Paradise Regained (Novel version)

Chapter 1 - The Story So Far

Oh muse, come down to me at this time to help me write this story for I must write of it. And what other muse to help me in this hour than the Holy Spirit, the spirit of the Lord. Bring me the wisdom of the Divine so I may pen what came of long ago.

For as we learned Paradise was lost, we must learn how it was regained!

And in this story, where should I begin? For there are beginnings of every story, but is it ever truly the beginning indeed?

For Creation of the Earth was the beginning, but the fall of the third of angels was what began the fall of man, was it not? But truly, even without Satan's stepping in, was it not the choice of man himself to listen to his own desires?

For the last we saw of Satan, he was that of a serpent. And the Lord our God spoke a curse upon him that he was to crawl about like a snake on his belly and only eat of the dust. For he was to be reminded of the form that doomed humanity, and that at the end of time he would surely be crushed.

And dearest Adam and Eve, when we saw them last we saw them leave the garden. To bookend their story, they lived long lives and birthed many children, for they were the parents of all mankind truly. And they died, very old. And mankind continued without them.

And Satan saw this and he prodded humanity. And fallen came amongst the Earth and mated with the daughters of man and created the giants, that is the Nephilim. And corruption was great on Earth so God knew that He must do something, and thus He chose Noah to build an ark. And upon the ark he put two of every animal, male and female, and the Lord sent a great rain upon all the Earth where it rained 40 days and 40 nights. And upon the ark Noah lived until the flood subsided. And through Noah's lineage, man continued. But Satan's influence was upon Noah, for strong drink carried about him and his son did horrible things through the influence as well.

But corruption indeed continued, for the King Nimrod sought to conquer Heaven like Satan tried so long ago, so he built a great tower in Babylon. But God saw this and made every person speak a different language. So the tower fell and man spread out around the Earth.

And God chose a man: Abram. And God made his name Abraham. And through Him, God promised that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars. And his wife gave birth to Isaac, with whom God tested Abraham if he would truly trust Him. But Satan's influence was upon him as well, for Abraham had a liars tongue before he fully chased God, nor did he fully trust God's promise until the birth of Isaac.

And Isaac's son, Jacob, that is Israel, had twelve sons. And Jacob had wronged his brother in the eyes of the Lord due to Satan's influence, but God made it right. And Joseph, Israel's son that God found favor in, was sold into slavery and made a servant of the Pharaoh in Egypt, but his gift in God to interpret dreams was admired by the Pharaoh, and he gave him power in Egypt. And through this power, Joseph brought the Jews, the chosen people of God through Abraham, to lead the people to Egypt. And Satan saw this and led his influence to go upon the new pharaoh, and the Jews were enslaved.

But God made it right by the birth of Moses. For he, a Jew, was raised by the pharaoh's daughter and brought into the royal family, but aware of his lineage he slayed an Egyptian and ran. But God made him a great prophet, and through him he administered ten plagues until pharaoh let God's people go.

And Moses led the people for years with his brother Aaron, the priest, but his frustration got the best of him and Satan's influence led him to disobey God's voice. And thus God told him he would not be allowed entrance to the land promised to Abraham so long ago. And Moses died, and there was not another prophet as great as him. And Satan knew this and went to claim his body, but Michael, the Archangel, came to stop him for God had seen it fit to bury his body Himself.

And the Jews lived in the Promised land under the protection of the judges, the greatest of these being Samson, strongest of all men for he was not supposed to cut his hair. And Satan's influence led him to murder without thought, and his hair was cut and he was blinded. But through repentance, he brought the Lord's vengeance on the enemies of the Lord.

And Samuel was chosen by God to be a prophet. And Samuel anointed Saul to be king, although the Lord warned the people of having a king, for God is King of the Universe. And God saw that Satan's influence was great within him, so Samuel anointed the shepherd David in his place.

And David, as a boy, slew Goliath. And he became a great warrior for the king and God. But Saul was jealous of David, and tried to have him killed. And through necromancy and sorcery through a medium, he called on Samuel's spirit who cursed him to die. And in battle, Saul fell upon his own sword. And David became king.

And King David, from the line of Judah, son of Israel, was given a promise by the Lord, that his lineage would remain on the throne as long as they obeyed the Lord. And David fell to Satan's influence through the lust of Bathsheba, and he had her husband killed.

And King David was father to Solomon, who became King. And Solomon was the wisest among all the men of the Earth, and he too was influenced by lust.

But as their lineage went on, they fell to slavery. And their lineage continued, but not as kings. And David's lineage became as man.

And God sent prophets with whom were hated by those who enslaved the Jews. Elijah spoke prophecy to the kings and was brought into Heaven with a firey chariot. And in his place was Elisha. Isaiah was chosen by God and he had a great vision of God on the throne.

And as the Jews were under slavery, God chose Daniel to prophecy. And his friends Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego followed the Lord's commandments. And the Lord spared them from the first furnace that was to consume them and walked amongst them in the form of Jesus. And the Lord spared Daniel from the lion's den as he forced their mouths shut.

And the Jews stayed enslaved, until they came under the rule of the Romans. And the Lord sent the Archangel Gabriel, messenger of the Lord, to speak to Mary, descended from the tribe of Judah, in the lineage of David. And he announced to her that she was to give birth to Jesus, the son of God, for God had made her the perfect vessel, the next Eve, for through her the Savior of mankind was to be.

And she gave birth to Jesus. And through her husband Joseph, who knew her, she had a few more children, Jesus' brothers. And Jesus grew in wisdom and in love, for He was truly fully God and fully man. And Jesus followed the Laws of the Lord and became a teacher of the Torah.

And as Jesus grew, Satan watched him all his days. For Jesus was truly perfect. He did not break the Lord's laws and He loved the Lord above all else. And Satan had heard that He was the Son of God made flesh, and he stayed watching him.

And when Jesus was still in the womb, Mary's cousin was pregnant as well. And she gave birth to John, who is the Baptist. It was he who was prophesied to go before Jesus to make the way for Him. And he was Jesus' cousin and friend. And he was a wild man who ate only locusts and wild honey. And to prepare for His way, he baptized people with water and the Holy Spirit.

And John the Baptist spoke thus: "You come to me to be baptized by water, but the one I make the way for will baptize by fire, I truly say!"

And Jesus came to His cousin to be Baptized. And John saw Him and his heart brought him delight. And John spoke thus: "Behold, the Lamb of God! Behold Him who takes away the sins of the world!"

And Satan heard this, and he was afraid. For he knew that it was foretold that Jesus would be the Son of God given flesh. And for this he had to plan.

And this, my friends, is where the story starts. Though Paradise was truly lost through disobedience, Paradise was regained through one man's firm obedience.

This is how Paradise was regained.

(Author's note: This chapter was pretty much expository stuff, but I think it's important to understand what came before. A large chunk of this wasn't in the poem, but  Matthew gave a lineage overview of Jesus, so like I might as well have a little fun here. So here ya go.)