Times of Tribulation: Christian End Times Thriller (The End Times Saga, #7) Read Free

reasons do not apply. With the federal government’s all but official collapse, it has started dragging everyone down along with it. Some states are seeing cities fall, even burning to the ground in some cases, their people are starving, and some even have a United Nations military presence in the larger cities. So far, with the exception of a plague that happened to our state a few years ago, none of that’s happened here, and I hope to God it never will.
    “We have the means to go our own way with hardly any serious effects to our economy or our way of life. The legislature and I are committed to your Constitutional rights that the American founding fathers envisioned and we will begin dismantling the federal government’s heavy hand as we go along. We can only make our new Republic strong with your help, so please vote on this important issue, even if you completely disagree with it. Thank you for listening and may God bless Texas.”
    Two months later, the vote for secession passed with eighty-five percent of the vote, with nearly every eligible voter having exercised their right to vote. There was not a peep from Washington as Michael Evans could’ve cared less, since his goal for the United States falling apart had succeeded.
    Pete was thrilled with the overwhelming of the voters to secede. He told everyone in his community, “Now, we’ll just have to see how this all shakes out and if it bodes well for all of us. I hope Pierson and her successors are really for liberty and not just more of the same tyrannical control freaks that we’ve had for the past thirty plus years. In the meantime, we’ll continue doing what we’ve always done.”

Chapter 2
    A few months later, in California, mega church preacher Ryan Whittier was still in charge of his large congregation. His church and his satellite churches around California hadn’t been rounded up by the Department of Homeland Security when the government agency began finally going after larger churches once they finished rounding up the congregations of smaller churches. Having had a business relationship with Michael Evans sheltered Ryan from the round up, but also being a preacher who taught that there were many ways to Heaven and to God also helped him, since he so rarely offended people - from the political class to the lowliest of his congregation. Ryan enjoyed the fame and fortune that came with no one important being offended with his sermons, and he vowed he’d do his best to hold on to that fame and fortune.
    Kevin Josten and his wife had invited Ryan’s family to go with them to Dubai for vacation, but Ryan felt it was his duty to stay in California so he could help everyone as the state suffered from the effects of the collapse of the United States. As he told Josten over the phone, “Honestly, I don’t care if people suffer, I just want them to remember that I was the one who helped them through these difficult times. That’s because if I ever have a chance to rule over these people, I’ll already have their adoration, since they’re completely convinced that I’m the only who knows the only way for them to go to Heaven when they die.”
    “Well, I have almost all the money from my followers, so I figured now would be a great time to go on vacation to one of the most expensive places on Earth, so my wife and I can enjoy ourselves without being pestered with inane problems from my congregation. Sometimes, it helps to get away and recharge. Well, anyway, good luck with leading your flock through these tough times. Talk to you later.”
    Ryan’s main church was having a fellowship when about a dozen adults of the five hundred who had shown up suddenly disappeared. Their clothes, jewelry, eyeglasses, contacts, and various artificial body parts fell to the ground where they originally stood, which shocked everyone around them. While Ryan hadn’t personally seen them disappear, some of the adults who had witnessed the disappearances ran to him,