Fallen Angels, the Watchers, and the Origins of Evil (14 page)

           
And I saw thrones and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them. And I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.

           
Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection, on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

           
And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog, and Magog, to gather them together to battle, the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.

           
And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city. And those faithful to the Lord God were resolved to meet the force of darkness in battle. And their priests said to them, “Strengthen yourselves and do not fear them. Their craving for your death is formlessness and empty and their staff is as though it were not. Israel is all that is and shall be. It is in the eternal times to be. Today is God’s appointed time to subdue and to abase the prince of wickedness. And God shall send eternal help to all of His redeemed by the might of an angel. He made the dominion of Michael magnificent in eternal light and has enlightened the covenant of Israel with happiness. Peace and blessing are in store for those who follow God.

We shall exalt Him among all the gods and the dominion of Michael and the rule of Israel will be exalted among all flesh. And righteousness shall be happy on high and all the sons of His truth shall rejoice in eternal knowledge. And you who are sons of His covenant, strengthen yourselves in the crucible of God until He waves His hand and fills His crucibles, His mysteries will be revealed to you according to your place and time.

           
You are the God of our covenant and we are your people, an eternal people, and you placed us in the source of light to see for your truth. And from the days of old you appointed a prince of light as our helper and all the spirits of truth are in his rule. It was you who (destined) made Belial for the pit, for he is an angel of enmity.

           
In darkness is his dominion. It is his way to make wicked and to make men guilty. And all the spirits of his kingdom are angels of violence. They walk in places of darkness and together their desire is for it. But we are the appointed of your truth. We shall rejoice in the hand of your might and we shall be glad in your salvation and we shall celebrate your help in our times of need. We desire your peace.

           
Who is like you in power, O God of Israel? Yet the poor you protect with your mighty hand. And which angel or prince is like the help of your might? For of old you appointed for yourself a day of battle to help with truth and to destroy guilt, to abase darkness, and to give might and light to your people. The sons of darkness are destined to an eternal place of annihilation. And happiness shall be the appointment of the sons of light.”

           
Then their words were heard in the ears of God. And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of Man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, “Thrust in thy sickle, and reap for the time is come for thee to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.”

           
And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped. And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, “Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.”

           
And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.

           
And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

           
And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened and another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

           
And the sea gave up the dead who were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead who were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.

           
And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.

           
And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away. And there was no more sea. I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.”

           
And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain, for the former things are passed away.

           
And he that sat upon the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And he said unto me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.”

           
He said unto me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.”

“He that overcometh shall inherit all things and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.”

The Omega

           
Evil walked the earth when angels fell. Evil stalks us now in disembodied spirits; immortal wraiths once clothed in flesh when angels and women bred; spirits released from their fleshly prisons when their bodies were destroyed for drinking the blood of men.

           
Evil also lives inside of the common man; set free when pride kills reason and eats integrity whole.

           
There is evil that entraps us and evil that tugs from within. But neither have control until we choose to relent. Evil is a choice of action, of thoughts entertained too long, of arrogance pushing aside the last vestiges of compassion.

           
Evil resides within the problem of choice. It is free will that convicts us. We are guilty of evil because we can choose to be holy. Free will is the very foundation of love, and the cornerstone of evil.

           
This problem of choice allows us to ascend to heaven or plummet to hell. We must choose…and to remain undecided is also a choice.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Joseph Lumpkin has written for various newspapers and is author of the books The Lost Book Of Enoch; The Book of Jubilees; The Gospel of Thomas – A Contemporary Translation; The Tao Te Ching – A Contemporary Translation; Encounter the Warrior’s Heart; The Warrior’s Heart Revealed; and Dark Night of the Soul – A Journey to the Heart of God. Joseph earned his Doctorate of Ministry from Battlefield Baptist Institute.

Look for other fine books by Joseph Lumpkin.

The Lost Book Of Enoch: A Comprehensive Transliteration

ISBN: 0974633666

The Gospel of Thomas: A Contemporary Translation

ISBN: 0976823349

Christian Counseling – Healing the Tribes of Man

ISBN: 1933589970

Dark Night of the Soul - A Journey to the Heart of God

ISBN: 0974633631

The Tao Te Ching: A Contemporary Translation

ISBN: 0976823314

The Book of Jubilees; The Little Genesis, The Apocalypse of Moses

ISBN: 1933580097