Heaven and Hell (15 page)

“Of course not,” replied satan, “For years you played your futile spiritual games, Tarot cards, palm reading, rituals to honor a goddess of ancient Celtic mythology; so many games.”

“But the Tarot readings were so often right, as were the palm readings,” objected Serena. “I really thought that I had psychic abilities. Maybe I did.”

Again satan laughed. “Of course the readings seemed to work, my minions and I went to considerable effort to create that illusion to deceive you. It was a diversion. In doing so, we led you and many others away from the truth; and down the road to my kingdom. As to you having psychic abilities; no, little one, I don’t think so.”

That revelation caught Serena off guard. “But why have you taken so much time and effort to get me here, why not someone else?”

Satan sat on a nearby boulder. “Don’t flatter yourself, child. I am a deceiver of nations, of multitudes, yours is just one of my many success stories.”

“But, sir, why did you grant to me the privilege of walking free in Hell for these 12 hours? You said that you would do it to satisfy my scientific curiosity. You also said that it was something that you rarely do. Excuse my boldness, but I suspect that there is something more to it than that.”

Serena knew she was pushing her luck with that comment. After all, this wasn’t just a casual conversation with some stranger on a busy street corner; this was satan, the devil, the villain of eternity that she was addressing.

There was a momentary pause; then satan’s expression broke into a wide grin. “I like you, Serena, at least as much as I could like one of you loathsome humans. I believe that I am coming to understand why God, the Creator, liked you so much.”

That one threw Serena for a loop. “He did?”

“Most certainly,” replied satan. “He spoke of it openly to me, on several occasions. That is one of the reasons that I became so interested in you. Oh yes, I believe that the Ancient of Days had great expectations as far as you were concerned, and even grander plans. Taking you from Him was a particularly sweet victory. You are clever and persuasive, gifted of speech. You might have lead many people away from the path to my kingdom during your days on Earth, given the opportunity. Thankfully, you won’t have that opportunity in the sea of fire. It will keep you quite preoccupied, as you will see.”

Serena was absolutely stunned. Yes, she had heard this before, from the angel Aaron, yet, somehow, it hadn’t quite sunk in. “You are still on speaking terms with God, after all that has happened?”

“Don’t be so surprised; of course I am, little one,” laughed satan. “Surely, you must have figured that out by now, a woman as bright as yourself. You have heard of the trials of Job, have you not? Did you think that was just a myth? And did you think that the story of Job was an isolated incident? No, there have been many Jobs during the course of history, so many. Surely, you must realize that. The Creator has always valued my opinion. He does even now. I widen His horizons, open His eyes to His own failings. In a manner of speaking, I am His conscience. No one knows Him as I do, nor manipulates Him so effectively. I am the tempter of humanity, the accuser of the brethren, and I shall bring to naught the plans of God.”

“But you spoke about me, you and God?”

“Among other things, yes, your name has come up. Is there some reason that I need to tell these things to you twice?” Quite abruptly the direction of the conversation changed. “But Serena, what has happened to your scientific curiosity? You have been granted a rare opportunity and you are squandering it. You hardly conducted a meticulous scientific study of the altars of agony, did you? It was both a brilliant and clever feat of engineering, if I do say so myself, an expression of my infinite creativity.”

Satan turned back to the great city of altars, though it was not directly visible from their current location. “I made full utilization of the space available. I’d first thought of making the altars larger, draping the victims across them, shackling their wrists and ankles at the four corners; but that would have been such a waste of space. By making them smaller, I can fit so many more of them in the limited space this valley affords me, and my guests are so much more uncomfortable with their head and legs hanging over the edges. Oh yes, sometimes I even surprise myself with my creativity.”

Serena was speechless. Never had she known something so cruel and conceited.

“As for the hills of crucifixion, well, you turned your back upon them completely. I thought you wanted to learn, glimpse a morsel of my genius, before joining the others in their eternal agony. Once you become part of the experiment, a true subject of my realm, I doubt that you will be in much of a mood to study it objectively.”

Serena searched desperately for an excuse; trying not to show weakness before the prince of darkness. “There wasn’t enough time. I didn’t want to be late in arriving at the sea of fire.” Somehow, she realized that satan saw through her lie. Why was she still trying to promote this deception? It was pointless. Before her stood the master of deception himself, the prince of lies, surely she did not expect to beat him at his own game.

“Ah, I see,” satan said, gently twisting the bottom of his goatee between the fingers of his left hand. “Aren’t you even the least bit curious as to what crime I was addressing in crucifying them?” He didn’t wait for a reply. He rose to his feet, and extended his hand to the young human. “Come with me, little one.”

Serena hesitated then took two steps toward satan. She placed her hand in his. She was surprised to discover that it was soft and warm like a human hand, but there was something else. She could feel the powerful sphere of darkness about this mighty being, a loathsome oppressive spirit. It sent a chill down her spine.

“See, I don’t bite, at least not this time,” chuckled the devil. “Come, I have things to show you.”

Before them, a large circular portal outlined in a shimmering violet aura appeared. Within the ring of luminescent glow, Serena beheld another landscape, another place. Together they walked through, with no more effort than one would expend in walking through a wide open doorway between two rooms in a house. They emerged amidst the rolling hills high above the valley of altars. Serena gazed across the valley, across the vast expanse of pain and despair.

“Magnificent, is it not?” proclaimed satan, stretching his arm out toward the valley below. “There are over 2 ½ million altars at this site alone, 72 percent of which are currently occupied. And there are 93 other sites similar to this one throughout Hell, some larger, and others somewhat smaller. The largest has a capacity of over 12 million. Imagine that, this is eternal torment on the grandest of scales.”

Serena was speechless—no words could describe the magnitude of the atrocity being perpetrated here. How might the knowledge of the existence of such a place as this affect humanity in its day-to-day dealings? Would it compel people to be kinder and gentler with one another? Would it persuade people to make peace with God and accept His terms of salvation? She wondered.

“Come, Serena, I have still more to show you.” Satan led his stunned companion across the rocky ground toward a nearby pair of crosses. He pointed toward the tall wooden instruments of agony before them. “I was inspired by the mind of man when I created this masterpiece, but as you can see, I have improved upon it as only I could. This means of inducing eternal pain is not as often utilized as the altar, oh no. There are less than 8,000 crosses on the hills surrounding this valley. The victims that call them eternal home are a special group, united by a common thread. During their lives they willingly chose to worship me. Some of these humans actually accepted God’s plan of salvation at one point in their miserable lives, yet they were like grains of wheat that fell amidst the thistle. As they grew, so did the thistle, and, in the end, that thistle choked them out.” Satan stopped momentarily, turning to Serena. “Do you understand the parable?”

“Yes sir, I think so. It’s in the Gospels. The thistle represents the cares and evil pleasures of the world.”

“Exactly,” satan said. “But these souls didn’t just turn their back on God, oh no, nothing so simple, they turned to me. Imagine that. You humans are so marvelously fickle. I have rewarded their devotion by allowing them to suffer for me, in my name, in much the same manner as Jesus suffered for you.”

Satan yanked once more on Serena’s hand, drawing her toward the two crosses, which faced out across the valley. Their victims, one a young man, the other a young woman, hung from the crosspieces by their nailed wrists, blood oozing from the wounds. The stout wooden crosses stood at least 15 feet tall, and the nailed feet of the victims hung better than 8 feet above the ground.

The young woman was dressed much as Serena was dressed, in a ragged gray skirt and a tattered top. Yet her attire was rather more revealing than Serena’s, especially in the position in which she found herself. The young man wore a small gray loincloth that scarcely covered his manhood. Their scant clothing offered virtually no protection from the elements, and the torn and shredded condition of their flesh told Serena that those elements extended far beyond the harsh sun and torrid breeze. It was obvious that the birds circling overhead frequently took the opportunity to feed upon their tortured bodies as well.

Around both of their necks hung a leather cord; and dangling from that cord was a golden amulet in the form of a five-pointed star. One vertex of the star pointed downward, while two others pointed upward. Serena recognized this sign as the inverted pentagram, the sign of satan. Drool oozed from the corner of their mouths and their breathing was exceptionally labored, as their arms were stretched to the limit by their own weight. Occasionally they would push upward on their nailed feet in an attempt to take some of the strain off their arms and chest. In this way they were able to breathe once more, but only at the cost of a different sort of pain. Their wide eyes followed the approach of the prince of darkness.

“Please, have pity on me, master,” said the young woman in a hoarse voice. “I served you as best I could during my life. I even sacrificed to you. Haven’t I suffered enough for you? Please, let me down!”

“What more do I need to do, master?” pleaded her companion. “I was loyal to you. You know I was. Why do you have to do this to me? Lord, what have I done that offended you?”

Satan stepped away from Serena and toward the crosses. “You have not offended me, but I require your worship, my children. Show me that you love me, tell me that you would suffer anything in my name, or I shall make your agony far worse!”

Satan began to raise his hand toward the two, yet the very threat of his wrath was sufficient to produce the desired response.

“Hail satan, our lord and master!” cried the woman, tears in her eyes. “All hail to the most high!”

“We worship you, master!” the young man said. “You are the only one for us, our only god.”

In their debilitated condition, they hardly seemed capable of lifting their voices in honor of he who had placed them upon their crosses, the author of their pain. Yet their praises echoed through the hills, for over a minute, a disjointed hymn of agony to their torturer.

“You are the great one!” cried the woman, fearful of being outdone by her companion, fearful of the consequences of being second best. “We worship your name. I would gladly suffer anything for you!”

“So would I!” her companion said. “I would suffer even more for you than she. Don’t you see, lord, I’m the one who is the most loyal to you.”

“No, I am,” objected the woman. “I would do anything for you, give you anything. I would suffer anything for your pleasure.”

Satan smiled broadly as his two victims each sought to outdo the other. “And so you shall,” he replied, turning to depart, “for all eternity.”

Serena looked on in horror, tears in her eyes. Satan’s cruelty kept reaching new extremes. Why had he taken such an interest in her?

“While they lived, I gave them a vision of grandeur. I promised them a kingdom, a kingdom of millions that they could look out upon for all times.” Satan stretched out his hand to the countless altars below. “As you can see, I kept my word. They shall look over this valley forever, to behold their many subjects, who lay prostrate before them.

Serena gasped. This was an irony that only satan could appreciate. If anything, those who had faithfully served him were all the more subject to his wrath.

“There are others here who openly admitted to having no belief in me whatever,” continued satan. “Their worship was no more than play, an excuse to indulge themselves in their own lurid fantasies, for their own fleshly pleasures. Nevertheless they worshiped me, built ornate altars in my name, and conducted elaborate rituals to honor my own greatness. In light of all of that, their current situation is really quite humorous.”

“Humorous?” gasped Serena, astounded by satan’s choice in words. “Tragic might be a better term.”

Satan’s smile widened. “But that would depend upon your point of view, wouldn’t it?” Satan once more took Serena’s hand. “Let us move on, there is still more to see before I must leave you.”

Serena cautiously took the hand of the dark prince as a portal, similar to the one she had seen in the valley, opened before them. Walking through, they were immediately transported to another region of Hell. They stood near the base of a sheer cliff, towering 500 feet above them, overlooking the rough, rocky valley floor. Even as Serena watched, she was alarmed to see a human figure plummet from the top of the cliff to the valley below. He hit the ground with a terrible thud and a cry of excruciating pain. His cry blended in with the moans and lamentations of a multitude of others. Then another, a woman this time, was thrown from the precipice and slammed into the rocks below a few seconds later.