In the Beginning (Archangel Jarahmael and the War to Conquer Heaven, Book I) (3 page)

Chapter 3

THE MORNING CEREMONY AND THE ARCHANGEL'S CREATURES

Jarahmael flew slowly through the warm light of Heaven. Its energy filled him with bliss and contentment. White puffy clouds floated past his wings as he stretched them leisurely, out and back. Jarahmael found this semi-solid form of his body allowed him to use his wings to fly, and it became his favorite bodily form. Other forms of travel could be more expedient but none made him feel as powerful and full of divine life. His brethren Archangels preferred this bodily form too, as they used their wings as much as he did.

He was on his way to the Throne Room once again. Here all the Angels would collect just before the dawn, to begin the daily ritual of an Angel in the Heavens. This ceremony allowed all of them to collect, and commune with the Almighty as the day began. This was perhaps unnecessary, as the Almighty could communicate directly with any one of them or all of them at once. But the ritual of the morning ceremony had begun when they were first separating their minds from that of the Almighty, and was a time and place that they could join together and have their minds commune with one another again. During the rest of the day they could each develop their own thoughts, delighting the Almighty because it expanded the Universe in the realm of thoughts and ideas just as the stars and planets continued to develop and grow separate throughout the Universe.

As he soared, Jarahmael looked down on the expanded palaces all around him. Homes to the Archangels, these structures were as large as they needed to be at any given moment. Never restricted by time, size, or place, they could change appearance in the blink of an eye to please both the observer and the occupant. Heaven, after all, had no restrictions; it was the ultimate place in the ultimate imagination of the ultimate mind.

His dark blue eyes reflected the magnificence of the Throne Room. The immense cathedrals on Earth would be modeled on the Throne Room; Human visionaries and architects would try to copy the Throne Room with the cathedrals they built, even though the cathedrals would only be pale copies at best.

The fourteen Archangels were the highest form of sentient Being that the Almighty had created. As such, they would be the ones who occupied the highest Heaven and had their mansions floating around the Throne Room where the Almighty would hold audience. They were the most beautiful Beings created in Light energy. They could change colors, beyond what could ever be seen by Human eyes, making them invisible to Humans. In their more solid form, they could make themselves appear like any other creature in the Universe, with or without wings as the situation required.

Jarahmael slowly flew through the wide open massive doors of shining white to gain entrance into the Throne Room, moving his wings ever so slightly as he adjusted his descent. Seating, for lack of a better term, was arranged in concentric circles around the huge circular Throne in the very middle. Angels did not sit in Heaven, but rather would arrange themselves suspended in the brightly lit space. Angels can be very orderly, especially when they are in the presence of the Almighty in Heaven.

As Jarahmael flew by, he could see the upper rows containing the Guardian Angels, the lowest Order in the hierarchy. Their ranks were headed by Gaardrael, who like the other Guardians were smaller than the Archangels, measuring approximately five foot in height. They could shrink themselves down and be very small without any weight, and even invisible if they so choose. Facially different from one another they were however, in mass, very difficult to discern, one from the other. As Jarahmael passed over, Gaardrael was deep in conversation, trying to get the ranks straight and orderly as they would often move independently of one another and not always in concert.

It took a few minutes for Jarahmael to fly over all the ranks of the Guardians. He then came upon the rows of Angels known as the Potentates. Angels shaped as simple glowing spheres, they were created to provide additional stores of energy whenever and wherever needed in the Creation. This included not just energy required to move things or absorb impacts but also to contain large portions of intelligence that could assist in the ever expanding Creation. When they appeared, they were often mistaken as balls of fire or immense flashes of light. Despite their size, they could also hide themselves by shrinking themselves or hiding within another light source. But they could quickly provide blasts of energy for any Angelic or divine purpose, even in a smaller state. Their leader was Abrackus, who now glowed in a violet tone amongst them.

Next in line were the rows of the Principals. Jarahmael knew that they were some of the busiest Angels, as they were responsible for the day to day operations of both the Potentates and the Guardians. They were the Heavens' engineers. Creation involved a great deal of coordination and they were the ones that would coordinate the smaller tasks, such as creating and moving lakes and river beds, and arranging for atmospheres and moons around the planets. Jarahmael often referred to them as the Principalities, a more formal name he came up with one day when he was joking with their leader Annabael. She always wore a very serious face and seldom smiled or laughed. By exaggerating the name of her Order, Jarahmael stumbled upon a way to not take herself so seriously. Jarahmael wondered whether she smiled for the Almighty, as he flew by her, and he made a note of it to look back onto her ranks if he got the chance when the audience with the Almighty commenced.

Further along and closer to the Throne, Jarahmael came upon the Dominion Angels. Leaders of sorts, these Angels were clothed in red tunics and were larger than the lower Orders of Angels they supervised. They would pull together resources from the Angelic realm to assist in the Creation. They were always more concerned with broader issues and how things in the Creation would work together. Jarahmael thought that it was good that all of the Angels loved one another, because if they didn't, these Dominions had an awful lot of power over the Creation, and could wreak a lot of discord among the ranks. Their leader Rathaniel was difficult to read, that smile of his often appeared as more of a mask rather than warm and genuine. As he passed over, Jarahmael held up one of his wings a bit longer to acknowledge Rathaniel's smile, descending slightly in his flight, but with a strong flap of his wing, Jarahmael was right back on course. Rathaniel, in-kind, provided a slight wave of his hand and nodded back to the Archangel.

Next came the rows of the Virtues, the Angels whose function was to spread goodness throughout the Universe. Tall with long white flowing gowns, these Angels could be detected by a wind that accompanied them. They were led by the Angel Valetorious, who was clad with a set of gold stripes on his sleeve as a means of identifying his role as leader. These Angels controlled the Fifth Heaven, the beginning of the inner sanctum of the upper Heavens. The rows of Virtues all turned towards Jarahmael as he flew by; they always showed their respect for any of the Archangels. They usually acted in unison, and were connected very closely to one another. These Angels were in a special class and had direct ties to both the Archangels Michael and Sammuael. Goodness incarnate, Michael and Sammuael relied heavily upon them as the Angelic realm expanded, and they spent a great deal of time with them discussing what should or should not happen in the Creation. Jarahmael often grew tired of the finer points of their arguments and avoided spending any great deal of time among them.

As soon as he passed the ranks of the Virtues, a broad smile flashed across Jarahmael's face as he approached his dear friends the Cherubim, the elegant Angels who were closely associated in purpose with the Archangels. Rows of long sleek animal-like bodies with an Angel's head, there were also some that had their bodies reversed, animal-like heads on Angels' bodies. Not only could they fly like the Archangels, but they could also run on all fours at an exhilarating speed. Cerebriel was the leader of the Cherubim, and quite friendly with Jarahmael. Cerebriel was in his place at the head of his ranks, they were a sight to see, their muscular bodies glimmering in the white light, proudly looking forward to the Throne, their attention solidly focused.

Jarahmael then came to a stop, suspended not far from the center of the room, the place where the Almighty would arrive. One by one the other Archangels arrived to take their place in the front of all the other Angels. The Archangels surrounded the inner circle. Jarahmael thought of the last two sets of Angels yet to arrive, the Seraphim and the Thrones. It was difficult to discern whether these classes of Angels were separate and apart from the Almighty, as they only appeared when the Almighty was present. Jarahmael could not think of a single instance where the Seraphim had appeared on their own. The Seraphim were larger in size than all the other Angels, and there were but four of them, one for each of the directions in the Universe: east, west, north and south. Sudaphim was named for the south, Ostaphim for the east, Westophim for the west, and Norophim for the north. Jarahmael had never looked into their faces as they always radiated immeasurable light and energy. The Angels known as the Thrones had a unique form and appeared as wheels upon which the Almighty's powerful presence rested, as an intense form changing and glowing light. Although the Almighty could take any form He wanted, He remained in his original pure energy presence rather than a limited body.

Jarahmael noted to himself that Luciferael had not yet arrived, for it was upon his arrival that one knew the Almighty would be there momentarily. Jarahmael's brother Archangels were now in position and formed a circle around the Throne. Next to Jarahmael, were Michael, Gabriel, Uriel, Raphael, Raziel, and Ariel and on the other side of the circle were Beelzebael, Damiel, Mammonael, Mephistophael, Suriel, and Sammuael. The center seat on the other side was for Luciferael, the seat where now all the attention of the grand Throne Room was focused.

At precisely dawn, voices of the Angels tucked away along the walls who formed the Heavenly Choir rang out from the periphery of the Throne Room. Their voices were joined by all the other Angels and all arose in unison, voices accompanied by musical harps held by various Angels in the Choir. And out of the east, Luciferael was flying slowly, gracefully flapping his long Angel wings, the most beautiful of any creature yet created. Light violet shining eyes looked down upon the Throne Room, long flowing blond hair billowing behind his wings as he slowly and majestically descended through the skylight towards the Throne area. A brilliant white tunic covered the front of his body, and his face was chiseled and strong, with thin white lips and a strong noble nose. He was at the limits of beauty, and if he were any more beautiful his appearance would become hard and perhaps even cruel. Luciferael had all of the attention of the room locked onto him and he basked in the attention of the amassed Angels, absorbing and feeling their energy. With a flap of his wings and a quick turn around to acknowledge all of the Angels sitting in the Throne Room, Luciferael seated himself and then looked upwards towards the arrival of the Almighty, worship in his eyes.

Soon the sky above the Throne Room reflected light back at the center, as the Thrones and Seraphim were descending. And the Almighty was not far behind. The Almighty's presence in the Throne room was always magnificent: bliss would flow from the center of his Being into each and every one of the assembled Angels, equal in warmth and love whether the Angel was a Guardian Angel, Archangel or Seraphim. Distance from the Throne meant nothing, and each and every Angel felt directly connected with the Almighty. As the Angels opened their thoughts to the Almighty, He once again filled them with love.

Jarahmael was content; there was never anything lacking in Heaven, as everything required for existence came directly through the Almighty's love. Angels had no need for food or drink. They were creatures of pure energy. The energy that was the love of the Almighty always overflowed within them when they were in His presence. And that sensation always made the morning ceremonies more glorious.

The walls of the Throne Room vibrated in varying colors when the Almighty was in attendance, pulsating while the Angels absorbed and reflected His love for them. All the Angels would join the Choir and sing out praises as they felt the increased energy. Jarahmael could feel himself fill with more love than he thought he could contain. He often wondered if he would someday burst from this loving energy. For this was the reason for the Angels existence, to be filled by the Almighty and to worship Him in return. And with all this love there no discord among the Angels.

The Almighty had the Archangels remain with Him in the Throne Room after the conclusion of the morning ceremony and the other ranks of Angels flew out of the Seventh Heaven to attend to their daily tasks. Jarahmael could feel excitement among the Archangels as they waited to hear why the Almighty wanted to speak directly to them all together.

The Almighty enveloped them in His energy and said: "Good morning Archangels. How are the Heavens progressing?"

Jarahmael smiled as he watched Luciferael act as their leader. He spoke for all of them, beaming with happiness and pride. "Wonderfully, my Lord. We have been very busy and accomplished much. Each of us has created a mansion for ourselves out of the materials in our Heavens. I went from Heaven to Heaven and assisted the Angels in each of the lesser Orders create their own mansions in their respective Heavens as well. The Book of Creation was miraculous, and we quickly made homes for each of the thousands of Angels throughout the Heavens."