Short Stories

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How you are fallen
from heaven,
O Day Star,
son of Dawn!
[Isaiah 14:12]

His tail
swept down
a third
of
the stars
of heaven.
[Revelation 12:4]
********************
It is a quiet sunny
morning; two angels
are out in the pasture
feeding a couple of
horses*. Suddenly,
through the sweet,
quiet air, there is heard
the sounds of a soft,
tinkling bell.

"REJOICE! REJOICE!"
The two angels drop the
carrots and bright red
apples from their hands,
and shouting:
lifting their angelic hands
toward the beautiful
sky.

All through the pasture,
and over the hill, the
sounds of angelic voices
proclaiming "REJOICE!
REJOICE!" can be heard
in the sweet summer's
eternal air.
It is a indescribable,
lovely sound; down
in the valleys
and up over the
high hills of Heaven.
In the Music Hall,
several of the Musicians
who are practicing for the
Christmas Eve Play, stop
practicing to play a
beautiful melody on their
harps, flutes, mandolins,
pianos, and guitars. One
of the Shofar Blowers,
practicing for the Coming
Rapture, stops practicing
to give a mighty, joyful
blow on his horn.

The rejoicing and music
lasts quite a while......
until the Bell
Ringer stops ringing his
Instrument of Announcement
the one-thousandth,
and nine hundred,
and seventy seven times:
representing the
exact number of years,
since their LORD had
given His Blood Sacrifice,
as the Passover Lamb...
for all of mankind.

Rejoice! Another soul
has accepted the Christ,
and Savior! REJOICE!

Liberty is the name
of the Bell Ringer.
But,
once upon a time....
a long, long time ago,
his name was Luthero.
And, he had
the most beautiful
angelic wings
of all the
Heavenly Realm.

And,
this is his story.
__________________
(The sound of a low,
lovely, melodious voice
full of strength,
and power,
and
great pride.)
"ARE YOU COMING,
WITH US,
LUTHERO?
COME ON!
LET'S GO!"

(Luthero took one
step forward.
His huge wings
were so bright,
that Lucifer,
his very good friend,
had to squint,
just a little.
But, Lucifer would never
admit to having to squint:
at anything. He was
much too proud, and
too vain.)
"I don't know.....
Lucifer....."

(Lucifer tossed back
his magnificently haloed head.
In the exquisite Light of Heaven,
his sculptured cheekbones
and long regal-looking nose
glinted with a sparkle
all their own.
His high forehead
was surrounded by thick,
lustrous hair:
its beautiful threads of
silk wove hues of red,
chestnut, gold, and
velvety brown along the
sharp planes of
his perfectly symetrical face,
and eternally youthful
skin. Unlike the other
angels, Lucifer was very
much aware of his
own flawless beauty,
and lovely singing voice.
When Lucifer sang, he was
the only angel who smiled
at the sound of his own
exquisitely melodious
voice. Just the sound
of his own voice, while
speaking, or whispering...
or humming a tune...
made Lucifer's
angelic heart
swell in his chest.)
"I THOUGHT YOU
WERE MY FRIEND!"

"I am......
Lucifer,
but the LORD...."

(Lucifer's lovely dark
eyes sparkled: not
with light......but,
with maliciousness,
and cruel scheming,
and cleverness,
and undying
self-love.)
"HE IS ONLY KEEPING
US FOR HIS OWN,
PERSONAL ....SLAVES..,
LUTHERO! DON'T
YOU SEE THAT?"

(Luthero glanced away
from his friend's piercing,
intelligent gaze.
Lucifer had such a magnetic,
and charming,
and....seductive......
personality: it wasn't
much of a surprise
to Luthero that already,
there were a great number
of angels who
were following the
Angel of Light.)
"I've.......I've never
thought of it....
that way,
Lucifer."

(Lucifer gave a loud,
hearty chuckle. Even
his laughter was sweet,
and melodious, and lovely.
And, he was aware of it.)
"YOU AREN'T SERIOUS....
ARE YOU,
MY FRIEND?"
(Chuckle!)
"The LORD says,
'JUMP'...
AND, HE ONLY EXPECTS US TO
SAY:
'HOW HIGH,
MY LORD?'"
(Laugh!)

(Luthero sighed.
He looked down at
his bare feet; the
Lord's Angelic Host
were not allowed to
wear anything on their
feet: it was a sign of
humble surrender....
to the Father.)
"I have never really
thought about it,
Lucifer......I just did
as I was commanded...."

(Lucifer's lovely voice
rose in frustration,
and impatience.)
"Well.....
THINK,
MY FRIEND!
THINK NOW!
STOP BEING A FOOL!
A FOOL!
And.....
A SLAVE!
COME WITH ME!
AND.....
SHARE IN MY GLORY
LIKE THE REST OF
OUR FRIENDS!"

(A drop of hot spit
landed on Luthero's face.
But, he was unaware of it.
He was feeling
so uncomfortable, that
even his exquisitely
bright wings lost a bit
a their brilliance, for
a moment.)
"But.....the LORD
loves me.....
He LOVES me....!"

(Lucifer bristled with
anger, but he dare not
show it; this stupid, silly
angel thought that he
was his friend. Ha!
Lucifer loved no one....
but, himself! He stepped
closer to Luthero, and
spoke with a much softer,
sweeter voice:
almost a whisper.)
"He doesn't LOVE
YOU.....LUTHERO.
He only PRETENDS to...
to get you to DO....
what HE WANTS!
Don't you know....
how SLY...
and,
CLEVER....and,
DEMANDING.....,
HE IS?"

(Luthero's face
dropped; his eyes,
not as lovely or
as intelligent
as Lucifer's...
gazed sorrowfully at
his charismatic, good
friend.
Luthero's angelic heart broke;
was it really TRUE....
that the LORD didn't
really LOVE him?
Luthero's chin trembled;
tears fell from
his heavenly blue eyes.)
"Oh.....Lucifer!
Don't SAY THAT!
Is it TRUE?"

(Lucifer reached out,
and gently touched the
other angel's face. His
long, graceful fingers
were tender; his voice
was low, and hushed.)
"My FRIEND.......!
WE are the SAME
LOWLY CREATURES.
..you and I!
WE have BOTH been
FOOLS!
YOU and I....
are made...
of the SAME STUFF!"
(Lucifer cocked his
lovely, proud head
to one side,
in a gesture of
sweet camaradarie.
He smiled his most gentle,
and deceptively
loving smile....and,
gave a small,
self-deprecating chuckle.)
"Just.....LOOK AT US!
WITH our.....BARE FEET!
We are NOTHING....
in HIS EYES!
Only.....SLAVES!
To do HIS BIDDING!
US.....
with these HIDEOUS,
BARE FEET!"

(Luthero, finding it
difficult to resist his
good friend's great sense
of clever humor,
also laughed a little.
Inside, though,
his angel's heart was breaking.
Was it TRUE..
that the LORD didn't
really LOVE HIM?
Luthero stopped laughing;
his blue eyes
immediately began to
tear up, again.)
"I ........I don't KNOW...
Lucifer. I just don't
KNOW.....I'm SCARED.
I'm not LIKE YOU...!
I've never had your ...
CONFIDENCE...
or,
your INTELLIGENCE!"

(Lucifer nodded,
and smiled, sweetly. He
always loved when others
admitted to their
admiration of his greatness,
and beautiful
strength. If only HE
had Luthero's BRILLIANT WINGS!
HOW HE HATED THEM!
HATED.....that, HE
DIDN'T HAVE THEM,
HIMSELF! Expertly
hiding his intense and
burning hatred, Lucifer
kept his lovely voice at
a low, hushed whisper.)
"But.....YOU,
my friend....
YOU can have it,
TOO! Just COME
with ME! COME!
Get AWAY from being
a SLAVE! COME WITH
ME.....AND, you TOO,
will have it ALL!
I PROMISE!"

(Luthero continued to
gaze sorrowfully at his
stunningly handsome friend,
who was now clasping
Luthero's big shoulders
with both long,
and gracefully
sculptured hands.)
"Well......."
(Sigh.)
"It WOULD be NICE...
to be more like YOU...
Lucifer.....you do know...
that all the angels...
really ADMIRE YOU...."

(Lucifer glanced away,
in a dramatic air of
sudden, fained shyness.)
"WELL........
then, come with ME,
my friend!
COME WITH ME,
and YOU CAN
BE LIKE ME...
AS WELL!"
(Smile!)

(Luthero stopped
gazing at his friend,
for one moment. His
blue eyes squinted,
slightly, in a thoughtful
pause.)
"Well.....all the angels....
except for
Archangel MICHAEL.....
I do not think....
he LIKES YOU,
very much,
Lucifer."

(Lucifer's graceful
hands immediately
dropped from the
big angel's shoulders.
For a moment, his eyes
flashed with intense,
murderous anger. But
he quickly recovered
himself, and just chuckled.
As he did so,
the syrupy hot liquid of
vomit reached the edge
of his throat. He laughed.)
"Ah....THAT ONE!
The LOWLIEST slave...
of ALL! He GROVELS...
like a weak, impotent
little........COWARD,
THAT ONE! He's so
PITIFUL! I ACTUALLY
feel....SORRY FOR HIM!"

"Feel sorry for.....
Archangel....MICHAEL?"
(Luthero shook his
head; his huge halo
never moved.)
"I never THOUGHT of
it.....THAT WAY."

(Lucifer reached up
to clasp his smooth
hands over the angel's
shoulders, again. This
time, his grasp was
stronger and had the
feel of a steel hasp.
If Luthero were made of
flesh, his skin would
have shown the bluish
hue of a bruise.)
"Then.....COME WITH
ME! COME WITH THE
REST OF US! COME
NOW! BEFORE.....
IT'S TOO LATE!"

(Luthero stepped forward.
He did admire Lucifer,
like many of the
other Angelic Host: he
was certainly
the most beautiful,
and had the most
beautiful voice! And....
wasn't he just a SLAVE:
like his friend had SAID?)
"But.....where will we GO,
LUCIFER? The LORD
is in command of all the
UNIVERSE, which He
has just CREATED!"

"My FRIEND!
MY SWEET FRIEND!
DON'T YOU KNOW?
If YOU COME WITH ME,
and......the REST
of my ARMY,
WE WILL FIGHT THE
LORD!"
(Lucifer smiled; he
then threw back his
magnificent mane of
hair, and laughed.)
"And......WE WILL WIN!
And.....WE WILL THEN
COMMAND THE UNIVERSE!
IT WILL BE OURS!
OURS: LUTHERO!
WE WILL NO LONGER BE SLAVES...
TO ANYONE!"

"Oh."
(Luthero glanced down
at his bare feet, for
a moment. Looking down
reminded him of kneeling
on one of the velvet
cushions, in the Throne
Room. He suddenly felt
very sorrowful.)
"But, Lucifer.......
weren't we beings....
created.....
for WORSHIP...
and, JOY....
and, LOVE?
Who, will we then....
LOVE?"

(The syrupy hot liquid
of vomit touched the
back of Lucifer's smooth
throat. He turned, just
for a moment, and spit.
When he turned back,
his face was in a grimace
of hatred and revulsion.
But, desiring to appear
in control, Lucifer gave
a light chuckle.)
"THAT IS ALL LIES,
MY FRIEND: LIES!
YOU WERE NOT CREATED FOR LOVE!
ONLY TO HUMBLY SERVE: AS A SLAVE!
A PERSONAL.....
MINDLESS, SLAVE!
IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT?"

(Luthero went over to
a sunny warm rock,
by the flowing stream,
and sat down. He sighed.
Heaven was such a beautiful place:
it was difficult to think of
himself as a slave, here.
Was that true....that,
he was not created for
LOVE? But....what of
the time that he spent
KNEELING: before the
Father, and the Son? It
was always the most
joyful time for him.
Luthero closed his eyes,
for a moment: remembering.
Even now, he could smell
the lovely scent of
the burning incense,
and the spring flowers
that lined the edges
of the River of Life
that flowed from both the Thrones.
The time Luthero spent in
kneeling before his
Beloved were hours of
healing, and prayer,
and song.....
and unimaginable JOY!
Surely, a mindless slave
could not feel all THAT:
could he?)
"Leave me alone, for
a minute.....Lucifer."

(The powerful voice behind him,
was suddenly not softly
sweet, or seductive.)
"NO!
NO!
THERE IS NOT TIME!
YOU MUST COME
WITH US......NOW!"

(Luthero frowned;
he turned around....
and immediately saw
a large host of
millions of powerful angels:
standing behind Lucifer
with huge swords drawn,
like one swift and mighty army.
Luthero, without thinking,
gripped his own sword:
in defense,
or camaradarie,
he wasn't sure.
He looked up into his
friend's intense,
seductive countenance:
Lucifer's beauty was so stunning,
that it was
almost hard to look at him.)
"I NEED time to THINK,
Lucifer! I am not LIKE
you! I cannot just GO...
without losing my JOY!"

(Hearing that loathsome,
vile word, for the last
time: Lucifer could no
longer hide his pretense
of friendship. Curling
his beautifully shaped
lips in anger,
and disgust....
and repulsion,
he lunged at Luthero:
grabbing Luthero's
own sword,
out of his huge,
golden sheath.)

(Luthero: shocked,
and feeling quite sick,
slowly stood up from the
warm, sunny rock. But,
it was no longer a
cloudless, sunny day:
the Heavenly Sky had turned
dark: greenish-black,
and foreboding.
Here and there,
flashes of terrifying
lightening lit
up the Sky. Thunder
could be heard, from
afar.)
"Lucifer? What are
you.....DOING?"

(His friend's voice
now sounded like that
of an adversary: hateful,
and arrogant, and full
of scheming malice.)
"COME WITH US,
LUTHERO!
COME WITH US, NOW!
OR, I WILL BE FORCED
TO TREAT YOU,
AS ONE OF THE ENEMY!"

(Luthero was bathed
in a cold sweat; he
had never felt so alone,
before.......or, terrified.
He looked into Lucifer's
eyes and suddenly
realized something: his
beautiful, dark eyes did
not reflect any light!
There was no LIGHT in
them! NONE! But.....
HOW could that BE?
Without thinking,
Luthero stepped closer:
peering into the Angel
of Light's face, and
squinting with great
wonder.

No.
He was right.
Lucifer's eyes, so
seductive, and full of
intelligence.....
were lacking in one thing:
light. There was no
light, at all.....in those
lovely dark eyes. None.
And, without any light,
they seemed to be
only two vacuous, empty holes...
full of unfathomable
darkness,
and,
death.

Luthero, such a strong
and mighty angel,
began to sob;
his heavenly blue eyes
began to glow with hot,
unashamed tears.)
"Get AWAY FROM
ME, LUCIFER!
YOU NEVER LOVED
HIM! YOU NEVER
LOVED THE FATHER...
DID YOU?"

"I..........
H...A...T...E......HIM!"
(Lucifer shouted; several
drops of hot spit landed
on Luthero's angelic
face. With one swift
purposeful movement,
full of envy and hatred, and spite:
looking just like
a venonmous snake about
to bite.....
Lucifer swung
the stolen sword toward
his fellow angel.....
and.....
in one fell swoop,
chopped off both tops
of Luthero's glistening,
gold-tipped wings.)

"Uh.......!"
(Luthero cried out,
and immediately
fell to the ground,
which now seemed cold
and very damp. The pain
which swept through his
angelic body was fierce,
and brutal; he had never
felt physical pain, before.
But, the spiritual
pain was far worse: he
had almost forsaken
his LORD.....and,
Beloved KING!)

(Immediately,
Lucifer's minions
of angelic host,
and rebellious followers
surrounded
the fallen angel: the
millions of them seemed
like so many army ants
about to devour a lovely,
fallen little forest deer.....
or,
a growing mound of
gray maggots about to
chew, and suck....
on its dead carcass.)

(Luthero, stricken with
pain and fear,
cried out, helplessly.)
"LORD! HELP ME!"

(Lucifer, still holding
onto the fallen angel's
sword, lifted up his
beautiful head, and
laughed loudly.
His followers,
their faces once so beautiful
with heavenly love,
were now nauseatingly ugly,
and contorted with a worshipful,
demonic hatred.)

(Luthero, unable to
stand due to his pain,
and paralyzing fear:
cried out once more;
his sobbing now even
more intense.)
"HELP ME,
MY LORD!
HELP ME.....
PLEASE!"

(Slowly, the laughter
of Lucifer and his angels
died down. Luthero,
sweating, and broken,
was afraid to look around.
Then, he heard
a very familiar voice;
the voice was quiet,
and strong.....and, low.)
"Get away from him,
Lucifer."
(The quiet, authoritative
voice paused, for a long
moment. Then, it spoke
again.)
"NOW."

(Lucifer immediately
dropped Luthero's
sword: there was no
blood on it; angels do
not have blood. But,
a grizzly, matted clump of
magnificent gold feathers
clung to its golden edge.
The sword made
a tremendous thudding
sound on the
cold, hard ground.
Lucifer chuckled.)
"FINE.....
MICHAEL!
FINE!"
(Light-hearted chuckle.)
"WHO WANTS HIM,
ANYWAY? HE IS OF
NO USE TO ME, NOW!"
(Chuckle!)
"COME ON......ANGELS!
LET'S GO.....AND,
GET AWAY FROM THIS
WRETCHED PIECE OF
REFUSE! HA! ONCE,
SUCH BEAUTIFUL,
TREMENDOUS WINGS!
THEY'RE ALL BUTCHERED UP,
NOW! HA, HA, HA!"

(Lucifer's minions
simply imitated his
mighty laughter, though
they, one by one, began
to back away from the
sight of the powerful
Archangel: never taking
their eyes off of him.
In their empty,
rebellious hearts,
they were scared
of him.......and,
of his Father,
and LORD.)

(Luthero, not
paying any attention
to the departing angels or to their
new master....
sunk to the cold ground:
bowing his halo'd head,
and sobbing uncontrollably.
Suddenly, Luthero could
feel himself being lifted
off the ground.
Involuntarily, he started
to resist the strong
arms, but the authoritative,
quiet voice spoke up,
again.)
"It is me, Luthero.....
I will not hurt you.
I am taking you to
the Father, now.
Be still."

(Through half-closed
eyes, Luthero could
make out the stern,
solemn face of Archangel Michael,
who was now taking
magnificent,
effortless flight
into the cool,
sweet-smelling heavens:
away from this dark,
and foreboding
place. Luthero could
only manage a mumbled
".....Thank you...."
before closing his tear-
encrusted eyelids, and
losing all consciousness.)

________________
It was some time,
before Luthero was
healed, and gained
all his strength back.
He spent a long, long
time on his knees,
on the Golden Floor
of the Throne Room,
in prayer and supplication,
and worship: crying
and sobbing, in all
his brokenness. The
Warmth, and Joy,
and Peace, and Love,
that flowed from both
the Thrones......was
all that was needed,
to heal Luthero, and
bring back his angel's
strength.

But, Luthero's sawed-off wings
remained quite ragged,
and remarkably scarred.
Never again,
would they be the
most spectacular
of all the angelic wings,
of the Heavenly Realm.

But, Luthero.......
now renamed 'Liberty'....
by the Father,
barely even noticed; he
was just so happy to
be back with his fellow
angels, and good friends!
What JOY it was! What
PEACE, and LOVE! After
feeling the painful chill
of Lucifer's hatred and
envy, Liberty breathed
every new moment
in Heaven with great wonder,
and relief. How
CLOSE he had COME!
How very, very.....CLOSE! It was
too AWFUL.....to PONDER!

So, years and years later,
after Lucifer.....
now named Satan......
had seduced man to his Fall,
and the LORD had gone
down to Earth, to be
born like any other
man.......and, to Sacrifice
Himself on the Cross,
to bear all the sins
of mankind,
and
to Save all of His human
children from
Eternal Damnation....
Liberty was given the
job of Bell Ringer: to
let the Heavenly Host
know when a new soul
had received the Christ
as his Savior, and thus
was now saved from the
ravages of Hell.....where
Satan and his demons
would eventually be
imprisoned, forever,
and ever.......
and, ever.

Liberty, the Bell Ringer
of Heaven, however,
was given another job:
he was one of the angels
who escorted newly
dead, unsaved souls to
Hades, where they
awaited their final trial,
at the seat
of the Great White
Throne Judgment.

It was a tough assignment,
but Liberty bore it
with great humbleness
and servitude. He had to
watch, as the poor dead soul
had to walk through the
Doors of Hades, only
to be surrounded,
immediately, by white-
hot, licking flames,
and millions of even whiter,
slippery-wet worms,
which would crawl
forever, and ever.....
and, ever......
over his ravaged body,
and parched tongue.

And,
once in a while,
on his assignments...
as Escort of Unsaved Souls.........
Liberty would catch a glimpse of
one of his former
fellow-angels: one
of the rebellious ones
who had surrounded
his injured body on
that dark night, so
very long ago. Now a
minion and slave of Satan,
the horribly twisted
and ugly being,
showing not a hint of
his former Heavenly
beauty or lovely countenance,
would jerk away from Liberty's
brilliant presence; and,
dripping with slime
and wormy filth,
smelling of a putrid stench:
like a decaying body,
dipped in rotten eggs,
and buckets of sulpher....
would slerk away:
frightened, and paranoid,
into the lonely shadows:
moaning with pain, and regret......
only to be snatched again
by his powerful new master,
to do whatever was
Satan's evil bidding
of the moment:
until Satan would be at
last cast into
the Lake of Fire by
the Coming LORD Jesus.

The End.

***********************
And
the angels
that did
not
keep their
own position
but
left their
proper dwelling
have been
kept by him
in eternal
chains in
the nether gloom
until
the judgment
of the great day.
[Jude 6]

Behold,
I am
coming
quickly.
[Revelation 22:12]
__________________
*Betsy and Daisy {given
new names}, who were
two of the horses who
had to be put to sleep,
after falling on the
racetrack at
the Kentucky Derby, and
died in great pain.

Copyright 2010.

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