Authors: Shawn Hopkins
“You mean instead of joining your Resistance?”
“Yeah.”
“The church was given a different mission, Mr. Mayhew. Nowhere are Christ’s followers instructed or encouraged to kill so that their way of life may be preserved or even bettered.” His face darkened. “The faith has become imperialized again. Love your enemies: kill terrorists. Turn the other cheek: defend your way of life. The shroud of Turin a nation’s flag.” He sighed. “The church was played by the Establishment. Enough patriotism sprinkled onto pulpit and pew to make people like you,” he stared unwavering into Mayhew’s eyes, “pick up a gun and join in whatever war was being waged against freedom.” He waved his hand as if to dismiss what he just said. “I’m sorry. You didn’t come here to be lectured on Patriotic Christianity and its share of responsibility in all this.”
“Aren’t you afraid they’ll come for you?” Scott asked.
Isaiah smiled. “My time on this planet and the means to its end was determined before I even took my first breath. No one can change that.”
Scott swallowed some coffee, hoping it would stop the fatigue he was feeling from rendering him unconscious.
Isaiah must have noticed. “You two are free to stay here as long as you want.”
“Thank you,” Mayhew replied.
But Scott subconsciously felt for the phone in his pocket, wondering what Isaiah could possibly tell him that would make him want to use it. Or maybe this was just Benjamin’s way of informing his brother of what was happening, a message sent from someone he would be more likely to trust. Scott sipped more coffee, eyes gazing past the window. “You sound like Jack, the guy the ring was sent to, the preacher.”
“Jack Cairns?”
“Yeah, you heard of him?”
“I have two of his books.”
“Small world.”
Isaiah shook his head, pondering. “You both look tired,” he finally said. “It’s two o’clock. If you want, you can shower and get some sleep. I have two extra bedrooms. One of them has a sofa bed, the other a single.”
“Thank you,” Mayhew said.
Scott agreed. It sounded like one of the best things he’d ever heard in his life.
Mayhew stood up, and Isaiah signaled to where the bathroom and bedrooms were.
“There are towels and washcloths under the sink. There’s a washer and dryer in the closet up there too if you want to wash your clothes.”
“Thank you again, Isaiah.” And then Mayhew walked out of the room and disappeared up the stairs.
Scott closed his eyes, hoping that Isaiah wasn’t growing weary of his questions. He had a few more. “The rings, do you know what they are? I mean, how they could work as a key?”
“I have no idea. And I don’t know if my brother knew either. If they did, I imagine it would be in Father Baer’s other books.”
“Do you think that the
Book of Tobit
and the
Testament of Solomon
could be accurate in their supernatural description of the ring?”
Isaiah brought his hand up to his chin. “You mean, do I think they could actually control demons? I doubt it. I don’t think demons really built the Temple. Could there be some kind of mysterious power exhibited by the rings? I don’t know. You’ve seen one of them, I haven’t.”
Scott thought about it, remembered how he’d been so transfixed by it. “The centerpiece seems to be some kind of polished lens. A clear gem that’s open underneath. The band looked like gold.”
Isaiah just shook his head. “I don’t know.”
Scott tried another question. “When I first met Father Baer, he said something about Roswell.”
“Roswell…” The word seemed to stick on his tongue for a bit. He was thinking. “Are you sure?” he asked.
“Positive. He asked me about July 1947.”
He tilted his head slowly, mulling over it. “Interesting.”
“You know what he meant? What he was talking about?”
“No, not really. But there has been talk within some eschatological circles of some kind of UFO deception.”
Scott frowned. “For what purpose?”
“Something to do with establishing a single world religion. The New Agers have been teaching for a long time that one day our ‘space brothers’ are going to show up and save our planet, reveal our individual godhood. Panspermia, life originating from another planet, our ET ancestors holding the keys to the universe. Some even think that the Antichrist will be perceived as an alien.”
“An alien?”
“I’m not saying they’re right, but there is some reason to suspect that ufology will be part of their deception. What that has to do with the rings, I have no idea. Again, I imagine it would be in his other books.”
But Father Baer hadn’t said anything about any other books. Again, he wondered if maybe Daniel could have taken them, remembered the loose piece of twine in the bag that had presumably held
all
the books together… But if Daniel took them, why would he leave any behind? Because the priest would’ve noticed if the bag was completely empty? “What about the drawings in the two books we do have?”
Isaiah smiled. “That’s a whole other can of worms. The triangles, the pentagrams, the rose and cross, the double-headed phoenix… the Occult agenda.”
“You talking Illuminati stuff?”
He yawned. “The Apostle Paul called Satan’s plan to usher in a world leader ‘the mystery of iniquity’ in Second Thessalonians chapter two. He said its operation was underway even in his own day — two thousand years ago. That’s a long time for Satan to be conspiring on the world stage, readying the nations for his Antichrist.” He lifted his frame out of the chair and stretched. “Here,” he said, walking over to a bookshelf. “
I
have a little book of my own on that agenda. Keep in mind, however, that I penned it before the formation of the Union.” As he pulled a composition book out from between two large titles, he continued to say, “Many people don’t realize this, but our precious America, for which the Resistance is fighting, was far from being founded as a Christian nation. Here.” He handed the book to Scott. “The triangle and the pentalpha Father Baer drew are products of Pythagoras. The pagan trinity found in the forty-seventh proposition of Euclid. Hermeticism.” He waved the book. “It’s all in here. Enough of it, anyway.”
Scott took it from his hands, suddenly even more confused as to how this new vein of occultism could play into the whole scenario. “Father Baer called something out to me before he died, but I couldn’t hear it all. Sounded like he said ‘rose.’”
“Mmm… yes. Rosicrucianism. A secret society said to be the forerunner of modern Freemasonry. They like to trace their origins back to the mysteries of ancient Egypt. It was the first of the secret societies to establish itself in the New World, in Ephrata, Pennsylvania. Francis Bacon was even the chief of the Order.” Staring at the book in his hand, he asked, “Remember the image of the double-headed phoenix standing behind Christ on the cross, the Latin phrase taken from Psalms 17:8? It’s a Rosicrucian piece of artwork from the Library of Congress. The roses and crosses…” He looked up. “Do you know what the symbol of the cross represents?”
Death. Torture. “Christianity?” he asked instead.
“And the rose?”
“Secrecy…”
Isaiah nodded. “Representing the mystery religions. So the rose and the cross is simply the joining of the two.”
Scott looked confused. “The Occult and Christianity?”
“Because Rosicruscianism bordered on being witchcraft, it had to find a way to stay hidden from the church. It did this by adopting Christian rhetoric, making themselves appear as servants of God. Professing Christ in the open, they swam in the Occult behind the scenes. Perhaps that’s how someone like Charles Thompson could translate both the Old and New Testament while at the same time approve the all-seeing eye of Horus floating in the detached capstone of the Great Pyramid on the US Seal. A person who was closely related to Peter Miller, he was a well known eighteenth century Rosicrucian and
leader
of the Ephrata community. He even helped Franklin translate the Declaration of Independence into a number of European languages. This is why many of the Founders, known Freemasons, could pass as Christians. It’s how America could be considered a Christian nation while its capitol is a monument to pagan ideology and humanistic philosophy.” He took a breath. “If you want to understand what is happening now, you have to understand the past and all the things that led us here.”
“And what led you down this path?” Scott never heard Edward talk about this stuff.
“My interest in Kabbalah, which is the Jewish adaptation of the Occult, opened my eyes to certain things. But then when my son was born, somehow I knew I should protect him from the esoteric things I had dabbled in. I began to process what I learned from a different angle. When Benjamin told me that the Star of David was the star of Rephan referenced in the book of Amos…”
But Scott cut him off. “You had a son?”
Isaiah nodded soberly. “I had a family. A wonderful wife and two little boys. They were all killed in a car accident, hit by a drunk driver running a red light.”
Scott didn’t know what to say.
“I imagine I’ll be seeing them soon,” Isaiah whispered more to himself. It was a statement that he actually seemed to find comfort in.
After a few quiet moments, once the awkwardness seemed to lift a little and they could hear Mayhew turning on the water above them, Scott asked his final question. “What exactly is the Ark of the Covenant?”
Isaiah smiled through wonderful memories, and the pain they provoked, before turning back to the bookshelf. He pulled out a large book and handed it to Scott. “Look it up.”
It was a Bible encyclopedia.
“Go on,” he instructed, “get washed up and get some rest. We’ll talk later.” But before he left the room, he met Scott’s eyes. “I think God has a special plan for you in all this, Mr. Scott.”
“That’s what your brother said.”
“My brother was a smart man.”
Getting to his feet, Scott forced a smile and nodded as he extended his hand, the two books cradled in the other. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. I hope you figure out what Benjamin wanted you to see here.”
“I’m beginning to think that this was more about you and him than me.”
Isaiah’s lips spread in a warm but sorrowful grin, his eyes acknowledging the suggestion that his brother had just said goodbye through the words of a stranger. “Remember, Satan doesn’t deceive by revealing himself as the Devil, he deceives by masquerading as an angel, as a servant of God. His real work is never done out in the open, only under the cover of some grand illusion. The deception is so great, his work so masterful, that many have fallen victim to his claws while thinking they were obeying the direct commandments of God.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
They shook hands again, and each departed the room through different avenues. As Scott ascended up the stairs, he could hear Isaiah begin to cry.
“Your turn,” Mayhew said, walking past him, his hair still wet. His shirt was only buttoned halfway, and Scott could see that he had a tattoo covering his chest. It was a cross…
“Thanks.” The image brought back pieces of Isaiah’s words, all of which followed him into the shower.
33
S
cott opened his eyes to a bright light attacking his pupils, startling him. He sat up, ready to fight whoever was there, but the room was empty. After a few second, he remembered where he was and forced himself to relax. It was dark outside the window, which suggested he’d slept much longer than intended. He didn’t know whether it was AM or PM. Rubbing his eyes, he reached over to the nightstand for the two books Isaiah had given him.
Opening the composition book to a random page, he started skimming the text.
Francis Bacon.
He flipped to another page, yawning.
Rosicrucians.
He kept turning pages.
Stonehenge. The 77th Meridian. New Atlantis. Charles L’Enfant. William Morgan. The Hell-Fire Club. Aleister Crawly. Francis Dashwood. Manly P. Hall. The Pythagorean Theory. John Dee. Knights of the Helmet. Shakespeare. Apollo and Athena. Columbus. Knights of Christ. Rosslyn Chapel. Baal. Osiris. Skull and Bones. House Resolution 33. The New Deal. The Hermetic axiom…
This little book, Scott decided, nearly falling back asleep with a headache, would have to wait until later. Instead, he replaced it with the encyclopedia. He found what he was looking for after “Arkite” and before “Arm” and “Armageddon.”
Ark of the Covenant, Ark of the Testimony.
He started reading…
The Ark of the Covenant was constructed while the Hebrews were wandering in the desert and was used until the destruction of the First Temple. It was perhaps the most important symbol within the Jewish faith and was the only physical manifestation of God’s presence on earth.
According to Exodus 25:10-22 and Deuteronomy 10:2-5, God instructed Moses to make the Ark out of acacia wood. After constructing it according to God’s precise dimensions, he was to overlay it with pure gold inside and out. Rings of gold were to be put at the corners where staves covered with gold could be inserted for carrying. The kapporet, an atonement cover, was to be made of gold and was to have two gold cherubim flanking the mercy seat, the mercy seat to be sprinkled with the blood of a sacrificial bull once a year on Yom Kippur.
And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee. And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel (Ex. 25:21,22).
And the LORD said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the veil before the mercy seat, which is upon the ark; that he die not: for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat (Lev. 16:2).
Scott skimmed through the dimensions of the Ark, finding no real meaning in them. Eventually, he came to another section.