Chapter 2
Jerusalem Ways
Bad Company
"I hate this place," hissed Goliath to Attila as they looked from their seventh-floor room overlooking the Jesus Temple.
"It's all this Godliness. Jesus, here! Jesus, there! Jesus, everywhere! It gives me the creeps every time I go into the temple. It's all this exclusiveness with God. You either do it His way or no way. There isn't any fudging room. Puts us Nephilims out in the cold. What are we supposed to do while the righteous make all the rules and run things their way, twiddle our thumbs?" continued Goliath.
Attila calmly watched his friend festering again. It happened every couple months or so. Goliath would begin to fester while complaining about the righteous, and then he would pout for another two weeks and be okay for a while. Attila thought Goliath was balancing on the edge of psychotic. Every once in a while, he would come back to the room and find Goliath rocking back and forth while sitting on the edge of the bedwith a blank stare on his facelike no one was home.
He figured, if they didn't get this mission finished soon, Goliath would go "postal," to use a more archived word of the last century. Attila laughed at his thought of "postal." He asked himself while nodding like he was listening, "Why didn't they call it ‘going Mormon,’ since many of the Mormons committed suicide after Jerusalem gave Salt Lake to the Pentecostals. Or, maybe, even ‘going Santa,’ after the merchants found out that commercial Christmas was to be eliminated.”
He thought how no one gave gifts during Christmas unless it was concerning His birth. Santa Claus was dead and buried. Christmas trees hadn't been seen in over 25 years. Grocery stores didn't have any Santa Clauses ringing bells with buckets outside of their doors, and Rudolph was just an unusual name you gave a child you didn't like. Only the birth of Jesus mattered, which didn't make Attila very happy, but there was something about not being forced to buy presents that he liked. A standard gift was acceptable. Something made by hand, not bought, but it had to be biblically centered, which meant that dark Nephilims didn't participate.
In an afterthought, he thought about the Easter Bunny's disappearance from comment and mention. Only the resurrection of Jesus was taught, even in schools. There weren't any colored eggs, Easter egg hunts, or scary mall rabbits handing out Easter egg baskets. Attila didn't miss those, anyway.
He was disturbed about the Tooth Fairy, which had also gone missing. He secretly let his kids put their teeth under their pillows and gave them gifts in exchange. It wasn't mandated into exile, just forgotten. It was somehow attached to history like folklore or fairy tales, and only found in library archives.
It also disturbed him that humans were now expected to live longer. He always knew that Nephilims on both sides used to have an edge because they were to live hundreds of years, but humans? This new expectation of long life caused birthdays to be more optional. It implied that humans could live hundreds of years too. Those who were still alive after the Reign of Peace certainly expected to. No one knew where those long-life ideas came from, but they became imbedded in the thoughts of the righteous. Attila felt that most of those perceptions came from many modern-day prophecies spoken from anointed believers over years.
He agreed that since birthdays were far more continuous than ever in human history, it seemed stupid to honor them. It was more logical to honor a birthday when a person reached each the 100-year mark. Now, that was a birthday! No one had, yet, unless it was a Nephilim, but no one knew about Nephilims, anyway.
"What a shame," he thought, "that Halloween was considered a taboo."
It was never mentioned again. Calendars only posted Christmas and Easter, and even favorite, famous people days were gone. No human could be honored or worshiped, with the exception of Mother's- and- Father's Day and the new Grandmother's- and- Grandfather's Day.
Literature classes in schools forbade the teaching of these old ways. Attila had an appreciation for what Goliath was saying. Goliath was right on the mark. It was either God's way or no way. It was God's truth that mattered most. If a celebration didn't match up to God's truth, the truth of the Gospel, it was forbidden. It certainly didn't leave much room for darkness.
"Too bad," thought Attila, again. He blinked several times and heard Goliath scolding him.
"You're not listening to me, are you?" shouted Goliath.
"Yes, of course, of course. I always listen to you, honey," he remarked sarcastically while thinking rooming with Goliath was like being married.
"Don't make fun of me, Attila. I saw your lips moving while I was talking to you. You said something like, 'too bad.' I swear you did!"
"Calm down, mother hen. You're festering again. We can't afford to have you losing your composure after we've come so far. You need to calm down and watch TV or something. Watch something soothing, like an old release of The Sound of Music, just stop your babbling, will you?"
Just as Attila expected, Goliath pushed aside a shiny aluminum carrying case from one side of his bed and laid down, crossed his hands over his chest, pouting. Attila pushed Goliath too far on purpose. He'd rather have him pouting than babbling. The walls of the priest dorms were too thin. Who knows who could be passing by. Just the use of their real names made it dangerous. Goliath was David to the other priests as Attila was Barnabas.
Attila turned to his own carrying case, laid it on his bed, and pulled out his priest robe to hang it up for the next day. He ran a lint picker over it and straightened it so it hung perfectly on a new suit hanger. He meticulously pulled other static-clung debris from it while hoping he could get it decent enough for one more day without having to wash and iron it again. They weren't allowed to use regular tap water, but had to hand wash it in holy water, and even used holy water in their iron like altar guilds treated the holy altar linens from the sanctuary.
"It won't be that much longer, Goliath," replied Attila while trying to cheer him up a little.
"Not soon enough for me," was Goliath's reply.
It was a mistake to cheer him up so soon. Goliath stood up; and as he prepared his own robe, he started again, "We've talked about it before. I can't stand it when we get near the temple. We've never been there when Jesus came. If he looks at me, I know that he'll know what I'm about. I just know it! It's driving me crazy thinking about it," grimaced Goliath while breaking out in a deep sweat.
Goliath continued, his voice getting louder each time he spoke, "We've only been able to replace five out of the last 40 of those jerks. We had to kill the rest. Have you heard from Judas? Have you heard the deadline for our attack?"
"No, nothing. Not even a letter. He calls when he has something to say. In the mean time, we're where we need to bejust where we need to be. Did you tell me that Mussolini spilled anointing oil on his hands going through the great hall?" asked Attila, then purposely lowered his voice to a whisper.
Goliath noticed, understood, and whispered back, "Yes, he spilled it on his hands, and it ran down his arms and the front of his robe. What a mess. He just about freaked. He was certain since God's oil is used in healing that it would burn him alive. Nothing happened. Was he ever relieved. It's a good thing that we're always teamed up with like kind. A believer Jesus Priest would have to wonder why we never let the oil touch us and why we skip anointing ourselves in it. I'm not afraid of it like he is. I just feel strange being near it. It gives me the creeps."
"Didn't you say that some of the angel guards heard him cussing?" asked Attila.
"Yes. He forgot to dismiss them, and I heard that several angel guards rolled their eyes towards him. Maybe they just thought we humans were having a bad day. Hopefully, they forgot about it."
"Or maybe, when Mussolini goes back tomorrow, they'll arrest him and start a witch hunt," Goliath said with a shaky voice.
"If they do, you know what that means?" Attila asked.
"Yes, Judas will give us the signal to move now, rather than waiting, and it's been nice knowing you," replied Goliath des
pondently. "We'd all be cosmic dust. No Jerusalem, no Jesus Temple, no Attila, and no Goliath."
"Think positive, Goliath. We have to think positive," replied Attila while realizing the conversation was making Goliath's mood much worse.
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The Jesus Temple
The next morning Attila and Goliath walked from their dorm in the City of David towards the Jesus Temple, which was built on the same location as the destroyed "Dome of the Rock." Where the "Dome of the Rock" used to be was now the Holy of Holies. The "Foundation Stone" was
over the other destroyed structure, "The Dome of the Tablets," or as it used to be called, "The Dome of the Spirits."
As they walked the mile towards the Jesus Temple, they could see the Mount of Olives far to the right, but blocked from view by the Temple itself was (Bitzita Hill), Golgatha. The view of The Mount of Olives was quite different from what it had ever been before. It had been replanted as had many of the cemeteries across the planet whose graves had been opened and vacated during the rapture. They had been converted into parks planted with trees from heaven. The abundant and lush heavenly fruits grew and flourished alongside heavenly flowers that never died. These places were spots of continuous refreshing for anyone who needed rest and nourishment.
No matter how repulsed Attila and Goliath were at the sight of the Jesus Temple, it was now considered one of the greatest wonders of the world. The Jesus Temple was the center of attention from all directions for anyone arriving in Jerusalem. It was astoundingly noticeable and shockingly beautiful that sat within the walls of an extravagant sports coliseum, displaying 25-foot, Hebrew-and-Christian symbols, peppering its 100-foot-high outside walls. Its extractable, circular, gold dome covered the top of the temple perimeter and was the size of two football fields.
The temple was reconstructed in detail with an entrance inside the coliseum called the Hulda Gates and with Solomon's Porch running its full length along the right side going south to north. At the far northern end of the perimeter were the Antonia Fortress and the Pool of Israel. Even other known perimeter features were rebuilt, including Robinson's and Wilson's Arch, Warren's Gate, and the Fosse.
Jesus wouldn't allow the reconstruction of the water canals that brought water down from the Hebron Mountains, which passed through Solomon's Pools near Bethlehem and flowed to Jerusalem. In a explicit declaration of holiness, Jesus stated, "I am the living water. The water that flowed for ritual baths of the temple priests (mikveh) was used to wash blood from the sacrifices. I am the sacrifice for the world. My blood is the blood of the new
covenant. My blood can never be washed away. Therefore, no water will flow through the Wilson Bridge into the temple."
The entrance to the inner sanctuary was 20-by-10 feet divided between two massive doors. It took four able-bodied men or one angel to open it. It was made of solid gold, decorated with all the names of God and Jesus in every language known to man. It was also adorned with more Hebrew-Christian symbols, including the newest known onea red fish with a cross, placed and centered vertically in its background.
Within the inner sanctuary, sat the Glory Throne, and behind it, the Ark of the Covenant, which had a tall, silver cross standing at one end of the altar and an immense silver Menorah on the other. The Glory Throne was where Jesus sat on His visits to earth. Jesus was always accessible from the outer court of the sanctuary. He sat between the Ark of the Covenant and the Jesus Priests. Jesus always appeared at Christmas, Easter, or for special events called Human Rights Councils. The Glory Throne was at the end of a long hall lined by strategically placed angel guards. They were more a symbol of the power of God and a reminder of God's awesomeness. Only a Jesus Priest could dismiss them, and many of these angels couldn't wait for the priests to show up so they could return to heaven for several hours each day.
These 200, massive, angel guards lined each side of the grand hall wearing heavy, gold, full-body armor decorated with sapphire-embedded Stars of David and believer fish. Their five-foot swords were drawn and lashed to their hands in a battle-ready grip placed high above their heads in a menacing attack stance. Their own star eyes reflected brilliantly off thousands of dazzling stones from the walls of heaven. It made the hall and the angels blend together in a spectacular array of wonderful, colored dimensions.
Just past the last guard, nearest the Holiest of Holies, were open golden urns. They filled the great hall and the sanctuary with the smell of myrrh, frankincense, and olive oil. It was intoxicating and gave everyone passing through a natural high, an ecclesiastical buzz. As Jesus Priests made their way to the Glory Throne, they covered their arms and face with the sweetness of the oil. By the time they reached the outer circle, surrounding the Glory Throne, there wasn't a single physical or emotional malady left. This oil, which frightened the dark Nephilims so much, was used to heal the sick. It was carried from Jerusalem to the hospitals, and people handled it the Gospel way, dipping deep into the oil and anointing the sick in Jesus name. Hospitals became known as great anointing stations with more prayer ministers than surgeons.
The hills surrounding Jerusalem were populated with more farmers now as was much of the land in the world. They continually ordered heaven's seeds and plants that replaced many of the crops that they had previously planted. Many of the new crops were heavenly herbs that naturally filled heaven's vast, flowered fields. These herbs were growing large health-benefiting crops for everyone.
In Israel, as in other countries, complete communities (communes) of believers were living with each other, many based on specialty skills and common crafts. Trade and barter were more common methods of economic exchange than actual money. Silver still had its place but was only the exception when trade and barter didn't work. There were silver certificates for larger purchases, printed and issued from Jerusalem, and very rare and valuable. These certificates were created from an exchange of vast amounts of old wealth left over before the Reign of Peace.
Those who didn't live in believer communes were provided multifamily homes, rather than increasing the use of apartment complexes. All of the military bases in Israel and in the world were converted into rows of modest, but well-made homes that covered hundreds of thousands of acres. Care was taken to build for practical needs to handle large families that would eventually take care of parents and grandparents. Everything was in well-equipped and pleasant settings.
Attila and Goliath kept noticing how many professions disappeared and were replaced with more passionate careers than before. Careers were now those that pleased the caring or artistic senses, which included artists and painters, the musicians, the writers, the actors, and the screen. The caring careers were prayer nurses and prayer doctors who worked with the prayer priests and ministers. Other occupations were from what people built, made, and created. Nothing was wasted anymore; everything was used; life was reduced to simpler ways and living.
The only additional concern were those citizens of earth referred to as the "Left Overs." They were “left over” from the 20th Century, making up a majority of the population before the newborns grew up and replaced them. However, they needed more care and psychological help. It took about ten years before this group started getting used to the new ways. The "Left Overs" finally gave up and started doing those things they always wanted to, forgoing the manmade stress of a forgotten, complex society for this simpler one.
All over the world, billions were killed by the wars and terrible end-time catastrophes, like the earthquakes and nuclear devastation that took place before and during the Dark Dragon Wars; and of course, there were those missing from the rapture. By the time it was all over, only one third of mankind's population was left. With so few, there was only opportunity now. No one was discouraged or held back from doing the simpler things this society wanted and needed.
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The Jesus Priests
Fortunately, for the five dark Nephilims who had replaced the original Jesus P
riests, their assignments were to remain working at the Jesus Temple. These five were not as involved in the activities of the temple except in preparing for the Eucharist along with altar guild assistants, ladies who helped on special occasions. As with all those Jesus Priests, coming to Jerusalem to work, who were a select group of seminary-trained ministers, watching over the believer affairs and ministered from the Jesus Temple in Jerusalem. It wasn't a difficult job, but one that was mostly monitoring. They watched for people's needs. They orchestrated meeting these needs through a vast system of computers and networked information systems. Their main duties continued to ensure that no one went hungry or were subjected to harm. After 25 years of practice, they finally got it down to an art.
The other duties concerned the inner sanctuary. Jesus Priests went before the Glory Throne in praise and worship and interceded for the people. They spent four- to- five hours a day praying. They travailed before the altar, not using Godly instruments of forgotten priestly symbols, but tears, sweat, and broken heartedness. They made everyone's needs theirs. It kept the portals of heaven open for others.
From this holy place, they carried back the need to teach all members of society to pray and keep a constant vigil with the Lord. After all, just because someone was part of the new Reign of Peace didn't mean they were believers. Jerusalem sent thousands of priests into every corner of the planet teaching about Jesus. They taught the holiness of a sacred life to everyone they reached. In the first ten years of their ministries, 75 percent of people on earth were now participating believers. They taught the Church-of-Acts ways. They taught believers to share together from house to house, praying, giving thanks, and continuing to break the bread of the Lord's Supper. They gave all men the authority to baptize and give the communion. There wasn't any more church hierarchy. Being a believer gave everyone the authority to practice worship and holiness before the Lord.
Jesus Priests were the overseers. They were like the Godly fathers and Godly parents to the world, to whom the Lord entrusted so much. They didn't minister with egos or pride; but with broken and contrite hearts. They were the gatekeepers of heavenly things for the world.
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