The Oracle Page 7

  “What did he write?”

  “He wrote that the debt incurred by the Ottoman Empire could be used to bring about the return of the Jewish people to the land. He envisioned the Jewish people again learning how to farm the land. He believed the land could be watered and that the planting of trees would change the land’s ecosystem. The deserts, he wrote, could be made to blossom.

  “In his vision Warren foresaw the return of the Jewish people from exile and that their return would lead to the birth of a nation. He envisioned the nation of Israel resurrected from the dead, a Jewish state. He saw the great powers of Europe involved in its resurrection. He even believed that America would be the best guarantor of the Jewish nation’s rebirth—though he couldn’t see how that would come about.

  “Where Twain could barely see how the land could support the most meager of populations, Warren wrote of a future where the land could accommodate millions of Jewish people. And yet even with such numbers, he believed that the new Jewish nation could attain a standard of living equal to that of the most advanced nations. 1 With the return of the Jewish people and the blessings of God, the land known to the world as Palestine could again become the ‘land flowing with milk and honey’ 2 as in the days of the Bible. Warren’s vision was amazingly prophetic and, in the year and decades that followed, would come to pass.”

  “Did he know the biblical prophecies of Israel’s rebirth?”

  “He did,” said the Oracle. “It was those prophecies that gave him the confidence to envision what seemed otherwise unimaginable. And by so doing, he would pen what is considered the first detailed vision and plan for the establishment of a Jewish state in the land of Israel. And it would be written over twenty years before a similar vision and plan would be penned by a Jewish hand.”

  “You said that the Jubilee sets in motion the purposes of God. Did anything happen concerning the Jewish people in the years after 1867?”

  “Yes,” he replied, “the Ottoman Land Code of 1867 would set in motion a series of events that would lead to Israel’s restoration. By the early twentieth century large tracts of the land had been purchased for the return of the Jewish people, the fruition of what was sown in 1867.”

  “When were the changes first evident?” I asked.

  “Soon after that year,” he answered. “When Twain and Warren came to Jerusalem in 1867, the Jewish people constituted a minority in that city. But within just a few years they had become the majority. Then just three years after Twain’s visit and one year after the publishing of his book came the founding of Mikveh Yisrael. Mikveh Yisrael was the first school established to teach Jewish people how to farm the land. It was the first time in nearly two thousand years that Jewish people were being taught how to sow and reap the Promised Land, the first sign of a redemption that would transform the country.

  “That same decade would see the founding of the first Jewish agricultural settlements in the land since ancient times. And just after that a massive persecution of the Jewish people in the Russian Empire would begin and bring about the fulfillment of the ancient prophecies. It would cause many Jewish families and individuals to seek refuge in other lands and would begin the first massive waves of returning exiles that would continue into the twentieth century.”

  “And nobody involved in the land’s restoration could have planned for it or known that it was coming.”

  “The prophecies are beyond any plan or effort of man,” said the Oracle. “All history moves to bring them to fruition, every event, every life, and every path, all woven together. So it was for the stranger.”

  “More than what you’ve already told me?”

  “In the latter part of his life his path would be woven together with that of a European journalist and playwright. It was unlikely that two people so diverse and from such diverse backgrounds would become friends, but they did. And as there was a mystery to Mark Twain’s life, so there was a mystery to the life of his European friend, who likewise would play a part in an ancient prophecy. He would undergo a transformation that would alter the course of his life and lead him on a mission that would alter the course of the modern world.”

  “Who was he?”

  “His name was Theodor Herzl. He would become the founder of political Zionism.”

  “Zionism . . . ”

  “From the word Zion, the ancient name for Jerusalem and its land. Zionism was the movement for the return of the Jewish people to the land and restoration of the nation. Herzl would be called the father of the Jewish state. So of all the people on earth, the paths of the two people so joined to the mystery would intersect. Remember what was written in the Book of Deuteronomy, the prophecy of the stranger leads into the prophecy of the nation’s regathering. Twain would be linked to the first prophecy, and Herzl to the second. So as the two prophecies were joined together, so also were the two lives.”

  “When did Herzl’s transformation take place?”

  “Herzl himself would identify the time and place. It happened in the city of Paris in 1894. It was then and there that his transformation into the visionary and ‘father of the Jewish state’ began. It was a significant convergence of time and space.”

  “A convergence?”

  “Because the paths of Twain and Herzl converged in that same city and that same year. The two were brought together in the very place and at the very moment that Zionism was born.”

  “I wonder what Twain would think if he could come back and see what happened to the land he called desolate. I don’t think he would use that word anymore.”

  “There is a prophecy,” said the Oracle, “that foretells the restoration of Zion and says that very thing, that no more will the land be called desolate. I told you of the Scripture appointed to be read on the very day the stranger completed his journey in the land, the prophecy of the stranger journeying to the land. There was another prophecy also appointed to be read on that same day and that would have been chanted in Jerusalem on the day that Twain walked through the city.”

  “What was it?

  “It was that same prophecy, a prophecy of Israel’s restoration. It said this:

  It will no longer be said to you, ‘Forsaken,’ nor to your land will it any longer be said, ‘Desolate’; but you will be called, ‘My delight is in her.’” 3

  The Oracle got up from the rock and approached me.

  “The first stream of mysteries is now completed. The next one lies beyond the second door.”

  “And you’re sure I’ll find them?”

  “I don’t believe you came this far not to. But you will also find me in another place.”

  “Another place?”

  “There’s more than one place. And in this way it will help you to remember.”

  “And what will I find behind the second door?”

  “The shaking of nations,” he said, “the wings of God . . . a land of wells . . . a mystery coin . . . the fall of a kingdom . . . a day of lights . . . a book of hidden prophecies . . . and more.”

  “And all these are part of the same mystery that I’ve been shown so far?”

  “Yes, they are its next manifestation. What you’ve seen thus far will now increase until it touches the entire earth . . . until it shakes the world.”

  THE SECOND DOOR

  Chapter 16

  THE SECOND DOOR

  THE SUN WAS setting. I was sitting on a rock at the base of the mountain by which my tent was pitched. And the vision began.

  “I was back in the Hall of the Seven Doors. In front of me was the second door. At my side was the Oracle. He handed me the second key. I put it inside the lock, the door opened, and I stepped inside. I was now standing on the pinnacle of the same mountain where I had seen the first ram. And there was Moses in his red robe. By his side was a ram, different from the first. Its body was covered with armor, its neck, its hooves, the top of its head, its horns, everything except for its face. Around its neck was a chain, from which hung a metal pendant, on which was a sym
bol, the same as on the second door.

  “It made its way down the mountain and into the wilderness. I followed behind. As it journeyed, the sky darkened and was soon filled with black clouds and then smoke. I heard what at first I took to be thunder but then realized was the sound of war. The ram was now passing by trenches, mounds of earth, and ruins. Then it stopped and turned its gaze to the right. I turned as well . . . and saw the first of the visions within the vision.”

  THE RIDERS

  “I saw what appeared to be a British officer from the First World War on horseback, riding through a series of varied landscapes. In his upraised right hand was a rolled-up document. But it wasn’t just the landscapes that were changing; it was the rider. He was now wearing a red cylindrical hat, dressed as a Turkish soldier. After that he took on the appearance of other soldiers of other armies and ages, each with varied garments, armor, and weapons. Finally he took on the appearance of a Roman soldier. He arrived at his destination, dismounted his horse, then read the document out loud as if issuing a proclamation. Planted in the ground beside him was a pole crowned with a golden eagle. He pulled it out of the ground . . . at which moment, he vanished.”

  THE OLD MAN AND THE BOY

  “The ram resumed the journey, then stopped and turned again. I did likewise. I saw an old man with a white beard and arrayed in colorful ancient garments. Next to him was a little boy in a dark brown coat, a black cap, and shiny black shoes. The two of them were sitting in the middle of a raging battlefield. The old man was holding a little scroll and reading words to the boy. After he finished reading it, he turned to the boy and said, ‘It is now time for you to go home.’ At that they rose to their feet and began walking hand in hand through the battlefield and then away from it, where they disappeared over the horizon.”

  THE GIRL BY THE WELL

  “I turned again and saw a row of ancient-looking wells in the middle of a barren desert. Sitting by one of the wells was a little girl, weeping. ‘They’ve sealed up our father’s wells,’ she said, ‘so that none of us can draw from them.’ It was then that I saw that each well had been filled to its brim with sand. But then suddenly there came the sound of gushing waters. Then all at once the wells exploded with fountains, or rivers, of water shooting up at the same time. The waters then coalesced into a rushing river flowing away into the distance. ‘This is how it begins,’ said the little girl. ‘The rest will follow.’”

  THE FLIERS

  “I turned again and saw a flock of colossal birds flying in the sky above an army as it marched into war. As the birds approached the battlefield, a transformation began. Their bodies began turning to metal, their tail feathers to rudders, their claws to wheels, and their wings to the wings of early twentieth-century airplanes, which is what they, in essence, became. Each aircraft still bore the head of a giant bird but now of solid metal. They flew into battle, engaging the enemy in warfare. I heard a voice. ‘So by this,’ it said, ‘shall the deliverance come.’”

  THE ANGEL’S COIN

  “I was standing on the bank of a river. To my left was a man in a radiant white robe, an angel. He opened his right hand to reveal a coin. ‘What do you see engraved on it?’ he asked. ‘A number,’ I answered. ‘What number?’ ‘1,335. What does it mean?’ I asked. ‘It’s the number of the end,’ he said. ‘By this, that which obstructs shall be removed.’ In the distance stood a mustached man dressed in gold regalia, with a red cylindrical hat and a gold ornamental sword. The angel approached him and placed the coin in his hand. ‘And now you’ve been paid for your time,’ he said. ‘So now you must go.’ With that the man in the golden regalia departed.”

  THE MASTER OF THE CELEBRATION

  “In the last of the visions I saw a large public square filled with men, women, and children dressed in the formal evening wear of the early twentieth century. It was night. Overlooking the square was a balcony on which stood a man in a black jacket, tails, and a tie. ‘Ladies and gentlemen,’ he said, ‘as the master of the celebration, I appreciate your patience. I know it’s been a long wait, but the celebration will begin at its appointed time.’ On the wall above the man was a colossal clock. Suddenly the clock chimed out as it struck what I took to be the appointed time. It was somewhere around half past nine. The multitude broke out in celebration, in singing, dancing, and loud rejoicing. And everything was suddenly illuminated by the light of oil lamps.”

  “The ram continued its journey until it reached the same city on the mountain as did the first ram. But now there were officials lining its path inside the gate. The ram walked through the gate and made its way up to a stone platform. Planted on the platform was an enormous pole bearing a massive red flag. Then, with a force that couldn’t be explained by its size, the ram charged into the pole, which began tottering until finally crashing down to the earth. At that moment, the dark clouds began to dissipate. Then the sun broke through. And the vision ended.”

  Chapter 17

  THE YEAR OF THE GEZERAH

  THE NEXT MORNING I awoke with the light of the sun shining into my tent. The curtains of its entrance were slightly ajar. I made myself ready for the day, then went outside. There, about three feet in front of the tent, was the boy, the same boy who had led me to the Oracle. He had been sitting there the whole time, not making a sound, just waiting for me to wake up.

  “He smiled as if to greet me, then rose to his feet and motioned for me to again follow him through the desert. So I did. He led me for several minutes through a narrow, winding canyon. At its end it opened up to reveal a waterfall cascading down the mountain rock into a pool of water. The pool was surrounded by reddish-golden rock, the same rock that made up the canyon, and the green of desert vegetation, grass, bushes, and small trees . . . an oasis. There, across the water, sitting on one of the rocks, was the Oracle.”

  “This,” he said, “will be our new meeting place. Remember the way. It will be here that we open up the mysteries of the second stream.”

  I joined him on the other side of the water and told him the vision.

  “The ram,” he said, “as the one before it, represented a specific year of Jubilee. The ram was dramatically different from the first; so too would this Jubilee be dramatically different from the one that preceded it. Between the two Jubilees, what had taken place?”

  “The Jewish people,” I said, “began returning to the land, and the land started coming back to life.”

  “And what caused their return?”

  “The dream of living in their land.”

  “That and the persecution that broke out against them in the lands of their exile. So the return that began with a trickle soon became a stream and then a river. They planted fields, vineyards, and forests and built roads, houses, and towns, a culture, the beginning of a nation. What was sown in that first Jubilee of 1867 would come to fruition . . . and increase. Even world leaders would begin to take notice. But it was still only a dream. And there was no way that such a dream could come true. The land had been under Ottoman rule since the days of Martin Luther.”

  “But what about the Ottoman Land Code and the release?”

  “It would play a central part in the fulfillment of the prophecies, in the return of the land to its people. But a land isn’t a nation. And the Ottoman Empire would not allow the birth of a Jewish nation.”

  “But the mystery requires the transference of the land to its owner.”

  “So then what would we expect to take place in the next Jubilee?”

  “The transference of the land?”

  “Yes, to its original owner,” he said. “So the Jubilean cycle that began in 1867 would see the first waves of Jewish exiles returning to the land, the beginning of the restoration, and the founding of Zionism. But it would take another event to fulfill the mystery. That event would come just three years before the next Jubilee.”

  “What event?”

  “The First World War.”

  “The dark clouds and trenches of my vision.”
>
  “So then,” he said, “according to the mystery, which year would be the next year of Jubilee?”

  “It would have to be the year 1917.”

  “Then, according to the mystery, we would expect 1917 to be the year of return and restoration and the transference of the land.”

  “And did it happen?” I asked.

  “It happened,” said the Oracle, “at the exact appointed time and would come through war and through the gezerah.”

  “The what?”

  “The symbol on the second door and on the ram, it was the Hebrew letter gimmel and the first letter of the Hebrew word gezerah.”

  “And what does it mean?”

  “The decree.”

  “So what was the next revelation?”

  “That of a paper that would alter modern history.”

  “And how was it revealed?”

  “Through the mystery of the rider.”

  Chapter 18

  THE WORD OF KINGS

  I RETURNED TO the oasis. There was no one there. I sat down on a rock by the water, waiting for almost an hour. Then I saw him in the distance making his way to the pool. He sat down beside me.”

  “You do understand I have other things I need to attend to,” he said.

  “Of course,” I replied, though I couldn’t imagine any of them.

  “Then let’s begin.”

  “The rider,” I said, “or riders . . . who were they, and what was the document they were carrying?”

  “When we last spoke, what did we say would take place in the coming Jubilee, according to the mystery?”

  “Those who had possession of the land would have to relinquish it. The land would have to return to those to whom it belonged.”

  “And I’ve told you that all events would be woven together to bring about the appointed end ordained by the mystery.”