Free People of the Ark (Ark Chronicles 1) by Vaughn Heppner

of the Nephilim,” Methuselah said. “Do you understand what that means?”
    “ That one of the bene elohim is his father?”
    Methuselah rose abruptly and began to pace . He opened a cabinet and poured from a crystal pitcher.
    “ Wine?” asked the ancient patriarch.
    Ham shook his head.
    Methuselah peered at the goblet, sipped from it and then resumed his seat. “You’ve heard the story of Adam and Eve and how Satan tricked them into sinning.”
    Everyone in the family knew the tale . In the Garden of Eden Satan had tempted Eve with the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. When Jehovah had first placed Adam in the garden He had told Adam that he could eat of all the fruit but from that single tree. Yet Eve had heeded the tempter’s half-truths and eaten the fruit, and she had taken some to Adam and he did also eat. They chose to disobey Jehovah, and they gained the knowledge of good and evil. The price was sin that leads to death, and each then received a particular curse—the devil, the man and the woman. Humanity was driven from Eden lest any eat from the Tree of Life and live forever in the wretched state of sin.
    “ Satan won that day,” Methuselah said, “but he lost, too.”
    “ Do you mean the curse?” Ham asked.
    “ Yes, Jehovah cursed Satan.” Methuselah quoted: “Cursed are you above all the livestock and all the wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head and you will strike his heel.”
    Methuselah sipped wine . “Satan entered the world’s first snake, using it as a disguise. It was said to be the most beautiful creature in the garden. Today snakes crawl on their bellies, eating dust all the days of their life. Thus, the first part of the curse has been fulfilled. Yet Jehovah seldom does all at one stroke. So we have the second part. Enmity to begin with and a final crushing of Satan’s head. We know that Satan shall hurt the One we have come to call the Redeemer—shall strike His heel. For this One, this son of woman will restore all that Adam lost us in the garden.”
    “ That’s why Satan tempted Cain to kill his brother Abel,” Ham said.
    Methuselah nodded . “So we believe. For when would this Redeemer come? Eve thought her firstborn son might be him. Apparently so did Satan. And perhaps the evil one thought he had won at one stroke, disqualifying Cain and causing Abel’s death. We know now that it wasn’t so. That Satan hadn’t nullified the curse. Jehovah moves unruffled as He unveils His master plan piece by subtle piece.”
    Methuselah studied a painting . “Now the question is: What is Satan?”
    “ An angel?”
    “ True. Jehovah created the angels and they reside with Him in heaven. They are mighty beings, and they have powers we cannot begin to understand. Imagine, serving Jehovah in heaven, dwelling with Him in sinless perfection. Jehovah set the angels in spiritual realms and there they must stay. Yet…Satan rebelled. It is said a third of the angels rebelled with him. So he and his host were cast out of heaven. Now they are the princes and powers of the air, our secret enemies, only held in check by Jehovah Himself. But they were not satisfied with causing humanity to lose paradise. No! Satan hates Jehovah. He defies Him. Satan will thwart the Creator if he can.”
    “ Do you mean thwart the curse?” Ham asked.
    “ If he is to survive, Satan must somehow derail the curse. Consider: ‘He will crush your head.’ The ‘He’ is the Redeemer. ‘Crush your head,’ means defeat or perhaps death of some sort. But if Satan can nullify the curse then his head will not be crushed and he will survive.”
    “ How could he do that?” Ham asked.
    A terrible smile stretched Methuselah ’s lips. “Satan is cunning. He knows how to use lust and pride to accomplish his goals. My father Enoch… my