Remnant: Rescue of the Elect 

Chronicles of the Apocalypse
Book Two

By Brian Godawa

Remnant: Rescue Of The Elect

Chronicles of the Apocalypse Book Two
3rd Edition b

Copyright © 2017, 2021 Brian Godawa

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without prior written permission, except in the case of brief quotations in critical articles and reviews.

Warrior Poet Publishing

www.warriorpoetpublishing.com

ISBN: 9798710875964 (hardcover)

ISBN: 978-1-942858-28-7 (paperback)

Scripture quotations taken from The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001.

Chapter 1 

Rome
March, A.D. 66.

Apollyon the Destroyer stood at the entrance to the temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus, looking down upon the eternal city of Rome, the city on seven hills. It had taken Apollyon centuries to build Rome from its humble origins as a small Latin town on the Tiber River into the greatest empire in the history of the world. When the enemy was building his pathetic little kingdom in that strip of useless land called Canaan, Apollyon was biding his time and building a superior one that would eventually rule over all the nations of the earth. 

And all the gods of the nations now served him as the rightful god of this age. Their identities as Jupiter, Juno and Neptune in Rome or as Zeus, Hera and Poseidon in Greece or as Ba’al, Asherah and Dagon in Canaan were masquerades covering their real identities as the fallen Sons of God from the heavenly host of Yahweh’s divine council in heaven.

It all began in the Garden of Eden, when Nachash the Serpent deceived the Mother of the Living and led Man astray from Yahweh. That jealous, infantile creator wanted to keep humanity from enlightenment, and when he could not have his way, he cursed Adam and Eve as well as the Serpent. Thus began the long war between the Seed of the Serpent and the Seed of Eve. But Yahweh made the mistake of trumpeting his intent of one day sending a Messiah who would crush the head of the Serpent. 

 Before the days of Noah, a band of two hundred Sons of God rebelled from Yahweh’s divine council. They violated the heavenly and earthly divide, the separation of humanity and divinity. They came to earth at Mount Hermon, the holy mountain of Bashan. They sought out strange flesh by mating with the daughters of men. The fruit of their unholy union were the Nephilim, the fallen giants of old. This heavenly corruption and mankind’s violence brought on the Great Flood, where humanity was judged and those rebellious angelic beings were imprisoned in Tartarus in the heart of the earth until the great Day of Judgment. Seventy of them were spared from that pit for God’s purposes.

But after the waters receded and humanity multiplied upon the face of the earth, man and angel once again united in rebellion and built a tower, a stairway to heaven where the creation was once again worshipped in place of the creator. So Yahweh Elohim confused the tongues of mankind and spread them out on the face of the earth as the seventy nations. He gave them over to the false gods of their lusts and depravity. He allotted those nations and their territories under the authority of the seventy rebel Sons of God who would be their Watchers. But he kept Israel, the people of Jacob, as his own allotment with Michael as their guardian prince.

The nations worshipped the heavenly host as their gods, so their gods they became, adopting the identities they now shared amongst themselves. The Sons of God took on a variety of divine masks, both male and female, sculpting their visible forms to match mortal imaginations. Nachash had taken on several himself. Apollyon was his latest favorite. But the Hebrews called him by other names: Satan the adversary, Belial the wicked, Helel ben Shachar the shining one, Mastemah the hostile, Diabolos the devil, and the Dragon. Apollyon was the Greek translation of his Hebrew name, Abaddon the Destroyer. Despite his many faces, he had but one plan: to destroy the people of God and the Messiah.

When the Nazarene came, he fooled everyone. Apollyon knew that lowly carpenter’s intent was to steal the allotted inheritance of all the nations. But when the Nazarene played the weakling, Apollyon used the Jews to incite the Romans to crucify him at Golgotha. The principalities and powers had been tricked. They had been looking for a military general to fight a physical war, not a suffering servant who would achieve spiritual redemption through self-sacrifice. As atoning Messiah, the Nazarene secured the legal inheritance of the nations, stripped the principalities of their power over God’s people, and exiled Apollyon from heaven to the earth. Apollyon could no longer legally accuse the people of God before the heavenly throne. The Nazarene then spread his malicious “Good News” through his messengers and began to draw the nations as his inheritance into the kingdom of God.

The story tormented Apollyon as he relived the events over and over in his mind, asking himself how he had missed the deception. How they had all missed it.

But that was a wall of rushing water he could no longer hold back. He had to concern himself with his new plan. He had stolen the key to the Abyss and released the once-bound Watchers from Tartarus. Those ancient ones had returned to their thrones over the nations, now under his authority.

“Our lord, you called upon us.”

The voice brought Apollyon out of his musings. He turned to see two muscular divinities bow before him: Azazel and Semyaza, the duo of mighty leaders of the fallen Watchers, now freed from their chains. Though they were his servants, he would have to give them both positions of importance or risk mutinous conspiracy.

Azazel sighed deeply and said, “It is good to be back. We have waited long for our revenge.”

They had spent thousands of bitter years in their prison.

Semyaza said to Apollyon, “Master, what is thy will?”

Apollyon looked out on the eternal city. It had been rebuilt after the Great Fire two years ago and was currently recovering from a devastating plague that had wiped out over thirty thousand people. It seemed Rome could overcome all adversity and still find the power to trample down the nations with its iron teeth and bronze claws.

Apollyon said, “You two shall be the leaders of my Roman forces.” They glanced at each other with approval.

“Semyaza, you shall take on the identity of Mars, god of war, and you will be the genius of the Roman General Flavius Vespasian. His patron deity.”

Azazel looked with annoyance at Semyaza. The “genius” of an earthly leader was considered to be the guardian spirit or god that was allotted to persons of importance. Such heavenly principalities watched over their earthly rulers with spiritual authority. Vespasian would be favored by Nero to lead his military forces. Therefore Semyaza would enjoy that exalted power.

Apollyon said to Azazel, “You shall become Mithras, the patron deity of the Roman legions, and genius of Vespasian’s son, Flavius Titus.” Flavius was the family name.

Apollyon saw the twitch of envy in Azazel’s face. As Vespasian’s son, Titus would be subordinate to his father’s authority. And that made Azazel subordinate to Semyaza.

Azazel pushed out through gritted teeth, “Yes, my lord and savior.” 

It amused Apollyon that these two brawny deities of war licked the sandals on his bony feet. They were ancient ones, but Apollyon was the ancient serpent, a superiority not easily challenged. His latest bodily form was a bone-thin androgynous humanoid with long, black, greasy hair. He loved defying Yahweh’s created order of male and female, and he enjoyed ugliness over beauty. Though beauty did have its use as well.

Apollyon said, “Nero is visiting the Greek isles to participate in the games. The Flavians—Vespasian and Titus—will be accompanying him. I expect you both to be prepared for what is coming. The Julio-Claudian line will not last forever.” Nero was the last of the descendants of Julius Caesar. It was the Master’s deliberate hint of a new dynasty of emperors—and the spiritual powers behind them. It was a subtle promise of promotion for these two.

But Apollyon didn’t yet want Azazel to know that Titus was more important for his plans than Vespasian was. He would save that revelation to use for his benefit later.

Azazel probed him. “My lord, though we trust your wisdom in planning a winning strategy for engagement, I am concerned about this secret Apocalypse of the enemy. Does it not reveal his plans?”

Apollyon clenched his fist in rising anger. The Apocalypse. That damnable document that had caused more trouble than all the previous scriptures of the Nazarene cult. He took a deep breath to calm himself.

He said, “The Revelation is for Yahweh’s people alone. He has supernaturally protected the document and its copies. Though we may try, Watchers cannot read the text. The only intelligence I have been able to uncover is what the humans say about it. But the Christians are secretive with it and are protected by the Holy Spirit wherever they congregate.”

Azazel would not let up. “Have you not tried torture through the Romans?”

“What do you think I have been doing the past few years before I rescued you from your prison, Azazel? I have tried every means at my disposal. But if you have anything new to add from your vast wisdom gleaned from the chains of Tartarus, be sure to let me know.”

These ancient ones were powerful beings of much use to Apollyon. But they no doubt had ambition to regain their primeval authority. He had to remind them of their place or he would regret it.

“Stay focused on your human wards and do as I told you. The time is at hand. I need you ready.”

Chapter 2 

The Aegean Sea
Off the Coast of Asia Minor

Alexander ben Maccabaeus beheld a door standing open in heaven. He heard a voice saying, “Come up here, and I will show you what must soon take place, for the time is near.”

Before he could respond, Alexander found himself in a heavenly throne room. As soon as he saw the throne and the one who sat upon it, he fell to the ground, prostrate. 

All was quiet with an unearthly silence. A holy silence. He looked up. The one seated on the throne had the radiance of a crystal-clear jewel. His throne was surrounded by a rainbow of emerald brilliance. Lightning flashed, followed by peals of thunder. Seven torches of fire stood before him, their flames dancing like spirits.

Alexander could not look straight at the seated king because the brightness burned his eyes, piercing his very soul. The purity, the holiness, the truth frightened him. He knew this was Yahweh Elohim, the Ancient of Days, and he, a lowly Jewish physician and Roman servant, was being allowed to witness supernatural legal proceedings.

Alexander had heard about this many times before in the synagogue readings from Scripture and other Jewish literature. Yahweh Elohim convened his divine council to adjudicate covenant lawsuits that the prophets brought against Israel or on behalf of her. God had engaged Israel with a legal covenant similar to the suzerain treaties between a king and his servant kingdoms. The prophets operated as God’s legal spokesmen and moral prosecutors. When Israel broke her covenant, God would put her on trial in his heavenly courtroom before passing sentence for punishment.

The satan, or accuser, had prosecuted Job in the same way. After the Jews had returned to the land from their exile in Babylon, the prophet Zechariah wrote of the accuser prosecuting the high priest Joshua before God’s heavenly court. Joshua and his people were stained with the sins of corruption and uncleanness. Enoch had also seen the rebellious Watchers judged before this same throne with God’s holy ones beside him.

But Alexander saw no accuser in this heavenly court. Christians had taught him that the spiritual prosecutor had lost his power to condemn God’s people because of the eternal atonement completed by Messiah on the cross. “It is finished,” he had uttered, and the satan had fallen like lightning to the earth, stripped of his power to accuse. Though he had become the prince of the power of the air on earth, he could no longer enter heaven.

Alexander saw twenty-four elders seated on twenty-four thrones surrounding the Most High. They were clothed in brilliant white and wore crowns of gold. Alexander thought of the twenty-four elders of the priesthood in Ezekiel’s prophecy about the Jerusalem temple. In Jewish government, the elders of a city were its legally appointed judges. The elders would meet at the gates to adjudicate legal matters. He wondered if these were the foundational twelve patriarchs of the Old Testament coupled with the twelve apostles of the New Testament.

As in Ezekiel’s vision, Alexander saw a sea of glass, like crystal, before the throne. Four living creatures defended it with six mighty wings each and bodies full of ever-seeing eyes. One of them was like a lion, another was like an ox, a third had the face of a man, and the fourth was like an eagle. Alexander still did not know what the sea meant or what these hybrid throne guardians would do. But they were surely frightening representatives of the mightiest of creation. 

When the creatures spoke, they sounded like a multitude of voices. They pronounced the trisagion of praise familiar to Isaiah and others who had been in this throne room before him. 

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come.”

At this pronouncement, the twenty-four elders fell down before the Ancient of Days and cast their crowns before the throne, a common act of submission before a higher authority. 

They sang out, “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power. For you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”

Alexander also fell to his face and wept with worship. 

He looked up to see the Ancient of Days hold a scroll out in his right hand. It was written on both front and back, as if it were overflowing with the passion of the author. The passion of righteous indignation. This was a legal judgment being handed down from the Judge of all the earth. 

An angel surprised Alexander from behind, proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?”

That was when Alexander noticed that the scroll had seven seals on it. He remembered the seven seals of destruction tha t he and his companions had read in their pieces of the letter. This was indeed a legal judgment of great importance, for seals of imperial authority were placed on court documents under pain of death for breaking. Who could open such a sealed court document? It would have to be someone of utmost imperial authority. 

One of the elders on a throne called out, “Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”

Alexander then saw a lamb standing as though it had been slain. It had seven horns and seven eyes. He knew this was symbolic for Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, who was also the Lion of Judah and Son of David. He had proved to be the only one worthy of this holy act. And all the living creatures and elders sang so.

Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals,
for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God

From every tribe and language and people and nation,
And you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,

And they shall reign on the land.

A chilling cold went down Alexander’s spine as he watched the Lamb prepare to open the first of the seven seals. 

Alexander awakened from his dream.

He was in a cold sweat, disoriented. He saw the stars above him and remembered he was on a corbita, a Roman merchant ship, in the Aegean Sea on his way to the island of Patmos, just off the coast of Asia. He had been asleep on the deck. 

His Roman lord, Lucius Aurelius Severus, prefect of the vigile police force in Rome, was still asleep in the small captain’s cabin at the stern. Alexander had been conscripted as Severus’ personal doctor and Jewish advisor. Severus was on a commission from Nero Caesar to find the author of a seditious letter written in code against the empire. The letter had been written as an apocalypse, a spiritual vision of an apostle of the Jewish cult of Christians named John bar Zebedee. Nero had persecuted the Christians for the Great Fire of Rome and banished John to presumed obscurity on Patmos. Shortly thereafter, this Apocalypse had circulated throughout the imperial provinces, detailing war and insurrection against the emperor. This uprising was to be led by their resurrected Messiah, Jesus Redivivus, someone Nero thought an imposter, but Alexander had come to believe in with all his heart as the resurrected Nazarene spiritually coming on the clouds of judgment.

Alexander now realized that he had been reading and rereading fragments of John’s Apocalypse so intensely that when he fell asleep he had dreamed of it as if he were in the vision himself. It had been so vivid, so real to him. And because of his past legal experience in Rome, he knew exactly what the Apocalypse was, a certain kind of legal document that he had not previously considered. 

But now he knew, and it changed everything—for the worse.

He decided not to reveal his secret to his companions yet. If he was right, then everything he believed about the document would be turned upside down. 

The words echoed in his head: “These things must soon take place, for the time is near.”

Cassandra Laetorius, Severus’ Christian servant on this journey, had awakened from inside her lone tent on the deck and joined Alexander beneath the stars. Her auburn hair and blue eyes were enough to put Alexander into a trance.

She whispered to him, “Nightmare?”

“You could say that,” he whispered back.

She smiled. “I need some fresh air.”

These ships were built for carriage, not comfort. The oarsmen and accompanying soldiers slept below in the galley.

They looked up at the bright stars above them. 

She whispered with wonder, “What an awesome God we serve.”

He agreed with a soft, “Hmm.” They stood in holy silence.

They had travelled so far together, serving the orders of their master Severus. Cassandra had been in Rome during the Christian purge that was led by Severus and his nightwatch vigiles a couple years ago. Severus had noticed her in the crowd and pulled her aside. He wanted a Christian to help them decode the Apocalypse and understand the mindset of their Christian victims. Alexander had thought Severus had other designs on her, but the Roman had kept his hands off, treating Cassandra with respect and patience. That was because she had saved Severus’ son, Thelonius, from death in the Great Fire of Rome. At first Cassandra tried to misdirect Alexander and Severus on their search, but eventually she sought to convert them both instead. Severus only hardened, but Alexander broke. He surrendered himself to the Messiah whose people he had previously persecuted. He was forgiven his sins against those he now wanted to help.

This godly woman had changed his world, and introduced him to the Savior and Messiah he now worshipped, Jesus the Christ. But he could not tell her that he was madly in love with her. He felt so unworthy of her. At age thirty, she was but one year younger than him. Through her inherited merchant ships, she had served with the apostle Paul in his powerful ministry of bringing the gospel to the ends of the earth. What could Alexander, a simple physician and new convert, offer her? 

He stared at her beautiful visage. If he didn’t say something, he would regret it the rest of his life.

“Cassandra?”

She looked at him with an attentive smile.

His tongue felt thick, twisted. He pushed through. 

“There is something I wanted to …”

He was interrupted by a voice. “Is this an early morning prayer meeting?”

They both turned to see Demetrius smiling at them. Tall, erudite, and handsome Demetrius. The dark-skinned Egyptian warrior who had saved them from certain death in Ephesus. The Christian son of Apollos with whom Cassandra had a history in ministering the gospel with the apostle Paul. The Demetrius who now drew a smile from Cassandra as no one else could. Alexander coveted the Egyptian’s relationship with her.

She said, “I doubt God would allow you before his throne with that hair.”

Demetrius felt his head. His hair was smashed up in a funny way from sleeping. He smiled and licked his hand, dragging it over his head to press it down, trying to make it less amusing.

He said, “That is what I like about you, Cassie. You tell me the truth I need to hear.”

There it was again. That annoying nickname, Cassie. Every time Demetrius said it, Alexander felt chills of jealousy down his spine. It gave his competitor a closeness Alexander craved to have with this most excellent woman.

Cassandra smiled at Demetrius, but then turned serious and looked at the horizon ahead of them. 

She said, “Let us remember the truth of Severus’ task.”

Alexander and Demetrius both knew to what task she was referring. Severus was on his way to find the author of the Apocalypse, the apostle John, whom they had discovered was on the penal colony of Patmos. For the author of a letter that Nero considered seditious, there was one certain fate: execution. The only question was how Severus would do it. Would he bring John back to Rome for trial? Or would he just kill him quietly to avoid any more mishaps?

Demetrius had wormed his way into their search party through negotiation with Severus. He brought along a small contingent of his forty Kharabu warriors, ex-legionaries who had converted to the new faith and provided their services to help rescue persecuted Christians. Severus believed in building alliances, or at least appearing to do so.

The sun rose behind them, casting light onto the small island now in sight. Patmos was a mere fifty miles away from Ephesus, so it had taken them a day to sail there.

The crew began their chores of readying the ship for port. 

Severus came out of the captain’s quarters and approached the three others. He said, “We will anchor in their harbor, and I will consult the prison prefect about John’s whereabouts on the island.” He looked at Cassandra and Demetrius. “He knows both of you?”

Demetrius nodded solemnly.

Cassandra said, “My lord, do you really believe the apostle will tell you anything? You are his enemy. In his eyes, a worshipper of the Beast.”

“Antichrist,” added Demetrius.

Severus said, “Need I explain to you the effectiveness of Roman torture?”

Cassandra said, “How effective was it the first time, when you boiled him in oil?”

Severus deferred with a nod. 

Alexander broke the silence. “I have a suggestion. Send the three of us into the colony as imperial prisoners. The apostle will explain to fellow Christians what he would never explain to you.”

Severus eyed him suspiciously. “You would betray your own leader?”

Cassandra said, “My lord, may I remind you of my calling from the angel?”

Cassandra had claimed a visitation by an angel who told her to help Severus decipher the Apocalypse and find John. Though Alexander trusted Cassandra’s integrity, it seemed like madness to Severus. Why would Yahweh tell them to betray their own brethren? It didn’t make sense. But Alexander repeated Cassandra’s own arguments. “We are not betraying him. We are seeking the meaning of a word from God. You think the name of Jesus Christ is a code word for someone in hiding. We believe he is the risen Savior coming on the clouds of heaven. So we are not betraying Jesus, because he will not be on earth for you to find. The Apocalypse will remain a mystery to the emperor.”

Severus nodded at the logic. He smiled and said with irony, “For him who has ears to hear.” It was the phrase they had taunted him with in the past for not being receptive to their propaganda.

Demetrius added, “We cannot stop you from bringing John into your custody or the injustice that Rome will inflict upon him. We only seek to bless him before he is taken and understand his message before it is lost forever.”

Cassandra reiterated, “The apostle will trust us. He will not trust you.”

Severus searched their faces for confirmation of their honesty. They had tricked him in the past, had thrown him off the trail of his quarry. But now that he had their apostle in his sights, there was nowhere on the small island they could hide, and they had no better friend than the truth of their intent. They were right; he would never be able to get anything out of the apostle prisoner anyway. He had heard that the other eleven apostles had died martyr’s deaths. These Christians were the most stubborn true believers he had ever seen.

He looked out at the approaching island. “Very well, prisoners. Prepare to join your leader in hard labor. And thank your god it will only be for a few days.”