Passage out of the country would have proved challenging had Lucian Drago not arranged to pick me up in the New World Order's version of Air Force One, aptly named World Order One. The chancellor himself was not onboard; he was still in Israel, but he had somehow coaxed President Raven into allowing the plane to land, pick me up and take off again without an international incident. Though there was tension between the two men, customs had approved my passport and allowed me to leave. I had received an email from the president's chief of staff, authorizing my departure and requesting a copy of the blueprints for the proposed capitol building. It was understood that Drago would receive a copy too, which perplexed me, seeing the president had been so adamant yesterday about keeping it out of the chancellor's hands. It seemed Lucian Drago could be persuasive when he wanted to.

Drago had plans to meet with the president at the former United Nations Headquarters in New York City when we returned to the States following the completion of my designs for the new temple, and once construction had begun, which would take almost four months from conception to the finishing touches. Drago had access to unlimited resources and money. I had to be there for the groundbreaking ceremony and then I was free to go. What President Raven's and the chancellor's meeting would be about, I didn't know, but I assumed it had something to do with the president's refusal to submit to the new global order. Speaking of which, the New World Order had settled on locating the world capitol in Rome. There it would be right in the middle of Europe, which was just one of the ten provinces that made up the world kingdom. There was the European Province (included nations like the United Kingdom, Germany, France, etc.), the Russian Province, the Province of China, the Province of Asia Proper (included India, Mongolia, Japan, and other surrounding nations), the Middle Eastern Province (Included Iran, Saudia Arabia, Iraq, Turkey, etc.), the African Province, Australian Province, the North American Province (currently excluding the United States, the South American Province, and the Central American Province. Each province had prime ministers who were appointed by and reported to Lucian Drago. All of these new alignments were on the news twenty-four/seven.

Once aboard the luxurious Boeing 747 jumbo jet, I forgot about the president's lockdown orders and entertained myself by reading the first five chapters of Revelation on my phone. I had plenty of time since I was in my own private quarters while Chancellor Drago's staff and crew busied themselves with whatever jobs that were assigned to them.

Chapter one summarized the introduction to the apostle John's vision, which took place on the island of Patmos in the Aegean Sea east of Athens, Greece. He'd had an encounter with the glorified version of Jesus, in which John learned that Jesus would return in the clouds, that every eye would see him, and that the tribes of the Earth would mourn when they saw him. The glorified Jesus appeared to John with hair, white like wool, as white as snow, with eyes as of a flame of fire, feet like brass refined in a furnace, and a voice as the sound of many waters. Jesus proclaimed he was the first and the last, the beginning and the end, who is, who was, and who is to come, the Almighty. John was directed to write the letter, which would become the book of Revelation, and send it to the seven churches in Asia Minor. The glorified Jesus proclaimed to be he who lives, and was dead, and who lives forevermore.

In chapters two and three, Jesus had strong warnings to the people in the seven churches, commanding them to repent, to do what they knew to do, so they could overcome and inherit eternal life. One church, Philadelphia, received nothing but praise for being faithful. Jesus promised to keep them from the hour of trial that would come upon the entire Earth. The survival guide said that the number seven was the number of completion, and that the seven churches, although they were literal churches in their day, represented the body of Christ, (the church as a whole), today. The guide said that the church of Philadelphia represented the believers who were raptured during the great disappearances. One church, Thyatira, was warned they would be cast into great tribulation for their sinful ways. And another church, Laodicea, would be spewed from his mouth because they were lukewarm, and not hot or cold. This seemed a little confusing, but I got the gist of it. The survival guide said this church represented a good portion of people who claimed to be Christians but weren't dedicated to the faith. Probably, they had never really been saved, but had only gone through the motions of religion. It said that this church was made up of most of the churchgoers who didn't get raptured by Jesus.

But the little book was adamant that these people would have a chance to get right with God during the tribulation period. The book referenced Revelation chapter seven where an innumerable amount of people had come out of the tribulation, possibly by being martyred during that time, their souls having been saved somewhere along the way. These people, who will stand before the throne are clearly portrayed in heaven, where God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.

Chapters four and five revealed a glimpse of heaven, God's throne, the four living creatures who worship day and night, angels, the elders who wore crowns and white robes, and the Lamb, who represented Jesus. The twenty-four elders could represent believers who had died and went to heaven, or they could represent the Christians who were raptured prior to the tribulation. Obviously, by their description, they had been made right with God by Jesus's death and resurrection because they gave praise to the Lamb who redeemed them from among men of every tribe and tongue. And thus, they had made it to heaven where they received a stephanos (Greek), or victors crown.

The Holy Spirit was represented by seven lamps of fire burning before the throne. Again, the number seven indicated the number of completion or perfection, meaning the lamps represented the entirety of the Holy Spirit who manifested himself in heaven and throughout the Earth. The lamps were the sum total of the Spirit, who was omnipresent, meaning to be present everywhere all at once, which was mind boggling.

In chapter five, Jesus, depicted as the Lamb, was the only one found in heaven who possessed the power to take the scroll, sealed with seven seals, from the hand of him who sat on the throne. The scroll represented God's title deed to the Earth and his ultimate judgement of Satan who influences the Antichrist's kingdom during the tribulation period.

In chapter six, Jesus opened the first seal and the Antichrist stepped into his position to assume authority over the kings of the Earth. God does not control him but has permitted this man to do what Satan has wanted to do since he was kicked out of heaven at the beginning of creation. Take over and rule humanity. Have power even over those who become Christians in the tribulation, and finally, make his last stand against Jesus when he returned with the clouds to set up his kingdom on Earth at what the Bible called The Glorious Appearing.

As far as I could tell, the First Seal had been opened yesterday, which meant it was only a matter of time before the Second Seal was opened. That seal would bring war and bloodshed to the Earth as people would want to kill one another.

I shook my head.

I put my phone to sleep and set it in my carrying bag and decided to take a nap. I had only just started chapter six and my outlook had a gloominess about it I couldn't shake.

When I awoke, we were entering Israeli airspace and preparing to land at the Tel Aviv Airport. I was chauffeured to the David Citadel Hotel in Jerusalem where Drago's security detail escorted me to a penthouse suite overlooking the U-shaped structure of the hotel with a view of a grand pool at the far end of the building. I refused an offer of brandy and was seated at a table on the balcony. The moon hung in the night sky and the lights of the hotel lit up a breathtaking view. It was almost midnight, but I wasn't tired, not yet.

"Perhaps you prefer a soft drink?" Lucian Drago said, a tiny smirk curling the corner of lips upward.

"Water will do," I replied. "Straight up."

Drago's head bobbed with a laugh. "I like you already."

The man had a way of making a person feel at ease, of course, I had a strong suspicion as to who he really was. He had all the earmarks of the man that Revelation called The Beast and who the book of Daniel in the Old Testament of the Bible called The Little Horn who would spring up among ten other horns. A horn represented a king or ruler of a nation or kingdom. I learned this from the survival guide. He, the Antichrist, a.k.a. The Beast, would make a covenant -peace treaty- with many for seven years. In the middle of that timeframe, he would break that covenant and turn on Israel, Christians, and anyone else who stood in his way. It was even predicted from a certain interpretation of Revelation chapter 13 that he would be assassinated and would rise from the dead, or at least fake a resurrection. From that, point on, the world would be under his ironclad control.

"So, I've seen your plans for the capitol building," Drago said. "Thanks for that email. They look splendid. Downright magnificent."

"Thank you." I took a sip of my water and glanced out over the pool far down below, mostly to avoid his brilliant blue eyes.

"I want you to talk to the Jewish priests and other leaders and come up with a design for their temple. You have a month to complete the blueprints. That will give the construction crews three months to complete the work and for sacrifices to resume."

"Sacrifices?"

"You're Jewish. You should know."

"I wasn't raised religious."

Drago waved a dismissive hand. "Oh, I know you're aware that in the Old Testament they sacrificed bulls and goats to atone for their sins. That's what the temple is for. Anyway, I want those plans for the temple completed promptly." He gestured with a hand in the air. "This is your room where you can do some of your work and sleep."

"This is my room?"

"Rather luxurious, don't you say?"

I nodded. "Pretty nice."

"Yes, well, I'll have my car pick you up tomorrow morning and take you to the Temple Mount. The new Temple will go up right next to the Dome of the Rock. Don't worry. The peace treaty assures the rest of the Middle East won't object. I've made concessions they couldn't resist. Their wishes will be fulfilled in due time. Also, I've made arrangements for earthmovers to level out the mountainside to create more room for the foundation. It will be glorious." He grinned. "Once you've conferred with the Jewish officials, you will work at a portable building at the Temple Mount and also here in your room when that's appropriate. I expect the designs to be completed within the next thirty days, straightaway."

"No pressure there."

"You'll be compensated rather well and given all the resources you need. You netted, what, a hundred-twenty grand last year. Double that compensation with a hundred-thousand-dollar bonus for early completion."

My eyes perked up. "Okay."

"Do you have further questions?"

"Well. Speaking of money. With the one world order, are we going to one currency?"

"Already done. Dollars. I made that decision to try to sweeten the pot for your American president. I plan to talk to him about that next month when we return to the States once construction of the temple has begun. Anything else?"

I shook my head.

"Splendid," he said. "I have meetings to attend, so I'll be on my way."

With that, Drago left me in the room to sleep overnight, shower the next morning, and change clothes for my visit to the Temple Mount the next day. As for that visit, it went without a hiccup, as did the rest of the month working on the designs. I worked around the clock, sleeping only when I couldn't keep myself from crashing. I had a detailed blueprint ready within twenty-four days, approved by the Jewish priests and by Lucian Drago himself. With my bank account padded with two-hundred-twenty thousand dollars in just over three weeks of work, I shouldn't have any problem staying afloat without my wife's income. I would be able to contribute funds to Joe Ramirez's soup kitchen ministry too. That was a bonus.

I still missed Hannah every day, but staying busy kept my mind off of her. Mostly.

When Drago's plane, World Order One, touched down in New York, I wondered how his upcoming meeting with President Raven would go, but most importantly, I wanted to get back home to see how things were going with Ramirez and his street ministry. I hoped he had found a way to elude the military patrols. I also wanted to check on Autumn to see how she was doing. I hoped I could convince her to become a Christian; I had so much I wanted to share with her. After all, I had promised her once I knew more about the disappearances and what was going on in the world, I would get back to her and bring her up to speed. There was so much to tell and only so long before the other shoe dropped... the Second Seal of war and murder.

I was completely unprepared for what Ramirez would tell me when I met him before a service the following Wednesday night. Large numbers of new Christian converts who had been arrested for religious activities on the streets, had not been heard from since. Inquiries went unanswered from government officials. And the rumors that abounded gave me icy chills.