The Archangels

By Dominick Forte

The Archangels is a thrilling theological fantasy that describes a diabolical plot to abduct and publicly execute Michael the Archangel. The purpose of the assassination conspiracy is to make a preemptive strike against the prince of the heavenly hosts and thwart the apocalyptic prophesy of the Battle of Armageddon. This narrates the devils desperate attempt to avert his final confrontation with Michael, as foretold in the Book of Revelation.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Oct 30, 2015
• ISBN: 9781514418949

Dominick Forte

Dominick Forte is the author of The Redemption of Professor Evelyn, the story of a demonically possessed college professor, and The Reluctant Warrior, the memoirs of the Archangel Gabriel. He is a community activist and a former educator. Currently he serves as the Director of Marketing for New York’s premier men’s clothier Simoni’s International Fashions and is the co-founder and lead singer of Avenger, a Lower Hudson Valley cutting-edge classic rock band. He and his wife Bernadine reside in Cornwall, NY.

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Copyright © 2015 by Dominick Forte.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Rev. date: 10/28/2015

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CONTENTS

Introduction

I   The Confrontation

II   The Reproach

III   The Triumphant Warrior Returns

IV   At the Left Hand of God

V   Mark of the Beast

VI   Setting of the Book of Revelation

VII   Sin

VIII   Angels 101

IX   Girl Angels

X   Fast Flaky Flynn

XI   Food of Angels

XII   Michael

XIII   Enter the Lone Angel

XIV   The Honeymooners

XV   From Man to Angel

XVI   Twice a Martyr

XVII   The Dragon Slayer

XVIII   From Boy Warrior to King

XIX   Hatching the Diabolical Plot

XX   Turmoil in the Tempest

XXI   The Abyss is a Living Hell

XXII   Moon Meeting

XXIII   Archangel Abducted

XXIV   The Rescuers

XXV   Devil Destined to Fail

XXVI   Kingdom Established

Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. And he seized the dragon…and bound him…and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him…that he should deceive the nations no more

Revelation 20: 1-3

Introduction

In the hierarchy of angels, Archangels are the best known. Their main responsibity is to interact with humankind by carrying messages from God. They bring to Earth instructions, inspiration, and direction from the Throne of God. They are the carriers of answers to prayers granted by God or through the influence of saints and others who have been saved. Saved souls, whether or not elevated by canonization to sainthood are known as the Church Triumphant.

God created three magnificent archangels, Lucifer, Michael, and Gabriel to administer His government throughout His celestial realm. Each was perfect and was permitted to enter any space, nook, cranny, and corner of the universal cosmos. With great authority and power this glorious triumvirate was created to reflect the glorious beauty and majesty of God.

The one He created with the most brilliant luminosity was Lucifer, the Prince of Light. God was well pleased with Lucifer because on his own initiative he searched His boundless Creation seeking the Jewels of reality. God created countless options but until they were pursued they remained non-manifested. Lucifer brought many beautiful jewels before God’s Throne.

Lucifer became God’s leading supernatural vehicle, promoting conscientious perception and proliferating wisdom and cognition. He had superior acumen and discovered many divine wonders in the infinite number of options God had set into existence. All was well with Lucifer until God presented his greatest of jewels. He brought into being a tangible addition to his kingdom—a physical Creation.

When informed of the Creator’s intention to populate the new material realm with living beings consisting of material substance Lucifer was greatly affronted. Lucifer found reprehensible those God intended to elevate to a position of prominence in His Kingdom. He considered them a stain on Creation. In his pride Lucifer rebelled. He did not only rebel against the new changes about to occur. But by his aggressive defiance he rebelled against God Himself, author of all goodness and prime bestower of life and existence. In his betrayal Lucifer led a revolutionary war against God, Michael, and Gabriel. Here is where the story of good vs evil begins.

In the New Testament we find no vengeful angels or those who perform acts of heroism. Nowhere do angels smite cities or kill enemies of the Jewish nation. They appear only at maximum moments of glory and their deeds serve only to benefit humankind.

Angels ministered to Jesus after the failed temptation by Satan in the desert. The evangelist John tells of two men appearing to the women returning to the grave of Jesus and finding it empty. These were angels in human vessels, had no wings, and looked as bright as lightning. They were adorned with snow white attire. They heralded the Resurrection, first ever return of a man from death. They were witnesses to God’s glory. There is no violence or vengeance attributed to archangels in the New Testament.

Although archangels’ presence pervades the realm of heavenly spirituality, they have always been intimately involved in human interaction. They ebb and flow into the conscious and subconscious reality of all God’s created beings. Archangels carry themselves with great magnitude and luminosity as they execute God’s will in heaven and on earth. They are God’s vital link to humankind.

Foremost they bring to earth messages from God and answers to prayers. Often archangels function in the material plane in the guise of bodily vehicles so as not to unsettle human serenity with too conspicuous an intrusion. Their presence is a signal that a great change is in the offing. When they appear on earth, something’s up.

I

The Confrontation

The two armies stood facing each other with both adversarial contingencies tired and tense after what seemed like eons of conflict. Although the opposing troops of Michael and the devil, numbering in the billions, were well prepared and ready to fight for their cause, this confrontation occurred at the surprise of both sides. At this stage of creation, with a total vacuum in the universe and the absence of stars and planets, the time passed was not yet measurable by human standards. The ongoing confrontation could have been a millisecond or it could have been eons. Not even the wise Medatron, the angelic scribe of God, can estimate its duration.

Alternating emotions of disappointment and hope pervaded the scene as neither side would blink. Then, totally surprising Michael’s army, Lucifer’s cavalry emerged from below the clouds. They must have ridden a long time beneath the clouds of the firmament. At the command of Lucifer’s generals, Asmodeus and Beelzebub, they catapulted through the cosmos to the battlefield site. Riding their hell-bred steeds they were able to stealthily emerge and situate themselves very close to the battle front. Seeing Lucifer’s army in battle array with Michael’s troops set before them, the demonic horsemen immediately charged. Lucifer’s cavalry crashed into the angelic cavalry which had been brought forward to cover the east wing. All at once the stardust and thunderous lightning resulting from the impacted collision rose to a density so solidified that everything was hidden.

Michael’s cavalry was taken by surprise and retreated until it was almost on top of the infantry. But the infantry ranks were so well trained that they held steady. Supported by the infantry’s shouts of encouragement the cavalry stopped retreating and reorganized, returning to the fight. Some of the Michael’s cavalry units led by Uriel and Ariel began to overwhelm the demon riders in front of them. Ariel’s troops had superior equipment and better horses. Their impact drove Lucifer’s horsemen back. Those horsemen led by the highly skilled Uriel on the left wing, advanced all the way to the center of the fray scattering the stunned demonic troops of the enemy.

Meanwhile the two lines of foot soldiers made contact all along the line. Three battalions of ironclad angels, led by Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, tried to crush the demons and hurl them back with the weight of their brilliantly luminous shields. They plied their spears and swords between one shield and another. At the same time Michael’s archers, consisting mostly of Principalities, deployed behind the line of heavy infantry and at point blank range let fly their arrows totally disrupting, dispersing, and dissembling Lucifer’s foot soldiers.

God’s army had billions of backup soldiers. Michael’s officers were entrusted with the authority to make on-the-spot decisions even during the wild cacophony of an unexpected battle. The angelic horsemen’s relentless counterattack on the left wing was reenergized and Lucifer’s troops began to break ranks. Combat fragmented into an innumerable number of isolated duels and wing to wing combat. The rest of the demonic cavalry was steadily driven back and overcome. A regiment of horse soldiers led by Azriel fought valiantly to advance and vehemently crush the cavalry of Lucifer cutting it to pieces in a dark chaos of dead and mutilated demons and demonic horses. Under the spirited leadership of Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, the foot soldiers were rejuvenated and began brutally ravishing their enemies. Using swords, scythes, and iron-sculpted spears, they cut through the demon forces like a butcher knife through meringue. Forget about the image you may have of meekly smiling docile winged guardians. These warrior angels were ruthlessly violent in their aggressive overtaking, slaying, and capturing of Lucifer’s troops.

Michael’s military tactical schematic had his army lining up for battle with the infantry in the center and the cavalry split to the left and right. The purpose of General Michael’s contingency of troops on horseback was relatively limited. It was to check the enemy’s cavalry, thus freeing up the angelic warriors for combat with enemy foot soldiers. Due to Lucifer’s tactical combat strategy the Archangels’ battalions had to make spur-of-the-moment adjustments with the officers calling audibles on the line of scrimmage.

The troops of God’s infantry stood in the open wing to wing. They were so densely crowded together that it was a difficulty for some of them to draw back their arms to pull out their weapons. During this climactic battle the sky was blotted out by thick veils of rising stardust. The air resonated with thunderous shouts from angel and demon alike. Lucifer’s archers shot their arrows into the mass but couldn’t do much damage to the ranks of Michael’s well armored angels. Their luminously brilliant shields of all shapes and sizes made them impervious to the onslaught of enemy arrows.

Seeing what was happening Lucifer ordered his generals to have the cavalry directly attack Michael’s infantry. He now figured that a stampede of his hellish horseback warriors could trample the angels on foot and disperse them so that his demon foot soldiers could move in and annihilate them. This was a most unconventional tactic and a decision of desperation. The army of the Heavenly Host was comprised of well-trained veteran warriors, mostly from the house of Powers, totally committed to going all the way for the defense of God’s throne. Every time Lucifer’s cavalry charged the stalwart angels kept their ranks closed and stood resolutely firm. These valiant veterans yielded nothing.

Normally, the Powers are noted as the military contingency of the Heavenly Hosts. They possess a superior adeptness at fighting in close quarters with the spear. With the battle