Final Confrontation

by D. Brian Shafer

  “Well, Most High,” he said, looking past the scene and up into the heavens, “It has come to this moment. In a few short earth hours it will all be over. And all of Your prophets and laws and covenants and messiahs will have been for nothing. I told You man’s free will would be Your downfall. I told You Your love would watch Your Son die! And so You shall!”

  “Take Him in and scourge Him,” ordered Pilate.

  His soldiers removed the white kingly robe Herod had given Him, and lashed His back the prescribed 39 times. They then fashioned a crown made of thorns and placed it upon His head. Not wanting to end the drama Herod had started, they threw a purple robe across His back, so that the blood would not be quite as evident. After the scourging, they led Him out once more.

  “Behold the Man,” proclaimed Pilate. He then muttered to Lucius, “Perhaps seeing some blood on this Fellow will feed their appetites for execution.”

  Lucifer, watching the drama, continued to foment a riotous and bloodthirsty attitude among the crowd.

  “Drive them!” he ordered his angels. “Make them demand His blood!”

  Rugio and Kara had, in the meantime, instigated a new chant in the minds of the priests and the people:

  “CRUCIFY HIM!”

  “CRUCIFY HIM!”

  Pilate was astonished at the stubbornness of the crowd. He held up his hands again and told them, “You crucify Him yourselves. I find this Man innocent of the charges you have brought!”

  Zichri walked over to Pilate, and bowing his head spoke.

  “Sir, we are not trying to be troublesome to you,” he began. “But we have a law requiring the death sentence if someone proclaims himself to be the Son of God.”

  “What?” said Pilate, shaken by this latest statement. He hurried to the entryway where Jesus had been removed, lest the crowds rush Him.

  “Where are You from?” he demanded, sweat beading down his face.

  Jesus said nothing.

  “Don’t You see I am trying to help You”? he asked. “Don’t You see I have the power to release You or to have You killed?”

  Jesus looked up at Pilate, the dried blood caking one eye.

  “The only authority you have over Me is that which was given you by My Father,” he responded. “But those who delivered Me into your hands are guilty of a greater sin.”

  Pilate returned to the throng outside. The day was already beginning to get warm, though it was only about eight. He addressed the people again.

  “I will release this Man!”

  Lucifer had positioned himself next to Zichri and spoke into his mind. At that moment, Zichri spoke up:

  “If you release this Man, then you are no friend to Caesar. For whoever makes himself out to be a king, speaks against Caesar’s authority!”

  Lucifer smiled at the incredulous look on Pilate’s face. He turned back to Lucius, who only shrugged as if to say he didn’t know what to do. Pilate looked at the angry crowd, the jealous priests and the bloody Man he was about to condemn to die.

  “Very well,” he said, ordering Lucius to bring him a basin of water. “But first I am washing my hands to show you I am innocent in this Man’s blood.”

  Zichri and the other priests awaited the final word from Pilate. The crowd had grown quiet. Lucifer and his angels waited on one side of the court, while Michael and his angels waited on the other.

  “This reminds me of when we were in Eden,” observed Kara. “Waiting for Eve to take the bait from the serpent.”

  “True,” said Pellecus. “Only this time the bait is the Lord Himself!”

  “It won’t be long, my brothers,” said Lucifer, as Pilate prepared to speak. “Then we shall have a taste of real freedom!”

  “Let Him be crucified!” said Pilate.

  Chronicles of the Host

  Bloody Seed

  The shame of knowing…the horror of seeing…the pain of watching the Son of the Most High God; it is something no holy angel will ever fully recover from. All our hopes in a victorious crown of gold faded in the blood of a crown of thorns. We watched as they led Jesus through the streets, mocking Him and forcing Him to carry the instrument of His death on His beaten shoulders. They took Him to the outskirts of the city, to the place of execution called Golgotha.

  The enemy was ecstatic, wildly dancing about as if they themselves had allowed this crime to occur. And yet, we wondered why it had occurred at all. Was this part of a larger plan unknown to angels? Or did the Lord truly succumb to the ignorance and faithlessness of men? The answer would be evident in three days. But the waiting seemed to last forever…

  33 A.D.

  9 AM Friday Morning

  Golgotha, the Place of the Skull

  THUD!

  The sound of the cross dropping into the ground behind Jesus followed by His agonized scream was a macabre backdrop to the unfolding drama. The Romans in charge of the execution took Jesus’ arms and bound them to the crossbeam on which He lay. They offered Him wine mixed with vinegar to diminish the intensity of the pain, but He refused.

  Looking at the crowds of people who had followed Him up the pathway, He could distinguish some of His family, including His mother, Mary. Above and unseen by them, He could also see thousands of unholy angels, covering the sky like a swarm of locusts, jeering and celebrating the death of the Lord.

  CLING!

  A streak of pain shot up Jesus’ arm, unlike any He had ever experienced. It moved through His whole body like fire and he cried out in pain.

  CLING!

  CLING!

  CLING!

  He looked to His left and saw the hammer raised to nail the other arm into place.

  CLING!

  CLING!

  CLING!

  The Romans, professionals all, went about their business routine deftly, hardly speaking to one another. They knew their job. And they were doing it well. They lifted Jesus up with ropes, and positioned Him above the hole where they would stake the cross. Just as they were about to let it drop, an officer stopped them.

  “Hold on there,” he said. “Pilate ordered this placed above His head.”

  He handed the soldier a placard, inscribed in Hebrew, Greek and Latin:

  JESUS OF NAZARETH

  KING OF THE JEWS

  Then with a violent thud that shook Him to His very core in agonizing pain, the cross dropped into the ground and was positioned upright. Jesus hung there for a moment in shock, trying to collect His thoughts. Nearby were scores of people weeping and watching. Several of the high priest’s men were also watching.

  CLING!

  CLING!

  CLING!

  The crowd gasped at the horror of the scene as the Romans fastened His feet to the cross with one more heavy iron nail, completing their duty. Jesus cried out once more as the weight of His body was forced upon the nails through His feet.

  The Romans’ gruesome work was finished—now they simply had to wait for Him to die. Jesus’ struggle was just beginning as He strained to live.

  Kara and Pellecus watched Jesus squirming on the cross, trying to position Himself for just a tiny relief of the pressure on His torn body. But His muscles would soon give way and the full weight of His body was again forced upon His feet in wrenching pain. Kara noted the priests moving up to the cross.

  Berenius had moved in with them and created a spirit of cruel mockery which they were now exhibiting with relish.

  “Well Jesus,” said Achish. “You promised You would send legions of angels down upon us!”

  “Yes,” said another. “And what about destroying the Temple in three days!”

  “You saved others,” Achish said, indicating some of the crowd. “Yet You cannot save yourself?”

  “Enough!” admonished Zichri. “We are priests, not butchers. Achish, you will stay here until it is over. The rest of us need to return to the Temple.” He walked over to Achish, pulling him aside. “Remember, He must be dead before the Sabbath. Pay them if you must, but see to it.”

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nbsp; He glanced down at the iron bar used to break the legs of the prisoners in order to hasten their deaths.

  “Father, forgive them!”

  Zichri turned to look at Jesus.

  “Did He say something?” he asked Achish.

  “Father they do not understand what they do.”

  “As you say,” said Achish uneasily. “I will see He is dead before Sabbath!”

  “Jesus.”

  Jesus turned His head to the right. He saw the man condemned to die next to Him watching Him with interest and wonder.

  “All these people, these priests,” he marveled. “You must be the One they say You are.”

  Jesus said nothing.

  “Please take me with You into Your Kingdom.”

  Jesus opened His dry, blistered mouth and spoke to the man, “I promise you today, that you shall be with me in paradise.”

  CHAPTER 21

  “The stone is moving!”

  33 A.D.

  12 Noon Friday

  Golgotha

  “My Lord! My Lord! Why have You forsaken Me?”

  Michael and Crispin stood on the hill watching Jesus die. They had been asking themselves this very same question. The jeering demons and Lucifer’s proud leadership had begun to enrage Michael. He was ready to fight—yet he was compelled to hold his peace.

  “What good can come of all this?” despaired Michael. “It will only serve to encourage Lucifer in his efforts.”

  “Michael, I cannot answer you,” said Crispin. “Except to say these are things God’s own prophets wanted to look into and were forbidden. If He withheld such things from His prophets, do you think He would reveal them to mere angels?”

  “Then we are to wait upon the Lord’s command to rescue Him?” asked Michael.

  “Yes,” said Crispin. “Should it come. But remember, Michael, the Lord said He would die. This is exactly what He is doing.”

  “But I thought that was a story—a fable to teach men,” said Michael. “I did not think the Man, Jesus would truly die.”

  “You must trust the Most High,” said Crispin. “Though Jesus die the Seed can never die. The Seed can never die…”

  By three in the afternoon, darkness began to descend. The Romans were becoming increasingly nervous as people told them about Jesus, and what a crime this act was against God. Achish studied the darkening sky. Perhaps a storm was brewing? It was all very odd.

  Lucifer peered into the black sky. He could sense death closing in on Jesus. He ordered his angels to encircle the cross as close as they could so they could witness the death of the dream.

  Michael and Gabriel could only watch in disbelief as Jesus suddenly cried out one last time in the darkness:

  “Father! Into Your hands I commit My Spirit!

  “Wait—I think it is done,” cried Lucifer.

  “It’s over,” said Michael.

  “Those words were His benediction,” Achish said to his aide.

  IT IS FINISHED!

  “Break His legs!” ordered Achish. “We have Pilate’s permission.”

  The soldier, not given to taking orders from priests, looked past him to his commander. The commander nodded and the man shrugged, picking up the heavy iron bar. He went to the first man, the one to whom Jesus assured would be with Him in paradise, and with a hard swing, brought the bar across the man’s legs. They snapped in two and the man began to die. He repeated the process with the second man.

  He waited until the last to break Jesus’ legs simply to agitate the priest further. But when he reached Jesus, he found the Man already dead. Achish walked and examined Him.

  “You had better make sure,” he said. “Pilate personally ordered this Man’s death.”

  The centurion picked up a spear and thrust it into Jesus’ side. When Achish saw both blood and water spurt out, with no reaction from Jesus, he knew He was indeed dead. He left to report the news to Zichri, walking past Mary as he went. It was just as the old prophet Simeon had said—a sword had pierced her heart.

  “Was that another earthquake?”asked Pilate.

  Lucius came into the room where Pilate was eating with Claudia. Lucius brought in a report of strange occurrences and rumblings throughout the city that included graves opening, long departed holy men and women appearing to people, and flashing bolts of lightning.

  “I told you to have nothing to do with that Man!” Claudia shouted. “You have profaned the Hebrew God!”

  Pilate walked away from the table, clearly upset. Lucius followed him. They entered the front room where only hours before Pilate had questioned Jesus.

  “I have given orders to the soldiers to form fire brigades where some houses have caught on fire,” Lucius said. “And I have ordered more security at the execution site until the body can be safely moved.”

  “Good, good,” muttered Pilate, whose eyes were fixed on the floor.

  Lucius walked over to him and looked at the ground where Pilate had stationed his eyes.

  It was a drop of dried blood.

  “It is done, teacher,” said Zichri.

  Caiaphas nodded his head in approval. He looked at Achish for confirmation.

  “I saw the body being taken down myself,” he said. “Pilate has doubled the guard so that there can be no chance of His followers stealing it.”

  “Good,” sighed Caiaphas, relieved. “Such a dirty business. But it had to be done for the good of the nation.”

  “There is still the matter of Lazarus,” said Zichri.

  Caiaphas stared coldly at him for a moment. He then nodded silently.

  “See to it,” he agreed.

  “For the good of the nation,” Zichri reminded.

  “Master! Master!” came a voice from the hallway. Ethan appeared excitedly in the doorway, bearing important news.

  “Rabbi…the veil of the most Holy Place!”

  “What about it?” he asked.

  “It has torn in half.”

  Caiaphas looked at Zichri and Achish with great perplexity.

  “How could that be?” Zichri asked, mystified. “That fabric is so thick. It would take the strength of one hundred men to tear that veil.”

  Ethan stood looking at the blood stain on the tile in Caiaphas’ floor. The stain had not come up.

  “Or perhaps, the strength of a God,” he mused, as thunder loudly exploded around them.

  Lucifer’s gathering of his ruling angels was the greatest celebration he had allowed since being cast out of Heaven. Every angel of any rank or order was there. They met in celebration of the death of the Seed and to toast each other in congratulations.

  The raucous angels spoke hopefully of their future, something heretofore unmentionable. Kara, Pellecus and Rugio sat closest to Lucifer. Next to them were their chief aides, Berenius, Nathan and the like. The looming question was, of course, what now? With the Messiah gone, the Lord would have to reason with them. Now perhaps He would leave them in peace. Perhaps some of them could even find their way back to the Kingdom.

  Lucifer had convened the meeting on the very spot in the Garden of Eden where the two trees once stood: the Tree of Life, and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Both were long gone, as was the garden. But it was a satisfyingly symbolic place to meet. He stood to speak.

  “Some time ago, I stood before many of you on this very spot. I must admit at the time it was a very different place!”

  The angels laughed.

  “It was Eden. The garden of the Most High. And there were two trees here that became a symbol of the Lord’s hold over the humans that lived in the garden. I swore I would build my throne here one day. I have returned to this place to declare that what was once a dream has now become reality.”

  The demons cheered and howled at Lucifer’s declaration of victory.

  “The war we waged was a good one, and not without cost. Much human blood was shed in defense of this rotten world. I never wanted it that way. It was the Most High who insisted we duel in the minds of men. As
it turned out, the mind of humans responds more favorably to our side than to His.”

  More cheering.

  “And so we wrestled against a relentless enemy. We fought His Word, His Covenant, His Prophets. We had to deal with His cunning and treachery in changing the rules of engagement whenever He desired. Finally, we had to struggle against that infernal Seed—the likes of which we never understood until It finally arrived.

  “And yet we dealt with the Seed when It came. Just as we dealt with the Law and the Prophets and all the rest. Moses came and went. David came and went. And now Jesus, the hope of the world, has died. And with Him, the dream of an empire on earth for the Most High.

  Wild cheers.

  “Nevertheless, after war comes the diplomacy. It is my pledge to you that I will negotiate for us a peace that will ensure our authority on this planet forever, and we will then demonstrate to the Most High, once and for all, that angels can rule from on high.

  “I will make the following appointments which will be part of the new kingdom we are establishing: Kara, shall be the Chief Elder among you, Pellecus shall head up our own Academy of the Host, so that the truths we espouse will not only be promoted among angels, but among men as well. Rugio, my valiant warrior, shall be Commander of the Host.

  “These three shall make up the ruling authority in our kingdom. Some of you shall rule with them. Others will be assigned to more fitting positions.”

  He looked down to the earth far below, a star in the distance.

  “But the kingdom we now establish, built upon the back and blood of a broken Messiah, shall forever reign on earth!”

  “You have secured the tomb of course,” said Lucifer to Rugio as the celebration continued. “I want nothing to disturb the place—be it spirit or human.”

  “Yes of course,” he said. “Pilate has posted a guard and the tomb is sealed.”

  “Remember what happened with Lazarus,” said Kara.

  “That was different,” said Rugio. “At that time Jesus was on the outside wanting in. This time it is He who is on the inside!”