The Prophecy - 16. Chapter 16

Brother Nicholas, Brother Gregory, and Brother Thomas had fled the Abbey of St. Denis soon after Brother Philip had escaped the cloister. The three men left by foot and they walked fast and only stopped at nightfall. They were outcasts now and they would outcasts be until the day they had found a safe place of refuge.

The men had settled in a clearing for the night. They were sitting in the darkness. The moon shed a creepy light.

"We must leave France," Brother Gregory said. "The abbot will inform the French king and the king might send soldiers after us."

"We’re not that important to the French king," Brother Nicholas hissed.

"After all, we committed a capital sin. We left Brother Simon behind in this cell. We left him there to die," Brother Thomas said in a weak voice. "We..."

"Brother Philip ran to save his brother from his certain death and it could well be that he succeeded. He could have freed the man," Brother Nicholas interrupted him.

"I doubt it," Brother Thomas said weakly. "Too many time had gone by. Brother Simon is dead. I'm certain of this."

"And if so," Brother Nicholas said angrily. "We allowed for all possibilities. Brother Simon was close to uncover us. He stole the parchment with the prophecy and he would have doubtlessly shown it to someone."

"Murder is a capital sin," Brother Thomas said.

"Stop talking of sins," Brother Nicholas said in a sharp voice. "We do not believe in sins and we do not believe in penance, do we? I thought you were one of the perfecti."

Silence fell. The atmosphere was tensed.

"Brother Philip will confide to the abbot," Brother Gregory said meekly.

"Brother Philip is a traitor," Brother Nicholas hissed. "A traitor! Are you a traitor also, Brother Gregory?" His voice had a dangerous undertone.

"No, I do believe in the righteous god," Brother Gregory said firmly.

"The Catholic church is full of wolves and hypocrites who worship the wrong god," Brother Nicholas said, raising his voice. "Unfortunately, we must hide among the wolves until our time has come."

"The day passed by and the world did not come to an end. We were mistaken," Brother Thomas said. His voice was shaking.

"Nonsense," Brother Nicholas hissed. "We were discussing it. Don't you remember? The figure was hard to decipher. It could have been a 1, but it looked more like a 2. I’m disappointed like you are, my brothers. I would have liked to see the world come to ruin and the true god reign over the world. We must firmly believe and trust in our faith now, my brothers. The end of the world will certainly come, however, in a thousand years from now. We must pass on our belief and we must pass on the secret prophecy, so that our successors will be well prepared when the day of doom will ultimately come."

Brother Nicholas got excited about the topic. He rose to his feet.

"They don’t understand their own belief. They are not able to read the words. They do not grasp the words' true meaning. All is written in the Book of Revelations. The Apocalypse is proclaimed and announced. They don’t know the exact date, whereas we do. We have an advantage over them. But if they were able to open their minds, then they would understand also. However, they shy away from the naked truth. It is all said in John’s book," Brother Nicholas preached.

He raised his voice and recited from the book:

"They will desire to die, and death will flee from them. By these three plagues were one third of mankind killed: by the fire, the smoke, and the sulphur, which proceeded out of their mouths. There were lightnings, sounds, and thunders; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since there were men on the earth, so great an earthquake, so mighty. The great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book."

Brother Nicholas paused for effect, and then continued.

"Whoever has ears ought to hear. Whoever has eyes ought to see. Isn’t this exactly what Jesus, their saviour, said to his followers? His followers, however are deaf and blinded, my brothers. Jesus' followers trust in illusions and fantasies," Brother Nicholas said gravely.

He sat down again.

"I agree with you, Brother Gregory," he said. "We better leave France and go to a place where they cannot find us and where we can establish our own community in secrecy, in hiding. A place that is pure and cathartic."

The three monks wandered north. They took a passage to England in autumn and found refuge in St. Augustine’s Abbey in Canterbury. They were withdrawn, secluded, and solitary men and they did not attract much attention. They came across as pious and god-fearing men and no one doubted their pure intentions. Brother Nicholas, Brother Gregory, and Brother Thomas left Canterbury in 1018 when they learned of Buckfast Abbey in the south of England. They joined the community and were among the first monks that settled in the newly founded cloister.

"We need to have patience," Brother Nicholas said. "Everything comes to him who waits. We will ultimately found our own secret cloister. Until that day, however, we must hide among the wolves. Their places provide us with food and they give us shelter. Canterbury was too big an abbey. Buckfast Abbey is a better place. Many of the brethren are pious but naïve young men. We can speak to them, correct their beliefs. In Buckfast Abbey we can find followers and we can start to establish our church."

"We must proceed cautiously," Brother Gregory said. "Some of them firmly believe in Jesus, their saviour. Confronting them too soon with the naked truth, the true nature of things, would do harm to their minds and souls."

Brother Thomas nodded and recited from the Book of Revelations.

"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. Blessed are those who do his commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter in by the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood," he said. "They think they are blessed. However, they are misguided creatures."

Brother Gregory nodded. "They ought to read on. They ought to read the next passage: I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify these things to you for the assemblies. I am the root and the offspring of David; the Bright and Morning Star."

Brother Nicholas raised his hand. Brother Thomas and Brother Gregory looked at him.

"We must slowly and cautiously make them familiar with the meaning of Morning Star," he said.

"The Son of Dawn," Brother Thomas said solemnly.

"The Light Bearer," Brother Nicholas said.

"Lucifer," Brother Gregory mouthed.