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Chapter 20

The Christ Clone Trilogy 03 - Acts Of God

By

James Beau Seigneur

CHAPTER TWENTY

Dayenu

6:35 p.m., Saturday, August 29,4 N.A. — Babylon

Thirteen-year-old Akbctr Jahangir peered from behind a pile of boxes and wooden pallets in the alley as the back door swung open and a woman emerged carrying a large black garbage bag. There was no telling what was inside but it had been two days since he, his mother, and his little sister had eaten and he could only pray it contained some scraps of food. He would have had a better chance of finding food in the garbage behind one of the restaurants but those places were more likely to be watched by the police. He knew people who had been arrested in such places. He and his mother assumed that was what had happened to his father. No one was sure. One day his father and another man went to try to find food and they simply didn't come back.

As the woman went back inside and the door closed tight, Akbar looked all around and then made a dash for the trash can. Attempting to be both silent and quick, he removed the lid and grabbed the bag. He would not examine its contents until he was better hidden, somewhere where he was certain that no one would see that he did not bear the mark.

Sunday, August 30, 4 N.A. — Petra

"I apologize for taking so long to arrive," Benjamin Cohen said as Samuel Newberg introduced him to Chaim Levin, Israel's High Priest, "but I was in Jerusalem when I got the message that you wanted to see me."

Having finished the introductions, Newberg started to leave. "Please, Sam," the High Priest said to his assistant and long-time friend, "stay." Then turning to his guest, "If that's okay with you."

"Certainly," Cohen said. And with that the three men sat down on wooden chairs around a table at which Rose Levin had set a pitcher of water, a bowl of strawberries, and a plate of manna cookies.

"Jerusalem, you said?" Levin's implied question was how Cohen, a member of the KDT, could have gone to Jerusalem and not been arrested. As soon as he said it, he realized it really didn't need explaining; the KDT had their ways.

"The Lord provides," Cohen answered anyway.

Levin nodded, then after an uncomfortable pause, he pointed at Cohen with his little finger. "I knew your father," he said.

"I know," responded Cohen.

"We both trained under Rebbe Schneerson. We were never very close," Levin added. "Your father was five years older than I — but I believe we respected one another."

"He always spoke very highly of you," Cohen said. "He was pleased when you became High Priest."

Levin did not respond but raised his left eyebrow, smiled appreciatively, and nodded. After all these years, it was nice to know.

"How can I serve you?" Cohen asked.

Levin looked at the marking on Benjamin Cohen's forehead: the Hebrew letters spelling out the name Yeshua.

"You know," he began, "I grew up hating Christians. My mother told me I shouldn't hate; but I had heard her weeping in the night. During the second World War she spent two years in Belsen" he explained, referring to the Nazi death camp. "She weighed seventy-two pounds when the Allies liberated the camp. I blamed the Christians for what the Nazis did to the Jews, and most Christians I met when I was young did little to change my opinion. I had to adjust my thinking, though, when I met my wife. Her parents had also lived in Germany — near Wurzburg. They spent most of the war hiding above the garage of a Christian family who risked their lives to protect them from the Nazis. I did not understand it then, but in time I came to realize that evil people — people like Hitler and the Nazis — frequently attempt to clothe themselves in righteous garments to hide their true nature. I also realized that not all who claim Christ actually follow his teachings. And I suppose it occurred to me that if I blamed all Christians for the acts of some, then I as a Jew must accept blame for every act of every Jew, all the way back to Jacob for deceiving Isaac and stealing Esau's birthright, as well as for the deaths of the prophets at the hands of my ancestors. Neither of us, Jews or Gentiles, exactly has a spotless record."

"They are my ancestors, too," Cohen interjected.

Levin nodded, "Yes, but . . ." His reference to 'my' ancestors was not intended to imply otherwise. He knew the KDT considered themselves Jewish and even followed all the laws and traditions — were it not so, he would never have allowed Cohen to sit at his table — but in truth, he did still question how a person could be a Christian and be a Jew.

"I sit before you a Jew," Cohen insisted, "nothing more and nothing less. When my father studied under Rebbe Schneerson he believed Schneerson was the Messiah," Cohen said.

"As did I, as did thousands of his followers," Levin added.

"Did that make them, or my father, or you, not a Jew?"

Levin did not answer. It was a rhetorical question.

"And yet Rebbe Schneerson never even set foot in Israel, much less was he bora in Bethlehem, the city of David, as the prophet Micah said Messiah would be.92 So how is it that if a person believes that Yeshua — a Jew of the house of David, born in Bethlehem — was Messiah, they suddenly stop being a Jew?"

Levin had heard the argument before. He knew it made sense, but despite himself, despite even the purpose of this meeting, he was still uneasy with it. "For three and a half years," Levin said, letting Cohen's question pass, "we have been here together — we Jews and you KDT and your Chris . . ." Levin caught himself. "What do you prefer they be called?"

"Christians is fine," Cohen answered, "but many prefer 'Jewish Believers' to distinguish themselves as believers in Yeshua as Messiah, while making it clear that they are still Jews."

Levin nodded and restated the question. "For three and a half years we have been here in Petra together — we Jews and you KDT and your Jewish Believers — and yet none of you have ever come to call, ever come trying to convince me that we are wrong about your messiah. Why?"

Benjamin Cohen thought for a second before answering. "What could we tell you that you do not already know?" he asked. "Shall I tell you of the signs given by John and my father? Shall I tell you how, after lying dead in the streets of Jerusalem for three and a half days, they were resurrected and taken into heaven as the whole world watched? Should I explain how Christopher Goodman's speech at the Temple and the setting up of his image exactly fulfill the words of the prophet Daniel? Or would you have me show you the evidence of God's blessing on what we do — the manna and the fruit of the harvest from what had been a barren wilderness," he said as he pointed with open hands to the cookies and berries on the table.

"We know that no one could perform such miraculous signs if God were not with him," Chaim Levin immediately volunteered.

"Then shall I read to you the words of the prophets: Daniel, who said Messiah would come 483 years after the decree to rebuild Jerusalem after the Babylonian captivity. Jeremiah, who said Messiah would be of the house of David. Micah, who said Messiah would be bom in Bethlehem in Judah, and yet his origin was from days of eternity.  Shall I quote for you Isaiah, who said Messiah would be called Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace; that his ministry would begin in Galilee, that he would perform numerous miracles; that though he had done nothing wrong, he would be tried, and at his trial Messiah would not defend himself, but would be led as a lamb, silent to the slaughter; that he would be pierced for our sins and crushed for our iniquities; but that after his death he would be resurrected; and that what Messiah had done and said would be told throughout the world for generation after generation, forever. Or should I read to you the words of Zechariah, who said Messiah would come into Jerusalem riding on a donkey, and would be betrayed by a friend for thirty pieces of silver. Or shall I appeal to King David, who described Messiah's death in detail a thousand years before crucifixion was first used — the taunting of the crowds, the casting of lots for his clothing  — and who also said that Messiah would be resurrected."

Sam Newberg, who had until now remained silent, finally spoke. "How could it be," he asked with some urgency, "if all that you say is true, that our fathers could have rejected him?"

"I'm afraid," Cohen answered, "we Jews have quite a history of rejecting the ones God has sent to rescue us. Did not our fathers reject their brother Joseph and sell him into slavery because his dreams said they would all bow to him someday? And yet, years later, in accordance with God's will, they did bow to him and he rescued them from famine. Moses was rejected at first, too. He fled Egypt and went into the Sinai for forty years before he returned to free Israel from Pharaoh. But again we rejected him.111 And even when Moses had freed them from Egypt, our fathers rejected him as their deliverer twelve more times. Twice they were ready to stone him But it wasn't just Moses that they had rejected; Moses said that their grumblings were actually against God. Did not our fathers reject both Moses and God and build for themselves a graven image — a golden calf— to worship?  Even Aaron and Miriam rejected Moses' leadership.

"At the Passover in the song Dayenu, we sing that we would have been satisfied 'if he had merely rescued us from Egypt, but had not punished the Egyptians; if he had merely punished the Egyptians, but had not destroyed their gods; if he had merely destroyed their gods, but had not slain their first bom...' But it's a lie. We only fool ourselves. It should have been enough, but even after all the things God did for us, still we did not cease in our rebellion. Did not the Lord say of us through the prophet Isaiah:

All day long I have held out my hands to an obstinate people, -who walk in ways not good, pursuing their own imaginations — a people who continually provoke me to my very face.. . who say, 'Keep away; don't come near me, for I am too sacred for you!

"Is not the whole of the Bible the history of our rebellion . . . and of God's forgiveness?

"Moses said that from the day they left Egypt our fathers were rebellious against the Lord. Twice God would have destroyed all of Israel except that Moses pleaded with him not to. Did not Aaron," Cohen said looking at Levin, "whose spiritual robes you wear, say of our fathers 'these people are prone to evil'? And did not God himself call us a stiff-necked people?

"And did we not reject and rebel against God when, though he had blessed us with his law, we went our own way time and again, breaking his law and bringing his wrath down upon us?

"Is it any surprise then, that when God sent the Messiah, our fathers — and we — rejected him, too? Indeed, it would have been out of character for us to have done otherwise.

"And just as Joseph, when he was rejected by his brothers, saved the Egyptians first and then his own family, so also Yeshua, when he was rejected by our fathers, turned his attention to the salvation of the Gentiles. As it is written, I will call them 'my people' who are not my people. And now, at last, the time has come for the salvation of Israel."

"You make us sound pretty awful," Samuel Newberg said.

"No worse than we are, but perhaps still not as bad as the Gentiles. Only God knows. And yet, despite it all, God has told us through Moses that we are a people holy to the LORD, whom God has chosen out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession. It is just as you said," Cohen noted, recalling Levin's comment, "neither we nor the Gentiles have a very good record. Both of us require God's forgiveness."

Chaim Levin folded his hands in thought. For a long moment no one spoke. Finally Cohen added, "In truth, I can tell you nothing that you do not already know. I cannot make your decision any easier. I cannot convince you further. Indeed, I suspect there is nothing of which to convince you. You know the truth. You have for some time."

The High Priest took a deep breath and let it out slowly, staring deeply into Cohen's eyes as he considered what he had heard.

"The question is no longer one of finding the truth," Cohen concluded, "but of finding the courage to face the truth you have found."

Chaim Levin frowned and thought and nodded, and then thought and nodded some more. Newberg and Benjamin Cohen waited silently. "I am not familiar with your book," Levin said finally. "What do the Christian prophets say must be done?"

"The answer," Cohen said, shaking his head, "is not in the Christian prophets. Look instead to the words of Zechariah:

I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.

Thursday, September 3, 4 N.A. — Megiddo, Israel

The red light on the camera came on, indicating that the feed was live to the network.

"Armageddon," the reporter began ominously, "a word that has struck terror in the hearts of Humankind for nearly two thousand years: a word that has become synonymous with the end of the world. This is Jane Reed, reporting from the ruins of the ancient city of Megiddo above the Valley of Jezreel in Israel. It is from this mountain, on which this ancient city is built — the mountain of Megiddo or, in the Hebrew Har-Mageddon — that the apocalyptic 'Armageddon' takes its name.

"Behind me, stretching out for more than thirty kilometers, is the Jezreel Valley." The camera panned the vast expanse as the reporter continued. "It is this commanding view of the valley and the two major trade routes that passed through it that made Megiddo a point of strategic importance in the ancient Middle East, and the scene of numerous battles between 3000 and 400 B.P.E. It was here in 1460 B.P.E. that the Egyptian pharaoh Thutmose III led a successful preemptive strike against the princes of Megiddo and Kadesh to establish the western border of his empire at the Euphrates River.

"And it is here that New Testament prophecy said the final battle was to be fought.

"Ironically," the reporter continued as the camera focused again on her, "the valley beneath the mountain of Megiddo, or Har-Mageddon, does figure into what is touted as a final battle of sorts — a battle which even more ironically promises to bring to a conclusion both the religion which spawned the prophecy and even the religion that spawned the religion — but it is unlikely that either this mountain or the valley below will see any fighting. Instead the site has been chosen as the staging ground for what is expected to be the largest mobilization of international military forces in all of history, making Desert Storm of three decades ago pale by comparison. Soon military units from more than 150 member countries of the United Nations will gather here." The video feed went to a taped shot of a U.N. Corps of Engineers division marking out portions of the valley as the reporter's voice continued. "Already, advanced logistical teams are surveying the valley, and by tomorrow night, trucks will deliver mess tents and sanitary facilities for the ground troops that are expected to begin arriving within five days.

"Although actual numbers have not yet been made available," she continued as the clip ended and the camera returned live to her, "it is estimated that within two weeks this valley will shelter well in excess of six million troops. From here, some time in mid-month, the U.N. forces will travel south past Jerusalem and will cross the border into Jordan and advance to the area around the KDT stronghold of Petra. There they will be joined by additional units coming from China, India, Korea, Thailand, Mongolia, and other countries in the east. It is at Petra that the actual battle will be fought; and fought by what Secretary-General Christopher Goodman has explained will be very unconventional methods."

Thursday, September 10, 4 N.A. — 9 miles southwest of Babylon

The wheels of the small truck rolled on relentlessly, bringing the two men closer with each rotation to a confrontation which, if they were discovered, would end in their deaths. Ed Blocher looked in the mirror one more time at the mark on his forehead. It looked real, so real it was difficult to tell how much of the churning in his stomach was due to nervousness and how much was the result of being sickened by the sight of it on his face. He looked over at his co-conspirator, Joel Felsberg, who was driving. Joel seemed so confident. He had done this all before. His confidence was reassuring, but it was not enough to ease Blocher's anxiety.

Even at this distance, they could see the great city ahead of them, its walls 120 feet high and 18 feet thick, a replica of what had in the earliest accounts128 been considered one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, forming a perfect square fourteen miles on each side, encompassing the city. Inside the walls was everything Blocher detested, everything which his faith told him was sinful and corrupt. Joel Felsberg had warned him to be prepared to see and hear anything and everything: men, women and children selling themselves to satisfy the most perverse sado-masochistic whims of those with enough money; public displays of bestiality; widespread use of drugs; drunken parties that never ended as big screen televisions showed an uninterrupted blood feast of executions. And yet, behind those same walls there were also some who still served Yahweh — people who had come here seeking work before the mark became mandatory, and who afterward were unable to leave. A few were hidden in attics or basements by relatives who, though they had taken the mark and sworn allegiance to Christopher, were still reluctant to turn in members of their families. Most, however, slept in alleys and tunnels, hiding in sewers and recesses and behind crags along the river. They lived on scraps and garbage, insects and rats. The police caught as many as they could, but some still remained. It was to these that Blocher and Felsberg hoped to get this shipment of food and medicine.

They approached the checkpoint right on schedule, a little before 6:00 a.m. when the guards changed. The sentinels they would encounter had been working all night and were ready to be relieved. They were less likely to perform a thorough check than the security personnel coming on duty a few minutes later.

Joel Felsberg pulled the truck to a stop at the checkpoint and rolled down his window to hand the guard his manifest. The guard gave a cursory glance and saw that the two men inside both bore the mark on their foreheads, and took the manifest. It would have taken only a quick electronic scan of the marks to reveal that they were counterfeit, but that was an extra hassle and the guards used the scanner only if there was something suspicious. Their real responsibility was not to keep people or shipments out of the city, but to arrest anyone without the mark who tried to leave.

"I'll need you to open up the back," the sentry said as he checked the registration of the truck and manifest on his hand-held computerized verification system. It was a good system but not so foolproof that Joel Felsberg couldn't get into the network and add a few numbers or manifest records that weren't supposed to be there.

Joel got out and walked around to the back of the truck and opened it. The guard glanced in at the wooden crates of produce and climbed up on the bumper to have a better look. As long as he didn't make them unload the truck, there wouldn't be a problem. The medicine they carried, mostly tetracycline and metronidazole for dysentery contracted from eating spoiled food and from unsanitary living conditions, would give away their true purpose, for people in Babylon who had the mark and had taken the communion had no need for such medicines.

"Where is this from?" the guard asked about the produce, though its origin was clearly entered on the manifest.

"Ash-Shinafiyah," Joel Felsberg answered, referring to the city southwest of Babylon around which much of Babylon's food was grown. Inside the truck's cab, Ed Blocher tried to stay as calm as possible.

"And where's it going?" the guard asked, though that too was on the manifest.

"The U.N. cafeteria," Felsberg answered.

"You think they'll miss a couple of these melons?" he asked as he picked one from the top of a crate.

"I suppose they might not miss one or two of them," he answered.

"Okay," the guard said, taking two of the melons. "It looks like everything is in order."

Chapter 20

The Christ Clone Trilogy 03 - Acts Of God

By

James Beau Seigneur

CHAPTER TWENTY

Dayenu

6:35 p.m., Saturday, August 29,4 N.A. — Babylon

Thirteen-year-old Akbctr Jahangir peered from behind a pile of boxes and wooden pallets in the alley as the back door swung open and a woman emerged carrying a large black garbage bag. There was no telling what was inside but it had been two days since he, his mother, and his little sister had eaten and he could only pray it contained some scraps of food. He would have had a better chance of finding food in the garbage behind one of the restaurants but those places were more likely to be watched by the police. He knew people who had been arrested in such places. He and his mother assumed that was what had happened to his father. No one was sure. One day his father and another man went to try to find food and they simply didn't come back.

As the woman went back inside and the door closed tight, Akbar looked all around and then made a dash for the trash can. Attempting to be both silent and quick, he removed the lid and grabbed the bag. He would not examine its contents until he was better hidden, somewhere where he was certain that no one would see that he did not bear the mark.

Sunday, August 30, 4 N.A. — Petra

"I apologize for taking so long to arrive," Benjamin Cohen said as Samuel Newberg introduced him to Chaim Levin, Israel's High Priest, "but I was in Jerusalem when I got the message that you wanted to see me."

Having finished the introductions, Newberg started to leave. "Please, Sam," the High Priest said to his assistant and long-time friend, "stay." Then turning to his guest, "If that's okay with you."

"Certainly," Cohen said. And with that the three men sat down on wooden chairs around a table at which Rose Levin had set a pitcher of water, a bowl of strawberries, and a plate of manna cookies.

"Jerusalem, you said?" Levin's implied question was how Cohen, a member of the KDT, could have gone to Jerusalem and not been arrested. As soon as he said it, he realized it really didn't need explaining; the KDT had their ways.

"The Lord provides," Cohen answered anyway.

Levin nodded, then after an uncomfortable pause, he pointed at Cohen with his little finger. "I knew your father," he said.

"I know," responded Cohen.

"We both trained under Rebbe Schneerson. We were never very close," Levin added. "Your father was five years older than I — but I believe we respected one another."

"He always spoke very highly of you," Cohen said. "He was pleased when you became High Priest."

Levin did not respond but raised his left eyebrow, smiled appreciatively, and nodded. After all these years, it was nice to know.

"How can I serve you?" Cohen asked.

Levin looked at the marking on Benjamin Cohen's forehead: the Hebrew letters spelling out the name Yeshua.

"You know," he began, "I grew up hating Christians. My mother told me I shouldn't hate; but I had heard her weeping in the night. During the second World War she spent two years in Belsen" he explained, referring to the Nazi death camp. "She weighed seventy-two pounds when the Allies liberated the camp. I blamed the Christians for what the Nazis did to the Jews, and most Christians I met when I was young did little to change my opinion. I had to adjust my thinking, though, when I met my wife. Her parents had also lived in Germany — near Wurzburg. They spent most of the war hiding above the garage of a Christian family who risked their lives to protect them from the Nazis. I did not understand it then, but in time I came to realize that evil people — people like Hitler and the Nazis — frequently attempt to clothe themselves in righteous garments to hide their true nature. I also realized that not all who claim Christ actually follow his teachings. And I suppose it occurred to me that if I blamed all Christians for the acts of some, then I as a Jew must accept blame for every act of every Jew, all the way back to Jacob for deceiving Isaac and stealing Esau's birthright, as well as for the deaths of the prophets at the hands of my ancestors. Neither of us, Jews or Gentiles, exactly has a spotless record."

"They are my ancestors, too," Cohen interjected.

Levin nodded, "Yes, but . . ." His reference to 'my' ancestors was not intended to imply otherwise. He knew the KDT considered themselves Jewish and even followed all the laws and traditions — were it not so, he would never have allowed Cohen to sit at his table — but in truth, he did still question how a person could be a Christian and be a Jew.

"I sit before you a Jew," Cohen insisted, "nothing more and nothing less. When my father studied under Rebbe Schneerson he believed Schneerson was the Messiah," Cohen said.

"As did I, as did thousands of his followers," Levin added.

"Did that make them, or my father, or you, not a Jew?"

Levin did not answer. It was a rhetorical question.

"And yet Rebbe Schneerson never even set foot in Israel, much less was he bora in Bethlehem, the city of David, as the prophet Micah said Messiah would be.92 So how is it that if a person believes that Yeshua — a Jew of the house of David, born in Bethlehem — was Messiah, they suddenly stop being a Jew?"

Levin had heard the argument before. He knew it made sense, but despite himself, despite even the purpose of this meeting, he was still uneasy with it. "For three and a half years," Levin said, letting Cohen's question pass, "we have been here together — we Jews and you KDT and your Chris . . ." Levin caught himself. "What do you prefer they be called?"

"Christians is fine," Cohen answered, "but many prefer 'Jewish Believers' to distinguish themselves as believers in Yeshua as Messiah, while making it clear that they are still Jews."

Levin nodded and restated the question. "For three and a half years we have been here in Petra together — we Jews and you KDT and your Jewish Believers — and yet none of you have ever come to call, ever come trying to convince me that we are wrong about your messiah. Why?"

Benjamin Cohen thought for a second before answering. "What could we tell you that you do not already know?" he asked. "Shall I tell you of the signs given by John and my father? Shall I tell you how, after lying dead in the streets of Jerusalem for three and a half days, they were resurrected and taken into heaven as the whole world watched? Should I explain how Christopher Goodman's speech at the Temple and the setting up of his image exactly fulfill the words of the prophet Daniel? Or would you have me show you the evidence of God's blessing on what we do — the manna and the fruit of the harvest from what had been a barren wilderness," he said as he pointed with open hands to the cookies and berries on the table.

"We know that no one could perform such miraculous signs if God were not with him," Chaim Levin immediately volunteered.

"Then shall I read to you the words of the prophets: Daniel, who said Messiah would come 483 years after the decree to rebuild Jerusalem after the Babylonian captivity. Jeremiah, who said Messiah would be of the house of David. Micah, who said Messiah would be bom in Bethlehem in Judah, and yet his origin was from days of eternity.  Shall I quote for you Isaiah, who said Messiah would be called Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace; that his ministry would begin in Galilee, that he would perform numerous miracles; that though he had done nothing wrong, he would be tried, and at his trial Messiah would not defend himself, but would be led as a lamb, silent to the slaughter; that he would be pierced for our sins and crushed for our iniquities; but that after his death he would be resurrected; and that what Messiah had done and said would be told throughout the world for generation after generation, forever. Or should I read to you the words of Zechariah, who said Messiah would come into Jerusalem riding on a donkey, and would be betrayed by a friend for thirty pieces of silver. Or shall I appeal to King David, who described Messiah's death in detail a thousand years before crucifixion was first used — the taunting of the crowds, the casting of lots for his clothing  — and who also said that Messiah would be resurrected."

Sam Newberg, who had until now remained silent, finally spoke. "How could it be," he asked with some urgency, "if all that you say is true, that our fathers could have rejected him?"

"I'm afraid," Cohen answered, "we Jews have quite a history of rejecting the ones God has sent to rescue us. Did not our fathers reject their brother Joseph and sell him into slavery because his dreams said they would all bow to him someday? And yet, years later, in accordance with God's will, they did bow to him and he rescued them from famine. Moses was rejected at first, too. He fled Egypt and went into the Sinai for forty years before he returned to free Israel from Pharaoh. But again we rejected him.111 And even when Moses had freed them from Egypt, our fathers rejected him as their deliverer twelve more times. Twice they were ready to stone him But it wasn't just Moses that they had rejected; Moses said that their grumblings were actually against God. Did not our fathers reject both Moses and God and build for themselves a graven image — a golden calf— to worship?  Even Aaron and Miriam rejected Moses' leadership.

"At the Passover in the song Dayenu, we sing that we would have been satisfied 'if he had merely rescued us from Egypt, but had not punished the Egyptians; if he had merely punished the Egyptians, but had not destroyed their gods; if he had merely destroyed their gods, but had not slain their first bom...' But it's a lie. We only fool ourselves. It should have been enough, but even after all the things God did for us, still we did not cease in our rebellion. Did not the Lord say of us through the prophet Isaiah:

All day long I have held out my hands to an obstinate people, -who walk in ways not good, pursuing their own imaginations — a people who continually provoke me to my very face.. . who say, 'Keep away; don't come near me, for I am too sacred for you!

"Is not the whole of the Bible the history of our rebellion . . . and of God's forgiveness?

"Moses said that from the day they left Egypt our fathers were rebellious against the Lord. Twice God would have destroyed all of Israel except that Moses pleaded with him not to. Did not Aaron," Cohen said looking at Levin, "whose spiritual robes you wear, say of our fathers 'these people are prone to evil'? And did not God himself call us a stiff-necked people?

"And did we not reject and rebel against God when, though he had blessed us with his law, we went our own way time and again, breaking his law and bringing his wrath down upon us?

"Is it any surprise then, that when God sent the Messiah, our fathers — and we — rejected him, too? Indeed, it would have been out of character for us to have done otherwise.

"And just as Joseph, when he was rejected by his brothers, saved the Egyptians first and then his own family, so also Yeshua, when he was rejected by our fathers, turned his attention to the salvation of the Gentiles. As it is written, I will call them 'my people' who are not my people. And now, at last, the time has come for the salvation of Israel."

"You make us sound pretty awful," Samuel Newberg said.

"No worse than we are, but perhaps still not as bad as the Gentiles. Only God knows. And yet, despite it all, God has told us through Moses that we are a people holy to the LORD, whom God has chosen out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession. It is just as you said," Cohen noted, recalling Levin's comment, "neither we nor the Gentiles have a very good record. Both of us require God's forgiveness."

Chaim Levin folded his hands in thought. For a long moment no one spoke. Finally Cohen added, "In truth, I can tell you nothing that you do not already know. I cannot make your decision any easier. I cannot convince you further. Indeed, I suspect there is nothing of which to convince you. You know the truth. You have for some time."

The High Priest took a deep breath and let it out slowly, staring deeply into Cohen's eyes as he considered what he had heard.

"The question is no longer one of finding the truth," Cohen concluded, "but of finding the courage to face the truth you have found."

Chaim Levin frowned and thought and nodded, and then thought and nodded some more. Newberg and Benjamin Cohen waited silently. "I am not familiar with your book," Levin said finally. "What do the Christian prophets say must be done?"

"The answer," Cohen said, shaking his head, "is not in the Christian prophets. Look instead to the words of Zechariah:

I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.

Thursday, September 3, 4 N.A. — Megiddo, Israel

The red light on the camera came on, indicating that the feed was live to the network.

"Armageddon," the reporter began ominously, "a word that has struck terror in the hearts of Humankind for nearly two thousand years: a word that has become synonymous with the end of the world. This is Jane Reed, reporting from the ruins of the ancient city of Megiddo above the Valley of Jezreel in Israel. It is from this mountain, on which this ancient city is built — the mountain of Megiddo or, in the Hebrew Har-Mageddon — that the apocalyptic 'Armageddon' takes its name.

"Behind me, stretching out for more than thirty kilometers, is the Jezreel Valley." The camera panned the vast expanse as the reporter continued. "It is this commanding view of the valley and the two major trade routes that passed through it that made Megiddo a point of strategic importance in the ancient Middle East, and the scene of numerous battles between 3000 and 400 B.P.E. It was here in 1460 B.P.E. that the Egyptian pharaoh Thutmose III led a successful preemptive strike against the princes of Megiddo and Kadesh to establish the western border of his empire at the Euphrates River.

"And it is here that New Testament prophecy said the final battle was to be fought.

"Ironically," the reporter continued as the camera focused again on her, "the valley beneath the mountain of Megiddo, or Har-Mageddon, does figure into what is touted as a final battle of sorts — a battle which even more ironically promises to bring to a conclusion both the religion which spawned the prophecy and even the religion that spawned the religion — but it is unlikely that either this mountain or the valley below will see any fighting. Instead the site has been chosen as the staging ground for what is expected to be the largest mobilization of international military forces in all of history, making Desert Storm of three decades ago pale by comparison. Soon military units from more than 150 member countries of the United Nations will gather here." The video feed went to a taped shot of a U.N. Corps of Engineers division marking out portions of the valley as the reporter's voice continued. "Already, advanced logistical teams are surveying the valley, and by tomorrow night, trucks will deliver mess tents and sanitary facilities for the ground troops that are expected to begin arriving within five days.

"Although actual numbers have not yet been made available," she continued as the clip ended and the camera returned live to her, "it is estimated that within two weeks this valley will shelter well in excess of six million troops. From here, some time in mid-month, the U.N. forces will travel south past Jerusalem and will cross the border into Jordan and advance to the area around the KDT stronghold of Petra. There they will be joined by additional units coming from China, India, Korea, Thailand, Mongolia, and other countries in the east. It is at Petra that the actual battle will be fought; and fought by what Secretary-General Christopher Goodman has explained will be very unconventional methods."

Thursday, September 10, 4 N.A. — 9 miles southwest of Babylon

The wheels of the small truck rolled on relentlessly, bringing the two men closer with each rotation to a confrontation which, if they were discovered, would end in their deaths. Ed Blocher looked in the mirror one more time at the mark on his forehead. It looked real, so real it was difficult to tell how much of the churning in his stomach was due to nervousness and how much was the result of being sickened by the sight of it on his face. He looked over at his co-conspirator, Joel Felsberg, who was driving. Joel seemed so confident. He had done this all before. His confidence was reassuring, but it was not enough to ease Blocher's anxiety.

Even at this distance, they could see the great city ahead of them, its walls 120 feet high and 18 feet thick, a replica of what had in the earliest accounts128 been considered one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, forming a perfect square fourteen miles on each side, encompassing the city. Inside the walls was everything Blocher detested, everything which his faith told him was sinful and corrupt. Joel Felsberg had warned him to be prepared to see and hear anything and everything: men, women and children selling themselves to satisfy the most perverse sado-masochistic whims of those with enough money; public displays of bestiality; widespread use of drugs; drunken parties that never ended as big screen televisions showed an uninterrupted blood feast of executions. And yet, behind those same walls there were also some who still served Yahweh — people who had come here seeking work before the mark became mandatory, and who afterward were unable to leave. A few were hidden in attics or basements by relatives who, though they had taken the mark and sworn allegiance to Christopher, were still reluctant to turn in members of their families. Most, however, slept in alleys and tunnels, hiding in sewers and recesses and behind crags along the river. They lived on scraps and garbage, insects and rats. The police caught as many as they could, but some still remained. It was to these that Blocher and Felsberg hoped to get this shipment of food and medicine.

They approached the checkpoint right on schedule, a little before 6:00 a.m. when the guards changed. The sentinels they would encounter had been working all night and were ready to be relieved. They were less likely to perform a thorough check than the security personnel coming on duty a few minutes later.

Joel Felsberg pulled the truck to a stop at the checkpoint and rolled down his window to hand the guard his manifest. The guard gave a cursory glance and saw that the two men inside both bore the mark on their foreheads, and took the manifest. It would have taken only a quick electronic scan of the marks to reveal that they were counterfeit, but that was an extra hassle and the guards used the scanner only if there was something suspicious. Their real responsibility was not to keep people or shipments out of the city, but to arrest anyone without the mark who tried to leave.

"I'll need you to open up the back," the sentry said as he checked the registration of the truck and manifest on his hand-held computerized verification system. It was a good system but not so foolproof that Joel Felsberg couldn't get into the network and add a few numbers or manifest records that weren't supposed to be there.

Joel got out and walked around to the back of the truck and opened it. The guard glanced in at the wooden crates of produce and climbed up on the bumper to have a better look. As long as he didn't make them unload the truck, there wouldn't be a problem. The medicine they carried, mostly tetracycline and metronidazole for dysentery contracted from eating spoiled food and from unsanitary living conditions, would give away their true purpose, for people in Babylon who had the mark and had taken the communion had no need for such medicines.

"Where is this from?" the guard asked about the produce, though its origin was clearly entered on the manifest.

"Ash-Shinafiyah," Joel Felsberg answered, referring to the city southwest of Babylon around which much of Babylon's food was grown. Inside the truck's cab, Ed Blocher tried to stay as calm as possible.

"And where's it going?" the guard asked, though that too was on the manifest.

"The U.N. cafeteria," Felsberg answered.

"You think they'll miss a couple of these melons?" he asked as he picked one from the top of a crate.

"I suppose they might not miss one or two of them," he answered.

"Okay," the guard said, taking two of the melons. "It looks like everything is in order."