Heaven and Hell (5 page)

“Believe me when I tell you, that existence as a disembodied spirit is not a pleasant alternative. Still, more often than they would like, lucifer compels many of his minions to go forth from this place. They wander your Earth, to spread what influence they can, to beguile humanity, to lure them here, into the hands of their master. Nonetheless, they much prefer to remain here. To them, the world beyond is as a wasteland in which they find no rest.”

“I remember reading something like that in the Bible,” noted Serena. “Jesus was casting a whole group of demons out of some possessed man. The demons didn’t want to be cast out. They pleaded with Him to allow them to go into a herd of pigs, or something like that, rather than be sent out into the world. They had to be in some sort of living creatures, even a herd of pigs.”

“This is true,” said the angel. “Only their dedication to their master, and his purpose, would motivate them to travel from here and into the spiritual wilderness beyond. Yet, they have been at work here as well, doing their master’s bidding. Over time, they have desecrated this world, transformed it into a realm that better suited their needs. You see, even then, they knew that their efforts on Earth would be largely successful, that humans—such as your-self—would one day join them in their exile. They transformed their prison into a world of their own, into an empire that satan could rule. This empire became the place you know as Hell.”

“Then this is Hell?” asked Serena, her voice faltering.

“Yes, as far as the eye can see and beyond. This is but a small part of an island prison, lost in the vastness of the sea of nothingness. More than infinity separates it from everything you ever knew. It is a place from which there can be no escape.”

Serena was overwhelmed. A sea of nothingness beyond creation? An island prison, an inescapable prison, separated by more than infinity from all she had ever known? Her frightened mind refused to grasp the concept. To her, this angel was speaking in riddles.

Serena and the angel had reached the bottom of the stairway. Before them was a long, level corridor hewn from the surrounding gray rock. On either side of the corridor, were a multitude of small dismal cubicles, each closed off by a set of thick metal bars. From the cells that lined the corridor, Serena heard the pathetic whimpering and crying of many wretched souls. The mournful cries sent a chill through Serena’s soul.

The angel paused for a moment, pointing toward the corridor before them. “This is a temporary holding area, one of many, where some of those cast out from God’s presence await the pleasure of their new master.”

“And what will he do to these people?” asked Serena, who was only beginning to realize that she would soon be among them.

“Do you really want to know?”

Serena only nodded.

“I cannot say what his specific plans are for you,” replied the angel, “but it is nothing pleasant, I can assure you. All I can tell you is that I was directed to bring you here, to this place, to await your sentencing.”

“Directed by God?” asked Serena.

Only silence answered her question. Then she realized the answer. “No, it was that terrible dragon at the mouth of that portal of darkness, wasn’t it? He somehow told you to bring me here, didn’t he?”

The angel nodded.

“And you listened to him? Did what he asked?”

Again the angel nodded.

“But why? Answer me that.”

“Because that is the way God would have it,” replied the angel. “Satan and God are adversaries, but they are, as you might say, on speaking terms. There are agreements, arrangements made between them, even now.”

“No way,” objected Serena. “How can that be?”

“It is, nonetheless, the case,” confirmed the angel. “Have you never heard the story of Job?”

Serena had heard of it many times, but had never actually read the Old Testament book. She knew the basic premise, however. The Book of Job tells how God allows the devil to afflict His faithful servant Job with all manner of curses to test his faithfulness to his Creator. Why? Because the devil had challenged God, claimed that if Job faced true adversity, he would not continue to be faithful to his Creator. By Serena’s way of thinking, it implied that God made a bet with the devil, at Job’s expense.

The angel continued. “Then you realize that there are lines of communication between the Creator and satan. Satan is, apparently, quite interested in you. The Father agreed to turn you over directly to him.”

That sent a chill up Serena’s spine. “But why is satan interested in me? What am I to him?”

The angel’s answer was slow and deliberate, well rehearsed, as if he’d spoken it a thousand times. “Satan is interested in all of humanity. Satan’s envy, his hatred of God knows no limits, child, and it deepened with the passing of time. He cannot strike out at God directly, however he can vent his wrath upon that thing which God loves most deeply, humankind. That is his interest in your kind. However, in your case, his interest would seem to be even greater. You are to have a sentencing hearing before satan himself. I do not know why.”

“That isn’t normal?” asked Serena.

“No, it isn’t,” confirmed the angel. “Satan does not have the time to review the case of every human condemned to this place. Some of the lost are dealt with by his many minions who take them to their predetermined place of eternal punishment, there to become just another soul among billions. There is no hearing, no trial, only quick retribution. Still others are never found by his minions at all. They drift through outer darkness as disembodied spirits until the terrible Day of Judgment. For you to have been brought to this place tells me that satan has something special planned for you.”

“Then God has thrown me to the wolves. He put me exactly where satan wants me. He did it to all of the people here. He has played right into satan’s hands, given him what he wanted. I was delivered to the devil on a silver platter. How can a loving God condone such a thing?” Serena asked.

The angel scowled. “God didn’t do this to you, you did this to yourself. God offered you a means of escape from this place, but you rejected it. By your own actions, your own rebellion, you chose to dwell in this place.” Again the angel looked down the corridor. “Come, we must get you to your cell. Time is short.”

Serena felt the firm grip of the angel’s hand on her shoulder. She considered resisting, but realized that it was futile. After all, where could she run, even if she did manage to evade him?

As she was ushered along down the corridor, she glanced into some of the cells. They were all the same, about 8 feet on a side. They contained neither beds nor chairs, and no comfort facilities of any kind. They held not so much as a rock to set upon. They were totally barren cubicles, and only a few were empty. There were men and women of all ages and races here, representing every region of the world. They cried out in many languages yet to a common theme, lamenting a life lost, and an opportunity gone forever.

“This place is like some sort of medieval dungeon,” Serena said.

“Of course,” replied the angel. “Most of those who have occupied it are from times past. They were better able to relate to its architecture, and the dread it engendered. Your history is replete with such places. Satan knows this well, and has utilized it to prey upon your fears.”

Again, Serena gazed about this dreadful place, breathed in the atmosphere of gloom and despair, then looked at her hands, her feet. “I don’t get it, why does it all have to be so real? I mean, I’m dead, my body is probably laying in a morgue somewhere back on Earth.” She pinched herself, felt the tiny prick. “I have a heartbeat; I still feel; I have a body; how can that all be? I’ve got to be nothing more than a disembodied spirit, a ghost.”

“Yes, this is all true,” confirmed the angel, “you would be no more than a disembodied spirit were it not for the mercy of God. It is God who has allowed you to retain a state of consciousness. He has given you the body you now inhabit, a body that, in appearance, is much like the one you possessed in life.”

“You also said that most of outer darkness was a zone of nothingness, right?”

“Yes, we traveled through it on our way to this place,” confirmed the angel. “Very little of it is otherwise.”

“But it just doesn’t make sense. God is supposed to be merciful, right? You said there were some souls that satan couldn’t find, souls that were allowed to drift free in outer darkness until the Day of Judgment. Wouldn’t it be more merciful to just leave me as a disembodied spirit, allow me to drift in this outer darkness of yours? At least I’d be at peace. Was I that bad, that sinful in my lifetime? Why give me a body that satan can torture, and then drop me off right at his doorstep?”

“Because it has been decided that this is how it shall be,” replied the angel. “That should be enough for you. Nonetheless, as I said, a countless number of spirits do drift through outer darkness, for it is a realm of spirits. Those spirits of the dead wander aimlessly through the abyss in a sort of dream state, a sleep that shall last until the day of their final judgment. They are hardly conscious of the darkness that engulfs them.”

“But not me.”

“No, not you,” continued the angel. “You are different from those who sleep. In this place you have retained a physical form. The body you seem to possess is similar in many ways to the one you possessed in life, yet in other ways, it is very different. If you are to remain conscious in this realm, you will need a physical form for the sake of your own sanity. God has provided you with that. All of your senses still function. In this new body, you can still enjoy the pleasures of eating and drinking, as well as the bliss of sleep. You can feel warmth and cold, pain and pleasure, sense the odors and tastes of the world around you, just as you did on Earth. God, in His wisdom, has given you this body to make the transition into the realm beyond life less traumatic, more akin to your Earthly experiences. Yet, unlike your Earthly body, this new body is incapable of a second death. No matter how severely it might be injured, it will mend, and do so with astonishing rapidity.

“In Heaven, these aspects of your new body would have become a blessing, but here, they are a curse. As to why you are here, I do not know. I do not understand why some sleep until their final judgment, while others are condemned to this place. I am not so bold as to question my Creator’s motives.” There was a moment of hesitation. “I did that once, but not again. Now, I exist to serve. I do what I am told, and no more.”

That last comment struck Serena as being quite odd. Yet, she did not feel at all inclined to probe into this angel’s relationship with God. No, right now, she had troubles enough of her own.

They passed two intersecting corridors, containing still more cells and more souls, whose eternal future held nothing but pain and remorse. These corridors seemed to extend for miles. Serena could only imagine how many people were awaiting their terrible fate in this place. Serena was startled by a loud mechanical clanking emanating from a cell to her right. As she watched, the crude cell door opened, making clear her entrance into the small chamber.

The angel motioned toward the empty cubical. “You will enter your cell now, my child.”

Serena couldn’t seem to resist the angel’s voice, and quietly walked into the small enclave. The massive cell door closed behind her, locking her in. The angel turned to depart.

“Wait,” pleaded Serena, moving to the bars of her cell. “Do you have to leave right now?”

“What would be accomplished if I remained?” he asked. “It is not within my power to intervene when satan’s minions come for you. Over the years, so many of your kind have pleaded with me to do just that.”

“Please, that’s not the reason,” replied Serena. “Could I at least know your name? Angels do have names don’t they?”

The angel turned toward Serena, his expression spoke of his curiosity regarding the nature of her question. “Yes, child, I have a name. It was given to me by God Himself. I am Aaron.”

“When this is all over, you will be going back to Heaven, won’t you?”

“Yes,” replied Aaron.

“Aaron, I would be eternally grateful if you would carry a last message from me to my husband.”

Aaron looked at the young woman incredulously. “Child, you don’t have a husband. This thing you must accept.”

Serena caressed the golden band about her finger. “Aaron, I wish to differ with you. I do have a husband.”

“Not in the sight of God,” Aaron said, who at this point felt the need to depart. “That is the standard I must uphold. You have become a non-entity. All memory of your existence has faded from Heaven and Earth. The relationship you shared with this man, this son of God, no matter how real it may seem to you, does not exist.”

“No,” insisted Serena, pointing defiantly to her heart. “It exists here. The love we shared is not dead so long as it still dwells within me. Nothing can take that away.”

“I do not wish to be cruel,” Aaron said, “please understand. But you must face facts. You do not yet comprehend the relentless agonies of Hell, and what they shall do to you. In a tragically short time, this love you speak of will be ripped from your heart. In the end, this place will leave you with little more than your most primal animal instincts.”

“All the more reason for me to give you this message now, while the love within me still lives,” insisted Serena.