Destiny Fulfilled

CHAPTER 49

Yeshua goes alone into the hills to pray, and while he is away, Miriam and Martha speak to one another about Salome. After confirming what they feel in their hearts and what they know in their minds, they ask Salome to join them in marriage with Yeshua so they can all be married to one another, and she agrees. When he returns, they tell Yeshua, and he is happy for their happiness and abides by their choice.

 1 After Yeshua finished speaking, he and his family returned to their home. Most of the Apostles remained with the multitude by the lake and spoke with them further, with individuals and in small groups.

 2 After the midday meal, most of the people who were not from the communities around the north end of the lake departed for their home villages and towns in good spirits, uplifted by everything they had seen and heard.

 3 Yeshua and his family shared a midday meal, and then Yeshua told them he was going alone into the hills and would return the following morning. Miriam prepared to come with him, but he asked her to remain this once.

 4 Perplexed, she nevertheless did as he bade, and after embraces and kisses to his family, he set off.

 5 Rising into the mountains, he came eventually upon a glade and here knelt down and began to pray to his Father and Mother in Heaven. During all the remaining hours of light, he prayed, about every subject imaginable, the small and the great, the present and the future.

 6 As nightfall came upon him, he moved to sit in a crouch in a bent tree trunk, and leaning back against the trunk and looking up at the light of the Moon and the stars in the heavens, he resumed his prayers. And it wasn’t until well into the night that he ceased to pray and fell asleep.

 7 Now the manner of his prayer was most interesting, for he spoke as if in a conversation and obviously heard the answers to his questions spoken conversationally, for he would often ask a question, then after a silent pause, nod his head and say, “I understand” or “I agree” or “As you will, so it shall be.”

 8 While Yeshua was up upon the mountain, momentous events were beginning to unfold back at his home, as Miriam and Martha spoke with one another, while Salome played with the children.

 9 “How do you feel about Salome?” Miriam asked of Martha.

 10 “It is the very same thing I was about to ask you,” Martha answered. “In truth, I have pinched myself several times since she arrived, for it seems so unlikely that I can have such affection for her.

 11 It is as if she has always been one of our sisters, as if she grew up in our house and shared our parents. Yet the life she has lived is so different than the ones you and I have lived, it is difficult to understand how I can feel as close to her as I do.”

 12 Miriam nodded in agreement, saying, “Yeshua once told me that I would meet a woman whose heart would beat as one with mine.

 13 Though it would seem to others as if I have known Salome but a few days, in truth, I have known her beyond time, and she is the woman he spoke of.”

 14 “What does that mean, beyond time?” Martha wondered.

 15 Miriam reached out both of her hands and held her sister’s, saying, “Oh Martha, someday you will have the veil lifted from your eyes and memory, and you will see not only the heavens that await, but also the glory that you have lived before you ever set foot upon this Earth.”

 16 “You can see the heavens that await?” Martha whispered quietly. “And the life we lived before we lived? Show me how to do this wonder, Miriam.”

 17 Miriam shook her head and smiled a little smile, saying, “I remember all that has been before I came from the womb, and I see all that will be ere mortality is no more; but how I remember or how I see cannot be taught.

 18 It is not something that can be learned, but something that must be acquired, the greatest treasure of Heaven or Earth, and its name is faith.

 19 Until one’s faith is perfect, the veil cannot be lifted to the past or the future. The past forgotten and the future longed for are necessary to develop faith, and only once one’s faith is perfect can the veil be lifted.”

 20 “What is it to have perfect faith then?” Martha asked.

 21 Miriam answered her, saying, “Perfect faith is to know that any righteous, unselfish thing you ask of Elohim shall be done; that any command you give to men or demons or mountains in the name of Elohim, in virtue, shall be done as you have commanded; to know it with every fiber of your being; and to know it without doubt.

 22 Perfect faith is to know that the will of Elohim is your will, and this by your free choice and desire, not by fear or because of pleasant association with your friends or family, but because the Celestine Light burns bright in your heart and illuminates the path before you with a torch that cannot be dimmed.

 23 Perfect faith is to hear the voice of Elohim in the wind moving through the trees; in the songs of the birds and the music of the crickets; in the rush of the river or the tinkle of the creek.

 24 Perfect faith is to feel the embrace of Elohim in the arms of all whom you love in the deepest part of your heart. I feel the embrace of our Heavenly Father and Mother when I hold you or our children or Yeshua.

 25 And yes, I feel Elohim when I embrace Salome, and by this among all else, I know she is meant to be more than she is among us.”

 26 “What is there left for her to be, more than she is, dwelling under our roof and sharing our meals?” Martha wondered.

 27 Miriam looked at her sister with a great seriousness and said unto her, “She must become a wife to truly be one of us.”

 28 Martha’s eyebrows arched high, showing Miriam’s statement came as a surprise to her. She said, “On the one hand what you say seems preposterous, for we have just met her. On the other, it is as you have said, we have known her beyond time, and I too have felt a strength of love for her that is surprising. Have you spoken to Yeshua about this?”

 29 “Not a word,” Miriam answered. “But there are no secrets from Yeshua. He knows what has been upon my heart these last days. That is why he went up into the hills alone, I am sure, that we might have time to talk with one another about this.”

 30 “What will Yeshua say?” asked Martha.

 31 “Yeshua will abide by whatever we decide, for it can be no other way with the husband when there are wives more than one, even when the husband is Yeshua.

 32 Perhaps even more particularly, because the husband is Yeshua, the example must be set for all of the other Children of Light.

 33 You know my heart, Martha. I desire this to be so, but only if you also desire it, not because of me, but because of your own heart.”

 34 Martha gave a small laugh and said unto Miriam, “There will not be much difference than the way things already are. She will still sleep under our roof and eat our food, teach us the ways of the nobles, and play with the children.

 35 I would welcome her as a wife. I do not think I feel for her as you do, but as I said, it is as if she is a sister I have always known.”

 36 Looking at her with soft love, Miriam spoke lovingly to Martha, saying, “There would actually be many differences, dear sister. Foremost, her bond to us would be legally joined so that when Yeshua has left this world, the three of us would remain inseparable, along with our children.

 37 And among the Children of Light, the marriage of a man and women is not as the marriages of the Hebrews or the people of Palestine, where one man has many wives, living separately and distinctly.

 38 Among the Children of Light, those who are married in plurality are one family, married one to another.

 39 In your case, Yeshua is a brother, merely holding the title of husband, as the guardian of your eternal covenant to Yochanan, and I am your sister by birth.

 40 But in my case, we would be married one to another, Yeshua, Salome, and I, as would you, Salome, and I. If the world and the Sadducees did not already have enough cause to persecute Yeshua, this will give them more. Even among our own people, those who are new to our ways may not understand.”

 41 Martha laughed heartily at the last statement of Miriam, saying, “When have we ever made a decision based upon what the Sadducees or the world thought?

 42 As for the Children of Light, they love Yeshua and you with a pure love. When you explain what it is we do, I know all will stand with us with blessings.”

 43 Having come to common agreement, the sisters then approached Salome after the children had been sent to play on their own outside. The three women sat down upon the ground, facing one another, and Miriam and Martha each took a hand of Salome’s and rested it in theirs, and Miriam said unto her, “Salome, in just a few days, you have become like one of our family, and it seems to us as if you have always been with us. How do you feel?”

 44 Salome’s face lit up with joy, “I have never even imagined such happiness could be possible. In my life, I have never aspired to have what I now feel in my heart since I have been with you, in your home, because I never comprehended that such a feeling could exist.

 45 If I were to die today, I would die as the happiest woman on Earth, for I have tasted unconditional love and it has changed me.

 46 In the community, there is much talk about the Celestine Light. Until I feasted upon the love and acceptance I have been given in your home, I would not have been able to understand what was meant by the Celestine Light. But now that I know, now that you have shared, it is a part of me; it fills me and uplifts me and leaves no place for darkness in my life.”

 47 “How do you feel about Yeshua and who do you think he is?” Miriam asked.

 48 “I am not sure how I am allowed to feel about Yeshua,” Salome replied. “He is like no man I have ever known or seen before. I know he is a prophet of Elohim, but also far more than this, for no prophet has ever done the things that he can do.

 49 I feel a love for him that is similar to the love I feel for you, so I am somewhat confused by it, and I do not want to give you cause to worry, for my love is pure.

 50 I am honored to be allowed to be in your home as one of your family and do not know what would become of me if you were to send me away.

 51 I have a thirst for the things Yeshua can teach me, but also I love spending every moment here with the two most amazing women I have ever known.”

 52 “Miriam hesitated but a moment, then asked, “Would you like to legally become part of our family?”

 53 Salome seemed shocked and even hurt by Miriam’s question, and she answered, “Thank you for asking, Miriam, but it would make me sad to do that. You mean as a wife of Yeshua, for that is the only way I could legally be a part of your family, but I think that would push me away from you, whom I desire to be closest to. Do not think ill of me, but my heart is very drawn to you, Miriam, in ways I do not even understand.

 54 If I became a wife of Yeshua, I would be given a separate house, and though we would often still be close, it would not be as it is now where I am always with you.

 55 No, as I said when I first arrived, I would rather be a servant in your home than to be cast away from you. I know it would be a great honor and I should be happy, and I ask your forgiveness for declining. I do not see happiness greater than the happiness I have right now coming from it.”

 56 Miriam smiled, and patting Salome’s hand that she held with her other hand, she answered her, saying, “You misunderstand, dearest Salome. When a man marries more than one wife among the Children of Light, the wives are also married one to another, and they live as one family, under one roof, not in separate dwellings.

 57 Though you have been among us but days, we know you, and you have already been a part of our family, before any of us were ever born into this world.

 58 It seems like a lifetime ago that Yeshua and I were returning from a long stay in Egypt. As we were walking along the road to Palestine, Yeshua told me that the day would come when I would meet a woman whose heart would beat as one with mine, even as mine did with his.

 59 I told him then that such a thing was not possible for me, and all the time since then, I have never had a reason to doubt my words, until I met you. Then my world changed, for even on that very first day, I knew that Yeshua’s words had been fulfilled.

 60 I need not ask how you feel, for my heart would not feel thus toward you unless yours also felt thus toward me.

 61 You know Martha has a special arrangement in her marriage to Yeshua, but such an arrangement would not exist between we three women, as we do not encroach upon the sanctity of the marriage of Yochanan and Martha.”

 62 At the words of Miriam, Salome put both hands to her face in disbelief, and tears came pouring from her eyes. Then she threw herself upon Martha and Miriam, pulling them together in one embrace, and she kissed each of them lightly upon their foreheads, “Thank you, dearest sisters. I thought my joy was full. Little did I realize my cup was just beginning to be filled.

 63 I am speechless. I am overwhelmed. I am in love. And I say ‘yes.”’

 64 As sunset neared, Yeshua returned from the mountain and was greeted by the simultaneous embraces of all three women and kisses on his cheeks above his beard as he came through the doorway and by his children and the children of Martha, who embraced him on his legs.

 65 Miriam smiled at him coyly and asked, “Dear husband, do I need to tell you anything about what has transpired while you have been away, or is it all known to you already?”

 66 Yeshua smiled broadly and answered with great happiness in his voice, “I know you have found that which you said you would never seek or discover, and in this, you may know that destiny finds you, even when you seek it not.

 67 I know that you have been given a balm that will calm your heart and clear your head, even in the most difficult days to come.

 68 You have found one of the great stars that has been missing from your Heaven, and her name is Salome. Knowing your happiness and the happiness of Martha and Salome, my joy is also full.”

 69 Martha clapped her hands together in excitement and said, “Let us begin immediately to plan the wedding.”

 70 But Yeshua held up his hand and said unto them, “We do not have as much time as you would probably prefer to prepare, nor should we make this wedding into a great affair, but let us keep it in some simplicity.

 71 Tomorrow is the Sabbath, and we will marry on the third day after. The community will wish to have a celebration feast, but let us limit that to the wedding day, plus three.

 72 On the day after the following Sabbath, Miriam, Salome, and I will leave along with all of my Apostles and some of their wives, on an extended trip through Galilee.

 73 I trust that in that time and even under those circumstances, the three of you along with your friends, can plan a wedding we will all remember.”

 74 In unison, all of the women said, “Yes,” and then began to speak with enthusiasm to one another while Yeshua went in and played with the children who had been waiting for him.