Rise of the Fallen (43 page)
Read Rise of the Fallen Online
Authors: Chuck Black
For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. (1 John 5:7)
And we learn in John that “the Word” is Jesus Christ.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1)
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)
The Hebrew word for God is
El
or
Eloah
. The suffix
-im
indicates a plurality of the same God, and thus Elohim contains an inference to the Trinity of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. The Hebrew words for those references are
Elohim HaAv, Ben Elohim
, and
Ruach Elohim
respectively. As another point of reference, Yeshua Ben Elohim is Jesus, Son of God.
There is a bond that happens among a group of men or women that is unbreakable when tragedy or life-threatening encounters are endured together with attitudes of selfless sacrifice. The “no man left behind” creed is an extremely powerful motivator for the men and women of the United States military. It cements the bonds of brotherhood that transcend potential barriers to friendship such as race, language, and social status. Validus and Niturni experience this type of bonding when facing the peril of the blackness at the stairway. David and Jonathan had a bond like this when they faced their enemies in battle. The Bible talks about this in Proverbs.
A man who has friends must himself be friendly, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. (Proverbs 18:24)
Most people desire such a bond, but it is only attainable by those who are willing to be completely selfless and put others before themselves, even unto death. Sounds like Jesus, doesn’t it? He wants that bond with us.
For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him. (1 Thessalonians 5:9–10)
HAPTER 3
Jesus the Creator
This chapter gives us a very speculative view of the Creation account as depicted in Genesis. One amazing reveal in the New Testament is by whose hand the Creation was performed. In John 1 and in Colossians 1 there is nothing left to interpretation as to the Author of creation.
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. (Colossians 1:15–17)
Imagine the piercing cries of blasphemy from the religious elite of the day! But what a beautiful irony to behold: the Giver of life gives His life to save that which He loves most. By His own hand He created that which would one day turn on Him. It was His love for us that kept Him on the cross. Even as He hung there under the curses and the abuse of the wicked, His hand still held the very molecules of the universe together. What love!
Again, please note the
bold
passages in the story, as they are direct references to biblical truths. You can find them here:
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. (Genesis 1:1–3)
Then God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so. Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also. God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. (Genesis 1:14–18)
The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. (Psalm 19:1)
And the L
ORD
God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. Then the rib which the L
ORD
God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man. And Adam said: “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” (Genesis 2:21–23)
Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements? Surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? To what were its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? (Job 38:4–7)
In this chapter, Niturni is swayed by the deceptions of Lucifer and the lure of pride. How quickly we can get into trouble when we depart from truth and start to believe a lie. Often it is pride that causes us to
want
to believe a lie.
For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. (1 John 2:16)
When Lucifer and his angels fell in sin, their eternal fate was sealed. Unlike man, there does not seem to be any indication at all in Scripture that forgiveness will be offered to them. This is probably because they beheld the glory and holiness of God and still chose to rebel. That is not the case for humanity. We are given a chance to be redeemed through the shed blood of Jesus Christ because we have not beheld the full glory of God.
For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment … then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment. (2 Peter 2:4, 9)
HAPTER 4
When God’s Ways Don’t Make Sense
Validus is derailed when he is reassigned and loses his command of the North American continent. Frustration, anger, and confusion are inevitable emotions we can experience when we don’t understand what God is doing in our lives. It is important to remember during these times that God’s love transcends our circumstances, that He is faithful, and that He knows what’s ahead—His plans to prosper us. The closer our relationship is with Him, the stronger our faith will be to help us walk through trying times. We can also know that He understands we are frail, emotional humans.
For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:15–16)
HAPTER 5
The Five “I Wills” of Satan
God hates pride because it destroys all that is good. In Proverbs 6:16–19 we find a list of seven things that God hates, and pride is at the top of the list. Pride
was the very first sin. In this chapter, Validus reflects back to the great fall of Lucifer and one-third of the angels because of pride. This fall corrupted God’s perfect creation. This is vividly described in Isaiah and Romans.
How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: “I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.” (Isaiah 14:12–14)
Because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. (Romans 8:21–22)
There is nothing in the Bible that suggests the existence of an agreement like the Genesis Accord. However, it is interesting to note that there seems to be some sort of “rules of engagement” established in the realm of spiritual warfare. For example, in Job 1, Satan is able to come with the “sons of God,” probably angels, who are presenting themselves to the Lord. It raises many questions, like, how was Satan able to gain access to heaven and even the very presence of God without an all-out war? Why did God allow it? In Luke 8:31 when Jesus is about to cast out the demons, they seem to know where they are going and plead for an exemption to the Abyss. Do all demons cast out go to the Abyss? Why did the demons cause the swine to run over a cliff and kill themselves? Were they then allowed to roam the earth again? It seems as though there are some rules of spiritual engagement that angels and demons must both abide by. The Genesis Accord is just an inferred speculative perspective of what those rules of engagement might look like.
Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the L
ORD
, and Satan also came among them. (Job 1:6)
And they [demons] begged Him that He would not command them to go out into the abyss. (Luke 8:31)
HAPTER 6
Angelic Orders and Paradise
Bible scholars have surmised for centuries that there are orders to the angelic hosts of heaven. Michael appears to be a warrior, Gabriel a messenger, others ministers, and still others perform additional heavenly duties. Whether there is an entire order of angels assigned is speculative, but one of the duties of some of the angels seems to be to carry the dead to Paradise. Although there is not sufficient space to present a theological case for Paradise being co-located with hell in the heart of the earth before the death of Jesus Christ, the portrayal of Abraham’s bosom, or Paradise as Jesus called it on the cross, is a vivid depiction of angelic duty and of the destination of the righteous dead pre-Christ.
So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. (Luke 16:22–23)
And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us. (Luke 16:26)
The Bible says that when Jesus died, He descended into hell and carried a multitude of captives to heaven. The post-Christ location of Paradise is now heaven. Please take some time to study this important theological theme. Besides Luke 16:19–31, other verses to reference are Matthew 12:40, Luke 23:43, Ephesians 4:8–10, 1 Peter 3:18-19, and Acts 2:29–31.
Validus is distraught about the apparent triumph of evil after watching the battle for Kish. We should expect no less from such a holy being and, quite
honestly, from ourselves, in whom the Holy Spirit dwells. David mourned such a state as well, but God always promises hope, peace, and justice in the end.
Rest in the L
ORD
, and wait patiently for Him; do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; do not fret—it only causes harm. For evildoers shall be cut off; but those who wait on the L
ORD
, they shall inherit the earth. (Psalm 37:7–9)
Any time in history that the voice of God hit the ears of a human, something significant was about to happen. There are numerous examples in Scripture: Adam, Noah, Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, John the Baptist, Paul, and John to name a few. One can imagine the anticipation of the angels and the apprehension of the demons whenever such an event happened. When Jesus returned to heaven and sent the Comforter, the order of the universe changed, and now we have the privilege of “hearing” the voice of God through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit … if we are listening.
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. (Acts 2:4)
Think about the great things God is waiting to do in your life. All you have to do is hear Him through His Spirit; then say yes!
HAPTERS 7–8
Taking Up the Cross
Now Validus embraces his mission and submits to the call of God. As Christians we oftentimes may feel God calling us to some duty or place that we are hesitant to accept. God does not call lightly, nor does He take our response lightly, whether it is good or bad. There is great adventure and opportunity when we submit to God and perhaps loss if we don’t. This is quite evident when a rich young ruler encounters Jesus.
Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.” But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. (Mark 10:21–22)
The Bible talks about two great judgments made by God on the wicked of the earth (see 2 Peter 3:5–7). The first was by water, and in Genesis we get a glimpse into the heart of God as He considered both the evil of the world and the heart of one just man.