The Riddle Made Flesh: Opus Dei, #2

By Lyn Pickering

Contact is made with Europe’s leader in waiting and Pierre Zein’s family are plunged into a life-threatening crisis.

A power game is played out between the Islamic Al Mahdi and the European leader waiting in the wings. A game for the possession of three strategic key-points, Giza, Jerusalem and Babylon:there can only be one winner.

On the night that Israel launches an attack against the Iranian nuclear installations, a group of right wing Jews initiate an action that changes things forever; plunging the planet into war and economic chaos. One man steps out onto the scene – the world is offered a peacemaker. This Middle Eastern political thriller is a real page-turner.

In the Riddle Made Flesh, Lyn J Pickering incorporates romance, pathos, tragedy and political intrigue against an accurate backdrop of contemporary history.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lyn Pickering
• Release date: Dec 29, 2015
• ISBN: 9781524250010

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© Lyn J Pickering 2014

All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in a retrieval system, in any form or by any means, without permission of the Copyright owner.

Forest of Lebanon Publications

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Published by Lyn J Pickering

EPUB Edition

ISBN: 978-0-9946651-5-7

I dedicate this book to my brother who shared Lebanon with me many years ago: to Bill, my precious husband, my five wonderful sons, daughter, and daughters-in-law.

All my love.

Character List – in order of appearance

PART II

In the end was the Riddle

And the Riddle was made flesh and dwelt among us.

Chapter 1

James Warburg, son of Paul M. Warburg, one of the original organisers and board members of the Federal Reserve System, told the US Senate on February 17, 1950, We shall have world government whether or not we like it. The only question is, whether world government will be achieved by conquest, or consent!

1987

To the right of the desk, glass doors opened out onto a balcony with a view of the greater city of Rome. The room with its marble and frescoes was predominantly decorated in white, designed to create a quiet atmosphere without the impression of austerity. It was a room filled with light but without any real warmth. By contrast, the red skull cap and cummerbund over the black robes of the cardinal dominated and commanded the vision.

In the past two years we have made tremendous strides towards the achievement of our ultimate goal. Cardinal Montanari was as smooth and composed as a plaster Madonna, with black eyes like highly polished walnut, revealing nothing of the man concealed behind them.

Eduard Boulier, Baron Edmond de Rothschild’s representative, and his fellow Trilateralist, David Saunderson, held regular meetings with the Cardinal in his Vatican office and were quite at home there.

They had all seen Newsweek’s report that described the Pope’s policies as being ‘firmly tied to larger themes of world peace and justice.’ But the jewel in the Pope’s international design, it said, was a ‘Utopian vision of a unified and re-Christianised Europe, stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Ural Mountains.’ In Nebuchadnezzar’s vision, this was the new Holy Roman Empire represented by the feet of the statue, which was made up of non-cohesive elements – iron and clay. Increasingly, the pope spoke as a political world leader as well as a spiritual.

During John Paul II’s reign, the secular power of the Vatican had mushroomed. As with a felled tree, the root had lain dormant through a long winter. Finally, it seemed, coppice growth was bringing forth the ten toes. Rome still lacked the full concord of civil authority but John Paul II’s alliance with President Reagan had undoubtedly afforded new power and authority to the Roman Church – a reuniting of church and state. William Casey director of the CIA met regularly with the Pope to discuss issues of international importance often providing him with detailed information on a variety of topics. Casey was a fervent Catholic, one of many who surrounded President Reagan during his administration. Poland’s role in whittling away at the Eastern bloc was to both Reagan and the Pope, an issue of prime consideration.

The Vatican was emerging as a new superpower. It lacked military-might, strategic weapons, and its Vatican headquarters occupied a mere twenty-block square of land, nonetheless, the pope, as supreme monarch exercised spiritual power over 800 million people and influence over a great many more.

Since General Jaruzelski’s meeting with his Holiness, we have experienced a new sense of optimism, Cardinal Montanari continued. Gorbachev’s moves towards democratisation are still being blocked by the old guard, but change is in the air. His Holiness is planning another visit to Poland in April. Communism is as good as dead.

Saunderson murmured an agreement. He was a vigorous-looking man in his early fifties, with a thick head of grey hair and open, almost boyish features. This was the all-American male in maturity, beguiling, and with every appearance of disarming frankness.

Cardinal Montanari tapped his pen reflectively on the arm of his chair. He will of course speak out once more in favour of Solidarity. His Holiness sees the need to reinforce the trade union’s vision of itself and its stand against Communism. American support of the union while Poland was under martial law has been vital to keeping it alive.

Naturally, His Holiness will receive our continued assistance. His presence will increase the pressure on the Politburo.

While there was no doubt in the eyes of the Mother Church that the Polish pope had been elected by the power of the Holy Spirit, a more cynical view had arisen from the parts of the secular world and from the Kremlin. Certainly the KGB thought Wojtyla’s selection had been engineered by Zbigniew Brzezinski, Polish-born National Security adviser to the then US President, Jimmy Carter.

In the undermining of Communism, Poland was the logical spring-board. For the battle to be fought in the most religious of the Communist States, a Polish pope was not only a distinct advantage, he was a crucial weapon, and the Kremlin feared him from the outset.

The pilgrim statue of Our Lady of Fatima is in Moscow, Cardinal Montanari reminded them. His Holiness is waiting eagerly for the moment when Bolshevism and Russian Orthodoxy will be completely eradicated and the Mother Church will assume her rightful role.

The Fatima prophecy, Boulier smiled. Tell His Holiness that things are moving on all fronts. We’re confident that Gorbachev is our man. Within a short time the Cold War will be over and Rome will be able to consecrate Russia and Eastern Europe to the Virgin.

The Cardinal’s face brightened. The Berlin Wall?

Boulier nodded, Absolutely!

The Fatima prophecy had shaped Vatican stratagems almost from the moment it was received by three children in Fatima, Portugal in 1917.

The Holy Father will consecrate Russia and the world to me’, the Virgin had told the children of Fatima. But if this is not accomplished, Russia’s errors will spread throughout the world causing wars and persecutions."

Between the two world wars when Bolshevism overthrew the Russian Empire, the Fatima prophecy had been transformed into an ideological crusade. Pope Pius XII saw Adolf Hitler as the one who would become the instrument for the Roman Catholic Church’s campaign against Russia and refused to oppose Nazism. Germany’s defeat at the hands of the Russian forces was a devastating blow to the Vatican, but although Germany was discredited, the Fatima prophecy was not. Its fulfilment could be accomplished in less subtle ways.

As the years passed however, and the prophecy remained unfulfilled, Pope Pius lapsed into recurrent fits of depression, which began to affect his health. Possibly, it was his ‘visitation’ by the Lord Jesus Christ during this crucial period that brought about a change in direction for the Mother Church. It seemed that Russia’s liberation was to be spiritual rather than by force of arms.

The charismatic presence of the Polish pope, John Paul II, had shaken the foundations of Communism to the core, and it seemed eminently possible that his ecumenical policies would overcome Russian Orthodoxy and consume it from within.

The ball’s rolling now, Saunderson assured the Cardinal. There’s nothing to prevent a full strike.

*     *     *

The move to Beit Chaar four years before had been good for the children and they were flourishing in their new surroundings. At twelve years of age, poised on the brink of womanhood, Jamaal was more lovely than ever and Danielle often felt a tug at her heart when she looked at her and recognised expressions that were Iliana’s. It was strange, she thought, that although the resemblance between parent and child is not always strong, something, however fleeting, seems to live on through the offspring.

Now that they were out of Beirut, Danielle longed for a child that would be a product of the union between her and Pierre. If she was to have a baby it would need to be soon, at thirty-seven, time was closing in. Still the desire seemed selfish. The previous year had seen a horrifying escalation of the civil war in Lebanon. Syrian-backed Amal, a Shiite group under Nabir Berri, had attacked the Palestinian camps in and around Beirut and in the siege that followed had caused untold suffering to the inhabitants. The peace they experienced in the mountains was false and she knew it. But her body remained stubbornly irrational and the desire persisted.

Their lives had taken a new turn since the move. With Autra and Nabil, they had become deeply involved with the orphans at Harisse. Pierre’s first book had sparked off a debate that had continued over the years without presenting a positive solution to the problem. It was Danielle who petitioned the government endlessly and often worked long hours with the children in the orphanage. Pierre, also, had become a well-known and respected figure in all those centres that he had access to as a Lebanese Christian. The village priests, under whose care children had been placed began to rely on him for help with many of the problems they faced. He quickly became adept at unearthing medical supplies when it seemed none were available, documenting the needs of the various communities and helping to move supplies between the institutions. While Danielle worked as a volunteer, it had not been long before Father Miled, recognising the potential he had in Pierre, approached the Catholic Church to supplement his income and employed him as a co-worker. The younger man had all the energy and vision that he had had in his youth and as time went by, he began to look upon Pierre as proudly as if he were his own son.

Danielle sat curled up in the faded armchair her legs tucked up under her. Sunlight spilled into the room, adding a glow to her features.

You know that baby you wanted, Pierre said, I think it’s time we had one of our own. Dom and Jamaal are growing up so fast. It would be a shame to leave it any longer.

She smiled at him but there was a hint of doubt in her eyes. Is it right, she asked, to bring a little one into a situation as uncertain as this?

Pierre returned her smile and leaned across to take her hands. I used to think, he said, that it would be impossible to love you more. But if there’s one discovery I’ve made about love, it’s that it improves with age like good wine.

You’re changing the subject, she teased.

No, I’m not! he protested. Life has never been certain and if people always used that as an excuse not to propagate the species, the human race would have died out long ago. But our relationship is secure and loving, which is more than many homes in more stable communities can offer a child.

Danielle raised her eyebrows reflectively. Can we afford a baby? she asked, voicing a concern that was felt by both of them.

Pierre shook his head. We’d get by, but if I could complete my book that should help bring in the extra money. I feel I’m wasting my time. I need the man in order to finish it, but every time I try to abandon it and get on with something else, I remember Sion.

Danielle grimaced. You remember the promise, she said, I remember the threat.

Pierre’s expression sobered. I haven’t forgotten the threat, he assured her, but I still believe they’ll give me the interview I want – eventually.

She regarded him seriously. When it happens will they expect you to compromise and give them your backing?

He shook his head. If they do, I’ll forget it, you know that. So what about this baby? he persisted.

She smiled wryly. You’re trying to persuade me to have a baby while discussing an impending socialist world order, she declared. I’d be crazy if I listened to you.

The air was still and sultry. The unnatural strength of the sun had sapped every vestige of colour from land, sea and sky, and immersed in a haze of its own making, was seeping down to extinguish itself at the horizon. Pierre glanced into his rear-view mirror and turned off on the road to Mount Lebanon. The untidy growth of suburban houses began to give way to open spaces and, above them, villages couched in the folds of the foothills.

What I’m beginning to think, he was saying to Samih, is that all these secret societies are firmly interlinked from the top.

Samih glanced across at him and grinned. Why not? he returned. There’s probably a high priest co-ordinating the operation from a tomb in Al Giza. All you need these days is a computer and a book of the ancient mysteries. Could be a money-spinner.

Pierre laughed. Be serious! What’s the one thing that seems to separate the ‘mysteries’ today from the ancient Egyptian and Babylonian stuff?

I have no idea.

Christianity. Each of the mystery religions seems to incorporate a smattering of Christianity. In the early sixteen hundreds, a Rosicrucianism tract called ‘The Chemical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreuz’ was written by Johann Valentin Andrea. According to the documents in the Bibliothèque Nationale, he was one of the Prieuré de Sion’s Grand Masters.

So? Samih asked, puzzled.

The name ‘The Chemical Wedding’, as in alchemy, ‘of Christian Rosenkreuz’. Of Christianity and the Rose Croix.

Samih raised his eyebrows. So you think an amalgamation could have started at a set point in all these organisations?

Assuming they’re all interlinked, Pierre acceded.

If this guy, Andrea, was Grand Master of the Prieuré, which has definite links to Freemasonry, and wrote Rosecrucian tracts, Samih remarked, a certain link has already been established.

I’d love to know when Freemasonry first began to trot out scriptures in its rituals, Pierre mused, or whether it was Christianised from its inception. There’s no doubt in my mind when you examine the first three degrees though, its real affinity is with ancient Egypt.

It’s Jewish, not Christian. Pierre looked at his brother in surprise.

What do you mean, Jewish?

Freemasonry is based upon Old Testament scripture, the Tabernacle and the Temple of Solomon. The Star of David is used in most Lodges in some form or another, often in conjunction with the Goat of Mendes."

You can’t talk about the hexagram in the same breath as the Jewish flag. We’re talking about two different things here!

"The difference only lies in the application. It’s actually called the star of Shalem, and it has some sort of association with the god Moloch¹ Solomon was the one who strayed from God to the worship of idols, not David."

Is Freemasonry a religion?

Good question. I think so. In joining Masonry, the only criterion is that you believe in God – any god.

Pierre glanced at his brother thoughtfully. Well, we know from the letters written by Pike to Mazzini that Lucifer is introduced as god at the upper levels of Masonry, he said. "In which case, the aim