Three and a half years had passed since what the media labeled “The Day Of The Great Disappearance”. Millions of individuals from all around the world suddenly and simultaneously disappeared, leaving behind what clothing and jewelry they had been wearing on the very spot where they had vanished. The jewelry helped families to confirm the identity of those who disappeared, but the government seized the clothing in order to run DNA tests to compose an official list of the “missing persons”.
Reports of planes without pilots, cars without drivers were flooding the news network’s call centers with only a small percentage of employees found there to man the incoming calls. Militaries with diminished personnel, operating rooms without surgeons, classrooms without teachers, governmental halls without politicians, churches without congregations; the list goes on and on.
The adult population of many nations had been reduced by as much as 70%, with an equivalent reduction of their military personnel, rendering their military capabilities virtually dysfunctional.
There was not one person under the age or stage of moral accountability to be found anywhere on the planet. Maternity wards and day care centers were in a state of extreme panic.
* * *
The world had slowly but surely been leaning towards establishing a one-world government which would manage the world’s political, economic, medical, educational, and natural resources under a system in which all nations would retain the function of self-government, but only within the guidelines established by the New World Government (NWG).
The International Court of Appeals, under the authority given it by the NWG, would settle all international disputes. The only time there would be military action would be to remove the administration of any nation who resisted the authority of the New World Government. Once removed, the NWG military would enforce martial law until a new administration, submissive to the NWG, could be implemented. This however, was not the right time for implementing such extreme measures.
With all the confusion and global instability that “The Day Of The Great Disappearance” generated, the world was open to just about anything and anyone who could take charge and restore some form of order. The concept of a one-world government became the only perceivable and logical solution by those whose minds were dominated by human viewpoint. Only a very small minority of the world’s population had the spiritual discernment to detect the great evil that such a political environment would inevitably create.
Natural disasters such as earthquakes and flooding attributed to global warming had taken its economic toll on a global level. Many metropolises lay in ruins by the unprecedented numbers of earthquakes and coastal communities, harbors, and ports were under water from the surge of tidal waves. The moon was dim with an unexplained reddish glow, resulting in a disruption of the high and low tides. The number of visible stars in the sky was greatly reduced, even on a cloudless night.
The leader to be, Eric Van Erbaleric, a charismatic and great organizer, soon surfaced and rose to power with little opposition and was virtually welcomed with open arms on a global scale. The only exception was the nation of Israel.
Rather than allow the Israeli opposition become a stumbling block, Erbaleric and the nation of Israel signed a non-aggression treaty. According to the treaty, Israel would not be forced to submit to the authority of the New World Government, under the condition that their citizenry remain within their own borders and be responsible for their own provisions to sustain themselves. International trade, alliances, and diplomatic relations with other nations were forbidden. Once Erbaleric’s NWG had a firm grip on global events, he secretly planned to deal with the Israeli issue once and for all. In the meantime, his treaty was to be used as global propaganda to project the New World Government as one that accomplishes its objectives by diplomacy and not force, whenever possible.
All buying and selling was controlled and monitored by the New World Government. This system allowed the NWG to locate any person at any time or to investigate why his/her implanted microchip was not showing any activity. This became known as the 666 Commerce And Identity Program.
It would soon be unlawful for any person or business to sell to anyone who did not have the 666 microchip inserted into either their forehead or hand. Medical advances made this possible via an injection that left no scars or chance of infection. The necessity of having to possess the microchip in order to purchase the bare essentials of life made compliance with the program something that the people would be to eager to engage in, as the availability of their next meal would soon literally depend on it.
Plausible explanations for the “The Day Of The Great Disappearance” came from all corners, but the need for a definitive answer became less and less of an interest on the global scale, as the world for the past three and a half years under the New World Government had experienced a period of relative peace and prosperity.
Living conditions in many former third world countries had dramatically improved. Poverty and ignorance was becoming a thing of the past and great strides had been achieved in controlling disease and proper management of our natural resources. It appeared that a world of relative peace and prosperity had finally been accomplished.
The religious community, blamed for much of the world’s past woes, came under the authority and supervision of the New World Government. There was one school of thought gaining popularity that promoted the idea that if it was God who removed the Christian Church by what it had called the Rapture, it was not for their good, but for the good that the world would experience without them! After all, had not “religion” been the root cause of more wars and persecution than any other single source in human history?
What few worshipers remained, were allowed to attend worship services of their choosing, but words or actions that could be interpreted as injurious to the interest of the state would not be tolerated. Trials with the certainty of conviction, followed by execution, awaited anyone who violated this law. Any group whose former doctrines spoke of world domination would be most carefully watched in the interest of State security.
Any acts of terrorism, including suicide bombers or other so-called acts of martyrdom, would result in a random apprehension of civilians from the country or ethnic group from which the terrorists originated at a rate of 500 of them for every victim killed or injured in a terrorist attack. Those apprehended were publicly executed. Following a few “tests of the system”, international terrorism came to an immediate and virtual end.
Once again, the actions of the NWG were received as a necessary evil in order to retain and maintain world peace.
Erbaleric was a master politician who had devoted much of his preparatory time studying history of ancient and modern day empires. He knew the value of allowing the masses to have something to believe in until he was in a position to assert himself and his image as the object of worship. What better place for his image, than in the temple of the Jews in the land where his only organized resistance needed to be addressed. Until then, he saw the global religious community as something that could be manipulated to serve the interests of the State, as many of the world’s greatest empires had done throughout all of human history.
All domestic militaries were dismantled. The only standing armed forces were within the borders of the various nations, but comprised of equipment and personnel of the New World Government. Its presence was to insure worldwide compliance of the individual nations with the final authority of the New World Government.
All personal weapons belonging to individuals were confiscated and the possession of new ones was punishable by death. The only light weapons allowed were in the possession of the New World Government Law Enforcement Agency (NWGLEA).
Although punishable by death, there seemed to be a loosely organized and nameless group that attributed much of what had happened and would happen to the prophecies found in the Bible. This group was mainly comprised of individuals who were among those left behind within the Christian Community when its other members vanished.
Following the “Day Of The Great Disappearance”, this group examined their own beliefs and conceded that they had relied on their respective “religions” for salvation and had never truly grasped the concept of being “born again”. Although identifying themselves as born again Christians at this time could very well mean that their lives would be in jeopardy in the very near future, they now looked at the time they had left on this earth in the light of eternity and the immanency of the Second Advent.
The New World Government responded to the efforts of the group by banning all religious materials that did not first have the approval of the NWG.
The Bible, was the first “religious material” to be considered contraband by the New World Government. Its possession, reading, or distribution was unlawful, except for the New Approved Edition that was permitted when used in public religious services that were closely monitored by NWG agents for any activity that they determined to be subversive. Private possession or usage of any Bible was strictly prohibited.
The group who had sympathizers and active members all over the world soon saw the need to go underground if they were to continue to bring the Gospel Message and further edify those who would listen regarding the end times in which they now lived. Both they and the NWG came to refer to them as “The Group” from that point on. The need to formerly reorganize to ensure their secrecy and continued operation also became apparent.
Once underground, the only clue that the NWG had to go on, as to the identity of The Group’s global membership, became apparent during an examination of the Vanished List that revealed one common thread. It was soon discovered that many of those who called themselves “Christians” of one variety or another were the ones who vanished on the “Day Of The Great Disappearance” and that the individuals the NWG were now interested in would have had close family or ethnic ties to the ones who vanished.
Denominations, national origin, families, race, and gender did not seem to be a factor as each one of these subdivisions within the Christian Community reported many incidents where some members were among those who vanished while others were left behind.
By comparing family records and the membership rolls prior to the “Day Of The Great Disappearance” with the names on the Vanished List, the surviving family and organizational members would likely be, or at the very least, know the identity of some of the members of The Group. Survivors who showed no activity on the 666 system would be of top concern to the NWG.
Their activity (or confirmation that they had gone underground via their inactivity) could be verified by the 666 Commerce And Identity Program. As soon as sensors and other means of enforcement became functional, the NWG would make it a capital offense for anyone not to possess the 666 microchips. This would be accomplished in a matter of weeks.
Even though the daily news broadcasts mirrored Biblical prophecy regarding what these events were leading up to, only a minority of the members of the Christian Community prior to the “Day Of The Great Disappearance” seemed to perceive any prophetic significance. It was becoming more and more apparent that the majority of those who were left behind would soon fall into the same trap of willful ignorance.
The New Approved Edition of the Bible had all references of the end times removed from its contents. It would not be long before discussing the extracted passages would become a capital offense. The NWG had determined that there was no definitive answer available and that allowing further discussions on the matter was not in the best interests of the State.
Individuals now living in the world at large were survivors of the calamity and confusion that followed the “Day Of The Great Disappearance” and the overwhelming majority was willing to concede to the loss or restricting of previous freedoms in exchange for the peace and prosperity that, at least up to this point, the New World Government was willing and able to provide.
With current events and developments being what they were, it was time for The Group to implement Project Edification. Desperate times calls for desperate measures.
* * *
It was 5 AM Washington DC time in the Oval Office when the daily briefing report was brought to the American president with copies of all materials already having been made and forwarded to the Central Receiving Office of the New World Government. Similar activity was going on in every major nation of the world.
Gerald De Boer, a member of The Group, set out to intercept the courier heading to the US Capital Building with this morning’s briefing report. It was not his objective to remove anything from the briefcase, but to place an additional item inside for its delivery to the oval office. The present contents would have already been copied and forwarded to the Central Receiving Office of the New World Government. Providing nothing of a suspicious nature was detected along the way, there would be no cause for the brief case to be re-examined by its courier or its armed escort.
Gerald De Boer, had top security clearance and was employed as an x-ray security agent at the restricted entrance to the Capital Building where the courier and briefcase passed through every morning on its way to the Oval Office. Since an armed courier and two guards of the World Government Law Enforcement Agency physically carried the briefcase, the brief case itself was of a common brand, secured only by a leather strap.
Any unusual activity along the route would initiate an immediate investigation and inspection to verify the contents of the briefcase with the itemized copies already on the way to the Central Receiving Office. For De Boer’s mission to succeed, the “extra item” had to be inserted into the briefcase without the knowledge or even the suspicions of those overseeing it.
It had crossed his mind how easily one in his position could easily insert either a vial of biologically harmful material into the briefcase and more than once considered reporting what he saw as a flaw in the security procedure to the Secret Service. However, he was trained to avoid anything that would bring attention to him, either of a positive or a negative nature. As it turned out, it would be he that would use this flaw in the security procedure to attempt to deliver an extra item to the president as the briefcase was passed through his x-ray unit on its way to the oval office.
Under the guidelines of the New World Government, each country remained under its own domestic form of government, providing it functioned within the limits and restrictions imposed by the New World Government. Since the reports were limited only to domestic issues, the contents of the briefcase were not usually of any great interest to the New World Government. This procedure had gone three and one half years at the Washington DC Capital Building without a single hint of there being a security issue of interest to the NWG.
The Group’s intelligence sources revealed that the courier and armed escort did not remain in the Oval Office once the briefcase was turned over and signed for by the attending presidential aide in the oval office, who would then hand it to president seated at his desk. This too, thought De Boer, was another flaw in the security procedures on the part of the NWG and on the part of the Secret Service who, in doing so, denied themselves a last minute chance to discover anything amiss about the material being handed to the president. It was a cause of great concern to De Boer how such things could be perceived by someone in his capacity and not be of a concern to others who were responsible for the integrity of the security procedures and the safety of the president.
De Boer was one of several members of The Group who was convinced that the world was about to enter into the last three and a half years of human history, prior to the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Members of his section of The Group were considered to be the most extreme activists from which the “directors” were recruited and to whom the most critical missions were assigned.
He and many others who now comprised The Group were religious, moral, Church-going individuals, but were not “born again” at the time of what the media labeled the “Day Of The Great Disappearance”. To De Boer and many like him at that time, the term “born again” meant “religious nut” and someone to avoid.
It is amazing how many times that an organization’s greatest critics become its greatest promoters, once they are convinced of the legitimacy of their cause.
Like many others, he desired to know what the truth was behind the “Day Of The Great Disappearance”. In the pursuit of that goal, De Boer sought out material explaining the Gospel Message, as it had been promoted and comprehended by those who had now vanished. Following his conversion, he obtained a copy of the Bible before it had been banned and studied all of the prophecies concerning the end times, especially focusing on the Rapture and the environment of the final seven years of human history prior to the Second Advent that were to follow.
The mission of Project Edification was not to present their Biblically based argument to the world at large. This had been going on for centuries since the year 96 AD when the last book of the Bible containing many of the prophecies was completed, but to no avail to the majority of the world at large or even to many who called themselves Christians.
The objective of this mission was to forward irrefutable secular evidence that The Group had collected in order to expose the plans that were in the making to invade Israel by forces under the control of Erbaleric, who The Group perceived to be the Antichrist. The information would also be the means to warn the heads of state that all of the horrible events prophesied in the Bible that would take the lives of billions of persons within the last three and a half years prior to the Second Advent that were about to unfold.
The documentary evidence had been reduced to microfilm and was prepared to be simultaneously delivered to the heads of state on a global level. The “extra item” that De Boer and others like him possessed was a copy of this microfilm, placed in a small pillbox and taped to a small index card so that it would not be overlooked when the president open the briefcase.
The three and one half year period of peace and prosperity the world had experienced since the rise of the NWG was about to be replaced with the worst period of tribulation that the world had ever known. The Lord Jesus Christ taught that if this period was not shortened (by His return), that no humans would survive. As it is, one half of those living on the Earth are going to be wiped out over a 42-month period via the prophesied events. Many of those surviving will wish that they had been killed, but death will elude them.
The ultimate objective of De Boer’s group in executing this mission was not for world leaders to be able to stop what is to take place, but to have an explanation for it when it happens. The masses will be looking to world leaders for guidance and the time will be ripe for crisis evangelism.
Individual conversion on a global scale was now of the utmost importance, but for many it would soon be at the cost of life and limb.
The collection of the secular evidence had been underway for some time. Such things as war plans for the invasion of Israel, the plans for the statue that was to be erected and placed in the temple in Jerusalem had been located, copied, and documented.
Much planning had gone into this operation. It had to include as many of the major countries of the world as possible. The internal security systems of each country had to be examined to determine how best to deliver each package. It was agreed from the start that the best chances of success would be to keep it simple as possible.
As simple as the overall plan seemed to be, there were many details that concerned De Boer. There was a dependency on the actions of others that he was not accustomed to.
In order to minimize the identity of other agents in The Group’s covert operations, many agents involved were unknown to the other agents so that if one was caught, he or she could not tell anyone about the ultimate objective of any mission or the identity of other members involved. A director would be appointed to notify each agent of the details of their part in each mission, but nothing further.
The same director would monitor each step of the way and implement any contingency plans or orders to abort the mission if circumstances required. One of the requirements for the position of a director was the possession and willingness to use a cyanide capsule in the event he or she was about to be arrested. Ingesting the capsule resulted in an instantaneous, but painless death.
Because of the nature of Project Edification, and the likelihood of it being the last major campaign of The Group, De Boer’s “director” made him aware of the full scope of this mission. Because De Boer now had full knowledge of the mission, De Boer’s director handed him a cyanide capsule “just in case”.
* * *
As De Boer washed and shaved the morning of the mission, he weighed the pros and cons and the moral issues of bringing the cyanide capsule with him to work. Did he have the right and/or the responsibility to commit suicide if it meant saving the mission and the lives of others involved? He wasn’t sure if it was the moral issues or his own fears, but either way, he decided he would dispose of it by washing it down the sink as he completed shaving. He no sooner did so, but began to have second thoughts about not having taken it with him. Did he have the right to put others at risk if he failed as his mission?
De Boer arrived at the Capital Building at 3:40 AM, as usual, to prepare to open his workstation at 4 AM sharp. The uniformed officer who demanded to see his identification badge stopped him as he entered the designated door for personnel working at Capital Building.
After a brief inspection and visual verification, De Boer was handed back his identification. De Boer then proceeded to go through the metal detectors without incident. The guards were changed and reassigned frequently so this was not unusual to be stopped to have one’s identification verified.
What was unusual was that as De Boer was retrieving his keys and metal objects that he had placed in the basket to pass through the metal detectors, the guard who had just inspected and verified his identification was now on the internal phone system engaged in what appeared to be a serious conversation and looking directly at De Boer with a cold stare! Had something gone wrong?
De Boer arrived at his workstation and began to go through the warm up procedures so that the x-ray machine would be fully operational for the start of the 4 AM shift. As he did, he confirmed that the extra package had been attached to the inner housing of the x-ray machine so that it could be inserted into the brief case being carried by the courier when it was routinely sent through the machine upon its arrival, as it was each morning. Another member of the group whose identity is known only by he/she and the unknown director of this mission had placed it there sometime after midnight when this area was closed down until the arrival of the 4 am to 12 noon shift came in to work.
Everything looked normal as those assigned to enter the building entered and passed through De Boer’s workstation for the first half hour. It was now 4: 30 am and De Boer noticed that a man in plain clothes had taken a seat in the general area where he had a good view of persons entering and passing though De Boer’s workstation. About five minutes later, a uniformed guard approached this man and appeared to ask for identification. The guard nodded and then saluted the man in plain clothes and walked away.
De Boer tried to remain calm, but could not disregard the unusual phone call and look on the guard’s face earlier and now the presence of some type of superior in plain clothes in the immediate area with an obvious interest in who or what is entering the building via his work station.
At 4:50 AM, a young man wearing a baseball cap came up in line and placed his lunch box on the conveyer belt. He was unknown to De Boer, but was wearing an employee’s identification badge and photo. De Boer concluded that the young man must be a new employee. As his lunch box passed through the x-ray machine, De Boer noted a blurry rectangular image on the monitor obscuring a small area of interior of the lunch box.
Following standard procedures, he stopped the belt and pressed the silent alarm for a guard to respond. The guard stepped forward and De Boer explained the he was unable to see all of the contents inside of the lunch box. The guard opened the box and found it to contain a couple of lead sheets with a small derringer between the sheets of lead. The “new employee” and his lunch box were whisked away by the guard to an interrogation room.
It was now 4:55 AM and De Boer’s station was operational once again. As the courier entered the area, the man in the plain clothes seemed to have an increased interest in what was going on at De Boer’s station. The brief case was placed on the belt and entered the machine. De Boer viewed its contents on the monitor and then reached inside the machine and quickly inserted the “extra item” into the brief case. It was not uncommon for the machine operators to reach inside and pull packages out once they have been examined so speed up the line of those entering the building carrying packages and items that required screening. As the brief case was handed back to the courier, he nodded, expressing his apparent gratitude for De Boer’s assistance in expediting the routine screening of the briefcase, as he did each morning when he was on duty.
Out of the corner of his eye, he noted that the man in plain clothes did not appear to notice anything unusual as the courier and the armed escort left his area and headed for the oval office.
A few minutes later, the “new employee” was seen leaving the interrogation room with a bruised face that he did not have when he entered. The young man was now in handcuffs and on his way to the detention area. It was then that De Boer noticed something that he had not observed earlier. The young man had been wearing a baseball hat, but De Boer failed to read its embroidered logo that read, “Don’t Even Think About It”.
Had this been a signal for De Boer to abort the mission? But why would the director have had him bring a derringer with him and risk the chance of one of own members being detected and arrested. Was this obvious violation of the law supposed to be the means for De Boer to take special note of the young man and his subtle message?
As what seemed to be a million “what if” questions raced through his mind, the plain clothes approached De Boer and identified himself as Inspector Machon, a superior officer of the World Government Law Enforcement Agency. He informed De Boer that he was here on special assignment concerning a security matter. He arranged for a replacement to take De Boer’s place at the workstation and told De Boer to follow him as he walked him to the area of the interrogation rooms.
* * *
De Boer was left alone in the interrogation room. For the tenth time that day, he reconsidered his decision not to bring the cyanide capsule with him. The only furniture in the room was a single table with two chairs, one on each side of the table so that those seated would be facing each other. De Boer was certain that the rooms were bugged and perhaps even being visually monitored. Aware of this, he tried his best not to appear to be overly concerned with what was going on, but inside he was nauseous from nerves, shaking like a leaf. He prayed to God for protection and for the protection of those he may have placed in harm’s way by his earlier decision to discard the cyanide capsule in the sink earlier that morning.
Machon returned to the room in a matter of minutes, but it seemed like an eternity to De Boer.
De Boer took a seat, as he privately prayed that Machon would not want to extend a handshake. His sweaty palms and internal trembling would not go unnoticed. Machon seated himself across from De Boer and lit up a cigarette. With cold and penetrating eyes, he looked at De Boer for what seemed like forever without saying a word. De Boer did all he could to maintain an overt appearance of curiosity, but calmness, hoping to conceal the inward fear he was feeling down to the bones.
It was Machon who broke the silence.
“I have come to Washington on a security matter of utmost importance and interest to the New World Government. We have uncovered a breach in our security at our headquarters in Rome in which top-secret documents were copied. We haven’t yet determined exactly which ones were copied or the ultimate objective for having done so, but expect to have that piece of the puzzle solved very soon….perhaps as we speak.”
“I can understand the seriousness of the situation, but why are you sharing this with me. I am only a security x-ray machine operator, stationed here in Washington?” responded De Boer.
“You have been under periodic surveillance since the breach in security was discovered several months ago.” continued Machon, pausing a moment to observe De Boer’s reaction who desperately trying his best not to reveal the fear that he was experiencing.
“ I don’t understand,” offered De Boer.
“The breach in security has revealed to us the need to identify and bring to our headquarters the most qualified security personnel available to prevent future acts of espionage from taking place. This includes all areas of security. You have been identified as one of the most conscientious employees at the position you now hold in Washington DC. The present administration of the United States has been fully cooperative with the New World Government and hasn’t given us any cause to suspect it loyalty. As long as this remains the case, your talents and experience would be better utilized elsewhere.
“We wish to have you come to our headquarters in Rome to perform similar duties. You will not only be providing a great service to the New World Government, but you will be well compensated and afforded the privileges that such a position would entitle you and your family to receive.
De Boer did his best not to show any overt signs of the relief that he was experiencing internally. Machon was very good at what he did and De Boer was convinced that the only reason his true state of mind was not detected was in response to the prayer for protection that he uttered a short time ago.
De Boer was familiar with the times in which he was living. To turn down an official opportunity presented to anyone by the New World Government would be received with much suspicion. De Boer appeared to humbly accept the offer. Inwardly, he detested even the thought of being on what he considered to be the payroll of the Antichrist.
Machon admonished De Boer not to speak to anyone of the breach of security, but conceded that it would likely leak and be publicly known. Those who had prior knowledge of it would be at the top of the list of suspects regarding the news being leaked.
“That being the case” inserted De Boer, “ I wish that you hadn’t shared the information with me.” Machon’s cold eyes and expressionless face did not seem to appreciate the humor of De Boer’s remark.
Machon ended the conversation by advising De Boer he would be contacted soon regarding the new position. For now, he was to return to his workstation. If asked, he was to say that Machon wanted a written report regarding the arrest of the young man that was apprehended with the derringer earlier.
De Boer, in fact, wondered why he was not being asked to do so since that was standard procedure following such an incident. De Boer was learning fast that the less he said or inquired the better off he was going to be.
* * *
De Boer finished his shift and went to his Washington apartment where he stayed during his workweek. His wife, Susan and young son, Pierre, stayed at their home in New York. The economy, being what it was, did not allow one to be too choosy or to pass up the opportunity to have a good paying job. De Boer’s income allowed him the convenience of the Washington apartment. Both he and Susan agreed that they did not want their son exposed to the present social environment of Washington DC, and were content to see each other on his off duty days and maintain their private home in their rural area of upstate New York.
Fearing that the phone calls were being monitored, De Boer merely informed Susan that there was a promotion for him in the works and it would be mean relocating in Rome. There was silence on Susan’s end. De Boer told her not to worry, that he would have more information for her about the move when it became available.
De Boer and Susan were of the same mind concerning the timing of the Second Advent and that personal sacrifice was of little concern in light of the times in which they lived. Susan was not a member of the group, but shared their beliefs. Susan was aware of Gerald’s activity and supported him fully, but didn’t want to entertain the idea that Pierre may be left alone in a world that was about to come apart at the seams. Somehow, she never considered the fact that by not reporting Gerald’s activity to the NWG, she would be considered an active participant.
De Boer was content to know that he apparently had successfully completed his part in the mission, but was anxious to learn how successful others had been who had similar roles. Contact between the few group members that any one of them came to know was strictly forbidden, as it could easily be noted and or traced if any of them were under surveillance by the NWG. Betrayal was everywhere, with parents being informed on by their own children and visa versa.
Hours became days, days became weeks, and still there was no contact from the group or from Machon. Furthermore, there was no mention of the security breach at the World Government Headquarters and not a single public acknowledgement or action on the part of the president of the United States or any of the other recipients of the evidence that had been delivered to them.
* * *
About a month later, DeBoer was finishing his shift when he was called to his supervisor’s office. Upon reporting there, he once again found himself in the presence of Machon. The reception was not like his first encounter with the cold chill of official business, but rather one of his being accepted as the newest member of the club. Machon informed DeBoer that he was to report to the New World Government headquarters tomorrow and that his wife Susan and son would soon be joining them in Rome as well.
DeBoer’s supervisor, Angela Morelli, was present and appeared to be content to share the glory in that one of her subordinates had been chosen to serve in a security post at the New World Government’s headquarters. There was a brief farewell party held there in an adjacent conference room that was attended by De Boer’s work associates. Machon was the first to leave after instructing De Boer to wait at his apartment in the morning for travel instructions. De Boer was to notify his wife of the developments and that she would be contacted soon regarding the details concerning her relocation with their son.
* * *
It was 10 am when an official-looking vehicle, equipped with the New World Government’s seal on the door and flags on the fenders pulled up to the curb in front of De Boer’s apartment building. For whatever reason, they wanted all observers to be aware and take note that something of an official nature was taking place.
Responding to the doorbell, De Boer opened the door to greet what was his apparent escort to the airport. As he extended his arm to offer a gesture of greeting, his wrist was immediately handcuffed. Within seconds he found himself face down on the floor with the other arm being brought behind his back as the other handcuff was applied. A gag was applied tightly and a black hood was pulled down over his head.
* * *
Not one word was spoken by any of the persons involved. Within a couple a minutes, De Boer was in fact in the government vehicle and on his way to the New World Government’s Headquarters, not as a future employee, but as a political prisoner to be charged and inevitably executed for espionage and treason!
De Boer had always understood that his actions might result in this happening to him. He was born again and did not fear for his own life. His private concern was what may happen to Susan and Pierre. Did he have the right to have placed their lives in jeopardy?
Once again, he reconsidered the wisdom of having not kept the cyanide capsule.
With the hood now removed, De Boer found himself seated in the back seat with two hard looking men, more than willing and able to snap his neck if so ordered to do so by Machon, who was seated in the front seat of the vehicle. Machon turned and spoke to De Boer, as the vehicle headed for the airport where a New World Government private jet would be awaiting their arrival.
“You should know…” began Machon, “ …that Project Edification was a complete failure, but I must commend you for not trying to contact any of the members of your organization when you were released on the pretense of being offered a position at our Headquarters.” We had hoped that you would have led us to other members of your organization before we arrested you.”
“Although we were not able to intercept all of the material that your group worked so hard to place in the hands of the world’s national leaders, we were able to convince them that the material you passed on to them was actually planted by us as part of the trap we set for your organization to apprehend as many of you as possible. Their complete cooperation by not publicizing any of this matter would assure them of their remaining in the respective offices.
Your knowledge of what you call the end time prophecies are amazingly close to our plans to address the Israeli Situation and our objective of global control. Your ability to develop the “evidence” to prove it came closer than what many of my colleagues are willing to concede. To your credit, De Boer, I found you and your organization to be a most worthy adversary.
“You also know that by me informing you of this vital information, it assures you that you will be kept in the strictest security until you are, shall we say, disposed of in the interest of the State”, informed Machon.
“The manner of your disposal…” continued Machon, “will depend on your willingness to cooperate. I will give you only a short time to decide. Without asking or allowing De Boer to give an immediate response, the gag was forced into his mouth and hood was pulled down over his face as they approached a private entrance to the airport.
De Boer felt a pinch in the arm as he was injected with something that caused him to feel extremely dizzy at first, and then fell into a state of unconsciousness.
* * *
De Boer awoke to find himself in some type of prison cell. He could hear the muffled sound of voices and what sounded like cries of anguish nearby, but couldn’t see anything at all. Had he been blinded by whatever it was that he was injected with, or was it that the cell he was in was without any light at all? He was completed naked, cold, and shivering. He realized that if he had kept the cyanide capsule and hadn’t used it by now, it would have certainly been discovered by the guards who had apparently stripped him of all clothing and conducted all means of searches, including body cavities, for such items before having thrown him into this cell.
He got off of what felt like a steel-framed cart that had been covered with a thin mattress that had a strong odor of mold. He groped around trying to assess his surroundings. He felt what appeared to be a concrete floor, brick walls without windows, and a steel door, also without a window. The cell apparently was only about a foot longer than the 5-foot cart and about 4 feet wide at the most. The concrete ceiling was no more than 6 feet from the floor. He found what felt like a large plastic bucket in the inner corner of the cell emanating an odor that indicated it was for whatever biological functions his body needed to perform. He searched, but found nothing that he could use to take the place of the cyanide capsule that he wished he had now.
De Boer could not determine if it was day or night or how long he had been there. He felt his way back onto the cart and contemplated what the immediate future held for him. If The Group was aware of his arrest, were they able to reach and protect Susan and Pierre? He prayed to God to either deliver him or to sustain him in and through what appeared to be his final days or perhaps even hours here on earth.
* * *
When the door opened, the light entered the cell was painful to De Boer’s fully dilated eyes, but at least he now knew that he had not been blinded as he originally had feared. Two guards promptly applied ankle chains and handcuffed, before taking him by the arms and hurriedly escorted him down a narrow hallway and into what appeared to be some type of interrogation room.
Machon was present and motioned for the guards to leave them alone. Machon asked De Boer how he liked his “temporary accommodations”. De Boer, who had been maintaining eye contact with Machon, did not respond, but looked down at the table at which he had been seated by guards. Machon slapped De Boer hard enough to cause him and the chair he was sitting on to topple over and fall to the floor. Machon roughly returned De Boer to the chair and slapped him even harder this time causing his ear to bleed from within, once more demanding that De Boer give him the identity and every member of the group known to De Boer. When De Boer refused to answer, Machon pulled the chair out from under De Boer, kicked him several times in the abdomen, groin, and ribs. Machon called for the guards and ordered them to go and return with Dr. Bernstein and order of “S.P.”.
De Boer knew that “S.P.” was sodium pentathal, commonly called “truth serum”. De Boer told Machon that beatings, torture, or drugs could not make him reveal what he does not know. “If you are as informed as you would like me to believe you are,” continued De Boer, “then you know that each member of my group is kept from knowing the identity of others to minimize the damage in the event that one is arrested.” “I also know that I will only be kept alive until you are convinced that I have nothing to offer you,” continued De Boer. This statement resulted in a few more blows to his head, chipping teeth and further injury to De Boer’s already fractured jaw.
“You are a very brave and dedicated man”, conceded Machon, “ but how brave will you be when we begin to bring you a daily supply of fingers belonging to Susan and Pierre? Certainly you will recognize Susan’s diamond and wedding band!
“Every man has his price, De Boer. I’ve seen many Christians who were willing to die for their beliefs crumble like dried up bread when faced with the torture of their wives and children when it is within their power to avoid it. If you choose to remain in your stubbornness, the consequences that Susan and Pierre are going to experience will be something that you will have to live with until you are executed and something that they are going to live with as they rot away in our custody until they are dead as well.”
“The information we seek from you is going to be learned sooner or later. I don’t perceive you to be the type of man who would allow his wife and child to suffer trying to keep secret something that is going to be found out very soon in spite of your stubbornness. I’ve heard you praying to this “God” of yours. While I do not deny that there may be god, it is evident that he has no desire to have you set free, now does he?” asked Machon.
De Boer’s silence infuriated Machon.
Machon grabbed De Boer by the hair on the back of his head, lifting him up off the floor, and forced him to look at the photograph that had placed on the table. It was a photo of Susan and Pierre, apparently in the custody two New World Government Law Enforcement Agency officials! Tomorrow’s menu for you will include “finger sandwiches”. As Machon spoke, he was snapping baby carrots with a pair of cutting pliers, smirking at De Boer.
By now, De Boer was barely able to maintain consciousness. Machon ordered him to be returned to his cell where he collapsed on his cart.
* * *
De Boer felt someone shaking him violently and shouting, “Get up, and get up….”.
It was not the voice of a guard waking him up for another round of “interrogation”, but the sound of his wife, Susan. “You must have been having an awful nightmare, I was barely able to wake you up and wasn’t sure if I should” she said.
De Boer was totally confused and had trouble getting oriented. He was not in his cell, but in his bed, at home, in Newton Falls, New York. The “Day Of The Great Disappearance” had not taken place, nor had any part of the dream that just seconds ago seemed so real. Never the less, he had great difficulty separating himself from reality and what turned out to be a horrible nightmare.
Finally convinced that this had all been a very bad dream, De Boer related to his wife Susan the details of the dream he had experienced. It was not like him to recall any of his dreams, let alone recall this one with such detail. For what purpose, if any, did he experience this dream?
Susan did all she could do to comfort her husband, but could offer him no explanation for the purpose of the dream other than perhaps the stress he had been under recently. At the moment she was more concerned about the way it had impressed her husband who usually didn’t get upset or very emotional about anything.
If it was as a result of the dream experience he had, De Boer couldn’t be sure, but he could not deny that he had to learn once and for all what this “born again” stuff was all about. His resulting conversion was followed by a strong desire to learn exactly what the Bible actually did have to say concerning the Rapture, the Second Advent and the end time prophecies.
The more he learned about the prophecies, the more he began to see the course of world events in a totally different light. He concluded that although only time would tell if he was in fact living in the end times, there seemed to be more evidence in favor of it coming to pass in the his lifetime or in the lifetime of his children than ever before.
He began to thank God on a daily basis, that if the Rapture and the Great Tribulation was to come during his lifetime or the lifetime of his children, that all born again believers will not be here, but be taken up in the Rapture before the horrors of the end times begin as Scripture teaches.
De Boer had a great concern for family and friends as some of what he experienced in his dream could very well be the environments that many of them may be subjected to if they are not born again and the Rapture takes place. Even worse, if they were to die and have to spend all of eternity in the fire of Hell! Being religious and moral saves no one. What saves anyone is when he/she believes in the Person (who He is) and the Works (what He did on the cross) of the Lord Jesus Christ.
This experience and the details of the dream have never left the mind of Gerald De Boer.
The study that it inspired has made him somewhat of an expert on the end time prophecies and he expounds on them whenever he has the chance with people that he meets. He uses it as the means for evangelism so that those who are born again prior to the Rapture will be caught up with the Church and avoids all the horrible events of the tribulation period. For those who die before the Rapture comes, they are assured a home in Heaven and will be joined by believers who are alive on the earth at that time as both groups are united with the Lord in the air!
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This story is completely non-fictional, loosely based around some of the end time prophecies and is not intended to be used as a teaching resource. All characters, names, times, dates, and locations are only for the purpose of establishing the setting of the story and are not intended to necessarily reflect the position or thinking of any person, official, ethnic group, or nationality, real or imagined.
The opinions expressed by authors may not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.
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