Jerusalem's Rain

In producing his controversial motion picture "The Passion" Mel Gibson would have benefitted greatly if he had read D.S. Lliteras' most recent work, Jerusalem's Rain, first. Using this incredible portrayal of the city, Gibson could have set his monumental story in a society that reaches a far more brutal reality than those cardboard Sunday school towns usually offered up in most "biblical" epics. Lliteras employs unmatched literary abilities to take the reader back across two millennium to wallow in the spiritual, moral and political chaos that was strangling the ancient City of David during the cataclysmic events that would influence human history forever. In the immediate aftermath of the crucifixion the storm-sweept streets of the city tremble with a supernatural terror that rips away self-control and leaves the individual morally naked covered only with the poisonous slime of un remitting guilt. Peter, the beloved apostle, the "rock," ardent physical defender of Jesus, aimlessly roams the stinking, slime-filled night streets unable to comprehend the significance of the last twenty-four hours where his god has been murdered on the cross, and the golden promises of eternal salvation have been shattered. He and some of the other apostles meet furtively in the strange, deadly darkness that wraps Jerusalem seeking answers to unanswerable questions, struggling ofttimes violently to come to grips with a new grotesque reality, and each driven into near-insanity by the merciless daggers of guilt. Few, if any authors have been able to lay out before the reader such a masterful expression of the guilt that can tear at the human soul. Jerusalem's Rain is easily one of the most powerful books ever written about the crucifixion. It takes the reader from the foot of the blood-stained cross, through the horrid night in the hellish streets of the city, and in his unique and poetic prose, Lliteras subtlely brings it all to a close pointing forward through the clouds of chaos to the slowly growing far off glow of redemption.

If Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins, in the Left Behind series, give us a picture of how it might be after the rapture, D.S. Lliteras shows us how it might have been at the cross, through the eyes of the thieves in The Thieves of Golgotha, through the eyes of Judas in Judas the Gentile, and finally through the eyes of Peter in Jerusalem's Rain. Not intended to be scripturally correct, these books use story to provide insight into the desperate conditions of life in first century Palestine. They also remind us of the terrible cost of salvation through the life and death of Jesus of Nazareth - believed by many to be the Christ or Holy One of God. The portrait of Peter, presented in Jerusalem's Rain, shows us the agony and despair he must have felt between the arrest of Jesus in the garden prior to the crucifixion and his first encounter with the risen Savior. Peter was so lost during this time that even the angel at the tomb in Mark's Gospel did not consider him to be one of Jesus' disciples. He said to Mary Magdaline, Mary the mother of James, and Solome to, "...go, tell his disciples and Peter..." (Mk 16:7 NIV) The story also makes us painfully aware that before we can walk with Christ we must search our own souls, wrestle with our sinful natures, and acknowledge our dependence on God and our need for forgiveness. Only by coming to this point of despair and surrendering ourselves to the Master can we ever hear the words, "...feed my sheep...Follow me!" (John 21: 17-19 NIV)

When Jesus breathed his last breath on the cross at Golgotha, the skies turned stormy and driving rain poured down on Palestine. Peter is drowning in self-contempt for denying his Rabbi three times before the rooster crowed. Philip, who like Peter did not witness the crucifixion, gets into a fight and is seriously injured. With the help of Andrew and Thaddeus, who were also afraid to show up at Golgotha because of the Roman soldiers, Peter is taken to Aaron's home where the families await the return of their men and will care for Peter..The men are lost and afraid, starting to doubt Christ's teachings, while the women are firm believers who will risk death to spread their Rabbi's word. Peter's wife is leaving him and taking their son with her. Peter gets drunk at a cock fight awakening in a back alley where Christ appears to him and talks to him. He learns from Aaron and John that Thaddeus, Mary Magdalene, and Peter's mother also saw him rise. Peter now believes and intends to spread the word.This fictionalized account of Peter's torment during the three days following Christ's crucifixion is believable. The disciple's angst as well as self-doubt now that the one they followed is gone is understandable as well. Amazingly the women remain steadfast and don't believe that his death will stop the message from being spread around the world. Their love for Christ is rooted in his treatment of them as equal to men. D.S. Lliteras has written a compelling and memorable tale that turn the aftermath of the first end days fascinating reading.Harriet Klausner

D.S. Lliteras's Jerusalem's Rain is the third in a series of fine books that reexamine familiar stories involving the life and crucifixion of Jesus Christ. While it might well be helpful to have read the first two works (Thieves of Golgotha and Judas the Gentile), it is not necessary as the author skillfully places the reader inside the story, while concisely suggesting all that has gone on before.The style is sparse, the dialogue written in a modern English that is more like a translation of how the people spoke than a recreation of the patterns of speech. The effect makes the reader more easily able to relate to characters that previously have not been flesh and blood.The central figure in Jerusalem's Rain is Peter, one of Christ's disciples, a former fisherman, and the man who is destined to lead the early Christians after the master's death. But Peter is hardly a hero, and a more flawed protagonist has seldom been drawn in a novel before. Torn by guilt, he is a contentious man who thrice denied Jesus when the Romans came for him. Peter is seemingly fearful of his own shadow, and he proceeds to fight with and alienate fellow followers of Christ (Phillip and Andrew), and his own wife and family. He goes on a drinking binge, lashing out at those around him, but also at himself, the true target of his distain. The reader is ultimately rewarded by Peter's journey, as he begins to find himself and his calling at book's end.Interestingly, Lliteras also brings to light the existence of female disciples of Jesus, women who, unlike the male disciples, stayed with the crucified Christ, instead of running for their lives. One of them, Naomi, testifies how for women in Palestine society who had no power and were barely visible, Jesus offered a message of equality and the opportunity to find their own place in the new religion. This is fascinating stuff (even if Christianity seemed to drop the ball regarding true inclusiveness for women). The climatic scene is a masterful description of a cock-fight. Two fierce and determined birds battle and claw to the death, while greedy men around them cheer and bet on a winner. It was not hard for me to imagine the cockfight as metaphor for the present situation in the middle east. It's a powerful image no matter what inference the reader draws.Which brings me to the point that Jerusalem's Rain is an incredibly timely piece of fiction. I believe we live in a period of crisis for Christianity. Its leaders seem to have lost direction, and followers seem to have lost interest. In my opinion D. S. Lliteras's goal is a rebirth in religious thinking. He is attempting to make Christianity relevant again by reexamining the past, and helping the reader to get back to the roots of one of man's oldest religions. For that reason alone, we owe the writer a debt of gratitude.Jerusalem's Rain is not an easy read. It's a challenging one, which makes me afraid it will not be as successful as it deserves to be. But i