The Fifth Kingdom

By Rudyard Ulrich

BABYLON, MEDO-PERSIA, GREECE & ROME were the four great kingdoms in the ancient world. After the Covid pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war, people were searching for peace and assurance for their salvation. The world is chaotic with terrifying headlines: THE WORLD TRADE CENTER ATTACK, NORTH KOREA MISSILE THREAT, CHINA INVASION & RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR and risk of a third world war. Who will be the next kingdom to rule the world? The country with the most powerful nuclear weapons will conquer all nations. The Fifth Kingdom will rule the world.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Release date: Jan 6, 2023
• ISBN: 9781398482067

Rudyard Ulrich

Rudyard Ulrich lives in Newcastle with Tess and his two kids, Francin and Sky. He likes ancient history, especially tales in the bible relating to history.

Book preview

About the Author

Rudyard Ulrich lives in Newcastle with Tess and his two kids, Francin and Sky. He likes ancient history, especially tales in the bible relating to history.

Dedication

This book is dedicated to Tess, Rainbow and Sky who gave me all the support and encouragement I needed to finish this book.

Copyright Information ©

Rudyard Ulrich 2023

The right of Rudyard Ulrich to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by the author in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.

Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

The story, the experiences, and the words are the author’s alone.

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.

ISBN 9781398482050 (Paperback)

ISBN 9781398482067 (ePub e-book)

www.austinmacauley.com

First Published 2023

Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd®

1 Canada Square

Canary Wharf

London

E14 5AA

Synopsis

Sennacherib, king of Assyria, besieged Jerusalem and ordered his soldiers to annihilate everyone inside the massive walls. Hezekiah, king of Jerusalem, cried unto the Lord asking for Divine intervention while the people inside prepared for the end. At midnight, an angel of the Lord came and delivered the Israelites from their absolute destruction.

Babylon existed when a Chaldean officer revolted against the Assyrians and crushed Sennacherib’s forces and came victorious.

During the feast and drunkenness in Babylon, writing on the wall flashes bringing the kingdom’s conquest and Belshazzar was slain. Cyrus conquered Babylon by diverting the Euphrates river and opening the double gates. Cyrus the Great became the first king of Medo-Persia who ruled the world known as the Achaemenid Dynasty. He was named by God and was anointed to rebuild the ruined Jerusalem and the temple by sending the Jewish Captives back to Israel to rebuild the city.

With great opposition and hostility, Darius, king of Medo-Persia continued the edict to finish and restore the city. The Israelites have a great celebration for their new city. In the Battle of Gaugamela, Darius III, king of Persia, prepared the battlefield to fight against the Macedonian troops with Alexander the Great in command. Although they are less in numbers, the Macedonian force won a decisive fight; the Persian troops were overwhelmed and defeated completely by Alexander the Great putting an end to the Persian Empire. Alexander the Great ruled the world at the age of 17-years-old. His empire started from 356 to 323 BC, but he died suddenly leaving his empire to his generals and war erupted for 40 years known as the Diadochi War, fighting to be the ruler of the world.

The four generals parted the empire and ruled the world with their dynasties but over time the next kingdom subsequently conquered the world. The Roman empire influenced the world ever since in history until today and through the Edict of Constantine, persecution of the Christians ceased, and Christians were granted to cry aloud and lift up thy voice like a trumpet to shine the truth to the whole world. During the migration season, barbarian tribes were converted Christians and continue to shine the truth to the conquered territory.

The Fifth Kingdom will arise soon and will rule the world forever as the last and final empire. Who will be the Fifth Kingdom?

Foreword

Rudy and I first met in Singapore way back in 1997 when we joined the Singapore Civil Defence Force as trainee paramedics. We came from very different backgrounds; Rudy was a Christian from the Philippines whereas I was a Singaporean Buddhist. However, as time went by, we got closer together because of the many common interests we shared. We are both musically inclined. We love nature and outdoor adventures.

We had many trekking and cycling trips to small pockets of nature reserves in land-scarce Singapore. For bigger adventures, we headed to Malaysia to conquer Mount Ophir’s summit and snorkelled in the pristine waters off Tioman Island, both in Johor, Malaysia. However, there was this one thing that Rudy possessed which I envied him for, his love for reading.

Back in those days, Rudy could often be found reading alone in a corner inside the Borders bookstore, an international bookstore chain that has since been closed. That must have been the source of his imagination in writing this novel. Rudy and his family are now living in the United Kingdom.

I think the time is right for him to write his first novel since he is living among so many talented writers. I wish him all the best and enjoy all the exciting adventures ahead.

Leon Low

Prologue

Reign of Assyria

(250 - 609 BC)

In 701 BC, Sennacherib, king of Assyria prepared his mighty troops to siege the city of Jerusalem, with the Assyrian cavalries standing at the gates of the city. Jerusalem’s fate of impending doom was evidently and plain to see with the Israelite soldiers ready to fight and defend their beloved city.

When the Assyrians occupied Lachish, a city located in the Shephelah region between mount Hebron and the Mediterranean coast, King Hezekiah wanted to stop them from coming further to Jerusalem in order to save his people and the city. He gave precious gifts of 300 talents of silver and 30 talents of gold as a bribe to Sennacherib. The beautiful temple created by King Solomon was stripped of its precious stones to be given to the Assyrians to withdraw from the territory of Israel.

As a vassal state of Assyria, Hezekiah withheld giving tributes and wanted to make his stand, by deploying his best troops to guard the walls and making groundwork and fortification of the walls, putting new towers, and making his troops ready to fight against the Assyrians. They prepared a water supply for a long siege.

King Hezekiah prepared Jerusalem for an impending siege by the Assyrians, by blocking the source of the waters of the upper Gihon, and leading them straight down on the west to the city of David.

from the book of Chronicles

It is known as the Siloam Tunnel in Silwan, eastern Jerusalem. Hezekiah reminded his people that the Assyrians will fight with their arm of flesh, but the Israelites have the real God to protect and save them.

The enemy forces were enormous to annihilate the Israelites and Sennacherib gladly accepted the precious gifts of Hezekiah and thought of withdrawing his troops from Judah but he wouldn't change his plan. The precious gift won’t make a peace agreement, it won’t make any difference for his plan to siege the city and to extend his territory.

The Assyrian troops marched and set foot at the gates of Jerusalem and Rabshakeh, the commander of the army blazon out the mighty Assyrians as conquerors and said that their king can’t help them and protect the city. Sennacherib crushed many kingdoms, and their gods were incapable of protecting them and King Hezekiah and their God can’t do anything against them.

People watching at the city walls were so frightened and filled with fear and asked the king to defend them. Robbed with sackcloth and with a humble heart, Hezekiah cried to the Lord to deliver them from their wicked enemies.

Prophet Isaiah assured the king that God was on his side, and He will deliver Israel from their enemies. This was what the Lord says about the king of Assyria:

"His armies will not enter Jerusalem. They will not even shoot an arrow at it. They will not march