Zen's War: Captivity
Chapter 45: Doubting Bartholomew

Bartholomew had returned to the tabernacle just in time for the afternoon service to begin. Being the Day of Atonement there would be no food eaten until sundown. During this afternoon service two goats would be sacrificed. One goat would be sacrificed in the usual way, by slitting its throat and having it set ablaze. The other would be set free, after the sins of the sons and daughters of Israel had been placed within it. Among the books of the Bible that would be read was the book of Jonah, which deals with the redemption of the entire city of Nineveh.

As Bartholomew approached the gathering he thought of Sahara and Bridget. Was he too harsh with them, or was he simply doing God’s work? He occasionally questioned his own motives, as well as the motives of his leader Joshua. If Joshua was truly the Messiah of biblical prophecy, then he had no right to question him, but just as St. Thomas had, he occasionally had doubts. He hoped though he had doubts, his faith would overcome his uncertainty.

It was midday and the sun was blinding in its brightness. It was hot and he was sweating, but it helped that he was wearing white. He could hear Joshua’s voice, but could not yet make out what he was saying. As he came to the outer court of the tabernacle the white linen seemed to glow in the light of the sun. He came to the gate covered with a sheet of entwined threads of blue, purple and scarlet. He then walked through the entrance into the outer court of the tabernacle.

All of Joshua’s wives and other disciples wore the same white robe that was required to be worn on the Day of Atonement. In Hebrew the robe was called a kitel, which was also the robe that the dead were buried in. Bartholomew took his place beside Andrew among the rest of the twelve disciples. Joshua stood in front of the brazen altar, ready to deliver his sermon. His wives sat on the ground in front of the altar, watching him in awe. There was a kind of sublime beauty to the whole scene. Seeing Joshua in all his glory renewed his faith in him.

There he stood in his white linen kitel and a sash of entwined threads of purple, crimson, and violet. Around his neck he wore his golden necklace with a Star of David and cross within it. Joshua then began to preach, “We have finally come to the final day of awe, the Day of Atonement. By sundown your fates will be sealed. Will your names be written in the Book of Righteousness or the Book of the Wholly Wicked? The answer will be decided dependent on your actions of the last year. Did you follow God’s commandments, or did you violate the covenant that Moses made with God? You are all children of light. If you have resisted the temptation to join with the other violators of the covenant, which are in league with the armies of Belial, then your soul is all but saved. If you did not, then your soul is lost to the fiery chasm below.”

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