The Second Messiah (64 page)

Today he had so much to talk about. But as always, out of habit the same whispered questions echoed in his mind:
Do the ghosts of the dead hear the words of the living?

Timeless questions that came from the core of him.
Do we meet again? Does the love we nurture on this earth go on forever, beyond this universe, for all eternity?

No answers came, they never did, but that afternoon something strange happened.

Something that he would remember to the end of his days.

His questions had barely passed his lips when he felt a powerful current of air sweep in from the parched Judean desert.

It erupted out of nowhere, brushed across the sands, sending balls of camel thorn brush tumbling in its path. He closed his eyes, felt the wind’s breath on his face, as cool as a balm.

He opened his eyes again. They filled with water, reacting to the hot, gritty air.

The whistling wind had sent a swirl of dust across the sands. It raced out into the wilderness and then it was gone.

Silence once more filled the desert.

He felt it then, a presence at his shoulder. It went beyond anything natural. But it felt so real that the shock of it made him turn.

There was no one there.

His heart quickened.

The incident, coming out of nowhere, caused the hairs on the back of his neck to rise. At the same time he felt a strange, inexplicable feeling of calm, an intuition that he wasn’t alone. That in this desolate patch in the middle of the Judean desert, he was being watched over. It made him think of that day long ago with his father beneath the pyramids of Cheops.

You won’t see or touch us, but we’ll be standing next to you
.

Was the spurious gust a sign? An answer to his questions? Had it merely been a trick of nature? Or had some wilful spirit caused it so?

In the deepest recess of his soul, in the void that we all know, the place where each of us alone meets with God and where we hear the echo of a voice, somehow he already knew his answer.

It took well over forty years for authorities to make public the bulk of the translated texts found at Qumran. While many scholars believe that all of the texts have been revealed, others assert suspiciously that the Vatican has secretly held back explosive material of a disturbing and prophetic nature.

Despite their statements to the contrary, this assertion has never been properly or openly addressed by the Vatican.

Excavations in the hills and caves at Qumran continue to this day. As for the account of a second messiah, it has existed since the time of Jesus. Numerous references survive in Scripture, along with dire warnings of a false prophet walking the land. Jesus himself made some of these warnings.

Two thousand years ago in the Holy Land, identity theft was an easy matter and no doubt many such deceivers existed—some of them mad, some of them fraudsters—claiming to be the true messiah.

As for a pope who will return the church to its true and simple course, without pomp and possessions, we all await that day.

In the meantime, two things are certain. All of the Dead Sea scrolls have yet to be discovered, and all of their secrets have yet to be revealed.

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Published by Arrow Books 2011

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Copyright © Glenn Meade 2011

Glenn Meade has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act
1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

This novel is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real
locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are the
product of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons
living or dead is entirely coincidental.

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ISBN 9780099558255