Enoch Primordial (Chronicles of the Nephilim) (20 page)

T
rumpets sounded. A series of eerie drones blown through dragon horns created an unearthly sound befitting an unearthly horde.

The Nephilim started their march — or rather, their long distance race. One by one, huge sections of the multitude
poured forward like a tsunami wave of titans.

That is what this holocaust is,
thought Methuselah,
a Titanomachy that will make the Gigantomachy of the past look like cub’s play.

“We cannot possibly outrun the Nephilim,”
cried Lamech.

“We are not going to outrun them,”
answered Ohyah. He turned and produced a screeching birdcall, unlike anything Methuselah had heard.

“We are going to out fly them,” added Hahyah.

Methuselah realized that he
had
heard that sound once before.

A reply screech drew their eyes into the blinding center of the sun
. Out of that brightness, six large Anzu birds dropped directly toward the palace. It was the family of the Anzu bird that Ohyah had broken at the World Tree in the desert.

The Anzu landed on the rooftop
. Each of the escapees got on one. The feathered felines were huge, twice the size of even the giants. They could easily carry the passengers. It would be harder for the passengers to stay on, however.

So Elohim did work all things to his own purposes,
thought Methuselah. Even the Anzu bird. But what about this army of darkness assembled before them on the plain?

Yahipan burst through the rooftop access with his four Nephilim. He spotted the escaping prisoners.

The Anzu birds lifted off the roof.

Methuselah’s was the last to take off. It moved just a second too late. Yahipan leapt and grabbed its hind talons. Rephaim had iron vise grips. He was not going to let go until he sent them all plummeting to their deaths.

Methuselah’s
Anzu bird lost its balance. It zigzagged a course over the Nephilim on the roof.

Yahipan smirked to himself.
I have you now, Methuselah. No last second escape this time.

Yahipan
focused on how he would grab Methuselah. He did not see Edna’s Anzu bird circle back.

It
clamped its lion jaws on Yahipan’s strong leg.

Yahipan screamed
.

He
let go of the leg of the bird Methuselah rode. The biting Anzu bird let go of him at the same time. He was only about ten cubits above the roof, so he landed with a concussive thud. But he survived — and so did his burning desire to spend the rest of his life hunting down Methuselah and his little slut.

“AHHHH!” he screamed
. He grabbed his leg, bleeding profusely from the wounds created by the Anzu fangs. Now both his legs were wounded. He belted out another curse of anger and wrapped up his wound. How was he going to hide this from Inanna now?

The Anzu birds ascended vertically, to reach their maximum height as quickly as possible. They leveled off and flew in formation higher than any mountain in the region.

Methuselah
saw the waves of charging Nephilim far below. They looked like an army of termites. He could not imagine how Eden would withstand this onslaught. He only hoped they would not be too late.

He
glanced at Edna, flying beside him. They shared a smile. Ohyah and Hahyah led the group, with Lamech and Betenos taking up the rear. It was as if the birds intuitively understood all the relationships in the group and lined up to match them. Methuselah calculated that at this height and speed, it would take them less than a day to reach the Sahand and alert the Adamite Karabu. It was their only hope in a hopeless situation.

Methuselah thought back to what Ohyah had told them. He wondered what was
happening in Elohim’s court of principalities and powers. Would the Watchers’ heavenly scheme delay Elohim’s response to the earthly crisis? The implications were staggering.

The Throne of Yahweh Elohim gleamed in the holy temple in the heavens above the waters, unapproachable, a chariot enthroned above the Cherubim and beneath the Seraphim. The Seraphim were a different breed, created exclusively for God’s own guard. The Cherubim were sphinx-like, but these had four faces and four wings, and they sparkled like burnished bronze. Their faces were those of human, lion, ox, and eagle. Beside each one was an object that appeared to be a wheel within a wheel of gleaming beryl, that moved with the living creature as they moved.

The Seraphim above the throne were equally as glorious and awesome. Their humanoid yet serpentine bodies had six wings. With two they flew, two covered their feet
, and two covered their faces. And all of them proclaimed the trisagion, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of Hosts. The whole earth is full of his glory.”

The heavenly host presented themselves around this throne
, the
bene ha Elohim
, or Sons of God, ten thousand times ten thousand of his holy ones, the divine council. Their presence flashed like lightning that would burn out the eyes of any human being in the flesh
.

T
he satan was not impressed by any of this. A transformed seraph himself, his plaintiffs were all Sons of God as well. His opposition did not intimidate him at all. He and Semjaza, along with almost two hundred Watchers, presented themselves across from the array that dazzled less for lack of the company of Watchers. They considered the throne-circling adversaries to be a mob of sycophants, yes-men and sell-outs, puppets and tools.

The satan, Semjaza, and their fellow Watchers were just as divine, and maybe even more powerful than their enemies because at least they exercised free will — real free will — iron will.
That will did have to bend to the sovereignty of the Judge, however, to the use of their original heavenly names of Semjaza, Baraqel, and Zaqiel instead of their Shinarian deity names of Anu, Enlil, and Nanna.

They
assembled before the throne of heaven to prosecute a lawsuit with the help of the rebel Watchers who fell to earth. This would not be like any other lawsuit the satan had ever litigated. This was a
covenant
lawsuit against the very judge himself, Yahweh Elohim, the maker of heaven and earth, the Lord of Hosts, the Suzerain King of kings.

The ancient form of covenant treat
ies between sovereign or suzerain king and subservient vassal contains five basic parts that bound the two parties. First, there is a preamble that identifies the Lordship of the great king, his transcendent sovereignty and jurisdiction over territories. Second, the historical prologue that recounts the previous relationship of the king and his subject appears, along with an establishment of hierarchy and authority. The third section lays out the ethical stipulations or laws required by the king for the subject to maintain his status as protected vassal. The sanctions or listings of blessings for obedience and curses for violation of the covenant come fourth, providing for the continuity of the covenant relationship with succeeding generations. The fifth and last section calls for divine witness of the gods or the heavens and the earth.

When Yahweh Elohim had created Adam and Havah, he had enacted a covenant that essentially reflected this pattern of Preamble, Prologue, Laws, Sanctions, and Witnesses. Adam as primogeniture of the human race had violated that covenant and the world
now experienced the negative consequences of that covenant violation.

The satan had filed a third party class action complaint on behalf of Adam and Havah and the entire human race
, claiming that Yahweh Elohim’s covenant with the human race was in fact unjust at every single one of the five points. The satan’s “equitable remedy” involved among other things, an award of damages and a permanent injunction and restraining order against Elohim from the Garden and the presence of mankind.

T
o make matters worse, the satan intended to pull every trick of legal hairsplitting, explore every petty technicality, and appeal every tedious legal procedure that he possibly could, in order to drag this thing out as long as possible. He felt confident and prepared as he took his place as prosecutor in the court.

A battery of defenders stepped out
, across from the satan and Semjaza’s Watchers. They took their places to counter the accusations of the lawsuit. They were the prince archangels: Mikael, Gabriel, Raphael, and Uriel.

T
hen the voice of Yahweh Elohim cried out, “Whom shall I send? Who will speak for us?” The silence of the throne room penetrated all beings present. The arrival of the final member of the defense team broke the silence: Enoch ben Jared, prophet of God.

“Here I am, send me,” said Enoch
. He approached the defense team and joined them. They smiled their approval.

At the sight of
Enoch, Semjaza wanted to jump out of his seat and strangle the little meat sack. Enoch caught his eyes and rage rose up inside the Watcher. The satan saw it. He leaned over to Semjaza, whispering, “Do not be a fool. We have a higher cause here. Suppress your instinct. It is weakness.”

Semjaza sat back and took a deep breath.

Enoch saw Semjaza’s rage. He sat down in his defense position before the throne with a sense of righteous indignation. He remembered the saying Diya al Din had told him back at the Thamudi fortress, “Let justice roll down like waters.” It felt apropos to this scenario.

A
cloud filled the inner court, and the sound of the wings of the Cherubim swept through as far as the outer court. The Seraphim spoke as one. Their voice thundered like the sound of many waters. “Elohim has taken his place in the divine council. In the midst of the gods, he holds judgment.”

Everyone
fell silent.

T
his lawsuit would be different from all others because of the legal procedure to be employed. Normally, plaintiff and defendant would stand in the bar before the Judge and make their arguments, calling forth testimony and producing evidence upon which the Judge would rule. But since the Judge himself was being charged by the satan, there would be no need of additional testimony or cross examination. The satan would make the complaint, and Enoch would speak in defense of Yahweh Elohim. After presentation of all oral arguments, the Judge would make a righteous summary judgment. Special circumstances dictated special procedures.

Yahweh Elohim pronounced, “Hear O heavens, give ear O earth, listen O mountains of God and the heavenly host. I call the sun, moon
, and stars as witness today.”

The satan and Enoch stood beside each other before the throne
.

Yahweh Elohim said, “Accuser, what are your motions?”

“Going to and fro on the earth,” answered the satan.

“What are your
legal pre-trial
motions?” said Yahweh Elohim, correcting the deliberate misconstrual of his words.

He was a wily one, this satan, looking for every opportunity to twist, spin, and undermine the system and procedures to his advantage.

The satan said, “I petition the court for a change of venue on the grounds that this heavenly court places the defense at great advantage and the prosecution at great disadvantage. I petition the court for jury nullification on the grounds that the myriad of heavenly host are incapable of impartial witness because of overriding prejudicial bias in favor of the defendant. I petition the judge to recuse himself on the grounds of conflict of interest as he is the defendant in his own trial and therefore cannot be impartial and unbiased. And I petition the judge for the removal of the defense attorney next to me on the grounds of his lack of legal qualifications for this case.”

This was going to be a long trial,
thought Enoch.

Yahweh Elohim responded, “There is nowhere in the universe that can contain the heavenly host outside of this throne room. First motion dismissed. The Sons of God are divine council, they do not render verdicts. Second motion dismissed. I am the origin of impartiality and objectivity. I do not change and I do not violate my character, so all my judgments are true and just even in reference to my own actions. Third motion dismissed. Enoch ben Jared has stood in the divine council and therefore has met the qualifications for prophet of God and lawful defense attorney. Fourth motion dismissed.”

“Well, in that case, your mighty eminence of unbiased objectivity and impartiality,” said the satan sarcastically, “I ask for seven days to finish discovery, since I was surprised by the unreasonable volume of documents that deluged my council. These tablets of unending
toledoth
are time consuming.” He was referring to the clay tablets that contained the genealogies of the heavens and the earth as well as those of Adam’s descendants.

The gall of this rascal
amazed Enoch. He could turn everything into an accusation, even against Yahweh Elohim.

The satan continued, “And you really have to admit that this endless list of animal names is quite tedious and would fatigue any staff, much less my own of less than two hundred Watchers.”

After a deliberate delay, he added, “Your magnificent majesty most high.”

This
list of names was a record of those that Adam gave the animals in the Garden as an expression of his covenantal dominion, the authority that the namer had over the named.

“You have two days,” said Yahweh Elohim.

Enoch knew the satan had no intent of reading the genealogies and names. But even in the face of this obvious stalling tactic, Yahweh Elohim went out of his way to be fair and impartial, even to his own disadvantage.