Author's note:  "Solomon asked for wisdom when God offered him anything he wanted.  I would choose Heaven.  I want to get to heaven before my wife, because I think her mansion is going to be a very cool place and I plan on setting some booby traps for her welcome home party.  This story is not about our mansion in paradise, but the joy of finally seeing Jesus face to face - and, the contemplation of what He might say to each of us when we do see Him."

III

Business as Usual 

Acts 7:57-60 Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; {58} and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. {59}And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." {60} Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not charge them with this sin." And when he had said this, he fell asleep. 


It was royal! It was Majestic! It was Quiet.

The angelic hosts were well aware that their ascended Lord, their Creator, had conquered hell and the grave.

Now, He was coming back to take His rightful place; once again, to be seated at the right hand of the Father.

At first, I didn't know where the angels were. There was no fanfare. Unlike only a few weeks earlier when the children had placed palm branches at his feet and when His entry into Jerusalem was greeted with singing, "Hosanna! Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord!", this event seemed to go unnoticed. Even by the Father.

In Jerusalem religious zealots were cursing and condemning Him and His disciples were awed and bewildered, yet faithful.

This was different. I had hoped to see angels. You could have heard a pin drop on the clouds of heaven. The only real presence in the Temple of God was the Father's. Forgive me for saying so, but, although Jesus seemed to be stealing the show, the Father didn't seem to mind. I'm sure He cared, but He wasn't even paying attention. He just looked downward.

Jesus began to walk toward the throne. There were white clouds, like smoke, but fluffy and pure, that seemed to float near the feet of Jesus and spread all around and up to the steps of the throne. As He stepped forward the clouds would move away as if clearing a path for His footsteps.

For such a moment as this it was unreasonably quiet.

And He walked so quickly. He had always seemed to be slower on earth. His pace was purposeful, but He never seemed to rush. Now He walked briskly - intentionally.

Father seemed to be pre-occupied.

Where were the angels? Why no fanfare?

In fact, it seemed to be business-as-usual on that day in heaven.

And Jesus barely acknowledged His Father as He approached the steps that ascended to the throne. Father did look up for the briefest moment then returned His gaze downward.

The Lord, Jesus, ascended the seven steps to the throne and bowed solemnly before His Father.  The clouds that had moved as he walked floated back to cover the floor behind Him. The bright whiteness of the walls and the cloud cover above seemed to move and roll and shift in all directions.

Jesus turned and faced His seat at the right hand of the Father. He took a step toward the Son's Seat and reached down to pick up the Crown that was lying on the cushion. White clouds moved.

Jesus held the crown in His hands and turned to sit down.

"Not yet!" I heard someone whisper. "Not until the crown is on His head."

Before the answer to who said those words could be explained it happened.

Jesus sat down. He put the Crown on His head. 

It was so unexpected when it happened. But, I shouldn't have been surprised. However, it took me by great surprise!

A trumpet sound.

The white clouds, I thought it might be smoke, suddenly seemed to rise. And wings began to unfold. And not just from the floor. Beneath and beside. And above. Angels! Standing. Flying. Singing Angels. They filled the room. In fact, as I quickly noticed, they were the room. With their wings folded over their faces and legs they were so white and fluffy they looked like clouds of smoke. But, now they were spirited. And they were everywhere.

"To Him who sits on the Throne! And unto the Lamb." they sang.

"Be blessing and glory and honor and power forever!"

In fact, there were no walls at all. And no ceiling. No floor. And, of course, no clouds. All I had seen before were merely angels in hiding - entertaining me and me unaware.

Angels and light; that is all there was.

And the Throne. And the Father and His Son.

I saw two angels ( some how knew them as Gabriel and Michael) their large angelic bodies hovering above and behind the throne; one beside Jesus, the other beside Father.

All the angels sang. Their singing, their voices, were so wonderfully mixed in harmony. I heard singing that sounded like a flute. And a trumpet. I'm quite sure I heard the sound of a piano from one of the angels - no it was several pianos from an ensemble of angels. And don't hold me to this, but I am sure I heard an electric guitar. 

I think I heard what I wanted to hear.

And it was all in honor of and to worship the Risen and Returned Lord, Jesus.

It was, as I've already said, marvelous! I was moved to breathlessness.

The Father and Jesus, however, simply sat there.

The Father grabbed the arms of His Chair and scooted up a little to turn and face Jesus.

Jesus did the same.

Father reached out His right hand toward His Son. Jesus extended his left arm and placed His hand in the Father's.

Angels screamed ecstatically!  

Thunderings and lightnings flashed across the eternal sky.

For a moment, I thought the Two were going to stand up.  They seemed to be waiting for the rejoicing to level off before they would continue.  [It didn't begin to decrease in volume until Earth's Day of Pentecost. It was a marvel to discover how inappropriate earth's time is to heaven's].

"Shall we send Him now?" the Son asked His Father.

"Let it be so."

And, upon that agreement, they released hands and sat back in their seats.

Suddenly, there was a deafening sound that shook the throne room. Angels had braced themselves, locking wings together, in order to withstand the force of the mighty rushing wind that blew from the throne of God. 

As flames of fire exploded around and past me I felt the heat, but I was not burned.

As soon as I recovered my thoughts, I turned again to the throne.

I was amazed. Nothing seemed to move them. The Father was looking down again. Jesus was talking to Gabriel. Once again, Business-as-Usual.

Angels were coming before the throne and leaving again, as if by orders.

But, the Father said nothing. He simply looked down.

Jesus seemed so pre-occupied with the executive angels that He hardly ever looked down.

The Dynamic Duo. Locked in the heavenly cave. In charge of the universe. Handling everything so magnificently. Yet, to me, or so I thought, so....certainly not uncaring, but....distant - no! personally uninvolved. That was it. Why did they seem so uninvolved in what was going on around them?

But, I was wrong. They were concerned. But, not with all the attention they were getting in the throne room. 

You see, I've never run a universe before, although I have met people who thought they could run one quite well.

But, Jesus never took His exaltation to the right hand of the Father with much self-concern. The Father never stood to His feet when His Son had returned. No "thank yous". No acknowledgement (other than the little surprise of eternal glory and to be given the Name above all names).

None of that seemed to move them.

In fact, some time had passed on earth and Jesus had just sat there, giving orders to Archangels.

One time I heard something. I'm not sure I was supposed to hear it, although I don't suppose there are any secrets in heaven.

"How many, Lord, did you say would be here for the supper?" Gabriel had asked.

I never heard the answer, but it seemed to take Jesus a long time to say how many would be there.
Angels sang following the response.

I was watching a group of them dancing a sort of heavenly square dance. They whirled and stomped and flapped their wings, round and round.

Suddenly the language singing and the musical singing stopped. One of the angels had let go of another and he stumbled backward and nearly fell down. It was cute. I started to chuckle.

But, I noticed that all the other angels had stopped. They turned toward the throne. As I turned I noticed that the whole place was full of angels that had turned toward the throne. They stood motionless.

Silence.

As I finished turning back to the throne I saw the reason why.

Jesus was standing up.

The angels had probably been told that when He stood up with the Crown on His Head it could only mean one thing: He's going back to earth.

"He's going away!" announced an over-excited being.

A few angels began to scurry about. They didn't seem to know what to do or where to go.

It caused a bit of confusion, so much so that Michael had to step down in front of the Lord and quickly descended the steps. He extended his wings and shouted, "Glory!"

Of course, the angels who had begun to move about understood the rebuke and shyly returned to attention.

Michael turned to the Lord. He folded his wings over his head and bowed down at the foot of the steps. He looked like a large white cloud of smoke that hovered near the steps of the throne.

Jesus looked down at the cloud. He had tears in His eyes. But, He also had a smile upon His face.

[I might tell you now how much it hurts to see the Lord cry, but, oh, how movingly blissful to make him smile!]

The Father continued to watch downward, seemingly unaware of the heavenly display and His countenance seemed concerned about something He saw "down there."

Upon the folded wings of the angelic cloud in front of Jesus a shape appeared. Out of nowhere, upon the lowered presence of Michael, was a figure - a man. He rested both knees on Michael's wings. 

The man was naked.

He looked up, first at the Father who only briefly raised an eyebrow to look at him, then the man saw Jesus.

Jesus lifted His hands and said "Enter in thou good and faithful servant. Enter in to the presence of the Lord."

The angels broke loose again.

Now, you won't believe this, but Michael spread his wings and the man slipped down across Michael's back and his arms dropped around the Archangel's neck. The man was straddled as if ready to hold on for flight.

And fly they did! Quickly up and swooping to and fro. All the angels had taken flight or were dancing again. Michael and his passenger gently journeyed from one end of heaven to the other. It was breath-taking to watch. After a moment The man had no need to "hang on".

I thought I saw, out of the corner of my eye, as I watched Michael flying, I was sure I saw Jesus jumping - but don't hold me to that, because I was so caught up in the moment myself.

Michael hovered over the throne, swooped down and landed where the ride had begun.

Jesus was laughing [I'm sure of that]. It was a jolly, human, friendly chuckle.

"Well, Stephen," Jesus commented with a smile to the man. "I have to go back to work."

And He sat back down.

Michael once again whisked Stephen, the Martyr, away - out of my sight.

I couldn't hold it in. I shouted as loud as I could. "Can I have a ride?"

No one seemed to have heard me. The Father was looking down. Jesus was talking to Gabriel again. Angels were flitting about.

One angel [I'm sure it was the one who almost stumbled when Jesus stood up] came up to me.

"Climb on." he said.


the end

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bless you.....................................Eugene H. Maze

This chapter and all chapters related to this website book entitled "Scripture Shorts" (copyright 1995, 2005) was written and published by Eugene H. Maze.  No portion of this book may be copied, sold or distributed either by electronic or other means in any fashion whatsoever without the expressed written permission of the author.  Permission for distribution may be obtained by contacting the author at ehylandmaze@aol.com.  Links to this and all previous and subsequent pages of this book entitled "Scripture Shorts" may be distributed freely without permission.

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