The Betrayed, His Worshippers, and Other Logical Contradictions: Chapter 3 – Blind Assurance

Chapter 3 – Blind Assurance

After he is judged as guilty, Xerxes is taken out in chains and immediately brought before the massive golden calf to be thrown in and cooked alive to be used as food and sacrifice to the heathen city, however, he doesn’t burn or feel the intense heat at all once thrown in. In fact, his chains burn off and an exit for him has melted away as the rest of the city burns instead. This event is one of the many seemingly unnatural events that have taken place around Xerxes as he travels a war-stricken land. With God as his guide, he has been trying to preach the good news of mercy and salvation to the people that God has led him to.

“Where will I go next? If I may suggest, may I rest somewhere, eat, and drink? I’m tired and famished,” Xerxes says.

“That’s what you’re going to do next. Go to the nearby forest and you’ll find plenty to fill yourself with and a place to rest your head,” a voice coming from his shadow says.

“The nearby forest tried to kill me the last time I passed through it and only managed to get through it because larger predators were coming after the smaller ones that were coming after me.”

“And I will protect you again as you go through it. Have I not done enough to show you that you have My favor?”

Looking back at the burning city, Xerxes finds it hard to believe that he’s made it through so many events that most would consider to be a dream or a fantasy tale. He recalls how his journey started. Back in his hometown, he was about to be justly executed for his crimes of murder and theft, but the axe that is used broke when it hit his neck. A voice rang out from his shadow stating that he had won the favor of the Lord when he repented and did penance in prison and that he was needed to preach His Gospel. The chains holding Xerxes down were then seemingly cut by the breeze that blew through the town and the voice told everyone that Xerxes was allowed to leave. Those who disagreed and tried to stop him were cut by the breeze as if there were tiny invisible blades in the air.

“The devil is defending this man! A soul like his cannot be redeemed. His sins are too great,” an influential priest in the town said.

Despite the many soldiers with their nearly impenetrable armor who tried to get Xerxes, no one was able to. Those who persisted had their armor cut as if it were paper and those who persisted even further to the point of reaching him were turned into a fine red mist instantly. The soldiers, villagers, and priests ran away at the sight of this, which allowed Xerxes to leave and go through the events that led him to where he is now. After remembering everything done for him, Xerxes continues on and goes into the forest. Here, he finds much of what he expects such as the dead bodies of prey some of which are picked clean of flesh. He also feels the eyes of something watching him from a distance and when he turns to look, a rustling in the trees and bushes can be heard as if whatever is looking at him doesn’t want to be seen.

Hurrying along, Xerxes manages to find a river with fruits growing on trees and vegetation around it. He goes to drink the water and has his fill of fruits until a bear comes out of the rustling bushes. The bear approaches him while growling and doesn’t seem pleased to see him as if this area is his. If this isn’t enough, a leopard descends from the trees. At this point, Xerxes gives up any escape plan he has and hopes to God that this is part of His plan. This does look like the fact as a group of hunters comes by and recognizes Xerxes.

“That’s the man who’s said to be the devil’s pawn! Let’s claim the bounty on his head,” one of the hunters says.

“What about those animals he has under his control?”

“We can use them to make new coats.”

The hunters charge at him and are then swiftly killed by the bear and leopard. Both animals look at Xerxes as if waiting for his command.

“Are…you two friendly?” Xerxes says while carefully approaching them with his hands up.

He then slowly pets the bear and then the leopard. They seem to enjoy being petted and rubbing up next to him. Together with the animals as his protectors, Xerxes travels the forest until it gets dark out. Once he finds a cave to settle in, the bear acts as Xerxes’ pillow while the leopard acts as a sort of blanket to keep him warm. The three sleep together in comfort until the next morning. Eventually, Xerxes reaches the end of the forest where a large river separates the two regions. Here, the bear and leopard leave Xerxes and head back into the forest.

“Hey, where are you two going?” Xerxes asks the animals.

“They are going back to their home. On the other hand, you must travel across this lake and make it to the other side,” the voice in his shadow asks.

“Okay. Is there a boat nearby that I can take?”

“There isn’t and there isn’t time to waste to build or find one. You must walk across the water.”

Before voicing his feelings of doubt, Xerxes remembers what just happened and decides to do what God says. When approaching the river, he sees that the waters are turbulent because of an incoming storm. Still, he takes the step of faith onto the water and is surprised that he can walk on it as if it were a solid surface. At first, he wobbles with the waves on the river until he steadies himself, which is when the water around him stabilizes and flattens to make it easier for him to walk on. Given confidence by this, Xerxes walks forward and makes his way across the lake.

While walking, the lake’s waves begin to become turbulent as the storm grows closer. The waves start to become like those of the raging waves on the ocean and Xerxes' doubts begin to creep back into his mind. It doesn’t help that when he looks down, he sees that the lake is deeper than it looks with what looks to be large sea monsters beneath it. Seeing and feeling the rage of the waters is enough to make him fear for his life. This makes him lose hope that he’ll make it across the lake. As he looks around the closest land, the waters beneath him begin to swallow him to their depths as if the waters were a giant mouth.

“You must trust Me otherwise you’ll drown,” the same familiar voice says to him.

“I couldn’t walk on water. I can’t even swim well!” Xerxes thinks in his mind.

“Your sin is acting like a weight around your ankle dragging you down. You must stop thinking about yourself and trust Me.”

Xerxes begins to slowly sink to the bottom of the icy cold river. The freezing temperatures and his useless attempt at swimming upwards make him despair more and more the further down he goes. While looking at seemingly bottomless depths, he sees a creature that can be likened to the Leviathan of legend because of its massive size which makes it seem like most of its body can comprise most of the limitless depths. It has many dark gold lights on the surface of its body that give off a weird warmth. It swims towards Xerxes with its mouth wide open and the warmth of its lights growing warming as if it were death welcoming him in its grasp. As it gets closer, Xerxes can make the faint outline of what seems to be ships and the bodies of people inside its skin.

Not wanting to die yet, Xerxes continues to struggle upward to no avail. On the surface of the water, he sees what looks to be a human walking on the water.

This person reaches down and says, “This is it. You must trust that I will grab you and pull you out of the water and of danger.”

“I do, I do! Forgive me and help me with my faithlessness,” Xerxes says.

The hand of this person somehow manages to reach all the way down to where Xerxes is and pull him back above the water before the Leviathan nearly gets him. Before Xerxes can get a good look at who he presumes to be God, the person’s form shifts back into Xerxes’ shadow.

“Continue on and be quick,” the voice in his shadow says.

Continuing on the water, the storm still rages along with the waves on the river. Xerxes pushes on despite this and the waves move aside as if pushed away by his presence. There is even a large wave that threatens to crush him or at least send him back into the river’s depths, however, he holds onto his trust in God and the wave splits in half as if cut by a sword and the waters fall to the side. After what feels like hours of walking, Xerxes finally makes it to dry land while the storm begins to disappear. God then directs him to a hill overlooking a battle and tells him to head to the camp of a certain faction. Xerxes is ready to go with no questions asked because of what he just went through but is stopped after he takes a few steps forward.

“Don’t go yet,” the voice in his shadow says.

“You just told me to go, didn't You? What changed?” Xerxes asks.

“The heart of the general who lost his faith in Me because of the size and strength of the enemy he’s facing. Let him face a humiliating defeat so that he is reminded of what he is without Me.”

Knowing the effectiveness of this course of action, Xerxes does as he is told and watches one army decimate the other from the top of the hill. A few days pass during which Xerxes prays and fasts after consulting God on how to speed up the process of saving people. He does this for the good of the armies below him, the kingdoms they are fighting for, and everyone else involved and affected by their war. On the fourth day, God finally gives Xerxes permission to visit one of the sides during a battle. Many of the soldiers in the battle wonder what Xerxes is doing there and how he can simply walk through the battle without being hit by a stray arrow or caught up in the fight, however, they are unable to do anything about him since they are so wrapped up in the fight.

When Xerxes does make it to the camp he is directed to, he is immediately beaten, chained up as a prisoner, and put in one of the tents. The general he is here for is told about him and immediately drops what he is going and visits Xerxes.

“So, you’re the infamous man people have been talking about,” the general says.

“Yes, I am here because God led me here to talk to you so that you may win this fight,” Xerxes says.

The soldiers and the general laugh.

“Win? We are outnumbered, outmatched, and sent here to die for our home while they try to negotiate peace with the savages on the other side.”

“Through God, all things are possible. He is the author and master of all.”

“That is true, but-”

“But nothing.” Xerxes then tells stories of his adventures and how he got here. “Your men know that I walked through that chaotic battle outside without getting so much as a scratch on me. If you don’t believe the stories told about me nor the stories I have, then believe them.”

“What choice do I have? Alright, tell me what the Lord wants me to do.”

“Tell him to fly a flag with the symbol of a snake curled around a rod,” a voice says from Xerxes' shadow that only he hears.

After Xerxes relays this information, everyone with him laughs until the general gets them to stop.

“I’ve heard stranger things such as when a priest was able to absolve me of my sins and give me a simple penance that paid for all of it. Let’s do as the man says. We’re dead anyways if it doesn’t work.”

Agreeing with their general, the army does what Xerxes suggests. During the next battle, the general’s army massively wins and ends up taking the enemy camp and their enemies’ leaders hostage if they aren’t killed. It is now a guarantee that the general’s kingdom will receive a favorable peace deal from the other kingdom who promises to cease taking advantage of them. The general and his soldiers try to get Xerxes to join them for a party later that night, but the other soldiers report that Xerxes was taken away by the wind as if carried by invisible angels since he was called by God to go somewhere else for another purpose. Despite this sounding strange, stranger things have happened today and faith in God has awakened because of it in both armies that will spread into the world once news of what happened today spreads.