1 Questions and Answers

 A young woman walked amongst the giant crowd, a child at her side bouncing around in excitement. She looked down at him before asking. "Are you sure about this Eli?"

 "Yes! If anyone can answer your question, Julia, it is the teacher!" the young boy stated as they made their way through the crowd of people. Julia sighed, trying to catch a glimpse of this teacher, but the crowds of people were so great. Never before had she seen this amount of people coming to listen to any philosopher nor Jewish Rabbi gather this much attention ever. Not even when she visited the Capital with her father, yet here at the Sea of Galilee near the Decapolis where there were around 4,000 men alone in the area. Julia had listened to Eli explaining about this man, the miracles he performed and the messages that he taught. 'Is this man a teacher? A god? A king?' she pondered these things in her heart. 'Well he could be a king of the Jews, so he would know their law.' Julia, who had tried her best during her journey not to show her wealth. Hiding in the clothes of the commoner, with extras packed away in a satchel, so she would not draw attention. Thankfully it seemed to be working as most either ignored her, some though did see her Roman features and glared but they didn't say anything. That was when she saw a glimpse of this man, this teacher, this Jesus. Her breath caught, she would have never known a man to look so plain, so unassuming, but hold a wisdom in his eyes far beyond the years he seemed to have lived. Around him were twelve men and they even surprised her. 'Fishermen, even a tax collector! More so but I can't tell their trade!' she thought before feeling herself become unsure. When Yehuda rejected her with that look of disgust and vehement hate upon his face she had asked him why. He replied that he wasn't even supposed to interact with a Gentile like her. That she was full of sin, but Yehuda never once answered her question on what sin was. Julia began to wonder why, why there was a difference between the God of the Jews and the Pantheon of Rome. What sin was. Why were their laws so different? Yehuda's younger brother, Eli, couldn't understand the questions because he didn't know but Eli had decided to take her to someone that he had heard could answer her question. Squaring her resolve she tried to call out to this teacher, however everything seemed to change. One moment Julia had been on the dirt road surrounded by crowds of people all seeking this teacher. The next buildings were so tall that they even surpassed a temple for Zeus. There was a smaller one, that seemed to be about the right side across a strange black road. Julia moving forward and looking left and right for any chariots in this strange place. That was when Julia saw a stack of papers struggling against the wind. So she rushed to the other side and picked it up, hoping to see a scroll but instead she found strange writing and pictures that were too uniform to be handwriting and too detailed to be a painting. Looking around Julia asked herself. "Where am I?"

 Michael Hanes, guitarist at Crossroads Community Church, walked out of a good practice session for the upcoming Easter service. He would have stayed behind and partied with his bandmates but he wanted to go out and look for a new girl he could get with. 'The last one didn't even hold out for a week.' he thought as he shook his head. Sure he went to church but he really didn't believe in what they were talking about. He just wanted to find a nice conservative girl to date, and Christian girls were often the best. However most of the ones at Crossroads were either thinking the same thing or they were so new that they would do anything he wanted them to. 'Can't I just find a nice girl for once?' he prayed, though he wasn't sure who was listening. That was when he noticed her, a young woman wearing a blue dress that reminded him of all of those Christian films based around Jesus' ministry, complete with a brown head covering. She was standing there in front of the Church with a newspaper in hand. Michael shrugged his shoulders before walking up to her. "So, what's the news?"

 She glanced up at him, and Michael was startled at the large hazel eyes staring at him like he had just spoken a foreign language to her. 'Can't be, everyone knows English.' Michael thought before trying a different approach. He waved his hand saying. "Hello?"

 The young woman looked startled before speaking in a language Michael did not know. He looked confused before realizing that it did sound familiar but he couldn't pinpoint it. "English?"

 The woman shook her head looking absolutely confused. Michael let out a groan before setting down his guitar, the young woman trying to take a closer look at it as he pulled out his phone. He was tapping at the screen to install a translation app hoping one of them had a way to find out what language was being spoken. That was when a slim finger tapped at one of them and Michael looked forward to seeing the young woman observing the phone. She looked up at him with those hazel eyes that drew him in. Michael wanted to pull his phone away but he looked down at the screen and saw that the app that she had tapped on had quite a few stars as well as a few thousand reviews on it. He quickly scanned the reviews before nodding his head and downloading it. Glancing at the young woman Michael grabbed his guitar case with his other hand and jerked his head towards Crossroads Church. Her eyes flickered to the building before moving next to him as Michael walked towards the building. She paused at the door examining it carefully before opening it once she discovered that it was made out of glass and metal. Michael chuckled at this thinking. 'It's like she's never seen a glass door before.' He led her into the sanctuary but she stopped at the doorway and backed away as her eyes landed on the large cross on the wall. Michael turned around to see her pale and looking rather sick. He moved forward leading her to one of the nearby steps that led to the upper floors where there were more chairs. 

 "It's alright," he told her gently, though they didn't speak the same language he knew a calm voice could convey that she was alright. She was muttering the word "Stavros" under her breath over and over again in fear. Michael sighed as he opened the app and found a detect language feature there and typed in the word stavros hoping that he could find some clue of what it meant. He frowned when he discovered that it was Greek, meaning cross.

 "You're… Greek?" Michael asked before typing on his phone in English hoping that it translated correctly and showed it to her. The young woman looked up before reading the letters carefully before holding out her hand. Michael held up one finger before finding and downloading a Greek keyboard to his phone. He switched the languages and tried his best to show her how it worked. He didn't know why but he was assuming that she hadn't been around much technology. The young woman took the phone, holding it in her hands like it was made of porcelain, which Michael couldn't blame her. Phones were a bit fragile nowadays, he remembered when he had the chocolate brick that he dropped a few times and could put back together with no issues whatsoever. Michael couldn't help but chuckle as he watched her as she tapped at the screen slowly before tilting her head to the side. Then there was a nod as she held up the smartphone and Michael took it reading carefully. "I am of the Roman Empire, my name is Julia, daughter of Lucian."

 "The Roman Empire?" Michael couldn't help but feel confused just by reading it. He shook his head before typing a question about what her last name was. Julia just looked confused before retyping the response of her name once more. Michael sighed before rubbing the back of his neck before asking through his phone. "Do you have a place to stay?"

 Julia read the question before shaking her head. Michael didn't want to take her home only to find out she was crazy. Yet he couldn't just leave her in the Church, they didn't want people in there after hours. Weighing the options in his mind Michael typed. "You can stay at my place for the night, but tomorrow you need to go home."

 'Don't question why she said she was from the Roman Empire, she might just be insane.' Michael told himself as he handed Julia the phone and headed out. Julia followed him and typing away while he was locking up the door but as they walked she held the phone to her chest. Michael couldn't help but find it kind of cute and chuckled before leading her back to the apartment. He could say it was one of the few things he missed back home, the houses and wide open spaces of the country. He missed being able to walk without having to look over his shoulder whenever he walked home. Now all Michael had to worry about is that he was possibly bringing home a mentally unstable woman. 

 When the duo finally got to the old apartment building where Michael was living he allowed Julia to walk in first after making sure that the landlord wasn't around. Not that Michael had anything against the landlord he just knew the older man was looking to hook him up with one of his many grandchildren. That was when a loud, exuberant voice called out. "Michele! There you are my boy."

 "Signor Rossi," Michael replied, plastering his stage grin on his face as he turned to look at the elderly Italian man standing there. "You're awake!"

 "Dinner," Rossi answered before going on about what his wife had just made the two of them before his eyes wandered to Julia. "Now who is this beautiful signorina?"

 "Chaire," Julia answered with a bow of her head and Rossi took a step back as he observed her for a moment before looking at Michael asking. "Where in this large world did you find a woman as well educated as this one, huh?"

 "Well… educated?" Michael asked and Rossi took a step back to shout something at his wife in Italian the only English bits being said was. "Take a look at this beautiful Greek speaking woman eh? She is definitely Italian but speaks ancient Greek, like out of the scriptures!"

 Rossi laughed before his wife peered around the corner before smiling saying to Michael. "You have found a good Italian woman, modest and talented."

 "No, no!" Michael shook his head and hands as he tried to explain. "I'm just letting her stay for the night, she's going home tomorrow."

 He looked at Misses Rossi's face before quickly adding. "I'm sleeping on the couch. She'll take the bed."

 Misses Rossi patted him on the face saying. "Good boy Michele."

 "Might want to study up on your Ancient Greek if you want to really show off!" Mr. Rossi said before his wife led him back in. "We'll bring you some Lasagna later for you and your signorina later!"

 "Thank you," Michael replied before pushing Julia up the stairs and towards his room with one hand. "Sorry about this."

 Julia just looked a little confused at what was going on and the conversation earlier but she could understand the apologetic tone in his voice. She continued to type on the phone once she was standing still and he unlocked the door to his one room apartment. He stepped in first before turning to look at Julia saying. "Welcome to my humble abode."

 Julia stepped in after Michael was unsure about the ceremony of entering someone's home here in this strange new land. However the young man, she had understood that his name was Michael, which surprised her since it was a Jewish name, didn't seem to care. He just set down his strange baggage and walked down to flop down upon a seat. She moved up to him as he took off his strange footwear, leaning his head back and he looked at what she had wrote.

 "My apologies for this situation, I am unsure of where I am at. One moment I was seeking the Jewish teacher Iēsoûs to answer my questions outside of the Decapolis near the Sea of Galilee then I ended up here."

 Michael looked up at her before looking down at the glass tablet from before and began typing. He paused before handing it back to her. Julia read the Greek letters on the screen before biting her lip.

 "The Decapolis? Jewish Teacher? Questions?"

 Julia paused before tapping at the symbols before getting frustrated with how long it was taking. So she just typed. "Do you have a scroll and a brush?"

 Michael took the tablet before frowning, he held up his hand again and began to look through his small home. Julia was somewhat surprised at how small his home was, but considering he was talking with his elder before she assumed that he was either a relative or a tenant of the building. However Julia decided to take a seat at the table, after taking one of the cushions off of the large seat and placing it under her. When Michael returned he gave her a confused look before setting down some paper that was oddly too white to be like the parchment of her says and a strange looking brush. Julia looked up at him as Michael picked up the strange brush and wrote on the parchment. Understanding Julia took the writing tool and began to write in Greek. Michael tapping at the tablet as she wrote out each letter with practiced grace, ease, and speed. She sat back once she was done writing and read it over.

 "I went to this teacher at the suggestion of the slave boy, Eli, so this teacher can answer my question on why Eli's brother, Yehuda, rejected me. I want to know why the Jews are unable to marry a non Jew. I want to know what this sin that Yehuda had mentioned. Why does their One God have different rules for the Jews and everyone else? Eli said that the teacher knew many things and that he may be their Messiah. What is a Messiah?"

 Michael looked at the translation on his phone and opened his mouth before closing it. The questions she was seeking answers from this… he paused as he looked again at the translation from before. 'Jesus?!? She was seeking answers from Jesus?' he thought his mind was rushing with even more questions than before. 'How did I not notice this the first time around. Wait… wait… she probably means she was going to Church to seek the answers. Not like she actually was going to ask Jesus the question directly. She can't have traveled through time. That's impossible, even for God.'

 That was when a feeling pressed down upon him as he remembered reading in the Bible that nothing was impossible for God. He leaned forward as he looked at Julia, if it was true she was from the past there was a way for her to be sent back. However that would mean that if God truly existed that he sent her to the future for a reason. Perhaps the questions that needed to be answered, perhaps to show her something, perhaps she needed to learn something. Michael shook his head as he pondered these things. 'If she really is from the past I should limit her interaction with the outside world.' Michael thought as he stood up to get something to eat from the fridge… only to find it empty and Julia right next to him sticking her hand into the fridge. Michael took her hand gently as he realized that he needed to go shopping and couldn't leave Julia in his apartment by herself. He took out his phone and typed. "I'm going to do some shopping, I'm going to have to bring you with me."

 He watched as Julia read the words before nodding her head with a smile on her face. She took the phone for a quick moment, Michael barely having the time to switch it to Greek. She tapped at the screen and Michael read over her shoulder. "Excellent, there are a few things that seem to be missing in this cold box of yours."

 Michael was about to correct her, almost calling it refrigerator before realizing that she would have no idea what he was talking about. 'In the morning, I'll let her know that I can answer her question but it might take some time.' he told himself, he didn't want to thrust someone like her into the modern world if she was suddenly going to be brought back to the past. This was a good excuse, there was just one problem. 'I'm going to actually have to do the studies and talk to people.' he told himself mentally as he shut the fridge door. He began to head out, right after putting his shoes back on, he saw Julia's sandals before typing at the phone. "Are those sandals… comfortable?"

 Julia looked down at her feet before she nodded her head. Michael wasn't sure, it was cold out, it was still early spring and here in the city it was quite cold. However he just grabbed one of his jackets for Julia and put it on her showing how to slip her arms through the armholes. He sighed as he realized how much bigger he was than her. He unlocked his door and almost ran into Misses Rossi holding a large tray of lasagna.

 "Misses Rossi, I almost forgot you were coming up," Michael lied, he had completely forgotten that she was coming. "I was going to step out to buy some food, can't have you supplying me with food forever."

 "Nonsense, you never have enough food," Misses Rossi chastised him and Michael winced. "You even have a guest and still not enough food. You do not eat enough as is, always going to practice or breaking young girls' hearts. Though from what I hear they weren't the ones who would stay with you anyways."

 "Misses Rossi, just put it in the fridge," Michael said as Julia typed on his phone and showed the screen to Misses Rossi. The elderly woman looked at it with squinted eyes before nodding her head saying. "Tell this young lady that I'll bring one by later."

 Michael looked at Julia with suspicion but she showed him the screen which read. "I'm looking for a clay jar with handles on both sides and a tight fitting lid called an Amphora."

 Michael was curious as to why she was asking for it before relaying Misses Rossi's response, asking her what it was for. Julia just laughed as they walked, only pausing to type when they weren't walking. So the reply was taking quite a while as they headed to the local supermarket. Michael was wondering what kind of food stuff he had to buy. He was not going to go for his typical instant food as he didn't want Julia to become addicted to modern food. Which meant he was going to have to cook for her.

 The moment they entered the store Michael almost regretted bringing Julia there. Her eyes seemed to widen at the sight of the food at the entrance. He typed on his phone. "Stay close, don't wander off."

 Julia nodded her head as she trailed behind him looking at the different kinds of produce nearby. Michael grabbing a shopping cart grumbling under his breath on how ridiculous this was having to watch over a fully grown woman. He caught himself as he remembered that she may be fully grown but she didn't have the knowledge that he did, she wasn't from the modern times. 'What am I supposed to do?' Michael questioned internally as he walked up to Julia who was examining some of the fruits carefully before looking around. Michael hurried his steps as he typed in his phone. "We pay later, just pick out what you want."

 Julia smiled as she went around choosing rather carefully out of the produce. Michael was surprised to see that she was actually going for a rather wide variety. He had assumed that those who lived in Ancient Rome had avoided vegetables. Yet Julia was stocking up on onions, lettuce, carrots, a lot of oranges, carrots leeks, pomegranates. 'That one doesn't surprise me.' Michael pondered as he watched Julia carefully examined the two leeks that she was holding. He chuckled before realizing the care she was taking in picking. Normally he and a lot of others would just grab whatever didn't look rotten. He wanted to say something but he wasn't sure what so he just looked away to grab a bag to put the produce in. His fingers fumbling to open the flimsy plastic bag and he cursed, catching Julia's attention, she set down one of the leeks and went to help him. Since he couldn't use his phone at the moment Michael fumbled with his words and shook his head showing that he didn't need help. Julia instead made the picture of a basket with her hands. Michael paused before thinking about it as Julia set the leek into the basket. He nodded his head before taking Julia to the garden department. Julia stared at the cart as they did so, as if she was contemplating the true use of the object. 

 When they made it to the garden department Michael began to look for a woven basket he knew they sold around this time of year. He did keep an eye on Julia but was distracted when a familiar voice called out. "Mikey!"

 His head turned as he saw two of his bandmates, David and Ashley, approaching him with a wave of their hands. David was the drummer and Michael's best friend. He clapped hands while Ashley just sat there with a bored look on her face. Her lips formed the familiar pout that Michael was used to back when they dated. It was a look that showed that she was not happy to be around him. Ashley was the back up singer in their church band.

 "What's up?" David asked as he nodded his head back and forth. "Finding a new conservative girl to date?"

 Ashley scoffed as Julia came up to the cart, her arms full of small olive trees a huge grin on her face. Michael initially worried about his wallet but remembered that he had enough money for a big splurge so he nodded his head. Ashley's brown eyes narrowed as she looked at Julia like she was trying to size her up. Michael looked over at David who was just staring at him before explaining. "This is Julia, from Italy, I'm helping her out until she can get back home."

 'Not a lie.' Michael had to remind himself, he didn't want his friends to get upset at him lying to them. He looked at Julia before deciding to introduce her to his bandmates. "Julia, this is Ashley and David."

 Michael knew that Julia wouldn't be able to understand him but he motioned to the two as he said their names. That was when she bowed her head in greeting towards Ashley, saying. "Salve (Sal-weh), Ashley."

 Then she turned David and with a look of absolute joy she said. "Shalom, David."

 Both Ashley and Michael gave Julia a confused look, however David took it in stride answering back. "Shalom, Julia."

 "What's Shalom?" Michael asked, David looked at him before saying. "It's Hebrew, it is used as a greeting and a farewell. It means peace, completeness, wishes for well-being… my parents used to say this before they found Christ."

 Michael hesitated for a moment before Julia ran off again, this time towards the giant planter pots. He looked at David who just nodded his head before saying. "How am I going to communicate to her?"

 "Greek, she probably speaks Latin as well," Michael said holding up his phone and David nodded his head before going to keep an eye on Julia. Though it seemed like, through the phone, they were having a discussion about which one that Julia should buy. Ashley shook her head before looking at Michael asking. "So you're not dating her?"

 "Nah, she has to go home but I just want to answer a few questions she had," Michael replied honestly as he finally picked out the basket and placed the fruit and vegetables in it. "It can't be that har… seriously?"

 David had just walked up with another cart filled with the giant clay pots as Julia put back a few of the olive trees. David shrugged his shoulders saying. "What? She wanted to keep them in something nice so I'm buying them for her. Also she wanted mackerel, tuna, anchovies, and sardines."

 "David, your wallet is going to die," Ashley warned him but David just shrugged it off earning a disapproving look from Ashley. She rolled her green eyes and pushed her red hair out of her face as he pulled out her phone. 'Distracting herself from the situation.' Michael remembered as Julia rejoined them, David having already gone off to buy Julia her fish. 'It makes sense, a lot of people in Ancient Rome probably did eat a lot of fish.' he thought as he walked off with Ashley absently following him and Julia following him with the same look of excitement. She had gotten him beans, lentils, even chickpeas… once Michael had told her what was in the giant can. Though it seemed like the pictures on the products really did help as Julia seemed like she knew what she was looking at. Surprisingly Julia avoided sugar, even after Michael explained to her what it was she avoided it opting to go for honey instead. Barley, grains, meats, after some very careful examination on Julia's end, and Ashley scoffing at how careful Julia was being. Michael was glad that Julia did not understand English because Ashley was making comments under her breath that were really quite rude. Michael chose to leave Julia to her decisions and pulled Ashley off to the side. "What's up?"

 "What are you really doing?" Ashley asked, waving her hand towards Julia. "She's in a costume, doesn't speak English, and you're helping her with questions."

 "Yes, why is that so hard to believe?" Michael replied, earning a familiar look from Ashley. "Look, she just needs help and Mrs. Rossi already made sure that we aren't going to be in the same bed. I'm not going to sleep with her."

 "Yeah, you aren't the type," Ashley snapped back as Julia placed the beef into the cart before going off to grab a whole chicken. "You don't like girls who are willing to sleep with you after one date."

 "Oh, that's what this about," Michael retorted and Ashley looked away. "You're still mad about that. I had told you when we started dating that I was looking for someone to marry, so I invited you to my apartment for actual coffee, coffee Signor Rossi got from his grandkids in Italy."

 "Yeah when people say coffee they really mean a good time," Ashley retorted, folding her arms across her chest. Michael threw his hands into the air trying to keep as calm as possible. "After how many girls I dated before and left for this exact reason I would have thought that you understood when I said coffee I meant coffee! I say coffee not Netflix and Chill!"

 Neither noticed David pulling Julia away to the meat counter to look at the fish. Instead Ashley looked like she was the one hurt as she looked away. Michael took a deep breath before looking at what Julia had placed in his cart telling her. "We can't just focus on the past, Ash."

 "What we had was special though," Ashley pointed out as she typed away at her phone. "Michael, you're obsessed with marrying someone like your mom."

 Michael's grip on the cart tightened as he felt anger rise. Ashley knew how to dig in the knife. Ashley paused her eyes widening as she looked at Michael before David's voice snapped out. "Ashley!"

 Michael felt a wave of relief as Ashley opened her mouth. Julia was looking between the two holding onto the fish that they requested as David moved over to Ashley. "You know that is a subject that should not be brought up."

 "I'm sorry I didn't mean…." Ashley stumbled over her words as Michael moved away with Julia following behind him as David scolded Ashley. The last thing Michael hearing was. "Yes you did, remember: A big forest fire can be started with only a little flame. And the tongue is like a fire. It is a whole world of evil among the parts of our bodies. The tongue spreads its evil through the whole body. It starts a fire that influences all life. The tongue gets this fire from hell. People can tame every kind of wild animal, bird, reptile, and fish, and they have tamed them. But no one can tame the tongue. It is wild and evil. It is full of poison that can kill."

 Michael had a bit of a smile on his face, David for some reason always had a Bible Verse for a situation. Though a part of the band, David wasn't really the most popular guy at Crossroads Community Church. Since David always could bring up tough points and wasn't afraid of calling the pastor out. Yet the pastor couldn't try to force David out because of two reasons: One he was of Jewish heritage and two David was Michael's best friend and if David left Michael knew he would leave too. So David stays and the church has a worship team. So David remained and acted as the band's peacekeeper, often keeping Ashley off his back and scolding her and the others when they brought up the sensitive topic of Michael's family. That was when Michael felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to look at Julia. He handed her his phone quickly, after unlocking it and she began to type. Michael halting his journey to let her do so. She held it up and he read. "I may not understand your words but I know you fought with her. If you want to talk, tell me when we get back."

 Then Julia pulled the phone back to herself typing once again before showing the screen. "Also, I need olive oil and I cannot find it."

 Michael blinked a few times before leading her back to the baking section and leading her to where all the oils were. More specifically where the olive oil was located. Julia stared at him before looking at the plastic bottles before looking back at him. Michael retrieved his phone from Julia and began to look up the best kind of olive oil that he could buy at the store. He remembered seeing an oil and vinegar kiosk at the mall that they could stop by after practice the next day. Michael typing a reminder on his phone to ask the pastor about Julia's questions. Once everything was paid for Michael walked with David, Ashley, and Julia back to their apartment. David stopped to talk to Signor Rossi about attending the Easter Service only for Rossi to reply with. "You young ones don't stop and think about who it is your worshiping and without love it sounds like clanging cymbals. All your songs about me, me, me, who is it that saved you in the first place?! Except you young David, you play good but that is one sound out of the cacophony of noise."

 "Stubborn old man," hissed Ashley and David turned his head and with a quick look Ashley settled down. Yet despite her words Signor Rossi chose to ignore what she said and waved to Michael and Julia as they went back up to Michael's room. Mrs. Rossi glanced in their direction and Julia waved at her before they vanished up the stairs with their groceries. David soon after with the giant pots that he had bought for Julia. Michael barely managed to open his door and saw more strange pots which he knew was the stuff that Julia had asked for. Thankfully they were out of the way as the groceries were in and in the fridge. Michael grabbed the chilling lasagna and prepared the oven according to the instructions on top. As usual Mrs. Rossi had written her recipe on the back, so Michael placed the card into a small box after he put the lasagna in his oven. He leaned back for a moment before pulling out his phone texting his pastor:

"Hey, have a few questions for you that someone asked me."

"Sure, go ahead."- Pastor Jack

 "So the first question was 'Why are Jewish people unable to marry non-Jews?'."

"You might need to ask a Jewish person that, the Bible isn't very clear

On that one." -Pastor Jack

"Thanks man, the second questions that this person asked 

Was 'What is sin?'."

"Well, you see, we really don't get into that. It's kind of hard

To explain and it really depends on the person." -Pastor Jack

 Michael groaned internally as he realized that his pastor wasn't going to be much help. 'This is what I get for going to a trendy church instead of doing my research.' Michael thought before going back to texting his pastor.

"Why do the Jews have different laws from the non-Jews, was the 

Third question."

 "Because they like rules." -Pastor Jack

"The last question is, who is the Messiah and what is he?"

"Dude, where is this person finding these terms XD? That is

Like so last century." -Pastor Jack

 Michael pushed down his irritation before typing a quick 'thanks'. This meant he was going to have to do the research himself. He pulled the lasagna out of the oven and set it on the stove top.

 "Hey David, serve up some lasagna for you and Julia," he said as he looked towards the secondary bedroom that he turned into a study. "I've got some things I want to look up."

 "Sure thing Mikey!" David called back and Michael headed into his study and sat down at his computer desk. He glanced at a framed picture, it was of him, his mother, and his father all outside of a church building. 'I can call him.' Michael thought as he stared at the image of his father: A bald man with kind blue eyes, some crows feet around them. Gritting his teeth Michael looked away from the picture as he firmly thought. 'No, he hasn't called me since mom died and I don't want to talk to him, pastor or not.' 

 Instead Michael rolled over to his bookshelf and grabbed his Bible and a notebook. He had to double check to see if the notebook was blank. Once he was sure Michael flipped to Matthew and began to read hoping to find his answers within the passages of the New Testament. Regret hit Michael immediately as he realized that Matthew started with genealogy, but Michael found that it was interesting. He began to write down notes as he continued to read. Getting so absorbed that he didn't realize when David entered the room and just hovered over his shoulder.

 "Did you know that Matthew was the reason why my dad came to Christ?" David asked and Michael jumped before giving an angry look towards David. David held up a plate of the lasagna and Michael understood that he did bring food. Michael stretched for a moment before motioning towards the other chair. David setting down Michael's plate before leaving to grab his own and returning. Michael looked confused before asking. "How's Julia doing?"

 "She's doing well," David replied as he took a seat and digging in. "We finished planting the olive trees and then I taught her how to use the oven and stove."

 "You taught her?" Michael asked, pretending to be confused about this. David nodded his head as he explained. "Yeah, I just had a feeling that she needed to learn about it so there was no accidental burning down of the apartment."

 Both laughed before David gave Michael the look that Michael was not going to escape the conversation that David had started before. Michael sighed before saying. "So, why was Matthew the reason why your dad came to Christ? Your dad is a Christian, right?"

 "Well yeah, he goes by Messianic Jew though but we're still Christians just by a different name," David laughed as he began to eat. "You see a lot of Jews don't read the New Testament, they believe it is for Christians only. Just like a lot of Christian believe that the Old Testament is either full of fables or just for the Jews."

 Michael sat back as he thumbed the pages of the Old Testament but was not willing to flip back there. David leaned forward. "My dad read the Gospel of Matthew on a dare. Like he didn't come to Christ right away but he did understand that Jesus was Jewish."

 "What do you mean?" Michael asked, he had already gotten that part based on the genealogy that he had just gone through in the first verse. David pulled Michael's Bible to him as he explained. "A lot of Jews, if not all, believe that Jesus was a gentile. It is why the Holy Spirit inspired Augustine of Hippo to put Matthew in the New Testament first."

 David's fingers traced over the letters on the page: "The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham."

 "Because Matthew wrote this for the Jews," David said looking at Michael who sat back listening. "Think about the way Matthew is written, how Mark, Luke, and John are written. Mark is for the Romans, Luke is for the Greeks, and John is for those who have the Holy Spirit or who are seeking the Spirit of God."

 "Okay?" Michael asked as he looked down at his notebook wondering where this was going. David leaned forward. "Think about it, when someone wants to start reading a book where do they normally start?"

 "At the beginning," replied Michael before a look of understanding dawned on his face. "And Matthew is the beginning of the New Testament."

"So my dad started where you did, with the genealogy of Jesus Christ," David continued leaning back in the seat. "And the first thing he learned was that Jesus was Jewish, well my dad and his group of friends. They had to do research secretly because it is kind of taboo to read the New Testament. The more they looked at the Old Testament the more they realized that Jesus is the Messiah. Which lead at least my dad to Jesus and him getting kicked out of the house."

 "So the Messiah is Jesus," Michael quickly wrote that down and David nodded his head standing up saying. "Mikey, read your Bible for once and don't just rely on Pastor Jack and others to say what it means. God is the one who knows all, try going to him for once in your life instead of walking away."

 The words struck Michael as he glanced at his family picture again, the door to his study closing leaving Michael alone in the room. Hesitation and doubt began to rise in Michael as he began to think about praying. 'I don't know if this is going to work.' he thought before going back to his Bible study on Matthew.

 Dawn rose symbolizing a new day in this strange new world. However Julia awoke before the sun even rose, on the bed belonging to Michael, and looked around the room. She had understood that Michael was a musician of sorts from what David had told her. Yet she barely saw instruments, his room was empty, almost devoid of the things that made him happy. Climbing off of the bed Julia took her satchel and looked for her other clothes. Once changed Julia began to start the day with cooking a light meal to start with. She looked at the oven and turned it on like David had shown her keeping it at the same temperature. Julia didn't want to mess with anything too much and decided that she would just keep an eye on the bread to make sure it was fully cooked. Next she searched for a pot to put the barley in to make puls. Yet she was going to wait a little later as she started on the bread, letting it rise with the heat and the garum. The garum, a staple of the Roman Empire, she needed to find a place out of the way so the smell wouldn't bother anyone. She did hear that there was a spot on the roof that was out of the way and in the sunlight. 'David was the one who told me when I asked him about it.' Julia thought as she began to look at the anchovies and sardines realizing that they were gutted. A look of irritation flashed across her face. One of the things her mother had told her was that they should never waste. Growing up in a big family Julia and her sisters had to learn how to prepare and cook food. Their mother always told them that not all of them were going to marry wealthy and have servants to do this. Julia knew that she could use the fish for another meal when there was a light knock on the door. Curious, she opened it, seeing David with a large container and holding the strange tablet in his mouth. Looking at it closely Julia read. "Figured that you were gonna need these guys."

 Julia nodded her head to the side and moved back into the kitchen with David right behind her. He opened the container showing Julia that he had either just gone out fishing or he found fresh fish for her. She looked at David who wrote on the tablet. "Was wondering why you wanted the fish and those containers so I did a little research. Figured you were going to need freshly caught fish so I went down to the fish market and got you these guys."

 Julia smiled before waving her hand, a sign of wanting to see if David was going to join her in making garum. David grinned before joining her in the kitchen watching as she took out the fish, preparing them with herbs, then putting them into the pot, then adding salt. Her mother had shown her how much salt was needed for what type of fish being used in the garum. The layering continued until the jars were filled and the fish was gone. Setting them aside for a moment as Julia cleaned up to knead the bread, set it aside again so they could make the journey up to the roof. Julia heaved one of the jars up to rest on her shoulder as David carried the other two. As they began their trip up to the roof Julia noticed Ashley watching them with narrowed green eyes before the door shut with a snap. Julia looked at David who just silently shrugged, hands too full to actually use the glass tablet from before.

 Once on the roof and the jars were placed David pulled out a sign to write something and placed it on the jars. Then he turned his attention to Julia as they rested and wrote on the tablet. "You were up earlier than I planned."

 Julia nodded her head and David gave her a curious look before asking. "You… you didn't do any morning practices?"

 Julia shook her head before holding out her hand and David handed her the glass tablet. She wrote upon it. "Not anymore, Yehuda had told me that the gods I had worshiped were false, that they were merely idols with no ears to hear and no eyes to see. One day I had awoken to do so but when I thought about it… I knew he was right. The household idols were nothing more than wood, metal, and stone. I wanted to learn more but… Yehuda did not wish to talk to me and his brother Eli was not sure how to explain their Living God in a way that made sense to one who is older than a child."

 Julia handed the tablet over to David who was nodding his head before he wrote. "Makes sense, God is tough to explain in a way that we can understand."

 Julia frowned as David wrote again. "God is the Creator of All, he knows our innermost thoughts, he knew us before we were born. He listens to us, even our thoughts, he sees us, even when no one else can, he knows our pain, even the pain we hide from others."

 Julia gave a small smile before David jerked his head towards the roof access as the wind blew. Mrs. Rossi came up with the laundry to hang dry. She nodded her head to them as they passed by giving a glance towards the jars and smiled. 

 When they returned David watched Julia prepare the bread as well as the porridge. David made sure that the porridge was left on a low heat so that Michael would be able to eat it hot. Once they were well fed David wrote. "Hey, let's go to the Church, I want to tell you more about who we are celebrating."

 As they walked, Julia, still unsure of what the Church was, just watched as David wrote while walking. She still was amazed at how many people could write while walking in this strange and new world. However David was always kind enough to wait for her to write back or even read what he wrote. He had explained to her that the stavros hanging in the building was a reminder of a great sacrifice. That a King, that the Living God entered into the world to save all of them from this curse called sin through his blood. This caused Julia to think as she stared up at the stavros. 'Who is this king who saved us?' Julia thought, her mind wandering back to the teacher with the eyes more ancient than his age. David climbed onto the stage where many strange instruments were displayed before picking a familiar one, the tambourine. He waved her up before going to sit down at one of the instruments holding sticks in his hands. He began to pound on them and Julia realized that they were drums. So she came up onto the stage and took the tambourine into her hands, tapping it to the beat. Soon Julia began to dance in joy as she thought about the King who came to save them from this curse.

Michael sat in his study munching on the porridge that he had found. He had already texted his replacement to take his place in the practice session while he continued to study the Bible in front of him. Normally it was the other way around, any time he had the chance to go study Michael would often go off to practice in the band and only call his replacement when he was sick. This time Michael knew he needed to study more. He had to answer Julia's questions, there was a drive inside of him to do so. At first he thought he was just tired because his pastor didn't want to answer the question. Yet when he thought about it overnight it was because Pastor Jack did not know the answer nor was interested in looking into them. So Michael was going to study until the next Sunday, which was Palm Sunday, and do a quick practice session beforehand. He wasn't going to let someone as nice as Julia go home without answers. 

 The hours passed as Michael continued to read through the New Testament, actually cross referencing words in Greek in order to understand the broader context. Yet he still felt like he wasn't finding the answer to the questions that he wanted. Which caused more and more frustration. Then whenever he pushed away there was a call in his heart to keep reading. Instead of pushing away Michael decided to buckle down and continue to read. The only time he was aware that Julia and David returned was when Julia walked in with lunch in her hand and placed it next to him. This time she sat down near him but just watched him read over the Bible. Once in a while she would move to help him when he read the Greek translation however she quickly learned that he was looking over a reference and settled back down. However she did leave to prepare dinner leaving Michael to read in silence. 

 Dinner was an egg dish with a side of beef, Julia having placed a note written in Ancient Greek upon it. With some difficulty Michael managed to translate it. "This is a simple dish, but once the Garum is done it will be better."

 'What is Garum?' Michael thought, though he thought that the food was good despite the lack of the ingredient. 'Though I am curious about what it would taste like with the garum.'

 Well Michael was about to get a crash course in what Garum was. The next day a rather foul smell began to waft through the apartment. This did break Michael's concentration, as well as the knocking on his door. He opened it tiredly seeing Signor Rossi who asked. "Is that young lady here?"

 Michael looked around before finding a note from David saying that he took Julia to the park. He sighed before saying. "No, she's at the park. What did she do?"

 Signor Rossi waved his hand as he led Michael to the roof where he pointed to large jars, in the sunlight but placed under the vents. Mrs. Rossi was standing there, her arms crossed, hinting that she just had an argument with her husband and not allowing him to get rid of the jars. Though she did move them away from the vents. The smell was coming from the jars causing Michael to retch. Signor Rossi sighed as he shook his head explaining. "My stubborn wife is saying that the young lady had her permission to make whatever is in the jars but she is insisting someone moved them."

 Michael was thinking of what happened but he was in his study most of the day before and he said. "I don't know… I was reading through the Bible yesterday."

 "Oh, congratulations," Signor Rossi said, patting him on the shoulder before looking around. "Do you have an idea of who might have moved them besides that lovely lady?"

 "Who else could it have been?" Ashley's voice broke through and Michael turned to look at her before spotting David and Julia coming to the roof. Julia rushing to check on the jars and help Mrs. Rossi move them. "She was on the roof yesterday."

 "You," David called out, causing Ashley to tense up and look at him. "You moved them after what happened yesterday!"

 Ashley took a step back as she stuttered. "W-what do you mean?"

 Even Michael was confused but he didn't show it, this was because his replacement was his own identical twin brother: Daniel. Though they looked exactly alike Michael always thought they were more different than similar after they got older. When they were kids Daniel and Michael always used to pull pranks and switch places with each other making people confused on who was who. When they got older Michael saw his brother's faith grow in leaps and bounds while Michael was left with doubts and faith so small he thought he had nothing. The only person who knew Daniel was David, he could always tell the difference between the two. Yet Daniel was always willing to drop whatever he was doing and cover for Michael as they both loved music and played the guitar. 

 Michael crossed his arms and stared at Ashley who could not meet his gaze as he spoke. "It was you and Roger wasn't it?"

 Ashley was about to say something but kept her eyes on the ground. Roger, he was the band's bassist and vocalist who always seemed to have a grudge against Michael for breaking up with his sister. So whenever Ashley was angry at the girl Michael was dating Roger would always team up with her to bully the girl. However David was always the one to get both of them to back down. Michael ran a hand through his hair before pointing at Ashley saying. "Stop trying these stupid stunts alright Ashley?! Julia is just a friend and not just that she doesn't even get what you are saying!"

 Ashley was about to talk yet Michael didn't let her. "Every single time you see me with a girl you get in the way, every time I even have a friend you start doing crap like this and we stop being friends. I live rent free in your head and I don't even want to be there! Julia is a nice girl and all you see is competition. I'm not interested in you! I don't want to date you again! AND YOU'RE THE REASON WHY I AM CONSIDERING LEAVING!"

 Ashley flinched back before looking at David as if asking for his help but David just shook his head as Michael stormed off to help Julia. Ashley looked at her feet before snapping at Michael. "She's not good enough for you Michael!"

 "You don't get to decide that," David told Ashley and she seethed with fury. She turned around and marched towards David, her curly red hair looking like fire as she approached. His head was bowed but she didn't care, prayer was just what idiots did when they wanted to vent their anger to God or when they wanted something. "You don't get to tell me what I can or cannot do!"

 Yet there was no response from David, no matter how much she yelled or shouted at him Ashley could not break his focus. Ashley glared towards Julia, she could not understand how a woman who did not even speak English could change Michael so much. Her hazel eyes transmitted so much emotion while her brown hair was styled loosely. Almost like everything was natural and not artificial. This made Ashley even angrier, everything about Julia's mannerisms screamed that she was Michael's type. Yet he treated her so differently, he treated Julia like she was a precious toy while all the other girls were just discarded because they did one thing wrong. Yet Ashley was taken aback as Julia read what Michael showed her and looked at Ashley before smiling. She took Michael's phone and walked over to Ashley after typing something. Ashley didn't want to read whatever catty words that Julia wanted her to see. Yet when she glanced at the phone she was surprised, there was the Greek and then the translation was something she never expected. "The spot you chose was good but you should be careful next time. The smell of garum is powerful, especially in these early days."

 'Does she not get the fact that I purposely tried to get her in trouble?' Ashley thought before looking away, Michael waving Julia back and she came right over. Ashley grumbling under her breath before heading back to her apartment.

 Julia was unsure why Ashley did not like her, it was never really explained. Yet she saw someone who was hurt inside, similar to the hurt Julia felt when she was rejected by Yehuda. However even Julia knew that Ashley wasn't letting it out in a healthy manner by talking to someone or was receiving some really bad advice from the local philosophers. So she decided to deliver a peace offering in the form of food to Ashley's apartment for dinner. When suggesting through the tablet she saw the uncertainty on Michael's face so she tried to figure something else out. 

 When they returned to the apartment Michael tried to think about what to do. He wasn't lying when he said that he was thinking of leaving. He felt led the more he read the Bible, he didn't belong at Crossroads Community Church. Yet he didn't know where he was being led, so he sat out in the dining area as Julia cooked food. Michael scribbled down his notes not sure how he felt about being cooked Roman food constantly but today seemed to be a broth that Julia had been at all day. David was sitting across from him reading his Bible. Though David was reading through the Psalms before flipping over to the New Testament to read Romans. Michael wanted to ask but he felt ashamed, ashamed that he was so far behind David. Even Julia seemed to have faith greater than his, in what he wasn't sure, yet it caused her to seek out answers. Michael looked down at his Bible as he tried to focus. Though his eyes tried to wander to see what Julia was up to. Yet he focused, he had to.

Michael turned off his phone on Sunday in order to not get distracted. Daniel was already covering for him, but Michael didn't know if anyone else was going to text him. It was Palm Sunday, Michael had turned on a Sermon about the passage he was reading: The Feeding of the Four Thousand. Though the only Pastor teaching the sermon in a way that made sense to him was his own father. Michael knew that it was alright to just listen to him because he knew his father was dedicated to teaching the Bible in a way that others would understand, utilizing the Greek and Hebrew words, and relating to the audience. He was listening through and taking notes when his father brought up the fact there was a reason there was the feeding of the five thousand with the five loaves of bread and two fish, then in the next chapter there was the feeding of the four thousand. The Jews were first, the five loaves representing the first five books of the Bible and two fish which brought the amount of food to seven. Seven being a number of completion as well as tying into the second feeding. His father compared it to feed of the true Children of God, the Israelites, to give them the Word of God to fill them up. This filled up twelve baskets representing the twelve tribes of Israel. Later on there was the Gentile woman who had the demon possessed daughter who understood that the children must be fed first but even the pets eat the scraps. 

 Michael had to pause the video as he researched the Greek and found that indeed the woman and Jesus were referring to a beloved pet dog in context. Michael quickly wrote down the word before going back to the sermon and his study. Michael's father continued, explaining that after the feeding of the five thousand and this woman Jesus was already at the Decapolis, where there were many Gentiles and was healing them. Showing a shift from preaching just to the Jews and was now preaching to a mix of Jews and Gentiles. 

 "We are the Gentiles who were adopted into the family of God," his father spoke as he looked at the audience. "It is not like God fed his children first and then fed his adopted children second. Jesus went out and found his adopted children and drew them close. He healed them and tended to them before feeding them with seven loaves of bread and just a few small fish. Now notice, Matthew doesn't write how many fish there was this time. Because it is the number seven that stands out here, seven loaves of bread, a few small fish, multiplying it so that it fills seven baskets! It means completion. For example, I feed my children. I have two sons, Michael and Daniel, a few days later I go out and adopt another child that I find on the streets. What I'm going to do first is tend to their injuries and ailments before I feed them solid food. Hopefully on the same day… when kids get sick you've got to force them to eat food that isn't just going to be puked up. Parents, you understand this, right?"

 Michael laughed with the crowd on the screen, he remembered when he was sick that he always wanted pizza and ice cream. His mom would always be the one to warn him that it wasn't going to make him feel any better to which Michael would argue. Yet when his dad sat down beside him he often would just tell Michael that he was going to throw up if the food didn't mix with his stomach. Then proceed to go into graphic detail, but it always worked with Michael and Daniel. They loved their mother, but they didn't always listen to her, yet when their father spoke they listened to him. 'Then as we grew up… we stopped listening to him.' Michael thought as he returned his focus to the Bible. 'Just like I stopped listening to God.'

Once the sermon was over Michael closed his Bible before remembering that Julia had mentioned she was going to see Iēsoûs or Jesus near the Decapolis. Frowning he went to a search engine and began to look up where the feeding of the four thousand was before sitting back in shock. Standing up he walked out to see Julia sitting at the table writing on a piece of paper in Greek. Taking out his phone he began to type. "Hey, Julia, how many people were near the Decapolis when you went to see this teacher?"

 "Four thousand men, more if you include the women and children," Julia typed back, once she got ahold of the phone. "I heard that he had a sermon for five thousand plus of Jews before he crossed the Sea of Galilee!"

 Michael frowned before sitting down as Julia began to type. "Before Eli told me I had only heard rumors of a worker of miracles and a teacher. I had not known that they were the same person. Yet looking into Iēsoûs' eyes, I could see something that made no sense to me."

 "What was that?" Michael asked, passing the phone back. Julia seemed to hesitate before typing rather slowly. The words popped up before Michael's eyes. "His eyes held wisdom from the beginning of time and not the age of what he seemed."

 'To look into the eyes of Jesus.' Michael thought before typing thanks, pausing when Julia wrote for him not to overwork himself. Michael smiled before nodding his head before heading back into his study. He sat on his chair before going to look through his father's sermons, finding one on time travel. Chuckling Michael clicked on it. His father started out saying that time travel has happened, but it was in the form of visions. Clarifying that God could send people through time, however he wouldn't unless it was to show them something important or teach them a lesson. Michael closed his eyes as he listened to his father's voice realizing that he missed his father. 

 "You see if someone from our time, the present time, wants to go back they always want to go back to change everything," his father explained and Michael found that it made sense. "Never to observe because there is an innate desire to want to prove ourselves better than God. God knows this, he knows our hearts, so we can't go back without God and God won't take us back unless there is no desire in us to change what is already set in stone."

 Michael chuckled, remembering how he wanted to go back to just see events unfold but as he got older the desire was there to change things. Like how he would want to change his childhood, moments that were too embarrassing or that he regretted. Yet now he understood that he wouldn't be the same person.

 "Now, God has shown the future to many of his prophets, Daniel, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Isaiah, Micah, Joel, Zekeriah, Enoch, and John the Apostle," his father's voice broke through his thoughts. "But these men couldn't understand what they were seeing. We don't know if they actually interacted with anything, but they saw what was to come. So if someone from the past was brought to the future, they wouldn't understand what it is they are seeing. A phone for example, one of our smartphones, would be described as something like a tablet. A flat glass surface where magic letters can appear on them or pictures that will move. Cars would be chariots without horses, glass doors would just be seen as windows or nothing there. Which is why God chose people to see these things, so it will be written down or so that they will learn a lesson."

 Michael pondered this in his heart.

 "Think of John in the book of Revelation, before he saw the future he saw heaven… now wait, John saw heaven before he saw the things of the future. He couldn't even describe the creatures around the throne, he had to use the word like, homoion or homoios, it means to resemble or be of the same rank. But you don't see this a lot in Revelation. We have Revelation 13:4; And they worshiped the dragon who had given authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, "Who is like the beast? And who is able to make war against it?" Homoios, is used here."

 Michael sat forward as he thought about it his eyes opening up. His father continuing. "Revelation 18:18, gonna read through 17 to give you a little more detail; For in one hour has been brought to desolation such great wealth. And every shipmaster, and all those to a place sailing, and sailors, and as many as the sea trade by, at a distance stood, and were crying out, seeing the smoke of the burning of her (referring to Babylon), saying, "What is like the city great?" Homoia."

Michael thumbed the pages to the book of Revelation. He watched his father smile at his audience. "Like, who is on the same level of this great city. We know who is on the same level as the beast and we know who is greater than the beast. We know of a place greater than Babylon, but here on Earth can be likened to it but is far purer and far greater. Now, let's go onto Revelation 21: 11, 18; Having the glory of God. The radiance of it was like a stone most precious, like a stone jasper being clear as crystal. The first like is homoios while the second is hos. Hos meaning in the same manner as. Homoios as equal to, Hos in the same manner as. Got to read the Greek to see that there is a difference in what is being said. Same with the Old Testament, look at the Hebrew. There's going to be a test later."

 Michael chuckled with the audience not even noticing Julia entering his study and smiling behind him.

 "Alright, Revelation 21:18; And the structure of the wall of it was jasper, and the city gold pure, like glass clear," Michael paused in his thoughts as his dad looked at the audience. "Homoion, equal to, on the same level of glass so clear. New Jerusalem had streets of gold so pure that it was on the same level of being able to see through it like glass."

 "Homoion," Julia's voice startled Michael who tried to pause the video but she shook her head. She sat down next to Michael and holding up her hands showing the meaning. Michael nodded his head in understanding but she turned to listen again. Michael hit play. "Now we are going back in time to Daniel; Daniel 10: 16; And suddenly one having the likeness of the sons of men touched me on my lips and spoke and saying to him who stood before me My lord because of the vision have overwhelmed my sorrows me and no I have retained strength. Or in a way that makes sense to those who are not always going back and forth between the Hebrew and English; And behold, one in the likeness of the children of men touched my lips. Then I opened my mouth and spoke. I said to him who stood before me, "O my lord, by reason of the vision pains have come upon me, and I retain no strength." The likeness of is what we are looking at here. Kidmut or demuth. Figures like, figures resembling. Though it is more like the word hos, it shows that in a lot of prophets' writings they had to find something close to what they see."

 Michael looked at Julia wondering if she understood the things around her or if she herself was trying to compare it to the things she knew. "In 2 Kings, 2 Chronicles, Isaiah, Ezra, even as far back in Genesis is this word found. In the likeness of, we are made in the likeness of God. Now here is something special about the prophets. They had God's Spirit upon them, it wasn't by their own power that they were shown these things, but God's power. God's Spirit is what brings these people vision, if time travel was a thing it would be by God and God alone. His Holy Spirit, his Holy Breath, takes us to where we are needed, guides us through trials, and perhaps takes us exactly a different time to see what God wants us to see. Whether we understand it or not, we will be guided by the Holy Spirit within us. These visions were painful for the prophets to see, it instilled fear into them, but they still proclaimed God's name. If there was a person who came from the past to the future, it wouldn't just be awe, there will be fear and pain in what they see but cannot understand. If we are allowed to go to the past, God will not allow any change as it was his will that it must happen. We can't jump out of God's hands and say that we can do what we want and change things we don't like. It doesn't work like that, all things happen according to God's will, but through his love we have been saved through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. His blood and resurrection, God is the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, three in one glorious, beautiful God who deserves our praise. So the next time you think about time travel, remember, God puts you in the places where you are to learn to rely on Him, learn something that you need to know, and so you do the work God has set out for you."

 The video ended and Michael sat in silence, Julia looked at him before placing a hand on his shoulder before walking out. He knew she didn't understand, but Michael did, God brought her here, or maybe it was a vision, to do something. Michael felt even more lost as he opened his Bible to begin his study anew. 'Is this a lesson for me? What is it that I'm supposed to learn?'

 Days passed as Michael continued to read when he was interrupted by Julia opening his study door. She waved him over and Michael got to his feet and followed her tiredly. He wasn't aware of how little sleep and how little food he didn't have. Yet when she pointed towards the doorway he froze. There was Daniel standing there holding his guitar case and a sympathetic smile on his face. He held out his arms saying. "Your phone is still off, besides David, Ashley and Roger were starting to get suspicious when they didn't see me enter the apartment."

 "It's cool," Michael replied awkwardly. "I assume you already met Julia."

 "Yeah, cool chick," Daniel replied before walking in and sitting down on the couch. "How've you been?"

 "Good, good," Michael said, watching as Julia went into the kitchen to prepare some food. "Been… studying."

 "Really?" Daniel asked, looking a bit surprised. "I mean I heard from David you were reading your Bible but… I had to take that on faith."

 "Yeah," Michael didn't know what else to say, he had only talked to his brother over texts and it has been even longer since he's seen him face to face. He sighed as Julia set down a bowl of fruits and cheeses before moving back to busy herself outside of the apartment. Daniel looked at him before saying. "I've missed you Michael."

 "Yeah…." Michael felt his hands tremble. "Why did we fall away?"

 "We had our own paths to follow," Daniel told him, placing a hand on his shoulder before letting it fall. "Michael, you were struggling since mom died and you were so angry with myself and dad because it didn't seem like we cared."

 "It's just, you guys were so strong saying that she was in Heaven with God," Michael admitted as he played with one of the grapes. "That she was at peace, but when I continued trying to find hope in the Word it felt like mom wouldn't even look down at us and it hurt. You and dad were so joyful, it was like you didn't even have to mourn."

 "We did, but we went to God for comfort and we did take comfort in each other," Daniel told him before looking at the cheese a little more closely, wrinkling his nose. "Goat cheese?"

 "Julia likes it and she does most of the shopping," Michael laughed as he ate the grape. "I guess, my faith wasn't that strong."

 "Mikey… your faith and your journey, it honestly goes hand in hand," Daniel told him as he ate a grape as well. "You fell away because you couldn't understand, but you still held to the parts you liked. God kept you away from a lot of dangers. You didn't sleep around, you didn't do drugs or become an alcoholic."

 "It didn't call to me," Michael protested before looking startled and Daniel nodded his head. "God?"

 "His Holy Spirit, Jesus calling out to you my man, you still listened to it despite believing that your own faith was superficial, now whether or not you accepted it is a different thing," Daniel told him and Michael looked at Julia before saying. "I'm not ready yet, I still want to understand so I can answer her questions first."

 Daniel paused before thinking about it then leaned forward to pray. Michael remembered when their father used to do this as well whenever he was seeking guidance. Then there was a look of absolute sorrow on Daniel's face before a look and feeling of peace just washed over him. There was a nod of his head before Daniel sat up and chuckled. "I've got to trust God and in His plan."

 Michael wondered what kind of conversation that Daniel just had but decided not to push the issue. Daniel looked at Michael before asking. "Have you talked to dad yet?"

 Michael flinched before taking a deep breath. "No, I've been listening to his sermons though. I don't think I can for a long time."

 "You should," Daniel told him before placing down a card. "He might be able to help."

 Michael hesitated before picking up the card reading: Pastor Stephen Hanes. Midtown Community Church. Phone number xxx-xxx-xxxx. Gloria, In Excelsis Deo.

 Michael chuckled as he looked at the church name. "He didn't move?"

 "He wanted to give you a home to come back to," Daniel explained and Michael felt the tears well up in his eyes. "He says you play good."

 "He actually follows me on YouTube?" Michael snorted and Daniel nodded his head. "Really?"

 There was hesitation before Michael continued. "What does he think of the band?"

 "Says they need work, except David, he likes him in a lot of the behind the scene stuff you do," Daniel explained before eating another grape. "These are really good."

 "Yeah, Julia is really picky about what she buys," Michael explained as he picked up the cheese and took a bite in it. "David has to be the one asking all the questions because she doesn't speak English and he says that a lot of the employees just gives her strange looks."

 "Explains a lot during times like these," Daniel laughed as he shook his head. "The people who are supposed to answer the questions get irritated when questions are asked and they can't explain it. I pray for them, they have to deal with people yelling at them but I think both sides need to understand the other."

 Michael looked down at the business card as he knew that Daniel wasn't just referring to strangers who had nothing to do with each other until one buys something. It was a call to at least talk to their father. Michael nodded his head as he said quietly. "I'll think about that."

 Daniel didn't have to ask as usual, he just understood Michael's words as he said. "That's all I ask, although you will need his help if you plan on answering someone else's questions."

 Michael groaned, flopping backwards, he was almost done with the gospels and he still hadn't found out the answers. Like he could now answer what Sin was, but for the other two there wasn't an answer found. Daniel laughed as Michael shot him a glare saying. "I'll finish reading the Gospels then I'll call him."

 "Better make it before Easter," Daniel told him and Michael looked confused. "Dude, I have my own Church I have to attend to…."

 "Daniel…" Michael knew he couldn't argue as Daniel got to his feet. Daniel inhaled before looking at Michael saying. "Also, Julia and David managed to get me on their idea to wear the clothing that they would have back when Jesus was alive."

 Michael tensed up before relaxing as he chuckled. "Ashley and Roger must have hated the fact that you agreed with them."

 "They didn't like your new 'girlfriend' was suggesting something," Daniel looked at Julia who was making a broth in the kitchen. "However it was between that or all of us learning to play the trumpet. I just went with the one that had less time and effort to put in."

 "Thanks man," Michael sighed before looking at Julia as well, a kind smile on his face. Daniel saw the look and knew that his brother was in love. Even though Michael would deny that fact. He patted him on the shoulder before saying. "I think she knew from the beginning that we were different people."

 "Really?" Michael uttered before shaking his head and looking at Daniel. "Really?"

 "Yup, she didn't let me try on the outfit she was making for you," Daniel laughed as Julia began to set down dinner. She waved them over, the brothers both laughed as they headed over to the table.

 Michael knew that he had few days left, as he put forth the effort to finish up the Gospels. He couldn't understand why they didn't hold the answer to Julia's questions. Yet he finished them up as Saturday drew to a close. He had his desk lamp turned on as he closed his Bible in frustration. His eyes glancing towards the picture as well as the Church Business Card. He glanced towards the clock doing a quick calculation of the time zones before dialing the number. He knew his dad was still at Church, it was the day before Easter and it meant that there was a major sermon the next day. He heard it ring for a moment before a click. At first he was expecting an answering machine but when his father's voice spoke he tensed up. "Hello?"

 "Hey… dad," Michael muttered and he heard a poignant silence on the other end. "I need help."

 "What kind of trouble are you in?" Stephen and Michael knew that it was a response of a father whose son had walked away from him. Michael did his best to remain calm before he could explain the situation the best he could. His father was silent on the other end before his calm voice questioned. "Your pastor would know the difference between the moral law, ceremonial law, and the civil law. Alright look, the Messiah that would be a deceptively easy way to explain it."

 "He came to save the world from our sins and fulfill the Law set down by God to Moses," Michael recited and he could feel his dad nod his head from the other end of the phone. Then there was a chuckle. "You got that from reading just the Gospels, I'm proud. Look in Isiah, there are few passages that will help with the explanation."

 Michael paused as he flipped through his Bible to find Isaiah, not able to to find it in the New Testament. He was about to point that out when Stephen replied. "Old Testament, Michael."

 Michael remembered that his father would always refer to the Old Testament to show prophecy and the law being fulfilled in the New Testament. Michael read through the passages as his father guided him. He talked Michael through the meanings of the words and Michael felt scales falling from his eyes. Each of the questions were being answered as his father, the one that he rejected, was guiding him through. Michael read more and more, it was like he could understand Julia's plight and Yehuda's own dedication to the Jewish law. 'Reading the Gospels and then reading this… it's like I understand to a degree.' Michael thought as the night went on. He barely had enough time to wish his father a good night before he fell right asleep.

 The next morning Michael's alarm on his cell went off and Michael sat up with a start. He looked down at his notebook and remembered that today was Easter Sunday. Excitement welled up in him as he ran into his room, only to see that Julia was gone. There was a note in Ancient Greek with Daniel's translation under it. "Gone to give the others their outfits."

 Michael nodded his head as he got changed, stuffing his notebook into the nice satchel that Julia made for him. He headed out, barely able to lock it as excitement coursed through him as he ran out. Waving to Signor and Mrs. Rossi who were already on their way out to their own Church. However he couldn't speak, he could barely breathe in excitement. Yet he found a way to make it to his Church. There David, Roger, and Ashley were outside all fully dressed. Michael blinked as he looked around asking. "Where's Julia?"

 "I don't know," Ashley stated as she fiddled with the clothes. "She was going to wake you up after giving these to us."

 "Come on, she probably is just going to go with Mr. and Mrs. Rossi," Roger laughed but was quickly corrected by the rest of the band. "Signor."

 Roger rolled his eyes and Michael frowned as he said. "But I found the answers to her questions."

 David looked at the church building before looking at Michael. "Find her."

 "What… David, the morning practice is about to start!" Ashley protested but Michael barely heard them as he turned to run back towards the apartment. The notebook slipped out and fell on the ground. Ashley grabbed it and was about to call out when David told her. "He doesn't need it, he already knows what he's going to say."

 Ashley huffed before opening the notebook and frowned as she read over it. "It's just his notes on the New Testament. David nodded his head saying. "Yeah… come on, let's get inside."

 Michael ran through the streets as he called out for Julia. He knew he didn't pass her and was worried she might have been grabbed. That was when Michael felt a pulse of energy as he began pushing through a crowd of people. He barely managed to make it into a clear spot looking around as he breathed heavily.

 "Julia!" he called out as he looked around, not noticing a young boy looking for whoever called the name before talking to someone. That was when Julia peered through the crowds before calling out. "Mikael."

 Michael looked in her direction and she waved him over, Michael laughed as he stood next to her. She patted him on the shoulder and Michael looked around. He had only seen the Sea of Galilee in pictures but it was much more beautiful in person. 'Am I surprised, yeah, but I know God can do things that seem impossible.' Michael thought as they settled in to watch Jesus perform miracles to the four thousand. 'It's going to be a tough journey, but I've got God to guide me.'

 Michael took Julia's hand into his as they both smiled. Eli glanced in between the two of them before nodding his head and sitting back with a smirk on his face.