UnBooks:The Resurrection of Christ
33 A.D, midnight, somewhere in the Middle East.
Two women, clad in the loose white gowns of the desert, knocked hastily on a sealed wooden gate of a sandstone fortress. “Open, in the name of all that is holy!” They whispered loudly. The gate was opened by a group of young men. Their veiled faces and tight black robes displayed their identities as the Hashish – what is now known as the Assassins. The two women lifted up a corpse wrapped all in cloth, and entered the citadel.
“We need to speak with your master,” said one of the women to the boys. “Our business is urgent. Please, hurry.”
“No need for that,” came a soft, but manly voice. Out of the shadows stepped forth a veiled man clad all in black Hashish garment.. “I know why you have come. I know that you wish to use the powers of the Lazarus Pit to bring back your master. But I caution you to beware of its nature. It is…most unnatural.” The man paused for a moment. “I do not believe this is what your master would have wanted.”
The two were undeterred. “We have not come this far and risked so much if we were not utterly determined.” Said one of the women. “Our Lord prophesised that he will rise from the dead in three days. Three days will soon come to pass, and we are but fulfilling his prophecy. If you would please just let us borrow your most valued treasure…”
The master of the Hashish raised his hand. “Say no more,” he interjected. “Your master is not the Messiah. He is but an imposter, a fraud. A megalomaniac who pretends to be humble but thinks of himself more highly than any emperor from the east and west. But despite his flaws, he is a passing good man. He deserves to rest in the spirit realm. I implore you to reconsider your actions.” The woman replied, “My lord, say what you will of our Messiah. But is it not the goal of the Hashish to bring about justice and peace on earth? Your goal is same as our Lord’s. Think of it as gaining an ally!”
The veiled man turned around and pondered for a very long while. Then he spoke. “You speak true. He might prove useful in the long run. Very well, I will lead you to the Lazarus Pit.”
The men of the Hashish laid down the corpse in front of a bubbling green pool in a cave, and removed the cloth. The body’s rotting stench in the hot desert climate caused the men to frown and choke and in disgust. They cast the corpse into the pool and stood around it, chanting a mysterious, ancient tongue.
The master of the Hashish said to the women, “We will now perform the ritual. If you would please just leave now, for outsiders are not befit to witness this wonder.” The women nodded and stepped outside of the cave.
The chanting continued for a while. Suddenly, the earth shook, and the chanting stopped. The air was filled with a screeching scream as the rotting corpse climbed out of the Lazarus Pit reborn. This was a young man, with multiple cruel scars on his tanned skin. He rolled around the floor in agony, until finally he came to his senses. “Where…where am I?” he asked in bewilderment. The master replied while handing him a set of white robes, “Hebrew, you stand in the presence of the Hashish. I am the master, one you might know as Ra’as Al Ghul. I have brought you back to life through an ancient ritual. And those,” he pointed at the women, “are the ones who brought you here.” The women fell on their knees in joy. “Yeshua! Messiah! Praise your name, for you have returned!”
But Yeshua was far from rejoiced. He struck the women in their faces. “Why? Why did you do that? You think this is what I meant when I foretold my resurrection? My Father who is in Heaven was to be the one to perform this last miracle!” he shouted. One of the women cried and said, “Forgive me, my lord. I was doing it for your glory! We could not risk the prophecy not coming true, so we decided to act in your best interest! For you, my lord, for you!”
The Hashish saw this and laughed. “So, this is the Messiah. This is why one must never believe all that one hears about someone else!” said one of the men, and the rest of them burst out in laughter.
The Lazarus Pit offered the gift of life. But the price is heavy, and that is sanity. Yeshua recalled all the brutality that he has suffered through, and amidst the jeer of the Hashish, he could take it no longer. “Such insolence! I will show you the true powers of the Son of God!” he shouted. With one hand raised, the cave started collapsing. The Hashish drew their scimitars, ready to defend themselves. But despite their skill and training, they were not prepared for the person in front of them. Ra’as Al Ghul saw what was about to happen. He grabbed the two women and dashed out of the cave just before the cave collapsed. All of his men and Yeshua were buried beneath the rocks.
A hand shot up from beneath the rubble, and out came Yeshua. He rushed forward in rage, grabbed Ra’as by the throat and flew up to the sky. “You! This is all your fault!” yelled Yeshua. Ra’as held on to Yeshua’s arms for dear life as he kicked and struggled. “Give me one reason why I should not drop you on to the earth from up high in the clouds, Hashish!”
If Ra’as Al Ghul was in fear, his veil and eyes did well to not show it. He calmly tried to reason with the mad man in front of him. “You were but a mortal. Now you have a new life, a new body, and new powers. All thanks to me.” Yeshua opened his mouth in shock. Ra’as continued, “Your so-called miracles? Bazaar theatrics. I’ve seen it all. You should see what kinds of illusions we Hashish are able to create. But you are not entirely evil. I see goodness in you. If you take me safely back to the ground, I will make a deal with you.” Yeshua’s raged died down a little. “And why should take the word of a Hashish, especially one so infamous?” “If that happens, you have my permission to drop me down from whatever height you wish to see me descend. Who am I to betray one as mighty as you?” Ra’as replied with a laugh. Then he whispered in Yeshua’s ears sternly, “I – created – you.”
Yeshua descended and released Ra’as. “Say your piece then.” said the Messiah.
“What do you want?” asked Ra’as. “Why did you get yourself killed?” Yeshua replied readily, “The world is full of sin, and my death will cleanse it. I shall be remembered as the ultimate sacrifice.” Ra’as scratched his head, and said “Well you obviously believe in that, I see. Not that it makes sense in the least bit. You can die all you want, but there will always be crime and suffering, and there is nothing you can do to stop it – if you’re not around.” “But my death will save them from the tortures of Hell, if they but follow me…” Yeshua continued. But Ra’as was not listening. He could see that the man in front of him was damaged long before he bathed in the Lazarus Pit. And you can never argue with a damaged mind.
“…so this will be my new age.” Said Yeshua. He summoned the two women to his side. “Go and tell them I have returned. But say nothing of everything else you have seen this night. Do you understand?” The women nodded with a fanatical gleam in their eyes. “Anything you wish, my lord!” And they ran off as quickly as they can.
“This will be a new age for the world,” said Yeshua as he gazed into the sky. “When the people of Noah’s day went astray, the Lord our God destroyed them all with a flood. When the people of Sodom and Gomorrah were sinful, the Lord wiped out both cities, and no quarter was shown to a single child or animal. Justice is harsh, evil deeds have consequences, and that will be me, the Son of God!” Ra’as looked on in horror. “That is right, Hashish. Your goals of justice and peace will be realised when I cleanse this world of the filth. The robbers, the thieves, men who lay with other men and women who lay with other women, those who do not praise our Father in Heaven – they shall all be cleansed! For now, I need my rest. But wait for my second coming. It will be glorious, my child!” And with this, Yeshua bounced off the ground and flew towards the distance with lightning speed.
Ra’as Al Ghul stared into the sky. “Until the next time we meet, Hebrew.” He muttered silently.