Leave No Man Behind [Companion Article]

Episode 3 — Birth Pangs of the End Times

Episode 3 of the Positive Apocalypse trilogy pivots from an earthly battlefield to a heavenly courtroom. This raises immediate questions—especially for readers who aren’t familiar with the Bible’s “unseen realm” passages.

This Companion article answers the main questions Episode 3 commonly provokes, using Scripture as the final authority, and explains many of the episode’s fictional dramatizations.

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Contents:

1. Is there really a heavenly court, or council?

2. Are the 24 elders in the heavenly court?

3. What’s with the three boxes? Are they biblical?

4. Why do ‘lip-service’ and ‘Jesus-Plus’ believers go into box 1?

5. Why does box 3 matter? Are martyrs a ‘trigger’ in Revelation?

6. Was Satan “bound” so he couldn’t deceive the nations?

7. Satan’s three restrictions in Chapter 6.

8. Why 70 principalities over the nations?

9. Will ‘most’ Christians compromise to save their lives? Is this biblical?

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1) Is there really a heavenly court or council?

Yes. The Bible repeatedly portrays God ruling in a heavenly assembly—often described in courtroom language (thrones, books, judgments, witnesses, decrees).

Core passages

• Daniel 7:9–10 — thrones set in place, “the court sat,” and “the books were opened.”

• Job 1–2 — “the sons of God” present themselves before the LORD, and the accuser appears among them.

• 1 Kings 22:19–23 — a prophetic vision of the LORD’s heavenly host participating in a decision.

• Psalm 82 — God stands in the divine assembly and renders judgment.

• Revelation 4–5 — the throne room scene with elders, worship, scrolls, and authority being exercised.

If you want a scholarly gateway into this theme, I recommend The Unseen Realm by Dr. Michael S. Heiser. It’s a clear, modern introduction to the Divine Council.

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2) Are there 24 elders in the heavenly court?

The twenty-four elders appear explicitly in Revelation 4:4, seated around God’s throne with crowns. They also appear throughout the throne-room sequence (Rev 4–5), participating in worship and recognition of authority.

In the trilogy, Chapter 6 portrays them as part of the court’s structure because Revelation repeatedly shows them as:

• enthroned,

• crowned,

• present for major heavenly decisions,

• responding to events tied to the Lamb and the scroll.

The Bible doesn’t give us every detail about their identity or administrative function. But it does present them as real heavenly figures surrounding God’s throne during judicial/royal actions.

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3) What’s with the three boxes? Are they Biblical?

No—the three boxes are a fictional visual device.

I created them as a physical dramatization of a real biblical idea: that God separates people by spiritual state, and that records (“books”) matter in judgment scenes.

What’s biblical behind the symbolism?

• Books / records in judgment scenes (Daniel 7:10; Revelation 20:12)

• Separation themes (wheat/tares, sheep/goats, faithful/unfaithful)

• The reality of verdicts—some are approved, some rejected, some await final reckoning.

What the boxes represent in the story

• Box 1 (red light): the lost / outside covenant protection

• Box 2 (white light): the saved—those who truly belong to Christ

• Box 3 (unlit… for now): innocent martyrs who were faithful unto death, awaiting the moment when their number is complete (according to Rev 6:11.) When that number of innocent martyrs is attained, God will judge and avenge their blood on those who dwell on the earth (Rev 6:10).

This is symbolism—not a claim that heaven contains literal wooden boxes.

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4) Why do “lip-service believers” and “Jesus-plus believers” go in Box 1?

This is one of the story’s deliberately uncomfortable questions:

Does the Bible teach that not everyone who claims Christ truly belongs to Him?
Yes. The New Testament warns repeatedly about false professions.

“Lip-service” faith

• Matthew 7:21–23 — “Lord, Lord…” yet “I never knew you.”

• 1 John 2:19 — some depart because they were “not really of us.”

• James 2 — faith that produces no fruit is “dead.”

“Jesus-plus” confidence

Here we’re talking about adding anything as a ground of righteousness that competes with Christ—treating Jesus as necessary but not sufficient.

• Galatians (especially 2–3) — adding works of law as justification is a different gospel.

• Romans 3–4 — righteousness is credited apart from works; boasting is excluded.

• Ephesians 2:8–10 — saved by grace through faith, not by works; good works follow as fruit, not cause.

The point is: Scripture warns that many religious people will be shocked at the verdict if their confidence was in a slogan, a ritual, or self-righteousness rather than Christ Himself.

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5) Why does Box 3 matter? Are martyrs a “trigger” in Revelation?

Chapter 6 connects Box 3 to Revelation 6:9–11, where the souls of martyrs cry out:

“How long… until you judge and avenge our blood?”
And they are told to rest until the number of their fellow servants is complete.

That passage is the textual foundation for the story’s idea that:

• God is allowing a measured season of testimony and persecution, and

• the martyr count has a prophetic “fullness,” after which God’s judicial response accelerates.

So, in Episode 3’s heavenly court scene, the third box doesn’t light yet because the story is reflecting the logic of Rev 6:11: “not yet… until…”

To be clear: the “box” is fictional. But, the waiting until completion is straight from Revelation’s text.

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6) Was Satan “bound” so he couldn’t deceive the nations?

Revelation says yes:

• Revelation 20:2–3 — Satan is bound “so that he should deceive the nations no more, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a short time.”

My interpretive view behind Chapter 6

I understand the original Greek “thousand years” language here as a phrase that can denote a long, complete span.

· The Greek word translated “thousand” is chilioi (KILL-ee-oy). On its own, it can function as a large-number expression, and context determines whether it should be taken as strictly literal or as a symbolic completeness/long duration.

Sincere believers disagree here. Some read the thousand years as strictly literal; others see it as symbolic. My story is written from the symbolic/long-duration perspective.

How I’m Reading Revelation 20)

• Rev 20:2–3 — Satan’s binding and its purpose (so he cannot deceive the nations)

• Rev 20:4–6 — I read this as a parenthetical zoom-in on the reign of the overcomers (first resurrection / reigning with Christ), not necessarily a simple chronological “same thousand years” restatement

• Rev 20:7–8 — Satan’s release and a global deception culminating in conflict.

This is why, in Book 1’s timeline, I portray a release of Satanic restraint in the early 20th century. Since the early 20^th century, we’ve seen WW1, Communism, Fascism, WW2, the United Nations, the World Economic Forum, the continual decline in society’s morality since the 1960s, and a continual string of conflicts and wars up to this day.

I’m not asking you to accept that timeline because it’s in my novel. I’m saying: this is the interpretive framework I’m dramatizing, and I’m inviting you to test it against the whole counsel of Scripture.

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7) Satan’s three restrictions in Chapter 6

Satan’s boundaries in the story aren’t presented as “new doctrine.” They are inferences—attempts to express what Scripture suggests about limits God places on evil.

Restriction A: “He can’t kill more than half of humanity.”

This is drawn from adding the potential death totals implied in:

• Revelation 6:8 (fourth seal—authority over a quarter)

• Revelation 9:15 (a third killed)

This is a reasoned inference—there’s no verse that states “half and no more.” I’m using the text’s math as a constraint that helps the story portray evil as terrifying but not unlimited.

Here’s how I arrive at one-half.

· Imagine a pie cut into 4 quarters.

· Then, remove one quarter (Rev 6:8). Now you have 3 quarts if the pie remaining.

· If you remove one-third of the remaining 3 quarters (Rev 9:15), you’re left with one-half of the original pie.

Restriction B: “Authority over earth was delegated to mankind.”

This is rooted in:

• Genesis 1:27–28 — God delegated dominion over the earth to mankind.
  
  

• Therefore, Satan can only exercise power in the earth through human administrators.

  • Over the last 6000 years, he has corrupted men to the point where “the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.” (1 John 5:19)

Restriction C: “He can’t violate free will by mind control or drugs.”

The reasoning for this restriction is too deep and lengthy for this article. If you’re interested, send me a message on Substack, or email me, and I’ll share my rationale with you.

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8) Why “70 principalities over the nations”?

The story’s “70 archons” idea is drawn from the biblical “nations and sons of God” framework:

• Genesis 10 lists the nations (traditionally counted as 70).

• Deuteronomy 32:8 describes God dividing the nations “according to the number of the sons of God.”

So, after the Tower of Babel, God placed the descendants of Noah under the rulership of 70 heavenly rulers, or principalities—as the LORD began His reclamation plan through Abraham, then Israel, and then through our Messiah.

A quick Greek note since this comes up in modern discussions: “archon” is Greek for “ruler” and is pronounced AR-kon.

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9) In the story, the powers of darkness claim that most Christians will compromise to save their lives. Is that biblical?

Yes. While Scripture doesn’t give a percentage, it repeatedly warns that many who identify with God’s people will fall away, compromise, or deny the truth under pressure, especially as persecution and deception intensify.

This theme appears across Jesus’ teachings, the epistles, and Revelation.

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1) Jesus warned that many would fall away under pressure

Matthew 24:9–13

“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will fall away, betray one another, and hate one another…
But the one who endures to the end will be saved.”

Key observations:

· Persecution is universal (“all nations”)

· Falling away is not rare (“many”)

· Endurance, not profession alone, is the mark of the saved

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2) The Parable of the Soils explicitly predicts compromise

Matthew 13:20–21

“The one who received the seed on rocky places… has no firm root… when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.”

This is not atheists falling away.
This is people who initially receive the word with joy.

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3) Jesus explicitly warned about denying Him to preserve your life

Matthew 10:32–39

“Whoever denies Me before men, I also will deny before My Father…
Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”

This frames the choice starkly:

· Confession vs denial

· Temporal survival vs eternal life

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4) Revelation contrasts the overcomers with the fearful

Revelation 12:11

“They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they loved not their lives even unto death.”

By contrast:

Revelation 21:8

“But the cowardly, the unbelieving… will have their part in the lake that burns with fire.”

This is one of the most uncomfortable verses in Scripture precisely because:

· Cowardice is treated as a spiritual category

· Fear-based compromise is not morally neutral

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5) Paul foresaw widespread defection from the faith

2 Thessalonians 2:3

“Let no one deceive you in any way, for that day will not come unless the rebellion comes first.”

The Greek word often translated “the rebellion” or “the apostasy” implies a deliberate, end-time departure from allegiance—not mere ignorance or confusion.

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6) Revelation explicitly says many will worship the Beast

Revelation 13:7–8

“Authority was given him over every tribe and people and language and nation, and all who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written in the book of life.”

This sets up the sobering implication:

· The faithful remnant is comparatively small

· Allegiance will be tested publicly and decisively

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What the story is (and isn’t) claiming

The story is not saying:

· “True believers should live in fear”

· “Everyone will fail”

· “Salvation is fragile or performance-based”

The story is saying:

· Pressure reveals the reality of a person’s faith

· Many who identify as believers will choose safety over faithfulness

· Overcomers are not defined by slogans, but by endurance

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Closing thought

Chapter 6 is not meant to replace Scripture with fiction. It’s meant to do something simpler:

1. Remind/teach us the Bible describes a real heavenly court

2. Confront us with the seriousness of true vs false allegiance, and

3. Point us back to Revelation’s warning that deception will intensify as the end approaches.

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