Eternity Delayed

By Walter L. Campbell

Seth is a guardian angel. Join him as he tells about some of the people he has watched over from the Tower of Babel to the present day, people he called The Passionates.

Johnson was born a slave and died a slave. During his whole lifetime, the one driving passion he had was to live free in Africa as did his father before he was captured and sold into slavery.

Katie was born in a time when life was hard for women and even harder when one had no mother to help her learn how to survive as a woman. All she wanted throughout her life was to sit with her mom and talk woman to woman.

Robert believed he was born out of time and wanted nothing more than to help fight for the freedom of the homeland of his ancestors alongside Robert the Bruce and William Wallace to free Scotland.

Inu was born into a world where everyone was together after the flood. When the nations were scattered after the Babel incident, he vowed to spend the rest of his life seeking out his lost friends and family and did so until the end.

It has been rightly said that all men die but not all men truly live. As you follow the lives of the people in this book who only lived in the imagination of one person, it is my hope that you will not only find a true passion, but that passion will change your humdrum existence into a life well lived.

Allow your imagination to be free and follow Seth as he recounts the stories of lives well lived. Remember do not make any theological conclusions from this or any other work of fiction. This is not intended to be a children's book but is written so a child can follow along. C.S. Lewis said that if a children's story is not worth reading as an adult it is probably not fit for children either.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Covenant Books, Inc.
• Release date: Nov 3, 2022
• ISBN: 9781646709199

Book preview

Table of Contents

Title

Copyright

Introduction

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Afterword

Epilogue

The Ditto

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

About the Author

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Eternity Delayed

Walter L. Campbell

ISBN 978-1-64670-918-2 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-64670-919-9 (Digital)

Copyright © 2020 Walter L. Campbell

All rights reserved

First Edition

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Covenant Books, Inc.

11661 Hwy 707

Murrells Inlet, SC 29576

www.covenantbooks.com

I would like to dedicate this book to my wife, Terry Campbell who has encouraged me to be more than I would have been on my own. Her commitment to me and her help in the ministry has been beyond measure. I would also like to thank the people who believed in this book enough to help make the publishing possible. And finally my three grandchildren, Kaelyn, Jackson and Lily who have listened to my stories for years causing me to keep my imagination alive and active.

Introduction

All of us have seen that one kid. Be it a boy or girl, we have seen him or her. For the sake of convenience, I am going to call the boy Larry. Larry loves baseball.

As a child, he wanted to play baseball. However, Larry did not have what would have been called the right stuff. He could not hit the ball from the tee in T-ball. He could not catch a ball, and he could not throw one either. He knew every rule and the stats of his favorite players and team.

As he grew older, he picked out his favorite team, was faithful to them, win or lose. He had seasons tickets, a team jersey, and even his credit card held the team logo. His favorite movies were Bull Durham, Field of Dreams, and It Happens Every Spring. The fact that Larry loved baseball was never a secret. When he died, his family had a team logo and an inscription about the final ending engraved on his monument.

Some people think this kind of fanaticism is strange, but that is because the majority of people live very dull and uninspired lives. Saying they lived is almost sacrilegious because existing is the best most ever do. There is no driving force behind their lives, so even their best days are mostly just business as usual.

The stories you are about to read are about everyday, normal people from different times in the history of mankind. They were, for the most part, just like you and me. The thing that made them different was that deep in their soul, they had the same passion for something like Larry had for baseball.

I hope that by the time you finish this book, you will take a good look at your own life and ask yourself, what is the passion that drives my life? The people in this book are called passionates because they all had that one thing that they could not just release and forget about. We do not need to be superstars to have passion. And for those of us who are Christian, we know that there can be no greater passion than our love for Jesus.

Assume that the way you love Jesus is notable enough in your life that there would never be any question about your love for Jesus. Then after you go through the biblical priorities—which I believe should be God, family, church, and then everything else—would there be anything about your life that would remind people of you when they are seen? Please take the time to see the passion that drives each of these people on their journey of life.

There is one thing I must say with all of my heart. This is fiction and should not be considered as theologically correct or intended to promote any kind of religious experience. If there is anything at all it could elicit, it should be the simple question, is it well with my soul?

Before Eternity

Chapter 1

His sermon was almost at an end. How many times had he preached about heaven and begged people to respond to the loving call from Jesus to give their lives to Him for safekeeping throughout eternity? Just as I Am is the song he had used almost exclusively since he was about forty years old when the trappings of religion had become far less important to him than the reality of a one-on-one relationship with Jesus. Religion had complicated so much in the world he had been born into, but now only the simplest of relationships were of any importance to him. This was the message he had preached for so many years. Once again, it's word resonated in his own ears that only as a person can he come to the Creator, God of all that exist.

It has been almost sixty years since Robert first answered God's call to preach the Gospel. He knew his time was now nearer than at any other time in his life, but he still refused to stop doing what God had commissioned him to do as long as there was breath to speak. The animation that filled his life as a younger preacher was now reduced to a few hand gestures, but none of the fire had been diminished by the years on the front line. He was still a warrior of the cross. It has been years since he held the responsibilities as a pastor because he was too old for the rigors of the pastorate. Now he was pastor emeritus of a church he founded and was called upon to preach here and there by churches who had known of his ministry. With the difficulty of years, this was all he could now do, but he did so with all his strength.

He was helped from the platform to extend the invitation by one of the younger men of the church. He slowly walked to the area in front of the pulpit as he had done so many times before in his life. With his Bible in his hand, he pleaded once again for the congregation to respond to the invitation to come to Jesus just as they were and allow him to make whatever changes he felt were necessary. He always moved to the same level as the people because he did not want anyone to think that he felt elevated above the foot of the cross to which he invited all mankind. As he looked over the crowd this day, there was a strange feeling about him. He looked at the same faces he had seen for some time. Most were familiar images that had been pressed upon the pages of his mind. He saw the invisible image of his wife in the seat she had occupied for so many years. Though it was occupied by someone else now, he could still see her there with her head bowed, praying as she had always done during this time of invitation. As he imagined her looking up with tears on her face for the many they knew were lost over their years together, this did not seem to be the source of this strangeness he felt in his spirit. Slowly he looked around the sanctuary until his eyes were caught in the gaze of a young man he had never seen before. He knew this man was a stranger, but at the same time, there was familiarity about him that made him know that this man was his friend. He did not know how, but he just knew that they had a bond between them that was not of this world.

The invitation came to an end as it always did. Most of the congregation were already packing up and gathering possessions in the effort to be the first to be able to leave. It always amazed him how men could rush to get to a table on Sunday afternoon to feast, then complain about having eaten too much or paying too much. The banquet to which he invited people would never leave them wanting, and the price had long since been paid for in full. Inside, his heart broke over the fact that people were not as hopeful of seeing someone walk the aisle as they were being first in line at the local buffet.

But that thou bidst me come to thee, O Lamb of God, I come, I come. One again the song was finished, and the people began to file out. In his younger days, he could reach the front door, remove his microphone, and be ready to say goodbye to every person who would pass through the main doors as they left. Now he just held his ground down in front of the pulpit, and those to whom he would speak now came to him. After the regulars had passed by, he saw that the young man he had noticed earlier was still in his seat. The seat was close to the aisle he would use to exit, and it was as if he were waiting for him to pass by on his way out. And so he did. The young man who had helped him from the platform was still by his side, seeing that he made it out with no problem. Was this because the young man really cared about his well-being, or was there more concern that no accident that could be considered a liability to the church take place? Either way, Robert was happy to have his assistance. Just as they came to where the young man had been sitting, someone called to the young man and took his attention from his duty for just a moment. As Robert looked back to see the young man walking back to the front of the church, he felt another hand take hold of his shoulder. He turned to see the young stranger standing beside him, and he knew immediately that this was no ordinary stranger.

May I help you, sir? were the first words that came from the lips of his newly acquired helper. Robert knew the voice as sure as he had ever known any voice, yet he had never set eyes on him before.

There was a startled look on his face as he gazed into the eyes of this stranger. Robert's voice slightly quivered as he asked, Do I know you, young man?

The answer was, I am Seth. This was not the answer to Robert's question, but with the answer, there came a familiarity that was overwhelming. The young man who had been helping Robert earlier returned to find his place of service filled by another.

Seth spoke to him and said, Thank you, but we will be fine, just as if this had been one of Robert's own children or a friend from his many years of ministry. Robert also relieved his former aid with appreciation and turned back to Seth. Together, they began to walk the rest of the way out of the church, stopping periodically for Robert to steady himself. This had to do with the emotional wave moving over him because of Seth's presence as much as it did his faltering legs.

Once they had left the building, Robert told Seth that his taxi would be here soon, so he would wait alone and thanked him for his courtesy.

I believe you will not need to wait for a cab because today I am your taxi, Seth replied with a tone so reassuring Robert knew that there was no reason to fear or question anything that might happen. Robert had preached many times during his ministry on the passage, Do not forget to entertain strangers for thereby some have entertained angels unaware. At this very moment, he felt that this might be one of those encounters. With peace, he followed Seth out to the parking lot. There were not many cars left now. Most had moved down the street to the parking lot of the favored meet and eat.

Robert was somewhat surprised to see the car that they moved toward because it was like a page from his own past. The car was a 1960 Chevrolet. The fins on the back sparkled like small wings in the bright noonday sun. It was an aqua-blue color with a white top. As he looked at the vintage automobile, his mind went back some eighty years. He was seventeen, and he had a car just like this, the same color and all. Beside him on the seat, there sat a beautiful young girl who had long reddish-blonde hair hanging on her shoulders. He could see her smile and remembered how strong-willed she was. He knew this one was the one with whom he wanted to spend the rest of his life, but he had no idea how that life path would go. He remembered how the wind would blow her blonde hair as they traveled with the windows open. It was blonde on top, but underneath, there was a fiery red root system that told him this one would not be easily tamed.

The years would prove him right, but what a glorious time it was trying. Even as his mind traveled through time and he watched her become a wife and mother, she was ever the foxy young girl from down the street that had been the most civilizing human factor in his life. If it were true that opposites attract, this relationship was one that was made up of the most opposite types of personalities God had ever placed on this earth. She was a peaceful pacifist, and he was a warring spirit. She wanted roots to go so deep that no wind could ever threaten to blow over, and he would have lived the life of a gypsy like his grandfather had done had it not been for her. As he thought of these things, he was snapped back to the reality of the present by the gentle voice of his newly found friend. Once again, he was looking at the fine old car.

There are not many of these left, you know, Seth said. I have used this one since it was brand-new. I don't get to drive it as much as I would like, but it never fails once it gets out of the stall to run with the wind.

Robert looked incredulously over his glasses at Seth. He thought in his mind that he remembered when this car was first introduced to the public. When he owned the one in the days of his youth, it was nine years old by the time he got it in a horse trade. How could this youngster boast of having used this car when it was new almost seventy years ago when he was only what seemed to be about twenty-five years old?

As if Seth could read his thoughts, he softly said, It is my father's, and whatever he did, I do.

Although Robert could not really put all the pieces together, the answer somehow made sense to him, and he slowly stepped into the car and closed the door.

It had only been a matter of minutes since the young man had taken his arm, helped him from the church, and brought him to this chariot of antiquity; but for reasons only a person's heart could understand, Robert knew that this was no chance meeting. In a movement that seemed almost unnatural, Seth now sat on the seat next to him with hands on the wheel.

Where would you like to go for lunch today, Robert? asked Seth.

Robert thought for a moment and said, It does not really matter because most everything tastes the same to me anymore. When I was young, my wife used to tell me that I lived to eat. These days I only eat what it takes to live.

Seth placed his right arm on the back of the bench seat in the old Chevy and said, Now surely there is some place you would like to go that you would really enjoy for a change.

Without thinking about what he said, Robert sighed, along with the words, The Pig.

How stupid to say the name of a place that had been closed for twenty years. Robert just shook his head and laughed at the foolishness of an old man's ramblings. Once again, his mind returned to another time when he had yet to be altered by the passion of age. He could see himself and his wife sitting in a booth in a small smoky diner with In the Year 2525 playing on the jukebox. They sipped iced tea and waited for the rotund waitress to bring them their food and the latest gossip from the kitchen. Why people seemed to feel it was necessary to tell the two of them their life stories, they never did understand, but it happened almost everywhere they went. Maybe it was obvious to people that here were two people that might actually care. Somewhere in between my sorry old man and y'all keep me in your prayers, a different song filled the small room. It was the theme song from Saturday Night Fever.

Almost as if on a director's cue, their three-year-old son, Jeremy, jumped from his place at the table and was sliding across the grungy floor like John Travolta. His hands were held up, expecting applause; and sure enough, there were those willing to give it. He remembered how he had watched his son grow up enjoying this place, and even though he outgrew dancing on the dirty floor, he never outgrew his appetite for this place. Even as an adult, he would ask his mother to bring him back a sandwich from this place whenever they were in town. Robert remembered carrying some of this food four hundred miles home for his son on several occasions. This was not the kind of place you would take someone you wished to impress. This was one of those places you reserved for only your most inner circle of friends. Here, everyone was just shuug or hun, depending on the waitress that was working that shift.

It was like a distant echo when Seth said, Okay, the Pig it is.

Not really paying attention, Robert just sat looking at the floor and remembering another time and season of his life.

When he was aroused from his thoughts, Robert looked out of the windshield, and the car was now parked in front of a building that had long since been destroyed and replaced by a minimall. Unable to fathom what he was seeing, the door opened, and Seth was taking hold of his arm to help him from the car. How can…this can't! Robert was not able to get his objections formed into a complete sentence as the smell of hickory smoke and barbeque filled his head and challenged any other thought to hold its ground.

Seth took a long breath and, as he exhaled, said, You're right. I really have missed this place to! Before he knew what was happening, Robert found himself moving through the glass door he had held for his wife so many times in the past.

Hey, shuuug, y'all jest sit wherever you want, and I'll be there in a jiff, were the words of welcome he had heard more times than he could count. The fact that he heard them now from a woman he knew was dead because he preached her funeral and that he heard them in a building he knew to have been demolished years ago were too much for him to process. As he almost stumbled by what he was experiencing, Seth caught his arm and lead him to the old familiar seat he and his wife used so many times before.

This was all he could stand, so he turned to Seth; and with all the power of his younger presence welling up within his soul, he said, "Young man, I believe it is time for you to tell me what is going on! Now!"

With the most assuring smile a person could render, Seth helped Robert to his seat and just said, Lunch. Robert sat amazed as the waitress brought to his table the very meal he always ordered when he and his wife frequented this haunt so many years ago. He had only been back once after his wife died because this was their place, and he could not ever be able to see it in any other light. She had not even taken his order but had brought two identical plates and set them down before them as if they were both dignitaries.

Seth paused for a moment to allow the waitress to finish being her jolly self then said to Robert, Would you mind if I return thanks?

Completely stunned, Robert consented with a simple nod of his aging head.

Lord, thank you for this food and use it for the nourishment of our bodies and use our bodies in your service. In Jesus's name, amen. The words had barely faded from Seth's lips as they began to resonate in Robert's ears. It was not that this was a remarkable prayer, except for one thing. It was exactly the prayer Robert had said over his food most of his life. When he was a young child, his mother had taught him to say, God is great. God is good. Let us thank him for our food. By his hands, we all are fed. Give us, Lord, our daily bread. Amen. This had been the children's blessing he, his brothers, and most of the kids in his family were taught. While, as an adult, Robert did not practice saying prayers from a catechism of any sort, this one prayer he learned by rote from his father. He could not wait until he was old enough to pray like his dad. When he finally asked the blessing and used his father's own prayer, he felt like this was a great milestone in his life. Now Seth used the prayer that his father had taught him by repetition so many years ago. He sat in silence for what seemed like eternity and could hold back his need for answers no longer.

Sir, if you do not tell me what is happening to me right now, I am leaving. This place does not exist. These people are long since dead. That prayer was my father's own prayer. What is going on?

Seth finished chewing the bite of sandwich he was obviously enjoying and asked in return, What do you think is going on?

If I knew, I would not be asking, Robert blurted with no concern for who might be bothered by his elevated speech.

Then with such a matter-of-fact calmness in his voice, Seth said, "You are dead. Didn't you know that?'

I'm dead! exclaimed Robert. What do you mean dead?

After another bite of his sandwich and a fry or two, Seth just said, You know, no longer alive. Surely you remember dead?

The color drained from Robert's face and some of the fire from his indignation, but his resolve to understand did not diminish one bit. How can I be dead? I just left church. I just finished preaching.

Before Robert could inject another bit of argument, Seth looked at him and asked, Are you sure?

Time stopped. Robert was not completely sure about anything at this point. Nothing that had happened made any sense. The car, the restaurant, the dead waitress, the prayer—none of this could be real, but it was.

Seth allowed Robert to think for a moment before he asked him, Just what do you remember about this morning's service?

Remember? I remember everything, young man. I may be old, but I have not lost my mind yet!

Tell me about it then, Seth said as he sipped from his iced tea.

Tell you about it! I'll tell you about it! We sang the same old song we always sang. You can't get some people to ever learn new songs. They are afraid God will not like them if the try something new. Then we took up the offering, and Brother Bill dropped the plate like he does when his arthritis flares up. Then I got up to preach and told one of my old jokes everybody had already heard before, and they laughed like it was the first time they had ever heard it. I asked them to turn to the text, and then I read aloud from Luke 23:33. One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: ‘Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!' But the other criminal rebuked him: ‘Don't you fear God?' he said, ‘since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.' Then he said to Christ, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.' Jesus answered him, ‘I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.' It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, ‘Father, into your hands, I commit my spirit.' When he had said this, he breathed his last. And then I.

You what? Seth asked.

I, uh, I preached, and then I gave the invitation, and you helped me get into your car, and now I am in a place that I can't be in, eating food that can't be here, and seeing people I buried years ago, and I am trying to get a simple answer out of you, but that just does not seem any more possible than any of the rest of this stuff.

Suddenly Robert became aware that a simple answer was probably not possible. After he had listened to his own account of the past bit of time, he knew nothing would be simple anymore. He sat in silence, and without realizing what he was doing, he picked up his sandwich and took a bite. This is real, he thought. He remembered the taste as if he still frequented this place just yesterday. The reality did not matter since he could not make sense of it anyway. Before he knew what had taken place, he picked up his tea and washed down the last morsel of his lunch.

Seth looked at him for a moment, then began to speak, After you read the scripture, do you remember anything strange? Anything at all?

Robert replaced his cup on the table and wondered what he was supposed to remember. I remember closing my eyes for just a second as I waited for a wave of heartburn to pass, but that is all.

Before he could protest further, Seth said softly, You did not have heartburn, Robert. It was a massive heart attack. You had a heart attack. The EMS people were called and did their best, but there was nothing they could do. You know the Scripture says, ‘And as it is appointed unto man once to die'—well, it was your appointed time.

Robert placed both age-stricken hands firmly on the table and looked Seth straight in the eyes and said with all of his conviction, To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. Are you telling me you are the Lord and this is heaven?

No and no. I am not, and this is not, but I am afraid you said that verse wrong.

Wrong? What do you mean wrong! Robert interrupted. I have preached this for more years than I can remember, and I know what it says.

With the calmness of the ages, Seth said, What it says is ‘to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.'

Angrily, Robert blasted at Seth, I know what it says, and I know what it means, young man, and I'll not have the likes of you telling me that I have preached God's Word in error all these years. And just what do you mean I had a heart attack?

His last question brought Robert back to his seat as well as to himself. It was in this ebb that Seth finally began to give Robert the explanation he had been seeking. Knowing that any more cryptic answers would only worsen the atmosphere, Seth said plainly, Robert, I am your guardian angel.

Robert was not as quiet as he was because of the incredulous nature of Seth's remark but of how he had just spoken to his host. Seth knew that Robert did not challenge what he said because he knew Robert believed in guardian angels and had most of his life. Seeing that he would have little resistance from his aged companion for now, Seth picked up his tea and, after a great gulp, began giving Robert the details he had been seeking. He knew from this moment on any question that came from Robert would be of a totally different nature. He set his cup down and called for the waitress to bring them both a refill. Robert sat with his eyes glued to every movement Seth made and had not been as speechless since the day his wife had been laid in her grave so many years before.

Seth asked Robert just what he knew or thought he knew about guardian angels.

After a pause, Robert said with tearing eyes, I don't know that I know anything about them except that the Bible said that angels are ministering spirits, and Jesus said that the angels that watch over children are always in God's presence or something, I guess. I just don't know. The Bible did not tell us enough for us to really know all we would have liked to know about angels. So much of what we know or thought we knew was conjecture.

Something Robert said must have hit a nerve in Seth because his answer came with a flash, and Robert sensed that he had said something wrong.

The Bible told you all you needed to know about everything you need to know as far as our Creator was concerned. It was the sin that caused Adam to fall that kept your race from seeing more of the truth than you could see. Jesus referred to the guardian angels of children because it was only during childhood most of you were able to perceive the possibilities of our existence. As you grew, it seemed that every person on the planet was determined to erase the simplicity of all the Creator said and replace it with some explanation that fit best inside your logic. It never occurred to you as a man of God that the simple answers could be correct, did it?

With this, Robert began to look back into his own journey and could remember how his common sense had often come into conflict with his desire to just believe the Bible regardless of what the end results might be. He remembered the conflict with amazing details, and with little effort on his part, the memories began to come in like a flood.

Seth continued, Didn't you ever tire of always trying to justify what your heart told you with what your professors told you? They were brilliant men of God, and you were fortunate to have sat under their teaching, but even they were limited by their common sense. At least most of them were.

Robert was about to ask another question when he looked down at his plate, and the sandwich he had finished off earlier was now steaming and whole.

Seth looked down and asked, Are you going to eat that?

Without a reply, Robert picked it up and took a big bite and began the long, pleasurable task of enjoying every morsel. Seth just grinned as he said, That's what I thought, and as soon as he had said so, he too was holding another sandwich.

After a few more bites without conversation Robert asked, Surely you have more to do than just be a short-order cook if you are my guardian angel, don't you?

Seth said, partly chewing and partly swallowing, "This is just so we could talk before we get on with eternity. For an eternity spent with Jesus, Robert, had waited for many years. Most of the people he loved were already in the presence of the Lord. He had outlived most of his family, and the ones who remained were far away doing what God had called them to do. If he were truly dead, none would have had the chance to even know yet."

Robert was content with Seth, and he knew that whatever else might take place, his home was not far away. He asked Seth, Before we get home, can you tell me anything about guardian angels that is more reliable than the conjecture we built our doctrines around all these years?

Seth answered and said, I can tell you anything you want to know. It might be a good idea for you to tell me what it is you actually believe to begin so you can hear it once again with your own ears.

With this, Robert began his pontification as if he were back in a pulpit or a classroom imparting his wisdom to those who had sought it.

This we know that angels are a race of beings created by God before the fall of man. They are more powerful than man, but not omnipotent. They have more knowledge than man, but not omniscient. They are more mobile than man, but not omnipresent. They were created in classes according to the power with which they were created by the Father. They are incorporeal spirit beings but can assume whatever form is necessary to accomplish the will of God. They are not allowed to make any mistakes because they are not given the privilege of repentance as is man. When they fell from their first estate in the rebellion led by Lucifer, they were forever banned from God's love and redemption. They have served God throughout history to accomplish his will for the good of mankind. They will stand in awe in heaven at the redemptive power of the blood of Jesus because they themselves will not be able to comprehend it, never having experienced it. These are the truths we have deduced from the scripture about angels. At this, Robert was once again eating his sandwich.

When he finished, Seth raised to his feet and began to slowly clap his hands and say, Bravo, Bravo! That is absolutely amazing.

Robert's chest filled with an air of pride as he sat back.

Seth continued, You have remembered the textbook definition of angels the same way you memorized the definition to deoxyribonucleic acid when you were in the tenth grade, and I might add it has affected your life just about as much.

At this, Robert felt his ego deflate and his body slump into his seat as Seth returned to his seat. The silence that followed seemed to Robert like an eternity itself, but in truth, it was very brief because Seth could not wait to show Robert how small his view of God and angels really was. Now it was Seth's turn to allow Robert a peek into portion of God's creation that man's common sense and overwhelming rejection of God's supernatural realm had withheld from him all his many years.

In the first place, there are some things you believe that are right in as far as you have stated them, but there is so much you have left out. Angels were a created race of beings, but we were not created en masse as your theology would suggest. Each one of us were created by the Godhead just as Adam was. Each single angel was created as an individual person, not just a race. The first thing I remember when I opened my eyes was the perfection of the face of God looking at me with eyes so full of love and compassion I had no need of any introduction to him. The first sound I experienced was his voice calling my name.

Robert stopped him and asked, So God named you Seth?

Seth replied, "You could not say my name, and I am not sure I would enjoy hearing you try. Seth is the name I have used in my dealings with humans. He quickly returned to his testimony. The first sound my voice formed was Father. He held me close to himself, and as I looked into his eyes, I saw my place with him as one of privilege. After he spoke into my being what he wanted from me, he allowed me to go and join others he had created one at a time. There is no accounting of time as you would understand it that he spent creating us and holding us in perfect fellowship and harmony with the Godhead you understand as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. But it was perfect and special. Yes, we were created before the fall of man, but while it was never an afterthought to God to create you, we could not understand what pleasure he would ever conceive from creatures as weak as your race. Because we lived and were created in eternity and not linear time as you are, we knew all about you from the beginning of our existence. The only thing we did not know was that it would be one of our own race that would infect you with such a grievous disease that you would forever turn your back on your Creator.

"That was one of the few parts of eternity that was shielded from our eyes. That we are more powerful than your race is true, but our power was always limited by our willingness to serve our Father. We never knew a limit to our power until the one you call Lucifer led a rebellion against God. Because we never failed to obey him, there was never a limit to our power because the Father never asked us to do anything we could not accomplish. That fact alone is the one thing that kept your race from doing far more for his kingdom than it did. You always doubted first then tried. We never doubted because when he said to do something, we just did whatever he said. We never wondered if we could. There was nothing in his nature that ever caused us to think his commands were some kinds of tests of our resolve to obey. We can transcend time and space because we are not creatures of your dimension. Ours is one of eternity. This is the realm that you now inhabit, so you will soon understand. We were created and endowed with different levels of power. However, you could not any more comprehend our power distinctions than Moses could bear to look on the face of God. These aspects of our race were known to you in part, but there was far more than you could see because of your prejudiced ideas about God.

"You always thought you were the center of his universe, but he is the center, and all of creation was made for his desire, not yours. You base your teachings on our fate to be rejected if perfection is found in us on the passage of scripture that says, ‘And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great day.' In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer ‘the punishment of eternal fire,' from the book of Jude. God did not create us to be perfect. He created us in perfection. The same way he created your race in a perfect environment. It was a willing choice that caused the perfect world he created for your kind to live in to fall into decay and ruin. Nevertheless, your world was perfect when he placed you in it. He never created anything that was not perfect when it was in the place he designed it to be. And so it was with our race as well.

God never changed in his nature and never will. The love and compassion he demonstrated when he created us was and is still with us today. The arrogance of your race says that we were created with the ability to choose but not the privilege to choose. You make it sound like the desire to have his servants serve him from a willing heart was born with the creation of man. It was this same arrogance that gave birth to your ideas of evolution that is basically saying that man made all the necessary adjustments to live in the world he was in. It was man who evolved to breathe the atmosphere and develop all that has been in his existence. Man chose to crawl out of a slim pit and become self-reliant. His language, politics, religion, and relationships were all of man's own design. Everything that was needed for your race to exist was prepared by our Creator Father and is only a mirrored image of what he had created in heaven. The only difference was one of dimension. Your finite characteristics required the physical qualities and limitations of your world. That is why you must be changed to exist in our world when you come after death.

Realizing he had digressed into a personal agitation that was shared by most of the angelic race, Seth returned to his former thought. The desire for obedience out of a willing heart has always been a part of his nature, and so it is today. He did not demand perfection from us, but we were held accountable for our actions, and the consequences were set into place, and they have never changed. The place you call hell was not created for man, but man recreated himself and made himself a fit citizen for it. The fall in our race was the same as the fall in yours: one person making one choice and thereby sealing his own fate. If you read just a little further in Jude, you will find, ‘In the very same way, these dreamers pollute their own bodies, reject authority, and slander celestial beings.' Have you ever thought of how your race slanders the celestial beings of which you have so little understanding? Tell me what you know about the rebellion of my race that caused the destruction of our perfect heaven.

Robert was hesitant to give any answer, but he knew the only thing a wrong answer would bring would be more truth that would erase fallacies he had lived with and on occasion preached. Well, we know that there was war in heaven, and Michael and his angels fought against the devil and his angels. One-third of the angels were cast out of heaven. Satan conspired against God, and when he had what he thought was a sufficient force, he rebelled and lost. Those angels who were cast out became demons and serve Satan instead of God. In the end, they will be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone to suffer forever. With this, Robert sat waiting for Seth to respond.

Seth did not show as much aggravation when he answered this time. He reminded himself that Robert was only telling him what he had been taught for so many years. It is good that you know that the there is nothing left out of the Bible that you needed to know to please God. From the beginning to the end, He told you everything you would need to gain eternal life and serve him well during your life on earth. I can see how mankind could come to some of the conclusions they have come to when you take into consideration your reason, logic, and finite linear restrictions. Your explanation makes it sound like there was a conspiracy in heaven, and it got out of hand.

Robert said, Well, yes that's about the size of it.

Seth continued after taking a sip of his tea, If it had been a conspiracy, then the Creator Father would not have been all he claims to be in your own Bible.

I don't understand, Robert replied.

Well, said Seth, almost as if he were talking to a child, if there had been an ongoing conspiracy, then God would not have been omnipresent and omniscient, would he? There would not have been any place Lucifer could have held a meeting that God would not have known about, nor would there have been anyone doing anything he did not monitor. Your understanding of the sovereignty of God needs to be expanded to include all his creation not, just what takes place in reference to mankind.

So are you saying it just happened? asked Robert, more confused about his own thinking than what Seth was saying.

I am saying that in the place in eternity where God created Lucifer and every angel who joined him in the rebellion, He knew what would take place. Just like when he created your planet, he knew which hill his Son, Jesus, would die on. He created Calvary, knowing that one day in time, the most precious treasure of heaven would die on a cross at the hands of the very people he created. Yet he did it anyway. What your race would explain as a bent X or Y chromosome in a person's DNA that might cause a defect was no different in our creation. I do not know why he allowed it because he never told us. I only know that when the rebellion took place, there was no surprise on his face. He merely turned to Michael and said, ‘Now.' Your explanation was right to a point, but a crucial fact is misrepresented in the way you present it.

What is that? asked Robert.

"You said, ‘The devil and his angels fought against Michael and his angels. We were all, and still are, God's angels. There was not so much of a war as an ushering out of those who had turned their hearts away from the Father. There was no ‘angelic blood' spilt on heaven's floor. It was like a domino effect. Lucifer rose up and, in an instant, proclaimed himself to be God, and at the very instant, all whose hearts were as his rose with him. That was the leaving of their first estate the Bible speaks of when they left their love for God and placed their own interest above that of the Father. It was the same act that caused Adam to sin against God in the garden, and so bringing the curse of death to your race. The event was over in the twinkling of an eye, as you would say, and the Son did not even stand. The one thing he did do, though, was what caused every angel who joined the rebellion to explode in fury and hatred, which resonated from one end of creation to the other."

What was that? asked Robert.

He wept.

Chapter 2

Robert was filled with a passion for preaching the new truth he had just learned from Seth. He took a long sip of tea and said, Man, what great stuff this will preach!

Seth cleared his throat and said, Excuse me, but, uh, you're dead now.

Softly, Robert replied, Oh yeah, I forgot. Almost as if he gained a second wind, Robert asked, So how is it that you became a guardian angel instead of holding up the sun or something more celestial in nature? If it were possible, Robert detected a small flush come to Seth's cheeks.

Seth knew Robert had seen it, so before Robert could take issue on what seemed to be a point of embarrassment, Seth answered, "You know I told you that we were not created perfect but were created in perfection. After the Creator called us all together and showed us what he was doing on this planet—you know, creating man—some of us thought within ourselves, ‘What?' It was if our voices were broadcast all throughout heaven. We could tell our own voices from the multitude, and so we knew he could as well. Talk about slipping up. We knew he knew our thoughts, but this was beyond our imagination, even for him. He said to his Son and the Holy Spirit, ‘Let us make man in our own image.'

"Well, you know what the Bible says, but then he chuckled under his breath. We heard it. Don't ever let any tell you the Creator does not have a sense of humor. The next thing he spoke in heaven was to the angels, so he did not tell Moses to write it down for you. It had to do with us: ‘I have chosen the angels who will be responsible to minister to these people and watch over them throughout their lives on earth. They will be with them all the time and watch over them according to my plan for each of them. You will be with them from their conception to the time they draw their last breath. You will remain with them until I tell you to leave because they have so given themselves to the evil one that there is no return for them. I alone know that, so therefore you will remain until I tell you otherwise. You will whisper peace to them in times of troubles. You will help them in whatever ways you feel does not violate my plan for their lives. You are not limited to things only in their dimension, but the power of creation is at your disposal if need be to accomplish my will. Some will be special. They will never develop the ability to know good from evil, and you will be the unseen friend that will always be with them. When it becomes necessary for you to be seen to accomplish my will, you will take the form that best suits the need.

"‘You know my nature and my ways. No power is to be used for the curiosity of mankind or exaltation of yourself. If you see a person begin to worship you, you will withdraw your presence until they return their petitions to me. You are my servants, and you shall ever be so. Anytime there is a question as to how you should act on their behalf, my presence is to be sought, and I will give you priority, especially with the children. There will be some who will follow the angels who have rebelled. This is my concern. Do not deal with them except under my specific command. Know this: as soon as Lucifer finds that I have dispatched you to this task, he will also send those who have rebelled against me to seek to influence all people into their own rebellion. There will be times that you wish to work and aid these people to whom I send you, but you will see my signature on every aspect of their lives.

"‘Regardless of how much you may wish to help them, never go beyond my marker. If calamity over takes them and it is part of my plan for them, you will do them harm to deliver them out of it. Sometimes taking them through the fire will do more for them in the long run than relieving temporary situation that will pass. I have a great deal I plan to do with these creatures that I have created in our image. More than any of you can understand. This is my desire until I bring them here to live with us in eternity.'

With this, Michael rose and bowed before our creator. He said, ‘It will be a pleasure to serve the ones you have made in our image for your glory, O Most High.' But the Father told him that he would serve him by helping humanity; the task was reserved for others. Michael rose and said, ‘As you will, my Father. But who will serve these humans?' At this, the Father simply echoed the sound heaven had heard earlier Well, if he never made a mistake yet, this will come real close. We have our volunteers already. We heard that slight chuckle and the gleam in his eye that was unmistakable. So since that day, I have served humanity, and in so doing, I serve my Father.

I suppose that you have had a lot of us…clients or whatever?

"Actually, we just call you what the Father calls you: children, Seth replied. Well, I have, but what does it matter how many? I serve one at a time until you go home to the Father, or the Father withdraws us because your heart becomes too hard to turn from sin again."

Robert quoted from Genesis, ‘My spirit will not always strive with man.' We called that sinning away your day of grace.

More like generations of grace, Seth mumbled.

How was it you came to be assigned to me or whatever you call it? Robert asked, expecting another great revelation.

Seth looked over the edge of his sandwich before he took a bite and said with a sheepish grin, I lost a bet.

At this, some of the glow left Robert's face. Had he been the last boy picked for the team again? In the realm of celestial glory, he was left on the bench until someone lost a bet and was forced to take him. Just about the time he sank as low in his seat as he could, Seth broke out in a grand laugh that seemed to shake the foundations of the diner.

I'm only kidding, Robert. Lighten up, don't take everything so seriously. You have fought a good fight, and you have won your race, so chill out.

At his bidding, Robert smiled and sat back up.

Seth continued, We do not know how or why the Father places us with whom he does but just that he has his reason, and we simply obey. I have been with you from the time you were conceived and have never left your side. I have seen and experienced everything you have ever seen or done throughout your entire life. I will say this: I should get hazardous duty pay for hanging out with you in your younger years. There was never a dull moment.

Robert sat up in the seat and once again picked up his sandwich. He had no idea how many he had enjoyed or how; they just kept coming. But he did like this barbeque. As he leaned forward to take a bite, he noticed that his back did not hurt. Eating had been a chore for him in his old age because he always leaned over to take a bite of whatever he ate. His wife always reminded him he was not to be seen in public with food stains on his clothing. He was always more reminiscent of a barbarian with meat than a gentleman. He used to joke about keeping his ties in the refrigerator to keep the food stains from spoiling. The leaning over was no trouble when he was young, but in his old age, it was quite a painful chore to eat. That was why he did not eat in public much any longer.

About the same time, he noticed the absence of pain in his back, he also caught a glimpse of his hand that extended out from under his shirt sleeve. There were no age spots. There were no wrinkles. There were no scars. There should have been a long scar on his right hand from a sword wound. When his grandson was old enough, or so he thought, he had given him a sword. In his zeal over his newly found prize, the child parried at his sister. Poppa grabbed the blade just before it found its mark and received a nasty cut. He never knew which was worse: the sword slash or the tongue lash he received from an angry grandmother. Either way, both were long since forgotten, but now even the scar was gone. Robert pulled back his sleeve to reveal a youthful arm that had not weathered ninety-four years on earth. In his amazement, he looked up, speechless.

Seth said, This is heaven, you know, or at least part of it. You couldn't go in to see Jesus with your old raggedy self, now could you?

Robert sat in silence for a moment and then asked Seth, Do you remember the time when I was about fifteen and was riding on my dad's motorcycle and forgot to put up the kickstand? Was that the first time you saved my life?

The first time—Seth cackled—"that was probably about the one millionth time. You were an accident looking for a place to happen. The first time was when your mother slipped and broke her foot on the White House steps. You rolled all the way down and did not even get a scratch on you. Didn't your mother ever tell you about that? Or how about the time when you were two, and you picked up a bottle of kerosene that you thought was soda and drank a big gulp. The doctors said if you had not stopped when you did, you could have burned up your esophagus. Then there was the time when you poured sand into your ears, and I had to remove the ants before they could get in and cause you serious hearing damage. You had this thing with eating odd things. It was no wonder that your wife thought you to be a barbarian at the table. You ate things goats would never consider. All of this was before you were even five years old.

By the time you started riding motorcycles, I had saved you from fire, bullets, snakes, broken bones from trying to fly off the roof of your dad's house, not to mention the times I kept him from killing you. If it were possible to get a field promotion for service above and beyond the call of duty, you would have made me a general by now, my friend.

With a boyish smile, Robert said, I guess I must have been a bad run for you then?

Are you kidding? Seth retorted. "I have had a blast most of the time until you got old enough to take everything so seriously. When you would get together with you friends and me and the other guardian angels would swap stories