president asked the rabbi if the hand of the Almighty was in his actions toward the Jewish people. The rabbi responded that Truman had been given the task once fulfilled by King Cyrus and that he, like Cyrus, would hold a place of honor in the history of the Jewish people.
“The president was so overcome with emotion at the rabbi’s words that tears began welling up in his eyes and streaming down his cheeks. 10
“King Cyrus began several of his inscriptions with the words ‘I am Cyrus.’ The words would be engraved on his tomb. Years after his encounter with the rabbi, Truman was attending a gathering in New York City. It was then that he would utter the words that would sum up the mystery of his life and his part in the Jubilean mysteries.”
“What did he say?”
“He said . . .
I am Cyrus.” 11
“When I next saw the Oracle, he would open the mystery of another reappearance.”
“What do you mean?”
“Cyrus wasn’t the only ancient figure to ‘reappear’ on the modern world stage. There would be another mystery and another person.”
“Who?”
“One just as fascinating. One who was, who was not, and who would be again.”
“And how was it revealed to you?”
“Through the boy I met on the seashore, the boy of the arch.”
Chapter 30
THE MAN WHO WAS
I RETURNED TO the cave. The Oracle was sitting by its entrance. I joined him there.”
“The arch on the shore . . . what was that?” I asked.
“That would be the Arch of Titus,” he said. “Titus was the Roman general who destroyed Jerusalem and the nation of Israel in AD 70. He would later become emperor. After his death an arch would be built in his honor, the Arch of Titus.”
“Why was it in my vision?”
“Because on the Arch of Titus are engraved images depicting the destruction of the Jewish nation.”
“That’s what I saw . . . and then the images of restoration.”
“Images of Israel’s resurrection.”
“What about the boy?” I asked. “What did he represent?”
“What did he tell you about himself?”
“He said, ‘I was, was not, and was again.’”
“There’s a prophecy of the Bible that when the nation of Israel is reborn, they will have as their leader a man called David. Ultimately it’s a prophecy of the Messiah, who will come from the line of David. But it’s worthy of note that when Israel was reborn, its first leader happened to be a man named David. The nation’s first prime minister was David Ben-Gurion. That was the boy in your vision. That’s what he looked like as a child. It was Ben-Gurion who would proclaim Israel’s resurrection to the world.”
“But what does he have to do with the arch?”
“The arch commemorates Israel’s death. Your vision was ultimately about its resurrection, the reversal of that death. If a nation’s land is resurrected, and its cities, its language, its soldiers, and its farmers, should not then its leaders be resurrected as well?”
“Its leaders resurrected? What does that mean?”
“Before the Jewish nation was destroyed in AD 70, a provisional government was formed of its leaders to guide the nation in its war against Rome. This would be its last unified government before its destruction. Among the most prominent of these was a man who would be revered in the ages to come as a hero and martyr in that final and ill-fated war. Do you know who that leader was?”
“No.”
“Ben-Gurion.”
“Ben-Gurion?”
“Yes.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s the Jubilean mystery of reversal and return. In the last days before its destruction the Jewish nation was led by a man named Ben-Gurion. Therefore, in the first days after its resurrection the Jewish nation was led by a man named Ben-Gurion.”
“How did that happen?”
“Israel’s first prime minister wasn’t born David Ben-Gurion. He was born David Grün. When he was a boy, a tall man with dark hair and a long, dark beard visited his home city of Plonsk, Poland. The man was Theodor Herzl. Ben-Gurion was enthralled by the visitor and made it his goal to one day stand on the shores of his ancient homeland. In 1906 he returned. In his first few years in the land he worked in agriculture. But in 1910 he reluctantly accepted a job working as a journalist at his friend’s Zionist journal. He decided to choose a pen name. In Hebrew the name Grün was very similar to the name Gurion. He also knew that in ancient times a man named Ben-Gurion was prominent in leading the Jewish revolt against Rome. So he