As the ancestors had foretold, multitudes of men had risen up, naming themselves messiahs in the Son’s name. He walked among them during this time, and no person could identify him because no one alive had seen him. So the false messiahs wandered to and fro, city to city, seating themselves upon the throne of God, which served as the foundation for the rise of the unspel. The unspel was a wicked tongue with the power to bind a spirit to the dragon, the image of the devil. Of those who spoke the unspel, their spirits would collapse into the darkness, and they would become a crosswright, a fashioner of false crosses. One of these crosswrights was a prophet named Ilemiel who lived in the city of Nineveh. The city had repented long ago, but due to the arrival of the false messiahs, the people had become unruly and hopeless. A curse from God was placed upon Nineveh, causing the drinking water to turn black with disease. Ilemiel had amassed many followers, for his reputation was that of a healer sent from the Son. The rumor spread about his protection over the Ninevites, which kept them safe from the diseased waters.
Each day in the streets of Nineveh, Ilemiel declared, "The messiah has come, and I tell you this because I am his follower and he has healed me. All who are accursed and weary, come under my wing, and you shall be healed. This healing is not from my hand alone, but from the enduring power of the Son."
Many people approached Ilemiel to have hands laid over their eyes for the healing of their ailments. When the accursed felt the elation of Ilemiel's hands on their skin, he gave them praise and sent them to the outcasts as followers of the Son. His followers warned the outcasts about the dirty waters of Nineveh, and by the laying on of hands, they would receive the power from the Son to see the truth and gain the power to open the eyes of others. Attracted by the rumors around Ilemiel, a man named Joshua approached one of Ilemiel’s most devout followers.
“Is this man truly a messiah?” Joshua asked the devotee.
The follower replied, “He does not admit it because he is humble, but it is true. This man surely is a messiah, for he has opened my eyes to the truth. You see how the waters here in our wells have turned the color black, and we cannot drink from them without becoming sick? This Ilemiel placed his hands over my eyes, and I can see that parts of the waters are clean. Now, I drink of them without harm.” The follower then placed his hands into a well filled with dark water, drank of it, stood proudly, and demonstrated his strength by standing on one leg for a significant portion of time.
Joshua's appearance was disheveled and dirty. He was clothed in sackcloth, and he had the face of an elderly man, for he had been without a resting place for many years. The sun had weathered his skin, and though he could walk, it was very strenuous for him because he had a hunch on his back. Motivated by his follower’s display and words, Joshua approached Ilemiel. Ilemiel saw the weary appearance of the man and took pity on him. He put his arms around Joshua and said to him, “My brother, it seems that like many others, you have drunk from these dark waters. Come to me, and I shall call upon God to heal you.”
Joshua closed his eyes, and Ilemiel placed his hands over them. Ilemiel gave a blessing and then looked to the man. But where Joshua had stood, now was a figure dressed in white robes that were drenched in blood. Ilemiel looked up, there was a mighty flash of lightning, and all of his followers became pillars of salt.
“Your sins have found you out, Simon,” said the figure.
A sudden madness overtook Ilemiel. He pulled his hands away from the figure and went over to the pillars of salt to escape, but they would not budge, so he curled up among them in terror. Ilemiel cried out, “Only the Son of God could know my true name! Who are you?”
“It is as you say,” the Son replied.
Ilemiel, now called Simon, said, “What do you want with me? Have you come to destroy me?”
The Son commanded, “Quiet, wicked one!”
The demon, Ilemiel, then came out of Simon. God’s angels came down from the heavens and bound its mouth with a thick chain so it could no longer speak. It was then thrown down into the abyss where there is wailing and gnashing of teeth, but the demon could not wail nor gnash its teeth.
The Son spoke, “I have come to give you the name you’ve had since before the beginning, Simon of Nineveh. You will show repentance in the streets of this city, and the people will hate you. They will not wish to repent, so by your showing, they will label you as cursed and mad, expel you from every church, ridicule you, and commit atrocious acts against you. You will rejoice when they do these horrible things because this is how they treated the prophets of old. Demons will seek you out and attempt to destroy you, and you must endure all their attacks; otherwise, you will be destroyed yourself. This will all happen to you because of the name I gave you. Do these things until I come back for you. I will wash your blood-soaked garments, and they will become white, which shall be a testament to your worthiness to stand before the throne of God. Simon of Nineveh, I call you to show your repentance, or you will perish in your bloody clothes.”
“My Lord. My Lord, whom I have forgotten,” said Simon of Nineveh on his knees. “By your revelation, I know that it truly is you. I am so sorry for what I have done wrong. Though you have seen everything I have done and how I feel, I confess to you that it was my hands that tainted the waters in the wells. I tried to overpower the demons, but I could not do it, for I am a weak man. The devil built a fortress in my heart, but you have destroyed it with only your words. Please have mercy on me and forgive me for what it is that I have done.”
The Son answered, “Your sins are already forgiven, Simon of Nineveh. My mercy is this: since you are a weak man, to you I give my double-edged sword, which will become your mouthpiece so that you are not defiled by what comes out of you. I also give you my iron scepter that I shall put into your hands so you will do no wicked works. I also give you the knowledge of life and death, by which you shall lord over both. By this grace, you shall show your repentance by doing the work of your Father in Heaven, who is also my Father.”
Simon of Nineveh said, “Lord, you have blessed me with a great mercy, but what do you command of me? How shall I show my repentance?”
“Have you truly forgotten, Simon of Nineveh?” the Son questioned. “Truly I tell you, love God with all of your strength, all of your heart, and all of your mind, and also, love your neighbor as yourself. These have always been the greatest of commandments, as you remember now. When it is time for this generation to suffer the abounding hopelessness, which is sure to come to any generation such as this, it will have been all of the Father’s adoring children that came to believe in Him through me and, in kind, will shine like stars in the sky forever and ever with me in eternal life.”
“Yes, I remember now, my Lord,” said Simon of Nineveh, “but I must ask you, why have you chosen me? I am but a weak man.”
The Son replied, “Your generation has succumbed to an even greater evil than the last. Long ago, when God destroyed the tower of Babel, that generation constructed two in its place. And when God outstretched his hand and destroyed those two towers, you erected three. And when God reaches out to destroy those three towers and does so, the next evil generation will try to build four. The Hands of the Almighty will only praise the works of the world when all the towers have fallen, felled by the same generations that constructed them. Truly I tell you, it is by the hands of the weak that all of humanity shall be redeemed. Until the day that weak hands overcome the rebellion of man, wickedness shall only grow in the land until it has dominion over all who live in the world. As it is revealed, it is through the works of the vulnerable that God shall gain dominion over all who live in the world. Do not think that my coming will stop your eyes from seeing these things. You shall be a witness to the nations and the bearer of the truth. I send you as a testament for all that is written.”
Simon of Nineveh quaked and exclaimed, “My Lord, how shall I bear all of this?”
“My Simon, do not let your heart be troubled,” the Son said. “Because there is and still will always remain the Father, the Son, and your advocate, the Holy Spirit. They will be your refuge through the times of destruction. Remember long ago when I told you to store your treasures up in heaven? How great in number and glorious those treasures will be when you do as I have asked. And as I have said before, I go to prepare a place for you so that when I come back to you, I will take you to the Father, and we shall count our treasures together under his Holy Throne. Please do not be troubled. You know that you have me. And where I am, the Father is as well.”
After the Son had spoken, Simon's eyes were opened, and he understood the true meaning of the scriptures. Then, the light of an angel came over him. When the light was taken to the heavens, Simon's followers were no longer pillars of salt but were gathered around him, saying, “This is no teacher; he has gone insane!”
“He is but a fool taking us for fools,” they said to each other.
A crowd formed and circled Simon of Nineveh.
He said to the crowd, “Please forgive me, for I knew not what I was doing. I was overcome by demons because I am a weak man, but the Lord has appeared to me and driven the demons away. He will do the same for you if you believe and call upon Him in the name he has given you.”
“Now he says demons had him, so he is a liar as well!” the crowd shouted.
So, they began to beat him, hurl insults at him, and spit on him. They tore at his flesh so his clothing became stained with blood, and they left him bleeding in the center of town. He remembered the Son and had joy because the scriptures had come true. From that moment, he presented himself in the city by adopting his mantle, which was his true name: Simon of Nineveh.