by Dawn Morris
Noah and I talked nearly that whole night about our hopes and dreams for the future.
There are many lessons we should have learned from what happened, but we did not.
Our families expanded incredibly in number so that, by the third generation, a great many people filled the land. As humans did before the Flood, they would live out life spans of hundreds of years for the next few generations, although that would eventually change. Our children and grandchildren spread out and moved away. It was happening just as the Lord had commanded: we were repopulating and filling the earth. But we did not live in harmony.
I don’t know how it began—squabbles over land here, walls around towns there.
Our descendants began to call us, the original eight, the “Mothers and Fathers.” We tried to mediate between them, but it seemed the Flood had not eradicated selfishness and hate from their hearts.
One of Ham’s grandsons, Nimrod, rose to prominence. Over the years, he became a ruthless warrior and built up an army of men from all three families who were completely devoted to him. They wanted more than peaceful lives. They wanted more than the mandate to have families and continue to spread across the earth. They wanted to be powerful and rule over the others.
Together, they defied the command to spread out over the earth and instead built a city in the land of Shinar and called it “Babylon.” Other cities followed. While I knew it was wrong, I understood why. In cities, you could accumulate wealth. They were full of stability and culture and power for those who ruled over them. Nimrod ruled over Babylon and other cities as well—Erech, Accad, and Calneh—but it was Babylon where he began building his tower.
Noah heard about it and decided that some of us should journey to Babylon to see what was going on. Gathering together with some of our sons and their wives, Japheth and I organized a caravan to travel the long distance. Nua and Shem joined us, along with some of their family. There were seventy of us altogether.
Noah blessed us before we left, reminding us of the great evil that had arisen in the cities of men before the Flood, and charging Shem and Japheth, as the Fathers, to lead us well. All of us had horses, and each of us was armed—men and women. There were aggressive bears in the hill country but also human enemies. There were so many generations roaming the earth that we didn’t know everyone, and they didn’t all know us. How quickly the world changed from the day we stepped off the ark into an empty world.
It took us almost three months to reach Babylon. One of the blessings of the journey was that we got to visit family along the way. I had delivered many of the people we saw and was asked for remedies and midwifery advice by anxious mothers. I loved seeing my children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. There was no better sight than children running excitedly toward us as we approached each farm.
We were still far from the city when we saw it—a large tower, stretching upwards toward heaven. “So, it is true,” Japheth said solemnly.
There were walls surrounding the city, so we had to make our way to one of the gates. Guards stood before the entrance, barring the way. Shem and Japheth approached them. The men recognized their forefathers and greeted them with great respect.
I breathed a sigh of relief. As we approached Babylon, I vividly recalled the great city from which the Magistrate ruled and was filled with a dreadful sense of foreboding, but the kindly manner in which Shem and Japheth were treated put me at ease.
Welcoming us into the city, our guides led us to a great field to the west of the gate. It was a pleasant expanse of grass with a small river running through it. At the end of the field was the huge tower. The tower was covered with people working in various capacities. It seemed it was not quite finished.
“You may put up your tents here, Fathers and Mothers. I will go and inform the king that you have arrived.” The guard spoke respectfully.
“You knew we were coming?” Shem asked.
“The king’s wife has the gift of foresight,” he answered.
“Who is his wife?” I asked. None of us knew Nimrod had taken a wife or that he called himself a king.
“She is Semiramis, the Gift of the Sea,” was the response. I looked at Japheth warily.
The guard turned and left. We tended to our horses and then began to set up camp. Not long after he left, the guard returned and asked Shem and Japheth to follow him, along with Nua and me.
As we followed the guard along the dusty city streets, I could not help but stare at the women and men I saw. They all had to be my distant relatives, some even my great-and great-great-grandchildren. The women were elaborately dressed, their hair piled up in embellished bundles covered in decorative gold headdresses. They wore sensual dresses draped luxuriously around their bodies. The men wore skirts made from woven fabrics. Brightly patterned, they were split in front and angled up the middle, some up so high that there was nothing left to the imagination. Once again, I was fearfully reminded of the Magistrate’s city, Sumeria. The same spirit seemed to walk the streets of Babylon.
We arrived at Nimrod’s residence; it was truly a palace fit for a king. I put my hand on my husband’s shoulder. He stopped walking, and I whispered to him, “Japheth, this is the first such place since the Flood.” He nodded and took my hand in his as we walked up the staircase into the palace.
FIRE
Chapter 23
I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast.
Revelation 13:3
When I woke, it was dark outside. Pushing back the blanket, I got up and made my way into the bathroom. I assumed Jannik was still sleeping in the other room. As I washed my hands under the warm running water, I stared at my reflection in the mirror. My blonde hair hung in a disheveled mess over my face. I found a brush and went to work on my hair, brushing out the tangles. There was an elastic band wrapped around the brush handle. I used it to pull my long hair back into a ponytail away from my face. There was nothing I could do about my bruised nose or the dark circles under my eyes, so I left the bathroom and went back to the bedroom.
I switched on the small lamp next to the bed and looked around the room. There was a large closet, its doors painted a cheerful yellow. Getting back up, I opened the doors carefully, determined not to make too much noise and disturb Jannik.
It was empty, except for some books piled on a shelf. One of them had the word “Jerusalem” printed in large, bold letters across the top. It was filled with old black and white pictures, paired with newer color photographs, labeled with the phrase “today.” I wondered how old the book was as I looked carefully through its pages. There were many names that were familiar to me—the Tower of David, Absalom’s tomb—from the small Bible that belonged to Daphne. I knew who David was. How strange to see his name in this book, and the name of his son, Absalom.
The stories about David were my favorite ones in Daphne’s book. All along, I’d thought they were just old stories. But the names and places in them were real. I wondered for the first time if the whole book was real. I must have fallen asleep again because when I woke up it was light, and I could smell Jannik cooking in the kitchen.
Jannik and I stayed in the apartment for a week before we ran out of food. It was the best week of my life. We spent the days eating and talking, secluded from the outside world and all its troubles. I found some cozy clothes in one of the closets, and we lounged on the couches most days, relaxing in each other’s company and talking nonstop. We never ran out of things to say.
I felt comfortable around Jannik. Never had anyone paid such thoughtful attention to me. After hearing my story in detail, he insisted on giving me history lessons so I would understand what was going on in the world. We played card games, watched old movies, and ate together. For the first time in my life, I went to sleep unafraid of what the next day would bring.
The morning we ran out of food, he closed the pantry door in the kitchen and came and joined me at the t
able. There was still tea, so I’d made cups for both of us. We drank in silence for a few minutes. I watched him intently and noted how his dark brown eyes looked worried under furrowed brows. Strangely, I wasn’t overly concerned. I knew he would figure something out.
“I was thinking it might be okay if we go out for a walk today,” he suggested. We chatted for a few minutes about where we’d go.
“You’re going to need some different shoes,” Jannik pointed out. The shoes I’d been given to wear for the ceremony were still by the front door where I’d left them when we’d first arrived at the apartment. They were white, small heeled, and too tight.
He left the kitchen and came back a minute later with a pair of shoes in hand. “These will work! The streets of the Old City have many steps and cobblestones.”
I put them on and then tied my hair back in a scarf. “Where will we go? I asked.
“For some reason, I really want to try and see those two Witnesses,” Jannik answered. “After Bollomo’s assassination, I’m sure the streets will be heavily monitored, but I think this beard will throw anyone off!”
I laughed. I’d teased him over breakfast that he looked like a grizzly bear with his bushy beard. “I think you’re right!”
We left the apartment, carefully locking the door behind us. Jannik led the way, talking nonstop. “I’ve felt so cooped up! It’s good to be outside, isn’t it?”
After nearly ten minutes, we were in front of the Temple in the plaza by the Western Wall. There were many people in the plaza, including Global Union soldiers. They stood between the crowd and the two young men who were sitting on the stairs that led up to the Temple.
Jannik put his arm around me and pulled me close as a couple of men pushed roughly past us. I glimpsed a gun on one of the men as his suit jacket flapped back and whispered my observation to Jannik. He kept his arm around me.
“Look over there,” he said, nodding to the street. Three black trucks pulled up to the curb and soldiers dressed in black uniforms and black helmets piled out, forming a pathway from the street to the soldiers and blocking the way to the Temple where the Witnesses sat.
“I think we should go now,” I told Jannik, but he insisted we stay. I had been wary before the long black car pulled up, but when I saw Angelo Cain get out, I panicked.
Jannik kept his arm tightly around me. “Look, all of the streets out of here are blocked by soldiers. We can’t go anywhere now.” He pulled me closer to him and backed up against a wall. I looked back to the street and gasped in horror. President Bellomo!
“I thought you saw him die!”
“It’s impossible! He was shot in the head!” Jannik muttered in disbelief as a figure that clearly looked like President Bellomo strode confidently along the pathway lined with soldiers. As he passed, each of the men saluted him before returning to a stance that looked ready for action.
“What’s going on here?” Jannik hissed.
People around us started screaming Bellomo’s praises. “He died and he lives! He rose from the dead! He’s a god and not a man!”
I watched as the two Witnesses stood up. They were too far away for me to see their facial expressions clearly, but someone had put up a giant screen in front of the old wall to our right. “Someone planned this event,” I whispered to Jannik. Fear coursed through my whole body, and I began to shake. I was certain no one in the plaza would survive the showdown happening in front of us. Because of the screen, we could see the events in detail as they unfolded.
“So, the beast himself comes!” one of the Witnesses laughed jeeringly. “We watched your fall from heaven!”
Bellomo stopped moving toward the men and stood still. The camera switched to him. His face was bright red with fury.
The other Witness continued, “You know the prophecy, that the time has come, but you’re not sure we won’t harm you in the process, are you?”
Angelo Cain screamed, “How dare you threaten the Promised One! He died and has risen from the dead. Repent and bow before him, and you will receive mercy!”
The Witnesses turned to the crowd and shouted, “Woe to you who dwell on the earth! Terror has come upon you because the devil has been cast down and walks among you!”
The plaza was eerily silent. Bellomo began moving again. The two men stood still as he approached, hands hanging at their sides. Suddenly, the president grabbed a machine gun from a soldier and blasted the two men until their bullet-riddled bodies fell to the ground.
The crowd around us erupted in shouts of acclamation and praise. Some fell to their knees, praising President Bellomo as the Promised One. Jannik grabbed my hand. “We need to get out of here right now!”
The crowd was going wild in celebration. Jannik backed us away from the crowd, slipping past some soldiers and into an ally. I clutched his hand like a lifeline.
When we got back the apartment, breathing hard, we shut the door and locked it behind us. Jannik had turned his phone off when we first got to the apartment, but as soon as we locked the door, he went to the kitchen and pulled it off the counter and turned it on.
We both stood in the kitchen and watched a live feed from the Temple, where the crowds were still celebrating wildly. The camera pulled in for a close up shot of the two dead Witnesses. Soldiers stood on either side of the corpses, preventing anyone from coming near the bodies.
The scene changed to show Angelo Cain standing behind a podium with the Global Union flag emblazoned on it. After the thunderous applause of the crowd died down, he raised his arms in triumph. His voice boomed over the loudspeakers, “The Promised One lives! Clearly he is God and not a man. Now, he will take his place of destiny. Having eliminated the so-called “Witnesses,’ he will continue to rid the world of all opposition to his rightful rule.” The crowd erupted again in cheers. Motioning for them to be quiet, he added, “The time has come to anoint him. He is the long-awaited Messiah. We will enter the Holy of Holies and use it for what it is intended—to confirm our new and rightful leader!”
With a mechanical smile stretched across his face, Cain declared a three-day celebration of the Witnesses’ defeat, stating the celebration would officially end on the evening of the third day with a redo of the ceremony at the Temple. Again, Angelo Cain would anoint President Bellomo as the Promised One and enter the Holy of Holies.
“They are going to try it again.” Jannik sat down heavily on a stool by the counter. I took the stool next to him.
“What does this mean? Why do they need to go into the Holy of Holies?” This was all so confusing to me.
“It is the Abomination of Desolation the prophet Daniel spoke about.” Jannik hit the counter with the palm of his hand angrily. “This means President Bellomo is breaking his treaty with Israel. It is a declaration of war instead of the peace he promised over three years ago!”
“What are you talking about?” I asked, still a bit confused.
“Three and a half years ago, President Bellomo ratified a peace treaty with our leaders, guaranteeing Israel’s right to the Temple. When they tried to enter it last week, it was pandemonium, as we saw. But he is going to do it again, claiming to be the Jewish Messiah—which he’s not. The prophet Daniel warned about this.”
I put my hand on his shoulder, and he turned to me. Tenderly, Jannik placed a hand on either side of my face. “I’ve saved you, but I have no idea about what we should do now.”
Staring up into his eyes, I saw concern mixed with fear. I wanted to say something that would help, but I couldn’t think of anything. Just then there was a chirp from the phone in his hand.
“It’s from Noam. He’s one of the other Temple attendants.” Quickly Jannik clicked on his phone and began speaking. I could hear Noam, but I didn’t understand Hebrew, so I had no idea what they were talking about. They spoke for several minutes before Jannik hung up and turned the power off again.
“We’re going to meet my friend and some others. There is a meeting tonight for those who don’t believe Bellomo is
the Promised One. Maybe they will have a plan for what to do next.”
FLOOD
Chapter 24
But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower the people were building . . . If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language.
Genesis 11: 6–7
As we were ushered into Nimrod’s throne room, I was speechless. Nimrod sat on a great golden throne perched on a high dais. The room was spacious, with high ceilings and marble floors, and filled with rows of soldiers standing at attention before their king. The walls on all sides glittered with painted images traced in gold, detailing exploits of Nimrod the Great, grandson of Ham, hunter of animals and men. His prowess in ending life was on display to all who entered the hall. Surely, the great Flood had failed to drown out the wickedness of mankind.
Nimrod’s wife, Semiramis, sat on a similar throne next to him. Never had I seen such beauty. Nua had heard from a farmer in the marketplace that Semiramis was one of Ham’s great-granddaughters. Named Semra at birth, she had run away from home as a young woman to a nearby city where she had sold herself to any man who would pay for the privilege. How she came to find herself married to Nimrod, Nua did not find out.
Of course, Nimrod did not stand in courtesy when the Mothers and Fathers entered the room, as was the custom. Instead, he nodded his head, his golden crown appearing heavy.
Japheth spoke first. “Nimrod, I recall seeing you at a gathering many years ago. You were a child, barely able to walk. Now, it seems you have taken a lofty place for yourself.”
Nimrod looked down haughtily at his elder and did not respond. Instead, Semiramis lashed out, “How dare you speak so to Nimrod the Great, builder of cities and the Tower of heaven?”
