The Children of Eternity (23 page)

Jonathon carried Lilly through the mists. She held on tightly. A moment later they stepped into a cheering crowd in the darkened Ion Desert. The four children came together once more. They hugged each other. They had really done it.

Jonathon turned to the others. “Now you are free to go wherever you like. Let’s win this war!”

Slowly, the people departed, but not before they gave thanks to their rescuers. Over 20 minutes later, when nearly everyone had gated out, Christa stepped up to the four children.

“I need to leave, but I had to thank you before I did,” she said. “I still don’t understand exactly how you did it, but I’m forever in your debt.” Christa paused. “Why don’t you come with me? I’m sure General Washington and the others would enjoy meeting you.”

“Thanks, but I think we need to be heading on home,” said Jonathon, who still had an arm around Lilly. He looked around to see the others nod in agreement. “You just get that information to the general. Maybe we’ll see you a bit later.”

“This conflict is almost over,” said Lilly in a weak voice. “The battle that you are preparing for will be the final conflict—the defeat of Satan and his armies is certain. Very soon Heaven will be in the hands of the children of God once more.”

For a moment Christa seemed confused.

“She’s like that,” said Christopher. “I, for one, believe her.”

“So do I,” said Jerry.

Christa smiled. “I’ll be sure to include that in my report to the committee.” A moment later she vanished into the mists.

“Mission accomplished,” said Zurel, stepping out of the darkness. “And what of me?”

“Oh, you’re coming with us,” said Jonathon. “I’m sure my great-grandparents wouldn’t mind if you stayed at their home for a while.”

Zurel cocked his head in surprise. “Really?”

“Really,” confirmed Lilly, “we wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“No, you need to stay with us, at least for a while,” said Christopher. “We could use a guardian angel.”

“They’re right,” said a Voice out of the darkness.

The group turned to see a Man in a long, white robe walking toward them. It was Jesus. Zurel immediately responded by dropping to his knees before the Son of God. Jesus walked up to him and drew Zurel to his feet.

“Remarkable,” Jesus said. “In the end, even after all that you have been through, you chose a path worthy of an angel of God.”

“I could do nothing less,” replied Zurel. “I will not lift my sword against the children of God any more than I would lift my sword against my Creator. My fight was with Michael, Gabriel, and their minions…” He hesitated, “I suppose that now I am at war with my former master, Satan, as well. I have no place to lay my head.”

Jesus placed His hand on the fallen angel’s shoulder. “You’re wrong, Zurel. Go with them, you will be welcomed in their home. They are your friends; you aren’t alone. You may even count Me as your Friend. I tell you this: when the day of your judgment comes, and it is near at hand for all of the angels, these children will stand at your side, as will I.”

Jesus then turned to the children. “Well done, all of you. You showed exemplary faith, stepping into the Valley of the Shadow of Death, knowing that you might not find a way out. The four of you have been faithful in this thing, and our Father will, in time, put you in charge of even greater things, things you cannot yet imagine. But for now, go home and rest. For you, the war is over.”

Jesus turned again to Zurel. He placed His hand upon the fallen angel’s shoulder once more. Almost immediately, a wondrous transformation occurred. Zurel glowed all over in a soft, blue light. In that moment, he was transformed. His bat wings melted away to be replaced with white-feathered wings, and his raiments became as those of an angel of light. “This is the appearance that you should assume henceforth. Now go with the children. For now, you shall be their guardian angel.”

Zurel looked upon himself in wonder. “Thank You, Lord, for the kindness You have shown to me.”

Jesus smiled but said nothing.

The children gathered around Jesus and gave Him a big hug. Their Lord’s smile grew even more.

“Thank You, Lord,” said each of the children as they gated home. Jonathon was the last to leave, taking Zurel’s hand and vanishing into the mists.

Jesus stood there alone for a few seconds. His smile never dimmed. “Blessed are the children,” He said, “for it is they who shall bring the words and blessings of our Father to the universe.”

With those words Jesus too stepped into the mists. Quiet and solitude returned to the Ion Desert.

The children emerged from the mists, arriving once more at the place where this whole adventure had begun. The sound of the pounding surf was overwhelmed by the sounds of cheers. Grampa Bud and Grandma Gladys emerged from the darkness to welcome the children home. They were followed by more than 100 men and women of the resistance.

“They’re all safe,” said Jonathon to his great-grandmother.

“It was the hand of God that saved you,” said Grandma Gladys.

She got no disagreement from any of those present. It was a time for celebration, and that celebration continued into the morning light. To many, the presence of Zurel was a concern, at least initially. Yet the words of Jesus resonated in their hearts. He had spoken of this strange being as a friend. None would be so foolish as to question it. So Zurel would also be accepted as a friend in their midst. After all, he was an angel of God.

Grandma and Grampa even found a room for their new guardian angel. For them, the war was now over.

It was morning as the children finally got into bed. The next three days passed very uneventfully. Neither demons nor angels crossed their skies. The children did what most children do when they’re happy—they played. They wandered through the forest without fear and spent many happy hours on the beach with their new angelic friend.

For the first time in his existence, Zurel found time to relax. He even managed to become moderately proficient on a surfboard. There was something strangely incongruous about an angel riding a surfboard.
Wipeout
was not a term in his vocabulary. When the board got away from him, he simply took to the sky. Then he’d land in the shallows to retrieve his board. Somehow that didn’t seem quite fair, but no one was about to say anything about it. They were just happy to see him having fun.

At the end of the third day the news came: the war was over. Human and angelic forces had decisively defeated the armies of Satan. Satan and a few survivors of his once-great army had fled through the gate in the City of Zion to Earth. Most of the other demons had either been physically destroyed or captured and imprisoned.

What they had accomplished in the City of Sarel had set the stage for that victory. Their mission had been successfully accomplished. But what now? What would the Father have them do next? There was only one way to find out, wasn’t there? It was time to return to Zion, to visit with the Father once more.

The following day, the children and their newfound friend and guardian angel, Zurel, set out for the Holy City of Zion, not quite knowing what to expect. They materialized at the great city’s eastern gate. They were amazed to discover that a state of calm had returned to the great metropolis. People were coming and going as they always had. All around them blue mists were fading and materializing, as citizens of Heaven passed into and out from them. Even the sections of the wall that had been damaged had been restored to their former glory.

Yet they sensed a strange mixture of spirits in the air that was hard to explain. There was a spirit of joy that was somehow more wonderful than they had ever felt before. Yet they felt a spirit of mourning as well. The children were at a total loss to explain it.

They passed through the magnificent archway and into the walled city beyond. They marveled to discover that the rubble that had littered the streets but a couple weeks earlier had been cleared. Indeed, there was no damage visible as far as the eye could see.

The streets were much as they had been before the conflict. People stopped to talk, browsed the shops where wonderful things were given and traded but never sold, and made their way into and out of the great libraries. People seemed to be interested in catching up on the latest news—and there was a lot of it.

The children were particularly interested in reaching the Holy Place. Many people around them seemed to be of like mind and were heading in that direction. The tense excitement within them seemed to magnify the distance.

Slowly but surely a story of incredible bravery was emerging. It had been one woman’s entry into the city at the height of the battle that had turned the tide. She had set free humans and angels captured by the demons and awaiting transport to their prison by breaking the shackles that had bound them. She had traveled all the way to the Holy Place to bring the children of God a message—that the power to defeat Satan and his angels was theirs. And they had latched onto that hope and discovered the power within her words. In the end, they had manifested the same gifts that the children had known these past few weeks. With those gifts came the end of Satan’s hopes of victory.

Yet, as always, with great power came great responsibility. The sons and daughters of God were children no longer. There were many things that their Father, in His love, had shielded them from. For one, He had shielded them from the hurtful things of their lives on Earth. For the most part, they could not remember the people or events that may have brought sadness to their hearts. They could not remember those who had been with them on Earth but would never be part of their existence again; they had no recollection of their loved ones in Hell.

But as the partaking of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil had opened the eyes of Adam and Eve to that aspect of existence, so had the Father opened the eyes of His children to all of the events of their own existence. He offered it to all who would accept it, and many did. His Firstborn had such knowledge. The time had come for His other children to leave childhood behind and become adult sons and daughters.

For these four children of Heaven, the granting of such knowledge was not necessary. Jerry and Jonathon had no experiences on Earth to remember. Christopher and Lilly had lived on Earth, but strangely had always had full recollection of that experience. Still, they could comprehend the magnitude of the burden that so many of the citizens of Heaven were now accepting.

As they approached the Holy Place, Zurel came to a stop. “It is not for me to enter into this place,” he said, gazing out at the millions of humans before him. “This place is for the children of the Father, not for His servants. I shall await your return here.”