Unholy Empire: Chronicles of the Host, Vol 2: Chronicles of the Host, Book 2 (44 page)

“You say it as if the choice to leave was yours,” Crispin said. “I would say that you were vacated, and not the other way around.”

Lucifer smiled a half-smile and continued. “Be that as it may, whether it is deemed rebellion or liberation, this is the fruit of choice! You are indeed watching the birth of a new nation! But not one led by a trickster from the desert who has abandoned his people. No, Crispin, this is a new nation with a new god who will lead the people back to bondage where they belong—and where they will disappear in human history and the dust of Egypt!”

“I would have thought that your adventure in Egypt would have taught you something about playing at god,” said Crispin. “There is only one God in Heaven!”

“You forget, dear teacher. This is not Heaven.”

“Bring to Aaron all of your jewelry—any gold that you have!”

“Someone break into the treasure tent and bring some of the Egyptian plunder!”

Korah and Dathan watched as the people continued bringing gold in various forms to Aaron and laying it at his feet. When they were finally finished, Aaron sifted through the treasure with a bemused look on his face.

“Well Aaron, what shall it be?” asked Korah. “You are our high priest! Fashion for us the god who has delivered us out of bondage, that we might carry him ahead of us!”

A cheer went up from the crowd as people anticipated the image of the god of Israel. Aaron looked vacantly at the gold and then back at Korah.

“I have no idea what the God of Israel looks like,” he said. “I never saw Him.”

Unseen by the humans Kara stood by Korah and spoke into his mind:

“
Surely Moses saw Him on the mountain before returning to Goshen
…”

“
How did Moses describe Him? Moses met with Him, didn’t he?
” said Korah.

“Yes, but he never saw Him,” said Aaron. “No human has ever seen Him.”

“
And yet Moses said he spoke with Him face to face. Did Moses deceive us?…
”

“So how do we know that Moses even spoke with Him?” asked Korah, as several men in the crowd affirmed his question. Aaron looked up angrily.

“I have no idea,” he said. “Moses told me that the Lord appeared to him in the form of a consuming fire.”

“Ah yes,” said Korah. “The bush that would not burn.”

“
Perhaps fire is the emblem of this god. Let the fire decide…
”

“If the God that delivered us has chosen fire as His image, then fire it should be!” said Korah, who lifted a chain of gold over his head and held it up for all the people to see. “Let Aaron fashion us a god out of the fire!”

A loud cheer went up, and the people suddenly began dancing, singing, and reveling in the presence of their new god, who would be born from Aaron’s flames. Aaron ordered a very hot fire built within a stone platform. He tossed the gold into a large bronze disc set over the flames. As the gold melted, the people officially proclaimed Aaron high priest of the God of Israel—the god of the golden fire.

Kara ordered his demons skilled in design into the flames. Taking the melted gold, they fashioned it into an image of a golden calf, which, to the people, seemed to miraculously take shape of its own power. The people were astonished. Even Aaron was amazed and wondered if perhaps the God of Israel was indeed present.

Kara laughed in delight. More and more devils arrived, and the celebration began taking on a sensual and unbridled feeling.

“The people are casting off restraint,” commented Lucifer, who had come over to Kara. “Just as the angels in Heaven did.”

“These simple people actually believe that the gold formed itself into the image of a calf,” said Kara. “Humans are so dreadfully stupid.”

“I told you Korah was worth pursuing,” said Kara. “Even Pellecus had to admit that I was right. Korah will serve us well in the new order of things.”

“If it were not in his heart to rebel, you would not have been able to exploit him,” cautioned Lucifer. “All we can do is suggest through the human spirit and mind. But I am grateful that they are so prone to failure.”

“It will be interesting to watch Moses’ reaction when he discovers that the god he has been worshiping is the image of a calf!” remarked Kara.

“Yes. And Aaron, Moses’ brother, as their priest,” said Lucifer. He looked at the face of the calf. “It looks as if the Most High God has taken on new features after all!”

C
HAPTER
22

“A Seething Core of Wolves.”

Chronicles of the Host

A Noise of War

The Host waited anxiously for Moses’ return. We knew that something marvelous and far-reaching was happening between creature and Creator on Sinai! But we also saw that the hearts of the people had deteriorated into horrible and base confusion, spurred on by Korah’s rebellious actions and encouraged by Aaron’s reluctant participation.

As for Moses, upon receiving from the Lord the law that would forever change the direction of Israel, the prophet made his way down the mountain, now to enforce the law upon a people who had become lawless. In the 40 days and nights that Moses had been gone, the people had moved from a nation that feared the Most High to a nation that forgot Him.

They had the impudence not only to disgrace the holy name of the Lord Most High, but also to profane the first two holy commandments that the Lord had delivered to Moses—that of having no other gods before Him, and of not making a graven image to the Lord. By declaring the Most High to be an earthly god, borne in an image of gold, the people had broken both of those laws before Moses had even gotten off Sinai…

The holy angels held back bitter and angry emotions as they watched the people slip from rebellion to debauchery. Men and women, in unrestrained expression, danced, drank, caroused, and feasted—all in the name of the calf of gold. “This is the god who brought us out of Egypt!” they proclaimed, and Aaron was named the high priest of the new order.

Above them, swirling about like a dark whirlpool, were thousands of the enemy, dark spirits of licentious character, calling upon the people to further degrade themselves and calling to the holy angels in lewd and derisive comments. The people, unaware that they were opening themselves up to such suggestion, whipped themselves up into a frenzied and frantic pace. Some were convulsing on the ground, claiming that they were possessed by the god of the calf, and prophesied in his name, proclaiming a great destiny for the future Israel.

Lucifer was delighted with the disintegration that had occurred in so short a time. He stood with Pellecus, who, keenly observing the fray, made mental notes for future instruction at the new academy he was creating to teach the rebel angels Lucifer’s order of things. All seemed quite well.

“This is certainly a satisfying day,” said Lucifer. “These people are completely out of control.”

“Most of them,” said Pellecus. “A few remain faithful to Moses and committed to the Lord. They have not stopped praying since Moses and Joshua left.”

“Let them pray, Pellecus,” said Lucifer. “It will demonstrate that in face of the overwhelming will of a people, even the Most High is powerless!”

Suddenly, the noise of the camp began to diminish, until there was almost complete silence. High on a rock overlooking the scene stood Moses and Joshua. They could only make out the silhouette of the prophet, with the burning mountain behind him. Next to him stood Michael and Serus.

“Michael certainly looks a bit upset,” remarked Lucifer.

The devils immediately began howling, hissing, and cursing Michael. They dived in and out of the people to agitate them and foment murderous thoughts toward Moses for disturbing their celebration.

Moses looked at the wreckage of his people and wept angry tears. He held the two stone tablets that the Lord had given him, on which were the Ten Great Commandments. Moses was ashamed for the Most High, that the Lord would even consider being in covenant with so wild and careless a people. He walked in closer, ignoring some of the catcalls.

As he came near a man who was convulsing and prophesying under his breath, Moses said, “Be gone from my sight!” Unseen by Moses or any other human, a spirit of religion and seduction shrieked, cursed, and disappeared into the heavenlies. The man slowly got up and staggered away, frightened at the prophet’s wrath.

“Why are you disturbing our feast?” came a voice from the crowd.

It was Korah.

“You have been gone from us, Moses,” he continued. “We thought you had abandoned us. So Aaron has fashioned us the god that you sought on the mountain.”

Behind Korah were several devils, including Kara, who had been seeding within Korah’s mind an increasing opposition to Moses. Kara was happy that the venom of rebellion he had planted had rooted so deeply.

Moses, however, ignored Korah and looked beyond him to Aaron. Aaron immediately dropped the emblems of worship he had crafted and fell to his knees. Many of the crowd did likewise, though others continued to revile Moses for interrupting the festival to the new god.

“What did these people do to make you lead them into this great sin?” Moses asked his brother. “How could you have done this?”

“My brother, these people are bewitched!” began Aaron. Korah and some of the other leaders grumbled. “They begged me to make a god to go before us. They said you would never return. And so I had them bring me their jewelry and some of the plunder of Egypt. I threw the things in the fire and this calf emerged, fully shaped as you see it!”

“It is the work of devils!” screamed Moses, tearing at the image with an axe. Michael ordered some angels to help Moses, and man and angels destroyed the image. Moses ground the bits of it into powder. He mixed the powder with water and made the people drink it.

“You want a god that you can see and feel,” he yelled for the whole camp to hear. “How about one you can taste? Drink this, you rebellious lot! Let it mix in with your sour bellies and your empty hearts!”

Then Moses called for those who were loyal to the Lord to come forward. Almost instantly the tribe of Levi proclaimed their allegiance to the living God, and Moses ordered them to kill the profaners in the camp. Brother fought brother as the Levites killed some three thousand people that day.

A pitched battle took place in the heavenlies as well, as war broke out over the camp between Lucifer’s angels and Michael’s legions. Michael’s angels scattered the vile and venomous devils who had held sway over the camp for 40 days. He ordered the camp cleansed of every filthy spirit upon the fresh authority that Moses had brought. As for the testaments of stone, Moses dashed those into pieces. He felt that so unruly a nation was undeserving of so gracious a God.

Chronicles of the Host

New Beginning

The carnage was horrible, and Lucifer’s angels thoroughly enjoyed the fruit of their work. Though they did not succeed in completely capturing the nation of Israel, they had proven how corruptible the heart of Israel truly was. They took the events that had happened at Sinai as boding well for their future efforts against the people of the Seed.

As the anger of the Lord subsided, He restored to Moses the tablets, and Israel became a people under law—the only nation on earth to be given the precepts of the Lord Most High! Israel was to bind the words to its heart and make them known to all generations. For a brief time Israel was a nation at peace both with itself and with its God.

The Lord Most High instructed the people on every detail of their lives, in order to distinguish them from every other people on earth. They were to be a people of the law—and their lives were to reflect this. The Lord also ordered the construction of a Tent of Meeting, an earthly place where the Presence of God would meet with the high priest of the land. Some of the angels commented on such a poor house for so great a God. But the wisest among us realized that it was the glory of God that made a place holy, and not a structure—be that in Heaven or on earth.

The day that the tabernacle was completed, the glory of God filled the tent so that nobody could even stand to enter it. Thus did the Most High lead Israel from site to site, ever inching toward the final destination in Canaan. This was a time of great learning, as God was teaching them His law. He was preparing them for the life of faith of a people through whom would come the one to right all things.