I've added to Chapter 7, so here's a new version of it. Enjoy!
Chapter 7
THE SIX SPENT THE LAST month studying the Book of John and everything they could possibly learn about it. They reread the entire Book of John every day in the morning, noon, before they left work, and then before they went to bed in an effort to know it so well they could practically recite it from memory. It was essential to perform the task in case the Bible Time Travel Machine was successful and in case they couldn't carry their bags with them for whatever reason. It was not known if anything material would survive the wormhole, after all. That was one of their fears was that if the shot they invented to keep them alive through the travel of the wormhole, and their gear was destroyed, then they would be stuck wherever they went because their handheld computers were destroyed.
At least they had clothes and gear, Erin thought to herself. She wasn't sure at this point if their computers were functional, but at least they had clothes. This was a great fear to her. She was a private individual and really didn't want to be seen by Caleb or Daniel.
Erin was focused on John Chapter 1 and specifically on the writer. She was still befuddled when she saw the Apostle writing his words on parchment. So, what year was it? The date of the book was long disputed; nonetheless, the range is 70-90 A.D. approximately. Also, it was not known where he wrote it, but it was assumed to be in Ephesus. Hence, what year was it and where were they? Erin wanted to know and wished she could ask someone.
She stared at the older man and wanted to chat with 'the disciple whom Jesus loved' as referenced by the writer in John 13:23, 19:26, 21:7, 21:20, and 21:24. He was part of Jesus' inner circle and was an intimate friend of Christ. Oh, what an honor it would be to be an intimate friend of Christ and what an honor it was for her to meet the author. Erin couldn't help but wish Jesus could say the same of her. She knew He did, but she wanted to be so deeply intertwined with Him that it was even more true because she lived it consciously and intentionally.
She thought, as she stared at John, how he was the one Jesus asked to take care of his mother, Mary, (see John 19:25-27) as He died on the cross from the injuries sustained by the crucifixion along with the lack of food and water. What a responsibility to be given. Why would John, and not the other of the eleven be asked? Erin thought of how it must have made John feel--delighted, honored, and sad that Jesus couldn't take care of her. She bet he also felt unworthy.
Erin knew he was the son of Zebedee and wondered about Zebedee. Was he a good man? What was his story? She wished she would either remember this or had thought of studying it the last month. Who was he? Did he know his son was special or blessed? Did he believe in Jesus Christ?
She called to mind, additionally, how John wrote the Gospel of John, the three letters of 1 John, 2 John, and 3 John (Author's Note: They're pronounced, First John, Second John, Third John, by the way.), and the Book of Revelation (Author's Note: The name of the Book is singular and is not Revelations. It's Revelation.) He was an actual eye witness of Christ and spent time with him, so what he said was even more true. It wasn't a secondhand account.
Her thoughts then sailed to the Book of John and not just on the author. She recalled how it was in the first chapter John called Jesus the One and Only (John 1:18). The One and Only. Yes, there was nobody like Him. Jesus was the One and Only who stole John's heart and allegiance. Jesus was the One and Only John followed. Jesus was the One and Only who could save us from hell, forgive our sins, and bring us to eternal life in the Kingdom of God in heaven. Jesus was the One and Only John wanted the world to know was the Messiah and the Christ. Jesus was the One and Only friend of all friends to John. Jesus was also the One and Only Father. He alone was God. Jesus was the One and Only who could bring the world to God, His Father.
The key verses of the entire book were found in John 20:30-31 and she thought about them now. She had the chance to memorize them and did so in The Message version of the Bible:
"30 Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book;
31 but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name," (MSG).
What made that a key passage, in Erin's opinion, was that there was so more to what Jesus did than what was ever written down on parchment. The thought made her spirits soar. She could only imagine and she had quite the imagination. However, she was aware her imagination was tiny compared to the greatness of Jesus. There was more to Jesus than they knew from the Bible. She could not wait to go home to heaven and find out what all she's missed of her Lord and Savior.
The other key passage was John 1:4:
"In him was life, and that life was the light of men," (NIV).
Humans were given eternal life through Jesus. They could live forever if they believed Jesus was the Savior and died so that our sins could be forgiven. Heaven gave people a light in the dark place of life on earth. Jesus was the light, the life, and the way to heaven. He gave us a life without end and of unlimited peace and joy if we accepted Him as truth.
She found her thoughts traveled to John's story and how he was one of the first two disciples (apostles) who followed Christ. He was also the youngest at the time and was a teenager from what she could remember. She also apprehended how he was the only one of the Apostles who died an old man, and lived the longest, and died a natural death. The rest were martyred. The people at the time tried to boil him in oil, but God spared John and protected him from the burning. Consequently, they banished him to the island of Patmos until the day he died. While on Patmos, Erin remembered. he wrote Revelation. When he died, he was buried in Ephesus.
It was thought he wrote his gospel in Ephesus and that it was a rebuttal to what two men, Corinthus and Ebionites, claimed. The men said that Jesus was just a mere man and nothing more.
Erin also remembered the key words and themes of the Book of John. They were: believe, life, world, the Holy Spirit, and the Word. However, John 1 encompassed a great deal of other minor themes, along with focusing on most the key themes of the Book. He wanted to prove to the world how Jesus was the Messiah and the Christ. He dug deeply into the life and character of Jesus Christ and provided the world with a very intimate encounter with the Son of God. Erin recalled how a great deal of John's stories are only told in John's gospel and not in the other three (Matthew, Mark, and Luke).
The Gospel of John (The Book of John) was given the symbol of an eagle by the ancient church because of John 1 and the lofty heights his words reached.
By Stacy Duplease
of Stories by Stacy
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