In The Beginning - Chapter 12 (War In Heaven)

Chapter 12

Entering the throne room, Michael approached the throne of God.  The Cherubim acknowledged his presence as the Seraphim sang their beautiful song of praise.

“My Lord and my God!” he exclaimed.

“Michael,” said God the Father from the throne where the essence of the Holy Spirit permeated the room.  Michael was in awe of the presence before him.  He was nervous, but spoke up clearly.

“There is something of which you should be aware,” said Michael.

“Michael,” replied God “is there anything of which you think I am not aware?”

Michael dropped his head in embarrassment.

“You are a good and loyal servant, Michael.  Remember this: all things work together for good for those who love me.”

Michael nodded his head in acknowledgement, still on his knees.

“There is nothing that happens which I do not allow,” said God.  “Now you go on your way and prepare your hosts.  When this starts some will follow Lucifer, but most will follow you.  You are a mighty prince, your troops will follow you and I will give you victory.”

Michael bowed his head until it almost touched the floor.  “My Lord and my God!” he said.  Then he rose, turned, and walked out of the throne room.

As Michael was leaving Lucifer was coming in.  They gazed at each other briefly as they passed, each looking into the eyes of the other, wondering what the other was up to.

Lucifer approached the throne, dropped to one knee and bowed his head.  “My Lord and my God!” he exclaimed.

“Arise,” said the God of all Heaven and Earth.

Lucifer stood and gazed around the throne room.  “You summoned me, my Lord?”  He said.

“Tell me Lucifer, Son of the Morning; are you my good and faithful servant?”

“You know that I am”, replied Lucifer.

“And will you obey my every command?”

“You know that I will,” he lied.

The Almighty God was silent for a moment.  The father of lies had just lied to the face of his God.  Sadness permeated the countenance of God the Father.

“Go and do what you will,” He said.

Lucifer turned and left.  Uncertainty entered his mind as he pondered the meaning of the meeting.  Was God onto him?  How could he be?  The thought of it frightened him, and he went immediately to meet with the Prince of Persia.

“It’s time,” he said.

The Prince of Persia drew his sword, held it above his head and moved its tip around in a circular motion.  At this sign his hosts drew around him.

“It’s time,” he said.  The host fell into formation behind him and stood at attention.

Lucifer turned and walked toward the throne room.  The Prince of Persia followed along with his host.

As they approached the throne room, Lucifer nodded to one of the angels.  The angel blew a trumpet loudly signaling the start of the siege.

Lucifer, the Prince of Persia and his host charged into the throne room and stopped dead in their tracks.

The Almighty God was sitting calmly in his throne, but the Cherubim were encircling Him with massive flaming swords drawn and held high.  Their massive wings were flapping, keeping them aloft.  The sound made the entirety of the heavens rumble like thunder.

Lucifer and the Prince of Persia charged the throne with the host of angels behind them.

At that moment, about a quarter of the hosts of the Prince of Persia broke off from the others and began attacking those who remained loyal to their Prince.

Realizing they had been betrayed, the host began to scatter, trying to reorganize and make a defense.  With the Cherubim attacking from the throne, and the small band of angels attacking from within, the majority fell into chaos.

The throne room shook mightily with every swing of the massive blades wielded by the Cherubim.  Their normally stoic faces disfigured with anger at those who would dare betray their loving and almighty God.

Lucifer understood immediately that the battle was lost and turned to run.  As he looked away from the throne, he saw Michael standing in his way, his sword drawn, and his demeanor like stone, his mighty hosts fanning out behind him, taking captive the remnants of the host commanded by the Prince of Persia.

Having nothing to lose, Lucifer charged ahead lowering his sword toward the head of Michael.  Michael charged Lucifer as well and lifted his sword to receive the blow.  As the swords met, a loud clang could be heard throughout all of Heaven and Earth.  They both wavered for a second under the power of the clash, then looked into the others’ face.  A fierce hatred burned in their eyes.

Michael was surprised at his own strength.  He never thought he would be able to withstand an assault from Lucifer.  Lucifer was the mightiest of all angels and Michael was just a prince.  Over the shoulder of Lucifer Michael saw the glory of the Holy Spirit glow ever brighter as he felt his strength increasing.

Lucifer raised his sword to charge again, but Michael brought the full brunt of his body against Lucifer’s, sending him flying backward.

Lucifer looked up with fear in his eyes.  He should never have been bested by a mere prince.  How could this be?

Outside the throne room things were not going well for the rebels.  More than half of the princes who were recruited by Lucifer turned out to be loyal to God as were many of the troops who were in the hosts of the princes who had sworn loyalty to Lucifer.

The result was that two thirds of the princes and their hosts where well organized under the command and preparation of Michael and his princes, and the rebels were quickly scattered, became disorganized, and were captured in a rout of epic proportions.  They realized that they never actually stood a chance; like many would in the coming millennia, they were drawn in by Lucifer’s lies and would now suffer the consequences of their actions.

In a short time the rebels had been defeated and chained awaiting judgment from the Almighty God.

Back inside the throne room the Cherubim and the angels who were loyal to God had defeated the rebel angels and the only battle left raging was that between Lucifer and Michael.

The Cherubim, with stolid resolve, began to advance toward Lucifer to help Michael.  As they looked at the throne, however, God raised his hand.  Understanding His meaning, the Cherubim resumed their place around the throne protecting the living God and watching the battle as it raged.

Michael was taking a beating, but his resolve was stony and unrelenting.  With each blow he threw he grew more and more tired and Lucifer seemed to repel them all.  Lucifer was fighting on as Michael tired.

God then raised his hand again and Michael began to glow noticeably brighter.  His stamina returned with a vengeance and he felt powerful and alive.  He raised his sword above his head and brought it crashing down on Lucifer.  Lucifer parried the blow with his sword but fell to the ground under the force of Michael's Holy Spirit enhanced might.

Again, Michael wielded his sword and swung a mighty blow which Lucifer barely deflected.  As Michael readied for another blow Lucifer dropped his sword and raised his hands in defeat.

Michael approached, ever at the ready, while Lucifer continued to kneel awaiting his fate.  Michael stood over him while the Cherubim chained Lucifer and brought him before the throne of God.

Lucifer realized his plan had been known from the beginning.  “What would a man choose to love if he did not choose to love God?” Lucifer asked.

“What indeed?” asked God.  He looked over to Michael who understood immediately.  If man were to make a choice he would have to have something to choose between.  Without an evil influence to draw men away they would not really be making a choice at all.

Lucifer had been given free will.  While God did not place the evil in his heart, He did create a place where evil could grow and Lucifer had cultivated it there.  Of his own free will he played exactly into God’s perfect plan.

“Cursed are you and those who swore allegiance to you.  You will be banished from Heaven for your crimes, never more to experience the love of Him who created you.  From now on your name will be called Satan – the adversary and archenemy of God.”  God then turned his face away from Satan.

“Michael!” Exclaimed God.

Michael approached the almighty God and knelt at his feet.

“You have shown courage in battle and loyalty beyond measure.  For your loyalty you will be made Prince of all Princes.  All others will bow to your command.  Your power will be exceeded by none other.”

“Your word is my command,” replied Michael humbly.

At that, Michael turned and nodded to one of the Cherubim who gathered Lucifer’s chains and dragged him out of the throne room.  Lucifer looked around to see how few had actually followed him and was ashamed.  He had expected two thirds to follow him, but only a third had.  How could he have misjudged so badly.

Some of the other Cherubim then gathered the chains of the other fallen angels and brought them before the throne of God.

"You have chosen to follow the father of all lies." He said.

The throne room was silent, the fallen angels staring at the floor at their feet, unable to look into the eyes of their creator.

"You were created for a purpose and you have conspired against me and against your divine purpose.  For your punishment you will be cast out into a realm separated from the love of your God.  This realm will be called Hell and in this place you will never again experience the peace and love that comes from being a child of the living God.

"Happiness and joy has abandoned you and for you there is no redemption."

As the Father turned his face away from them a group of angels was culled from the rest and taken to an area of heaven where Satan was being held.

The rest of the angels were escorted out of the throne room.  The cherubim then gathered the chains of the remaining angels and together with a mighty and coordinated heave, they cast them into the gloomy dungeons of hell to await their final judgement.

Nearby, Michael stood face to face with the most beautiful creature God had ever created.  He wondered silently how many others would fall prey to Satan's beauty and smiled knowingly as he considered the ultimate defeat that would be dealt to Satan in the fullness of God's plan.

Michael's countenance then changed to one of disdain as he considered the face of the one standing before him.  He felt the power of the Holy Spirit welling up inside him and his angelic body began to shine brighter and brighter.  He raised his arms above his head as the glory of his countenance outshone everything around him save the Father Himself.  He brought his arms down with a mighty pushing motion and Satan along with the fallen angels gathered there with him were cast into the Earthly realm.

They landed in the earthly realm at a time when Adam and Eve were well settled into their role in the Garden of Eden.  Still in their heavenly forms, the angels, now demons, could not be seen by human eyes.

Satan was enraged at his defeat and cursed God loudly as he wandered about like a lion, looking for something to destroy.  God had created all of this and now here he was in the midst of it.  All of his plans had gone terribly wrong.

Satan looked at his minions and a thought entered his mind.  He turned to them and asked, “What does God love above all else?”

“Man,” they replied, almost in unison.

“Perhaps the battle is not lost,” he muttered.  He looked in the direction of the Garden of Eden.  “We will take from him that which is most precious.”

An evil grin spread across his face as he contemplated his plan.  He looked at his demonic cohort and said "Follow me."

Without question they fell into ranks behind him as he moved toward Eden.