The Witness 2 for Word

Outline

Introduction

Prelude—An Historical Note

Chapter 11 of the Book of Revelations

A Few Personal Comments on Church History

God Makes An Offer

Training

The Archangel Michael

Another Request

Modes of Operation

Another Encounter with the Archangel Michael

The Cosmic Dragon

The Archangel Michael and the Consort of the Witness

Postscript

Introduction

My stories in the book Mystical Fables start with a brief cosmology concerning the origin of the universe. From there, I visit Neanderthal, another species who once dwelt on earth, but which is now extinct. I pass on through a mythical kingdom called Ubarim and then to the legendary kingdom called Atlantis. Then I enter recorded history where I present the thoughts and experiences of a few figures such as Jacob, Balaam, Moses, and St. Columba.

To be complete, however, these stories need to be anchored in our own time if they are going to carry any weight. There has to be an attempt to say that the world in which we now live also contains a spiritual landscape and that the mystery of the heart is still alive and well--the quest to discover wonder and inspiration is as real now if not more so than in any age of the world.

Yet there is a distinction between mythology and prophecy, between imagination and revelation. Mythology and imagination can present and remind us of what is possible. Prophecy can say what by divine decree shall come to be.

The Prophet Isaiah states: “They shall beat their swords into plowshares, their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation neither shall they learn war anymore.” There is no specific time limit on his prophecy and this is because he presents us with a high ideal, a vision originating from the heart of God as with Christ’s words: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.”

Prophecies, such as these, involve astonishing feats of imagination.

On the other hand, when imagination speaks in terms of high ideals, of what arises from the heart of God, the Creator, it may indeed turn into prophecy. In this case, however, the time frame is open-ended. When it shall appear depends on human actions. After all, it does not say “God shall beat their swords into plowshares,” but rather “they shall beat their swords into plowshares.”

In Mystical Fables, I am making things up or else taking liberties with history to present my personal vision regarding the heart of the Creator, the power of the Spoken Word, true love, and the issues of war and peace. In this regard, I would never dream of trying to prophecy the future, for I am trying to avoid religion altogether. I am not at all interested in some Divine decree other than as I may find it within and express through my own heart.

I do not seek to convey some secret, occult lore or esoteric knowledge in order to captivate, enchant, or control other’s devotion or donations. Rather, I seek as a poet to speak of the deep issues of the human heart and those also within the heart of God. As any human being is permitted and able to do, I use my imagination, my inspiration, and my love as I speak of things.

The Witness

A Few Sayings of the Witness---

To love God remains the first commandment. It cannot be downgraded, revised, or reinterpreted by adding an amendment, a postponement, or practical restrictions cleverly designed by church or clergy.

As with a lover, if you become one with another, you share each other’s needs and you also seek to complete each other’s purposes. It is this way with God—you share the secrets of your heart and He in turn shares with you the mysteries of the universe and creation. The beauty is incomprehensible.

For this purpose have I entered the world—to create peace and justice where none exist.

Prelude--A Historical Note

In 586 B.C., the capital of Israel, Jerusalem, fell to the armies of the Babylonian king named Nebuchadnezzzar. Many of the Jews were then taken away to Babylon. The Babylonian empire itself, however, was later invaded and conquered by Cyrus, the ruler of the Medes. The prophets of Israel left no doubt as to why this occurred. Israel existed for the purpose of seeking God and making his presence known on earth. At that point in time, Israel as a nation had failed on all accounts.

Cyrus freed the Jews in 539 B.C. to return to Palestine. He also ordered them to rebuild the temple to God. Imagine that! A secular king ordering Jews to do what was God’s will. Furthermore, ordering a search and reckoning of accounts, he discovered treasures of gold and silver and sacred vessels that had been removed from the temple in Jerusalem. Those that still remained he willingly returned to the Jews so that the temple might be built with all speed.

The account of the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the temple to God, is this not clearly recounted in the books of the Prophets Haggai and Zechariah? Along with Nehemiah and Malachi, these were the last of the prophets to speak to Israel. After them, the prophetic voice fell silent for five hundred years. This period void of a divine voice was significant because, for over a thousand years, nearly ever generation of Israel had a prophet. These prophets revealed divine visions. And they spoke of justice between the nations.

What is unique to Israel is that these prophets had higher authority than any king, for through their voices spoke the words of God. For this reason, unlike the emperors of China, the Pharaohs of Egypt, or the later kings of Greece and the Caesars of Rome, these prophets had the power to place limits on the kings’ thrones or even to replace the king if that was what was required. And if there was a complete failure to comply, as we have seen, the prophets foretold the destruction of the nation and even gave the dates when it would happen.

But there was another problem that followed the exile of the Jews in Babylon. Certain sacred writings of the Jews were lost. These books are known to have existed because they are referred to in the sacred scriptures that the Jews still have in their possession. These books included The Book of Gad the Seer, The Book of Jasher, The Book of the Acts of Solomon, The Prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, The Visions of Iddo the Seer, The Book of Shemaiah the Prophet, and The Sayings of the Seers. In addition to these, the one thousand and five songs written by Solomon were also lost to history.

As a poet of Divine Providence authorized to speak of the beauty and wonder of the universe, I have taken the liberty of revealing several selections from a few of these lost books, a few brief sayings that are pertinent to the themes pursued in my stories. Some theologians claim that these books were lost because they were not inspired. It is just as easy to say that they were taken back because the inspiration was greater than what humanity was able to contain. After all, Christ himself asserted that he could not teach more because the hearts of his listeners could not bear it.

Let us now look in on a few of these lost books. From the seventh chapter of The Book of Shemaiah the Prophet, it reads, “The Kingdom of God shall appear on earth as a mighty warrior with a mighty army. And the whole world shall be astonished at this event. Nevertheless, this mighty warrior shall not conquer by sword, spear, and siege machine. He shall not rule by fear.

“He shall defeat his enemies through the power of his dreams. The heart shall be the battlefield. The soul the place where his wars are waged.

“As peaceful a lamb in his outer form--gentle, mild, and kind--but at night, like the lion that he is, he shall prowl, stalk, and search all the earth for those whom he may devour, for there is no end to his hunger and there is no limit to his power.

“He searches for those who create fear and terror that he might reveal to them the abyss from which he has arisen. For of terror and fear, of the void and also the unknown, uncharted outer darkness, he knows full well--no one that has been or who shall be in the history of the world nor any angelic being since the beginning of time shall compare to him concerning his knowledge of the depths and the mystery of these things.

“Yet he comes neither to destroy nor to conquer but to free. The kingdom where he dwells is found within every heart. If he has a message to preach, a single lesson to teach, it shall be that all of us here on earth are each other’s brothers and sisters, parents and children, lovers, mentors, and healers. When we find this within ourselves, we shall behold his vision.”

And now from another book mentioned in the Bible but lost to Israel which was appointed to be the custodial of such wisdom but which failed in this mission. From the Sayings of the Seers, it is written, ‘The earth shall be filled with peace, the mountains shall rejoice, the seas shall sing, and the trees shall clap their hands. All the earth shall come to understand the wisdom of the Most High. Desire shall be satisfied, need freed, and the heart, haunted by loneliness and longing for countless ages, shall no longer be bound by sorrow, bondage, and care.

“We shall be as the angels but in human form. No temple made of stone or wood will be needed to worship God. No priest, sacrifice, or intersession required, for God will dwell within each person. For it shall be even as God intends—the body shall be the outer form of the temple; the soul shall be the inner sanctuary; the heart shall be the alter; and spirit within each individual shall be the secret place where each shall see and speak with God face to face.

“Has this not been what has been intended and ordained to be from before time had its beginning? And shall this not be the final end? Shall these things not be accomplished when the Voice of God has spoken it? And are these dreams not hidden and waiting to be discovered within very heart of every human being on earth? And so the Sayings of the Seers hereby declare and it is written here for all ages of the world to hear that we shall be like unto God, as his children, creating even as He creates.

“Let those who understand keep these visions alive within their eyes like the stars and moon by night and the light of the sun by day; and these words of wonder keep ever fresh within their ears like the sound of laughter, of children at play after the labor of harvest is over and like the sounds of trumpets and drums during a sacred festival of Joy.”

I imagine it is a good thing that these ancient writings were lost and not passed on to the Christians. The early church would have blindly lumped them together with the Gnostics. Perhaps they then would have issued an edict and commissioned an inquisition to search for these writings throughout the world and destroy them forever from the face of the earth. The church would have done this not because it feared the content but because the church had instituted a policy of not having any writings that had the remotest similarity to the theology of its enemies.

Many individuals will immediately object and say that I am exaggerating. The church has exerted a stabilizing and uplifting influence in Western history. Be that as it may, it was a Christian priest who stumbled upon the collected works of the Mayans. And seeing the depths and knowledge of the pagan understanding, he destroyed these writings with fire. Only three of their books survived.

Imagine, if England had been Catholic instead of Protestant, Shakespeare most likely could not have written his plays. But imagine a Christian priest coming upon and then destroying all the writings of Shakespeare, Dante, Vigil, Homer, and Aristotle in one fire. That is precisely what the church did to the library of the Mayans.

Chapter 11 of the Book of Revelations

There are two witnesses described in the New Testament in the Revelations of John. In Revelations 11:3-12, John mentions that at the end of the age two witnesses will arise. John uses the word witness rather than just prophet. Perhaps in part he says this because these two individuals are slightly different from what has gone before. For one, they will speak to the entire world. At the same time, they shall have the powers of both of the two greatest of the Hebrew prophets. They shall have power for three and a half years to stop rain anywhere on earth, destroy their enemies with fire, call down plagues like Moses did, and turn water into blood.

The text reads in John 11:3. “And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and three score days, clothed in sackcloth.

“These are the two olive trees, and the two lamp stands standing before the God of the earth. And if any man will hurt them, fire proceeds out of their mouth, and devours their enemies; and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.

“These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy; and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.”

A Few Personal Comments on Church History

I do not know precisely what motivated the witness to ask what he did in response to God’s offer to him. But I can present a few personal comments that may or may not clarify the matter. I am sure you have your own thoughts on these things that serve you as well as mine serve me.

One Biblical scholar named Schofield states, “Scripture does not clearly identify these two witnesses. Their power is like that of Moses and Elijah.”

What is of particular interest is that a great display of supernatural powers accompany their prophesizing. Recall that during his ministry Christ invited Peter to walk on water. Peter did according to scripture begin to walk on water but then lost his faith and had to be rescued by Christ. Had Peter not lost his faith, the history of the church would have been completely different.

Peter had a lot of great qualities but as you can see he was also a bad example and, as Christ later pointed out to him, an absolute coward. The point is that Peter did in fact exercise in human history and as a human being a faith that enabled him to walk on water precisely in the way that Christ invited and expected him to do. But then Peter’s faith failed.

Spiritual powers were only rarely displayed by the saints of the Christian church over the next two thousand years. In fact, the early church fought a great theological war against one of its heretical enemy, the Gnostics. For the early church fathers, the life and work of Christ was a real event taking place in history. The work of salvation was, therefore, to be received. You based your life upon what was accomplished and acted in accordance with it.

The Gnostics, by contrast, following the ancient mystery religions, claimed to have gnosis or an intuitive, mystical knowledge to assist them. For the Gnostics, it is through an inner or soul experience that the individual rises up and enters the light, eternity, or the spiritual realms.

The main flaw of the Gnostics was that, like many ancient cults, the spiritual path required placing oneself under the authority of a specific guru or teacher rather than scripture. The early church with great determination and energy overcame and destroyed the Gnostic tradition. After many other theological battles against heretics, the early church managed to solidify its power base and to precisely define its creed.

But this success came with a price. In attacking heresies like the Gnostics, the church began a fateful path leading it to attack any and every effort by which individuals sought an inner union with God based on direct experience. Even Catholic scholars point out that the church has a long-standing tendency to reject any spiritual practice that resembles the practices of opposing religions. It goes without saying, then, that all other forms of experience-based explorations of the spiritual world were also forbidden.

It might have been nice if the early church had the grace and the wisdom to understand that there is not only church authority but also a spiritual world to come to know and love. It would have been nice if it had placed side by side with right belief an emphasis on an inner union with God.

One explanation for this unrelenting hostility to spiritual growth and knowledge of the spiritual worlds is that the early church fathers were power hungry--their wills had been contaminated by being exposed to the Roman Empire. Persecuted for three hundred years, the Christians resolved not be vulnerable and on the wrong side of temporal power again. In effect, they identified with their perpetrators by adopting an ecclesiastical hierarchy mimicking the government of the Roman Empire. And then they solidified their power further by requiring conformity of thought—one creed—instead of freedom to follow one’s own conscience in spiritual matters.

This religious and political structure of the early church contrasts completely with the state of the Jews. Because they had no political power or nation, they were content to record each other’s thoughts and engage in dialogue rather than condemnation or excommunication. It is possible to suggest that the early church did exactly the right thing and that it gets the highest grades when it comes to establishing a new religion. It is also equally possible to suggest that the early church failed on all accounts when it comes to empowering its practitioners to know God.

I say this because in the Sixth century when an individual named Mohammed ask Christian theologians about what they could tell him about God the Christians had nothing to say. Like many of our evangelists today, they have many contemporary issues they exposed with great vehemence. (In the Middles Ages, one concern was with how many angels can dance on the head of a needle). But about God, other than abstract, conceptual, and doctrinal statements, they knew nothing.

The same is true today. Ask an evangelical Christian about his personal experience with God and he may say, “I really haven’t thought much about God. This is the age of grace and our concern is with Christ. The revelation of God belongs to Old Testament times.”

The questions are, Was Christ bestowing monopolistic powers upon the church? Was it his intent to set up an exclusive franchise? Is the job of a mediator to bring together the parties who are in conflict, namely human beings and God? Or is the job of a mediator to set himself up as an arbitrator, as the sole and final authority, so that God no longer needs to be consulted and is, for all practical purposes, excluded from the picture?

From my story about Balaam, based in part upon the Old Testament scripture, it is perfectly clear that everyone, regardless of belief, intent, or state of grace, has an absolute right to enter God’s presence. No one can bar the way if you develop the skill and intent required to make the spiritual journey.

Consider the command, “Be still and know that I am God.” This is a call for a direct encounter with God. There is no disclaimer attached written in small print that declares, “Do not try this at home or on your own without first consulting with your priest, church, or minister.” This does not mean that the spiritual journey of entering stillness or knowing God is free of danger or not subject to error.

Mohammed for one was not content with a lack of direct experience when it comes to worshiping and knowing God. For this reason among others, Islam has grown to over seven hundred and fifty millions practitioners. As I say, it would have been nice if they early church fathers had been able to say to Mohammed, “Yes, there are those among us who are able to show you the way to enter God’s presence.”

At the time of Mohammed, the Arabs and Christians worshipped the same God. But Mohammed also sensed that the Rome based Christianity was inherently imperialistic, just like the Roman empire upon which it modeled its organization. If Christianity had spread among the Arabs, it would have placed them under the political subjugation of Rome.

The formula is rather simple. You evangelize a people and thereby supplant, displace, and weaken their indigenous culture. Then you send in your traders, governors, and military in order to exploit their labor and their resources. Mohammed was not willing to fall victim to this process so he decided to go out and get his own visions.

It would have been nice if during the last two thousand years Christians had come to realize that accepting Christ into your heart and entering the presence of God produce the same result—an inner union with God. But this the church has been unwilling to do. The greed of the early church for political control and monopolistic powers instead of union is alive still.

The two witnesses, if nothing else, turn the tradition of the church upside

down. They stand in the presence of God. According to John, the appearance of the two witnesses in Revelations herald the end of the world. Whatever part these witnesses have to play, symbolic as some suggest or as real as CNN’s daily news, the witnesses fall within the themes I portray—they represent the power and action of the Spoken Word—original, living experience--as compared to experience that is second-hand or a word that is written down.

I have presented these brief comments in order to suggest why the witness asks for what he does in response to God’s offer. The myth of the quest for the Holy Grail, which Monty Python has presented with such humor, was an attempt to renew the church. It suggested that it was possible to have a genuine spiritual life by actively seeking God.

In more modern times, Soren Kierkegaard, who almost single-handedly invented existentialism, considered himself to be the gadfly of the Christian church. He wanted the church to wake up to the idea that faith is something alive, dynamic, and ever new.

I imagine, by contrast, that the witness is no longer concerned at all with the Christian church. As a witness and as one who stands in the presence of God, it is his job to proclaim the truth, and yes, the beauty of the universe, as well as the mysterious and wondrous purposes that God seeks to fulfill through it. But I do not know precisely why he asks for what he does since I have not yet interviewed him in regard to this specific question.

God Makes an Offer

God appeared to a young man in our own time. God spoke and said, “Of all the billions of people who dwell on earth, you are one of two who not only seeks to see My face. You seek to understand the reasons why I create. Therefore, ask Me whatever you will whether it is in the heavens above, upon the earth, or beneath the earth and I shall grant it to you.”

The young man replied without hesitation or doubt, “So many base their faith upon what others report. Their eyes see and their ears hear only what their interpretations and doctrines allow them to believe. I do not wish to be as these. They do not know the spiritual realities about which they speak.

“Therefore, grant me the ability to see through the eyes, to understand the thoughts within the mind, and to feel the feelings within the heart of any being mortal or divine throughout all of creation. In this way, sharing with others what they have learned from being alive, may I come to understand, cooperate with, and act to fulfill Your Will in creating the universe.”

God’s reply was simple though when He spoke His Voice rose up from out of a great void of silence. God said, “Your request is granted.”

Training

When God granted King Solomon his request for wisdom, the wisdom was not something finished and complete. Solomon had to make an effort to activate and discover that wisdom within himself. Are not some of Solomon’s observations and his process for discovering wisdom documented and written down in the book of Ecclesiastes?

I could say a lot about what our witness did with this ability granted him by God. If you have read my other stories on Balaam, A’ia, He’adra, and so forth, you will probably know exactly what I am going to say next. Namely, the witness began to explore and develop the art of omnipresence based on his request to God and on God’s gift in response.

What is the practice and art of divine omnipresence in a nutshell? Under the law of love that governs the entire universe, an individual is free to become one with anything else in the universe in order to serve a higher purpose. This means an individual is able to think the thoughts, feel the feelings, and experience the perceptions as well as unite with the inner spirit within any being in the universe. As space contains the entire universe, love holds everything in the universe within its heart.

The details of practice or the methods employed to learn this art of omnipresence will vary in countless ways. The art teacher will say, “As your pencil moves on the paper, imagine you are touching the body of the model you are drawing.” This combines empathy and intuition with perception and artistic, hand-eye coordination.

The acting coach may say, “When you are playing a character, find in yourself what causes you to act or speak in that way.” Or the therapist may say, “Imagine you are the other person so you sense the conflicts as your own.” Imagination reaches out and makes a connection.

Consciousness is not limited by space or time. If trained appropriately, when you place your mind anywhere or within any being in the universe, you can learn to observe what is occurring there. The requirement is that your train your five senses so they become tools in the hands of a master. If you add imagination to the sense’s perceptions, you learn to perceive beyond the boundaries of your skin and location.

The specific gift the witness possessed was his ability to open his mind and concentrate on anything without becoming distracted. His mind was like an empty space, an open place, or a void full of nothingness. If you place anything within it, then it is as if that is all that exists. In other words, if the witness thought about something, in his mind at least, he could become what he was thinking about without any thoughts referring back to himself. And, of course, his awareness was actually there—in and around what he was concentrating upon.

The contents of what the witness sought to understand and experience first hand were chosen at his own discretion. Since he loved nature, he sent his mind into plants and trees, rivers and streams, mountains and deserts. He loved hurricanes and the jet stream and so he became familiar with these things.

Over time, he discovered he could sense photosynthesis in trees and how oxygen was absorbed into the bloodstream of mammals. He could sense the electro-magnetic field generated as oxygen was absorbed into the body cells in the process of metabolism. His awareness of breath, breathing, the lungs, air, and the winds expanded. There were times when he felt he had become one with the atmosphere of the earth so that he became the breath flowing in and out of every living being.

For this reason, among other things, step by step the witness developed power over the winds and the ability to stop rain anywhere on earth for up to three years. Why, goodness, he could cause a hurricane to turn in another direction or dissolve into thin air in the time it takes another person to make a cup of tea after the water is boiling—in about three minutes. Imagine what he could do if he decided to really concentrate.

If you are going to practice the art of omnipresence, then I am sure you can imagine that individual consciousness is going to cross over all boundaries. You can become the sea or the air or enter a waking dream and perceive the past or the future as if you are actually there.

Have you ever become a mountain in your mind? Engaging in exercises like this became second nature for the witness. You can spend years hiking the trails and studying the geology and wild life on a mountain. The witness could become a mountain in his mind to the extent he could sense every tree and feel every breath passing through the lungs of its wild life. He could sense and gauge with his mind the eons of time that gave birth to the mountain. And he could see how during the seasons, the years, and the ages the forces of erosion that shaped the mountain’s face.

If you want to enter the spiritual worlds, it helps to explore first human beings, human history, and the natural world all around us. Then, based on what you have learned and perceived, you can proceed to understand what is invisible to most individual’s senses. Do you want to understand the archangel Gabriel’s outlook on human history? First find in yourself the life that the oceans of the world have brought into being. Understand their place in natural history and the role they play in nurturing life one earth. Then the archangel’s visions will seem friendly and open to your gaze. In this way you can avoid the illusions and self-deception that befall those who proceed to where the dark depths of the visions are too great or too deep.

Do you want to understand the archangel Michael’s intensity of will and the purity of light he displays? Take some time to unite your mind with sunlight and fire in every form on earth. Study the way fire transforms matter and offers mankind the technologies for a new age. Then Michael’s intensity of gaze and desire to refine will be something you can comprehend with your mind.

Otherwise, the saint or seer who penetrates into that other world of spirit will bring back visions and treasures that are a little to fanatical and a little too blind. His words will have an underlying hysteria or fear that bubbles up from the depths because his mind is not clear. He will demand that his followers comply with arbitrary rules. He will say in effect, “Danger, danger, do not explore on your own. Turn back! Trust me. I alone know what is safe.”

Or, without the capacity to discriminate and discern the specific nature of what he is dealing with he will insist, “This whole realm of experience is evil. Avoid it at all costs.” Such is the folly of the weak who have failed to give their attention to studying God’s creation before venturing into the invisible realms.

In summary, then, in the course of time the witness learned to penetrate all realms of the divine. The commission, work, and inspiration of every archangel fell within the range of his grasp. He saw through their eyes the mysterious and wondrous visions they perceived. He learned to think the thoughts of angelic beings that human poets have not even dreamed.

And he felt the feelings that were there at the beginning and that reach toward the ends. He learned to feel the love in which you become one so all separation is overcome. The universe is seen as a different place when you are free to unite with all beings that love. The ecstasy is almost beyond the range of the human heart to comprehend. To say the very least, this love grants the desire and power to create the world new in order to express the beauty you find within and around you.

The Archangel Michael

And God called the archangel Michael before his throne and God spoke and said, “It is a time of reckoning. Go forth, therefore, and see what part Homo Sapiens has chosen to play in the unfolding of creation.”

As you will recall from the story of Neanderthal, this is not a simple request for information. What is at stake is the survival of the human race. If the archangel follows his usual pattern, he will seek out someone to speak on behalf of mankind. This is not a matter of judging or determining fate. Rather, when the purpose of a race is determined and fulfilled then that race no longer requires a physical existence.

Neanderthal’s purpose was satisfied after 200,000 years of living in peace in quiet communities. Then the race became extinct. They had nothing left to learn here on earth.

As was his custom, the archangel replied to God, “Your will shall be accomplished both within time and within eternity.”

And then the archangel went forth, crossed the void of space and time, and drew near the earth until his feet set down upon the ground. And he immediately sensed among the billions not one but two minds that had penetrated into the mystery of God. Of the two, he chose the one that possessed a cosmic perspective. Appearing before him, he said, “I am Michael who stands in the Presence of God.”

The witness replied, “I too have found God within myself.”

The archangel was taken aback. In addition to the clarity within the mind of the witness, the archangel sensed a cold ferocity unlike anything he had ever encountered in any mortal being. It reminded him of the certainty and initiative of one of the seven Lords of Creation. But it was not a will like that of He’adra, of a cosmic whirlpool that speaks from the core of your being with the voice of an unknown God who is unseen.

Rather, there was a hint and a taste of a tension in some hidden and forgotten place in the moment before the universe was created. Gazing into his eyes, the archangel saw a glint of light that arises from that cataclysmic moment--a passion like the flames of the sun and a stillness like the void that encompasses all the stars.

Sometimes wisdom dictates indirectness and discretion when conducting an interview and questioning someone who has powers which are beyond you. And so the archangel pulls out all the stops as he speaks with that celestial voice that bears witness to the magnificence of creation and yet is gentle and ever so soft, “You who are mortal say you know God. If so, then answer my questions, for I require your response so the truth may shine forth. Answer this:

What is like unto God?

What breath can express His Presence?

Whose voice can sing His songs?

What created thing reflects His Essence?

What image captures His form?

What priest or sage can measure His mystery?

What prophet or mage can comprehend His plans?

Is there an artist anywhere in the universe,

A sculptor whose hands are so skilled,

He can create beauty like unto the beauty

God creates on a billion billion worlds?

Can the creature who is mortal or any created being

Ever understand the Creator who remains unseen?

The witness replies, “No doubt, these are important questions to archangels, theologians, and such. But you must grant me leave to forego a reply, for as you must perceive, these are not my questions. I would never pursue an answer to them. I do not seek knowledge after the fashion of philosophy or experience through analogy. The encounter I require is face to face and heart to heart. It begins with love, proceeds towards oneness, and then unites to fulfill a sacred purpose.

“I see your intent—to find a spokesman for my race, to determine by my words our destiny and our fate.

“But perhaps you as an archangel you do not understand the limitations of human mortality--what it is to be alive and to be surrounded by death on all sides. Our time here on earth is finite. Our sensory perceptions are conditioned. Our wills are restricted. To taste life and to feel fully alive we must try to grasp the highest and the best.

“There is a better question you must ask if you would foresee our future and understand our past and it is this, How does one unite with God?

The archangel asks, “And what is your answer to this?”

The witness replies, “God is near. He is within each of us. He is also original and ever new. Therefore, each human being must answer this question in his or her own way. There is no standard response. There is no format or template that can define the way. The answer is always unique for every created being.

“For me, the answer is not a knowledge of the mind. It comes to life in every moment and it is found through feeling and being fully alive.”

Now the archangel Michael, as any archangel worthy of the name, stands in the Presence of God. And when he speaks, he speaks with a certain authority and majesty worthy of the Divine Presence. No archangel would ever conceive of comprehending God’s plans full and complete. That is, not if he wishes to represent the light and all that is good and positive.

Nevertheless, an archangel is permitted to test the wills and the motives of those who fall within the purposes it ordains and the jurisdiction over which it reigns. The basic principles are always the same—there is no purpose that shall remain hidden; there is no action that shall not be seen with perfect clarity and understood in its entirety.

And so the archangel Michael proceeds to ask, “If this is so as you insist that a common knowledge of God’s likeness does not exist, then I will put to you another question as a test.

“Other races upon your planet before you were unwilling to make the journey through darkness and despair in order to ascend. They neither knew nor accepted God as a friend. Yet whether God is known or unknown, as you have said, at least it is through feeling fully alive that the five senses may come to perceive Him.

“The question I now ask you may answer if you can. But I am prepared to wait and listen. I shall grant you a time and a season. Here, by my order and my authority, I temporarily postpone the destruction that has been ordained as judgment for the violence and the injustice of your race.

“Perhaps you or someone else on earth can still meet the needs of a celestial being whose commission is to purify and refine, to produce a result that withstands the test of time. As you must already perceive, I am here for these reasons—I require a race that is willing to ascend and to embody the mysterious form and image of the Creator. I seek a race that is ready, willing, and able to venture forth and to journey through time, space, and the dark domains of the soul until the entire universe becomes your home.

“Once before, one of you did wrestle with me and thereby obtained my blessing. Through his desire and his will, the prophets were permitted to appear on earth. Therefore, it is not for nothing that I am commissioned to seek the essence of your being, your innermost visions and your dreams.

“Answer me this question. Answer it as the spirit that you are and also a mortal in human form. But as you have said, you are surrounded by death on all sides. Your time here on earth is finite. Your sensory perceptions are conditioned. Your will is restricted. In the end, I will determine the outcome of my probe not by your words but by the way your life unfolds.

“Tell me, What is the source of inspiration within you that heals the wounds of your soul?”

In asking this question, the archangel was playing a wild card. The archangel knew that learning the art of omnipresence comes with a price. If you are going to unite, you must first stand back so you can comprehend what you intend. If you are going to open you heart in order to become one, then it is no small thing to fill the void and the emptiness that inevitably open up from the depths inside yourself.

The witness thought for a moment as he considered the question. In fact, in his deliberation he forgot about archangels and celestial beings. He recalled instead the beauty in life that he had seen. And as he sought for a response to the probe, it was through the image of God reflected within him that he spoke:

My mind is the sky--

Pure, clear, and open

Its air flows through my chest

Its winds are my breath

My body is the Earth--

In me, Her Silence and endurance reach consciousness

Like Her, I shelter and I protect

I am one of Her fruits

I am the strength and nourishment upon which others thrive

The oceans are my magnetism and love

Rivers my bloodstream

Rain my moist fluids

Lightning my heartbeat

Thunder my voice

I am life sustaining and giving birth to life

The volcano and magma at the center of the earth

Are my will and power unfolding

I burn, I consume, I destroy

Yet I heal the broken heart

And bring joy and excitement to life

The turning of the seasons

The circle of the stars dancing

I am Eternity uniting with time

I am the nobility of the sun

Its inner union and fusion of opposites

And through its light

My Song streams forth to the ends of the universe

I am the serenity of the moon

Fluid, malleable, and changing

I am harsh, cold, and empty

I choose the place of your birth

I am warm, sweet, and nurturing

I reunite what is lost

All dreams arise from my light

I am tenderness overflowing from the heart

I am within and I awaken

The seeds of spirit hidden within all things

I am the Celebration of Life

I am the deepest peace within the soul

I only exist to reveal the gifts

Which otherwise remain unknown

And there is no where I will not go

To bless or join with those who love.

The archangel was not impressed, for the witness had only passed the first phase of the test. Michael said casually, “I will drop by from time to time if you don’t mind.”

“Whenever you wish,” the witness replied.

Another Request

When the witness was done speaking, he watched the archangel slowly fade away as the angel departed from the gaze of mortal sight. And then the witness thought, it is not enough to be complete in my spirit—to unite male and female, to nurture and provide as well as to ordain and accomplish new purposes. What am I missing? He spent the next decade thinking about that question. And in the end for the answer he turned to God.

Entering the presence of God he said, “After thirty years of developing the gift you have given me, I find that I am not yet complete. I am still in need. Therefore, I request another gift.

“I ask, if it might be permitted to a human being as me….for perfect, complete, and absolute oneness with a woman so that I may taste while still in human form the wonders of Your love. And also I seek equally the will to create it, the wisdom to understand and appreciate it, the love to nurture and sustain it, and the consciousness to manifest it fully so that, as valuable and enduring, it can be shared with others and be used in service to the world.”

God replied almost with impatience as if exhaling a sigh he had been holding since before the human race had been created--waiting for someone to ask for something that was so basic and so obvious. God said casually as though speaking to a friend, “Three things more than what you suggest are required for your quest. First, an abyss must be crossed. You wish to skip the tribulation and the millennium as you progress past my kingdom. You wish to proceed directly to the creation of a new heavens and a new earth as foretold by John.

“I will grant this request according to your faith—if you can stand by My side and create even as I create. The prophets of old foretold of my will, my purpose, and my judgment. They spoke with a voice both courageous and bold.

“But you do not wish to be as these. Though their words were clearly understood by many, few responded and few obeyed. This is because they embodied neither My love nor did they know how to use the beauty of the Spoken Word which is My way to get things done.

“This is not because they lacked wisdom or understanding. The knowledge of My Presence and Who I Am were clearly taught in their prophetic schools—like a mirror, each of you embodies the universe within yourself: the sun, the moon, the stars, the trees ever so fair, the mountains, the rivers, the streams, and the seas that sing of My ecstasy; the winds, the sky, the earth, every being, every creature, and every created thing—your consciousness can reflect it, contain it, and recreate it. As I exist, this truth I have already given to your race--the keys and the means to create even as I create.

“But who shall counsel and inspire you with wisdom and love as you seek to touch and take into your hands this dazzling wonder and this incomprehensible power? Therefore, I have asked that all who wish to master these things apprentice to Me, for the love you seek requires the full knowledge of My being.

“Though similar, two other requirements remain. There is the void and also emptiness. The void underlies My omnipresence—to be one with anything and everything you must accept the universe as it is. Open your heart and fly with My wings. Embrace the stars and the galaxies, the planets, and every kind and form of life.

“Learn to touch and to be touched, for My beauty is within all things—the molecules that combine and divide, the particles that drift in and out of nothingness, the swirling cosmic dust—there is no fine line between animate and inanimate, between matter and spirit. When it comes to the universe, who could fail to notice that I have placed My love and beauty within it?

“As for emptiness, it is more a matter of time—to see the seed and the fruit it will one day bring, to behold the beginnings and also the ends. The womb embraces the universe as it is and also nurtures all things enabling them to transform and to be reborn.

“Love encompasses all of these things—the abyss of time, the womb so open and receptive it is like a void, and the emptiness of mind that finds a way to fulfill every desire and need. I am within all things. I inspire and I guide and there is no end to the love that I Am. Therefore, be as Me and the love you seek you shall have beyond all belief.

“Day unto day and night unto night, I am within every heartbeat and every breath, every caress and every kiss. I have created desire and need because they reveal the path that leads to Me. I have called the stars into being and also the void, the emptiness, and the abyss to celebrate this wonder—that love is the origin of all things, the life, and the fulfillment. Discover my mystery, the beauty of My face, and the reasons why I create.

“There is one final thing I ask if you want your love to withstand all tests. It is a practical matter, nothing more or less. Your race has reached a critical moment in this phase of its development. I need therefore someone to take the leaders of your world and teach them justice and the ways of peace.

“In particular, take the dictators of the earth—those who abuse their power and seek to dominate others—take these and make them your students. Offer them whatever you wish to enhance and accomplish their purposes on earth. But also demand without hesitation or restraint that they pursue and establish peace.

“Put forth your full will in this matter and hold nothing back. Set an example here and now that shall be well-known, recorded, and referred back to for as long as this galaxy exists. Let the mystery of My Being flow through your hands.

“I ask nothing less than that the work of peace be accomplished on earth to an extent and depth that other races on other worlds might come to emulate it, for this is My will that I require your life to express. For as you have already grasped, love and justice without separation are One with Who I Am.”

God paused at this point, no doubt for effect. And then He said, as if speaking from the depths of His heart and with that tone of voice and in that way that only a lover or God can insist, “I need someone to fully demonstrate this!”

Mode of Operation

We are in a position now to ask, “Precisely how does the witness seek to bring justice and peace to the world in which he lives?” See, there is a slight problem with dictators as most individuals who have studied the matter completely fail to gasp. In some cases, dictators are not just students but they have already mastered the negative principle that they fully embrace.

They seek actions and ends that destroy and undermine everything that grants life and provides well-being. It is not that they do not know how to be positive, how to negotiate, and work toward mutually acceptable solutions. They do know how to do these things. They simply choose not to.

And further, they are immune to inspiration. Light, love, kindness, and all that promises a better and newer life they find unacceptable. There is no deep-seated need or root cause of their hatred that you can speak to, placate, or modify through extended negotiation. They have lived their lives for many years filled with hatred and being hated. They have converted their vulnerability and insecurity into a rage that craves absolute power, to dominate all others. In some cases, freedom and love are things they are quite willing to use but only to the extent it enables them to abuse others.

Put simply, the positive builds, nourishes, and creates. The negative destroys, devours, and annihilates. Though this is a rather simple formula, the degree and intensity of these extremes should never be underestimated.

The witness, being a student of omnipresence, can slip inside the mind of anyone. Tens of millions of people on earth have this same ability. The witness just does it to an unusual degree. The radiation of his mind is equally comfortable penetrating and becoming one with a black hole or a star, an archangel or an arch demon, the void of space or a galaxy in all its grace, an animal, a plant, a tree, in fact, any created thing. It makes no difference to him.

But with dictators he likes to speak telepathically. He might say projecting a thought impression directly into the other’s consciousness, “I can trace every memory in your mind. I feel what you feel: your every experience with love and with hate, with anger and with shame, with passion and delight.

“Your motivation, your desires, your inspiration, and your abilities—these flow through me. There is nothing within you that I do not perceive. Let us, therefore, consider together whether you wish to bind mankind to illusions and deceptions, to hate and to fear? Or would it not be better to make the earth into a place where wisdom, justice, and love are celebrated forever?

“It is true that you have great conflicts. But this is no excuse for being negative. I know more about negativity than anyone who has lived on earth. If you persist in being negative, then you fall under my jurisdiction and I am free to act according to my own discretion.

“Nonetheless, I speak as your best friend and with the powers and inspiration I have found at the core of your being. I speak with the voice of your guardian angel and your eternal guide--Will you not accomplish on earth those things that bring lasting benefit to others? Or do you wish to persist in causing harm and using destruction as you aggrandize your power?

“I taste the twelve fruits of the Tree of Life that are for the healing of the nations. I also embrace endless cosmic space, the great feminine, that contains all the stars and galaxies and that finds a way to bring forth and nourish life on countless worlds. I know that the brightest thing in the universe is the explosion of two neutron stars colliding. It is so bright that for a brief moment its light outshines the light of all other stars in the universe. This light shines within me.

“I also know the darkness inside the black hole that shall not cease in its hunger or grow less in its power until the universe comes to an end. I have entered it and turned it into a friend. It responds to my will when I call. Nothing is hidden from me.

“In this moment, I am one with you. I am also one with a sea of infinite peace. You must choose for yourself your own path in life. I will not interfere with your will.

“But make no mistake. I can offer you unimaginable wealth. But if you choose to test my resolve on these issues of peace and justice, I will require an accounting for your actions.

“I will suspend time, accelerate your karma, and present you with the final result of your actions in the moment when you least expect it. Therefore, choose light, love, wisdom, and service that the nations of the earth might transform their war machines into hospitals, universities, and productive activities.”

Perhaps bearing on this issue of teaching something impossible, a Zen master once said, “The answers of my students who master a koan are always different and yet always the same.” Like the Zen master, the witness gave his new students an exercise, an enigma, a puzzle, a contradiction beyond the ability of the rational mind to define. You could say he turned their quests for power into a life koan. His task was to create an environment where they could discover their own illumination.

Those who embody pure negativity as well as black magicians have something in common. It is not their evil or their malice or their desire to dominate others. Rather, they have lost their sense of the beauty and wonder of being alive. Often negative individuals do not learn because the consequences of their actions in their full force do not occur during their lives.

To this end, the witness sometimes enters the dreams of his students and, amid the dreams, he shows them their actions and the results. And then, once awake, a certain uneasiness follows them through the day. It is as if someone is standing nearby throwing tiny pebbles that hit them just outside normal perception. Like a bully on a playground who senses he is being watched, a dictator hesitates to abuse others even though that is what he wants.

And if dreams are not enough, well, dreams can become real. Those around a dictator sense that a great darkness is pursuing him and ready to swallow him up. Trusted loyal subjects begin to plot against him because they despise him. They know they must choose another way in order to avoid the same fate. Like a bad smell that will not go away, that something is terrible wrong with the dictator becomes impossible to ignore.

Like the ghost of Christmas future, the witness can show others what is to be in a dream or by reflecting it back through others’ eyes. His authority, that is, his ability to accomplish this is such that without fabrication or exaggeration he can say, “Choose to do justice upon the earth or else walk beside me on a path that leads to absolute annihilation. I will not interfere with what you choose, but I will constrain you so your negativity only devours yourself. It is for this purpose that I have entered the world.”

The consort of the witness once asked the witness about his work, about how well he thought he was doing. He replied, “I am still an amateur when it comes to accomplishing peace on earth.” She asked him then with a gentle laugh as she turned his words around, “When will you be a professional?”

He immediately said, “You will know I am no longer an amateur when the worst dictators on earth take time off from running their countries to teach kindergarten on television. They will guarantee prenatal care for every woman in their nation. And when there is a national disaster, an earthquake, a famine, a disease, they will turn aside from their cabinet meetings saying, “I must go myself to take personal charge of the relief efforts.”

A good teacher can inspire by sharing what is within his heart, communicating by speaking through the student’s own experience. It is safe to say that the witness became adept at speaking to dictators and terrorists in their own terms using the kind of persuasion they respect. And during a conversation, he had a way of turning a moment into years or compressing years into a moment by the silent depths that were reflected in his eyes.

With the witness, there is no need to die to see your own life flash before your eyes. This was another of his gifts. It was as if he could take someone aside right in midst of his busiest activities. He enabled the individual to look back at his life from a distance of a few years, a few decades, or a few millennia.

And then he would ask, “Have you figured out yet anything you could have done different in order to get the most out of life? Or do you need some more time—a little taste of eternity--to introspect and to examine your conscience?” It is interesting to watch him as he uses the powers of space and time and the deepest attractions, the full spectrum of desires, to help others clarify and to arrive at their best decisions in life.

Another Encounter with the Archangel Michael

Michael stopped by one day as he said he would do. The witness turned to him and said, “Welcome. I have been expecting you.”

The archangel proceeded directly to the question under consideration. He said, “I have taken notice of your actions. You move with a certainty and level of conviction I have never observed among the members of any race this side of creation.

“The way you cause wars to dissolve and the doctrines of peace you espouse arise from visions I have never seen. You seek to accomplish more than even I have dreamed.

“And so I ask, ‘By what commission do you engineer a new purpose for your race? By what authority do you intervene to create justice where there is none? Peace where there is war? To bind the human race to a destiny that it did not conceive?’”

The witness replied, “When I was young, during the worst time of my life and possessed by a dark vision, no one came to rescue me. It was later on only after I had made an absolute commitment to the light that I was offered visions of how to fulfill what I had found within my heart.

“But this darkness was also a gift. The silent winter of the soul I survived spoke eloquently to me. Its voice said, “This is your time to find your own inner vision of the truth of the universe. The procedures you follow, the paths you take, and even the definition of what you seek must from come from your own heart. There is no other path that guarantees the best results.’

“Furthermore, others had already gone before. Their stories, gospels, and wisdom clearly said, ‘That we surrendered all attachment and passed through the extremes of abandonment should have been obvious--nearly impossible to miss—to anyone who reads the stories of our lives in the scriptures set down for all time.’

“The silence I endured at that time, the loneliness, and darkness I entered were given to me to fulfill a sacred purpose. To enter the presence of God is also to stand within a place that has no definition. It has no boundaries, no forms, and there are no images to support the imagination. In order to embrace the highest light it is necessary to pass through the darkness inside oneself. But darkness can not constrain a heart that loves or a spirit that is free.”

“But do not think that my knowledge comes from inside myself alone—

I also know the reasons why God creates.

I know how love transforms hate.

I know how malice its opposite will come to embrace.

I taste the visions inside the neutron star, the blue giant, and the quasar—

I see through their eyes.

When I listen, I can hear the song of every star in this galaxy.

And furthermore, beyond this wondrous, whirling living being,

I can hear the song of every galaxy in the universe.

This mystery and vastness the human heart has been designed to embrace.

And Michael then asked a question that had also been a test that others before had never passed. He said, “Do you not find it somewhat excessive, an agenda of staggering proportion, to initiate by means of your own will such a vast, unending destiny?”

The witness replied, “It does not bother me in the least if it is my will alone that carves from out of time and history a new destiny for human beings. And the reason for this is that I find the joyful rapture and the ecstasy of creation to be everywhere. There is no end to it and like God Himself, it is ever new in each moment. My contribution is next to nothing by comparison. It is the least I can do.”

Having found the answer to his questions, the archangel turned away and, crossing the threshold separating the worlds of form from those of spirit, he disappeared from mortal vision.

Cosmic Dragon

One day the cosmic dragon appeared as if from nowhere, from out of thin air, and placed his feet on the ground in front of the witness. The malevolent spirit said, “I am the embodiment of all hatred, malice, and evil as you can plainly see.”

The spirit speaks almost thoughtfully, slowly, as if contemplating something special and rare that he was about to cast down and shatter on the ground. He says, “I have noticed the flight of your spirit and the range of your plans. I am sure you can understand when I say that to proceed further you will have to get past me.”

The spirit goes on now with a quicker pace and more cadence in his voice, “You see, you can not hide from me. I know who you are. Your identity is perfectly clear—you are one of the two lamps that stands before the presence of God. But I shall put your light out or cause it to be so dim that not even your closest friends will recognize your power, honor your visions, or understand your heart.”

The witness replies, “You say you know who I am. I will share with you now my true identity. Come with me.”

And so saying, the arch demon and cosmic dragon is caught in a cosmic whirlpool whose force and power are beyond the power of mind to comprehend.

A moment later, the dragon asks, “Where is this place you have taken me?”

The witness replies, “Where we are now is far beyond space and time. Here is final oblivion—absolute separation from the rest of the universe forever. Here light will never shine. There is no communion with another heart or mind. Even terror and fear cannot measure the depths of the despair that is everywhere. Here is nothingness, emptiness, and an unending void. Not even one molecule or atom of matter is to be found anywhere.

“As you have noticed and can readily see, this place is easy enough to enter. It comes round whenever I call. It is leaving that presents a difficulty. You could say that to find a way is impossible, incomprehensible, and is something that cannot even be imagined.

“But I will freely offer you the key you can use to flee, an escape that follows a secret route. This I will do for you since so few make the effort to seek me out and to share with me their heart. It is simple enough--you must let go of all attachment. Let your identity dissolve. You must become nothing at all—which is another way to say—perfectly enlightened.

“This place is the cauldron that produces one product—perfect, complete, and absolute freedom. It requires that you become pure compassion with a heart so vast it holds the universe within itself. Such a heart is like the void of space that encompasses all the galaxies and yet finds a way to call forth and nourish life on countless worlds. This is my heart, my love, and it is who I am and how I define myself.

“You are now free to go. I release you now from my hold. But if you chose to interfere with my work on earth, after I have given this warning in regard to your fate, I will draw you within and hold you in this place forever until like me you come to see that only oneness exists—the only true purpose in the universe is to offer assistance and to be of service to each other.”

In the next instant, the cosmic dragon finds himself sitting on a rock on one of those undiscovered planets that revolves unseen around our sun out in the OorK Cloud far beyond Pluto. There, he puts his face in his hands and weeps. And this he did not out of fear but because for the third time in human history he can see so clearly that the Creator’s plans are proceeding. Another one of His children has mastered in full measure one of the notes with which God’s voice has sung the universe into being. To say that the beauty he has confronted is the annihilation of malice, terror, and fear would be to understate the reality.

The Archangel Michael and the Consort of the Witness

One day, after the archangel Michael was done speaking with the witness, the consort of the witness called to the archangel as the archangel was turning to depart. She said, “As you have perhaps noticed, the witness is sometimes a complete fool. He competes with authority figures to see if he can find where they are blind so as to discover the light within their minds that they cannot define. Seeing what others cannot see is one of his gifts.

“Nevertheless, if it is not too much to request, I desire to know what you will say to God concerning the fate of the human race. The unfolding of life is one of the things I cherish and seek to protect.”

The archangel glanced at her face and saw why the witness loved her. The fire in her eyes, like the light of the stars at night, spoke of truth eternal, pure and without compromise. And so he replied, “I will neither confirm nor deny, accept or reject the decisions your race has made through the ages. Nor do I judge the paths your race has chosen that have brought you to this place.

“In my report to God, I will say, ‘At last, in this galaxy we have finally found a race that comprehends that fate and destiny are something it can create from out of the visions of its heart and the powers within its hands.’

“If there are but one or two who are willing to pursue the divine arts without restraint, then the light that shines from them, like seeds, shall inspire and spread until your entire race ascends. Peace making, like the work of reconciliation and love, is one of the highest of the divine arts. It ranks among the purposes for which this universe was created. The two of you, by becoming one like no other, bare witness to these truths.”

Postscript

There are, of course, not one but two witnesses. The other one, it turns out, is a woman. More and more women in our age are becoming quite independent. I am sure you can understand if this female witness gets upset when governments or religions turn members of her gender into slaves. After all, was not the divine work and mission of her predecessor, Moses, to emancipate slaves held in Egypt? I understand she has already begun (I know of one case) to cast famines upon certain lands.

I would prefer that a woman write about her or that she speak with her own words about her work on earth. Men have their hero’s quest. For thousands of years we have only the male version of the quest for union with the divine parents, namely, with a masculine God. For this reason, men seem to suffer a curse when it comes to understanding the depths of feminine spirituality. They do not even know where to begin.

I will say one thing, however. Though the male witness has no equal when it comes to mastery over the winds, the female witness has a similar power when it comes to control over water. But it is not just water she can turn to “blood,” but also any liquid and this includes hydrocarbons. The price of a barrel of crude oil may run between twelve and thirty-two dollars on the open market. But the price of a barrel of “blood” is about zero. No one would even bothers pumping it from the ground.

I am sure it will be perfectly clear to everyone that this witness might get a lot of people around the planet upset—as John has foretold--should she decide to turn the world’s economy upside down. Or, then again, maybe emancipating women and caring for children—instead of killing the opposition and building palaces all over a country--are ideas whose time has come.

But I can only guess about how these things will unfold. After all, I am a poet. These two witnesses operate under a different commission.