A Tale of Two Tragedies Read online

compare numerically between the two losses. But that isn’t the distinction I’m making. It’s the nature of the loss and the consequences that makes it so great.”

  Hannah paused, struggling to find a way to explain herself.

  “I’m not belittling the loss you suffered. Something as irreplaceable as an eternal mate has to be unbearable. I stand in awe of your resolve to overcome it. But angels . . .” She trailed off, not knowing where to begin.

  —I am aware there was war in heaven, the dragon offered.

  Seeming at a loss for words, Hannah delayed giving an explanation. Finally she said, “Of course you are, my friend, but that only hints at the rend the war made. What it doesn’t explain is that the rend was a wound to our very hearts.”

  She paused again, as if what she had to say deeply troubled her. “When Lucifer convinced one third of the angels to rebel with him, all of the angels were disgraced at the same time.”

  The dragon, though respectful, acted as if she spoke of no great loss. She looked like she couldn’t bear for him not to understand.

  “Tell me, Ackseekcelong-Sayessa, have you listened often to scripture being read?”

  —We have heard the Bible being read many times.

  “Do you remembering hearing, ‘no one could be found in heaven who was worthy to open the book that is in the right hand of him that sits upon the throne?”

  —Yes . . . sounding for the first time as if he might consider her loss to also be great.

  “It is in all ways true. Because of the deceiver, the entire heavenly host was led astray. Every single angel became disgraced. And not only them. All creatures were involved. Not even the elders were exempt.

  Her wrath now kindled by the memory, she added, “Satan made all of us unworthy.”

  —How?

  “How else?” She asked. “He tricked us!”

  When the remainder of the explanation did not follow, the dragon was forced to ask, ­—How did he trick you?

  Making him wait, she resisted speaking. Whatever it was made her very uncomfortable. It was hard to tell what vexed her more, remembering the transgression or talking about it. Finally acquiescing, she uttered the words as if they were a bad taste in her mouth that she had to spit out. “With a song.”

  —A song?

  As if she’d been asked to repeat a shameful word, she said, “Yes.” Saying it rekindled her anger. “A very elaborate song performed before and with the entire congregation of heaven in attendance.”

  —How did this happen? He asked incredulously.

  Though despondency hung on her like a blanket, she could no longer avoid his questions.

  “It happened during what began as an ordinary worship gathering,” is all she could manage before she turned away, struggling to compose herself. Then she turned back to him.

  “I apologize, Ackseekcelong-Sayessa. No one has ever told this story before. I didn’t know it would trouble me so.”

  —I empathize with you, angel Hannah. Perhaps you wish not to share it?

  Relief flooded her features and she noticeably relaxed. You’d of thought she’d been read an Innocent verdict for a crime she’d been standing trial for that had the possibility of a death sentence. She paused there a moment before looking down. When she looked back up, her brow was furrowed.

  “I am tempted by your offer, my friend. I am also comforted by your kindness. It’s only fair to let you know what happened. Thank you for bearing with me.”

  The dream-sphere seemed to pulse and he said, —Thank you for sharing your loss with me.

  Nodding her head, she smiled. “Of course. Though this is difficult, I can think of no one it would be easier to tell.”

  —I am honored by your kindness.

  She dipped her head and plowed into the story.

  “Normally, Lucifer led everyone in worship. The Lord appointed him and anointed him to do so. The Lord also gave him great talent musically to fulfill that responsibility. No one in heaven except the Lord himself had greater musical talent. You simply could not believe what he could do with music! But it came about during one particular gathering that Lucifer informed everyone he would like to perform a special song for the Almighty. Naturally, the Lord allowed his petition.

  “Little did we know what was in store.

  “The song began by praising all the good things of God. Of all the songs ever sang, this one was the most beautiful. Only the Lord himself ever sang a more beautiful song. But then the song shifted. With incredible subtlety and craftiness, Lucifer wove into the song the question, ‘why?’”

  —Why what?

  “How I understood his insinuation was, ‘why praise these things.’”

  -Instead of directly thanking and praising God for those good things?

  “Precisely. But how could you see it so easily?”

  —It seems . . . obvious.

  “Well. It may have been a good thing if you had been there that day.”

  —Perhaps not—my guess is the byproduct of having a lengthy time to learn his tricks.

  “Yes, I suppose. But still it’s impressive. Not one angel caught the trick.

  “It is generally believed that it is because the songs of heaven are often long and complex that no one saw the deception. Everyone thought the song would lead to praise, so we continued to follow him with the choruses.”

  —He led you all where you knew not?

  “Yes! Only the Lord saw it, and he refrained from interfering. Everyone else fell into the trap. On top of that, Satan deftly prolonged the timing to reveal what he was doing, probably to take as many with him as he could.

  “So having begun by praising the good things of God and then asking why praise them, he shifted the question to, why glorify God? And we were still under his sway. We naturally thought the song would come full circle and glorify God. That’s how it worked. That’s how it always worked. Even though his song was so much different than any song that had ever been sung, we assumed it would eventually praise God. All songs always praised God.”

  —But it didn’t.

  “No, it didn’t. And by then, he had us. The next stanza began by stating the small and humble things of God.” Hannah stopped, reflecting on the event. When no more explanation was forth-coming, the dragon had to prompt, —You followed along?

  Hannah looked like she couldn’t bear saying the next thing. Once more her brow furrowed and she bowed her head—the radiant power of her presence even seemed to diminish.

  “We did. We couldn’t help it. To us, the song had to exalt God eventually. We were confused why it hadn’t already. We knew of those things the song spoke of, but couldn’t figure out why they were in a song. And I must admit—by this time I felt funny. But we blindly trusted because nothing had ever been any different!

  “So of course, when he led us to sing, ‘why not exalt him above God,’ we knew it was wrong, as much as we knew it wouldn’t happen. But it was a time of worshiping the Great God Jehovah. We love to linger in that state and adore Almighty God. And God, being perfect, receives our praise. Which is exactly the way he acted this time, too. We assumed there would soon be a counter point, revealing the absurdity of such a notion.”

  —But none came?

  “No. None came. By now he’d made his point. But as if to make it ever so clearer, he sang what he would do if he were made the Most High. That is the part that hurts the most. We sang it with him! I think of all the sorcery and witchcraft and deception in man’s world today, and it’s only a shadow of the power Lucifer exercised that day.”

  —The whole heavenly host followed him in this song . . . ?

  “Yes! He tricked us! He used sorcery and witchcraft! Satan prayed on our innocence and good faith. He used our own routines against us and perverted the habit of praise into an insult. And we followed along.”

  Incredulous, the dragon asked, —When did it stop?

  “The elders were the first to react. While everyone else sang the chorus about what Satan would do if he were made the Most High, they’d already stopped singing.

  “The nest stanza Lucifer sang commanded everyone to exalt him. At that stanza, the elders stood up. That got the attention of two archangels, Michael and Gabriel. When the archangels saw the expressions on the faces of the elders, they acted immediately. They, along with all loyal angels, hadn’t appreciated where the song had gone. But the archangels could exercise authority and step in.”

  Hannah paused, remembering the fiasco. The memory bothered her so much she became reluctant to go on. Ace had to press her to keep going.

  —What happened next?

  “War. That was when war broke out in heaven. Michael and Gabriel marched up to the platform Lucifer sang from and the whole time, Lucifer just kept singing and smiling. As a matter of fact, his smile became quite sinister while the angels approached. As if he’d been waiting for it to happen.

  “By this time, many of us had stopped singing. But those whom the song had swayed, the angels who chose to rebel and follow him, kept singing and praising Lucifer.

  “Then right before Michael and Gabriel got to the platform, some of the rebel angels intercepted them and fought to keep the two archangels from reaching Lucifer. That’s when everything broke loose.

  “Multitudes of godly angels jumped to the aid of Michael and Gabriel and more rebel angels reinforced those who’d begun to defend Lucifer. It became a giant free-for-all before Michael and Gabriel retreated to petition the Lord for permission to throw the offenders out