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Chapter 10

The Christ Clone Trilogy 03 - Acts Of God

James Beau Seigneur

CHAPTER TEN

"You can't blame Christopher or the United Nations for what the media says," Decker answered.

"No, but I would think that anyone as caring as you claim Christopher is would make some attempt to dispute the impression that the media is giving about the fundamentalists. He wouldn't stand for charges like that against any other minority, would he? Why should he ignore it when it's the fundamentalists?"

Decker wanted to respond but he wasn't sure he had an answer. Perhaps Rhoda had a point.

"Judaism and Christianity are the only two religions that can be proved based on material evidence, yet they are the only ones whose followers are being persecuted."

"Yeah, well, I've heard all this from Rosen. But how can you really prove anything?" he asked, diverting the conversation away from Rhoda's point. "How can you be 100 percent certain we're even having this conversation? Maybe you're just dreaming."

"The real question is not whether one can be 100 percent sure of something," Rhoda answered. "The real question is this: Is there sufficient evidence that it would make it absurd to believe anything else? There is enough evidence that Jesus was the Messiah to convince even the most hardened skeptic if he would take the time to examine it and not discount it out of hand. With Christianity, the question is not 'can you believe?' but I you believe?'"

Decker shook his head in frustration. "Rhoda, there's just no need for any of this. Christopher offered to accept the KDT and I'm sure he would be willing to reissue that offer if they would just give up their narrow-minded claim to exclusive truth and stop saying that everybody who disagrees with them is going to hell. Then they and all of you would be allowed to take the communion. You can even venerate Jesus if you want. Christopher is very open minded to different beliefs; he doesn't care if someone is Buddhist or Hindu or Sikh or Muslim or any other religion. Millions of people from the mainstream Christian denominations have taken the communion."

"No Christian can take the communion or the mark. Anyone who has is a Christian in name only and is eternally lost."

"Rhoda," Decker said, exasperated, "that's exactly the narrow-minded attitude that's the cause of the whole problem. Why can't you just acknowledge that someone else might have some piece of the truth that you and the KDT don't have?"

"I know that our beliefs must sound narrow-minded, Mr. Hawthorne, but it's really just the opposite, because the one truth, the one way to God that we believe in is entirely unrestricted, completely free, totally accessible and available to everyone. God is no farther from any of us than our willingness to call upon him. I ask you," she said, drawing on the words Saul Cohen once used when speaking to her husband, "would it be narrow-minded to say that there is only one thing that everyone must breathe in order to live? I know you'll say, 'air is available to everyone.' But, Mr. Hawthorne, so is God. The Bible says that God has placed knowledge of himself inside each of us. That includes Jews and Gentiles, Hindus and Buddhists, Muslims, Christians, atheists, agnostics, and pagans. This isn't some kind of a treasure hunt, where the prize goes only to the lucky or the shrewd, or a game show where you're forced to choose blindly between the god behind door number one, door number two, or door number three. Inside each of us, we already know which is the right door. God calls to us and tells us what he is like, who he is, and where to find him. We may not know his name but we know his nature, we know his call, and we can witness his power throughout the universe. But it's up to each of us individually to decide whether we will answer God's call.

"If a person loves God and loves his neighbor as he loves himself, then in his own time God will reveal himself more and more to that person until finally he will realize that the God he serves is in fact the God of the Bible; and the one who has paid the price for the forgiveness of his sins is God's son, Jesus.

"As for who goes to hell, in the final analysis no one has to go to hell. In fact, the only ones who go to hell are those who refuse to go to heaven. Damnation is a sentence we impose upon ourself. If anyone truly seeks God, then God will provide that person with sufficient knowledge to be saved. The bottom line, Mr. Hawthorne, is this: God is, God loves, and God can be found." Rhoda was obviously finished but Decker remained silent, not wanting to argue the subject further.

"I have some other patients I need to visit," Rhoda said when it became apparent that Decker was not going to respond. "If you'd like, you and Decker can continue to explore. We'll be having dinner just after sunset."

"Sure," Decker responded. "We'll be fine."

"Okay," she said, and then addressing the younger Decker. "Take it easy. Don't wear Mr. Hawthorne out."

"Yes, ma'am," Decker Donafin answered politely as his mother gave him a kiss and then turned to leave.

"So, it's just you and me," Decker said after Rhoda had gone. "Where do you want to go first?"

"Can we go to the Lion Monument?" the younger asked.

"You bet!" Decker responded with great enthusiasm, unaware of the climb that awaited them.

The two Deckers walked and climbed and explored for the rest of the afternoon. Inside one of the carved-out tunnels which connected two adjacent facades, they had to feel their way along through nearly pitch black. The elder Decker felt the younger take his hand. It was now so dark it was impossible to see at all. "Are you afraid of the dark?" the elder asked as he felt the younger's hand tighten.

"My mom says there's no reason to be afraid because Yeshua is always with me," the younger answered. "Are you afraid?"

"A little," the elder answered.

"Yeah, me too," Decker Donafin admitted. "A little."

"Let's go somewhere else, then."

Decker Donafin nodded but of course Decker Hawthorne could not see it.

After visiting a few more sites, the elder Decker finally insisted that they stop to take a break. Half sitting, half leaning, they rested against an outcropping of stone below AdDier (the Monastery). For a few moments neither spoke — the elder because he was catching his breath, the younger because he had something on his mind — and then Decker Donafin broke the silence.

"I think I remember my dad pretty well," he said. "But sometimes my mom or Tom or Rachael will talk about him and it will be about something I don't remember at all." At last it had come to the surface — the one thing that had never left either of their minds throughout their time together: their memories of Tom Donafin. In everything they had done that day the memories had floated and wafted through their thoughts. And yet, neither had mentioned him. Everything the younger Decker did or said had either reminded the elder of his old friend or caused him to note how the father and son differed. With equal attention the younger had observed the elder and wondered how much this man for whom he had been named was like the father he now struggled to remember.

"I miss him a lot."

"I miss him, too," the elder said.

"My mom says he was a good man and that he loved God. She says we'll see him again soon when Yeshua returns."

Decker wasn't sure how to respond. "He was a good friend," he managed after a moment.

"Mom said you were with my dad when he died." "Yes," Decker answered. It was a gruesome memory and Decker hoped the boy would not ask him more about it. He need not have worried; Decker Donafin had no intention of asking for the details. After a moment's silence, Decker looked down to see tears in the boy's eyes. He hesitated for a moment and then leaned down to hug him. Decker Donafin put his arms around him as the tears flowed.

That evening after supper, Decker again entertained the Donafin children with old stories of nearly forgotten adventures and misadventures he had with Tom during their days in the news business. A few of the stories Rhoda had heard before from Tom, but Decker's slightly different telling made her wonder if either men remembered the events as they had actually occurred. Decker told them how he and Tom had been captured and taken to Lebanon, though he left out details of the torture they had endured. The Donafin children knew that their father had once been a hostage but they had not realized that his captivity had lasted almost three years.

The stories did not last nearly so long this night, as first young Decker and then Tom and Rachael fell off to sleep. Once again, Rhoda and Decker left the tent to talk a while longer.

"You'll be leaving tomorrow?" Rhoda asked.

"First thing in the morning," he answered, surprised at the confidence in his voice.

"You're welcome to stay here with us," Rhoda said. "All that waits for you outside of Petra is death."

Decker shook his head. "Tell Decker goodbye for me."

"You'll probably have an opportunity to do that yourself. He's an early riser. I expect he'll want to see you before you leave."

Decker nodded. "I'd like that," he said.

That night Decker lay awake thinking about the events of the past few days. He no longer thought much about whether he would ever get out of Petra and back to Babylon alive. Somehow he felt certain now that he would. Now his thoughts centered on young Decker and Rhoda and the rest of the Donafin family. He thought also of the others in Petra who lay crammed together, huddled in confused, misguided fear of what was happening in the outside world. As long as he had thought of them as simply followers of the KDT, he could ignore the fact that they were people. Now he knew better: he had seen them face to face, had talked with them, and felt he was beginning to understand them. He was ashamed that it had taken being kidnapped for him to realize it. Even Scott Rosen, for all his faults, was only doing what he thought best. Decker wasn't sure how, but he was determined that somehow he would find a way to reach these people, to let them know that Christopher was not their enemy, and that what Christopher promised the world was not to be feared, but welcomed.

On the plane to Jerusalem after his resurrection, Christopher had said that Decker's role would be to communicate Christopher's message to those unfamiliar with the concepts of the New Age, and to this point Decker had served Christopher well in that role. But that was more than three years ago and the job was nearly completed. Christopher's message of the evolution of Humankind was known throughout the world. Most people had experienced some clairvoyant, telepathic, telekinetic, or healing power; and 87 percent of the population had already received the communion and the mark. It had not occurred to him before, but as Decker considered it But now there was a new mission, a new job to do: to convert even those who were Christopher's opponents. And, ironically, it was Scott Rosen who had given Decker the means to effect that conversion. Rosen had told him of the calamities that were soon to be visited upon the earth, and both Rosen and Rhoda had stated their belief that Christopher would respond by assembling an army to march on Petra. In large part it was a self-fulfilling prophecy. Faced with renewed devastation, Christopher would be forced to strike at the agents of Yahweh who precipitated the devastation. If Decker could somehow alter the events predicted by the KDT so that Christopher did not march on Petra, then the KDT and their followers would have to admit they had made a mistake. And if they had made a mistake about this, then they could be wrong about other things as well. The KDT's claim to inerrancy made their hold on the people both very tight and very brittle. Like a house of cards, it was necessary only to remove one card — to cause one of their prophecies to fail — and the whole structure would collapse.

Even if all else was true, even if all the calamities did strike the earth, it was still possible to turn this around. Instead of assembling an army to march on Petra for war, Christopher could send a peace envoy, or simply do nothing at all. In this way Christopher could short-circuit the prophecy, prevent it from coming true, and show his true face as peacemaker and benevolent leader instead of the demonic beast the KDT made him out to be.

Perhaps, also, knowing what the KDT planned would allow Christopher to initiate countermeasures to limit the effects of the plagues they predicted.

Scott Rosen had kidnapped Decker and brought him to Petra to convince him that Christopher was evil and that Yahweh was good. As Decker nodded off to sleep, he realized that Rosen's actions were only a ploy of fate, which, as it had so many times before, was again putting Decker in the right place at the right time. There could be no doubt that the real reason he had been brought to Petra was so that he would come to know and understand these people so that he could find a way to convince them of the truth about Yahweh and Christopher.

"Mr. Hawthorne."

"Mr. Hawthorne."

"Wake up, Mr. Hawthorne, it's time to go."

Decker opened his eyes and looked around the room. As he twisted his body and shifted his weight to sit up, the ropes that bound his hands and feet slipped off like oversized gloves and shoes.

"It's time to go, Mr. Hawthorne," the voice of a young boy said again.

Decker rubbed his eyes and looked toward the voice. He was no longer in Petra; he was back in Lebanon, a hostage of the Hizballah. There in the open doorway of his room stood 14-year-old Christopher Goodman. "Christopher?" Decker asked, puzzled at this obviously unexpected turn of events.

"Yes, Mr. Hawthorne," Christopher answered.

"What are you doing here!?" Decker asked in confused disbelief.

"It's time to go, Mr. Hawthorne. I've come to get you," Christopher said, making no attempt to explain.

Christopher walked from the room and signaled for him to follow. Decker lifted the 115 pounds that remained of his body and followed Christopher toward the door. Halfway there, Decker hesitated. There was something he was trying to remember, something too important to forget, something he could not leave without.

"Tom!" he said suddenly. "Where's Tom?" he asked of the friend he had not seen since they were brought to Lebanon.

Christopher hesitated and then raised his arm slowly and pointed toward another door. Silently Decker opened it, looking for any sign of his captors. There was none. Inside, Tom lay on a mat identical to the one Decker had spent nearly three years sleeping on, sitting on, eating on ... living on. Tom was lying on his side with his face to the wall. Decker entered and began untying the bonds that held his friend's feet.

"Tom, wake up. We're getting out of here," he whispered.

Tom sat up and looked at his rescuer. For a moment they just stared at each other's faces. Decker forced his eyes away and began untying Tom's hands. He had not seen a mirror at any time during his captivity, and though he knew that his body was emaciated, he had not seen his face, where the most dramatic effects of his captivity were evident. Seeing Tom's face, he was struck with such grief and sympathy for his friend's similar condition that he had to look away to hold back tears.

Outside the apartment, Decker and Torn walked stealthily down the hall, hoping to avoid detection. Christopher, on the other hand, walked on ahead of them, showing absolutely no sign of concern about the seriousness of the situation. They went down a long stairway, cluttered with trash and broken bits of plaster and glass. Still there was no sign of their captors. As they emerged into the open air Decker closed his eyes as the bright sunlight struck him in the face with its warmth and glow.

"Mr. Hawthorne."

"Mr. Hawthorne."

Decker opened his eyes and looked around, struggling to remember where he was. Standing at the door was Decker Donafin. He was still in Petra.

"Wake up, Mr. Hawthorne, it's time to go."

Horror filled Decker's eyes as he suddenly understood what Tom Donafin's final words had meant.

Table Of Contents

Chapter 10

Table Of Contents

The Christ Clone Trilogy 03 - Acts Of God

James Beau Seigneur

CHAPTER TEN

Rescue

June 6,4 N.A. (2026 A.D.)

For the first night since he had arrived in Petra, Decker really slept well. In the morning he was greeted by a knock on the door, followed by the friendly voice of his young namesake.

"Mr. Hawthorne," came Decker Donafin's voice from the other side of the door.

"Wake up, Mr. Hawthorne. My mom says breakfast will be ready soon. If we're late Tom will eat everything."

"Well, we can't have that," Decker answered as he sat up. "Run back to the tent to protect our share and I'll be there as quick as I can."

"My mom said I could wait here for you."

"Oh . . . well, okay. I'll be just a few minutes."

Decker quickly brushed his teeth, ran a washcloth over his face and got dressed. There was little choice of what to wear; all he had was what he had been wearing the night he was kidnapped and some well-worn but clean clothes that had been provided by the KDT. Soon he and Decker Donafm were on their way. It was about three quarters of a mile to the tent and they had gone nearly half that distance before Decker realized that something was missing.

"Decker," he asked the younger, "why is there no manna this morning?"

Decker Donafin looked at the elder in surprise that he should have to ask. "It's the Sabbath, Mr. Hawthorne. The manna doesn't fall on the Sabbath; that's why we gather twice as much on Friday. It will be back tomorrow."

Rhoda and Rachael had prepared a breakfast of fruit and manna pancakes. The manna was becoming a little monotonous but the company more than made up for it. After breakfast Rhoda and the children went to a worship service at one edge of the camp. Decker was invited to attend but he declined, opting to wander about on his own until later, when Rhoda and young Decker had offered to give him a proper tour of Petra's ancient ruins.

When the Donafins returned, Rhoda packed a picnic lunch and her doctor's bag and they headed out. Their plan was to start with the Broken Pediment Tomb, the Renaissance Tomb, the Triclinium, and the Roman Soldier Tomb. From there they would visit the facades of the wadi Farasa and work their way around the rest of the southern end of the city. Along the way, Rhoda explained, she would be making a few stops to visit some patients. Decker and Decker could continue on whenever she stopped and she would catch up with them.

Rhoda's plan brought up a question which had not previously occurred to Decker. "There's something I don't understand," he said. "Why do you need doctors here? I thought the KDT had the power to heal. Why don't people just go to the KDT when they're sick or injured?"

"It is God who has the power to heal, not the KDT," Rhoda answered. "Sometimes God chooses to have a member of the KDT act as his agent to heal someone, but it's not up to us to decide when that will be."

"So if you're sick you just have to hope Yahweh's in a good mood. And if he's not, then you call a doctor." Decker was not looking for an argument but he couldn't help himself.

"No," Rhoda smiled, taking Decker's remarks more as a joke than as a challenge to her beliefs. "It's not a question of God's mood. It's what his will is for the life of the individual. God never intended to do everything for us. He has given us feet to walk and a brain to think and hands to work. Yahweh is a creative god, and as his children, it is in our nature to create. When we work, whether it is as a farmer or a builder or as a doctor, we are participating in God's creation. A farmer takes the land and the seed and the rain that God has created and produces a harvest to feed his family. A builder takes the resources God has created and builds a home. As a doctor, I study the workings of the human body that God has created and when an injury occurs or when the body is invaded by some disease, then I do what I can to repair it. Work has always been a part of God's plan," she said. "Adam and Eve were told to tend the Garden of Eden, and we will continue to work even after Jesus returns and sets up his kingdom."

They stopped to rest for a moment on the ledge in front of the Broken Pediment Tomb. Before them on the plain of Petra tents stretched for mile after mile, broken only by groves of fruit trees, small play areas for the children, meeting areas, latrines, etc.

"Tell me about Petra," Decker asked as he took in the sight.

"I guess you know," Rhoda replied after a moment, "that the name Petra comes from the Greek word petros, which means rock. The origin of that name for this place is obvious enough." Decker nodded and Rhoda continued. "Originally, Petra and the area around it were inhabited by the Edomites, the descendants of Abraham's grandson Esau, who was also called Edom. Later, sometime around the third or fourth century B.C., Petra was settled by the Nabataeans, who were wealthy nomadic Bedouins who traded between Arabia and the Mediterranean.

The city served as their capitol for 400 years. At one point more than 250,000 Nabataeans lived here. Petra provided them with security and an abundant water supply and became the crossroads of the trade routes linking Syria to the Red Sea and India to the Gulf and the Mediterranean.

"In the first century, Petra became a part of the Roman province of Syria. Over time the Roman influence brought the decline of Nabataean culture, and as the trade routes changed to favor Rome, Petra went into gradual decline. By the time of the Crusades, the city was an uninhabited ruin. If you can make the climb, you can see the remains of three forts the Crusaders built when they occupied Petra in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. After they left, the city was totally uninhabited. Soon its location was entirely forgotten and it survived only as legend — a sort of Arabian version of Troy," she said, referring to the legendary city of Homer '$ Iliad.

"Then in 1812 a Swiss explorer, who had disguised himself as an Arab Muslim on pilgrimage in order to be allowed into Mecca, came across Petra on his journey and reported his discovery to the world. After that, literally hundreds of archaeological expeditions and tens of thousands of tourists poured into Petra."

"What about now?" Decker said, making a sweeping motion across the panorama with his hand. "Tell me about Petra today."

"Oh," she said, adjusting her temporal perspective. "Well, the Bible says in the book of Revelation that God would prepare a place in the wilderness for Israel to escape from Satan in the last half of the Tribulation. Before the Rapture, many believed that the place would be Petra. A few, including Rabbi Cohen and Scott Rosen's parents, even began to raise money to purchase defensive weaponry for the city. After a while, though, they realized that God intended to defend Petra himself and that their efforts would not be needed, so they spent the

money they had raised for seeds and farm tools. God promised to provide a refuge in the wilderness for us, and he said he would provide us with an ample supply of water," Rhoda paused and pointed out the Am Musa, the waterway which provided most of the water to Petra, "and trees, and of course you've seen the manna every morning for us to eat. But God never promised to give us variety; that part we've provided for ourselves with our gardens. Of course, it's God who makes the seeds grow. We do our part and he does the rest. The gardens give us something to do, too," she added. "It can get a little monotonous around here after a while."

"You said God intended to defend Petra himself. Defend it from what?" Decker asked.

"From Christopher, of course."

Decker shook his head in disbelief. "And why should Yahweh need to defend Petra from Christopher? Has Christopher ever done anything to threaten Petra?"

"Not yet, but he will. And he would have long ago were it not for the angels of God that surround Petra."

"The KDT really has you convinced that Christopher is going to send troops against you?" Decker said, both in amazement and disgust.

"It's not just what the KDT say," Rhoda answered. "It's what the Bible says."

Decker sighed and continued looking over the camp. "Are all the people here Christians, followers of the KDT?" he asked.

"No, most of the people here are not believers in Yeshua, though they will be soon. They are Jews who have come here because they found the KDT to be a not-so-evil ally, and because Petra offers refuge from the greater enemy: Christopher and the United Nations."

"So just exactly how long do you and they plan on staying here?" Decker asked.

"Not much longer. In September Christopher will bring the armies of the world against us here. Then Yeshua will return to destroy him."

"I assure you," Decker said, no longer willing to just let the matter pass, "that Christopher has no intention of sending troops to Petra."

"That will change soon."

"And what if it doesn't?" Decker asked as an idea suddenly occurred to him.

"It will," Rhoda said confidently.

"But what if it doesn't?" Decker insisted.

"But it will. There's no question about it."

No words left his mouth but it was clear he was unwilling to settle for Rhoda's answer.

"Well, then I guess," Rhoda said reluctantly, "and this is just being hypothetical: if Christopher does not march on Petra then we will have been wrong."

"And then you'll leave Petra?"

"It won't happen, but yes. I suppose many would leave Petra," Rhoda conceded grudgingly.

"Well, then, I hope you'll come see me in Babylon in October," Decker said.

"If we see each other in October, it won't be in Babylon," Rhoda replied. "It will be in Jerusalem."

"Why Jerusalem?"

"Where else would you expect Yeshua to establish his kingdom?"

"Oh, you mean if I convert."

"Of course."

"So you think there's still hope for me?" Decker laughed.

"There's always hope, Mr. Hawthorne. Scott Rosen says that you're a pretty tough customer, but then so was Tom. Of course, Tom never slugged anybody."

"I will admit Rosen tells a convincing story," Decker said. "He really knows his subject. But there are two things that neither he nor you, nor anyone else can explain away or justify, no matter how you might try. The first is the death and destruction caused by John and Cohen, and the second is the murder of innocent men and women by the fundamentalists at the communion clinics."

"I can assure you, those responsible for what happened at the clinics are not the fundamentalists," Rhoda responded. "Yes, originally Christians did try to peacefully block the entrances and try to talk people out of receiving the mark, but they certainly have not been responsible for the violence and the killings."

"What else am I supposed to believe?" Decker asked.

"That Christopher and the U.N. are doing it to create hysteria and hatred of Christians and of Yahweh," Rhoda answered emphatically. "Of course, you probably think that because you're a man of the world and I'm secluded out here in Petra, you must be right and I must be wrong."

"The thought had occurred to me," Decker responded. The admission was not a confession but an attempt to drive home the obvious truth in the observation. After all, how much could anyone in Rhoda's position, living in the middle of the desert, know about what was really happening in the rest of the world? "And then of course, there are the eyewitnesses," he added.

"True," Rhoda acknowledged. "But if Christopher can come up with the people to do the bombings and killings, then surely he can also come up with witnesses."

"I suppose," Decker said, his words granting the hypothetical possibility but his voice making it clear that he did not for one moment believe the proposition.

"But even if the eyewitnesses are not officially being put up to it by the U.N., then certainly they are unofficially" she offered.

"What do you mean?"

"Have you listened to what the news media says about the fundamentalists? They make it sound like they're subhuman. Some of the people who claim to be 'eyewitnesses' probably feel like they're doing the world a big favor to help get rid of the Christians. It's a regular witch hunt out there."

"I admit that some have let their emotions get away from them," Decker granted.

"What they say about the fundamentalists sounds remarkably like what the Nazis said about the Jews in World War II," Rhoda responded.

"You can't blame Christopher or the United Nations for what the media says," Decker answered.

"No, but I would think that anyone as caring as you claim Christopher is would make some attempt to dispute the impression that the media is giving about the fundamentalists. He wouldn't stand for charges like that against any other minority, would he? Why should he ignore it when it's the fundamentalists?"

Decker wanted to respond but he wasn't sure he had an answer. Perhaps Rhoda had a point.

"Judaism and Christianity are the only two religions that can be proved based on material evidence, yet they are the only ones whose followers are being persecuted."

"Yeah, well, I've heard all this from Rosen. But how can you really prove anything?" he asked, diverting the conversation away from Rhoda's point. "How can you be 100 percent certain we're even having this conversation? Maybe you're just dreaming."

"The real question is not whether one can be 100 percent sure of something," Rhoda answered. "The real question is this: Is there sufficient evidence that it would make it absurd to believe anything else? There is enough evidence that Jesus was the Messiah to convince even the most hardened skeptic if he would take the time to examine it and not discount it out of hand. With Christianity, the question is not 'can you believe?' but I you believe?'"

Decker shook his head in frustration. "Rhoda, there's just no need for any of this. Christopher offered to accept the KDT and I'm sure he would be willing to reissue that offer if they would just give up their narrow-minded claim to exclusive truth and stop saying that everybody who disagrees with them is going to hell. Then they and all of you would be allowed to take the communion. You can even venerate Jesus if you want. Christopher is very open minded to different beliefs; he doesn't care if someone is Buddhist or Hindu or Sikh or Muslim or any other religion. Millions of people from the mainstream Christian denominations have taken the communion."

"No Christian can take the communion or the mark. Anyone who has is a Christian in name only and is eternally lost."

"Rhoda," Decker said, exasperated, "that's exactly the narrow-minded attitude that's the cause of the whole problem. Why can't you just acknowledge that someone else might have some piece of the truth that you and the KDT don't have?"

"I know that our beliefs must sound narrow-minded, Mr. Hawthorne, but it's really just the opposite, because the one truth, the one way to God that we believe in is entirely unrestricted, completely free, totally accessible and available to everyone. God is no farther from any of us than our willingness to call upon him. I ask you," she said, drawing on the words Saul Cohen once used when speaking to her husband, "would it be narrow-minded to say that there is only one thing that everyone must breathe in order to live? I know you'll say, 'air is available to everyone.' But, Mr. Hawthorne, so is God. The Bible says that God has placed knowledge of himself inside each of us. That includes Jews and Gentiles, Hindus and Buddhists, Muslims, Christians, atheists, agnostics, and pagans. This isn't some kind of a treasure hunt, where the prize goes only to the lucky or the shrewd, or a game show where you're forced to choose blindly between the god behind door number one, door number two, or door number three. Inside each of us, we already know which is the right door. God calls to us and tells us what he is like, who he is, and where to find him. We may not know his name but we know his nature, we know his call, and we can witness his power throughout the universe. But it's up to each of us individually to decide whether we will answer God's call.

"If a person loves God and loves his neighbor as he loves himself, then in his own time God will reveal himself more and more to that person until finally he will realize that the God he serves is in fact the God of the Bible; and the one who has paid the price for the forgiveness of his sins is God's son, Jesus.

"As for who goes to hell, in the final analysis no one has to go to hell. In fact, the only ones who go to hell are those who refuse to go to heaven. Damnation is a sentence we impose upon ourself. If anyone truly seeks God, then God will provide that person with sufficient knowledge to be saved. The bottom line, Mr. Hawthorne, is this: God is, God loves, and God can be found." Rhoda was obviously finished but Decker remained silent, not wanting to argue the subject further.

"I have some other patients I need to visit," Rhoda said when it became apparent that Decker was not going to respond. "If you'd like, you and Decker can continue to explore. We'll be having dinner just after sunset."

"Sure," Decker responded. "We'll be fine."

"Okay," she said, and then addressing the younger Decker. "Take it easy. Don't wear Mr. Hawthorne out."

"Yes, ma'am," Decker Donafin answered politely as his mother gave him a kiss and then turned to leave.

"So, it's just you and me," Decker said after Rhoda had gone. "Where do you want to go first?"

"Can we go to the Lion Monument?" the younger asked.

"You bet!" Decker responded with great enthusiasm, unaware of the climb that awaited them.

The two Deckers walked and climbed and explored for the rest of the afternoon. Inside one of the carved-out tunnels which connected two adjacent facades, they had to feel their way along through nearly pitch black. The elder Decker felt the younger take his hand. It was now so dark it was impossible to see at all. "Are you afraid of the dark?" the elder asked as he felt the younger's hand tighten.

"My mom says there's no reason to be afraid because Yeshua is always with me," the younger answered. "Are you afraid?"

"A little," the elder answered.

"Yeah, me too," Decker Donafin admitted. "A little."

"Let's go somewhere else, then."

Decker Donafin nodded but of course Decker Hawthorne could not see it.

After visiting a few more sites, the elder Decker finally insisted that they stop to take a break. Half sitting, half leaning, they rested against an outcropping of stone below AdDier (the Monastery). For a few moments neither spoke — the elder because he was catching his breath, the younger because he had something on his mind — and then Decker Donafin broke the silence.

"I think I remember my dad pretty well," he said. "But sometimes my mom or Tom or Rachael will talk about him and it will be about something I don't remember at all." At last it had come to the surface — the one thing that had never left either of their minds throughout their time together: their memories of Tom Donafin. In everything they had done that day the memories had floated and wafted through their thoughts. And yet, neither had mentioned him. Everything the younger Decker did or said had either reminded the elder of his old friend or caused him to note how the father and son differed. With equal attention the younger had observed the elder and wondered how much this man for whom he had been named was like the father he now struggled to remember.

"I miss him a lot."

"I miss him, too," the elder said.

"My mom says he was a good man and that he loved God. She says we'll see him again soon when Yeshua returns."

Decker wasn't sure how to respond. "He was a good friend," he managed after a moment.

"Mom said you were with my dad when he died." "Yes," Decker answered. It was a gruesome memory and Decker hoped the boy would not ask him more about it. He need not have worried; Decker Donafin had no intention of asking for the details. After a moment's silence, Decker looked down to see tears in the boy's eyes. He hesitated for a moment and then leaned down to hug him. Decker Donafin put his arms around him as the tears flowed.

That evening after supper, Decker again entertained the Donafin children with old stories of nearly forgotten adventures and misadventures he had with Tom during their days in the news business. A few of the stories Rhoda had heard before from Tom, but Decker's slightly different telling made her wonder if either men remembered the events as they had actually occurred. Decker told them how he and Tom had been captured and taken to Lebanon, though he left out details of the torture they had endured. The Donafin children knew that their father had once been a hostage but they had not realized that his captivity had lasted almost three years.

The stories did not last nearly so long this night, as first young Decker and then Tom and Rachael fell off to sleep. Once again, Rhoda and Decker left the tent to talk a while longer.

"You'll be leaving tomorrow?" Rhoda asked.

"First thing in the morning," he answered, surprised at the confidence in his voice.

"You're welcome to stay here with us," Rhoda said. "All that waits for you outside of Petra is death."

Decker shook his head. "Tell Decker goodbye for me."

"You'll probably have an opportunity to do that yourself. He's an early riser. I expect he'll want to see you before you leave."

Decker nodded. "I'd like that," he said.

That night Decker lay awake thinking about the events of the past few days. He no longer thought much about whether he would ever get out of Petra and back to Babylon alive. Somehow he felt certain now that he would. Now his thoughts centered on young Decker and Rhoda and the rest of the Donafin family. He thought also of the others in Petra who lay crammed together, huddled in confused, misguided fear of what was happening in the outside world. As long as he had thought of them as simply followers of the KDT, he could ignore the fact that they were people. Now he knew better: he had seen them face to face, had talked with them, and felt he was beginning to understand them. He was ashamed that it had taken being kidnapped for him to realize it. Even Scott Rosen, for all his faults, was only doing what he thought best. Decker wasn't sure how, but he was determined that somehow he would find a way to reach these people, to let them know that Christopher was not their enemy, and that what Christopher promised the world was not to be feared, but welcomed.

On the plane to Jerusalem after his resurrection, Christopher had said that Decker's role would be to communicate Christopher's message to those unfamiliar with the concepts of the New Age, and to this point Decker had served Christopher well in that role. But that was more than three years ago and the job was nearly completed. Christopher's message of the evolution of Humankind was known throughout the world. Most people had experienced some clairvoyant, telepathic, telekinetic, or healing power; and 87 percent of the population had already received the communion and the mark. It had not occurred to him before, but as Decker considered it But now there was a new mission, a new job to do: to convert even those who were Christopher's opponents. And, ironically, it was Scott Rosen who had given Decker the means to effect that conversion. Rosen had told him of the calamities that were soon to be visited upon the earth, and both Rosen and Rhoda had stated their belief that Christopher would respond by assembling an army to march on Petra. In large part it was a self-fulfilling prophecy. Faced with renewed devastation, Christopher would be forced to strike at the agents of Yahweh who precipitated the devastation. If Decker could somehow alter the events predicted by the KDT so that Christopher did not march on Petra, then the KDT and their followers would have to admit they had made a mistake. And if they had made a mistake about this, then they could be wrong about other things as well. The KDT's claim to inerrancy made their hold on the people both very tight and very brittle. Like a house of cards, it was necessary only to remove one card — to cause one of their prophecies to fail — and the whole structure would collapse.

Even if all else was true, even if all the calamities did strike the earth, it was still possible to turn this around. Instead of assembling an army to march on Petra for war, Christopher could send a peace envoy, or simply do nothing at all. In this way Christopher could short-circuit the prophecy, prevent it from coming true, and show his true face as peacemaker and benevolent leader instead of the demonic beast the KDT made him out to be.

Perhaps, also, knowing what the KDT planned would allow Christopher to initiate countermeasures to limit the effects of the plagues they predicted.

Scott Rosen had kidnapped Decker and brought him to Petra to convince him that Christopher was evil and that Yahweh was good. As Decker nodded off to sleep, he realized that Rosen's actions were only a ploy of fate, which, as it had so many times before, was again putting Decker in the right place at the right time. There could be no doubt that the real reason he had been brought to Petra was so that he would come to know and understand these people so that he could find a way to convince them of the truth about Yahweh and Christopher.

"Mr. Hawthorne."

"Mr. Hawthorne."

"Wake up, Mr. Hawthorne, it's time to go."

Decker opened his eyes and looked around the room. As he twisted his body and shifted his weight to sit up, the ropes that bound his hands and feet slipped off like oversized gloves and shoes.

"It's time to go, Mr. Hawthorne," the voice of a young boy said again.

Decker rubbed his eyes and looked toward the voice. He was no longer in Petra; he was back in Lebanon, a hostage of the Hizballah. There in the open doorway of his room stood 14-year-old Christopher Goodman. "Christopher?" Decker asked, puzzled at this obviously unexpected turn of events.

"Yes, Mr. Hawthorne," Christopher answered.

"What are you doing here!?" Decker asked in confused disbelief.

"It's time to go, Mr. Hawthorne. I've come to get you," Christopher said, making no attempt to explain.

Christopher walked from the room and signaled for him to follow. Decker lifted the 115 pounds that remained of his body and followed Christopher toward the door. Halfway there, Decker hesitated. There was something he was trying to remember, something too important to forget, something he could not leave without.

"Tom!" he said suddenly. "Where's Tom?" he asked of the friend he had not seen since they were brought to Lebanon.

Christopher hesitated and then raised his arm slowly and pointed toward another door. Silently Decker opened it, looking for any sign of his captors. There was none. Inside, Tom lay on a mat identical to the one Decker had spent nearly three years sleeping on, sitting on, eating on ... living on. Tom was lying on his side with his face to the wall. Decker entered and began untying the bonds that held his friend's feet.

"Tom, wake up. We're getting out of here," he whispered.

Tom sat up and looked at his rescuer. For a moment they just stared at each other's faces. Decker forced his eyes away and began untying Tom's hands. He had not seen a mirror at any time during his captivity, and though he knew that his body was emaciated, he had not seen his face, where the most dramatic effects of his captivity were evident. Seeing Tom's face, he was struck with such grief and sympathy for his friend's similar condition that he had to look away to hold back tears.

Outside the apartment, Decker and Torn walked stealthily down the hall, hoping to avoid detection. Christopher, on the other hand, walked on ahead of them, showing absolutely no sign of concern about the seriousness of the situation. They went down a long stairway, cluttered with trash and broken bits of plaster and glass. Still there was no sign of their captors. As they emerged into the open air Decker closed his eyes as the bright sunlight struck him in the face with its warmth and glow.

"Mr. Hawthorne."

"Mr. Hawthorne."

Decker opened his eyes and looked around, struggling to remember where he was. Standing at the door was Decker Donafin. He was still in Petra.

"Wake up, Mr. Hawthorne, it's time to go."

Horror filled Decker's eyes as he suddenly understood what Tom Donafin's final words had meant.

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