Beyond Flesh And Blood

Beyond Flesh and Blood: The Ultimate Guide To Angels and Demons goes far beyond the average Sunday School teaching on spiritual warfare. Minister Fortson takes an in depth look at the origin of both angels and demons, and attempts to answer the tough questions on the minds of many Christians. 1) When were angels created? 2) When did Lucifer rebel against God? 3) Where do angels fit into human history? 4) Are fallen angels and demons the same thing? 5) Were the gods of mythology really fallen angels? 6) What do angels have to do with modern UFO sightings? 7) Is our current scientific pursuit of transhumanism a spiritual issue? These questions are just the beginning of the journey. As the book progresses, Minister Fortson tackles many other areas of the supernatural, such as the origin of ghosts, vampires, and our modern obsession with UFOs and aliens. You will also discover what our modern pursuit of creating hybrids has in common with various ancient mythologies from around the world, and the possible origin of these pursuits. Throughout the book, Minister Fortson explores historical text from many different cultures and belief systems in order to find out if the Hebrews were the only culture to encounter both angels and demons. The Bible tells us that our war is not with flesh and blood, but what does that statement really mean? Is the spiritual war crossing over into the physical realm? One thing is for sure, after you read this book, you will never look at the world we live in the same again.

Like Volumes One and Two, Volume Three of the Galanor Saga has been written in three parts, or “Books”, of five chapters each. But, unlike its predecessors this novel treats each of the three Books, as a distinct, five chapter novella, with its own cast of characters, plotline and story arc. Of course, each Book helps to develop the storyline of the novel as a whole. I hope you enjoy it... F. M. Viollis BOOK ONE: ALONG THE JOURNEY HOME We begin where Beyond Hope & Despair left off. Galanor and Nitiri have returned to Shuruppak, where they have been crowned monarchs. One morning, while Nitiri is asleep, Galanor rises and, while staring at the sunrise, reflects upon the events that transpired in the dungeons of Alenz Allure and afterwards. As his mind wanders back to that day, the story arc begins. He recalls their first moments together after having been torn apart by the crazed wizard, Malferion. He recalls how Nitiri found herself with an uncomfortable decision to make, and he, with concocting a plan to escape the tower. After discovering the route the wizard used, they make their way, with great trepidation, out of the dungeon, through the heart of the ancient mountain and out into the light of a new dawn. They make their way back to the farmhouse of Huai-Ti, Feng-Chi and Wan-Ye where Galanor and Anubis are reunited, only to discover that while Galanor was away, Lao–Fi’s forces have kidnapped Wan-Ye and Huai-Ti, in a fit of rage, goes after to confront the warlord in his fortress. Galanor vows to rescue them both. Along the way, he joins forces with a garrison of exiled soldiers, who, after much debate, agree to join forces with him, his queen and Anubis in the rescue attempt. At the same time Wan-Ye has become the concubine to the sadistic warlord. In time a rescue plan is conceived and executed, with results that are both joyful and tearful. When all is done, the three wanderers set out on a two year journey by land and sea, which bring them to Shuruppak and their ascension to the throne. The Book ends with Galanor receiving some startling news. BOOK TWO: WHAT THE GOD’S BRING FORTH Book two moves the storyline forward eighteen years. There are now three heirs to the throne: Tyr, Amara and Rama. Galanor and Nitiri, to no one's surprise, are wise and just rulers, but their reign is not without objection from some of the nobility. One morning, a rider is seen approaching from the west. He is intercepted and escorted into Shuruppak by a young, novice warrior. It is Mustir. He arrives with news of the most dire and consequential nature: Pharon has been struck down by mystical forces wielded by four, powerful and deadly riders, each determined to wreak havoc upon the world, in his own unique way. Mushtir presents his Captain with a token, handed to him by Pharon. Galanor recognizes the token, and the message behind it. He, Nitiri and Anubis prepare to journey to Pharon’s kingdom of Zeptepi, to help. As they prepare to leave, they are confronted by a conundrum for which they were not prepared and about which, they find themselves ill prepared to act. In time, as is the way with such things, matters resolve themselves, but not to everyone’s liking. Tearful moments transpire as their three children ride off in three different directions to battle one rider each, while Galanor, Nitiri and Anubis ride off to battle the fourth, and arguably the most powerful. While they are doing this, Pharon’s vampiric physician, a man driven by a powerful obsession to acquire knowledge at all costs, struggles to help his king. Meanwhile, while the monarchs of both kingdoms are busy, sinister forces, driven by greed and an ideology not their own, seek to rest control for themselves. With the aid of a potent talisman Galanor and Anubis confront the architect of the riders’ assault, beyond the edge of the universe and Nitiri battles the forces of death. BOOK THREE: BEYOND FLESH AND SPIRIT Book Three begins a few weeks after their return from Zeptepi. Nitiri has succumbed to wounds inflicted by the rider of death. Galanor abandons the throne and with Anubis by his side walks away from everything. Now, for the first time in decades, he is free of all obligations and ties. He and Anubis find themselves on a dusty road that rapidly becomes a hellscape. They are drawn to rift in time and space, where an entity of such power that it is impossible to measure, reaches out to consume them and through them, gain access to this universe. They are rescued by an entity that exists beyond imagination. Once free, they drift on until they find, and gain employment in a caravan journeying to a busy port city. Along the way, they are attacked by a massive army of bandit cutthroats. Finally, they make it to their destination where Galanor makes the acquaintance of an old flame. Their affair is reignited and he agrees to journey with her on her pirate vessel, one of the twelve original Atlantean Capital Ship used in the rescue of their people and the demise of their homeland. But, as fate would have it, they are attacked by mercenaries’ intent on slaughtering her crew and absconding with her. After yet another bloody battle, Galanor, weary beyond belief considers leaving his new found love and returning to the road. Events intercede and he agrees to stay and help her find the man responsible for the attack. In time, they do. With great cunning and much hard work, they discover his hiding place. It is an ancient island kingdom in an uncharted eastern sea. They journey there and find not only him, but a determined enemy from days long past.

A theory of human origins that is one-half Charles Darwin and one-half Cain and Abel is bound to entail a lot of rethinking of traditional themes. René Girard’s thesis of original human violence and the Bible’s power to reveal it has been around for more than a generation, but its consequences for Christian theology are still only slowly being unpacked. Anthony Bartlett’s book makes a signal contribution, representing an astonishing leap forward in understanding what a biblical disclosure of founding violence means for Christian thought and life. If human language arose directly out of the primal experience of murder, then semiotics becomes a core area for theological examination. Tracing the discipline of semiotics through postmodern thinkers, then back through its birth in the Latin era, Bartlett shows how Girard’s thought is itself a semiotic emergence, beyond standard Christian metaphysics. Above all, Girardian theory of human signs demands we see the generative impact of violence in our language and thought, and then, conversely, that the Word of God, crucified without retaliation and risen in the same identity, brings a totally new sign and relation into history, offering a thoroughgoing transformation of human life and meaning.

Disciple. Beyond Mediocrity addresses the problem of mediocrity found in many churches that are locked into the status quo. In this book Dr. Byrne portrays the life of a disciple in strict accordance with what the scriptures teach and as an essential element in the renewal of our faith before the Lord returns At the heart of Dr. Byrne's examination is the question of mediocrity as it has plagued churches and Christians without number. Dr. Byrne exposes the nature of mediocrity and on that foundation builds his study of a disciple whose life can be beyond mediocrity. Dr. Byrne explores the seven characteristics of being a disciple based on the Lord's own words. Denying oneself, taking up his cross, following the Lord, forsaking attachments to all he has, abiding in His word, bearing much fruit, and loving one another. Central to his study of the life of a disciple are the twin spiritual skills; living by faith and living in the Spirit, with the subject that is central to both; being able to hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches. Dr. Byrne then presents his readers with a step by step instruction on how to live by faith, and includes a memorable parable that reflects his own relationship with the Lord; the Garden of My Heart. The final part of the book takes a leap into the future with Dr. Byrne exploring four events in the life of a disciple in the end of days: being caught up to meet the Lord in the air and being transformed in a brief moment of time into His immortal image; giving account at the judgment seat; the marriage of the bride of Christ with the Lord; and the return of the Lord to the earth, with His transfigured disciples, to reign with Him for a thousand years. The book concludes with an examination of the destiny of the Lord's disciples in the New Jerusalem that descends to the earth at the end of time. There can be no doubt that Dr. Byrne knows what he is writing about. Each chapter bears the distinctive stamp of personal knowledge and experience. This book should be required reading for all Christians, for those who lead churches, and for those who train leaders in colleges and universities round the world.