by Brian Godawa
Resheph and Qeteb, the twin gods of pestilence and plague, protested. “You are not the only god left in the pantheon, Molech,” said Resheph. Qeteb added, “And Dagon was betrayed by Ba’al and Asherah long before Jesus arrived.”
“Is this a council of morons?” said Molech. “The Seed of Eve, the Seed of Abraham, is coming up our holy mountain. And I am listening to fools quibbling over petty details of insignificance! Don’t just sit there! Say something, Belial.”
Belial finally spoke up. “The mole god is correct. The Nazarene has been deliberately understated in order to fool us.”
Molech felt smugly vindicated, though simultaneously insulted by the derogatory mole reference. But it was classic Belial.
“I have sent some spirits to spy on Jesus. If they have an army of the heavenly host approaching, they will alert us. In the meantime, we must arm ourselves and prepare for battle.”
• • • • •
Simon and Mary found Jesus and the three disciples in a clearing. Peter, James and John were talking amongst themselves, while Jesus knelt and prayed a short space away.
Simon and Mary crouched, trying to get a good look from their hideaway in the brush. A twig snapped beneath Mary’s foot.
They froze.
The disciples looked their way.
Peter began to walk toward them.
Mary and Simon cringed in fear of discovery.
Before Peter could discover the little spies, Jesus stood where he was and lifted his hands to heaven.
A beam of intense light burst from heaven above and bathed him in its brightness.
Peter turned back around. He and the other two ran to Jesus.
They could not believe their eyes at the sight before them.
Jesus transformed. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light.
Mary looked to Simon, whispering, “What is happening?”
“Shhh.”
She turned back to see the disciples on their knees.
Now two other figures appeared with Jesus. The two shone brightly like the sun and they conversed with Jesus.
Mary heard Peter say with excitement, “Lord, I am glad we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
Mary whispered to Simon, “That is Moses and Elijah?”
“Shhhh.”
The disciples looked up into a bright cloud that had appeared over them. They heard a voice say, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. Listen to him.”
The disciples fell to their faces on the ground, terrified.
The brightness emanating from Jesus became so intense, Simon and Mary had to shield their eyes. It felt as if their very souls were exposed and naked.
When they looked again, Moses and Elijah were gone. Jesus was alone with the three. They saw him wave in the direction of the woods behind him. It was as if he were dismissing unseen visitors. Were there others spying on him?
Jesus helped the disciples up. He looked about again to make sure there were no more of the unseen visitors that he had dismissed. Simon and Mary could hear him say to his three companions, “The Son of Man will be delivered into the hands of men. They will kill him, but he will be raised on the third day.”
The disciples were visibly shaken. Peter wept. Jesus led them out of the clearing. Simon and Mary heard him say, “Let us return to camp. Tell no one about this vision until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.”
Suddenly, Jesus stopped, turned and faced the brush where Simon and Mary were hiding. They ducked down further. They heard him call out, “And that means you two as well! Tell no one.” He winked with a smile and turned back to the disciples.
Simon and Mary looked at each other astonished. How did he know?
The four men left the woods and two little spies behind.
Their breathing labored. Mary’s eyes were as big as the moon.
She said, “He knew we were here. Who were the other spies he dismissed? Watchers?”
Simon wasn’t listening. “This is amazing, Mary. Truly amazing.”
“What was it?”
• • • • •
The evil spirits returned to Belial inside the mountain. He stared with a dire face into the blackened ooze of the Abyss that filled the large lake inside their sanctuary. Small flames of fire flitted across the surface of it.
The sixty plus other gods gathered around their leader like a bodyguard of Watchers, swords drawn, javelins and maces held tight. Would they fight this day?
Belial said, still staring into the oblivion, “It is worse than I thought.”
Molech whined, “Are the heavenly host approaching?”
“No. He transfigured.”
“Glorification,” said Molech. “Is that not a call to battle?”
“He is not attacking us on our turf. He is challenging us to his.”
“It is almost upon us,” said Belial. “All gods, prepare for war.”
• • • • •
Simon explained to Mary as they made their way back down the mountain. He was breathless.
“Moses spent so much time face to face with Yahweh, that his own face began to transfigure and shine like the sun. He had to pull a cloak over himself because the Israelites could not stand before the brightness of holiness. The direct presence of Yahweh changes one’s very being from human to divine.”
“Moses was made into a god?”
“Like a Son of God. Bene ha Elohim. But it was only a foretaste, because it would fade with time.”
Mary was putting it together. “So, Sons of God are the holy ones who surround Yahweh Elohim’s throne chariot, and they are myriad.”
“Ten thousands upon ten thousands. They are the divine ones who administered the Law of Yahweh at Sinai. They are direct creations of Yahweh, and because they are in his presence, they shine with holiness.”
“So that is why they are called ‘Shining Ones’.”
“Yes.”
“So Jesus is both a Son of Man and a Son of God?”
“The unique Son of God. The only one of his kind. What we saw was a living apotheosis, the declaration of his divinity. Yahweh in the flesh, the second Power in heaven.”
Mary knew what apotheosis was from her understanding of how Augustus was supposedly divinized after his death.
He said, “Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets.”
“Is that why Moses and Elijah were with him?”
“The giver of the Law, and the father of Prophets. But that is not all. Jesus told us to keep his secret.”
“That didn’t make sense to me. That he would die and raise from the dead in three days.”
“It is the Messianic secret, kept hidden from the principalities and the powers. And yet it was in plain sight all along.”
“What do you mean?”
“Jesus told us that no sign shall be given this generation of ours except the sign of Jonah. He said that just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. I remember reading a revelation from the angel Gabriel that was recorded on stone and stored in the library at Qumran.”
“What did it say?”
He quoted it by heart. He could never forget it.
“By three days you shall know that, thus said Yahweh of Hosts, the god of Israel,
the evil has been broken by righteousness…
Behold, all the nations gather against Jerusalem…
In just a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth…
My servant David, ask of Ephraim for a sign…
By three days, live, I Gabriel, command you, prince of princes.
“It fits together with the prophet Daniel. The breaking of evil by righteousness is Daniel’s Messiah Prince ending sin through atonement and bringing in everlasting righteousness. The shaking of the heavens and earth is the establishment of a new c
ovenant. ‘My servant David’ is a reference to Messiah, whose sign of power is resurrection after three days. He is the Lord of lords and the Prince of princes.”
“Wait, slow down,” said Mary. “You are losing me with all your scribal talk.”
Simon stopped to catch his breath and give her a smile. “The battle of the gods of the nations with Messiah will be in Jerusalem.”
Chapter 22
Demas and Gestas stood, sickened before the sight of the vile atrocity. One hundred of their comrades crucified, dead, and rotting in the hot afternoon sun on the pathway to the Zealot mountain hideout. The stench was unbearable. Gestas didn’t even try to shoo away vultures feeding off the flesh. There were too many of them. The victims had been there for a week by now, and were half eaten and covered with maggots and worms. Some bones had already fallen to the ground where they were picked clean by carnivores of the desert. It was such an ignoble death, deliberately calculated by the Romans to defile the religious beliefs of their enemies, who sought the honorable means of burial for their dead.
The brothers had made their way back to the caves, just southwest of Scythopolis, in search of Barabbas. They could not find him amidst the dead, so they hoped he had gotten away. Simon had told them where his monastic community was located, of which both he and Barabbas had originally been members. They suspected Barabbas would return to that hideout in safety to plan his next moves.
• • • • •
It took them several days to travel fifty miles south to the Qumran community on the northwestern edge of the Dead Sea. It rested on a broad plateau beside the body of salt water made infamous by the judgment on Sodom and the cities of the plain on the opposite southeastern edge. It was a self-reliant village protected by walls, more for privacy than security, and housed several hundred sectarians in a brotherhood that maintained their own agricultural plots and animal herds for sustenance. Their main concerns were contemplative solitude, austerity, the pursuit of holiness, and the maintenance of the wisdom of the ages. A scriptorium provided for the practice of copying manuscripts, and their scrolls were kept dry and cool in various libraries in caves of the surrounding desert bluffs.
Part of their obsession with holiness was multiple baptisms for ritual cleanness. Demas and Gestas dipped themselves into one of the many baptisteries around the village. It was a requirement in order to even enter the village and participate in any social interaction with the members.
The brothers walked naked down the steps into the small, enclosed pool and washed. When they exited, they were shaved of facial hair and given some simple tunics and cloaks more applicable to peaceful contemplation than the warrior garb they had arrived in. Their weapons were packed away for the duration of their stay.
At last, they were brought to a large meeting room, where they were greeted by Barabbas and fifty of his men, also clothed in the community’s apparel and clean shaven. Gestas thought it was a great disguise to avoid being recognized by any Romans snooping around in search of wanted Zealots to imprison.
Barabbas smiled and opened his arms wide. “Demas and Gestas Samaras. My two theatrical performers. Welcome to my new hideout. David hid in the Engedi, not too far from here, when he fled the wrath of Saul. I follow in his steps for my own strategy of victory.”
Follow in his steps? thought Demas. Simon the Zealot had explained to the brothers that the Messiah would be a “Son of David” following in the footsteps of his forerunner, the original anointed messiah king of Israel. Was Barabbas claiming his identity as Messiah?
Barabbas said, “It has been too long, and you have much to tell me, I dare hope. Let us share a meal.”
They sat on mats around the floor with simple food for nourishment. Bread, figs and vegetables from their gardens and plots, along with olive oil and wine from their own presses.
The brothers had shared their sorrow over the loss of their comrades to the Romans.
“I was out raiding a Herodian palace over the Jordan with these fifty men, when they were ambushed.”
Barabbas put his arm around the young man next to him, a brooding intense lad, who looked always scowling and always distrusting.
“Eleazar ben Dinai here, escaped and alerted us. He has become my right hand these days.”
Barabbas took a deep drink of wine and said, “So, my brothers, what news have you for me about the missing scribe, Simon bar Josiah?”
Demas looked at Gestas. Gestas spoke first. “We will not lie to you, Barabbas. We found Simon alive on the way to Caesarea Philippi, and a follower of the Nazarene.”
Barabbas’ festive face turned suddenly dour. “Did you kill them?”
Gestas hesitated. Demas offered, “No.”
Eleazar ben Dinai nodded and six Zealots sitting beside the two brothers grabbed them. They didn’t fight back because they expected it.
They were bound tight with ropes.
Barabbas stopped eating and wiped his hands with a towel. He leaned forward and clenched his teeth in anger. “Why did you return to me with such betrayal, knowing that you will hang?”
Gestas swallowed. But Demas was not afraid. He still didn’t care whether he lived or died. But he would try to protect his brother. “Because you needed to know, and we knew you would agree with our assessment.”
Barabbas raised his brow in feigned surprise at the challenge. “And what is your assessment?”
“The Nazarene seems to have power to sway the masses with delusion, make them believe his magic tricks. He speaks of the visitation of Yahweh, the Day of the Lord and coming judgment. But he does not tolerate violence, and prepares no arms.”
“Does he claim to be Messiah?”
Demas said, “Yes and no. He gives many hints that it is so. But he will not come out and claim it in public.”
Barabbas was not comforted by the assurance. He still appeared agitated. “And what of Simon?”
“He did not speak a single ill word of you when we were with him. He does not seem to be against you.”
Gestas added, “Jesus teaches, ‘He that is not against you is for you.’ I heard him say that if anyone wanted to be his disciple, they must deny themselves, pick up their cross, and follow him.”
“What are you trying to say?” said Barabbas, still bothered.
“Crucifixion is for insurrectionists. Jesus may be a secret Zealot.”
Demas added, “We do not think the Nazarene is your competitor or your enemy. And we believe he has a secret army hidden somewhere until the right moment for them to rise up against Rome.”
“Where is this army? I have heard not even a rumor of any forces other than the scattered bands of Amram, Tholomy and the sons of Judas.”
Gestas jumped in with a bit too much enthusiasm. “Some believe it is an army of angels, Yahweh’s heavenly host. To bring judgment.”
Barabbas looked at him as if he were a madman. “You believe such nonsense?”
“No,” said Demas, covering for his brother.
Eleazar jumped in, “Is that what the Nazarene claims?”
“Well, not explicitly,” said Gestas. “But the point is that whatever he means, he has the charisma to make the crowds believe him. And that is a necessary component of any good uprising. A believing mob.”
Barabbas continued to think about it. Eleazar said, “Where is the Nazarene now? What are his plans?”
Gestas said, “We believe he is on his way to Jerusalem.”
Barabbas said, “I am on my way to Jerusalem. How can you say he is not my competitor, if we both plan to deliver Zion?”
Now Demas and Gestas knew Barabbas was deluded into believing he was the Messiah. Eleazar was no doubt considered his Elijah.
Demas said, “But you only have fifty men. That is no longer a large enough force for an uprising.”
Barabbas smirked. “But it is enough for an assassination that is carefully orchestrated to cause an uprising.”
“How so?” said Demas.
“The Passover is ar
riving. Thousands of Jews will be filling the holy city with their devotion to Yahweh and their hatred for Rome. But so too will the Herods be there. If we can assassinate the high priest and Herod, we would bring enough chaos to turn the mob mad with vengeance.”
Gestas said, “But how will you gain the support of the crowds if you Jews murder your own leaders, Herodian or not?”
Eleazar answered, “We will nail it on the Romans somehow.”
Demas brightened with a plan. “That is why you don’t want the Nazarene dead. If he does have a hidden force of arms, then their uprising combined with yours will become an earthquake that begins with Jerusalem and rolls out through all of Judea and the Galilee. But if this Jesus is a fraud, then all his followers will no doubt move over to you as deliverer, and you can execute the Nazarene at your will after you take the crown from Antipas.”
Gestas was proud of how inventive his simple warrior brother had become with his impromptu acting. He had encouraged the messianic aspirations of Barabbas without the cheap tactic of flattery.
Gestas threw in, “And I know exactly how we can nail this on the Romans and get away with it.”
Barabbas smiled, looked to Eleazar for approval, and said, “Well, it looks like you two have just saved your lives from hanging.”
Barabbas thought privately that he would still have to kill this Jesus afterward, to consolidate his own power and authority as Messiah over Israel.
Chapter 23
Molech looked up at the walls of Jerusalem from the base of his tophet, his burning place in the Valley of Hinnom on the western side of the holy city. He was proud of all he had accomplished in Israel over the millennia as the god of the underworld. He was sick and tired of being picked on and mocked by the other gods for his taste in little children. As if their abominations were any better. Did they not know that he was born this way from the very hand of Yahweh? He simply followed his desires as all of them did, so what right did they have to judge and condemn him? Ashtart, the goddess of sex and war, who tread through rivers of blood and bizarre sexual perversity had the gall to call him detestable. Ba’al, the most high bully and mightiest ego of the pantheon, treated him like a retarded child. Dagon, that fish of the Philistines, didn’t let him build any temples in Philistia. And that bitch Asherah ignored him, even though her Phoenician people had a distinct liking for his practices. All of these divinities scoffed, spurned and spit on him from their arrogant lofty high places of privilege and bigotry.