Fire and Sword (10 page)

Chronicles of the Host

Darlon and Merlos, the angels assigned to John and Peter, watched over the two men. The jail was cool and damp, though not altogether uncomfortable—or so said Peter. The two angels had been ordered to await further instruction from Gabriel, who was due to arrive before the morning sun. The men slept on a bed of dirty straw that had been used many times before by previous criminals.

“I’m surprised at their ability to continue in the face of such opposition,” said Merlos. “These humans certainly have the Lord’s blessing.”

“And His Spirit,” agreed Darlon. “Something we shall never fully understand. The Most High has chosen men in which to pour His Spirit—not angels.”

Merlos agreed.

“Such lazy men!” came a voice. “Sleeping at a time like this.”

“Gabriel!” said Merlos, smiling. Serus stood close by.

“Most men would be too frightened to sleep, my lord,” said Darlon. He was proud to serve such men. “These men sleep like babies!”

“It is the sleep of knowing and trusting their God,” said Gabriel.

The four angels looked for a moment on the men who were leaders of the fledgling Church. These were the men with whom Jesus had entrusted the care of the ministry. Only weeks before, one of these men had denied Him; yet now they were imprisoned on His behalf.

“What news, Gabriel?” asked Merlos.

“The men are to be freed,” Gabriel said. “See to it, Merlos. And instruct them that they are to continue teaching their good news tomorrow—in the Temple courts!”

“The Temple!” said Darlon. “That should be of some interest to Caiaphas.”

Serus wondered why he had been asked to come along. “My lord, am I not being assigned to one of these men?”

Gabriel looked at Serus. “No, my friend,” he said, placing a hand on his shoulder. “The Most High has another assignment in mind for you. A man from Tarsus named Saul.”

“Saul of Tarsus?” questioned Serus. “This sounds like another quiet detail!”

“I hardly think you’ll find Saul quiet,” said Gabriel. “But more on him later. For now, Merlos shall remain Peter’s guardian. Release these men and instruct them.”

“As the Most High commands,” said Merlos, bowing his head.

Gabriel and Serus vanished.

“And now to awaken our humans,” Merlos said, turning to Peter and John. “Tomorrow should prove an interesting day!”

“Peter! Get up!”

John stirred and lifted his head. Was he dreaming?

“John, rise up! The Lord has delivered you!”

John sat upright, perceiving the figure of a man looking down upon him. He was a robed figure, benign but very serious. He held a sword in his hand and was waving it toward the now-open cell door. By now Peter was also awake.

“Lord?” Peter managed, rubbing his eyes.

“No, I am a servant of the Most High,” said Merlos. “He has released you. You are to preach the good news of this message to the people tomorrow in the Temple courts. Go now!”

Peter glanced at the open cell. By the time he looked back, the heavenly visitor had already vanished. John motioned for him to be quiet as they crept out of the cell, down a short hallway, and into the street. Peter smiled at John, and together they began to give praise to the Lord as they disappeared into the night air.

In a corner of the Sanhedrin, Kara and Servius watched with interest. Perhaps this time the Lord had outsmarted even Himself. By allowing the prisoners to escape, He was only bringing the wrath of the high priest and the Sanhedrin down upon their heads. They were joined by Berenius, one of Kara’s favorites.

“Are they still deliberating?” snorted Berenius. “I thought they should have stones in their hands by now!”

Kara laughed.

“Patience, Berenius,” he said. “Our poison is sometimes slow but always effective. Especially with men of great pride.”

Below them the high priest paced in front of the very nervous messenger. Nobody dared look him in the face. He was beside himself. How could this be? These men simply walked out of the jail? Where was the jailer? How could he have neglected to secure the cell? He threw his hands into the air. Just as he was about to explode in another tirade, another messenger entered—this time it was a priest.

“Yes, yes, what is it?” Caiaphas said, annoyed at the intrusion.

The man, a young Levite named Ethan, looked at the grim faces in the room. They were meeting in a hallway just outside the council room. Among them, most grim of all, stood the jailer. Ethan swallowed hard and delivered the news.

“High Priest, the men are preaching again,” he began. “This time in the court of the Temple.”

Everyone awaited Caiaphas’ response. He looked down at the ground for a few moments. He smiled weakly and looked up.

“It was in this very room a few weeks ago when most of us met on another occasion,” he began.

He pointed to a stone on the floor.

“There was a drop of blood here as I recall,” he continued. “It had dripped off of Jesus. Do you remember, Zichri?”

“Yes, rabbi,” Zichri said, remembering the day and looking at the floor.

Others nodded as well.

“We thought that in killing this man, or rather in seeing justice done, that we would be rid of the whole blasphemous sect once and for all,” he continued. “How much more of this must we bear?”

He began pacing again. He stopped and pointed toward the chamber where the Sanhedrin members could be heard murmuring. He whispered loudly.

“A man of my position cannot be made a fool of. I send for the Sanhedrin, and they assemble—and then when we send for the accused they are not in the jail? Not only that: the guards are standing at the doors—still locked—as if the prisoners are still inside? This must be a plot to discredit me! Well, it will not work! Captain of the guard!”

A Temple officer appeared and bowed his head.

“The men you seek are in the Temple court,” Caiaphas said. “Arrest them and bring them to the Sanhedrin. We shall await you there!”

The officer nodded and left the room. Caiaphas thanked Ethan for the message and seemed to regain his composure.

“Now, let us return to the Sanhedrin,” he said, his confidence returning. “These men are adept at handling our jails. Let us see how they handle their jailers!”

“We gave you very strict orders not to teach in this name,” Caiaphas said, as he accused the men before him. As high priest, Caiaphas also acted as chief prosecutor in certain matters of justice. The Sanhedrin listened to his words, many of them glaring at Peter and John and the other leaders with them. “But instead of stopping, you have filled Jerusalem with this teaching of yours! And in doing so, you are trying to bring this man Jesus’ blood on our heads!”

Many in the council shouted in agreement.

“What have you to say to this charge?”

Peter and John stood in the center of the room next to the men who had been arrested with them. Unseen by them and the others in the room were Darlon and Merlos. They had their hands on the men’s shoulders, comforting them as they stood. Peter looked at the council that only weeks before had condemned his Lord. He felt unworthy to now be accused by the same body.

“Men of Israel, we must obey God rather than men,” said one of the men.

“Yes,” said another, “And, in truth, you did kill Jesus by hanging Him on a tree!”

The council began grumbling.

“But this same Jesus whom you killed was raised from the dead,” said John, who began speaking to the council. “He brings forgiveness of sins to our nation. And we are all witnesses to this!”

Peter and the others agreed with John with one voice.

“More blasphemy!” came a shout.

Kara looked at Servius and gave the order for his angels to move in. Instantly hundreds of religious and angry spirits, led by Rugio, began filling the room, spewing forth angry invocations at the Lord and speaking into the minds of the men gathered. As a result, the tension in the room rose dramatically, so that the Sanhedrin began to seethe.

The fallen angels moved through the room like hundreds of dots of light, howling and profaning the name of the Lord. Some actually sat next to the more influential members of the Sanhedrin, reasoning with them as they poured their hatred into their hearts. Rugio moved next to Kara as he watched the angels under his command give life to their plan.

“These are particularly vindictive types,” said Kara, observing the raucous behavior of the angels. “So much anger.”

“They are fresh from other campaigns,” said Rugio proudly. “They enjoy manipulating human minds with religious nonsense—particularly Hebrew minds!”

Darlon and Merlos readied themselves in case they should be physically assaulted, keeping an eye on Kara and Rugio in particular. Rugio looked down at the holy angels, who were now being joined by others. He scowled at them and cursed them. Soon 40 or 50 angels stood ready to protect Peter and the others should the order be given.