"Hurry up, Eva."
The long-haired, bearded young man scolds the woman walking behind him,
jerking his head in the direction they must go. He is dressed in a plaid
shirt, jeans and a denim jacket. On his back is a small tan-coloured
leather knapsack, and in one hand he carries a walking stick with which
he gestures occasionally. On his feet are yellow hiking-boots with large
round laces. The woman wears similar boots. The hiking-boots are her
only concession to practicality: apart from those, she is wearing an
old-fashioned blue calico dress down to her ankles, and a blue and black
Gore Tex windbreaker. Her backpack is a shapeless black bag made of
some artificial material, attached to her slender frame like a hideous
parasite. Her feet touch the ground so tentatively she looks as though
at any moment she might walk on the air alone.
The man looks slightly gaunt, but nowhere near as ghostly as his companion.
She is finding it difficult to keep up with him, yet he does not look
back except to scold her. When he does, she strives to catch up with him,
with a sincere but weak effort which falters as the day goes on.
It is a late spring morning, with patches of snow still visible here and
there to the right of them, at the higher elevations. From where they
are walking the Rockies are a looming presence to their right. They are
skirting the mountains, neither approaching nor retreating from them,
but following a parallel path of the man's choosing. From time to time
he will stop, a small scowl of concentration on his face, looking first
east towards the city, which is too far away to be seen except for a distant
brown smudge of smog; then west to the towering mountains, with the air
of one who owns them. He clutches a modest black leather-bound book in
his hands. He is surveying, pondering, waiting.
Whenever he turns to scold the woman, she looks at her feet and answers, "Yes,
Jacob." But at one point she glances up and asks softly, "Please,
could we take a break? I'm so thirsty."
The man regards her with scorn. "Of course you're thirsty. So am
I. But we must resist the body if we are to receive the vision. God cannot
give us the vision until we have fasted for forty days, as Jesus did.
God will visit us when we are ready. Then He will tell us what will be
our part in the End Times."
The woman bows her head slightly. At that moment a shadow passing over
them catches their attention. Looking up, they see a pair of eagles swooping
low over them before soaring up again into the nearly cloudless sky, and
continuing their eastward flight.
"
It is a sign," the man says, and then opens the book in his hand
with a sure touch, quickly finding the right place. "Matthew 24:27-28.
'For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the
west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For wheresoever the
carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together.' These eagles
are gathered together to attest that I myself am the return of the Son
of Man in the flesh." He continues to follow the path of the eagles
with his eyes, as does the woman, who answers, "Yes, Jacob."
* * *
It is almost two years since I met Jacob. He came to a Bible study meeting
at our church. I could tell that the other people didn't like him, he
seemed so strange. I was the shy one, the one who rarely spoke at the
meetings. Jacob came into the group with his long hair and beard and his
well-thumbed Bible and from the first time he attended he seemed to dominate
the meeting. Even when he was sitting quiet, listening to others, he was
the unmistakeable focus, the unofficial leader of the group. Naturally
the lay pastor who led the group began to dislike Jacob. I did not know,
when I first laid eyes on him at that Bible study meeting, that only a
few months later, I would promise to marry him.
* * *
"
Let's go, Eva," the man says when the eagles are no longer visible.
They resume their quiet pilgrimage, following a fading little-used trail
through a scrubby forest. Since there is little water, the trees do not
grow as tall as in the areas that are fed by glacier waters.
After about an hour, the man stops, looking down at something near the
path. "What is it, Jacob?" the woman wonders as he prods it
with his walking stick.
"
Cougar scat," he answers, giving her a significant look. "We'll
have to watch out. It's probably somewhere nearby." He opens his
Bible and at once finds what he is looking for. "The mountain lion
is like those unbelievers, Eva; they will devour you if you have contact
with them. Here is Jeremiah 5:6: 'Wherefore a lion out of the forests
shall slay them, and a wolf of the evenings shall spoil them, a leopard
shall watch over their cities: every one that goeth out shall be torn
in pieces: because their transgressions are many, and their backslidings
are increased.' The presence of this mountain lion is a sign to you, Eva,
to remain faithful and to permit no backsliding."
The woman waits with her head down. "Of course, Jacob," she
answers. The man resumes walking, and she follows behind. Soon, they can
hear the sound of a small stream trickling nearby. The woman looks up
with a revival of hope, saying, "Jacob, I need a drink." He
shrugs, looking at her annoyed, but then turns aside from the trail to
walk toward the sound. Suddenly he halts. Reaching behind him, he places
his hand on the woman's shoulder, and she stops also. He brings one finger
up to his lips as she looks at him in wonderment. He points ahead of them,
to the bank of the stream, just visible through the trees. The woman cranes
her neck forward, and sees what he is indicating: a tawny cougar is drinking
from the stream not fifty feet in front of them. Silently the man points
back the way they came, placing his finger to his lips. The woman's face
crumples with disappointment, but she complies, following him back the
way they came, treading softly so as not to alert the animal.
When they are far enough away to feel safe again, the woman speaks. "I
wish I could have had a drink. I really need some water, Jacob. Just a
little water, nothing more." He looks at her and then explodes, "Woman,
what am I to do with you? Consider John 4:13-14: 'Whosoever drinketh of
this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that
I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him
shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.' Thus
spake Jesus to the Samaritan woman. Are you no better than this Samaritan?
My words contain more refreshment than any water of this Earth."
The woman looks down at her feet, her shoulders slumping slightly. "Yes,
Jacob."
* * *
It happened this way. Jacob, who had begun walking with me following all
the Bible study meetings, told me that he had received the inspiration
that God wanted us to be together. He said that with special insight into
the Word of God, combined with my humility before the Lord, would allow
us to do many amazing things. He said that he had been appointed for a
special role by God, but God needed me to help him complete his work.
He was just so powerful and assured in him manner, I felt certain God
must be leading him. In a way I was enthralled by him from the moment
I first saw him. So one night when he asked me to marry him, I said without
thinking, "Of course, Jacob. My parents won't like it, but I'm 18
now and I can marry if I want. And I will."
* * *
The hikers continue on until late in the afternoon, when they reach a
forestry road that cuts through the landscape like a sword, cleaving it
into two halves. The road is fenced with barbed wire running up both sides;
farther up, as the road rises to higher elevations, they can see a mountain
sheep caught in the fence, bleating pitifully, with its head wedged between
the wires. The woman exclaims, "Oh, Jacob, look!" and points
to the helpless sheep. The man gives it scarcely a glance.
"
That cougar will find it before long," he comments. At once his Bible
is open, and he begins to quote. "Genesis 22:13. 'And Abraham lifted
up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket
by its horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for
a burnt offering in the stead of his son.'"
Turning to the woman, he explains, "The sheep represents the offering
of your life to God. If you are prepared to give everything, even to die
for God's Kingdom which is to come, then God will not require your life,
but will take your suffering instead, which will be remembered in the
Book of Life. Because you have fasted, and have gone without food and
water for many days, God will lift you up, and will grant you a vision
of the End Times." The two of them stood together for a long moment,
with the woman watching the sheep, and the man watching the woman, in
silence.
* * *
At first we were only able to go camping for the weekends, because we
both had jobs and couldn't get away at other times. But after a while
more and more people started coming to our apartment, where Jacob held
his own Bible study sessions. He had a way of latching onto people who
were unsure where to go next in life, and convincing them he knew the
perfect answer, if only they would listen. And many of them did: after
a few months, we had several young people coming over almost every evening,
and a married couple, who let us live with them, so we could save rent
and Jacob could focus on his Bible studies and prophecy. Then Jacob began
taking us all away to camp in the mountains, where he said we could escape
the corrupting influence of the city. Sometimes we even went away for
a full week if people could arrange their vacations to allow it. On these
camping trips we would go for hikes far away from the other people at
the campgrounds, and we would find an isolated place by ourselves where
we could build a campfire. Standing by the fire, Jacob would preach to
us for hours. Sometimes, the firelight would flare up to reveal Jacob's
lean, intense face, while he read from the Bible and explained all that
it really meant. We would sit before him cross-legged on the ground. At
times the flames would reveal a glistening bead of sweat dripping from
his brow, and it seemed to me it was like the tear of an angel prepared
to bestow its blessing on this parched and ruined earth.
* * *
"
We have to keep moving," the man declares, turning at once to cross
the road by pushing down the barbed wires so the woman can climb over.
She struggles to lift her legs high enough to step over. Her dress catches
on one of the barbs. Eventually she frees the dress, leaving only a slight
tear in the cloth. The man follows after her, easily pushing down on the
wire and lifting himself over, then crossing the road to repeat the process
at the wire on the other side. Finally they set off again through the
scrubby forest. If there is a trail for them to follow, it can scarcely
be seen now.
Nearing evening, the man and woman come across a small clearing in the
forest – a circle where the ground is relatively flat except for
a few felled trees and some grass and weeds. The woman slumps down, seating
herself on one of the felled tree trunks as she slips out of her backpack.
At once she apologizes: "Oh, I'm so sorry, Jacob. I'm so thirsty
and wish I could have some water. I just need some water, honest. I don't
need food. Just a little water, that's all, and I'll be fine." She
looks up at him standing over her and seems to be pleading with her eyes. "Please?
Could I get some water? I'm sorry I'm so weak. God's strength is not as
great in me as it is in you."
The man looks as if he is consulting his backpack and then says, "I
don't have any with me. The only water I saw was the stream we passed
several hours ago. You don't want me to go back there, do you?"
The woman bows her head in shame. "I'm sorry, Jacob. But I don't
think I can go on without some water. I just don't know. I don't know
what to do." And suddenly she is weeping, holding her head in her
hands.
The man puts his arms akimbo, watching her as she weeps. Eventually he
turns and strikes a large boulder twice with his walking stick out of
sheer frustration. Nothing happens. Opening his Bible, he reads: "Numbers
20:11. 'And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he struck the rock
twice: and the water came out abundantly.' Eva, God has chosen not to
fulfill this Scripture in me, though, like Moses, I lead you to the Promised
Land. You must have failed to do what God requires of you, since He has
not granted your wish. Is it too much to ask that you go for a few days
without food or drink? Have not many prophets done this, and you are even
the Bride of the Redeemer."
The woman offers no reply, but continues to weep softly. Finally the man
shrugs, and turns. "All right," he says over his shoulder as
he walks back the way he came. "Wait here. Don't move, okay? I'm
going back to the stream to get water. I'll bring it as soon as I can.
Why don't you just lie down next to that log? You can rest, and God will
watch over you."
The woman looks up at him with tremendous gratitude in her eyes. She slowly
lowers herself onto the ground next to the log, and then stretches out
with her head resting on her arm as she watches the man walking away into
the distance.
* * *
One day Jacob was full of excitement about a new plan. He said we must
go away together by ourselves to await the vision of the Lord about the
End of Days. I would have to quit my job, because the vision might take
many days and my vacation time would not be enough. So I did as he asked,
and he took me to this campsite near Cochrane, in the Kananaskis park,
where we fasted and prayed for many days. On the twentieth day, Jacob
said we must arise and walk deeper into the wilderness, so the inspiration
could reach us more fully and directly. Of course I agreed, thought I
was very tired from fasting and could scarcely keep up.
But now he has even recognized my need for rest, and has honoured my wish
for a drink of water. As I watch him walking away it makes me think: there
he goes, the Holy One, the chosen Lamb of God. What am I next to him?
Though I am his bride, I was born to imperfection. I watch his retreating
back until he disappears into the trees. I feel the coolness of late spring
all around me, yet still I only lie here, neither asleep nor awake. As
I lie with my eyes half-closed I feel a shadow flitting over my face,
like an omen or a visitation. When I open my eyes and look up, I spy the
eagles tumbling and soaring above me, and suddenly I am filled with an
urgent longing to meet them in the air.
* * *
Well after dawn the man finds his way into the clearing again, calling, "Eva!
Eva? I've brought the water! Eva?" He is hoisting the canteen of
water like a trophy at an awards ceremony. When he hears no response he
goes over to the woman lying beside the log and shakes her, saying, "Eva?
Wake up, I've brought your water." His shaking only causes her head
to loll backwards when he moves her shoulder forwards. This startles the
man, and he jumps up and looks down at her for a moment in amazement.
Then he kneels down beside her and shakes her again more firmly. "Eva!
Eva! Wake up!" Her head lolls back and forth with the shaking, yet
still there is no response. "What's the matter? Eva, what's up? Are
you dead? You can't be dead!" Then he stands up and looks at her
for a long moment. Finally, kneeling down beside her, he closes his eyes
and hunches over her in silent prayer. When he opens his eyes to look
again, he feels a shadow falling across his face. Looking upwards, he
sees two eagles circling high above him, tumbling and swirling in the
air. |
