The Children of Eternity (9 page)

Then, just a few hundred yards from their destination, they encountered a virtual mountain of rubble where once had stood the Great Arch of the Via de Gloria. It commemorated the victory of the angels over the minions of Satan during the first war in Heaven, almost 100 centuries ago. It became clear that it hadn’t been destroyed by a few random fireballs. No, it had been the target of intentional demolition, a symbolic act of vengeance by Satan against those who had vanquished him and his dreams of glory all of those years ago. The rubble towered at least 25 feet above the street from curb to curb. The boys could hear the songs of praise from the Holy Place beyond. They were so close, but there was no way around or over this barrier.

“What now?” asked Jerry, looking up at the remnants of the stone arch that had once stood proudly, nearly 100 feet above the street.

“We’ll need to backtrack,” said Jonathon. “There’s a side street about an eighth of a mile back. We can loop around and come in on Ascension Way. With a little luck, that route will be clear.”

The others agreed. Jonathon led the way. They made their way back to a narrow side street on the right. The narrow street was littered with rubble fallen from the tall buildings on either side. It took over five minutes just to navigate their way 100 yards through this obstacle course. At last they reached Ascension Way, only to be confronted by three demonic guards.

“You boys shouldn’t be back here. It isn’t safe,” said the most formidable of the three.

“Sorry,” said Jonathon.

“I don’t believe I’ve seen the three of you around here before,” said the guard, who appeared to be in charge. “Who are you, and where are you from?”

Christopher was amazed at Jonathon’s quick response. “My name is Jonathon, and these are my friends Christopher and Jerry. We are from beyond the river. We’ve come here to be closer to the Father.”

It wasn’t just the fact that Jonathon had thought so quickly on his feet that surprised Christopher, but that he was speaking to the demons in the common tongue of the demons. It was a complex variation of the angelic language. In turn, it had brought a smile to their potential adversaries.

“You have learned our language,” noted the second.

“Why, yes,” replied Jonathon, still speaking in the demonic dialect, “I learned it several years ago. Now I’m coming to realize that it may well be the dominant angelic dialect here in Heaven within the next few years. I think it’s a good idea to practice it. I hope I’m speaking it correctly; I don’t wish to offend.”

A smile appeared upon the demon leader’s face. “No, my friend, you are not offending us at all. In fact, you speak it with hardly an accent. We are flattered that you have taken the time and trouble to learn it. I am Zurel, and these are my associates Klat and Sataring.”

“Yes…very good indeed,” said Sataring. Klat nodded in agreement.

“I was hoping to have the opportunity to practice with those who could be a true judge of my ability or lack thereof,” continued Jonathon.

“So many of your kind dislike us intensely,” said the second demon, “though we do our best to win your approval.”

“I don’t dislike you,” said Jonathon. “As for the others, give them a chance to get to know you better. I think they’ll come around in the end. I realize that your kind have served a useful function through the years. We humans have a saying, ‘It’s a dirty job, but someone has to do it.’”

Jonathon’s comments elicited a round of good-natured laughter from the three demons. It was clear that they had taken an immediate liking to this young human.

He engaged them in conversation for several more minutes. They spoke of what Heaven would be like once Lucifer assumed control of the angels. The demons assured the group that nothing would really change for them. All of the damage would be undone, and Zion would arise an even more beautiful city than before. Indeed, Lucifer would do almost anything to enrich life for the human inhabitants of Heaven.

Jonathon seemed to anticipate every aspect of the conversation, and his words seemed to actually endear the demons to him. Christopher had never seen anything quite like it. What was this power Jonathon possessed that even soothed the hearts of savage demons? Then came the most probing question.

“Tell me, my friend,” said the second demon, “would you like to see Lucifer rule over the angelic hosts once more?”

There was the question. Short of lying, how would Jonathon wiggle his way out of this one?

Jonathon gave not the slightest hesitation in his response. “Allow me to put it this way, my friend,” said Jonathon, looking the demon straight in the eye. “Your master spoke directly and frankly to the Father. The Father knew well his intentions, for He saw into your master’s heart, as He sees into all hearts. He granted him permission to negotiate with Michael and Gabriel, to come here and wage war with them if it came to that. So, clearly, all that has happened is within the will of the Father. If it is in the will of the Father, who am I to debate it? Who am I to presume to counsel the Father? So, as I step back and watch these events unfold, I see the will of the Father, do I not?”

“Well spoken,” said the demon leader. “Would that more humans felt as you do. Thousands of years ago during the first war in Heaven, we made a terrible mistake. Yes, I openly admit it. We sought to oppose the Father’s decision to create humankind, and in doing so we opposed the Father’s will. We sought to do it by force. It was a war that we couldn’t possibly win. Even our master has confessed this very thing to the Father. Now we simply wish to reinstate Lucifer to his rightful place in Heaven as leader of the angels. We are willing to serve the children of the Father; we will do it gladly. I only wish there were more such as you.”

This day was full of surprises. Christopher could hardly imagine a demon, a minion of Satan, making such an admission.

“I hope that we shall have the opportunity to meet again,” said Jonathon, extending his hand in friendship.

The demon gladly accepted it. “As do we. It will be our pleasure and honor to serve you, son of God.”

The demon’s compatriots nodded in agreement. The three boys continued on. They were relieved to see that the road was clear all the way to the Holy Place. It was over a minute before anyone spoke.

“Jonathon, how did you do that?” asked Jerry.

“That was pretty neat, wasn’t it?” replied Jonathon.

“Jedi mind trick,” said Christopher.

“What’s a Jedi?” asked Jonathon.

“It’s a long story,” said Christopher. “I’ll tell you about it later.”

“I’ll be looking forward to it,” said Jonathon.

“What I think he means is: How did you get those demons to become so agreeable with you?” asked Jerry. “I thought for sure that they were about to seriously question us…maybe send us away.”

“Simple,” assured Jonathon. “I told them exactly what they wanted to hear. In doing so, I left them open to a suggestion of my own. They will feel kindly disposed to me the next time we meet. They will trust me, and I will be able to use that trust to our advantage.”

“You read their minds,” deduced Jerry.

“Yes,” confirmed Jonathon. “Believe me, they are very pliable. That is unusual. Demons were once angels, and angels are usually hard to read, not to mention influence. My great-grandparents are easy to read but nearly impossible to influence, especially my great-grandfather. Once he has made up his mind, good luck trying to get him to change it.”

“The weak-willed are easily influenced,” said Christopher.

“Exactly,” replied Jonathon. “Let me tell you your next question: How do I read minds? The answer is that I don’t know. Everyone in Heaven can discern the name of everyone else. I can simply discern most everything else that is there. I’ve been able to do it for a long time. However, the influencing part…well, that has only come in the past year or so…and I’m getting better at it all the time.”

“Like I was saying, Jedi mind trick,” repeated Christopher. “You gotta love it.”

Jonathon hesitated. “Obi-Wan Kenobi…yes,
Star Wars Episode Four
.”

“How did you know that?” asked Christopher.

“I didn’t, you did,” said Jonathon, smiling slightly.

Jerry didn’t respond, although he did smile.

All the while the sound of praise grew. Before them were a series of great marble columns, spaced out about every 20 yards around the perimeter of the Holy Place, a marble floored, open-air plaza many miles across. At the center was the very presence of the Creator of the universe. They were almost there. Christopher hoped that the answers to their questions were only a few minutes away.

T
HE BOYS STEPPED ACROSS THE
threshold and into the Holy Place—they had made it. Before them was a vast open-air temple surrounded by marble columns that did little more than designate its perimeter. One could not gain an appreciation of its true size from here.

Christopher had once seen it displayed on a map in a library within the city. According to the map, the Holy Place was about eight and a half miles across and perfectly circular. Never had he seen this place so filled with the children of God.

It contained no seats of any kind; it was simply an open area in the middle of the city. The floor of the Holy Place had always intrigued Christopher. It had the color of gold—more or less—and was seamless throughout; yet this gold had a strange translucent quality that made it seem almost glass-like. At times it seemed to almost glow.

At the very center of it all, upon a sort of platform, was the physical presence of God. He sat upon a great throne surrounded by beasts of the sort described in Revelation. Here too were the 24 elders who worshiped God continually. Christopher had never actually seen God’s presence up close. There were so many people here, all wanting to get as close as possible to the physical presence of the Father. The area within a few hundred yards of the Father was always the most densely packed.

As people came and went, new people took the places of those leaving, and thus got closer to the Father. To get within 100 yards of His presence could take several days of patient maneuvering. To get within 100 feet could take weeks, and those at the very front basking in the brightness of His glory could well have been there for years. Even from here, more than four miles away, Christopher could see the great radiance coming from that place.

But it didn’t really matter how close someone got. Anywhere within the almost 27 square miles of the Holy Place was as good a place as any to speak to the Father one on one. A person had simply to sit down and open his or her heart. Saints could hear God’s voice and feel His presence as if He were sitting right in front of them. They could hold a clear, two-way conversation with Him. Afterward, they would feel renewed and refreshed, filled with His Spirit and His love.

Not having been here during the past week had left Christopher feeling drained and troubled. Now at last he was in God’s presence once more. Normally, he would head into the Holy Place at least a mile before sitting down and communing with the Father. Doing that today would be difficult indeed. There were so many people here. They would be doing well to go several hundred yards.

As always, the people were involved in a number of different activities. Some stood with their hands raised to the Lord. Others sang or played musical instruments, some in groups, some solo. Still others sat there talking with their heavenly Father. As always, the place had a wonderful atmosphere about it. It was the presence of the sweetest Spirit in the entire universe. For a moment, Christopher just stood there in silence, basking in the presence of the Lord.

“Christopher, over here,” said Jerry, pointing toward an open area not far away. “We can sit there.”

On his way there, Christopher couldn’t help but notice the pretty, young girl sitting on the ground with her hands partially raised in praise. She was clearly of Asian descent, perhaps three or four years older than he was. She sat very still, like a beautiful statue, her eyes closed. Christopher wasn’t sure why his attention had been drawn to her more than any of the other people around him. He could discern her name, Lilly. At least that was the name she went by. He wondered if Jonathon could tell him more about her. No, that wouldn’t be proper. He joined his friends who had already taken their places sitting upon the golden floor.

“Ready?” asked Jerry, looking at the others. They nodded in agreement, closed their eyes, and opened their hearts.

Christopher felt the warmth of the sun shining down upon him as he felt the glory of the Father surround him. Then something unexpected happened. His surroundings faded to black and the songs and voices of all of the other worshipers seemed to vanish into the distance. This wasn’t normal, yet Christopher remained motionless. Several minutes passed, yet still he didn’t move. Even as he heard footsteps around him, he remained motionless.

“Would you look at this!” exclaimed Jerry.

Christopher opened his eyes. They were no longer in the Holy Place. He was sitting on a Persian carpet covering the floors of a very long, dimly lit hallway. The walls were mostly made of dark-colored wood, with off-white columns imbedded into them every dozen feet or so. Also mounted along the walls were what appeared to be some sort of lamps that glowed with a dim, amber light. About halfway down the long hallway on the right, a double wooden door stood partially open.