The Newton Code Page 8

  Michael was amazed, though he remembered that he had already seen this structure, on-screen, before and after his online meetings with Charles Bishop.

  Now, Michael gazed at one of the most magnificent

  structures he’d ever seen. “Wow,” Michael said. ‘Wow’ was the only word that he could think of.

  As inconceivable as it may have seemed, Michael thought that he was looking at an accurate replica of the Temple of Solomon, and not a miniature version, as he has seen on some internet sites.

  “Does it have the same measurement as the original?” Michael queried.

  “It does.” Bishop answered, “we constructed it according to the exact measurements, which we derived from the design of Sir Isaac Newton, that is found in his book, Chronology of Ancient Kingdoms. Sir Newton had spent a lot of time figuring the precise proportions of the temple. He thought that the temple has to be resurrected as a central pretext to the second coming of Jesus Christ. My vision is in executing Newton’s concepts.”

  “But that’s incredible,” Michael said. “This temple must have cost a fortune.”

  “A small fortune, yes,” Bishop confirmed. “And a lot of hard work by my people, but we did it with love and faith, in order to fulfill God’s plan for us and all true believers.”

  “Charles,” Mary intervened, “would you like to get off the vehicle?”

  “Yes, my dear,” Bishop answered and looked at her lovingly.

  Using the electric ramp, Mary lowered Bishop’s wheelchair to the ground; then, she walked toward the temple and entered inside.

  “What are you going to do with this temple?” Michael wanted to clarify.

  “This temple will stay here on the land, and serve our community,” Bishop said. “Essentially, we’d built this shrine as a practice model.”

  “Practice for what?”

  “For the real temple, of course,” Bishop said patiently, “which will be the third holy temple of our Lord. It will stand on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.”

  “You have another temple?” Michael was baffled.

  “We sure do,” Bishop confirmed. “Most of my people are already in Jerusalem, putting my plan into action.”

  “But how is that possible?” Michael asked. “I admit I don’t understand the plan. As far as I know, there’s a Muslim structure, The Dome of the Rock, sitting right over where the two Jewish temples used to be, on top of the Foundation rock. In order to resurrect the temple in its original location, you’d have to remove, or perhaps blow up the Dome of the Rock. Is that the plan?”

  Bishop compassionately smiled at Michael, and looked into his eyes—like a father to a son. “We don’t have to remove or blow up Dome of the Rock,” Bishop said. “We’ll build our temple right next to it—on the Jewish temple’s original location. You see, the Muslims had built the Dome of the Rock in the wrong place…”

  “The wrong place?”

  “About two hundred yards from where the original, true temple of God stood.

  “How is that possible?”

  “History teaches us,” Bishop explained patiently, “that when the Muslims first conquered Jerusalem in the year 638 AD, they didn’t know where the Jewish temple had once stood, so, a Jew who converted to Islam pointed the place for them. We know that many Jews converted to Islam at that time, but they didn’t do so willingly. Most of them were forced to convert either through threats of execution or by facing economic sanctions. I find it most likely that this forcibly converted Jew, took revenge at the Muslims by pointing them to the wrong place, about two hundred yards from the right place.”

  “It sounds like speculations to me.” Michael said.

  “I’m glad to find that you have an inquiring mind, just as I thought,” Bishop said. “I do not wish to be surrounded by ‘yes men.’ The true location of the temple and the site of the foundation stone had been debated over the centuries by Christian theologians and Jewish religious leaders, and there are plenty of evidence that point to what I’ve just asserted. Some of those scholars, including the Rambam, who was one of the greatest Jewish thinkers of all times, are using different sources to assert their conviction by which the Dome of the Rock, is not where the holy temple used to be.

  This is important because according to the Old Testament, without knowing the precise location, a new temple can’t be rebuilt.

  “So, what is the precise location of the old temple?” Michael asked.

  “On the Temple Mount,” Bishop said, “around two hundred yards northwest from the Dome of the Rock, there is a small cupola called Dome of the Spirits, or Dome of the Tablets. It’s an interesting name considering the tablets that were located in the Arc of the Covenant, which was in the holy of holies.

  “I’ve read,” Michael said, “that according to Jewish belief, the third temple will descend from the sky.”

  “My concern is not necessarily with fulfilling the Jewish belief,” Bishop said, “but with setting the right conditions for the return of our Lord, Jesus Christ. However, we are doing whatever we can to follow the ancient prophecies; consequently, the temple will, in fact, descend from the sky. We will bring most of the parts by helicopters and assemble them on the ground in one night. It’s going to be a massive logistic operation.”

  “And what about the Israelis who control the Temple Mount?” Michael asked. “I doubt that they will allow such an operation. Actually, I’m quite certain that they will intervene to block this whole operation.”

  “Michael,” Bishop smiled and looked pleased. “I see that you’re asking all the right questions. As far as the Israelis, you are right. Although I’m sure that most of them would love to see the temple on the Temple Mount, they could not allow such an operation to take place.”

  “So?”

  “They will be paralyzed and unable to do anything about it!”

  “Paralyzed?”

  “Yes.” Bishop nodded. “Without any means of communication and with most electric power in a state of temporary malfunction. Do you remember the strange computer crashes that virtually paralyzed our country and most European countries?”

  “You were behind it?” Michael was amazed, as he remembered that McPherson suspected Bishop right from the start, while the US authorities were helpless and without any clue as to who was behind it.

  “Those shutdowns were a test,” Bishop said. “We were testing our capabilities, and now we’re confident that we can count on our systems. However, we won’t leave Israel in a defenseless state, that could subject them to enemy attack. So, we will bring down most systems of power and communications all over the middle east, while allowing emergency services to continue to function.”

  “I still see some serious problems with the plan,” Michael said. “Even if we manage to build the entire temple overnight—next to the Dome of the Rock and not instead of it—the Muslims are not going to accept it. They might be a bit perplex, but sooner or later, they will call for a holy war.”

  “And that’s where you come in, my friend.” Bishop smiled. “I recognize that it’s not a simple task, but we will call a press conference where you will tell the Muslims and the entire world that we want peace.”

  Chapter 26

  “Please get Mary,” Bishop asked Michael. “It’s time to go.”

  Michael nodded and walked to the temple. He knew it was just a replica, a model that Bishop and his community created as a prototype, but still, it was an enormous endeavor and a great accomplishment. Above all, it wasn’t a replica of some insignificant building. It was the holy temple constructed according to the precise calculations as of non-other than Sir Isaac Newton.

  Michael’s heart pounded when he walked through the majestic entrance. It was dusky inside, and it took some time for his eyes to adjust to the dark.

  Michael wondered whether he’s going to meet the same meticulous attention to details in the inner part of the temple as he saw on the outside. Did Bishop and his people complete all the sections of the temple?
The Altar, court of the priests, and holy of holies? That would have been an even greater momentous achievement.

  Right away, Michael saw that the inside was mostly one large hall. Apparently, Bishop chose not to invest the vast resources that such an undertaking would cost. That still didn’t mean that he wouldn’t strive to build the interior sections in the final temple, the one his people are already constructing in Jerusalem or somewhere in its vicinity.

  Michael looked all over for Mary. Strange, where could she be? He walked all over the vast hall. Outside, the sun was setting, emitting few last rays that barely lit the large hall. He found her, sitting right at the center. I’ve already looked here, he thought to himself, how come I didn’t see her?

  “Mary,” he said gently.

  She didn’t move. Sitting erect with her eyes closed, a soft sunray barely illuminating her face.

  “Mary,” he called her again.

  She didn’t move.

  She is so beautiful; he couldn’t help but noticing. Suddenly it hit him, there was something about her that reminded him of another Mary, the Madonna, mother of Jesus.

  “Miriam,” he tried the name she used on the internet site. She trembled, and then slowly opened her eyes. She looked around as if trying to figure out where she was. Her gaze directed at him.

  “Michael,” she said. “How long was I here?”

  “Not very long,” he said. “We have to go, Charles is waiting.”

  “Oh yes, Charles, we shouldn’t make him wait.” She extended her hand toward him.

  He took her hand and gently pulled her, helping her stand on her feet. Her tender touch made him tremble. Mary didn’t pause before heading for the gate and Michael took a deep breath before following her.

  Chapter 27

  Michael liked communal life and living on the land. The Bishop’s estate was mostly self-sufficient. They had large organic fields where they grew most of their vegetables and a small lake where they cultivated fish. They also had a large electric generator, so they wouldn’t have to depend on the external power supply, and a water purifying station.

  Michael missed his wife and daughter, but most of the time, he was kept busy with work and study, which made it easier to accept his new circumstances.

  Since many people were away, there was a shortage of workforce. Michael was assigned to work in the vegetable gardens, where he spent long hours under the hot sun and occasional rains. Working outdoors was a new experience for him, and although the work was monotonous and at time boring, he found that he actually liked the physical labor and being close to the earth.

  His supervisor and guide was a woman named Ruth, an energetic, stocky built lady who had very short hair, and Michael had the impression that she didn’t care all that much about the way she looked.

  “I used to be a JAP,” she once told him and looked amused.

  “JAP? What does that mean?” He wondered.

  “A Jewish American Princess,” she giggled. “I looked quite different in those days. I believe I was cute.”

  “What brought you here?” He was curious.

  “About ten years ago, I volunteered to serve in the Israeli army, where I wanted to be a fighter and not to serve in some desk job. The trainings were very demanding, physically and mentally, but I didn’t mind the harsh conditions. It was important for me to show that I could do everything the guys did. I admit I liked the firing range. I liked every kind of weapon.

  “You still like guns?” Michael asked.

  “Definitely,” she said. “Anyway, at the end of basic training, we were taken to an oath ceremony, where we had to pledge allegiance to Israel. At that time, I didn’t mind that, but I was seriously bothered by the location of the ceremony.”

  “Why? Where was it?”

  “In a large square, right in front of the western wall—they call it the wailing wall, or the Kotel.”

  “Why did it bother you?”

  “Because I sensed that the Kotel wasn’t the real thing. I looked above the wailing wall, and I saw the golden cap of the Dome of the Rock, and deep inside of me, I felt infuriated and hurt because the Dome of the Rock was standing on the foundation stone, where the holy temple used to be, and the wailing wall was just a lame substitution. I thought that it was an outrageous injustice—that one religion builds a shrine on top of another religion’s most sacred place.”

  “You know,” Michael said, “the Jews conquered the foundation stone as well. King David conquered it from the Jebusites.”

  “Not true!” Ruth responded fervently, “King David bought the place from them. They could have refused to sell.”

  “So,” Michael said, “that’s what brought you over to Charles?”

  “Eventually. To Charles and also to Jesus. I finished my army service before returning home to New York. I’m not a quitter.”

  Ruth taught Michael a few words and expressions in Hebrew, as well as words and phrases in Arabic. She thought it could come in handy when he goes to Jerusalem.

  “I would love to teach you how to hold and fire a gun,” she said, “but our people don’t like the noise, and I respect that.”

  The dining room was where everyone used to meet three times a day, except for Charles and Mary, who ate at their house. Every now and then, when Charles joined the meal, he led his people in a prayer; otherwise, the mealtime was a lively gathering where people talked mostly about work and the upkeep of the land.

  Chapter 28

  Twice a week, Bishop held ‘bible teachings.’ Although attendance was not mandatory, most of the people chose to participate. Like Michael, they liked listening to Bishop’s deep and pleasant voice as he was explaining and guiding his assembly through different aspects of the path. Michael found that even though he wasn’t always focused—especially when he was tired after a long day of laboring in the field—he still liked listening to Bishop as he was kindly leading his people.

  The group gathered in a hall in a central building that was used for various activities. It had a library, a playground for kids, and it housed the computer center, which was off-limit for most people.

  It was apparent that the hall could fit a much larger group; however, Michael liked the small, cozy, personal kinship that developed during Bishop’s discourses.

  Bishop used to sit in his wheelchair on a slightly elevated podium, and Mary always sat next to him, focused and attentive. The group was sitting in front of them, some on chairs, while others preferred to sit on the carpet.

  The teaching could vary from fascinating aspects of prophecy to known familiar biblical passes.

  Michael remembered that McPherson wanted recordings of Bishop talks, and the bible teachings seemed like an excellent opportunity to accomplish the request. Rachel, McPherson’s contact person, gave him a small device with which he could secretly tape the talks; but Michael thought that recording openly would be easier and less risky. So, he approached Mary and asked permission to record the discourses.

  “For what?” she wondered.

  “So that I could listen to the materials again and again. It will help me become more fluent with the materials; thus, I could explain our mission more coherently.”

  “Let me consult with Charles,” she said while carefully examining him and looking reserved. “Usually he doesn’t like his talks recorded, because he believes they should be listened to in the right place and time, and not taken out of context. However, he might make an exception in your case, because we know you have to absorb a lot of material in a short time.”

  The following day she appeared more friendly. “Go ahead,” she said. “Charles doesn’t see a problem with your request; just please use the recordings for your personal use and don’t distribute them anywhere.”

  One evening, Bishop chose to interpret a section in the book of Joshua. He used to assign most of the aloud readings to Mary, sitting next to him, and she also had a deep and pleasant voice. She read:

  Now the gates of Jericho were securely b
arred because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in. Then the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have the whole army give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the army will go up, everyone straight in.”

  Of Course, Michael was familiar with the ancient biblical story of how the Israelites, led by Joshua, conquered the city of Jericho. He was curious as to what interpretation Bishop would give the known tale.

  “This is a significant story,” Bishop started. “Let’s look at the numbers and see what we can learn. Each day, for the first six days, the Israelites, carrying the Ark of the covenant, marched a complete circle around the city, and we know that a complete circle makes 360 degrees. six times 360 makes 2160. What do we know about the number 2160?”

  Ron, the man who drove Michael from Olympia, raised his hand.

  “Yes, Ron,” Bishop nodded in his direction.

  “2160,” Ron said, “is half of 2520.”

  “That’s right,” Bishop smiled. Now, on the seventh day, we learn that God instructed them to encircle the city seven times. How much is 7 times 360?

  “2520!” Ruth called, without raising her hand.

  “That is true, Ruth,” Bishop smiled at her. “Now we’ll continue just a little more with the number game, so bear with me. Do you know what’s the meaning of the name of the city, Jericho, in Hebrew?”