Prolog
Prolog
Behold the Hosts of Heaven
March 12, 2023 — Jerusalem
The scene at the Temple in Jerusalem was not much different than it had been at
the airport. Even from a distance immense crowds could be seen, but the size of
the crowds was not all that was unusual. The Temple was usually a swarm of
activity, but now, despite the number of people in the streets, the Temple
itself was empty. The inner and outer courts, usually bustling with priests and
worshipers, were abandoned, and the steps leading up to the front of the Temple
were equally barren, with two exceptions. As the helicopter circled, Ambassador
Christopher Goodman, Robert Milner, and Decker Hawthorne could see two men
standing on the steps, both clothed in sackcloth and covered with gray ash.
Chapter 18 from Birth of an Age, Book Two of The Christ
Clone Trilogy is included here as a prologue.
Farther away, 200 to 300 priests and Levites huddled near the High Priest, Chaim
Levin, who stood a safe distance away in a tableau of mock defiance toward the
men on the steps. A few steps farther back, the crowds watched from behind a
line of armed Israeli soldiers. Reporters from the international news media,
unable to leave the country and aware that Jerusalem was Christopher's
destination, waited for his arrival, ready to cover every second of the event.
The unexpected arrival of the prophets of Yahweh, John and Cohen, an hour
earlier and the subsequent clearing of the Temple while Christopher was en route
from New York only intensified the level of expectation. Into this, but more
specifically between the line of military personnel and the steps of the Temple,
Christopher directed the pilot to set the helicopter down.
With television cameras rolling Christopher was the first to disembark the
aircraft. His hair and long robes tossed wildly about him in the swirling winds
of the helicopter's rotating blades, painting a striking portrait for television
viewers and magazine covers as he stood unflinching before the challenge that
faced him. Looking out as he waited to exit the helicopter, Decker could see
that John and Cohen had expected Christopher's arrival.
Once they were all on the ground, Milner turned and signaled for the pilot to
withdraw. Standing there face to face with John and Cohen, Decker, who was still
not sure of all the details of what Christopher had in mind, could not ignore
the sudden twinge of anxiety that swept over him. Was any of this feeling the
result of animosity borne between him and John 2,000 years ago in an earlier
life, as Christopher had told him? Decker wasn't sure. To Decker's surprise,
despite all else that was going on, Christopher turned to him and put his hand
on his shoulder. "It's all right," he said, and somehow Decker understood that
it was.
John was the first to speak. "Hiney ben-Satan nirah chatat haolamr he shouted in
Hebrew, meaning: 'Behold the son of Satan who manifests the sin of the world.'
"So we meet again at last," Christopher answered in an ironic turn of the
phrase, ignoring John's comment.
"You are mistaken," John replied. "I never knew you."
"No, Yochanan bar Zebadee" Christopher responded, using the Hebrew form of
John's full name. "It is I who never knew you!"
For a long moment neither spoke, but only stared at each other. Then Christopher
dropped his gaze to the ground. "It's not too late," he said finally, addressing
both John and Cohen. His voice had a sense of pleading but at the same time the
tone indicated that he knew the attempt was in vain.
Quite uncharacteristically, John smiled and then began to laugh. In a moment
Cohen joined in. Christopher looked back at Decker with an expression that
seemed to say 'this is for both of us.' Then taking a deep breath and with no
sign of anger but every ounce of conviction, he looked back at the two men and
then shouted above their laughter, "As you will!"
Then raising his right hand, he made a quick sweeping motion, and immediately
John and Cohen's laughter stopped as they were thrown backward through the air
at incredible, almost unbelievable speed, their bodies slamming against the
front walls of the Temple on either side of the entrance. The crunch of breaking
bones was loud enough to be heard throughout the vast crowd and left no doubt as
to their fate. Their blood splattered liberally on the wall, and remained there
as witness of where they had hit. As Christopher brought his hand back down, the
two lifeless bodies fell and, with a sweep of his hand, they tumbled slowly down
the steps to the street below, leaving two long trails of blood to mark their
paths.
The crowd watched in stunned silence as Christopher, Milner, and Decker climbed
the steps to the Temple while the crumpled bodies rolled on either side of them.
As soon as the crowd realized that John and Cohen were actually dead, a shout
went up from civilians and military alike. A spontaneous celebration began and
was soon joined by people all around the world cheering the news as they watched
on television or listened on radio. Members of the media pushed through the
lines of Israeli soldiers to get a better look at the bodies.
In Chieti, Italy, a man whose nostrils were filled with the rank smell of
burning sulfur and whose heart was filled with the madness by which he had thus
far made bloodied carnage of all but one member of his family, held a gory meat
cleaver above his head and was about to bring it down upon his only remaining
son when, as quickly as it had come upon him ... the madness left him. Carefully
the man lowered the cleaver and laid it aside, and there among the dismembered
bodies of his family, he dropped to his knees to hold his terror-filled son and
wept.
InRudnyi, Turskaja, an old woman choked and gasped for breath as she pulled her
head from a barrel of rain water in which she had tried to drown herself.
In Baydhabo, Somalia, a teenage boy stopped only seconds before striking a match
to set fire to his four gasoline-soaked younger siblings.
Throughout the affected areas, at the moment John and Cohen died, the madness
ceased.
When they reached the top stair of the Temple, Christopher turned to the crowds.
"No one must touch the bodies," he shouted, pointing at John and Cohen. "There
is still great power within them. It will not be safe for anyone to touch or
dispose of the bodies for at least four days." Nodding to Decker to imply that
he should reinforce the warning, Christopher turned back and then, together with
Robert Milner, he continued into the Temple.
As they had planned before their arrival, Decker remained outside. Pulling a
folded piece of paper from his jacket pocket, he waited for the press who would,
no doubt, descend on him as soon as they finished taking pictures of the two
dead oracles. Decker was pleased to see that the press were heeding
Christopher's advice and not venturing too close to the bodies. There was no
need to fear that the priests or Levites would touch them: their laws forbade
contact with dead bodies. The only real problem might come from onlookers who
for now were still held back behind police lines.
Inside the Temple, Robert Milner and Christopher walked side by side. Crossing
the floor of the normally bustling Court of the Gentiles, the only sound came
from the column-lined portico that surrounded the court. There animals meant for
sacrifices had been brought to the Temple for sale to worshipers. They had been
left there untended by the shepherds and merchants when everyone was driven out.
A hundred and fifty yards ahead of Christopher and Milner, the buildings of the
Inner Court and the Sanctuary within it towered more than 200 feet above them.
Outside the southern entrance and framed on either side by the blood of John and
Cohen, Decker waited as the members of the press hurried up the steps to find
what light he could shed on what they were witnessing.
Christopher and Milner reached the soreg, the low stone wall which separated the
Court of the Gentiles from the inner courts of the Temple and which formed a
sacred balustrade or enclosure into which no Gentile was permitted to enter.
Inscriptions on the soreg warned visitors in more than a dozen languages, "No
foreigner may enter the enclosure around the Temple. Anyone doing so will bear
the responsibility for his own ensuing death." It was convenient that the Temple
had been cleared, for the priests and Levites would never have permitted
Christopher and Milner passage beyond the balustrade without an altercation.
Intentionally going out of their way to enter from the east, the men walked to
the middle opening of the eastern end of the soreg. Quickly spanning the
distance between the soreg and the first of three short flights of steps,
Christopher and Milner ascended to the Chel or rampart, a flat area 15'/2 feet
wide from which the massive stone walls of the Inner Court rose 37!/2 feet above
them.
"Ladies and Gentlemen," Decker raised his hand and shouted above the reporters'
questions. "I have a brief prepared statement which I will read and after that,
I'll be available for a few minutes for questions."
Someone yelled out another question but Decker ignored it. "Forty-five years
ago, in 1978,1 was a part of a scientific team from the United States that went
to Turin, Italy, to examine the Shroud of Turin, a piece of cloth bearing the
image of a crucified man," Decker began, reading from the statement he had
prepared on the plane. In the limited time available, he provided as much detail
as he could about the events that had followed the Turin expedition and which
had led to this moment. He told them how, eleven years after the expedition, in
1989, he had been contacted by a member of that team, Professor Harold Goodman,
who asked him to come to the UCLA to witness a discovery he had made concerning
the Shroud.
"Professor Goodman," Decker said, "had discovered that among the samples taken
from the Shroud was a microscopic cluster of human dermal skin cells. To my
amazement. . ." Decker paused, still awed as he recalled what he had seen those
many years before, "the cells from the Shroud were still alive." For some in the
assembly, that piece of the puzzle and Christopher's resurrection were all that
was needed to make sense of the whole incredible picture, but though there was
an audible gasp, no one spoke. "Tests of the cells showed them to be incredibly
resilient and possessing a number of unique characteristics," Decker continued.
"It was from cultures grown of these cells that Professor Goodman conducted his
successful cancer research.
"Unknown to me on that occasion, Professor Goodman had already performed a
number of experiments with the cells," Decker paused as if to give the reporters
a chance to brace themselves, "including implanting the DNA from one of the
cells into the embryo of an unfertilized human egg and then replacing that egg
into the donor, thus . . . cloning the person whose cells were on the Shroud.
From that cloning a male child was born." For those who had not yet figured it
out, this revelation provided the missing link; for those who had guessed
earlier, it was undeniable confirmation. Christopher Goodman was the clone of
Jesus Christ.
It was an incredible story but nothing else could explain what had happened at
the U.N. or what they had just witnessed on the Temple steps. "That child was
named Christopher," Decker said, adding further confirmation. "He was raised by
Professor Harry Goodman and his wife Martha until their untimely deaths in the
Disaster. At that time," Decker went on, "Christopher Goodman was fourteen years
old and, having been directed by Professor Goodman to turn to me in the case of
emergency, Christopher came to live with me. The rest of the story, at least the
important parts, you know." The inflection in Decker's voice let it be known
that his prepared statement had drawn to a close and as he folded the paper to
return it to his pocket he was surprised that no one seemed to have any
questions. He needn't have been, for the reporters had plenty; they were all
just too dumbstruck. Looking around at their blank stares Decker should have
realized the problem, but instead started to excuse himself.
His movement was just enough of a stirring of the waters for the dam to break.
Someone in the back started to shout a question and then a flurry of questions
were suddenly hurled at him. There were no particular arrangements made for
handling the questions, so Decker simply answered first the question that had
been yelled the loudest.
Yes, Christopher had really been dead and had been restored to life.
Yes, he was indeed saying that Christopher was the clone of Jesus Christ.
Yes, he was saying that Christopher was God's son, just as Jesus was. (This did
not set well with the Jewish reporters, but it was not a point that was
currently open to argument.) No one had any reason to suspect or ask for the
specific details of that relationship — which Christopher had revealed to Decker
on the plane — and Decker had no intention of volunteering them. Christopher
would explain all of that soon enough.
"What about his arm and eye?" a reporter called, referring to the injuries
Christopher sustained from the assassination.
"Though Christopher has the power to restore his arm and sight," Decker
answered, "he has pledged not to do so until his mission is complete."
"What is that mission? Why has Ambassador Goodman come to the Temple?" someone
yelled. Most of the rest of the reporters fell silent, also wanting to know the
answer to that question.
Decker thought for a moment. "There are a number of reasons, actually," he said.
"The first and most important reason was to end the reign of terror of the two
prophets of Yahweh, John and Saul Cohen. That, as you have all just witnessed,
he has done. Also, he came to the Temple because, I suppose, it is the most
appropriate place to make the announcement that he intends to make."
"What announcement is that?" someone yelled, while someone else called, "Can you
tell us what Ambassador Goodman intends to say?"
"He will be addressing the people of the world on the subject of the destiny of
Humankind," Decker answered.
Christopher and Miner climbed three more short flights of stairs through the
Beautiful Gate and entered the Court of the Women. Only hours before, this court
had been the center of activity in the Temple. Now it was silent except for the
hollow echo of footfalls on the stone floor as Christopher and Milner walked
without speaking toward the broad semicircular steps at the western end of the
court. At the top of these steps, the magnificent Nicanor Gate, 60 feet wide and
75 feet high, extended far above the walls themselves, forming an arch, and
opened into the Court of Israel.
Only Jewish men and boys were allowed to enter this part of the Inner Court.
Unlike the Court of the Women, which was square and open to the sky, the Court
of Israel was narrow and roofed, encircling the innermost court, and crowded
with numerous columns. A series of chambers used for storage and small meetings
lined the walls of the Court of Israel, further reducing the open space.
The third and final court, the Court of the Priests, rose 33A feet above the
Court of Israel. Though adjoining and fully open to the Court of Israel,
admittance to this court was permitted only to laymen bringing a sacrifice. At
all other times only the priests and Levites could enter. In the gateway to the
Court of the Priests were four tables of hewn stone on which lay the
blood-drained carcasses of a half-dozen lambs and goats, abandoned there when
the priests and Levites were driven from the Temple. The smell of blood,
incense, and charred animal fat still hung heavy in the air. To the north and
south of the gateway sat eight more tables in a similar state.
In the center of the easternmost part of the Court of the Priests, the Altar of
Sacrifice rose 20 feet in stair-stepped pyramid form in a series of four
immense, unfinished stones which, by commandment, had never been touched by
metal tools.2 Steps on the eastern edge of the altar provided access to the
upper stones. The capstone, which was called Ariel by the priests and Levites,
was 21 feet square and, like the stone immediately below it, was 7 feet thick.
On this stone was the fire of sacrifice which consumed the burnt offerings.
Unattended by the priests, the fire had been reduced to embers.
From the four corners of the altar's capstone, horn-like projections, each 21
inches long, reached skyward. On these horns and upon the altar itself, the
priests would pour out the blood of the recently slaughtered animals as a
sacrificial offering. Around the base of the altar was a gutter, 21 inches wide
and 21 inches deep, with a containing rim of 9 inches and a total capacity of
over 3,000 gallons to accommodate the huge amounts of blood that were poured
upon the altar during the busier days. The priests and Levites had been driven
from the Temple only a little more than an hour into their day and so only a few
inches of blood now settled in the altar's gutter, coagulating and drawing
flies.
Directly behind the altar, in the westernmost portion of the Court of the
Priests, stood the Sanctuary. This was Christopher's ultimate goal but there was
a mission he and Milner needed to accomplish before continuing. Looking around
until he found what he was looking for, Christopher nodded his intention to
Milner. "We must see to it that no more animals are slaughtered here to satisfy
Yahweh's blood thirst. We must desecrate the altar so that it cannot be used
again."
Followed closely by Milner, Christopher went to where he had spotted a number of
brass shovels used by the priests for removing ashes. They each picked up one of
the shovels, and went to a spot near the slaughter tables where a hill of animal
dung had been collected for later removal. As best he could with the use of only
one arm, Christopher scooped up a shovelful and then walked over and slung it
against the sides of the altar. Again and again Christopher and Milner repeated
the act until there was no dung left and the altar had been liberally
splattered. Next they beat the brass shovels against each of the altar's four
stones.
"That should do it," Christopher said finally, knowing that Jewish law would
forbid ever using these desecrated stones as an altar again.
After finishing their chore Christopher and Milner proceeded on to the
Sanctuary. From above, the shape of the Temple proper formed a huge T — the
result of the compromise between those who wanted to rebuild the Temple
according to the plans of the prophet Ezekiel and those who wanted to recreate
the design of Herod's Temple. It was 175 feet across at the widest point, 105
feet at the narrowest, and rose 175 feet above the Court of the Priests. To the
right and left of the entrance stood two tremendous free-standing bronze
pillars, called by the priests respectively Jachin and Boaz.
Here Milner stopped. The rest of the way, Christopher would go alone.
Looking back only to nod to Milner, Christopher ascended the final set of steps
to the Vestibule or Porch. Directly in front of him were immense double doors 6
feet wide and 35 feet tall made of olive wood, decorated with carvings of
cherubim (angels), palm trees, and flowers and covered entirely in pure gold.
Suspended above the doors, a spectacular multi-colored tapestry displayed a
panorama of the universe. And above that, the full width of the wall was covered
with huge carvings of grape vines and leaves with clusters of grapes as tall as
a man and nearly that distance across, entirely covered with gold.
Christopher took a deep breath and continued. Pushing open one of the huge doors
and then the other, he let in the light of day and stepped through into the next
chamber, called the H3diM or Holy Place. The ceiling of the Holy Place dropped
40 feet from the ceiling of the Porch to a height of 105 feet. The floor was
covered with cypress wood. The walls were wainscoted with cedar, above which
they were covered with gold. A golden altar for incense still smoldered,
releasing the fragrant smell of frankincense, and another altar for shewbread
(holy bread) sat undisturbed with twelve sheets of unleavened bread laid out in
rows. The candles of a golden menorah, though nearly consumed by the flame,
provided the only interior light.
Still outside the Sanctuary, Robert Milner turned and walked back the way they
had come in. There was a matter outside the Temple which awaited his attention.
In front of Christopher, suspended from the ceiling at the western end of the
Holy Place was the Veil, a divider between the Holy Place and the final chamber,
the D°bhJr, or Holy of Holies. Beyond the Veil, where only the High Priest was
allowed to go — and he, only once a year on the Day of Atonement — sat the
ancient Ark of the Covenant. The Veil was actually two richly decorated curtains
which hung parallel to each other with about five feet of clearance between the
two, forming an entry corridor which prevented any light from reaching the
windowless Holy of Holies.
Walking to the northern edge of the curtain nearest the Holy Place, Christopher
took hold and pulled sharply until, bit by bit, it broke loose from the ceiling.
He continued this until only a few yards of the curtain remained hanging. He
then did the same with the other curtain, pulling it loose from the southern
edge, thus leaving a wide entrance through the middle of the Veil and exposing
the Holy of Holies to the light of day, which poured in through the Sanctuary's
huge doors.
Before him in the Holy of Holies two enormous winged cherubim, each 18 feet
tall, carved from olive wood and covered with pure gold, stood watch over the
Ark of the Covenant. Their outstretched wings spanned half the width of the
chamber and met in the center of the room directly over the Ark.
Christopher entered the Holy of Holies and approached the Ark.
Outside, as Decker took another question from the press, a low rumbling began
which shook the steps where he and the others stood. It seemed to come from
inside the Temple. Without explanation to the press, Decker calmly announced
that he would take no more questions and that the press conference was
concluded. "I suggest that you may want to move to the bottom of the steps and
away from the Temple at this point," he added in obvious understatement. Decker
was beginning to enjoy himself.
Inside the Holy of Holies Christopher stood before the Ark and after a moment's
pause, gripped the Ark's cover and slid it back, revealing its contents.
"What's happening?" several of the reporters shouted at Decker as the Temple
shook again. "Ladies and Gentlemen, if you'll be patient, I'm sure you'll have
answers to all of your questions, but for your own safety, I must insist that
you move away from the Temple immediately." The resolve in Decker's voice and
the urgency of his steps convinced the others to follow.
Reaching into the Ark, Christopher found the items he was looking for.
A thunderous rumble many times louder than the first two rolled through the
Temple like a freight train, sending reporters and onlookers running. A moment
later Robert Milner emerged. He was alone. Resolutely, he descended about a
quarter of the way down the steps. Looking out over the thousands of people and
the dozens of cameras that broadcast the event around the world, he began to
speak. It was his own voice, but it was different; at least Decker could tell
there was a difference.
"See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of
the Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and
the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the
land with a curse" Milner said, quoting the prophet Malachi. The words were
familiar to many but especially to the priests and Levites. "Hear, O Israel,"
Milner said, no longer quoting Malachi, "for this day, this very hour, your
lamentation is ended. This is the day of which the prophet spoke. Elijah has
come! I am he!"
There was a great stirring from the Jewish priests and Levites at this
proclamation and all eyes turned to see how the High Priest would respond. It
was bad enough that they had been run out of their own Temple, but now for this
Gentile to claim that he was the prophet Elijah, while it wasn't exactly
blasphemy, it was a tremendous offense. No one was quite sure how to respond and
they looked to Chaim Levin, the High Priest, to follow his lead. Had they even
an inkling that at that very moment Christopher stood within the Holy of Holies
before the Ark of the Covenant, they would not have waited for the High Priest,
but already would have been tearing their clothes and dumping dust on their
heads in Jewish ceremonial outrage.
Surprisingly, Chaim Levin was very calm. Dressed in the traditional Temple
raiment of his office, the High Priest wore a bulbous blue hat with a band of
solid gold engraved with the Hebrew words \!np mn>t>, meaning 'Holy to Yahweh.'
Over the standard white linen tunic of the ordinary priest which hung down to
his ankles, revealing only his bare feet, he wore a richly embroidered robe
which reached below his knees and was decorated at the bottom by golden bells
which jingled musically as he walked. Over this, he wore a vest-like garment
which hung to his hips and was lavishly embroidered with thick threads of gold,
purple, blue, and crimson. In the middle of his chest, supported by heavy chains
of gold attached to broad epaulets upon his shoulders and around his waist by
scarlet strips of cloth, was the ephod, a thick square linen breastplate
decorated with gold brocade and inset with twelve large gemstones in four rows
of three each, representing the twelve tribes of Israel.
Whether Chaim Levin's tolerance of Milner was borne of gratitude for
Christopher's dispatch of John and Cohen or because he simply did not want to
ruin a perfectly good set of robes, he remained unruffled by Milner's claim.
Instead, he looked him in the eye and very politely but with skeptical amusement
asked, "By what sign shall we know that you are who you claim?"
"By that same sign by which I, Elijah, proved myself to King Ahab and to the
people of Israel on Mount Carmel,"4 Milner answered, loud enough for everyone to
hear him.
Chaim Levin raised an eyebrow and frowned a bit. The boldness of Milner's claim
impressed him, though he did not for a minute think that Milner could carry it
out. "And when shall we see this sign?" he asked after a moment.
"This very hour," answered Milner. Then turning away from Levin and toward the
crowd, Milner continued. "For 1,260 days Israel has suffered drought. Today it
ends!" With that, Milner's hands shot skyward and from somewhere beyond the
Temple a low rumbling was heard which in just seconds grew in intensity to an
earthshaking peal of thunder. Faster than anyone could imagine possible, the sky
grew dark, as out of nowhere heavy gray clouds began to fill the heavens. In
fear, the crowds and all but a few of the priests nearest the High Priest drew
back. No sooner had an area of a few hundred square feet been cleared than a
bolt of lightning struck the earth and a deafening crack of thunder sent people
running, clasping their hands over their ears. In the larger clearing that
resulted from the evacuation, the first bolt of lightning was quickly followed
by three more, each more powerful than the previous one. And then it began to
rain.
It came down in a torrent; pouring down upon Milner, the High Priest, and
everyone else except a very few who had made it to cover. Most stood there
looking up with their hands upraised, thankful for the rain after so long a
drought. Some began to dance.
For the crowd, who knew the biblical story of Elijah, the verdict was clear:
this truly must be the prophet. What other explanation could there be? Although
the High Priest was unconvinced, he could offer no more believable explanation
and so he remained silent, staring at Milner as the rain turned his impeccably
elegant attire to dripping disarray. Soon many of the priests and Levites joined
in with the crowds, proclaiming Milner as the promised Elijah who, according to
the prophecy, would come before the Messiah.5 It came as no surprise, therefore,
when after a few minutes of drenching rain, Milner announced, "Behold your
Messiah!"
With rain still pouring down, Milner turned and seemed to be pointing with his
outstretched hand toward the Temple, but no one could see exactly what he
expected them to find. Then above the southeastern corner, a break appeared in
the clouds, allowing a single shaft of sunlight to shine through. "There he is!"
someone shouted.
At the top of the wall, on the very edge of the southeastern corner of the
Temple, 180 feet above them at a point which by tradition is called the
pinnacle, stood Christopher, robes blowing in the wind and completely dry as the
shaft of light shone down like a spotlight. Quickly the beam broadened, as from
that point the clouds retreated in all directions, bringing rain to the parched
countryside around Jerusalem. In just moments the area around the Temple was in
full daylight again with the sun shining brightly overhead.
By now nearly every radio and television network in the world was carrying the
events in Jerusalem live. Every camera was on him, broadcasting his words and
image to the most distant corners of the earth.
"People of Earth," Christopher began slowly with a serene, peaceful, even tone
calculated to restore calm. "For millennia the prophets and soothsayers, the
astrologers and oracles, the shaman and the revelators have all foretold the
coming of one who would bring with him the olive branch of peace for all the
world. By a hundred different names the world has known him. And by a hundred
different names has this promised peace bringer been petitioned to come quickly
to those in distress. For the Jews, he is Messiah; for the Christians, the
returning Christ; for the Buddhists he is the Fifth Buddha; for the Muslims, the
thirteenth heir to Mohammed orlmmam Mahdi; the Hindus call him Krishna; the
Eckankar call himMahanta; the Bahd'i look to the coming 'Most Great Peace'; to
the Zorastrians he is Shah-Bahram; to others he is Lord Maitreya, or
Bodhisattva, orKrishnamurti, or Mithras, or Deva, or Hermes and Cush, or Janus,
or Osiris.
"By whatever name he is known," Christopher declared, "in whatever tongue he is
entreated: this day I say to you: the prophecies have been fulfilled! This day
the promise has been kept! This day the vision has been realized for all
Humankind!" Christopher paused as the anticipation rose. "For this day I have
come!" he shouted triumphantly, surprising no one — for the conclusion was
obvious — and yet astonishing all, for no one could have been truly prepared for
such a declaration.
Christopher's voice quickly picked up speed and fervor. "I am the promised one!"
he chanted. "I am the Messiah, the Christ, the Fifth Buddha, the thirteenth heir
to Mohammed; I am the one who brings the Most Great Peace; I am Krishna, Shah-Bahram,
Mahanta, Lord Maitreya, Bodhisattva, Krishnamurti, and Immam Mahdi; I am Mithras,
Deva, Hermes and Gush, Janus, and Osiris! There is no difference. They are all
one. All religions are one. And I am he of whom all the prophets spoke! This is
the day of the Earth's salvation!"
To the displeasure of the High Priest, many in the crowd in Jerusalem roared
their approval and the response was echoed around the world. They had all seen
Christopher die at the hands of an assassin, and they had seen his resurrection.
They had witnessed him powerfully dispatching John and Cohen, who had called
down terrible plagues upon the earth. They had watched in amazement as Robert
Milner called down lightning and brought rain to the drought-stricken holy land.
But more than anything else they cheered because they were ready for a savior.
"I have not come to make pious religious pronouncements," Christopher said. "Nor
have I come to demand your worship or insist that you pay me homage. I do not
seek your praise and adoration or demand your devotion. It is not my intent that
you venerate or adulate me or that you pay me your tribute. Nor do I wish you to
glorify, deify, idolize, extol, exalt, or revere me.
"I have come instead to tell you to look to yourselves. For within each of you
is all the deity, all the divinity, that you will ever need. You may call me a
god and I do not deny it: I am a god! But I call you gods. All of you! Each of
you!"
High Priest Chaim Levin had heard all that he needed to. This was obvious
blasphemy and, new robes or not, he was obligated to tear his garments and throw
dust upon his head; and so he began with a vengeance, though he had to settle
for mud. Some of the other priests and Levites near him immediately followed his
lead. But others, many others, were far too interested in what this man who had
risen from the dead had to say.
"It is not my own godhood that I have come here to proclaim," Christopher
continued. "It is yours!"
"I have not come to threaten or punish," he said reassuringly, undistracted by
the actions of the High Priest so far below him. "I have come to offer to
Humankind life everlasting and joy unimagined. I bring you the opportunity to
build a tomorrow of abundance and life from a yesterday of hunger and death.
Come with me. Follow me. And I will lead you into a millennium of life and of
light."
The High Priest's over-dramatic rending of cloth and hurling of mud distracted
Decker from Christopher's speech just long enough for him to notice that despite
the distance between Christopher and the crowd, he could hear him clearly.
Christopher's voice seemed to be coming from right next to him or, perhaps . . .
even from inside of him. It was as though he was hearing Christopher's voice
from within himself. This discovery was quickly followed by another, even more
startling: Decker suddenly realized that Christopher was not speaking English;
nor had he since he began to speak. Decker was not sure what language
Christopher was speaking, but he was certain he had never heard it before; yet
he clearly understood every word. Apparently, so did those all around him, and
as Decker correctly assumed, so did every other person on earth, no matter what
their native tongue.
He wondered if others had noticed that the language Christopher spoke was not
their own. Under his breath, Decker tried to recall and repeat a few of the
words Christopher was speaking, but discovered that though he understood every
word Christopher said, he could not for the life of him duplicate a single word
or even a syllable. Later Christopher would explain that he had been speaking in
the root language of all human languages, one which was as universal and
instinctive to humans as animal sounds are to the given type of animal. It was,
as Christopher would explain later, the language spoken by all humans prior to
the confusion of language which Yahweh used to scatter the people of the earth
when they built the Tower of Babel.6 This language did not need translation. It
was the translation.
"Three and a half days ago," Christopher continued, "before the eyes of the
whole world, a follower of John and Cohen and the Koum Damah Tatare fired a
bullet into my brain and killed me. Less than twelve hours ago, again with the
entire planet as witness, I was resurrected from the dead!
"But my resurrection is not a symbol of my victory over death. It is, rather, a
symbol of Humankind's victory of life. My resurrection, my release from the
chains of death, occurred because the time has at last come for Humankind to
break the chains that have bound it, and to claim the glorious future that
awaits.
"Let there be no mistake: the afflictions that have befallen the earth over
these past three and a half years have not been accidental or the result of
natural disasters. They have been cold, calculated acts of supernatural
oppression, enacted through the men John and Cohen, against all Humankind. But
John and Cohen did not act alone. They were in fact, merely the conduit for an
oppressive, evil force — a spiritual entity whose savage, barbaric, selfish goal
has been and continues to be to prevent the human race from fulfilling its
destiny and attaining its proper place in the universe.
"The power which directed my assassination and the entity which has brought the
world to the brink of annihilation are one and the same. But my resurrection is
proof that this entity can be defeated, that the earth can be restored, and that
Humankind is ready to throw off the yoke of bondage and to take the ultimate
evolutionary step toward spiritual completion.
"I have returned to lead the world out of this age of destruction and death,
into a new and transcendent age where suffering and death are no longer a fact
of life. An age borne out of the trials that the earth has suffered and into a
time of individual harmony with the universe. You, the ones who have outlasted
the disasters, the floods, the earthquakes, you are the survivors and you shall
be the victors!
"The human race has tasted the worst of this evil entity's spiritual oppression
and has stood defiant. It is the power of this defiance which has restored my
life. It is the power of this defiance which has weakened the enemy. It is this
defiance and Humankind's self-reliance that have ushered in the New Age.
"Let there be no doubt: The New Age is not about replacing one religion with
another: quite the opposite. This is not about reliance upon or faith in some
distant, isolated god. This is about man coming to rely upon himself; upon the
power and the god that is within him. This is not about a limited few
self-righteous, self-serving oppressors bent on self-aggrandizement. This is
about individuals taking control of their own lives, their own environment, and
their own destinies.
"For 2,000 years calendars have been based upon the birth of the Christian
messiah. My resurrection from the dead has marked the commencement of the New
Age. The estimated date of Jesus' birth is now irrelevant and the calendars of
the Christian era have been relegated to history. A New Age has begun.
Therefore, let the calendars of the world mark the day of my resurrection as the
first day of the first year of the New Age." Christopher raised his right hand
and shook his head as he offered an explanation for his directive. "It is not
that I wish you to mark the date of my resurrection for my sake," he explained.
"Rather, it is to mark the beginning of your own liberation from the hands of
the one who has tried to crush your spirit and to destroy your soul.
"Let this date also mark the end of claims to exclusive truth that are held by
backward religions such as that practiced by the Koum Damah Tatare," he said of
the 144,000 who followed John and Cohen. "To the members of the KDT, I extend
the hand of peace. John and Cohen are dead. Their self-righteous claims lay
barren and lifeless with their bodies. I appeal to you to abandon your offensive
ways; abandon your sanctimonious claims to exclusive truth and join us. We must
purge ourselves and our world of such intolerant philosophies and religions.
From this day forward the religion of Humankind shall be Humankind.
"Let no one boast that their way to god is better, for it is not a god we should
seek at all. It is the power that lies within us. Let us no longer excuse
ourselves as being 'only human.' Human is all we need to be.
"It is in our humanity that divinity resides. Humanity stands poised on the
brink of the final great evolutionary stride. But it is not through physical
evolution that divinity and immortality will be achieved. It is through
spiritual evolution. For some, this evolution will take only a few decades. For
others, it may take much longer. But even if it takes a thousand years it will
have been time well spent." Christopher paused to allow that thought to sink in.
He wanted his audience to fully understand what he was saying. "Do not wonder,"
he continued, "that I say that it may take a thousand years. It will not matter
if it takes 10 years or 200 years or even 1,000 years! Immortality is yours to
take! Through the same power by which the man John lived over 2,000 years, the
same power by which I was raised from the dead, the same power by which we shall
overcome the evil entity that opposes us, you shall live! To those who follow
me, I will give the power to live for a thousand years! After that, you shall
take your rightful place as evolved beings and shall live forever!
"Again I extend the hand of peace to the Koum Damah Tatare. Turn from your error
and follow me and you shall be the vanguard of the evolutionary process. You,
who have already begun to experience the evolutionary metamorphosis, as
evidenced by your advanced extrasensory abilities, do not use your powers for
oppression. Use them instead to look inside yourself. Turn from serving the evil
entity who claims to be God, and instead serve Humankind. Cease your worship of
the one who seeks to destroy the world, and instead glorify Humankind, and
together we shall restore the world.
"Worthy are they who work for the advancement of Humankind, for the universe
shall be theirs. Worthy are they who have learned first to love themselves, for
they shall be as gods. Worthy are they who have not denied themselves the
desires of their hearts, for they have understood that to do so is to deny
themselves. Worthy are they who draw their strength and hope from within
themselves, for they shall be strengthened. Worthy are they whose spirit is
strong and defiant, for they shall be first in the kingdom of the universe.
Worthy are they who forbid intolerance and crush that which restricts growth,
for they will be called beacons of truth and guideposts to fulfillment.
"Hear me and believe! Honor truth and growth with your allegiance!
"Yet a third time to the Koum Damah Tatare I offer the open arms of brotherhood.
Understand, however, that there is no place for you in the New Age if you
continue your onerous ways. Unto whom much is given, much shall be expected. If
you, who are the first to experience the power of the New Age, and who have
tasted the sweet flavor and experienced the awesome power which already grows
within you, if you do not turn from your ways of persecution and intolerance,
then you shall be the first to fall and feel the wrath of a planet which has
grown beyond its willingness to submit. Those who seek to empower themselves by
making Humankind slaves to their god, have enslaved themselves already by their
own choosing.
"Were they satisfied with enslaving only themselves it would be little threat to
Humankind and might therefore be tolerated for a time. But that is not in their
nature. Instead, their desire is to impose that slavery upon others. They are
weak and primitive; they are totally alien to the present reality and do not
belong to the present millennium, much less to the New Age. They have no
understanding of the present planetary situation. Their weakness must not be
allowed to sap and corrupt the strength of those who are ready to proceed to the
future. Under the leadership of John and Cohen, they have tried to do so by
calling down every kind of disaster they could imagine. They have brutally and
without sympathy brought about the deaths of untold millions of innocent people
and they have caused unspeakable misery and suffering for those of us who
survive. Yet still they have failed to break the human spirit! The human will
stands unshaken before the ill winds of theistic persecution. We are defiant! We
shall not bend the knee to any tyrant!"
Turning his attention from the KDT and again to his broader audience,
Christopher declared, "It is not in your nature to be a servant to anyone!"
Because of the distance between the crowds and Christopher at the top of the
pinnacle, and because of the way the wind blew his robes, no one had noticed the
objects at Christopher's feet. They were more evident to those who watched by
television, but no one had really given them much thought during his
electrifying address. Certainly, no one suspected that the items had been taken
from the Ark of the Covenant.
"I have told you of an evil tyrant," Christopher continued, "a spiritual entity
who has held the world in chains. For many who are listening and watching it
will come as no surprise that the one of whom I speak — the one for whom John,
Cohen, and the Koum Damah Tatare have inflicted such ruin — is the same one who
has demanded that his people offer him the blood of innocent animals as tribute.
Christopher paused to pick up the articles at his feet and raised them above his
head. It was still not clear to the audience in Jerusalem but it was now obvious
on television that he held two stone tablets. On the tablets a strange script
could clearly be seen as the cameras zoomed in. Christopher was holding the Ten
Commandments. A sudden gasp swept through the crowd in Jerusalem.
"No longer," Christopher shouted, his voice now showing his full fury, "shall
the senseless dictates of spiritual tyrants — be they called Yahweh, Jehovah,
Allah, or by any other name — have dominion over this planet!!" With that
declaration, Christopher hurled the two ancient tablets to the street, 180 feet
below, where they shattered into pieces so small they could not be distinguished
from the tiny bits of gravel. The crowd, which to this point had been largely
favorable to Christopher, now stood stunned and motionless in shock. Christopher
had just taken a national religious treasure and transformed it to dust. His
address had been stirring, but no one expected it to result in this.
Christopher continued, aware that he must quickly recapture the crowd's
attention if he was going to win their support. "The things I have promised are
real and they are within humanity's grasp. I say this from experience!
"Earth is not alone in the universe," Christopher explained. "Just as scientists
have long suspected, there are thousands of other planets in the universe where
life exists. One of those planets, an ancient and beautiful world circling a
star beyond the Pleiades, is known as Theata. Life there evolved long before it
did on earth. The people of Theata had already advanced to the beginnings of
their space age 4V£ billion years before the first one-celled animals appeared
on the earth. It is a planet where hunger and fear no longer exist; where death
is unknown; where people have taken the final step of evolution and become one
in spirit and flesh; a planet whose inhabitants have fully become the god that
is within them! It is the home planet of the ones known as Yahweh and Jesus. It
is from this distant, highly advanced planet that life on earth came! The people
of Theata are the parent race of human life here! I have come that all that is
theirs may be yours!"
Christopher's account of the origin of human life on earth was interesting, but
hardly sufficient to cause the people in Jerusalem to ignore what he had just
done with the stone tablets brought down by Moses from Mount Sinai. Christopher
sensed their unease and realized it was time to give the world a demonstration
of his real abilities.
"The future I offer you is a future of power," he proclaimed. "Including the
power to control nature, as Robert Milner, who is Elijah, has shown you. But
power, like the final steps of evolution, cannot be given. For it to be truly
yours, it must be taken. Take and it will be given to you! I have ended the
reign of terror brought on by John and Cohen; I have ended the plague of madness
which threatened the whole earth; and now I shall begin the restoration of the
earth!!" Christopher stretched out his right arm with his palm down toward the
earth. For a long moment there was no sound, and the crowd began to murmur.
Chaim Levin, the High Priest, robes torn and covered with mud, saw his
opportunity and began to try to draw the crowd's attention. But before he could
speak a stirring at the edges of the crowd distracted the attention of everyone.
From the recently rain-soaked ground along the road and around the buildings,
anywhere there was soil, there was a visible motion as, before the eyes of the
crowd, grass and flowers sprang up where there had been none before. As if
watching time-lapse photography, the people witnessed in awe the earth release
plant life of beautiful greens, reds, yellows, and purples. Flowering bushes
sprouted from dry ground and suddenly the air filled with the fragrance of
spring.
But the miracle was not only in Jerusalem. Christopher remained silent and
motionless for nearly five minutes as throughout the world plant life began to
spring up and grow. Many of the smaller plants grew to full maturity in just
moments and in the vast areas blackened by fire, young trees grew to heights of
six, eight, and ten feet. Finally Christopher dropped his arm and the amazing
growth slowed again to normal speeds.
"I have come that power such as this may be yours," he shouted. There was
evidence of exhaustion in his voice, indicating that the proof of his powers had
not come without a good deal of effort.
"As I have said," Christopher noted, making his point again, "I do not ask for
or seek your worship. I ask instead for your allegiance." There was no
hesitation now as the vast majority of the crowd, along with those around the
world watching on television, clapped or cheered or shouted out his name.
Again Christopher raised his right hand, but this time it was to quiet the
crowd. "Some may ask," Christopher began, "what of the billions who have died in
Yahweh's disasters?" He paused to allow the thought to register with his
listeners. He knew that while only a few might have that question in mind in the
context of his speech, for many it undoubtedly would come to mind soon after. It
was better to deal with it now instead of waiting for it to be asked. Shaking
his head sympathetically, he said, "It is not possible to restore their lives.
But those of you who mourn the deaths of friends and family need not grieve.
Instead, rejoice in the knowledge that they are not truly dead. They will feel
the earth beneath their feet again, for gods cannot truly die. As Jesus told
Nicodemus 2,000 years ago, 'You must be born again.'7 So it is for those who
have died. Whether it is called reincarnation or being 'born again' or by some
other name, the truth is that some who died over the past three and a half years
have already been born again; though thankfully, few will remember their former
lives. Nonetheless, as the Hindus and Buddhists teach, the suffering they
underwent in their previous lives serves as a stepping stone to higher, brighter
futures. So do not weep or mourn. Dry your tears and rejoice that when they
return, they will be born into the age to which Humankind has always aspired:
the New Age, the Age of Ascension for all Humankind.
"People of the Earth, people of Jerusalem, the time has come to put aside those
things which separate us. The destiny of all Humankind awaits the unity of all
Humankind. No longer let us consider such differences as skin color, gender,
language, or the place of our birth. No longer let there be division between
races or nationalities. And no longer let there be Gentile or Jew. All of these
distinctions are now null and void," Christopher said. "All people are the
chosen people!
"As such, let this building no longer be a temple to Yahweh, but a monument to
the godhood of man. No more shall innocent animals be led here for brutal
slaughter to a bloodthirsty god. From this day forward the killing must cease
and the Temple shall be open to all!"
Toward the front of the crowd, Decker Hawthorne braced himself for what he knew
was about to come.
"If any still doubt," Christopher said, preparing to conclude his oration, "I
offer a final proof that I am who I say. Four billion years ago, it took 23,000
years, traveling at nearly the speed of light, for the crude space vessels sent
out by the people of Theata to reach the earth. Now that they have evolved to
spirit form, that distance can be traveled in less than a second!
"All that is Theata's is yours for the taking. At this very moment there are
millions of our brothers all around us. They have come to lead, to guide the
people of earth in the way they must go to enter into oneness with the universe.
"Can you see them?!" Christopher cried. "Can you see them?!" Christopher raised
his right hand in the air, held his head back majestically and shouted, "Behold
the hosts of heaven!" Suddenly the sky was filled with thousands or hundreds of
thousands of beautiful lights, some hundreds of meters across, some as small as
the head of a pin; some moving slowly, some darting about at incredible speed.
"Behold the hosts of heaven!" Christopher shouted again.