According to some psychologists, the visions of horror and death that can haunt our individual dreams are actually collective memories of real events that have been seared into our DNA. If that is so, then many of us probably see the hideous visage of a man named Sennacherib when we are gripped by a nightmare.
Sennacherib was the son of the great and horrible King Sargon II. Sennacherib hated his famous father and dedicated his life to outdoing him in savagery and conquest.
I think it is very inspiring that even in these most ancient times people valued their freedom and liberty as much as we do today. And just like us, they were willing to fight for it-
Because all across his vast and powerful empire, Sennacherib’s subjects rebelled against his brutal reign.
Instead of talking it out, he raised a massive army of over 200,000 warriors and went on the march to violently force obedience from all the nation’s that had been under his yoke.
He commenced his murderous quest by attacking Babylon.
He completely destroyed that most ancient and beautiful city, reducing it to ashes and rock piles for today’s archaeologists to sift through.
Over 100 more rare and unique kingdoms and their cultures were completely obliterated, with the communities destroyed and any survivors sold off into slavery on the frontiers.
These were some of history’s first city-states, our first humble attempts at civilization and living together under a common law.
Eventually, Sennacherib set his evil eyes on the Kingdom of Judah- the Land of the Jews.
His Evil Army had only grown stronger with each conquest as he added the sons of the vanquished to his marauding forces. The horde descended like a black storm onto the shepherds and farmers of Judah.
They came from the North, and they wrecked 40 walled towns, laying waste to the farms and fields that surrounded each.
This is the time when the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel disappeared from history.
Finally, he arrived with his blood-soaked armies at the Gates of Jerusalem.
Behind the walls of the world’s most famous city, panic and fear reigned.
Hezekiah and the other High Priests of Jerusalem prayed fervently and openly to the Lord to be saved from Sennacherib, but things looked truly hopeless.
But God heard their prayers.
At this point a young and aggressive-looking Prince named Michael stepped forward and assumed defense of the Sacred City.
Was this the Archangel himself, or a real person named Michael granted extraordinary powers by Yahweh during a moment of extreme danger in the History of the Jews? It’s hard to say- this is a time when both True Heroes and supernatural beings regularly walked the Earth.
Whoever he was, this Michael, a true and ancient Warrior Prince, rallied his troops and the people of Jerusalem. He had a bold and aggressive plan that would require an unblinking and methodical cruelty if it was going to work.
In the predawn hours of a harsh and cold morning, Jerusalem’s old and infirm citizens quietly opened the Main Gate.
Everybody else, anyone strong enough to hold a spear or a club, crouched in the dusty thoroughfare behind The Warrior Prince Michael.
Michael and the People of Jerusalem swarmed silently into the darkness, descending on Sennacherib’s sleeping Army.
They had died their clothes and faces black, and waited for the darkest night of the month.
The Protector and the People of Jerusalem commenced a mighty slaughter, killing thousands of the dumbfounded and disorganized invaders as they stumbled from their tents.
The killing raged throughout the night.
Even as Sennacherib’s Army realized what was happening, they were unable to mount a defense. Too many King’s, Princes, Dukes and Generals already lay dead, and the silent killers continued to break across the ranks in eerie, fast-moving waves. Now it was Sennacherib’s turn to panic.
By the time the sun rose high enough to illuminate the walls of Jerusalem, one of the most feared and hated Armies in the Annals of Man had been broken to pieces. The survivors were fleeing through the desert for their lives.
Michael and the People of Jerusalem attacked one of history’s most fierce and feared military powers, and destroyed it completely.
The Bible records that 180,000 enemy soldiers were killed.
The vanquished Sennacherib and the other survivors limped back through the desolation they had caused, and his Great Empire would never be the same.
This is the Spirit of Michael in one of its oldest and most potent forms, The Righteous Avenger, The Michael who kills other men with God’s blessing.
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