The Solomon Key (24 page)

He laughed. “And yet you are here to
warn
me?”

“Only because it is in my own best interest that you survive.”

He stopped laughing, that unsettling feeling creeping back up his spine. “What are you talking about?”

“Do you think they would hesitate to kill you if it served their purpose, if it molded public opinion in their favor?”

The President leaned forward. “You are the one who had better watch his back.”

But there was no response from the Prime Minister. Instead, there was a loud explosion that engulfed the whole limousine — disintegrating it, pieces of metal, glass, and flesh falling like rain all over the street.

26

M
r. Smith looked up from his watch. “You said that you read the
Testament of Solomon
?”

Scott nodded.

“And according to that work, what was the use of Solomon’s ring?”

“To control demons.”

“Control them to do what?”

Scott tried to remember.
Oh
yeah
… “To build the Temple.”

Mr. Smith laughed, amused by the facial expression that had accompanied the answer. “You are very warm, Mr. Scott.” He chuckled some more. “I will tell you a secret though. Demons did not build the Temple.” He held up a finger. “However, that does not mean that there isn’t a truth hidden somewhere beneath the fable.”

“So the ring has something to do with the Temple then.”

“What is it that you know of the Jewish Temple?” he asked, as he walked back around the desk and sat.

Scott was growing tired of his questions being answered with more questions. “It was built by King Solomon.”

Mr. Smith nodded. “And then destroyed by the Babylonians. Built again by Zerubbabel, embellished by Herod, and then Titus destroyed it again in AD 70. Do you know what the Temple means to the Jewish people?”

Scott shrugged. He didn’t really care.

Reading his mind, Smith said, “You should care. It is why they want it.”

“Who?”

“Everyone.”

“I don’t understand,” he answered wearily.

“We believe that the Temple Mount is the physical locus of God’s manifestation on this planet, what we call ‘the camp of the
shekinah
.’ It was once the sight of the Temple, of the Holy of Holies, and is believed to be the very center of creation.” He blinked. “For more than one thousand years, the Jewish sanctuary occupied this specific spot. Until, as I said, it was destroyed by Titus on the 9th of Av, AD 70. But ever since, the hope of rebuilding the Temple has remained at the very center of Israel’s religious consciousness. That is because, in the Jewish tradition, the Temple represents the heart of God, of Israel, and the heart in each one of us. So, with this heart lying desecrated and desolate, the Land itself and all her people are also broken along with it. The Jerusalem Talmud states that for each generation in which the
Beit HaMikdash
is not rebuilt, it is as if that very generation is responsible for its destruction. And since one of the greatest sins is to destroy the Temple, my Orthodox brothers believe that atonement can only come from fulfilling the divine commandment to rebuild, triggering a process of national and universal redemption. They see God’s instruction through Haggai, encouraging the Jews back from Babylon to rebuild the Temple, as the living standard.”

So far none of this meant anything to Scott. “But you don’t agree?”

“Many Orthodox see the building of the Temple as a prerequisite to the Messiah’s coming. That is why they recite three times a day, ‘May it be Thy will that the Temple be speedily rebuilt in our time.’ Personally, I don’t think it wise to say, ‘May it be Thy will’ about anything. It is only more of the same, trying to manipulate His will to meet
our
timetable through our own selfish means of fulfillment.”

Scott shrugged. “Some might argue that it’s God’s will for things to come about this way,
through
human means.”

A patient smile crossed Smith’s lips as he gently deflected the idea. “Ultimately, we all know that the Temple must be restored to fulfill the prophecies. But any temple constructed that is less than what is prophesied is not what we religious Jews are waiting and hoping for. The Second Temple was inferior to the First because it was missing a few key elements that made the first glorious. Among them was the
shekinah
itself, according to the sages. It is for this reason that some Jewish sects, like the Dead Sea sect, separated themselves from the Second Temple and establishment Judaism in Jerusalem. They believed that the Second Temple failed to meet the prophetic requirements necessary to be considered the Day of Restoration’s Temple. Therefore, they believed that its priesthood and the sacrifices being offered were ritually defiled. Because the First Temple was destroyed due to defilement, they believed the second was doomed from the start. They considered themselves a continuation of the purer Jews of the First Temple, or First Temple Judaism.”

“And this is your view?”

Mr. Smith leaned back in his chair, taking a moment to contemplate. His brown eyes went up to the ceiling as if it were an open window into history. “When Herod built his Temple, he tried to prove his loyalty to both the Jews and to the Romans. He put a Roman eagle above the doorway to the Temple, corrupting the character of the Temple as a place of peace. This was not the Temple promised to us in our Time of Restoration, built by the permission of Gentiles… by our enemies. God’s glory was not in it.” He folded his arms. “History has seen other efforts at erecting a temple, ones the people hoped would be responsible for ushering in the King. One such time was under Shimon ben Kosiba. He led the second Jewish revolt against the Romans in AD 132, probably because Emperor Hadrian had not kept his promise to rebuild the Temple.

“After liberating Jerusalem, the leading sage of the time, Rabbi Akiva, proclaimed Shimon as the Messiah and changed his name to Bar Kokhba — Son of the Star. Jewish reasoning agreed with this claim because they saw him kicking out the Romans and an independent Jerusalem as evidence of such. Akiva also believed the sage’s claim and went so far as to declare his conquest of Jerusalem the start of the Messianic era. He even started a new calendar system based on the delusion. And even though most of history seems to have forgotten it, he even built a third Temple.”

“I never heard of that.”

“Most have not. But what do you suppose happened to his Temple? Was it the beginning of the Messianic era as he declared? No. It was not. Instead, Hadrian recaptured Jerusalem and, according to the Midrash, dashed the temple stones. In its place he put up a temple to Juno, Jupiter, and Minerva. A statue of himself erected on top of the Mount also went a long way in making clear to the Jewish people that the Messianic era was still afar off.” His eyes fell from the ceiling and landed on his blue tie.

“And then there was Julian, the ruler of the Roman Empire after Constantine. A hater of Christian exclusivity, and himself a pagan, he favored the sacrificial system within Judaism because it seemed to him more pluralistic. He promised the Jews that he would not only build them their Temple, but that he would even worship with them there. The Jewish people were ecstatic as he began gathering the materials for the new Temple. But again, Mr. Scott, what do you suppose happened?”

He shrugged, becoming less and less interested.

“An earthquake destroyed all the site materials the day before building was to begin. May 19th, 363AD. And then Julian died the next month.” He looked up into Scott’s eyes. “Do you understand what I am telling you?”

He didn’t respond.

“Through many annual events that occurred on one very specific day of the year, the 9th of Av, God confirmed something to His people. On that one day, the Jewish people were sentenced not to enter Eretz-Yisrael, the First Temple was destroyed, the Second Temple was destroyed, the city of Bethar — where Bar Kokhba made his final stand against the Romans — was taken, and the Temple Mount was plowed over by the Romans. All on the same day in different years. Coincidence? I do not think so. It means that God is in control. It means we ought to
let
Him be in control.”

Scott leaned forward, stretching subtly. “So you’re saying that your brand of Orthodoxy condemns trying to bring about this Messianic era through human efforts, that it’s prophesied Messiah will come and build the final Temple Himself in the Day of Restoration?”

He nodded. “Correct. Zionism wishes to take by conquest something that can only be given. All of the holy writings point to a future Temple that will be the center of the world. The Messiah will reign from this Temple, the
shekinah
will fill it, and both Jew and Gentile will be welcome there.
This
is the day that Israel will be restored, and not a second sooner. If we take this on ourselves to fulfill by going to war with the Muslims, history will only keep repeating itself.”

Trying to get all this straight in his head, Scott attempted to offer a summarization of all Mr. Smith had said. “So secular Israel doesn’t want anything to do with a Temple, with Judaism at all. But the religious sects are divided, some thinking it’s their responsibility to build the Temple whenever possible through whatever means necessary, that it might even provoke the Messiah’s coming. But others, like yourself, think that any effort to establish Israel as she is prophesied to one day be, is a sin.”

Mr. Smith let out a small smile that seemed to say,
good try but not quite so simple
. “My brothers want to rebuild the Temple, and in so trying, more suffering will come to our Land… to the whole
world
. They will indeed go to war with the Muslims just as the demons of this world want. And they need only a spark to set it all off.”

“The ring.”

“Yes, the ring. If they get it, they will find all the justification they need to go to war, to usher in another false Messiah like Bar Kokhba. To push the nation further from God’s good graces.”

“And why does the CIA want the ring?”

Smith unfolded his arms and leaned forward. “Because the Elite needs the Middle East. It is the centerpiece of the puzzle. The edges are constructed, and everything else is in place. The Middle East is their last hurdle. They want to be in control of everything that happens there. That means they have to introduce the ring on their own terms, in their own timing. If the Temple Movement or the religious Zionists get their hands on the ring, they may try and take matters into their own hands. The globalists cannot afford that spot of the globe to spiral out of their control.”

Scott asked plainly, “What is it?”

“Part of a formula, and whoever gets their hands on it will be able to figure out the equation. Or to keep anyone else from solving it.”

Realization flashed on Scott’s mind. “You want to hide it in order to take the whole situation out of human hands?”

Smith nodded. “I cannot let my people make another disastrous error by further defiling the Holy Land, by getting into a religious war. I love it too much. And allowing the globalists to attain it for whatever deception they have planned is equally out of the question.”

“But if the ring justifies taking the Temple Mount by force, why wouldn’t they just give the ring to your people?”

“As I said, they want to control and monitor everything that happens. Zionism is working for them at the moment because they have the reigns. But if Jews were to get their hands on what this ring unlocks, they will not only go to war with the Muslims, but with anyone who stands in their way. Including the New World Order. They will try to force the Messianic era into existence, while the Elite only wants to give them the
illusion
of the Messianic era. An era
they
will control.”

Scott shook his head. “I’m confused.”

Mr. Smith stood. “It is very complicated. The inner circle where Lucifer resides may be the only place on earth where there hangs a picture of the completed puzzle. Even the outer rings of the conspiracy know little or even nothing about what role they play in the whole thing.” He shrugged. “The conspiracy is as old as the fall of Lucifer from heaven. For thousands of years it has been expressed through humanistic philosophies hiding behind veils of democracy, freedom, and human progress. Volumes could be written on just one chapter of its existence, and there are thousands of chapters. You could spend your whole life researching the Occult, following it through the centuries and into the ancient mystery religions, the secret societies, the political and religious systems of our world. Hundreds of years of political planning.” He took a breath. “How could one know all that the Devil has been up to for the last six thousand years, and that within every society of which he has been working to prepare the way?” He waved his hand over the surface of the desk, bringing the touchpad to view. “Here, and I have hundreds of quotes like these.” His fingers danced on the projected keys, and a block of text suddenly appeared staring up at him from beneath the glass surface. Leaning forward, he spread his fingers out over the quote, grabbing it. Then he flicked his wrist, spinning the words around so that they were facing the other side of the touchtable. He pushed the words away from him, and they slid across the desk toward Scott.

Scott stood, stepped closer.

“We shall unleash the nihilists and the atheists and we shall provoke a great social cataclysm which, in all its horror, will show clearly to all nations the effect of absolute atheism, the origin of savagery and of most bloody turmoil. Then, everywhere, the people, forced to defend themselves against the world minority of revolutionaries, will exterminate those destroyers of civilization; and the multitudes, disillusioned with Christianity whose deistic spirits will be from that moment on without direction and leadership, anxious for an ideal but without knowledge where to send its adoration, will receive the true light through the universal manifestation of the pure doctrine of Lucifer, brought finally out into public view; a manifestation which will result from a general reactionary movement which will follow the destruction of Christianity and atheism, both conquered and exterminated at the same time.”