“Oh, not at all,” assured Christopher, thankful that the direction of the conversation had turned once more. “I’d love to tell you about it. You see, there are eleven of us living in our home. It is a great big home in the meadow. The others, they’re all like me. They lived on Earth for a time, but we all died very young. I’m the oldest one right now. We all know we’ll see our parents again. Their names are in the Book of Life too. Until then, the angels look after us. They teach us and show us love, real love. They even play with us. Sometimes older people come to our home, people the angels had taken care of a long time ago. They still stay in touch with the angels that raised them. They still love them very much.
“The angels teach us all we need to know to live in Heaven, but I especially like the stories that the angels tell us. There is one story I like the best. It’s a true story. It’s a story about a man and his wife. The man’s name is Chris, just like me. His wife’s name is Serena. Chris lived here in Heaven not far away from here, but his wife had been sentenced to Hell, to a place called the Great Sea of Fire. Satan treated her really bad; he treats all humans that way…but for some reason he hated her more.”
“I met Chris!” exclaimed Jerry. “I met him a few different times. The first time was here by the stream. He seemed real nice. He lived with his mother over in the meadow. Sometimes we’d all go fishing together. Then, one day, he went away. I never saw him again.”
“That’s because he was special,” said Christopher. “Once you come to Heaven, you don’t remember a lot of the people you knew on Earth because they’re not coming here. That’s what the angels taught us. The Father makes it that way because He doesn’t want us to be sad because people we may have loved on Earth are now being punished in Hell. It is better that we don’t remember them.
“But Chris eventually remembered his wife. He knew that he had to try and save her. He loved her so much. But, in Hell, someone had already rescued her from the Sea of Fire. His name was Abaddon the Destroyer, a powerful dark angel. He was a dark angel, not a demon…there’s a difference.”
“Yeah, I know,” said Jerry. “The dark angels didn’t go to war against the Father and the other angels during the War in Heaven. They were sentenced to Hell for another reason.”
“Yes,” confirmed Christopher. “After Adam and Eve fell, those angels were told to watch out for Adam and Eve’s children and grandchildren, to help them along if they could. But something went wrong. They ended up telling the people whom they were supposed to protect that they were gods. They even began mating with them and producing angel-human hybrids. Some of those children were not so good.
“Anyway, those angels were sentenced to Hell for what they did. It was one of them that helped Serena. He hid her away from Satan, protected her from the demons. When Chris found out about this, he sent an angel called Aaron to carry letters from him and his mother to Serena. They even sent her seeds to plant from his mother’s garden. It made Serena feel much better. You see, she knew that she was still loved, even though she was in Hell.
“But soon, Satan came looking for her. Abaddon knew that he couldn’t hide Serena from him forever. So Chris and several of his friends here in Heaven went to rescue her. Several hundred angels went along to help. And in the end, the Father showed mercy to both Chris and Serena and sent them back to Earth to give them a second chance at life. There they go around preaching the Gospel to this very day, trying to save other people from Hell.”
“That’s a wonderful story,” noted Jerry. “I’ve heard it too. Still, I wonder why the Father showed such mercy to Serena.”
“Only the Father knows,” replied Chris. “But I know the Father had a very good reason…He always does.”
Jerry nodded. He reeled in his line only to cast it out again.
“You said the angels teach you,” observed Jerry. “My parents taught me to read, write, and do math. My mom was a schoolteacher back on Earth. She even taught me algebra. Don’t know that I’ll ever use it.”
“I learned algebra a few years ago,” noted Christopher. “I really like math. Now I’m studying analytic geometry. I’ll be moving on to calculus soon.”
“Calculus,” repeated Jerry. “That’s pretty complicated stuff for a ten-year-old.”
“I’m almost eleven,” noted Christopher.
“Yeah, but still, I thought kids your age played and had fun.”
“I guess, but I don’t play so much anymore,” continued Christopher, gazing out at the fishing lure glistening in the filtered sunlight.
“Kids your age should play,” replied Jerry. “My mom says that it’s healthy for them to play.”
“Maybe,” said Christopher, “but I have something to do, and I need to get about doing it. Our Lord Jesus knew there were important things He needed to do when He wasn’t much older than me. On a trip to Jerusalem with His mother and father, He disappeared for a time. They finally found Him in the temple talking with the priests and scribes. When they asked Him why He had gone off without telling them, He said that He had to be about His Father’s business.
“Even when we are young, the Father can speak to our hearts and tell us what He wants us to be doing. Well, I want to know about the universe that the Father created. Knowing about it will be important someday. I want to know all that I can know. I’ve spoken to the Father about it, and He liked that I was interested. He told me just last week that I should go and seek out Professor Faraday. He said that he would teach me. I’ve met with Professor Faraday and it’s all arranged. He and his wife will be taking me into their home. I’ll be leaving in just a few days to begin my studies.”
“I’m happy for you, but I’ll be sorry to see you leave,” said Jerry. “I’ve sort of gotten to like you, even if you are a lousy fisherman.”
At that very moment a fish, a large trout, bit Christopher’s hook. The fishing pole slid out of his hand. He tried to get a grip with his other hand, but it was too late. A few seconds later, the pole was caught among some rocks at the water’s edge.
“Get it! Quick!” hollered Jerry.
Christopher made a mad lunge for the pole, sliding on the loose rocks along the way. He landed flat on his belly. He reached out with his right hand to grab the fishing pole as it started to slide into the water. He got a firm grip with his right hand, then the left. He got up on his knees and pulled back on the pole, but it was too late. With all of the slack, the trout had managed to turn around and bite into the line, even as the hook slid from his mouth. He quickly swam away, and the lure dropped to the bottom, four feet down. Christopher reeled in the line with the bob intact, but no lure or hook. He shook his head as he rose to his feet. “Woops.”
Jerry stepped up to his side. “Like I was saying, watch the lure.” He scanned the water, then pointed to the place where the lure had settled to the bottom. “There it is. All you’ll need to do is take off your shirt and shoes and jump on in and grab it. I’ll be here for you.”
Christopher focused on the lure shimmering in the sunlight. For a moment he shivered. “Couldn’t you get it for me, Jerry?”
“You lost it,” Jerry replied. “I figure it’s only fair that you go in and get it. Nothing is going to happen to you. The current is slow and the water isn’t that deep. Anyways, I’ll be right here for you. The water probably isn’t even over your head. No, I’m sure it’s not.”
Christopher set his fishing pole down and took two steps toward the water, then stopped once more. Why was he hesitating?
I can do this
. Abruptly he reached out toward the lure with his right hand. He focused his full consciousness upon it, but he didn’t move.
All the while Jerry stood there looking at his young friend. Then he looked toward the lure. Was it moving?
A moment later, the lure was in motion. It burst forth from the surface and flew into Christopher’s hand as if magnetized. Christopher’s fingers entwined about it. Then he looked toward Jerry.
“Wow!” exclaimed Jerry. “Christopher, how did you do that?”
“I’m not sure,” admitted Christopher, stepping back from the water. “I just thought about it being in my hand, and a moment later it was there. I think the Holy Spirit gave me the power to do it. I mean, we can both gate from one place to another, right? We think about being there, a swirling tunnel of mists and stars appears in front of us, and we walk in. A few seconds later we walk out of the mists and we’re wherever in Heaven we want to be. If we can do that, what is wrong with doing this?”
Jerry looked at Christopher doubtfully. “Yeah, but that’s different.”
“How is that different?” objected Christopher. “We are using God’s Holy Spirit. Nothing should be impossible. We should be able to move mountains—Jesus said we could. If we can move mountains from here to there, then I can move that fishing lure.” He handed the lure to Jerry. “Here, it’s yours. I don’t think I’ll have much time for fishing from now on.”
Jerry accepted the lure and the hook. “Have you ever done something like that before? I mean, made things move by just thinking about it?”
“Sure,” confirmed Christopher, “this was the third time. It was easier this time. I think I’m starting to get it.”
Their discussion was interrupted by a distant explosion coming from somewhere toward the northeast. They both turned in that direction and were suddenly silent. They could hear other noises—the crackling of electricity and the sound of distant thunder, but it wasn’t a storm.
“I think we need to get home,” said Jerry.
Christopher nodded. They both picked up their fishing poles, and they were off. At first they were walking, but they quickly picked up the pace, following the trail that led to Jerry’s home about a mile away. They came to a sudden stop as a bolt of lightning, and then another, cracked across the sky, passing nearly overhead. This was quickly followed by several balls of orange fire traveling swiftly in the other direction.
“What’s going on?” asked Christopher, noticeably shaken.
“I don’t know,” said Jerry, gazing into the sky. “I ain’t never seen anything like this.”
Another round of lightning and fireballs followed about ten seconds later. The lightning seemed to be coming from a single source somewhere to the west and above the trees, while the fireballs seemed to be converging from three different places toward the source of the lightning. It seemed as if a battle was going on overhead.
Again the boys were on the move toward Jerry’s home. It was quite a bit closer than Christopher’s. Perhaps Jerry’s parents would know what was going on. As they ran, a thought crossed Christopher’s mind. It wasn’t a pleasant one, and it didn’t make any sense either. Maybe he had just heard one too many stories. It was then that the sound of wings returned, only this time much closer. Christopher turned to the left to see two huge, bat-winged creatures descending through a hole in the forest canopy. They were coming straight for them. They passed only a dozen feet over the boys’ heads, then swung around, landing on the trail about 50 or so feet ahead of them. Both boys came to a stop.
The bat-winged creatures had two arms and two legs and wore black leather armor held together with what looked like golden studs. They had the pale faces of incredibly old men, and both were brandishing long, sharp swords. Both boys knew only too well what sort of beings these were.
“Demons,” gasped Jerry. “But what would demons be doing here in Heaven? They were cast out thousands of years ago.”
The demons approached the boys slowly. Both Christopher and Jerry resisted the urge to take off running. As fast as these creatures could move, it wouldn’t have done much good. Gating out would have been a better option, but they didn’t do that either. They just stood there in amazement.
“Peace be with you,” said the demon on the left in a deep, gruff voice. “I assure you, we mean you no harm. We have been given strict orders by our master to in no way harm the saints of Heaven.”
For a moment, neither of the boys said anything. Jerry finally broke the silence. “What do you want from us?”
The demon smiled a sort of evil-looking smile. “What do I want from you? I want nothing, nothing at all. But know this, there is war in Heaven. My lord and master has returned to claim that thing that was his in the beginning. He has returned to assume his rightful place as the leader of all of the angels. This bickering among the angels has been going on for far too long.
“The time for peace and reconciliation has come, but that peace can only be won through war. My master must utterly crush the angelic forces of Michael and Gabriel. There can be only one angelic master and that is Lucifer.”
The two human youths looked at this dark being dubiously but did not immediately respond. Christopher felt a mixture of fear and confusion. Yet, in the end, it was his curiosity that ruled the moment. “And the Father is OK with all of this?”
“He is,” confirmed the demon. “He agrees that this undeclared war among the angels has gone on for too long. There was a meeting among all of the parties involved. At that meeting my master expressed an interest in returning to Heaven and unifying all of the angels under his rule. He wanted to do it through negotiations if possible and through force if need be. Regrettably, Michael and Gabriel resisted my master’s gestures of peace, and thus we are forced to bring my master to power through force of arms.
“But the Father set forth one provision, a provision we will gladly comply with. We are to do no harm to the saints, the human inhabitants of Heaven. They are the sons and daughters of God. We shall abide by that provision. Our grievance is with the angels, not with you. Stay out of our way, take no part in this conflict, and you will come to no harm. For the moment, for your own safety, return to your homes and stay there. We cannot guarantee your safety if you stray into the battlefield.”