Angelic Wars- First Rebellion

by Rick E Norris

  The seven slowly stood and formed a loose circle, faces agonized as if their own existence was in question. Azarias had to look away.

  Together, they bowed their heads and opened their hands.

  A warm breeze blew in from the direction of the mesas, and a glorious cloud of light enveloped them. In the middle of this envelope, a nebulous eye churned. It hovered three feet above the surface, folding dark billowing clouds within itself.

  Azarias spoke. “Do you see the vision, my friends?”

  They each acknowledged him.

  The ten-foot mass of light inhaled the atmosphere like a vertical hurricane. Its clouds swirled around the eye, roaring faster, tightening with every revolution. Azarias dug in his heels as the wind column sucked him towards the group’s center. The object’s moaning tempted him to cup his ears, but he resisted.

  The tempest exploded, casting its light in all directions, blinding them all. A high-pitched whistle followed, cutting into Azarias’s mind. The Lord had never sent such a violent vision during a prex précis.

  His wings automatically shielded his face. But it was no use. A second explosion penetrated with shock waves. He could hardly breathe. He staggered backwards, barely keeping his balance.

  What was the Lord doing? He thought this may be some sort of judgment for his lack of faith in this project.

  Then, there was silence.

  Azarias waited. Shards of light cut through his closed eyes. He feared another explosion. But none occurred.

  He slowly opened his lids. The resulting storm had crystallized into a three-foot sphere.

  A golden ring glistened on the outer rim like the corona of the sun: the glory of God expressed in a slither of light. The object shone like a crystal with unmatched clarity.

  A new feeling washed over Azarias, a serenity filled with grace and peace.

  But this wonderful joy that warmed Azarias’s soul was soon extinguished. A cold chill sliced to his core when a dark center, blacker than onyx, emerged from the crystal’s center. It reminded him of Abaddon.

  Azarias wanted to look away, but that was impossible in a vision infused directly into his mind. He shivered, and his breath grew short. His eyes were sensitized to every little movement.

  Above the dark center appeared a dark dot near the top of the circle. This dot birthed six other dots that formed two opposing triangles around the dark center: one above; the other below.

  Soon after, a dark line emerged from the top half. It zigzagged back and forth until it created a five-pointed star. A dot intersected each of the star’s points. Yet, there were two dots not connected. Once the star was completed, it pulsed and throbbed as if it were alive.

  Azarias wanted to look away, but the star seemed to draw him forward, igniting within him a mixture of fear and pleasure.

  The vision disappeared.

  Azarias rubbed his eyes and looked at the others. Their faces were blanched with fear and confusion. He searched his thoughts, dismantling and rejoining what he’d witnessed.

  Azarias cocked his head. “Well, at least I know what the star means.”

  Blank faces answered him.

  “If you remember from the Khasneh relief, the star was the enemy’s invasion for conquest. The crystal circle is Heaven, the golden aura, God’s Throne. The dark disk in the middle is the Siq.”

  He paused. “I would even go as far as to say, it was the enemy’s battle displayed as on the Khasneh relief.” He pressed his eyes shut for a moment. “But beyond that, I am lost as to its meaning.”

  Again, silence stole his poise.

  Finally, Uriel motioned for the group to sit. Azarias exhaled quietly. Uriel seemed to have the confidence of an angel that God had entrusted with great knowledge.

  “Oh my, oh my…” he said in a baritone voice. Uriel paused. “I think I can decipher the vision.”

  He raised his hand and pointed his index finger. A light appeared at the tip. Using a drawing motion, he duplicated the five-pointed star. The attention to detail and dimensions impressed Azarias.

  Next, he drew a three-foot circle around the star.

  Finally, he drew a disk but snuffed out its light between his two hands in the middle of the drawing.

  “Now friends, I’ve duplicated the vision as I saw it.”

  Malachy interjected, almost losing her breath in excitement. “I thought it resembled the Khasneh fresco.”

  Uriel nodded and brushed his brow. “Apparently, the Lord is revealing this mystery a little at a time. Now if you remember, in the vision, there were five dots located at all line intersections that formed the star. In other words, wherever two lines intersected in this star, there was a point which I believe represented something important.”

  Uriel touched the five intersecting lines, creating bright stars. Each point radiated slightly, like quasars.

  “The sixth point, I believe, was not on one of the star’s five lines. It was positioned below two other intersecting points. Together, they created an upside-down triangle on the bottom of the sphere. If you look closely, the bottom point is not connected but is surrounded by lines.”

  The other faces assured him they understood.

  “The seventh point was located in the middle of the three upper points, but it’s also unconnected to any line.”

  Azarias’s bewilderment refused to desert him.

  Malachy stood and joined Uriel. She studied the drawing, placing her finger to her lower lip.

  “Let’s review this again in respect to the relief we saw. The dark center is the Siq, the middle of Heaven that is a portal to the material world. The crystal globe is the Heavenly Throne. We have established that the star was some form of battle plan of the enemy to invade Heaven.”

  She turned to others and pointed to the map. “So, if we assume this is Heaven, we must overlay a familiar map to identify the points.”

  Malachy reached behind her back into an opening of her garment and pulled out a roll. She carefully opened it, revealing a circular map. Diamond-studded inlays garnished a transparent crystal-like surface of a two-dimensional map. It charted one of Heaven’s spirals.

  Malachy cleared her voice. “Now friends, we must assume that what we are looking at is only one of the Heavenly spirals. The star may be three-dimensional, but it has to be two-dimensional in order to overlay my map on it.”

  She unraveled the map and laid it over Uriel’s light drawing. She carefully resized the map by stretching and pinching the edges, equaling that of Uriel’s drawing. After holding it up and pressing it on the light drawing, she stood back. She placed her hand under her chin and squinted at the conglomeration.

  Azaria’s eyes widened. He enjoyed the interaction of their unique gifts to solve a complex problem. He recalled when he had joined one or two other angels to solve other problems—but seven?

  “Ah, yes.” Gabriel chimed in. “It looks like Malachy and Uriel have interpreted the first stage of the mystery. We may have just uncovered the outposts of the enemy’s battle plan, illustrated by the points. Every point of the Lord’s vision is covered with a district on Malachy’s map.”

  Malachy stepped closer. She read the labels on Uriel’s map and then turned.

  “The top point is Laodicea.46 The two points below it on either side forming the top triangle are Philadelphia47 and Sardis.48 Down below, the lower connection points are Smyrna49 and Ephesus.”50

  Uriel pointed to the bottom of the map, “The lowest disconnected point is Thyatira.”51

  “What about the initial birthing point?” Raffaela asked. “You know, the point that is not connected.”

  Uriel responded slower this time. “That point is the district of Pergamum.”52

  Azarias stood and paced around the map. It was quite interesting when looked at from every angle. Every detail not only remained in focus but no matter w
here he stood, the map seemed to bend in his direction, permitting him to read the labels clearly. He imagined this adjustment happened for the others, allowing all to gaze on the map at the same time, with no obstructions.

  He cradled his chin in his hand. “So, let’s review. This is a map of Heaven, with the enemy’s battle plan superimposed upon it. The star represents the military fronts and the course the enemy plans to undertake during the battles. The five points are districts that are connected, and somehow part of the invasion. Does anyone know the significance of why Pergamum and Thyatira are not connected in the star’s lines?”

  He looked up. Blank faces returned to him. “We’ll ignore that for now. So, is the enemy planning to entice the angels in these districts to join its legions?” Azarias’s eyes gaze fell on each angel.

  Uriel clutched the elevated drawing and stepped over the brook toward the wall under the small bluff. He gingerly pressed the illuminated image onto the flat surface. The map sizzled and then evaporated into the vertical surface. When the mist cleared, the slab displayed a perfect relief.

  Uriel sighed. “We must know about these districts if we are to infiltrate them. God always has a plan and reason for all things. What can He mean with this vision?”

  The others approached, with eyes intent on the art.

  Azarias told them, “If you are familiar with these districts, please tell us all.”

  Azarias looked to Pollyon. Pollyon did a double take. Pressing his lips together, he approached. “Okay. Starting at the top, the first district is Laodicea. It is located on a flat-topped hill. A wall about a kilometer long on each of its four sides surrounds the hill’s crown. Gates pierce this wall on three sides. On the fourth edge of the plateau stands a large stadium. Adjacent to the stadium on one side is a structure called a spiritual house. This was a meeting place of relaxation for the angels, where they can bathe in the Lord’s Spirit without going into a prex précis. This district also contains a profundo aqueduct. It is emerald in color.”

  Pollyon ran his finger over to Pergamum. “I have spent some time in Pergamum’s Bibliotheca, but I can’t tell you more than that.”

  Uriel approached the map. “Pergamum possesses many beautiful architectural objects. Its bibliotheca is one of the greatest in Heaven. Angels with the gifts of reason, research, and any type of knowledgeable virtue come to the Pergamum Bibliotheca from all over Heaven. Here they ask questions of the Lord about the universe or any missions they might be attempting. The angels conduct their inquiries via a central index in which the Lord answers almost any question that is fit for us to know. The answers are words of knowledge53 through the Lord’s Spirit.”

  He then turned to the others, a slight smile forming. “My, my, I love going there. I never want to leave.”

  Azarias grinned. This is good. The Lord took what little they had to offer as gifts and blessed them.54

  Gabriel took deliberate steps forward. Unlike the others, he didn’t look at the map but faced the seated angels. “Sardis too is built on an acropolis about 1,500 meters above the surface. The surface rises 5,800 meters above this acropolis, giving the viewer the illusion that the Lord watches over the district. The entire acropolis consists of structures that fulfill various purposes for the angels who conduct their missions. The amazing aspect of these structures is their beautiful orange-brown color. Nowhere in Heaven do structures emit such a hue. When angels arrive at Sardis, these colors overwhelm them and consume their emotions because the colorful structures emit music. This music is unique to each angel. It is truly a mark of the Lord’s creative beauty.”

  Azarias asked, “Has anyone been to Smyrna?”

  Gabriel’s raised his hand. “I have brought messages to Smyrna. The roads of the district have a unique geometric design. The complete layout consists of seven sides with seven grids, starting outward from the center of the district. In the middle of the seven-sided area is the famous Paestra, where angels come to compete in angelic activities. It is a great form of relaxation and jubilance.”

  Raffaela eased onto her feet, scratching her head as she turned to the group. “My experience in Ephesus has always been glorious. Ephesus is the location of many wonderful structures created by the Lord. However, the Odeum is magnifico. When angels visit Ephesus, they share praise-poetry, small concerts, and accolades to the Lord. The Odeum is built into the side of a slope and seats 2,200 angels in twenty-three rows of seats in an open arena. Twenty-eight columns dominate the top of the structure high above the last row of seats. I have heard that angels sing and recite some of the greatest praises to the Lord there.”

  Raffaela slid her finger across the map. “The next district is Thyatira. It is the center of administration for a number of smaller districts. I cannot tell you any more than that.”

  She sighed and turned to the group. “And the last of the seven districts represented by the points is Philadelphia. This was the point on the top left.”

  She quickly described it. “Its hills contain wild vinifera. The vinifera are plants that produce small reddish-blue spheres. As they develop, they go through a cycle of melting into a deep red-purple liquid that collects from all over the hillsides into streams. These streams join into one big stream, which flows down into Philadelphia. The angels drink from these springs, taking in the Spirit. This district, I hear, has been the most impressive in its faith to the Lord.”

  They quieted. As reflections whiled away time, Azarias’s insecurity returned. No angel had signaled to support him, nor replace him. His task was mounting. All of these districts, all of these angels. Where would they start? It seemed impossible.

  * * *

  46 Revelation 3:14

  47 Revelation 3:7

  48 Revelation 3:1

  49 Revelation 2:8

  50 Revelation 2:1

  51 Revelation 2:18

  52 Revelation 2:12

  53 1 Corinthians 12:8

  54 Matthew 14:13-21; Mark 6:31-44; Luke 9:12-17; John 6:1-14

  Chapter 9

  The member of the Septemviri slid into seclusion and kneeled. “Azarias and his followers worry me.”

  The angel thought it strange how the angel could feel the cold chill of a damp, hollow chamber, though being so far away. The cold cut into his spirit.

  “Nonsense,” answered a rough voice, “what could these angels accomplish against a million?”

  The seraph rose with a bowed head. “You forget, O Great One. They can summon the Lord for angels to support them.”

  “That is no concern to me,” murmured the beautiful cherub. “It is a game of numbers. I will convert angels one by one to our cause. The result will be one less angel the Creator can control in the ultimate conflict.”

  “But that is impossible to convert each angel.”

  “You think so? Do you think my gift to communicate with you at such a distance is a limited one? I can probe into every angel’s mind, expose their weakness, and torment them to the truth if they resist.”

  The seraph lifted his head. “Torment? Why torment?”

  The power of the Great One both awed and frightened the angel. The seraph’s own conversion stood as a haunting example. No pain, no apprehension, just the giddy self-realization of those around him. Of course, the guilt of ignoring the Lord’s Spirit created some intense discomfort, but that feeling vanished.

  “You question my methods?”

  The seraph shuddered.

  “Sometimes, the path to knowledge is a painful one. Angels sometimes have to be stripped of the Creator’s fallacies before I can fill them with my truth and wisdom.”

  “Your method did not seem to work with Squatinidale. They saved him,” stuttered the seraph.

  The Great Cherub scoffed. “Do you really think he has escaped? Events are never what they seem. It is what i
s in the soul that is real. Only I and the Creator know and understand what that is. As for my little stout angel, he is a work in progress. He cannot escape me.”

  The seraph reeled from this last explanation. The Great Cherub’s power seemed to equal that of the Creator. Are there any thoughts in Heaven he didn’t have access to?

  Squatinidale blended into the column, trying to avoid the eyes that pierced him. The great Pergamum Bibliotheca was a powerful temptation. It lured angels from all over Heaven to seek their answers from the Lord. Its cavernous arching ceilings dwarfed everyone, dwarfed him. They reminded him of his insignificance.

  Maybe he could mend his relationship with the Lord. He just needed a little guidance and commitment.

  Squatinidale wasn’t alone, after all. God sent the Septemviri to rescue him and then led him to this place. There was hope.

  But why was he here? The Lord didn’t tell him what to look for, or who to speak with, for that matter.

  He studied the open quarters of the structure. Scores of angels milled about, walking in semi-quiet reflection. They seemed preoccupied with their tasks.

  That was good.

  But he couldn’t be sure. They may be part of the…that movement. After all, he saw a million angels worshipping the Great Cherub. At least one of them may be here searching for him.

  Squatinidale turned ever so slightly and blended into the column. Hundreds of angels hovered far above him. The bookshelves they searched hugged the three-hundred-foot walls of the great edifice. Other angels stood perched high on cantilevered ledges, examining exquisite volumes. All seemed oblivious to each other as they concentrated on their queries to the Lord.

  The Byzantine-like columns supported arches sharing the burden of these walls. Fifteen levels of books stretched upwards in absolute and perfected order. Not a single book appeared dislodged or shabbily placed. Capping the top shelves were hundreds of smaller openings standing side by side, extending the length of the Bibliotheca. The five-foot arched openings stood like sentries, guarding countless roof rafters stretching one hundred feet toward each other to the center ridge.