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    Oh, Jerusalem!
    Oh, Jerusalem!
    Oh, Jerusalem!
    Ebook70 pages40 minutes

    Oh, Jerusalem!

    By Norbert Mercado

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    About this ebook

    “Jerusalem is an eternal city,” Engineer Andronicus Asyncritus told his fellow passengers in the 12-seater van which was taking them to Bethlehem first, and then to Jerusalem.

    Gene was sitting beside the driver.

    “What do you know about the city of Jerusalem?” Engineer Asyncritus asked Gene.

    “Not much, Sir. I only read about Jerusalem from the Bible,” Gene replied.

    “That’s good. It’s good that you read the Bible. It is the Word of God, and you should read it for your daily spiritual nourishment. I read the Bible as soon as I know how to read because my parents were Bible-believing Christians. They encouraged me and my brother to read the Bible even when we were still in primary school,” Engineer Asyncritus said.

    “Jerusalem was settled in 3500 B.C. It is a plateau on the Judean Mountains. Jerusalem was first situated on the Ophel above the Gihon Spring. In the 19th Century B.C., Jerusalem was mentioned as Rusalimum in the Egyptian Execration Texts. In the 14th century B.C., Jerusalem appeared in the diplomatic correspondence in what they call Amarna letters. Jerusalem was called Urusalim then," Engineer Andronicus Asyncritus explained.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherNorbert Mercado
    Release dateFeb 5, 2015
    ISBN9781311770516
    Oh, Jerusalem!
    Author

    Norbert Mercado

    "In this age of revolution, the contemporary writer should utilize the pen for the preservation of peace," Norbert Mercado, a Filipino author, stressed. The books he has written and published, including his anthologies, unapologetically assert the indispensability of peace in a nation’s progress. The author has written more novels than any Asian writer had in just a brief period of time. In fact, he has surpassed the number of novels written by world-renowned novelists like Russian author Alexander Solzhenitsyn (winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, 1970) and American authors Ernest Hemingway (winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, 1954). Solzhenitsyn has four novels to his credit, while Hemingway has eight. His style of writing is simple and succinct, but poignant and colorful like Hemingway’s THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA, and Solzhenitsyn’s ONE DAY IN THE LIFE OF IVAN DESONOVICH. "The simpler the novel, the better," he said. In line with Japanese Yasunari Kabawata’s writings about the Japanese way of life, most of Norbert’s novels focus mostly on the current situation in his country. Kabawata is the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1968. His books present hope to the Filipino, especially to the "economic exiles" in Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan whom he has spent most of his time with, in their daily struggles. But most of all, his novels lucidly show the futility of war and violence in the resolution of political-economic-class conflicts in the Philippines. "War should not be used as an instrument in resolving political conflicts. Writers who abet wars and revolutions must think of the widows and the fatherless, the chaos, destruction, and suffering of the people whom they claim to be concerned about," he said. What if, like Solzhenitsyn, Hemingway, and Kabawata, he eventually wins the Nobel Prize? What will he do with the US$1,000,000 award? "I will use the prize for establishing a Peace Foundation that will assist in the formulation of policies which will resolve the current shooting conflicts in the country and help alleviate the continuing poverty of our countrymen." He will take charge of the foundation and personally campaign for a peaceful settlement of the conflicts in the Philippines. "The insurgency and the secessionist rebellion have foreign support. A Nobel title will give me the personality to approach the leaders involved in the conflicts," he explained. Born on March 25, 1955, he is the youngest among the children of Mr. and Mrs. Aurelio Mercado, Sr. of San Manuel, Tarlac. He graduated from the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City, with two degrees, Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Bachelor of Arts in Broadcast Communication. Voted Outstanding Campus Journalist in 1974, he was a columnist and associate editor of the Philippine Collegian, the campus publication of the University of the Philippines. He has also written articles for various newspapers and magazines in the Philippines, as well as abroad. He also won the 1981 National Essay Writing Contest sponsored by SIDESTREETS Magazine. Norbert is a graduate of the National Defense College of the Philippines (NDCP), the topmost armed forces school in the country, where he was conferred a Master’s degree in National Security Administration (MNSA) and the rank of Lt. Colonel in the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). He graduated from the NDCP at the age of 32, the youngest in Class 21 which had already produced several generals in the Armed Forces, and the youngest graduate in the history of the National Defense College of the Philippines. He was elected one of the fifteen directors of Class 21. He was conferred the degree of Doctor of Divinity (Applied Servanthood), Honoris Causa, for his almost 30 years work in Christian literature. His batch mates include Senator Robert Barbers, Undersecretary of Trade and Industry and Bulletin Columnist Nelly Villafuerte, Actor and Producer Fred Galang, Rev. Peter Vasaya, and the His Royal Highness Sultan of Sulu and Sabah Ishmael Kiram. A sports lover, he was a rifle marksman in his UP ROTC days, and a winner of the 1988 and 1989 5,000 meter-run sponsored by the National Defense College Alumni Association. His sports include swimming, basketball, volleyball, boxing, karate, cycling, and marathon among others. A traveler, he has attended various international conferences and trainings in Asia and Europe. His travels have widened his insight not only of places, but also of people he has constantly observed and empathized with. He is the youngest graduate of the Singapore Haggai Institute for Third World Leaders in 1980 at the age of 24. "Let us work for peace in our country, in any way we can," Norbert stressed. Jesus said, "Blessed are the peacemakers." Ria M. Mercado

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      Book preview

      Oh, Jerusalem! - Norbert Mercado

      OH, JERUSALEM!

      By

      NORBERT MERCADO

      Also by Norbert Mercado

      NOVELS

      72 Hours in Moscow

      Cambodia's Children of Sorrow

      The Children of Mars

      Even the Grass Bleeds

      I Don't Need A Throne

      The Korean War

      The Last Romanov

      In The Shadow Of The Roman Empire

      Farewell Darkness!

      The Roman Governor of Judaea

      Morning Glory

      Love Is Beautiful

      Prepare For Eternity

      Dulce Extranjera

      BOOKS IN THE ENSOMO SERIES

      Pilgrims To Jerusalem

      The Burning Of The Fields

      A Year Without Summer

      For more information on Norbert Mercado, visit

      http://norbertomercado.blogspot.com

      OH, JERUSALEM!

      Norbert Mercado

      This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents are product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Except in cases of historical fact, any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or locales is entirely coincidental.

      Copyright © 2014

      All rights reserved. This book is sold, subject to the condition that is shall not, by way of trade or otherwise be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form or binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition, including this condition, being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

      ISBN: 978-1-311-77051-6

      Smashwords Edition, License Notes

      This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      VERSION: 2015-02-05-1845

      To my daughter

      Dr. Jerusalem Angela M. Mercado, M.D.

      TABLE OF CONTENTS

      Chapter 1

      Chapter 2

      Chapter 3

      Chapter 4

      Chapter 5

      Chapter 6

      Chapter 7

      Chapter 8

      Chapter 9

      Last Chapter

      Dedication

      A Historical Novelist For Peace

      You Can Also Connect with Me Online:

      Discover Other Titles by Norbert Mercado:

      Back to Table of Contents

      . . . CHAPTER . . .

      1

      The Queen Virginia, a cruise ship which had been plying the Mediterranean Sea, began its journey again from Port Limasol to the Port of Haifa in Israel. From Israel, the cruise ship would bring tourists to Cairo, Egypt, and back to Port Limasol in Cyprus.

      I’m excited! Tomorrow, I’ll finally be able to see the city of Jerusalem! Engineer Gene Ensomo told his friend Engineer Mario Encomienda.

      Both of them were Filipinos who were hired as crew members of the Queen Virginia, a Greek-owned and Greek-registered cruise ship.

      The cruise ship was scheduled to leave Port Limasol in Cyprus at eight o’clock in the evening. It would reach the Port of Haifa in Israel at six in the morning the following day.

      Why are you so eager to see Jerusalem, Gene? Mario Encomienda asked.

      Why am I eager to see Jerusalem? Gene repeated the question.

      Mario smiled at him. Yes. Why?

      Gene replied, My friend, Jerusalem is one of the most important cities in the world, one of the oldest, one of the most historic cities on the face of the earth! That’s why I’m excited! Gene replied.

      "But Alexandria in Egypt and

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