by T. A. Staver
have realized that their actions have kept them from being with God. For that is truly what Heaven is: eternity with God. All of the good and pleasurable things in your worldly life are but a pale reflection of what Heaven is. God allows you those moments to give you an idea of what awaits you in His Kingdom.
“These poor souls are repenting of their sins. They are recalling all of the times they rejected God’s teachings and are making amends for them.”
“Isn’t that Hell?” Michael asked. “I thought a person went to Hell for sinning.”
“Hell is for those who continue to reject God, even after they know the truth.”
“So there is a Devil,” Michael said. “Isn’t he the counterpart to God; the ying to his yang?”
Gabe chuckled. “Not hardly. That’s a tale that Lucifer made up. He always was a braggart. Think about it: God created Satan. He’s no more God’s equal than I am. No, Satan serves a purpose, but he will never be on the same level as The Boss, no matter what he tells everyone. What a liar.” Gabe shook his head as if to say ‘boys will be boys’.
“So how are those souls repenting, if they aren’t tormented by the fires of Hell?” Michael asked.
“Well, that depends upon the person, and what they consider to be an appropriate penance for that particular sin. Each soul is different. What is a sacrifice to one soul may not be to another. It has to be heartfelt and totally honest.
“You see Michael, much of sin has to do with free will and intent. If your intent is pure, and what you do is a sin, it’s not as damning. However, if through your freewill, you know your action to be a sin, and yet you still do the action, that is a more damning sin. And that sin requires more repentance. Make sense?”
Michael nodded, a look of concentration on his face.
“Now, would you consider just saying ‘I’m sorry’ to be an appropriate penance?” Gabe asked.
“No, it lacks sincerity.” Michael said.
“How about if it were a heart-felt apology to a loved one for a transgression you were responsible for and you were truly repentant? Would ‘I’m sorry’ work in that situation?”
“Yes. I believe I have done that very thing, more times than I should have.” Michael looked ashamed. “There were actually times I purposely inflicted pain on others. I always felt bad afterwards, but not bad enough to stop.” Michael looked at his feet. “I feel very juvenile right now.”
“That’s because of the freewill involved. If you had unintentionally inflicted injury on another, would you have felt that shame?” Gabe asked.
“No, I would not have. But now after talking to you, I do feel guilty.” Michael looked at Gabe. “Am I a bad person?”
“No Michael, but you have done bad things. Do you see the difference?”
“I do. I am a scientist with multiple PhD’s you know! Oops, sorry, didn’t mean to fly off of the handle with you. I believe I have a lot of work ahead of me, changing how I act.”
“It starts with changing how you think,” Gabe said. “God has given us lots of instruction on how to think in ways pleasing to Him. We seldom achieve that level, but we need to make the effort.”
“How do I start?” Michael asked. “It seems like an enormous task. I’ll have to think back over my entire life.”
Gabe spread his arms. “You are in the perfect place for personal reflection, and you have as much time as it requires! Just start wherever your mind leads you. The Holy Spirit will help you along your road to redemption. Remember: everyone here wants you to succeed. And you will.
“Now, I’ll be on my way to check on Peter and you can get started on your new journey.”
Michael smiled and he felt as though it was the first time in a long while he had. He held up a hand to stop Gabe.
“Is your name really Gabriel?” he asked.
“Yes it is.”
“Gabriel, is there a bible near-by that I could read to, um, reacquaint myself with the information I should already know?”
Gabriel handed a brand new bible to Michael. “Here you go. It contains some very important information. Don’t keep it to yourself.”
“Will you be coming by to check on me, if I should have some questions?” Michael asked.
“Michael, you will never be alone again.”
Meanwhile, in the netherworld…
“LUCIFER! LUC-I-FER! Where the Heaven are you?”
“Satan, what’s up with all of the yelling and swearing? I just got done with the rap lyrics seminar. Can’t a demon take a quick smoke break?”
Satan was in a foul mood, which wasn’t out of the ordinary. “Never mind that jibber-jabber! What’s the meaning of this memo I just received? ‘I. M. A’Dowter is progressing at a normal pace for transition to Heaven’. He’s supposed to be coming here, not going there! I’ve watched him from a young age; had him pegged for going to our Science Division. I felt he could really help with widening that gap between science and faith. Now, he’s on his way to Heaven. How could you let this happen?”
“Whoa, how is this my fault? I didn’t get the death memo, so how could I even know he was on his way? Who’s in charge of the d.m.’s this century, anyway?” Lucifer knew that Satan’s anger could know no bounds, and he frantically thought of ways to shift the blame.
“According to the schedule, which you should have by the way, it’s Belphegor.”
“Okay, there’s your answer: Belphegor is the Demonic Prince of Sloth. Whose bright idea was it to put him in charge of anything resembling the timely release of information?”
Satan’s complexion turned an ugly brick red. Veins pulsed in his neck. His hands creaked with the pressure of making fists. “I handle writing the schedule,” he said with deceptive softness. Smoke started to leak from his nostrils.
Lucifer hadn’t survived countless millennium in Hell without being able to see the warning signs. “Err, let’s put that aside for a moment. I’m sure one of my minions must be to blame for that. I’ll kill a few to make a point.”
Senseless death had a calming effect on Satan. His pulse rate went down, and his face went back to its normal shade of red. Lucifer heaved an inward sigh of relief.
“As for seeing it on the schedule; you do realize that the computer network is down again? I haven’t been able to get onto the internet for the last seventeen weeks,” Lucifer said.
Satan chuckled. “Well, we do get almost all of the hackers down here. They do have their fun and games.” Other people’s troubles tended to make Satan chuckle. Although hackers wreaked their computer hell on everyone else, Satan’s computer was never bothered. The hackers weren’t stupid.
Satan stopped laughing. “Enough fun stuff. A’Dowter belongs here. He’s not here presently. You need to make that happen.”
“WHAT! How is it fair that I have to do that? This is definitely outside the scope of my job description. Make Belphegor, he’s the one who screwed up the death memos.”
Satan’s face started to turn dark again. “Do you remember when Mammon tried to embezzle funds from the Sorcerer Scouts? Do you remember how I solved that problem?”
Lucifer’s Adams apple bobbed as he tried to swallow with a dry throat. The solution had been ugly, painful, and had lasted ten thousand years.
“You know what, now that I’m thinking about it, maybe I will go. I haven’t been topside for quite a while. Do me some good. Blow the sulphur off of me.” Lucifer’s false smile dropped away. “And maybe I’ll run into my old friend, Michael the Archangel.” He pounded a fist into the palm of his other hand. “I’ve got a score to settle with him.”
“That’s the spirit! Combine a little pleasure with your business.” Satan’s face was lit up. Nothing like some hate to make his day. “Now get going and be back before midnight. Texas is executing three murders in one day, and I want to make a good impression when they show up. I’ll expect all of the Princes of Darkness to be there.”
Lucifer laughed. “You had better get Belphegor started right now then. He’s only got si
xteen hours to make it on time.” Lucifer disappeared in a cloud of dirty smoke, the plasma bolt that Satan shot sailing through the spot where his head had been.
A scene of quiet contemplation in the afterlife…
Imriy Michael A’Dowter’s head was bowed in prayer. He had just completed reading his favorite passage in the bible, Proverbs 2: 1-10. It fit perfectly with his love of research and pursuit of knowledge. He hadn’t known that it could be compatible with the bible. He smiled to himself with a sense of peace.
A tall figure stood in front of him. As Michael looked up, he took in the mirrored shoes, the fitted suit, and the precisely knotted tie. When he reached the face, he recognized the luminescence that indicated a supernatural being.
“I’m sorry, are you an angel? I don’t believe we’ve been introduced yet.”
“Hmm, you could say I’m an angel, although I’m more the fallen type. My name is Lucifer.”
Michael scrambled up and backed away. “Get thee away from me, Satan!”
Lucifer looked bored. “Like I haven’t heard that before. As I said, my name is Lucifer, not Satan.”
“Aren’t you one in the same?” Michael looked confused.
“Nope. We have seven Princes of Darkness that take care of Hell, each with a realm. I’m one of them. Our way is more…democratic than some I could mention.”
“Who calls the shots in Hell then? If there are seven of you, how do you decide on how to get anything done?” Michael’s questioning nature was taking over. Lucifer saw his
