17
The Bad Guy
I hurry back to Nipper and Allayer as they are still standing, watching the Warrior Angels that seem to be guarding the portal.
“Hey guys, what’s going on? Isn’t all the excitement over?”
“Not quite, they have to guard the portal until God closes it.”
“Oh. Why didn’t He close it as soon as the battle was over?”
“We don’t know; this is a bit peculiar. He usually closes it as soon as the last condemned soul passes through. Let’s sit and watch for a while.”
As I look up at the blanket of heavy dark clouds continuing to cover the sun, a chill passes over me and as I shrug my shoulders to shake it off, Allayer looks over at me. “Chado Cole, we feel it too.”
“What’s going on? Is something bad about to happen?”
Nipper mumbles, “The last time I felt that, I got to see Lucifer”.
“Lucifer, what the heck? Are you kidding me? Is he about to come through that portal?”
Nipper asked Allayer, “Do you think he’s coming?”
Allayer starts shaking his head, “Yes, I believe so.”
Fear grips me, “Guys should we get out of here?”
“No, don’t worry. He has power on Earth to go and come as he pleases, but here he has limitations and only is allowed access by the Almighty.”
Nipper reminds us of scripture. “Remember the book of Job, it’s the oldest book of the Bible written back in two thousand BC, and it says:
‘Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. And the Lord said to Satan, ‘From where do you come?’ So Satan answered the Lord and said, ‘From going to and fro on the Earth, and from walking back and forth on it.’ Then the Lord said to Satan, ‘Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the Earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?’”
“Okay Nipper, what’s this got to do with Satan coming here?”
“Well the story of Job is a good example of Satan having free rein on Earth and God having trust in his servant Job to do the right thing. I guess you could say we are giving you a heads up. We both believe Satan has heard about you and realizes God is up to something. Just beware, Satan will try to sift you for every bit of information he can. Not to mention temptation of no telling what. Remember, he still thinks he’ll win the final battle.”
“What the heck guys, I don’t want to talk with the devil, nope, not going to talk to him.”
“Chado Cole, don’t worry, you are well protected, and remember what we told you; Lucifer’s power is limited here on Tabula Rasa.”
“Okay, okay, what do I say?”
“Chado, remember your scripture.”
“What scripture would that be?”
“Try Mathew 10:19.”
“Yes, I remember that one, ‘But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you’.”
“So, let the Spirit of the Lord guide you, we promise you’ll do just fine.”
I find myself staring at the portal and trying to imagine what I’m about to witness coming out of this pit of Hell, when I feel Nipper punch me on the shoulder, chuckling, “It’s going to be okay.”
I see my Guardian Angel wave his hand in a gesture for me to come over to where the seven Warriors are standing. When I get up from the rock bench, I feel weakness in my knees and fear coming over me. On my short walk across the opening, I want to be anywhere but here. The dark clouds hovering over this mountain range and the grey background of the rocks and forest make me feel dread and defeat.
Suddenly I feel a warm breeze with the smell of cedars and as I look up a small ray of sunlight had broken through the heavy canopy of dark clouds. The small ray of light is hitting the ground right beside my Guardian Angel. I can tell my fear was leaving and is being replaced by a spirit of bravery, I can tell the Holy Spirit of God is with me. The weakness in my legs has been replaced with strength, my slow lazy walk turned into a sprint.
We are standing about thirty feet away from the portal. No one is speaking, and all eyes are fixed on the portal.
We hear the sound of wings roaring coming from the other side of the portal and finally dead silence.
Just like before, two small demon scouts poke their heads out and then vanish back to the other side. We hear the sound of more wings and then quiet.
We hear the sounds of thunder with lightning striking the ground just outside the portal. This opening to Hell belches out black smoke with six fallen angels appearing. They all line up three on each side like an honor guard or military unit. These fallen all stand at attention with their hands on their swords, ready for battle.
As we are waiting for the dark lord of Hell to walk through, I am having thoughts of him appearing as a huge, scaly dragon spitting out fire. To my surprise, I see a tall, thin figured man step through the portal. He is wearing a black suit with a matching flat brim hat, a white shirt with a small black bowtie. The way he is dressed reminds me of what you would see a preacher wear back in the late 1800’s.
I feel there was something familiar about him, and I can’t seem to put my finger on it.
He looks over at my Guardian Angel, “So, you’re the ones that killed my Nephilim Giants and threw their bodies back over.”
Not replying to Lucifer’s comment, my Angel moves his fingers as to slightly reposition his grip around the handle of his sword.
The author of darkness takes a few steps over the golden threshold and now we are eye to eye with the most evil entity in God’s creation.
I suddenly can hear Allayer and Nipper in my thoughts, “Chado Cole, protect your mind. When he’s that close, he can tell what you’re thinking. Don’t think about your mission. Concentrate on scripture.”
Satan looks over at me with an odd looking stare. It’s like he’s wondering… How can I get in this guy’s mind?
I can’t stand him looking at me. I turn away to look over at the Guardians and he takes another step closer.
He reaches out to touch my face when I hear the Guardian’s start to unsheathe their swords.
Satan pulls his hand back, looks over at the Guardians and with a commanding voice, “Put your weapons away! I mean the boy no harm. I believe I know this young man. ”
I couldn’t hold my tongue, “You don’t know me, Lucifer!”
“Oh yes, I remember you. Do you recollect a dream or should I say a vision of the Christ when you were eight years old?”
“Yes I remember one night being awakened and drawn to the window of my bedroom. As I looked up over the top of the tree line into the night sky, I saw the heavens open up. Jesus was standing in the center, and was surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses along with the Host of Heaven. I felt a sense of peace and comfort, and I know it was real because I can remember it like it happened yesterday.”
“Oh yes, Little Soul, it was real.”
“Lucifer, how do you know it was real, were you there?”
“I don’t like to tell the truth, but no, I wasn’t there. Let’s just say I had a representative honoring my absence.”
“What do you mean? You had someone at my house?!”
“Let me explain to you, Little Soul. Your father’s family had a curse against them for several generations, and each generation continued to regenerate the curse from their continued sin. I guess you could say it’s a curse that would never end unless someone like you broke the curse by worshiping God and having a relationship with the Christ. I’ve had several demons oppressing your father and his two sons for years. My demons were there the night of your vision.”
“So that’s why my dad would get so angry when mom brought us to church! You had demons hovering around our home, causing him to act like that!”
“Yes, I got your grandfather and if it hadn’t been for your mother’s prayers, I would have got your dad, your brother, you, and all your kids and their children’s children.”
“So why were you so interested in my vision of Jesus?”
“Well, we thought you were going to turn out to be some great man of God, rescuing thousands of souls, but you were a disappointment to Heaven for the way you fell into a life of sin and rebellion. I played you like a new fiddle; you were so easy to steer away from God’s original plans.”
“Lucifer, I know I didn’t always live according to God’s will and I regret my mistakes. During my last years on Earth, I tried my best to be pleasing to God. I know my best days were as filthy rags, but you can’t hold that against me because my Savior paid the price on the cross.”
“Little Soul, spare me the scripture, I know it all. Let me allow you to revisit a time when you had a dream, a vision, or was I truly standing before you? One warm summer night exactly one year after your vision into the Realm of Heaven, I stood at the foot of your bed. Can you remember?”
“Yes, I remember. It was at the old house in Fairfield.”
“Yes that’s right, the very same house my demons spent years promising to me the souls of your entire bloodline. So tell me Little Soul, what do you remember about my calling?”
“I remember my brother not being there. It was just Mom, Dad and I. We had no air conditioning in the house and Dad had installed an old attic fan we would use to pull cool air from the outside. I remember Dad turning the fan on and the summer air being pulled through the open windows, causing the curtains to move around like they were dancing. The rumbling sound of the attic fan was so comforting it would put you to sleep within minutes.
On the night you came to my room, I was in my bed but just a few minutes when I attempted to readjust my pillow, I happened to look up and saw you standing at the foot of my bed looking down at me. You were dressed exactly the same as you are now. Your dark presence startled me. I immediately started kicking at you, asking, who are you? I started hollering at you over and over. ‘Get out, get out of my room. ’
My dad yelled out, ‘Who are you talking to?’ You then walked right beside my bed. I scooted as far over as I could to the opposite edge, hollering back at my dad, ‘There is someone in our house!’ I leaned over after you walked out of my room and watched as you slowly walked down the hall.
My dad got up and checked for an intruder, made sure all the doors were locked, then walked by my room and with a harsh tone, said ‘Go to sleep!’ Apparently my dad didn’t believe anyone had been in the house.”
“Yes, you do remember, that’s right, I was there looking down at what I thought would someday be a great man of God. I ordered some of my best demons to try to steal whatever plans the Creator had for you. Apparently it worked, you spent most of your life driving fast cars, chasing women and having a great ole time.
So tell me, Little Soul, why has the Creator not allowed you to enter Heaven? Why has He brought you here to Tabula Rasa? What have the Angels of comfort told you? You weren’t much good for Him on Earth as His servant. What makes you think you can be of service to Him now?”
“There you go again bringing up my failures. I served God while I was on Earth. I had several good years of service. God allowed me to write music, sing His praises and I bet it impacted someone’s life. It might not have been thousands as you had feared, but by confessing Christ to as many people as I did, maybe, just maybe, there might be at least one who would lead thousands to know Him.
One other thing, I confess, I didn’t live for God during my youth. I was a foolish young man. Not living for Jesus Christ, I was a terrible father to my children and they have suffered because of it.
But here’s the ticket, I have asked for forgiveness and God is faithful to forgive. So trying to condemn me by reminding me of my sinful past, is I guess pretty good conversation, but has no meaning to me or God. He has cast my sin as far as the east is from the west.”
“Little Soul, I have walked among the sons of God and I have heard your name. I walked among the demons of Hell and a second time I have heard your name. I know the Creator is going to use you in some way. Come with me and let me show you the kingdoms of Earth where I will give you reign over millions of my servants. Let me fill your heart with the pleasures of the most beautiful women. There is nothing you could imagine that I can’t provide for you, just take my hand. Remember you’ve failed God on Earth before, what if you fail him here? Don’t you think He may cast you out, as he has cast me down to the Earth?”
“Lucifer, I have what I want, and that is to serve the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the Creator of all things above and below. I answer to only Him.”
Lucifer shakes his head, “Whatever the Creator is up to with you couldn’t have much effect on the final days. Just look around on Earth, it’s in the season of the great falling away. I have the souls of men right where I want them. The rivers of pride run deep.”
He turns and walks back through the portal with his six angels following close behind.
I take a deep breath with a long sigh of relief, and I hear the sound of a strong wind and turn just in time to see the portal close. You could now see right through the rock doorway as the fiery blue portal window vanished. The fresh smell of the mountain air has returned as the stench of sulfur dissipates. The dark shadows from the heavy canopy of clouds disappear. I look up and feel the warm sunlight hitting my face as if to have assurance God is in control. I turn and see Nipper and Allayer smiling, heading in my direction.
* * *
I look back at my Guardian Angel and notice something about his face, arms, and legs that I hadn’t noticed before; he has deep scars all over him. What could have happened to him? Even though I feel the urge to ask and want to talk to him, I realize this isn’t the time or place. I’m not sure if I could find the right words anyway. He must have noticed me watching him, because he gives me a short smile and places his right hand on my shoulder as he passes. They are all now heading for the portal to Heaven.
I ask Nipper and Allayer, “Are we going with the Warriors? Can we go to Heaven now?”
“Not yet, we have a few more things to show you here on Tabula Rasa.”
“Well dang, I was ready to hit the road Jack. After the long conversation with the most evil being in God’s creation, I am definitely ready to get off the top of this mountain!”
I look over at the portal as the first six Angels go through with my Guardian giving us a small wave as he turns and disappears through the portal.
“Allayer, when will I see him again?”
“You’ll get to spend a few days in Heaven with him before he’s reassigned.”
“Sounds great, are we ready to go?”
Nipper grabs my wine pouch, takes a little sip, and then passes it around to Allayer. After we had a small refreshing taste of Tabula Rasa wine we start our journey off the mountain. As we make our way through the scattered saplings, I can now see the two Angels wearing sackcloth and the Angel of persuasion just a few yards away from the entry back into the cavern.
Nipper tells me, “We need to catch up before they go through the hidden gate.”
As we make our way through the cavern and down the mountain trail, I can’t help but think: How strange is the event that had just taken place on top of that beautiful mountain . As I tried to make sense of it all, I hear Allayer and Nipper talking. I keep forgetting they can hear my thoughts.
“Hey, guys.”
“Yeah, Chado, go ahead ask away.”
“Well, I was wondering about a few things I’m not real clear on, like, why don’t the Warrior Angels ever say anything? As a matter of fact, the three Angels walking ahead of us haven’t said anything either, except when they were talking to the condemned men; and you two don’t mind having conversation at all.”
“Chado, Nipper and I were once human. Remember us telling you how we got killed back around the time when the Ark of Covenant was stolen from God’s children? At our time of death, God gifted us with knowledge, a spirit of comforting and transformed us into a type of Angel. There are millions just like Nipper and I. You’ve already seen how different we are from the others. We don’t have the same power as the Angels of God. We are limited and different in a lot of ways.”
“Different, can you tell me how?”
“Sure, it’s actually pretty easy to explain. In the beginning, God created man in his own image. Nipper and I both still have a lot of human characteristics remaining, proving we aren’t much different from you. We still love to joke around and have fun like we did as mortals. When you eventually reach Heaven, God will gift you with several angelic abilities, you’ll see.”
“Abilities, like what kind of abilities?”
Allayer and Nipper both laugh, “Patience, Little Soul, patience.”
“Yeah, why did Lucifer keep calling me ‘Little Soul’? I started to ask him why, but I didn’t want to lengthen our conversation any longer than I had to. ”
“We don’t know, maybe he calls everyone Little Soul, or it was his way of trying to get you angry so you might spill the beans about your assignment.”
“Yeah, maybe so. I know I didn’t like it. Hey you guys finish explaining about the Angels.”
“Well, God designed the Heavens and the Earth and saw that it was good. He didn’t stop there, He continued forming and designing every living creature including Angels. I guess you could say He needed help to run it all, and what better way than to have Angels of all sorts to help Him do just that. The Hosts of Heaven were designed by God as creatures of light. You and every believer on Earth, Heaven and Hell know them as Angels. God designed each one in a very special way. They all have commonalities, but each being has its own unique gifts. The Angels of Heaven or Hell have no idea what it’s like to be human, so don’t be alarmed when they don’t show the same characteristics as mortals. We know without a doubt, you’ll feel right at home with the Angels after you’ve been in Heaven for a while.”
“Allayer, do you think when I get to Heaven; my Guardian Angel will talk with me?”
“Sure, he will. The Angels of Heaven open up a little better when you’re one on one. My advice would be to go a little slow at first. Trust me; he’ll open up to you.”
Nipper chimes in, “Remember, they have never been mortal, so their conversation will be more rigid or should I say direct and to the point. Oh yeah, they don’t really joke around as much as we do.”
“Thanks for the heads up guys.”
We finally get to the bottom of the mountain where the stone trail meets the cobblestone road. Allayer and Nipper continue following the three Angels ahead of us as we turn to the right heading away from the village .
“Why are we still following the Angels? Aren’t we going back to the village?”
“No, we’re not going back to the village. But we aren’t really following them, we just happen to be going in the same direction as they are.”
We continue walking down the long, winding cobblestone road for several miles. As we walk, I see a few scattered homes nestled in the foothills of the mountain range that we were leaving behind us.
“Hey guys, I have another question.”
“Go ahead, shoot.”
“I’m curious about the portals. How are all the people here coming from Earth and leaving for Heaven? I know they’re using portals, but the whole thing on top of the mountain with the secret passages, surely everybody that comes and goes doesn’t have to make their way through all that, right?”
Nipper chuckles, “No, of course not, what you saw on top of the mountain was designed for the condemned and the coming and going of God’s Angels. No one else here will ever see that. The portal to Hell that’s on top of the mountain is the only one on Tabula Rasa.”
“So where are the other portals located?”
“God has them scattered all over the planet.”
“Well, why don’t the souls here just go find a portal and zoom off to Heaven?”
Allayer grins, “Chado that would defeat God’s plan for the citizens of Tabula Rasa. It’s like this, they arrive here as lost souls without any knowledge of God. After they are here for a while and fully aware of the truth and know Jesus as their Lord and Savior, at that moment, God allows their eyes to be opened and they see the path to Heaven.”
“So the portals become visible only after they surrender their hearts over to Jesus? ”
“Yes, not only can they see the portals, they are led to the portal locations by the Holy Spirit.”
“Now that is really cool. Why isn’t it like that on Earth?”
“Well, Satan kind of messed that up. Remember he has full reign over the Earth, at least what God allows him to reign over. When a Christian dies they are met at that second by Angels like us and we transport them straight to the Gates of Heaven. It’s kind of like the flash of light you talked about. When someone passes that’s rejected the Lord, in that very second they are met by some of Lucifer’s demons, or on special occasions, his fallen angels do the transporting to Hell’s gates. Chado, can you imagine dying and in the next second you’re facing something like what you saw on the mountain that came out of the portal of Hell?”
“No, I couldn’t imagine. That is a scary thought. You know some of the rich and famous that make their living joking about Christians claiming to be atheist are going to have a rude awakening. So what happens when there’s some kind of huge natural disaster or terrorist attack where hundreds or maybe even thousands are killed? Do we have enough Angels to take care of that many at one time?”
Nipper stops in his tracks looks over with a smile, “Remember God has designed legions of transporters like us and if needed, one Angel can transport ten thousand.”
Allayer reaches for my wine pouch before we start walking again, “You know transporting that many souls at one time isn’t the problem. The problem is sorting them out. The saved are transformed from mortal to immortal at the same time the lost are.”
“Why is that a problem? Y’all can’t tell them apart when the saved and the unsaved die?”
“Oh yeah, we can tell them apart because the saved have a glow or an aura around them, and the lost, well they have a type of darkness surrounding them. ”
“An aura, what do you mean?”
“Well it’s like this, when you were back on Earth living the life of a Christian, God gave you a spirit of discernment. When you were walking through your church on a Sunday morning, mingling with fellow believers, did you ever notice a special glow in the faces of certain ones?”
“Yes, I have, I’ve even shared my thoughts about that with close friends. It was something different in their faces. You could see and tell they had the love of Christ.”
“That’s right, even some of the lost can see it, they know it’s something different about Christians but just can’t totally understand. With that curiosity and hearing that soft, still voice of God, some are drawn to it and eventually are saved. The sad thing is that millions hear it, feel it and then reject it.”
“So tell me why it gets tricky when you have to sort the saved from the lost during a large disaster?”
“Chado, do you remember the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares?”
“Sure I do, Mathew 13:24-30.”
“Quote it to us, we have time.”
“Okay. ‘The kingdom of Heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way.
But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared.
So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’
He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’
But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them .
Let both grow together until the harvest, and at that time of harvest I will say to the reapers, first gather the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.’ ”
Nipper says, “We believe the meaning behind that scripture relates to the final rapture, but it mirrors the same sorting out we have to do when a multitude of mortals die at the same time. To answer your question, you need to understand, even though the demons have no right to the saved, they still try to drag them away. We think they know, it’s just they are mean and hateful and are trying to scare the saved and make trouble for us. Remember they hate the Christians and despise the Angels.”
“That sounds like what happened when we had the little run in with that demon back on Earth.”
“Yep, same thing, we always have a Warrior Angel nearby as we transport. And usually some of the Christians have their Guardians with them at the time of passing. So we don’t usually worry about the demons.”
“That reminds me, I’m glad my Guardian was with us when you guys picked me up from my ocean floor death bed. The nasty demon that grabbed my ankle gave me a pretty good scare. However, that demon tucked his tail and vanished when my Warrior Angel’s sword lit up as he unsheathed it.”
Nipper asked, “Yeah, but what about your other question?”
“Oh yeah, back on the mountain, when the Nephilim Giants attacked, why didn’t the Warriors’ swords light up like my Guardian’s did before?”
“Well, Chado, back in the Gulf of Mexico your Guardian was sending a message to Lucifer that you were off limits. The battle on the mountain, the Warriors had no need to use that much force to defeat the giants or the fallen angels. Lucifer knows that his crew is no match for God’s Angels. ”
Nipper takes one more swallow of wine and hands me the lamb skin pouch as we continue down the cobblestone road.
Allayer points up ahead, “That’s where we’re headed, Chado,”
* * *
As I look, I see a row of trees standing on the edge of a hill. These wooden giants all planted in a perfect line, as if they were meant to watch over the small village at the bottom of the hill. Their huge limbs swaying in the wind almost like a dance. I continue to follow Nipper and Allayer as we walk off the cobblestone path onto plush green grass and finally, we all plop down underneath a huge elm tree. “Chado, keep an eye on the crossroad at the bottom of the hill.”
As I look I see several people gathered together underneath another big shade tree just a few feet from the road intersection, when suddenly I notice a flicker of light in the center of the crossroad and two people appear. I rub my eyes and wonder, what did I just see? I notice Allayer and Nipper are now grinning, as I look back, two of the people sitting under the shade tree immediately get up, walk over to introduce themselves, and then all four walk back to the shade tree and sit down. I see it again. Another flicker of light, three small children appear right in the same place as the others.
Before I could ask, Allayer starts to explain, “This is one of many portals of salutation that are scattered all over the planet. These portals are used to transport the people of Earth that have died without any knowledge of God here to Tabula Rasa.”
“Wow, so that was the flashes of light coming and going we saw just before we arrived?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Who are the people greeting them? ”
“Well it could be anybody that God gave the task to. He usually chooses souls that He knows will be really good at it. It might be someone from three thousand years ago or He might even have people from your time.”
“So when they arrive you say they have no understanding of what’s happening?”
“We know… it’s a bit strange. When they get here their minds are a lot like those of very young children. God does this so that everyone is easier to teach. But some of the older people are so deeply rooted in hatred and sin that it sometimes shows up later as God allows the free will factor.”
Nipper chimes in, “God gives them a sense of peace and a hunger to learn. After they arrive, they are brought to these villages, where they are made to feel at home and are comforted by some of God’s teachers. The teachers encourage some of the younger new arrivals to be mother or father figures to the children here.”
“Guys, you know this is an almost foolproof setup. A person can get here, be taught, and accept Jesus as Lord and then move on to Heaven. It makes you wonder, how in the world does anyone fail to understand the truth - or just reject Christ - like the condemned we brought to Hell’s portal?”
Nipper mumbles, “Like we just said, free will is a killer.”
Allayer shrugs his shoulders and sighs, “That question has been asked for a couple thousand years. When you think of it, it’s a lot like Earth. Most people are exposed to God all their life and just don’t get it. Men are born with a sin nature, and even with an opportunity, or should I say a second chance like this one, they still turn away from the love of God. We believe some are just born for destruction.”
“I know; that’s a sad thought. If they only knew what they were missing out on. ”
We grab a couple apples and oranges on our way past a small grove of fruit trees near the bottom of the hill. I ask, “So where are the portals they use to get on God’s freeway to Heaven?”
Nipper and Allayer point to a building located on the opposite end of the village from the crossroad. At that point, I hate to ask if the portal is in the building, thinking the question would be really dumb. Nipper laughs, “No it’s not in the building, you’ll see.”
We get within a few yards of this bamboo shack and I see several people walk out and start heading out of town. Nipper, leading the way, starts to follow this small group. Just over a couple small foot hills we come to another river, and low and behold, John the Baptist. He was at it again, waist deep in water with a long line of people, all waiting to be baptized. You could hear him from a long distance boldly preaching, “No man can come to the Father but through His Son Jesus Christ!”
Splash, another submerged, and then another, with John never missing a breath continuing his preaching. It was truly a spectacular sight.
We watch as the ones who had already been baptized and accepted Jesus as Lord start heading away from the crowd further down the river bank. With Nipper still in the lead, we all follow the new believers. As we make our way through a few weeping willow trees growing along the river bank, I am reminded of home. The branches hanging low over this crystal clear river makes me think of the swimming holes of my youth.
I hear Nipper, “There it is!” I look up and see a stone doorway just a couple hundred feet away with trees lining the path on each side, their branches all hanging over the road creating a tunnel. It is simply beautiful. The stones in the doorway look like they are from an ancient castle, each stacked unevenly but giving the appearance of being perfect .
There are dogwood trees blooming on each side of the door with roses of many different colors twined around the base of each tree. Just to the right of the portal, I see an old man seated on a huge wooden chair. He has a large scroll set on a rock stand in front of him. As each person steps over the threshold to the portal, he writes on his scroll.
Before I can even ask, Allayer hears my thought, “No that’s not the Lamb’s Book of Life. He’s just documenting each person leaving Tabula Rasa.”
“Who is the old man?”
“We don’t know for sure, some of the Angels say it’s Methuselah. He doesn’t talk to anybody and he’s usually too busy doing what you see. So we never bother him; as a matter of fact we’ve only seen this place one other time.”
“So how many portals to Heaven are there on Tabula?”
“We think there are several hundred scattered all over the planet. We know every village and town has at least one around their location.”
“So is there someone like Methuselah at each portal documenting everyone that goes through?”
“Yep, all are volunteers, and they won’t complete their mission until the last soul passes over. That won’t happen until there are no more coming from Earth.”
“Right, if they run out of souls here that means Earth is toast.”
“Yep, pretty much. That’s when we’ll see God fulfill scripture with the two thousand year reign of peace, a new Heaven and a new Earth. It’s going to be awesome.”
“So, what now guys?”
Nipper and Allayer look at each other then back at me, “Let’s get in line, it’s time to get you to Heaven.”
“For real, y’all aren’t pulling my leg again, are you? ”
“Nope, let’s get in line.”
All three of us edge closer to the back of a very long line. The glow we talked about earlier was evident in the face of each person there. I’m sure my face was now shining as bright as anyone’s. The thrill and happiness is starting to overcome me as I try to keep my composure. I hear the chattering of several different languages as I stand in line with people from all over the world.
My thoughts of Heaven are overwhelming! Will I get to meet my great-great-grandfather? I wonder if some of my kin, maybe my daughter, will meet me at the gate of Heaven. Probably not, I’m sure Jesus will be at the gate. What if no one meets me there and I have to wander around Heaven to find everyone? Well I guess that wouldn’t be a bad problem to have. Wait a second… God is in control and I know He has this. I’m letting my mind get way too far out there.
We slowly move closer to the portal, ole Methuselah is continuing to jot everyone’s name down as the line shortens. It looks like we are only a couple hundred people back from the entrance.
As I’m looking around at all these people, I start wondering about my dad again. I’m still not sure if he made it. Oh yeah, I remember in the conversation with Lucifer, he said he got my grandfather and almost got my dad and he would have if hadn’t been for my mom praying and fasting for my dad. So he’s definitely up there. Okay, that’s a relief. But Summer? My sweet daughter, did she make it? Well duh, I remember Allayer and Nipper grinning when we were talking about my daughter. So I think that means she made it also.
Pondering over these thoughts, faces of old friends I lost years ago pass through my memories. I wonder if… Suddenly, my deep thoughts are interrupted as Allayer turns and looks at me and with a stern voice.
“Chado Cole, you stop that right now! You’re going to have a heart attack and die again if you keep worrying about who did or didn’t make it to Heaven.” We look at each other and burst out laughing.
“Heart attack, Allayer you are crazy.”
After our comic relief, our laughter dies away and we find ourselves standing right in front of old man Methuselah. When he died on Earth he was only 969 years old, the oldest man in history.
As the two people in front of us stepped through the portal, Methuselah never changing expression, looked up at me and with a deep, crusty sounding voice he says, “They told me you were coming.”
I was speechless. While I was trying to think of something wise to say back, he looks down writes our names on the tablet, and then motions with his left hand to move through. All I could manage to squeak out was, “Thank you, sir.”