The Children of Eternity (24 page)

“That may be awhile,” cautioned Jonathon.

“Time means little to angels,” Zurel replied with a smile. “Take whatever time you need. When you return, I will still be here.”

The children moved on into the Holy Place. Although the great crisis had passed, the number of people here in the presence of God had not diminished. If anything, that number had grown. But there was more to it than that: the atmosphere of this place had changed. There was so much weeping in Heaven today. And the children knew only too well the cause of that sadness.

They only traveled a short distance into the Holy Place before they came to a halt. They sat in a circle upon the glistening floor. They didn’t say a word to each other, but closed their eyes and opened their hearts. Then they waited. They didn’t have to wait long. Within seconds, the din of voices of those around them faded, as did the light.

Jonathon opened his eyes first. The group still sat in a circle, though now they sat in that long, familiar hallway within the home of the Father. “Hey, we’re here!” he announced, rising to his feet.

Lilly opened her eyes and reached out to Jonathon. He drew her gently to her feet. The others opened their eyes and gazed around in wonder. A smile came to every face.

“I was really hoping that the Father would bring us back here,” said Christopher, who quickly joined Jonathon and Lilly.

“So was I,” said Jerry, who made his way first to the window, ten feet away. “Hey, take a look.”

The others walked to the window. Below them, as far as the eye could see, was a world, a darkened planet of clouds, which was almost continually being illuminated by strikes of lightning dancing between the mists. The storms stretched out to the distant, curved limb of this mighty world. To the left was a great bow of light, where night met day. Beyond, the clouds took on hues ranging from white to pale yellow below a narrow bow of blue sky that gradually faded into the blackness of space.

“It’s a gas giant planet, I think,” noted Jonathon. “My Grandma Gladys has told me all about these. There is no land under those clouds, only more clouds.”

“Interesting,” said Christopher, scanning the vista below. “I guess Father moves His house around a lot. It’s sort of like a big RV in the sky.”

Jonathon looked over at Jerry and smiled. Yep, it was the kind of comment that only Christopher would come up with. He turned his gaze to the open double door down the hallway on the right. Bright light was streaming from that room. “I think the Father is probably waiting for us.”

“We shouldn’t keep Him waiting,” suggested Lilly.

With those words, the group made their way toward the partially open door. Reaching it, Jonathon looked in. He was astounded to discover not the library he remembered from the previous trip, but an alpine meadow filled with yellow flowers, cloaked here and there with thin wisps of morning mist. In the background were tall snow-covered peaks; beyond, a forest of tall pine trees.

The sun hung not far above the distant mountains, and in terrestrial skies above it was a crescent world many times the size of the moon. It was a world of white and faint yellow banded clouds intermixed with zones of blue. Still higher in the sky was another much smaller crescent and then another, all perfectly aligned. The lower of the two crescents had a yellowish hue while the smaller, higher one was light gray.

Standing in the meadow some 50 feet away was the Father, dressed in a white shirt, white trousers, and white shoes.

“Come in, My beloved children, I’ve been expecting you,” He said. Upon His countenance was a radiant smile. “You have all done very well, and I am most proud of you.”

The children stepped into the meadow. Turning around, Jonathon saw a most unusual sight. He could clearly see the double door through which they had just passed hanging in midair among the flowers of the meadow. Beyond the door he could still see the corridor of the home. A few seconds later, the door closed on its own and then vanished from sight.

“Wow,” remarked Christopher, looking around at the wondrous scene, “it’s like the moon of Yadith.”

“The moon of Yadith?” asked Lilly, gazing about.

“I suspect that it has something to do with the movie
Star Wars,”
deduced Jerry, “it usually does.”

The Father laughed. “You are very close to the truth, Christopher. As you have surmised, we are no longer in Heaven, nor are we on Earth.” He stretched out His arms. “This humble world is a moon circling a giant planet, which in turn circles a star not so far from Earth.” The Father motioned toward the great crescent in the sky. “Scientists on Earth know of this world. They call it Forty-seven Ursae Majoris b, but the people of this world call it Sedron.”

“There are people on this world?” asked Christopher, perking up. “Father, please…tell me what they’re like.”

Again the Father laughed. “Why, they’re like you, Christopher, bright and inquisitive, formed in My image. They too are My children, for I breathed the breath of life into them as well. They are your brothers and sisters, your younger brothers and sisters. They are not nearly so advanced as you are. They are still quite primitive in their ways. They are just now learning how to farm this rich land. I have sent My angels to look over them, to protect them, as I did with your ancestors.”

“Hopefully, the angels do a better job this time,” said Christopher. “The last time they made a bit of a mess of it. I mean, they got sort of fresh with the girls.”

“Christopher!” said Jonathon in frustration. He was surprised to see the Father nod in agreement.

“Very true,” said the Father, whose smile never dimmed. “That mistake will not be repeated. Still, hard as it may be to believe, even that was necessary. You see, I have plans for those angels, those dark angels that made that mistake. They too have a part to play in My plan.”

“But why are we here?” asked Jonathon.

“Because I am going to tell you the answer to a great mystery,” replied the Father. “It is a wonderful thing that I have told no others beyond My firstborn Son, and He in turn was instructed to do the same. That secret, in part, has to do with this place. For the moment, it must remain a secret among us. Are you able to keep a secret for a while?”

“Oh yes,” replied Christopher.

The others quickly agreed.

Again God laughed. “Very well then, here is the secret. It is the answer to this question: What is the ultimate purpose of humankind? Wise ones have sought the answer to this question for thousands of years.” He looked to Christopher. “You spoke wisdom beyond your years when you said that Heaven is not a rest home in the sky—it isn’t.

“First, Heaven is a place where you can be perfected, a place where you can become as My firstborn Son. It will take time, much time, but you will attain that goal. On that day, your spirit will become very much attuned to Mine, and those who see you shall see Me within you. That is what My Son meant when He said that those who have seen Him have seen Me. The day is coming when those who see you shall see Me.”

The children were speechless—with the exception of Christopher.

“Oh, Father, I want to be like Jesus so much! I want people to be able to see You in me.”

The Father placed His loving hand upon Christopher. “I know you do, and it makes Me very happy. The day will come when that will be true.”

“I know that we all feel that way. I do,” confirmed Jerry.

“Nothing would make me happier,” said Lilly.

Jonathon nodded in agreement.

“Well, you have already started the journey,” announced the Father, “and it is a good start. In freeing the hostages taken by the demons, you became agents of My will, as did Zurel. I assure you that on the day of his judgment, that act shall be taken into account. But let us focus on the four of you. There will be obstacles for each of you to overcome along the way, but you shall overcome them.

“You see, your adventure hasn’t ended; it is only beginning. The final adventure of your journey will be had in this place, with these people. They know that I exist—their hearts tell them that. Many of them truly love Me. They also know the difference between good and evil, but they will need guidance that My angels cannot provide them. Only My elder sons and daughters can.”

“Oh please…send us,” begged Christopher.

“Yes, Father, we want to do it,” confirmed Jonathon.

“Those are My intentions,” confirmed the Father. “When you are ready, I will send you here to teach them.” The Father paused. “But neither you nor they are ready just yet. I will send you here when the moment is right, as I sent My Son to your world. You see, you, the children of Earth, were the first, but My children are more numerous than the grains of sand upon all of the beaches of your Earth. I shall send you, the elder brothers and sisters, to teach all of My other children scattered across the universe. It is a great responsibility, and, in time, you shall be up to the challenge. This is the destiny of My children—to spread the good news across the universe.”

“It’s wonderful,” said Jonathon.

“It is,” confirmed the Father, “but you must prepare yourselves first. Each of you will know what it is that you must do. For the moment you will be parting company with the others, but when the time is right you will come together once more.”

“Father, look,” said Lilly, pointing to the edge of the forest.

The group looked to see about a dozen animal skin-clad people gathered there, staring at the mysterious visitors. Though the children were the better part of 100 yards away, with their heavenly vision they could see these people in remarkable detail. They appeared just as human as the young people did. They were not some sort of stooped primitives but stood upright, gazing at the wondrous people in white before them. They appeared to be no older than the four friends—little more than children.

Lilly hesitated, and then waved to them. All of the children of Heaven did. They were a bit surprised when the group at the edge of the forest exchanged the greeting.

The Father smiled. “Now you know what these people look like.”

“Can we go over and meet them?” asked Christopher.

“Not today,” said the Father. “It is time for you to go back. You have a journey to begin, but I promise you that it will lead back here.”

Before the children a blue mist filled with sparkling stars appeared. The Father motioned toward it as He vanished from view. It was time to go. The group gave a final wave to the children at the edge of the forest. It was too bad that they couldn’t get to know them yet. Then they stepped into the mists and vanished.

W
HEN THE CHILDREN OPENED THEIR
eyes, they were in the Holy Place once more. They rose to their feet.

“So what now?” asked Christopher.

“You go to study with Professor Faraday,” said Jerry. “You learn all about the universe around us and the rules that make it work. Am I right?”

“Yes, I guess so,” replied Christopher, “and you?”

“I really don’t know,” admitted Jerry. “Maybe I’ll go home.” He hesitated. “No, home will never be the same. I can’t go back to fishing—not now, not after all that we’ve been through. There has to be more to my life than that.”

“There is,” said Lilly, “but there is something that you must do first, something that you must know.”

“Like what?” objected Jerry.

“I don’t know,” admitted Lilly, “but I think you do.”

Jerry was silent for some time. All eyes were on him. “Yes, I think I do. I think there is someone I need to forgive.”

The others looked at Jerry. Apparently, they didn’t understand. Only Christopher nodded in approval.

“And what about you, Jonathon?” asked Jerry. “Where will you go now?”

Jonathon shook his head. “I don’t know.”

“You will,” said Lilly, placing her arm around him.

“Yeah, eventually,” said Jonathon, “but for the moment, I suppose I’ll continue living with Grandma and Grampa. They still have a lot to teach me.” He looked to Lilly. “Maybe you could live with us, at least for a while.”

Lilly hesitated. “I’d like to, Jonathon; really, I would. But I’m confused.”

Jonathon looked at Lilly in amazement. “You…confused?”

“Yes,” confirmed Lilly. “I know that there is a woman, one I’ve never met except in my dreams, who has things to teach me. I know it. She calls to me. I feel like she is very close, and I know I have to follow her.”

“If anyone else had told me that, I’d think they were a little bit touched,” said Jonathon, looking into Lilly’s eyes, “but coming from you…well, that’s different.”

Lilly giggled and squeezed Jonathon tight. “I’ll take that as a compliment, noble knight.”

Jonathon blushed slightly but said nothing more.

It was time to move on. The group moved toward the edge of the Holy Place. They agreed to return to the mansion by the sea. In the morning, Christopher would gather up his things and go to the home of Professor Faraday. In reality, he would be arriving there almost two weeks late. Still, he was certain that Professor Faraday and his wife would understand.