Exile of Lucifer (20 page)

"If there is a rebel spirit in Heaven it flows from the Throne, not toward it." 155
Lord. Yet I can decisively exercise such powers as I have, not per-
haps with Your authority, but certainly with my own.
"You are great, O Most High God," said Lucifer, "and shall
always be great. Your holiness, Your purity, Your goodness--none
of these shall ever be denied You. On earth we shall commemorate
Your greatness periodically as we look into the heavens and recog-
nize Your presence from above.
"I will never surpass Your greatness, Most Holy One...but I
will not be denied my own. I will never rule from on high...but I
shall rule. I will never come to expect the worship of all my sub-
jects...but I shall be worshiped. I will never command the heaven-
ly Host as one...but angels will be commanded of me. My authority
will never accede Your own...but authority I shall have. And when
in ages hence, Your power and presence on earth becomes increas-
ingly dim in the minds of Your creatures--a shadow rather than a
substance, a speculation instead of a certainty, a star in the evening
sky rather than a light in Heaven--then shall there be truly one god
to reign on earth.
"The Host will come to recognize this. The earth will come to
recognize this. And even You will come to recognize this...and thus
will the authority of the Morning Star be forever established on
earth, just as Your authority is established in Heaven."
Lucifer then recited the prophetic words he had himself
recorded:
The Greater now gives way to thee,
Thy wonders to behold.
----------------
Even though his rank and title gave him privilege into the
Throne area of the Temple, Gabriel felt like an intruder as he made
his way deeper into the complex. The heart of the Temple was the
Most Holy Throne, from where the Most High ruled with all power
and authority. The place was shrouded in mystery, and was a sub-
ject of speculation among the Host, for only exceptional angels
were allowed access into this chamber. Even Lucifer, the Anointed
Cherub, seldom ventured near this most sacred spot. And now

156          CHRONICLES of the Host: Exile          of Lucifer
Gabriel entered into this most holy place to inquire about some-
thing that was perhaps unholy.
The Throne Room was two rooms really. An outer chamber
served as a place of worship for the Twenty-four Elders. Gabriel
noticed 12 seats on either side of the center aisle where the Elders
would gather to offer their praises--and now apparently their
advice--to the Most High God. The room was adorned in beauti-
fully colored precious stones and gold, and a purplish-crimson cur-
tain separated this room from the Throne Room itself. As Gabriel
walked the length of the room he could hear voices on the other
side of the heavily curtained doorway crying out "Holy, Holy,
Holy" over and over again.
He gathered the curtains to one side and a shaft of intense
white light beamed from the room and lit up the room in which
Gabriel stood. He quickly let go of the curtain and the room was
dark once more. Gabriel fell to his knees, staggered by the realiza-
tion that the Most Holy Presence was enthroned behind that veil.
He felt strangely ashamed for being in such a sacred place with
such a sordid purpose. Overcome, he began to worship. He sang
along in his heart and mind the words, "Holy, Holy, Holy." He lost
himself in the praises to the Lord and soon had a calm about his
mission. The situation with Lucifer seemed completely petty in the
presence of so great a God. Who were Michael and Gabriel to assist
the Lord in anything? Were they not behaving as arrogantly as the
Elders by thinking of themselves protectors of the Lord's interests--
as if He needed their little interference? God would deal with this
in His way and in His time. Gabriel decided that it was proper to
leave this all in the Lord's hands and carry out his expected duties
and service to God without presuming to aid Him in administering
the Kingdom. He started to leave, ashamed that he had even come,
when from behind him he heard his name called out.
"Gabriel!"
----------------
"Do you really think that Pellecus will debate me openly?"
asked an astonished Crispin. "I mean in a fair and public setting?"
"Lucifer told me to make the arrangements," Michael said.

"If there is a rebel spirit in Heaven it flows from the Throne, not toward it." 157
"Interesting," mused Crispin. "Bit of bait in there somewhere
to be sure."
"Possibly," agreed Michael. "But we cannot assume anything
at this point. If there is a possibility of a reconciliation in Heaven
and a clearing up of this situation, then we must take up the
offer...with your consent, of course."
"Of course, of course," answered Crispin, already making
mental preparations for the contest. "I try not to assume the worst,
Michael," he said, rising from his desk and looking through some
of the scrolls scattered here and there around him. "Ah, here it is,"
he said, picking up a scroll with a crimson ribbon tied around it.
"However, if I know Pellecus, he won't enter into such an event
without some consideration as to its outcome." He looked up at
Michael intently. "He's not one to take a risk unless he is confident
that it will turn to his advantage."
"On the contrary," said Michael, "I'd say he is quite a risk taker
if in fact he is throwing in with Lucifer in some unimaginable plot."
Crispin thought for a moment. He looked up at Michael and
said, "I can only repeat myself, Michael. Pellecus would never ven-
ture into a contest without confidence as to its outcome. And I can
assure you he would never `throw in with Lucifer' as you say unless
he was certain of THAT outcome as well." He paused for a moment.
"If in fact there is something amiss in Heaven in which Pellecus has
a hand, you can rest assure, Michael, that those who would oppose
our Lord are extremely confident in their opposition."
He sat back down and assumed the role of instructor once
more. "Understand, Michael, there is nothing wrong with being
confident. It is by confidence that our Lord has created this King-
dom, knowing that His abilities are part of who He is. It is with
confidence that He can speak the word light and create light.
Lucifer cannot do that. No creature can do that. Only God Most
High can do such a thing."
"So Lucifer and Pellecus are merely fooling themselves," said
Michael. "Trying to attempt that which they will never be able to do."
"Confidence can itself be misleading, Michael. And misplaced
confidence is a disaster in the making. But supreme confidence in
one's own abilities, which seems to be the strength of this group, is

158          CHRONICLES of the Host: Exile           of Lucifer
an abomination. Our Lord will neither share His glory nor His
power with angels. It sickens me to think that any angel would
attempt such nonsense in the face of such holiness." Crispin had a
faraway look in his sharp eyes. He caught himself. "Yes, Michael, I
would be glad to debate Pellecus. Pass that along. Perhaps if noth-
ing else this might be a lesson in humility."
"For whom?" asked Michael, smiling.
Crispin looked up and smiled. "For whoever needs humbling,
of course!"
----------------
Gabriel turned and instinctively prostrated himself before the
voice, not knowing whether he was encountering creature or Cre-
ator. The holiness that pervaded the room in the presence of this
being crept like thick smoke which engulfed Gabriel. Gabriel kept
his face low to the floor, not daring to look up, unwilling to speak
until first addressed. The voice came again: "Gabriel! Stand up!"
Gabriel slowly stood, his eyes averting the direction of the voice,
still shaken by the spectacle, feeling as if he were more of an intrud-
er than a petitioner.
Slowly Gabriel moved his eyes upward, scanning the figure
that stood before him, and saw the most incredible creature in the
Lord's entire Kingdom. Here stood a figure whose virtue and holi-
ness was so pronounced, that one might be standing in the very
presence of the Most High, if one did not know otherwise. Well
could it be said that this was a very sacred creature to the Most
High.
It was also a bizarre being, and true to Crispin's description,
did indeed have the face of a beast--recognizable now as having a
newly created counterpart on earth. The lion-faced creature
motioned Gabriel forward, benign but commanding respect. As
Gabriel observed the creature more closely he noticed that it was
covered both front and back with living eyes which seemed to bore
into him deeply. "This way, Gabriel," he said. "We know why you
have come."

"If there is a rebel spirit in Heaven it flows from the Throne, not toward it." 159
Gabriel followed the Zoa through the veiled doorway and
into the room from where the light had earlier shot forth. As he
stepped in he could make out the silhouettes of three other figures,
whose forms were darkened by the spectacular light which embla-
zoned from behind. He could not see their faces, although in the
eerie light he could make out the eyes of the creatures--hundreds
of them--staring at him through the darkness. He could no longer
see the lion-faced Zoa who had ushered him in and had taken his
place with the other three. Together with the four creatures he
stood, waiting for permission to speak.
----------------
Chronicles of the Host
First Contest
The stream of angels heading into the Academy seemed end-
less. Never before had a single event surrounding the school
attracted so much attention. Not since the first day of the Cre-
ation had there been so much anticipation on the part of the
Host regarding an occasion. All elements of the Host were rep-
resented, as wisdom, warrior and worship angels, alongside
Elders and other high-ranking angels poured into the Great
Hall of the Academy of Hosts to witness the debate between
Pellecus and Crispin.
----------------
The hall was filled with lively conversation as angels on dif-
ferent sides of the issue discussed the arguments in question. Some
angels had no real opinion on the matter but sided with whichever
teacher held the most credence with them. Many simply came to
see Crispin bested at his own game, while others held this as an
important occasion which might determine the future position of
angels in Heaven.
The teachers at the Academy were thrilled with the possibili-
ty that the issue that was so dividing them might be finally brought

160          CHRONICLES of the Host: Exile           of Lucifer
to light. The debate was organized quickly and news spread so rap-
idly and so far that there was not an angel in the Kingdom who did
not know about the scholarly confrontation.
Berenius and a group of angels loyal to Pellecus were quietly
baiting some of the angels who were closely allied with Crispin and
the more traditional doctrinaires of the Academy. They knew that
they held a comfortable majority in the hall and were smug with
confidence. Berenius had a special interest in seeing Crispin hum-
bled once and for all. This would be a wonderful event.
"We shall see, dear Berenius, how well your opinions are rep-
resented by Pellecus," said Razon, a wisdom angel who was a dis-
ciple of Crispin. Some of the angels with him laughed. "I should
not like to go up against Crispin!"
"My opinions mean nothing," answered Berenius. "Whatever
Pellecus has to say represents a truth I have embraced. If you desire
to continue in the old teachings of Crispin that is your course. I pre-
fer to be enlightened."
"I prefer to be correct," answered Razon.
"Then in preferring Crispin you are neither enlightened nor
correct, Razon," said Berenius, as he turned away to find his place
in the gallery.
Pellecus entered from the rear of the platform and a tremen-
dous cheer went up for him--Lucifer had made certain that those
angels friendly to him were quite boisterous. Pellecus looked up at
the howling angels and glanced over to the side where Lucifer
stood chatting with Kara. Crispin had not yet entered. Lucifer
walked over to Pellecus.
"This is your day, dear Pellecus," he said. "This is the time for
you to shine as brightly as you ever have. I need not remind you
that our cause is in your hands." He looked up at a group of angels
who softly supported Crispin, and who were rather subdued.
"There are many here who need convincing--just a little more and
we shall have them. They don't realize that the world I offer is so
much better. Do well, teacher." He put a hand on Pellecus' shoul-
der. "Do well and I promise you that I will make your name great
on earth!"

"If there is a rebel spirit in Heaven it flows from the Throne, not toward it." 161
Pellecus looked up at Lucifer and then indicated the noisy
crowd. "Why must our angels be so...common?" he finally asked.
"They are loud and brutish. Look at Berenius for example--leading
that pack of unruly wisdom angels. Most of them are unfit to enter
the Academy, much less sit in on an academic exercise such as this.
They discredit the intellectual and philosophical impetus of our
movement and of this debate. They are making it a spectacle rather
than a discourse!"
Lucifer laughed a little as if in agreement. "Dear Pellecus, I am
not interested in these angels being educated. I am interested in
them being loyal. You are a teacher and as such want a stage, a plat-
form from which to teach. That is well and good." He looked
intently at him. "But the strength of this movement, as you call it,
is not in doctrine or truth or myths. The strength of this liberation
is me. It is I whom they follow--not a teaching. It is I who shall lib-
erate them--not a doctrine. It is I who shall lead them to earth--not
a philosophy. Those things are useful, in that they provide a rea-
soned justification--but they are merely a reference.
"Whoever follows a teaching may one day turn from it. Who-
ever finds freedom will never turn it loose. It is freedom that the
angels seek--order and freedom is what I offer. And that, dear Pel-
lecus, is why these brutish angels are cheering you on today. Be
glad for Berenius--he is one of our most bright and shining stars.
Therefore I say again, do well. These brutes will serve us one day."
Before Pellecus could answer another cheer went up, though
not as noisy as the first, as Crispin entered and sat next to Pellecus
on the platform. Crispin turned to embrace Pellecus, who nodded
affably at him but refused the embrace. Crispin took his place next
to him.
Lucifer walked to Kara, greeting angels as he went. Kara was
talking to one of the Elders. Finally he turned to Lucifer, who gave
him a familiar look.
"No, my lord," said Kara. "There has not been a word from
the Zoa or any source as to the petition. However it has been intro-
duced in the proper manner and now we must wait upon the
Lord's timing."