The Secret Chapel (god's lions)

by John Lyman

  Nava flipped off her night-vision goggles and circled the dancing cylinder of fire. “Look at that. How is that possible?”

  “What’s fueling it?” Gabriella shot back.

  Leo pushed his way into the cockpit between the two pilots and stared through the front windows at the ground around the fire. A thick black liquid was now spreading out over the floor of the desert from the base of the tower of flame.

  He turned around and shouted to the others. “Oil. That black liquid we saw down in the cavern was oil.”

  Lev held his head out of the chopper’s door into the rushing slipstream and gazed down at the sight below. He pulled his head back inside and looked around at the group. “Leo’s right. It looks just like an oil-well fire down there.”

  Leo grabbed Lev by the shoulder. “Your country is about to become very rich, Lev. It seems God has taken Satan’s domain here on earth and transformed it into a much prophesized gift from God to the people of Israel.”

  The others stared in disbelief as the helicopter continued to circle the area from a safe distance above. The open cavern was overflowing with viscous oil covering the nearby desert in a widening pool of fire. The scene had a biblical aura about it.

  Nava glanced out her side window at a second helicopter that had joined them off to their right, while at the same time, she heard Moshe in her headset talking on the radio to officials in Jerusalem. Israel’s leaders were being apprised of events in real time and were mobilizing experts to send out to the desert to contain the fires and plug the huge natural oil well.

  Low on fuel, the two choppers reluctantly angled away from the miraculous sight and headed north toward Lev’s villa. Everyone onboard was staring back in awe at the tower of fire when Nava gave a shout from the cockpit. “Hey, you guys, look at this.”

  Down below, next to their now-deserted camp, a geyser of water was shooting into the air and flooding the desert around it. “You’ve got to be kidding,” John said. “Fire and water? That must be coming from the same underground aquifer that flooded the cavern.”

  Two Israeli jets screamed by overhead as Leo glanced at Lev. He saw the other man give a tired smile in his direction. They both knew what this meant. God had not only delivered the wealth of oil to the Negev Desert, but given the nation the water it would need to turn the barren wasteland into a bountiful garden full of food-producing farms. They were witnessing a miracle not seen by man since biblical times.

  Both realized they had been part of God’s plan as viewed through the third lens of scripture. They were two modern men blessed and called on by God to be his tools. Lion soldiers in the service of the Almighty.

  From this moment forward, Leo realized that people around the globe would now have tangible proof that the Bible was a living text that continued to reveal God’s word in new and exciting ways. Its message to the world had not stopped with events that happened only in ancient times. Instead, it was guiding their lives in the present, as it was always meant to do, proving itself to be a timely book now and for the future. The passage in the code that read they will bring forth a great bounty echoed in Leo’s mind.

  John was watching Ariella towel her hair dry in the back of the helicopter when she started smiling sweetly at him.

  “What?”

  “God saved our lives tonight, John. He saved us for each other.”

  John was at a loss for words. He reached out and held her close, knowing that it was becoming increasingly evident that he could no longer imagine life without her.

  Behind them in the desert, water continued to gush from the newly formed crevice in the ground. Farther in the distance, the pillar of fire lit up the sky, while in the canyon beyond, a strange reddish glow highlighted the towering cliffs. If anyone had been near enough to hear it, a chorus of shrieking and growling noises could be heard coming from the darkness.

  Chapter 24

  A constant stream of vehicles came and went from Lev Wasserman’s villa. Both teams had arrived by helicopter before dawn and most went straight to bed. Those who needed some minor medical attention were first treated by an Israeli doctor before trudging upstairs to their rooms.

  Almost everyone slept until after noon when they awoke and slowly made their way downstairs. They gathered in the kitchen and out by the pool under a brilliant blue sky, where they enjoyed some simple food cooked to order by one of the chefs. After enjoying orange juice, coffee, and pastries, Lev gave Leo a tour of the grounds around the villa, while out on the beach, Ariella and John were breathing in the fresh sea air and walking in the surf, followed by Camp the dog.

  Moshe was in the underground command center, scanning the satellite pictures of the Negev Desert and focusing in on the images of what remained of their camp. Israel and the rest of the world had awakened to the news that a vast oil reserve had been discovered in the desert, while simultaneously, water from an unknown aquifer was flooding an area nearby, creating a wetland of lakes and waterfalls.

  News crews were tramping about in the water and circling overhead in helicopters with their cameras. People in Israel were celebrating in the streets, while the rest of the world watched as images of the tower of flame in the desert flashed onto their TV screens.

  Rumors of oil in Israel had been circulating for years, and now, by what could only be called a miracle, the country was about to share in the wealth of the Middle East. Additionally, Israel’s leaders had always considered using irrigation to create farmland in the Negev Desert in an effort to produce more food for its growing population, and now water was pouring from the earth, a biblical gift from God.

  Watching the flat screen TV over the bar, Gabriella and Nava were sitting with Alon and Daniel under the roof of the open-air kitchen by the pool, devouring turkey club sandwiches and downing ice-cold bottles of Coke.

  “Just look at those pictures of the desert,” Nava said, looking up at the screen. “The whole area is totally flooded. The newscasters are calling it a miracle.”

  Daniel kept his eyes glued to the TV. “If people only knew the whole story, they would know just how much of a miracle it really is.”

  “Look,” Gabriella said, “there’s the camp. You can see some of the equipment and the antennas from the communications tent sticking up above the water. And look there, in the distance. You can still see the fire jetting out of the hole in the cavern.” She paused to watch the scene. “How long do you think this will go on Daniel?”

  “No way to tell. A lot depends on the size of the aquifer and oil deposit below, not to mention the pressures that have built up on them over time. It always amazes me that some of the most barren places on earth seem to hold the greatest treasures.”

  “Well, it certainly looks like the Negev Desert is going to be a Garden of Eden now,” Gabriella added, unable to take her eyes off the screen. “I just keep thinking of that awful place that’s been down there all this time, with those grotesque demons guarding it. It really makes you wonder if there are any other places like that in the world.”

  Alon took a sip of his Coke and turned away from the TV. “I think that almost everyone knows that the human race has always been surrounded by evil, but to actually come face-to-face with it, to look it right in the eye as a tangible entity, is something that’s so unreal that I think a lot of people are going to have a hard time believing us. I’d like to think of myself as a man who could stand up to almost anything, but what we saw down in that cavern last night was something I hope I never see again as long as I live. I’ll tell you one thing though; it’s made my faith in God even stronger than it was before, and that was pretty strong.”

  Walking through the vineyards with Lev, Leo was deep in thought. He gazed out beyond the sand dunes at the blue water of the Mediterranean and marveled at the rhythms of life. The tide came in and out every day without fail, just as life ebbed and flowed. Daylight and darkness, life and death, everything had a rhythm.

  The very presence of a book inspired by Satan didn’t surpri
se him. It was the classical yin and yang, the good versus evil that had existed since men came into the world. But why exactly did it exist? The philosophical questions raised by its existence would be endless. Was it some kind of Nihilistic thesis? When was it written, and what did it say? And most chilling of all, was Satan really the inspiration for its existence?

  Leo stopped next to a row of merlot grapes and turned toward Lev. “Did you recognize the writing in the book?”

  “Daniel seems to think it’s a form of cuneiform writing. It resembles some Mesopotamian script found on ancient tablets near Babylon.”

  “Has he been able to decipher any of it?”

  “Not yet. There’s nothing to compare it with. There’s no telling how old it is or when it was written.”

  “What’s your gut feeling then?”

  “I’ve been thinking about that all morning. I mean, there’s no telling what’s inside that damned thing. Maybe it’s an antithesis of our own Bible, with its own version of the history of creation and an entirely different set of commandments. I can tell you one thing, though … that book was written with a definite purpose in mind, and I doubt it’s a love letter for humanity.”

  Leo held a rosary in his hand as the two men turned down a path leading between two rows of grapevines. “You know, Lev, many people throughout history have also used God’s book as an excuse to do some pretty evil things, but you’re right; those are the kinds of questions we need to explore if we want to find out why we were sent to find a book inspired by Satan at this point in history. I keep thinking of Morelli’s analogy of the Bible being infused with a series of time locks, so I’m guessing the answers will come when God wants us to have them.”

  Leo continued to wonder if the Devil’s Bible identified its followers with stories of their own ancestors. In other words, did Satan have his own version of an iniquitous opposite to Abraham? Did he send a figure into the world to spawn a legacy of evil among man? Could this explain the age-old question of why there were both good and evil people in the world? The Cain and Able dichotomy.

  Leo watched the young sentries who voluntarily patrolled the fields without complaint. They were the continuation of a long legacy of good versus evil as they struggled to defend their families and friends against terrorist attacks.

  As the two men walked along manicured paths, Lev pointed out the individual family houses scattered over the park-like setting of the compound’s two hundred acres. After Lev converted to Christianity, he and his wife had started this community together in an effort to provide a kibbutz-like atmosphere for Christians in Israel. His late wife had been passionate about the land and was instrumental in the farm’s design. Her handprints were on everything, from the decision on where the vineyards and vegetable gardens would be planted, to planning and supervising the construction of the villa and all the houses on the farm.

  As Leo took in the beauty of the grounds, he thought of the courage it took for Lev and his wife to create such a place. “What do your Jewish friends and neighbors think of a Christian kibbutz in their midst?”

  “They don’t have a problem with it. We’re all still Israeli citizens and are bound together in our fight to protect Israel and our homes at any cost. I respect and support my Jewish brothers and sisters, and they do the same for me. My family was a little concerned when I converted, but since they weren’t strict Orthodox Jews, it wasn’t such a big deal. Again, we believe the issue of religious moderation is central to tolerance of other religions and everyone getting along.”

  Lev pulled a cigar from his shirt pocket and lit it with a match. “Every year, as a group, we attend several celebrations around the country at various Jewish communities, and we’ve always been welcomed. There are several Jewish families living right here on the compound; they have their own synagogue next to our chapel. That’s why you see both a Christian cross and the Star of David over the gate in front of the villa. I would like to think that someday we will see a mosque here, but from a security standpoint, that’s impossible right now. I have a lot of Muslim friends, and they agree that the radical elements within Islam are tearing down their own houses with mindless violence. It seems we all still have a lot of work to do.”

  As the two men turned to walk back to the villa, enjoying the sunshine and taking in the fresh sea air, Leo found that the mysterious book they had discovered in the desert continued to dominate his thoughts. He wondered if the book had been in the world all this time, waiting to herald the arrival of the evil one so that his followers could dispense his message of hate and destruction throughout the world. If that were true, it could very well be the key to Armageddon and the Antichrist’s rise to power someday. Until the book was translated, Leo knew the answer to these questions could only be imagined, like distant objects seen through the fog.

  Lev stopped along the path and snapped a small bunch of grapes off a gnarled vine. “You know, Leo, it wasn’t until I converted to Christianity that I learned that Jews and Christians think of the devil in different ways.”

  Leo smiled the knowing smile of a Jesuit theologian who had pondered this subject for hours on end. “I know, it’s strange, when I was still in seminary, we learned that the Jewish view of Satan differed quite a bit from the Christian version. In Judaism, the word Satan means challenger or accuser. He is believed to have the evil purpose of searching out men’s iniquity, an accuser who appears to wander the earth functioning like some kind of celestial prosecutor. In the Book of Wisdom, the devil is represented as the being who brought death into the world.”

  “That’s a very good way of putting it, Father. In my Christian education, I was taught that the devil was the malevolent force behind the engine that drove the evil covering the globe. Once among the highest of God’s angels and known as the brightest in the sky, he rebelled against God and was cast down from heaven, where he waged war against those who obeyed God’s commandments and who believed in the testimony of Jesus. Lucifer is now the ruler of the demons, entrenched among us with frightening anger where he sows hate and sorrow in men’s hearts. I think these differing views between the two religions have caused Christians to be much more fearful of the evil one’s presence.”

  Both men looked at each other with the realization that what they had seen in the desert the night before had proven beyond any doubt that their fear was justified.

  Chapter 25

  The warm night water of the Gulf of Mexico flowed past the beaches of Texas. The nutrient-rich brew of plankton in the water supported the famous gulf shrimp that swam in its current and grew to enormous size. From time to time, the Mexican shrimp fleet plied these same seas along with the local boats from Texas and Louisiana. The radios in the wheelhouses crackled with a mixture of English, Cajun, and Spanish, giving rise to competition among the multicultural fleet that passed back and forth over the continental shelf, dragging their nets along the smooth white bottom in the search for seafood gold.

  In the early morning hours, one of the aged and brightly painted Mexican boats passed close to the coast, drawing little attention as it blended in with the lights of the fleet. There was, however, a noticeable difference between this crew and the others. For some reason, they seemed more interested in the comings and goings at the entrance to the Houston ship channel inside Galveston Bay than they did in catching shrimp.

  Time and fuel meant less profit in this struggling industry, but instead of passing over the shallow Gulf bottom, scooping up shrimp, the boat’s long black nets remained dry and coiled up on the deck. Maybe the crew was wary of past run-ins with Texas shrimpers, or maybe they were just looking for a place where they could dock and buy supplies. Whatever the reason, it was apparent they had made a decision as they turned north and headed straight up the ship channel.

  Although it was almost one o’clock in the morning, the nautical traffic in this port was still busy as the small boat continued unchallenged past the entrance. It glided by grain silos full of wheat and rice and gigantic oi
l refineries that hissed and growled with towers of flame and escaping misty vapors that were revealed by thousands of lights that turned night into day.

  Highlighted by a single halogen lamp on the deck of the shrimp boat, the tall, bearded captain appeared Hispanic, as did the crew. They were foreigners in a strange land, and as they glided along in the dark humid air over the murky water, they gathered together and looked out upon the huge glowing city. Then they did something strange. They placed small woven mats on the rear deck before dropping to their knees and bowing down to the east, toward the holy city of Mecca.

  The boat motored beneath the stern of a gigantic oil tanker docked next to a vast refinery, drawing the attention of an alert crewmember leaning over the ship’s railing. Because he was a Muslim, the crewmember aboard the large ship immediately noticed the scene on the deck of the shrimp boat below. This was not right. The Mexican flag fluttering over the small boat reminded him of a visit he had once made to the largely Roman Catholic country, but these men were obviously Muslims, like he was, and this was the wrong time of day to be saying their prayers.

  His mind began to race and a sickening fear rose in his throat. Radical Islamic terrorists had caused great harm to his religion over the past few years, and he was afraid they were about to make it much worse. He watched as the colorful shrimp boat pushed through the oily water beneath the tanker. The frightened crewman thought for a moment and weighed his options. He had to tell the captain. They must notify the American Coast Guard!

  He started to run franticly along the deck toward the bridge, tripping as he strained to keep the Mexican boat in sight. Racing up a flight of metal stairs, he paused and grabbed the railing to glance over the side. He watched as the tall, bearded man on the boat below looked up at him, his face highlighted by the surrounding industrial lights reflecting off the water. The man smiled and raised his hand as if he was waving goodbye before disappearing through the door of the wheelhouse.