(see previous post for the introduction and first part of this Resurrection story.)
It was night over Jerusalem, and outside the city walls, Akim recognized his Lord and King leading his closest followers, 12 disciples, into a garden.
But wait, Akim realized, there are not 12 disciples. Only 11 trailed behind Jesus. With a quick scan of the group, Akim recognized who was missing. Judas Iscariot was not there. Akim narrowed his eyes, instantly suspicious. This was the one man who had proven many times that his heart was not fully the Lord’s, but largely set on things of this world.
Akim turned to point this out to Nalani, but the scene in the garden caught his attention again. Jesus had left most of the disciples behind, and had taken his three closest friends, one called Peter, and the brothers, James and John, deeper into the garden to pray. Jesus was burdened, and sorrowful. It was this that captured Akim’s notice. When Jesus stepped away from the three, He raised His hands and eyes to Heaven, and Akim wondered if the God-man could see the thousands of angels watching Him.
“O my Father!” the voice rose from the earth. The Son’s hands dropped, and He fell on His face to the ground in agony. “Abba! All things are possible with You! Take away this cup from me!”
The observing angels stirred, distressed. The Son of God on earth was crying out to His Father in Heaven as the angels witnessed. They could see His spirit tormented by some dark knowledge, and as they watched, demons of chaos and confusion surrounded Jesus as He struggled, whirling around Him in delight and pricking His heart with their swords. At that, a swell of anger surged over the watching crowd, and the angels gripped the hilts of their own swords with powerful hands. But their commanders were silent, having received no instruction from the Spirit of the Lord.
Instead, they were forced to silently watch their King in agony, crying out in torture of spirit. Drops of blood oozed out of His skin and rolled down Jesus’ face. Time crawled as Jesus endured heart-rending torment. Desperate, Akim looked to the three disciples, anxious for them to come and bring relief to their master. But they were asleep. Akim turned his eyes from them in disgust. How could they sleep while Jesus suffered?
Suddenly, over their heads swept a cool and calming breeze. Akim glanced up to see Sukesh, one of the ministering angels, descend into earth and sweep away the demons of torture. Sukesh stooped beside Jesus, comforting Him as He continued to fight against the weakness of the flesh, until finally, the Man on the ground conquered this spiritual battle. Taking a breath, Akim looked again to the sleeping disciples. He didn’t know how much time had passed on earth, but he felt as if hours had gone by. Then he saw the torches among the trees, and this moment of relief dissolved back into a living nightmare.
Akim watched as priests, scribes and soldiers, accompanied by innumerable demons of darkness, and led by the traitor Judas, approached as Jesus stood to His feet.
“Are you Jesus of Nazareth?” the leaders asked Him.
Jesus lifted His head with a quiet smile. “I AM.”
At the words, a concussion of energy swept over the angels in heaven, and in the garden on earth, every man but One was knocked backward to the ground while the demons cowered in terror. Akim grinned. Jesus had called on His name, and with it came tremendous power. But Akim’s exultation soon faded as Jesus submitted Himself to the clutch of sinful men.
The disciples, finally awake, had watched in mute horror; but now as the soldiers reached for Jesus, Peter charged the assembly with a yell, ripping out his sword as he went. With a quick slash Peter attacked one of the priest’s servants, cutting off his ear. But Jesus stopped him.
“Put up your sword, Peter,” Jesus said. With a touch of His gentle hand, the bleeding man was healed. “Do you not think that I cannot pray to my Father, and He shall give me more than twelve legions of angels?”
At last! Akim thought as a wave of anticipation swept over his fellow angels. They could produce a sight more than twelve legions. He couldn’t wait to get his hands on the demons who’d tortured Jesus’ spirit.
Hardly had Akim time to think this before Jesus’ next words stopped him short. “But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled?” Jesus finished as the soldiers gripped His shoulder.
Akim groaned, and the sound of his own inner conflict was echoed by the thousands of angels standing around him. He knew the Scriptures, not nearly as well as others, but enough to have a vague idea of what mysteries the prophets had spoken. Akim had been a guardian angel to the prophet Jeremiah, after all. But for all his nebulous understanding, he had never imagined that the prophecies might transpire like this.
The Son of God was bound, beaten, and forced to stand trial in front of hired false witnesses. All through that long night Jesus was interrogated and mocked, while His angels repressed their fury at the treatment given to their Lord.
At dawn Jesus was escorted to the hall of judgment, unto Pilate, governor of the region. By this time a crowd had gathered to ridicule. Stimulated by priests and cavorting demons of hate, the people who had talked to Jesus, sat under His teachings, witnessed His miracles and received His healing touch turned on the Prince of Peace with a fury. The human tempest brewed in the courtyard of Pontius Pilate’s house, while inside, the Jews piled false and ludicrous accusations against Jesus, demanding His death as a traitor. In an effort to placate the Jewish leaders, Pilate questioned his strange prisoner in an attempt to understand Jesus’ supposed ‘treachery’ against Rome.
“Are you the King of the Jews?” Pilate asked finally.
“My Kingdom is not of this world,” Jesus responded. “If My Kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I might not be delivered into the hands of the Jews.”
A rumble of expectation rose from the servants mentioned.
The voice of the governor questioned again. “Are you a King then?”
“You say that I am,” said Jesus, and Akim waited breathlessly to hear Him proclaim Himself King of the Universe, Lord of the Ages and Maker of men. “To this end I was born. And for this cause I came into the world, that I should be a witness of the truth.”
Pilate stared at Jesus silently as Akim despaired. He was beginning to comprehend that his Lord was not going to assert Himself, declare Himself God and call down His warriors. But why? Suddenly in that moment, things began to click into place in Akim’s mind. Passover. Lambs. Blood. Sin. Sacrifice. “No,” he breathed as the realization set in.
“What is truth?” Pilate’s tone of cynicism echoed through the hall as his words hung in the air. Pilate had liked Jesus, Akim saw, but his efforts to release Him had met with antagonism from the Jewish leaders. Eventually, Pilate’s weak will was beaten down and he left the judgment seat to deliver Jesus to the Jews to –
“Crucify Him!” the blood-thirsty crowd shouted, gaining frenzy and volume as Jesus was brought out into their midst.
Perhaps there were men and women there, crying out for Jesus to be released, but they could not be heard above the riot. Though dawn was lighting the sky, the courtyard was thick in darkness, the people inside spurred on by a frenzy of black-hearted demons.
Nalani touched Akim’s shoulder and pointed. Following the direction indicated, Akim looked down through the mass of evil and spotted:
“Lucifer,” Akim muttered through clenched teeth. The father of lies was there, laughing with triumph as Jesus was whipped again, the metal and bone in the cat of tails tearing at his flesh and ripping it from his bones. The Roman soldiers knew what they were about when it came to putting criminals to death. They knew how to inflict tremendous pain through beatings and yet stop short before the point of death. No. Death is reserved as a long and drawn out torture, each breath clawed and grasped for on the cross.
Akim shuddered as Jesus was forced to carry the beam he would die upon down the road called the Via Dolorosa, the way of suffering, to the hill Golgatha outside of the city. His blood stained the ground as He stumbled under the weight of the cross. The crowds mocked him as He went by, though here and there small groups of His followers gathered and wept as He passed.
Akim had never shed a tear, but now how he wished he could, if only to give vent to the feelings boiling inside him as he watched his Lord and King climb the hill to the place of His anticipated death. As the Roman soldiers began to pound the merciless iron stakes through Jesus’ wrists and feet, a swell of wrath swept over the assembled angels. They alone could see the cavorting demons of hate and evil rejoicing over the prostrate form of Jesus as he was nailed to a crude wooden cross. The sinister glee and triumph continuing unchallenged was too much to watch.
The mighty warriors of Heaven looked to their commanders, beseeching them to draw their swords and charge down into the cesspool of wickedness below. “Tariq,” Akim whispered under his breath as he stared at his captain’s strong back. “Do something!”
Tariq’s fists clenched and unclenched as he stood, his body trembling with the repressed desire to seek revenge on the wickedness of the world. But he did nothing. Across the hosts, Meghdad, Oberon, Michael himself, stood silent. They had been ordered to stand at the gates of Heaven, and nothing else.
On the earth below, the cross was raised, and Jesus, the Son of the Most High God, Creator of the World, was crucified.
The angels, unaccustomed to enduring the sense of time, now grew to hate it as they measured each earthly minute by Jesus’ painful and struggling attempts to breathe. Whispers circulated through the crowd as one by one, prophecies foretold in the scriptures were fulfilled. Akim and Puck turned routinely to Nalani, who was more knowledgeable in the foretelling through the prophets then they.
It was the third hour in Jerusalem when Jesus was crucified. Now it was the sixth, and suddenly a change swept over the scene. Though it was the middle of the day, darkness descended as the sun lost its light. A deathly chill pervaded Heaven, like to nothing Akim had ever felt before. His heart pounded in his chest and fear tightened its clammy grip. Glancing to his right, Akim encountered Puck’s gaze, wide-eyed in dread. Something was more wrong than ever before in history. The unity and peace of Heaven was being severed.
Frantic, Akim turned back to earth, searching for the source of this spiritual turmoil. The physical darkness over the setting and causing great unrest among the human spectators on earth was not the only element that shadowed the cross. In the spiritual dimension the darkness was thick. And as he focused through it, Akim realized with dismay that the Son of God was being polluted by it. Jesus’ brilliantly pure spirit, normally blinding if viewed from the realm of Heaven, was darkening. His moans arising from his tortured body reached the ears of the angels, and Akim finally recognized what was happening.
It all tied in to Passover and the sacrifice for sin. The punishment for sin is death. Death of physical body in time, but more seriously, death of the soul as sin separates that human spirit from the holiness of the Lord. Therefore the payment for sin is the giving of life. The perfect lambs brought year after year to the temple momentarily satisfied this payment by the shedding of life-blood. But this blood only temporarily covered the sins of the people. The ultimate payment of a perfect human giving up his life to pay for the sins of others was needed, but unattainable. Hence humanity’s desperate need for a Savior. Christ is that Savior, and as the hosts of Heaven watched from above, Jesus, the perfect sacrificial Lamb hanging on the cross, took upon Himself the sins of the world.
As the Son of God grew darker with the weight of every thought, word and deed that was sin of all humanity, past, present and future, the spiritual distress grew greater. The Person of the Father, pure and righteous, holy and just, could not look at His sin-laden Son. And so for the first time in existence, the 3 person God-head was separated as the Father and the Holy Spirit left the Son hanging on a cross, buried under the filth of the sin of the world. Akim could feel the torture of the Spirit throbbing through the realm. Heaven seemed ripped in two.
The angels convulsed under the weight of this great divorce. On earth, Jesus writhed in agony of spirit. With a loud voice, He cried “ELI, ELI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?” “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
The pain and desperation of this cry rose up and echoed in the far reaches of Heaven and earth. Strong and mighty warriors of God broke under the strain of it, their own cries merging with the Christ’s. Akim could watch no longer. He dropped to his knees, hands gripping his head in anguish.
As one last tortured cry from the man on the cross arose from earth Nalani and Puck knelt beside Akim, bowing their heads as Jesus the Christ died far below, away from His glory, His truth and His Father.
On earth, the ground shook violently under the darkened afternoon skies and the graves of the saints were opened. On earth, in the temple made by men’s hands, the heavy curtain separating the holy of holies from the people was torn from top to bottom, signifying an end to this old covenant. On earth, people wept, mocked and wondered as they hid from falling stone and groped their way in the strange darkness. On earth, the forces of wickedness celebrated like never before, Satan exulting in their midst.
The angels stood in shock, paralyzed from witnessing God die. The discord still pulsed through the air. Akim stared with burning eyes at the broken Man on the cross.
“What is this?” Akim whispered, his heart aching.
Nalani put his hand on Akim’s shoulder. “This is love.”
On earth, chaos gripped the world with a ruthless grip.
In Heaven, all was silent.
– 3 Days Later –
Jesus’ body had been taken from the cross, and now lay in a garden tomb, closed by a giant stone and sealed with the mark of the Roman governor. A company of soldiers stood watch outside, laughing at their job of guarding a dead man. The disciples and followers of Jesus were in hiding. To all appearances, the Jewish leaders had won, and Satan had conquered. Hovering exultantly over the scene of his triumph, the father of lies and his demons celebrated while the angels looked on in revulsion.
For yet the angels still stood at the gates of Heaven. They were waiting. Because they knew the saga wasn’t done.
Akim could still sense the feeling of discord in the air. But the anguish and despair of those final moments on the cross had dissipated. God’s plan was being acted out, and He was in control. It was only a matter of time before the fulfillment of the prophecies was completed.
It was the hour before dawn in Jerusalem. In the garden where Jesus’ body was entombed the guards stood nodding over their posts. The morning mist crept around the feet of the soldiers and caught upon the ropes that sealed the stone in place.
Suddenly, a shock-wave of energy swept over the assembly watching above, and through all the spiritual realm. Trumpets sounded through Heaven and an explosion of light emanated from the tomb where Jesus’ body lay. In the flash, Jesus’ spirit, free of sin and conqueror over death, entered His body as Jesus disappeared from the tomb.
Over Heaven swept a wave of healing, a purge of the previous disharmony so sweet and satiating that Akim could barely contain his joy. As water is to a parched tongue and dawn is to a weary watcher, so unity was restored in Heaven and the angels could have wept with delight at the renewal. Below, the devils swarmed in horror and confusion, blinded by the light and cowering in the face of resurrected righteousness. Akim laughed to see them, others around him joining in, laughing with relief and exultation at the triumph of their God.
At the same instant an earthquake shook the grounds of the garden, shaking the startled soldiers. Sirius, having received instruction from the Spirit, arose from the ranks of angels and shot down into the earth below. Revealing himself in full glory and brightness of being, he appeared to the stunned Roman guards. His face flashed like lightning and his robes burned as white as snow. The mortal men collapsed in terror before him, and the bewildered demons scattered in horror. Lighting gently on the ground, Sirius put his hands to the stone that sealed the tomb and pushed it back.
Dawn broke over the treetops, flooding the garden with light, purified now of the spiritual darkness. The stone rolled back, Sirius arose to sit on it, just in time to welcome the first people to the scene of the Resurrection.
Akim, looking away from the tomb entrance, saw a silent, sober group of women threading their way through the garden to the grave. He recognized them, faithful servants of Jesus Christ, the women coming to anoint His body with spices. As they rounded a corner, the light from Sirius fell on their faces and their eyes opened wide with wonder at the sight of the unconscious guards, the empty tomb, the stone rolled away and an angel of the Lord.
Sirius put out his hand to them and spoke, “Fear not! I know that you seek Jesus, who was crucified. Why do you look for the living among the dead?” with his hands raised to Heaven, Sirius continued jubilantly, “He is not here, but He is Risen as He said! Go tell his disciples what you have seen.”
Baskets and jars dropped to the ground, their contents spilling out unheeded into the earth and filling the air with fragrance. Trembling and laughing with fear and great joy, the women turned and ran back through the garden with steps light and excited.
Sirius ascended back into Heaven, his mission complete. Akim didn’t notice him, however, because upon the earth Jesus Himself appeared and met the women as they ran homeward from the garden, saying, “Rejoice!”
With joyous cries the women fell at His feet, worshipping, while the angels above shouted aloud in praise. The trumpet sounded, and Akim joined the rest of the angels as they surged out from the gates of Heaven to welcome their Lord and King back to His throne.
Jesus is alive, death has died, sin has been conquered.
Nearly two thousand years have passed since that glorious morning. Jesus rules on His throne at the right Hand of the Father, and the Holy Spirit reigns in the hearts of men and women all around the world. All is not perfect, however. Satan seeks revenge on Yahweh by stealing God’s created people away from His love and future Kingdom in Heaven. We live in a conflict, a desperate battlefield of Spiritual warfare. But it will not always be so.
Soon, very soon, the angels will be summoned to the gates of Heaven again, but for the last time. With trumpets sounding and an innumerable host of Christ-followers beside them, Jesus will lead His servants down to bring victory and final judgment on the world and on those who refuse the cause of Christ. And when He says “It is finished,” time as we know it will end, and eternal life with Love everlasting will begin.
Will you be with them? Will you be ready? Will you be there to stand at the Gates of Heaven?
