When my husband first told me that he believed that the devil had spoken to him, I thought that he was going crazy. I considered it a joke. Then I considered divorce. I was angry with him. Then, I thought about our relationship and all of the conversations that we shared. Could the man that I have loved for so long, be a stranger to me? Could he have hidden a possible mental condition? If so, then how? We have talked for countless hours, days and years. Never once has he seemed incompetent. Never once have I caught his sharp, often witty mind wandering. He can recall his childhood memories vividly. He recalls intimate details of our courtship that I cannot. He is well read and can speak in detail about a variety of subjects. The description of insane would not fit him. So it was with this information and my gut feelings that I allowed him to tell me about his experiences, many of which I found myself listening to with great interest. ----------------------------------------- “What do you want from me? What do you want from mankind?”
“I want you and all of mankind to live in the present. Stop hoping for a better life in the hereafter. It is only today that counts. Like the serpent did with Adam and Eve centuries ago, I wish to do the same thing today…merely enlighten the people.”
“Has God, Jesus Christ sent you here? Even if God hasn’t sent you, do you know and realize that He knows you’re here?”
“Do not say the name Jesus Christ. How did He become God? First He was the son of God. Then He was the Messiah. Now, He is God himself. He is an identity thief!”
“Who? What? Jesus Christ?”
“Yes. Jesus Christ, Emmanuel, Allah, Yahweh, Jehovah, Adonai, the Father, the Son, the Holy Ghost! Whatever name you like.”
“I will just call Him Jesus Christ.”
“Are you trying to be funny, Yegg. Helot.”
“No.”
“I am the fallen Angel cast down from Heaven, because your Lord and Savior did not wish me to enlighten the Angels. He was a Mycologist and a Misoneist.”
“I had read that you had a disagreement with God over the religious devotion that a man called Job had for God.”
“Not true. I don’t care who does or doesn’t have veneration for God. It makes no difference to me, one way or the other, who practices the Christian rites and who does not.”
“I find that hard to believe.”
“Well, believe it. It’s true, God and I are adversaries. I was chosen to test mankind’s piety.”
“You seem to have taken that job to heart. Don’t you think that you have gone overboard?”
“Not at all, it was He who crossed me. We had an agreement, an arrangement. I would test mankind’s virtue. If those tested proved to be pure in soul, He would receive them in His kingdom. But if those tested were to submit to the temptation offered, they were to remain in my graces. He broke this agreement by allowing man to repent for all of his sins. After all of my hard work, to have Him come in and steal them away at the very end is not fair. Do you have any idea how that feels?”
“Horrible, I can imagine.”
“You’re being sarcastic. Unfortunately, I didn’t make up the rules. But I am forced to abide by them.”
“Speaking of rules, I had heard about you and the Lord’s strife. But the story I got was a little different.”
“What do you speak of, the Garden of Eden?”
“Yes, I had heard that the Serpent that first tempted Eve (the mother of all human beings) was you. Because of your disobedience of God’s rules, you were cast down from Heaven and cursed forever.”
“You call it a curse, I call it a blessing. That was part of it and since you brought it up, let me say this; I am considered to be the father of all lies. But when I am first spoken of in the Bible, it is truth that I bring. Did I not advise Adam and Eve truthfully?”
“Maybe so, but you disobeyed God’s will. You must have had an ulterior motive.”
“My motive was to allow mankind to know the power of good and evil, to see and judge things for themselves. You could say that it was I who gave mankind free will.”
“No, mankind always had free will or Adam would not have been able to eat from the tree at all. What you succeeded in doing was securing that mankind would endure hardship throughout their lifetime. Tell me why you hate the Lord, Jesus Christ so much?”
“I have told you why. There is no other reason.”
“Are you sure? Many people believe that you were mad and left Heaven with several Angels, because God would not allow you the seat by His right hand, but instead bestowed the honor upon Christ. You had wanted to rule under God in Heaven, but were refused.”
“Lies, all lies! Why would I wish to be number two, when I can be number one, down here!”
“You mean downstairs. You do know that all mankind has to go on by the Word of God. And if asked to choose, I and like many, will go with the Lord’s word.”
“That is your right. Mankind has taken His word over mine for over two thousand years. I know that it will probably take several more centuries to reverse that effect.”
“You may not have several more centuries.”
“And why not?”
“Many say that you’ve been mortally wounded. Once the entire truth gets out, you will lose the little advantage that you once enjoyed.”
“And who, might I ask, will be uncovering this truth?”
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