Book 12

I’m kinda zoning out at noon, even though I’m trying to go fast. So here I am, an Arch-Angel, pausing between the old world that’s gone and the new one that’s starting. Wondering if Adam might say something.

Then, a smooth transition, and I start talking again. You’re seeing how one world began and ended, and how people came from a second chance. You’ve got a lot more to see, but I can tell your eyes are getting tired. Seeing stuff from God is intense - it drains you.

So, I’ll tell you what’s next. Just listen up.

These second humans, when they were still a small group and the fear of what just happened was fresh in their minds, were careful to respect God. They tried to do what was fair and right, and they multiplied. They farmed the land, bringing in corn, wine, and oil.

They raised herds and flocks, often sacrificing bulls, lambs, and goats, pouring out wine and holding sacred feasts. They lived happy, peaceful lives, in families and tribes, led by their fathers. That lasted a long time, until one guy showed up - a proud, ambitious dude.

He wasn't cool with equality or brotherhood. He wanted to be in charge, even though he didn’t deserve it. He took over his brothers and threw out natural law and order. He’s basically hunting people like they’re animals, using war and traps to force them into his tyrannical rule.

They’re gonna call him "a mighty hunter before the Lord," like he’s defying Heaven, or maybe even claiming to be second in command. His name will come from his rebellion, even though he’s accusing others of rebelling.

He’s gonna gather a crew, driven by the same ambition to dominate, and they’ll march from Eden toward the west. They’ll find a flat area where a thick, black, oily substance bubbles up from the ground - the mouth of Hell.

They’ll use that stuff to build bricks and build a city and a tower so tall it reaches the sky, just to get their name out there. They don't care if they're remembered for good or bad.

But God, who often visits people unseen, walking through their homes to see what they're doing, sees them. He comes down to check out their city before the tower blocks the sky. And to mess with them, he gives them a bunch of different languages. Suddenly, they can’t understand each other.

A crazy, confusing noise erupts among the builders. Everyone’s yelling, but no one gets it. They get frustrated and angry, like they’re being mocked.

There’s laughter in Heaven, as God looks down and sees the chaos and hears the noise. And that’s how the building got left as a joke, and the whole project was called "Confusion."

Adam, acting like a dad, isn’t happy.

"Seriously, son? Trying to be above everyone else? Trying to take power from God, power that wasn't given to you?" he says. " He only gave us dominion over animals - fish, birds, and beasts. We have that right because He gave it to us. But He didn’t make humans lords over other humans."

"He kept that power for Himself. Humans are meant to be free from other humans."

But this guy, with his arrogant plans, isnn't stopping at just taking over other people. He's building his tower to challenge God.

"Seriously, dude? What food are you going to haul all the way up there to feed yourself and your army?" Adam asks. " Up there, where the air is so thin it’s going to destroy your insides and steal your breath, even if you get bread?"

To Michael, listen up. You’re totally right to hate that son. He caused so much drama, trying to take down everyone’s freedom. But get this: ever since your first mistake, true freedom is gone. It’s always linked to good judgment, and they’re inseparable.

When reason fades in people, or they ignore it, crazy desires and impulsive feelings take over. They control everything, and people end up enslaved.

That’s why, when someone lets bad influences run wild inside, God, in his judgment, lets external tyrants control them. Those tyrants often unfairly take away people’s freedom. Tyranny has to happen. It doesn't excuse the tyrant, though.

Sometimes, nations fall so far from reason, from what’s right, that no injustice, but a genuine curse, strips them of their freedom. Their inner freedom vanishes too. Remember the disrespectful son of the guy who built the ark?

Because of his shame toward his father, he received this harsh curse: "Servant of servants" for his entire family.

Just like the old world, this one will keep getting worse and worse. Eventually, God will be so fed up with their sins that he's going to pull away, hide his eyes. He's going to leave them to their own mess and choose one special nation to listen to.

That nation will come from one faithful man, who's currently living beyond the Euphrates. He’s been raised worshipping false idols. Can you even believe it?

While the patriarch - the one who escaped the flood - is still alive, people are ditching the real God to worship their own creations, wood and stone idols!

But God chooses to call him, sending a vision, pulling him away from his family’s house and those fake gods, leading him to a new land he’s going to show him. From him, God will raise a powerful nation and bless him so much that all nations will be blessed through his descendants.

He obeys immediately, even though he doesn’t know where he’s going, but he trusts. I see him - you can’t - how much faith he has leaving his gods, his friends, and his homeland, Ur of Chaldea, crossing the river to Haran. Following him is a huge caravan of herds and flocks, plus tons of servants.

He's not wandering around broke, but he’s trusting God, who called him, to a land he doesn't even know.

He reaches Canaan. I see his tents pitched around Shechem and the neighboring plains of Moreh. There, he receives a promise: the land for his descendants, from Hameth in the north to the desert in the south. From Hermon in the east to the great western sea.

Look at Hermon, the sea - I’m pointing them out to you. See Mount Carmel, and over there, the Jordan River, the true eastern boundary. But his sons will settle in Senir, that long ridge of hills.

Think about it: all nations on Earth will be blessed through his descendants. That descendant? Your ultimate Deliverer, the one who will crush the Serpent’s head. I’ll explain more about him later. This blessed patriarch, whom faithful Abraham will eventually call his son, and his son a grandson...

Like him in faith, in wisdom, and renown: his grandchild, now with twelve sons, leaves Canaan for a land later called Egypt - a place split by the Nile River. See how it flows, spilling out into the sea in seven branches. He comes to live there, invited by a younger son.

This son's good deeds make him second-in-command to Pharaoh. There, he dies, and his descendants grow into a nation. But a later king grows suspicious of their numbers, wanting to control their growth, treating them like unwelcome guests, then turning them into slaves.

He even kills their newborn sons - a total massacre.

But then, two brothers - Moses and Aaron - sent by God, rise up to claim His people from slavery. They return, triumphant and loaded with spoils, back to their promised land.

But first, this ruthless tyrant - who refuses to acknowledge their God or their message - must be forced to yield through terrifying signs and judgments.

The river will turn to blood. Frogs, lice, and flies will infest his palace and all the land. His livestock will rot and die. Blisters and sores will erupt on his skin and the skin of his people. Thunder, lightning, and fire will tear through the Egyptian sky.

Locusts will swarm, devouring everything green. A thick darkness will cover the land for three days. And finally, in one devastating night, all the firstborn of Egypt will die.

With these ten plagues, the river-dragon finally submits, letting his people go. But he’s still stubborn, like ice after it thaws. In his rage, he pursues those he just released.

The sea swallows him and his army, but lets the Israelites pass - walking on dry land between towering walls of water, awestruck by Moses’s power.

God, present in his Angel, will lend this incredible power to his saint. A cloud by day, a pillar of fire by night, will guide them on their journey, keeping the relentless king at bay. All night, he’s on their trail, but darkness defends them until morning.

Then, through the fiery pillar and the cloud, God will trouble the king’s army, messing with their chariot wheels.

At Moses’s command, his powerful rod extends over the sea. The sea obeys! Waves crash down on the enemy’s ranks, overwhelming their army. The chosen people advance safely toward Canaan, across the wild desert - not the easiest route. They’re not ready to face the alarmed Canaanites and risk war.

Fear might drive them back to Egypt, choosing an easy life of servitude over glory.

This delay in the wilderness will also give them something else: they’ll establish their own government and choose a great senate through the twelve tribes, ruling by laws ordained by God.

From Mount Sinai, whose gray peak will tremble, God will descend in thunder, lightning, and the sound of trumpets to give them the law. Some laws will deal with civil justice, others with religious rituals and sacrifices.

Through symbols and foreshadowing, they’ll glimpse the destined Seed - the one who will crush the Serpent and achieve mankind’s deliverance.

The voice of God? Seriously terrifying to hear directly. They begged Moses to relay God's will, to make the fear stop. He agreed, realizing that mortals can’t just access God directly. You need a go-between, a mediator. Moses was that figure, a preview of someone even greater.

He’s the one the prophets would sing about - the ultimate Messiah.

So, laws and rituals were set. God is so stoked when people follow his plan that he decides to move in with them. Like, legit lives among humans. He sets up a tabernacle - a sanctuary - made of cedar and gold. Inside, there’s an ark, holding the records of his covenant.

Above it, a golden mercy-seat, flanked by two golden Cherubim. Seven lamps burn like a cosmic map of the stars. A cloud rests above the tent during the day, a fiery glow at night.

Except when they travel, of course. Eventually, guided by his angel, they reach the land promised to Abraham and his descendants. The rest? Too much to get into - tons of battles, destroyed kings, conquered kingdoms. And the sun?

It literally froze in mid-heaven for a whole day, night’s schedule on pause, while Joshua - who the Gentiles call Jesus - commanded, "Sun, stop in Gibeon! Moon, hang out in Aialon!"

Joshua is the third son of Abraham, Isaac’s kid, and from him comes the whole line that will claim Canaan.

Adam chimed in. "Yo, sent from above! You’re clearing up my darkness, dropping some serious wisdom about Abraham and his family. My eyes are finally opening, my heart feels lighter. I was so stressed about what would happen to me and everyone else."

"But now I see it - his day is coming, the one where all nations will be blessed. This favor is totally undeserved, especially considering I went for forbidden knowledge with forbidden methods."

He paused, confused. "But I don’t get it. Why so many rules and laws for the people living among God? So many laws mean so much sin, right? How can God chill with that much sin around?"

Michael responded, "Don’t sweat it. Sin will run wild among them, just like it did with you. That's why the law exists - to expose their natural flaws, to stir up sin against itself."

When they see the law can reveal sin, but can’t fix it - just those weak animal sacrifices - they’ll realize a more precious sacrifice is needed. Someone to pay the price for both the righteous and the unrighteous.

"Through faith in that righteousness, they’ll find acceptance with God and peace of mind. The law and rituals can’t satisfy that. Mortals can’t perform them perfectly anyway."

"So the law is incomplete," Michael continued.

"It was given to prepare them, to guide them from shadows to truth, from physical rules to the spirit. From strict demands to generous grace, from fear to love, from following the letter of the law to trusting in faith."

"That’s why Moses, though deeply loved by God, couldn’t lead his people into Canaan. He was just the messenger of the law. Joshua - Jesus to the Gentiles - will take over. He’s the one who will defeat the Serpent and bring humanity back through the wilderness, safe to eternal paradise."

Meanwhile, they settled in what felt like paradise - their own version of Canaan. They thrived for a long time, but when their collective sins messed up everything and threatened their peace, God sent enemies after them. But He’s always there, right? First, He sent Judges to help them out.

Then, under kings, they'd see a promise kept: a royal throne that would last forever. Prophecy sang of this - the royal line of David (that's who I'm calling this king). A Son would rise from the Woman’s seed, the one foretold to Abraham, the one all nations would trust.

The last king, really - his reign would have no end.

But first, a bunch of kings would come and go. His son, known for his wealth and wisdom, would finally build a glorious temple, a permanent home for the ark of God - which had been wandering around in tents for way too long.

Lots of people would follow, some good, some... not so much. The bad ones would pile up, their sins adding up to a major problem. They’d really anger God, leaving their land, their city, His temple, and the holy ark exposed to destruction.

That proud city you saw, the one with the high walls left in ruins? That became Babylon.

There, they’d be held captive for seventy years. Then, remembering His mercy and the covenant He made with David, God would bring them back.

Returning from Babylon, thanks to the permission of the kings - the ones He had in place - they’d rebuild the house of God. For a while, they’d live a pretty normal life, just getting by. But as they grew wealthier and more numerous, they’d start fighting amongst themselves.

It all started with disagreements among the priests - the people who should have been promoting peace. Their conflict would pollute the temple itself. Eventually, they’d grab the scepter, ignoring David’s descendants.

Then, a stranger would take it, blocking the true Anointed King, the Messiah, from being born.

But at his birth, a star - one no one had ever seen before - would appear in the heavens, announcing his arrival and guiding eastern scholars - sages - to find him, so they could offer incense, myrrh, and gold. An angel would tell simple shepherds, keeping watch by night, where he was born.

They’d rush there and hear a choir of angels singing his song.

His mother was a virgin, but his father was the power of the Most High. He would ascend the hereditary throne and rule the entire Earth, his glory shining with the heavens.

He stopped, seeing Adam filled with such joy that it felt like tears were about to spill. He finally spoke.

"Oh, prophet of good news, finisher of all hope! Now I finally understand what I’d been searching for - why our greatest expectation is called the seed of Woman. Virgin Mother, hail, so loved by Heaven. Yet, you’d proceed from my loins, and your womb would bring forth the Son of God Most High."

"That’s how God unites with Man!"

"The Serpent must now bruise his head in pain," Adam said.

"Tell me, where and when will their fight happen? What blow will bruise the victor’s heel?"

Michael replied, "Don't picture their fight like a duel, or focus on some local injury to the head or heel. It’s not about the Son uniting manhood with Godhood to better defeat your enemy. Satan wasn’t overcome because of his fall from Heaven - that was a more devastating blow."

It disabled him, but it didn’t give you your death’s wound. Your Savior will heal that, not by destroying Satan, but by destroying his works within you and in your descendants.

"And that can only happen by fulfilling the law of God, the one imposed with the penalty of death. You deserve that penalty for your transgression, and so do those who follow your lead. Only then will justice be satisfied."

The law of God, he will fulfill it. Both through obeying and through love - because love alone fulfills the law. He’s gonna endure punishment, coming to Earth in a life filled with shame and a cursed death. He’s proclaiming life to everyone who believes in his redemption.

His obedience, credited to them through faith; his merits to save them, not their own, even though they're legal.

He’s gonna live hated, blasphemed, seized, judged, and condemned to a shameful, cursed death - nailed to the cross by his own people, killed for bringing life. But he nails your enemies to the cross, the law against you, and the sins of all mankind, crucified with him.

They’ll never hurt those who truly trust in his satisfaction. So he dies, but soon revives. Death won’t hold him long. Before the third sunrise, the morning stars will see him rise, fresh as dawn. Your ransom is paid - Man is redeemed from death.

His death for you, for as many as offered life, don’t neglect it, and embrace the benefit through faith - faith that produces good works.

This God-like act cancels your doom, the death you deserved, lost forever in sin. This act will crush the head of Satan, destroy his strength, defeating Sin and Death - his two main weapons. It’s gonna sting him far deeper than a temporal death bruises a victor’s heel, or those he redeems.

It’s a death like sleep, a gentle wafting to immortal life.

And after rising, he won’t stay on Earth much longer than needed to appear to his disciples - those who followed him in life. He’s leaving them in charge to teach all nations what they’re learning about him and his salvation.

They're gonna baptize people in the flowing stream, a sign of washing away guilt and sin, preparing them for life - and for death, like the Redeemer’s.

They’re gonna teach all nations. From that day forward, salvation won't just be preached to the descendants of Abraham's line, but to the descendants of Abraham’s faith - wherever they are around the world. So through his descendants, all nations will be blessed.

Then he’s gonna ascend to Heaven, victorious, triumphing through the air over his enemies and yours. The Serpent, the prince of air, will be caught by surprise and dragged in chains through his realm, utterly defeated.

Then he’s gonna enter glory and resume his seat at God’s right hand, exalted above every name in Heaven. And from there, when this world’s end is near, he’s gonna come with glory and power to judge both the living and the dead.

To judge the unfaithful dead, but to reward his faithful and receive them into bliss - whether in Heaven or on Earth. Because then the Earth will be all Paradise, a far happier place than Eden, and far happier days.

So spoke the Archangel Michael. Then he paused, like at the world’s great turning point. And our ancestor, overflowing with joy and wonder, replied:

"Goodness infinite, goodness immense! That all this good can come from evil, and that evil can be turned to good - it's more amazing than that which first brought light out of darkness! I’m standing here full of doubt. Should I now regret the sin I’ve done, and caused?"

"Or should I rejoice even more, knowing that even more good will spring from it? More glory to God, more goodwill to men! From God, grace will abound over wrath."

But seriously, if our Deliverer has to go back up to Heaven, what’s gonna happen to us? To the few of us who are loyal, stuck here with all the disbelievers, the enemies of truth? Who’s gonna guide His people? Who's gonna defend us?

"They’ll treat His followers way worse than they treated Him," the Angel said. " But from Heaven, He’s gonna send you a Comforter - the promise of the Father. He’s gonna live in you as His Spirit. And the law of faith, working through love, will be written on your hearts."

"It’s gonna guide you in all truth and give you spiritual armor to resist Satan’s attacks, to put out his fiery darts. What can humans do against you if you’re not afraid, even to the death? You’ll be comforted from within, and supported in ways that will amaze your proudest persecutors."

"The Spirit," the Angel continued, "was first poured out on His Apostles, and now He’s sent to evangelize the nations. Then, on everyone who’s baptized, He’s gonna bestow wondrous gifts - the ability to speak all languages and do all miracles, just like our Lord did before."

"This will win countless people from every nation to joyfully accept the news from Heaven. Eventually, their ministry will be done, their race well run, their doctrine and story written down."

They’ll die, but as they warned, wolves will take their place - grievous wolves, who will twist the sacred mysteries of Heaven to their own advantage, for money and power.

"They’re gonna corrupt the truth with superstitions and traditions, leaving only the pure words in the written records - though only the Spirit can truly understand them."

"Then they’ll try to use names, places, and titles, and combine them with secular power. They’ll pretend to be spiritual, but they’re really just stealing the Spirit of God, which was promised to all believers."

"And using this false authority, they’ll force spiritual laws with carnal power - laws that won’t be found in writing, or engraved on anyone’s heart."

"What will they do but stifle the Spirit of Grace itself and imprison Liberty? What but tear down His living temples, built by faith to stand? They’ll insist on their own faith, not another’s. On earth, who can be considered infallible when going against faith and conscience? Yet many will try."

And heavy persecution will arise against everyone who perseveres in worshipping in spirit and truth. Most people will think they’re satisfied with outward rituals and empty traditions. Truth will be attacked with slander, and acts of faith will be rare.

That's how the world will go on - malicious to the good, benign to the bad - groaning under its own weight, until the day arrives when the righteous breathe again, and vengeance is delivered to the wicked, at the return of the One recently promised to your aid, the Woman’s Seed.

Once obscurely foretold, now amplified - your Savior and your Lord. He’s coming last, in the clouds, from Heaven, in the glory of the Father, to dissolve Satan and his twisted world.

"Then He’s going to raise from the fiery destruction, purified and renewed, new Heavens and a new Earth - ages of endless joy, founded in righteousness, peace, and love. Bringing forth fruits, joy, and eternal bliss."

He finished. And so, Adam replied, for the very last time: "Okay, wow."

How quickly has your prophecy, Seer, measured this fleeting world, this race against time, until time itself stops! Beyond is just emptiness, an endless Eternity that no eye can ever reach. I’m leaving now, deeply instructed, at peace, and my mind is full - more than this vessel can hold.

It was foolish to even try to reach for more.

Now I know that obedience is best, and to love God with a healthy dose of fear; to live as if he’s always watching; to notice his hand in everything; and to depend on him alone, merciful over all he created, where good always wins over evil, and big things happen through small, seemingly weak things, overthrowing the powerful and wise through simple humility.

Suffering for what’s right is the greatest victory, and for the faithful, death is the gateway to life. I’m learning this through his example, whom I now acknowledge as my ever-blessed Redeemer.

"To him, the Angel replied one last time: "You’ve grasped the essence of wisdom.

Don’t chase anything higher, even if you knew every star by name, all the heavenly powers, all the secrets of the deep, all of Nature’s wonders, or all the works of God in Heaven, air, earth, or sea, and enjoyed all the riches of this world, or ruled an entire empire.

Just add actions to your knowledge; add faith, virtue, patience, and self-control; add love - called charity, the soul of everything. Then you won't be reluctant to leave this Paradise, but you’ll possess a paradise within you, far happier. Let’s descend now from this peak of thought.

The exact hour demands our departure. Look, the guards I posted on that hill are waiting. A flaming sword waves fiercely, signaling our move. We can’t linger. Go, wake Eve. I’ve calmed her with gentle dreams, promising good, and her spirits are ready to submit.

When the time is right, share what you’ve heard with her - especially what she needs to know about her faith, about the great deliverance through her seed (for it’s through the Woman’s seed) that will come to all mankind.

"Then you can live, for many days, united in one faith, though tinged with sadness for the evils of the past. But you’ll be much more cheered by the thought of the happy end."

He finished, and they descended the hill. Adam hurried down to the bower, where Eve lay sleeping, but found her already awake. And she greeted him with words that weren't sad at all.

"Whence do you return? Whither have you gone? I know, for God is also in sleep, and dreams give advice - propitious dreams, promising some great good. I fell asleep, weary with sorrow and distress. But now, lead on. To go with you is to stay here; to stay here without you is to leave unwillingly."

"You are everything to me under Heaven, all places - you, who are banished from here for my willful crime."

"I carry this further comfort with me," she continued, "though all is lost because of me, I am granted such favor - through me, the Promised Seed will restore everything."

So spoke our mother Eve; and Adam heard, pleased, but answered not. For the Arch-Angel stood nearby.

And from the other hill, in bright array, the Cherubim descended, gliding like shooting stars, like evening mist rising from a river, quickly covering the marshland and clinging to the laborer’s heels as he returned home.

A blazing sword - God’s sword - shot forward, a comet streaking across the sky. It burned with scorching heat, like the air above the Libyan desert. The air itself started to bake that once-lush land.

The Angel, moving fast, grabbed Adam and Eve, who were lagging behind. He led them straight to the eastern gate, down the cliff, and onto the conquered plain below. Then, he vanished.

They turned back. All they could see of Paradise - their happy home just moments ago - was the eastern side, bathed in the light of that fiery sword. The gate was crowded with terrifying faces and blazing arms.

A few tears slipped down their cheeks, but they quickly wiped them away. The whole world stretched out before them, a choice of where to settle. Providence would be their guide.

Hand in hand, they wandered slowly through Eden, utterly alone. Like, seriously, no shade.