Rising Darkness (37 page)

Gabriel had ordered several angels to minister to the three men while they awaited their execution. The angels stayed in the room with them and comforted them, laying hands on them and being a source of strength through the Spirit of God who filled the room. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were prepared to die for their faith. They only wished Daniel were there to see them give up their lives willingly for the Lord they all loved. They knew he would be proud.

“Daniel would gladly share this fate with us,” said Meshach.

“Perhaps he might yet,” said Shadrach. “For surely he will never bow to an idol.”

“It is glorious to live for the Lord,” agreed Meshach. “And though I do not wish to die, I somehow know that there is glory in this as well.”

Arbo-kan, Bellesor, and Divis were granted the privilege of pushing the men into the furnace. They came into the room and ordered the guards to bring them along.

“After you have been reduced to ashes, we shall see that Daniel follows in short order,” said Arbo-kan. “And then all the outrages of the Jews will be dealt with! Bring them along!”

The men descended into a great room underneath the palace where the great furnace had been heated to seven times its normal capacity. Even before they had gotten to the bottom of the stairs they could feel the heat.

“Just a taste of what you shall soon experience firsthand,” said Divis, pushing Meshach along.

The king watched from a small alcove that served as a safe gallery from which he could see everything. The three Jews were hurried along and paraded in front of the king, who was fanning himself because of the heat. Arbo-kan bowed low before the king and then took the three men toward the roaring furnace. He ordered Bellesor and Divis to use the large grips to open the door.

“Great king, behold the justice of Nebuchadnezzar!” he said, and the door was opened. “Behold the justice of our god!”

The second the door opened up, the intense heat shot out at the same time the three Hebrews were shoved into the furnace. Arbo-kan, Bellesor, and Divis barely had time to scream in horrible pain as the fire leapt out and consumed them, burning them up in front of the king. The men fell in a crumpled, smoldering pile before the furnace.

Gabriel was watching from the side along with Serus and a few other angels. Pellecus too was on hand. He laughed aloud as Arbo-kan fell dead.

“Shall we see if they are done yet?” Pellecus asked, to the laughter of the demon angels who were with him. They crowded around the furnace.

But as they looked into the fire they suddenly backed off in horror. The figure of a fourth Person stood inside! It was not just a man—and it wasn’t an angel. It was the Lord of Hosts Himself! Pellecus leaped back in fear, looking at his scattering demons who exited at the appearance of the Most High.

Nebuchadnezzar also saw inside the furnace. There was someone else in there! He could hardly believe his own eyes. Perhaps the intense heat was playing tricks on his mind. He asked if they had not thrown three men into the fire.

“Yes, great king,” said Ashpenaz, who had come to plea for the men one last time. He had arrived just as the men were thrown in. “Three men, majesty. The others died when the door was opened.”

“Then who is that fourth Person I see in there?” he asked.

Ashpenaz looked but saw only three men—walking about the furnace as if they were not even hurt at all. How could this happen?

“Yes, there!” said the king. “There is a fourth man…with the appearance of a son of gods! Don’t you see Him?”

The king jumped up and got as near to the furnace as he could. He then called to the young men to come out of the furnace. Gabriel bowed low before the Lord’s appearance. But his heart was joyful—the Lord had delivered after all! Pellecus cursed the Lord and vanished.

Chronicles of the Host

Babylon, 539 B.C.

“Daniel!” muttered Kara, glancing at a map of Nebuchadnezzar’s empire. “How far he has come since arriving in Babylon. How far shall we allow him to go?”

“He is becoming as difficult a distraction as Moses was,” said Rugio. “I should like to thrash him just once.”

The demons were in the king’s study, discussing the latest reports about Gabriel’s visits to Babylon. Kara scoffed at Rugio’s bold threat.

“Thrash him?” he said. “He enjoys not only the protection of the Lord of Hosts but also of the lord of Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar will never turn on him. I would say that the captive has become the captor.”

“True,” said Rugio. “These Jews are perplexing types. And their prophets are equally vexing. Ezekiel and Jeremiah have been preaching hope in the midst of exile. These people cling to their faith like…”

“Like we do,” interrupted Lucifer, entering the room with Pellecus.

“Faith, my prince?” asked Kara.

“Of course, Kara,” said Lucifer. “We must have faith that we can persevere in this war and ultimately achieve a satisfactory conclusion. We cling as desperately to hope as the Jews do.”

“As for Jeremiah, I wouldn’t worry too much about him,” said Lucifer. “He has fled to Egypt with some other exiles. They have made a nice little community for themselves on Elephantis.”

“And Ezekiel?” asked Kara, knowing of a recent prophecy that had unnerved Lucifer. “What has he been spouting lately?”

Lucifer glared at Kara, who sheepishly tried to reframe the question. The others waited for Lucifer’s reaction. He surprised them all when he smiled back at Kara.

“Ezekiel is quite a man,” he admitted. “Bizarre to be sure. But clever on the whole. You speak of course of his prophecy against the king of Tyre?”

Kara looked very uncomfortable.

“I was speaking generally, my prince,” said Kara. Pellecus grinned at him with a “you are such a fool” sort of grin.

“How early you dig your grave, Kara,” said Pellecus. “Don’t you recall that we still have hope?”

“Yes,” continued Lucifer. “The Lord is tantalizing at times. His veiled description of this haughty earthly king of Tyre is clever, but shallow.”

“And quite revealing,” mused Pellecus almost absentmindedly. He caught himself and then added, “For a human, I mean.”

Lucifer bowed in acknowledgment to Pellecus—more courteous than sincere. He then ordered a demon into the room, one of his scribes, and asked him to read the portion of Ezekiel’s prophecy that had become the subject of the current discussion. The demon, whose former position in Heaven had accorded him the privilege of recording the sacred testimonies of the Zoa, now read for Lucifer the words of Ezekiel:

“You were the model of perfection,
full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
You were in Eden,
the garden of God;
every precious stone adorned you:
ruby, topaz and emerald,
chrysolite, onyx and jasper,
sapphire, turquoise and beryl.
Your settings and mountings were made of gold;
on the day you were created they were prepared.
You were anointed as a guardian cherub,
for so I ordained you.
You were on the holy mount of God;
you walked among the fiery stones.
You were blameless in your ways
from the day you were created
till wickedness was found in you.”

The demons in the room were deafeningly silent. Rugio could only manage a snort of dismissal. Pellecus merely waited for the dialog to begin once more. Kara looked around wishing that someone would say something. Then Lucifer broke the spell.

“The Most High has His petty ways of digging in,” he said. “Not content merely to reveal His word, He must also revel in it. No matter.”

“Of course the description is quite revealing,” said Pellecus. “If it were not for Ezekiel, you might not appear at all in Heaven’s chronicles!”

“You make light of something far more dangerous than you realize,” said Lucifer. “These words—these revelations—are not for the simpleminded fools who are captive in Babylon. They are for those who one day shall read the words of these prophets—and establish a school of thought that is both dangerous and far-reaching.”

Lucifer’s eyes began to glow a white light that looked at first like small dots and then began to fill the room with their intensity.

“However, the Lord is not the only voice for prophets,” said Lucifer. “Place these words in the
Prophecy of the Morning Star
.” “They will affirm our destiny and give rise to our own cult when earth is finally ours.”

He then rose above them all in the center of the room and began uttering:

“Record these words for the book divine,
The prophecy unfold, in time:
The prince will rise in much distress,
His earthly cover now to best,
The prince of Tyre now called me,
The prince of death I’ll always be,
And so Messiah, ever-told.
Whatever prophecies unfold;
Willing deathly place to be,
Anointed One His price to me,
Bloody end will be His place
A thing of scorn and of disgrace;
And when the Seed of woman dies
Another, greater seed arise.”

“Inspiring!” said Kara.

“Your sincerity is always gratifying,” said Lucifer, always suspicious of Kara’s praises. “And in this case, it is true. Nevertheless, I am anxious for your report, Rugio. How go the Medes?”

“They are on the march, my lord,” said Rugio. “Like Assyria before them, I have guided their leadership through their gods and they have created an army unmatched on earth! They will be here tonight.”

“Well done,” said Lucifer. Of all his leaders, he trusted Rugio most of all. He was not ambitious like Kara, nor clever like Pellecus. Rather he was intensely loyal—something rare in Lucifer’s hierarchy.

“I have decided that you shall be the prince over Persia,” said Lucifer. “You, Rugio, will guide the Persians into world empire and bring them on to Babylon.”

“Why should Rugio be accorded this responsibility?” sputtered Kara. “He guided Assyria and they are no more! At least my Egypt still exists.”

“It is obvious by now, Kara, that in the affairs of humans, empires come and go,” said Pellecus. “Assyria, Babylon—even the Medes one day. The point is to take advantage of a nation’s strength while it is thriving and then move on, once it has run its course.”

“But why Babylon?” continued Kara. “Why should it be overturned?”

“Because these kings have grown too close to the Jews,” said Lucifer. “Another nation with more appetite might be able to dispense with them.”

“Besides all, Daniel prophesied the end of Babylon,” said Pellecus. “Only moments ago he interpreted some words that the Lord Himself had written on the wall while that fool Belshazzar was giving one of his parties.”