Looking at the crowd, Jeffrey could see that many of the prominent members, especially the teachers of the law, were scowling at Jesus. Although Jeffrey didn’t know if Jesus had heard their mutterings, the teacher nevertheless stood and faced them, his countenance darkening as he returned their glares.
“Why are you thinking these things?” he challenged. “Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins…”
Jeffrey swallowed the lump in his throat. The entire room around him seemed to disappear as he looked into Jesus’ eyes. Jeffrey felt as if he were a spectator, watching the scene unfold. Then, he heard Jesus speak the words that sent his heart racing.
“Get up, pick up your mat, and go home.”
Before the words had even left Jesus’ mouth, a rush of heat flashed down Jeffrey’s spine. However, instead of burning pain, it was a soothing warmth that infused strength into his body. Before he even tried to move, Jeffrey knew what had happened. More tears came, but this time, they were tears of unadulterated joy!
Laughing and crying simultaneously, Jeffrey sat up and began bending his knees. Gasps of wonder and shock spread through those gathered in the room and those who had been looking through the windows and the open door. As Jeffrey rose to his feet, he could hear many offering praise to God. Yet most of the crowd’s reaction was lost on Jeffrey, for his senses were focused solely on the man standing before him.
A plethora of emotions hit Jeffrey simultaneously. He wanted to cry, laugh, jump, bow in reverence, and grovel in humility. Not knowing what to do, he simply stood facing Jesus. Then, catching him completely off guard, Jesus laughed and embraced him tightly. The sound of the teacher’s laughter was infectious, and as Jesus released him, Jeffrey let out a huge guffaw. He couldn’t remember a time in his life when he had felt this happy, carefree, and full of life.
Finally, after sharing a full, joyous laugh together, Jesus placed his hands on Jeffrey’s shoulders and looked him in the eye, a smile on his face. “Now, take your mat, and go home!”
Jeffrey’s eyes grew wide in wonder. Somehow, the way Jesus said the last two words, Jeffrey knew that he knew where his home really was. Nodding, Jeffrey reached down, and grabbed the makeshift stretcher that Jerome and the others had made for him. Looking up through the hole in the ceiling, Jeffrey saw the joyous faces of his friends staring down at him. Raising his fist in the air, he let out a triumphant cry. “Hallelujah! Hallelujah!”
Three of the four men were beside themselves with joy, praising and glorifying God as they turned to find their way down the steps from the roof, while the fourth man followed behind them, a look of wonder on his face.
Turning to face Jesus one last time, Jeffrey stared into his dark brown eyes, his emotions threatening to burst open once again. “Thank you. Thank you, Jesus,” he said, his voice choked and trembling.
From somewhere behind him, Jeffrey heard a tearful, familiar voice calling out his name from near the door of the house. Recognizing the voice, his heart skipped a beat as heat flooded through him. Bowing quickly to Jesus, Jeffrey turned and made his way across the room as people did their best in the cramped space to make a path for him.
As he reached the doorway, he saw Rebecca forcing her way through the crowd toward him, the hood having fallen back from her head. His heart ached at the sight of her. Reaching out, he grabbed her and pulled her into his arms. Burying his face into her neck, he stood motionless for several moments, simply breathing in the scent of her. He felt her hot tears soaking into the robe he was wearing.
“I’m so sorry,” he said as he held her tightly. “I’ve been so foolish. I…I love you, Rebecca. I loved you before, but now…now I know you. I share your beliefs, and I understand what’s important to you. I see everything so differently. Please, will you…will you teach me all that you’ve learned?”
Pulling away, she looked up at him, her face wet with tears. Then, as if hearing someone call to her, she glanced over Jeffrey’s shoulder to see Jesus staring at her. Rebecca felt his gaze pierce her heart as a warm smile spread across his face and he nodded once.
Fresh tears raced down her cheeks as she turned her attention back to her husband. Her head cocked to the side and she swallowed hard in an attempt to control her raging emotions. “I will,” she said softly, her voice quivering. She knew that it would take some time to rebuild the trust that had been lost, but she felt a calm sense of reassurance settle over her. Their marriage would survive.
Muscles in Jeffrey’s face twitched as he fought to retain control of his own turbulent feelings. He had been given a second chance in life: first from God, and now from his wife. He vowed he would not squander those gifts. “C’mon, Rebecca. Let’s go home.”
Taking his hand in her own, she gave him a lopsided grin. “Please, call me Becky!”
33
Home
“According to da time dial, we should be arriving in da next couple of minutes,” Akwen reported to the others as she studied the controls in front of her.
Everyone had gathered in the control room, eager to see evidence that they had indeed arrived back at their own time. Looking around the room, Rebecca studied each of her friends in turn, her mind thinking back on the events that had led them to this point. They had been attacked by two genetically altered humans, captured by Mayans, robbed by thieves in Corinth, met so-called ‘Neanderthals’ living during the Ice Age, entered the Tower of Babel, attacked by living dinosaurs, met Noah and demonic false gods, witnessed the beginning of the Flood, met the first humans, spoken with an angel, and witnessed a miracle at the hands of Jesus Himself. None of them would ever be the same again. She wondered what would happen to them now that they were home. Some friendships would undoubtedly grow stronger now that they shared a common faith, yet other friendships, she feared, had been irreparably damaged.
Jeffrey spoke, breaking into her thoughts and bringing her back to the present. “Well, everyone, I think it would be wise for us to decide where we’ll land before we arrive.” Glancing over at Goliath, Jeffrey studied him intently. “We still have some unfinished business to discuss.”
“Yes, we do,” the giant responded, his tone inflectionless as he returned Jeffrey’s stare. He sat in the throne-like chair calmly, his helmet resting on the floor next to him.
For a moment, Jeffrey wondered if Goliath enjoyed removing his helmet and revealing his real features. He guessed that it was an intimidation tactic, and, looking at the faces of the rest of his friends, he figured it still worked, despite the fact that they had been working so closely with the giant for the last several days. Of course, Goliath’s true appearance had been hidden from them most of the journey by his armor’s holographic capabilities.
Taking a deep breath, Jeffrey’s expression softened. “Goliath, although our relationship didn’t start on the best of terms—”
“That’s the understatement of the millennia,” Mack mumbled.
“—our shared experiences have drawn us together,” Jeffrey finished, ignoring Mack’s comment. “I think I speak for us all when I say that we want to thank you for everything that you’ve done for us. Although I’m not so naïve as to think that you did it all out of the goodness of your heart, I’m also smart enough to realize that we probably never would’ve made it without you. I don’t know where you stand on things after all you’ve seen, but I know that it was no accident that you attacked us when you did. God had it planned from the beginning.”
The giant remained silent, his expression unreadable as Jeffrey continued speaking.
“I don’t know if you’d ever be willing to trust us enough to accept us as friends, but I will never forget what you’ve done for me personally,” he said, his voice cracking slightly. “You didn’t have to help Mack, Jerome, and Dr. Eisenberg when they carried me to Jesus, yet you chose to do so. For that, and for saving our lives o
n more than one occasion, I’m forever in your debt. If you ever need anything, know that you would be welcome in my home.”
Unaccustomed to expressions of gratitude, the giant simply inclined his head in acknowledgement.
“That is, of course, if you still promise to give us the detonator to the explosives you placed inside our bodies,” Rebecca added, her expression a mixture of uneasy humor and serious consideration.
Her comment finally cracked the giant’s somber mask, causing a grin to spread over his features. “You don’t have to worry about any explosives, Rebecca. Hercules and I never planted anything inside you.”
Although Rebecca was relieved to hear him say the words, a part of her still had a nagging doubt. As Goliath studied the reaction of Rebecca and the others, he laughed out loud. “Well, Jeffrey, judging by the somewhat skeptical looks on some of your faces, it appears that we still have a ways to go to work on our trust.”
“Forgive me, Goliath,” Rebecca grinned. “Old feelings sometimes die hard. I believe you.”
“With that out of the way, we still need to decide where to land,” Jeffrey said.
“Doesn’t that kind of depend on what’s going to happen to the pyramid once we arrive?” Dr. Eisenberg asked. “Do we plan on turning it over to any government officials, are we going to hide it, or do we want to destroy it?”
“Destroy it?” Jerome repeated in surprise. “I know this thing’s dangerous in the wrong hands, but think of what we could learn about the past! I say we hide it somewhere, and then we can use it without anyone else knowing.”
“That will not be possible,” a deep voice said suddenly from behind them. Startled, the group turned to see Sikaris standing near the stairs, once more dressed in his plain, white robes.
At the sight of the angel, everyone in the room grew somber and silent. Although this was the third time they had seen him, they still felt overwhelmed by his presence. Rebecca was the first to recover her voice. “What do you mean? Why wouldn’t that be possible?”
“You have all seen the potential that the pyramid has for producing evil,” Sikaris replied, his voice taken on a dark edge. “It must not remain in the hands of finite humans. Therefore, once I have taken you home, I will pilot the craft into the sun, where it will be destroyed.”
As her companions pondered the angel’s pronouncement, Rebecca felt both a strange sense of loss and relief flow through her. Jerome’s suggestion about traveling back into the past to study history firsthand had filled her with excitement, yet knowing the catastrophic consequences that could result if the machine accidentally fell into the wrong hands caused her stomach to knot. Despite the fact that her scientific curiosity would never be satisfied, the idea that the machine would be destroyed made her sigh in relief.
“Where…where will you drop us off?” Jeffrey asked.
“Wherever you wish,” Sikaris replied.
“Do we have to choose one location for all of us, or can we each decide where we want to go?” Dr. Eisenberg asked.
Sikaris smiled. “You may each choose your own destination. However, we are limited by the fact that we must not draw attention to the pyramid. The location must be somewhat distant from any main population centers.”
Jeffrey looked around at the others questioningly. “Where do we want to go? Part of me thinks we should go back to Iraq and try to explain what happened.”
After all they had been through, facing a host of government types who were undoubtedly going to drill each of them for probably days and even weeks was the last thing Rebecca wanted to do. There would be time for that later. Glancing at the others, she could tell that their thoughts were running parallel to her own.
“Not yet,” Mack said. “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I don’t feel like facing the ‘inquisition’ just yet. I think I’d like to take a little vacation in the good ol’ U.S. of A. I’ve got some friends in Atlanta I haven’t seen in awhile. ”
“I, for one, just want to be by my family,” Jerome said.
“Me, too,” Lisa said softly. “I miss my girls.” As she spoke, she caught Jeffrey looking at her. A sudden, intense ache of what might have been constricted her breathing, causing her to quickly avert her gaze.
Fighting to control his own emotions, Jeffrey cleared his throat and forced himself to focus on the discussion at hand. “Doc, what about you?”
“I would also like to see my family,” he replied. “I’d like to visit Nathan and the grandchildren in Oregon.”
As Jeffrey turned his gaze to Akwen, he noticed that some of the normal tension in her features had disappeared. “My family is in Cameroon. I will go dere.”
“I just want to go home,” Rebecca said as she placed her hand lightly on Jeffrey’s arm. Looking down at her, he nodded, and then turned his attention to Goliath.
“What about you?” he asked the giant. “With the exception of Akwen, it looks like the rest of us will be going to the United States. Where do you want to go?”
Goliath’s face took on an odd, pensive look. “I’ve been thinking a lot about it, and frankly, I’d like to go to some remote spot in the mountains. I don’t want to return to Iraq. There’s nothing for me there. Somewhere secluded in the Rockies would do fine.”
Jeffrey’s eyebrows rose in surprise at his reply. Mack, however, started snickering. When the others turned to look at him, he said, “I’ve got a feeling there’s going to be some new ‘Bigfoot’ sightings up there this year!”
The entire group, including the stoic giant, laughed lightheartedly at the comment as the engines stopped. A moment later, the walls of the pyramid became translucent. Beneath them, the Earth spun slowly while man-made satellites floated in orbit around the planet. Far in the distance, the space station Independence appeared silent and still, oblivious to the presence of the new arrival.
Taking her husband’s hand in her own, Rebecca’s eyes brimmed with tears. “We’ve made it! We’re finally home!”
“Yes,” Jeffrey replied, his voice full of emotion. “Home.”
Epilogue
Journal Entry #8
It’s been six years since my last journal entry. I had forgotten all about it until this morning, when I found it tucked away in a neglected drawer. Listening to the previous seven entries dealing with my trip to Ka’esch, I felt it would be fitting to offer one last entry.
Two years have passed since the day I arrived at the dig site in Iraq… Has it truly only been two years? Who would have thought that so much could change in such a short time! God, You are awesome!
When we returned from our trip back in time, Jeffrey, Mack, Doc, Jerome, Akwen, Lisa, and I did eventually have to go through debriefing with the government. We had all agreed not to tell them everything that happened, since they would likely not believe us. So, we only told them about our trip to Corinth, but we left out everything else, especially Goliath’s presence. However, we did tell them about meeting Sikaris, otherwise we would’ve had no explanation as to the disappearance of the pyramid. As expected, they didn’t believe us. Fortunately, though, when Sikaris piloted the pyramid into the sun, he kept it visible so that NASA was able to track it from the Independence. Knowing NASA and the government officials, they’re probably having fierce debates as to who Sikaris really was. They’ll probably never accept the truth. Most will likely think he was an alien. Whatever the case, they finally released us and let us return home.
I regret that, despite the fact that we got the pyramid working properly, we were unable to return to the Ice Age to give back Noah’s diary. It seems that when Arngrim was preparing the pyramid for his own journey, he left it behind. It’s possible he didn’t even know what it was. Then again, as Mack had pointed out to me, it may have been God’s will for us to take the diary from Noah. After all, we may have inadvertently altered history if we had returned it. Perhaps God didn’t want His Word to contain a full, detailed account, but rather just a summary containing the main details. I guess that will be just
one more question I’ll have to ask Him when we meet face-to-face in eternity.
Our trip through time changed each of our lives drastically. Yet, despite all the difficulties we encountered and the physical and…emotional pain we’ve suffered, I believe that we are better off. It just goes to show how God can use even bad situations to bring about good.
Mack wrote everything down and published our story as “science-fiction.” He now travels around the country speaking about the proofs for a literal understanding of Noah’s Ark and a global flood. He’s also engaged to a wonderful woman and is doing very well for himself.
Jerome has given up field work and become a full-time professor at Northern Illinois University. The last I heard, he had paid off his daughter’s doctor bills and had even begun attending a local church with his family. He seems much more at peace, and has even become a generous giver. I think it’s likely that he’s trying to assuage his guilt for selling the gravity control plans. Lord, continue to work in his life.
Doc decided to retire and is living in Oregon near his son and his family. Every Christmas he sends us wonderful paintings, as well as pictures of his grandkids. He’s such a typical, proud grandfather! Since Christmas is only a couple of weeks away, I expect to get a new package from him any day now.
I haven’t heard much from any of the others. I know Akwen returned to Cameroon to be with her family, and she is involved with a robotics business there. Although the government took Elmer back, I heard that Akwen had built another droid of her own based on Elmer’s specs. Doc told me about his discussion with her in the dungeon of Valhalla, and I often wonder if she had ever accepted Christ. I continue to pray for her every day. Bring her the peace she seeks, Lord.
Although I haven’t talked to Lisa since we returned, I found out through some mutual friends that she’s doing well, despite the fact that she has her hands full raising two teenage daughters!
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