Story #46 - Fall From Grace

Hello everyone! This week's story is an idea I've been toying with for a while. I wanted to write a story about angels, but in a fictional way that doesn't necessarily represent any religious beliefs. Eventually, I decided to try my own spin on the story of the devil's fall from heaven, like in Paradise Lost. It involves an angel choosing between the doomed Lucifer (the devil) or God. I do not mean to offend any religious groups. This is simply a fictional story based on a certain belief, because I doubt my version is exactly what happened. ;) Enjoy!

Title: Fall From Grace
Warnings: the devil as an angel... pretty modern talk between angels ;)
Summary: An angel must choose between his charismatic, rebellious friend Lucifer or God.
Length: ~ 1,700 words
Notes: First person point of view, present tense. This story could be viewed as historical fiction, but because the subject matter is religious, I'm going to say the genre is mythology.

Fall From Grace

            It is dark in heaven as the meeting of rebellious angels begins. I have come, as Lucifer’s friend, to see what he has to say. But I have an uneasy feeling about this.         

            “Friends,” Lucifer begins. He hovers in the center of our gathering, shining brightly as always. “Angels, archangels, and Cherubim.”

            He has Cherubim gathered here? But they guard the throne of God. I thought this was a rebellion against God. Surely Lucifer hasn’t already convinced some of them to rebel!

“Our Lord God is a tyrant,” Lucifer continues. This creates a stir among the angels. Lucifer raises his voice and says, “He has told us that we must bow down and grovel to his son. We already bow and grovel to God, and now we have to subject ourselves to his son as well, who is only a baby? And far worse, my friends, is that God wishes for us to honor mankind – those sniveling, incompetent wrecks that can never achieve our greatness. We can’t stand for this!”

I can’t believe it. Lucifer has always been ambitious and power-hungry, but I never thought it would come to this. He hadn’t told me anything of his plans, not really.

“There’s a meeting of the angels later,” he’d said. “I’m in charge of it. We’re planning a rebellion. You should come – I’d like to hear what you think...”

I had agreed and told him I’d show up. And now… I don’t know what to think. What Lucifer is saying is pure madness. God is a tyrant? But God created us. We owe everything to Him. He is kind, forgiving, omniscient… in fact, surely He knows about this meeting as we are having it…

“What do you propose we do?” One of the Cherubs calls out. Lucifer smiles, his teeth gleaming like ice.

“I say we overthrow God. Why should he have all the power? We deserve the chance to rule, and I daresay we could do much better than he could. We cannot continue to be subjugated by God and now his little son and his little creatures, these humans. We do not owe anything to them. We have our own choices, and we deserve much, much more than we have.”

 “Overthrow God?” someone says, their voice exemplifying pure shock. “How is that possible?”

Among one of the many things I’ve been wondering, chief of which is, Lucifer, when did you lose your mind? I have to talk him out of this. I need to calm him down. We can’t overthrow God. Not only is it ridiculous, but it’s just plain wrong.

I’m not going to lie. I’m tempted by what Lucifer is saying. The ability to make the rules for once – just think of everything we could do. But I am used to Lucifer’s honeyed words, and I know how good he is at getting what he wants at the expense of others. If God is a tyrant, than what will Lucifer be?

And, again, overthrowing God is not only impossible, but also wrong. God represents all that is good in the universe. We are supposed to be good too. We are not supposed to be plotting God’s downfall.

“Simple,” Lucifer says. “We wage an all-out war. Look around you, friends. We have roughly one third of the host of heaven on our side. We have Cherubs, and archangels, and even a Seraph, one who is supposed to praise and burn for God for eternity. He has realized that he does not want to burn anymore, and he wants to speak more than praise that he does not believe. We can give him peace, and power, just as we can achieve all of this for ourselves. All we must do is fight.”

Fight God. He’s serious. Fight God.

“We will begin a War in Heaven today,” Lucifer continues, his voice swelling and seeming to fill all the clouds. God must be aware of this. Does He not even believe that this is worth bothering over? Lucifer has convinced one third of the angels that God is a tyrant. I’m sure he has tempted many more. What will happen to them? What will God do?

What if Lucifer wins? I think about it, for a short while. As impossible as it is, Lucifer always gets what he wants. And if he wants to become God… if I were there, by his side, as I’ve always been… I could be more than an archangel. I could be like Jesus is to God – his right-hand man.

But if Lucifer loses, which is much more likely… angels have fallen from heaven before. There are the two hundred rebellious Watchers, who left heaven to marry and have children with human women.

“Fools,” Lucifer had scoffed when he’d heard the news. “Why go down there, to lower yourself even more to human scum, when you could use your rebellious energies up here?”   

I should have realized sooner that Lucifer was more than just talk. Now I have to convince him not to wage this war before it’s too late, and I’ve only got a few moments to do it.

The angels around me are rowdy. Lucifer shines even brighter than before, so bright that I imagine he would be painful for any human to look at.

“Friends, be prepared. Ready your weapons. Steel your souls. Remember why we are fighting. Remember that our Lord God is a tyrant, keeping the power from us when we have the will to use it. We will not bow to God, or his son, or mankind! We will rule!”

One would think that a cacophony of angels would be a beautiful sound, but this one frightens me. Surrounding me are angels, archangels, Cherubim, and even a Seraph, all red-eyed with battle-rage and power-hunger. It is hard not to get caught up in their excitement, but I make my way through to the center, where Lucifer stands, smirking as he surveys his success. He seems like God already, looking down at his kingdom. One third of all the host of heaven. I can hardly believe all of them are this naïve and easily tempted.

“Hello!” Lucifer grins when he sees me. “Well, what do you think? Amazing, isn’t it?”

I force myself not to catch his enthusiasm. “Lucifer, this is a horrible idea.”

His smile dims, as does his aura. He looks caught off guard for one of the first times since I’ve known him. He must be expecting my whole-hearted support. But how could he?

“What do you mean?” he asks.

“You’re letting your pride and your ambition get in the way of your common sense. Think about it. We are angels. Our purpose is to serve God, not rebel against him.”

“Serving him is wrong,” Lucifer insists. “We should not be servants; we should be rulers.”

“That’s beside the point,” I say, trying not to get irritated with his blindness. “It’s very impressive that you have one third of the angels on your side. But don’t you realize that’s not enough to overthrow God? Even if all the angels were on your side, it wouldn’t be enough. God is all-powerful and omniscient. We’re simply not.”

“How do you know?” Lucifer replies. “No angel has ever waged war against God. Maybe he isn’t as strong as he pretends to be. It’s only fear that has stopped the other angels from correcting this injustice and removing the tyrant from his throne. I’m not afraid.”

“Then you’re stupid,” I say bluntly. “Seriously, Lucifer, where is your head? You know I am your friend, and I would like to support you in whatever you do. But I can’t condone this. It will only lead to failure.”

He shakes his head. “You’re wrong. You’ll regret this.”

Lucifer is shining bright enough to eclipse all the other angels. He’s always had this undeniable presence. I think it’s what first attracted me to him, my fellow archangel. I think it’s what attracted all of the followers he has now. I also think it’s gotten in the way of his logic, if he ever had any.

“My only regret is that I can’t convince you not to throw away everything you have.”

Lucifer looks long and hard at me. “Is this truly your choice, my friend? To side with God, the tyrant, over me, your friend?”

I think about it for a moment. I don’t believe that God is a tyrant. There is nothing wrong with serving Him, or Jesus, or mankind. It is only Lucifer’s pride that finds an issue with it, and pride has no place in an angel.

I wish I could save Lucifer. I wish God could. But all of us have free will, and if Lucifer wants to damn himself, there is nothing I can do.

“I’m sure,” I say. I feel like I should say something else, but what? I can’t wish him luck. Luck won’t help him, and besides, I don’t want him to succeed.

“If you’re not with me, then you’re against me,” Lucifer says.

Someone else has a presence even more luminous and notable than Lucifer, the morning star. And that is God. Lucifer pales in comparison to Him.

“Then I guess I’m against you,” I say.

Lucifer nods once, jerkily, and then stalks away from me, his entourage of wild angels, archangels, Cherubim, and the Seraph following him. I stand alone in the middle of the clearing. Heaven is still and dark, but we all know a war is coming.

A war that Lucifer will lose and God will win. There is no doubt in my mind that I have made the right choice. I have resisted temptation, reaffirmed the loving nature of God (and his power), and chosen to trust in Him alone.

Millennia later, I remember the moment I made that choice. I was alone, but at the same time, I had God and two thirds of the angels behind me. And now, after the War of Heaven, Lucifer has been exiled to Hell, and his fallen angels with him. I could have been one of those fallen angels, had I allowed perceived injustice and Lucifer (I heard he goes by Satan now) and his charisma to convince me.

I made the right choice. Yet every day I want to weep because Lucifer made the wrong one.

THE END! J