7-25-20 Seven Book 2 The Last Three and One Half
Book 2 – Seven: The Last 3 1/2 :: By Alice Childs
PART 4 – MIDPOINT
Chapters 69-74
CHAPTER 69
Journal Entry: Tuesday, January 17, 2023
It’s been a few months since I’ve written anything, Journal. Honestly, we’ve all been learning to adjust to life without Mitch, Clyde, the girls, Little-John, and Uri. Sarah especially misses Clyde and Lilly. It’s hard adjusting from a full house of ten down to just the four of us. The house feels so empty even though we have reached a level of peace and acceptance. Nevertheless, their absence remains palpable. We do still feel the echoes of their presence all around us, though. Their clothes left here keep us warm and replenish our own tattering wardrobes. Their portions of what food we have left give us added nourishment. Still, it’s hard to look around and not see them. We miss them just as much as ever, but we are no longer laid low by their absence. Nearly four years, or possibly sooner should we be called upon to die, is not that long a time to wait to be with them all again.
Our Izzy’s MIND slips a little more every day that passes. Sarah has taken on the majority of Izzy’s responsibilities, a task she genuinely sees as a labor of love. The truth is, none of us would have survived for as long as we have had it not been for Izzy’s quiet strength and abundant practicality. Izzy spends more and more time rocking by the fire. We’ve also found out that Izzy is much older than we had at first assumed. When we first met her, we just assumed by her strength and her young-looking features that she was in her mid to late fifties. Turns out, she was in her later sixties back then. Her physical stamina coupled with good genetics and a sharp, observant mind fooled us all. None of us ever guessed her true age. We know now that she turned either 70 or 71 in mid-December! Always before, she steadfastly refused to tell us her age or year of her birth. We only figured it out when she mentioned in passing that Eisenhower had just been elected president when she was born.
Izzy still enjoys working, and she is still active; especially during the day, but as the day wears on, she gets confused easily, and night brings her real terror. Her mind gets most confused when dinnertime rolls around and she realizes the others are not here. More and more often, she calls Sarah either Byllie or Lilly, and at times she confuses me with Mitch or Uri, or sometimes with Will or Carter. For long stretches at a time during the day, she seems to completely forget that the others are gone. In her mind, they are just out hunting or fishing or something. In those muddled times, her sadness drops away and she is most like her old self; relaxed, smiling, and happy.
Both Trail and Sarah suspect some form of dementia that likely has been in the early stages for a while. They told me to just go along with whatever she thinks, because to remind her of the truth would be cruel. Reminding her of their deaths would be like her experiencing their loss anew over and over and over. That would be exceedingly cruel and tormenting to her. We don’t mind going along with this gentle fallacy for her sake. It serves to ease her poor mind and heart to think that her ‘children’ are simply out doing chores, and the Lord certainly knows the situation. Still, we all keep a sharper eye on her so that she doesn’t hurt herself or go wandering off. Sarah stays close to her now, so it’s Trail and I who do the hunting, checking traps, and cutting wood.
God blessed us yesterday with fresh meat! I shot a white-tailed buck with Sarah’s bow. It wasn’t nearly as well-fed as it would have been in normal times, but it was still a good bit of meat for us. Izzy, even with her failing memory, is still capable of teaching us how to tan the hides to make coats or shoes or mittens. Trail had set several rabbit traps that I’d built with Uri last year, and glory to God, he’d caught two rabbits! Now we have some meat to cook and cure, and deer and rabbit hides to tan.
This winter has been bitterly cold. There’s a ton of gray snow on the mountain. With only two of us men now, Trail and I work twice as long hunting and fishing, cutting wood, setting traps, and hauling water. We all work hard, but we are deeply aware of how blessed we are to live where we do when many of our brethren are literally starving; living without shelter, trying to survive in cities or large towns or those living in places that have been decimated by disaster or judgment. Even more are dying from 19th century illnesses such as rickets or scurvy, and of course, more and more are being killed by Draken’s minions. Even as tired and hungry as we are, believe me, we know how truly blessed we are to live on Yellow Top Mountain – dirty snow, bitter cold, hunger, and all.
Thank You, Lord. We lift our hearts in thanks and praise, as we lift our suffering brethren to You. Lord, sustain them, strengthen them. Keep them and deliver them all according to Your perfect will.
CHAPTER 70
Journal Entry: Wednesday, February 15, 2023
We lost our Izzy today. That fine, strong woman who became a mother to us all is now one of the myriad Tribulation Saints dwelling in the presence of God, awaiting the new resurrection bodies they will receive at the end of these last seven years when the Lord Jesus returns to earth to set up His kingdom. Her spirit, now freed, is with Mitch and Clyde; with Little-John, and with her beloved twins, Byllie and Lilly. Our hearts ache with her loss, but we cannot grieve too much for her. In fact, we rejoice for her sake even as our hearts are bruised yet again by a physical loss that bends us double.
Losing Izzy was like losing Grandma all over again, just as losing Clyde and Little-John was like losing Grandpa twice. Here’s what we think happened.
Have you ever seen one of the old lightbulbs, one of the real light bulbs – you know, the ones before we were all forced to have to use those dangerous mercury-filled ones or the LEDs that damage the eyes? Anyway, did you ever see one of those old light bulbs burn out? Just before the light would burn out for good, often the bulb would shine brighter than ever for a short time, then poof! – the filament burned through and the light went out for good. That’s what happened to our Izzy.
For the past week or so, it seemed her mind-fog had lifted and she was more clear, more here than she’d been in a while. She smiled like her old self, and for a few evenings, she shooed Sarah out of the kitchen and fixed some venison stew on the fireplace and fried up some rabbit. She cleaned and cleared away, and taught Sarah some new crochet stitches Sarah had been trying to learn. Her returning to her old self lulled us into thinking that maybe she’d just been grieving and was beginning to come around at last. Her renewed mental clarity put us off our guard when it should have alerted us that things weren’t as they appeared to be. Or most likely, the brief return of the old Izzy was a gift from God to us and to her – to give us our Izzy back for a bit before He took her Home. That’s how we choose to look at it – a last parting gift just like Uri’s vision telling us what happened to the rest of our loved ones was a last parting gift from our loving Savior.
At any rate, as I said, Izzy was almost acting like her old self, clear-headed and happy – no muddled thinking or vacant stares. After Bible study and prayer last night, Izzy hugged us all and told us she loved us. She also said that she remembered what happened to everyone and that she was at peace because she knew she’d see them all again one day. Like I said, she hadn’t been this clear-headed in a long time.
We all went to bed happy and relieved. Around four in the morning, both Sarah and I awoke absolutely freezing. Trail came downstairs too, wondering why it was so cold. The cabin was like ice. We found the fire completely out and the cabin door standing wide open. Not knowing whether someone had broken in, Trail and I grabbed our shotguns while Sarah grabbed the 1911 and ran upstairs to check on Izzy. In less than a minute, she came flying down the stairs saying,
“Izzy’s not in her room! She’s not anywhere upstairs! Oh, Bobby, do you think she got confused and wandered off?”
“She well could have” said Trail. “Sarah, light the lanterns, gather some blankets, and we’ll go look for her, although it won’t get anywhere near light enough for us to see good till noon or later, if it gets any better then. She could be anywhere, but we’ll look. We’ll start with the yard, the shop, the barn, and the garden. Then we’ll head into the woods.” Trail then turned to me. “Bobby, we’re going to need a good fire going. You build a big fire while Sarah and I look in the yard and the barn and shop. We’ll come right back here if we don’t see her, then we’ll go out together.”
“The river!” Sarah gasped, “Y’all don’t think she could have gotten as far as the river, do you?”
“I wouldn’t think so, not in the pitch-black dark, but she does know the surrounding area as well as we do, so she might could have gotten that far,” I said, already stacking kindling and logs to start the fire.
As Sarah and Trail looked around the yard, I could hear them calling Izzy’s name. I got a roaring fire going and was putting on my heavy coat and boots, grabbing flashlights for Trail and me when they came back in the door.
“She’s not anywhere in the yard or garden nor in any of the buildings. She’s not down by the creek either, not that I could tell,” said Trail.
“We need to think,” said Sarah. “If she was confused, she might be thinking she’s supposed to be looking for ramps or wild onions, or she might well head to the river thinking she’s going fishing. She’s not wearing her coat, and her shoes are still in the room. Oh guys, she’s probably in nothing but her gown and slippers!” said Sarah, groaning.
Sarah took a lantern and carried blankets, while Trail and I used high-powered flashlights and carried our guns, just in case. We combed the woods, looking in all the usual spots where Izzy and the girls hunt for wild greens. In the surrounding woods, we shouted her name with no success. Finally, we made our way further in towards the river to our favorite fishing spot. It was there that we found her. She was curled up beneath an oak near the bank of the river. We spotted her by her white nightgown that showed up starkly against the dirty, ashen snow.
Why she was there or what she was thinking, none of us will ever know. Immediately, Trail and Sarah bent to examine her.
“She’s in respiratory arrest,” said Sarah. “I’ll start CPR.”
“Sarah,” said Trail, gently taking both of Sarah’s hands in his, “Sarah, honey, she’s gone.”
“No!” said Sarah, briefly trying to yank her hands from Trail’s big ones. “No! She might not be!”
“Sarah,” said Trail gently, “be the nurse you are. Look at her. She’s cyanotic and stiff. She’s not stiff because she’s cold; she’s stiff because she’s already in rigor.” After a long minute, Sarah replied,
“I know, Trail,” finally stopping her struggles and taking a deep breath. Reaching over, she laid her head on Trail’s shoulder and sighed, “I know she is. I just don’t want to know it. But please, guys; we aren’t going to leave her out here, are we? Can’t we take her home until we can decide what to do? We… we won’t leave her out here, will we?” Sarah pleaded. Though her eyes remained dry, her face was dark and haunted.
“Of course, we’ll take her home, babylove. We can lay her on the couch until we can get her grave dug,” I said, handing Sarah my flashlight and gun, bending to lift Izzy from the frozen, snow-covered ground.
After we got her home, Sarah cleaned her body and dressed Izzy in her finest dress – the one she wore at Sarah’s and my wedding. The question of what to do with her body was the real problem we faced. The ground was frozen through and hard as iron. Neither Trail nor I thought we’d be able to dig a grave. The thought of taking her farther into the woods and leaving her there distressed Sarah so much that we tabled that idea for the time being. Finally, it was Sarah herself who came up with the only solution that seemed possible or fitting.
“Bobby, don’t you have an old canoe somewhere in that plie of junk in the back of the shop?” she asked.
“I think so. Why? What are you thinking – a Viking funeral?” I asked, perplexed.
“Not quite,” replied Sarah. “I wouldn’t want to do the whole fire thing, but I was wondering; couldn’t we put her in the canoe, and then put the canoe into the river and let the current carry her sweet body on to… to wherever?”
Pausing for a minute, Trail said, “That’s actually a good plan. Bobby, you know as well as I do that there’s no way we can dig a grave with the ground as frozen as it is, and the only other option we have is to take her away from the house and into the woods. What do you think?”
“Well, that old canoe might leak. It might have a hole in the bottom. I haven’t even looked at it, much less used it in years. Still… if we wrapped her body and tied her in, then I think it might be the best – the only thing we can do,” I said, pensively.
“In fact,” I continued, warming up to the idea the more I thought about it, “I think that’s a really good idea. I’ll bet Izzy herself would approve if she could tell us. She loved fishing in that old river.”
So that’s what we did. After Trail and I dug it out of the junk piled up in a back corner of the shop, the canoe turned out to be in good shape after all. We carried our Izzy and the canoe back to the river’s edge. There we placed Izzy’s body wrapped in her sheets and quilt. At the river’s edge, we put her into the canoe and lashed her body securely to it. Then Trail and I pushed the canoe into the fast-moving current of the big tributary of the French Broad River that runs through our land. We stood on the bank and watched as the current carried away the canoe, ferrying our Izzy’s body and bore it away down river.
Now, there are only we three left.
CHAPTER 71
Journal Entry: Wednesday, May 10, 2023
Spring has come around again, Journal. The winter was long and brutal in more ways than just the weather. Sarah, Trail, and I hunkered down and survived as best we could. Losing Izzy and all the others made the dark, cold winter even more grim. Several times over the past, I would catch myself calling to Mitch or thinking of a question I needed to ask the Chief or Clyde. One morning, I heard Sarah call out, “Izzy, where is that…” before her voice broke off and she realized that Izzy is no longer here. Sarah wears Lilly’s or Byllie’s sweaters or pants often now. She said the clothes still smell like the girls, and wearing them makes her feel like they are giving her hugs. I totally understand what she means. I feel Mitch and David close to me when I wear their shirts or jackets, or when I put on one of Clyde’s old coats or his big western cowboy hat. It’s like having a piece of them still here.
Trail really misses playing chess with Mitch and Uri. He often teases me by saying,
“Bobby, there is just no point in me playing chess with you. You have the strategic skills of a turnip. I might as well be playing solitaire. I can beat you blindfolded – every time.”
Since we realize we are only a couple of months out from the midpoint of the Tribulation and the mandatory mark of the beast, which will amp up persecution to an even greater degree than ever before, the three of us have decided to try again to plant a small garden.
We always need food, and leaving the mountain to try to find someone with whom to barter for it is obviously out of the question. So we’ll try again to grow our own. The prospects of anything actually growing seem bleak. Our attempts last year were dismal, which was why we decided on that debacle of a recon trip into Norrisville last year that got half our family killed. Of course, looking at our decision from a more eternal perspective, it’s obvious that the Lord’s hand was in that decision all the way, and that it turned out as it did all according to His perfect will and plan. In a very real sense, all five of them gave their lives to protect us and our whereabouts on Yellow Top from being discovered, which we surely would have been had Clyde not shot the only other person who knew exactly where we could be found. Each one of them laid down their lives for our sakes. We will never forget that. But there are only three of us to feed now, so if we get anything at all, that will be better than nothing; and if nothing is what we get? well then, all we will have lost will be time and energy.
We’ve been considering trying to grow a few rows of corn, some tomatoes, beans, squash and zucchini; maybe some more buckwheat. We are still able to get grouse, wild turkeys, and rabbits; occasionally a deer, and every now and then a wild pig, and, of course, fish. If we hunt carefully, we might can still find poke salad, wild onions, and ramps – just not in as great a quantity as we would have found in normal times. I’m hoping we can find some wild blackberries too. I ate my weight in wild blackberries every summer growing up. There used to be wild blackberry vines all over this mountain.
We are very careful with everything and try not to let anything go to waste. Sarah made the three of us new mittens and hats from the rabbit pelts we’ve gathered and tanned. She’s in the process of making Trail a new shirt, like the one she made me from some of the deer hides we have saved and tanned. She’s also been crocheting scarves and hats for each of us.
Trail and I have seen our arms and shoulders grow quite muscular from felling trees with an axe instead of with a chainsaw, and from splitting and hauling wood and water. Our calf and thigh muscles have strengthened from the miles we walk every day trekking up and down the hilly ground, forging through snow in the woods. Sarah has told us that if we manage to get enough deer hides, she’ll make Trail and me a pair of deerskin pants.
“Bobby, would you have ever guessed that all those times we guys played Daniel Boone in the woods here when we were kids that we’d actually be living almost exactly like ole Dan’l did; dressing in furs and skins and wearing moccasins and such for real?” laughed Trail.
“Hey Sarah, if we bag you a couple of racoons or three, will you make us some coonskin caps with the tails and all?” asked Trail, excitedly; and, great Scott, didn’t he sound exactly like he did when he was 10 or 11! I had to smile.
“Sure will,” mumbled my Pioneer wife, around the pins she was holding in her mouth. Spitting them out into her hand, she said, “Good grief, Trail; stand still so I can pin these sleeves! You’re as jumpy as a jackrabbit.”
Tonight, after our chores were finished and after our supper of fried fatback and green beans, we three sat around the table spreading out our cache of heirloom seeds before us, trying to decide what to plant.
“Oh, I’d give my next three meals to be able to ask Izzy or Clyde what they thought we ought to plant,” sighed Sarah, spreading out jelly jars of seeds before her.
“Me too, but let’s just go with what we talked about earlier and see what happens,” I said.
Tomorrow, if the ground is warm enough, we’ll take out the plow. Trail and I will take turns being Balaam and Clyde to see if we can till up a patch of ground for a garden. It didn’t work last year, but who knows, maybe it will this spring.
We’ve just finished our Bible study and prayer time. Gotta hit the hay, Journal; another Planting Day is here.
CHAPTER 72
Journal Entry: Wednesday, June 21, 2023
“And when they [the two witnesses] shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.
“And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them. And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them. And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven. The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly” (Revelation 11:7-14, KJV).
Let me begin with what’s happening on our home front before I get into the events that are happening that mark that we have now reached the middle of the last seven years. We are right at the midpoint now, which means we are poised on the cusp of what the Lord Jesus Himself said would be a time of great Tribulation.
Okay, I’m getting ahead of myself. Let me back up and start over.
Here at home, Trail, Sarah and I planted our garden back in May. It’s a lot tougher to plow a garden without a mule than with one, but between Trail and me, we got it done. We planted about 12 rows of corn, a good-sized area of buckwheat, four rows of beans, three rows of tomatoes and four rows each of squash and zucchini. And praise to God, the sunlight has been better this year! Things are actually growing! The Lord has graced us with a good garden this year. If the weather holds up, Lord willing, we will replant a second crop of everything, adding some peppers this time around. I wonder if all this volcanic ash that’s been in the atmosphere and in the snow could have actually made the ground more fertile? I have no clue whether that’s the case or not, but I guess it could help. Maybe it has enriched the soil or maybe it hasn’t. I do know, though, that clearer air and more sunlight, even weak sunlight, has made a huge difference, so maybe the ash has helped as well.
There are no words to express our gratitude to the Lord for sending us the sunlight we so desperately need. The atmosphere remains mostly overcast, but the air has cleared enough so that we can see well to work and for crops to grow. Even the five hens we have left have increased their egg production. Lord willing, as we are able, we are going to do our best to restock Grandma’s root cellar and keep the smokehouse going for as long as summer lasts. The increased sunlight also means the solar charger for the laptop is of much more use. Oh, how we praise God for this temporary reprieve! We give thanks to Him for His mercy and provision.
Now to relay the international news we’ve just learned. As Trail checked the deep web, we learned that yesterday there had been a final confrontation on the steps of the Temple in Jerusalem between Elias and Moshe and Draken and Gulden.
Ever since the building of the EP headquarters and the Temple of the World, both Draken and Gulden have made Neo-Babylon their headquarters. The commercial enterprises of the world economy being centered now in Babylon have caused a boom in that city’s growth. Like Dubai, Babylon is rapidly growing, turning into the new global commercial center now that New York is gone. Both Draken and Gulden live in their respective multi-million-dollar homes (or whatever currency is used now); their homes can only be described as palatial. Both of their newly completed mansions are near the new World Government Complex and the Temple of the World. However, after Elias had decreed that no more rain would fall on Babylon until the end of their allotted time of ministry, the toll on Babylon with no rain for such a long time has made Neo-Babylon worse than an arid dust bowl.
Both Draken and Gulden were now back in Israel for a time where Moshe and Elias have been continually preaching and prophesying. Rumor was that Draken was preparing a final showdown with these two Jews. During the three and one-half years that the two witnesses had been here, they’ve been all over Israel. Sometimes they’d show up on the banks of the Jordan River preaching. Sometimes they would be at the Port of Haifa or in the lobby of the King David Hotel. At times, they would be on the streets in front of cafés and shops, in the business center, at the ruins where the Dome of the Rock once stood, and often at the Dead Sea. They moved from North to South all over Israel, but the place they favored most were the steps to the Temple or the area surrounding the Temple complex.
What happened yesterday was what we’ve known was coming. We didn’t see it happen live, but we watched the video of it via the deep web.
Moshe and Elias have fulfilled their mission. God has allowed Draken and his forces to finally overcome them and kill the two Jews. Of course, we expected this to happen soon, just as we know what’s going to happen next, but those who follow Draken don’t have a clue. The showdown that goaded Draken into making his final frenzied move that fulfilled prophecy was awesome to behold. I’ll tell you what we saw.
As they had done many times since they first showed up in Israel, the two witnesses were once again on the steps of the Temple in Jerusalem. Both men were about halfway up, preaching as usual. Draken and his entourage drove by when he apparently signaled his motorcade to halt. Both Draken and Gulden got out. They stood among the crowd of Israelis who always seemed to gather around the two witnesses wherever and whenever they showed up.
Most of the huge crowds hated and jeered the two men, but none dared approach them. From the crowds, you could hear shouts of “Shut these lunatic’s up!” or “These men are a blight on Israel!” or “Draken is our Messiah!” That was the tenor of the majority of the crowd. There were those among the crowds, though, who were taking to heart what the witnesses were preaching. Among the tumult of angry derisive shouts could also be heard the voices of those who either already had become believers, or whose hearts were being softened to the truth of the Word and warnings of God being given day in and day out by Moshe and Elias. As always, everyone was hearing the two witnesses in his own native tongue, but the angry shouts as well as those imploring others to listen were in Hebrew, thus the necessity of the translations on screen of some of what was being said.
The tumult was even greater today, probably because of Draken’s presence in the crowd. Some of what was being shouted was translated in the scrawl that ran across the bottom of the screen, and a few newscasters were translating some of the responses from individuals within the crowd. Translation wasn’t really necessary, though. The rabid hatred directed towards Moshe and Elias was as clear as polished glass by the looks on the faces of the majority in the gathered crowd, and by their gestures. Perhaps it was because Draken was in their midst, but today’s crowd did seem to be in a more heightened state of agitation than usual. This increased vitriol of the crowd didn’t faze either man one bit. It never did. Moshe and Elias kept on saying what they needed to say. Elias, his cloak slung around one shoulder, pointed at the crowd and spoke,
“Hear ye, o Israel! The Little Horn spoken about by the Prophet Daniel is in your midst; the false Messiah who will very soon rip away all pretense and show you who he really is! Very soon the Dragon will enter this Temple and defile it; both he and the False Prophet who comes to you with the horns of a Lamb but speaks the words of the Dragon! Harken now to the words and warning of the Lord!”
“And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate” (Daniel 9:27, KJV).
As soon as Elias finished, Moshe, standing tall with his rod held in his hand and standing beside Elias, shouted, “The time of our departure is at hand. Beware the serpent that is in your midst! He will defile this Temple. Ye Remnant of Jacob, hear the words of the true Messiah, Yeshua the Nazarene! This is how you shall know the Deceiver, and this is what you must do! Hear ye the words of the Lord!
“When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!
“But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened. Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before” (Matthew 24:15-25, KJV).
Elias again took up the warning. “ISRAEL!” he yelled in a voice so strong and commanding that it might well have been heard over all of Israel; “Israel! hear this day the Word of the Lord! the time of great tribulation is upon you! Remnant of Jacob, prepare to flee into the mountains to the place Yahweh has prepared for you! Hear the words of the Lord of Sabaoth!
“And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority” (Revelation 13:1-2, KJV).
“For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened” (Matthew 24:21-22, KJV).
“Our ministry here is finished” said Moshe. “We have been in your midst in secret from the signing of the covenant, and in public from the opening of this Temple. We have not ceased to warn you night and day. Our witness here is finished. Beware, oh house of Israel; beware of the Dragon and his False Prophet.”
With this, both men descended the steps of the Temple and stood about 15 feet away but face to face before Draken. Elias removed his cloak and laid it at his feet. Moshe laid his staff at his own feet before him. Both men stood and waited.
Draken stepped forward, smiling an utterly evil smile, stopping about five feet from the calm and waiting men. He then lifted his right hand and pointed first at Moshe, then at Elias. Fire shot from his hand and entered the center of the chest of first one then the other of the two witnesses. Both men fell down dead at Draken’s feet.
The crowd went wild! Immediately both Draken and Gulden ascended the steps to the Temple, and turning to face the crowd, Draken spoke.
“Today, you have seen the power and omnipotence of the Phoenix! The deaths of these two imposters marks the downfall of the god of the old order! I hereby declare that neither of these men’s bodies shall be moved or buried. Let them lie in the street where they died until the flesh dissolves from their bones! Let them be a witness and a testimony to the power of the Phoenix! I order that no one touch their bodies! Let them rot where they lie! Rejoice today, oh earth! The remaining scourge of the old order has been defeated! I declare today a global holiday!”
Journal, this happened yesterday, Tuesday, around 6:00 AM Israeli time. Already, people around the world can be seen sending each other gifts, celebrating the deaths of God’s two witnesses. Of course, we know exactly what’s going to happen next and when to log onto the deep web to see it happen! Three- and one-half days from now, around 6:00PM Friday Israel time, the earth dwellers are going to get the shock of their lives!!
Trail is charging the laptop as I write. Lord willing, we wouldn’t miss this for the world!
CHAPTER 73
Journal Entry: Saturday, June 24, 2023 – 6:00 PM Israeli Time, 11:00 AM Eastern Time.
“And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth. And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them. And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them. And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven” (Revelation 11:7-13, KJV).
It’s now nearly 7 PM here in North Carolina. I haven’t had a chance to write until chores were done and Bible study over, but I headed this entry by our time so we could watch what we knew was going to happen at the Temple exactly three and one half days from the time God allowed Draken to kill the two witnesses Moshe and Elias.
The three of us huddled around the laptop, watching the continuous feed of the front of the Temple where Draken had ordered that their bodies be left to lie where they died, untouched and unburied. The Temple priests were not at all happy about having dead bodies lying at the foot of the Temple steps, defiling the entire Temple area; but they did not dare speak out against Draken’s orders. As a matter of fact, the entire area of Jerusalem has gradually become a seething cauldron, threatening to boil over between those who are loyal to Draken and those who are growing more and more to distrust him; the growing number who question his intentions.
Draken holds the reigns of global power for sure, but there are other political factions who do not trust him either. There are growing cracks within the walls of the utopian illusion of The Order of the Phoenix. As I said, the Temple priests, the Sanhedrin, and those within the Israeli government are not at all happy with Draken’s defiling the Temple grounds by leaving the dead bodies of the two witnesses where they lie. Also, the religious Jews are becoming more and more unhappy with the increasingly blatant god-like jargon being used in regards to Draken by both Draken himself, and by Gulden.
Draken’s order of leaving the witnesses dead bodies lying at the foot of the Temple steps will likely be the final insult and go a long way in severing the already straining alliance between Israel and the EP. The believing remnant of Israel is already aware of what’s coming, but those Jews hardened to their true Messiah will be completely caught off guard when Draken desecrates their Temple and betrays Israel, igniting the final and greatest Jewish holocaust that will have ever been in history.
Over the past two and a half days, Draken has been reveling in the deaths of the two men who had been thorns in his side ever since he (Draken) had come to power.
In celebration of what we knew was coming, Sarah made us a fresh pot of real coffee to drink as we waited to watch the resurrection and rapture of the two witnesses, and to witness the great earthquake that will also happen.
As we drank our coffee, we watched as cameras on every street corner and on most buildings panned the street in front of the Temple. At 5:45 PM Israel time, 10:45 AM here, Jerusalem and the area around the Temple was already crowded. In Jerusalem, it was the Sabbath.
Some people would walk by the corpses of Moshe and Elias and spit upon them. Others walked around them in a wide arc, trying to stay as far away as possible, but still seeming to be drawn to the horror of the two dead bodies who had become such well-known fixtures in Israel over the past three and one half years. There was always a crowd to be found around these men when they were alive, and that was still the case even in their deaths. Today, the crowd appeared larger than usual; almost as if God Himself had drawn a huge crowd there to witness an event the majority didn’t know was coming. What we watched happen in real time via our hidden connections through the deep web was one of the most astounding things we’ve ever witnessed, and that’s saying something since over the past three and one-half years we’ve seen a lot of highly unusual things!
At 6:00 PM exactly Israel time, there seemed to be a tremor in the earth. People began looking around as if something was amiss. A few people stumbled as if they appeared to lose their balance. Suddenly, every camera around locked onto the bodies of the two witnesses. The crowd roared and backed away as the bodies of Moshe and Elias began to tremble along with the earth underneath them.
At first, it wasn’t apparent whether the bodies themselves were moving or the trembling of the earth was making it seem as if the bodies were moving; but quickly it became apparent that it was the bodies themselves that were moving in addition to the growing trembling of the earth. Twitching and trembling, the extremities of the bodies increased. The gray-green pallor of decomposition faded from their skin as their bodies regained a natural healthy skin tone and color. The bloating of their bodies from the internal gasses of decomposition building in their abdominal cavities deflated. As the cameras zoomed in for a tighter shot, their chests began to rise and fall with the breath of life as respiration spontaneously began. There was a blinding flash of light as the two formerly dead men stood upon their feet.
As they arose, a voice loud as thunder, audible and clear, could be heard everywhere around the world! The voice commanded, “COME UP HITHER!”
In an instant, a blinding cloud of light enveloped the two living men, and we watched as they began to be lifted straight up into the air. Their ascent began gradually at first; but in an instant, it was as if they shot straight up at a speed faster than our eyes could see. The only comparison that I can make, and it’s woefully inadequate, but the only comparison was like in the old Star Trek series when the Starship Enterprise would be shown shooting off from sub-light speed into warp drive. That’s a stupid analogy, I know, but it’s the closest I can come to describing what we saw.
In that instant, an earthquake of incredible magnitude hit the city of Jerusalem. We watched in awe and horror as the earth shook. Nearby buildings collapsed as great rents and fissures were torn open in the ground. All around Jerusalem, people fled. Many were knocked down, killed by falling debris or in automobile collisions. Others were killed when the earth opened up beneath their feet and appeared to swallow them. After the dust settled, just as scripture said would happen, a tenth part of the city of Jerusalem had fallen, and seven thousand people were killed. The devastation in Jerusalem was enormous. Yet the Temple stood unscathed.
Draken was livid at the resurrection and ascension of the two witnesses. The factions resisting him were emboldened, and the growing number of the Jewish remnant who were coming to salvation in their true Messiah were awed as they came face to face with the power and glory of God. God’s remnant of believing Jews is growing.
Journal, things are about to start happening faster than we can imagine. We’d better hold on tight!
“The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly” (Revelation 11:14, KJV).
TO BE CONTINUED…
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