Read In the Beginning (Archangel Jarahmael and the War to Conquer Heaven, Book I) Online
Authors: John J. Higgins
In the Beginning (Archangel Jarahmael and the War to Conquer Heaven, Book I) (35 page)
The Almighty spoke ever more softly,
"That saddens Me even more Adam. You chose a path away from My love for you. You love Eve more than I, your Creator. I, who have given you everything. Even gave you a second chance with a mate when the first one did not work out as planned."
"You made Lillith die, my Lord!" Eve blurted out.
Deeply perturbed, the Almighty bellowed at Eve, "I did no such thing. She is alive and well in Heaven as we speak. Her fate is not condemned as now your two fates are!"
"Please forgive us, Lord," Adam pleaded.
"I did not make that commandment idly. It was an important test of loyalty and love for you two. You now have knowledge of how to be evil, to be destructive. To lie, to cheat, to steal, to hurt others for selfish reasons, to kill. I gave you free will, the ability to make one choice over another. But you have chosen out of selfish motives already, even before you had this new knowledge of evil. If you betrayed Me when I have given you everything, what would you do to Me or even your own kind when you don't have everything you want?"
The Almighty moved back from Adam and Eve. "It pains Me greatly to see what you have done. Love is to be honored and reciprocated not ignored, nor betrayed, nor only honored until a better deal comes along."
The Almighty called out, "Michael, Gabriel, Uriel come here at once!"
Immediately, the Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Uriel appeared. Adam and Eve were startled at how quickly these large and powerful Beings appeared and gasped with fear in their presence. These Beings remained far more beautiful, than any of the Angels either of them had seen from the distance in their observations of the construction of the pyramid. This day they did not radiate love when they appeared, but were cold and distant, reflecting the Almighty's wrath, causing both Adam and Eve to tremble.
"This is My judgment and I have
summoned
these three Archangels here to enforce it. Heed
M
y words Humans! Adam and Eve you are banished from Eden. You will no longer be able to eat of the Tree of Life. You will age and your bodies will eventually die. You will feel pain like you have never known.
"You wanted to be in charge of Eden and maybe the Heavens. I would have given you the entire Garden of Eden and all of the Earth to be part of your dominion. Now all I give you is dominion over your children and the lesser creatures who live on the Earth, many of those creatures that do not live by divine guidance. You will deal with strife among all of them for all your days. Eve, for your treachery you will be cursed when you bear children as it will be painful for you and often deadly for your daughters who follow. And you and they shall be cursed because you will be driven to have children. Adam, you will struggle and have to till the Earth to produce food. It will no longer be as easy as just picking it off the trees and plants of Eden. And you and your offspring will suffer from selfishness, greed, evil desires, and fighting among yourselves. Lastly, you will love others and love things of the Earth that you will never be able to keep, they will be taken from you, and not be yours when the time comes for your deaths."
The Almighty turned to his Archangels. "Michael, this creature Serpentalia is a creation of Luciferael, is it not?"
"Yes, my Lord, he is the leader of the serpents. The species we spared when we destroyed the dinosaurs in anticipation of expanding Eden onto the Earth," Michael responded humbly.
"We should have destroyed them then, despite Luciferael's plea to spare them. Michael, I gave you this commandment to be repeated and carried out on Serpentalia and his species. For his treachery, no matter what the guise that caused it, I condemn all the serpents to crawl upon the Earth and never
travel
upright again. From this day forward, man and serpent will be enemies, out to destroy one another. For the poison that Serpentalia placed in Eve's mind, that venom will be contained in Serpentalia's mouth to be used as a danger to mankind and their offspring. For the serpent's leading
Humans
into ruin, the serpent will now be under the heel of man and be destroyed by him wherever possible.
"Gabriel, Uriel! Provide Adam and Eve with some clothing since they feel that their nakedness as My creations is somehow lacking. Then fly them out of Eden and place them on the Earth. Have Cerebriel assign Cherubim to guard the gates to Eden in case they attempt to find their way back here, for they are not to return while they live."
The Almighty turned back to face Adam and Eve. "Adam and Eve, look upon Me for the last time. You will never see Me again through those eyes of yours."
As the Almighty spoke those words He changed out of his Human form and appeared before them as He truly was,
the way the Angels knew Him.
Neither Adam nor Eve could look upon Him in that form and they dropped their heads and eyes to the ground, trembling even more. Both realized what a terrible choice they had made. They were in the presence of a force that was greater than all forces in the Universe, for the Universe was but a part of the Almighty Himself.
As the sun was setting, Cerebriel flew into the entrance of Jarahmael's palace in the Seventh Heaven. Looking down he could see the Throne Room sitting off a small distance away.
Great view,
he thought to himself. He had never been to Jarahmael's palace before; he only came to the Seventh Heaven for the morning ceremonies conducted in the Throne Room. Although they had become friends, he always spoke to Jarahmael in the Throne Room, the lower Heavens or on Earth.
But he had important news for his friend that he felt could not wait until the next morning. Things had already been set in motion that he was sure Jarahmael would want to know about. News about the Humans.
He called out for Jarahmael as he landed and walked through the entrance platform and waited for a reply. Lillith came out of one of the side rooms in the mansion and walked towards him.
"Greetings, Lillith. I am looking for Jarahmael. Is he present?"
"Greetings
,
l
ord Cerebriel
. Y
es
,
he is back in his workshop, finishing some of his mirrors."
She reached out for his hand and said, "Come with me and I will show you."
Cerebriel was impressed that the Human had both manners in addressing him and was taking him to see his friend rather than just giving him directions.
"How do you like it up here in the Seventh Heaven?" Cerebriel asked.
"It's a very beautiful place and I am so happy being here with Jarahmael."
"Do you miss your own kind?" Cerebriel asked, regretting the question as soon as it left his lips.
Lillith turned her head sideways to look directly in his eyes when she answered, "I am with my own kind. Jarahmael makes me complete in ways that Adam never could. When I was with Adam I was happy when he was gone for the day. On the other hand, I miss Jarahmael when he is not here with me. I feel special around him. You aren't here to take him with you this evening, are you? " she said with growing concern forming lines across her forehead.
"No, not all Lillith, there is no need for him to leave you this evening, you can relax."
They had arrived at Jarahmael's workshop and Lillith stopped and pointed inside to where Jarahmael was bent over working on one of his mirrors.
Lillith said, "Jarahmael, we have company, your friend has come to see you."
Jarahmael turned his head to look back at the doorway and a smile lit up his face as he recognized Cerebriel.
"So nice to see you, my friend, you have never been to my palace. So glad you have come to see us. What brings you here?"
"Angel news I am afraid," Cerebriel said as he motioned his head upwards, indicating Lillith standing behind him. He paused for a moment as he looked around the group of mirrors with handsomely carved frames. They formed a circle, shining light into the center of the room and when Cerebriel looked into them he saw his image reflected back to him in smaller and smaller images that went on forever.
Jarahmael put down his tool and moved towards the Cherubim. "Anything you can say to me you can say in front of her, Cerebriel."
"Just wanted to be sure," Cerebriel said as he walked further into the room. "Lillith, you should come closer as well and hear the news then."
Lillith moved beside Jarahmael and all three sat on down on chairs Jarahmael had scattered in the center of the room.
Cerebriel began, "Something terrible has happened in the Garden of Eden. Remember all the debate about free will and the need for consequences if the Humans disobeyed the Almighty's commandment to not eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil?"
Jarahmael nodded yes and then turned slightly to Lillith. "Luciferael and his close allies among the Archangels argued with the Almighty that the ability to choose what to do, 'free will,' given to the Humans such as yourself, should have a major consequence if any chose to disobey the wishes of the Almighty."
Lillith nodded that she understood.
Jarahmael then turned to Cerebriel and said, "Proceed."
Cerebriel then said, "Adam and Eve disobeyed the commandment and ate the fruit from that Tree. I have just come back from placing Cherubim guards in the Garden of Eden to keep the Humans out. Adam and Eve were removed from the Garden and taken to the Earth, where they will eventually die, meaning that they will cease to exist. The Almighty also placed a number of additional curses on them to endure for the rest of their lives. He also punished this creature of Luciferael's called Serpentalia, apparently it was this serpent that deceived the Humans."
Jarahmael looked thoughtful and said, "I knew there was something wrong with that snake creature of Luciferael's. Seemed to be unable to think though when I met it, hard to believe it was the same creature that could have deceived anyone or anything. But in any event, Luciferael and his Auxilium got their wish then. We will no longer be required to assist the Humans?"
"That is unclear as of now. I expect the Almighty will tell us more about it in the morning." Cerebriel said, shifting in his chair so he could watch Lillith and Jarahmael's reactions more closely.
Lillith did not seem at all upset at hearing this terrible fate for her former mate and Eve. Cerebriel was surprised to see a slight grin appear on her face as she seemed to be happy that the other two Humans would be gone.
Jarahmael then said, "This is terrible news. The Almighty spent a great deal of time and effort creating and developing these creatures. It is a shame that they responded by disobeying His strict orders."
"I thought you would feel that way, Jarahmael. Not that you would have any particularly fond feelings for Lillith's earlier mate. But I thought you should know right away. That you may want to take steps."
"Steps?" Jarahmael asked. "Steps for what?"
"Steps to protect your Human Jarahmael, Lillith," Cerebriel said as he pointed towards her.
"Why would he have to do that?" Lillith interjected, the hint of a smile disappearing as she grew more serious.
"Because it is becoming clear that in most likelihood Luciferael and his Auxilium are behind the temptation and enticing the Humans to eat from the forbidden fruit," Cerebriel answered, watching Jarahmael's
face
grow more serious as well.
"I see," Jarahmael muttered as his eyebrows furrowed deep in thought. He turned again to face Lillith. "Of course. Sammuael and Beelzebael had been searching for you after you left Adam and before I found you. It makes sense now. They did intend you harm, it was only that I found you before they did. I did not tell you at the time, but I decided to bring you up into the Heavens after I did find you, rather than return you to the Garden of Eden as the Almighty had instructed me to, as I felt you were safer staying with me."
"Oh really!" Lillith said as she slid closer to Jarahmael and wrapped her arms around one of his.
"Agreed!" said Cerebriel. "I am afraid that if it is true that Luciferael and his Auxilium and creations were behind Adam and Eve's disobedience, they may try to harm Lillith."
Jarahmael thought about it again then said, "They would not dare harm her up here in the Seventh Heaven. Luciferael and his Auxilium may get away with more when they are down
in Eden or on
the planet Earth; it is experimental after all. But up here in my palace, within view of the Almighty's Throne Room itself? They would never dare!"
"I just wanted to warn you my friend," Cerebriel said. "Things seem different today. We did not have death for the two Humans before, but with the Almighty's pronouncement it's as though something ripped through the fabric that encapsulates the Heavens."
Jarahmael quickly turned to Lillith and asked, "Do you feel anything different up here in the Heavens?"
"No, Jarahmael. I do not," Lillith responded emphatically.
Jarahmael then turned back and answered the Cherubim, "I understand Cerebriel, but both Lillith and I have been here in the palace all day, without venturing forth so it all feels the same to us. Perhaps it's a rift dealing with the Earth itself."
"I just wanted to make sure that neither you nor Lillith were cursed," Cerebriel added as he began to walk back towards the door.
"I don't see how," Jarahmael answered. "Neither she nor I broke any commandments. If anything, I protected her from harm for the Almighty and Lillith did Adam a favor by leaving him. He can now find happiness with another mate as best they can under the new circumstances."
"Would you like me to assign some Cherubim guards for your mansion here Jarahmael? To protect Lillith?"
"No, that will not be necessary," Jarahmael answered. "I can't imagine the day when we will need armed Angels in the Heavens protecting ourselves."
"As you wish Jarahmael," Cerebriel responded as he made a slight bow in deference to Jarahmael.
"Thanks for telling me though. The upcoming morning ceremony should be interesting!" Jarahmael observed. "Cerebriel, you can stay the night here in my palace if you would prefer."
"Thanks for the offer Jarahmael, and for your hospitality Lillith. But I still have things to attend to in the Sixth Heaven. If you change your mind about the guards, just let me know."
"You are welcome and thank you for informing us," Lillith said.
Jarahmael then escorted his friend back to the entrance platform of his palace, leaving Lillith behind. As they walked Jarahmael whispered to Cerebriel, "Strange days are upon us, my friend. And with the way Luciferael has been acting, I think darker times are on their way."