The Plan

By TLR Adams

Lucifer has lost his beautiful home in heaven after his attempted coup, but he is not done yet. He has plans to return and try again to make himself ruler of the universe. Yet his plan is continually superseded by another plan—that of the Almighty himself.

Although he is only allowed back into heaven at the beckoning of the Almighty, on one such visit, Satan learns about earth and soon discovers humans, whom he perceives as both a threat and a way to strike back at the Almighty for banishing him. His seduction of Eve to disobey the rule of the trees begins his quest for rule over mankind and continues his quest for the rule of the universe.

The Plan is the story of the eternal struggle between good and evil told from the unique perspective of Lucifer himself.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jul 26, 2018
• ISBN: 9781984538147

TLR Adams

TLR Adams grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and spent most of her adult life in the Sierra foothills while raising children. She attended church much of her life and has studied the life and times of Mary the Magdalene extensively. Mary the Magdalene; Her Story is a revision as well as longer version of her first book Mary Magdalene; My Story.

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

Banished

L UCIFER CLOSED THE golden doors behind him and looked around. Yes, these were the brightest and most loyal of all of the angels under his authority. He had been grooming them throughout the greater part of his existence for participation in his upcoming quest and was certain they were ready to follow him, no matter what the consequences. He locked eyes with each of them before he began.

As you are well aware, the Almighty has been unwilling to recognize the greatest part of our talent. This is to His shame, for we are the most talented beings in the entire universe, and yet He will not allow us to sing many of the beautiful songs which we have perfected simply because He does not approve of their lyrics. Sometimes I think that I do not like to live under such harsh rules. He paused and looked around at the sea of somewhat bewildered, yet compliant faces.

Sometimes I think that perhaps someone else should be in charge. He struck an admirable pose.

There were gasps of disbelief at the words of insurrection being spoken, but this was not the first time such thoughts and ideas had been put out there for their absorption. By then it had become an underlying theme in most of the songs Lucifer had taught them and in many of the chants they spouted while practicing for their shows. The initial gasps soon turned into whispers and then into outright cheers of hope for change.

Lucifer, Lucifer, Lucifer, Lucifer.

The quest for the universe had begun.

*     *     *

Lucifer had been created the most beautiful angel in the entire universe, and had been given power just below that of the Almighty and his son. He was also the most talented of all the created beings as his abilities far surpassed that of any of the others. Over time, he had acquired millions of followers who admired him for his many talents and strong leadership abilities as well as his bent for making music that could knock your socks off. He had become proud of his attributes and had begun to view himself differently.

It had started in subtle ways, with the theme of his songs changing ever so slightly. Lucifer’s repertoire, which had consisted only of praises directed toward the Almighty and His son, eventually added praise for the great beauty of the Heavens and then for the rest of the Almighty’s creation. This addition seemed to please the Almighty. However, when Lucifer began to direct his underlings to sing and chant his own praises, he had crossed a line and was given a strong warning.

Lucifer. I have created you with talent far above that of any other of the angels and you know that I find great pleasure in listening to your music. I understand that you see beauty and glory in all that I have created, and so I adjure you to continue making music which praises me and my son and the beauties of my universe. He looked directly onto Lucifer’s countenance. However, I warn you to not sing your own praises. Pride comes before a fall and there is a long way to fall.

Yes, Almighty One. I hear you and I will obey.

From that day forward Lucifer began to hold secret meetings in remote corners of Heaven, places where he had never seen angels or any other creatures go. He invited only those of whose loyalty he was certain; those who had grown in their admiration of him. In the meetings, he continued to teach the songs which extolled his own talents and virtues. Afterwards, those angels would cautiously speak Lucifer’s praises to others of their fellow angels and if they agreed they were invited to join in the secret meetings, where Lucifer would welcome them and praise them for their courage.

As time passed, the meetings morphed into more than just choir practices, as Lucifer began discussing the importance of knowing how to defend one’s self in case of conflict. There is no current need, he told them, but the future of the universe is uncertain and knowing how to fight might be a useful talent some day.

That was the beginning of his army. He taught them to move in unison and with agility that was a stunning sight to behold, while chanting choruses, most of which had been prohibited by the Almighty because their content was that of praise for Lucifer and his abilities, rather than for those of the Almighty and His son.

During this time, Lucifer and his angels were performing regularly for the Almighty and those around His throne the songs which Lucifer knew would meet with His approval, saving the others to be voiced only in the secret meetings. At times, small groups would even perform their military choreography for the Almighty and His son, using the songs which were on His acceptable list, of course. It was always an impressive performance, done under the guise of praise and entertainment, and the Almighty would always show great appreciation for their talent.

As the word of this new activity had spread, more angels had been attracted to become a part of Lucifer’s performance troops and the number of participants increased almost daily. Soon, nearly half of all of the angels in Heaven had begun coming to the practices, one third to his secret meetings and when he was certain that the time was right, he had spoken his treasonous words to his loyal followers.

*     *     *

When the cheering subsided, Lucifer began to speak to them in whispers about his plan to go to war against the armies of the Almighty and, as the victor, become the ruler of the universe. He felt sure that he and his army would be able to win. Without realizing it, they had been preparing for this war for a long time and as far as Lucifer knew, the Almighty’s army had not.

He had calculated wrong, however, and a horrific battle ensued. By the end of it, Lucifer’s army was totally worn down by the blows of the Archangel Michael and his warriors who, unbeknownst to Lucifer, were always kept battle ready.

Many of Lucifer’s troops were disabled. Others were captured and locked inside a deep pit. Michael locked the cover over the pit. Satan was watching closely. He planned on finding those keys some day and using them to release his warriors, anticipating that they would once again fight with him against the forces of the Almighty. But Michael kept a tight hold on them until a later time when he could put them into a safe place, hidden away from the eyes of Satan or any of his lot.

Lucifer himself was captured and bound by Michael and fellow angel, Raphael before being dragged into the throne room to stand before the Almighty.

Remove his chains. Lucifer was relieved as Raphael untangled the chains that had been tightly wrapped around him and locked from behind. He shook his body in impudence, as the Almighty leaned toward him with a stern look in his eyes.

Lucifer, you have defied me long enough and now you and yours have crossed a line that should never have needed to be drawn. Lucifer’s countenance appeared unaffected. As your punishment, you and all of your cohorts will no longer be allowed to live here, as that is a privilege reserved only for those who are loyal to me and to my son.

As those words sank in, Lucifer’s affect became one of feigned humility.

But, your honor, where will we go? Here is where all of our needs have always been attended to. This is where we have always lived. Please rethink your decision, sir. His appeal to the Almighty One’s sympathetic nature did not produce the desired results.

That is something you should have considered before you committed such unacceptable, foolish crimes. He hesitated. There is a place on the far side of the universe where you will be allowed to stay. You and the others who were disloyal to me will live on Meradeath and you will report to me each time its light is obscured by the Asteroid Cimmaron.

But….

One more thing. You shall no longer be named Lucifer for you have not lived up to your name, the light-bearer. You have abused the light I gave you. You will now be called Satan.

Not a pleasant name, Satan said under his breath, but I can live with it.

The Almighty One lowered his eyes and gave Satan an ominous stare.

"Go now! And prepare to leave immediately. You will be escorted to your new home by some of my loyal subjects who did not choose to defy me. The remainder of those who fought with you have already been taken there. Now, go!"

Satan turned and walked away with his escorts, head down, tail tucked, but anyone watching closely could see that his eyes were darting around, searching for those who might either take up his cause or decide to follow him to Meradeath. His was not the face of repentance nor of shame, but rather one of defiance, temporarily put at bay until another time at which it would again rear its surly head.

CHAPTER 2

Earth

S ATAN WAS NOT fond of living on Meradeath. It did not have all of the breathtaking beauty and comforting sounds of Heaven. In fact, it was quite barren, with dry hills and rocks making up the majority of its landscape. Satan’s home was a large opening in the side of a rocky ridge, which overlooked an enormous valley. It wasn’t cozy. It wasn’t beautiful. Life wasn’t easy there. But as far as he was concerned it was his. The Almighty had told him he could live there and he knew that at least there he was in control. That was important to him. And there, the Almighty would not bother him, as long as he reported back whenever the asteroid signaled His summons.

After giving them time to recover from their battle injuries, Satan required that his followers continue to carry out daily exercises in combat, both offensive and defensive. He wanted them to be ready if ever he decided to attempt another coup. He was sure that someday he would be able to figure out the Almighty’s weakness and take advantage of it. He still had command of many angels and if he had them in tip top shape, they should be able to overcome those who remained in Heaven. It was only a matter of time.

And one more thing, he said to his angels, you will no longer be called angels, as that denotes a loyalty to the one who demanded our exile from Heaven. Those to whom I give high positions will be called demons; those under them, imps; the others, well you can call them anything you want, hahaha.

The angels looked at each other with puzzled looks, then shrugged in indifference. They each had a name anyway. Soon they began to tease each other. You little demon, you. You imp! Oh, that’s a funny one, haha. You, you, gremlin! Hey, I like that one.

Finally Satan shouted Enough! You are having too much fun with my order. Now get back to practicing you military moves. You will need them some day. You do want to do better next time than you did the last time, do you not?

The mood of the crowd sombered as they remembered their previous defeat and loss of so many of their comrades.

Yes, Master. They began to organize into their battalions for practice.

*     *     *

It had been eons since Satan was banned from his home in Heaven. Each time the light on Meradeath was obscured by the asteroid Cimarron, he had dutifully shown up to report to the Almighty One, as he had been commanded. He had not done it out of obeisance to God, but rather because he so terribly missed the beautiful place he had called home for such a long time before the rebellion which had caused his banishment.

Each time, the Almighty One listened to Satan’s report on his activities and those of the others who had been banished with him. Each time, the Almighty listened for words of repentance from Satan’s mouth, but heard none. Each time, Satan was escorted down the road and out of Heaven’s gate, to return to Meradeath, where he would announce to his subjects that they were not missing anything by not being allowed into Heaven, that things there were as boring as always. He did not want his subjects feeling discontent under his rule. It was not Heaven by a long shot, but it was under his command and that’s what mattered to him.

Then one day, on one of his visits to Heaven, as he was being escorted down the golden road to the palace and into the throne room, he could sense that something was different. There was a new excitement in the air. Angels were not stoically attending to their posts, as was their norm. He kept seeing small groups of them gathered together talking quietly about something, but he couldn’t quite hear what they were saying. Each time he and his escorts got close to a group, they would see him, straighten up and stop talking until he had passed. This bothered Satan terribly and by the time he was in the presence of the Almighty One he could contain himself no longer.

What is going on here!? he nearly demanded of the Almighty.

The Almighty stopped what He was doing and slowly turned around to face Satan. The look on his face stopped Satan short in his tracks.

Uh, I’m sorry, sir. I didn’t mean to blurt that out like I did. It’s just that the whole way here angels were whispering about something they obvious did not want me to hear about and you know how I have always been so curious about things and..

Silence! You are here to report to me, not me to you! You have lost all of your privileges here, or have you forgotten?

No, sir! But he did not break eye contact with the Almighty. He had his pride.

He went on to give the Almighty his usual account of the events on Meradeath, at least the ones that he wanted the Almighty to know about, before he was escorted back to Heaven’s gates to return to Meradeath.

*     *     *

Satan was pacing back and forth across the walkway in front of his abode. He had to find out what the new excitement in Heaven was all about. He knew it must be extraordinarily important. He had never seen any of Heaven’s inhabitants act like that before. He called a meeting of his top demons.

There is something new going on in the universe, which the Almighty says we are not privy to. So as of now I am assigning you the task of finding out just what it is. You may take as many as half of your troops with you. This might be important. You are to report back to me before Meradeath reaches its zenith. With that he sent them off into all of the many quadrants of the universe.

It wasn’t long before the demons began returning to Meradeath to report to Satan what they had found.

It was astounding. I’ve never seen anything as beautiful one said as he described a far-away nebula. Such colors…

And the sounds it made… Why, its music was almost a beautiful as your…

No!! Don’t you ever say such blasphemous words or you will regret it!

Satan had once been the director of all of the music in Heaven. There was no sound, no voice, no sensation that he could not produce through his music and he was extremely proud of that. As far as he knew, the Almighty had not given such an astonishing gift to any of the other myriad of angels and he would have no one even comparing another’s accomplishments to his. The demon shrunk away to the back of the crowd as one by one the other angel troupes came forward to report what they had seen.

No, no no! Nothing any of you has told me would be worthy of the buzz and excitement I witnessed back in Heaven. No, it is something far more wondrous – far more important that any of these…

Just then a demon came rushing forward from beyond the edge of the crowd, panting as if it had been traveling very fast and very far.

I have found it. I know what has happened and you won’t believe it, even when I tell you.

Well, this had better be good and you had better tell me now! Satan rushed over to where the