Free The God Machine by J. G. SANDOM

the end of the world as something that would take place in the future. The far distant future. They didn't know what to do with those Biblical passages that speak about Israel, a nation that had ceased to exist. Until 1948. And the rebirth of Israel as a nation. And the return of Jerusalem to Israeli control some years later. This return of the Jews to the land which was promised is a signal of a change in the seasons. It presages the sequence of signs and events that will culminate in the birth of a terrible age of renewal.
    “Jesus listed the signs that will tell us the End-Times are nearing, in the Beginning of Sorrows,” said Michael. “‘You will hear of wars and rumors of wars… Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom… There will be famines and earthquakes in various places… Thesun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light…’ Say ‘Amen!’”
    The crowd responded as one: “Amen!”
    “Why will these events be so massive, so intense?” Michael asked. “The answer is not because God is severe, but because the condition of the Earth will become so acute that no alternative course will be possible. Is it happening now? Are we nearing the End-Times?”
    The three screens behind him burst into focus, revealing scenes of devastation and flooding. “In 2005, eighty percent of New Orleans was deluged by Hurricane Katrina, and a first-world metropolis was instantly transformed into a third-world disaster. But while liberal media outlets like
Time
magazine mocked the explanation that the hurricane was God's judgment on that city for sin, for those who believe, there can be no debate. Un like the terrorist attacks of September eleventh, where many groped for answers about the source of that trouble, this time the answer was clear. Only God controls the monumental forces of nature. As Jeremiah predicted, God has a controversy with the nations over sin.”
    Michael strode to the edge of the stage. He lifted his arms. “I tell you, my brothers and sisters, Katrina was not just a judgment on New Orleans. It was a judgment over
all
who embrace darkness and sin. The cataclysms of the past few years—terrorist attacks, tsunamis, hurricanes—are but harbingers of terrible events still to come, preludes to the ultimate End-Times.
    “The Bible speaks of the great ‘Bride’ of Christ, bundling up all believers into one holy group. In contrast, Revelation describes a monstrous figure named the Mystery Babylon, a woman ‘arrayed in pearls and scarlet, adorned with gold.’ Of course, she is not a real woman, but a symbol of a global religion. She embodies the spirit of our current age: self-indulgence, self-worship and self-gratification. Who here isn't temptedby these new world religions that speak of deliverance through the discovery of self? But I tell you the Mystery Babylon will presage the ‘Great Tribulation,’ during which billions of people will perish.”
    The screen displayed a map of the world. Little icons of people measured out populations. In an instant, the icons began to disintegrate, and a death toll rolled off in a box to the right. “Combining the numbers described in chapters six and nine of Revelation, plus chapter thirteen of Zechariah, half of the world's population will be taken. Wiped out. Put to death.”
    The great screens went dark. Only Michael's pale face was still visible. “How could—no, how
will
this happen?” He looked out at the mesmerized crowd. “It will begin with the devil.” A highly stylized picture of Satan appeared on the screen in the middle. The audience hissed. “Satan's plan involves two main strategies: to wipe out the beneficiaries of God's prophecies—the Christians and Jews—and to set up his agent as king of the world.
    “To many,” said Michael, “the Antichrist is simply a fable, a creation of biblical conspiracy theorists. But studying the Antichrist will prepare us to face his swift rise to power, for his dominance