Carl shook his head. “Are you telling me that the God of love was forecasting, two thousand years in advance, that a time would come on earth—perhaps in our time—when He would personally oversee the natural disasters that could kill a billion or so people?”

Charley looked him squarely in the eye. “Carl, God sent His only Son to die to save everybody. For centuries, He has sent His servants all over the world to warn people and to offer them forgiveness. He actually begged people to turn from their selfishness and immorality so He could forgive them for their sins, but they haven’t listened. Over the past five years or so, Christians all over the world have been carrying on a maximum effort to bring God’s love to the world, and there has been a tremendous harvest.”

“But most people,” Dave joined in, “have thumbed their noses at God and turned their backs on Him. Right? So please don’t blame God for what’s about to happen to the world. He’s given people every opportunity to turn to Him.”

“I don’t guess I have much room to talk,” Carl said. “I’ve done everything I could to steer clear of the Bible and people—no offense—like you guys, who read it. But you’re serious? There’s been a—what—a revival or something going on for the last five years?”

“That’s right,” Dave answered, “but we’ll talk about that when we have more time.”

“Carl,” Charley said, “let me ask you something. Have you ever lied?”

“Of course,” Carl said and smiled. “I’m in advertising.”

“Have you ever taken something that didn’t belong to you?”

“Sure, I suppose so.” Carl shrugged.

“Have you ever cursed and used God’s name in vain?”

“Of course,” came the answer. “All the time. But what are you getting at?”

“Carl, here’s the deal,” Dave Busby broke in. “You just admitted to breaking God’s laws. Any one of those things would earn you a maximum sentence. But how many billions of people do you think have done exactly what you’ve been doing, and worse? Every one of those people has had a chance for a full pardon. It’s always been there, but they’ve turned it down. Now, they’re coming up on ‘J Day’—that’s Judgment Day. It’s a bad scene now, man, but hang on to your hat. After the next few years are over, Jesus Christ is coming back to set up His kingdom on earth. Are you ready for that, brother?”

Lori jumped in. “Please, you guys, stop getting off the track and let’s talk about Revelation. I want to know what’s next. When I look down here, it says, ‘A third of the sun, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars will be darkened and not shine.’ That’s terrible. But what does it mean?”

Before Charley could answer, Carl stepped in. “I studied astronomy in college, and I’ve tried to keep up with it ever since. I may not know everything, but I do know this: nothing is going to happen to the sun, the moon, and the stars. If this is true, it probably means that they just won’t shine on the earth.”