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First Fruits - The Passion of "Seventh Dimension - The Castle, Book 3"

 by Lorilyn Roberts

I have to confess, I have a hard time now referring to Easter as the day Jesus Christ was resurrected. I prefer to refer to this Sunday as The Feast of First Fruits. The name “Easter” has pagan origins and has nothing to do with the death and resurrection of Yeshua, the Messiah (Jesus, the Christ). 

While writing my third book in the Seventh Dimension Series, The Castle, I did a lot of research that has impacted my understanding of the Passion of Christ. To be completely transparent, I have always tended to skip over that part of the four Gospels. 

What happened to Yeshua is so disturbing, it’s not something I want to think about. I know He suffered and died for me because of my rebellion and sin. I deserve the death He bore for me on the cross. 

Thinking about the cross is uncomfortable. I’ve read those passages many times in my almost fifty years of being a Christian. Yeshua led a perfect life. What He endured was horrible. It’s difficult to read. It’s disturbing. 

The cross is what sets apart the believers from the non-believers. It’s heavy. It forces you to confront your own wicked heart. Once you have accepted Yeshua as your personal Savior, it’s difficult to read those passages because you know the suffering He endured He chose willingly. To put it personally, He did it for you and for me. 

I spent close to two months reading several books and scouring the web to understand as much as I could about the Passion of Christ. To write about something like this, you need to know it well. And I wanted everything I wrote to be historically accurate. 

The Passion of Christ in The Castle has been the hardest material I have ever written. I suffered immensely. Much of it, I believe, was due to spiritual warfare. One morning I woke up from a disturbing night’s sleep, and before I could pray, God spoke to me. He said three words: “Finish the book.” So that's what I did. The first draft is finished and I am working on my own edits before submitting it to beta readers and professional editors.

I remember many years ago when I went through a painful divorce, someone said to me, “I wouldn’t want to go through what you've been through, but I envy what God has taught you.”

When we suffer, when we dig deep, when we read, when we pray, the amount that we invest in that process God honors abundantly. He comes alongside us and gives us Himself. He pours His Spirit into our souls. He opens our eyes. He talks to our hearts in a spiritual language that is far deeper than our human understanding of Scripture

Yeshua underwent six grueling appearances before the political and religious leaders in the twenty-four hours before his brutal death. Below is an excerpt from The Castle of one of those appearances.  

I don’t want to tell you to enjoy this excerpt. I do hope it will make you uncomfortable. Mostly, I hope on Sunday, you will set aside some time to truly reflect on what the death and resurrection of Yeshua, the Messiah, means to you. He was the First Fruit, meaning He was the first to be resurrected of the millions who will be resurrected at the last trumpet.

To give you a tiny bit of background, Daniel, Sperling, the protagonist in The Castle, is a witness to the events that took place. At this point in the story, he is twenty years old, Israeli, and does not believe Jesus is the Messiah. He is from our time and was transported back to the first century—to what I call a spiritual reality, the Seventh Dimension. The excerpt concerns Yeshua’s appearance before Herod Antipas, the fifth appearance in His six-part trial before being executed by crucifixion.

Seventh Dimension - The Castle, Book Three, is scheduled to be released June 15, 2015. 

Chapter 23, Clowns and Circus

We entered the Hasmonean Palace where Herod Antipas stayed on his infrequent visits to Jerusalem. The attendants greeted us with guarded cordiality, but their uncomfortable glances at Yeshua spoke of silent apprehension. I doubted many prisoners appeared before Herod Antipas—especially ones sent from Pontius Pilate.

A runner must have warned Herod Antipas of our impending arrival. We seemed to be expected. Once the porter closed the door, the soldiers shoved Yeshua forward. His chains dragged along the marble floors and the heavy grating echoed off the walls. We crowded around and waited. Hopeful anticipation covered the faces of Caiaphas and Annas. A few minutes later, the Tetrarch made a flamboyant entrance. Exaggerated gesticulations of his hands revealed his extreme delight in meeting Yeshua.

The Tetrarch plopped down in a large chair and his attendants spread out the oversized robe beneath his feet. Once the servants took their positions beside the ruler, Herod turned his full attention to Yeshua. Twirling his hand, the Tetrarch smirked, “So at last we meet.” The Tetrarch rolled his eyes. “And under such extraordinary circumstances.”

Yeshua, bruised and exhausted, said nothing, not even to lift his head.

Herod took a different approach. "Come now, Rabbi, I have heard much about you. In fact, I have wanted to meet you for a long time, but perhaps the reports of your miracles are greatly exaggerated.”

Yeshua still said nothing. His silence put a damper on the Tetrarch’s enthusiasm, but Herod wasn’t so easily deterred. I knew his reputation. He couldn’t let this supposed miracle worker make him look bad.

With an air of flattery, Herod continued. “I’ve heard that you cast out demons.”

Yeshua’s countenance never changed. He stood, blood-shot eyes focused on the floor, arms behind his back, chained and bound between two guards.

When Yeshua remained silent, Herod Antipas filled the awkwardness with rambling blather, boasting about his authority, how much he liked John the Baptist—another of the rabbi’s kind—and how unfortunate it was that he had to behead him.

Yeshua remained silent.

“Oh, let me see, what have I forgotten?” the Tetrarch mused. He flashed his eyes at the ceiling. “Yes, you even raised a man from the dead." An awkward silence followed again when Yeshua refused to answer.

Caiaphas and Annas waited patiently as the Tetrarch rattled on at the rabbi’s expense. The scene reminded me of a trapped, helpless animal taunted by bullies, only later to be slowly tortured. I glanced away, as had a paltry few others—resigned to the inevitable.

After a while, Herod must have realized Yeshua wasn’t going to answer him. The pompous ruler clapped his hands. "I insist you show me a miracle."

Yeshua remained silent.

I remembered being at a circus when I was young. My memory superimposed itself on the room. Another dimension had found its way here. That moment wrapped itself around this one. Time once again became an illusion.

Blue and yellow floodlights tracked through the room. Herod’s servants, dressed as clowns, danced beside him. Caiaphas and Annas were string puppets. Hysterical laughter filled the room. Colorful stripes covered Herod's kingly robe and banners waved from the ceiling. A faint smell of sulfur turned my stomach. I began to heave and wanted to run out of the room.

She was here.

As quickly as the strange vision began, it ended. Yeshua remained quiet, distant, and unfazed.

The Tetrarch demanded once more, “Show me a miracle,” but it was to no avail. Then Herod snapped his finger and ordered that the uncooperative guest be dressed in a royal robe.

An attendant placed an extravagant robe in the bloodied hands of Herod and the soldiers wasted no time wrapping the robe around Yeshua. The soldiers mocked the rabbi, played with him as if he were a toy. I watched from the back, feeling Yeshua’s humiliation, embarrassed by the soldiers’ carnal behavior.

Caiaphas and Annas and many members of the Sanhedrin watched with smug satisfaction. The baseness of their depravity astonished me. The High Priest and his father-in-law seemed like demonic puppets.

After the soldiers had had their fun and Herod had been sufficiently entertained, the Tetrarch ordered Yeshua to be sent back to Pilate, better dressed than when he arrived.

Time was quickly passing and the urgency to accomplish the task wore on the faces of Annas and Caiaphas. Exhausted, I lagged behind as the assembly hurried back to Pontius Pilate at the Antonia Fortress. 

*~*~*~*

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Am I Okay, God? Devotionals from the Seventh Dimension

But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Jesus Christ our Lord.

—Romans 8:37-39

Have you ever asked, am I okay? If so, you aren’t alone. I have asked myself that question many times.

Memories still haunt me of bullying by others who accused me of many things. When I was young, I struggled not to believe the lies even when I knew they weren’t true. I blamed myself—the only way I knew how to make sense of the accusations.

*~*~*~*~*~*

From Seventh Dimension – The Door, a Young Adult Christian Fantasy:

Was the man possessed by demons? Were there underlings roaming the earth looking for an unfortunate victim? The anguished soul stood still for the first time in front of the fisherman, captivated by the king’s eyes.

From off the lake, a breeze stirred, slowly at first and then gaining momentum. Like onion skin, vaporous creatures peeled from the madman, coming out of his brain. The swirling wind tore at the naked and exposed shape shifters. The black, formless creatures were like bats without bodies.

The dark beings smelled rancid and the awful odor settled over everything. The demons cowered submissively before the king. The creatures hissed and screeched and made fools of themselves. The fearful pig herders withdrew a safe distance.

The king asked, “What is your name?”

“My name is Legion,” one of the demons replied, “for we are many.”

The king’s power and authority over the spirits was omnipotent. The underlings knew him. They knew the king. The muscles in my shoulders tensed and my legs twitched. Much-Afraid hid her face under my arm.

The demons begged, “Please, do not send us out of the area.” They pointed to the pigs. “Send us among the pigs. Allow us to go into them.”

At the king’s command, they fled from the man and entered the herd. Their formless bodies slid inside the pigs. I shuddered. The pigs shook violently. The herd, numbering in the thousands, stampeded down the steep bank and headed straight into the lake.

The herdsmen watched their valuable livestock disappear and shouted accusations at the king. “By whose authority did you drown our herd?” They flailed their arms at the fishermen and the shepherds traipsed back up the field resolute for answers. “Who is this man that sends pigs into the lake? By what authority does he do such things?” They continued to argue among themselves.

At first, Cherios, Lowly, Much-Afraid and I were too stunned to speak. Cherios spoke first. “Lowly, that is the king, the king of the garden. He’s here. The king is here among us.”

—Shale Snyder; Cherios, the rabbit; Lowly, the pig; and Much-Afraid, the dog; chapter twenty-two

*~*~*~*~*~*

As a teenager and even into early adulthood, I believed everyone was more athletic, talented, and smarter than me. Had I missed the blessings that my friends had received? I wasn’t able to see my value or worth.

There’s a difference, however, between feeling flawed and being a sinner. The Bible tells us that Jesus Christ, the king in Seventh Dimension – The Door, did not come to condemn the world, but to save it.

I grew up in a non-Christian home and did not know Jesus Christ. My first introduction to him was in the 1961 Hollywood movie King of Kings. I was drawn to Jesus for one reason: his love for the people with whom he came into contact.

I did not feel loved for many years. I think we all suffer from feelings of worthlessness and lack of validation. We live in a fallen world where no one loves perfectly except Jesus Christ. And even though he was perfect and sinless, many still rejected him.

If people can reject the Son of God, who was sinless, how much more can we feel rejected by others who are imperfect?

While it’s true you’re a sinner, that doesn’t make you a bad person. It means you need a Savior. You’re created in the image of God and that makes you more than okay. You’re wonderfully made. You were bought with a price—Jesus Christ died for you.

You’re loved more than you will ever know. God loves you more than your parents, your boyfriend, your girlfriend, your brother, your sister, your spouse—even your dog.

You cannot do or say anything that will make God love you more. You cannot do or say anything that will make God love you less. His nature is unchanging. God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

I hope to show you in this short devotional book, Am I Okay, God? Devotionals from the Seventh Dimension, you’re more than okay. You’re loved by a perfect God.

When Adam and Eve disobeyed God, sin separated them from their heavenly father. Sin entered the world. Until then, perfection was all Adam and Eve had known, including perfect communion with God in the garden. The first sin created a chasm between God and man. Decay began and has continued to this day.

God banished Adam and Eve from the garden. The price for their disobedience and for everyone born after them was eternal punishment.

Ever since the first sin in the garden, Satan has accused and tormented God’s people. The condemnation you feel does not come from God.

In the above excerpt, Jesus performed an exorcism on the demon-possessed man. The naked demons entered the pigs looking for a “home” to possess. Jesus then drowned the pigs and the demons in the lake. The demons had tormented the man relentlessly for years—until Jesus set the man free.

*~*~*~*

Thank you, Jesus, that you have given me life. Let nothing separate me from your love. Let this day be the first day of the rest of my life—the day I receive your unconditional love and no longer believe the untrue things people say.

To learn more about Lorilyn Roberts Seventh Dimension Series Books, please visit http://LorilynRoberts.com