In the Beginning (Archangel Jarahmael and the War to Conquer Heaven, Book I)

by John J Higgins

  Lillith said, "I didn't know that creatures other than the Almighty Himself could create life!"

  "Yes, of course they can, they just need the Book of Creation. But it is kept very safe and the Almighty only allows them to use the Book on special occasions," Serpentalia added.

  Lillith thought to herself, I really need to see that Book and to see how it works. She then asked, "Does Luciferael have the Book?"

  "Not that I know of," said Serpentalia. "I believe it remains in the upper Heavens where it is stored. But I haven't seen Luciferael or any of the Archangels over the past few days. Must be something important going on in the upper Heavens."

  "Have you seen any of the Archangels in the past few days, Lillith?" Serpentalia asked.

  "No, I haven't either, only the Angels who work on this pyramid, who were here today," she said, pointing to the structure that sat behind Serpentalia. "But I do need to get out of Eden. It has become very uncomfortable for me."

  "I thought you were paired off with that other Human. The male who calls himself Adam," Serpentalia said, cocking his head to the one side as he asked her.

  "I was in the beginning," she responded. "But things have changed. He wants me to be dependent solely upon him and not myself. He isn't giving me any respect and it's time for me to leave. Do you know how I find the other Archangels or just find my way out of here?"

  "The Angels appear and disappear on their own. Only Luciferael has spoken to me. I can find out from him though about the other Angels, if you would like. He usually comes to see me around forenoon and is supposed to see me tomorrow. I won't see them tonight. They are all retiring to go to sleep as the hour is getting late. Perhaps you can stay in the pyramid, rather than go back to that hut in Eden."

  "That's a great idea, Serpentalia. I doubt Adam will come looking for me tonight. At least he won't come this far to find me."

  "Splendid!" responded Serpentalia. "I will look for you on the morrow."

  "Thanks for your help!" responded Lillith.

  Serpentalia took his leave and went back into the forests of Eden. For a while after the serpent had left, Lillith stood there looking up at the sky and missed being back in her hut. But in her mind she was alone and already gone from Adam. As soon as Adam came into her mind, she was relieved she was away from him. Further resolved to still leave Eden, she decided she would enter the pyramid and sleep there for the evening.

  She was surprised to find that the main hallway remained brightly lit, even though the sun had already set on the western side of the pyramid. The etchings in the stone casings that lined the walls of the hallways and passageways within the pyramid all glowed with a bluish tint, providing interior light.

  As she entered the pyramid, the lettering not only provided light but she could also hear the walls talking softly to her. It was not necessary for her to be able to decipher the symbols and lettering on the walls. Neither Lillith nor Adam had been taught to read, but here the words actually spoke to her. There was the story of the Creation from its inception memorialized on the walls. The worlds within the Universe were described. Far too many for her to keep track of, or understand at the moment. And she was tired. It had been a long day. All she wanted was to find a place to sleep.

  She walked further down the hallway, with offshoots of passageways and tunnels, but none appealed to her as a resting place. She came upon a series of open portals as she went deeper into the pyramid. When she came to the entrance to a great room she saw a chair sitting in the middle of it. Along the side walls were drawings of other pyramids. It still was not clear to her, what this all meant, despite the walls speaking to her. The artwork that depicted the pyramids showed etchings of the different types of Angels. This helped her realize that the Angels were responsible for building more than one of these structures and that the lettering and numbering was theirs. And perhaps most importantly to Lillith, there were descriptions of the other pyramids that the Angels were building on that other place that had been mentioned, the planet Earth. By looking carefully at the wall etchings she was able to find the patterns in the letters that would show her which passageways that would bring her to other pyramids at different locations on the planet.

  Tired as she was, she thought she should leave the Garden of Eden, that way she would not be easily found. She would explore at least one of those passageways. The first one she came to that she recognized led to the pyramid at a place labeled "Aegyptus." She listened carefully to the information being said to her about that place. Aegyptus had more than just a pyramid. It was a complex of structures. It was a good place for escape, at least for now. She decided that she would spend the night there. As she walked down the passageway she saw a portal with a glowing light. Through the portal she could see another land. A medallion of another pyramid was in the center of the door just below the window she was looking through. The walls told her that she must say aloud the word Peto three times while touching the medallion.

  Her curiosity grew stronger within her, while her excitement surged. She had found a way out of Eden and away from Adam on her own! And with a sense of pride she knew she was an immortal of the Almighty's making and she had accomplished something that Adam never could have on his own. So she called out boldly, "Peto! Peto! Peto!" and touched the medallion.

  There was a flash of light that surrounded her and the portal, the door opened for her and she disappeared into a beam of invisible light to a place far from Eden.

  Chapter 27

  ADAM LAMENTS

  The sunlight came in through the doorway of the hut and woke Adam. He had been up late the night before searching for Lillith. She had not returned in the early evening as she usually did, nor could he find the food that she would gather for him. He was concerned that something may have happened to her and had gone down to the river where she normally would bathe, but he had no luck in finding her. He had to give up the search because it became too dark to find her. His voice was hoarse from having called out for her, and it was the only thing he had to show for his search efforts.

  He searched again as soon as he got up, looking in all the places that she normally would have gone, yet he had not found anything out of place except for some new branches growing on the Tree of Life. He became frantic as the day went on and for the first time realized how important she was to him. He did not know how he would ever explain her disappearance to the Almighty, and that worried him even more.

  By the afternoon, he called out to the Almighty in desperation, begging Him for help. He expected that one of the Angels would appear and was quite surprised when the Almighty Himself appeared with His own special group of Angels. Adam was on his knees crying when he saw the Almighty descend.

  "Oh my Lord, a terrible thing has happened. I have lost Lillith and cannot find her anywhere here in Eden," Adam blurted out. "She's gone and I don't know what happened to her," he continued between sobs.

  "What happened?" asked the Almighty.

  "I came home last night and she was not here. I searched and searched last night and this morning and can't find her anywhere. I don't understand where she is or where she could have gone."

  "Is there any reason that she would've left?" the Almighty asked, looking closely at Adam's eyes.

  "None that I can think of," Adam replied. "Everything was the same when I last saw her."

  "Are you sure there is nothing that you said or did that would have driven her away?" the Almighty asked, His gaze penetrating Adam.

  Adam now looked downward, hiding his face as he felt a wave of shame wash over him.

  "I must confess, my Lord, that I may have not treated Lillith the way she wanted to be treated. She had complained about me being placed above her in the Garden of Eden and about me placing myself above her when we made love."

  The Almighty remained looking at Adam for a few minutes, the silence hammering Adam's own words into his mind and heart. After a few moments the Almighty spoke.

  "It reassures me, Adam, that you
are being honest with Me about your relationship with Lillith. I have known for some time that she has not been happy with you. I have been waiting to see what choices you and she would make. I was hoping that the two of you would work out your differences. But now I see that that is not possible."

  "I can change my Lord! I will do whatever You tell me to get her back," Adam pleaded.

  "It is too late for that, Adam, I am afraid. She is gone and will not be coming back to you."

  Adam's body bent forward when he heard the Almighty's announcement. "But now I will be all alone here in Eden, my Lord. What will I do?"

  "Do you promise to treat your mate better and more as an equal?"

  "Yes! Yes! I will. I promise that I will treat her as an equal and will not tell her lies that You have put me in charge of her," Adam said, feeling encouraged that he may not remain alone.

  "And what are you willing to give up for Me to provide you with another mate?" the Almighty asked.

  "Anything you want, my Lord," Adam replied.

  The Almighty turned to Sudaphim of the Seraphim and whispered something to him that Adam could not hear. Sudaphim then disappeared in a flash of light, temporarily blinding Adam. It took a few minutes for Adam to be able to see again and when his sight returned, he watched as the Archangels Michael and Jarahmael slowly descended near the Almighty.

  The Almighty acknowledged both Michael and Jarahmael. They responded to the Almighty by bowing before Him. The Almighty motioned for the two of them to arise and then said to the two Archangels, "I wanted the two of you to witness the creation of the third Human."

  "As you wish my Lord!" Michael and Jarahmael replied in unison.

  Adam looked a bit puzzled and asked, "The third Human?"

  "Yes, Adam. I am going to create another Human female to be your mate and companion. But this time you will feel pain from the act. I was not going to give you another mate to mistreat. However, you have been honest with Me and you are sincere about sacrificing to have another one."

  "Yes, my Lord, I am willing to do that," Adam answered with a hint of fear about the sacrifice involved.

  The Almighty nodded for Michael and Jarahmael to move forward and approach Adam. "I'm going to have My Archangels put you to sleep. When you awaken I will have a new mate for you. You will feel pain when you wake as I will take a part of you to make her. This way the two of you will be bound to one another by coming from the same body. Michael, Jarahmael, if you please."

  The two Archangels moved to either side of Adam and when they were in position, Jarahmael reached out and touched Adam's forehead. This put Adam into a deep trance-like sleep. They then laid Adam down carefully, and stepped away from him. The Almighty then moved forward and touched Adam's chest and removed one of Adam's ribs. Then taking the rib, the Almighty brought it up near his lips and blew upon the bone. The Almighty then set the bone down on the ground next to Adam. It took a few moments for the surrounding dirt to assemble itself around the exposed rib. Before long a female's body could be detected and a short time later, the dirt turned to flesh. At that point the Almighty reached out, causing her to begin to breathe.

  Michael and Jarahmael looked at one another and then at the Almighty in amazement at the miracle they had just witnessed. The Almighty then said, "Arise Eve!"

  The Human female Eve was immediately alert and looked around. Her eyes returned to the Almighty and she said, "Thank you for the gift of life, my Lord!" She then looked down and asked, "How long will Adam be asleep?"

  "Until nightfall most likely," the Almighty answered. "I expect that you will take care of your mate, Eve. He will be very tired and sore where I removed the rib. But it should all be for the best, because now he had to sacrifice something in order to gain you. And remember I took his rib to make him and you equals, neither greater than the other."

  Michael and Jarahmael looked at the scene and it was clear that they had some questions about what they had just witnessed. The Almighty could see that and said to the two inquisitive Archangels, "I am done here and I can see there are things on your mind. It is time for Me to go, but I want you to fly with Me for a short while."

  "We would be honored," replied Michael, looking to Jarahmael for his nod of approval.

  The Almighty motioned to the Thrones and Seraphim that it was time to ascend. "We will now take our leave of you and Adam," the Almighty said directly to Eve. "I will return soon, for there is still much to do here in the Garden of Eden."

  The three groups of Angels and the Almighty began their ascent to the Heavens. After they were out of earshot of Adam and Eve, the Almighty turned and said to Michael and Jarahmael. "I know you have questions."

  "Yes, my Lord," Jarahmael responded for the two of them. "It's a simple question really. How did Eve know all of us as she was just born, and knew Adam's and Your name?"

  "It comes from making her from a body part of Adam's. In doing so, his memories and experiences are automatically loaded into Eve's consciousness."

  "She will know everything about Adam and whatever he does?" Michael asked.

  "Not quite, my beloved Archangels," the Almighty responded. "She will know what Adam knows at least for a brief while. Remember these creatures have been made as full-fledged and functioning adults. Over time she will lose the ability to hold onto the memories she received today from Adam, and will replace those memories with her own."

  "I see," responded Michael.

  "That should make it easier on the two of them," Jarahmael responded.

  "Yes, Jarahmael and Michael, I know that Lillith went through a lot of discomfort being created as a mate to Adam. It has been clear to Me for a while that they had never been a good match, but I decided to let it go on, hoping they would have a change of heart about one another. But they did not, and here we are."

  "Do you think that Lillith is alive and well, my Lord?" Jarahmael asked.

  "She is lost Jarahmael, but very resourceful," the Almighty answered.

  "Remember, too, she is an immortal unlike Luciferael's dinosaurs that were on the Earth," reassured Michael.

  "And tomorrow I will send out Angels to help locate her, wherever she may be hiding." the Almighty responded, and then looking directly at Jarahmael said, "I am wondering . . . whom I should send? Any ideas? Any volunteers?"

  Chapter 28

  CHANGES

  The next day, Luciferael led the procession into the Throne Room for the morning ceremony. He was followed in his descent by the Seraphim surrounding the Almighty, and the Order of the Throne Angels. As was customary, all fourteen Archangels were seated closest to the Almighty as the morning Angelic assembly was held, the Almighty conversing with all the assembled Orders of Angels. After all the Orders of Angels received their assignments, the Almighty had the Archangels remain in the Throne Room so He could speak with them directly.

  "While I have had our lord Luciferael and many of you focused on expanding the creation of galaxies, stars and planets on the fringes of our Universe, I have also been working on a special project tied to the planet Earth. It's called the Garden of Eden, tied between the First Heaven and the planet Earth. Not all of you may know that I assigned Michael and Jarahmael to deal directly with the three Beings I have created so far in the Garden of Eden. I have had some of the other Orders of Angels assigned to build structures in the Garden of Eden and at various places along the Earth. I realize that many of you have become uncomfortable, not knowing what I have been doing in this endeavor. Luciferael brought up the subject of these new Beings just a few days ago and I wanted to let you all know the events that have been unfolding there."

  The Almighty looked around at the Archangels, making sure they were all following what was being said. He then continued:

  "I loved the work that Luciferael had done on the planet with the creation of the dinosaurs and the further development of his creation the reptiles, including the Serpentalians. Luciferael brought life as instinctual flesh to the next stage where intelligence c
ould be incorporated into the creatures. I made the Simians on the Earth in the hopes that they would take creativity a step further, but they still were missing something. And I believe that this latest refinement of the Humans in the Garden of Eden will take the development of these Beings even further."

  The faces of Beelzebael, Mephistophael, Sammuael, Damiel, Mammonael and Suriel on the side by Luciferael became concerned. Luciferael spoke up for them and asked, "Lord, perhaps You would tell us what that means."

  The Almighty answered, "Both the Simians and the Humans have been created out of the clay of the Earth itself. But I have refined the Humans a step further by giving these new Beings the capacity to act beyond their built-in instincts. They have the ability to make choices. Choose one thing over another. To do so, I gave them part of My own divine spark similar to what I have given each of you."

  "The ability to think, my Lord?" asked Beelzebael

  "Yes, but more than that . . . more like you . . . but different." The Almighty shone even more warmly. "You are all My First Born, all of you made as part of My creating Light. You have My divine spark and an extra dose of My direct energy of love. I am not giving these creatures that full set of energy. You love Me and worship Me because of that direct connection."

  All the Archangels responded in unison. "Oh yes, Lord, we love You with all of our Being!"

  "Yes, I know!" the Almighty responded warmly. "But I want these creatures to have the choice to not love Me directly as you do. To see how they develop. Make them perhaps a bit more independent."

  Michael and the Archangels seated by him, Gabriel, Uriel, Raphael, Jarahmael, and Ariel shifted their bodies uncomfortably, as Michael responded, "But we would never want to be independent of You, my Lord."