Rise of the Fallen (44 page)

The second judgment will be by fire, but it is important to remember that God’s wrath is not appointed for those who love Him, but for the wicked and evildoers of the world. We must share the love of God with all who are willing so that they may be spared the second judgment.

We cannot begin to fathom the impact a face-to-face encounter with God will have on us. Our best insight into such an event is by reading about the reactions of others who have experienced it. Consider words like, “Fear came upon me, and trembling” (Job 4:14), “Woe is me, for I am undone!” (Isaiah 6:5), and “I fell at His feet as dead” (Revelation 1:17). The reason for such responses is a sense of extreme holiness and power. The words in this chapter are lifted straight out of the book of Revelation when John gets a glorious glimpse of the worship of God in heaven.

It is perfectly ironic that man has devised a theory that eliminates God and evolves man when actually the exact opposite occurs. The further a person gets from God, the more wisdom and knowledge slip away and sin begins to rule. Submitting to evil ultimately will make us “less human.” Essentially we devolve without God; we don’t evolve. The Bible explains this in Romans 1 and in Titus 1.

The droxans, devolved demons, described in this chapter are purely speculative. But if submitting to abject evil creates rapists, pedophiles, serial killers, and terrorists, we can only imagine what it might do to a demon. Contrary to living without God, living with God brings wisdom and understanding as proclaimed in Proverbs.

The concept of guardian angels is old and appealing. Although we know very little about the reality of such an order of angels, Jesus certainly inspired such contemplation when He talked about the children who wanted to be near Him.

In the days of Noah, the people had distanced themselves so far from God that they were apathetic toward Him and completely ignorant of the impending doom. Jesus gives the world a very dramatic parallel warning when the disciples ask Him about the end times. Jesus’ warning in Matthew 24 seems more pertinent today than at any other time in the past two thousand years.

Unlike the rest of the world, those who know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior have been given the game plan and will not be surprised when it happens. We will be prepared just as Noah was.

In the world today, words like
righteousness, salvation
, and
judgment
are not popular words. In fact, in many circles these words have a negative connotation. It was probably very much the same, if not worse, in the days of Noah. Second Peter 2:5 calls Noah “a preacher of righteousness.” Noah didn’t just live a life that honored God; he preached and tried to persuade the world of the truth of God. God has commissioned us to do the same.

It is important to note that the special treatment of water in regard to the Fallen is purely speculative and has no basis in a literal interpretation of Scripture. Liberty was taken in regard to water and its effects on the demons because of the inferences throughout Scripture of those who hunger and thirst but are not satisfied because they do not know God. Jesus is the only one who can satisfy spiritual hunger and thirst, something the demons will never know.

The reference to Hades containing no water is inferred from the rich man’s statement about asking Abraham to have Lazarus dip his finger in water to cool his tongue.

In this chapter, we learn that Validus played a part in binding four angels to the bottom of the Euphrates River. We don’t know the actual story behind the four angels who are being reserved to execute judgment on the earth, but they must be very powerful and very evil. In Revelation, we learn that these four angels will be responsible for killing one-third of mankind. If that happened today, nearly 2.4 billion people would die at their hands.

As with the Genesis Accord, there is no literal interpretation of Scripture that would allow one to believe an agreement like the Noahidic Accord existed. This speculative and fictional aspect is derived from subtle inferences in the Bible and observation. The Noahidic Accord is simply to give the book a construct for the remainder of the story.

Hebrews 13:2 says that some people have “entertained angels” without knowing it. When the spiritual world intersects the physical world, it is a strange event. Something unseen and untouchable suddenly appears and becomes very real … very physical. Speculation about the science of such a translation is fascinating. How it happens is quite a mystery, but angels apparently have the ability to do it at will and with such skill that humans would never suspect them.

One day all who believe in Jesus will be translated to the spiritual realm just as Enoch was when he walked with God.

Nothing strikes at the heart like betrayal. When Validus faces Niturni in battle for the first time, it is evidence of the completion of Niturni’s betrayal. You can imagine the sadness of Jesus when He discovered in Judas’s heart a willingness and desire to betray Him. Betrayal is one of Satan’s sharpest weapons, for it cuts deep.

We can be grateful that we serve a God who will never betray us. His faithfulness is incomparable. Even when we are not faithful to Him, He remains faithful to us.

Throughout the Bible there is a truth that rings true from Genesis to Revelation. It is a truth that brings great inspiration to all, from the lowliest to the highest. God doesn’t look on the outward appearance of a man or a woman but on their heart, and with one heart perfectly aligned with God, miracles are accomplished. It is the stuff of valiant legends, for out of the meekest of men and women, heroes arise because God will use them for His great purposes.

These two chapters take liberty with history to create a confrontation between Eber, the great-grandson of Shem, and Nimrod, the grandson of Ham. There are legends that portray such a meeting between Nimrod and Abraham, but in both cases, there is no biblical basis for such an event occurring. We do know that Nimrod was a man who had great power and influence. He built many cities, and one of them was Babel, the city that stood in defiance to God.

At Babel, humanity was divided because God confused the languages of men. There are different theological views as to why Eber named his son Peleg, which means “to be divided,” but the more accepted view is that the earth was divided because of language. Since this is a fictional account, this is not necessarily an endorsement of this view.

Validus and Tren deal with an issue that could be a hindrance to their working together on the mission. There are typically three ways we deal with conflict. The first is to be passive and avoid the conflict, but that only causes the problem
to fester and become worse over time. The second is to be angry and aggressive, but that only creates greater conflict and often destroys relationships. The third is the biblical way. Scripture gives us clear guidelines on how to deal with conflict.

Ironically, if we deal with conflict in a humble and biblical way, stronger relationships can be the result, just as is the case with Validus and Tren.

Persimus reminds Validus of Niturni’s wise words of insight as to God’s ways. He tells Validus, “It is through the least that God often works the most.” This is evident through the story of Gideon.

God is a champion of the lowly, for they are the ones who often have a heart of humility through which God can work. Then when great things happen, it is God who receives the glory and not man.