![]() When I began writing the Angelmen series, my goal was only to provide a clean, uplifting alternative for young people to choose when selecting reading material. Too many of the stories aimed at teens were sullied in darkness, violence, and adult-like romance. I knew I wanted my kids to have an option to read something different. My books are works of fiction. To be honest, nothing in them needs to be true. And I completely believe that this situation could NOT ever happen, because there are no Nephilim in real life today. But as a Christian writer, some parts of life to me are as much a part of my life as anything else. As such, I have to include my faith in my works of Christian fiction. (That's why it's CHRISTIAN FICTION.) Plus, you never know when something might pique a reader's interest enough to further search the truth on the topic. I love to throw out nuggets, and I always encourage research. (I used to be a teacher, you know.) But as you read, you are entitled to know what I believe are Biblical truths in these books. Not everyone who reads them has a firm Biblical background, and that's okay. Some readers already know what's true, but I'm happy to point it out for anyone who does not know. 1. Jesus is the Savior of all mankind. (John 3:16, Romans 5:8) Amity knows this. Not just because her father is a preacher, although his influence was certainly a part of her commitment to Christ, but because she dedicated herself early to studying the Word of God and following His way. When you study the Bible and open your heart to Him, there is no way to deny that Jesus has saved all people from their sin with His sacrifice on the cross. She understands that all have sinned, and therefore no one can stand in the presence of a perfect God… without Someone removing that sin from His sight. The other three main characters (Asher, Caedmon, and Malachi), come from various other backgrounds, and only have a rudimentary understanding of the life of Jesus. Asher's family are not regular church goers, nor were Caedmon's parents. Malachi's mother was a Christian, but he hasn't seen her in over a decade. His father wants nothing to do with religion. So, these characters need to have the gospel explained to them in their books. 2. Angels are mighty beings and can't die, but are nowhere close in power to God. (II Chronicles 32:21, Psalm 103:20, Luke 20:36, Acts 12:7, Romans 8:38, Ephesians 1:21, Hebrews 1:4-6) God created angels in the beginning, and in a finite number, so their procreated or destruction is not necessary. The angelic guides in each of the books are fearsome creatures and command respect just by their very being. Even Malachi, who puts up the most reluctant front, can't deny that he is lower than his angel guide. None of the four are able to completely stand up to their guide. They all recognize that angels are different that they expected, and possess more than a little awe for a piece of Heaven to have sought them out. However, angels are sent to help humans - to send messages to them as well as to help them. In my books, I tried to keep with the idea that people are actually more important to God than angelmen. So the angels in my books can advise their wards as instructed, but will not be allowed to interfere in their missions. So, even though man is not as powerful as the angels, God does love them more. (Hebrews 2:16) It was really a fun challenge to write a book about two types of beings (angels and angelmen) and in doing so, make a statement about how much God loves the human race (who are not the focus). 3. Satan is a fallen angel who was cast out of Heaven and now is roaming the earth. (Job 1:6, I Peter 5:8, Colossians 1:16, Jude 1:9) It is a common belief that Satan currently resides in Hell. But the Bible clearly tells us that he wanders the earth and intends to draw humans away from God. Satan was once a very beautiful angel. He wanted to be worshipped, but God was having none of that, and so he was cast away from Heaven, along with one-third of the remaining angels. Satan's final destiny in Hell (where he will not rule, but suffer with all the others) will not happen until the end of times. Satan is a character in my books, and that was difficult. I really don't want to know Satan personally. But it was necessary considering the magnitude of what is at stake in the story- the fate of the entire race of angelmen! However, I would be much more fearful of getting God's character wrong than Satan's. So, I decided not to touch God - only use that which surrounds Him. How could I ever do Him justice? 4. Meditating on scripture is an effective way to fight evil. (Philippians 4:6-8) As Christians, we know we should always turn to God in our time of need. We know we will get an answer, but we don't always pray like we should. Perhaps we're afraid of the answer we will get, that it might not align with what we want. But in the end, turning to God and His word will always get us facing the right direction. Knowing this is something that helps Amity out of a few jams in her book, and hopefully she will not be too distracted to remembering it during The Battle! The other characters have to find out about the importance of Scripture as their training progresses, but they are often amazed by the work God does and their privilege of being able to see it happen. Who wouldn't be? 5. Satan's power is not equal to God's. (Philippians 2:10, Philippians:2:9, Hebrews 1:4-6) Everyone will eventually bow to the name of Jesus, and even Satan knows this. He just tries to make us forget it. As a matter of fact, as strong as Satan's power can be, it often isn't as strong as our own wills and desires. That's why Satan will use our own sin to turn us from God. (Think about the Garden of Eden. All Satan had to do to get Eve to eat the forbidden fruit was to remind her that she really wanted it.) Because God always wins, it is obvious that He will win in my books. The problem is, when you are in the midst of a situation, it isn't always clear what the outcome will be. Satan stands mighty tall when he's right in front of you! 6. Satan is not omniscient (all-knowing). (Matthew 24:36, Genesis 3:5, John 8:44) Because Satan's native language is lies, he probably will never admit what he doesn't know. But only God has the grand timeline. Only God has always been, and always will be. God created Satan and knows Satan's beginning and his demise. He sees beyond what is happening now to see what the future holds. (This is just one reason I am SO glad to be on God's side.) In my books, the characters don't always know or remember this. Satan is pretty convincing when he speaks. But when you see God always winning, always being right, in the end, the truth is clear. God always trumps Satan. 7. Your pastor/priest is not immune to sin or temptation. (Romans 3:23, I Corinthians 10:13, Matthew 4) In Amity of the Angelmen, we see Father Mackenzie Abel face temptation. The Bible tells us that no temptation has seized us, but that which is common to man. Temptation is not a sin - we know this because even Jesus was tempted when He was in the wilderness. However, if you lose to that temptation and sin, you are unlike Jesus and God is not pleased. And yet, every single person who ever lived has fallen to some temptation. (If any one person were ever able to resist all sin, the need for a savior would be nullified. But that's my next blog post, so hang tight!) We also see Mackenzie feeling guilty about lying to his congregation. All people fail, clergy included. Don't expect perfection from anyone but Jesus. As a matter of fact, those who serve God in ministry are often more targeted by Satan. They can use our prayers daily! 8. God gives gifts, or special abilities, to people. (I Corinthians 12) The angel guides explain to their protégés that just as God has given gifts to humans, he has given gifts to the angelmen as well. We see several places in the Bible that explain gifts people are given through the Holy Spirit. Such gifts include: faith, healing, wisdom, knowledge, miracles, prophesy, discernment, tongues, and interpretation. Basically, this only comes up in my books as a reminder and a reference. It's easier to understand how God can give some kinds of gifts to some angelmen and other gifts to others if you can compare it to what He gives to humans. 9. Three is a special number. (Matthew 3:16, Luke 2:46, Luke 24:46, Matthew 12:40) The number three comes up several times in all of the books. While three is a literary device that you will see in such places as fairy tales (how many little pigs were there? how many little kittens who lost their mittens? blind mice?) it is also rampant through the Bible. God, Himself, is part of a Trinity. You might not see the word "trinity" in your Bible, but some forms of the the word "God" are translated from the ancient texts as a three-head God. Because of that, three became my default number in my books as well. (God is greater than my OCD about odd numbers.) Several of the characters have three dreams, and Malachi stays in the pit for 3 days. So why do I have 4 main characters? Because there were four Gospel writers to tell the story of Jesus. 10. There is a real Heaven and a real Hell. (Nehemiah 9:6, John 1:51, II Peter 2, Revelation 21) Heaven has had a lot of attention these days in books and movies, but it is more than a place where we will see the loved ones who have passed away. Heaven is where God is. I think that will be all we will be able to focus on, too. We have been told only a fraction of what that wonderful place holds for those who believe. But we DO know God will be on His throne, and Jesus will be at His right hand. There will be judgement when we get there, and then lots of singing and celebrating. In Caedmon's story, he is privileged to see angelmen waiting for the door to Heaven to be opened for them, since God cannot look upon them without a sacrifice covering their iniquity. Hell is also a real place, and the threat of it looms silently in all of my books. There is debate about whether or not Hell is currently occupied. On one hand, Jesus tells the story about a rich man suffering the torment of the Lake of Fire, but on the flip side, Revelation speaks about the devil and those with him being cast into the Lake of Fire after the last battle. The one thing we do know is that Hell is a place completely devoid of God's presence, and that's what makes it completely unbearable. Malachi gets a glimpse of Hell toward the end of his book, because that is the push he needed to see how desperately he really does need God. Sometimes, people are so stubborn, a vision of the alternate ending is what's needed. People have a tendency to either believe they are good enough to go to Heaven, or that Hell isn't all that bad. These people need to hear the harsh truth. There are more Biblical truths in my work that I have not addressed here, but I will leave them up to you to find as you read. You will have the most fun drawing out Biblical realities from the 5th book, The Battle of the Angelmen, when the four main characters are finally together, needing to discover God's plan for them as they prepare to go to war against Satan - an enemy stronger than they are. So hang in there! The Angelmen are coming.
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