Clydean O'Conner

The Fifth Coin Clydean O'Conner

At a dig in the mountains above the Dead Sea, an archeologist uncovers a sliver coin and a scroll foretelling the destiny of a "woman called Amariah, come from out of the past." The ancient leather reveals five coins will identify a woman, who will change the course of history. The coin and scrap of leather are rushed to the Vatican. The Pope lies dying and the new Father General of the Jesuit Order, Andrew Simson, has usurped his power and authority. Like many early popes, Simson plans to unite the world beneath the banner of Catholicism. A group of fanatic Jesuits act as advisors to political contenders eager to destroy existing forms of government. Global intrigue escalates as a secret cadre of Jesuits pit the IRA against the British in Ireland; whisks a black political activist from the South African jail in which he has been imprisoned for twenty years; plot economic warfare as they route goods to product-hungry Chinese; ship tons of grain to Russia in exchange for the opening of Catholic churches; and create a homeland for Palestinian refugees in Israel. Recently discovered documents in the Secret Archive reveal information about hidden works of art in the grave sites of early Christians honeycombing the hill beneath the Vatican as a means of hiding the church's wealth. In a bid to influence public opinion, Simson decides to build a new museum to house the treasures he is certain the catacombs contain. The Jesuit Father General gathers historians, researchers and linguistics experts from around the world to authenticate art works and translate documents hidden away for centuries. A Benedictine nun, Sister Amariah, fluent in languages spoken in the New Testament era, is summoned to Rome to participate in the historic endeavor. The fabric of destiny begins to unravel as she translates Aramaic and Hebrew scrolls which reveal the early Church's political ambitions. To her anguish, she uncovers the bishops, who united Christianity under the Roman Emperor, Constantine, rewrote early texts of the Bible to convert heathen masses and control their followers; completely distorting Jesus' original message . The nun wrestles with the importance of her discoveries. She possesses information which could destroy Andrew Simson's vision of uniting the world under one religion and one government. Tension mounts as Jesuits' topple governments on every continent. A master of manipulation, Simson uses the press to further his political intentions for a New World Order. He is hailed as the new Messiah, come to save mankind from its travail. As Sister Amariah translates documents which prove the political motivation behind what information was included in the Bible, and what was deliberately left out, she gradually loses her faith in in the Church and the Father General's vision of the future. When she discovers key documents have been removed from the master computer program named 'Messiah', Amariah decides to flee Rome with her remaining documents, which contain the truth of Jesus' message. As she prepares to go public with her message, she comes to realize it is up to her to stop the Father General. She returns to Rome for a final confrontation between good and evil, as foretold in Revelations.