Exile of Lucifer (6 page)

"Would a perfect God allow His creatures to turn on Him?"     41
High, knowing that He truly depends upon our service to perpetu-
ate His order. Serus, let's have those refreshments now! My apolo-
gies, brothers, that we never did cover the items I had originally
planned to cover. Thank you all."
The meeting broke up and the angels enjoyed the food and
drink brought in by Serus. Much of the after-meeting conversation
was about the order vs. chaos controversy. Lucifer made sure to
ease the mind of some of the angels who were disturbed by the dis-
cussion, particularly Sangius and Tinius. He then singled out Pelle-
cus and Rugio, quietly asking them to stay on after everyone else
had departed.
Suddenly a trumpet sounded, causing several of the angels to
look around at each other. "Well, that is interesting," said Lucifer,
looking out the window. "It seems as if there is to be an assembly
of some sort at the Great Temple. I'm afraid I must attend. Thank
you all for coming. Serus will let you know when we are to meet
again."
The Council was ushered out of the room by Serus and toward
the front door. As they left they thanked Lucifer for the meeting
and interesting discussion. Sangius took Lucifer's hands as he left
and said, "I know that you are only thinking aloud. There's no
harm in that."
"There's never any harm in thinking," Lucifer replied. "Good-
bye, dear Sangius."
Lucifer crossed to the side of the room where Pellecus and
Rugio were waiting for him. He watched Sangius depart and said,
"I would say that today's meeting was quite fruitful. We have bro-
ken the surface and the Council seems to be with me."
"Most of them," agreed Pellecus. "I'm not sure about Sangius.
He may prove troublesome. We need absolute unity on this."
"Don't worry about Sangius," said Lucifer. "I'll take care of
him. We'll have to meet later," he told them. "I must attend this
Council. Pellecus, your clarification was splendid. Such wisdom
will reward you one day."
"I trust that it will," agreed Pellecus, as he exited. Rugio
bowed slightly and followed Pellecus out the door.

43
Chapter 4
"Weren't you listening?
It's the Creation!"
The Great Library was the repository of the recorded knowl-
edge of God--those things that He had chosen to reveal to the
angels of wisdom and knowledge for the instruction of the other
angels, as well as an eternal witness to His grace and mercy. All the
important truths were stored there, including the Chronicles of the
Kingdom, great books of wisdom, books of praise and hymns unto
the Lord, and a recently installed book which was curiously blank,
simply called the Lamb's Book of Life. The Library was housed in
the Academy of the Host.
In order to prepare the angels for their posts of ministry, the
Academy was established at the Library where the great teachers
such as Crispin, Lucallus and others taught the great truths of the
mysteries of God. Many of the former students at the Academy had
risen to positions of prominent service in the Kingdom, including
Lucifer, Michael, Gabriel, and others.
Crispin always made it a point to teach his sometimes over-
eager students that the pursuit of knowledge was really a fruitless
endeavor if those things being learned were not incorporated into
the angelic life. "Knowledge is the key to all things," he would say.

44           CHRONICLES of the Host: Exile           of Lucifer
"But if it doesn't produce excellence in your service to the Most
High, and if it doesn't cause you to love Him more and yourself
less, or if it doesn't inspire you to fervency in your ministry, you
might just as well have never been created."
Michael always enjoyed Crispin's teaching. He hurried up the
stairs where Crispin had entered under the massive archway hous-
ing the front doors of the Library. He looked around the great hall,
where hundreds of angels were involved in scholarly discussions:
Some were very animated in making their point, others reasoned
quietly. Michael smiled as he saw a group of angels being ushered
into the very room where he himself had been taught by Crispin.
He walked the halls, greeting some of his former teachers as
he went. Michael peeked into a room and saw several hundred
angels seated on the floor in front of a platform. The room itself was
circular, with very high ceilings that let in light from the outside
through large round windows near the top. It could hold some ten
thousand angels, though today's class was relatively small.
"Who's teaching in here today?" Michael asked one of the
angels.
"This is Crispin's class," answered the angel, a little perplexed
at the archangel's presence.
"Thank you," said Michael. "I think I'll join you."
Michael took a place on the floor very near to where he had
sat as a student. The angels around him looked at him, amazed that
the noted angel should attend their class. Michael decided to end
their speculation about him and said, "Crispin taught me that one
can never learn too much of the Lord's truth. Today I'm here as a
student, not as a ruler."
Crispin entered the room from the rear and walked up to the
three-stepped dais that was in the center of the room. The students
were seated casually on the floor, encircling the platform. Michael
watched as the revered teacher sat his books down, gathered his
notes and cleared his throat, a routine he had witnessed a hundred
times before. Crispin looked over the class and noticed Michael,
seated to his left.

"Weren't you listening? It's the Creation!"           45
"Well, it seems that even archangels can learn something," he
said, the class laughing. "Welcome to my class again, Michael. I
trust you find today's lesson interesting, hmm? As well as the rest
of you," he added, scanning the room.
For the remainder of the session Michael was entranced as
Crispin taught on the creation of the angels. Crispin was a mar-
velous teacher, who involved the students in lively discussion
while he spoke. Michael enjoyed listening to the students ask ques-
tions, remembering some of these very issues being brought up
when he attended classes at the Academy.
"In conclusion," said Crispin, "let me simply say that as
angels we are privileged to serve with the greatest dignity and free-
dom any creature can have, because we are free to live under the
wisdom and love of a Creator who takes an interest in our ministry
and who preserves us for even greater things. There is not one
angel in all of Heaven who can know the mind of God and what
plans He has for His creation. How grateful we angels should be
that we were made for such things."
Crispin sat down, assuming an uncharacteristically informal
posture. "I love my role and I hope all of you love whatever min-
istries you are called to as well. One never knows where service to
the Most High might lead. Just look at Michael: a prime example of
God's grace and purpose working in the life of an angel. We certain-
ly never expected such an honor, did we Michael?" asked Crispin.
All eyes were upon Michael, who jumped as if awoken from a
dream and said, "No. Of course not. I never sought such an honor
and I certainly never deserved it. But God has chosen me and He
will choose some of you for great things as well." He looked up at
his old teacher with a how-did-I-do? expression.
"Well done, Michael. I see that you were listening to some of
my lectures anyway," Crispin said as the other students laughed.
"Any other questions before we conclude?"
"I have one," came the familiar voice of Berenius, an angel of
worship who loved to spar with Crispin and the other teachers on dif-
ficult issues. Berenius seldom asked a question without an ulterior
motive in mind--usually he was just trying to bait a teacher into
some intractable theological problem.

46           CHRONICLES of the Host: Exile           of Lucifer
"Yes, Berenius," said Crispin. "What is it?"
"I have yet to hear a satisfactory answer concerning true free-
dom. I mean, master, you have spent a great deal of time discussing
freedom and yet I am still confused as to its nature. How can we
angels have such great freedom if we must obey everything we are
told?" asked Berenius. Many of the students winced as they heard
the question. Others echoed the question with "Yes" or "Answer
that one!"
Crispin read the mood of the class and replied, "You certainly
have a knack for picking subjects that are far too lengthy and
involved to give a satisfactory answer to in this setting. Perhaps we
can take up the subject of our freedom in the next session." Crispin
began gathering his things and continued speaking. "You see, Bere-
nius, I am in a sense not free to delve into this matter right now
because my responsibilities take me elsewhere at this very moment.
True freedom and responsibility are compatible. I would go so far as
to say that one cannot be truly free unless one is given some sort of
parameters, boundaries, to make that freedom meaningful. The
Lord in His wisdom created boundaries for us and in doing so
assured us of freedom. Sounds like a paradox, I know, but it is true."
"A paradox indeed," said Berenius, who gathered his things
to leave. "It seems as if the Academy is rampant with paradox."
The students began leaving the room, some saying that
Crispin didn't have the answer, or Berenius was far too clever for
him, while others said that Berenius was just a troublemaker and
wasn't really interested in the answer. Crispin watched them as
they filed out.
Michael turned to Crispin and said, "I certainly don't remem-
ber the students being so brash when I was at the Academy. Even if
we disagreed with the teacher we didn't make an issue of it like
Berenius."
"Yes, Michael, things have changed at the Academy since you
attended classes here," sighed Crispin. He closed his eyes as he re-
membered. "The students were once so diligent in the pursuit of
knowledge about the Lord and the Kingdom. They were tremen-
dously interested in learning about their roles and their service to

"Weren't you listening? It's the Creation!"            47
the Lord." He looked at Michael. "Now it seems that so many of
them have an agenda that is quite their own, as if they're not satis-
fied with the traditional truths which the Most High gave us and
which we have always been taught. No, they're always question-
ing, always debating. Like Berenius. Of course Berenius comes by
it as a result of his association with Pellecus."
"Pellecus?" asked Michael. "What does he have to do with
this?"
"Pellecus has a number of angels who follow his rather con-
fusing teachings," said Crispin.
"But he doesn't teach anymore," answered Michael, a little
confused.
"Oh, he teaches," said Crispin. "Just not here at the Academy.
Pellecus will always teach. The Lord created him to be a marvelous
teacher, very gifted, very brilliant. He was a favorite at the Acade-
my, you know. And he leaves quite a legacy. His influence over a
number of the angels he instructed as well as many of the teachers
is enormous."
"Really?" asked Michael with growing curiosity.
"Oh yes," said Crispin. He looked around the room making
sure they were alone and said, "But I can't put the blame of this
attitude which is setting in entirely on Pellecus. True, his teachings
are a bit on the...independent side, but I feel there is something
greater...something more going on here." Crispin looked around
and leaned into Michael, speaking quietly. Michael leaned in to
hear his words. "Michael, I believe there is a movement which is
much more dangerous than some radical philosophy that has
infected some of the teachers and students at the Academy. I
believe there is something under way which is quite critical, even
dangerous to the peace of this Kingdom. And I believe I know who
is responsible."
----------------
The Great Hall of Assembly was energized when Lucifer
arrived following the trumpet blast that had summoned him. He
passed groups of angels who were talking among themselves trying

48           CHRONICLES of the Host: Exile          of Lucifer
to figure out what was going on. Normally, assemblies such as this
were only called with advance warning. This was beginning to look
like a very important occasion--particularly since all he could see
were highly placed angels.
Lucifer found his usual seat near the center, where a seven-
stepped circular platform was situated. It was from this platform
the Chief Elder spoke, and Lucifer was looking around to see if he
was anywhere nearby so he could find out exactly what was hap-
pening. He noted that though many of the more important angels
were in attendance, there were none of the warrior class present,
not even the archangels.
"It seems that the Lord is only interested in singers and sages
today," Lucifer said to Octrion, a chief worship angel who was seat-
ed just behind Lucifer. Octrion was only a few steps lower than
Lucifer where the music ministry was concerned, serving as an
assistant in many worship experiences. He was also one of the best
sources for the latest news in the Kingdom, because Octrion loved
to talk to everyone. If anyone would know what this was all about,
it was he.
"So it seems," said Octrion, looking around at the growing
number of angels. "But it only makes sense if what I have heard is
true."
"Really?" said Lucifer. "And what have you heard?"
Octrion looked this way and that, then whispered to Lucifer,
"I heard that the Lord is about to announce that one of us worship
or wisdom angels is about to become involved in a spectacular new
ministry!"
"Interesting," said Lucifer, speaking loudly enough for the
angels seated around them to hear. "But who in this room deserves
such an honor? All honor belongs only to the Most High. I bear my
ministry with no expectation of reward. My pleasure is in serving
the Lord--nothing more."
Some of the angels around him whispered to one another.
"Well, that's what I heard," said Octrion, a little embarrassed for
having brought the subject up. He sat down again.