true, Daniel. Tess, Monica, Gloria, and I are angels. Sent by God.”

Tess nodded agreement. “Earlier this evening, you asked me how I’d gotten into the that office room without your noticing. Angels can do that.”

For a long moment, Daniel stood stock-still, staring at Tess, then at Andrew and Monica. Total silence filled the mount. At last, Andrew gave Daniel a comforting smile. “Don’t be frightened; God has not sent us to harm you. He has a message for you.”

Daniel bit his lower lip. He took a deep breath. “Our God? Jehovah God?”

Andrew nodded. “Yes, your God. Jehovah God.”

Daniel sighed. “What does God want?”

Andrew looked past Daniel toward the bushes. “For starters, He wants you to disconnect that bomb. He does not want you to commit murder.” Andrew stepped up next to Richard. “And for another, God wants you to know that He loves you.”

Dan frowned at Andrew. Clearly, he was finding that hard to believe. “If God loves me, then why did He let my wife die? And my little girl? And why did He make my good friends disappear, along with so many others? Answer me that!” He folded his arms across his chest, glaring at Andrew. The breeze picked up again, ruffling his hair.

Monica approached him; she put a hand on his arm. “God did not cause that boiler explosion, Daniel. Evil did that. As for your wife, she died because it was her time to go.”

Andrew nodded agreement. “Ruth never had a chance to tell you, but she made her peace with God just before the end. And Heather was reunited with her when she died. When the Rapture happened, not only did Ruth and Heather receive new, immortal bodies, so did Wayne and Joey, and Wayne's deceased wife. They’re all in Heaven now, rejoicing and fellowshipping with one another.” He paused. “And praying for you. They so want you to enjoy the peace with God they’re now experiencing, Daniel. They’ve been praying for you to come to know God ever since they were taken to Heaven and reunited.” He put his hands in his pockets and looked Daniel in the face.

Daniel dropped his arms to his sides. “Are you saying that God really did take all those people?” Monica nodded. “Why?”

“To spare them the time that’s now in effect.” Monica squeezed his arm. “Now that God has taken His Church away from this earth, He is giving all mankind once last chance to repent and turn back to Him, including His chosen people. And especially His chosen people." She paused. "God wants His people to love Him back, to trust Him, to live in peace with Him, to experience His love. Not by following rules and regulations, but by having a relationship of love with Him. Daniel, you may never understand why your daughter and the other children were killed in that boiler explosion, but God wants you to know that they are in His arms, being loved and waiting for you. And so are Wayne and Joey; they all have new bodies, now, immortal bodies. Perfect bodies that can never die, and improved intellects.”

She paused again. As Richard waited for her to continue, the breeze caressed his cheeks. Silently, he prayed that Monica's words would touch Daniel's heart. “Ruth and Heather want you to know God personally, Daniel; when Jesus comes back to rule this planet, they want to be reunited with you. And so does God.” She smiled at him, compassion radiating her eyes. “And so do we.”

“How?” Daniel’s voice sounded choked.

“By repenting.” Moishe’s deep voice startled Richard and the others; all whirled around to see Gloria and the two witnesses approaching. The thuds of Gloria’s shoes grew louder as she and the preachers drew near the assembled group. Halting, Moishe looked Daniel in the eyes; his thick, dirty feet made soft imprints in the dust. Gloria joined the other angels. The same beams of Heavenly light now flowed from her, helping to create a circle of light that plainly illuminated the whole group. Richard could see plainly the two witnesses’ ragged sackcloth robes, their dirty bare feet, their dark, leathery skin, their long, gray hair and beards, and their wrinkled necks and faces.

“Unless you are born-again, Daniel Rosen, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.” Moses looked at Daniel sternly. With a bewildered expression creasing his face, Daniel looked at the others.

“Daniel, those were Jesus’s words to Nicodemus,” Monica explained. “Listen to Moses; what he has to say to you is of great importance.”

“Yes, it is,” Gloria agreed. “Listen to him, carefully; what he has to tell you will save your soul. And your life!” She smiled at the bewildered man as she clasped her hands in front of her waist.

Moses took a step forward. “Nobody comes to the Son unless the Father draws him. The Father is drawing you now; do not resist Him. Repent and ask Jesus to forgive you your sins. Unless you repent, you will die in your sins.”

Daniel slumped his shoulders and sighed. Richard could see that Daniel was feeling humbled. How could he have been so stubborn?! And in the process, he had hurt the Dalys and the Whittakers, and in particular, Rachel. Without a word, he turned his back to the others and put his face in his hands. For a long moment, he whispered a prayer.

When he turned around, he smiled wanly. “God has gotten through to me. Wait here.” Without another word, he stepped behind the bushes. When he returned, five minutes later, a disconnected bomb dangled from his hands. “I was wrong. God, forgive me.” He took a deep breath, then turned to Rachel. “Rachel, I owe you a big-time apology. I am so sorry.” He sighed. “I never should have frightened you the way I did, when I put you through that ordeal. Or worried your parents.” He bit his lower lip, gazing ruefully at the bomb. “I am more messed up than I ever realized.”

Andrew smiled at him. “Were messed up. You are born-again now, so God is transforming your heart. Jesus is the Messiah your people have waited for, these past several thousand years. The Jewish leaders rejected Him the first time He came, and when they did, He fulfilled the prophecies that predicted He would die for the sins of the world.”

Tess nodded agreement. “And now, just a little less than seven years from now, Jesus will come again--this time, to fulfill the prophecies about His reign. When that day comes, every person He took in the Rapture will come with Him, and you will be reunited with your family, and with Wayne and Joey. Jesus will be the Wonderful Counselor, the Prince of Peace, the righteous Ruler that the Old Testament prophets all predicted. His rule will last for a thousand years, then God will destroy this planet and the surrounding heavens, and create a new one.”

Andrew nodded toward Tess, then turned toward Daniel. Soft beams of moonlight mingled with the beams of Heavenly light illuminating his body. “And every person who received God’s mercy while he was alive will live forever with God. With the Trinity--with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” He paused. “But right now, you have almost seven years of Tribulation to endure, and God wants you to draw on His strength and provision to get through them. In fact, Daniel, He has a special calling on your life.”

Daniel furrowed his brows in puzzlement. “On my life? What do you mean?” Dropping the bomb, he folded his arms across his chest. The bomb landed with a thud in the dust.

Monica smiled. “For the past 2,000 years, God has used the Church to draw the world to Himself. Now, with the Church gone, He will use the Israelite people once more. His chosen people, the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The Jews.” She paused. “Out of every Hebrew tribe, He is calling 12,000 men--unmarried men--to serve as His evangelists to the world. The total will equal 144,000 Jewish evangelists; Moses and Elijah, here, will have a hand in commissioning those evangelists and leading them to the Messiah.”

She touched his arm. “God is calling you to be one of those evangelists, Daniel. You will suffer and endure many privations and persecutions, but you will survive until Jesus comes to set up His Kingdom on this earth. And God will use you to lead many people to Him until then.”

Daniel stared at her, open-mouthed. At last, he said, “Well, if that is God’s call for my life, I accept.”

Andrew held out a pocket-sized, black-covered Bible. “God wants you to have this. Very soon, Bibles will be outlawed, so you will need a copy you can keep hidden; this one will be easy to hide. You have already studied the Torah and the other books of the Old Testament, but now you must study the New Testament as well. If you want to know where you can find the account of the 144,000 Jewish witnesses, read the Book of Revelation. You’ll find it there.”

Daniel gazed at the Bible for a long moment, riffled through its pages, then slipped it into his pants pocket. “Thank you.” He smiled gratefully. A new light shone in his eyes that no member of the assembled group had seen before.

Daniel sighed. “Well, I guess I’d better go.” He turned to Richard. “Richard, you would have been in your rights to report me to the police, and--well, I wouldn’t have blamed you.“ He paused, biting his lower lip, shame in his eyes. “I--I guess what I’m trying to say is--well, I just want to thank you for not giving up on me. And for not turning me in, as I deserve.” He paused. “For coming after me, not only to save Rachel from me, but to save me from myself.”

Richard shook his hand. “God saved you from yourself, Dan, not us. He saved me from myself, too. And the others, here.” He smiled wryly. “As for not turning you in, well, your decision to turn Rachel loose had a lot to do with my decision on that. Now that God has started to change you, I believe you won’t be trying anything like that again.”

Daniel nodded agreement. “Well, I must go. I’ve got to dispose of the bomb and get some sleep. Then I need to start reading this.” He patted his back pocket, picked up the bomb, then descended the mount. The others watched him go.

When Daniel had disappeared from sight, Ryan looked up at the moon, by then dipping toward the horizon. He glanced at his watch, holding it up toward the Heavenly light pouring on the angels assembled together. “Well, Kristen and I’ve got to go, too. Puccini wants us.” He looked at his wife. “I’m afraid our honeymoon’s over, sweetheart.” He rubbed his left hand on his jeans.

Kristen squeezed his arm. “At least we’re together, Ryan. And we will be, for as long as God permits. That’s all that matters.” She brushed her hair out of her face.

Kissing her, Ryan turned to the others. “What about you, Richard? Christina? What are you going to do?”

Richard and Christina exchanged glances, then looked down at Rachel. “Guess we’ll go back to the United States.” Rachel yawned, then rubbed her eyes; Richard chuckled. “Soon as Rachel, here, makes up some much-needed sleep, that is! Christina and I need to do the same.” The others laughed. “In just a few more hours, it’ll be sunup, so we’ll need to take some naps as soon as we get back to the hotel.” A yawn escaped from Richard’s own lips; he held up his hand to cover his mouth. The cool breeze caressed his cheeks.

Patting her hair, Christina nodded agreement. “Yes. Since I agreed to help our pastor run his new children’s home, it’s time I went back there. The children he’s taking in need so much loving and teaching.” She smiled gratefully at Moishe and Eli, then turned toward the angels. “It was so good to see you again. Will we see you again, soon?”

Tess shook her head. Her brooch glistened in the Heavenly light pouring from her body. “Not soon, baby, but sometime.” She smiled. “The Father has work for you--all of you--and He will equip you to do it for as long as you’re needed. And you will have angels to assist you, when you need them. It won’t always be the same angels--not as it was, the last three times--but God will send them when you need them.”

Richard smiled. “Yes. He will. Thank you, Tess.” He shook hands with Andrew, who wished him and the others well. Moses extended a bony hand toward him; Richard, then Ryan, shook hands with him and with Eli. Christina, Rachel, and Kristen took turns hugging each angel.

After exchanging good-byes with the Dalys and the Whittakers, the angels descended the mount, and the witnesses returned to their sleeping area at the corner of the Wailing Wall. Monica sighed. “What’s wrong, Angel Girl?” Tess looked at her.

Monica shook her head. “This is going to be such a terrible time for all of humanity, Tess. I feel so sad when I think about what they’re going to go through--the judgments, the worldwide delusion. What some of them are already going through.” She bit her lower lip. “I almost wish I didn’t have this big heart, because the Tribulation is going to try it sorely.”

Tess squeezed Monica’s arm. Her warm hand felt comforting on Monica’s arm. “Listen to me, Miss Wings. Your tender heart is what makes you such an effective caseworker. And you’re going to need that kindness and compassion more than ever, in the seven years to come, to be able to effectively help the people who are suffering. When it becomes too much to bear, give it to God.” Dropping her hand to her side, Tess paused, as she clasped her hands in front of her waist. “Because you’re going to be dealing with people who are hurting deeply. Who are enduring trials and tribulations no previous generation has ever had to face. Daniel Rosen is only the beginning.” She scanned the darkened temple mount, softly illuminated by the moonlight.

“Yes.” Andrew sighed. “And that doesn’t even count the sheer numbers of people I’ll have to take Home.” Sadness welled up in his expressive eyes as he spoke. He put his hands in his pants pockets.

Tess pursed her lips. “We will go where the Father sends us, to minister to whom He sends us. It may be some time before we’re sent to the Dalys or the Whittakers again, but there will be plenty of people to minister God’s love to, during a time when delusion and God’s judgment will be sweeping the whole earth.” She looked each of the other angels in the eye. “The Father is going to keep us quite busy, ministering His love to Tribulation saints and potential Tribulation believers.”

Without another word, the four angels approached Tess’s Cadillac convertible in the parking lot. A dove flew above them, cooing softly.

THE END

© 2003 by Kathryn D. Green

Return To the table of contents

Note: If you want to learn more about the end times and what lies ahead for the Body of Christ and for the world, click on this link, "Christian Web Sites." On it, you will find an extensive list of links to Christian Web sites, many of which refer to end-times prophecy.

If you'd like to read my testimony, click on this link. K.G.