Another earthquake tumbled the field like waves. Leviathan flipped into the crevice and descended into the deep.

It started to rain.

Chapter 33.

Methuselah had not been able to tell Noah about the capture of Behemoth. So it was a gratifying surprise when they entered the Hidden Valley without the deep roar and imposing presence of the humongous guardian blocking their path. Unfortunately, it also meant that there was nothing to block the path of their pursuers.

The earth convulsed as Noah and his band arrived at the Hidden Valley village. Lightning and thunder increased in frequency. The sky was black with storm clouds. The floodgates of heaven opened upon them and dropped rain like a waterfall.

The wives of Shem and j.a.pheth stood at the opening of the tebah. The village was empty of all life. Noah was thankful that the rest of the village must be safe inside the box. They just needed to get to the door in time and close themselves in.

They did not reach the door in time.

Inanna and her squad of soldiers and Nephilim broke through the brush and into the clearing. Lugalanu immediately broke away from the squad. He jumped down from his mount, and circled around the structure on foot.

Another quake suddenly split the ground beneath the feet of Inanna's h.e.l.lions. Many of them went down alive into Sheol, bird-men, dog-men and Nephilim alike. Nanna and his bull-man ride were swallowed up into the Abyss.

If only all the Watchers would fall so easily, thought Uriel. He shoved Noah toward the box, and yelled, "GET IN AND LOCK THE GATE! NOW!" He turned to face the enemy, drawing his double swords.

Noah and his family ran for it. They reached the door. But Noah, Shem, and j.a.pheth stopped to cut down the few soldiers that caught up with them.

Noah turned and saw Uriel dispatch two Nephilim and five bird-men soldiers with uncanny swiftness. The power of Elohim transfigured the angel and he became a shining star. And that shining star blocked Inanna's approach to the boat.

Noah whirled to pull the rope to the door ballast. It would lift up the huge heavy doorway.

The rope had been cut.

They could not pull it up themselves. It was far too heavy.

More soldiers were almost upon them.

To their surprise, Elohim himself closed the door and shut them in, leaving the world outside to its destiny.

They did not ask questions about the miracle. They quickly reinforced the door and applied pitch to the edges for sealant.

That done, Noah turned and saw his family, seven of them-he made eight: Emzara, Shem and his wife Sedeq, j.a.pheth and his wife Adatanes, and Ham and his wife Neela.

Strange, he thought. "Where is the rest of the village?"

Sedeq and Adatanes looked down.

"Where is the rest of the village?" he repeated.

"Did not Uriel tell you?" said Sedeq.

"Tell me what?" His voice grew more stressed.

Adatanes was bolder than Sedeq. "They fought with the armies of man."

"They what?" He could hardly contain himself.

"They fought with the armies of man against the G.o.ds," she repeated.

"You are telling me the entire tribe of men, women and children went to die in the battlefield?" This was madness.

Adatanes told him their story. After Noah left to rescue Emzara, the angel of the Lord, Mal'ak Yahweh as he was called, came to their village. He had come riding on a cloud in the presence of his holy ones and he spoke the word of Elohim to them.

She continued, "He told us that he was coming to judge the earth and that it was his will that only the family of Noah board the boat when the floods came. It was not easy on the ears to hear this. But there was something about Mal'ak Yahweh. It was as if he went to each member of the tribe and comforted them individually with a.s.surance. I cannot tell you how, father-in-law, but he spoke to each of us, and we knew he would bring the world to rights."

"Well, if that is not just like him," complained Noah. "He still seems to enjoy speaking directly to everyone but me."

Sedeq and Adatanes giggled.

"Do not be impertinent young ladies," snapped Noah.

"Forgive us," said Adatanes. "It is just that, well, Mal'ak Yahweh said you would say those very words."

"If I live to be a thousand, I will never understand his ways," he finished. "But perhaps that is what makes him G.o.d and me his humble servant."

He opened his arms wide and bid his family to join in as he beseeched Elohim, the Lord their G.o.d to have mercy upon their souls and that they would have favor in his sight.

Outside the boat, Uriel and Inanna fought like t.i.tans. Blow by blow they were equals, but Inanna was not alone. She was on her lion-man joined by three Nephilim with maces and axes.

The waters burst forth from the fountains of the deep and gushed out through the chasms opened in the earth. The contenders carried their battle to the rooftops of the flooding village. Uriel dispatched one Naphil, but he was ultimately overcome by the other two. They pinned him to the roof of one of the homes.

Inanna strode up to him in the pouring rain and thunder. She spit out with every ounce of bile that filled her demonic soul, "You have thwarted my will for the last time, you worthless slave of Elohim."

Another earthquake rocked the valley, causing them all to look up.

A huge wall of water crashed through the valley. It hit the box and burst around it. It descended upon Inanna, her chimera mount, Uriel, and the Nephilim and they were instantly washed away in a churning tidal wave of doom.

Inside the boat, Noah's family grabbed hold of some timbers. The force of the water hit the boat and shook it loose from its mooring to the ground. The barge started to drift in the ma.s.sive tide.

On the battlefield of Dudael, the sheets of torrential rain and flood waters washed away the armies of both G.o.ds and men. They had been utterly wiped out to the last person. It was complete and total annihilation. They were all dead -- except for one last regiment of bird-men soldiers.

On the ridge above the plain, Methuselah and his personal guard of a handful of soldiers were the last of the human tribes. They saw the regiment of bird-men ascending toward them. Methuselah smiled. He had prayed for this very thing. He had asked Elohim that he be alive to see the end, and to have a good death, one that would be glorious. He felt the rumbling behind him as a thousand soldiers approached his group of ten from below. He raised his arms to heaven and yelled with all the pa.s.sion in his soul, "EDNA, I AM COMING!"

And then he spoke the name he had learned so many years ago from his forefather Adam, the special covenant name of his G.o.d, reserved for a future time of revealing. No one would hear it now, so he was free to worship without restraint. "YAHWEH ELOHIM! THY WILL BE DONE!"

Behind him, a huge fifteen cubit high wall of water appeared, as if bidden by Methuselah. It surged over the desert of Dudael, swallowing up everything. Methuselah and his guards disappeared under the enormous wave as it crashed upon the last of the armies of the G.o.ds and drowned them all like ants in a rainstorm.

It took seconds for the deluge to wipe the battlefield clean. A few seconds more, and the city was completely enveloped. The water smothered everything that breathed. It dissolved man-made structures as if they were sand castles.

The torrential wave made its way across the plain, extinguishing everything in its path. All flesh that moved on the land died, everything in whose nostrils was the breath of life died. Elohim blotted out every living thing that was on the face of the ground.

Only Noah was left, and those who were with him in the box.

Chapter 34.

The box had been built effectively. It floated barge-like in the water, about two thirds of it below the waterline. It was a drift ship or a current rider, not a sailing vessel. Elohim would be its rudder.

Inside, Noah's family settled in for a long voyage. They did not know exactly how long it would be, but Elohim had told them it would rain for forty days and forty nights. They knew the terrible truth that he was going to blot out all living things in the land. They knew they would be the only survivors. They knew they would start anew Elohim's plans for the human race.

Noah was already organizing the work details. The barge was full of animals of every kind. Though many had been nestled into hibernation by Elohim's hand, there were still many that had to be taken care of and fed. It would be a consuming job for these mere eight people. They had to get to work immediately. The sounds of bleating, mooing, squealing, braying, growling, and whinnying already filled the air in a cacophony of need. It would be a long journey indeed.

Noah's family did not hear Lugalanu, hiding just down the hallway and around the corner from them. He had snuck into the boat when everyone's attention had been on the battle. He carried a long dagger in his hand and waited for his moment.

He found it.

Lugalanu gripped his blade tightly and walked down the hallway toward the family. He had no need to conceal himself or surprise anyone. He was fully capable of taking them all out in a fury. He muttered to himself with satisfaction, "It is not so easy to kill a demiG.o.d."

Noah looked up from the table where they counseled. He saw Lugalanu approaching them, dagger clutched in one hand, eyes full of rage.

Everyone followed Noah's gaze. His sons pulled the women behind them to prepare for a battle. Unfortunately, the few weapons aboard were not at hand. They had not antic.i.p.ated such a moment.

But Lugalanu had not antic.i.p.ated what happened next.

He was halfway to the family. Suddenly, a lion jumped out of a stall, blocking his way. It growled, ready to pounce. A nuisance, thought Lugalanu, but killing it would be an opportunity to excite his blood rage before he took the family.

Then another lion joined it. And a tiger. And then a panther. Soon, feline predators with bared teeth and protracted claws entirely obstructed his path.

It made him pause.

A snort behind him made him look back.

A big black bull stomped its feet, preparing to charge. Behind it a huge gorilla joined in.

Lugalanu's eyes went wide with fear. The animals knew he was their enemy and they were going to protect their own.

The bull charged. It hit Lugalanu in full stride, goring him on its horns and throwing him to the floor. The predators all pounced. Lugalanu disappeared beneath their teeth and claws.

Lugalanu had believed his own lie. He was no demiG.o.d. He was very human.

And then he was no more.

Noah's family clung to each other in protection.

Elohim worked in mysterious ways.

Outside, all was darkness and rain and tempestuous waters. Seventy cubits from the boat, Inanna broke the surface, shorn of all clothing and accouterments. No more masquerade. Azazel was a pure, undefiled predator. He cut through the water like a shark toward the boat. His eyes focused on the craft with intense determination. He was weakened in the water, but he was one of the strongest of the divine Bene Elohim, and had a will of iron.

But even a Bene Elohim was no match for the jaws of the mighty Rahab. She burst through the water from below and clamped down on his body with her iron jaws. The speed of Rahab made it leap out of the water a dozen cubits before splashing back down in a fountain of spray. The monster sank fast and carried Azazel deep into the murky abyss.

It rode a violent current with its victim into the convulsive swirling sea below. Then a large wall of rock and sediment buried them, freezing Azazel in Rahab's jaws, unable to move but bound alive forever.

In the boat, Noah's family had already begun their arduous task of feeding the animals and cleaning the stalls.

Neela offered some hay to a couple of sheep. They grabbed it and munched to their heart's content.

She stopped, a stabbing pain in her belly. A wave of nausea overcame her. She quickly found a pail and wretched.

Ham rushed to her, comforting her with a loving hand on her back.

Noah noticed her retching and was concerned. "What is wrong, Neela?" he asked.

"She must be seasick," Ham offered.

"I hope you get over it soon, because we have a long drift ahead of us," said Noah.

"It is not seasickness," interrupted Neela. "I am with child."

Ham grinned wide with happiness. Emzara hugged her first, followed by the rest of the family.

Noah said happily, "Well, we will have a world to repopulate, and it appears Ham and Neela have beat us all to the task." Everyone laughed and got back to their work.

Neela sought hard to conceal her own fears. She had secrets she could not reveal-secrets of the Watchers. Semjaza and Azazel had achieved their goal of cross-breeding a normal human being that would carry the Nephilim genetic traits in a recessive form, to blossom in later generations once the lines had spread throughout the land.

Neela knew that the first of those demiG.o.ds had been created, and it grew inside her.

Chronicles of the Nephilim continues with the next book, Enoch Primordial, the prequel.

Appendix A The Sons of G.o.d Deut. 6:4 "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our G.o.d, the LORD is one."

Psa. 82:1 G.o.d has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the G.o.ds he holds judgment.

A major premise of my fictional novel Noah Primeval is that the G.o.ds of the ancient world were real spiritual beings with supernatural powers. Thus, the mythical literature and artistic engravings of the G.o.ds that have been uncovered by Mesopotamian archeology reflect a certain amount of factual reality. The twist is that these G.o.ds are actually fallen divine angelic beings called "Sons of G.o.d" (Bene Elohim) in the Bible. These Sons of G.o.d had rebelled against G.o.d's divine council in heaven and came to earth in order to corrupt G.o.d's creation and deceive mankind into worshipping them in place of the real G.o.d. While this is not polytheism, neither is it absolute monotheism. It is Biblical theism, which will become clear shortly.

Though I have clearly engaged in imaginative creative license and fantasy in the novel, it is not without Biblical theological foundation. The purpose of this essay is to make an argument that in principle the Bible does in fact suggest a paradigm that reflects something similar to the theological interpretation presented in the novel. For that reason I might call Noah Primeval a theological novel.

Jewish monotheism and Christian Trinitarianism affirm the oneness of G.o.d's being. Christianity contains an additional doctrinal nuance of three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, who share the same substance while maintaining separate persons. In this way, the Christian is able to both affirm G.o.d's oneness (unity) and his threeness (diversity). Simply put, G.o.d is three persons in one being, not three beings.

Jews, Muslims and atheists who seem to a.s.sume that a monotheistic worldview cannot provide for diversity within the divine realm have often accused Christians of being polytheists. I call this Jewish/Muslim viewpoint, "absolute monotheism" as opposed to Biblical theism. What would shock most readers of the Bible is that the same Old Testament quoted by the Shema about G.o.d being "one," also describes a cosmic worldview that includes a hierarchy in heaven of divine beings, a kind of governmental bureaucracy of operations that counsels with G.o.d, and carries out his decrees in heaven and earth. Biblical scholars refer to this hierarchy as the divine council, or divine a.s.sembly and it consists of beings that are referred to in the Bible as G.o.ds.