Paradise Regained (Novel version)

Chapter 4 - The Meetings

As Jesus continued to wander, John the Baptist continued to Baptize. And at the river bank was Jesus' early disciples: Andrew and his brother Simon, that is Peter.

And John had finished baptizing the last man who had come for that day to be saved by the Holy Spirit, Simon and Andrew grew restless. For it had been more than a month since they had seen Jesus, and they were surely worried about Him.

"I do not like this," Simon spoke first.

John, who was still in the river, looked up. "What do you not like, Simon?"

Simon turned to him. "Do you not worry for your cousin's safety, Baptist?"

John only chuckled. "Dear Simon, my cousin is the divine Chosen that humanity has been waiting in anxious wonder and hope for thousands of years. I fear more for who He meets than Himself. For he will experience more love and forgiveness than he's ever experienced before in his life."

Andrew spoke next. "I do not see how you believe this to be funny, John."

"I have the joy of the Lord within me," he responded. "I will not deny what my heart feels. For I heard the voice of the Holy Father, as did all of you. That is worth more than anything I have ever done my entire life. And it only further solidified what I have been preparing for my entire life."

Andrew was still unsure. "So you truly do not fear for your cousin's life?"

John responded. "Of course I do. Do I not love Him more than anything? I love Him more than my parents, though I did not know them long. I would do anything for Him, and He knows that my heart is His. But, listen well, Simon and Andrew, I trust in the Lord above all things. And I know, indeed, that the Lord has a plan, especially for my dear cousin. For was it not the Holy Spirit that led Him to the forest as it came as a dove? So, disciples, I ask you to trust not your own will, but the will of God."

And thus Andrew and Simon agreed with John. For if Jesus was out in the wilderness then He must be out there for a reason.

And at her home, Mary, the mother of Jesus, prayed to the Lord, for she had heard of what her son had done after His baptism. She looked to the Heavens and prayed aloud:

"Lord God, King of the Universe, God of all things. You are good in all your works and all that you do. I put my trust in you, and it has not been shaken since I was a little girl. You made my womb divine and blessed me with your Son. And my husband knew me, and my dear Jesus grew up with His brothers, and love Him just as their brothers. For He is truly divine, for I believe that my Son is Lord, for your divine messenger Gabriel told me. And I truly say my trust shall not be shaken, not now and not at the end of time. Lord God, I humbly ask you with all my heart, protect Him. Protect my son. For I love Him above all things, for not only is He Lord for He is within you and He is you, but because He is also my Son. And my husband, Joseph, your brave servant, has left this world to be called up to your good graces in the eternal life with you. My sons have all left me to do their work, all except for my Son, that is also your Son. Lord, please do not take Him from me, if it is in your will. For my heart will truly break if it is so. He is indeed loving above all things, and the world truly needs Him. He is the Savior of the human race, indeed, and I ask, if it is in your favor, please spare Him from death. Do not let it have a grasp on Him. For I feel that there will be a time where He is hated for His zealous love of humanity. Whatever He is doing in the wilderness, I know that it is of your grace. I know that it comes from you, Holy Lord. So I ask humbly, let your will be done and let Him come home to me safe. For I love Him. I ask this in your Holy name, oh my Lord. Amen."

And as Jesus' allies met and prayed, his enemies planned. Satan thus returned to the air away from man's eyes, where he reported on what he tried with Jesus to the legions of demons.

Satan spoke. "Strong, truly, is the will of God. And strong, truly, is this man who claims to be His Son. For I asked him to make stones as bread, for He has been hungry and walked amongst the wilderness for days upon end. And thus, He denied my temptation and condemned me! For this, I am truly unsure if temptation will surely be enough. No, I wonder if temptation will work on Him at all! If anyone among you would like to give me a suggestion of how we are to make Him to sin, speak now "

And in the midst of the legion, Belial spoke. (Author's note: I touched on this in Paradise Lost, but anytime a demon pops up in Milton's poems, he uses names associated with evil deities, idols, and creatures that come to humanity as something that presents itself as good. Which, in reality according to Biblical canon, is true because we are to believe that demons are fallen angels and they come to people as gods to lean people away from God Himself. The name "Belial" is a demonic name associated with wickedness and worthlessness, but most believe that he is an actual demon in Hell, which is confirmed in the Dead Sea Scrolls. As a demon, Belial represents sexual sins such as lust, rape, sexual crimes, etc.) And Belial said, "Should we not tempt the Son with women? After all, this worked on King Solomon, son of David. Solomon was the wisest man on the Earth. Thus, I believe it should be done. For what is more appealing to the man's eye than the form of a woman?"

Satan, sick of Belial's speech, spoke. "Belial, you who are so much haughtier than us, I wish you would keep your mouth shut! Your mind is poisoned with women. You always suggest them, and I assure you not everyone is attracted to them as you are. For was it not because of your lust that you created a race of giants with the daughters of man whom the Earth knew as the Nephilim? And it contributed to corruption of a scale so large that God flooded the Earth and destroyed most of humanity so we couldn't touch them! So keep your forked tongue within your teeth." He turned to the legion. "And of course Solomon fell to lust. For was not Solomon born into a great kingdom? Everything he could ever want he was born with, he could have it! For pleasure would indeed lead him to stray because it's all he's ever in known. Jesus, is not a king, or He at least doesn't present Himself to be. He comes with wisdom and enlightenment. It will take more than women to catch His eye and heart." And thus Satan got an idea. "Thus I shall tempt Him with honor and glory, surely. For if He wishes to prove Himself as the Savior of mankind, then I shall force His hand in showing me. For everyone desires power. Everyone."

And thus Satan's new plan was set. For he wished to exalt Jesus upon the throne now, so Jesus would forget humanity. If the Son showed the full extent of His true power now, then He would surely take the throne, and He would bypass the crushing of the serpent's head. He would force Jesus to see what He's supposed to be, or rather fully will be, in order to prove God wrong.

But Jesus, whether Satan knew or not, knew who He was. He knew He was the Son of God. He knew His purpose on Earth, and was now letting Himself be led by the Holy Spirit.

The battle for Paradise would not be so easy.