Marshall Jameson is one of the believers that stayed at the hideout in Avery, Wisconsin with most of the members of the Young Tribulation Force until the hideout was destroyed in book 39.
Biography[]
Before the Rapture[]
When he was young, his parents took him to church, but for Marshall, it was a social thing. He had an older sister and a younger brother.
His parents offered to pay his way to a Christian college. He decided to major in business so he can make lots of money, but he stumbled upon the campus radio station. A friend of his let him read the news one late night, and he was hooked. He then switched his professional attention to communications and he could not get enough of radio.
His parents died in a plane crash when he was in his 20s. The will divided the money between him and his two siblings. He used his share to buy a little radio station. That investment paid off since he had many solicitations from Christian ministries to buy air time. He had hired professionals to run the radio station, and even had some acclaim in a radio magazine. The ratings of the station went higher, so Marshall raised the fees and people were still willing to pay.
Marshall said that he was living out his dream. He was married and had two children, but his wife realized that he was not a sincere Christian as she accused him of "living a double life" where Marshall assumed a Christian personality for professional success and social recognition, but he did not sincerely believe in it. Marshall said that he heard "every preacher in the country, every sermon," and "could quote Bible verses in his sleep." Marshall could talk about God and put on a show, but did not have a relationship with God.
After the Rapture[]
During the day of the rapture, Marshall had a fight with his wife. Marshall also filled in manning the radio station during the right of the Rapture, making sure that the right buttons were pressed and that the volume was set. The man who was being broadcasted was live, and he was telling an account of his martial relationship where he recently fought with his wife and became somewhat estranged, but they recently reconciled. This made Marshall interested in his story.
Marshall's wife called the station to talk to him, but Marshall said that he would call her back and hung up. When the guy was in the middle of the point where things had changed for him and his wife, his voice cut out and his headphones had fallen to the table. Marshall thought he had a heart attack. Marshall called the studio, and there was no answer. The phone to the radio station rang and Marshall thought it was his wife, but it was a woman who had been listening to the station with a friend who had vanished when they were on a morning paper delivery route. She asked whether that was the Rapture. Marshall called his wife and everyone on the radio station's payroll, but the only one who picked up the phone was an advertising executive.
After the Rapture, Marshall put on about an hour's worth of music and went to his desk to listen to a recording about the end times that a local preacher sent to every radio station. Marshall said that he stashed it away to listen privately for a laugh. Before the Rapture, Marshall thought the preacher was crazy and the man was wasting his money. At the end, Marshall prayed the prayer and asked God to forgive him.
Marshall then played as many Christian programs as possible to help people realize what had happened. When the Global Community came to power, they shut down Marshall's radio station. Marshall said that the Global Community were coming to take him to a reeducation camp, but he made his way to Avery, Wisconsin.
In his camp in Avery, Wisconsin, every night, Marshall encouraged someone to give their testimony on how God has changed them. During the night he gave his story, he ironically said that he was one of the people who should not be here since he was the owner of a Christian radio station. He probably edified the faith of others and led others to Christ, before the Rapture, through his radio station, but he was preaching the gospel for the wrong reasons. Nevertheless, that is still a good thing since the gospel was preached anyway (Philippians 1:15-18).
Leader of the Avery Campground[]
In Breakout!, the Young Tribulation Force was able to infiltrate a Global Community reeducation facility in Iowa and extract eleven women (including Cheryl Tiffane) and three men who were believers just before the reeducation facility was going to introduce the mark of loyalty on the inmates. Some of those believers were sent to safehouses, one of which is Colin Dial's house in Wisconsin. In Murder in the Holy Place, Colin Dial's house was overcrowded with new arrivals, and there was a general understanding that some would eventually have to move to a new hiding place. In War of the Dragon, Colin Dial described the new hideout as a renovated old church camp to the west of his house, and it was less "high-tech" than his hideout, since the new place only had a few computers, but it was a "mini-teaching community" that read Tsion Ben-Judah's website everyday and sedulously studies the Bible. Conrad Graham refused the offer to relocate since he wanted to stay active with the kid's website and answer queries on there. Marshall Jameson arrived in a fifteen-passenger van to pick up individuals who wanted to go to his campground in Avery, Wisconsin, which is in western Wisconsin. When Marshall exited the vehicle, he said that the people who wanted to go to Avery had to make their decision forthwith because he received a tip that the GC was canvassing the main roads for people without the mark of loyalty. Cheryl Tiffane, Maggie Carlson, Tom and Josey Fogarty, Melinda Bentley, Janie McCanyon, Darrion Stahley, Charlie, and Phoenix the dog were those who relocated to Marshall's campground.
Appearances[]
- 34. Bounty Hunters (first appearance)
- 35. The Rise of False Messiahs
- 36. Ominous Choices
- 37. Heat Wave
- 38. The Perils of Love
- 39. The Road to War (last appearance)