Angelic Wars- First Rebellion

by Rick E Norris

  He pointed downward. “Look, a door. I don’t recall seeing it before.”

  “We have to go.” Uriel pulled Azarias’s arm.

  “No wait, a light.” Azarias tugged back. “A light greater than the Lord’s Spirit is coming from behind that door, how can that be?”

  Uriel’s breathing increased. He tightened his grasp on Azarias. “I don’t know what you are hearing, but we are so close to escaping, let’s not turn back. Please! What if the other angels are already there?” Uriel’s voice altered from pleading to demanding. “It is a trap! I know it! Please, let’s go!”

  Azarias shook his head and slightly lowered one brow. “They don’t emit their own light. We must trust in the Lord and go where He calls us, even though we don’t understand. This is from Him.”

  Azarias flew down to the door, trailed by Uriel. They landed.

  A large arm reached up from the floor. It grabbed Uriel’s leg, pulling him downward.

  “Azarias, help!”

  Several other arms, wings, and heads emerged around the angels.

  Uriel kicked, then kicked again until he freed himself.

  Azarias yanked on his arm and leapt through the closed door.

  The angels landed on their hands and knees.

  They bounced back to their feet and turned.

  Azarias whispered, “Once they come through the door, we must double back and go down through the floor.”

  They waited.

  Nothing.

  Azarias lowered his arms. “The sound stopped.”

  “Maybe they are surrounding the room?” Uriel whimpered.

  A deep radiant voice spoke from behind them. “No, they are not surrounding you. You are no longer in the castle.”

  * * *

  76 Job 38:4,7

  77 Luke 8:25

  Chapter 18

  Azarias’s fear had reached a new level in Thyatira. Angels secreting out of fresco paintings, weeping of unseen millions, a mysterious voice that said they were no longer in the castle, and now a light coming from behind them.

  Silence filled his ears. Despite this fear, peace seemed to lure him. But he didn’t accept the offer so readily. How could there be a room within a room, but not in the castle? That was like the golden color of the amborlite flower without the flower.

  Were they safe? He wasn’t sure, but God had called him here.

  Or had he?

  Maybe the Great One masqueraded as God. Could this cherub speak into angel’s spirits like the Lord?

  If so, Uriel would fall. There was little keeping that angel’s faith and sanity together. Azarias had glimpsed into the troubled angel’s soul when Abaddon attacked. How did he know about Uriel’s weaknesses? Uriel was no match for Abaddon and certainly will be no match for this Great One.

  But what about this voice? What it meant when it said, They are not surrounding you. Azarias wasn’t convinced. He stood motionless, facing the door, still anticipating their pursuers.

  He looked to Uriel. The overwhelmed angel did not return the glance. He still labored in his breathing. Once these menacing angels come through the doorway, his panic would finish him. Azarias would be alone to fight them off…and he didn’t know how. Heaven had never known such violent behavior prior to the renegades. He felt so unarmed, unprepared, and unsure of what his role will be.

  But no sound pierced the closed door.

  Yet, could they come up from the floor? The enemy could grab their feet in a surprise attack, and they would be captured in an instant.

  “Uriel, hover!”

  The two angels leaped and floated several feet above the floor.

  They waited. Azarias watched Uriel’s face. Was he going to bolt? That could be a mistake.

  Nobody came. All remained silent.

  Uriel’s voice had lowered to a whisper. “What shall we do?”

  Azarias sighed. “Well, we can either go back through the door and risk capture or take our chances with who is behind us and see if there is another exit.” He turned to Uriel. “Maybe the words spoken by the unknown being were correct. We are truly no longer in the castle.”

  “Look, Azarias.”

  Azarias’s gaze followed Uriel’s extended arm.

  The door slowly faded and then vanished.

  A wall now made their exit more difficult.

  “Uriel, where are we?”

  “I don’t know.” Tension still wound Uriel’s voice. “All my experience and research seem to be useless here.”

  He grabbed Azarias’s arm and tightened his grip. “But what I do know is the Lord is perfect in all His creation.78 What he has created needs no alteration.”

  Azarias clutched Uriel’s hand and led him back down to the floor. He turned to face his companion. “So, what you are saying is that this structure was not created by the Lord?”

  Uriel shrugged. “No, I don’t know what I am saying. It just seems to contradict the nature of the Lord, as I know it. He doesn’t make mistakes.”

  “This may not be by mistake, but design.”

  “I don’t know of any walls like these, either,” said Uriel. “They are not the normal spiritual walls of the castle or any structure I have seen before. The castle walls were an opaque color without any sharp definition. These walls are…beautiful.”

  Azarias fixed his eyes on the wall. “It is like the wall’s beauty blends into the atmosphere.”

  He released Uriel’s hand and stepped forward. Azarias hesitated and then ran his hand gently over the surface. Moving even closer, he focused. “These fibers are woven so tightly that all the colors seem to melt together.”

  “Your eyes are incredible, Azarias. I thought there was only one color.”

  “I thought so, too, but there are three colors: blue, purple, and scarlet.” The combined strand sparkled in a very controlled and pulsating rhythm. Each fiber pulsated independently of the others, producing the effect of a living organism. Combined with millions of other fibers, the pulsation captivated Azarias.

  Azarias felt joy tugging at his spirit. He peered closer. “Wow. Did you see the clear layers covering the million fibers? They sparkle like gems.”

  Uriel studied the wall. “Yes, they seem to flow over it all.” He leaned forward and poked his finger through the top layer. A miniature supernova spiked energy threads away from Uriel’s finger. The light rippled in, on, and out from the surface of the wall, jolting Azarias.

  Uriel jerked his hand from the wall. The wall returned to its normal pulsating cadence.

  Azarias grabbed his friend’s shoulder. “Uriel, please don’t touch anything else.”

  Uriel grinned and shrugged his shoulders.

  It was the first time Azarias had seen Uriel smile since they arrived in Thyatira. He took a deep breath and collected his thoughts.

  “Uriel, where is the Lord’s Spirit? All I see is this great light illuminating from behind us. We are casting shadows.”

  Azarias spun around.

  He focused on the side walls. They, too, glowed with the same energy-veiled composition as the back wall. Ten curtains stood side by side, extending the length of the room.79 They draped over the angels’ heads and rested on the other side of the room to their right.

  “Azarias,” Uriel whispered. “Look at the walls. Do you see something familiar?”

  Azarias peered at the undulating surface.

  “Isn’t this just like those revolting angelic frescoes we just saw in the castle?” asked Uriel.

  Etchings glowed throughout the fabric, resembling cherubim. The figures were drawn in pure energy that resembled very tiny droplets linked along a string. These energy droplets moved along the entire figure, producing countless three-dimensional scintillations.

  Azarias pressed his lips together. “I don’t think so. These a
ngels don’t seem to be in the posture of self-exaltation. If you remember, the castle frescos disturbed us with their self-edification. Their poses and dress symbolized rank and privilege.”

  Azarias paused. “Instead, these angels seem to appear to be in a posture of worshipping…of worshipping someone else.”

  He examined the angels on both walls. “The cherubim on both sides create a realistic presence of perpetual worship.80 This room is used for perpetual worship.”

  The voice, he remembered the voice. Azarias’s hands began to shake; his courage, to waver.

  He turned toward the light and raised his two middle wings to shield his eyes. It was brighter than the lightning of the guardian cherub. Was someone there, the being who spoke? If so, who was this?

  If it was the Great One, he had to know. The door had disappeared. He thought again about walking through the wall but was afraid to try. Just one finger sent shock waves throughout the room. What would happen if he and Uriel tried to walk through it?

  “Let’s walk slowly, Uriel. I want to be able to retreat somehow if we are attacked again…”

  “Stop,” Uriel whispered. “Someone’s in front of us. There—to the left.”

  Azarias froze. Nothing moved other than the light display in the walls around them. He did not know what to expect, but considering the recent events…

  “He’s not moving,” said Uriel.

  Azarias whispered. “I don’t think it’s an angel.”

  Azarias exhaled. “It’s a lampstand.”

  A golden lampstand flaunted flower-cups, buds, and blossoms similar to an almond tree as seen in visions of Earth. The base resembled a bed of almonds. The whole lamp displayed the life cycle of the almond from a bud to a knob, a flower, and the fruit. 81

  Azarias marveled at the design.

  As they approached, Uriel shot Azarias a puzzled look. “This is odd. The lamp is lit, but there is still a greater light beyond it.”

  Still protecting their eyes from that light, they turned to another object on their right.

  Azarias, placing his hand out in front of him, rested it on a table. The table displayed two flat stacks of six loaves.82

  He picked one up and turned it upside down. “What are these things?”83

  Uriel shook his head. “Every step exposes more of my ignorance.”

  Azarias placed each foot gently in front of the other, ready to react to anything. “Let’s continue to walk toward the light.”

  Uriel leaned closer. “What’s that partially blocking the light source?”

  “I don’t know, it’s hard to walk toward it. The object in front of us is curious because it eclipses the greater light.”

  The angels crept further.

  Uriel’s voice quivered. “Are we in a forbidden area?”

  “I don’t know of any forbidden area, except for the Siq,” muttered Azarias. “Everywhere I have traveled has been in the context of a mission sanctioned by the Lord.”

  Azarias walked to within a few inches of the object that rose to about waist high. It radiated heat. “It’s golden.”

  The object emitted a sharp aroma, filling Azarias with peace. He closed his eyes and felt his balance sway. The mesas, the harmonious music from the Lord’s Throne, his special solitude; all returned to him.

  Azarias opened his eyes. He had to stay focused on the present situation. He grabbed Uriel’s arm and stepped around the object, looking again to the light.

  The light source appeared to be a blazing Being, splashing radiance on the curtain on the far side of him. Azarias’s eyes were drawn to it. “Uriel, are the figures on the curtain cherubim?”

  The curtain itself was as glorious as the sidewalls; however, its drawn figures were more startling: Three etched cherubim looked down at the two guests.84 These three were prostrate in the greatest form of worship, with wings clutched and mouths open as if singing, suggesting that they constituted the gateway to the Lord’s Throne.

  Azarias lowered his gaze to the glowing Being only several feet in front. A sizzle moved up his legs, squelching his thoughts. “Uriel…”

  The Being’s glow attacked Azarias’s legs. His vessels shimmered as golden expressways, crisscrossing microscopic jewels throughout his body. Azarias held his hands to his face. He traced an individual jewel through his fingers. The jewel collided with other jewels, causing a chain reaction of flashes. This effect multiplied countless times throughout his entire hand. The remnants of the exploded jewel flowed throughout the hand.

  “Azarias, what’s happening to you?” Uriel stammered.

  Azarias retracted his hands as if they were precious relics. He turned to Uriel. He thought he had known peace before, but now he knew that was never the case. This feeling invaded, no caressed; his body was peace, magnified by love.

  He turned to a smiling Uriel. “You, too, are reflecting this light.”

  But fear returned into Azarias’s spirit. The euphoria surrendered to the reality of their situation. The Great One could be seducing him. He fell in fright, covering his body with his wings.

  Uriel did the same, crashing to the surface in a thump.

  While under his wings, Azarias could see the glow inside his vessels passing through his body. This posture created a shell of lights circulating above his face. Contradicting feelings of awe, exhilaration, and fear wrestled for control.

  “Azarias,” said Uriel with a tense voice. “Is this the Great One, the renegade angel who is leading the revolt?”

  Azarias pondered the question. Could the Great One have such peace and love? “I don’t think so, Uriel.”

  “Do not be afraid,” a soothing voice breathed.

  Azarias didn’t move. He couldn’t. His will seemed paralyzed. He closed his eyes to the light show trailing under his wings.

  “Please, you are in the presence of love, do not be afraid,” the stranger assured them.

  Azarias pried his wings open.

  He looked over to the shaking Uriel.

  Azarias turned forward and refocused his eyes. A Being, a glorious Being, knelt facing the curtain of the three cherubim. His snow-white hair cascaded down his shoulders. He wore a gown more brilliant than snow in the sunlight and a golden sash richer in reflection than any sun. The same energy scintillations present on the walls flowed off the Being’s head, into his gown and down onto the surface. The room, Azarias began to comprehend, connected as one closed circuit of energy flowing throughout the walls, floors, and ceilings. And all of these tendrils of energy threaded back to him, this Being. He glorified the entire room.85

  Azarias could not grasp the possibility of this. No angel, to his knowledge, could emit his own light. Whoever he was, he was no angel; he didn’t have wings.

  Azarias reached over and cupped Uriel’s arm. “Look up.” Swallowing hard, he turned back to the Being. Then he found his voice. “Who are you?”

  The room grew lighter, and then he spoke. “I am the priest from the Order of Melchizedek.”86

  Azarias raised his head. “Priest? What is a priest and who is Melchizedek?”

  The Being didn’t speak.

  “Where are we?” Uriel asked him.

  The Being’s voice reverberated. “You are in my tabernacle.”87

  Azarias had to know more. “What was the strange sound that drew me here?”

  The priest’s kneeling form seemed to bow heavier, and though the radiance did not diminish, the tone of the light changed subtly. “That was the sound of angels weeping for those who will no longer dwell here. Heaven groans with the weight of such things,88 and the choice of self-determination has infected it. Because of these rebellious ones, Heaven is contaminated. It must return to its original state. Those who will not repent will be extricated from my presence. They will be no longer intricately part of the Lord’s Spirit…they grieve the Holy Spirit of
God.”

  Confused by how to respond, Azarias looked at Uriel heavily and then back at the priest. “Why do they believe they can defeat the Lord?”

  The priest’s voice fell in sorrow. “Because they are in a state of sin. They were in communion with us until they lost their innocence through a deceptive spirit of self-indulgence. After losing this innocence, they lost their peace and joy. To compensate for this loss, they increased their self-indulgence and absorbed other angels into their destructive spirit.”

  A vicious cycle, thought Azarias.

  “But did you try to convince them that they are wrong?” pleaded Uriel. Azarias was pleased. Uriel seemed to have regained a little courage.

  The Being had no words of comfort to give. “At the time each angel is at the crossroads of making this decision, we battle with the opponent for the angel’s soul. We speak of what we know, we testify to what we have seen, but still they do not accept our testimony.”89

  “By your statement, I gather that the rebellious angels will increase to a critical point of confrontation. When will that happen?” Uriel asked.

  “Only the Father knows; however, I can tell you it will be very soon.90 The signs are all present. Those who love us, have not seen, heard, or experienced what we have prepared for them.”91

  The priest now stood up, still facing the curtain. “There was a bright beautiful star in Heaven. It was the admiration of all other stars due to its beauty. It was held up in great esteem. This star intensified its brightness, expanding many times its original size. But as the star expanded to a large grotesque size, it rapidly collapsed upon itself into darkness. It was no longer beautiful but became a dark attraction to a great many other stars, pulling them into its dark world.”92

  Azarias did not understand the meaning of this parable but made a vow to remember it.

  At that moment, the priest’s light intensified like lightening. The two angels covered their eyes with their wings.

  Then the intense light vanished.

  Uncovering themselves, they were back in the castle room. It was deserted.