by Brian Godawa
Alexander knew what this was. The prophet Daniel had written of it. The court was sitting in judgment. The books were opened.
He looked over to see Jesus, the Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven. Jesus came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him: Parousia.253
The Ancient of Days then announced to his Son, “To you is given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples should serve you. Your dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and your kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.”
A voice called out, “The dominion of the iron beast of Rome and its Little Horn has been taken away. It will be consumed and destroyed to the end.”254
The Little Horn had been prophesied by Daniel in his vision to be one of ten horns of the trampling iron beast of Rome. Those horns represented ten kings. The Little Horn was Nero Caesar.
And behold, there came up among them another horn, a little one, before which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots. He shall put down three kings. And behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking boastful things. He shall speak words against the Most High, and shall think to change the times and the law. As I looked, this horn made war with the saints and prevailed over them. They were given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time [3 1/2 years]. But his dominion shall be taken away, to be consumed and destroyed to the end. For the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given for the saints of the Most High, and the time came when the saints possessed the kingdom.
Daniel 7:8, 21-22, 24–26
Daniel had foreseen three Caesars violently uprooted before Nero: the three horns of Tiberius, Caligula, and Claudius. All three had been assassinated, which cleared the way for ascendancy of the last of the Julio-Claudian line of Caesars, the Little Horn.255
Nero had blasphemed Yahweh with high and mighty words. He had made war on the Christians, prevailing over them for three and a half years. He had sought to change the times and laws as a god until his dominion was taken away from him. All foretold by Daniel.
But the apocalyptic cosmos was not only about human monsters. Behind earthly rulers were spiritual rulers or principalities. The Watcher Azazel had been brought up from the Abyss to become the principality behind the Roman Beast in Palestine. Azazel had been captured and thrown into the Lake of Fire, ending the spiritual Beast’s reign of terror, while its earthly counterpart kingdoms would be prolonged for a season and a time.256
Alexander was shaken out of his thoughts by the next sight. He looked down and saw the whole of the Land of Israel laid out below him like a cemetery of the dead. It was the symbolic vision of Daniel’s time of the end. Alexander saw many of those sleeping in the dust of the Land rise up to be judged for what they had done during the Great Tribulation. The judgment upon apostate Israel had reduced the Land and people to a graveyard of old covenant death. Those who had rejected Messiah’s visitation arose from the dust to be judged by their victims, the martyrs. Those who had embraced Messiah rose to become the new covenant body of Israel, shining like the stars. The Israel of faith had resurrected out of the corpse of the Israel of flesh.257
Jesus had called it the Regeneration.258 It was the spiritual metaphor that foreshadowed the resurrection of the great white throne judgment that would one day occur at the end of a thousand years. At that time, the sea would give up its dead, and Death and Hades would give up the dead who were in them. And if anyone’s name was not written in the book of life, they would be thrown into the Lake of Fire.259
The voices of those on the thrones rang out, “The kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven is given to the people of the saints of the Most High. His kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.”
The true saints of the Most High were the Christians, both Jew and Gentile believers in Jesus Christ. They would live out his spiritual kingdom on earth as Jesus reigned from his heavenly throne.
Alexander suddenly noticed that he was the only human experiencing this apart from the martyrs on their thrones. Where were the great cloud of witnesses? All those Christians who had gone before him.
Jesus looked at Alexander from his throne as if he had heard his question clearly. Again, the shining brightness caused Alexander to close his eyes.
He heard the Son of Man’s response in his head. “You are not dead.”
Alexander thought, This must be my resurrection. He remembered the words of Jesus,
“Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.”
John 11:25-26
He closed his eyes and felt himself pulled away from the throne room of God.
CHAPTER 70
Qumran
Aaron and his company of thirty surviving Essene warriors had escaped from the tunnels beneath the city. Unlike the large groups of civilians hiding there, Aaron’s squad was small and able to move with stealth, killing a group of Roman guards on the perimeter wall before making their way to freedom.
Now Aaron and his comrades walked through the ruins of their once beloved community on the shores of the Dead Sea. They were like parents looking for the remains of their children in the aftermath.
Aaron was searching for something very specific. And he found it in the scriptorium. Though most everything had been pillaged or burned, marauders had taken no interest in scrolls and scribal materials. This resounded to Aaron’s benefit as he picked up a piece of flexible copper sheet metal and a small chisel.
The majority of their manuscripts were on parchment or papyrus. But the Essenes occasionally hammered out strips of copper to provide longer lasting materials for the future.
Aaron took the copper sheet and began to etch words into it with the chisel.
In the ruin which is in the valley of Acor under the steps leading to the East, sixty feet: a chest of silver and its vessels with a weight of seventeen talents.260
He paused to think of another location, then began engraving the next on the list: one hundred gold ingots in a cistern of a courtyard.
After a short time, some of his men joined him in the scriptorium. One of them, Levi, read what Aaron was engraving and asked, “What are you doing, Aaron?”
“I’m writing a list of buried treasures from the temple.”
Levi twisted his brow and said, “But it’s not true. We were all there with you. The treasures were not saved. They were burned up in the fire or taken as booty by Titus.”
“I know.” Aaron continued to chisel away the next location and treasure.
“Then why are you doing it? Why do you lie to posterity?”
Aaron stopped and looked up at his inquisitor, then at the others around him waiting for an answer.
“Because they need hope.”
“Hope?” repeated Levi. “Our community has been destroyed, our prophecies proven false. Our religion is a fraud. The temple is no more, and the covenant is broken. There is nothing left to hope for.”
“That is where you are wrong, my brother. People are obstinate. Many will continue to believe, no matter what has happened this day. And who are we to take that away from them?”
Levi was obstinate. “What about the truth?”
Aaron chortled. “Truth. What is truth.” He said it more as a statement than a question.
Levi narrowed his eyes. “Are you telling us that we should believe in something even if it is not true?”
“I am saying that there is nothing more horrible in this life than having nothing to believe in. Can you face that void, Levi? Can you live without hope or meaning or purpose?”
Levi and the others stood silent.
“Well, I cannot. And I cannot imagine the hell that will be unleashed when the whole world looks into the Abyss and the Abyss looks back into us.”
Levi looked for support from his other brothers. Aaron stared at him, daring him to do so.
&nb
sp; Levi said, “The brothers and I have counseled. We want to go to Masada. It’s safe there. We can wait for the Romans to leave, then start over.”
Aaron returned to his engraving. “Then go. I release you from my command. And I thank you for your service to the cause.”
Levi nodded to the others. One by one, they left the scriptorium.
Aaron stopped for a moment, his eyes still on the copper sheet, unwilling to see who if any would stay.
He wiped away a tear that had fallen on the copper and continued to engrave his false hope into history.261
CHAPTER 71
Pella
Cassandra sat alone, praying, on a rock overlooking the valley of Pella. The Hasmonean fortress still stood on the tall hill across the valley. From this very spot, she had watched the cult of a thousand Ebionites lead their wagons and mules out of Pella on their way back to Jerusalem. The cancer had been cut from the body. The Congregation of the Lord was on its journey toward healing.
She often spent time out here by herself, crying out to the Father. She had heard the news that the Romans had slaughtered most of the inhabitants of the city and enslaved the rest in Rome. The odds were not good for Alexander.
She had lost her husband, either to glory or to suffering. But in either case, she had lost him. She sought to keep a positive view of the future. But she could not let him go without knowing. Without being able to say goodbye. It was living torture.
“Forgive me, Lord,” she prayed. “You give, and you take away. Blessed be your name. Watch over my children and give them the abiding joy that I should have. Especially Rachel.”
Her attention was taken by the arrival of a couple dozen travelers in the valley coming up the pathway to the city.
Her immediate response was fear. She was alone out here. Strangers could not be trusted even this close to the city.
But they weren’t riding horses. Bandits almost always rode horses.
As they came closer, Cassandra could see they were not well. Some were limping. Others had bandages around their arms or chests.
Survivors of a battle.
But they had no weapons, and they didn’t look like soldiers. Several of them were women and children.
Then she focused in on the man in the lead. He had a bandage around his torso. And his walk was familiar.
The way he carried his tall frame. The way he helped others instead of himself.
“Dear Jesus,” she blurted out. “Alexander?”
She got off her rock and began hurrying down the path toward the visitors, dazed, still not believing her eyes.
“Alexander?” she kept asking. “Alexander?”
When she was within fifty yards, she saw his face clearly. At that moment his head turned to see the woman hurrying down the path. He froze, seemingly stunned, a hand holding his side.
“Alexander!” This time she almost fainted.
He moved at last. Away from his fellow travelers and toward Cassandra. He couldn’t move quickly, one hand still clutching his side.
But she could.
She could run.
“Alexander!” she shouted, charging him with her arms out.
“Cassandra!” he yelled back, quickening his awkward limp.
When they met, she didn’t hesitate, wrapping her arms around him and squeezing for all her life.
He grunted with pain and almost fell backward.
She kept repeating, “I thought you were dead, I thought you were dead.”
They pulled apart to look at each other. He had a full beard, his hair wild and dirty. But his eyes were like glittering stars of happiness.
“So did I,” he said. “Until I realized I wasn’t.”
They laughed together. Cassandra had no idea what that meant, but she laughed. They kissed each other like a couple of young lovers.
When they stopped to catch their breath, she asked, “What happened? How did you survive?”
Alexander smiled. “By God’s grace alone.” She could see his eyes were wet with tears.
The others met them now. Surviving residents of Jerusalem. He introduced each of them to Cassandra.
He told her, “Hundreds of us were hiding in the tunnels beneath the city. The Romans found us and slaughtered us like lambs.” He held his wound and smiled. “But there were so many of us, they didn’t wait around to make sure we were all dead.”
His brightness dimmed. “I had been protected by a brother in the Lord whose body shielded me from a wound that could have been fatal.”
Someone in the group spoke out, “If it were not for your husband, we wouldn’t be here.”
She looked him in the eye. “I have so much to tell you.”
“And I, you.”
She held him up as they made their way into the city.
“How are the children?” he asked.
“Noah has become quite a young man—and warrior. Samuel is two years old. He’s walking now.”
Alexander began to tear up.
She reluctantly added, “And I think he sees angels.”
Alexander looked at her, surprised. She nodded. She wasn’t joking. He smiled with joy. “Thank God he’s not like his father.”
They walked on.
But he stopped her. “You didn’t mention Rachel. How is Rachel?” He looked like he didn’t want to hear her answer.
Cassandra’s look was grave. “You are about to lose your daughter.”
“What do you mean? Is she sick?”
“Yes.” She said. But then she beamed into a grin. “She is sick in love.” Her voice cracked. “And you made it just in time to give away your daughter in marriage.”
He was stunned. “She’s getting married?”
Cassandra hadn’t known his eyes could open any wider. Turning to his companions, he exclaimed, “My daughter is getting married!” He stopped and turned back to Cassandra. “Wait a second. To whom?”
She smiled. “He’s a fine young man named Jonathan. Don’t worry, you’ll meet him soon.”
He turned back to his companions, and they congratulated him. For a single moment in time, the entire band of wounded appeared to be completely unaware of their pain as they focused on the joy of this man who had given everything for them.
After they had congratulated him, Alexander seemed to limp even faster toward home.
She heard him muttering, “I do not deserve such happiness. Thank you, Lord Jesus, thank you.” He turned to Cassandra and said, “I have been away for too long.”
“So have I,” she responded. “So have I.”
CHAPTER 72
The wedding reminded Alexander of his own wedding to Cassandra just a few years ago. The joy, the celebration, the hope. Samuel had been sitting on his lap, but the child soon squirmed his way off, and Noah had to take him.
Okay, thought Alexander. He doesn’t know me yet. It would take some time for a child of two to warm up to a father he had never known. Even Noah and Rachel had not had the time to get to know their adopted father. Alexander would be patient. He had time. He finally had time.
When Alexander had first met Samuel, he could not help but cry with joy, which had frightened the little lad. Alexander had cried a lot with his new family.
Rachel had turned pale at his appearance as though seeing a ghost, swaying as though she might faint. But Jonathan had immediately stepped forward to offer support, which made Alexander immediately like the young man. And some time spent with him assured Alexander that Jonathan would be a fine husband for Rachel.
Noah had at first stayed away from Alexander, avoiding his touch. The feeling of abandonment ran deep in his life. Alexander didn’t blame him. But Noah soon got over it and had much to tell Alexander about all he had learned from Michael and the Kharabu.
Now here they were at the wedding feast dancing, eating, drinking, and celebrating a new life for a future Christian family. The ceremony had been touching but triggered many thoughts in Alexander’s mind. As he watched Rachel travel the streets
with her wedding party in her beautiful dress and ornaments, his heart filled with happiness at the chance to see her so happy and to gain a new son-in-law.
It made him think of Jesus’s parables of the marriage feast of the kingdom. The five virgins who didn’t have the oil of the endurance of faith to meet Messiah when he came were shut out of the kingdom. But five had rejoiced in the day.262 Similarly, the apostate Jews who had rejected the offer of Messiah were not allowed into the wedding feast of the Lamb. Their city had been destroyed and the celebration offered to others. Those without the wedding garments of faith had been cast into outer darkness with weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen.263
It was the sad irony of the kingdom of God that the marriage feast of the Lamb included both the joy of redemption and the suffering of war. Both deliverance and judgment. Their nation had just gone through the most devastating event in her history. Many of their friends and family had perished in the war with Rome. But now the Remnant were here rejoicing with a feast of hope for the future.
Alexander got up at the appropriate moment and gave a toast to the bride and bridegroom. He saw the happiness on Rachel’s and Jonathan’s faces. And Cassandra’s. He lifted his chalice to the couple.
“Rachel and Jonathan. May you have many years of happiness and many children to keep you from becoming too selfish!”
Everyone laughed and drank.
He continued, “As you know, my family had suffered separation these past few years because of the will of God. I thank those of you who helped my wife and children until I returned.” He looked at Rachel. “Rachel, I have missed you.” She was already crying. “I have missed your coming of age, your discovery of love. But I thank God I did not miss your wedding.”