It Shall Come to Pass was
originally conceived as a short story project published to our blog in 2010 with the title Bene Ha Elohim, Sons of God.
As it grew in scope and size with recent developments in global events that
coincided with biblical prophecies added to the plot, we felt led by the Holy
Spirit to publish this book as part of our ministry. Hardcover and paperback
versions were published in 2010 and a second edition was published in 2012
along with their E-Pub and Mobi versions. All were made available for a limited
time on Amazon and Amazon Kindle, where the novel stayed at number 1 in the
Christian Eschatology and Fiction categories. This online version was
edited in 2022 with corrections made to typos. New supporting characters were introduced to this reimagined edition and old ones made their return but were given new names. Updates in pop culture and geo-political and socio-economic events as well as minor additions to the storyline were made to create a more comprehensive exposition for the characters and plot, consequently creating an epic tome.
The Philosophy of Angelology
One of our motivations for writing this
novel was to put our spin on angelology in order to debunk some myths about
angels held by many people. Many of these myths are the faulty construction of
popular culture perpetuated by the media such as books and films. We have
consciously crafted a storyline revolving around angelic beings based on what
can be known about them through the Word of God and in reference to other
non-biblical texts of repute. Minor references have also been made to the
Apocryphal books.
We have no reason to believe that
angelic beings are mere anthropomorphic caricatures of the icons we usually
see staring back at us from the frescoes and stained glass windows of arcane
cathedrals. Angels, we contend, are personal beings, just as their Creator is a
personal God who has made them perfect representatives of Himself. To
illustrate, let us take, for instance, three well-known angels of Holy
Scriptures: Michael, Gabriel and Lucifer. (These three are the only angels
named in the Word of God. Other angels such as Uriel, Raphael and Azazel are
recorded in the uninspired Apocryphal books.)
Angels, we believe, possess distinct personality traits. We know from Scripture that each of these angels is specifically known and called by his name. Each of their God-given names has a specific meaning: Michael means Who is Like God? (or Who is This God?); Gabriel means Strong Man of God; and Lucifer means Bearer of Light (Lucifer is also known by the epithet, Son of the Morning). We can, therefore, infer that these angels’ names correspond to their personalities, which are distinct from each other and which distinguish one from the other. Lucifer possesses the quality of radiant light, and this is unique to him; as hinted in his name, Gabriel is known for his immense strength; and God’s attributes are evoked by Michael’s name.
Angels also possess free will. This can
be seen from studying Lucifer’s behaviour. As signified by his name, Lucifer
was the light bearer, whose garment was said to be adorned with gemstones that
radiated like the brilliance of the morning sun. Like his peers, Lucifer has
been given the right to exercise free will, whether or not to obey God, to
fulfil his role and to serve mankind. We read, in Scripture, that Lucifer chose
to disobey and, therefore, he forfeited his identity and role as the light
bearer in favour of bearing darkness. Thence, he came to be known as the Prince
of Darkness.
Recordings from Scripture and
annotations from extra-biblical literature attest to the phenomenon of angelic
beings performing, and sometimes seen performing, a wide range
of functions and duties. They include physically removing people from harm and
preparing food. As well, they are able to engage in combat with each
other. In the book of Daniel, the angel, Gabriel, was delayed going to the
prophet, Daniel, for twenty-one days by the demonic angels of Persia who
waylaid him on the way to Babylon. Gabriel was able to proceed to Daniel after
help came from the Archangel, Michael. For Gabriel to be held up for three
weeks, he would have had to be physically accosted, held captive or diverted.
Michael would have had to be able to engage in hand to hand combat with the
demonic angels to free Gabriel from their captivity. Angels are also capable of
engaging in combat with mankind using weapons. After the fall of the First
Couple in the Garden of Eden, God was said to have placed cherubim to keep man
out of the way to the tree of life. This cherubim was armed with a flaming
sword that turned every way.
Therefore, contrary to common
misconception, angels are not wraiths possessing ghostly bodies, but are
corporeal entities that possess tangible bodies. Indeed, one would necessarily
have to divorce one’s mind from logic to entertain the idea that angels with
waiflike bodies are able to perform all aforesaid functions and duties
or engage in any form of organized offensive or resistance with mankind
and with each other.
Because the angels of Scripture have
demonstrated that they possess identifiable personality and character traits,
make decisions apart from God, their Creator, and perform interactive work and
duties, we believe that angelic beings are, therefore, personal beings,
possessing a mind (intellect), will (free will, emotions and moral fibre) and
body (a tangible albeit spiritual body), far removed from the fabricated
perversions of Hollywood that portray angels as unfeeling and undemonstrative
robots, coldly following orders while being emotionally detached from the
universe and unfamiliar with the goings-on on earth. For this reason, we have
attempted to portray the angels in our novel as personal beings who face
interpersonal relationship dynamics, some of which are common to the ones we,
human beings, experience throughout our lifetime.
The Protagonists and the
Plot
Writing this novel has been a roller
coaster ride of emotions. In making our protagonists real and
multi-dimensional, we have tried to inject in each one of them a soul, imbuing
in our characters distinct strengths of emotion, a highly evolved intellect and
personalities that show growth and change.
It has been a labour of love developing
the central protagonist, on which K. T. has especially lavished a generous
dollop of her attention during the development of the plot premise. However, we
have both wrestled with issues of the conscience over the invention of the
protagonist, Mishael, who is part angel and part human. We have worried about
his association with the Nephilim – an offspring of a Son of God, albeit a
fallen one, and a daughter of man. And, we have been anxious about being branded
heretics for the invention of Mishael.
This notwithstanding, we have wanted to
develop a protagonist that possesses the limitations of a human being, who
attempts to balance his limitations with his identity as a powerful angel while
he traverses the inter-dimensional realms of heaven and earth. In this way, we
are able to overcome many constraints that will otherwise have hampered our
ability to explore his experiences of both fascinating realms, as well as his
relationship with the inhabitants of these two realms, as they converge on the
confluence of the material world in which all the characters find themselves.
We have spent many nights in conversation with the Lord over ‘Mishael’, and it
is only after finally being at peace with God, and with ‘Mishael’, that we have
felt safe to put our story out in the public domain. That said, we wish to
state categorically that it is not our intention to create a new myth,
tradition or doctrine with our creation of the fictional Halflings, like
Mishael.
It Shall Come to Pass is
not so much a plot-driven story as it is a story about relationships and the
rich tapestry of emotions any close knit relationship is bound to engender:
love, happiness, loyalty and faithfulness, and anger, sorrow, disappointment
and longing.
As far as Mishael’s relationship with
his mentors, Michael and Gabriel, we have drawn our inspiration from several
sources, which have been some of our strongest companions in childhood. The
principal inspiration for the pupil-mentor aspect of Mishael’s relationship
with Michael has been the classical Martial Arts movies of the
nineteen-seventies and -eighties, which we have been privileged to revisit
prior to writing Bene ’elim.
The Archangel Michael’s role as
Mishael’s teacher is reminiscent of the Shaolin master who invariably finds
himself training a little one, who would saddle him with a spectrum of
struggles that he brings along with him to the dojo: an emotional
baggage from a traumatic past; a desire to please and be loved by his teacher,
thinly veiled by his rebellious and stubborn streak; a premature need to dip
his toes into enemy-infested waters even before his training is complete in
order to bring his life’s goals to fruition, which ineluctably lands him and
his mentor in an intricate web of interlocking problems.
While depicting the complexities of
Mishael’s relationship with his fellow-warriors, the vignettes of which the
reader is given snapshot glimpses through the protagonists’ non-linear
flashbacks, we have faced the challenges of encasing the characters’ behaviour
within the framework of Scriptural ethic. God’s Word, the Bible, has been
indispensable in helping us to render our characters’ dependence on sound
Biblical doctrine and Scriptural ethics when confronting and resolving their
conflicts to ensure that their speech, attitude and actions are consistent with
their identities as the angels of the Lord: without sin, holy, righteous and
set apart for good works. It has, therefore, been crucial for us to uphold the
truth and integrity of the Lord’s doctrines as taught in His Word.
With Mishael’s characterization, we
have been able to exercise liberty in our portrayal of his dual nature as a
flawed human being and as a sinless angel of the Lord. However, with such a
limitless scope of liberty has been the danger of committing the clichés of
characterization that would have reduced Mishael to a derivative of many
popular heroes of fiction. We have, therefore, applied the concept of Diminishing Marginal Utility in narrating about his heroic
exploits, concentrating instead on the gamut of details that makes him discrete
yet personable and relatable: his fears and insecurities, which he sometimes
masks with his verbal witticisms; his mannerisms and quirks, such as the myriad
ways he obscures his eyes to avoid being seen as weak and his fixation with
physical cleanliness, such as his clean socks, which are a metaphor for
control; his sense of loneliness and solitude, a condition he finds unbearable
but inevitable, whenever he is separated from the brothers he loves, which is
frequent; his longing to be seen as mature and his struggles to align his
mental and emotional maturity in harmony with his physical appearance, an
exercise that is usually thwarted by his own lack of experience of, and
exposure to, the demonic world; and his near-unshakable connection with
Michael – no matter where Mishael finds himself, he longs to be back in the
bosom of his surrogate father, whom he loves with all his heart, and he almost
always keeps his telepathic communication line with Michael open at all hours.
The reader will not fail to notice the details of the special and tender
father-and-son bond between these two central protagonists, the narratives of
which are repeated throughout the storyline. Through Mishael’s relationship with
Michael, we have wanted to portray a facet of the close and loving bond a son
can have with his father.
Mishael is the allegorical
Bible-believing Christian. Like Mishael’s spiritual growth, the Christian walk
is a process that begins with a person’s recognition that he is damaged by
sin, and separated from a holy, just and loving God because of sin. This
individual’s course of being reconciled to God takes place with a merciful God
who pursues him until he admits he cannot find his way back on his own and,
then, he repents. Having believed and accepted Christ, he is justified before
God. He is forgiven of all his sins, past, present and future, and God redeems
him for His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, who died on the cross in his
place. He is, thence, given the right to be called a son of God through his
adoption as co-heir with the Lord Jesus Christ.
For the first few years everything goes
his way: his prayers are answered, he discovers his gifts and he is fired up
for God. Amidst this is the testing. There is always testing of a Christian’s
faith from God who loves His children.
Lest we blame God for being sadistic,
the tests are really the result of our sinful nature; though redeemed, we are
still grappling with this nature – our disobedience, stubbornness,
unforgiveness and pride, and the motherlode of other weaknesses in our
character, and so God allows trials to come our way to deal with our character
weaknesses. Sometimes we pass His tests but, more often than not, we stumble,
and the process is repeated. Sometimes the tests are the designs of Satan, who
is called the Accuser of the brethren. It is true: Satan does ask God to allow
him to test our faith. Job is an apt illustration. Whatever the source, the
testing of our faith is the sine qua non of God’s purpose to perfect and
conform us to His Son’s image, sanctifying us daily while we’re still on earth
in order to prepare us for service in His Son’s future Kingdom, which is when
we shall be glorified.
Therefore, the tests of Mishael’s
faith, including his triumphs and setbacks, have been a calculated decision in
our process of developing his character to symbolize the universal experiences
of a Christian, and weaving them into the storyline.
There is also symbolism in the gouging
of Mishael’s eyes, in the destruction of his night vision, the most
constructive and valuable feature of his gifts which are used in his service
to the Lord and His saints. It is also the core strength of Mishael’s ministry
as a warrior for the Lord Jesus Christ. Likewise, in their spiritual warfare
with the forces of darkness, Christians will discover that Satan has a
proclivity for striking them at their core ministry, be that in teaching,
discipling, evangelism, pastoring, praying or giving. He also strikes at their
gift, which the Holy Spirit has endowed on every believer for His ministry to
the Body of Christ. The Devil’s tactics include causing sickness,
discouragement, envy, fear, doubt, divisiveness and worldly distractions, so
that, at the very least, the believer becomes ineffectual in the roles which
the Lord has called him or her to fulfil.
Equally parsimonious has been our
portrayal of Michael’s and Gabriel’s angelic feats, once again favouring a
highlight of their personalities instead.
The Archangel Michael is the
quintessential hero of this piece, only more so because he is perfect –
perfectly righteous, perfectly just, perfectly kind and loving. With Michael,
who is the Lord’s leading minister, he is depicted as commanding all the units
of the Lord’s armies of warrior angels. A ruler of the heavenly powers, having
been endowed with authority as guardian of the nation of Israel, he is also
portrayed as a dignified prince, usually composed in the midst of his
adversities and quick to think on his feet when bringing a crisis to a
denouement. In the angelic echelon, Michael, together with Gabriel, Uriel,
Raphael and Remiel, is in the hierarchy of an elder. Because he has spent
thousands of years learning about the universe and cosmos while seated at the Lord’s
feet, Michael is as his namesake, the Michael of Scripture, whose name
means ‘Who is Like God’. Ergo, he is described as bringing up
Mishael with dignity, patience and loving kindness, which are some of the
divine attributes of God. He is earnest about raising Mishael in a loving and
protective environment, but one that respects Mishael’s dignity as a free will
individual. At times, this conviction has put him at loggerheads with his right
hand man, Gabriel.
A member of the elite cadre of warriors
in the Lord’s army, the Archangel Gabriel is an elder and a Commanding General.
His longstanding role as the Lord’s chief messenger to the human race is
underscored by his trademark tenderness and an incisive understanding of human
nature. His years of experience dealing with the human race means that he is
swift on the draw to recognize the root of Mishael’s crises, and acutely aware
of, and sympathetic to, Mishael’s human needs. On the other end of the prism,
being more aware of the capricious nature of human behaviour, he is susceptible
to being sceptical and suspicious, and, therefore, is more guarded in his
attitude towards Mishael. Whereas his love for Mishael is unquestionable,
Gabriel is the authoritative figure within their relationship dynamics, just
as Michael is the nurturer, and this is demonstrated in his impassioned desire
to be punitive of Mishael as a form of discipline.
The Personal Parallels
Embedded in this novel are the gospel
message of salvation in the Lord Jesus’ death on the cross and the message of a
disciple’s victory over his tribulations as a constant and day-to-day
experience. Mishael’s experiences with the forces of evil are drawn from a
collage of our personal struggles with demonic oppression. Despite having
committed ourselves to Jesus Christ and asked Him to be our personal Lord and
Saviour from the time each of us was in our youth, we have individually
encountered numerous occasions of being held hostage to Satanic strongholds
that, for many years, have caused us to live in some fear and dread. Strangely,
the more we committed ourselves to Jesus’ Lordship the more frequently we would
come under demonic attack. Night terrors, sleep paralyses, unfounded fear of
what was lurking in the night, were some common experiences.
As we have tried to portray through the
lenses of our protagonists, it is possible to have victory over the demonic
forces through faith in Jesus’ power to save, and the realization that Satan
has neither the power nor the authority to do anything unless it is with the
Lord’s permission. The Devil will flee every time we call on the name and
authority of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Prophetic Setting
The Bible has been our go-to source for
constructing a suitable backdrop for our story, which is the Endtimes scenario
of the Tribulation. In order to depict with accuracy the events of the last
days, from the Rapture leading up to the Millennial Reign of the Lord Jesus
Christ, we have also drawn our knowledge from a wide range of scholarly
resources that include the Internet and books written by noted prophecy
writers. As well, owing to C.J.’s interest in, and knowledge of, metahumanism,
his narrative revolving round the return of the Nephilim in the form of the
Antichrist’s transgenic race of super soldiers has added an edgy dimension and
dramatic twist to the storyline.
Both of us are convinced that we are
living in the last days, the signs of which the Lord Jesus Christ has described
in the New Testament gospel of Matthew. Owing to our strong conviction that Jesus’
return is quickly approaching, we have devoted substantial portions of our
novel to portraying the events of the last days. Events included are the
prophetic Rapture and Great Tribulation, the judgment plagues of God, the
global reign of the Antichrist and False Prophet, the rebuilding of the Lord’s
Temple in Jerusalem, Israel in the last days and the Millennial Reign of Jesus
Christ on earth.
Throughout the Old and New Testaments,
God has given us a glimpse of the world’s socio-economic, geo-political and
cultural landscapes prior to the Day of the Lord. Therefore, we are convinced
that this Day is fast approaching. Among the socio-economic, geo-political and
cultural scenarios of the last days pointing to the Lord Jesus’ imminent return
to judge individuals and all the nations of the world: the rebirth of Israel as
a nation; collapse of world financial systems and decline of civil liberties
with the rise of socialism and globalism; ecumenicalism and the decline of
evangelicalism; post-modernism and apostasy in the church; increase in false
religions, false prophets and false Christs; exponential rise in anti-Israel
and anti-Christian sentiments; rise in incidents of natural disasters; decline
in privacy leading to the adoption of the Mark of the Beast.
It has been a pleasure to write this
novel and share it with you. We are indebted to Jesus Christ, our Lord and
Saviour, for this platform to share with you our story and the hope of Jesus’
soon return to set up His kingdom on earth. Maranatha!
Thank you for taking this adventure
with us,
KT & CJ Hehir
2010-2011
†
