Times of Tribulation: Christian End Times Thriller (The End Times Saga, #7) Read online

  “Left behind? What do you mean?” Dave was confused, he really thought aliens had taken everyone away, since he had never heard about Christ before now.

  “I think I should show you the videos and the books, because that way you’ll understand better. Follow me.”

  She got up from the pew and started walking out of the sanctuary, but then she turned around, and said, “Sorry, I realize we haven’t introduced ourselves to each other. I’m Lindsey Carter,” then she reached out to shake Dave’s hand.

  Dave shook her hand, and said, “Nice to meet you, Lindsey, I’m Dave Abbott. So, what’s your story?”

  “There’s not much to tell, really. When the earthquakes began and the sky filled with ash, from what I’m assuming to be a massive volcanic eruption somewhere, I felt compelled to come here. I’ve never been to church or heard the Christian message, so this was new to me. Some others, who you saw sitting in the pews, have been coming here for a couple of weeks. They showed me the videos and gave me a Bible and some material to read so I could know what was going on. That’s when I learned we were left behind when Christ came back for the church. After learning what I must do to ask Jesus into my heart, I asked Him to be a part of my life, and now He is. Too bad I waited until the worst part of world history to do it. So, what brings you here?”

  Dave had never been a churchgoer and had never heard the Gospel before either, so he wasn’t sure what to think. “Well, I felt compelled to come here too, I don’t know why exactly. Anyway, my wife and daughter were in Yellowstone when it blew up, that’s the massive volcanic eruption that happened, while I was here, hunting. I felt completely lost without them, so I did something I had never done before, and prayed. So, here I am,”

  “I’m sorry about your wife and daughter.”

  “Thank you, I appreciate it.”

  Even though she wasn’t going to say it, Lindsey was even sorrier that Dave’s wife and daughter would spend eternity in Hell if they hadn’t asked for forgiveness of their sins before they died. Poor Dave was going to figure that out very soon and it hurt her heart that he would be in more pain when he learned the truth. For now, Lindsey would help Dave find Jesus, and his faith in Jesus would ease his pain.

  The two came into the room with the television, DVD player, with videos and books gathered around a table. “Okay, Dave, I suggest you watch first the video the former pastor of this church left, it’ll tell you pretty much everything you need to know. These other videos are about the signs that showed what was coming before this point in history, along with others that detail each disaster that comes now that we’re in this period. Would you like me to stay with you?”

  “Sure, if you’d like,”

  “Okay, then I will.” she replied, while picking up a Bible, then she sat down, picked up a remote, and started the DVD player.

  Chapter 5

  The DVD began playing. An image of an older man, with graying hair and a gray beard, appeared on screen, and he began speaking, “Greetings, I'm Pastor Landon Williams. If you're watching this, you must've missed the Rapture, which is when Jesus Christ comes back to retrieve His saints shortly before what's called the Tribulation. In the book of Matthew, chapter twenty-four, verses thirty-two to forty-two in the King James Version, Jesus himself says that a certain generation will not pass until certain prophecies are fulfilled. He says that the days of His coming will be as the days of Noah once were, eating and drinking, multiple marriages, and so on. When He calls for the saints, there will also be two who will be working and one will be taken away. Jesus says to watch for the hour even though none of us would know exactly when it would be.

  “In the book of Thessalonians, chapter four, verses sixteen and seventeen tell how the Lord and an archangel will descend from Heaven, the Lord will shout and the archangel will blow a trumpet. Those that have been saved, both dead and alive, will hear that and will be caught up to meet Him in the clouds. Since I’m not here and you’re watching this DVD, then I met the Lord Jesus Christ in the clouds when he sent for me and all the others.

  “The following seven years will be some of the worst in human history, and since you didn't believe in Jesus while the church was on Earth, this is your and the rest of humanity's punishment. There is good news, however, if you hadn't heard the salvation message before now, you can still have the opportunity to ask Jesus to save you from your sins, but if you have heard and rejected, you will no longer be given the chance to repent, in spite of what you may have read or heard over the years. At the end of this video, I'll let you know how to ask Jesus to forgive you of your sins, but first, I'd like to tell you what'll happen in the next few years.

  “If it hasn't happened already, a man will introduce himself as the leader of the whole world. He will be the Anti-Christ, a man who will claim he is the Son of God, or at least will claim to have divinity. In the book of Revelation, he’s known as the Beast. He will claim to bring peace to the world and will try to unite it under false pretenses, but all it will do is bring more death and destruction. The Anti-Christ will also introduce a world religion, united under a pope of sorts. In no way should you follow this new world religion, for it will only lead you straight to the pits of Hell. Under these two men, they will introduce a mark of loyalty and commerce, one for buying and selling, while the other is for loyalty to the Anti-Christ. My advice to you is that under no circumstances should you take these either, for these too will lead you to the pits of Hell. Next, I'll show you what to expect during these seven years.

  “During these years, there will be trumpets that herald destruction and bowls of wrath that herald judgment, but you'll only see the results. The first trumpet, according to Revelation eight, verse seven, is when fire and brimstone rain down upon one-third of the planet. I suspect this trumpet will set off a massive volcano that hasn't been seen on our planet in many thousands of years and it will kill many millions of people and destroy one-third of the land....”

  “I guess he's referring to Yellowstone, isn't he?” asked Dave, pausing the video.

  “I believe so. I wonder what the rest of our former country now looks like, if the trumpet judgment is as bad as Pastor claims,”

  “I don't know, and I'm not sure I want to know, at least not this minute. Okay, let’s watch the rest.” Dave pointed the remote at the DVD player and the video began playing again.

  “The second trumpet involves one of the oceans of our planet. According to Revelation, something from space, perhaps an asteroid, will hit the ocean and will kill one-third of that ocean’s life, along with destroying islands and sinking ships. This will most likely severely affect the economy of the world, leading the Anti-Christ to begin demanding everyone to take the marks. If they demand you take the marks and you don't, there is only one punishment, and that's beheading. Many of my colleagues have speculated that the means of beheading is the use of a guillotine, but I don't know that for sure. If you choose to follow Jesus, the new world government will behead you and you'll be considered a Tribulation saint, martyred for the cause of Christ. If this happens, you'll be rewarded for your faithfulness in this period.

  “Now we come to the third trumpet, which is when a comet called Wormwood poisons one-third of the river, streams, and lakes. Many will die from lack of fresh water and the world government will be powerless to stop it from happening. The fourth trumpet consists of one-third of the light from the sun, moon, and stars being reduced. I don't know how that will happen, but I'm sure God has it all worked out. I'm sure this will start a period of drought, the likes of which the world has never seen, and it’ll probably be darker and colder.

  “The fifth trumpet calls forth demons to harass those who have taken the marks of the Beast. For five months, these demons will hurt people, enough that those affected will want to die, but death will not come. After this is over, some of those people might actually die. The sixth trumpet involves a worldwide war, which is what I expect to be World War III. In this war, at least two hundred million
people will die. The corrupt people of Earth will not blame the world leader, they’ll blame two witnesses that God has sent to warn the Jews of what is to come and to lead them to being saved.

  “I’m sure you want to know who these two are. Many Bible scholars over the centuries have debated who they are, but the only thing I know for sure is that the two will be Old Testament saints. While you’re watching this video, I’m sure the two have shown up in Jerusalem, and there’s a dedicated web camera that someone setup years ago near the Wailing Wall where the two are supposed to appear. If you want, you can find out if they’ve arrived and you’ll be able to listen to them preach. Anyway, these two witnesses are to lead one hundred and forty-four thousand Jews to Christ, and those Jews will lead others to Christ. Of course, this will upset the leader of the world, but he will not be able to do anything about it until halfway through the Tribulation.

  “Somehow, at the halfway point of the Tribulation, the leader of the world manages to overcome God’s witnesses and kills them. Fear not, because after three and a half days, they will rise again, which will put the fear of God into many. Shortly after this, someone will attempt to assassinate the leader, which will end up causing Lucifer, you know him as the Devil, to indwell the leader. They’ll pretend to rise again after three days and many will believe he is God. This is where the seventh trumpet announces the end of the first three and a half years of Tribulation.

  “The next three and a half will be worse, as the judgments known as the Bowls of Wrath are poured out. At the same time, the Anti-Christ will target believers with gusto and will begin to hunt them down and execute them. While this goes on, those who have taken the marks will be affected with boils, followed by all life in the oceans dying, along with all water - oceans, seas, rivers, and lakes on Earth turning into blood. In the middle of the three and a half years, the sun’s power will increase, causing the skin of man to burn almost instantly. The daylight hours will be much shorter, while the night will seem to be longer and it will be darker, which will make people think time is going faster, but it won’t be. I believe this will also be a time when the technology that mankind has built will no longer work, plunging everyone into a pre-Industrial Revolution level. I know this will severely affect many who rely solely on the technology they’ve lived with all of their lives.

  “After this, the river Euphrates dries up, which allows a king or kings from the East, mostly likely around China, to attempt to invade Israel to destroy it. God will not allow this, will shake the Earth to its very foundation, and will drop something like hail from Heaven, possibly meteors, to destroy what remains of civilization. Then, Jesus will return and defeat the Anti-Christ. If you accept Jesus as your Savior, you’ll have nothing to fear, because your reward will come and you’ll get to live with Him and other believers for the rest of eternity. I hope after you’ve listened to me and have studied all the materials I’ve left behind will convince you that asking Jesus into your heart is the best thing to do. Thank you for taking the time to watch this DVD. May God bless and keep you.”

  Lindsey picked up the remote and pressed the eject button so another DVD could be put in. While she was busy replacing the DVD, she asked Dave, “So, what did you think? Are you ready to ask Jesus into your heart?”

  To Lindsey, Dave looked a little overwhelmed with information overload. Dave thought about his answer for a few minutes before replying, “Pastor Williams is very convincing and I can see that some of what he is saying is coming to pass before our eyes. Because this is a lot of information to absorb, would you mind if I watched more DVD’s and read more of the material before I make a decision?”

  “Sure, that decision is between you and God. I don’t want to pressure you into making a decision, especially since you might not be serious about it if I did pressure you. I don’t want you go to Hell because of me. Now, the next video we’re watching is about a phenomenon known as the Blood Moons, which are considered another sign before Tribulation was set to begin. I found it to be fascinating.”

  Over the next few hours, Dave learned a lot, especially while watching various videos produced by a prophecy preacher named Jack Inslee. The man had an encyclopedic knowledge of the Bible and all the history surrounding the book, it truly fascinated Dave. At the end of the series of videos, Dave asked, “Whatever happened to Mr. Inslee?”

  “I think he died about ten years ago, he was around ninety-five years old from what I remember.”

  “Well, I’m glad to know he went to his reward. Lindsey, I’m ready now, do you think you could help me say the prayer to ask Jesus into my heart?”

  “I would love to. Here’s the tract that has the prayer on it.” Lindsey handed the tract to Dave that told people how to be saved. “I’ll pray with you as you ask Jesus into your heart.”

  Dave began: “Dear God in Heaven, I come to you in the name of Jesus. I acknowledge to you that I’m a sinner, and I’m sorry for my sins. I need your forgiveness. I believe that your only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, shed His precious blood on the cross at Calvary and died for my sins. With all of my heart, I believe that God raised Jesus from the dead. At this very moment, I accept Jesus Christ as my own personal Lord and Savior. Thank you, Jesus, for dying for me and giving me eternal life. Amen.”

  Instantly, Dave felt better, like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He felt happier than he had in years, until he realized that he would never see his wife and daughter again, which saddened him and made him angry with himself. “I wish I had known all of this before the Rapture happened, then my family wouldn’t be in Hell because of me,”

  “Dave, I share your regret, but you don’t know for sure if your wife or daughter would’ve accepted Christ even if you had been a believer and witnessed to them. Sorry if this sounds harsh, but it does no good for you to mourn and obsess over it, so rejoice that you will get to spend eternity in Heaven with Christ. Lay your guilt and problems on Christ’s shoulders and He will take care of it for you. Do you understand?”

  “Yes, I’ll do my best to rely on Christ. Thank you, Lindsey.”

  “You’re welcome, my brother in Christ. Now, let’s gather the others and get something to eat from the kitchen.”

  Dave leaned on Christ for support and joined the others as they ate dinner. A couple of days later, he decided to hunt for some fresh meat for everyone to eat, so he headed out with his rifle to find a wild boar to kill.

  In California, shortly before the first trumpet, Ryan Whittier was in his home office, preparing a sermon for the next time he preached at his church. He was going to tell his followers that it would be all right for them to follow Patriarch Karimi, because he was meant to the be the new leader of the world. Ryan wanted to assure his followers that Karimi was the one who would lead the planet into peace, harmony, and unity. There was no need to worry about the marks of loyalty and commerce, because the marks were meant to weed out the subversives in the world who would be a detriment to world harmony. Ryan would even encourage his followers to join the new world religion, so they wouldn’t find their heads missing from their bodies, if it ever came to that.

  Ryan decided to take a break, so he stepped out onto his balcony outside of his office. His house was on a hill facing the valley where Los Angeles was, so he could see downtown and all of its high rise buildings, along with the urban sprawl that spread out for miles. Ryan felt at peace here and the noise from the city rarely reached him. His wife, Tori, was down in that urban sprawl, doing a book tour of her latest non-fiction book, hoping that it too became a bestseller like the rest. She was touting the idea that God only exists to serve you, so if you want to be successful in this life, you must seize on that power, and then you’ll be as successful and as rich as the Whittier’s themselves. With no more mature believers in Christ able to challenge her any longer, because they were taken in the Rapture, and since the new ones wouldn’t be mature enough to do so, many of the lost accepted her ideas.

  Suddenly, Ryan felt the earth
moving, and it wasn’t a mild earthquake that he and every other resident of L.A. usually felt, this one was a serious earthquake. While tempted to go inside to a safer spot than where he was, Ryan was shocked to see the skyscrapers downtown start collapsing. He could only think: They’re not supposed to do that! I thought those buildings were designed to withstand anything. I hope my wife wasn’t anywhere near there. I wish this shaking would hurry up and end already.

  His jaw dropped as he watched a large fracture open up in the ground not very far from the base of the hill his house sat on, with buildings falling into it, headed his way. The sky became darker with menacing clouds, since Ryan had no idea that volcanoes were going off around California because of the violent way Yellowstone erupted. Before he could do anything, his house began collapsing around him, while slowly sliding down the hill because the earth beneath no longer supported the house. The fast moving fracture opened up in front of the sliding house and Ryan Whittier went with his house down into the crack in the Earth, cursing and blaspheming God as he went, never to be seen or heard from again. In downtown L.A., Tori was signing a book when the building collapsed on her with no warning, along with the many hundreds of people waiting for her autograph. There were no survivors. After the earthquake destroyed L.A., the ash from the volcanoes in the area buried the remains of the city, killing everyone else the earthquake hadn’t killed.

  In Big Bend, the Robertson’s felt the earthquakes, although the quake wasn’t as strong as the earth shaking further north, but their buildings underground were setup to withstand the force of a nuclear bomb and could withstand the shaking. After twenty minutes, the shaking finally stopped, so Pete and the others went above ground to see what kind of damage the earthquake caused.