Zion.'"
Bennett shifted in his seat and leaned across the table toward Mordechai.
"Fine — Babylon, the Temple, that's all well and good. But none of that proves we're in the last days right now. That's what I want to know. What's going on right now?"
FORTY-FIVE
"Remember the Bush administration's Road Map to peace?"
Mordechai put down his pipe.
"Of course," said Bennett.
"The Scriptures lay out a road map to the last days, complete with signs that will tell us when we get there."
"A road map, huh?"
"That's right."
"OK, I'll bite. What are the signs?"
"First, the world will hear of 'wars and rumors of wars.' We'll see 'wars and revolutions.' 'Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.' We'll see 'great earthquakes' and 'famines and pestilences in various places.' Persecution will be rampant as the 'gospel of the kingdom' is 'preached in the whole world.' At the same time, 'many false prophets will appear to deceive many people.' There'll be all kinds of strange signs in the skies. 'Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world.' "
OK, go on.
"Israel — described throughout the Jewish Scriptures as the fig tree — will be restored and in full bloom. 'Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled'—that is, until the last days when the Jews retake control of the holy city, and Jews from all over the world start streaming back to their homeland. And 'when you see these things happening,' the Bible says, 'you know that the kingdom of God is near'— even 'right at the door.' "
"Really," said Bennett, intrigued, but not quite sure what to say.
"Really."
"And you think we're passing all those road signs?"
"Don't you?"
Bennett laughed.
"I don't know. I didn't even know they existed until two seconds ago."
"Well, think about it, Jonathan — like 'wars and revolutions' and 'kingdom rising against kingdom.' Just look at the twentieth century."
"Yeah, but Eli, come on, man has always had wars and revolutions."
"World War One, the war to end all wars? The Russian Revolution. World War Two. Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Six million butchered by Hitler, and that's just counting the Jews. The rise of the Evil Empire. Twenty million slaughtered by Stalin alone. Half the world enslaved by Communism. Korea. Vietnam. Pol Pot. All the Middle East wars. China and India. India and Pakistan. The rise of nationalism. Tribal warfare in Africa. I could go on and on and so could you. Of course there have been wars and revolutions throughout time. But never anything on the scale we saw in the twentieth century."
Bennett considered that for a moment, but wasn't ready to concede the point.
"And what was another one, earthquakes? You can't just say because we've had a few huge quakes in the last few weeks that we're living the 'last days.' "
"Fine. Do the research."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean ask the U.S. Geological Service. They say there are five hundred thousand earthquakes every single year. A hundred thousand that can be felt. A thousand that do serious damage. At least a hundred registering seven point zero or higher on the Richter scale. That's a serious earthquake almost every four days. And the more urbanization occurs, the more damage a quake can do, the more people a quake can kill, the more costly these earthquakes are. In 1990, almost forty thousand people died in a quake in Iran. In '76, a quarter of a million people died during a massive quake in China. The '94 earthquake in Northridge, California was the most expensive in American history so far. Caused forty billion dollars in damage. Got the picture?"
"I guess so."
"You could say the same thing about 'famine and pestilence.' Just look at Africa. Ethiopia, Somalia — hundreds of thousands of people died of starvation. And disease? We've got ten million AIDS orphans in Africa alone, the numbers are climbing every day. Are we supposed to do nothing? Are we supposed to say, 'Oh well, it's just a sign of the end times'?"
"No. Of course not."
"No. Of course not. We've got to help people who are dying, suffering, what have you. But my point is this: number one, the magnitude of these problems — and number two, the convergence of all these signs and events in the same century and right up to the present moment — that gives us all the evidence we need. That, and the fact that for the first time in over two thousand years Israel is suddenly a country again, and Jerusalem is suddenly under Jewish control, just as predicted. That's what clinched it for me."
Bennett noticed that Galishnikov had suddenly stopped drinking, though his bottle was still half-full.
"Maybe it was 1948," Mordechai continued, "maybe it was '67, I don't know, at some point some kind of cosmic clock began ticking. A prophetic countdown is under way, Jonathan, and for better or worse, we're right in the middle of it."
"What does that mean for our peace plan, you know, a few years down the road?"
"Believe me, Jonathan, you don't want to know."
MacPherson stepped into the Situation Room.
He was on crutches now, aided by Special Agent Jackie Sanchez. It was the first time out of his wheelchair since the attempt on his life in Denver some five weeks before and he was still a bit shaky. But it was progress, and every bit counted.
The NSC principals brought with them a lengthy agenda, including updates on developments in Iraq and Operation Palestinian Freedom. The good news: they'd retaken the PLC headquarters, and broken through to the PLC legislators holed up in the communications center, most of whom were fine, though suffering from malnutrition and minor dehydration. The bad news: there was still a suicide bomber on the loose. The president demanded an update.
"Sir, we've got the list of legal border entries down to 2,903 people," said DHS Secretary Lee James. "Of these, we've whittled the list down to a hundred and sixty-nine people that our investigators are taking another look at."
"Based on what?"
"A whole range of reasons, sir. All of them seem to have their papers in order. We're just double-checking their flight and hotel information, rental car records, the businesses they work for, that kind of thing."
"You got all the manpower you need?"
"We've set up a Joint Task Force Command Center at the NAC. We've got almost fifty investigators in there right now. They're in constant contact with all the field people. I'm pretty sure we'll be through all the names by noon tomorrow."
MacPherson clenched his fists under the table. It was taking too long.
It was late and the foursome needed to get back.
Galishnikov reviewed the bill. Bennett's head was swimming.
"Dr. Mordechai — I mean, Eli," McCoy began. "I really appreciate all you said tonight. I just have a quick question before we go."
"Sure, what is it?"
"Well, weren't some of the verses you were citing from the New Testament?"
Galishnikov's head popped up. So did Bennett's.
"What?" the Russian asked. "Is that true?"
He gave the headwaiter his credit card and turned back to the group.
"Most of it was from the Jewish Scriptures," said Mordechai. "But yes, it was Jesus who laid out the 'road map,' the signs of the last days, in the Gospels."