“I know a little about the Seals,” Goose said. “Those have been talked about a lot outside of the Bible.”
Baker nodded. “Before those begin, though, the Antichrist will rise to power. He will promise peace and find a way to unite the world. Many people will fall for the great lie the Antichrist spins because, during the time of fear and confusion that is upon us now, they will want to believe that someone knows exactly what to do. They will seek a leader, and the Antichrist will be swept into position by that need.”
“And someone here in this world that we think we know and understand is easier to believe in than in God.”
“Exactly. You see the problem.”
“Bad intel,” Goose said. “Wouldn’t it be easier if Jesus just returned now?”
“Or if we’d all been raptured?”
“Yes.”
Baker leaned forward. “Not all of us were deserving, First Sergeant. Staying here, dealing with the terrible things going on in this world, this is the course set before us by God Himself. We will be tested and forced to look inside ourselves to find our faith. It just has to be.”
“I have a problem with that, too,” Goose said.
“Many people who come late to their faith are going to struggle with that concept. If things could be any other way, they already would be. This is what we have to deal with. Just like we have to deal with being stuck in Sanliurfa.”
“If God loves us, why didn’t He just take us as we are?”
“God does love us,” Baker said. “That’s why we have this second chance to get it right. And all the reason in the world to do so because there will be nothing left here to cling to.”
“I wouldn’t abandon people.”
“As a person or as a Ranger?”
“As either.”
“But we left men behind at the Turkish-Syrian border during the retreat. They fell and we kept going.”
“We couldn’t stop.”
“No,” Baker agreed. “And those men became ‘acceptable losses.’”
“So that’s what we are in God’s eyes? Acceptable losses?”
“No.”
“Then what happens to those who die now?”
Baker took a deep breath. “That will be between those people and God, First Sergeant. In my heart and according to Scripture I have read, I believe that He will be merciful and accept them and only turn away those who truly deny Him. But our faith wasn’t as strong as those who left us. So we owe this world a death. Regretfully, that death will probably be even more horrible than we have ever imagined for ourselves.”
Fear thudded through Goose as he thought about Megan and Joey. If Baker was right, if the world was going to end in seven more years, they would have to die then. If not before. God, You can’t allow that to happen. You took Chris. I can’t live through losing them too. I swear to You I can’t.
“What are we supposed to do here?” Goose asked. He was a soldier. Soldiers were supposed to do something to protect innocents. “During this seven years? Especially if so many are going to die?”
“Those of use left behind are going to get right with God,” Baker said. “We no longer have a choice, and we won’t be able to disbelieve any longer. Those of us who are strong enough will help the weaker ones to survive and to better understand everything they are facing. That will be our mission.” The big corporal spread his hands. “I’m doing that now with my church, and you’re doing that now by questioning God and this world and your place in it.”
“I’m a soldier, not a preacher.”
“You’re a witness. As you become stronger in your faith—and I believe you will, First Sergeant—others will watch you and follow your lead. I believe you have a large part to play in the coming battle for the souls of those left behind.”
A big yellow bulldozer stained by dust and blackened by fire damage rolled through the street. A cargo truck filled with soldiers carrying shovels as well as assault rifles rolled along in the bulldozer’s wake. The bright morning sunlight already promised a long, hot day.
For a long time, Goose considered what he should say. He had told Baker most of what Icarus had told him, that the man had confirmed that the world had been raptured and they now faced the Tribulation.
“I was also told the identity of the Antichrist,” Goose said.
Interest showed on Baker’s bruised face. “By this man you talked to? Icarus?”
“Yes.” Goose had hesitated only a short time before revealing part of Icarus’s story to Baker early in their conversation. For some reason, it was easy to trust the big man. That impulse to talk to Baker chafed at Goose. If there was anyone in the city whom he should have told, it should have been Cal Remington.
They had been friends for seventeen years, brothers in blood, with trust and friendship forged on battlefields. And, as commanding officer of the Rangers posted there in Sanliurfa, Remington should have been the one to decide to whom the information was disseminated, how much would be told, and what weight would be given to Icarus’s claims.
“Do you believe him?”
“I think so.” Goose hesitated. “I mean, it could be. Have you heard of Nicolae Carpathia?”
A sour look darkened Baker’s round face. “I was already considering Carpathia for the role of Antichrist.”
“Why?”
“Because of his sudden rise to prominence on the world scene and his interest in the United Nations. Although U.N. Peacekeeping forces have been somewhat ineffectual throughout the world since they were first set up, the fact remains that the U.N. is a worldwide organization. Many connections across international borders are already in place.” Baker spread his hands. “Do you know about Carpathia’s history in Romania?”
“Just what I caught in the news.”
“Apparently, Carpathia skyrocketed to power in Romania.”
“I’d heard something about that. The previous president stepped down.”
“The day before the attack by the Syrians
