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"Yet, still the promise of disaster haunted me. Then an exceptionalthing happened. God came to me.
"God doesn't leave Heaven when He does this. He merely extendsHimself, so to speak; His light came down and took me inwhere I was, rolled me up into it and against Him, and He began totalk to me.
"Of course this was immediately comforting. I had denied myselfthe bliss of Heaven for long periods, and now to have this bliss comedown and enfold me in perfect love and quiet, I was satisfied. All myarguments and doubts left me. Pain left me. The punitive effect uponmy mind of death and decay was eased.
"God spoke. I was of course fused with Him and had no sense ofmy form in this moment; we had been so close many a time in thepast, and we were this close when I had been made, and came forthout of God. But nevertheless it was a profound, merciful gift for it tohappen now.
" 'You see more than other angels,' He said. 'You think in termsof the future, a concept which they are just beginning to learn. Theyare as mirrors reflecting the magnificence of each step; whereas youhave your suspicions. You do not trust in me.'
"These words filled me with sorrow. 'You do not trust in me.' Ihad not thought of it as distrust, my fears. And no sooner had Irealized this than that realization was sufficient for God, and He calledme back to Heaven and said that now I should watch more often fromthat vantage point and not go so deep into the foliage of the world."I could only stare at Memnoch as he explained all these things.
We stood on the bank of the stream still. He didn't seem comfortednow as he told me about this comfort. Only eager to go on with histale.
"I did go back to Heaven, but as I told you, the entire compositionof Heaven was now changed. Heaven was focused on Earth. Earthwas the Heavenly Discourse. And never was I so aware of it as on thisreturn. I went to God, I knelt in adoration, I poured out my heart, mydoubts, above all my gratitude that He had come to me as He had. Iasked if I was free again to return to the World below.
"He gave one of His sublime noncommittal answers, meaning,'You are not forbidden. You are a Watcher and your duty is toWatch.' So I went down?
"Wait," I said. "I want to ask you a question.""Yes," he answered patiently. "But come, let's continue on ourjourney. You can step on the rocks as you cross the stream."I followed him this way easily enough, and within minutes we hadleft the sound of the water behind us, and we were in an even denserforest alive, I think, with creatures, though I couldn't tell.
"My question," I pressed, "was this. Was Heaven boring comparedto Earth?""Oh, never, it's just that the Earth was the focus. One could notbe in Heaven and forget about Earth because everybody in Heavenwas watching Earth and singing about it. That's all. No, Heaven wasas fascinating and blissful as ever; in fact, the sombre note which hadbeen introduced, the solemn acknowledgment of decay and deathhad added to the infinite variation of things which might be said andsung and dwelt upon in Heaven.""I see. Heaven expanded with these revelations.""Always! And remember the music, never, never think that that isa cliche of religion. The music was reaching new heights all the timein its celebration of wonder. It would be millennia before physicalinstruments would reach a level where they could make even a paleimitation of the sounds of the music of the angels梩heir voices,mingling with the beat of their wings, and some interplay with the windsthat rose from Earth."I nodded.
"What is it?" he asked. "What do you want to say?""I can't put it in words! Only that our understanding of Heavenfails again and again because we are not taught this, that Heaven isfocused upon the earth. Why, all my life, I've heard nothing but thecontrary, the denigration of matter, and that it is a prison for thesoul.""Well, you saw Heaven for yourself," he said. "But let me continue:
"The Seventh Revelation was that the animals came out of thesea. That they came into the forests which now covered the land andthey found ways to live in it. The Reptiles were born. They becamegreat lizards, monsters, things of such size that even the strength ofangels couldn't have stopped them. And these things had heads andfaces, and now they not only swam with their legs條egs like ours?
but they walked upon them, and some walked on two legs instead offour, holding against their chests two tiny legs like our arms.
"I watched this happen as someone watches a fire grow. From thetiny blaze, giving warmth, I now saw a conflagration!
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