by Brian Godawa
“I’ve heard all that before,” said Jacob dismissively. Alexander guessed he was referring to a discussion Cassandra had once told him she’d had with the apostate.
Gischala appeared not to have heard it before. “But we are still a scattered people,” he complained. “Zechariah also wrote that Yahweh would gather his people from among the nations. Look at us. We are more divided and scattered to the four winds than we have ever been.”87
“No. Yahweh has been gathering his people from the four winds, from every tribe and nation, for the past forty years. In Messiah, believing Jews are the Restoration of Israel. They are the Remnant of Zechariah, and they were gathered in protection from the wrath to come.”88
“In Pella,” said Jacob with more contempt. “Are you so sure they are protected?”
Alexander hadn’t heard from Cassandra in a month. Their letters could no longer get through the Roman blockade. He truly didn’t know if the Christians were still safe. He felt the bite of fear. He prayed for faith.
“Perhaps,” said Gischala, “the Day of the Lord may be the one thing upon which you and I agree. All the nations are gathering against Jerusalem to battle just as Zechariah predicted.” He was referring to all the nations that comprised the Roman armies now surrounding them. “Then Yahweh will come and all the holy ones with him.”89
Gischala stared off into the distance as he recounted the prophecy of the end of Zechariah with sober reflection as if he was seeing it in a vision. “Two thirds of this people shall be cut off and perish. Only one third shall be left alive. Then Yahweh will go out and fight against those nations. And on that day, his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives. And it shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley.”90
Alexander was following the general’s words closely. The symbolism of Yahweh “coming down” to earth to strike it was a common metaphor used by the prophets to indicate Yahweh’s use of one nation to judge another through his sovereign control. The prophet Micah described the Assyrian invasion of the northern tribes as God coming down from heaven and treading on the mountains, making them melt like wax and splitting the valleys like poured out water. So too, this splitting of the Mount of Olives was not literal, but symbolic of a spiritual division.91
Alexander had so much he wanted to say to his interrogators. The Messiah had come and stood on the Mount of Olives forty years ago and had proclaimed the very judgment that Zechariah and the other prophets had forewarned, the Day of the Lord that was near. This judgment would truly split the people in half, spiritual Jerusalem from earthly Jerusalem, believers from unbelievers, by an impassable valley.
But Alexander chose instead to focus on the revelation given to the apostle John, who had quoted this very prophecy of Zechariah as being the theme of the entire Apocalypse. He said, “You have left out the key to the Day of the Lord in Zechariah.”92
Gischala looked at him quizzically. Again with more curiosity than hostility as if he were truly listening. Was the Holy Spirit working on the warrior?
Jacob stood with arms still folded and mind still closed.
Alexander quoted from Zechariah again, “I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace, so that when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn. But I will cause the Remnant of this people to possess all these things.”93
He stopped to let it sink into his captor. “There are two Jerusalems: the earthly city of people who pierced Messiah on a cross and the heavenly city of the Remnant who received the Holy Spirit through faith. Jesus, the firstborn Son of God, is coming on the clouds of judgment to earthly Jerusalem. All the tribes of this Land will mourn as the heavens and earth are shaken and your cosmos is split apart. But the Jerusalem that survives, the Jerusalem that ‘shall dwell in security’ is the heavenly city of the new covenant. That is why Zechariah says, ‘On that day, living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem.’ The living water is the Holy Spirit given to those who have faith in Jesus as Messiah and Lord. That is the Jerusalem that remains, the heavenly one that consists of the Remnant.”94
“So much for your loving, forgiving Messiah,” complained Jacob. But he was shut up by the raised hand of Gischala quieting him. The warrior was clearly trying to think, to process what he had heard. As he did so in silence, Alexander prayed for his salvation.
Jacob’s insult was a desperate attempt to discredit the grace of Jesus as God’s suffering Servant. It was always the way of unbelievers who didn’t want to be accountable for their sins. Cast aspersion on God’s love by drawing attention to his judgment. As if the two were contradictory. As if God could not be loving if he judged sin.
But justice and mercy were not contradictory in Christ. God had always foretold the coming of Messiah as both a time of salvation and of judgment. Salvation of the Remnant and judgment of the rest. Elijah had come to prepare the way for the Lord. John the Baptizer had turned the hearts of the fathers and children, but he had also declared the Day of the Lord, burning like an oven. The wrath to come.95
Isaiah’s proclamation of Messiah’s Jubilee year of forgiveness was intimately connected to his day of vengeance. Jesus had proclaimed the fulfillment of that Jubilee in his own ministry and the day of vengeance in the fall of Jerusalem.96
But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near…for these are days of vengeance, to fulfill all that is written.
Luke 21:20-22
No, God’s love and wrath were not at odds. In the Son, justice and mercy kissed.97
Gischala raised his head with decision. It was evident he had made up his mind. Alexander hoped it would be merciful.
“You speak of a suffering messiah,” said Gischala, “a spiritual kingdom, a spiritual temple, a heavenly Jerusalem.” He paused again as though trying to accept his own words. “But I believe in earthly salvation, an earthly Jerusalem and temple. I will liberate captives from our prison. I will restore this stronghold, win this war, and build the temple. And all Israel will be gathered to it.”
Alexander filled with dread. This man before him, this monstrous leader, saw himself as the anointed one to deliver Israel. Gischala had fallen to a delusion that even Jacob was unwilling to challenge.
Everything was going to get much worse.
Gischala said, “And I am going to start with releasing you, Alexander. But you will not return to the hippodrome. You will remain in the temple to help with my wounded soldiers. I am told you are the best of the few doctors remaining. Well, I need the very best to minister to my forces if I am to win this battle.”
CHAPTER 24
Pella
Cassandra paced around desperately in her small home in Pella. She couldn’t get Samuel to stop crying. She tried to feed him, but he wasn’t eating. She changed him, she rocked him in her arms, tried to sing sweet hymns to him. She couldn’t figure out what was wrong. He had kept her up all night with his fussing, and now his crying worked to make her feel like she was going mad.
Noah had escaped to go play with his friends outside. Rachel was watching over the orphans housed in a converted Greek building. Cassandra was all alone with Samuel, and she felt guilty for her thoughts of self-pity.
And the maidservant was late returning from the water well. The congregation had provided the help for her because of Cassandra’s extensive responsibilities overseeing the care of the orphan children from Jerusalem.
Cassandra bit back her own tears. She missed Alexander deeply. She wanted to see him, to return to his side. To support him in his ministry for the kingdom of God. But her children needed her too. Little Samuel required constant attention. Rachel was a young woman come of age for marriage. Noah needed a father’s strong arm to temper his growing anger.
The war orphans needed her oversight as well. She had been given charge of the children she had rescued from Jerusalem. Most
of the two hundred orphans had been adopted out to families in the city, but there were still fifty left in Cassandra’s direct care.
Still, she had made arrangements for both her own and the orphan children to be cared for until she returned from Jerusalem. Now she needed to get to the city meeting to find out what the elders and leaders were planning next. But not with a crying infant.
She whispered into the air, “Where are you, Magdalena? Hurry up.”
She continued to pace back and forth, rocking the bawling Samuel, looking out the window for the maidservant’s arrival, and feeling terrible for wanting to get away.
At last she saw the young woman approaching the house with a pot of water on her head. Magdalena was one of the older war orphans that Cassandra and Alexander had rescued. Fifteen years old with long, brown hair and a lanky body, she had been so grateful that she had jumped at the chance to be Cassandra’s maidservant, counting it an honor. The only problem was that Magdalena was always a bit pokey and slow at what she did.
Cassandra opened the door for her. Once Magdalena had put the water down, she handed the maidservant her crying son. “I’m late for the city meeting.”
She rushed to the door but stopped when she noticed that Samuel had stopped crying. Cassandra looked back at him, now nestled calmly in Magdalena’s arms. My own son can detect my desire to leave. He hates me for it. Well, I don’t blame him. I am a terrible mother.
She gave Magdalena a smile as fake as it felt. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.” She closed the door behind her.
When Cassandra arrived at the temple, she was heaving for air. She had run all the way and was happy to discover that she had only missed the introductory meeting procedures led by Boaz.
She noticed the seven Kharabu captains up front. Michael was addressing the congregation of hundreds of citizens. “The seven of us are leaving Pella temporarily on a mission.”
The citizens broke out into a rumbling of fearful chattering.
Boaz stepped forward and quieted them, waving his arms downward.
Cassandra found Thelonious standing at the back. She stood next to him.
Michael continued explaining to the crowd, “Fear not, Christians of Pella. You will be safe. There will be no more Roman attacks on this city.”
A citizen yelled out, “How can you know that?” Others in the crowd called out their agreement with the query.
Michael said, “I have intelligence of which I am very confident. You will not be in danger.”
“What is your source?” asked another voice in the crowd.
“I cannot reveal my source. You must trust me in this. Have we Kharabu not proven our word to you all these years?”
At that, the citizens gave hearty agreement and even shouts of gratitude. One voice called out, “What is your mission?”
Michael smiled warmly. “I am afraid I cannot reveal that either.”
Boaz stepped out now and asked, “When will you return?”
“I do not know,” said Michael.
The crowd became upset again.
“You must trust the Apocalypse. The devil’s time is short. Are you not the 144,000 sealed on your foreheads with the name of the Father and of the Lamb?”
The crowd chattered with approval. Some shouted, “Praise Jesus our Lord!”
Cassandra could not get out of her mind what she thought their mission might be. If these seven were the angels she suspected, then she also suspected where they might be going. She turned to Thelonius and whispered to him, “Can I ask you a favor?”
“Of course,” he answered.
After Michael had reassured the city, he and his six captains left the temple and made their way to their horses at the stable just down the street.
When they entered the building, Cassandra and Thelonius were there to greet them.
She wasted no time. “You’re going to Jerusalem, aren’t you?”
The captains looked at one another, caught. Michael smiled affectionately at her. “Cassandra, you cannot come with us.”
Her composure dropped with disappointment. He explained, “You have been a good and faithful servant to the Father all these years. I would not refuse to bring you with us if I thought I could keep you safe. But that is not the case. Your family is now your calling.”
She sighed, and her whole body seemed to deflate with resignation. Thelonius held her up from melting to the floor in despair.
She said, “I need to know if Alexander is still alive. I need to see him.”
“Trust in the Lord,” Michael responded.
At times like this, such words sounded trite. A kind of resignation to the fact that there was nothing left to do, so one might as well just trust in the Lord.
Cassandra pulled a rolled parchment out of her cloak. “If he is alive, will you at least deliver this letter to him? I miss him so deeply.”
Michael felt the wound of her soul. Those two had gone through hell on earth together. It pained him to keep them apart. “Of course I will.”
He reached out and took the letter. “Forgive me, but time is short. We must leave.”
Cassandra and Thelonius moved aside and let them pass the stalls on their way to their own horses.
She called out to him, “Michael.”
He turned back to see her smiling, but with sad eyes. She said, “I don’t think there are any better princes in heaven than you seven guardian angels.”
Michael smiled. The other angels looked askance at each other. Her face seemed to reveal that she wasn’t speaking metaphorically. She had figured it out after all.
Michael turned back and led his Kharabu warriors to their horses for their journey southwest.
CHAPTER 25
Jerusalem
Jacob walked among the tombstones of the necropolis not far from Golgotha in the western end of the city. He passed along a line of caves marked out for the wealthy. They would lay the bodies of their dead loved ones on shelves until the flesh rotted from the bones. Then they would put the bones in small stone boxes called “ossuaries.” This way they could store entire families in the crypt so that when the resurrection occurred, they would arise together.
Despite the hope that pervaded this belief, the cemetery still gave Jacob a feeling of despair. Was he afraid of death or the afterlife? He wasn’t sure which.
He found the Two Witnesses preaching outside the tomb of a rich Pharisee, Joseph of Arimathea. He’d known they would be here today because it was Sunday, the Feast of First-Fruits, the anniversary of their resurrection hoax. This had been the temporary grave where the Nazarene had been laid before the disciples stole the body on the Feast of First-Fruits forty years ago. Three days after he was buried. Another attempt to manufacture fulfillment of the Nazarene’s own predictions.
For 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.
Matthew 12:40
A handful of visitors listened to the two preachers in sackcloth. Jacob had anticipated few would be listening to them, not just because this was a cemetery, but because their message was mostly ignored by the populace.
Though he despised these two for their arrogance and rejection of temple, Torah, and Land, Jacob could not deny that they were somehow supernaturally protected. The image of fire from heaven engulfing a company of soldiers was burned into his memory with fear and dread. What if they were Yahweh’s prophets after all? What if the people were not listening to them with the same results as when they didn’t listen to Isaiah or Jeremiah or Ezekiel?
“Go, and say to this people: ‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’ Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they turn and be healed.”
Isaiah 6:9–10
Jacob put it out of his mind. The ramifications were too frightening. He had come too far to entertain such heretical thoughts. And he was here t
o hedge his bets anyway. He was going to play both sides.
The young dark Egyptian Elihu proclaimed to those few surrounding him, “Jesus is the fulfillment of the Feast of First-fruits. He died on Passover as the Lamb of God. His death, like the Feast of Unleavened Bread, brought about a new exodus. And he rose from the dead on the third day as the first-fruits of the resurrection to come.”98
People in the city were supposed to be bringing stalks of barley to the temple as wave offerings. These should have been taken from the first-fruits of their harvest as a sign of the greater harvest to come. But because Rome had surrounded the city and locked them inside, the Jews could not access their fields and thus had no stalks of grain. What they didn’t realize was that their lack of first-fruits was a picture of their own dark fate.
Elihu quoted from the book of Daniel, “And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting contempt.”99
The Witnesses were claiming that Daniel’s resurrection was a picture of the raising of his Remnant out of the dead nation of apostate Israel, not unlike Ezekiel’s resurrection of the dry bones as a picture of the Remnant return from exile. But in this case, the newly raised Remnant consisted of believers in Jesus as Messiah. The rest were condemned.100
Old Moshe now took over. “The prophet Isaiah wrote of the new exodus achieved by this resurrection: ‘The root of Jesse will come, even he who arises to rule the Gentiles; in him will the Gentiles hope.’ That root of Jesse is Jesus of Nazareth who rose from the dead. Isaiah goes on to say of him, ‘And in that day the Lord will extend his hand yet a second time to recover the Remnant of his people.’ So Jesus raises his Remnant through faith.”101
