Jacob's Trouble 666 is a novel by Terry, which was published a number of years ago. It tells the story of Jacob Zen, a young, lower echelon U.S. government official, who is forced to take on staggering responsibilities, when millions of people vanish, and his world begins coming apart. Terry wanted to share with you this fictionalized account of the Rapture and of the first part of the Tribulation era in serialized form. Although it is fiction, it is a story that could take on startling reality with your very next breath, because Christ's shout: "Come up hither" (Rev 4:1) could happen at any moment!
Chapter 3
Withdrawal clutched at his intestines. Craving for the drug superseded any other need, even the need to escape through the mind-tunnel into his former existence, and it called to him now from across the room, dark and oval and bitter.Citizens of INterface were promised relief from the abrasive atmosphere through use of the chemical. Relief from throat disorders which brought on painful spasms, paralysis of the larynx, and even death from respiratory system collapse. The drug's primary by-product, however, was the personality-changing effect it produced; like everything INterface offered, Trachetrol II was designed to contribute to the process of subjugation.
John I. Carver was luckier than most, being part of the controlling apparatus provided generous access to the drug. The average citizen could claim a ration of no more than a dozen capsules each thirty-day period. Jacob Zen had vowed to keep his use to a minimum, but the gripping pain of addiction more and more frequently drew him to the walnut-veneered cabinet and the bottle with the liquid-filled capsules.
He opened the container and downed one of the dark maroon Trachetrols, grimacing because of its bitterness and his difficulty in swallowing it. He partially filled a glass with water from the tap, the liquid brownish with impurities because those in charge of the system were unable to keep the pumps and filters functioning properly. His stomach calmed within seconds after the water washed the capsule down, his nerves steadying, but his mind becoming surrealistic in its ruminations. He cursed his lack of will-power beneath his breath.
From the wall above the EVRU, the gray-black clock's amber readout displayed:
"5:50 p.m. ... TRINITY speaks at six."
Jacob shook his head and tried to loosen his body with light calisthenics, moving his arms, head and legs to get back some of the feeling the Trachetrol II was withholding from him. Of all people under INterface tyranny, it was most imperative that he have full command of his faculties; the slightest error, the most minuscule deviation from the routine or unanticipated tasks thrust upon John I, Garver by INterface, would bring a face-to-face investigation by the controllers, discovery, and the end of Jacob Zen. The terror police were too busy most of the time, rounding up uncooperative Jews, to investigate minor officials with INterface.
Only a mistake would stimulate a half-biological, half-machine cell somewhere within the brain of the ever-vigilant computer network, alerting one of the controllers that the matter must be seen after. Soon, though, the Jewish problem would be cleared up to TRINITY'S satisfaction; all other facets of INterface would then be dealt with. He would be found out and eliminated. Meanwhile, his safest bet was the assumed identity and the job that went with it. There were ways to use the machinery at his command to manipulate the hated enemy. The trick was to know when to pull out in time to save himself.
"Interface is the New Earth!
You are either IN, or you are lost!
Mankind cannot serve two masters-Mankind must serve INterface to be one with God!
Master Manya is one with TRINITY!
TRINITY is INterface God!"
Jacob Zen's mind cleared with the forceful words that assaulted him from the INterface Response Unit, different words that grabbed his thoughts and shook them into sudden realization. He was now to equate Master Manya with TRINITY! Part of the INterface Godhead!
"To Caesar that which is Caesar's and to God that which is God's! Master Manya speaks!"
What did it mean? The scene of the INRU screen, too, was different. Instead of the revolving, crisscrossing triple image of the face he expected to see, the slow camera zoom drew his attention toward an illuminated edifice surrounded by the black night sky. It was, he determined in the next instant, the recently completed temple atop Mount Moriah in Jerusalem, sitting beside the Moslem Mosque of Omar. The rebuilding of the temple was allowed as part of the peace accords between Israel and the neighboring Arab nations. The Jews had given up much for the privilege of rebuilding on this holy site. Israel had agreed to disband her army - at the time the third-most powerful in the world -- in return for guaranteed protection by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a guarantee that was forgotten the day Russians stormed into Palestine with all the others.
The scene dissolved to another — inside the temple, he surmised, sitting forward in the console chair, straining to see details with drug-affected eyes that worked against each other in the attempt to focus. The camera drew him down the empty corridor that narrowed in perspective, the hallway bounded by high granite walls made eerie by light from a single point which etched stark shadows around and between the walls' ornately carved and scrolled surfaces.
"Master Manya loves you,"
the voice oflNtetface said solemnly, while yet another dissolve took place on the screen — to the innermost room of the temple, the Holy of Holies.
"The hour is six!
Master Manya speaks!"
Indistinguishable at first, a silhouetted outline of a man gradually became identifiable. The several cameras focused on the figure, giving the viewer different angles through a series of dissolves, the camera directly in front of the standing figure finally claiming exclusive possession and drawing it toward the viewer's screen. Still, the draped man was not completely distinguishable, the contrasting shadows obscuring his facial features.
"I and the Cosmogonal Mind, Father of all but the Jew, are One. Those who are IN are One with me, as I am One with the Father. All are parts of the Universal Body of pure existence, linking cells which comprise the great Cosmogonal Organism within which I am eternally at work, taking each of you upward to the supreme level of universal mind-consciousness."
Unlike TRINITY'S mechanized preachments, the words were softly spoken and reassuring in tone.
"The Six Ways Plan edicts that these must be excised. They are as lesions on an otherwise healthy organ, malignant and parasitic, draining the whole's vitality, keeping mankind from reaching the highest order of evolution.
"The disappearance mystery was part of that excision, carried out by natural evolution, similar to dissipation of illness and fever in the body as one becomes whole again. Part of the disappearance was glorious for those involved. A quantum evolutionary leap to the highest Universal Mind Order by those who earned that existence through their many incarnations, always using their time on earth for the good of their fellow man. Each citizen of INterface who follows the examples of selfless devotion to humanity is even now in the evolutionary process of becoming one, in the eternal sense, with God, with Master Manya."
The camera angle changed, the figure taking on a more ominous appearance; the voice became angry.
"The greatest act you can perform, in earning your elevation to the higher evolutionary order, is to devote yourself to eradicating all who are not IN! From this moment make this your consuming desire! Find them in their nests, wherever they are.
"Kill them! Or call controllers to their places of hiding. Only when this scourge is wiped from our midst can there truly be heaven on earth!"
A cold wash of fear soaked Jacob's thought Processes while he watched and heard the call for genocide. How he hated them.
Karen... beautiful Karen. To see this beast die for what it did, whatever it did to her. To see it dead — as dead as the rabbis, whose bodies were being shown now, minus the heads which were already within the white Decap Unit van.
"The leadership of these parasites has been eliminated! Witness their bodies! Soon their disciples will follow them."
Two front-end loaders driven by controllers scooped the robed bodies and dumped them into a chute that closed to form an outer wall of the van. Other black-uniformed men clubbed and kicked men and women, herding them through a small opening into another van. Many who took the blows lay where they fell and were hit repeatedly until they either got up or were bludgeoned to death. "We must do our part in the Amputation begun with the dissipation! The two great commandments from this evolutionary moment forward are:
1. Thou shall worship the Lord, thy Go, Interface. E.
2. Thou shall kill illegal Jews and all other enemies of INterface"
The screen again filled with the shadowy image of the self-proclaimed deity, the three cameras in the Holy of Holies taking turns showing Master Manya from different angles through a series of dissolves. The INRU screen went black, returning to life momentarily with a still shot of Master Manya's darkened form. Etched in bright yellow characters above the image were the words:
"MASTER MANYA LOVES YOU!"
Below the image were the Roman Numerals:
"VI VI VI
Six Ways to Law!
Six Ways to Order!
Six Ways to Peace!"Paralysis gripped Jacob and he sat transfixed. It was madness beyond even the insanity he always knew festered at the core of lNterface! When he again became aware of the screen, it was dark and inactive, and his automatic reaction was to look to the Scanner atop the INRU to determine whether it was betraying his temporary lapse. One was expected to be active; inactivity allowed time to think, breeding discontent. Watchers became instantly disturbed when they observed thinking; they became especially disturbed when a Sector Coordinator was caught in the act of inactivity at times other than the permitted periods of rest.
The Scanner's smoke-gray convex lens was, for the moment, motionless. He moved from the console chair, watching, although not too overtly, to see if the camera's eye followed him about the room. It did not. His body ached, and he stretched to limber its stiffness, contemplating things he had just seen. Memories emerged to the surface of his conscious thought, drawn by the horrors he had witnessed. He retrieved the old Bible and the legal pad from their hiding place beneath the console chair, then moved to near the room's only window. If the Scanner was activated by Controller Central, the lens would have swing sharply to put him within its view, giving him time to get the materials out of sight, and to become active.
After a final glance at the snooping camera, he began thumbing through the old book, checking first its concordance. Then, turning to the passages of his search, he copied the Scriptures:
"When ye, therefore, shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place (whosoever readeth, let him understand), Then let them who are in Judaea flee into the mountains; Let him who is on the housetop not come down to take anything out of his house; Neither let him who is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe unto those who are with child, and to those who nurse children in those days! " Matthew 24:15-19
He quickly flipped pages to another section of the book, then transcribed the words:
"Let no man deceive you by any means; for that day shall not come, except there come the falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition, Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped, so that he, as God, sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God," 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4
The ancient predictions, in light of Master Manya's claim to Godhood and INterface's genocidal intentions toward Jews, would have at another time chilled his sensibility. But he was too fatigued now, too numbed by Trachetrol to wholly assess the Six Ways Plan and how it might fit within the prophetical scheme. The drug was pushing him from the present. He saw, with his swirling memory, the thin, bespectacled face of the man who had warned of the coming system that now bedeviled him.
He fought against the drowsiness, standing, doing calisthenics, then splashing his face with water taken from the tap near the window. He sat down again, his thoughts returning to that night. He failed to see the Scanner come to life and oscillate slowly, first toward the right side of the room then toward him. He saw only the face of Hugo Marchek and heard only the cacophony of voices in conversation, coming from somewhere in Marchek's home...
"You must be Mr. Jacob Zen," said the old man in a voice melodious with good humor. Marchek had to look upward to see Jacob while he reached to his guest's offered hand.
Yes, sir. Sorry if I've caused any problems by being late."
“Nonsense, young man! Come! Someone is going to have a fatal attack if she does not see you.”
Marchek held Jacob's elbow, gently towing him toward the conversational noise. "And did you get your business taken care of?"
The question, offered lightly, was obviously not intended to pry.
"Yes. AH taken care of."
"Marvelous! Now maybe our Miss Mossberg can smile again. She has had on her longest face all evening. I presume, because you have not been here."
They entered the living room, Jacob looking over the milling guests. Marchek called for their attention and got it.
"Karen. Introduce to us your guest, please," the old man said, pushing Jacob forward into the arms of the girl, whose smile spoke her feeling for the party's latest arrival. She pulled Jacob aside when the introductions had been made and the others had returned to their various discussions, her eyes flashing a mixture of anger, concern, and relief.
"You could've called," she said in an irritated whisper, glancing nervously at the other guests, hoping she had not scolded loudly enough for them to hear. "I've been worried."
"You mean you're mad because I didn't get here exactly when you thought I ought to, and because I didn't call to check in like you thought I should," he said teasingly.
"Don't tell me what I thought!... Or what I mean!" her face reddened and her words spilled angrily into the ears of those nearest them. She didn t care.
Jacob pulled her by her arm into a corner as far away from the others as possible. "What is wrong with you, Karen? Since when do you make so of a joke?"
Tears trickled in slow, thin streams down her cheeks and he stopped questioning her, pulling her to him and whispering while her face lay against his chest.
"What's wrong, Kay? My being late couldn't have upset you this much."
He pushed her away, holding her firmly by her shoulders and looking into her eyes. "Tell me what's wrong."
She said nothing, but reached into the right pocket of her slacks, took out a wadded piece of paper and handed it to him. He unrumpled the paper and silently read the message typed on it.
"YOU AND THOSE YOU LOVE CAN BE ELIMINATED AT ANY TIME. THIS IS TO ADVISE YOU TO CONVINCE MARCHEK TO LEAVE MATTERS VITAL TO NATIONAL SECURITY TO THOSE WHO KNOW BEST, OR YOU WILL PAY THE CONSEQUENCE OF HIS MEDDLING."
The small piece of paper had markings, he discovered through examination.
It had been ripped from what must have been an 8-1/2” x 11" sheet of white bond, two sides having ragged edges. The type was light and the letters broken in places. The non-uniform crispness of the elite characters told him they were struck with inconsistent pressure due, most likely, to varying degrees of strength in the typist's fingers. The machine was probably an old manual.
"It's just some over-zealous staff member of the NSA. Or it could be from a lobbyist who has investment interests in the UNTVTJS system."
"No!... No!" She shook her head in vigorous disagreement. "That's not all. Come with me."
She led him into the foyer then down the hallway and into Marchek's study. Reaching into the upper left drawer, she withdrew from Marchek's desk a manila envelope and handed it to Jacob. "The note was clipped to this. I found it lying on the valet seat when I stepped out of the shower." "It wasn't there before?" He opened the envelope and spread its contents about the desktop. "No. I put my jeans across the seat before I went into the shower, and the envelope was lying on top of them when I came out."
"They're photographs." He spread them farther in order to better make sense of the color prints which were obviously taken with a long-range lens. Each of the prints was marked with black circles, each circle drawn within another circle. A vertical line crossed a horizontal line at each target's center. He looked beyond the simulated telescopic rifle sight to the subjects in the photographs. One showed Hugo Marchek walking in a downtown Washington, D.C. setting with a briefcase under his arm. The others were of Karen leaning over a desk, and of himself, reaching for the driver-side door of his Volvo.
He studied the prints for several seconds, then put his arms around Karen. "Whoever it is, is just trying to frighten you. They probably figured Dr< Marchek wouldn't react as strongly as you, so they 1^ you find their little package."
"They were right. It worked," she said, holding him tightly.
"As crazy as it sounds, this sort of thing isn't all that uncommon any more in D.C. What some elements can't get in more civilized ways, they'll try to get any way they can. Usually, things like this are done by cowards who operate like rats. They don't have the guts to face someone directly or to follow through on their threats. This is probably the last we'll hear from them."
His words sounded good, but whoever had been in Karen's bedroom had let themselves in and out in a professional manner. The photographs had been professionally done, assuring Jacob in his own mind that this was not simply a lightweight attempt to scare Marchek's group off. He saw in her trusting expression that she didn't suspect his fears, and that his bravado had at least somewhat allayed hers.
There was a knock at the study door, and it opened slightly. Hugo Marchek stuck his head through the crack. "I didn't mean to intrude on you young people's privacy, but perhaps we need to discuss the matter which I see you have before you."
"Yes. I agree completely," Jacob said, releasing Karen and turning to face the eschatologist.
"Would you mind, my dear, seeing to my guests?" Marchek said to Karen, hoping to convince her that his need of help in the matter was genuine. She knew it was not, but, after getting an agreeing nod from Jacob, she left the room. “ There is no finer young woman, Mr. Zen." “I agree. And she is very capable of handling s sort of thing, I assure you, Dr. Marchek."
“Of course she is. But please hear me out." The old man moved to a coffee server which sat on a
table near the floor-to-ceiling window of his study "May I pour you some coffee?" "Yes, thanks."
The task accomplished, he handed Jacob the cup, his pleasant smile dissolving into a look of concern. "You see, Mr. Zen..." "Please, Jacob."
"Jacob. Karen concerns herself far too much with my welfare. She worries whether I have eaten enough, that I am too thin, that I am lonely, that! work too hard... I wanted to talk with you alone, because, as the one who is closest to her, I feel you will want all the facts possible, to see that she is protected from worry and..."
He let the thought die, returning to the server. He poured himself coffee and sat in the old brown leather chair behind his desk. Jacob sat in a chair directly across the desk from him.
"I have not confided to Karen what I am about to tell you, because I am afraid it would overly concern her. I tell you now only because of my fears for her safety — because she is well known to be involved in our organization, and because there are those who wish Preservers of American Liberty, and me, silenced."
"She told me about these." Jacob pointed to the photographs spread across the desk. "And showed me the note."
"No... No! The things I am speaking of now are things she knows nothing about. I was praying they would not involve her, but, as you can see, they have."
"They?"
"Those who would silence us. I am not certain myself who they are. They have introduce"
themselves to me very bluntly, nonetheless." "They've threatened you before?" "Three nights ago, two gentlemen came in through the door at the side of my house - the kitchen door. I was working in my study. Large men, dressed in heavy coats, who made no effort to hide their faces. One with black, thinning hair, one with reddish hair and a mustache. The words were, 'Stop meddling in matters which concern only those who know what is best for this country. Quit stirring up trouble for those who are working to keep this the greatest and strongest nation on earth.' I replied that, in my opinion, the people have the right to decide for themselves what is in their best interest; that they also have the right to not be intruded upon by persons who illegally enter their homes and make threats against them. 'Let me clear that misunderstanding up now,' the one with the mustache said. Then he hit me like this." Marchek demonstrated the attacker's right, back-handed blow. "This is the result," he said, pulling his glasses from his face and turning his head so Jacob could see the deep cut above his right ear, a wound, Jacob guessed, probably caused by a large ring.
"The man who hit me then said that he did not like misunderstandings. That he was leaving his mark to prove that he deals in actions, not words only. The next time, he said, he will not leave me a head from which to bleed. He handed me his handkerchief and said something about how he had always believed that old men were the wisest of all men, and he hoped I did not destroy this belief by failing to do what he and his friend advised. I was, needless to say, wise enough to keep my mouth closed at that moment.”
“Did you call the police?”
"I did. They said they would come to make an investigation on the incident when they had taken care of more pressing criminal matters. As I said, that was three days ago. I still have not heard from the police, although I have called several times since, only to be told that a Captain Emory Jackson handles such things in my area of the city and that he has been tied up in other things."
"You can't let this sort of thing go by without getting action taken on it."
"There are ways, of course. I could take it directly to the media, or to some acquaintances in Congress. But to do that would be to use valuable ammunition in shooting at small game. It would be just a tiny personal matter, and that is not what I wish those in the media or my Congressional contacts to focus on. It would merely give our detractors reason to offer what they would claim was proof that I am only concerned with furthering my personal ambitions for publicity or whatever. And, too, Karen would be upset terribly — as would the others in PAL. No. I will see that the matter is brought to light when it can be combined with other incriminating data, at precisely the right time."
"But meantime, your life might be in danger. These people sound like the kind you can't fool around with. And Karen... what about her? How long will it be until they do something like that to her? Of worse?"
"This is why I am confiding in you. Your contacts within government are much greater than mine, and can be undertaken with less notoriety. I d° not know the ins-and-outs as you do. Perhaps if you could find where this pressure is coming fro" someone of your acquaintance might persuade then to leave Karen alone."
Jacob could see in Marchek's expression, and hear in his gentle tone, that the old man's concern was genuinely not selfish, but was totally for Karen.
"If it's coming from anywhere in any agency I know about, you can believe I will," Jacob said.
"I have tried to persuade her to leave PAL so she will not be a target of this... this attempted extortion. As you might expect, she will not do so."
"And she shouldn't have to, should she? What's it all about, anyway? We still have freedom of expression, don't we? So long as it's done in a legal manner. No, Dr. Marchek, it's these thugs who are a threat to the nation, not your organization. I don't agree with everything you espouse, but you have the right to believe it ~ to express it, too. I'll get to the bottom of it if there's any way..."
"You refresh an old man's memory with a joyous lesson I learned when I first came to this great country. Maybe, despite working so closely with freedom, I, for a brief moment, forgot our young lady's right to express her thoughts, also. You are right, of course; there have been many people die for that right. We cannot give in to them, no matter what the cost."
Jacob stood and moved to the window before turning to face Marchek. "What I find hard to believe ls that anyone would concern themselves enough with your activities to use such strong-arm methods. Forgive me, Dr. Marchek, but from what I've learned my talks with Karen, I don't see your cause, or your capabilities, as posing a significant threat to anybody.. I just can’t figure why whoever’s doing this go to so much trouble."
"No offense taken, Jacob," Marchek said, a knowing smile crossing his face. "You will not perhaps, grasp my explanation of why my tiny organization looms so largely in the eyes of certain elements — not only in Washington, but in other capitals, as well — why I pose such a threat to them." "You believe that it's you, personally, they're after? Not the ideology you represent? Not the resistance you throw in their way?"
"It is me they want eliminated, because I am one among a very few who have insight into their master plan for bringing their kingdom into being. And I am, perhaps, the only one who is trying to fight the evil intention of our adversary through political and governmental institutions. How long I will be permitted to oppose them through these channels, I cannot say."
"You're talking about some conspiracy to establish dictatorship?" "Precisely."
"But, such an undertaking, no matter who did the planning, would be humanly impossible — if you're talking about a Western or global dictatorship. The divergent political ideologies, the differences in cultures, the religious differences, the social and national animosities that have been going on for generations — some for centuries. Such a one-world dictatorship couldn't possibly hold up. There wouldn't be enough soldiers on earth to enforce such a system."
"You said the key word, young man. 'Humanly,' you said. It would not be humanly possible, you are right. I assure you, however, it will be inhumanly done. More precisely, it will be super naturally accomplished. It will be a one-world hell on earth, presided over by the Devil, himself, in the form of a superhuman dictator. This is why they want me eliminated. Because I know these things, and because I am dedicated to postponing the establishment of their hellish order." "And how will that be done?" Jacob inquired.
"Just the babblings of an old religious fanatic?" Marchek asked with a tolerant smile. "Well, this scenario of a final world dictatorship, I cannot claim credit or blame for. This ending to the greatest of all dramas was written by the hand of God, himself.
"To answer your question, how will it be done? How shall we accomplish the postponement of Satan establishing his Antichrist government? I am not at all certain it can be done. Notice I said postponement of, not stop, its establishment. I only know I must try to do my part to hold it off as long as possible."
"If it's inevitable, why fight it?"
"For the greatest reason there can be. The salvation of souls. The reason Jesus Christ came to earth."
"Now you've lost me for sure," Jacob said. "What does this... this dictatorship thing have to do with whether a soul obtains salvation?"
''Original sin is at the heart of it all. Eve first fell prey to Satan's deception, then offered the forbidden fruit to Adam, who also partook. Thus, man's fall from grace, from God’s perfect righteousness -- the only state of existence God can accept in order for His creation to be in perfect harmony with Him. Sin came into the world; therefore, mankind could no longer walk perfectly with his Creator. All people need a Savior, you see.
Jesus Christ shed His blood on the cross at Calvary. He is that Savior.
"Satan was the author of that imperfection, that sin, and is still its chief encourager, its instigator. Antichrist will be Satan's chosen man to wreak havoc upon all human beings who are left upon the planet when millions of people suddenly vanish from the face of the earth. This is known in the Holy Scriptures as the Rapture of Believers in Christ.
"Apocalypse will then soon bring hellish terrors after Israel's leadership signs a security covenant with the Satanic world leader.
"Times will get so bad during the ensuing seven years of Tribulation that people who accept Christ for the salvation of their souls will suffer greatly. They will be in constant danger. Antichrist will murder them by the millions. And the Satanic creature, who will hate Jews because God chose to send the Savior, the Messiah, into the world through the Jewish race, will make Hitler's slaughter of these people seem like child's play by comparison.
"My mission then, Jacob, is to spare as many people as possible from enduring the coming years of holocaust, by calling them to salvation... now. To accomplish this, we must try to buy time through fighting the developing Antichrist system --politically, and every other way possible."
Jacob contemplated the old man's words for a moment, then spoke. "You paint a rosy picture," Jacob said. "Being Jewish, it's doubly rosy."
"There is still time for you, Jacob."
"Yes. Well, as you said, it's a scenario. I prefer to concoct my own."
"It is a scenario in the semantic sense, only. All but the very last of the prophecies in God's Holy Word have come to pass. Studies made even by secular historians reluctantly concede this. We, as human beings, are slavish adherents to scientific empiricism; we pride ourselves on our logic. Is it not logical to conclude that since so many of these prophecies have come to pass, and in such minute detail, the remaining prophecies will also be fulfilled?"
"I haven't seen or heard of the studies you're talking about. I still believe man has to work out his own salvation. I'm afraid I'm a hopeless existentialist."
Marchek's smile betrayed his disappointment. "I am sorry for that, Jacob. But God made us creatures of free will. I must respect your right to believe as you wish."
"You believe, then, that the reason for these threats is that your knowledge of the prophecies threatens this would-be dictatorship? That it's supernatural rather than simply political?"
"You make me sound like a sort of mystic, but I assure you these facts can be learned by anyone who cares to carefully read this book."
Marchek picked up the worn, black leather-bound volume from one corner of his desk. "It «s all here. The answers from beginning to end."
"I must admit I've never studied the Christian Bible. For that matter, I've seldom looked through the Hebrew texts."
Your analysis is essentially correct. It is my belief that these people want me eliminated because the knowledge I possess is from the one Being who is more powerful than the master they serve. I am, perhaps, the most vocal, the most directly confrontational opposition to their goals of world totalitarianism. Every moment we can postpone them reaching their objective, buys time in which souls are saved from Satan's grasp. He will not tolerate this. His consuming desire is to put as many of God's supreme creations into Hell as quickly as possible, and to put his own throne above the throne of God. Slowing his quest for absolute world domination infuriates him. I believe that at this moment I am the human being who is perhaps the greatest hindrance to him."
"Surely you can't believe that, Dr. Marchek. You seem like a rational man."
Marchek chuckled. "I thank you for your compliment. Most who are kind enough to hear me out are not so kind once I am finished."
"I'm sorry, sir, I didn't mean to imply that you are irrational now that I've heard what you believe."
Marchek smiled broadly and waved in a gesture meant to belay Jacob's embarrassment "Do not concern yourself, young man. There is no offense. I know much of what I have said must sound crazy to one who receives it for the first time." He became more serious. "I do not believe that I am chosen of God for passing judgment on this generation, in the same sense of, say, Moses or Noah. I do not hear the literal voice of God telling me to say this or to say that, or to do this or to do that. No... no. I simply believe that I am fortunate to be in a position to warn of what is coming, according to this."
He held up the Bible. "The words, the truths which God has given to mankind. Anyone who reads can learn the truths. Since I have read and prayed and sought the Holy Spirit's guidance in these matters, I believe I have been given a certain amount of understanding of apocalyptic events, which I am therefore obligated to share with my fellow human beings.
"And because I know these things, I must do what I can to postpone Satan's establishing his kingdom on earth. It is all supernatural, yes; but the supernaturalism is between God and the Devil, or, if you will, between good and evil — not between myself and those acting as Satan's agents in threatening me.
"If you think it's Satan who's threatening you, why are you not afraid? Why, if there is a Devil, and if he's so powerful, why doesn't he just wave his pitchfork or whatever and destroy you?" There was no sarcasm in the question, rather genuine puzzlement.
"Because, as I said, my Master is greater than their master. My life, yours, Karen's, anyone's, cannot be taken until the God who created it allows that to happen. 'Christ,' as the Bible says, 'holds the keys to death and hell.'"
"And the others in PAL, do they share these beliefs?"
"You, of course, know Karen does not share my faith in Christ, so naturally she cannot believe as do in the things prophesied in the Bible. At least not the supernatural aspects of what is prophesied. The others, unfortunately, are as skeptical as Karen in these matters. They do, however, see the inevitability of the coming totalitarian state, and we agree that there are a select few who will control it. The natural conclusion, forgetting Biblical forecasts, is that one person shall emerge as supreme in that coming world order."
"Why does it have to be a dictatorship? Haven't we come far enough to know how to avoid letting the gangster elements have their way at the top levels of government? If good is more powerful than evil, can't those with honorable intentions control such a world government?"
"What would be the first prerequisite for the establishment of a Western Bloc, one government union? I mean, a global society which is totally unified, such as, for example, the Unified European States?" Marchek queried.
"The primary prerequisite would probably be for all national entities to agree to relinquish governmental control in favor of a central government comprised of representatives of former national governments."
"And what would this mean in terms of its effects on individual citizens of these many nations? Would they not be forced to relinquish at least some of their former ways of interacting socially, politically, economically, and religiously?"
"I don't know about religiously," Jacob said with a frown of concentration. He walked the distance from Marchek's desk to the big window, then turned, rubbing his chin in further consideration of the question. "Of course they would have to give up some aspects of their former ways of life. But what's the point? The people of this country had to change, too, when they decided to form it. That doesn't amount to dictatorship. It's worked out pretty well, I think."
"Ah, but has the final word, historically speaking, been written on the United States? Do you believe there are lessons to be learned, for benefit of the future, by studying the past? Obviously you do, because a moment ago you made reference to our having learned from past mistakes when you asked if we have not come far enough to keep - how did you say it? - gangster elements from having their way in the top echelons of any such world government."
"Yes. I agree that we must learn from past mistakes," Jacob said.
"Then, since the final word is not in on the United States - that is, what will be its fate for good or for evil — would we not be wiser to look in the past to other experiences in analyzing what the actual prospects might be for a future governmental entity of such magnitude as our hypothetical Western Bloc?"
"Yes. I will concede that."
"Of all the great empires that we could look back to, shall we pick Rome? Ancient Rome?"
"Okay, ancient Rome it is."
"My point is, Jacob, Rome, although beginning as an honorable system administered by and represented by honorable men, degenerated through a series of dictatorships. The people lost more with each succeeding step in Rome's decline. One man, or at very best a small group of men, almost without exception self-servingly evil, lay at the heart of these successive governments. The same thing can be said for every major empire before and since, with the exception of the British Empire. But, like this country, the final historical word has not been written °n the British Empire, which, of course, is no longer a true empire.
Considering past experience, can we logically conclude that another major empire, undertaken with no matter what honorable intentions, will prove different? Have we ever really learned from the past and applied the knowledge for the benefit of the people? I think not. Lord Acton said it correctly: 'Absolute power corrupts absolutely,' and, I must admit, empirically speaking, Darwin was right; the strongest survive.
"And, equally unfortunately, the strongest is always the most carnivorous, the most evil, because since mankind first fell prey to Satan's great lie — that now man can be his own god — man has tried to become exactly that. He has left God out of his affairs. Therein lies the reason man-made government will never, can never, be ruled over by truly benevolent leaders. That is why God must bring the Messiah into the world at the Second Advent. Then there will be a world government that will, for the first and only time, work for the welfare and peace of all people. It will be the Theocracy presided over by Jesus Christ."
"If all that is true, how do you expect anything I say or do to help get these evil forces off your back?
I can help fight corruption — but the Devil, himself? Even I would have trouble with that one," Jacob said lightly, trying to relieve the somberness Marchek's words engendered.
"Postponement. That is what I seek, my young friend. As Jesus said, 'With God all things are possible!' In the process of your investigation, you will come to your own conclusions about this... evil force, as you call it. If your efforts do nothing else, they may benefit you personally — convince you that the only hope is the Messiah. If so, that alone will make it worthwhile to me. But, also, the expression, 'God helps those who help themselves,' applies here. God uses human agents to carry out His work, sometimes willingly on their part, sometimes without them knowing it."
"Working for God, huh? Can't climb much higher than that on the ladder of success."
"Indeed," said Marchek, smiling. "And since you might very well be carrying out a mission for the Supreme, I suggest you study His written Orders — the instructions he has left for the world to read and follow."
The eschatologist stood from behind the desk and reached to offer Jacob the Bible. "I would like for you to have this, Jacob. It is a friend who has been with me for many years."
Jacob took the book and thumbed quickly through it. "I don't want to take this. I know it means a great deal to you. I can get one."
"It does mean a great deal to me, but it means a great deal more to me that you make a sincere study of it ~ that you understand its truths. Consider the prophecies while you try to learn what is happening all around you."'
Jacob handed the Bible back to the old man. "Thanks. I'll pick up a copy, I promise."
"Remember, my young friend, 'trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.'"