by Alton Gansky
“I suspect as we continue to excavate the surrounding area that we’ll find other signs of habitation and other graves. Five soldiers and a woman didn’t sail here by themselves. And whoever buried them did so with respect and honor. The soldiers were buried in military gear. Whoever they were, they still felt a sense of pride in who they had been. Somewhere between here and wherever they stepped ashore is evidence of their existence. I’m ready to devote my life to finding it.”
“There are a lot of unanswered questions, Doc,” Jack complained.
“There always are,” Curtis said. “And for every question you can raise, I can raise five more. I don’t have all the answers.”
“The real shame is that the linen chrysalis was lost,” Anne said softly. “What a loss for all mankind.”
“That was my first thought,” Perry said. “I’m not so sure now. I was devastated as I watched it dissolve right in front of me. It was the greatest treasure ever found, and I let it slip through my fingers. I felt that I let slip the greatest proof of Christianity the world would ever know.”
“But you think differently now?” Anne asked.
“Yes. I’ve had time to think and pray about it. Most people read their Bibles without knowing that we do not have a single original manuscript,” Perry explained. “That’s not to say the Bible is a fabrication or filled with errors. It’s not. There are thousands of ancient manuscripts, many of them extremely old. Is that right, Doc?”
Curtis replied, “It is.”
“I think there’s a reason for that. I don’t think God wants us to have objects that can be turned into idols. Humankind has a tendency to worship things instead of God. In Numbers 21 is the story of the brass serpent. Moses was leading the children of Israel through a difficult area. They became bitter and accused God of mistreating them. Judgment came in the form of snakes. People were bitten and died. They pleaded for relief and God gave it, but not as you would expect.”
“He told Moses to make a brass serpent,” Jack said. “If people looked at it after being bitten, they would be healed.”
“Exactly,” Perry said. “It seems an odd solution. Why not just send the snakes away? Well, it has to do with faith and trust and looking to God’s provision. Fourteen hundred years later, Jesus would use it as an example of His work on the cross. However, it was what happened in between those events that’s provocative.
“The Bible records that seven hundred years after Moses made the serpent, King Hezekiah had it destroyed. Why would he destroy such an important object? Because his people had made an icon of worship out of it. They were burning incense to it as they did to other false gods.”
“So you’re saying that if the chrysalis had remained intact, then it would’ve become a cultic icon?” Gleason asked.
“Well, that’s what I think.” Perry said. “God may have done us a favor.”
“Do you think people will ever come to believe all of this?” Brent asked. “After all, we do have the videotapes I made.”
Perry smiled. “Those who are willing to believe will; those who don’t want to believe won’t. There has always been plenty of evidence for Christ and His work; still people ignore it.”
“I can’t speak for the world,” Brent said, “but it has changed me.”
“That goes for all of us,” Anne said. “But I do have another question, Perry. From what you told me, Joseph predicted the woman who came to his house and abducted him and Claire, and that he knew you would be outside the door where Rutherford Straight was holding them hostage. How did he know what was going to happen before it did?”
Perry looked at Joseph and smiled. Joseph didn’t respond. “I don’t know, Anne. I don’t know how he knew those things or could so accurately reproduce the work site and the other things he drew. His mind works in a way we can’t understand. Perhaps he sees more than we can. Perhaps like Daniel and other Old Testament prophets, he communicates with God better than we are able.”
“He’s never done it before,” Claire added. “And now he seems back to normal. The pictures he draws are like those he did before all this happened.”
“It’s a mystery,” Jack said. “But I’m glad he was on our side.”
“Ironic, isn’t it?” Perry mused. “By the world’s standards, Joseph is severely handicapped. The truth is, we may be the handicapped ones. Since I first met him, I’ve wondered what he sees that we can’t.”
“We will never know,” Claire said.
“Not in this life,” Perry added.
“So the work goes on?” Brent asked.
Perry nodded. “Dr. Curtis will be leading the excavation here. He tells me there will be years of work. The Trujillos have generously donated this whole area for as long as it takes.”
“You have taken good care of us,” Hector said from his wheelchair. “We are happy to help our Lord.”
Perry laid a hand on the ill man’s shoulder. “One thing remains. I can think of no better church in which to pray.”
There was a corporate “Amen.”
After Perry led them in prayer, a second, belated “Amen” rang out across the room. Everyone turned to the one who said it.
“Amen,” Joseph Henri repeated. “Amen.”
Author’s Note
A NOVEL, by definition, is a work of fiction. The characters spring into being from the author’s mind and come alive on the page, fleshed out in words and phrases instead of skin and bones. Those characters work before an equally fictional backdrop. To undertake the writing of a novel is to undertake a juggling act, for novels are seldom completely fictional. Elements of truth are introduced to “what-if” questions. The author then follows that “what-if” to see where it goes. Sometimes it leads to strange and wonderful places.
In this book I have created a situation meant to stretch our wonder. The town of Tejon is fictional, but the beautiful Tehachapi Mountains are real. Each character presented here is a work of my imagination. Many of the things mentioned in the book regarding seagoing people making transatlantic or transpacific crossings are based on evidence that is still debated by those who study such things. It’s not the intent of this book to say that Romans visited the North American continent two thousand years ago. It’s the purpose of the book to ask, “Well, what if they had? And what if they brought something truly special with them?”
Some of you may wonder why this book seems to ignore the presence of other artifacts popularly associated with the burial of Christ, like the Shroud of Turin or the Veil of Veronica. Truth is, I purposely avoided including these artifacts here because their authenticity is still hotly debated and their inclusion would detract from the flow and message of Perry’s story.
Still, one set of facts is certain. The greatest chain of events in history is that linking of the death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Christ. Of this there should be no doubt. Perry Sachs is right in reminding us that what really matters is the spiritual. Biblical artifacts are fascinating and instructive, but supremacy belongs to the one to whom those artifacts point. Jesus was hung upon a cross constructed for Barabbas.
It was not the cross that was special, but He who hung on it. The burial linens, face napkin, spices, and other items associated with the burial of Christ would, if found, surely be the most valuable objects known. Yet, they are merely accouterments to that which is really important: the person and work of Christ.
To Him belongs the glory forever and ever. And in any world, real or fictional, He remains the focal point.
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