Rising Darkness

© Copyright 2003 — Doug Shafer

All rights reserved. This book is protected by the copyright laws of the United States of America. This book may not be copied or reprinted for commercial gain or profit. The use of short quotations or occasional page copying for personal or group study is permitted and encouraged. Permission will be granted upon request.

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Many thanks to all my friends, family, and church family who encouraged me in the writing of this third book in the series. It’s hard to believe that number three is a wrap! Thanks to my mom and dad, Andy and Mary Shafer; brothers Ron and Mike; and all the folks back in Texas.

Also thanks to Rob Belles and Dwight Davis for their inspiration and for allowing me to use them as characters in the book. Sorry they turned out to be bad guys, but what are you going to do about it?!

Thanks to my church family—Valley Christian Center—for supporting and encouraging me: Pastor Ray Noah, Connie Combs, Bryan Tebbutt, Phil York, and on and on and on.

And many thanks to my wife, Lori, and my beautiful daughters Kiersten and Breelin, who are growing up much too quickly—cut that out!

Most of all—thank You to the God and Lord we serve, whose willingness to die for all of us makes anything worthwhile possible.

“Some Thoughts About the Third Book From the Author”

Rising Darkness
was born out of the idea of the intense warfare that had been waged against the nation of Israel during the years before Jesus was born. Although in the end light wins out, I chose this title to reflect the violent opposition to God’s plan of redemption both in the hearts of men and of angels.

As I began book three I wanted to maintain the same energy and characters but from a different angle. I decided to tell the story in flashback fashion—as you read I hope it will make sense. The historical references are as accurate as I could make them, and the names of cities, historical characters, and such were researched for their valid spot in history.

I also added a timeline that places the reader for points of reference. Inasmuch as this book is not only a novel, but hopefully something of a teaching tool, I wanted the reader to have some sort of historical context. I used the date of 4 B.C. as the time around the birth of Christ, since that is how the calendars seem to work it out. Sounds weird that Jesus would be born four years “Before Christ”—but look it up sometime.

Finally, book three covers a huge segment of Bible history. Naturally I could not retell every detail that happened, particularly in the Kings and Chronicles section. I recommend that you read those Books again if you want to brush up on your Bible history. They are wonderful Books. Regarding the prophets, I tried to tell their message as directly related to any angelic involvement or messianic revelation, so this book is heavily weighted towards men like Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah, and Daniel.

I hope you enjoy the read. Please feel free to email me with your thoughts at
[email protected]
. God bless you.

Rising Darkness
Cast of Characters:

Bethlehem, 4 B.C.

The little fire crackled with delight as a few more pieces of very dry branches and sticks were thrown atop its dancing flames. Faces near the fire reflected a reddish sheen as they watched the wood being devoured greedily. One of the men stared vacantly into the light while watching his friend’s efforts to keep the fire alive.

He looked at the others who sat around the flames. There wasn’t much heat being thrown off, but then again it didn’t really matter. This fire was not for warmth of body, but for warmth of spirit. The evening fields outside Bethlehem were bleak and boring for watchful shepherds, and this night was no different…or was it?

Not far from the shepherds, and unseen by them, stood two figures—angels of the Lord who had been assigned to watch over these humble men of the fields. And so they watched, enjoying the occasional banter of these who faithfully watched over their flocks. And they waited…

“Good Serus, why are we watching these particular men?” asked Bakka.

Serus, who had been apprenticed to Michael and was now mentoring Bakka in the ways and means of serving the Most High on earth, looked at his charge.