Thomas Greanias - The 34th Degree

Again, a huge distraction from the war and impending Allied invasion with real ships, guns, and tanks. And now once again they were entertaining this charlatan with their attention.

“For the past few weeks I have had the honor of serving under the Reichsfuhrer to examine the Maranatha text as represented by a captured enemy microfilm. The text claims the apostolic authority of Paul and predicts the end of the world. As there is no papyrus for me to date, I have had to rely on content alone to determine the text’s authenticity. Nevertheless, I have completed a preliminary analysis and made some remarkable discoveries.”

He produced a marked-up enlargement of the microfilm. “The Book of Revelation tells us that the celestial armies of Christ will gather in the Valley of Megiddo. That’s in present-day Palestine, now occupied by the Allies. The Maranatha text says as much and implies that the most likely point of entry into Fortress Europe from these invasion forces will be Greece, repeating the spread of Christianity two thousand years ago.”

“I told you, Reichsfuhrer!” Hitler said to Himmler. “I was sure of it!”

Von Berg looked at Himmler and then eyed Xaptz incredulously. “How on earth did you arrive at such a convenient deduction?”

“I’ll show you.” Xaptz pointed to letters he had circled in the text. “By skipping certain letters, we see certain words appear-”

“Excuse me,” interrupted von Berg, turning to Hitler. “Why should the good professor be searching for encoded words in an ancient document? What sort of scholarship is this?”

“Explain it to him, Herr Professor,” Hitler said, waving his hand.

Xaptz frowned at von Berg. “Down through the centuries, there has been considerable debate in the Judeo-Christian tradition as to whether the Bible is literally inspired by God, word for word, letter for letter. Some Orthodox Jewish researchers, most notably Dr. David Stein, have gone so far as to search for encoded messages throughout Scripture that defy human explanation. By skipping letters in the Book of Genesis, for example, the Hebrew name for God, Elohim, appears 147 times. Because the probability of that happening by chance is about one in two million, the premise is that the Book of Genesis is divinely inspired.”

“Do you personally believe this?” von Berg asked Xaptz.

“The consensus among many biblical scholars is that an editor pieced together the Book of Genesis from several ancient sources, known as the D, P, E, and J documents,” Xaptz told von Berg, then turned to Hitler. “Of course, my Fuhrer, this documentary hypothesis collapses if the present findings hold up.”

“This is all very interesting, Herr Professor,” said von Berg, “but what bearing could it possibly have upon the course of the war?”

Professor Xaptz’s response was defiant. “The ninth chapter of the Book of Esther refers to the hanging of the ten sons of Haman. They were enemies of the Jews. Hidden among their names is the Hebrew date for 1946: Judgment Day, if you will. I would think any reference to the twentieth century is quite relevant.”

“Why 1946?” asked Hitler, clearly troubled by what he had just heard.

“I suppose it means the war will be won by one side or the other by then.”

“But which side, Herr Professor? I must know!”

What was left of the thin veneer of infallibility of the Fuhrer, the military genius who had conquered continental Europe, disintegrated, as it often would during these tea-time conversations when he would openly share the opinions he tried to hide from military types such as Jodl and Doenitz, rightly fearing their ridicule.

“For that answer, I refer you to the thirty-first chapter of the Book of Deuteronomy, where the Lord told Moses his descendants would forsake God and break His law. Verse seventeen says, ‘Then my anger will be kindled against them…and I will devour them.’ When that section is scanned for every fiftieth letter, the Hebrew word for ‘holocaust’ emerges. That means a burnt offering or fiery destruction of life.”

“Clearly a divine affirmation of your Final Solution, the extermination of the Jews,” added Himmler to Hitler. “Of your messianic mission and the certainty of the Thousand-Year Reich.”

“Why, of course, I see now,” said Hitler. “I thought of it, and now I am sure. Even the miserable Scriptures of subhumans cannot hide the reality of my destiny and their destruction.” He turned to von Berg, who nodded dumbly. The notion that an ancient document could predict a genocidal madman like Hitler was almost as absurd as the reality of watching him actually believe it.

Hitler produced a German Bible and opened it to the bookmark at the thirty-first chapter of Deuteronomy. “Show me here, Professor, circle the letters.”

“It won’t work in just any translation, my Fuhrer. I need the original Hebrew Torah. I suppose the Masoretic text that dates to the tenth century is precise enough. But even then I’d have to translate the alphanumeric codes.”

“I see. But of course.”

Von Berg could only gaze with wonder at the disappointed Hitler. The man should be removed from leadership immediately, he thought.

“In the case of the Maranatha text we see in the microfilm, I’m dealing with first-century Greek and not the Hebrew Dr. Stein analyzed. But here, too, if we use only every fiftieth letter, we discover words such as ‘Armageddon’ and ‘judgment’ hidden among the letters of this lost epistle to the Thessalonians.”

“Fascinating,” Hitler muttered.

“Why fifty, Herr Professor?” von Berg asked. “Why not thirty-seven or forty-four or any other number?”

“The number fifty is seven times seven plus one,” Xaptz answered simply. “Seven is a special number in the Bible, especially in the Book of Revelation, and we cannot forget there are seven days in the week of the creation myth. There are also fifty days between Passover and Shavuot, as the Jews celebrate those holidays, and Easter and Pentecost, as they are recognized by Christians.”

“But of course,” von Berg replied. “That explains everything.”

Hitler nodded in agreement, failing to appreciate the Baron’s intended sarcasm.

“Some letters can be translated into their numerical equivalents,” Xaptz continued. “Alpha, for example, is equal to one, beta is two, zeta is six, and so on, so that hidden among the letters of this microfilm is what appears to be a rather complex code of some sort. One that, if we could unravel it, would tell us the exact date of the end of human history as we know it.”

“And provide us with the formulas for Greek Fire,” said Hitler. “Go on, go on.”

“Unfortunately, it is all inconclusive, you see, because we have here only a fragment of the Maranatha text and not the text itself. And I am not so much of an expert as Dr. Stein.”

Hitler turned to Himmler. “Then get me Dr. Stein.”

Himmler cleared his throat and, in a low voice, reminded the Fuhrer, “Sent to Dachau in thirty-eight. Died two years ago.”

“I see,” Hitler murmured. “Is there nobody else?”

Xaptz said, “There is an American I am aware of who has done some work in this field, though it is not his specialty. Professor Jason Prestwick of Yale University.”

Hitler nodded. “The one referred to in the Allied communique we intercepted along with the microfilm.”

“The same, Fuhrer. Naturally, he is beyond our reach at this moment, though probably just as puzzled if they have shown him this microfilm.”

Von Berg had heard enough of this fantastic conversation spoken in such calm, reassuring tones between the quack professor and the chancellor of Germany. He could restrain himself no longer. “Has it occurred to Herr Professor,” he said, “that Prestwick is perhaps in the employment of the American intelligence services and that this microfilm is an elaborate hoax?”