by Donovan Neal
The Gate of Limbo
Chronicles of the Grigori
Book 1
by
Donovan M. Neal
© 2019 Donovan M. Neal
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed “Attention: Permissions Coordinator,” at the email below:
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Scriptures marked KJV are taken from the KING JAMES VERSION (KJV): KING JAMES
VERSION, public domain.
Dedication
I dedicate this book to those who dare to dream and see it through to completion. May your imagination ever lead you to new realms.
Scriptures
Genesis 50:20 But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.
Romans 9:19 Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?
Romans 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Romans 8:30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
"When you pray for Hitler and Stalin how do you actually teach yourself to make the prayer real? The two things that help me are (a) A continual grasp of the idea that one is only joining one's feeble little voice to the perpetual intercession of Christ who died for these very men. (b) A recollection, as firm as I can make it, of all one's own cruelty; which might have blossomed under different conditions into something terrible. You and I are not at bottom so different from these ghastly creatures." -- C.S. Lewis, Letters (1951)
Acknowledgments
To the Lord Jesus Christ, who loves me.
To my children: Candace, Christopher and Alexander–you can do great things!
To the authors, comic books artists and authors, comic books artists, and writers who have come before, and who unknowingly have breathed on the embers of my imagination.
To all my beta readers and friends who shared both critiques and encouragement.
To my wife Nettie, who cheered me on when I had nothing and said, “Wow!” after reading the prologue of my first novel.
May God truly bless you all.
Chapter One
In the beginning…
Henel James was excited to be traveling to Heaven. Yeshua had granted permission to ascend to the Heavenly Jerusalem and to meet with the chief of the Grigoric order of angels: Argoth Chief of Eyes and Sephiroth. Andel was waiting for him at the Orphanic transport point.
“I see you are ever rushed to get to your destination. Are you ready to leave Adamson?” spoke Andel.
Argoth had assigned Andel to prepare him to understand the ways of angels. And the angel had been a great assist in helping the world’s human population understand the motivations and designs of the celestials: the term non-raptured humans called angels. The Jerusalem Post was voracious in its desire to provide content to its readers, and Henel James was its premier reporter. He was on the scene when Enoch and Elijah first arrived in Jerusalem. He was also there when they were killed by the Anti-Christ and former Chancellor of Earth: Leto Alexander. Henel always made it a point to sniff out and to be at the center of a story.
And now a member of an angelic royal house of the Grigori invited him to tour the greatest library ever created and interview him. Henel was both excited and anxious for the opportunity. Ever since Yeshua had returned, He had established the reconstruction of the world's political structures, economy, and the delivery of goods and services had been underway now for fifty years. Not soon after the Lord Yeshua had arrived, Henel had made the acquaintance of Argoth the Chief of all Grigori. The angel had made it clear that he possessed a story he thought would interest the reporter. Henel was elated, thinking to himself that he could gain an exclusive that might lead to a Nobel Prize.
But that was almost fifty years ago now.
It took Henel a while to understand that celestials possessed a very different concept of time than earth-born humans were used to. Celestials were never rushed and possessed little concept of immediacy; unlike those whose life-spans had in the past been measured in decades and who still held to what was now outdated ideas about time. No one on Earth had died for fifty years and Henel was still wrapping his head around the concept he too would live forever.
When the word had arrived that Argoth requested his presence, Henel gave word to Andel and rushed to the Orphanic portal that would take him to Heaven. Here, he would meet his friend and finally see what all the fuss about taking this angelic means of transportation. A mode of transport that would allow him to pass from the material realm of men to the spiritual realm of Heaven.
Humph, I’m going to Heaven and, I am not even dead. Who’d a thunk it? He thought to himself.
Henel looked up into the sky and breathed hard and replied to his friend. “Alright. Let’s do this before I change my mind.”
“Brace yourself, my friend. Orphanic travel can be disorientating for the first time.”
Henel brushed him off and replied, “I’m sure it will be fine, let’s go.”
Henel had traveled all over the world; from Antarctica to the Amazon jungles. He had been embedded with military operations when the Americans invaded Taiwan during the Sino/American seven day war. He was an accomplished pilot and had parachuted out of planes to reach remote locations. He felt comfortable in his ability to finally experience this method of transportation.
Andel smiled knowingly, “As you wish.” The angel then uttered the Elomic command to summon a ladder.
Henel understood the mechanics of how the ladder worked. An Ophanim materialized over the summoned area and then used their bodies to create a dimensional wake that lifted the summoner within the cavitation the creature made. Essentially, the creature pulled the traveler through dimensions where it deposited its rider wherever the recipient desired.
Andel briefed Henel on what to expect and as promised; a prismatic funnel cloud appeared over the two and all around him, the colors of the rainbow enveloped him in light and a sudden sound like that of an aircraft engine taking off; saturated his hearing. His ears popped, and he felt the urge to yawn to equalize the pressure in his head cavity.
He looked down at his feet and realized that they had lifted from the ground and as quick as he had noted he was levitating; Andel and he jetted upwards into the sky at a fantastic rate of speed. He watched as he left the environs of the blue planet of earth and the blackness of space rushed forward to embrace them. The moon dashed past him and his eyes watched in fascination as Mars soared into view and quickly ran past him rearward. Particles of space debris struck the funnel cloud and he could feel a jarring turbulence as they jetted through the solar system's asteroid belt. Jupiter raced past with its red eye spinning larger than the earth itself, and it captivated Henel. He suddenly felt as if someone had placed a giant weight on his breast as he noted that they seemed to accelerate as they under-flew the rings of Saturn. Henel’s eyes grew wide as they left behind the solar system and their pace sped up the more, as stars and multicolored gas clouds burst into view then as quickly vanished into the distance.
He suddenly started to hyperventilate.
“Breathe Henel. Breathe.” Andel said.
; But the sensation was overwhelming. The vertigo of moving so fast spun around the knowledge he was in the depths of space passing through what could only be the Milky Way. Suddenly the galaxy that was his home was just one of several, then hundreds, then millions and the scale of what he saw caused his mind to reel at what he beheld. The Ophanim turned and when he turned, Andel and Henel turned, and Henel reached out to grab Andel’s arm to stabilize the human, for the dizziness overtook him.
Henel hyperventilated the more. His eyes widened as they approached the accretion disc of a gigantic black hole. Henel had seen them on television, read about them in books but now he was face to face with the phenomena and he was both awed and grew ever fearful. Faster they moved and closer the pull of the giant gravity well caused the funnel to shake and the G-forces made Henel’s face to contort slightly, and he cried out in concern.
“I can't… breathe… my chest.”
Andel nodded. “We are almost there it will pass. Try to just breathe.”
Into blackness they flew, piercing the center of the black hole and the vision of Henel was such that even his eyes felt like they would fall into the back of his head. His tongue pressed hard against the roof of his mouth and his teeth gritted while his hands shook.
Screams and wails pierced the sound of the roaring funnel cloud. Henel strained his eyes to see in the distance, flickering lights, flames, and a great lake-like dimension was within the black hole. The sounds of screams and the echoes of anguish pierced his hearing, and he strained to lift his hands to cover his ears and he too opened his mouth to scream. The gravitational pressure was crushing and he let out a low moan that grew into a cry for help.
A bright light then suddenly flashed over them and the funnel cloud was gone. Henel was on his knees screaming and taking in large gulps of air.
He looked up with Andel standing over him shaking his head, and the angel said, “Thank you for flying the friendly skies.” He chuckled as Henel’s eyebrow raised and he pursed his lips in annoyance and replied. “Ha, ha. Come on, let’s go see this library of yours.”
Henel stood to his feet and dusted himself off and the two headed towards the fabled Grigoric Hall of Records: creation’s greatest library.
* * *
Henel walked upon streets of gold and he was fascinated by all that was around him. The colors were more brilliant than anything than he had ever seen. It was as if they traveled through the most vibrant three dimensional painting. The smell was sweet, and the air was clear.
“Welcome to my home Henel James; though it is marvelous. Imagine what it will be like after El creates a new Heaven and a new Earth! Creation is to be renewed! We live in exciting times!”
Henel nodded. He had never witnessed Heaven. It was fiction told by Christians and or Jews who believed in El. It was the dwelling place of the Father. The capital of the universe. Henel had heard many a redeemed man and woman talk about it. None had words to describe it. Those men and women who had not been given glorified bodies but had survived the return of Yeshua had not seen the dimension. Henel was one of the few allowed to witness it.
He walked around in awe. He raised his phone to capture images and Andel stopped him.
“No Adamson, do not do it, for you walk on holy ground. The things you see are not for entertainment, but to glorify God. There are things your electronic devices cannot capture. If you try, your image will wash out. Even the air is alive here in Heaven; do not stir a desire for it to restrict your lungs for being profane.”
Henel looked at Andel and replied, “The air is alive?”
“Yes Adamson, all of Heaven is alive. It is my charge to see you to and from Heaven’s shores safely. There is a risk for you to be here when your flesh has not yet been redeemed. The air itself could attack you as a virus if not for the restraining will of Yeshua’s seal over you. But fear not, you are safe, but I would advise you to not push the limits of God’s grace. You may record the interview. But do not photograph what you see.”
Henel nodded, “Is this it?”
Andel now nodded and replied, “Aye, the Great Library. Come.”
The building shimmered as a mirage. Great steps flowed towards it and the two made their way up translucent golden steps towards giant golden doors gilded with silver. Something akin to marble columns lined the entryway, and the two walked in. From floor to ceiling the building was abuzz with life.
“Are all these Grigori?” asked Henel.
“Yes, the Grigori here are the curators of the library. They see to its well being and to content collection.”
“What knowledge is in here?” Henel asked.
“Everything,” replied Andel.
“What do you mean everything?”
Andel hunched his shoulders and repeated himself. “Everything,” replied Andel.
“So, if I wanted to know who shot John F. Kennedy that information is in here?”
Andel paused, “If the assassination of an ancient leader of your tribe is the only thing that springs to your mind in terms of what could be found in this storehouse of knowledge, I must admit that the limits of your curiosity would disappoint me. But yes, the knowledge is here.”
Henel became suddenly still, and he eyed the vast number of books that existed in the building. Countless attendants hurried about placing new books and pulling older tomes from various stacks of golden plated cases. Each wooden bookcase was ten feet high and chains were attached to all the books. The building held multiple levels that extended as far as the eye could see and Grigori floated from one level to another to read and to attend to the tomes. Each was locked with a padlock and others were free to be removed. Golden pairs of eyes decored draping banners that hung throughout the room.
“Excuse me sir,” said Henel. “May I have a word with you?”
Henel went to reach out and tap the shoulder of the attendant, and Andel quickly grabbed him and spun him around. “Do it not! You risk dissolution. Do not interfere with the Grigori, to do so risks altering reality itself! They handle the word of God. And IT must NOT be interfered with; do you understand me?”
Henel was shaken by the force with which Andel used towards him and nodded silently.
“You are my friend Henel James. I would very much not like to have you be the first human to die in fifty years.”
“Thank you,” Henel replied. No longer sure of sure what he walked into by agreeing to interview Argoth.
The reporter for the Jerusalem Post continued his observation of the activity of those within the building and noted that all attendants had keys, and various sections of the library were numbered in angelic script: script which Henel found that he could understand.
“Are those… years?” asked Henel.
“Aye,” replied Andel. “Those are the dates used to denote the passage of time.”
Henel looked closer, “But those dates seem to predate the existence of man…”
Andel cut him off and replied, “You will undoubtedly have many questions Henel. Argoth will be best equipped to answer them.”
Henel nodded and said, “Is it me, or does this place seem much larger than what it appears outside?”
Andel smiled, “That is because it is Adamson.”
“How is that possible?” asked Henel.
“All things are possible with God, Adamson. The Hall of Records exists within two dimensions. One you can see and another that is infinite. When you passed into the Hall, you passed into another dimension. Here, all things are stored and nothing is lost. This is the repository of all Grigori. When they complete the charge of documenting a tome, it is brought here, cataloged and housed. There will come a day in which the books will be opened and a time when the living and the dead shall be judged from what is written within.”
Henel tilted his head to the side in curiosity, “Judgment? Is more judgment coming?”
Andel scowled, “Have you no knowledge of the tome the Lord God has given your people?”
And I saw the dead, smal
l and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
“There are those who have perished: both human and angel that… we shall see again.”
Andel escorted Henel into a room that glowed. He motioned for the man to go forward.
Henel chuckled, “Don’t go in the liiight!”
Andel looked upon him blankly. “Argoth awaits you inside.”
“You are not coming in?”
“No,” said Andel. “The words of the Chief of Eyes are for you and you alone. I will wait here until you are done.”
Henel turned and looked at the glowing door, then stepped through the light.
Chapter Two
Argoth stood looking out a window as he waited for Henel to arrive. He had watched the human his entire life and had studied his tome. Argoth knew that inevitably, they would meet. Both were chroniclers of their worlds; both seekers of knowledge.
Henel James walked into the light-filled room. The ornate walls were filled with books and stained glass windows. Great flames, lit torches, and mirrors adorned the ceiling and reflected light throughout the room.
Argoth turned and smiled at the human, “Greetings, Henel son of James. Please, may I offer you refreshment?”
Henel returned his smile. “Thank you Mr. Argoth; that would be delightful.”
Argoth frowned, “Please… just call me Argoth. I have seen that you enjoy the fruit of the vine. Here try this.” Argoth waved his hand and a golden goblet appeared in front of Henel and smelled of grapes.
He reached for the goblet suspended in the air and the aroma was sweet, and he allowed the drink to touch his lips and savored it. “Goodness, what is this? It’s extraordinary!”