Astonishing Powers of Heaven Revealed

CHAPTER 71

Yeshua is confronted and challenged by the Sanhedrin at the baths of Tiberius. Between Yeshua and Miriam, eight amazing powers of Heaven are righteously exercised.

 1 And it came to pass that Yeshua and the Apostles returned to the Communities of Light and spent the remaining days of the week with their families.

 2 Following the Sabbath, many of the Children of Light of all four communities, including children, made their monthly visit to the hot springs at Tiberias. Yeshua had encouraged them to frequently soak in the natural hot waters and vapors that issued from the depths of the ground as a way to aid their health and longevity, energize their auric centers, and to be in greater harmony with the living aeon of Earth.

 3 When they arrived, there was a greater commotion about the town than was customary. Salome was somewhat worried, for there were many soldiers of Herod Antipas present and she feared being recognized.

 4 It was only in recent years that Herod had taken what had been the village of Chamath and renamed it Tiberias after the emperor, and since that time, he had declared it to be his new co-capital. Since that declaration, his court and soldiers had been ever more present.

 5 Also since the creation of Tiberias as the co-capital of Herod, the court of the Lesser Sanhedrin in Tiberias, with its beautiful lake and comforting hot springs, was considered by the judges of the Sanhedrin to be the choicest of locations and received frequent visits from members of the Greater Sanhedrin in Jerusalem.

 6 Thus it was on this day that while over sixty of the Children of Light came to the springs to soak and meditate, six soldiers of Herod barred their way and ordered them to depart immediately as judges of the Greater Sanhedrin of Jerusalem had just arrived in Tiberias and were coming to the springs within the hour to bathe in privacy.

 7 Without thought of protest or complaint, almost everyone nodded their heads and made to comply, as no one desired unwanted attention from either Herod’s soldiers or the Sanhedrin.

 8 But Miriam, who was standing with Yeshua, Salome, Martha, Miryam, and their children, was incensed, for they had barely arrived after a long walk on a hot day. Turning to Yeshua, she asked, “Must we always be meek as sheep, beloved?”

 9 He answered her, saying, “Today is as good a day as any to begin our inevitable confrontations with the Sanhedrin. If it is in your power to make it so without harm to any of the Children of Light, let it be so Miriam.”

 10 With Yeshua’s approval, Miriam looked steadfastly upon the soldiers of Herod and pulled from beneath her garment the rainbow crystal that hung from a chain on her neck.

 11 She removed the chain from her neck, and holding the crystal and chain in her right hand, she stepped in front of the soldiers, and pointing the point of the crystal at them, she moved it in three circuits in a wide figure-eight motion, while quietly speaking words that none could hear.

 12 “What is that you are doing, witch?” shouted one of the soldiers. “Stop this instant if you value your life.”

 13 But she did not stop, and the man who spoke and another made to take a step toward her but stopped in mid-stride as she transferred the crystal to her left hand in a very fluid movement, and held up her right hand as she had on the river Qishon, with the palm upward and her fingers splayed, and said, “Ollinaris,” in a firm but quiet voice.

 14 Suddenly, all of the soldiers seemed to fall into a stupor. They gazed ahead but did not see. That lasted but a few seconds, and then the soldier that had confronted Miriam looked at her and said amiably, “You may pass, and we shall protect your privacy.”

 15 Thus did all of the Children of Light who were present pass by the soldiers of Herod and into the baths of Tiberius. Many looked at the soldiers with incredulity as they passed, wondering what had occurred, for few had seen what Miriam had done. But the soldiers regarded them not at all and stared straight ahead as they passed by.

 16 As they were assured of privacy, something they had never been assured of on any of their previous visits, most removed their clothes, both men and women as well as children, and enjoyed the hot waters of Earth in nakedness to better commune with Earth. And there was no lust among them.

 17 After they had been in the hot waters for a little over an hour, they heard a commotion beyond the wall and discerned that the Sanhedrin judges had arrived and were angrily demanding entrance while Herod’s soldiers steadfastly denied them.

 18 Hearing this, Yeshua spoke to Miriam, saying, “Let us go, along with the Apostles, and speak with the Sanhedrin. I am sure we can engage them for quite some time, while our families and the rest of the Children of Light continue to enjoy themselves in the hot waters until they are content.

 19 Gather the Apostles and follow me out to confront the Sanhedrin. Tell Salome and Martha to instruct the Children of Light to quietly depart the baths through the lake gate once they have finished their soaking, meditations, prayers, and contemplations.”

 20 “So shall it be, beloved,” she affirmed.

 21 Then Yeshua came up out of the waters, dressed himself, and went through the gate onto the street where over thirty Sanhedrin were seeking entrance into the baths through the gate guarded by Herod’s soldiers.

 22 At once, seeing Yeshua emerge from the baths, one of the Sanhedrin in the forefront of the crowd yelled at the soldiers, “Who is this riffraff that comes from the baths, while you keep the judges of Israel waiting like beggars on the street?”

 23 The soldiers looked to one another in confusion, seemingly unsure how to answer. But before they could speak, Yeshua stepped before the Sanhedrin and said unto them, “I am Yeshua of Nazareth.”

 24 Upon hearing his name, the judges suddenly looked up at him with alertness, and another stepped forward from behind the fore and asked, “The Galilean prophet?”

 25 Yeshua looked at him and nodded, saying, “I have been called that by some.”

 26 “The very same man who has said he has come to destroy the law?” shouted another Sanhedrin from the crowd.

 27 “I have come to destroy the laws of men that pervert the light of Elohim, and by this, I uphold the true laws of God. It is only foolish men, full of their pride and awash in their ignorance, who try to destroy the laws of God, for that which had no creation can have no destruction. And that which is immutable is immovable and unchanging.” As he spoke, Miriam came through the door and stood beside him, and she was soon followed by the other eleven Apostles.

 28 Seeing a large crowd gathering, a contingent of twelve Roman soldiers moved closer to observe from a street corner, as did many people from the town.

 29 “Nonsense!” shouted another of the Sanhedrin, “You are no prophet!” “What scriptures foretell your coming?” yelled another. “We already have all the law, so why then do we need a new prophet?” added a third. “What schools did you study at? What great teacher gave you knowledge of the law?” demanded a fourth. “I have heard he is nothing but a cheap magician,” added a fifth.

 30 Yeshua raised his hand and they became silent waiting for him to speak, and he said unto them, “I am, who I am, and those who know the Celestine Light of Elohim know me, even as those who wander in darkness cannot see me, and someday shall fall off a cliff into an eternal abyss unless they find the torch of Elohim to light their path.”

 31 Yeshua looked at one of the Sanhedrin standing in the center of the group. His dress was embroidered with gold, and the others deferred to him in their looks and words. “I have told you who I am. Return the courtesy if you will.”

 32 “Ha!” exclaimed the man. “If you were a prophet, you would not need to ask, for Elohim would tell you who I am. By your very question, you expose yourself as a fraud.”

 33 Yeshua smiled in tolerance and said unto him, “Being in purest harmony with Elohim, who you are is not a mystery to me, Abraham ben Obias, vice-chief justice of the Greater Sanhedrin. I was merely giving you the courtesy of introducing yourself in a manner of your pleasure, and if this is it, then I must thank you for doing so in a way that verified my oneness with Elohim.”

 34 The eyes of the vice-chief justice momentarily flared up in anger, but he quickly regained his composure and politely spoke to Yeshua, saying, “Deluded man, while not knowing who I am would be a sure sign that you are not a prophet of Elohim, knowing who I am is not an indication that you are, as I have some notoriety and am well known among many of the Children of Israel.

 35 In truth, I do not have time to quibble with a destitute man from Nazareth. Move aside now and let us pass and no harm shall come to you for your insolence.”

 36 Yeshua merely crossed his arms and smiled mischievously.

 37 Abraham ben Obias looked at him in his disobedience with incredulity, saying, “Are you lacking in wits? I gave you a chance to go about your way in peace, but now you draw my wrath, which is as the wrath of God, for we are his judges.”

 38 Ignoring Herod’s soldiers and pointing to two of the Sanhedrin guards that had accompanied them on their trip from Jerusalem, he ordered, “Remove that man and clear a path for us to enter.”

 39 The two guards immediately moved to comply with his command. Each came up on one side of Yeshua, and grabbing him on his forearms and under his arm pits, they attempted to lift him and carry him bodily away. But try as they might, they could not move him from the spot upon which he stood.

 40 “Oh, this is ridiculous,” exclaimed the vice-chief justice. He called forth two more guards and ordered, “Assist them.”

 41 The two new guards each went on one knee and, reaching down and holding onto Yeshua’s legs, attempted to lift his feet off the ground, while the earlier two guards continued to struggle to lift him by his arms; but still, they could move Yeshua, not at all.

 42 Yeshua looked again at Abraham ben Obias and, smiling, said unto him, “Four or forty or four hundred, I shall not move until I decide to move, for I am one with the Earth, even as I am one with Elohim, and the Earth shall not move for you, Abraham ben Obias.”

 43 Suddenly, though Yeshua still did not move or utter a word, all four guards yelled in pain and let go of him as they fell back onto the ground.

 44 The vice-chief justice moved to the front of the Sanhedrin, and looking down at the guards upon the ground, he asked, “What is wrong with you? Why are you moaning upon the ground as if you have just been wounded? This man has not even moved a finger, so why are you acting as if you have just been bested in battle?”

 45 All four of the guards began to answer in the same manner saying, “We have been burned by a fire with great pain. Suddenly, to have our hands upon him was the same as grabbing a red hot iron out of the forge fire.”

 46 “Let me see your hands,” demanded Abraham, and the guards turned up their palms to show him.

 47 The vice-chief justice reached out and took hold of one of the guard’s hands, saying, “There are no burns on your hands. This is all just a trick. Was it not said that this man is a magician?”

 48 Yeshua shook his head as he looked at Abraham and, pointing to a large flat rock beside the road, said unto him, “Truly, the proud will never find the path to Heaven, for only the humble can see it. But the high and mighty shall be given in justice even as they have dealt. If you would see what awaits such as those, turn over that rock and behold that which can be no trick, even the end that awaits those who see but are blind and hear but are deaf.”

 49 “I will not obey your commands, false prophet of Galilee,” attested Abraham. “And I am sure I shall see you next at the court of the Sanhedrin, for if ever there was a blasphemer, it is you.”

 50 Despite his refusal to do as Yeshua bid, others of the Sanhedrin began to murmur among themselves and beseeched the vice-chief justice to look beneath the rock, for what could there be beneath it but dirt and proof therein that this was a false prophet.

 51 Their words made sense to the vice-chief justice, and he caught the eye of three of the bigger guards and nodded his head toward the rock. They went over to it and struggled together to turn it over, for it was a large rock used to mark a corner of the road.

 52 No sooner had they rolled it over than they stepped back in horror, for a gaping black hole of the diameter of a small well was revealed in the ground, and a frightening howl of wind was issuing from the hole, sounding like the mournful wails of a many men in agony.

 53 A mighty suction of air began to build coming from the shrieking hole, and a whirlwind of dust quickly formed above it. The robes of everyone nearby began to flutter and then stand on end as they were sucked toward the abyss.

 54 Smaller rocks upon the ground, the size of fruits large and small, began to slide and roll toward the hole, moving faster the closer they were to the blackness until they were sucked over the edge and down into the depths. And never was there heard the sound of splashing water or impact upon ground, and fear came upon those present as they perceived this was a bottomless pit.

 55 The Sanhedrin and all other onlookers except Yeshua and the Apostles backed rapidly away from the hole and away from its sucking grasp. But many were the loose items of man and nature that were sucked into the hole never to be seen again.

 56 Yeshua and the Apostles remained where they were near the gate to the baths. They stood serenely, in an invisible bubble of protection, and their robes fluttered not at all, nor their hair, for in that spot alone, there was no wind or suction.

 57 Then Yeshua looked to Philip, the slightest physically of all the Apostles, save Miriam, and directed him, “Return the rock to the hole. Let the disbelievers see the power of the Celestine Light of Elohim that flows through the Children of Light.”

 58 Philip did as Yeshua bade, walking several steps over to where the rock lay next to the howling hole. And it had no power over him. Nor did his hair or clothes even flutter from the wind. Reaching down, he squatted and grasped the rock with two hands and then stood up and easily flipped it back to cover the screeching hole, silencing the sucking wind. And the utter quiet of the awestruck crowd was palatable.

 59 The vice-chief justice took a moment to compose himself and then approached Yeshua closely and said, “I might have judged you prematurely. You are either a prophet of God or one of the greatest magicians that has ever been upon the land. If you are a magician, that is likely all that you know, but if you are a prophet, you will know all that we know of the law and be able to teach us things we know not.

 60 I still want my bath, but in the interest of fairness, I will hear your teachings for a few minutes and determine which you are. Therefore, teach us, if you can, that which makes us better understand the law.”

 61 Yeshua nodded silently, and then answered, saying, “There are laws of men and laws of God. The difference is, the laws of Elohim are few and simple, given to inspire, uplift, and guide all people on paths leading to greatness and glory. But the laws of men are numerous, complex and onerous, most often given to subdue the spirit of man and cause him to conform to the will of the lawmakers.

 62 All of the laws of men are not evil; some are beneficial to both the individual and to the community.

 63 But you cannot judge obedience to the laws of God justly because you are also the arbiters of the laws created by men, and the two often seek different ends though both are found in the Torah and proclaimed as the will of Elohim.

 64 Think not that Elohim has anointed you or any men to create laws in the name of Elohim, saying that men must do this or do that because doing so is obeying the will of God.

 65 The will of Elohim is that men and women would know with an unquenchable fire in their hearts that they are children of God and that they would prosper upon the Earth and return to Heaven as greater Children of Light than they departed.

 66 For this cause only, that the eternal exaltation of the Children of Light might come to pass, Elohim gave the Great Commandment and the Twelve Commandments of Sinai. What more is necessary to have harmony in the relationship of man and Elohim? Live these simple laws and you will grow in spirit, closer to God and more beloved by your fellow sojourners in mortality.”

 67 The vice-chief justice of the Sanhedrin stood looking at Yeshua. He cocked his head as if waiting to hear more, but Yeshua just looked at him.

 68 “That is all?” Abraham ben Obias stammered incredulously. “That is your all-knowing answer to my question? Surely you have more to say. This is a rare opportunity for a common man to be able to speak directly to me and my brethren. Are you going to squander it?

 69 You have not spoken to us of a single law other than the most basic and do not even seem to know that there are Ten Commandments of Sinai, not twelve. We consider six hundred twenty four major laws contained in the scriptures upon which all edicts are based. These are the commandments of God through his prophet.

 70 Nor is there or can there be distinction between a religious law and a civil law, for all laws governing both life and religion are from God. Nor do we make laws; we merely interpret those given by God through the prophet to guide our lives.

 71 It sounds as if you are proclaiming all of the Torah invalid except for the commandments of Sinai, which you cannot even count, so you must not actually know. Surely, you cannot have grown up in this country and be so simple of mind.

 72 You have certainly shown yourself to be a great magician and worthy to be tried for sorcery and blasphemy. But your knowledge of the laws of Elohim is embarrassingly lacking. Young boys know more than you. Now step aside before I have you arrested.”

 73 “I have answered you fully,” Yeshua replied. “But only the humble hear and understand my words.” Without another word, Yeshua turned and walked away from the vice-chief justice and toward the wooden gate that was the entrance to the baths. Seeing him approach, the guards of Herod stepped aside.

 74 As Yeshua departed in silence, Abraham ben Obias turned to his fellow Sanhedrin and gloated, “Certainly, put that simpleton in his place.” A hearty round of laughter came from the Sanhedrin in agreement.

 75 As Yeshua turned toward the door, he called out to Miriam in his mind, beckoning her to come with him to the entry gate and explained to her his intention as they took the few steps.

 76 Without drawing notice, the milling Apostles blocked the view of Yeshua and Miriam, who had disappeared behind them, from everyone on the street.

 77 Coming to the gate, Yeshua put his right hand upon it and Miriam her left, and they looked at each other with subtle, knowing smiles and together said in quiet voices, “Elxpedia.” After only a few seconds, they removed their hands and walked away with the Apostles, accompanied by taunts from some in the crowd.

 78 As they were still laughing and commenting about the encounter with Yeshua, it was a few minutes before the Sanhedrin approached the gate to enter the baths. When they did, they discovered it would not open.

 79 The vice-chief justice looked at the guards of Herod and commanded them to open the gate, but even with the two pounding against it with their shoulders and all their weight, it would not budge.

 80 “What can possibly be the problem with a simple gate?” demanded Abraham ben Obias.

 81 The guards could not answer, for the gate had no locking mechanism and only hung loosely in the portal, although it seemed to have swollen until it occupied all of the space with no light escaping around the edges from the side beyond.

 82 Seeing the continued commotion, the Roman soldiers, who had been observing the events from the far street corner, came up to the gate to discover what was causing the continuing disturbance. But they too could not open the gate.

 83 The commander gave an order to one of the soldiers, and he departed, but soon returned with an axe and commenced to take mighty swings into the wooden door.

 84 Meanwhile, Yeshua and the Apostles had met up with the last of the Children of Light who had departed from the baths, and Salome was among them.

 85 She came up and embraced Miriam and said unto her, “We stayed longer than most of the others, for when you did not return, they began to worry and departed with all the children by the lake gate. I was worried for you also, as we could hear the voices of angry men, and we saw the funnel cloud of dust and heard the dreadful screaming of we know not what.”

 86 Miriam walked with her, holding her hand, and told her all that had transpired with Yeshua, and the Sanhedrin and Salome was astounded. “And what of the gate?” she asked. “How did you stop it from opening? And why did Yeshua ask you to come with him?”

 87 Miriam answered her with a wry smile, saying, “We merely rejoined in life that which Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother had created, but man had torn asunder. Where boards had been, a tree became.

 88 Yeshua could have accomplished it alone, but in his love asked me to help; and in truth, the spark of life most easily comes with the union of male and female.”

 89 Back at the gate, the Roman soldiers had taken huge chunks out of the wood with the axe so much so that the head of the axe now disappeared beneath the wood with every chop. Yet still the gate did not open, and the commander looked to Herod’s soldiers and demanded, “How thick is this infernal gate? I passed through it just yesterday and remember it as nothing more than rough hewn boards.”

 90 “And so it was,” answered one of Herod’s guards. “I know not what has become of it, save the Galilean prophet touched it just before he departed, along with a woman.”

 91 “Look!” exclaimed one of the Sanhedrin, pointing to the door. “It lives!”

 92 Everyone looked to where he was pointing, and there was a sprout of green leaves coming out of the wooden gate. More were quickly noticed shooting out of the wood in several places.

 93 “This is impossible!” exclaimed the commander of the Romans, and he ordered his men to dig down into the ground beneath the gate.

 94 “The gate continues beneath the ground!” shouted one of the digging soldiers. “By Jupiter! This is a tree, and these are its roots!”

 95 Seeing what his eyes could scarcely believe, Abraham ben Obias looked with some apprehension in the direction Yeshua had departed, and one of his fellow judges standing beside him asked, “What manner of man can turn a gate of boards into a living tree? Is not life the domain of God? Surely, magic like this has never been seen in Israel.”

 96 Abraham continued to look with vacant puzzlement out into the distance and answered almost in a whisper, “Surely not.”