Free Exile of Lucifer by D. Brian Shafer Page A

he was not paying atten-
tion, but whenever I tried to call him on it he always had the cor-
rect response."
     "I remember," agreed Michael. "He always knew the
answers!"
     "Brilliant mind," said Crispin. "But his attitude began to
change. Not that it stopped his ministry--no, no he was always
excellent in what he does with music. And he seemed to truly enjoy
his worship post. Maybe he still does! As I said, I always hoped he
would teach, but I think he had greater things in mind for himself."
     "Crispin," Michael asked, feeling a heaviness within him as
he asked the question, "can an angel truly rebel against the Most
High--I mean outright oppose Him?"
"Weren't you listening? It's the Creation!" 57

     Crispin weighed his answer carefully. He then looked Michael
over and said, "Michael, could you ever oppose the Lord?"
     "No!" Michael said. "Never!"
     "And why not?" Crispin asked.
     "Because I love the Lord my God. I will always serve Him. I
would never betray Him."
     "But you have not answered my question," said Crispin.
"Could you ever do anything to oppose the Lord?"
     Michael wasn't sure where Crispin was taking him. "No, I
could not...ever," he said.
     "Could not, or would not?" asked Crispin.
     Michael suddenly realized what Crispin was teaching him.
The fact was that though he would never turn against God, he actu-
ally could if he wanted to by a simple matter of choice. This being
the case, any angel could betray the Lord if he so desired. "I would
not, though I could," said Michael solemnly, "if I chose to do so.
But I would never so choose."
     "And so it is with all angels," said Crispin. "These are the
exact issues which Lucifer and Pellecus are escalating. Ultimately,
the choice is ours to make, Michael. But what those who would
oppose the Lord don't realize is that His Kingdom will continue
regardless of their choosing. It is nonsense to believe that angels are
responsible for the continued order of the Kingdom through their
obedience. If an angel ever chooses to disobey the Lord, the King-
dom will continue as always. Any opposition to God cannot possi-
bly win. The tragic part is I really think they believe they could win,
or at least force a compromise on the part of the Most High. I doubt,
however, it will ever come to an actual rebellion. Such is the decep-
tion of pride."
     "So why doesn't the Lord do something about this?" asked
Michael. "Surely He knows what is being discussed around the
Kingdom by Lucifer and Pellecus and others. Why does He not do
something about them?"
     "I can only say that the Lord is all-wise. And He knows what
must be done at the proper time. Remember, Michael, Lucifer has
not actually committed any rebellious action. Maybe he will not.
58 CHRONICLES of the Host: Exile of Lucifer

Perhaps the Most High is giving Lucifer time to think things
through. Either way, God will not oppose Lucifer's or any angel's
choice to betray Him."
     "But why?" said Michael, who was quite disturbed and had
framed in his mind how he would deal with such dissenters.
     "Because the Lord loves His creatures too much to violate
their ability to choose freely. What is devotion to God if it is forced
or created beforehand? It is worthless. True love must come from a
choice to exercise that love. If God does not allow for the possi-
bility of some of His angels to oppose Him, then He is actually
demonstrating that He is not in control. He is not inviting their dis-
obedience, but He must allow for the potential.
     "Strange, hmm? God is only in control if He allows the possibil-
ity of His creatures getting out of the bounds He has constructed for
them. And the reason is clear. If He must exercise power to keep His
creatures from willfully disobeying Him, then He demonstrates an
inability to deal with them justly. He must let them choose because
there are consequences for their actions. That is the difference!"
     "What kind of consequences?" asked Michael.
     "Well, I don't really know," said Crispin. "The point