The Oracle Page 10

  “It turned out that on the Islamic calendar the year happened to be 1335. It was 1,335 years from the rise of Islam. But in the Bible the same number is linked to the liberation of Jerusalem. And it all converged in the year of Jubilee, 1917.”

  “So was that the fulfillment of the prophecy?”

  “It’s not that it was the fulfillment of the prophecy but rather the playing out of a biblical template. The prophecy speaks of days, but the significance here is the pattern, or template. One thousand three hundred thirty-five is the number given to the Jewish people to speak of the end of foreigners occupying the land, inhabiting the holy places, the end of the obstruction of God’s purposes.”

  “So the Islamic calendar just happened to mark the year 1917 with the same number given in the Hebrew Bible signifying the ending of an occupation . . . and in the process pinpointing the year of Jubilee!”

  “Yes. And the number wouldn’t have appeared only on the coins.”

  “No, it would have to have appeared all over the Islamic world . . . in the year 1917.”

  “Which powers,” he asked, “occupied the land of Israel for most of the two thousand years when the Jewish people were in exile?”

  “Islamic powers?”

  “Yes. So the occupation of the land that began with the first Islamic empire, or caliphate, with the rise of Mohammad would end 1,335 years later with the defeat of the last Islamic empire in 1917.”

  “The man in the red hat who had to leave, he represented the Ottoman Empire. It was the Ottoman Empire that was constraining the purposes of God.”

  “And yet there’s still more to the mystery,” said the Oracle. “The British government was not going to proceed with the Balfour Declaration until getting approval from the American president, Woodrow Wilson. They were notified of that approval on October 16, 1917. And do you know what October 16, 1917, was?”

  “No.”

  “It was the very day that sealed the year 1335. The occupation would thus end, the restoration would begin, and blessed would be those who waited for that day.”

  “Amazing.”

  “One more number,” he said. “If in the Bible seven is the number of completion and ending, then eight is the number signifying a new beginning. The Ottoman Empire came into possession of the Holy Land in 1517. So when would be the eighth Jubilee?”

  “The eighth Jubilee would be 1917.”

  “And so after four hundred years the Ottoman Empire’s rule over the land comes to an end. The eighth Jubilee becomes the Jubilee of new beginnings.”

  “There would be one more mystery to be revealed before the closing of the second door and the opening of the third.”

  “A mystery concerning . . . ?”

  “A day and a night, each waiting to come for over two thousand years.”

  “And how was it revealed?”

  “Through a celebration.”

  Chapter 23

  THE DAY AND NIGHT OF KISLEV

  I RETURNED TO the Oracle to seek the meaning of the last vision.”

  “The people in the square, the clock, the celebration . . . what did it mean?”

  “When the Jewish people returned from their first exile, their captivity in Babylon, the return didn’t come about at once but in waves. And the rebuilding of Jerusalem and of the nation would likewise happen over a long period of time. And they encountered much resistance and many obstacles, so many that at one point the work came to a standstill. It was then that God sent them a prophet to encourage them. His name was Haggai. Do you know what Haggai means?”

  “No.”

  “Celebration.”

  “The celebration in my vision. The ‘master of the celebration’ . . . so was he the prophet Haggai?”

  “A representation of the prophet, yes.”

  “But in the vision the gathering didn’t take place in ancient times but in modern times. It had to have been the early twentieth century.”

  “And yet the prophet was speaking to them. Why do you think?”

  “Haggai spoke to those who returned to the land in ancient times. But his words would now speak to those who had returned to the land in modern times.”

  “Yes.”

  “Did the modern restoration of Israel parallel the ancient restoration?”

  “As in ancient times,” said the Oracle, “the modern restoration came in waves, waves of Jewish exiles returning from the nations, one after the other. They had begun returning in the nineteenth century and were still not a nation at the eve of the First World War, nor could they lay claim to Jerusalem. So too the modern return encountered countless obstacles. So what was it that the master of the celebration said to the gathering?”

  “He said that he knew they had been waiting a long time but that the celebration would begin at the appointed time.”

  “So the Jewish people had been waiting for two thousand years . . . and those in the land had likewise been waiting. In ancient times Haggai encouraged those who had returned to the land by telling them of the nation’s future blessings. And in one of his prophecies he even told them when the blessing would come. He gave them a date. He said this:

  On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month . . . the word of the LORD came by Haggai, “ . . . Now, carefully consider from this day forward. . . . Consider now from this day forward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month. . . . But from this day I will bless you.” 1

  “The twenty-fourth day of the ninth month,” said the Oracle. “Everything centered on that day. From that day forward everything is to change. On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month the blessing will come and God’s purposes will be fulfilled.”

  “What is it about that day that’s so important?” I asked.

  “It’s a mystery,” he replied. “No one really knows. The prophecy speaks of things never fulfilled in Haggai’s own day.

  I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms; I will destroy the strength of Gentile kingdoms. . . . 2

  “So the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month is appointed for the ending of a curse, the beginning of blessing, the overthrowing of kingdoms, and the restoration of Jerusalem and the nation.”

  “So when is the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month?”

  “I can tell you when it was in the year of Jubilee.”

  “When?”

  “December 9, 1917. . . the day Jerusalem was liberated.”

  “The day the Jewish people were waiting for . . . for two thousand years!”

  “The day appointed for the ending of a curse, the day that the occupation of two thousand years of hostile powers came to its end.”

  “And it said, ‘I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms; I will destroy the strength of the Gentile kingdoms.’ 3 So the rule of hostile powers would be overthrown.”

  “Yes, and so the Ottoman Empire would be overthrown.”

  “The clock!” I said. “That’s what it struck. It was 9:24, the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month . . . December 9, 1917.”

  “And when,” asked the Oracle, “did the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month begin?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “The Hebrew day always begins at sundown the night before. So it began at sundown on the night of December 8. The night of December 8 was when the Ottoman soldiers gave up the city and fled through its gates. So just as the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month began, the Ottoman soldiers departed the city and two thousand years of hostile occupation came to an end, and a new era began for the Jewish people. And it all happened on the day ordained in the Bible to end the curse and begin the days of blessing.”

  “What about the oil lamps that ignited in the midst of the celebration? Did that have any significance?”

  “There was one other time when Jerusalem was liberated and restored to the Jewish people. It happened in between the writing of the Old and New Testaments. A foreign power, the Seleucid Empire, occupied the land of Israel and the city of Jerusalem and launched a persecution against th
e Jewish faith. But by a miracle the people of Israel drove out the invaders, regained Jerusalem, and rededicated the Temple. From that victory came the celebration of Hanukah. Hanukah is the Festival of Lights, when the Jewish people commemorate the dedication of the Temple and the restoration of Jerusalem and the land by lighting the lights of the menorah, the oil lamps.”

  “But why were there oil lamps in my vision?”

  “Jerusalem was liberated on December 9, 1917. But December 9 encompasses two Hebrew days: the day that ends at sunset and the day that begins at sunset. The city was liberated from Ottoman rule. And then the sun set. The moment the sun set, it was no longer the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month but the twenty-fifth day. The twenty-fifth day of the ninth month is the Feast of Hanukah. So December 9, 1917, was the beginning of Hanukah. So on the evening of the day that Jerusalem was liberated, all over the world Jewish people lit the lights of Hanukah to celebrate the rededication of the Temple and the ending of the foreign occupation of Jerusalem.”

  “So the night that sealed Jerusalem’s liberation and the ending of its occupation happened to be the start of the ancient holiday that celebrates Jerusalem’s liberation and the ending of its occupation.”

  “Yes. And there’s a special word appointed to be read on the Sabbath of Hanukah. And so on the Sabbath of the week that sealed the liberation of Jerusalem, this was the word proclaimed all over the earth:

  The LORD will take possession of Judah as His inheritance in the Holy Land, and will again choose Jerusalem. 4

  “And so in the closing days of 1917 the Lord again took possession of Judah as His inheritance in the Holy Land . . . and had again chosen Jerusalem.

  “We have seen,” said the Oracle, “the ancient mystery manifest on a global scale, on the stage of world history, moving through all events, obscure and overt, the lives of individuals, the courses of nations, a world war, the rise and fall of empires. And as in ancient times, when God ended the Babylonian Empire and raised up the empire of Persia to accomplish His purposes, so now the Ottoman Empire collapsed and the British Empire was raised to unparalleled heights. And another nation was likewise being readied for purposes yet to be revealed . . . America. But that will be for another time. We have now completed the mysteries of the second door.”

  “And what happens now?” I asked.

  “What happens now,” said the Oracle, “if the revelations are to continue, is that you will open the third door and unlock the mysteries that lie behind it. And in that event you’ll find me in another place.”

  “So you opened the third door . . . ”

  “Yes.”

  “And what mysteries did it hold?”

  “The revelation of a Jubilee unlike the others . . . a mystery of skeletons, a hidden parchment, the secret of a president that began thousands of years before he was born, someone who was and was not and then was again, a twentieth-century event encoded in the law of Jubilees . . . and much more.”

  “So you saw a vision.”

  “How did you guess?”

  THE THIRD DOOR

  Chapter 24

  THE THIRD DOOR

  BEFORE ME WAS the third door. The Oracle handed me the key. I placed it in the lock, pushed the door open, and walked through. I was now standing near the top of a high mountain, but a different mountain than before . . . something out of the Swiss Alps. And there was no sign of Moses. Instead, there stood a man with a long black beard dressed as if for a festive event, in a black jacket, tails, and a tie. At his side was a ram, white with black spots. Around the ram’s neck was a chain with a pendant, on which appeared the same symbol I had seen on the third door.

  “The man placed his hand on the ram’s back. The moment he did, the black spots began moving, shifting, merging, and spreading until, except for its head and underside, its body was entirely black. It was as if the ram’s coloring was mimicking that of the man’s clothing. The man then sent it forth down the mountain. It was then that I realized I had seen the man before. It was Herzl.

  “I followed the ram down the mountain and through a dark battlefield of trenches and distant explosions.”

  “Sounds like the imagery of your other visions, the First World War.”

  “Yes. And then it led me through the streets of a European-looking city. Around us was chaos—raging fires, burning buildings, smashed storefront windows, men, women, and children being herded out of their homes. The ram’s coloring now changed to dark brown. It turned back to look at the devastation. In between the ram’s shoulders, against the brown coloring, was a yellow star.”

  “A yellow star . . . ”

  “It was then that I noticed yellow stars on the coats and jackets of the people being rounded up. The ram’s coloring now changed again. Its body was now covered with black stripes on a white background, and on one of its front legs was a series of numbers, as if someone had branded it. We were now walking along a barbed wire fence, passing others dressed in similar striped clothing with yellow stars. Some were just staring, motionless, but others began following the ram. At the end of the fence was an open gate. The ram passed through the gate, as did the multitudes behind it. The procession ended up at the harbor of a large sea, in which ships were waiting. The ram led the multitudes onto the ships, which then set off from the harbor. As the ships approached their destination, the shores of another land, there were cheers, celebration, and weeping. I followed the ram off the ship, where he led me along the seashore for some time. It was then that I saw the other visions.”

  “The visions within the vision . . . of the mysteries to be revealed.”

  “Yes. The ram paused and turned his gaze away from the sea, inland. I did likewise.”

  THE ARENA

  “I saw a bearded man in ancient dress in the middle of an ancient Roman arena. He was engaged in combat with a man larger than himself, also bearded but with red hair, and more threatening. Around the arena’s innermost ring sat men in dark suits and ties watching the combat. Just when it seemed that neither of the two contenders could prevail against the other, the larger man was transformed. He was now clothed in white and radiant. He motioned to the men in their seats, as if seeking a decision. The majority stood up, while a minority remained seated. The man in white then blessed his opponent, who then rose up from the sand and with baggage at his side departed the arena. The ram continued walking the shore of the beach, then again stopped and turned his gaze inland. I turned as well.”

  THE GOAT

  “I turned again and saw a goat in the desert walking along the side of a small mountain in which was a cave. The goat entered the cave. I followed it inside. But once inside there was no sign of the goat, only total darkness. In my hand were three stones. I could feel the inscription of a word on each rock but couldn’t see what it said. I threw one of them into the darkness and heard the crash of pottery. I proceeded a few steps deeper inside and threw a second stone. Again there was the crash of pottery. I went a few steps deeper and threw the third stone. But instead of a crash, there was an explosion, a giant flash of light. Suddenly I was surrounded by swirling stars and galaxies enveloping me. It was as if I were watching the birth of a universe. And then I was back on the seashore behind the ram.”

  THE SKELETON LADY

  “When the next vision began, I had no idea what I was seeing . . . massive objects scattered over a vast landscape, moving, colliding into each other. I watched as a structure emerged. It was a gigantic skeleton lying on its back. I estimated that the rib cage alone had to have been around two hundred feet high. I watched as sinews and muscles appeared on the skeleton, then skin, and then hair, long, wavy black hair. It had assumed the form of a colossal woman in a robe of blue and white, beautiful but lifeless. Suddenly she opened her eyes.”

  THE KING IN THE WHITE HOUSE

  “I turned again and found myself standing in front of the White House. I watched as an old bearded man in a long black coat and a skullcap entered through its front doors. He made
his way to the Oval Office. I followed him there. In the center of the office sat a bearded king with a crown of corrugated gold, a scepter, and a robe of white, purple, and yellow. ‘Are you the one,’ asked the man in black, ‘anointed to set the captives free?’ ‘How could I be,’ said the king, ‘and not know that I was?’ At that the king rose from his throne, walked over to the desk, opened its drawer, and took out a clay cylinder covered with symbols. He then walked outside the Oval Office, where a large golden eagle awaited him. The moment he stepped outside, his appearance changed. It was now that of a man with short cropped hair, a light-colored suit, a light-colored hat, and glasses. He placed the cylinder in the talons of the eagle, which then flew away. ‘Will you look at that!’ he said as he watched the eagle in the sky. He then came back inside and sat down on the throne. His appearance reverted to that of the king. ‘I am he,’ said the king.”

  THE BOY OF THE ARCH

  “I continued following the ram along the shore. I looked to my left and saw a boy with dark, wavy hair, dressed in clothes from the turn of the century. ‘Come,’ he said. ‘It’s going to begin.’ In the distance ahead was some sort of monumental arch, so close to the ocean that the waves were crashing against its base. He took my hand and led me over to it. ‘Look,’ he said. On the arch were engraved images. As I watched, the images began to move. It was telling the story of the siege of a city and destruction of a land. ‘Now watch what happens,’ said the boy. The images then changed from destruction to restoration and life, mothers with children, people planting, farming, and rebuilding. And then the engravings became still again. ‘Who are you?’ I asked the boy. ‘One who was, who was not, and was again,’ he said. I looked away to make sure I could still see the ram. Then I turned back. The boy was gone. I looked again at the engravings on the arch. And then I saw him . . . on the arch . . . the boy. He was now an engraved image in the scene of restoration . . . just smiling.”