God give to man a new law. A separate, new Commandment by which all men shall live.
“I say unto you, sons of Adam, hear and obey the Will of God:
“Thus be the new Law of God to man in keeping with the others by which you are already bound.
“Therefore shall you return to the scriptures to right the inequities. Wherein you discover passages of abasement, do as I direct you: where you find male, write female; and where you find female, write male. And read again the Word in this New Way, woman learning confidence and man selflessness, in even measure.
“I command you, woman, throw off the spiritual shackles that encumber you. Put aside your veils and your false shame and rise up-not against man, but next to man, in balance.
“Yet I admonish you, woman, do not harbor in your heart bitterness nor resentment toward your counterpart. For these are empty passions that will divide you further. But rather, accept your partner and understand the forces of the ages within him, as he must strive to understand you. Together, work toward resolution and harmony whereby you and all your children may ascend toward godliness and the exaltation.”
As if exhaustion had overcome her, the Messiah seemed to wilt slightly, dropping her chin to her chest, placing her right fist against her heart, and lapsing into silence.
The masses took this opportunity to wonder and conjecture among themselves. Noting the absence of any referrals to an imminent call to Judgment, many of the faithful began to take heart in what they had just heard, hoping Jeza's message might conclude without incident.
But the prophetess was not quite through. Gathering her resolve once more, Jeza squared her shoulders, lifted her face, which appeared even paler than before, inhaled and began anew.
“Now I speak to you of the larger separation of God and man,” she cried out, jolting everyone to rapt attention once more. “I speak to you of the last and greatest separation which distances man from himself.”
Her small hands gripped the edge of the lectern and her brow knitted with the effort of her convictions. “In the Book of Genesis, chapter four,” she continued, “is this separation revealed. Yet again has the figurative been corrupted to the particular, and the rightful meaning lost.
“This passage of scripture is the telling of Cain and Abel, an allegory in which is hidden the larger meaning of man's most damning secession. It is the story of the self-betrayal. Of man turning against his fellow man; violating his own humanity; denying his brother sanctity and life in an act of ultimate disloyalty.
“So abhorrent is this sin that God marked Cain and his kind with a sign so that all might know and reject them. Yet have you also corrupted this meaning. You look to find the mark of Cain in the physical dissimilarities of those who differ from you.
“But you are mistaken. The mark by which you shall know Cain is not a physical sign. It is not in the color of his skin, nor in the features of his face, nor in a brand upon his body. The mark is in his actions. By his words and deeds shall you know him.
“For two millennia, have you had this clear and certain message from the prophets who preceded me. Yet still you continue to use your differences as justification for inflicting sorrow, suffering and death upon your brother. Still you divide yourselves by race, by creed, by color, by age, by station, by wealth, by possessions, by every and all differences you can distinguish among one another.”
Jeza pulled back and angled her head away slightly, biting her lower lip and glowering off to her side in building rage. Then she turned once more to her audience, unleashing her pent-up fury. “And now do you dare mock God's Word and debase His messenger by abusing and destroying each other
Through his binoculars, Feldman could readily perceive tears filling her eyes. This was the same tortured face, the same unbridled passion Feldman recalled so indelibly from the Millennium Eve video of Jeza atop the ancient temple steps.
“Why do you not listen?” she cried, looked down, shook her head in dejection. “In this I give you no new Commandment. For one who came before me has already given it to you. It is the Perfect Law: I say unto you, ‘Love your neighbor as you do yourself; and unto others do as you would have them do unto you.’ In this law, therefore, are contained all the other Commandments governing man's conduct toward man. In this law is the Word to guide you back to the unity you have lost.”
She paused again to stare deeply, intently into the crowd. And even at this distance, Feldman thought he could detect a glimmer of hope restoring some of the resplendency to her anguished face.
“I look into your individual souls,” she spoke in a virtual whisper, “and I see the remnants of the sweet innocence bequeathed each of you by God at your birth; a most perfect and precious treasure that now lies lost and forgotten, concealed beneath the sediments of injury and suspicion. Where once you looked with wonder and excitement upon the world about you and filled your hearts with hopefulness and elation, now you withdraw to build walls about you and gird your defenses, distancing yourselves from your neighbors, removing yourselves from contact and understanding and commitment.
“But I say to you, you must reclaim the vision of your youth. You must each see again through the eyes of a child so that you may recognize in the face of your enemy the child that also lies beneath. You must learn again to see all men as God sees them. Even your enemy must you love and safeguard as if he were your cherished flesh and blood, for surely he is that to the Father.
“Do this in your own way, of your own free will. Do this with utter faith and trust, and with absolute love. Do this without resentment or regard for sacrifice or cost. Abandon your concerns to the Father and know that the Father, in turn, will nurture your souls and release unto you the bounties of heaven that He has long promised to bestow. This you can and must do, for even as you evolve in body, so also must you evolve in mind and soul to attain the balance that is unity.
“I say again, the great separation of man from God is the greater separation of man from himself. Therefore, you shall not be worthy of unity with God until you achieve the unity of your own spirit. Thus is the way by which you may lift yourselves up. Through God, you can yourselves become as God-the ultimate expression of your evolution. And only in this way shall you come to know God and achieve His final perfection:
She paused again and the raging, roiling sky hesitated with her, holding its gusty winds in abeyance momentarily as she raised a warning finger.
“Heed my words, O Children of Israel!” she cried, her face assuming a more solemn countenance. “For God's displeasure with you is great and His anger just. Even now the Great Trial is upon you, and none can halt what is to be:
“Dammit!” Feldman heard Hunter curse through his headset.
Feldman, who'd taken a seat atop an air vent out of Hunter's camera range, lowered his field glasses and glanced back over his shoulder at his partner.
Hunter was pointing out in the direction of the stage, irate. “There's some late-arriving ass setting up his video equipment right in my line of sight! Look!”
Sure enough, about four buildings up, directly in their visual path, a cameraman was belatedly, hurriedly piecing together a tripod and video camera. Feldman trained his field glasses on him.
“Hell!” he called up to Hunter. “He's one of ours! Look at his jacket!”
On the back of the interloper's coat was a bold WNN emblem.
“Can't you shoot over him?” Feldman suggested, hopefully.
“Barely. I can get a shot, but he's definitely in the foreground. I'm calling Bollinger to see if they can shut him down. Sullivan must've gotten additional clearance, but a hell of a lot of good it does us now.”
While Hunter attempted unsuccessfully to reach the field crew, Feldman retrained his binoculars on the fiery orator. She looked as if she were drawing to a close now. And the audience was getting increasingly edgy and uncomfortable with this awareness.
The unrest was greatly exacerbated by a steady ingathering of low-hanging, green-black storm clouds undulating tempestuously overhead. Feldman was surprised there'd been only limited lightning so far, but an outburst would appear imminent. This ugly, celestial display was more than ample evidence to all gathered that the fulfillment of the Apocalypse was at hand.
