I really enjoyed writing my recent allegorical fantasy, The Rise of the Water Kingdom. I thought I’d give you a small taste of it today. For a little bit of context on this section of the book, a man named Sarx and his two disciples, Mason and Junia, enter into Heaven and have a chat with Sarx’s friends, Morales and Vox. Hope you enjoy!
“Allow me to clear the air a little bit,” said Morales. “You may have heard about me in the sacred book. I am Morales, keeper of the Creator’s wisdom. ’Twas my job on Earth, ’tis my job in Heaven. Though as you can see,” he said, gesturing to the library behind him, “I’ve expanded a bit on his wisdom since getting to Heaven.”
“You wrote all of those books?” said Junia, her mouth wide open.
“Indeed!” Morales smiled. “And more libraries shall I write in time!”
Mason’s stomach dropped like a stone inside him as sinful memories came to his mind. These numerous holy books felt like pure condemnation.
“See, a long time ago, we were just innocent beings, living innocent lives in the Creator’s presence. It was a beautiful place—really no place like it has been on Earth since,” said Morales.
“Though one greater is coming,” interjected Sarx.
“Oh yes, very much so,” agreed Morales. “And when that time comes our ability to meet God’s standards will be here in full as well! But only the Creator knows when that time is coming. Until then, the beings on earth live in the In-Between.”
“The In-Between?” asked Junia.
“Yes,” answered Morales. “The In-Between. For earthly beings are no longer the innocent beings they once were, nor are they yet the perfect beings they one day will be. If they were innocent in their thinking, they could hardly be accused of sin even if they did, in fact, sin. But that phase of spiritual history has long passed and all of humanity now lives in the In-Between.”
“What brought about the In-Between?” asked Mason, his stomach in knots. “Ah, that would be the Plaintiff,” interjected Vox.
“You mentioned him before, King Sarx,” said Junia. “Who is he exactly?”
“Yes, well, as I mentioned, the Plaintiff used to be a citizen here,” replied Sarx. “And like all the citizens here, he was a being of light who was actually pretty far up the chain of command—an appointed guardian who watched over the Creator’s presence. He had much to be desired by many: Wisdom. Beauty. He was quite perfect—blameless in his decisions. That is, until the corruption was found in him.”
“Oh the violence,” said Vox, his words muffled by his fist over his mouth.
“What made him change?” asked Junia.
“Well, like many still today, the Plaintiff was corrupted by that which was good in him,” explained Sarx.
“How does that work?” asked Mason.
“Like I said, he was a thing of beauty to behold. I mean, who wouldn’t be alluring with such wisdom and righteousness? Does one really need anything else to be found attractive?” Sarx questioned. “Of course, couple that beauty with pride and you’re left with a dangerous mixed drink.”
“And that’s how something good became something bad,” said Morales. “Though he lived in the presence of God, his focus became on himself. He started to think he was better and wiser than him.”
“And that’s how you go from image to idol,” interjected Vox.
“Exactly,” agreed Morales.
“What do you mean?” asked Junia.
Morales let out a long sigh. “Human beings and spiritual beings alike are made in the Creator’s image and thus it is our job to be imagers—in other words, we show the earth and the Heavens what God is like in all of his ways. But an image of God turned in on itself becomes what many these days call an idol. And an idol goes from worshipping God to worshipping itself. It becomes a false image of God because it no longer mirrors him.”
“So that which is made like God begins to think that it is God?” said Junia with intrigue in her voice.
“Precisely,” said Morales. “But much of mankind fails to see such a simple truth time and time again.”
“You mentioned there was violence?” interjected Mason.
“Yes, a rebellion in Heaven,” said Sarx. “I spoke to you briefly of it earlier. The Plaintiff’s pride was so great that he actually tried to usurp the throne of the one-and-only Creator and take control of the Heavenly Council.”
“If he could get control of that, he would then rule all the beings in the spiritual and physical world,” explained Vox.
“But he could never do that,” said Mason. “As you said earlier, it’s simple logic. How could the created destroy the Uncreated?”
“Indeed,” said Sarx.
“It’s pure arrogance my boy,” said Morales as he reclined in his chair. “To think that you have more power than the very source of power itself? Ridiculous! And yet that is the kind of thinking that happens when an image becomes an idol.”
“But you said he was full of wisdom. How could he be that stupid?” asked Mason.
“Well, just think of the wisest people you’ve ever met on earth,” said Vox. “Is it not some of the wisest people you know who have done some of the stupidest things you’ve ever seen?”
“Right. Wisdom doesn’t make a person infallible,” said Morales. Then looking directly at Sarx he said, “After all, wisdom—true wisdom anyways—is a person, not a character trait. And all wisdom outside of that person is, I suppose, stupidity in contrast.”
“Yet human beings are not the only people to chase after false wisdom en masse,” said Vox. “The Plaintiff managed to convince a hefty number of Heavenly beings to join him.”
Interested in reading more? Grab a paperback or Kindle copy on Amazon—or read it on Kindle Unlimited. The audiobook has been recorded and is currently in the editing phase. It should be coming out in the following weeks. Interested in a a free copy of any of my other audiobooks? Leave a comment below about which one(s) you’d like and I’ll get you an Audible code!
Jamin Bradley 