Tyndale House - The Mark - The Beast Rules the World

The only other two Trib Force members were awake and working. Chaim was hunched over a stack of books, several of them open, assigned by Tsion. He looked up with twinkling eyes when Buck poked his head in. Buck seemed to understand his constricted speech better than the others.

"Miss Rose, the redhead," Chaim said. "Leah."

"Yes, she is a trained nurse, you know." Buck nodded.

"She tells me she can remove the wires when I am ready. Well, I am more than ready. A man my age cannot lose this much weight this fast. And I want to be able to speak clearly!"

"How is everything else?"

"On my body, you mean? I am an old man. I've survived a plane crash. I should complain? Cameron, this building is a gift from God! What a luxury! If we have to live in exile, this is where to live. And what young Tsion has given me to read, well… I call him young because he was once my student, but you knew that. There are times, Cameron, when the Scriptures are like an ugly mirror to me, showing me again and again my bankrupt soul. But then I rejoice at the redemption, my redemption! The story of God, the history of his people, it is all coming alive to me before my eyes." "Did you remember to eat?"

"I don't eat. I drink. Agh! But yes, thank you for asking. I am now drinking in the truth of God."

"Carry on."

"Oh, I will! Tsion was looking for you, by the way. Did he find you?"

"No. I'm on my way to him now."

Buck moved up a floor and found Dr. Ben-Judah with his fingers flying over the computer keyboard. He didn't want to disturb him, but the rabbi must have heard him. Without looking up or slowing, he said, "Cameron, is that you? So much to do. I shall be busy all the day, I fear. Dark as the days are, my joy is complete. Prophecy comes alive by the minute. Did you see what Master Zeke did for me? A precious lad!"

Buck looked again. Tsion had not only a main computer but also two laptops networked to it on each side. "No more switching back and forth between programs," Tsion sang out. "Bibles on one, commentaries on the other. And I am writing to my people in the middle!"

"Glad to get back to it?"

"You cannot imagine."

"Don't let me slow you."

"No, no! Come in, Cameron. I need you." He finally stopped and hit the Print command. Pages began piling in the printer output tray. Tsion swiveled in his chair. "Sit, please! You must be my first reader today."

"I'd be honored, but-"

"First, tell me. What news from our brothers and sisters in the field?"

"We know little. We haven't heard from David Hassid, except secondhand through Rayford, since the Carpathia resurrection."

"And what did you hear then?"

"Only that Ray and Albie had trouble raising him. They needed him to pave the way for a scheme they were pulling, trying to get Hattie Durham back from the GC. At the last minute he must have gotten their messages, because the stuff came through and the mission was accomplished."

Tsion nodded, pursing his lips. "Praise the Lord," he said quietly. "She is coming back to us then?"

"Tonight. We expect Ray and Albie and Hattie after dark."

"I will pray for their safety. And we must continue to pray for her, of course. God has given me such a weight of care for that woman."

Buck shook his head. "Me too, Tsion. But if ever there seemed a lost cause…"

"Lost cause? Cameron, Cameron! You and I were lost causes! All of us were. Who was a less likely candidate than Chaim? We pleaded and pleaded with him, but who would have believed he would eventually come into the kingdom? Certainly not I. Don't give up on Miss Durham."

"Oh, I haven't."

"With God, all things are possible. Have you taken a close look at this young man you brought home last night?"

"Zeke? Oh, yeah."

"Clearly this was not a churchgoing boy. He is so delightful, so bright! Shy, bashful, uneducated. Almost illiterate. But what a sweet, gentle spirit! What a servant's heart! And, oh, what a mind! It would take him the next three and a half years to read one of the many books Chaim will finish by tomorrow, and yet he has proclivities for this technical stuff that I could not learn in a lifetime."

Buck smacked his palms on his thighs and began to rise, "Don't let me keep you."

"Oh, you're not! My mouth is keeping me from it. If you are not too busy today, I could use your help."

Buck sat back down, and Tsion handed him a sheaf of papers from the printer. "I have many pages to go, but I need a first impression. I will not transmit these until I know they are right."

"They are always right, Tsion. But I'd love to get the first look at them."

"Then begin! I will try to stay ahead of you. And if I start talking again, feel free to become parental with me."

That'll be the day, Buck thought. He tapped the papers even and settled back to read. Every so often Tsion printed out the next several pages, and Buck idly pulled them from the printer as he read, sitting, standing, pacing. All the while he thanked God for the gift of Tsion Ben-Judah and his incredible mind.

To: The beloved tribulation saints scattered to the four corners of the earth, believers in the one true Jehovah God and his matchless Son, Jesus the Christ, our Savior and Lord From: Your servant, Tsion Ben-Judah, blessed by the Lord with the responsibility and unspeakable privilege of teaching you, under the authority of his Holy Spirit, from the Bible, the very Word of God Re: The dawn of the Great Tribulation My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, As is so often true when I sit to write to you, I come in both joy and sorrow, with delight but also soberness of spirit. Forgive me for the delay since last I communicated with you, and thank you each and every one for the expressions of concern for my welfare. My comrades and I are safe and sound and praising the Lord for a new base of operations. And I always want to remember to also thank God for the miracle of technology that allows me to write to you all over the world.

Though I have met few of you personally and look forward to that one day, either in the millennial kingdom or in heaven, I feel deeply that family bonds have been created by our regularly sharing the deep riches of Scripture through this medium. Thank you for your continued prayers that I will remain faithful and true to my calling and healthy enough to continue for as long as the Father himself gives me breath.

I ask that all of you who have volunteered to translate these words into languages not supported by the built-in conversion programs begin to do that immediately. As I have been unable to write to you for several days, I anticipate that this will be a longer than usual communique. Also, as always, in those areas where computers or power sources are scarce and this message is reproduced as hard copy, I ask that those responsible feel free to do so free of charge with no credit necessary, but that every word be printed as it appears here.

Glory to God for news that we have long since passed the one-billion mark in readership. We know that there are many more brothers and sisters in the faith who are without computers or the ability to read these words. And while the current world system would, and does, deny these figures, we believe them to be true. Hundreds of thousands join us every day, and we pray you will tell more and more about our family.

We have been through so much together. I say this without boasting but with glory to God Almighty: As I have endeavored to rightly divide the Word of Truth to you, God has proven himself the author over and over. For centuries scholars have puzzled over the mysterious prophetic passages in the Bible, and at one time I was one of those puzzled ones. The language seemed obscure, the message deep and elusive, the meanings apparently figurative and symbolic. Yet when I began an incisive and thorough examination of these passages with an open mind and heart, it was as if God revealed something to me that freed my intellect.