In His Image
Page 48
Turning his attention from the KDP and again to his broader audience, Christopher declared, “It is not in your nature to be a servant to anyone!”
Because of the distance between the crowds and Christopher at the top of the pinnacle, and because of the way the wind blew his robes, no one had noticed the two objects at Christopher’s feet. They were more evident to those who watched by television, but no one had really given them much thought during his electrifying address. Certainly, no one suspected that the items had been taken from the Ark of the Covenant.
“I have told you of an evil tyrant,” Christopher continued, “a spiritual entity who has held the world in chains. For many who are listening and watching it will come as no surprise that the one of whom I speak—the one for whom John, Cohen, and the Koum Damah Patar have inflicted such ruin—is the same one who has demanded that his people offer him the blood of innocent animals as tribute.”
Christopher paused to pick up the articles at his feet and raised them above his head. It was still not clear to the audience in Jerusalem, but it was now obvious on television that he held two stone tablets. On the tablets a strange script could clearly be seen as the cameras zoomed in. Christopher was holding the Ten Commandments. A sudden gasp swept through the multitude in Jerusalem.
“No longer,” Christopher shouted, his voice now showing his full fury, “no longer shall the senseless dictates of spiritual tyrants have dominion over this planet!” With that declaration, Christopher hurled the two ancient tablets to the street, 180 feet below, where they shattered into pieces so small they could not be distinguished from the tiny bits of gravel. The mostly Jewish audience, which to this point had been largely favorable to Christopher, now stood stunned and motionless in shock. Christopher had just taken a national religious treasure and transformed it to dust. His address had been stirring, but no one expected it to result in this.
Christopher continued, aware that he must quickly recapture the people’s attention if he was going to win their support. “The things I have promised are real and they are within humanity’s grasp. I say this from experience!
“Earth is not alone in the universe,” Christopher explained. “Just as scientists have long suspected, there are thousands of other planets in the universe where life exists. One of those planets, an ancient and beautiful world circling a star beyond the Pleiades, is known as Theata. Life there evolved long before it did on earth. The people of Theata had already advanced to the beginnings of their space age four billion years before the first one-celled animals appeared on the earth. It is a planet where hunger and fear no longer exist, where death is unknown, where people have taken the final step of evolution and become one in spirit and flesh, a planet whose inhabitants have fully become the god that is within them! It is from this distant, highly advanced planet that life on earth came. The people of Theata are the parent race of human life here. I have come that all that is theirs may be yours!”
Christopher’s account of the origin of human life on earth was interesting, but hardly sufficient to cause the people in Jerusalem to ignore what he had just done with the stone tablets brought down by Moses from Mount Sinai. Christopher sensed their unease and realized it was time to give the world a demonstration of his abilities.
“The future I offer you is a future of power,” he proclaimed. “Including the power to control nature, as Robert Milner, who is Elijah, has shown you. But power, like the final steps of evolution, cannot be given. For it to be truly yours, it must be taken. Take and it will be given to you! I have ended the reign of terror brought on by John and Cohen; I have ended the plague of madness which threatened the whole earth; and now I shall begin the restoration of the earth!”
Christopher stretched out his right arm with his palm down. For a long moment there was no sound, and the throng began to murmur. Chaim Levin, the high priest, robes torn and covered with mud, saw his opportunity and began to try to draw their attention. But before he could speak, a stirring at the edges of the gathering distracted the attention of everyone.
From the recently rain-soaked ground along the road and around the buildings, anywhere with soil, there was a visible motion as, before the eyes of everyone, grass and flowers began to grow where before there had been none. As if watching time-lapse photography, the people witnessed in awe the earth release plant life of beautiful greens, reds, yellows, and purples. Flowering bushes sprouted from the barren ground and suddenly the air filled with the fragrance of spring.
But the miracle was not only in Jerusalem. Christopher remained silent and motionless for nearly five minutes as throughout the world plant life began to spring up and grow. Many of the smaller plants grew to full maturity in just moments, and in the fire-blackened areas, young trees grew to heights of six, eight, and ten feet. Finally Christopher dropped his arm and the amazing growth slowed again to normal speeds.
“I have come that power such as this may be yours,” he shouted. There was evidence of exhaustion in his voice, suggesting that the proof of his powers had not come without a good deal of effort.
“As I have said,” Christopher noted, making his point again, “I do not ask for or seek your worship. I ask instead for your allegiance.” There was no hesitation now as the vast majority of the assembly, along with those around the world, clapped or cheered or shouted out his name.
Again Christopher raised his right hand, but this time it was to quiet the crowd.
“Some may ask,” Christopher continued, “what of the billions who have died in Yahweh’s disasters?” He paused to allow the thought to register with his listeners. He knew that while only a few might have that question in mind in the context of his speech, for many it undoubtedly would come to mind soon after. It was better to deal with it now instead of waiting for it to be asked.
Shaking his head sympathetically, he said, “It is not possible to restore their lives. But those of you who mourn the deaths of friends and family need not grieve. Instead, rejoice in the knowledge that they are not truly dead. They will feel the earth beneath their feet again, for gods cannot truly die. As Jesus told Nicodemus two thousand years ago, ‘You must be born again.’ 6 So it is for those who have died. Whether it is called reincarnation or being ‘born again’ or by some other name, the truth is that some who died over the past three and a half years have already been born again; though thankfully, few will remember their former lives. Nonetheless, as the Hindus and Buddhists teach, the suffering they underwent in their previous lives serves as a stepping stone to higher, brighter futures. So do not weep or mourn. Dry your tears and rejoice that when they return, they will be born into the age to which Humankind has always aspired: the New Age, the Age of Ascension for all Humankind.
“People of the earth, people of Jerusalem, the time has come to put aside those things that separate us. The destiny of all Humankind awaits the unity of all Humankind. No longer let us consider such differences as skin color, gender, language, or place of birth. No longer let there be division between races or nationalities. And no longer let there be Gentile or Jew. All of these distinctions are now null and void,” Christopher said. “All people are the chosen people!
“As such, let this building no longer be a temple to Yahweh, but a monument to the godhood of man. No more shall innocent animals be led here for brutal slaughter to a bloodthirsty god. From this day forward the killing must cease and the Temple shall be open to all!”
Toward the front of the assembly, Decker Hawthorne braced himself for what he knew was about to come.
“If any still doubt,” Christopher said, preparing to conclude his oration, “I offer a final proof that I am who I say. Four billion years ago, it took twenty-three hundred years, traveling at nearly the speed of light, for the crude space vessels sent out by the people of Theata to reach the earth. Now that they have evolved to spirit form, that distance can be traveled in less than a second!
“All that is Theata’s is yours for the taking. At this very moment there are
millions of our brothers all around us. They have come to lead, to guide each person of earth in the way they must go to enter into oneness with the universe.
“Can you see them?” Christopher cried. “Can you see them?” Christopher raised his right hand in the air, held his head back majestically and shouted, “Behold the hosts of heaven!”
Suddenly the sky was filled with thousands or hundreds of thousands of beautiful lights, some hundreds of meters across, some as small as the head of a pin, some moving slowly, some darting about at incredible speed.
“Behold the hosts of heaven!” Christopher thundered and then leapt from the pinnacle.
1B. J. Culliton, “Mystery of the Shroud of Turin Challenges 20th Century Science,” Science, 21 July 1978, 201:235-239.
2For the resulting article see K. F. Weaver, “Mystery of the Shroud.” National Geographic, June 1980, 157:729-753.
3John Jackson’s comments paraphrased. For actual words as recorded by Dr. John H. Heller, see Report on the Shroud of Turin (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1983), 76.
4Eric Jumper’s comments paraphrased. For actual words as recorded by Dr. John H. Heller, see ibid, 77.
5Don Devan’s comments paraphrased. For actual words as recorded by Dr. John H. Heller, see ibid., 82.
6Conversation between John Heller and Ray Rogers is paraphrased. For actual words as recorded by Dr. John H. Heller, see ibid., 86-87.
7Roberto Suro, “Church Says Shroud of Turin Isn’t Authentic,” The New York Times, 14 October 1988, sect. 1, p. 1.
8Heller, Report on the Shroud of Turin, 181-188, 197-200, 215-216.
9 Ibid., 126, 163.
10 Francis Crick, Life Itself (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1983).
11 Sir Fred Hoyle and Chandra Wickramasinghe, Diseases from Space (London: Dent, 1979).
12 Josephus, The Jewish War, VII, 1. See also Midrash Rabba, Lamentations 1:31, where it is reported that Vespasian’s General Pangar, when asked why he had not destroyed the Western Wall of the Temple, responded, “I acted so for the honor of your empire … When people look at the Western Wall, they will exclaim, ‘Behold the might of Vespasian from what he did not destroy!’”
13 Matthew 24:2.
14 1981, Paramount.
15 Ezra 1:7.
16 2 Maccabees 2:4-8.
17 Jerome, on Eph. 5. 4. (Migne PL 26, cols, 552 C-D), cited by J. K. Elliot in The Apocryphal New Testament (Clarendon Press, Oxford University Press, 1993).
18 Matthew 26:50-52; Mark 14:47; Luke 22:50-51; John 18:10.
19 Matthew 27:51.
20 1 Corinthians 15:6.
21 Hebrews 9:4.
22 1956, Paramount.
23 1964, Disney.
24 Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, and Henry Lincoln, Holy Blood, Holy Grail (New York: Delacorte Press, 1982), 200.
25 See, for example, Dan Bahat, “Jerusalem Down Under: Tunneling Along Herod’s Temple Mount Wall,” Biblical Archaeology Review, Vol. 21, No. 6 (November/December 1995), 30-47.
26 Daniel Pearl was kidnapped in Karachi, Pakistan, on January 23, 2002, while working on a story.
27 Arabic for “Lebanon.”
28 Nguyen Chi Thien, “I Just Keep Silent When They Torture Me,” in Flowers From Hell (Southeast Asia Studies, Yale University, 1984), 105. Used by permission.
29 Knopf, 1969.
30 Matthew 27:46.
31 Readers are reminded of the Important Note from the Author at the beginning of this book.
32 Ezekiel 38:22; 39:4-6.
33 Multiple Independently targetable Re-entry Vehicle.
34 Ezekiel 38-39.
35 Under the new structure, alternates could not introduce, second, or even vote on Security Council motions. Those privileges were limited to the ten primary members (one from each of the world’s ten regional divisions).
36 The World Peace Organization was organized under the new UN structure to consolidate the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan, and the UN’s other ground, air, and naval peacekeeping forces.
37 Act 3, Scene 2.
38 Jeremiah 35:18-19.
39 1 Corinthians 13:12 (KJV).
40 John 19:26.
41 John 21:22.
42 John 21:23.
43 Matthew 20:20-23.
44 Acts 12:1-2.
45 Matthew 20:20-23.
46 Revelation 10:10-11.
47 According to Genesis 5:25-26, Methuselah lived to be 969.
48 As Tertullian reported, De praescriptione hereticorum 36.
49 Mark 9:1; also Matthew 16:28, 24:34.
50Adversus haereses, 2.22.5.
51Lehbuchder Dogmengeschichte, 1885-1889.
52 John 7:53 through 8:11 does not appear in the earliest manuscripts of John’s gospel, and the original inclusion of John 21 is questioned based on contextual issues.
53 For information on Prester John, see for instance: E. D. Ross, “Prester John and the Empire of Ethiopia,” Arthur P. Newton (ed.), Travel and Travellers of the Middle Ages (New York: Barnes & Noble, 1968; first published in 1926), 174-194; C. F. Beckingham, “The Quest for Prester John,” Bulletin of The John Rylands University Library, LXII (1980), 290-310.
54 The dominance the “Big Five” permanent members of the Security Council demanded when they established the United Nations in 1945 included the assurance that the secretary-general would be acceptable to all five. Since no one with ties to any of the five would be considered unbiased, it was agreed that the secretary-general would be from a nonaligned country. The Security Council would select a mutually acceptable candidate who would then be presented to the General Assembly for approval.
55 Current Era, or A.D.
56 Ezra 7:6-7.
57 Before Current Era, or B.C.
58 Sanhedrin, Tractate 976, Nezikin Vol. 3, Rabbi Samuel B. Nahmani speaking in the name of Rabbi Jonathan.
59 Isaiah 53, The Prophets Nevi’im, A new translation of the Holy Scriptures according to the Masoretic text, second section (Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society of America, 1978), 477-478.
60 Ibid.
61 Ibid., 477.
62 According to 1 Samuel 6:19, because the men of the city of Beth Shemesh looked into the Ark, seventy died (most Hebrew manuscripts and the Septuagint put the number at 50,070). For another example, see 2 Samuel 6:6.
63 1 Chronicles 13:10.
64 Readers are reminded of the Important Note from the Author at the beginning of this book.
65 John 19:25-27.
66 Matthew 27:5.
1 Exodus 20:25.
2 Malachi 4:5–6.
3 1 Kings 18:19–40.
4 Malachi 4:5–6; Matthew 17:10–13.
5 Genesis 11:1–9.
6 John 3:7.