by Chuck Black
3. The remnants of King Solomon’s temple.
4. In the Old Testament, the Ten Commandments were kept in the ark of the covenant, and only the high priests were allowed to be in the Holy of Holies, where the ark was kept. This was because the common Jews needed an intercessor (the priests) to speak to God and offer sacrifices asking God to forgive them for their sins. Although the ark of the covenant had been hidden, or lost, or destroyed by the time of Jesus and was not in the Holy of Holies, the Chamber of the Code was used to depict this sacred room.
CHAPTER 2
1. The woman caught in adultery, who Jesus prevented from being stoned.
CHAPTER 3
1. Demus represents Nicodemus, the Pharisee who came to ask Jesus questions about how to be saved.
CHAPTER 4
1. This represents the many times the Pharisees attempted to catch Jesus making a mistake or teaching the people false doctrine. Read Mark 12:13–34, and note the three men who spoke with Jesus and tried to lure Him into speaking against the Scriptures.
2. Nicodemus came to speak with Jesus by night. Their discussion is in John 3:1–21. Nicodemus also defended Jesus during a discussion among the Pharisees (John 7:40–53).
3. When the Pharisees accuse Jesus of being in league with Beelzebub, or Satan (Matthew 12:24).
4. Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent and powerful Jew, had no part in the capture and crucifixion of Jesus (Luke 23:50–51).
5. Judas Iscariot, the traitor (Matthew 26:14–16).
6. That the stranger would actually die for him. This symbolizes Jesus Christ’s death on the cross for us.
CHAPTER 5
1. Jesus’ silence during His trial, which was prophesized in Isaiah 53:7.
2. Jesus is struck during His trial (see John 18:22).
3. When the high priest questions Jesus about His identity and Jesus replies that He is the Son of God (Luke 22:66–71).
CHAPTER 6
1. Gavin is wrong in thinking that their problems are over, but he’s correct that the people of Chessington would not follow a dead leader. However, they would follow a living one!
2. The tearing of the veil of the temple (Mark 15:38). The tearing of the veil was significant because it symbolized that everyone had access to God themselves. Jesus had become the mediator for all people, common or noble (see Hebrews 8:11; 9).
CHAPTER 7
1. The “decaying dead leader” of the Followers was the living, breathing Prince. This event allegorizes the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
2. The stoning of Stephen, the first martyr (Acts 6:8–7:60).
3. The Holy Spirit gives wisdom and knowledge to His people. He also gives peace—even in death, Severin and Stephen were peaceful men. Isn’t it amazing Stephen’s last act was to request that the men who killed them not be charged by God for their actions?
4. Saul (Acts 7:58).
CHAPTER 8
1. The Followers include the name of the Prince in their own name, Knights of the Prince, just as Jesus Christ’s followers came to be called Christians.
2. This represents the high priest giving Saul letters authorizing him to bind any believers he caught and bring them to Jerusalem (Acts 9:1–2). It marks the beginning of Saul’s persecution of the church. Read Galatians 1:13–14 and Acts 8:1–3.
3. Matthew 5:44: “But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.” (See the full passage in Matthew 5:43–48.) This represents when the Christians fled after Stephen’s murder (Acts 8:4).
CHAPTER 9
1. A Christian who is a preacher or teacher to others. Read Acts 4:5–14 for an example of disciples who were “troublemakers” because of their knowledge of the Bible.
2. The Bible has quite a bit to say about faith. For example, Matthew 17:20 states, “For assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.” Another verse says, “Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:2–3). Faith is essential to serve Christ.
3. The common Jewish perspective at that time that all Gentiles (non-Jews) were unworthy of God’s attention or help. Read the story of Jesus and the Woman at the Well in John 4:4–26 (focus on verse 9).
CHAPTER 10
1. Damascus.
2. He wasn’t living for the Prince. This represents that true purpose in life comes from a Christ-centered life.
3. Ephesians 6:12.
4. Acts 9:5: “It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” Paul was finding no peace because he was battling against God’s plan for his life. Biblically, Paul’s conversion was an exchange between Jesus and Paul only. The allegory depicts the Shadow Warriors to show that if Paul had not chosen to follow Jesus, he would have continued to be a tool of Satan and would have died an unsaved man.
CHAPTER 11
1. Answer based on personal experience.
2. The disciples helping Saul flee from pursuing Jews by lowering him in a basket over the wall at Damascus (Acts 9:23–25).
CHAPTER 12
1. Answer based on personal experience; Isaiah 5:20.
2. John 21:25.
3. Acts 9:9, 19.
4. The Pharisees became experts on the Law, which was God’s Word. However, they used the Law without grace or mercy to elevate themselves, which Jesus called hypocrisy.
5. This man from a distant land was a Silent Warrior. He was referring to the point in time when the Prince would give up His own life for the kingdom because of His compassion. This refers to Jesus Christ’s crucifixion and restoration for the world.
6. Gavin was beginning to be truly humble. This is important in our lives as well, because humility is necessary to receive God’s forgiveness (Matthew 23:12).
7. Ananias’s visit to Saul to heal him from his blindness. Read Acts 9:10–18.
8. The Crimson River represents the crimson blood of Jesus Christ that cleanses us from our sins.
9. Acts 9:23.
10. Matthew 12:50.
CHAPTER 13
1. The King was using Gavin to do His work even before he was a Knight of the Prince, much to the anger of the Dark Knight. This is allegorical to the fact that God used Paul even before he was a Christian. Although Paul’s intentions were for evil, God used them for good. Paul persecuted the Christians so severely that they were forced to leave Jerusalem, thereby spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ across the land, even to the Gentiles.
2. Isaiah 55:8–9 and 1 Peter 1:12.
3. The Prince.
4. The return of the Prince to rule and to reign; this represents the second coming of Jesus Christ (Philippians 2:10–11).
5. Psalm 34:18 and 147:3.
6. Heart (Psalm 147:10–11) and peace (Philippians 4:7).
7. Paul says he did not confer with flesh and blood to understand his new relationship with Jesus Christ. We should be careful and consult God’s Holy Word as the source of truth in our relationship with Him as well.
8. It symbolizes when the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in us and gives us wisdom and understanding about things we may have always seen but never truly understood (Psalm 146:8; Isaiah 29:18; and Isaiah 42:7).
9. Paul’s thorn in the flesh (2 Corinthians 12:7–10). God allowed a messenger of Satan to give Paul this thorn to keep him humble, just as Gavinaugh received his wound from Devinoux, a warrior of the Dark Knight.
10. Paul had to learn how to use the Word of God for God with the perspective of Jesus being the Messiah as foretold in the Old Testament, and it was probably different to think in that way. Having been very knowledgeable on Old Testament Law, doctrine, and prophecy, Paul had to apply this knowledge in a whole new way.
11. God’s love for al
l people, not just the Jews (John 3:16).
12. When Saul’s name is changed to Paul (Acts 13:9; 2 Corinthians 5:17).
AUTHOR’S COMMENTARY
The conversion of Paul is undeniably a spectacular example of Jesus Christ’s dramatic intervention in the life of one man. The story itself is a faith-building testimony, for by the world’s standards, Paul had everything to lose and nothing to gain. He was a man of power, wealth, influence, and comfort, but once he became a Christian, he was hunted, outcast, poor, and persecuted. A naysayer might claim that Paul was only looking for fame, but promoting the theological views of someone else is a strange way to gain fame. What is remarkable about Paul is that he carried his zeal to persecute the followers of Jesus over to his efforts to preach and promote Christ to the world. There apparently was never a time of apathy in his life. His impact on the world for the gospel of Christ is second only to Jesus Himself.
The character of Gavinaugh was difficult to portray in Kingdom’s Call simply because he is first an enemy and persecutor of the Prince before he becomes a champion for His cause. It is therefore challenging to allow too much sympathy for our hero until his “road to Damascus” encounter. In Kingdom’s Quest, the compassion and courage of Sir Gavinaugh make him an endearing character that the reader is easily able to identify with.
I have endeavored to capture portions of Paul’s spiritual life in allegorical form. The events that chronicle his life are so fascinating and adventuresome by themselves that I find my writing grossly inadequate by comparison. I hope this book will open your eyes to the spiritual battle that was raging as a result of God’s profoundly earthshaking design to establish His church in this fallen, dark world. Above all, my prayer is that you will search God’s Holy Word and discover the adventure He has waiting for you!
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new
creation; old things have passed away;
behold, all things have become new.
—2 CORINTHIANS 5:17