First Nations Version

by Terry M. Wildman

  18“Or you say, ‘A promise made before a ceremony can be broken, but one made during a ceremony must be kept.’ 19Are you so blind? Can you not see that the Great Spirit sees and hears all promises and expects you to keep them?

  20-22“It matters not whether a promise is made inside or outside the lodge, or before or during a sacred ceremony. All promises on the earth below or in the spirit-world above are made before the eyes of the Great Spirit, who sees and hears everything.

  23“Sorrow and trouble wait for you scroll keepers and Separated Ones (Pharisees). With false faces you are careful to do what tribal law says by giving a tenth of each little herb in your garden, but you ignore the more important instructions such as justice, kindness, and honesty. 24You are spiritually blind guides, for you strain out a small flea from your water pouch, but swallow a whole moose.75

  25“Sorrow and trouble will be your end, you scroll keepers and Separated Ones (Pharisees), for you wash the outside of your cups and bowls, but on the inside your hearts are full of greed and selfish ways. 26You blind Separated Ones (Pharisees)! First clean the inside of your cup, and then the outside of the cup will become clean also.

  27“Sorrow and trouble will be waiting at the end of the trail for you Separated Ones (Pharisees) and scroll keepers who hide behind false faces. You are like burial caves that have been painted white to look good on the outside, but on the inside you are full of dead men’s bones and rotting things. 28You may look good to others, but you are full of falsehood and worthless ways.

  29“Sorrow and trouble will be waiting at the end of the trail for you Separated Ones (Pharisees) and scroll keepers who hide behind false faces. You put great decorated stones on the burial grounds of the prophets and the ones who walked upright—the ones your ancestors killed.

  AN OMINOUS WARNING

  30“You say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have participated with them when they shed the blood of the prophets.’ 31But you are speaking against yourselves, for you are admitting that you are the descendants of the ones who killed them, 32and you will finish what your ancestors started! 33You nest of poisonous snakes! How will you escape the bad end of the Valley of Smoldering Fire?

  34“That is why I am sending to you prophets, wisdomkeepers, and scroll keepers. You will whip some of them in your gathering houses. Others you will nail to a cross. You will threaten them and pursue them from village to village until you shed their blood. 35Then you will be guilty of shedding the innocent blood of all who have lived on the earth from His Breath Goes Up (Abel), who was killed by his brother,76 to Creator Will Remember (Zechariah), the son of He Will Be Blessed (Barachiah), who was put to death in the courtyard of the sacred lodge.77

  36“I speak truth from my heart, all these things will happen to the people of this generation.”

  O VILLAGE OF PEACE!

  A dark cloud cast a shadow over Creator Sets Free (Jesus), and a look of pain and sorrow came upon his face.

  37“Jerusalem, O Village of Peace!” he cried out loud for all to hear. “You who kill the prophets and stone to death the ones sent to you! How I have longed to gather your children together, like an eagle gathers her young under her wings, but you would not have it. 38Look! Your house has fallen and will be left in ruins! 39I speak from my heart, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes representing the Great Spirit!’”

  THE SACRED LODGE WILL FALL

  1As Creator Sets Free (Jesus) made his way out of the sacred lodge, his followers began to point out to him all the buildings that surrounded the sacred lodge.

  As he stopped and looked around at the lodge and all its buildings, a look of great sadness came over his face.

  2“Take a good long look, for I speak truth from my heart—all of these will fall to the ground. Not one log or stone will be left standing against another.”

  SIGNS OF THE END

  3Later that day Creator Sets Free (Jesus) sat down to rest on the side of Olive Mountain.

  From there he could look across the valley past the walls of Village of Peace (Jerusalem) and see the sacred lodge.

  Some of his followers came to him privately. “Wisdomkeeper,” they asked with worried faces, “when will these things happen? What will be the sign of your coming that will bring an end to this age we live in?”

  4“Beware of those who would lead you down a false path,” Creator Sets Free (Jesus) warned them, 5“for many will come falsely representing who I am and say, ‘I am the Chosen One,’ and many will follow them to a bad end.

  6“When you hear of wars and stories of war breaking out, do not fear, for all of this must happen, but the end will not come all at once. 7There will be tribal wars, and nations will make war against other nations. Food will be scarce, and the earth will shake in many places— 8but this is only the beginning of the time of sorrow, like a woman feeling the pains of birth.

  9“Because you represent me, you will be looked down on by all the nations. They will hunt you down and kill you, all because you follow me. 10When this happens, many will stumble on the path and even hate and betray each other.

  11“Then many false prophets will rise up and lead many down false paths. 12Because evildoers will grow strong, the love in many hearts will grow cold—13but the ones who stand firm in their faith to the end will be set free and made whole.

  14“The good story about Creator’s good road will be told in truth for all the nations of this world to hear. Then the end will come.

  A TIME OF SORROW AND TROUBLE

  15“When you see the ‘horrible thing that destroys,’ that the prophet Creator Will Decide (Daniel) told about,78 making its stand against the place that is holy—the reader will understand the meaning— 16you will then know it is time for those who live in the Land of Promise (Judea) to escape to the mountains. 17If you are on your rooftop, go, without taking time to get anything from your house. 18Workers in the fields should not even go back to get their outer garments. 19It will be a terrible time for women who are pregnant or nursing their babies. 20Pray that it will not happen in winter or on a Day of Resting.

  21“It will be a time of trouble and sorrow like no other. A worse time has not been seen since the world was created—and there will never be a time like this again. 22If that terrible time were allowed to reach the end of the trail, no one would survive, but for the sake of Creator’s Chosen Ones those days will be cut short.

  23“In those days if anyone says to you, ‘Look, the Chosen One is over here,’ or ‘Look, he is over there,’ pay no attention to him, 24for false Chosen Ones will rise up and false prophets will appear. They will provide great signs and omens to mislead the people. Even Creator’s Chosen Ones will be tempted to believe them.

  25“Remember that I have warned you ahead of time! 26So if they say, ‘The Chosen One is in the desert wilderness,’ do not go with them there. Or if they say, ‘The Chosen One is hidden in a secret place,’ do not believe them. 27For when the sign of 79 the True Human Being appears, it will be like lightning when it flashes across the sky from the east to the west.

  28“In the same way that gathering vultures80 are a sign of dead bodies, so these things are a sign of the end.

  29“Then, right after that time of trouble and sorrow, ‘the sun will no longer shine, the moon will go dark, the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers in the spirit-world above will tremble.’81

  30“This is when the sign of the True Human Being will appear in the sky. Then all the tribes of the land will weep in anguish when they see the True Human Being riding on the clouds and coming with power and shining-greatness. 31Then he will send out his spirit-messengers, who will blow the eagle bone whistle82 to gather his Chosen Ones from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.

  WISDOM FROM A FIG TREE

  32“Listen to this fig tree and hear what it is saying to you: when its branches get soft and leaves appear, you know that summer will soon be here. 33In the same w
ay, when you see all these things happening, you will know that the time is almost here. 34I speak from my heart! All of this will happen to this generation, during the lifetime of the people who live today. 35The earth and sky, as we know them, will fade away, but my words will never fade!

  ALWAYS BE READY

  36“But no one knows the day or hour that these things will take place. Not the spirit-messengers from the spirit-world above, not even Creator’s own Son, but only the Great Spirit, who is our Father from above, knows.

  37-38“When the True Human Being comes, it will be like it was in the days before the great flood in the time of One Who Rests (Noah). In those days the people were eating and drinking and getting married until the day that One Who Rests (Noah) entered the great wooden canoe. 39No one knew what was happening until the floodwaters came, washed them away, and drowned them all. It will be the same when the True Human Being appears.

  40“During that time two men will be working in the field. One will be taken away and the other left. 41Two women will be husking corn. One will be taken away and the other left. 42So be on the lookout, because you never know when your Honored Chief will arrive.

  43“But know this: If the elder of a family had known at what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and stopped the thief from breaking in. 44Just like this elder, you must be ready, for the True Human Being will not come at the time you expect him to.

  WHO WILL BE WISE?

  45“Who will be the wise one, worthy of trust? Will it be the uncle who was told to feed and care for the family while the elder is away? 46A great blessing will come to that uncle when the elder returns and finds him doing so. 47I speak from my heart, he will invite that uncle to live with the family and share everything.

  48“But what if the uncle says to himself, ‘It will be a long time before he returns,’ 49then begins to abuse the family and invites the local drunks to eat and drink with him?”

  Creator Sets Free (Jesus) paused to let his followers think about the answer and then continued.

  50“The elder will return at a time the uncle does not expect. 51He will then put him out of the family to share the fate of the ones who wear false faces. There the uncle will weep with them as they grind their teeth together in anger and frustration.

  WISE AND FOOLISH YOUNG WOMEN

  1“When that time comes, the ones who are walking Creator’s good road from above will be like ten young, unmarried women who took their ceremonial torches and went out to welcome the groom. 2Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 3-4The wise women took an extra clay pot of oil along for their torches, but the foolish ones did not bother to bring any.

  5“The groom did not come when expected, and they all fell asleep as they waited. 6Then suddenly, in the dark of the night, someone cried out, ‘Look! The groom is coming, let us go welcome him!’

  7“All the women woke up to prepare their torches, but the oil in the torches had run out.

  8“The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil so our torches will not go out.’

  9“The wise ones answered back, ‘There is not enough for all of us. Hurry, go to the village and trade for some more.’

  10“They hurried away to get more oil. But while they were gone, the groom came and all the guests went into the lodge for the wedding feast, and the gate was closed.

  11“A while later the other women came to the gate and said to the gatekeeper, ‘Honored one, O honored one, open the door and let us come in.’

  12“But he said to them, ‘I truly do not even know who you are—why should I let you in?’”

  Creator Sets Free (Jesus) finished the story with these words of wisdom.

  13“Here is what I am saying to you: be prepared like the wise women in this story and always be ready, for you do not know the time of day or night that the True Human Being will appear.”

  STORY OF THE TRUSTED TRIBAL MEMBERS

  14“Here is another way to see how the Creator’s good road from above will come: It is like a tribal headman preparing for a long journey. He gathered three trusted tribal members together to give them charge of his goods during his journey.

  15“He gave five herds of horses83 to one, two herds to another, and one herd to the third man, giving each one according to his ability to make a good trade. After that he left on his journey.

  16“The man with five herds of horses went to work right away, traded well, and earned five more herds. 17In the same way the one with two herds used them to gain two more. 18But the one who had only one kept the herd well hidden and safe from thieves.

  19“Many moons passed before the headman returned from his journey. He gathered the trusted tribal members together to see how well they had traded.

  20“The one given five herds came forward and said, ‘Look, I have gained five more!’

  21“‘You have served me well, my good and trusted friend,’ the headman said, ‘You have done well with a small amount, now I will give you much more. Come and live with my family and enjoy all I have.’

  22“Then the man to whom he gave two herds came forward and said, ‘You gave me two herds, but I have four to give back to you.’ 23The headman honored him and did the same for him as the one with ten.

  24“Then the man to whom he had given one herd came to him and said, ‘Headman, I know you have a reputation of being a harsh man, taking what you did not plant and gathering what is not yours. 25I was afraid, so I hid the herd away to keep them safe for you. Here they are!’

  26“The headman said to him, ‘You have broken the trust I gave you and have proven you are lazy and no good. If you knew I was a harsh man, 27why did you not ask the trading post to trade for them so there would be something to show for them when I returned?’

  28“So he told them to take the herd from him and give it to the one who had ten 29and said, ‘The ones who do well with what they are given will be given more, but the ones who do nothing with it will lose even what they have been given.’ 30Then he had the man thrown out of his house into the darkness outside, the place where they weep and grind their teeth together in anger and frustration.

  FATE OF THE NATIONS

  31“When the True Human Being comes in all of his power and shining-greatness, along with all of his spirit-messengers, he will sit down in his seat of honor. 32All nations will be gathered and come before him. He will choose between them like a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will put the sheep on his right side and the goats to his left.

  34“Then the Chief will say to the sheep on his right, ‘The blessing of my Father rests upon you. Come into the Land of Creator’s good road that has been prepared for you from the beginning of the world. 35For I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was hungry and you fed me. I was a stranger and you gave me lodging. 36When I needed clothes, you gave me something to wear. When I was sick, you took care of me, and when I was in prison, you visited me.’

  37-39“‘When did we do all these things for you?’ the good-hearted ones asked.

  40“‘I speak from my heart,’ he answered them, ‘whatever you did for the least important of my fellow human beings84 who needed help, you did for me.’

  41“Then the Chief will say to the goats on his left, ‘Go away from me, you who have bad hearts,85 into the fire that burns everything up, made for the evil trickster snake and his messengers. 42For when I was hungry, you gave me nothing to eat. When I was thirsty, you gave me no drink, 43and when I was a stranger, you turned me away. When I needed clothes, you gave me nothing to wear, and when I was sick and in prison, you failed to visit me.’

  44“‘Honored One,’ they questioned, ‘when was it that we saw you like this and did nothing?’

  45“‘I speak from my heart,’ he answered back, ‘when you did not help the ones who needed it most, you failed to help me.’

  46“Then the goats will go away to the punishment of the world to come that never fades away, and the sheep will enter the life of the
world to come that never fades away, full of beauty and harmony.”

  THE COUNCIL DECIDES HIS FATE

  1After he had finished speaking about these things, Creator Sets Free (Jesus) said to the ones who walked the road with him, 2“As you know, the Passover festival will begin after two days. It is during this time that the True Human Being will be taken captive and then killed on a tree-pole—the cross.”

  3At that time the head holy men and the elders of the people gathered in the lodge of Hollow in the Rock (Caiaphas), the chief holy man. 4They schemed together to take Creator Sets Free (Jesus) captive on the sly and then kill him.

  5“We should not do this during the festival,” they said, “or there could be an uprising among the people.”

  PREPARED FOR BURIAL

  6Creator Sets Free (Jesus) went to House of Figs (Bethany) to the home of Hearing Man (Simon), who had suffered from a skin disease. 7While there, a woman with a pottery jar full of costly, sweet-smelling ointment came to Creator Sets Free (Jesus) and poured it over his head as he sat on the floor near the table.

  8His followers, when they saw this, became angry and said to each other, “Why waste this costly ointment? 9It could have been traded for food and goods to give to the ones who have none.”

  10Creator Sets Free (Jesus) heard them and said, “Why are you troubling this woman? She has done a good thing for me. 11You can help the poor any time, for they will always be with you, but I will not. 12By pouring this sweet-smelling ointment on my body, she has performed a preparation ceremony for my burial. 13I speak from my heart, when the good story is told all over the world, her story will also be told to remember what she has done.”