Apollyon: The Destroyer Is Unleashed Read Online Free PDF Page B

guess, but I mean there’s too much of a gap between what may be true and what should be true.”
    “Inequity.”
    “That’s it. God saving me when he and I both know who I am and what I’ve done―that’s too much of an inequity.”

    At quarter to five in the afternoon at Chaim Rosenzweig’s estate, Tsion asked Buck and Chloe to join him in his room. Buck smiled, noticing the ever-present laptop on a small table. The three knelt by the bed. “We will pray with the committee at the stadium,” Tsion said. “But in case the rush of the details gets in the way, I do not want to start the meeting without seeking the Lord.”
    “May I ask,” Chloe said, “what message you sent back to Mr. Fortunato?”
    “I merely told Chaim that I would neither acknowledge nor recognize Nicolae. Neither will I introduce him or ask anyone else to. If he comes to the platform, I will not stand in his way.” Tsion smiled wearily. “As you might expect, Chaim argued earnestly, warning me not to commit such an affront to the potentate. But how can I do otherwise? I will not say what I would like to say, will not rally the believers to express their distaste for him, will not expose him for who I know him to be. That is the best I can do.”
    Chloe nodded. “When do you expect the witnesses?”
    “I should think they are beginning to arrive even now.”
    “I mean Eli and Moishe.”
    “Oh! I have left that with the Lord. They said they would be there, and the conference extends to two more whole days and nights. You can be sure I will gladly welcome them to the platform whenever they choose to appear.”
    Buck never failed to be moved by the heartfelt prayers of Dr. Ben-Judah. He had seen the rabbi at the lowest point of grief a man could bear, reeling from the slaughter of his wife and two teenagers. He had heard him pray in the midst of terror, certain he would be apprehended on a midnight flight from Israel. Now, as Tsion looked forward to uniting with tens of thousands of new brothers and sisters in Christ from all twelve tribes of Israel and from all over the world, he was on his knees in humility.
    “God, our Father,” he began, “thank you for the privilege we are about to enjoy. On the front lines of battle we advance with your boldness, under your power and protection. These precious saints will be hungry to learn more of your Word. Give the other teachers and me the words. May we say what you would have us say, and may they hear what you want them to hear.”
    Buck was deep in his own prayer when a tap at the door interrupted them. “Forgive me, Tsion,” Chaim said. “A GC escort is here.”
    “But I thought Jacov would drive us―”
    “He will. But they tell us you have to leave immediately if you hope to reach the stadium in time.”
    “But it is so close!”
    “Nevertheless. Traffic is already so thick that only the GC escort can ensure you will get there on time.”
    “Have you decided to come with us, Chaim?”
    “I will be watching on television. I have asked Jacov to load a case of bottled water for you. Those two preachers at the Wall have taken credit for blood in the drinking water again. Though it supposedly has cleared since the visitors began arriving, you never know. Westerners should not risk our tap water anyway.”
    The GC escort proved to be two Jeeps with flashing yellow lights, each vehicle carrying four armed guards who merely stared at the Tribulation Force as they climbed into the Mercedes van. “Another bit of one-upmanship from Carpathia,” Chloe said.
    “If he was smart,” Tsion said, “he would have left us to our own devices and let us be late.”
    “You would not have been late,” Jacov said in his thick accent. “I would have gotten you there on time anyway.”
    Buck had never seen―even in New York―traffic like this. Every artery to the stadium was jammed with cars and pedestrians. Neither had he seen so many happy faces since before the Rapture. Carrying satchels and