Angel Prophecies : Chapter 2

< Chapter 2: Divine Intervention >

Gabriel stood beneath the bright, white sky of Heaven. His hands were folded together in meditation, trying to clear his mind of thoughts and memories from the world below. But once evil entered, it was hard to remove.

Three enormous Angels with fiery, orange wings landed beside him in silence. One bent over and laid down the seven seals of the Apocalypse. A second placed a fiery trumpet at his feet. The third reached into his tunic and withdrew a dark blade. Before he placed it atop the illuminant stone, he read what God had written there.

Gabriel
Man of God
Hero of God.

The orange winged Angels could see that shadows still clouded Gabriel's mind, so they placed their hands upon him and said:

"Do not doubt, for God has Faith in you brother."

With that, Gabriel stopped his prayer and looked at them. The Angels all stepped away, for his eyes were no longer blue; over the centuries, they had filled with a golden light similar to that of God.

"Why have you disturbed my meditation? I have sat here for a thousand years trying to find a path back to the innocence I once had."

A tear fell along his cheek, in it was the pain of the world. It was a tear shed for the fallen and the forlorn.

"The Son of God has called for you." They said.

"Why would I be called now?"

"It has begun." The Angels said.

Gabriel looked down. The emblems of the Apocalypse were laid around him like a dark trinity. He picked up his mighty horn and touched it to his lips. Angels danced around the rim, and they sang the verses of Revelation. To his left he saw the Seals of the Apocalypse: seven seals, seven sins-it was the perfect number, divine in every right.

"It is time for you to bring the final message." The Angels said.

Gabriel felt the warmth of God as he remembered back to when Jehovah had chosen him above all Angels to deliver the good message that Jesus was to be born.

"Am I really to be the one that delivers this terrible message?" Gabriel said.

The Angel to his right, bowed down and handed over the dark, soul blade. Gabriel wept when he saw that Jehovah had written Hero of God beneath his first two names.

"You are the one brother." The Angels pointed down to the middle world that rested beneath.

Far below Heaven, the Son of God stood barefoot upon the cold granite cliffs of the Western Mount. The wind pulled his white robe tightly around him, showing a thin and fragile frame. The wreath of lilies on his head shivered in the wind. From that mountain height he watched as Michael pushed a dark blade against Lucifer's neck, and with a quick movement nearly cut all the way through it.

On the Eastern mount Mohammad dropped to his knees and bowed five times singing the final verses of the Koran. Elijah too thought the End of Times had come, for he prayed to God asking for Redemption. But Jesus did not brandish his white saber of light. Rather he raised his hand into the clouds and with a clap of thunder opened the belly of Heaven.

All the Angels that stood amongst the cosmos pointed in awe as Gabriel flew through the Southern Gate as lightening. Jesus smiled and bowed his head for they had been friends since Christ's terrestrial birth. Gabriel blew his trumpet as he fell into that middle world. The angels with orange, fiery wings flew by his side. Like Gabriel they had wide, fiery eyes and many wings; some had six wings and others twelve. When Gabriel sounded his trumpet again, comets fell from the sky, and Gabriel landed as fire upon the field.

"Do not get in the middle of this." Michael said.

"I have no choice." Gabriel replied.

But the sound of those words traveled slower than Gabriel did. In a flash of light, he stood beside Michael holding back the blade from Lucifer's throat.

These two Angels were regal beyond imagining. Michael had white hair that was braided down to his shoulders. His jaw was strong and rugged, a perfect masculine form but Gabriel was a beauty all together different. At first glance he looked to be a woman.

He held a softness; his blushing cheeks were like powdered porcelain that supported the eyes of an Egyptian queen. His face was painted, and his lips were as red as his ruby tongue. Golden hair fell freely about his back except for two long braids that lay across his gold, armored chest plate.

Gabriel reached into the air and held a trumpet made of gold and silver; it was set with every sort of jewel man had ever known on earth.

"It may be your blade which finishes the world, but it is my trumpet that will bring the Apocalypse. You do not have the right to destroy Lucifer here for I have not called for the End of Times. This boy's soul must be delivered into the world. The Prophecy must be fulfilled."

"No, Gabriel. I end it here." Michael said.

With those words, Michael pushed the blade forward into Lucifer's neck, but Gabriel held it back. Both Angels were of colossal strengths, one could not move the other, yet Gabriel slipped between Michael and Lucifer. He then curled his great, white wings around Lucifer's burning body and put the fire out. In that instant, Michael pushed the blade against Gabriel's throat, threatening death.

"Do not test me, brother. I will blow my trumpet until Father comes down from the sky, and you will know that you are wrong when God casts you into hell and you burn for all of eternity. Not even Jesus will have mercy upon you."

Their eyes met like kindled flames, shimmering with divine wrath.

"I cannot forget this." Michael said, and he tried to pull the blade back so that he might retreat with it, but Gabriel grabbed his wrist and tore it from his hand.

"You do not get to keep this either. You never should have had it."

Gabriel looked down at the dagger. He ran his fingers along the blade and read all of the names that were written there. One name was written above all others; it had nearly been scratched out so that it was barely legible. It read:

Samael, Most beloved by God.

"How did you come by this? Our very souls are bound to these blades. They are kept in the Great Halls of Heaven, guarded by Cherubim and harbored in a vault of fire and light. They are sacred for they are the very secrets of our lives." Gabriel said.

"The end has come, and the vaults are empty for the daggers have been dispensed. It is time for Lucifer's death." Michael said.

"Were you ordered to give Lucifer his blade or were you to destroy him?"

Michael stretched his wings wide as the horizon showing his strength and glory. They were made of emeralds and were too broad for the sky,

"Why would Father give the blade back?"

"We can not understand the mind of God." Gabriel said.

"Even still there is no harm in taking Lucifer's life myself. The Prophecy foretells of his destruction."

"Your hatred for him has clouded your mind. You are a messenger of God and not a prophet. When God speaks an order, we are to carry it out to the last word, to the last detail and nothing more." Gabriel said.

"I am the commander of all the Angelic legions and the entire army of God. I have taken Lucifer's place in Heaven and God has forgotten him."

"You have become ruler of Angels, but Father still loves Lucifer. He did not give you the order to kill." Gabriel said.

"God hates him and his end has come. God told me that all the soul blades of Angels were to be given out, and Lucifer's blade would bring about the Apocalypse. Satan's rule is over." Michael said.

"Look at his name, brother, Most Beloved by God. That will never change, not even after the end. You have his rank but not his place in the mind of God. The Prophecy is what matters; that is the will of Father. Lucifer can not die now. Jacob, the child he guards must be delivered into the womb of his mother."

Michael's eyes became fire when he heard that name, Jacob.

"He will not be given that title."

"But the name is sealed in his flesh. Look at his forehead and his hand. The name has been pressed through to his very soul."

Michael pulled his sword out and charged towards Jacob.

"Then I will cut it from his skin and soul."

But Gabriel caught Michael before he could kill the boy.

"Why are you so enraged by a name? It is only a name. There is nothing holy in it, nothing permanent. The child will not remember his name when he is born into the world. The Prophecy still stands no matter. Let him have his name." Gabriel said.

The two Angels wrestled for a second, each showing the other his divine strength. The very air seemed to move away from them as if their power terrified the elements. Even the lotus flowers and soil at their feet moved away, and so they fought and floated above a void.

"You choose the wrong side." Michael said.

"Brother, I am with you, and I know that you have waited for all of time to bring Justice into the world. But vengeance is not the same as justice. Killing your enemy is not the same as bringing peace. It is not time yet."

Gabriel placed his hand upon Michael's arm. And Michael bowed his head, staying his anger. Together they touched palm to palm, and light erupted between their hands.

"You have always been a friend but be careful. His tongue is sharper than my blade."

Michael turned and walked away without looking back. Gabriel went over to Lucifer and placed his hand upon his forehead. And Jacob saw the destruction that had become of his Guardian. What was once the most glorious Angel in Heaven was now nothing but blood and smoking flesh.

Lucifer sat with his back bent and his head bowed. Smoke rose all around him. His skin was charcoal black, but his eyes were green.

"I have endured this treatment since my fall from Grace." Lucifer said.

"And that is wrong, brother."

Gabriel put his hand against Lucifer's cheek and whispered a prayer. Healing light erupted from beneath his hand. The lotus flowers at Lucifer's feet began to grow around him. They rose through the ash of the olive branches and blossomed. From the flowers came golden light, and the sky opened above the Western Mountain where the Son of God stood praying with his eyes closed and his hands outstretched. The miracle came from the belly of Heaven; doves flew down in great white vortices.

In their beaks they carried manna, the food of Angels. They placed the wafers all around Lucifer and upon his skin. They laid it on his head in a wide circle, and it became an ivory white wreath.

"Father still loves you." Gabriel said.

Lucifer looked up. Their eyes met. Green and gold-Gabriel's were filled with the precious luster of laughter, forgiveness and love.

"I have not seen Father in a very long time." Lucifer said.

"But yet he is there. He is everywhere, and your name is still sung in Heaven on the seventh day when the sun rises above Jerusalem. The Seraphim blow trumpets, and Thrones stand atop the seven mountains and sing the songs of Redemption."

"Do they?" Lucifer said.

"Yes. They whisper your name to each flower that blooms outside the gates of Heaven. When the pedals fall off and are blown over the Eastern walls, Jesus catches each one, and he says your name in a kiss, blessing your return to God's grace."

Lucifer's eyes flushed with gold for a moment and a tear as blue as the deepest oceanic trenches fell down his face and was caught in the open arms of a lotus blossom.

The doves swarmed in and covered him from head to toe. They pushed the manna against his flesh with their feet, and Lucifer's body healed except for the scars about his face, some were so deep that they went to the bone. But he looked only a little worse than before the fire. He was thin and weak but otherwise recovered.

"Stand up brother and guide the soul of this child." Gabriel said.

"He has chosen the name Jacob, and I have marked him with it."

"Yes, I know. It is a good name, and it is your right to name him here. But on earth he will be known by another name. You know this as well as I."

Lucifer nodded his head, yes.

"What child do you carry?" Lucifer asked.

"I have not woken her yet."

Gabriel reached around to his back. There slung in a silken bag was the body of a girl. Her face was as white as porcelain, with eyes so lightly colored blue that they looked nearly white. It gave her a ghostly appearance.

"I couldn't leave her in the field because the insects would have eaten her."

Gabriel laid her down in the bed of lotuses and raised his head up to the sky. From his mouth poured out light. At first it was shapeless, but it took the form of a radiant hand that held the key to Heaven. It rose up into the cosmos and unlocked a dark vault, and the sky opened. Light poured down revealing seven Angels who each had twelve wings; they stood upon a blanket of fluttering doves.

They drifted down and in their hands was cupped the child's bright, luminous soul. She held the Angel's fingers and peaked over looking down at her body in the field below. She was smiling with electric eyes-excited to near elation.

"She will be a good woman." Lucifer said.

"As bright as the first star lit in the sky."

Gabriel took her in his arms. Each of the seven Angels wept when her soul was away from them. Their tears fell as diamonds over her body. And when the insects came out of the soil and crawled over her flesh; when the serpents wrapped around her arms and legs, the Angels screamed prayers born in flames. They flew down and destroyed the insects with great roaring swords of fire.

"With this first covenant I give you the waters of the earth and the beginnings of the universe." Gabriel said placing blue fire upon her lips. He blew the flame into her flesh. Her skin became soft and youthful.

"Above the water was air." Gabriel placed white fire upon her lips and blew it into her flesh. Her lungs filled.

"From the ocean God made the firmament." Gabriel placed black fire upon her lips and breathed another breath into her flesh. Her hands and body then had weight that pressed against the soil below.

Gabriel smiled as he closed his eyes, readying himself for the final covenant. That holy prayer was spoken inward, in reverse. Light and air moved into his body. As if Gabriel was consuming the very night around him, stars fell from the sky, and each was engulfed. Comets and suns rained down until the night was pure darkness, until all of the light disappeared within. Then the sky opened and God stood overhead in the form of a ram with two great horns. He spoke a name that none could hear. The word fell and was taken into Gabriel and then blown out into the little girl in a solemn breath.

Her eyes lit with ecstasy. Fire danced above her head. She clutched the soil at her side and writhed in pleasure. She looked up with dark, wild eyes.

"What will be my name?" She said.

"On earth you will be called Sarai, my princess. The name has a great lineage that reaches back to the wife of Abraham, who was the patriarch of Judaism, Islam and Christianity. Sarai was also known as Iscah for her beauty was so great that every man paid her attention. Your beauty will be great, but I shall call you Rachel. For you are bound to Jacob's soul." Gabriel said.

There was a faint illuminant bond between Rachel and Jacob. Something divine connected them.

"They are joined." Lucifer said.

"Yes, it is Fate. Some souls are mated at birth, and your two souls have been bound to each other in Heaven. Though you may be separated in life, you are united in death. Because of this, I will call you Rachel, for she was wed to Jacob at the beginning of history, far back in the story of Genesis. Rachel means ewe, the innocence and gentility of a lamb. That is the way you will be in life. Your soul will remain untouched by the world and unfettered by darkness."

And so before they were born, both were married. Angels bore witness to the union, and Heaven stood above like a presiding priest. Gabriel placed golden rings upon the children's fingers, and Lucifer put his palm on their heads. Rachel held Jacob's hand, and he hers.

Jacob took a step forward; Rachel followed him, both were anxious to move towards the world.

"Where do we go?" Jacob asked.

Gabriel turned and answered.

"We must journey a great distance before you are born. There are three journeys in the life of a soul. This is the first, from Heaven down into the world to be birthed from your mother's womb. The second journey is life on earth, and the third comes in death when your soul returns to Heaven."

"This journey we must travel across great divides, through many obstacles and often in great peril before you are born. That is why we are here. We are the Guardian Angels that keep you safe along the way."

Gabriel picked Rachel up as he walked forward.

"I want to walk with Jacob." Rachel said.

"You are very brave, but you are too young to walk. You do not yet have the strength for it."

Gabriel placed manna upon her lips so that she might eat.

"No, I want to walk with Jacob." She said, but Gabriel carried her away, and with each step her eyes were widened by pleasure. Soon she forgot every desire but to move forward, to hurry into the world.

Lucifer reached down and picked up a handful of the burned olive branches. He mashed them in his hands, and they fell as black soot onto the white flowers at Jacob's feet.

"Ashes to ashes."

But Jacob did not understand.

He smiled and said, "It is a riddle about the end of life when we all become the same. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. One day I'll destroy Michael, and sift the remains of his body just like these branches he burned around me."

Lucifer was still scarred by the fire. His skin was charred in places. Gabriel had healed most of it but not all. Lucifer looked old and weak; he wanted to sit and rest a little while, but he resisted the temptation. He took Jacob's hand and moved towards the world.

Together they walked in silence. Jacob did not want to speak; he only looked to the next step, to move closer to the world. When Jacob glanced back towards the field and looked up into the sky, though the distance was but a little ways, he knew that behind him was difficult. The path back to Heaven was locked behind pain.