CHAPTER I – PRIDE

CHAPTER I �" PRIDE

In the beginning, Metatron, Lilith, and the Spirit, known as the Trinity, created the heavens and the earth. They then populated the heavens with nine choirs of angels, which are divided into three hierarchies, each of which is divided into three choirs of angels: the highest, the intermediate, and the lower. The upper choir, the highest and closest to the Spirit, Lilith and Metatron consists of the Seraphim, Cherubim, and the Thrones also known as the Elders. The intermediate choir of angels consists of the Dominations, the Virtues and the Powers. The lower choir consists of the Principalities, the Archangels and the angels. The highest order of the highest hierarchy are the Seraphim, they are in charge of maintaining the presence of the source of the whole of existence within the physical worlds. They are the guardians of the various creations; their primarily concerned is with vibrating manifestations that keep Divinity in perfect order. Their very name meant ardor. The Cherubim, angels of the eighth echelon, are the guardians of the fixed stars, keepers of celestial records, and best owners of knowledge. The name, Cherubim, denotes their power of knowing; they are filled by participation in Divine wisdom, and bounteously out pour to those below them from their own fount of wisdom. They are some of the most powerful and awe-inspiring of all angels, standing below the Seraphim in direct closeness to the throne of the Trinity.

The seventh echelon of angels, known as the Elders or Thrones, are the most glorious and exalted, denoting that which is exempt from and untainted by any base and earthly thing. They are the keepers of higher, more expanded energies; they ensure that these energies maintain the connections which flow through the realms. The Elders have the task of pondering the disposition of divine judgments, and despite their greatness, they are intensely humble, an attribute that allows them to dispense justice with perfect objectivity and without fear of pride or ambition. Now the angels of the sixth echelon are called the Dominations. They act as a form of middle management between the upper echelon and the lower, distributing and maintaining connections between all beings and things within physical realms. They regulate the activities of the angels, handling details of cosmic life and existence and designating tasks to the lower orders of angels.

The fifth echelon of angels, are the Virtues; manifested in the universe as astronomically beings. Virtues are known as the spirits of motion and control the elements. They govern all nature. They have control over seasons, stars, moon; even the sun is subject to their command. Their name signifies a certain powerful and unshakable virility, welling forth into all their super energies; not being weak and feeble for any reception of the Divine illuminations granted to them. Never falling away from the Divine life through their own weakness, but ascending unwaveringly to the super essential virtue, which is the source of virtue; and flowing forth providentially to those below; abundantly filling them with virtue. As angels of the fourth echelon, the Powers are keepers and teachers of the laws of nature. Co-equal with the Dominions and Virtues, their name signifies an orderly and unconfined order in the divine receptions, and the regulation of intellectual and super mundane power which never debases its authority, but is irresistibly urged onward in due order to the Divine. It beneficently leads those below it, as far as possible, to the Supreme Power that is the Source of Power, which it manifests after the manner of angels in the well ordered ranks of its own authoritative power.

The Principalities are the third echelon of angels. In an order that is Holy and most fitting to the princely Powers, they imply their supreme authoritativeness. The Archangels, angels of the second echelon, govern the affairs of the messengers of the various realms and dimensions; their primary duty being to carry out the will of the Trinity as it relates directly to humanity. Then there are the angels, the lowest echelon of the nine hierarchies of angels; angelic beings assigned to the guardian of every living Soul. These are the most accessible angels to humans and other life forms, and they are constantly present. While the lowest ranked of all angelic beings, angels are nevertheless members of the heavenly host and thus possess the profound and beautiful attributes given to them by their Creators. Heaven, the realm of the divine, had walls great and high, with twelve gates; at each of the gates were twelve angels on the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates. The city of angels had twelve foundations, and the city laid foursquare, the length as large as the breadth and measuring twelve thousand furlongs. The length, the breadth, and the height of the wall are equal. It measured thereof one hundred forty-four cubits and it was built of jasper; and the city was pure gold. All types of precious stones garnished the foundations of the wall. The first foundation was made of jasper; the second sapphire; the third a chalcedony; the fourth emerald; the fifth sardonyx; the sixth sard; the seventh chrysolite; the eighth beryl; the ninth topaz; the tenth chrysoprases; the eleventh jacinth; and the twelfth amethyst. The twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl; and the street of the city of angels was pure gold. The city had no need of the sun and neither of the moons to shine on it. "Holy, holy, holy is our Creators," sang the angels.

During that time the earth was without form and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. "Let there be light." said the Trinity. And there was light. Then, they divided the light from the darkness, and called the light Day, and the darkness they called Night. The evening and the morning were the first day. Then the Trinity said, "Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, all of the cattle, and creeping things, and beasts of the earth.” And they made the beast of the earth after his kind and cattle after their kind, and all things that crept upon the earth after his kind. Then, Metatron and Lilith said, "Let us make beings in our image, after our likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and all things that creeps upon the earth.” Then they created humankind in their own image, male and female; in the image of themselves, they created them. Metatron named the man Adam and Lilith named the woman Eve. Since the Holy Spirit was without form, it gave humankind a Soul and Freewill, saying, "Be fruitful, multiply, and replenish the earth. Subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” On the seventh day, the Trinity reposed, as creation was complete.

The Seraphim, the Cherubim, the Thrones, the Dominations, the Virtues, the Powers, the Principalities, the Archangels, the angels, and every living creature, including Adam and Eve, were summoned to Heaven for a very special occasion. Here in Heaven all the creatures were assembled in columns, and in the middle of this endless aisle of angels glided Lucifer the light-bringer, leader of the Seraphim.

Lucifer, unlike the other Heavenly beings, had six wings, with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. On that very day, the flamboyant Lucifer had all six of his wings spread out to the utmost; his aura was so immensely brilliant that he could have easily outshone the sun. A few steps behind him were the bride and groom, marching towards their destiny. The immaculate bride was clothed with the sun; the moon was under her feet and on her head lay a garland of twelve luminous stars. Arrayed in fine linen, the groom wore a glittering crown on his head, garnished with all sorts of precious stones and pearls. Approaching the altar where the Spirit hovered, Lucifer stopped, and then he recoiled his wings, bowing before the King and Queen of the Universe. And on this day, Metatron and Lilith wedded. Eons later, Lucifer the light-bringer was preparing to execute his habitual function when along came Lilith. Knowing perfectly well who Lucifer was and what he does, she said authoritatively, "Seraph, wait! Where are you going?”

"I am Lucifer, the morning star, and I'm about to commence my duty, your Highness," replied Lucifer. Lucifer was one of the most beautiful of all the heavenly creatures, but not as beautiful as the Queen of the Universe. Lucifer does not even compare when it comes to her perfection and charisma. She was the ultimate seductress, the prototype of beauty and femininity. She slithered closer towards him and said, "Well, are you going to just stand there or are we going to roam the Heavens?” Lucifer smiled and together the two roamed and roamed the universe from the sun to the moon and to the stars until at last they reached the earth. Then Lilith began to enlighten Lucifer on the creation of the heavens and the earth, and most especially humankind. After all, she and Metatron created everything, according to their predilection.

As they walked on the north side of Eden, close to where Adam and Eve lived, Lilith explained to Lucifer how Adam was created in the image of Metatron and Eve in her own. She informed Lucifer of the Spirit that granted humankind a unique element called a Soul. She then told him that when the Spirit granted humankind its Soul, the first gust was inserted into Adam, and then Eve received the secondary breeze. As a result, Adam possessed a minor advantage over Eve. Lilith was not at all pleased with this end result. Besides their gender, she wanted Eve to be equal to Adam in every other way, just as she was to Metatron. Because he was not like the other creatures, there was something about Lucifer that enticed Lilith to him. Lucifer had always managed to stand out amongst all the angels he was more confident, sophisticated, and certainly, more charming. Although Lucifer was an inferior to her, Lilith was greatly amused by his presence. She loved the fact that he was never tedious, and always amusing and eloquent.

As powerful as Lilith was, she failed to persuade the Spirit to alter Eve's Soul for the simple fact that the Trinity was ruled by consensus, and neither Metatron nor the Spirit considered Eve's Soul to be flawed. Lilith felt voiceless in Heaven most of the time, as the Spirit and Metatron were in agreement with each other. Her point of views were often vetoed by her peers and so she set out to vindicate her cause on her own. Offering Lucifer her heart, she emphasized that together they would reign the Universe better than the status quo. Lucifer was speechless. As he was still processing the proposal and before he could say a word, Lilith placed her left hand on his chest. Momentarily, Lucifer became a humanoid; then Lilith kissed him and there in the Garden of Eden they made love.

Blinded by both love and lust, Lucifer then returned to the heavens with a devilish plan that made his mission a simple one: recruit as many angels as possible, raise an army, and take over the Heavens. With the support of Lilith, Lucifer successfully converted one third of the angels to his cause; amongst them were Lucifer's notorious commanders, Beelzebub, Vassago, and Astaroth. In Heaven, Beelzebub was the leader of the Cherubim. Although petite in size, she was tremendously powerful, often animating herself as a chubby-faced miniature human with wings. Lucifer's third in command was an Elder named Vassago, who was also Lucifer's chief adviser. Belonging to the seventh order in the angelical hierarchy, Vassago had the task of pondering the disposition of divine judgments. He is described as a luminous wheel, covered with a great many eyes. Last but not least was the mischievous shape-shifter, the angel Astaroth, a very large radiant spiritual being who sometime takes various forms in order to cause bane occurrences.

On a remote location in Heaven, the hordes of renegades gathered for war. The rebelling angels formed four battalions. Commanded by Lucifer, the first legion was armed with the elements of fire, possessing the power to invoked firestorms, meteors, and lavas. The second legion, lead by Beelzebub, was armed with the elements of air, and they had the power to invoked tornadoes, whirlwinds, and lightning bolts. Vassago spearheaded the third legion, which was armed with the elements of water and possessed the power to invoked blizzards, glaciers, and avalanches. And finally, the angel Astaroth was in charge of the fourth legion, all armed with the elements of the earth and the power to invoked quakes, boulders, and dusts. Although the rebelling angels favored the concept of an unlimited boundaries proposed by Lucifer some still had their doubts notably Vassago, Lucifer’s chief adviser.

He was not entirely convinced that there were enough fighters to overthrow the Heavens, so he said, "My Lord, with all due respect, one third of the angelic order might not be sufficient to overthrow the Heavens." Conceitedly, Lucifer replied, "Pffft…nonsense. I am Lord Lucifer, the morning star, the most powerful of them all. I alone will vanquish half of their entire army. Allow me to demonstrate.” Turning toward a small group of his minions who were standing close by, Lucifer stretched out his wings and his body emitted an energy so powerful that the group was instantly incinerated. From the ashes of the cremated rose the mystical being, Deimos, whose essence suddenly spread and entered their nostrils like dark smog. The angels became possessed by it; after that their prismatic eyes became as black as an onyx. Then Deimos became amalgamated with Lucifer's shadow. Accompanied by the phantom-like Deimos, Lucifer felt even more confident that he could take on the Heavens. It was then that the entire army first knew of fear and became intimidated by Lucifer's supremacy.

"Anyone else wants some?" said Lucifer. But everyone remained silent, and suddenly out of a mist of a cloud, Lilith appeared. "Impressive," she said, as she slithered toward Lucifer. She began circling him as if she was inspecting his body. With her index finger, Lilith touched Lucifer's body. As steam arose from the spot where she was touching him, she winked at him and said, "Hm-mm, you're hot." Then she said, "If you are heading into battle, my King, you are going to need this." She gave him a three-pronged spear and a kiss. "Take this trident and be victorious," said Lilith. When Lucifer heard that Lilith, his creator and now lover refer to him as King, his ego skyrocketed.

From that moment on, he would never doubt his convictions, ever convinced that he was benevolent and those that were not on his side were the malevolent ones. Lilith's trident was made of a combination of five metallic elements. The handle bar was of iron; the lateral bar was made of silver; the first prong of tin; the second prong of lead; and finally, the third prong was made of gold. As a whole, the trident was eighty-four inches in length; each prong was twenty-four inches long and the overall weight of the trident was seven pounds. And so it was that when the Spirit announced the rebellion to Metatron, he was very disappointed, especially when he became aware that Lucifer was their leader, for Lucifer was his favorite. After Lucifer was created, Metatron appointed him as the seal of perfection among the angels; full of wisdom and perfect in beauty, Lucifer was established and then embellished by Metatron with every precious stone. To make matters worse, the Spirit then told Metatron of Lilith's adultery. At that point, Metatron suddenly became hysterical. "If it is a war they want, a war they shall receive," he said. Heaven prepared for battle. Michael, Gabriel, Uriel, and Raphael were inside Heaven's command center, revising the contingency plan. "Give them Hell," commanded Metatron, as he walked into the chamber.

“Give them what my Lord” replied Raphael. “You’ll see” said Metatron, then, he gave Michael a sword and said, "This is the key. When the time comes, you will know what to do." Metatron blessed his four Commanders and left. Grabbing the sword that Metatron gave him, Michael examined it. The other angels gathered around him and marveled at the double-edged broadsword that was alloyed of five metallic elements: iron, silver, tin, lead, and gold. The sword's length was forty-eight inches; the blade’s was thirty-nine inches and its width was nine inches; its depth was two inches; and the sword weighed three pounds.

Michael had decided that the battle would be fought in a box formation. On the north side of the formation, Uriel would take charge of the Cherubim and the Thrones. Michael himself would command the Archangels and the angels on the south side of the formation. On the east, Raphael was to rule over the Dominations and the Virtues, and Gabriel would preside over the Powers and the Principalities on the west side. Lead by their fearless leader Lucifer, the legion of doom flew towards the Pearly Gates, and they encountered Raphael, Uriel, Gabriel and Michael, the defenders of the Heavens, there. Clearly outnumbered by their opponents, Lucifer and his legions still rejected the idea of a withdrawal. Determined to win the battle at all cost, the army of darkness raged on a full-scale attack. Some of them were involved in aerial assaults while others remained on the ground. Raphael and the shape-shifting Astaroth found themselves in the same path on the battlefield. They stared each other down for a moment and then began to fight. Astaroth was no match for the angelic commandant; so to avoid being vanquished; he quickly took on the form of a man and begged for mercy.

Upon remarking that Raphael hesitated for a moment but that was long enough for Astaroth to quickly disappear. Suddenly, Astaroth reappeared behind Raphael and stroked him from the back. But this time he was not alone, as Astaroth had summoned a few dust devils with him. His dust devils, simply a muddy manifestation of himself, were capable of causing great harm to their victims upon contact. Nonetheless, Raphael, who found himself surrounded by four dust devils and Astaroth too, stood in the middle of them; he looked to his left then to his right and said, "Okay mate, you've got me surrounded. That's good so now I can attack in any direction." Then he swung his sword around in a circle and beheaded them all. Since Gabriel was not doing so well fighting Vassago, Raphael flew toward him.

"Why won't you die like a good angel?" said Vassago, as he pounded Gabriel to the ground. Fortunately for Gabriel, Raphael came from above and smote Vassago off of him. Then the dynamic duos combined their forces to defeat the notorious villain, but in spite of their efforts, Vassago continued to batter the both of them relentlessly. Lucifer on the other hand appeared to be unstoppable he plowed through Heaven's primary lines of defense effortlessly. Analyzing the situation, Michael realized that Lucifer should be stopped. He grabbed his sword and confronted Lucifer. Upon noticing Michael approaching him, Lucifer started to laugh, "You'd dare challenge me?" Divinely superior to Michael, Lucifer was a Seraph, after all, and an elite angel of the highest echelon in Heaven. Michael was only an Archangel, an amateur of the lower-ranking hierarchy. Lucifer arrogantly assumed that his victory was inevitable. He then decided to amuse himself, taking great pleasure in taunting Michael as he dodged the Archangel's ineffective attacks. "How do you expect to defeat me, Michael?" said Lucifer. Michael kept on attacking Lucifer, but on every attempted assault, Lucifer was capable of successfully evading him. Michael began yet another battle with Lucifer midair, but alas that strategy turned out to be in vain, for Lucifer had six wings and Michael had only two. Michael became exhausted and Lucifer pompously continued taunting him. “Let me ask you” said Lucifer. “Does an archangel like yourself has ever experienced FEAR?”