Solomon's garden

         The Sahara desert is hard on those who do not respect it. The boundary between the natural and the supernatural is thin here and people have been known to grow crazy in its vast expanse, remote and isolated from all civilization. Despite this, there are many tracks across the desert sands, gravel plains and rocky plateaus leading to mysteries like the one that led the travelers to this place. Ruins can be found here of civilizations, long forgotten, a hint of great and mighty empires lost to human memory. Professors Tom Reynolds and John Higson came to explore, perhaps write papers, even books to affirm their credentials in the realm of archaeology and ancient civilizations. But now that they were here, Tom Reynolds reflected, the ambition of scholars in academia seemed of less significance. This was the find of the century and so they approached the gateway with a measure of awe.

         Before him, Tom could see a post and lintel 'doorway' illuminated slightly from the side and from above by the bright sunshine. The air tasted dry and sandy, the cowboy hat helped to keep the sun off his face, but this and his rucksack concealed rivers of sweat. John trailed behind him, struggling to keep up. There was a shape in the doorway, but in the light and at this distance, it was impossible to make out details. The figure was turned toward them and seemed to be waiting for their arrival. Questions filled Tom's head as he walked on. What was this gateway, who built it, and when, and why? Why had no one seen this before in the age of complete satellite coverage of the Earth's surface? The design looked pre-Greco-Roman but not Egyptian. The main issue with it was not just its scale and remote location. Hebrew inscriptions had been discovered on the design and carvings that resembled the pomegranates and creatures that had adorned Solomon's Temple. Why had no one discovered this before now?

         Professor Tom Reynolds reflected that if the temple dated to the Solomonic era, that would place it at about 950 BC, but there were no civilizations at that time in this region and the size of the sandstone blocks used to build this gateway also defied explanation. How were they transported here? The nearest quarries were some 600 miles away.

         The legends around Solomon included his fabled wisdom and that wisdom included a scientific approach to the natural world, collating and cataloging plants and creatures long before the emergence of modern science. It also included an exploration of the supernatural world. Indeed, as the bible account suggested, this was Solomon's major defect, that he looked too deeply into the darkness and idolatries of the world around him, that he forgot the worship of the One true God and exchanged it for the myths and fables of his wives.

         As Tom strode, he recalled the legends of Solomon's Seal. It was one of those stories that his father had told him as a child that inspired his love of archaeology and the discovery of ancient secrets. His specialty was Solomon-era Israel. Solomon was reputed in Jewish and Islamic traditions to have unlocked mysteries relating to the angelic realm. The story was that angels had assisted with the building of the temple at Solomon's command. He was reputed to have power even over the Angel of Death. Solomon gazed deep into the darkness and created a ring or seal of power that allowed him to command even the devils that roam this world. Tom was a Christian believer and fascinated with the stories of Solomon for that reason, His colleague Professor Higson was an atheist skeptical of all the details of the Bible account. Since King Herod and then the Romans had eradicated most traces of the First Temple, which might have left clues to these mysteries, there was little actual evidence to work with.

         As they came closer, Tom saw a woman standing there in the doorway, waiting for them. Of medium height, she dressed anonymously, without jewelry, and her head was covered. Her figure was concealed by loose brown robes. Her eyes were green and filled with a life that was rare in the desert; her face was light brown; and her nose was like that of a Jewess. She studied the men as they approached, initiating conversation when they were close enough. She spoke in perfect English with a slight and indecipherable accent.

         "Men of the West, why have you come?"

         Tom reflected that was a rather strange way to speak but replied, "We seek understanding and wisdom."

         "Good answer," the woman replied.

         "Who are you and how did you get here? The sands only shifted a few days ago. We were flown in by the US Air Force across the dunes. As far as we know, aside from a few military personnel who did the original reconnoiter of the site, we are the first to reach this place."

         "I was here before the sands parted to reveal the gateway, I will remain when they hide this place once more."

         John replied with some incredulity, "What you lived here in this wasteland buried under a million tons of sand. Why would anyone do that? How is that even possible?"

         A flash of anger and maybe recognition, flashed across the woman's perfect features. Her penetrating gaze seemed to read Professor Higson's life and story in an instant and reject all that he stood for.

         "You are not worthy and may not pass; leave now." As she said this, it was as though hidden hands lifted Professor John Higson into the air, and he was transported from the gateway and deposited on a hillock some 2000 feet away.

         "Come," the woman indicated to Tom that he should come with her through the gateway.

         Tom glanced at his friend, who seemed to be OK, though now at a distance. His curiosity overcame his fear and he followed the woman. As they passed the line of the columns on either side, the world was transformed. He found himself in a garden of flowers and trees, with some simple structures around him. The sunshine seemed less intense; there was the sound of running water and even a great lake in this place. There were people here also, all Jewish, dressed in clothing similar to the brown robes the woman wore.

         "What is this place? How..." Tom marveled at the beauty of the garden and the amazing abundance of life all around him. He looked back and he saw the gateway and through it, he could see the desert from which he had come. But on this side, the gateway was no ruin and was part of a giant wall that stretched for miles around the garden before him. None of this had been visible on the drone footage or satellite feeds the US military supplied him.

         "This is King Solomon's garden and I am Rachel, his only surviving wife. He created this place for me and commanded the angel of death not to enter here. So the life that you see here is the cultivated perfection that once was Eden, remade by the wisdom of my husband into a place of refuge. He commanded a choir of angels to build the wall around his garden and to seal them from the world beyond. He taught me and my entourage here all that he once knew and I too can command the angels."

         "If that is true and it is a lot to take in, why did Solomon himself not come here before he died?" Tom asked.

         "My husband was a curious man, too curious and his wisdom gave him opportunities not available to ordinary men. His insatiable lust to understand led him to darker places and the command of demons. He was spoiled by these encounters and when he tried to enter this place seeking healing and restoration at the end of his life, he was unable to pass the gateway he had constructed in his youth. It is protected with words of power and praise that only allow the pure of heart and God-fearing to pass."

         Tom reflected on that for a moment. In his bag, he had a bible. He drew it out. Rachel's eyes shone when she recognized the book.

         He turned to 1 Kings 11 and read out loud,

         "As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been. He followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molek the detestable god of the Ammonites. So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the Lord; he did not follow the Lord completely, as David his father had done."

         "There is no mention of this place in scripture or in the chronicles of Solomon's life. Solomon was before Jesus. How do you reconcile all that has come after him with..." As he spoke he saw the church with a big cross in the heart of the collection of houses that sat in this place. "You are Christians!"

         "Yes and informed about the world outside, the angels bring news of his church and of the rise and fall of nations," Rachel smiled, "Come, we summoned you for a reason but you cannot stay long." Rachel led Tom into a big building that was a library. It contained millions and millions of books as well as scrolls and codices from bygone eras.

         Tom reflected this must be the largest library on the planet.

         Rachel resumed her journey down a side corridor and then into a room with twelve comfortable, modern-looking chairs surrounding an ancient marble table.

         There were seven men seated there, all apparently in the prime of their lives, their brown and green eyes shining with the same glow that was in Rachels.

         "Sit down," Rachel pointed to a chair and Tom sat down at the head of the table, watching the men around him.

         Rachel passed a sealed scroll to Tom. "You must give this to the president of the USA. It is a warning and he must obey the things that are written on the scroll if he wants the peace, prosperity, and righteousness of his people to persist. If he does not obey these words, your time of ascendency will end and the glory of the nations shall pass to another power."

         "I will, but can I not stay here a while? You have so many books and so many answers to mysteries I have struggled with all my life."

         "No, you will leave and when the time comes, you will depart to be with God, this is not a place for you."

         "Then why bring me here at all?" asked Tom.

         "To demonstrate that the materialistic assumption, to which your society has reduced its thinking, bears no relationship to reality. The world as a whole is growing more religious, not less and it is time for the Western world to wake up to that," replied Rachel.

         With that, Tom felt himself lifted in the air and carried at great speed, clutching the scroll in his hand, out of the library over the garden and back out through the gateway. The angel took him to the hillock, where his colleague John was waiting.

         As he landed, he heard the sound of a rushing wind and the grind of stone and sand and turned to see the gateway disappear. A few moments later, all around was sand and sunshine and it was as though the gateway never existed.



W/C 1941
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