Oh! Jerusalem!

The dusty path stretched out in front of them.  Omega, Petey, and John-John led the way, trailed by Julie, Rick and Suzie, Larry and Cheryl.  They kept their eyes peeled for any sign of a flying green dragon, of their old friend, Tim, and their new friend, Marcus.

"I wanna Coke," Larry said.

"Wrong Century,"  Petey said right back.

"Wish we were in the high seas.  We might still drown, but we'd be cooler,"  Suze said.

"Hey! I think there's a town on the horizon, looks like they are building walls and such around the city," Rick mused.

"Not much of a city," Larry said.  "Every thing is made out of rocks.  Not much for a spiritual city.  Thought we were looking for Jerusalem, a grand place."

Omega explained, "It's a rebuilt city and it has a rebuilt temple.  Alpha wanted people to be really careful with His temples, and if you weren't you could fall over dead.  Sorta scary stuff."

"They are building a wall around the city,"  Rick said.

As the students walked into the heart of the city, they came to a flat place where the market and the ovens were.  It was too hot to keep big ovens in people's homes, so there were ovens in the core of the city, where you could bake the bread for your family.  Often, Alpha's prophets preached from the street corners, and they were sort of a strange lot.  One was there today.  He had wild, unwashed hair that was long enough to reach his belly; he wore linen robes and sandals, but they'd seen long walks between washes.  His eyes were wild.

"My name is Obed!" he shouted.  "And Alpha has told me to say these things, because there are beings here from far away and, maybe far into the future.  Oddly enough, he says they are older children, not yet men and women, no longer children.

"Do not become drunken and besotted on elixers that lie to you about important things!"  Obed pronounced these things with great power.

"Do not  open a girl's heart to love, then fail to love her!

"Honor Your Father and Your Mother!"

"Complain not so much, if you also fail to correct the very bad thing.

"Do not lie to thyself, nor to anyone else.

"Be hopeful for thy life.

"Love as many people as you can for as much as you can, for thy people are trying their very best.

"Be not disparaging about other people, for you do not realize what hardships they are trying to overcome.

"Be watchful for a young, beautiful God that is to come.

"Be not too sad for very long, nor very deeply, for you are of great worth.

"Be watchful and careful over thy sexuality, for otherwise, you can mess up thy brain and cause great harm to thy heart."

"Didn't we hear those someplace else?" asked Larry.

Obed looked at Omega, "Aren't you.  .  . ?"

"It's not my time."  Omega said.  "But tell us this,  is there a green dragon that lives around here?"

"There is," Obed said,  "He lives in the place of the Seven Caves."

"