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

and asked what was going on. One asked, “Did we miss the Rapture?”
    Before Ryan could answer what he thought was a ridiculous question, one of the ladies who’d been watching over all the children under five, came running into the fellowship hall, apparently beside herself, and was crying. She rushed over to Ryan, and said, “They’re gone. They’re all gone!”
    “Who?” asked Ryan.
    “The.... the children, that’s who.” She replied, with tears streaming down her cheeks. “Every single one of them vanished before my very eyes, leaving behind nothing but clothes. Do you know what’s going on?”
    Ryan was about to reply when he heard some of the people around him start saying they were left behind because the Rapture just happened. He thought it was a ridiculous notion, it was all he could do to keep from rolling his eyes, but he was going to put a stop to such an idea as quickly as he could. He could also see the parents of the missing children discussing amongst themselves about wanting to go investigate the nursery and some of the men were holding on to their distraught wives.
    “You know, in my opinion, the Rapture more than likely happened thousands of years ago, around the 70’s A.D., because everyone knows that the book of Revelation was fulfilled then, so such an event couldn’t possibly happen now. Besides, the Bible is an allegory, most of it isn’t to be taken literal. I’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation and whoever’s in charge when it comes to things like this will tell us when they find out. Now, if you’re one of the parents of the missing children or related to an adult who’s missing, I’ll meet with you to help you get through this obviously painful experience, the rest of you can go home if you’d like.”
    After counseling those who needed it, he went home and rested. It took a lot of energy for him to act as if he cared, but he had to keep up appearances. His wife usually leaved him alone when he was in one of those moods. He wanted the power that Evans had promised him so long ago, but he had yet to see any fruit from that promise, and it frustrated him to no end. Because of this, he continued to preach and counsel people he didn’t really care for, just so he wouldn’t miss his big break. There were times he wondered if Evans had forgotten about him, and all attempts he’d made when it came to contacting the old man had usually failed. While Ryan did enjoy the money from his job and the fame that came to being the “Preacher to the Politicians,” he yearned for more.
    All over the local news, Ryan saw that some aircraft had crashed near LAX, but the reasons were currently unknown. There were also reports on the various highways around Los Angeles of driverless cars that caused major wrecks, making cars and their drivers stranded in hours of backed-up traffic. Distraught parents were interviewed about their missing nursery-aged children, and there were pregnant women, some happened to be in labor, who were now no longer pregnant because their unborn children had also disappeared. If his conscious hadn’t been seared now that God’s grace was gone, he would’ve felt sorry for the women.
    Three days later, one of the local television stations contacted Ryan. “Hello. This is Ryan Whittier, how can I help you?”
    “Mr. Whittier, hello, this is Sandra Gilliland, from KTLA. Do you have a moment to speak with me?”
    “Yes, but what’s this about?”
    “I was wondering if you’d like to come down to the station for an interview about the disappearances and your reaction to the news about our new world leader who claims to know what happened to these people. Are you available?”
    This was three days after the Rapture, so Ryan’s heart had been hardened because of his rejection of Christ and his memory of the disappearances was foggy to say the least, but he replied, “Sure, I’ll come down there for an interview. I haven’t really heard about this new world