by Irvin Baxter
“Zechariah 11:12 foretold that the price of betrayal would be thirty pieces of silver. That’s the exact amount that the priests gave to Judas for his part in the conspiracy.”
Uri couldn’t believe it. “Are you saying that the exact amount of the betrayal money was prophesied in the Book of Zechariah five hundred years before it happened? That’s incredible! Why wouldn’t anybody believe that?”
“You tell me, Uri,” David said. “Why haven’t you believed it?”
“Because I didn’t know that was in Zechariah,” Uri answered.
“Exactly,” came David’s reply. “That’s the reason Roger and I are doing what we are doing. That’s the reason for the radio interviews, the prophecy conferences, all the videos, tapes, and literature.”
“David, I see it!” Uri shouted. “It is so clear that Jesus came as our Messiah, but we missed Him because we didn’t know the Scriptures. What do I need to do?”
David said, “I’ll need to sit down with you and explain the gospel. Are you free later this evening?”
“This evening will be fine,” Uri said. If he had had something scheduled, he would have canceled it. “Why don’t you stop by my house for dinner at about six? After that we can talk. I want my wife Miriam to hear this too.”
After Uri left, David continued toward the Western Wall. As always, the worshipers were rocking back and forth, praying for the coming of the Messiah. As David watched them, he realized that he had never had to pray that prayer one time in his entire life. He had the wonderful privilege of knowing that the Messiah had already come.
He made the ascent on up onto the Temple Mount itself. As he entered the door to the Temple Mount, his eyes fell on the Al Aqsa Mosque on the right. Al Aqsa could accommodate up to five thousand Muslim worshipers at one time. Between Al Aqsa and the Dome of the Rock was a beautiful fountain. It was here that the Muslims washed their faces, hands, and feet before entering the mosques. On his left, he could see the beautiful Dome of the Rock. How ironic, David thought. The Jews below and over in the Temple area are praying to Jehovah. The Muslims are praying to Allah. And here I am trying to convince them both about the reality of Jesus. When he arrived at the Temple site, his first glimpse elicited a gasp from David. Though he visited the Temple Mount almost every day, he still was struck with awe at the beauty of the Third Temple.
Some Christian preachers felt that it was a horrible thing that a new Jewish Temple had been built, but David didn’t feel that way. Since World War II, the world had witnessed the rebirth of the nation of Israel, the return of the Jewish people to Jerusalem, and now the building of the Third Temple. Ezekiel 37 had specifically prophesied the rebirth of Israel as a nation. The rebuilding of the Temple was also prophesied in the Scriptures. The world was actually watching a revival take place that was engineered by God Himself. One more major event had to happen to make that revival complete. But just because the revival was not yet complete did not destroy the fact that a sovereign act of God was in progress in the earth. The climactic moment would be when Jesus returned to earth to be crowned as King of kings and Lord of lords. David knew that day was not far away.
As he stepped into the outer court of the Temple, a voice beside him said, “Aren’t you David Freeman?”
Turning to his left, David saw a Jewish man of about 34 years of age. He was dressed in the black suit and black hat of the Hasidic Jews. “Yes, I’m David,” he replied, smiling. “And your name?”
“I’m Caleb Golden. I have been listening to many of your radio interviews. At first, you made me very angry. But after a while I became more and more interested. Now I listen every chance I get. I’ve learned so much from you and Roger. Thank you so much for all of your teaching.”
“You’re so welcome, Caleb,” David replied. “If you listen to us every day, then you realize that we are Christians.”
“Yes, I do realize that.” Tears brimmed in Caleb’s eyes as he talked. “And for some time I’ve been carefully considering the prophecies that indicate Jesus was the Messiah. It seemed like these things really converged in my life last night. I read Isaiah 53 through several times last evening. Every time I read it, it seemed more and more clear to me that it was speaking of Jesus. Finally, I said to God, ‘If this is true, let my path cross with the path of Roger Cornell or David Freeman tomorrow.’ When I saw you, I knew I had to speak to you about it.”
“Caleb, that is wonderful!” David exclaimed. “God is obviously working in your life.”
“What do I do now?” Caleb inquired.
“Would your schedule permit you to attend my Bible class tomorrow at one o’clock at the Mount of Olives Hotel?” David asked.
“Yes. I can be there,” Caleb replied excitedly.
“Good,” David said. “There will be many other new Christians there as well. I’ll tell you then what you should do next.”
David glanced at his watch. It was four o’clock. He had to be at Uri and Miriam’s house for dinner at six. He had just enough time to stop by his hotel room so that he could freshen up and rest a few minutes.
David had taken a room at the King Solomon since it was located near the Temple Mount. As he stepped into the hotel’s side entrance, his eyes swept over the lobby. For the past few weeks, he had been followed almost constantly. It had gotten to the point where he could pick the plain-clothed secret serviceman out of a crowd almost every time. At first, David didn’t spot anyone. But just as he entered the elevator, he saw him. The man had positioned himself in a chair behind the big potted plant. He was reading a copy of the Jerusalem Post.
As the door of the elevator closed, David punched the button for the fourth floor where he was staying. Suddenly, the strongest impression came to his mind. Don’t go to your room! He didn’t hesitate. Quickly he pushed floor two. When the door opened, he walked rapidly to the end of the hall, entered the stairway, and ran down the steps, taking them two at a time. Going all the way to the basement level, he proceeded swiftly to the back employees’ entrance, which exited into the garden.
David knew about this entrance because he had scouted out every possible exit from the hotel the day he had checked in. He had known that it was only a matter of time before Arachev’s Global Police tried to move in on him. Moving quickly away from the hotel, he circled around to where he could observe what was going on without being seen. When he saw the ten Global Police vehicles in front of the King Solomon, he knew that the heat was on. They were undoubtedly searching through the contents of his room at this very moment.
Now what should he do? He glanced at his watch…5:15. He was supposed to be at Uri and Miriam’s house by six. Was it safe to go there? Of course it would be. No one knew about the dinner arrangement except Uri and him. It was the perfect place to go until things quieted down.
David didn’t dare go to his car. He knew it would be under surveillance, too. He calculated that it would take him about half an hour to walk to the address Uri had given to him.
David kept to the side streets as he made his way toward Uri’s house, located in West Jerusalem. He was well aware that every single police officer in Jerusalem had been notified to be on the lookout for him. There were two major thoroughfares, Bar-Lev Avenue and Jaffa Road, that he had to cross. He would have to be careful.
Ten minutes passed without incident. David could see Bar-Lev up ahead. As usual, the road was extremely busy. “Be with me, Lord,” he prayed softly. He stayed behind a tree while waiting for a break in the traffic. Finally, he was able to move swiftly across the street. Made it, David thought, breathing a sigh of relief. He headed down the next side street, walking in relative obscurity. That’s when he saw the Global Police car. He turned up the walk to one of the residences as though he was actually going there. But it was too late.
He heard the voice of the officer from the car that had pulled over to the curb. “Sir.” David had no choice but to turn. The Global Police officer said to him, “Aren’t you David Freeman?”
�
��Yes, officer, I am.” There was nothing else that David could do but tell the truth.
“Please get in the car, Mr. Freeman,” the officer ordered. David got in.
As he settled into the seat, he thought, Well, this is it. I’ll be taken to the police station for questioning. Perhaps there will be beatings—maybe even some torture… He forced himself to turn his thoughts toward Jesus. The Scripture that he had quoted to others a thousand times now came to his mind. “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.” With that, David’s calm assurance returned. No matter what happens, everything will be all right. God is in total control, no matter how dark things look, he thought.
The officer turned to David. “Mr. Freeman, do you know that there has been a worldwide warrant issued for your arrest?”
“No, officer. I didn’t know that,” David replied. “Can you tell me the basis for this warrant?”
The officer looked at the computer screen mounted in the dash of his car. “It says here that you are charged with crimes against humanity, and specifically with widespread religious proselytizing. As you know, that was made a very serious offense under the new hate crime laws.”
“Officer, do you agree with these new laws that infringe so drastically on our personal liberties?” David inquired.
The officer’s expression softened. “Actually, David, I am not arresting you. You see, I was baptized by your partner, Roger Cornell, about four months ago. However, you should know that you are in danger. Now, where do you need to go? I will take you.”
Officer Friedman dropped David off two blocks from Uri and Miriam’s house so he could truthfully say that he didn’t know where David had gone—if he were ever questioned.
The dinner that Miriam had prepared was delicious. David didn’t want to frighten Uri and Miriam, but he wondered to himself if he might be eating jail food by this time tomorrow.
Uri and Miriam could hardly eat their dinner for asking questions. It was obvious that Uri had been talking to Miriam about the things he and David had discussed earlier in the day.
Miriam turned to David. “I see the prophecies that appear to have been fulfilled by the coming of Jesus. But there’s one thing I still don’t understand. What about all the prophecies that talk about the Messiah establishing His kingdom on earth? What about peace on earth and the lion lying down with the lamb?”
“You know, Miriam, those are the very questions that caused many people to reject Jesus as the Messiah. Some still say, ‘If Jesus was the Messiah, why haven’t we had peace on earth?’ That is confusing to people because they do not understand that the Messiah was to come to earth twice. He came the first time as the Lamb of God to take away the sin of the world. He will soon come again as the Lion of the tribe of Judah. It’s at His Second Coming that the rest of the prophecies will be fulfilled. The reason so many people missed the First Coming is because they did not distinguish between the sufferings of Messiah and the glories that will come at the time of His Second Coming.”
David, Uri, and Miriam talked late into the night. As a matter of fact, David became so engrossed in teaching about Jesus that he totally forgot his own predicament. When he glanced at his watch, it was 12:00 midnight.
David quickly rose to his feet. “Uri, Miriam—I’d better get going. I didn’t realize it was this late. Forgive me for staying so long.”
Miriam quickly replied, “Don’t feel bad at all. We’ve enjoyed every minute of it. When can we get together again? We definitely need to learn a lot more.” They agreed together that they would touch base the next day.
Chapter 26
As David stepped out the door, the reality of his situation came flooding back into his mind. What am I going to do? he pondered as he walked down Uri’s sidewalk. “I can’t go back to the hotel. I’m a wanted man.”
He turned toward the Temple Mount. As he walked, he began to pray. “Lord, You know that I don’t know what to do. Please give me Your guidance at this time.” It was then that his beeper began to vibrate. Under the streetlight, he was able to read the message. One word…Shibboleth. Of every person on earth, only Roger and David knew what this meant. It was their own personal code indicating that an extreme emergency had arisen. When this code was transmitted, they both knew where to go.
David turned his steps toward the Garden of Gethsemane. He knew Roger would be waiting there. Thirty minutes later, David slipped behind the large bushes growing along the wall surrounding the part of the garden that was not open to the general public. There he waited. In a few minutes he heard it: the whistling like a bird as only Roger could do it. David would recognize that whistle in the middle of the darkest jungles of Africa. David made his unique sound, the sound of a cricket. In a moment he heard the clicking of the garden gate. He moved quickly to it and slid inside.
Roger appeared at his side and immediately began to relay the events of the night. He told David about his interrupted plans to spend the night with Eli and Naomi Levi. “I went to bed at my normal time of 11 o’clock. I immediately dropped off into a very deep sleep. At exactly 12 midnight I was suddenly wide awake. I never do that! Once I’m asleep, I’m asleep for the entire night.” David nodded.
“When I woke up, I immediately had the overriding impression that I should leave the house. I reached for the light, but a voice said, ‘No!’ David, I can’t tell you whether it was an audible voice or whether it was just in my mind, but it was very real.
“I dressed in the dark and slipped quietly out of the room. My inclination was to slip out the back way. But the same strong impression that warned me against turning on the light, directed me to go out the front. I didn’t understand it, but you and I both have learned by now not to ever disobey that voice.”
“And you know, Roger, the more dangerous things get for us, the more important it will be for us to never disregard that voice,” David added.
Roger continued with his story. “As I walked down the front walk, I spotted the plain car that I knew belonged to the secret police.”
“Are you serious?!” David interrupted. “What did you do?”
“Believe it or not, I walked right by it as though nothing was wrong.”
“And what happened?” David asked incredulously.
“I couldn’t believe it! The guy in the car was dead asleep! I waited till I was a safe distance away. Then I put the call through to your beeper.”
“Roger, that secret service man could be given the death penalty by Arachev for dereliction of duty!” David remarked. “Apparently God just put him into a deep sleep! Isn’t it amazing how He has looked out for us?”
David then told Roger about the secret service man in the lobby of the King Solomon. When he told his partner about circling around to see all the global police cars in front, Roger said, “Then they have decided to arrest both of us.”
“It certainly looks that way,” David replied. “We need God’s guidance on what we should do now.”
“Well, what are our options?” Roger mused. “We could flee the country, but they would probably catch us at the border. We could try to go underground, but then our work would come to a halt. We’re just going to have to pray until we know exactly what God wants us to do.”
Roger and David spent the rest of the night praying there in the Garden of Gethsemane. More than once during the night, Roger was sure that he sensed the presence of Jesus Himself with them. He had never had a prayer meeting quite like that one. It was a wonderful experience to pray the night through in the same place where Jesus had prayed before His crucifixion.
As the sun started to peek over the Mount of Olives, Roger and David concluded their prayers. “What do you think God would have us to do?” David asked Roger.
“Do you remember in the Bible what God told the disciples to do after they had been miraculously delivered from jail?” Roger asked.
“You mean when they were instructed to go stand in t
he Temple and speak the words of life to the people?” David responded.
“Exactly,” Roger said. “I believe God wants us to go boldly to our normal preaching point on the Mount of Olives and preach to the people. That’s what I feel like God wants us to do.”
“You’ve got to be kidding!” David protested. “We would be sitting ducks if we did that.”
“You’re the one who said that we must always listen to God’s voice, no matter what,” Roger reminded. “If you don’t feel that’s what God wants you to do, then don’t do it. But I’m sure that’s what God wants me to do.”
David smiled weakly. “To tell you the truth, that’s exactly what I felt God speaking to my heart all night, but I kept pushing it away. I think we’d better just obey what God has spoken to both of us.” He paused. “You know, Roger, this whole thing is about over. Have you taken a look at your calendar lately?”
“What do you mean?” Roger asked.
David explained, “Do you realize how long it’s been since Arachev stood in the Temple claiming to be the Messiah?”
Roger quickly calculated in his mind. “Unbelievable! It’s been just about three-and-a-half years! We’ve been so busy preaching, teaching, and writing that I had lost track. No wonder Arachev is closing in on us! It’s time for this whole thing to wrap up.”
Roger and David slipped down the side of the house of one of the little-known, but well-trusted disciples. When Lydia opened the back door, she was surprised to see the two men of God. “Come in,” she said immediately. “Where have you two been? All the believers have been so worried about you. Do you know that several hundred of our people were arrested in Arachev’s sting operation last night? We thought perhaps they had gotten the two of you as well.”
“They would have if God had not intervened. They attempted to arrest both of us,” David explained.
“Both of you certainly look like you’ve had a rough night,” Lydia observed. “Why don’t you grab a shower while I fix some breakfast? By the time you get cleaned up, it will be ready.”