The Diamond Arrow, page 9
“Let me think about it.”
“I am not selling you anything, Mernid,” finished Silas, “the choice is yours, and it’s a free gift.”
“I don’t need anything, and you don’t have any tangible proof to show me. Anyways, as I said, and I don’t like to repeat myself, I’ll think about it.”
“Before I leave, keep this in mind Mernid: Pride precedes a disaster, and an arrogant attitude precedes a fall, but humility precedes glory.”
After nodding, Silas kept his head down and turned around. As he began walking out of the audience room, a thought crossed his mind. What if something was preventing Mernid from understanding this free gift of salvation and from making the decision out of his free will? Keeping pace walking slowly toward the door, Silas called upon the golden armor. He turned around abruptly and declared with a clear and direct voice,
“As it is written, ‘Lord, I pray, open our eyes that we may see!’ Lord, I pray that according to Your will, you may open my eyes so I can see what burdens Mernid, in the name of Jesus!”
As he powerfully shouted the name of the Alpha and the Omega, three fallen angels responsible for hatred, lust and disbelief, and who were hovering around Mernid became visible to Silas. He flinched in surprise, but the power of the armor that he had put on gave him strength. Holding firmly onto the Sword of the Spirit with his right hand while his left forearm was bearing the Shield of Faith, Silas stood on guard, slightly inclined forward. With the armor on, Silas was able to move extremely fast which allowed him to enter spiritual spheres and win nonphysical battles as the one into which he was about to enter.
The fallen angels were equally surprised and they started to wonder if Silas would really see them. To confirm it, they slowly moved to the side, gazing at his eyes to see if he would notice their movement. Silas followed them by sight and they knew he could see them. Immediately, they deployed their black wings and rushed onto Silas. At that time, Mernid seemed frozen in time and space as he was not moving at all. The actions were taking place at such a rapid pace that human body could not follow it.
Mindful of the fact that by the time he would pronounce all the words he wanted to say, the fallen angels would have reached him thus starting their attacks, Silas reversed the order in which the diamond arrow usually formed. This instinct came back to him from his training. Resolute and firm in his faith, Silas affirmed,
“In the name of Jesus!” then he paused, confident of the effect that the powerful name he has just pronounced has in Heaven, on Earth and under Earth. As expected, the fallen angels briskly fell from their flight and landed on their knees, growling in pain, agitatedly trying to stand up.
CHAPTER 23
New Horizons
“As it is written, ‘at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, in Heaven and on Earth and under the Earth.’ You will remain on your knees until I say otherwise, in the name of Jesus!” ordered Silas.
At the sound of that last and most powerful word, the knees of the fallen angels sank deeper into the floor, squeezing guttural screams out of them.
“What do you have against us you pathetic wretched human toddler?” wondered the one leading Mernid to hatred and anger.
“We are here because Mernid wanted us and desired us. We are fulfilling his deepest desires, and we can fulfill your deepest desires too. Drop this sword and get over here,” shouted the lustful one.
“Are you sure you can do anything to us? You have merely been lucky until now. What will your armor be good for once we pierce through your heart, useless boy?” shouted the third one in disdain.
Their overlapping raucous voices resonated in the air aiming at shaking Silas’ faith.
“As it is written, ‘our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the forces of evil in the spiritual realms.’ I command you to leave Mernid, this place, and this city in the name of Jesus!”
The diamond arrow, which split into three, hauled the three fallen angels out of sight and far away from Lystra. Before Silas could sigh in relief, other powerful fallen angels appeared in great number, their swords drawn and their dark wings fully deployed. They came in retaliation, ready to strike and to avenge their kin that the golden warrior had cast away.
At that sight, only one word escaped Silas’ lips. Powerfully released, it came from the innermost cavities of his heart, from the depths of his soul, deep inside his entire being. As if he was taking his last breath, Silas cried to his Lord, the Alpha and the Omega, for help. One word, one sound, with power, he screamed,
“Jesus!”
The armor amplified the sound of the Name above all names and radiated rays of light that brushed off the dark mob that had quickly and completely surrounded Silas. The sound reached Heaven, and the Lord of Hosts sent down a powerful angel from the armies of Heaven. The angel appeared right away beside Silas as the fallen angels were in the motion of collapsing on the ground. The light that was radiating from him was brighter than the sun. Covering their eyes with their hands, the fallen angels started to tremble, but could not leave that place. They knew they were doomed.
The angel quickly whirled his double-edged sword over his head in a complete circle. Instantaneously, silver chains appeared on the hands and the feet of each fallen angel. Forcefully, he thrust the edge of his sword to the ground. Immediately, dark and vibrating wormholes opened up on the floor underneath each and every one of the fallen angels. In a vacuum sound, each wormhole sucked one chained fallen angel directly into it. The screaming captives ricocheted on the dark walls of the wormholes, sinking more and more into the long descent and landed in the pit that was at the bottom of the wormholes. As the fallen angels reached their detention place, the wormholes closed, putting an end to the echoing screams of the fallen angels that were doomed. Silas was relieved to hear the peaceful silence and he sighed.
The angel smiled upon the young golden warrior, looked up and vanished into a vertical beam of light. Silas sighed again and this time it was with gratitude. As he thought that all was over, he heard a powerful voice that said,
“Silas! Silas! Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful in a number of ways. I will make you ruler over many things. Come and share your master’s joy!”
At these words, recognizing the voice of the Alpha and the Omega, Silas fell to his knees, slowly weeping with joy and gratitude.
“How, Lord? How can I be found worthy of bringing You joy? You know me by my name and I have found favor in Your sight! Even though I am only dust and ashes, You are making me a king according to Your words.” replied Silas, crying in humility.
“You are worthy of my praise Lord. You are worthy of my love and respect. I adore You, Lord of Hosts. From the dust You raise up the poor. Out of the ash heap, You lift up the needy, and You make him sit with princes, with the princes of Your people. Thank You!” he continued.
Silas sobbed again and again until he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Mernid’s hand. He only witnessed Silas’ sobbing, and did not hear the voice that spoke earlier; neither did he see the powerful battle that had occurred in the same room. Freed from the influence of the fallen angels, he came to his senses and recognized the logic in Silas’ previous words to him about the gift of salvation.
“The Lord of Hosts is good and faithful. I accept the gift of salvation. I sincerely ask for forgiveness for my transgressions. From now on, I welcome Jesus of Nazareth as my Lord, and I believe that the Lord of Hosts has raised Him from the dead,” confessed Mernid as Silas was standing up.
When he finished, Silas told him with an appeased voice, “Welcome into the family of the Lord of Hosts. You are now a citizen of Heaven and your name is written in the Book of Life. With your earthly power, work for the glory of your Lord so He might call you one day, ‘Faithful Servant.’” Mernid smiled peacefully, hearing these words.
“I am exhausted and shall go back home now,” whispered Silas.
“Go, Silas, and may the Lord of Hosts bless you for having brought to me the free gift of Salvation.”
CHAPTER 24
Heaven’s Mightiest Warrior
As Silas was quietly riding his horse on his way home, a vision that was granted to Lydia was coming to an end. When the last image of the vision vanished, she inhaled deeply and exhaled lengthily. With a profound feeling of gratitude coupled with relief, Silas’ twin sister left her room and went down the stairs to the common room. When she arrived, her parents were already there, quietly discussing the recent events.
“Father, mother,” she started, “I need to talk to you. Do you have a moment?” she asked respectfully.
“Sure, Lydia,” responded Riya.
“Have a seat, and tell us what’s on your heart,” added Paul with a smile. Lydia took a seat and said,
“As Silas left, I went upstairs to pray. During that time, I was granted a vision.”
“A vision?” wondered Riya with surprise.
“Yes, a direct vision of the events as they were unfolding when Silas went to Mernid’s”
“Do you mean that you saw what he experienced as he went this morning to Mernid’s palace?” asked Paul in an attempt to confirm what they were hearing from their daughter.
“Yes father, precisely,” confirmed Lydia. Both parents looked at each other and were amazed to hear that. Then Lydia told them exactly what happened as Silas combated the three fallen angels and how a troop of fallen angels also came only to be defeated by a powerful angel of the Lord of Hosts.
Ending the conversation, she announced, “As I am talking to you right now, Silas is on his way back home.”
“Let’s go and welcome him back home then,” said Paul who believed Lydia’s words.
They all stood up, walked outside and remained standing in the compound, waiting for Silas to return. Paul and Riya stood right behind their daughter as a sign of support. Nabas, already at the gate, was on the lookout for Silas’ return.
When the hooves of Silas’ horse resonated serenely on the quiet street, Nabas quickly opened the gate. Silas entered and they all saw his exhaustion. He showed a bit of surprise seeing them standing up waiting for him. He smiled a little and dismounted. Lydia hugged her brother and told him how she witnessed all that had happened to him in a vision that the Lord of Hosts had granted her.
Paul approached the twins, smiled at Silas and said, “I am proud of you my son. You did very well!” The great affection that could be perceived in the tone of his voice touched the heart of Silas. The young golden warrior looked into the eyes of his father as he was pronouncing the caring words. Silas couldn’t retain a tear that emerged in his left eye and flowed down his cheek.
“I am proud of you, Silas,” repeated Paul with the same tone.
“Father… I appreciate that. I am grateful you said that,” replied Silas, unable to contain his emotion.
The father hugged his son and the mother and daughter surrounded them with their arms. In this setting, Silas, heart filled with gratitude said,
“With the help of your Holy Spirit, I thank you Lord of Hosts for your Son, the Alpha and the Omega. Yes thank you, Lord of Hosts!”
In unity, all four said, “Thank you, Lord of Hosts.”
Then, as they were all standing there in the house, the children and their parents were granted a vision of a distant future. They saw Heaven standing open and there before them was ‘a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice He judges and wages war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on His head are many crowns. He has a name written on Him that no one knows but He himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and His name is the Word of God. The armies of Heaven were following Him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. … On His robe and on His thigh He has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS’.
Revelation 19: 11-15 (NIV)
Henri T De Souza, The Diamond Arrow
