Free Kingdom Come - The Final Victory by Tim Lahaye, Jerry B. Jenkins Page B

the reason all too well. Nothing was automatic; nothing was guaranteed. While Satan was bound and thus could not tempt people to sin, could not fill their hearts with doubt and fear and questions, clearly the other two legs of the three-legged stool of evil—the world, the flesh, and the devil—were enough to lead one astray.
    Raymie had stayed away from the impromptu meeting at Chloe’s when the news had spread, for he knew instinctively that his dear friend Bahira—daughter of his parents’ friends the Ababnehs—would need him. He met her near a favorite brook that skirted the foothills to the west, and they strolled in the cool early evening air despite the brightness of the sun.
    He embraced her, and she wept on his shoulder. Raymie had not seen tears since before the Rapture. It felt strange to console a vibrant woman whose usual countenance was one of sheer joy. Bahira had a chiseled face, gleaming teeth, and huge dark eyes normally full of wonder and humor. Raymie led her to a rock, where they sat.
    “I have discovered the reason for the Lord’s silence,” she said.
    “You’ve experienced it too?”
    “Of course.”
    “Usually it’s because we should know the answer to what we’re asking.”
    “But that’s not it this time, Raymie. I was asking Him for nothing but comfort. He granted a measure, but His silence scared me. Then it came to me. He too is grieving. As He rejoices whenever a soul chooses Him, the time has come again when some will go the other way.”
    “But He is all-knowing, Bahira. Cendrillon could not have been a surprise to Him.”
    She shrugged. “But still it must grieve Him. You know, I have only distant memories of fear and sadness from when my father turned hateful toward my mother because of her faith. Zaki and I worried and hid and cried and prayed. It was way too much for people our age. And then, like you and your mother, we were all suddenly in heaven and soon rejoicing at our father’s conversion. Our reunion with him at the Glorious Appearing remains one of my favorite memories. I tell you all that to say how foreign are the emotions I suffer now.”
    “But you and Cendrillon were not close.”
    “No, but until recently I had no concerns about her either. There are so many brothers and sisters in the Lord here; one can’t be close to all of them. You’ve been a cherished friend for many years, and I hope you know how much I treasure that. And I have others. Your sister has been special to me, and many of the children I’ve prayed with have remained close for decades. But how could I have missed what was going on with Cendrillon? I had no inkling until just recently. . . .”
    “But you did get a hint?”
    Bahira nodded and moved to the brook, where she knelt and cupped her hands to capture a drink. “She had always been mischievous and a kidder, but she was so involved in all our ministries that I thought I knew her heart. She sang; she told stories; she was wonderful with the little ones, playing with them, looking after them. I had no reason to believe she was not one of us.”
    “Me either.”
    Bahira dried her hands on the skirt of her robe and sat again. “Not long ago she said something strange, and I didn’t know what to make of it. She said that as her childhood was coming to an end, there were times when she wished that for just one night she had pagan parents.”
    “Pagan?”
    “The word hit me as strangely as it does you, Raymie. I hadn’t heard it for so long. Cendrillon acted as if she were teasing, but she talked of visiting France or Turkey to see for herself if the nightlife rumors were true.”
    “They are true, Bahira. My dad checked it out. It basically consists of kids in their eighties and nineties who crow about having not yet become followers of Christ. They call themselves the Other Light and say their study of the ancient Scriptures makes them fans of Lucifer and not Jesus.”
    “But they’re just doing this for attention,