The Third Heaven: The Rise of Fallen Stars

by Donovan Neal

  It was the eyes of the man that told him who he was.

  Michael fell back on his hind and waved his hand over his face to deflect the image he refused to see.

  “….no….no…” and Michael shook his head in denial, placed his face in his palms, and wept. For Michael saw through the flesh of the man and looked into his eyes to behold that the man was El—hung by Adam’s kin on a cross.

  The orb then grew dark and disappeared. The Lord stood mute looking down at his son.

  Crying, Michael looked up at the Lord who smiled at him, and stroked his head as a father might his young child. El turned to walk away into the throne room. Blood trailed the transparent golden glass, and El walked slowly with a limp into the palace, until the great doors closed.

  Michael staggered to his feet, still reeling from the images El let flood his mind. He stared at the throne room doors that shut behind El and looked at the trail of crimson blood left behind. Tears continued to fall from his eyes, his thoughts still racing and his heart filled with emotion.

  But Lord…why must you die? But there was no reply to his thoughts.

  As Michael stepped away from the Holy of Holies, he walked outside the temple to face his brethren and to do the will of his master. He was the Builder of Heaven, and his duty was to build the city. He looked upon the ground, and saw that broken into pieces was the key ring that Charon had given him. Yet, the keys to Death and Hell were not there. He looked to recover them, until he saw that his brethren approached. Grief redirected him away from the search of lost keys to his kin. Jerahmeel came carrying the ruined body of Raphael, and Gabriel walked through the crowds holding the fallen Sariel.

  Michael’s mind turned to grief at the loss of his brothers, and as he beheld the Kingdom of Heaven, which now lay in ruins, resolution gripped his face. He wiped his tears and marched out from the palace towards the destruction to assist his people.

  Epilogue

  Lucifer awoke groggily from his slumber, his eyes crusted over with ash and blood. His muscles throbbed and agonizingly objected with each attempt at movement. Pain bit at his jaw, and he instinctively reached to touch his face. Anger swelled within him as he felt the long scar left by his combat with Michael. He knew his visage was disfigured, and he calculated reprisal.

  Michael would not go unpunished.

  Slowly the mighty dragon rose to his feet and surveyed his surroundings. Smoke and burning embers served as his linen, an impact crater his mattress.

  How long have I been unconscious?

  Gingerly, he clawed his way up the steep sides of the charred earth, as gravel slipped beneath him. The fallen prince struggled to lift his tender frame, but determination enabled him to reach the crater's edge. He dragged his body forward and fell face down into the cool soil of the black earth. Steam hissed from the crater, and smoke, dust, and haze shrouded his view. His eyes slowly adjusted to his surroundings and began to filter out the debris, and his clarity of mind sharpened.

  Lucifer looked across the scene before him and saw the mighty Euphrates only a short ways removed. The sun's zenith informed him that mid-day was upon him. He followed the sun's trail leading west to Athor, his mighty city.

  He strained to see but was only able to spot several landmarks that lead to Athor. He followed them with his eyes as they piloted him closer to his own current location and curiously not further away.

  Questioning, he turned to his east and saw the lush green of Eden beyond; his delicate handiwork crafted with love, unspoiled and spared from destruction. Still he looked for his earthly home and found nothing.

  Slowly his intuition spoke to him and informed him that something was amiss. He moved farther away from the crater. Walking, almost stumbling, he finally mustered enough strength to use his great wings to lift him airborne. Higher he rose that he might gain a better perspective, but each increase in elevation brought with it an equally painful and horrific realization.

  Denial of the truth assaulted him. The hard guttural ache he felt as he surveyed the ground below would not stop. The truth assailed him and could not be denied. Athor was razed; its majesty obliterated.

  Athor once stood as a beacon that magnified the very beauty and power of Lucifer, its triangular opulence designed to exalt him. Everything was now gone, wiped out by the vary fall of Lucifer himself.

  His once great city blotted out by the destructive power of Lucifer’s own descent. Even in exile, El would have no monument that glorified his adversary. He had used Lucifer’s own person as the explosive device to wipe the Earth clean of Lucifer’s legacy.

  Lucifer had wrought destruction in Heaven, and El saw that Lucifer reaped at his own hand the ruin of his kingdom.

  Lucifer’s anger swelled within him and despair pulled the once mighty prince to the ground. On bended knees, bitterness rose within him as he grasped the soil of his city now laid waste.

  He stood defiantly to his feet and raised his tightly clenched fist high into the air, cursing the creator of the universe and spouted obscenities not pronounceable in the tongues of men.

  He surveyed his once magnificent home, as bitterness and anger became his comforters. Seething with hate for his father, Lucifer’s tears fell into the dark earth.

  He slowly gained his composer, wiped the tears from his eyes, and rose to his feet to behold the river Euphrates and the region roundabout. His gaze followed the waterway’s course toward the expanse of the great Garden of Eden off in the distance.

  Lucifer’s eyes fixated menacingly on the tropical paradise’s pristine beauty — beauty wrongly denied him; his thoughts became ravenous with greed.

  Looking down beneath him, he saw two keys protruding from the earth; each etched with the sigil of Charon, and glowing with fire. Lucifer reached down to pick them up and beheld them. The souls of Hell displayed themselves within one key screaming, while the other dripped black with oil and sulfur. Lucifer smiled, and thoughts upon thoughts filled him. He reached within the folds of his robes, and withdrew the Tome of Hell that Abaddon had confiscated from Michael.

  Vengeance soon came along as a hitchhiker requesting transport, and in Lucifer’s desire for companionship, he embraced the emotion and consorted with her like a familiar lover.

  With his thoughts filled with bitterness and retribution: his heart discovered comfort, and a smirk found the mouth of the King of Lies.

  I will secure your downfall through the Adam.

  Lucifer smiled and salivated with lust for the garden in the distance and blithely transformed into a winged serpent. His great wings caught the breeze, and he drifted upon the wind.

  Like the fine filament of a dandelion seed carried aloft by the breeze; his mind desired to disperse his seed bearing parachutes of sin and iniquity. He was eager to bore himself into the innocent life of the human female, to supplant and choke the light from all things.

  The warm spring wind proffered him to welcome the Adam and the Eve; the humans El had placed within the garden, these contemptible pretenders to royalty: a species of earth and clay, oblivious to all that truly lay around them.

  He would welcome them indeed, for little did they know that something wicked their way comes.

  The End

  Glossary

  El or Jehovah

  The name that angels have given to God and by which he has revealed himself to them. Triune in nature, El is often seen in a singular bodily form. On rare occasions, his triune nature is revealed as three separate distinct personalities (Father, Son, and Holy Ghost); collectively they are called the Godhead.

  Elohim

  The collective name of all celestial kind.

  Godhead

  The Trinity composed of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.

  Chief Prince

  An honorific title given to one of seven angelic princes who stand before the presence of God

  and receives instructions for their race. The Chief Prince is entrusted by El to walk within the

  Stones of
Fire and to protect the secret of the chamber, the Primestone. A repository of Gods

  power where one may become as God. Lucifer is the Chief Prince of all Angels.

  Lumazi

  The group of seven archangels who stand before the throne of God.

  Archon

  The highest-ranking angel over an assignment.

  Ladder

  A mode of transport utilized by angels to travel between the realms.

  Tartarus

  A prison designed by Lucifer to dispose of those who opposed him.

  Hell

  A living mountain that serves as a prison. Designed originally with angels in mind, it lives off the eternal spirit of Elomic flesh. It possesses the ability to reproduce similar to an amoeba and can grow. Hell has grown to hold captive Humans.

  Dissolution

  Death to a celestial being is called dissolution.

  The Kiln

  A furnace from which El creates all celestial life and the storehouse of the Stones of Fire; the

  living elements of creation. At the heart of the Kiln is the Primestone and the ultimate test for angelic kind.

  Elomic Command

  A vowel, consonant, or phrase allowing the power of God to be invoked by a delegated authority.

  The Abyss

  A gulf of nether sometimes referred to by humans as Limbo or by demon kind as “the

  wilderness”. It is a realm that separates the Third and Second Heavens. Failure to bridge the

  realms without a Ladder or direct intervention from El can cause one to be entrapped within the

  winds of the nether. The winds are referred to as the Maelstrom. Kortai builders frequently

  build near the edge of the Maelstrom expanding the landscape of Heaven. The Abyss is also

  referred to as the “bottomless pit.” Mortals cannot pass through the abyss without shedding their

  corporeal shell. Only Death or direct translation by God allows passage past the Abyss into the

  spiritual world.

  Waypoint

  A designated area where travel between two points was allowed by God. Failure to utilize a

  waypoint could displace the Third Heaven with the second or vice versa causing untold

  destruction.

  Manna

  The food that angels consume. Grown in the fields of Elysium, it is must be shipped to the four corners of creation to supply angels with sustenance. When harvested it instantly grows back. During the exodus of the children of Israel, the nation was temporarily fed this food. Exodus 16:15

  Creatures

  Cherubim

  A type of angel having great power; but not necessarily governmental oversight.

  Seraphim

  A heavily creature designed to serve as voice to the holiness of God; also called a “burning one”

  a creature of great power. There are 4 in existence, and they stand before the temple of God.

  Virtue

  A living sentient aroma that lives before the throne of God and perfumes the throne.

  Ophanim

  A heavenly creature designed to serve as guard to the presence of God.

  Zoa

  A heavenly creature designed to serve as guard to the secret things of God.

  Stones of Fire

  A living sentient element of God, which can be molded in the Kiln to create celestial life. They are also called Kilnstones or Godstones.

  Shekinah Glory

  The residue of God's breath, equivalent to the exhaling of a human’s carbon dioxide; a living

  cloak of breathing light that envelops and irradiates the person of God; Primarily a localized

  phenomenon. Those that come near the Lord are irradiated by the Shekinah leaving an afterglow

  on their own person for a temporary period. The Shekinah, can manifest wherever the holiness

  and righteousness of God exist.

  Angelic Rankings

  Chief Prince

  El’s designated angelic leader over all Elohim.

  The First of Angels/The Sum of all Things

  An honorific title given to Lucifer.

  High Prince

  Seven angels in existence who speak for all their kind. (Collectively they are called the Lumazi and sometimes referred individually with that honorific title.)

  Archon

  A sole high-ranking governing angel who directs a specific assignment or regions of a

  territory(s). Sometimes referred by humans as archangels.

  Principality

  A sole mid ranking governing angel who administers more than one territory.

  Powers

  The lowest ranking governing angel overseeing one territory.

  Prime

  A non-governing angel representative of a particular virtue. (i.e. love, justice, etc.) After the fall, some angels were designated as prime evils.

  Minister

  A non-governing angel who serves the cause of El.

  Demon

  A fallen non-governing angel who serves the cause of Lucifer.

  Specter

  Fallen Grigori sometimes referred to by humans as Ghosts.

  Shaun-tea’ll

  A group of angelic warrior dispatched to bring truth to the Grigoric records of fallen Grigori at

  any cost.

  Thank You

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  The Third Heaven: The Birth of God

  Thank you for allowing me to share my writing with you. If you loved the book and have a moment to spare, I would really appreciate a short review on the page where you brought the book. Your help in spreading the word is gratefully appreciated and reviews make a huge difference to helping new readers find the series.

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  Donovan

  About the Author

  Donovan Neal M.S.N.P. is a graduate of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and has a Masters of Science in Nonprofit Management from Walden University.

  He has functioned in the ordained ministry for over 20 years, and has previously served in such capacities as Dean and instructor in his church’s School of Ministry. Donovan has taught on a host of subjects ranging from Apologetics to Leading Different Personalities.

  Donovan is a prolific songwriter and singer having written over 50 different songs of praise and worship for the local church, and has performed in various schools and churches in the Ministry of Christian rap.

  Donovan’s heart for ministry has carried over into his secular pursuits and he has worked with countless abused and neglected children, adults with developmental disabilities, and women who have been victimized by domestic and sexual abuse. He currently teaches as an adjunct professor at Washtenaw Community College in Ann Arbor Michigan and also works to help end hunger in his community.

  Donovan has three saved children Candace, Christopher and Alexander: each is involved in ministry. They currently reside in Michigan.

  Read More from Donovan Neal

  In our day of religious pluralism; and where almost everyone proclaims to profess, and to preach the gospel: it is necessary to make a differentiation between that which is "the gospel” and that which is not.

  It is for this reason that I have attempted to place on paper what the scriptures state as being "the gospel". It is in hopes that by doing so. The unbeliever will consider the gospel and be moved to make a commitment to accep
t Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

  As for the Christian it is hoped that this book will provide a tool to be used in evangelistic and discipleship endeavors, and provide a deeper understanding of what it means to be "saved".

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