Read Online The Veritas Conflict by Shaunti Feldhahn - Free Book Online
Authors: Shaunti Feldhahn
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needed to hate them; they wanted it to be “too late” for as many of these people as possible. They reveled in turning laughter into mourning and drew strength from the tears of broken men. They particularly loved it when they could use these double-minded children of God against one another—and against Him.
The enemy troops were still a factor, of course, so even the best-laid plans didn’t always work out perfectly. But, as in so many other places, this wasn’t their territory anymore. There were so few residents who feared God anymore, so few prayer warriors, that it now took special effort from the heavenly host assigned to this area to counter the fine-tuned intentions of darkness.
Finally, the city reports wound down. The room grew tense as Krolech pointed toward the center of the map, the center of their plan. The university had been thecrown jewel of this handpicked team’s success for many years, but these days it was becoming more and more troublesome. It was beginning to remind them of those early days after they had finally gained control of the area, but when there were still enough God-fearing, praying men—and enough Enemy warriors—around to cause serious headaches. With the exception of a few outliers, the years since had been much easier. But now, unexpectedly, the headaches were back.
In the past few years, the praying had intensified again. The Enemy had stirred Christian fellowship groups of every stripe, and they were praying in concert as had happened from time to time in years past.
This time it had started small, sometimes with just a few believers here and there, but it had deepened. And before the dark forces knew what had happened, whole classes had been admitted with large numbers of praying Christians! God-fearing chaplains and leaders had arisen to shepherd them. Now, instead of fellowship groups of ten or twenty, there were groups of fifty, then eighty. Dozens of God-fearing men and women now met weekly to pray over the campus. No wonder it was no longer as easy as it had been.
Krolech’s eyes narrowed as the reports progressed, and he drummed a heavy beat on the massive table with his fingers. His underlings winced whenever he questioned their efficiency, their results. He was particularly irritated in cases where set plans couldn’t be immediately instituted—a student’s angelic guard prevented an attack; a faculty member’s long-awaited divorce was thwarted by the tender intervention of a praying friend; a classroom debate was no longer effectively influenced by the dark side.
It was an unacceptable situation for a troop of the best and the brightest—and was certainly unacceptable for a key pivot point in the Great War.
Finally, the dark commander barked an order, and his underlings wound up their briefing. They departed quickly leaving Krolech to his thoughts, waiting to see what he would come up with to stem this slow tide.
Krolech brooded for a moment after the meeting. One thing was certain. He wasn’t going anywhere near his master until he had managed to polish his crown jewel a bit. He returned to studying the center of the large map, formulating new strategies, thinking, planning. A thought struck him. Come to think of it, it might simply be time to strengthen some old strategies.…
Humming to herself, Claire pulled on a light jacket and bounded down the stairs of her dorm and out into the late afternoon. The grassy square in front of her dorm was lined with venerable redbrick buildings and majestic old trees. Harvard Yard. Claire crunched through the leaves, gazing around at the solid weight of history. Presidents had gone tothis school. JFK had lived in her dorm, on the floor below her. The students walking and chattering on the paths around her would go on to be senators, multimillionaires, governors, captains of industry. She looked back at her building. Maybe one day someone will say, “Claire Rivers lived in that dorm .” She giggled, thinking how
The enemy troops were still a factor, of course, so even the best-laid plans didn’t always work out perfectly. But, as in so many other places, this wasn’t their territory anymore. There were so few residents who feared God anymore, so few prayer warriors, that it now took special effort from the heavenly host assigned to this area to counter the fine-tuned intentions of darkness.
Finally, the city reports wound down. The room grew tense as Krolech pointed toward the center of the map, the center of their plan. The university had been thecrown jewel of this handpicked team’s success for many years, but these days it was becoming more and more troublesome. It was beginning to remind them of those early days after they had finally gained control of the area, but when there were still enough God-fearing, praying men—and enough Enemy warriors—around to cause serious headaches. With the exception of a few outliers, the years since had been much easier. But now, unexpectedly, the headaches were back.
In the past few years, the praying had intensified again. The Enemy had stirred Christian fellowship groups of every stripe, and they were praying in concert as had happened from time to time in years past.
This time it had started small, sometimes with just a few believers here and there, but it had deepened. And before the dark forces knew what had happened, whole classes had been admitted with large numbers of praying Christians! God-fearing chaplains and leaders had arisen to shepherd them. Now, instead of fellowship groups of ten or twenty, there were groups of fifty, then eighty. Dozens of God-fearing men and women now met weekly to pray over the campus. No wonder it was no longer as easy as it had been.
Krolech’s eyes narrowed as the reports progressed, and he drummed a heavy beat on the massive table with his fingers. His underlings winced whenever he questioned their efficiency, their results. He was particularly irritated in cases where set plans couldn’t be immediately instituted—a student’s angelic guard prevented an attack; a faculty member’s long-awaited divorce was thwarted by the tender intervention of a praying friend; a classroom debate was no longer effectively influenced by the dark side.
It was an unacceptable situation for a troop of the best and the brightest—and was certainly unacceptable for a key pivot point in the Great War.
Finally, the dark commander barked an order, and his underlings wound up their briefing. They departed quickly leaving Krolech to his thoughts, waiting to see what he would come up with to stem this slow tide.
Krolech brooded for a moment after the meeting. One thing was certain. He wasn’t going anywhere near his master until he had managed to polish his crown jewel a bit. He returned to studying the center of the large map, formulating new strategies, thinking, planning. A thought struck him. Come to think of it, it might simply be time to strengthen some old strategies.…
Humming to herself, Claire pulled on a light jacket and bounded down the stairs of her dorm and out into the late afternoon. The grassy square in front of her dorm was lined with venerable redbrick buildings and majestic old trees. Harvard Yard. Claire crunched through the leaves, gazing around at the solid weight of history. Presidents had gone tothis school. JFK had lived in her dorm, on the floor below her. The students walking and chattering on the paths around her would go on to be senators, multimillionaires, governors, captains of industry. She looked back at her building. Maybe one day someone will say, “Claire Rivers lived in that dorm .” She giggled, thinking how
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