Enoch Primordial (Chronicles of the Nephilim #2) QUOTES

101 " The offspring of the union between the Sons of God and the daughters of men were called Nephilim. A Naphil grew quickly in the womb and depleted the mother’s nutrition to a deadly level. Their gestation period was five months. Though they were humanoid in appearance, they had a slight bluish grey tinge to their skin color and sported an extra digit on both their hands and feet, for a total of twelve fingers and twelve toes. "

― Brian Godawa , Enoch Primordial (Chronicles of the Nephilim #2)

102 " there was one other important trait that would prove to be problematic for the breeding interests of the gods: Nephilim were large, very large. A mature Naphil could reach heights of seven, eight or even nine cubits tall. The Nephilim were giants. The fetus therefore was manifestly huge and tended to stretch a woman’s womb cavity to its limits. For this reason, a Naphil could not be born in a human way. It would have to rip its way out of its mother, killing her in the process. This was all very natural for its kind, since the dead mother would be the newborn’s first meal. "

― Brian Godawa , Enoch Primordial (Chronicles of the Nephilim #2)

103 " You may not care what happens to the rest of the world. But I do. This is bigger than my life, than all of our lives. If grandfather Enoch prophesied the truth and Betenos and I are the lineage of the Seed, then why would you give up? Would you dishonor the faith of the one you loved most on this earth?” That got through Methuselah’s wall of silence. Lamech was right. His son was absolutely right. Methuselah had placed his faith in this world and not in Elohim’s promised world to come. He had relied on his senses for so long that he had worn them out. He had lost his taste, his smell, his touch; he had become blind, deaf and dumb. He had neglected prayer because Elohim seemed so distant and his prayers almost futile. He had come to believe that things got done because he got up and did them, not because of Elohim’s solicited favor. Since Elohim was going to do what he was going to do anyway, then why bother wasting time talking to him about it? He had become a self-made man who lifted himself up by his own sandal straps. And it was all a self-deluded lie. He had missed the whole point that his wife had been trying to tell him: he distrusted Elohim because of the betrayal of the gods. He had lived a life of self-reliance rather than a life of faith. He had sought desperately for significance in this world. But he now understood his significance would be as the protector of Elohim’s Seed, not the fulfiller of his own. "

― Brian Godawa , Enoch Primordial (Chronicles of the Nephilim #2)

104 " Enoch, as sage counselor to the priest-king, was required to command a wide breadth of knowledge. He had trained in the sciences of both heavens and earth. He was shaman, diviner, scribe, and poet all in one. But it seemed to him that the most important office he held was as bard, the carrier of the culture’s stories. All the laws, governance, religious beliefs and values of a people flowed downstream from the culture embodied in the songs and epics of the poet. Hearts and souls are moved by story and he who controls the cultural narrative controls the people. "

― Brian Godawa , Enoch Primordial (Chronicles of the Nephilim #2)

105 " Cain is a scourge upon my existence. He has made it his one purpose in life to foil the plans of Yahweh Elohim because of his punishment for murdering his brother.” Adam kept using the covenant name of Yahweh because he was in private and knew Enoch was a chosen vessel of Elohim. “But how can he deny his guilt?” asked Enoch. Adam shook his head. “The mind of man is never so cunning as when it is involved in the art of self-justification. I know, I am guilty as well. "

― Brian Godawa , Enoch Primordial (Chronicles of the Nephilim #2)

106 " The Cherubim were not experienced in fighting angelic/human hybrids. Humans they could slaughter easily enough with their flaming whirling swords, but Nephilim were a crossbreed. The forces needed to combat the angelic half of the Nephilim were the angels who were now busily held up in heavenly legal procedures. The Nephilim would have to rise to the occasion. Inanna did not know how much longer the Accuser could keep the heavenly council embroiled in his lawsuit. It was a diversion made in heaven. God and all his heavenly host, because of their despicable dedication to righteousness would give their full attention and presence to due process of law. In doing so, they would not be available to defend the Garden when it was attacked. She had split the enemy’s forces and cut them off from their Commander in Chief, that loathsome tyrant from above. She thought of cutting in half the extra hour she gave the Nephilim to sleep. Beneficence was one of the demands on deity she detested. "

― Brian Godawa , Enoch Primordial (Chronicles of the Nephilim #2)

107 " The world of storytelling was changing dramatically around Enoch. The new visual communication called “cuneiform” was overtaking the traditional oral recitation of verse. Scribes created cuneiform as a codified physical expression of language, using utensils to make impressions on clay tablets. The scribes wanted to keep a tangible account of personal and public wealth that could not be challenged by verbal lies or faulty memory. Using handheld styluses pressed into the clay, they could list objects owned by the ruler and how many he possessed. It had started out as pictographs of cows, gold, wheat, wood, and other belongings. It had evolved into an abstract system of symbols that could be rapidly copied or communicated in a legal dispute. "

― Brian Godawa , Enoch Primordial (Chronicles of the Nephilim #2)

108 " The mind of man is never so cunning as when it is involved in the art of self-justification. "

― Brian Godawa , Enoch Primordial (Chronicles of the Nephilim #2)

109 " Accuser’s litigation against the third part of God’s covenant with humanity. He took the bar and spoke with the particular disdain he had for rules. “Ethical stipulations,” he said. “The laws required by the suzerain of the subject if he is to maintain his status as protected vassal before his lord.” The Accuser launched into a new diatribe. “In this most primitive of law codes in the Garden, Havah was told by Elohim, and I quote, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of knowledge you shall not eat, neither shall you touch it, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.’” The Accuser paced around shaking his head with ridicule. “We will have much to say about this curse of death in our fourth complaint. But for now, we would like to focus on this silly demand that humankind stay mired in unenlightened ignorance by submission to an impossible command. I ask the court, did Elohim actually say this? Could his childish motives be any more obvious?” “Now, I have said this before, and I will say it again, this whole thing is a set-up by a god who is spiteful, mean, obsessively jealous, and self-protective. He wanted to keep humanity from becoming like us — from becoming gods. Elohim must have known that knowledge would allow man to control his own life and to discover all the secrets of the universe, and well, we just cannot allow that kind of competition, can we?” The Accuser paused for effect. His cohorts smiled at the progress, but the heavenly host sat unmoved. He delivered his conclusion, “I submit to you that Elohim’s covenant is not the legal treaty of a master protecting his servant, it is the declaration of a monomaniac oppressing his servant, and protecting himself from being outdone by his own creation!” The Accuser sat down. "

― Brian Godawa , Enoch Primordial (Chronicles of the Nephilim #2)

110 " The giants had been brought to all these cities to accomplish mighty feats of industry for the Rephaim. The purpose had been to glorify the gods and build an empire of power for the pantheon. But it had all gotten out of control. Now, the entire civilization was in jeopardy of collapsing. The giants were large, strong, warrior-like, and organized. They appointed leaders to press their demands upon the Rephaim rulers of all the cities. Revolution seemed inevitable. "

― Brian Godawa , Enoch Primordial (Chronicles of the Nephilim #2)

111 " the average citizens, the backbone of the civilization. These were the ones Enoch felt were exploited at the expense of this class warfare for power. The society appeared to be an advancement of civilization, but Enoch believed it moved toward the inevitable centralization of power into the hands of the elite priestly caste, of which he was one. It remained a point of cognitive dissonance for him. "

― Brian Godawa , Enoch Primordial (Chronicles of the Nephilim #2)

112 " Enoch stood. He carried with him a tablet and dove right into his rebuttal. “The testimony we have just heard from the Accuser has several half-truths in it, or as I would more accurately define them, lies.” Enoch read from the clay tablet in his hand. “Yahweh Elohim did not say that the couple could not touch the tree, he said that they could not eat of it. That is an exaggeration of the command to make the Creator appear excessive and overbearing. Secondly, it was not ‘the tree of knowledge’ that was forbidden, it was the ‘tree of the knowledge of good and evil.’ Yahweh Elohim was not forbidding knowledge to humanity, he was commanding reliance upon him as their ultimate authority to define good and evil. And we are right back to ultimate authorities that I spoke of earlier. Yahweh Elohim is the only ground of morality that can justify the Accuser’s own attack on morality.” Enoch paused for a moment in thought, then said, “It would not surprise me if one day, the serpent will have effectively convinced the masses with more of these kinds of distortions. I can imagine him twisting the ‘forbidden fruit’ into sex, and turning Yahweh Elohim into a cosmic killjoy prude who just wants to keep people from having fun.” Enoch launched into his conclusion, “No, the forbidden fruit is the essence of freedom. The Accuser would have us believe that boundaries of protection are actually restrictions of oppression; that rules repress human potential and laws take away freedom. He and his Watchers argue that freedom is the ability to do whatever one wants without an external code imposed upon them. Let each man be a law unto himself. Yet, look around the earth below to see the consequences of such ideas. Humans have achieved the self-determination from the knowledge of good and evil and in so doing have become slaves to their own lusts. Prisoners of their desire. They claim to be free, but they are everywhere in chains of their own making. Only in the boundaries of a loving Creator can humanity be free. Is a fish out of the water free? Is a bird out of the sky free? Only in fulfilling our god-given purpose can mankind experience the liberty of obedience. Disobedience is not enlightenment, it is pure blindness; it is not freedom, it is slavery.” Enoch stood for a moment as his words sank into his own soul. He realized that he had fought God’s purpose for himself so many years — that he prayed when he should have fought, fought when he should have prayed, and too often exhibited the ultimate sin of spiritual pride. Enoch fell to his knees and wept in repentance before Yahweh Elohim. "

― Brian Godawa , Enoch Primordial (Chronicles of the Nephilim #2)

113 " The average citizen became a slave without the name. He worked hard on his farm or in the marketplace, earned an honest wage to take care of his simple family, paid his taxes to the realm, worshiped his gods, and left others alone to seek their own happiness. This average man and his family had his life sucked out of him by taxes and government control, only to end his life in Sheol, forgotten and never to return. "

― Brian Godawa , Enoch Primordial (Chronicles of the Nephilim #2)

114 " Methuselah swung the pear-shaped mace down toward the skull of his adversary, a fifteen-year old girl named Edna. She raised her shield and blocked it effectively, then parried with her own mace. He barked, “Excellent, runt!” Methuselah was a strapping twenty-year old handsome young man. His unusual blue eyes often drew the teasing of his companions, saying that he was a Bene ha Elohim, or more likely a product of their union with the daughters of men. It was not true, but he played along with it because he liked standing out from the crowd. He was a fiery lad with a passion for arguing, not the best of traits for an apkallu in training, since their order was marked by restraint and listening. But Methuselah hungered for knowledge, and loved to study and learn about everything. "

― Brian Godawa , Enoch Primordial (Chronicles of the Nephilim #2)

115 " After the Accuser trumpeted his philosophical dilemma of an unloving or unjust God, Enoch was about to respond when the entrance of another counselor to his team interrupted him. He came from the right hand of the throne of the Ancient of Days and whispered to Enoch. The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. But when he whispered, it was a still small voice heard only by his listener. It was the Son of Man, the “second power in heaven.” The first one he spoke to was Uriel. The Son of Man whispered something to him and Uriel immediately excused himself from the throne room. Then the Son of Man walked to Enoch and gave him counsel. Enoch could see the Accuser visibly shaken by the presence of this glorious being. It was as if he knew his case was instantly lost. Enoch had seen this “Son of Man” in his dreams when he was on earth, but after ascending into heaven, he came to know him. There he learned that this Son of Man was also a Son of Elohim, but not like all the other heavenly host. He was the Firstborn, a species-unique, uncreated Son of God. And now, he had joined the defense. Everything would change. After receiving counsel, Enoch spoke, “There is a third way, not addressed by the Accuser’s dilemma. And that is substitutionary atonement. "

― Brian Godawa , Enoch Primordial (Chronicles of the Nephilim #2)

116 " The Accuser scoffed with derision. He was so loud, he turned heads. “I knew he would pull this.” Enoch continued, “The purpose of blood sacrifice is to place the penalty of the guilty upon an unblemished innocent. The shed blood satisfies divine wrath for justice, which makes forgiveness of the repentant covenant-breaker possible.” “Barbaric!” barked the Accuser. “Slaughtering innocent precious animals for the bloodlust of divinity. This animal cruelty is despicable and disgusting.” In truth, it was not despicable or disgusting to the Accuser or the rest of the rebel Watchers. They had set up their own religion of blood sacrifice that would substitute humans for animals. Children seemed to please them the most. Children in great numbers. Cutting their hearts out and piling their bodies into a pit. The Great Goddess Earth Mother was the most voracious, with a ravenous appetite like Sheol. Her tree rings consisted of the corpses of human vermin, the virus of the planet. But the Accuser did not have the luxury of consistency, he was trying to win a case. "

― Brian Godawa , Enoch Primordial (Chronicles of the Nephilim #2)

117 " But today marks an achievement unheard of in the annals of history. And you, my horde, are the titans who have risen to prove your worth of becoming gods!” The horde rumbled again in affirmation. “We are on the verge of a war the likes of which will change the world forever. And we are the agents of change. We are the ones we have been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” She paused again for dramatic effect. And she received it. The ground vibrated from the noise of the Nephilim. “We are about to occupy the Garden of the mountain of God. This god, who was born with a golden spoon in his mouth, this deity who claims to own everything and leaves nothing for the ninety-nine percent of the rest of us, we are about to show him who is god!” She paused for another moment of rumbling before finishing. “You are about to storm a fortress guarded by mighty Cherubim. I know you are exhausted. I know you have been worked to the bone. I know you barely have anything left to give to this campaign because you have given all you have and more. But I ask you this one thing. When you are crossing the lake, when you are climbing the rocks, when you hear the horns of war bid you attack, when you find yourself battling the evil Cherubim, when you have reached the end of your strength and have nothing left to fight with, just remember one thing: tomorrow you will taste of the Tree of Life and you will be gods, and you will tire no longer -- for you shall live forever!” The horde rumbled yet again. They caught the spirit of the moment. She knew no amount of exhaustion could quench their strength in the light of that hope. And she was proud of her ability to lie through her fangs with every single word she spoke. "

― Brian Godawa , Enoch Primordial (Chronicles of the Nephilim #2)

118 " They could not be more different. Enoch received visions from the gods. He sought to raise his son with the same sense of piety and obedience. Unfortunately, Methuselah was too lustful for life and this earth. Enoch loved prayer, Methuselah loved reading cuneiform. Enoch barely noticed women, Methuselah burned with desire for every attractive woman he saw. Enoch loved the holy liturgy of worship, Methuselah loved a feast of food and good drink. Enoch spent hours of silence in the temple shrine, Methuselah spent hours worshipping the beauty of creation (and especially the gods’ most beautiful creation, the female body). Enoch was a holy man of heaven, Methuselah felt he was a profane man of earth. "

― Brian Godawa , Enoch Primordial (Chronicles of the Nephilim #2)

119 " the Karabu slid out from their hiding places and crevice openings. They attacked the Nephilim at the base of the mountain. The Nephilim forces were divided into two units, those climbing and those waiting to climb. But the six thousand at the bottom of the mountain would still be a difficult victory for the three hundred members of the vanishing secret order of giant killers. The battle form of the Karabu was referred to as “the dance of death,” which showed itself as the Karabu attacked. They came at the Nephilim in clothing the color of the volcanic rock around them. The Nephilim did not even know what hit them. By the time they could get their bearings on the hostile force cutting them down, they had already lost nearly a thousand giants. The Nephilim below pulled in their ranks to fight the spinning, twisting, flipping, nearly invisible enemy. The Nephilim above saw the slaughter, but kept climbing toward their launch point above. "

― Brian Godawa , Enoch Primordial (Chronicles of the Nephilim #2)

120 " The two Ednas were nothing alike. They were as different as Methuselah and Enoch. Mother Edna was kind, sweet, supportive, and submissive. Sixteen-year old Edna was spunky, feisty, independent, and stubborn. Methuselah’s differences with his father haunted him wherever he turned. The living quarters they occupied were humble compared with other palace servants or royalty. According to Enoch, a wisdom sage was not concerned about the things of this world, but about truth, justice, and heaven. "

― Brian Godawa , Enoch Primordial (Chronicles of the Nephilim #2)