“It is for His great pleasure that those creatures called humans are in existence. He alone is worthy to receive glory and honor and power, for He created all things, and by His will they were created and have their being. They will have the ability to intimately know the Master, to love, honor, and worship Him. He will take man and crown him with glory and honor. They will have free will, and those that taste and see that their heavenly Father is good shall call him friend.”
There was Adam and there was Eve. Naked in the garden in all perfection, in perfect union with God. And then there was the serpent—a lying spirit whom they called Demetri. The serpent enticed the woman to partake of the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil from which they were forbidden to eat. The man also partook, and they knew sin. They were ashamed of their nakedness, and they hid from their heavenly Father.
God in all of His grand mercy slaughtered a large animal, and they ate the meat for food and used the fur for clothing. Then sin and death fell upon mankind. Because the serpent enticed the woman with the forbidden fruit, and she, in turn, gave to the man. Thus Adam and Eve were evicted from the Garden of Eden.
Angels were set up to guard the entry to that earthly paradise so that Adam and Eve would never set foot there again. And along with sin and death, a curse fell upon the whole Earth, thorns grew on the most beautiful of flowers, and the ground was hard and dry. Man would have to labor to produce food, and woman would have great pains when bringing forth a child.
This was no heavenly realm. This was death and destruction, hardship and strife.
To know the only living God of the universe, man would have to rely on the unseen, a heart forged with hope and faith in a creator that natural eyes would feast on no more. But He will see them. And He will surround them with His angels, His messengers of light, to protect and to serve his new creation.
And He will love them, because God is love, and He is full of grace and mercy.
The Sectors and Fems all look to the Earth, and to those spectacular creatures, with great interest, but some of the angels became enamored.
Demetri nods to one of the Seraphs. “The daughters of men, they are beautiful. Are they not?”
A flock of messenger angels draws in close as we inspect the fairer of the creatures of Earth with their flowing hair crowning their glory like exotic flowers. Their skin is smooth in appearance, soft to the touch, their bodies robust and curvaceous. They speak in warm tones, their eyes filled with love and kindness. They nourish with their hands; they love with full hearts. And they are the nexus of every human to exist outside of the garden, for through them is the portal to enter the planet and there shall be no other natural way. They are perfect in form and function, magnified with ethereal beauty that man cannot fully comprehend.
Demetri rumbles with a soft laugh. “Why, Candace, it’s clear human women were modeled after you.”
“Yes,” I say. “But only Eve was in my exact likeness.”
Sector Marshall strides up, illuminated by a deep lavender glow, and his very presence causes Demetri to scatter like a mouse.
“My love.” Sector offers a slight bow in my presence. “I take it you are in charge of their destinies. How does this appeal to your senses?”
“I have no pride. I am honored that as a part of the Decision Council, I am charged to carry out the task. And I’m not alone in the endeavor. I was given Rothello of the Millennium to assist, as well as Aramous and Delario, two of your kind as well.”
“The destinies of humans are in good hands,” he says.
“It is so.”
A burst of laughter emits from a small crowd behind us, and we turn to find Demetri regaling the masses.
Sector Marshall lets out a deep sigh. “What do you think he’s up to?”
“What he’s always up to,” I say. “He’s scheming. He’s not satisfied to be your subordinate.”
“Yes, well”—Sector Marshall chortles as if this delighted him, and I have no doubt it does—“what His Majesty decrees shall be so. And it is certainly so, is it not?”
“Now, now.” A small laugh of my own trembles from me.