The War in Heaven!

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This is Day 3 of my 40 day Lenten Blog.

Way up in Heaven there once lived a creature that shined more brightly than any other. In fact, he was called Lucifer, which means "bringer of light," for he shined more brightly than any star in the heavens. His beauty was unsurpassed by any of God's creatures and he was one of the most powerful of all of God's angels. He had a special place in the Kingdom of Heaven, a seat near the throne of the Almighty where he might whisper into the Lord's ear.

But such beauty, power, and status were Lucifer's undoing, for he fell victim to his own pride. Pride is the greatest of all sins against God because pride leads to selfishness, hate, anger and all manner of evil. And for this reason God favors the humble. But there was certainly no humility in Lucifer. He was consumed with his own glory. He was not content to have a seat near the throne of God, he wanted his own throne, raised up higher than that of God.

Lucifer was not alone in his vanity. A third of the angels in Heaven rebelled against the Lord in a great war that shook all of creation to its core. Lucifer led them into battle against Michael the archangel, commander of Heaven's Armies. The war itself must have been fantastic, but its consequences changed the course of all creation.

By the power of God, Michael and his angels defeated Lucifer and those loyal to him. They were cast out of Heaven and fell like great serpents streaking across the sky. As they fell, their anger and hatred twisted their once beautiful angelic bodies into dark and evil demons. The demons fell to the Earth, the gem of God's creation, and it was here that they sought to set up their great kingdom in defiance of the Almighty. But God had another creature in mind to rule Earth--man.

Lucifer and his fallen angels seethed with anger at God. Their pride and selfishness dominated their very being and they lusted for revenge. But Lucifer is very smart. He knew that he could not defeat the Almighty Himself. So, to get his revenge against God, this once beautiful angel of light who had twisted into a dark devil, set out instead to destroy the creatures God loved most, the pride of all creation--us.

Next: The Serpent in the Garden

R.C. VanLandingham is a Catholic homeschool dad just trying to make it through this life and into the next! He has written a Christian children's fantasy series about a boy named Peter Puckett!