We War Not-Book I
Chapter 27
The Preacher
Chapter 27
The Preacher:
Zane’s mind was troubled. Deep in thought, he sat on the edge of his bed. The return of Thor and the team to the Bunker was uneventful, as had been his debriefing with Von. The latter had concluded that the evidence presented by Commander David was valuable, but more research was needed to learn the extent of David’s work with Sangar. Since it was the weekend, he didn’t need to return to the resort office, and a quick check revealed that everything was “W.A.D.” or working as designed. The power had even been restored. The official report would be that the Resort’s maintenance crew had repaired the substation. The truth was that Zane himself had replaced the transmission switch. The emotional and physical fatigue that often followed a battle was now upon him. It was times like this that old doubts and fears crept back in. Along with these came the feeling of significant loss over Danielle. That feeling was not as deep as before. “Was it because of the hologram—hearing her tell the truth in her own words? Or was it something else… someone new taking the place of feelings Danielle could never fulfill?” Such thoughts danced around the corners of his mind when he sensed the presence of someone else in his room.
There was only one who could or even would appear in his private quarters unannounced. Now, in the center of the room, the beautiful flowing form of Grace materialized. Just as she had manifested before Zane the day he learned of the Bunker’s actual design and the AIs that were its heart, she again presented as a warm and calming light. The light of Grace’s presence flowed like shape-forming robes embracing her angelically. Grace’s “face” was peaceful. It was as if she had sensed his troubled thinking and the added confusion over his feelings for Danielle. The latter would soon become even more confusing, but clarity would not be far behind. This was a matter of the heart; for a man, the heart was filled with conflicting and confusing emotions. Like the purification process of silver, the heart would eventually use these emotions to “boil” away the “dross” of confusion, revealing the truth. Grace knew that was not what was troubling Zane the most, which was why she had appeared in his quarters. It was time.
Zane had always been torn over his disdain for the government’s promotion of a so-called “woke” philosophy. Disguised behind such words as “enlightened” and “progressive,” they had slowly acclimated society to their ways. Once they had control, it was too late to fight them. Early on, he realized that the humans in power were not the real ones holding the strings of power. Yet, he could not bring himself to harm these people. On the other hand, he felt very compelled to destroy the robot minions of the Barnack. This motivation to destroy the Epornites was even more justified after he had read his Grandfather’s last sermon. In that sermon titled “We War Not…”, Zane had gained an understanding that there was a power overshadowing and even controlling mankind. This power that controlled mankind was evil and even seemed not just to be manifested physically through advanced technology but with a dark spiritual nature. This power worked in a manipulative way. They were using the selfish nature of humans against themselves, exploiting their own nature for their own means. A common tactic of this power was to take what appeared on the surface to be words and language promoting a virtuous cause, but that had a different motive and agenda altogether. Words like ”Woke,” “Enlightened,” and the acronym D.E.I., “which stands for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion”. The latter were words any mature person would agree were worth striving for. Yet, the reality was that these words were a “smoke screen” used to disguise a racist, divisive, and hateful ideology. Grace knew it was time to help Zane clarify the motivation of this evil power and what he had in his possession to battle it.
Grace invited Zane to join her at the table in his quarters’ small kitchenette. Sitting on the table was a steaming cup of coffee, fixed just the way Zane liked it. As Grace sat, Zane saw she had a cup of coffee. He never stopped being amazed at these AIs’ “human” nature. It was easy to forget they were just manifestations of a robust set of computer algorithms. It was obvious that Grace was preparing Zane for an in-depth conversation. The kitchen table was traditionally a place for meaningful family discussions. A place where problems were worked out, and paths were forged for the way forward. All family members had a seat at that table and were entitled to bring their ideas and suggestions. The ultimate goal was unity of purpose within the household. As Zane sat at the table, a slight feeling of regret crossed his mind like a brush of cold wind. Just for an instant, he thought of how someone else was missing from the table. He sensed that this missing person was not from his past but someone he had recently encountered. Sensing Zane’s wondering mind, Grace turned the conversation to the pressing subject.
She asked Zane to retrieve his grandfather’s “book” and the sermon he had recently read from his bedside. When Zane returned to the table, she asked him to open the book to the section the sermon addressed. This was Ephesians 6:12: as Zane opened and found the text, he heard a voice begin to read the verse aloud. “***For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” A hologram had appeared over the small kitchen table. Zane quickly recognized the stately figure from pictures he had seen in his family album and the one he kept in the front of this very book. That picture shows this figure standing behind a large, solid wood pulpit in a small one-room country church. With both hands clasping the sides of the pulpit’s top, a strong and determined image was presented. That image and the one in this hologram were of his grandfather. ***The voice projected, unlike anything Zane had heard before. The words flowed at a pace that captured and held the listener’s attention. Vowels and consonants were articulated in a manner that formed the words in your mind, like 3-D images. You actually “felt” the words resonating deep in your inner self as if the speaker was reaching down to your soul. Zane now understood why the caption of the photo he now held from his grandfather’s book had just two words, “The Preacher". He was sure many others were called “preacher,” but Zane knew that in his grandfather’s lifetime, there was only one called “The Preacher.” He also knew that the powers in high places had silenced this Preacher, snuffing out his life because he chose to disagree with their opinions, but they had made a huge mistake. They didn’t understand that you might silence the preacher, but you can’t silence the “Logos.” Two generations later, “The Preacher” was again speaking the truth.
Looking up at the image of his grandfather, Zane became fixed on each word. “Greetings, my beloved grandson.” Zane knew that technology didn’t exist in his grandfather’s time to allow him to have recorded this message. This was his father's work. Having the insight to know that there would come a day when Zane would need the same counsel that he, as a son, had received from his father, “The Preacher”. With that in mind, he created this hologram and the message. The soul-penetrating voice continued. “As you know, I never got to preach the sermon you hold in your hands. On that fateful night, the powers in high places had sent their manipulated minions to my home. As they forced their way into my study, having come to silence me, I hid the book and that sermon in my desk. The wisdom of the creator meant that this sermon was for you. My counsel to you, grandson, is that you digest each word in that verse. Take your time and find their deep meaning and how they relate to each other. Seek the context of the surrounding verses that are genuinely displayed through this divinely inspired writing of the great apostle Paul. I will always be at your side and ready to help you define the meaning of these words. Just speak my name, and I will come alongside your mind and help you in this journey to see the truth. Today, I turn your attention to these words of this verse: “***against spiritual wickedness in high places”. Grandson, I urge you to seek the meaning of high places. You will find the true enemy you strive against and learn his wicked and deceiving ways. He is a formidable foe, but he is not invincible. That which you hold in your hands is the sword that will vanquish this evil. ***Trust what you learn, and let Grace guide you in this War. It’s a war for the very soul of mankind. You, my son, are a mighty warrior, and I know you have marvelous armor and weapons at your disposal. Still, in the same chapter that holds this verse, you will learn of another armor that is vastly superior to that you now know.”
In Apostle Paul’s own words, he says in Eph 6:10-12.
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.
The image vanished. Zane’s eyes fell on the face of Grace. He knew what his grandfather had meant when he counseled him to allow Grace to guide him. That guide “sat” before him with a peaceful smile, knowing that Zane was thirsting for the truth. He was now more motivated than ever to strike out at those in this high place. First, he needed to know who they were and how they worked.
Looking up at Grace, he proposed a question. “ Do you know what ‘high places’ mean? Before he could answer, Grace stated. “When you find that meaning, you will discover your true enemy. Your heart is now torn with anger at these powers while trying not to harm the humans who perpetrate evil in this world. You have rightly discerned that a higher power manipulates them. Even now, you are at war against the manifested technology of these powers while trying to avoid the loss of human life. You, of all people, know that you can’t go into battle without proper preparation. To do so brings significant harm and failure. Having been trained by the former American government to be a top-tier operator, you also know that the place to start is with your mind and heart. Donning armor and taking up arms without preparing the mind and heart results in an unfocused and unprepared soldier.
Zane looked at Grace with a confused expression, unable to mentally connect her comments about a soldier’s preparation for battle with the centering and focusing of the heart and mind in taking up the whole armor of God. He acknowledged the existence of God and confessed to believing in Him. At the young age of sixteen, he had confessed Christ as his Savior and become a Christian. His life of faith had never really been a matter of the heart. Yes, he believed and tried to live a moral life, but up till now, his faith had been an intellectual one. He felt he had done very well in preparing his mind and heart, but he had to admit that something was missing. He struggled with anger and even hatred towards humans controlled by these High Places. He was concerned the intensity of his emotions might misdirect his fight against the mechanized forces they deployed. Looking deeply into the eyes of Grace, he asked the question. To overcome those in High Places, how do I properly put on this armor of God?
The door had opened, and Grace walked right in. That door was Zane’s heart. She knew that Zane had faith in God and that, in his mind, he was at least a Christian, but she also knew he didn’t have a personal relationship with The Armorer. The opportunity had now presented itself, with his heart having been softened and even humbled. He had acknowledged his anger and hatred and was moved to feel remorse and repentance for them. She instructed Zane to turn his attention back to the scriptures, specifically to John 3:16.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved.
As Zane finished reading those words, Grace caught his eye and, looking deep into his very soul, began to explain the whole meaning of this War he was in. She told the story of Adam & Eve and their disobedience and banishment from God’s presence. She took him through the Law given to Moses by Jehovah and explained that no human could ever live up to or obey it. She explained that the animal sacrifices offered in the Temple only served to forestall judgment and didn’t provide a perfect sacrifice. A sinless God Himself could only do that. She brought forth the prophecies of a Messiah, a savior, one who would come and be killed by man to be the perfect sacrifice for man’s sin. That savior was Jesus the Christ, the Son of God and the subject of John 3:16.
Zane’s mind was so intrigued by this story that it was as if a great thirst he had was now being quenched. He “knew” this story but had never heard it framed as Grace was presenting it now. Yet he was unable to make the connection between Jesus and His sacrifice and the War with the High Places. He knew his Grandfather must have spoken of Jesus and this very scripture. Was this story the same core reason the powers in High Places killed his Grandfather and Father? Why would the actions of a loving God trying to save mankind drive this Dragon to mislead and even destroy mankind? Zane had seen the work of this Dragon. He had fought his mechanized substitutes for the demons that had been driven out of God’s presence. He understood how these technological gifts had bewitched the leaders of the enlightened movement into becoming unwitting servants of evil. An evil that would ultimately destroy them all, just as it had destroyed Jesus. Zane’s mind suddenly paused. If Jesus had been killed, then the Dragon would have won. If the Dragon had destroyed God’s Son, then how could he defeat the same Dragon? There was no hope!
Grace had Zane right where she needed him. Even before he turned his gaze back on her and the very words of no hope fell from his lips, she was ready. From behind Zane, a man’s voice began to speak. It was one that Zane had never heard before, but he was at once mesmerized by the tone and authority of the words he heard. Zane was about to meet the Apostle Paul. Not the real Apostle, but an AI-recreated version standing in the middle of the room speaking these words. “Zane, the Book before you holds a message I sent to the church in Corinth. In the fifteenth chapter, I lay out the whole story of why the Dragon did not win. Later tonight, please take that sword of your grandfather, the Logos, and read the entire chapter, but for now, let me describe what those words mean.
Now, mind you, I wasn’t there the day they killed Christ. I was to come to the knowledge of the truth some time later, on a road to a town called Damascus. It was there that I personally met Christ. Soon after, I came to know the whole story, and Zane the Dragon didn’t win! As a matter of fact, what happened so destroyed Satan that he is doomed to a prison of torment for all eternity. He, for now, wanders this earth on a short leash, devouring all he can out of anger and hatred for the defeat I will now describe. The story begins with a screaming crowd spewing their own hate on a broken man carrying his own cross to a hill outside the city of Jerusalem called Golgotha. This same crowd had just a few days before poured praise and adoration and hailed him as a king as he rode into the town on a borrowed donkey. That same man was none other than Jesus.
On that hill, two others were being crucified, and soon the hammer would be heard ringing through all creation as a Roman Soldier nailed Jesus to this cross. There on that cross, the innocent Son of God would suffer and die. In that death, all sins past, present, and future would be forgiven to those who would desire it. This was the great mystery hidden for all the ages that the Dragon didn’t understand. The Dragon saw the death of Christ as a defeat of God and a victory for him. The Dragon roared with pride and satisfaction, thinking he had defeated God. In the High Place where the evil one resided, there was celebration among the horde of demons for what seemed to be a great victory. They hissed and screeched as the body of Jesus was taken down from that cross and laid in a borrowed cave tomb to be sealed with a large stone. They had won! God’s feeble attempt to save man had seen those very men turn on His son and kill Him. What hope could a dead Savior offer the living? Yet, in the throne room of heaven, the Father sat in emotionless silence. Even the Elders and Angels of the court of heaven, the same warriors that had defeated and seen the Dragon thrown out of heaven, were saddened and confused. What had just happened?
Then, as if almost magnetically drawn to the Logos open before him, Zane’s finger landed on 1 Corinthians 15:54, and before his eyes, those very words materialized in 3D form right before him in mid-air, and the Apostle Paul’s voice said.
So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Victory, Zane, that’s what the death of Christ was about to bring. Not failure, not defeat. It wasn’t over, and, in fact, it was about to begin. The battle seemed lost until all creation saw the Father with the ever-so slight flick of his hand, and the slightest turn of his head changed the whole scene. The Father directed his will to the other part of the Three, the Holy Spirit. Like a battle steed, this part of the Godhead had been stopping and straining at its bit. He knew! There was no defeat, there was no failure, and with that subtle command from the Father, that invincible, all-powerful Spirit sprang from its place at the Father’s side, burst through heaven’s gates, and descended upon earth. Death was about to meet Life, darkness was about to be overcome by light, and damnation was about to meet Grace. Suddenly, in the tomb where the body of Jesus lay, a great light penetrated every corner. The shroud that had adorned that body fell away, and without human hands, that massive stone was rolled away. Jesus was alive, and down in the pit, an eerie silence came over the now not-so-joyous evil horde. The Dragon looked into the tomb and indeed found it empty. Then, as if just for the evil one to see, the heavens parted, and all creation witnessed the most spectacular and powerful scene of all time. The Son was seated at the right hand of the Father. Not dead but alive, and through that resurrection, all that would believe could have life eternal.
With these last words, the Apostle Paul faded, and it was again just Zane and Grace. The room was silent as Zane was still trying to digest all he had heard and seen. After a few moments, he spoke. I see now. God made the ultimate act of Love to present his own Son as the perfect sacrifice for all sin. In that act, all mankind could be with God eternally if they would believe in Jesus, take up His cross, and go forth. That belief was more than just an intellectual one. Seeing the Father offer His own Son as a substitute for each person’s sin made this a very personal faith. It was at that moment that a word formed in Zane’s mind, and as if a light was switched on, he understood. That word was “Grace”, unmerited forgiveness. Zane smiled as he realized his father’s work in naming the one who had now taught him. The AI, Grace. That was genius. Zane knew that with this refined personal faith, he had at his disposal a new kind of power. With that belief, God provided a suit of Armor to war against the Dragon who occupied High Places. Zane did believe in Christ! His heart no longer harbored hatred for mankind, as he now knew the true evil was the Dragon. Zane wanted that Armor. Just as he would step into his advanced technological suit of armor, he was now ready to take on this protection offered by God to bring the battle to the very center of the Dragon’s lair. Seeking to know more, Zane turned to Ephesians 6:13-17.
Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Zane’s detailed mind quickly assembled a list of this suit of Armor. Like entering his own Armory, he approached the weapons rack and began mentally putting it on.
• Belt • Breastplate • Footwear • Shield • Helmet • Sword
It would take time, but as he learned to wear this armor into battle, he would come to understand the protection it provided and the use of each part of this new suit. He was never more confident in the assignment before him, and his mind was never more awake than before. Zane had reached his Turning Point.
Deep in the Dragon’s lair, the evil one suddenly awoke from a restless slumber. A cold chill filled the air, and the beast trembled involuntarily. Not since the day it had witnessed the empty tomb had the fallen angel sensed doom of this magnitude.
A true awakening was now spreading across the battlefield, and Satan now knew it should never have allowed Zane to be awakened.
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