The Bible and the Dead Sea Scrolls

Taken from "Is the Bible True?", by Jeffery L. Sheler,
published by HarperCollins, 1999

Hurry! There's no time!" the old man shouted at his young companion, who stood dazed, staring over the edge of the sheer cliff at the shattered clay jar that littered the rocks below.

"Take this one," he said, thrusting another heavy jar into the young man's sweaty arms. "It's the last. And be more careful!"

Unsteadily, the young man clambered down the rocky slope toward a dark sliver of a hole in the side of the chalky limestone cliff, half-hidden by a flat, oblong boulder. Cradling the jar in one arm, he dropped to his knees and squeezed through the narrow opening.

The dry air inside felt cool compared to the blistering heat of the Judean desert sun. But the cave was cramped and dark, and he hurried to complete his task. Careful, he wedged the jar next to the others in a shallow recess in the rear wall of the chamber, which looked now like the nest of some giant reptile, filled with earthen eggs. He checked the lid to make sure it was sealed and the contents secure. "They'll be safe in here," he thought, "at least until the trouble passes." He crawled back toward the opening, squeezed out into the blinding sunlight, and rolled the boulder over the mouth of the cave.

Outside, a sudden squall of hot wind whistled and moaned through the deep fissures in the rugged marl above the wadi, roiling the silvery blue waters of the Dead Sea in the valley below. But the young man thought he heard something more - the sound of frenzied commotion, of anxious voices shouting in the distance. He called out to his elderly companion, but there was no answer. Stumbling up the rocky crevice, he raced toward the top of the cliff. And then he stopped.

There was the old man, his silent gaze fixed on the ridge beyond the panic-filled village of Qumran, on the rising cloud of dust kicked up by countless marching feet, on the brillian glitter of sunlight glinting off the sharpened blades and polished armor of the approaching Roman legion.

The time of trouble had arrived. The year was 68 A.D.

(The only changes I have made to this text is to substitute A.D. for CE, because it's more understandable, and shows more respect to the subject of the entire book, GOD.)