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In a world ruled by unicorns—The Unicorn Lands—the Christian cheerleader woman in black and red, Dionysius Drago Daugherty, is riding her pet black unicorn Martial on a pilgrimage toward beyond the north to see Jesus.  She wishes to ask God to give her a boyfriend in her life.  And on their way the two have to take on the Accusing Griffin in contention.  In this same world a Christian warrior named Flanders Nickels is riding his pet brown unicorn named Knight.  They also are on a pilgrimage to the north of the north for Flanders to ask of Jesus for a girlfriend to come into his life.  And these two have to contend against the Deceiving Dragon.  On this journey man and woman meet and fall in love.  Together they continue their pilgrimage toward Jesus, this time the Tempting Wizard trying to keep them from their destination.  The four prevail in the end.  And they meet the Good Lord Jesus there in the uttermost parts of the north.

THE UNICORN LANDS

By Mr. Morgan P. McCarthy

 

 

The Table Of Contents

BOOK I…………………………………………………………………………………………….Page 1

Chapter I……………………………………………………………………………………Page 2

Chapter II……………………………………………………………………………………Page 8

BOOK II…………………………………………………………………………………………. Page 16

Chapter I…………………………………………………………………………………..Page 17

Chapter II………………………………………………………………………………….Page 26

Chapter III…………………………………………………………………………………Page 35

Chapter IV…………………………………………………………………………………Page 43

Chapter V………………………………………………………………………………….Page 51

Chapter VI…………………………………………………………………………………Page 61

Chapter VII………………………………………………………………………………..Page 70

BOOK III………………………………………………………………………………………….Page 78

Chapter I…………………………………………………………………………………..Page 79

Chapter II………………………………………………………………………………….Page 87

Chapter III…………………………………………………………………………………Page 96

Chapter IV……………………………………………………………………………….Page 105

Chapter V…………………………………………………………………………………Page 113

Chapter VI……………………………………………………………………………….Page 122

Chapter VII………………………………………………………………………………Page 130

BOOK IV………………………………………………………………………………………..Page 138

Chapter I…………………………………………………………………………………Page 139

Chapter II………………………………………………………………………………..Page 147

Chapter III……………………………………………………………………………….Page 156

Chapter IV……………………………………………………………………………….Page 166

Chapter V………………………………………………………………………………..Page 175

Chapter VI……………………………………………………………………………….Page 183

Chapter VII………………………………………………………………………………Page 191

BOOK V…………………………………………………………………………………………Page 198

Chapter I…………………………………………………………………………………Page 199

Chapter II…………………………………………………………………………………Page 206

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BOOK I

INTRODUCTION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER I

“And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.  And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.”  Genesis 1:2.

It is written about this God:  “The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old.  I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was.  When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water.  Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth:  While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world.  When he prepared the heavens, I was there:

when he set a compass upon the face of the depth:  When he established the clouds above:  when he strengthened the fountains of the deep:  When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment:  when he appointed the foundations of the earth:  Then I was by him, as one brought up with him:  and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him;  Rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth; and my delights were with the sons of men.”  Proverbs 8:22-31.  This Lord was Wisdom.  This Lord was the Creator.  This Lord was Jesus Christ.

And this God said, “Let there be land and lands.”  Behold, that which was without form and void became solid.  He spoke His Word, and ground was created.  In the north, great dunes of sand

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were wrought by this Maker, sand dunes vast and sloping, and bordered by green shade trees and pools of cool spring water and lawns of plush green grass.  And there were seashores here in the sides of the north.  In the east were thus wrought hills and mountains and valleys and peaks and knolls, mounds of earth big and small, and great slopes—inclines and declines—all covered in beautiful short green grass.

And there were buttes here in the east.  In the south were made fields of country, stretching off beyond the horizon:  vast plains of field grass, four to five feet tall, waving in the winds.  And there were great plains of golden grains and green grains, fields of three-leaved clovers and fields of four-leaved clovers, gardens of horsetails and gardens of cattails here in the south—all beautiful meadows made for the cause of beauty. In the west the Maker did create gardens and parks and sanctuaries—rustic places to rest from labors and from cares; here were pumpkin patches and berry patches and gourd patches and also parks of apple orchards and of orange groves and of grapefruit groves, and also little forests of lime trees and lemon trees.  And there were zephyrs in the west.  And in the center of this world, in between the north and east and south and west, God made great forests of many trees—oaks and maples and box elders and weeping willows—all towering high up from the ground.  The leaves of these trees never fell, and they were ever green.  And there were Christmas trees here in the center of this world.  And this Lord saw what He had created with land and lands, and He saw that it was very good.  And the morning and the afternoon and the evening and the night were the first day of creation.

And then this God did say with His Words, “Let there be water and waters.”  And the Spirit of

God that moved upon the face of the waters thereby dispersed the waters throughout and beyond this world.  Great seas encircled this world outside of this world’s perimeter.  One great sea lay farther north

than the northernmost point; one great sea lay farther east than the easternmost point; one great sea lay farther south than the southernmost point; and one great sea lay farther west than the westernmost point.  Within the ground of this world, God made rivers of flowing waters, some that flowed across this world from one sea to another sea, some that flowed from one place to another and not connected

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to a sea, some that flowed from one place in the ground and out unto a sea, some that flowed from a sea

and ended in a place in the ground.  Lakes of fresh still waters also came upon this new world—lakes great and small, deep and shallow, clean and refreshing—withal to drink and to cool down in.  And this Maker also created creeks and healing brooks and curing streams, with flowing waters of divine remedies for sicknesses and wounds.  And there came also ponds in the countryside, encircled by single-file rows of evergreen trees tall and imposing—spruces and pines and firs abounding with cones.

Also fountains and geysers and jets of steam abounded in the parks of the west.  And reservoirs of water lay beneath the ground to nourish the plants of the land.  And this God saw what He had made with water and waters, and He saw that it was very good.  And the morning and the afternoon and the evening and the night were the second day of creation.

And God said, “Let there be sky and skies.”  And the darkness that was upon the face of the deep became light.  Two firmaments appeared from His Words—one firmament to rule the land and one firmament to rule the seas.  A great light called “the sun of the land” shone in the firmament above the land; this sun rose in the morning in the west, and it set in the evening in the east.  The other great light, called “the sun of the seas.” shone in the firmaments above the seas beyond.  This sun of the seas rose in the morning in the north, and it set in the evening in the south.  In the skies of the night over the ground, a full moon always shone in the north, and a quarter moon always shone in the south, and a crescent moon always shone in the east, and a new moon presided in the west.  In the skies of the night

over the four seas, God did make great shows of comets and meteors and meteorites and asteroids.  And

God made stars, which appeared as little white dots in the dark skies over the land.  There were no stars

in the night sky over the great seas.  And in the sides of the north over the land after a rainstorm in the daytime, there appeared rainbows, bows of a spectrum arching up into the sky from the ground and arching back down to the ground from the sky.  Behold, this Maker-God saw what He had done with sky and skies, and He saw that it was very good.  And the morning and the afternoon and the evening

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and the night were the third day of creation.

And God said in His spoken Words, “Let there be life and lives.”  And sundry and diverse creatures began to walk the lands and swim the waters and fly the skies.  Land animals such as stalking

predators and fleeing prey, meat-eaters and plant eaters, cattle and livestock, domestic animals, creepers, slitherers, hoppers, climbers, diggers, gnawers—all such animals who lived their lives on the ground were made to go forth and multiply upon the land.  And water animals—all such as had gills and fins and scales—suddenly abounded in the fresh waters of the land and in the salt waters beyond the land.  These creatures that swam were called “fish.”  And in the skies, God did wrought that which was called “birds.”  Up here were flying fowl with wings of feathers with which to ascend, to descend, to hover, to light, to lift off.  And God gave them the gift of singing.  The Lord saw the life and lives that He had created, and He saw that it was very good.  And the morning and the afternoon and the evening and the night were the fourth day of creation.  (Now in these most early days since this day of the creation of life, a beast called “the Behemoth” reigned over the lands, and a beast called “the Leviathan” reigned over the waters, and beast called “the Bird of Prey” reigned over the skies.  But these three soon after were taken away by their Maker in their rebellion against God Almighty).

Then God said, “Let there be worshipers worshiping.”  And he created mankind.  He created man in His own image, after His likeness.  Man was to have dominion over the world.  God made them male and female.  And men and women and boys and girls peopled the land.  These were to subdue the creatures of the world and to rule over the animals of the land and sea and sky.  And the sons and daughters of men began to call upon the name of the Lord.  Humankind began to read the Holy Bible.  Humankind began to pray to their Divine Maker.  And humankind began to gather together in corporate worship and fellowship in houses of public worship.  Hymns were written to honor God, and people sang these hymns.  People began to tell others about Jesus the Saviour and Creator and Lord.  Lost people found salvation in Him, and began to live their lives for Him.  And revivals spread across this

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world from coast to coast and from sea to sea because of these worshipers, men and women and children having a personal relationship with their great Creator.  These born-again Christians loved and served Christ the Lord with all their heart and with all their soul and with all their mind and with all their strength.  These believers loved their Maker first of all.  And God saw the worshipers worshiping Him, and He saw that it was very good.  And the morning and the afternoon and the evening and the night were the fifth day of creation.

And the Lord said, “Let there be unicorns.”  And angels came down into the world.  Unicorns were the spirits and the souls of the angels of Heaven incarnated.  They excelled in strength.  They did His commandments.  They hearkened unto the voice of His Word.  They were His hosts, His ministers, that did His pleasure.  These unicorns were cherubim, seraphim, thrones, dominions, powers, principalities, archangels, and angels.  And they were white or gray or brown or black or red or tawny or sorrel or tan.  They all had a single horn upon their heads.  They all had a full and abundant flowing mane and a bushy tail.  Their unicorn eyes shone with the light of Jesus—the Son of God and God the Son.  The unicorns had a most especial bond with this Jesus, for He called them to His throne to do His bidding as only angels could do.  And, though mankind read in the Bible about Christ’s eternity past, only the unicorns could understand how this Christ had always been.  It is written about this in Psalm 90:2, “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.”  Again it is written about this in Psalm 93:2, “Thy throne is established of old; thou art from everlasting.”  And in Micah 5:2 it is written about him thus, “…; whose goings forth have been of old, from everlasting.”  And in John 8:58, this same Jesus said about Himself, “…, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.”  This wise Designer saw the unicorns that He had made, and He saw that it was very good.  And the morning and the afternoon and the evening and the night were the sixth day of creation.

And this wise God blessed all the works of His hands that He had spoken into creation with His

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Words.

Thus did the Lord make the Unicorn Lands in six days.

And on the seventh day He rested.  It is written, “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.  And on the seventh day God ended his work which he made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.  And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified

it:  because that in it he rested from all his work which God created and made.”  Genesis 2:1-3.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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CHAPTER II

What is the true tale of all that this Creator-God did after He had wrought His work?  What great things did Jesus Christ do for the souls of men?  What makes Him the Saviour of the world?

This chapter gives the all due testimony of this God:

In John 1:1-4 it is written about this Lord:  “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  The same was in the beginning with God.  All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.  In him was life; and this life was the light of men.”  In I John 5:7 it is written, “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost:  and these three are one.”  And in John 1:14 it is written, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”  In truth this Word was Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the trinity—the triune Godhead—of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

He then became flesh and blood, leaving the glories and comforts of His Father’s right-hand

side; that is, the day came when He left Heaven and came to Earth to be born of the virgin Mary on the

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the world’s first Christmas.  Conceived of the Holy Ghost, God became a man.  This Man’s name—Jesus Christ—had a singular meaning.  “Jesus” means “Saviour”; and “Christ” means “anointed.”

In Matthew 1:21 it is written about this Christmas baby and His mother, “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS;  for he shall save his people from their sins.”  And in Matthew 1:23, God says also this, “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.”  This babe was the promised Messiah to come.  In his life as a boy His parents Mary and Joseph lost Him, sought Him, and found Him back in Jerusalem.  The boy Jesus was in the temple, discussing truth with learned men and astounding them with His great wisdom.  Heedless of His parents’ worries for Him, He said to them, “…, How is it that ye sought me?  Wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?”  Luke 2:49.

And this Son of God grew into adulthood, and He turned thirty years of age.

The time had come for Jesus to be baptized.  John the Baptist was appointed by God to baptize

Jesus in the Jordan River.  John the Baptist, knowing his own unworthiness to even untie Christ’s shoelaces, said there to Christ, “I have need to be baptized of Thee, and comest Thou to me?”  Yet Jesus said to him, “Suffer it to be so now; for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness.”  John the Baptist proclaimed, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world!”  Then Jesus went down into the water and came up out of the water; and the Heavens were opened unto Him, and the Spirit of God descended upon Him like a dove, and His Father called down from Above, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased.”

Hence began this Son of God His three years of ministry unto His world.  He did cast out devils.

He did raise the dead back to life.  He did cleanse lepers.  He did give sight to the blind.  He did open the ears of the deaf. He did make the lame to walk.  He did heal multitudes of sick who came unto Him.

Jesus performed these miracles of cures to prove His deity.  Such works as these could only be done by

God.  One day, with five loaves of bread and two fish, He did feed five thousand men, besides women

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and children, and He had left over twelve baskets of food.  Another day, with seven loaves of bread and a few fish, He did feed four thousand men, besides women and children, and He had left over seven baskets of food.

Great was Christ’s love for sinners.  In Matthew 9:36 it is written, “But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.  He wanted all to be saved and on their way to His Heaven in their lives to come.  He knew how many hairs each person had.  He knew the fall of every sparrow.  He knew the groaning of the sin-cursed creation that was heavy in the hearts of the world.  And He knew the temptations that the born-again believers endured in their lives, and he helped them in their valley of

trials as One Who had also been tempted by the Devil.

But also great was Christ’s hatred for sin.  In Matthew 23:33, Jesus rebuked the Pharisees, saying unto them, “Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?”

Jesus rebuked all the false teachers of His days in the world, because their false teaching truly led their disciples to Hell in the life to come.  Such false ministers, were they not to repent, were promised greater degrees of fire in Hell to come for their punishment for leading their flock away from truth.

These were the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the elders, the lawyers, the scribes, the chief priests, and the high priests.  Such served the Devil and not the Lord.

But, primary in His three-year ministry in the Holy Land, the Lord Jesus went about preaching the Gospel of salvation and warning all who would hear, “Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand.”

Then, at age thirty-three, Jesus’s calling now came upon Him to perform His great act of redemption for fallen mankind.  He was to die in the most excruciating death there ever was.  Jesus had always known this.  That was why He had come into this world thirty-three years ago.  The cross of Calvary awaited Christ.

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The night before the day of the cross, Jesus took His three best friends—the Apostles Peter and John and James—with Him into the Garden of Gethsemane to watch with Him and to be with Him.

And He prayed, but they fell asleep.  His prayer was so passionate with angst that great drops of blood came out of His body.  Jesus was aware here in the garden of the painful malaise imminent upon Him when He would bear all the sins of the world upon His body the next day.  In Matthew26:39, Jesus said in His prayer of torment, “…,O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me:  nevertheless, not  as I will, but as thou wilt.”  And in Matthew 26:42, Jesus said also in his prayer of this dread time, “…, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.”  He then came

back to His disciples, found them sleeping, and he chastised them, telling them, “Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.  The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak.”  Mark 14:38.  Then came Judas Iscariot, who was the betrayer, and with him was a mob of soldiers and officers to take Jesus.

Jesus said then to his three disciples here in Mark 14:42, “Rise up, let us go; lo, he that betrayeth me

is at hand.”  In Matthew 26:46 it is written thus in parallel, “Rise, let us be going:  behold, he is at hand that doth betray me.”  Jesus had the all-powerful force of God.  And Judas had only a bunch of men with lanterns and torches and staves and swords. But Jesus submitted Himself unto them and allowed Himself to be arrested.  This was His plan.

What followed was the most illegal court case in the history of the world.  Jesus was confronted by Caiaphas and Annas and Herod and Pilate and the Sanhedrin.  And all manner of men of Belial—false accusers and blatant liars—gave their charges against Him in these false trials.  Yet Jesus did not answer back.  Instead it is written in Isaiah 53:7, “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth:  he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so openeth he not his mouth.”  In Jesus’s persecution, men spat in His face; men buffeted and slapped Him; men put a scarlet robe upon Him; men drove a crown of thorns down into His head; men struck Him on the head with a stick; men mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews”; men tore off

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His beard; men scourged Him front and back with a Roman cat-o-nine tails.  This Jesus was assaulted

thus as only Satan would wish for any man.  And He yet lived.  Then, after all this, Jesus willingly allowed sons of Belial to nail Him down to a wooden cross with spikes through both of His hands and through both of His feet.  This cross of crucifixion was the cross of Calvary.  And man was doing this to God.  The creature was doing this to his Creator.  Sinners were doing this to the Sinless One.  As Christ hung from the cross, He could have called ten thousand legions of angels to take Him down off of the cross.  But He refused.  He stayed there on the cross for His love for humankind.  It was the only way to redeem fallen mankind, and He was the only One Who could do this.  This Christ was the only perfect sacrifice for mankind’s sins, because He was the only perfect Man.  I Peter 2:22 says this about Him:  “Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth.”  I John 3:5 goes on to say this about Him:  “And we know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.”  In I John 2:2

it is written about this Lamb of Calvary:  “And he is the propitiation for our sins:  and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.”  Yes, this Saviour of the world did suffer like no man ever suffered and like no man will ever suffer for the souls of all people everywhere.  In I Peter 2:24, it is written, “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness:  by whose stripes ye were healed.”  And in I Peter 3:18 it does say, “For

Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:”  In sum, He died on the cross that men may live forever in Heaven and not forever in Hell, and this so very great salvation was purchased for men by His own perfect shed blood.  “…Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood.”  Revelation 1:5.  And: “…:  for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;”  Revelation 5:9.  And again, “In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:”  Colossians 1:14.  Further, “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;”

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Ephesians 1:7.  In a time to come, songwriters would write hymns about the blood of the Lamb.  These were blood atonement hymns:  “There Is a Fountain,” “Saved by the Blood,” “Nothing But the Blood,”

“There Is Power in the Blood,” and “Are You Washed in the Blood?”  And there on the old rugged cross, Jesus shed His last drop of blood, and He yielded up the ghost.  The Messiah was dead.

Two born-again believers—Joseph of Arimathaea and Nicodemus the Pharisee—took down the body of the Lord from the cross and laid it in an empty tomb, a cave in the earth.  The Lord was there three days and three nights.  Those who had loved Him in His life came to the tomb to see Him in His death on the third day after his crucifixion.  Behold, Jesus’s grave was empty!  The angels proclaimed in Matthew 28:6, “He is not here: for he is risen, as he said.  Come, see the place where the Lord lay,” and in Mark 16:6, “…:  he is risen; he is not here:  behold the place where they laid him.”  Lo, He had risen from the dead on this third day!  And He lived again!  Thus the Easter miracle of Christ’s resurrection.  In Acts 13:30-31 it is written about Easter, “But God raised him from the dead:  And he was seen many days of them which came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses

unto the people.”  And also it is written about Easter in Acts 1:3, “To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:”  In later days to come hymn writers would write songs about

His glorious resurrection, hymns such as “Christ the Lord Is Risen Today” and “Christ Arose,” and “He

Lives.”  Indeed after He had risen, He in His perfect physical self, walked throughout the Holy Land

for forty more days.  The resurrected Lord was seen by Peter, by James, by two men walking to Emmaus, by all the Apostles, by Mary Magdalene, by another Mary, indeed also by five hundred brethren all at once.  He showed his Apostles His nail-pierced hands and feet.  He rebuked doubting Thomas for his unbelief of the resurrected Lord.  He even stopped to eat a meal with His disciples.  Because Jesus had risen again, He will live forever after.  A dead God can save no soul.  A living God can save all souls.  Because of Christ’s glorious resurrection, sound preaching is not in vain, and faith

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in Him is not in vain, and men need not die in their sins, and men themselves can be resurrected.  Yes, those who are saved will go right to Heaven in their eternity to come, because God had raised Jesus from the grave.

It was the fortieth day now for the risen Saviour.  He stood there, in Bethany, ready to come back to His Home of Heaven.  He was with His eleven good Apostles.  In some of His last words to his beloved disciples, He said to them, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”

He blessed them all as they stood there with Him.  And the Lord Jesus said one last statement to them, saying to them, “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you:  and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”  In both commandments herein, Jesus was telling them to go out and win souls for Him.

And then Jesus ascended back Up to Heaven.  This was the Ascension, Jesus’s last act of His

First Coming.  The eleven who witnessed this were Peter and James and John and Andrew and Philip

and Thomas and Bartholomew and Matthew and James the son of Alphaeus and Judas the brother of James and Simon Zelotes. In Acts 1:9-11, God’s Word says this about this culminating event:  “And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.  And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;  Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven?  This same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him

go into heaven.”  These two angels in white were prophesying of Second Coming of Christ to come in the day of the Lord.

To summarize this chapter testifying of Christ Jesus—Creator and Saviour and God—refer to the words written by the Apostle Paul in an epistle to the young pastor Timothy in I Timothy 3:16 thus:

“And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness:  God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.”

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Amen.  Praise Ye, the Lord.  Alleluia.  Hallelujah.  And again, Amen!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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BOOK II

ENCOUNTERS WITH THE ACCUSING GRIFFIN

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER I

The cheerleader Dionysius chanted a cheer before her beloved pet unicorn Martial, her megaphone in her right hand before her mouth:  “It’s on, it’s on, like a bad dress at the prom.  Our team

will stomp all over yours, and get our big win on!”  This woman, a born-again believer, was forty years old, and she could still get into her old high school cheerleader uniform of nearly twenty-five years ago just fine and comfortable.  Her outfit was a vintage black and red cheerleader uniform from Good Havens High School, not far from where she now lived here in the south.  She had been a Good Havens

Zephyr back in those days.  And as she had dressed then as a cheerleader, so did she today, and so did she every day these days.  In her brown tresses, along the back of her head, were black and red ribbons.

Over her torso was a long-sleeved Orlon acrylic cheerleader sweater:  In the front, in the upper part, was a field of red, whose sides were two diagonals coming downward from her shoulders to three-quarters of the way toward the bottom and with a horizontal that connected them at this base with a span of the middle one-third of the width of the sweater.  In this upper field of red was a black chenille emblem of a megaphone with a handle at the bottom.  And in this black megaphone was another chenille pattern with the name “DIONYSIUS.”  And these nine letters of name were in red, and in capital script form, and in increasing height, letter-by-letter, as the megaphone got wider from

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beginning to ending.  In this same front to this cheerleader sweater, black covered the lower part below

the span, the bottom one-quarter of the pattern.  And black covered the sides beyond the two diagonals.  This field of black in this lower part of the sweater ended in a thick black hem around the bottom of this sweater.  The back side to this cheerleader’s sweater was all solid black throughout from collar down to hem.  Over her arms were the long sleeves to her cheerleader sweater, both sleeves patterned alike.  In the front part of these sleeves were a field of red from the shoulder to the inner elbow, then a

“V” shape, then a field of black from the inner elbow to the wrist, with jet black cuffs.  In like, in the back part of these sleeves were a field of red on the same top half, then another “V” at the outer elbow, then a field of black in the same bottom half down to the black cuffs.  Along the red of her left shoulder was a chenille emblem in black block letters that read, “Good Havens.”  And along the red of her right shoulder was a chenille emblem in black block letters that read, “Zephyr.”  All of this was Dionysius’s

cherished cheerleader sweater.  And over her loins was knee-length polyester double-knit cheerleader skirt.  It was black and red and had eight wide pleats to it.  Eight outer pleats of black encircled her hips, and eight inner pleats—box pleats—of red—alternately also encircled her hips.  Black and red, black and red, and so on eight times over throughout this old-time cheerleader’s skirt of vintage styles.

Along the top of this cheerleader skirt was a black hem, and in back was a zipper-and-button closure.

This was Dionysius’s cheerleader skirt ever near and dear to her heart.  Dionysius remembered now how she had come home from the game one night after cheering in the heavy rain all evening.  Her whole outfit was drenched and dripping and disheveled upon herself.  She went to the pantry room

to put it all into the washer and dryer to make it as good as new again.  And as she held the dripping wet sweater in one hand and the dripping wet skirt in her other hand, one felt heavier than the other.

In experiment, she tossed the soaked sweater into the air to catch it, and it felt heavy landing upon her hands.  Then she tossed the soaked skirt into the air to catch it, and it felt light landing upon her hands.

And Dionysius found out that a wet cheerleader sweater is heavier than a wet cheerleader skirt.  Such

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was true, she already knew, also for a dry cheerleader sweater and a dry cheerleader skirt.  Cheerleaders know things that men know not.  As for the rest of Dionysius’s cheerleader outfit, covering her shins were cheerleader socks that reached up to her knees, black with three wide red stripes in the upper half.

Covering her feet were cheerleader shoes—good old-fashioned black sneakers with red shoelaces, red rubber soles, and a red part over the toes.  And again, in her hand was that delightful cheerleader megaphone.  Upon the megaphone were four words, one per row and four rows, going down the side: “Head varsity football cheerleader” in bold cursive letters.  To the woman’s right where she stood were

her cheerleader pom poms, black and red and very abundant and with handles.  And to her left where she stood were her cheerleader little footballs, little plastic footballs that she used to throw into the bleachers to get the Zephyr fans to cheer their team on.

This was the cheerleader Miss Dionysius Daugherty.

She then put the megaphone to her mouth again and she sang again another cheer before her adoring unicorn fan, “Passing play, running play, anyway we’ll have our way—V-I-C-T-O-R-Y!”

And she kicked up first her left leg, then her right leg.

“Sing it again, O Mistress,” said Martial.

And Dionysius sang another cheer song through the megaphone, “D-E-F-E-N-S-E!  Take that ball away for a victory!”  And she pirouetted, spreading her skirt pleats about her in this dance.

“Encore, my mistress!” shouted out doting Martial.

This time, holding her megaphone off to the side, she chanted an unamplified cheer to her best friend Martial: “Don’t you be like Charley Brown!  Kick that ball high off the ground!”  And she did a

hop and a skip right after this.

“Bravo, Mistress!” said Martial, and he gave a toot on his unicorn horn in kudos.

“Praise the Lord that I can still do this at my age, O Martial,” said Dionysius Daugherty, giving glory to God.

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“Amen to that!” said the he-unicorn, also glorifying God with thanksgiving.

Thoughts came upon the cheerleader woman’s features.  Then she said, “Do you think that I am pretty, Martial?”

The unicorn answered, “I cannot tell, Mistress.  We unicorns cannot see women the way that men see women.”

“I mean do you think that men find me pretty?” asked the cheerleader woman.  “Could I guy find my face to be as pretty as my outfit?”

“The Holy Bible does say, my mistress, that you, as a woman, are ‘fearfully and wonderfully made,’” said wise Martial.

“Psalm 139:14,” said Miss Daugherty.  “I read that verse just the other day.”

“You have never found a man-friend in your life with Christ, O Mistress,” said her unicorn confidant.

“Not yet, anyway, O Martial,” said Miss Daugherty.  This young woman had long hair of brown, straight, full, shoulder-length, and with bangs.  Her face was curved around the sides of her cheeks.  Her complexion was clean and white and without blemish.  But her teeth—both the upper teeth and the lower teeth—stuck out beyond her lips with an obvious overbite.  She liked her teeth this way, but maybe men did not like her teeth this way.  Maybe men saw her as “an ugly buck-toothed girl.”  She had never tried braces, because she did not want things in her mouth that she could not chew or swallow down.  But if she had sought them, she would have seen herself as “a pretty braces girl.”

Maybe guys did not like gals with braces, though.  More reflections passed through her mind now.

And Dionysius asked, “Martial, do you think that is is hard for a gal with an overbite to kiss a man the right way?”

And Martial, with the wisdom of a counselor replied, “Mistress, would you think that it would be hard for a fellow to kiss a girl with an overbite and get it right?”

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In avid reply, Dionysius said, “No, O Martial.  No man could kiss me wrong, whether or not I had my kind of teeth.”

“Then can you kiss no man wrong with your buck teeth, my mistress,” said sagacious Martial.

“At least I’m not fat!” she said.  “I was thin in high school, and I am still thin today.”

“That’s good.  I think that human guys like that in girls,” said the he-unicorn.

“And I am saved, too,” said the cheerleader.  “I’ve been a born-again Christian now myself for many, many years.”

“That is the most good!” said her unicorn.

“Born again and on my way to Heaven to see Jesus!” said Dionysius.

“You are declared ‘righteous’ in God’s eyes,” said Martial.

“I am ‘just’ in God’s eyes,” said Dionysius the synonym to “righteous” in regard to salvation.

“Just what?” teased her wily unicorn pet in mock-misunderstanding.

“Just just,” teased the woman right back to the unicorn.  Woman and unicorn laughed together.

And in this merry moment of many together, Dionysius paused once again to admire the stately and dignified attractiveness of gallant and noble Martial in his equine creation of God.  He was all black

everywhere throughout.  His black mane reached all the way down to his upper back, and it was full and long and glittering.  His black tail was long and bushy and glossy.  His black eyes glowed with the light of the Spirit of God.  His black hooves glowed in the sunlight and gleamed in the moonlight.  His black face was the face of an angel of God incarnate. His black legs could run like the wind.  His black

back carried her on daily runs and walks.  His black ears could hear God talk.  His black neck was statuesque and venerable. His black nostrils took in air and let out air like a bellows.  And his black unicorn horn glistened in magical blackness, and it measured nearly two feet long.  His whole equine self of black was the body of an angel of God.  For that was what Martial the unicorn was; he was the

incarnation of one of the Lord’s good angels.  And he loved this cheerleader woman, and this cheer-

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leader woman loved him.

He spoke now in this silence, “Archangel Martial ponders your thoughts, kind and good Mistress.”

“I was thinking, Martial, and thanking God that you are a black unicorn and not a unicorn of any other color,” said Miss Daugherty.

“Wherefore?” he asked her.

“Because my black and red coordinates just perfectly with your black,” said the cheerleader.

“Especially my pleats!”

“Girls!” he said in tease.

“Women!” she sought to correct him.

“My mistress, would you accede to another cheer?” the black unicorn asked her.

“Should I use my pom poms this time, Instead?” she asked.

“Yes, Mistress, pick up the pompons,” said the he-unicorn.

She put down the megaphone and picked up her pom poms.  Then she said, “I call these ‘pom poms.’  You call these ‘pompons.’  One of us is wrong.”

“Nay, my mistress.  We are both right,” said Martial.

“Both are these then,” said the cheerleader, and she shook them in her hands and heard their ever-delightful and so-familiar swishing. She then performed a forward somersault in the air, landed adroitly back upon her feet, and sang a cheer song:  “Let’s take that ball away!  I said, ‘Take that ball.’

Take that ball.  Take that ball away and score six more!  That ball is ours.  Throw it to Mars.  Take that

ball.  Take that ball away and score six more.”  After this chant, Dionysius raised her pom poms straight up above her head.  And she performed a backward somersault in the air and again landed cleanly and certainly back upon her feet.

“Mistress, you are a regular woman gymnast,” the unicorn praised her her somersaulting.

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“A woman gymnast at that,” she said.  “I never put on a gymnastics leotard before.”

“Stick with your cheerleader’s outfit,” said Martial.

“Yeah.  You’re right,” said Dionysius Daugherty.  “Men may like women gymnasts, but I bet that they like us cheerleaders a lot more.”

“Besides that, my mistress, women gymnasts get all banged up from their routines,” said Martial.  “You don’t want that for yourself.”

“No, Martial,” she said.  “Besides, I fear the balance beam.”

“All gymnasts fear the balance beam,” he told her.  Then he said, “Your affectionate archangel requests another cheer, O Mistress.”

“I was just about to do just exactly that, O Martial,” she said.  This time she stretched her arms out straight before herself and she shook her pom poms most flamboyantly.  Then she let fall these pom

poms to the ground, and she performed a cartwheel to her left.  She chanted this cheer:  “Our team cannot be beat!  We won’t accept defeat! Give the football up!  You’re gonna get whooped!  You’re gonna get whooped!”  She then performed a cartwheel back to her right.  And she picked up her pompons, held them straight out before herself again, and shook them again most vigorously before her

unicorn fan.

“Mistress, you are like a lady ice dancer with those cartwheels you do,” he said to her.

“I am afraid of triple axels and of triple lutzes,” she said.  “And I do not do ‘quads,’ either.”

“Stick with cheer-leading then, Mistress,” he said to her.

“That I will, Martial,” she said.  She then put down her pom poms, and she picked up a little plastic football from her other pile.  “Ready, Martial?” she asked.

“Ready, willing, and able,” he said, getting ready his unicorn horn.

“But first a cheerleader’s song,” she said.

“Oh, of course,” he said readily.

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And Dionysius Daugherty sang a cheer:  “Hey, crowd!  Get excited!  Cheer for the black and red!  Zephyr defense on the move!  Get the ball!  Get in the groove!  Hey, fans! Let’s shout!  Scream black and red!  Get in the groove!”  And the forty-year-old cheerleader tossed the little football toward her unicorn pet where he did stand.  And in their game here, he went ahead and knocked this little football out of the air with his unicorn horn and sent it flying ten feet away to his right.

“Bravo, Martial!” praised his adoring mistress. “No horse can do what you do.”

Happy in God’s creation of his unicorn horn, he said, “I’m glad that God did not make me a horse.”

“Horses cannot talk,” she said.  “And they are not wise like unicorns, either.”

Eager for more of this game, Martial brandished his unicorn horn for another little football to come his way.  And the cheerleader picked up another little football, and she showed if off to him in her

hand.  “First my cheer,” she said.  “And then the throw.”

“Cheer it, girl!” cheered her unicorn.

And she cheered it:  “It’s first and ten!  Zephyrs, do it again!  Zephyrs, Hut hut!  You’re ready and set!  Take that ball over the line!  You bet!  First and ten!  First and ten!  Do it again!”  After this, she then tossed this little plastic football to where her partner was waiting.  This time her throw was high up into the air like a slow pitch in baseball.  And when it descended, agile Martial did knock it out of the air with his unicorn horn, sending it flying ten feet off to his left.

“Grand finale indeed at that, Martial,” said the cheerleader about this.

“Are we done now for the day, Mistress?” asked Martial.

“I am satisfied now with my cheer-leading for this day,” said Dionysius.

“Then I am, also,” said her black unicorn.

Then she said, “I’ve been doing some thinking these past few days.”

“About what?” he asked her.

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“I’ve been thinking about going and seeing our Good Lord,” she said.

“I’d like that a lot,” said Martial.

“I want you to come with me, of course,” she said.

“I would love to go see Jesus,” said Martial.

“It will be long trip, Martial,” she said.

“But it will be worth it all,” he said.

“It will be my first pilgrimage,” she said.

“Indeed all the way to the sides of the north, my mistress,” said her he-unicorn.

“I never saw Christ before, at least not face-to-face,” said Dionysius.

“I have, Mistress,” said the angel Martial.

“It’s agreed then,” said the born-again cheerleader.  “We are going to go and see God.”

“Archangel Martial, at your service,” said the good and benevolent unicorn pet.  “I shall take you to Christ.”

“Then to Christ we shall go!” cheered the cheerleader believer Miss Dionysius Drago Daugherty.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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CHAPTER II

Martial galloped through the wild countryside fields of tall grass like the wind, his mistress

Dionysius riding him upon his back.  “Weeeee!” she said as he raced down a hill.  “Fun!  Fun!  Fun!” she said as he bolted up a hill.  “Yeahhhh!” she said as he sprinted through the level grounds.  She could feel the stings on her legs from the slaps of the stalks of grass as they sped through the grassy plains of this south.  His black mane blew about wildly in this wind.  Puffs of white smoke came from

his nostrils as he took in and put out air from his lungs.  His hooves trampled down this tall grass as if he were running on a short green lawn.  And the cheerleader leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his neck for safety as they hurried to get to Jesus way up north.  Miss Daugherty said, “I am happy when I am with you, O Martial.”

“And I, too, with you, very, very much, O beloved Mistress,” said her pet unicorn.

“And I will be even happier when I can stand before the Good and Great Lord,” said Dionysius.

“The Prince of Peace, O Mistress,” Martial declared.

“He Who blesses His saints with both peace with God and peace of God.” said Dionysius.

“Peace with God: knowing that you have a home in Heaven waiting for you with Him.” defined

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wise angel Martial.  “Peace of God: having God as your refuge in times of trials, to carry you thereby.”

“What attribute of Heaven is more heavenly than peace itself, Martial?” asked the daughter of God. “My Prince of Peace will be talking to me and listening to me!  Heaven is the Place of perfect peace.”

“Even more so is Heaven the place of perfect holiness, Mistress,” edified wise Martial.

“Peace and love and joy—that is Heaven, Martial,” said the saint. “And holiness.”

“What do you think that you will say to the Lord, my mistress?” asked Martial.

“Oh,” she said.  “I never told you what I was going to do when I get There.”

“You will fall down and worship the Maker,” he said in conjecture, confused by her ambiguity.

“Of course I will do that,” she said.  “That’s what all pilgrims do when we get There.”

“My mistress, you will say something to Him that you have not yet told me,” Martial guessed with great savvy.

“I will, well, I will ask Him for something,” hinted the cheerleader.

“Oh, we are going on this pilgrimage for an answer to your prayers, Mistress,” thought the unicorn out loud in his search for this mystery to be revealed.

“Yes, Martial,” she said.

“What will you pray to Him for when you are kneeling in worship before His throne, my subtle mistress?” asked her confidant.

“Well, Martial, I know a forty-year-old cheerleader who is lonely even though she has an angel for a best friend,” Dionysius Daugherty told most discerning Martial.

“Ah,” he said.  “My mistress wants a boyfriend.”

“You knew?” she asked.  “You knew!”

“Not until just now, Mistress,” he said.

“Are you mad or sad about that, O Martial?” she asked.  “I pray that you be not jealous.”

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“Angels are not jealous unless their master or mistress find something more important to him or her than the Lord.  If God is jealous, angels are jealous.  If God is not jealous, angels are not jealous,”

the faithful unicorn of God said to her.

“Then you would not be jealous if I found a boyfriend-in-the-Lord come into my life, O Martial?” she asked.  “You would be jealous only if I fell upon idolatry?”

“I love you, Mistress, and I want you to be happy in the Lord,” he said.  “I ask you only that you make not your new boyfriend more important to yourself than our Divine Creator.”

“Oh, I am so glad to hear you say that, Martial,” said Dionysius.  “I never shared you with anyone else.  I did not know how you would take it.  And I promise not to make my wonderful new guy

a god to me.”

“If Jesus says, ‘Yes,’ to your supplication, my mistress,” said the unicorn.

“Why, God could say, ‘No,’ to my petition, Martial,” said the Christian cheerleader.

“And He could, too,” said Martial.  “Would a life with no boyfriend-in-Christ turn you against Jesus Christ, my mistress, if we come back home from our pilgrimage with no new guy in your life?”

“My Lord knows me better than I myself do,” said the woman.  “If He knows that I may backslide with a boyfriend for a reason I know not yet, then I will be happy in Christ without a boyfriend.  If He knows that I can grow in Him with a boyfriend in ways that I know not yet, then I shall be happy in Christ with my boyfriend.  Jesus knows what is good for me in this life and what is bad for me in this life.  His will be done in my life, lonesome or not lonesome.  Either way, Martial, I am happy just to be all yours if that is good in God’s eyes.”

“Mistress, I shall continue loving you, boyfriend or no boyfriend,” promised her black unicorn.

“And I shall still love you just as much as before, Martial, with or without a guy in my life,” promised the cheerleader Christian.

“I am glad to hear those words, Mistress,” said loyal Martial.

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“You unicorns do not understand romance, do you?” asked Miss Daugherty.

“We do not, Mistress,” he confessed.

“You do understand God, though,” she said, “being angels that you are.”

“We do, Mistress,” he avouched.

“When I finally get to Heaven for forever—by rapture or by death—then I will be able to see all things as you see them, Martial,” said the born-again believer on this side of eternity.

“Aye and nay, my mistress,” said Martial.

“Yes and no, Martial?” she asked.  “Pray tell me what you mean by that.”

“What I mean is that we angels cannot understand the free gift of eternal life the way you people can understand it.  God’s gift of everlasting life is only for people and not for angels.  We angels are spirit beings, often incarnated into unicorns.  People are living souls with destructible bodies.”

He paused for a moment to let this knowledge amaze his mortal mistress.

“You are going to Heaven, aren’t you, Martial?” she asked.

“We angels came from Heaven, and we go to Heaven, and we stand in the Presence of God,”

proclaimed archangel Martial.  “But we unicorns cannot understand salvation the way our masters and mistresses understand salvation.  It is written in the Bible, Mistress.”

“Oh, do tell me where that is in there!” said Miss Daugherty in great enlightenment about being born again.

And the wise unicorn recited a fascinating verse to her ears, “’Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.’  I Peter 1:12.”

“’Which things the angels desire to look into,’” reiterated the saved cheerleader in great revelation.

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“Verily your own so great salvation, O saved mistress,” said archangel Martial her pet unicorn.

After a while, the two pilgrims stopped to eat and drink.  Dionysius filled up with strawberries from a strawberry patch, and Martial filled up with clover from a clover field.  And they drank from a flowing creek, pure and clear and knee-deep.

Just then a frightening shriek of a creature from above filled the skies.  Dionysius covered her scream before it could come out, and her head grew dizzy with terror.  (Now when she was a little girl, Mom used to tell her about ‘banshees.’  Mom told her, “When a family member is about to die, a female spirit comes and begins to wail.  That is a banshee.”)  This cheerleader was afraid of—yet unbelieving in—banshees.  Scared to death, the woman looked up at the sky, nonetheless, to dare see it.

Whatever it was, she could clearly see that this one that shrieked was half-lion and half-eagle.  She went and asked something foolish in her fear, “Is that a banshee, Martial?”

And her brave unicorn said to her, “Nay, my mistress.  It is an Accusing Griffin.”

“A griffin?” she asked.  “What’s he doing here?”

“He is sent from the Devil,” said Martial.  “He seeks to accuse us, O Mistress, to turn us away from our journey to see Jesus.”

“Why, this one, Martial, can do a lot more to us than just to accuse us with words!” said the cheerleader believer.  “Just look at him!  He could tear me apart into pieces!”

“Nevertheless, Mistress, his words are his weapons,” said Martial.  “Do take good heed unto yourself, and beware his words.”

“What kind of words would the Accusing Griffin say to you and me?” asked Miss Daugherty.

“Accusations,” succinctly replied Martial.

Accusations from Hell, thought the cheerleader to herself in doubts of herself.  And this Accusing Griffin began to spiral downward toward them from on high.  “He’s coming, Martial,” said

Dionysius.  As if answering her, this Accusing Griffin gave forth another piercing shriek in the air.

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Miss Daugherty’s ears rang painfully from this.  Then the Accusing Griffin lighted upon the ground not fifty feet away from them.  And he spoke now in words, “You, leader of cheers, why would a woman of forty years attire herself thus as a woman of eighteen years?  Your cheerleader apparel speaks of the folly of lost dreams.  You look quite silly dressed in that and riding your unicorn, you know.”

“Am I old?” Dionysius asked the Accusing Griffin.

“Too old, my lady,” answered the Accusing Griffin.

I am too old to live, thought Dionysius in her secret thoughts from these words.

Good and blessed Martial spoke to her and said, “Mistress, do not answer the Accusing Griffin with questions.”  She must not ask him questions.  And she felt all due young again.

Then the Accusing Griffin turned to Martial, and he said to Martial, “O unicorn of black, you who allows a cheerleader wench to ride you upon your back, do you not covet an evil desire upon feeling the pleats of her skirt resting upon your very hide?  You art in essence still a horse.  Contemplate now the meaning of the word ‘horseplay,’ if you would.”

A question came upon Dionysius that she refused to ask the Accusing Griffin out loud.  She asked it instead to Martial. “Horseplay with my cheerleader skirt? No, I pray.  Tell me that he lies,

Martial.”

“He lies, Mistress,” said Martial.  “We unicorns neither marry, nor lust.”  Dionysius Daugherty felt clean again.  Nevertheless, the cheerleader dismounted her unicorn now, and she stood beside him now as they both contended against the Accusing Griffin before them.

The unicorn of God then rebuked the Accusing Griffin in answer to his accusation, “O minion, your accusations against myself are meant for the girl, to cause her to stumble in her walk with Christ, and to cause her to doubt the Word of God.  You are like the snake in the garden.”

Then the Accusing Griffin turned again to the woman, whom the Bible calls “the weaker vessel.”  And he said to her this time, “O leader of cheers, why really do you seek the Master in

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request for a man companion?  Is it not in truth a secret hope of discovering for yourself the joy of

consummation without marriage?  You are lonely.  You are alone.  You are celibate.  You are curious.

You do desire.  And you think to fool the Master in order to fulfill your desires of the flesh.  Indeed

do you lust for the experience of that very first time.”

“That is not so, Accusing Griffin,” cried out the Christian girl, all flustered.  “I am not looking for an immoral relationship with a guy.  I want a guy to share Christ with.”

Stubborn, the Accusing Griffin went on to say to her this time, “O mortal woman, why do you go and bother the Master?  Is He not Spirit and Truth, and are you not flesh and blood?  Is He not sinless, and are you not sinful?  Is He not perfect, and are you not of the dust of the Earth?  Go and tell

me now, woman, what would God Almighty do with a dirty rotten cheerleader like yourself?”

Dionysius could find no words to rebuke this Accusing Griffin back at him.  Why would God even regard her if she knelt before His throne, much less hear her and speak to her?  But her good unicorn had words of rebuttal back at the griffin, and Martial said, “Because Jesus loves her, O Accusing Griffin.  That is why.”

Tenacious, this Accusing Griffin then turned back to Martial and again began to accuse him with words:  “Black unicorn, your name is Martial, and you are a beast of war.  As your name is, so is your life.  Have you told your mistress of your past deeds, your life of war before you were hers?  Does she know that you have killed before?  Does she know that you have had had masters and mistresses before herself?”

“Martial, tell me that that is not so,” called forth Dionysius.

“It is so, Mistress,” confessed the soldier Martial.  “I have fought battles for our God before our time together.”

“I never knew,” said his mistress.

“King David was a man of battles, O Mistress,” said Martial. “He was a man of war for the

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Lord, and I am a unicorn of war for the Lord.”

Dionysius thought for a while upon David and upon Martial.  She then said, “The Holy Bible does call him ‘a man after God’s own heart’–David, that is.  And you are my unicorn after my own heart, Martial.”

“I should have told you, dear Mistress,” said Martial.  “I never thought to do that in my great

service I was doing for you and Jesus as unicorn.  We unicorns outlive our masters and our mistresses.”

“Well, I’m okay with that, dear Martial,” said Dionysius.  “May I be the best mistress you ever had.”

“Our love is like unto that between David and Jonathan in the Bible, is it not?” asked Martial.

“Oh, it is, sweet Martial,” said the cheerleader.  “We love each other as our own souls.”

Just then the Accusing Griffin gave forth a third cacophonous shriek, and then he said to them both, “Neither one of you knows what love is in your relationship.  One of you is an animal.  The other one of you is a woman.  You are both of a different kind in creation.  No two creatures not the same species can really love each other as can two creatures of the same species.  You have both fooled yourselves and each other all of these years together.  Too bad!  Give up this pilgrimage.  Give up on visiting Christ.  Give up each other.”

Herself now strong in the Lord, Dionysius Daugherty went on to rebuke this Accusing Griffin

with the inerrant and incontrovertible truths in the Bible, “O Accusing Griffin, I, as a Christian, know what lies ahead for you as a demon.  It will come to pass in a short time.  You know what it is.  And I know what it is.  And Martial knows what it is.  All Accusing Griffins go to Hell.  You falsely accuse me to Martial.  You false accuse Martial to me.  And you falsely accuse me and Martial to Jesus before His throne.  But, as for myself, I am redeemed and made white and declared righteous by the blood of the Lamb of God shed for me.  And I shall stand before Him soon, when my pilgrimage brings me to Heaven soon beyond the north.  And you will not be accusing me There and then.  You can go to the

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Devil, O Accusing Griffin, but I shall go to the Lord!  In the name of my Lord Jesus, I rebuke you, O Accusing Griffin!  Be gone.  Flee now.  And accuse no more!”

Smitten by the staff of God’s truth, the griffin who accused lifted up from the ground in flight.

He said final words for now to the saved cheerleader, “I shall come back in a season, and when I do, it shall be with more than words, milady!”  And he quickly fled woman and unicorn.

“He’s gone now, Mistress,” said Martial.

“He’s gone,” said Dionysius Daugherty.

A silent moment passed, and the saved woman began to laugh.  “How come you laugh, my mistress?” asked the unicorn.

“I can see that that big and scary griffin is just a bully, Martial,” said Dionysius.  “I was afraid of him.  But now I am no longer afraid of him.”  She laughed again.

Yet wise Martial warned her, “Mistress, I pray you not laugh too much at the demon.”

“All right, Martial,” said the cheerleader, taking in her angel’s words with conviction.

This day was drawing now to a close, and the two travelers stopped their travels for the night.

The girl Dionysius lay her head on Martial’s neck where they lay, and soon both were asleep.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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CHAPTER III

 

As Dionysius rode Martial the next morning on their resumed journey to the north of the north,

she asked him, “Do you think that we will come upon any more griffins?”

Martial said, “We probably will not meet any new griffins, Mistress, but our foe the Accusing Griffin shall surely come back to us after a season.”

“I was really hoping to be done with that one,” said Miss Daugherty.

“That one is a bad one,” Martial spoke of the Accusing Griffin.

“It is written, ‘For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.’

Ephesians 6:12,” recited the cheerleader.

“Verily, O Mistress,” concurred Martial.

And the two travelers journeyed onward.  After a while they came up to a separated place of God here in the Unicorn Lands.  It was one of many such special places called “waysides.”  It was here at waysides where the Lord sent down visions for weary travelers for diversion and for refreshing.

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Along the left of this traveled road just up ahead was a familiar single wooden post with a brown sign

of yellow letters reading “WAYSIDE.”  And along the right of this traveled road just up ahead was this day’s Bible verse upon which this vision would be for this day.  This sign was big and painted brown and held up by two posts, and its letters were of steel plates of yellow.  Dionysius read from this big sign:  “’So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.’  Genesis 3:24.”

“Ah,” said her wise black unicorn, “a verse about the end of the dispensation of innocence.”

A great gate of wrought iron was right there between the signs, waiting for these travelers to open and to enter at their will.  On the other side of this great gate was a path of smooth red cobblestones, its width about four feet across, whose edges were single-file rows of six-foot high Christmas trees.  This cobblestone trail led to a diamond-shaped center of red bricks, the sides of this central diamond five feet long.  It was here in this center where the vision always took place.  Above this central atrium way up in the sky was a window from Heaven through which God did sent down his wayside shows.  Beyond this atrium was another cobblestone trail bordered by Christmas trees with a small wrought iron gate; this was the exit to the wayside.  At this exit was a brown-painted sign with the yellow-painted letters reading, “MARANATHA!”  And beyond that, all things continued on as usual in the Unicorn Lands.

Martial standing before this entrance, Dionysius dismounted and stood beside him.  “Let’s go in, good friend,” said Miss Daugherty.

“Let’s, Mistress,” said Martial.  And unicorn and cheerleader went on into this wayside, and this was the vision that God did sent down from Above for them to see and to hear:

Behold, a golden hind and a silver hind.  They were both standing before a great and mighty boundary in the world.  The golden hind was a man on top and a deer on the bottom, like unto a centaur in many ways.  He had golden locks of hair on his man’s head, a golden coat of mail covering his

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man’s torso, a golden hue to his deer’s form, and four golden hooves at the ends of his deer’s legs,

and in his man’s right hand he held a golden staff five feet long with a trident of a fork at its tip. As for the silver hind, she was a woman on top and a deer at the bottom.  She had long, flowing silver tresses adorning her woman’s head, a silver coat of armor covering her woman’s torso, a silver hue to her deer’s form, four silver deer’s hooves, and in her right woman’s hand a silver staff four feet long also ending with a trident at its top.  These two hinds were talking and looking at a sign made by God that was just in front of this great boundary in the world.  This great sign read, “The Garden of Eden.”  These two creatures were not permitted to enter into this Garden of Eden.

This silver hind said, “We are east of Eden.”

This golden hind said, “That Eden is God’s garden.  We have been exiled from paradise there.”

“I want to go back there,” said the silver hind.

“And I, too,” said the golden hind.

Before this garden was a mighty sword of God, flaming with burning red fire.  It had a double blade.  And it was continually turning left to right and right to left perpetually, guarding entrance back into Eden, keeping all out completely.  And this was the sole entrance into the once pristine garden now.  The two faces of these curious hinds were sweating from their proximity to this flaming sword.

And to each side of this sword was a phalanx of Cherubim, seven fell angels to the right and seven fell angels to the left.  The cherubim belonged to the order of God’s angels whose job for God was to guard

God’s holiness.  And these fourteen cherubim here who also guarded the entrance to the Garden of Eden were most venerable wise gray unicorns of power and courage in battle, and each stood seven feet

tall at their shoulders.  And to the right and to the left of this gate to the garden, beyond where the outermost gray unicorns stood, were impassable voids of limbo with no bottom and no substance.

Yet the two hinds stood there, looking beyond the gate with evil desires.  The silver hind said, “Do you see that great big tree?”

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“Yes, I do,” said the golden hind.  “It is the tree of life.”

“It looks good, doesn’t it?” asked the silver hind.

“That is does,” said the golden hind.  This tree of life was majestic and broad and tall.  It was the biggest tree of all the garden.  It bore many different kinds of fruits all throughout its branches, all its fruit succulent and delicious and colorful and tempting.  Its many green leaves healed all wounds and cured all sicknesses.  And its trunk was wider than either hind was tall.

Just then a snake of bulk and length slithered up to the two hinds from behind.  This snake had a mouth that spoke proud things.  And it opposed the God of the Garden of Eden.  This snake then said to them, “Why are you two sad and downcast?”

The golden hind said, “We want to go back in there, and God won’t let us.”

And the silver hind said, “We really like that tree of life, and we want to eat just a little from it, and God won’t let us do that, either.”

“Why can’t you two do that?” asked the talking snake.

“Well, take a look at that scary sword and all those giant unicorns, and that will answer your question,” said the golden hind.

“No,” said the speaking serpent.  “I mean why won’t God let you in there now?”

And the golden hind said, ‘Because Adam and Eve sinned in there with another great and towering tree there not long ago.”

The silver hind said, “That one was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.”

But this wily snake said, “Yea, had God said to you that you cannot go in just a little way?  Couldn’t you go there for just a little while?”

The silver hind answered this snake of temptation, “God said to us that we may live our lives outside of this garden, but of this garden God said that we cannot go into it, nor look at it, lest we die.”

The serpent told the silver hind, “No.  You surely will not die.  God knows that in the day that

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you eat of that tree of life, you shall become as gods, living forever.”

“Really?” asked the silver hind.

“Really, O silver hind,” said the guileful speaking serpent.

The silver hind gazed out upon the fruit hanging upon that tree.  It looked really good for food.

It was pleasing to stare at it.  It could make her immortal.  She had to have it.  And the silver hind took her eyes off of God and off of the flaming sword and off of the great cherubim.  And in this weaker

moment, the female hind suddenly bolted forward to try to get into the forbidden Garden of Eden.

She was instantly incinerated by that flaming sword which turned every way.

Heedless and without reason and falling headlong into impulse, the golden hind himself sought to follow the she-hind into Eden also.  He went right out and charged into the cherubim to get to Eden’s

tree of life.  He was instantaneously slain by several unicorn horns.

One of the august gray unicorns said to another, “Why did the golden hind go and do something

crazy like that, do you think?”

And that other august gray unicorn said in reply, “The female hind enticed him to try to get in, and he listened to the silver hind and not to our God.”

Another noble gray unicorn said to another, “Why did the silver hind try to do something so foolish as she did?”

And that other noble gray unicorn gave forth his answer, “The female hind was more easily deceived by the Devil than was the male hind.  She believed the snake more than she believed the Lord.”

And another cherub asked another cherub, “What shall become of this snake the Devil?”

And that other cherub replied, “It is written, fellow angel, in the Scriptures, in the words of God  unto this serpent Satan, “’And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.’  Genesis 3:15.”

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Just then a fog from the west came in upon Dionysius in this vision, shrouding this vision with a  haziness.  Today’s show was ending now at this wayside.  This fog became thick, so that she could not see her hand in front of her face.  The vision was done.  Then the fog drifted off toward the east.  And the girl could see everything in front of her again.  And her unicorn was at her side.  And this atrium was empty again.  “Wow, Martial,” said Dionysius Daugherty.  “Did you see that?”

“Yes, I did, Mistress,” said the he-unicorn.

“What did you think?” she asked.

“It makes one think,” he said.

“Was it exciting?” she asked.  He nodded his unicorn horn.  “And scary, too,” she said.  He nodded his horn again.  “Kind of sad, too, though,” she said.

“Not real, either,” he said.  “But truly allegorical.”

“They say out there that every vision is different for every visit—even for the same Bible verse and even for the same wayside,” said Miss Daugherty.

“Our God is a very creative God, O Mistress,” said Martial.

“He puts on quite a show,” said the cheerleader.

Then, walking side-by-side, the two walked down the cobblestone way that led toward the exit,

between the Christmas trees, opened the heavy little wrought iron gate, read the sign that read “MARANATHA!” and exited this wayside grounds, shutting the gate behind themselves.

And the two pilgrims resumed their pilgrimage.  The cheerleader again mounted the unicorn.

And Martial, upon command, began to gallop off again toward the north.  After much thoughts amid silence, the unicorn asked, “A penny for your thoughts, Mistress.”

“Oh, my thoughts now are more like a buck, Martial,” she said.

“Are you praying?” he asked.

“No,” she said.  “Not really right now.”

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“Then, Mistress, you must be reflecting then, instead,” he said.  “If you are not thinking with the Lord in prayer, then you are thinking with yourself in reflection.”

“Ah, Martial, you know me too well,” praised Dionysius Daugherty.

“A dollar for your thoughts,” he said.

“I was thinking if maybe my black and red cheerleader uniform might not be exciting to him as it is to me,” said the woman.

“I can see that you are thinking about the man that Jesus might bring into your life, Mistress,” said Martial.

“Most of the box pleats out there in cheerleader skirts are white,” she said.  “Mine are red.”

“All guys like cheerleaders,” said Martial.  “And your guy will be quite pleased with your pleats the color they are now.”

“I am kind of old now, looking for my first boyfriend,” she said.

“A forty-year-old boyfriend will not see a forty-year-old girlfriend as old, my mistress,” said good and loyal Martial.

“Men always say that blondes have more fun,” she said, still in doubts about herself.

“The man that God will have for you, Mistress, will say, ‘Brown hair rules,’” said Martial.

“What if he does not want to pray with me or read the Bible with me or go to church with me?” she asked, now doubting Jesus.

“Mistress, shame on you,” rebuked the archangel.

“I’m wrong,” she said quickly.  “Sorry, God,” she said up to Heaven.  “If You do give me a boyfriend, he will be a boyfriend-in-Christ.  And what boyfriend-in-Christ, given by You unto me, would not want to pray with me and read the Bible with me and go to church with me?”

“Do remember, dear Mistress, that sometimes God does not say, ‘Yes,’ to his supplicants at the throne,” reminded archangel Martial.

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“He could say, ‘No,’ to me,” said the lonely cheerleader.

“What would you do then?” asked Martial.

“My first thought would be that I came all this way for nothing,” said Dionysius.  “But my second thought would be that I got to see God in all His regal glory.  And my second thought would make me forget my first thought.”

“Very well said, my mistress,” said Martial.  Then he asked, “But what would you think on our way back together if you did not have your boyfriend-in-the-Lord with us?”

“I would remind myself that the God Who died on the cross of Calvary for me did not forget about me or overlook me in my life with no man friend to share life with,” said Miss Daugherty. “I’ve got you, dear Martial, and never woman had a better friend than I have in you.”

“Never unicorn heard such good words from his mistress than I have just heard from you,” said Martial.

“I love you, Martial,” said the cheerleader, leaning down and kissing him on the top of his head.

“And I love you, too, dear Mistress,” said Martial, raising his unicorn horn high in the air in

abundant gladness.

And they continued their journey to the north of the north.  After a while, day turned into evening, and evening turned into night.  And it was time to turn in for the night.  As the woman lay her

head on the mane of the unicorn, they discussed together the love of the Saviour.  And soon her eyes and her head fell into sleep.

 

 

 

 

 

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CHAPTER IV

“Handsome Martial,” praised Miss Daugherty her unicorn angel as he carried her through the woods and through the fields, “you are truly a majestic and noble creature of God.”

“You honor me so, my mistress,” said Martial, flattered.

Just then a cold and foreboding shadow passed by overhead, and a raucous and terrifying screech filled the air from above.  And a grating voice called down upon the woman in accusation, “You cannot not serve the Most High, O mortal!”

“Get down!” Martial urged her, and she jumped off of his back, lay down, and covered her head with her arms.  Without looking up, she could tell that this was that same Accusing Griffin, returning now after a season and with greater vengeance than before.  Martial put himself between griffin and mistress.  And the Accusing Griffin swooped down in attack, his talons reaching out for the Christian woman.  Martial lunged his unicorn head forward to spear his horn through the demon.  The Accusing Griffin eluded that unicorn horn, but in so doing, the griffin’s eagle’s talons missed in his grab for the girl.  Dionysius was never so scared in all her life.

In rancor at the angel, the Accusing Griffin said down unto him, “O you, unicorn beneath, it is

written, ‘…, The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, Give thy

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daughter to my son to wife:  and there passed by a wild beast that was in Lebanon, and trode down the thistle.’  II Chronicles 25:18.”

To this Martial replied, “O Accusing Griffin, it is written, ‘…, Let not him that girdeth on his harness boast himself as he that putteth it off.’  I Kings 20:11.”

The Accusing Griffin issued another piercing cry to terrify, and he said in truth, “O leader of cheers, your Master in His Book says that you, being a woman, are the weaker vessel.  You, being a girl, are more easily deceived by a demon than a man is.”  He let his Scriptural truth sink down into her female’s heart, and he saw her countenance turn pale.  He then said his lie, “You have neither strength nor wisdom to finish this long journey living as long as I do rule these skies.”  He read her heart with his eagle eyes.  “You do not want to die,” he told her her fearful thoughts.

Good and steadfast Martial spoke sweet gentle words of encouragement unto her where she sat, “Keep your eyes on Jesus, Mistress.  What God has begun, He is able also to finish.  You will get to stand before Jesus in the north of the north.  Do not believe the words of this demon.”

“I believe,” said Dionysius, trembling and uncertain.  Martial touched her head with his unicorn horn, and she found strength in God.  “I believe now,” said the woman, steady and certain now.  And she could see this Accusing Griffin with the eyes of righteousness now.

And the Accusing Griffin swooped by again, this time after the unicorn.  And his lion claws scraped all along down the black unicorn’s back in two series of bloody scratches.  In reprisal, the unicorn of God leaped, his unicorn horn poised for battle.  And his horn tore up the griffin’s right eagle wing.  The Accusing Griffin betrayed a shriek of pain.  The black unicorn betrayed a most horse-like neigh of pain.  And the cheerleader cried out, “Help, God!”  She quickly got to her feet to fret over her protector’s wounds.  Her sneaker stood upon some of the griffin’s feathers torn from his body.  She thought upon picking some of these up.  But then she remembered an old saying that said, “Pick up a griffin feather, and turn into a madman.”  No, she better not touch a fallen feather from the Accusing

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Griffin, lest holding it turn her into a madwoman.  She stared in shock at the bleeding coming out of good Martial’s back. “Martial,” she struggled in speech, “you’re hurt.”

“Hurt, my mistress, yes, but hurt bad, no,” he told her in exhortation.  The bleeding looked to be stopping now.  But he went on to edify her, “My mistress, the Accusing Griffin is a might foe my equal.

And though he be very evil, he be also very courageous.”  She did not want to listen to that counsel.

The Accusing Griffin, safely up in the air out of reach of Martial’s horn, went on to say down to her, “O woman of God, I will slay him who is your unicorn and your friend and your protector, and you

will be left alone in your pilgrimage.  You will have to finish your journey without your angel.  Because he shall be dead.”

She again looked at Martial, who was down here with her, and again looked up at the griffin, who was up there alone.  And she said, “If that is so, O Accusing Griffin, why don’t you come down and fight?”

Ignoring the human female, the demon then turned to look down upon the unicorn again, and he said to him, “Black angel, you are Martial, and ‘for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.’  Matthew 26:52.”

“What do you mean by that?” asked Dionysius.

“He means, O Mistress,” said Martial, “in my case, ‘I who fight with my unicorn horn shall die by my unicorn horn.’”

In explanation, the Accusing Griffin said, “Simple, innocent woman, I am going to break off his horn from his head.”

“With your right wing the way it is?” the Christian woman asked, more confident of Martial in battle than of the Accusing Griffin in battle.

“Milady,” he screeched, “even if both of my wings are that way!”

She stole another look at Martial’s back just to make sure, and his bleeding stopped now.  She

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stole another look at the Accusing Griffin’s right wing to make sure of him, too, and sure enough, he appeared to be struggling to stay airborne.

The Accusing Griffin said, “Before I finish off your powerful angel, first I shall finish off you, little woman.”

“You’re nothing but a coward!” exclaimed Dionysius Daugherty.

The Accusing Griffin let out a spit of his saliva out of his beak that fell down upon her head.  It burned down into her scalp with the power of an acid.  But this only made her to laugh!  And in mock, the woman of God dared to laugh at the Accusing Griffin.

Suddenly she felt a jarring rap along the side of her head from something very hard.   It was Martial who did this.  And he had done this with the side of his unicorn horn.  And Martial rebuked her

with the judgment of God Himself.  Martial said to her, “Do not scorn the demon!”

“But it was just a laugh,” she said in excuse and without understanding.  “He picks on women.”

“It is written, my mistress,” said very wise Martial, “’Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.’  Jude 9.”

She scorned the Accusing Griffin demon no longer.

The archangel Martial went on to preach this verse to his mistress, “Archangel Michael is God’s

most powerful unicorn soldier of all unicorn soldiers on His side.  And the most powerful demon of demons—Lucifer the Devil—is stronger even than Michael.  This Accusing Griffin is one of this Devil’s demons.  To mock the Accusing Griffin is to mock the Devil.  Michael, far greater in power and

wisdom than myself, would not think about doing what you just did to the griffin demon.  Michael did not challenge Satan as you have just challenged this griffin.  Instead Michael humbled himself before God, railed not on the Devil in disrespect, and simply said to the Devil the right thing to say to the Devil–’The Lord rebuke thee.’”

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“Oh,” said the young woman, ashamed of her sin.  “I am sorry, Martial.”

“I pray God not take His protecting hand from us for this foolishness this day,” said Martial.

“I won’t do that again, Lord,” she prayed up to Heaven in true and good repentance.

This time the Accusing Griffin gave forth his laugh down upon her and her unicorn.

Knowing the right thing to do now in this part of the battle, the cheerleader daughter of God did look up at this devil, raised her fist up at him, and said to him in the power of God, “The Lord rebuke you, O Accusing Griffin!”

With one last accusation, this fell griffin said, “I’m going to get you for that, Miss Dionysius Drago Daugherty, of the family of God!”  Then he fled away for the fear of the wrath of God, his strength weakened by this all due and efficacious rebuke spoken by a daughter of God.

Woman and unicorn watched the skies as the griffin got smaller and smaller until they could see him no more.  “Can he do that, Martial?” she asked.  “Can he come and get me?”

“He can come and get us, Mistress,” said Martial.  “But first he needs to get past God in order to do that.”

“Our God is stronger than a whole host of griffins,” said Dionysius in good wisdom.

Martial groaned.  His eyes showed pain.  His legs wavered.  His bleeding started up again.  “I hurt some right now, my mistress,” he said.

“I hear a flowing of waters just up ahead,” said Miss Daugherty.  “Do you hear them, too?”

“I do and am glad, O Mistress,” the he-unicorn soldier said to her.

“We need to get you into the healing creek and get well again,” said Dionysius.

“God’s creeks are good for wounded soldiers,” said Martial.

“The creeks do not work for griffins, do they?” asked the born-again believer.

“The waters that heal are only for the good angels and for all people and animals,” said the black unicorn.  “But they do not heal demons like unto our foe the Accusing Griffin.”

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“That’s good.  Really,” said Miss Daugherty.

“Yes, it is, Mistress,” said Martial.

“Let’s get you into that creek, Martial,” said the young woman.  And they very soon got there, and the wounded warrior jumped in, and his painful gouges were healed, and his back felt good again.

And the journeyers continued traveling northward.  Lo, another wayside!  “Praise the Lord!” said Dionysius.  “Do you want to go in with me?”

“Amen, Mistress!  I surely do!” replied Martial.

Dionysius Daugherty read the Bible verse sign out loud:  “’Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.’  James 1;17.”

“Let’s run in together, Mistress,” said Martial.

“Let’s!” said the Christian gal.  And they ran on into the wayside and came upon this vision from God:  The woman Dionysius saw laid out before her on a table in a workroom a red and black series of garments the likes of which she had never seen before.  There were garments to this red and

black ensemble for the top and the bottom and the head and the hands and the lower legs and the feet.

And the colors glowed with a most beckoning shine.  Whatever this outfit was, she just had to go and put it on,  She looked around and found a little closet.  She quickly went into that closet, took off her old clothes and put on these new clothes.  And she came back out into this workroom.

Then she heard a man’s voice call out to her from the far side of this room, saying, “There, girl.

With that on, you are now complete.”  She looked up and saw a guy, short and skinny and with teeth like her own and quite handsome of visage.

“It does?” she asked, holding up a black cuff of her sweater

“It does, girl,” he praised her.

“What is this?” she asked, running her right hand down a black pleat of her skirt.  “What is this

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outfit called?”

“It is called ‘a cheerleader uniform,’” he told her.

“What’s a cheerleader?” she said, not knowing in this vision.

“It is an older girl or a younger woman who leads in cheers,” he told her.

She played with the bottom hem of her sweater along the top hem of her skirt.  “I never saw anything quite like this before,” she said.

“I like it on you,” he said in graciousness and good sincerity.

“I like it on me, too,” she said, spinning in place and sending her pleats about her hips as she did so.

“I made that cheerleader uniform,” he said to her.

“You did?” she asked.

“I did,” he said.  “Right here in my workroom.”

“You make beautiful work,” she said.

“It is what I do for a living,” he said.

“How did you know I would just be here?” she asked.

Most mysterious and fascinating, he said to her, “That one that you have on now I did make just for you.”

“A gift for me?” she asked.

“A good gift from Above,” he said to her.

“A perfect gift from Above,” she exclaimed in ardor.

“Would you like to become God’s cheerleader just for me?” he asked her.

“Like as you and I being boyfriend-and-girlfriend-in-the-Lord?” she asked.

“That I do, Dionysius,” he said.

“You know my name?” she asked.

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And he replied, “Proffery Coins at your service, Miss Daugherty.”  He bowed before her, and she curtseyed before him.

“I surely agree to that, Proffery,” she said in fervor for the man.

“Boyfriend-and-girlfriend-in-Christ then—you and I,” said Proffery.

“Yes!  Yes!” said this brand new cheerleader.

Then this vision came to an end.  And happy Dionysius was again alone with her faithful unicorn friend back in the real world.  She looked upon her beloved cheerleader uniform with a novelty so wondrous for this so familiar outfit.  She said, “It was like I was actually putting this on for my very first time, Martial.  And the guy was so cute!”

“Waysides are wonderful places, Mistress,” said Martial.

“Were you there with me, Martial?” she asked.

“No, my mistress, but I saw everything,” her unicorn said to her.

“Proffery, ‘my first boyfriend,’” she said about this fantasy guy.

“A real guy, or gal, out there somewhere, Mistress, has made your real cheerleader uniform,” said wise Martial.

“Whoa, Martial!  That I never thought about,” said Dionysius.  “I thank the God Who made the worker who made this outfit of mine!”

“Leave it to my mistress to thank the Good Lord for all things,” complimented the angel.

And the two pilgrims resumed their pilgrimage.  After the rest of the day, both tired from the battle and the long walk, woman and unicorn turned in for the night.  Dionysius rested her head upon the ground next to Martial’s head where they lay, and soon she was fast asleep.

 

 

 

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CHAPTER V

Martial cantered through the forest of weeping willows, carrying Dionysius across short plush green grass.  As she rode, she took in God’s beauty of weeping willows.  “Remember, O Mistress?” called forth her fond black unicorn.

“Yes, I do, Martial,” she said dreamily.  “The day we first met.”

“It was in a woods much like this,” he told her.

“I remember,” she said in sweet reverie.  Together they relived that very first day:

Back in those days of her life, Miss Daugherty was heavily involved in boxing—women’s professional prize fighting.  And she struggled in her pursuit of a first win in the ring.  But as a woman boxer Dionysius attained a record of 0 wins and 33 losses, 33 by knockout.  The girl well knew what it felt like for a boxing glove to punch her in her very own face.  It got so that she became known for a saying of hers:  “I kind of like getting knocked out.  It happens all the time.”  And she entered the ring for her thirty-fourth time one day.  This time it might be different for her.  Her opponent that afternoon was a woman boxer named Sky Hosoyo, a woman pugilist whose record was 33 wins and 0 losses, 33 by knockout.  Everybody knew Miss Hosoyo.  She always said, “I enjoy punching out women.  It’s what I do for a living.”  At ringside with Dionysius was her friend Allison, who had never seen women

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fight in the ring before.  She came to see Dionysius fight.

“Go get her, Dion,’” said Allison.

The two women fighters stood before each other in the ring before the bell rang, and Sky said to  Dionysius, “I’m going to put you asleep. Sweet dreams.  And night-night.” Then the bell rang.

Dionysius raised her boxing gloves to the sides of her face.  Suddenly her ears heard a “Whoomp!”  And her head flew back.  Miss Hosoyo had thrown a very hard stiff left jab to the forehead of Miss Daugherty.  Dionysius did not know what hit her.  Then, right after that, her ears heard a “Foomp!” And her head was thrown back again.  Miss Hosoyo had thrown a vicious right jab to Dionysius’s forehead.  Dionysius never saw it coming.  And Miss Daugherty’s gloves fell feebly to her sides.  She thought that she could hear the crowd yelling, thirsting for blood:  “Hit her!”  “Take her out!” “Fall!”  “Knock her down!” “Finish her off!” and again “Hit her!”  And Sky Hosoyo moved in upon the dazed Dionysius and backed her up against the ropes and began to work her over pretty good.

At this point Sky knew that Dionysius was going down.  So, too, did Dionysius.  Jarring stiff jabs punched into Miss Daugherty’s forehead over and over again, as Miss Daugherty quickly began to slip away into a faint.  Half a dozen times here against these ropes did Sky punch her above the eyes, maybe seven times.  Dionysius lost count.  And Miss Daugherty could not remember that last punch.

All that Dionysius knew was that sometime very early in round one, everything for her turned dark and quiet, and that she heard and saw nothing after that.  Another boxing glove had knocked her unconscious in her women’s boxing career.  It must have been an hour later when she came to again.

Allison was kneeling beside her up on this canvas.  Dionysius found herself all sprawled out on this canvas most ungainly, her arms outward and her legs flat out where she lay.  All the other people were gone now from this arena.

“How do you feel, Dion?’” asked good Allison.

“My face hurts, Allison,” said Dionysius.

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“Well, no wonder!” exclaimed Allison.  “I saw it all!”

“What did it look like for you, All?’” asked Dionysius addressing her by her nickname.

“Ouch, Dion!’  But exciting, too,” said Allison.  “Forgive me for saying this, Dionysius, but this

was the most exciting thing that I have ever seen you do in front of me like that before.”

“It was exciting?” asked Dionysius.  The woman fighter liked to hear that from her good friend.

Allison went on to say, “That last punch from the oriental girl, Dion,’  you should have seen your head snap back like it did.  Right after that, you stood there for just a moment.  Your eyes then got real big.  Then they rolled right up.  And you passed out.  I saw your knees buckle from underneath yourself where you stood.  And you went right down.  You lay there just like you are now, Dion’  Your eyes were both closed.  And the referee counted to ten.  You did not move any at all down there.  Then this oriental woman was declared the winner by knockout and still the number one contender of women’s boxing.  And the crowd cheered, ‘Sky!  Sky!  Sky!’  I want to go and see your next fight, Dion.’”

“Could you help me up to a sitting position?” asked Dionysius.  “I still see stars.”  Allison helped dizzy and stunned Dionysius to sit back up on the canvas.

“I’m your number one fan,” said Allison.

“Who wants to see my opponents take me out,” said Miss Daugherty.  Both women laughed out loud.

“Maybe if I come next time, Dion,’ I can get to see you take your opponent out that day,” said Allison.

“I never laid a glove on Miss Hosoyo, did I, All?’” asked Miss Daugherty.

“No,” said Allison.  “It was all over before it started.”

“Could you help me up to my feet, Allison?” asked the semi-conscious Miss Daugherty.  Allison helped her woman boxer friend to stand back up here upon the canvas.

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“This women’s boxing that you do for the Lord, Dion,’” said Allison.  “You’re not very good at it, you know.”

Dionysius thought for a while,  then said, “Am I that bad?”

“Oh, you’re the worst,” said Allison.

“I thought that this might be my ministry to Jesus,” said Dionysius, “but in tonight’s prize fight I hardly glorified God that way it ended up.  Did I, All?’”

“Hold on to my arm and walk around the ring with me,” said Allison.  “You look a little punch drunk yet.”

“I’ll do that.  I’ve still got cobwebs in my head,” said Miss Daugherty.  The two sauntered around this ring in this empty arena.  And Miss Daugherty’s head became all clear and all aware.  Her senses now came all back to her consciousness.  “I’m all right now,” she said.  She then raised her gloved fists before her eyes.  “Would you help me take these off?” asked Dionysius.

And Allison helped her boxer friend to take off her boxing gloves from her hands.  Dionysius then held them up in both palms before her eyes.  And she asked again, “I did not glorify God today in the ring, did I, All?’”

“Never has any woman been knocked out so quickly in round one as you have tonight against the number one contender, Dion,’” said Allison.

“You said that it was exciting, though,” said Dionysius.

“For me, yes,” said Allison.  “But maybe God does not want one of His daughters to keep being being punched up in the ring like you do.  It’s just a thought, Dion,’”

“I was one woman’s punching bag again today,” confessed Dionysius.

“Is women’s boxing the wrong ministry for a Christian girl?” asked Allison.

“I never saw it that way before,” said Dionysius.

“I didn’t either, until just now,” said Allison.

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“Do you think maybe that our Creator did not create women to beat up other women or to be beat up by other women?” asked Dionysius.

“To say the least, Dion,’ this career you took on is definitely a full-contact sport,” said Allison.

“I don’t want to wreck my face,” she asked.  “Do you think that my face might by wrecked after all of this boxing I went and did?”

“Your face is still pretty,” said Allison.  “But it could grow old if you keep letting it get slugged all the time like what happens for you in the ring, Dion.’”

“I wouldn’t want that,” said Miss Daugherty.  “I want a boyfriend some day, and I want to be pretty for him.”

“You still have not found your boyfriend,” said Allison.

“No, All,’” said Miss Daugherty. “But I have faith.  I am still a young woman with the rest of her life ahead of herself.  I still have time.  All I need to is to wait upon the Lord.”

“Maybe an animal might take away some of your loneliness until the right guy comes along,” said Allison.

“You might like a pet?” asked Miss Daugherty.

“Maybe a cat or maybe a dog,” said Allison.  “Or maybe a horse or maybe a donkey.”

“Or maybe, All,’ maybe even a unicorn,” said Dionysius.

“Classy!  Very classy!” praised Allison Dionysius’s choice.

“Where does a girl get a pet unicorn?” asked Miss Daugherty.

“I believe that the pet unicorn goes and gets the girl,” said Allison.

“God answers the prayers of his born-again Christians,” said Dionysius.  “If God can get me a boyfriend someday for the rest of my life, then surely He can give me a unicorn just as easily for the rest of my life before the boyfriend comes into my life.”

“Dion,’ you could have unicorn and boyfriend both at once for all the rest of your life,” said

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Allison.  “You do not have to give up the unicorn when the man comes into your life.”

“You’re right, All,’” said Dionysius.  “I can have both if God wills.  And, after all, I would not want to give up my wonderful unicorn when my wonderful boyfriend comes around for me.  I could love both of them dearly.”

“Well, what about it?” asked Allison, pointing to Dionysius’s boxing gloves resting upon her palms.

“I think that I’ll do it,” said the woman prize fighter.  “I hereby before God and you and Heaven repent of these boxing gloves.”  And without any further ado, Dionysius threw her gloves way out into the tenth row of chairs in the empty stands.  Then she thought to hear a very quiet and far away magical melody.  “All,’” said Dionysius, “do you hear it?”  Allison sought to listen, but shook her head.  “I hear a song from outside this arena.” said Miss Daugherty.

“I don’t hear it,” said Allison.

“I hear an instrument, like unto a horn, but I hear no words,” said Dionysius.

“I do believe that God is calling you, Dion,’” said Allison.  “Go out there to Him at once.”

“Would you come along with me, All?’” asked Dionysius.

“I believe that if a girl has God calling her, that that girl must go to Him alone,” said Allison.

“I will go and see what God has waiting for me out there,” said Miss Daugherty.

“We may not see each other again if you go and follow our God, dear Dionysius,” said Allison.

Miss Daugherty hesitated.  Miss Daugherty listened to the music.  Miss Daugherty recognized the melody of the Christmas carol “Panis Angelicus.”

“Go with God, good friend,” bade good Allison a farewell.  “I will be praying for you.”

“And I shall pray for you, too, good friend,” said Dionysius, and the two young women hugged in farewell.  And without any further words, Dionysius ran out of the arena to the outside.  The carol was louder and clearer and nearer out hear.  And she began to run toward this magic of song.

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After passing through sundry countrysides, Miss Daugherty came in unto a woods of tall weeping willows with a forest floor of abundant short green grass as of lawn.  And there standing before her was a real live unicorn.  He was sleek jet black all over.  His unicorn horn now finished playing the Christmas carol.  He was truly noble, majestic, wise, handsome, pure, Godly, good, divine, and supernaturally equine.  The young lady stood there in wonder and in marvel, herself silent in great awe and admiration at this creature that called her forth.

This unicorn broke this silence and said, “Miss Dionysius Drago Daugherty, I have been sent from God this moment unto you to serve you, to befriend you, to protect you in the name of our Heavenly Father.  I am archangel Martial.  Will you have me to become your unicorn?”

“Oh unicorn Martial, I surely do!” said the girl Dionysius at once.  “I surely do!”

“Archangel Martial at your service, O Mistress Dionysius,” said Martial.  He bowed his great and long unicorn horn before her in obeisance.

“May I?” she asked.

“You may, my new mistress,” said the black he-unicorn.  And she reached out and touched his unicorn horn.

And here they were, years later, in a very similar forest of willows and lawn once again, their love for each other having grown mightily in these many years together hence.  And mistress and pet bonded fervidly in this reminiscing.  In this nostalgia, Dionysius said, “And we have lived happily ever after, O Martial.”

“God is good,” said Martial.

“In good times and in bad times,” said the Christian lady.

“Look.  Up ahead, my mistress,” said the unicorn.  “I see a wayside.”

“Ooo! Let’s go see!” said the cheerleader.

And he galloped on up to the wayside.  Together they read out loud this wayside’s Bible verse:

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“’And as I was considering, behold, an he goat came from the west on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground:  and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes.’  Daniel 8:5.”  The cheerleader dismounted her unicorn, and they went into this wayside:

Behold, a barren flat world of ground of clay, gray and dusty, and cracked up.  Dionysius was alone, and she was barefoot, her feet touching a drought-stricken earth.  She thought that she had come from another place, but was not sure right now where that might be.  Curious, she stomped her right foot upon this parched clay, and a little cloud of swirling dust arose from this ground about four feet, and it whirled about before where she stood, and it settled back down upon this dry earth.  Ever-inquisitive, Miss Daugherty next reached down with her right hand upon this ground and did seek to dig into it.  Behold, one inch below this surface of clay was hard rockiness of stone, and she could dig no deeper than this.

Then she heard a thundering off to the side.  She looked.  That might be the west from where this sound was coming.  Then she felt the ground underneath her feet shake slightly.  She looked down upon this quaking earth.  Then she looked off again toward the west.  Behold, a great and mighty cloud

of dust coming up from the clay ground.  And she watched.  This dust cloud quickly spread up toward the skies and out toward all four directions.  Whatever this was and whatever was doing this to this world was coming in her direction from far away.  And it was coming faster than any storm could.

And Miss Daugherty could soon see the form in front of the dust cloud. It was some great and terrible beast.  Tiny earthquakes opened up pits around where she was as this running beast quickly came toward her.  Suddenly she found out that she should be afraid.  And she became afraid.  And Dionysius began to sprint away from this line of charge off perpendicularly to the side as fast as she could run.

After a long while, she became winded, and she stopped her flight to turn around and look.  And she could see this charging beast in detail now as he began running past where she had been.  It was a goat—a real big goat—a he-goat with a deadly horn on his forehead bigger than any unicorn’s horn.  So

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fleet was he.  So speedy was this fell goat, that, as he ran, his feet did not even touch the ground!  To her incredulity, Dionysius saw that this goat’s four hooves were gliding in the air a foot-and-a half above the ground.  And still he created a storm of dust and little earthquakes as if his hooves were thundering upon this earth physically.

Suddenly she saw another great beast, a great running ram with two horns on his forehead, one horn longer than the other horn, and this beast of ram was charging this beast of goat from the other direction with great and formidable force.  And the goat and the ram crashed ferociously into each other

horn-to-horn and head-to-head and body-to-body.  Lo, the ram fell down to the ground.  And his two horns were broken off of his head.  And he could not get up from where he lay.  And the invincible he-goat began to stamp down upon him.  After defeating this ram in battle, this unconquerable he-goat then went forth to conquer the world.

Then Dionysius Daugherty found herself back in the real world.  The vision of this wayside was done for her now.  And she could see her familiar unicorn pet at her side again.  Martial went on to explain this vision and its Scripture verse to her, “That super-fast he-goat was Alexander the Great, who conquered all the world in a fell swoop faster than any other field marshal ever.  He brought the Greek Empire into his world.  The crushed ram with the two horns was symbolic of the Medo-Persian Empire

which had ruled the world up to that moment.  It is written, my mistress, about Almighty God, ‘…:  he removeth kings, and setteth up kings:…’  Daniel 2:21.  God removed Medo-Persia from world power, and He set up Grecia for world power.”

Dionysius went on to say, “That real fast goat then was symbolic of Greece way back then.”

Martial nodded his unicorn horn.  The cheerleader went on to say, “I can clearly see that God our Creator quite truly rules in the affairs of men.”

“’A man’s heart deviseth his way:  but the Lord directeth his steps.’  Proverbs 16:9,” recited the learned unicorn.

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Then they left this third wayside of their journey, Dionysius again mounted Martial, and woman and angel resumed their pilgrimage.

Much later, it was dark of night.  Dionysius yawned and said, “Martial, I am weary with my much riding.”

With a laugh Martial said, “Mistress:  and I, with my much carrying.”

In mischief she did grab him on the back of his black mane.  In sport he answered by blowing smoke out of his horn to make her to cough.  And she coughed, and she let go of his mane.  “Angels!” she said in mock-sarcasm.

“Women!” he replied in great retort of wit.

And with laughter and jokes and riddles the two pilgrims ended their day.  And she soon fell asleep, her head at the end of his long black tail.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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CHAPTER VI

The cheerleader girl Dionysius, riding Martial through a forest of oak trees, came out unto a deep and broad valley of green flora.  The unicorn of God stopped and smelled the air.  The girl dismounted.  She said, “Though this be a beautiful valley, Martial, for some reason I sense evil here.”

“I do smell the evil, Mistress,” said the unicorn.

“Like the smell of a griffin?” asked Miss Daugherty.

“Aye, Mistress,” said Martial.

“Let us pray at once,” said the Christian woman.  The cheerleader knelt in this green valley, her pleats resting upon yellow dandelions about herself.  Martial also knelt—as a unicorn would:  sitting down, he supported himself upon his stretched out forelegs.  And woman and pet bowed their heads as the mistress prayed for God’s will:  “Dear Father, it is written unto me and Martial here before you this moment, ‘When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee:  when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame

kindle upon thee.’  Isaiah 43:2.  We two pilgrims are safer here in this valley inside Your will than we would be back home yet outside Your will.  The Devil walks this land as a prince of the power of the

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air.  That wily Accusing Griffin contends against us with encounters to hinder us from coming to You.

Griffins hate it when born-again believers go on pilgrimages.  Keep us, O Lord.  Put Your Spirit upon us, O Lord.  Protect us with Your outstretched arm and Your mighty hand, O Lord.  We will see Jesus Your Son.  Thank You, Father.  Abba!  In Your Son’s name we pray.  Amen.”  She looked up now from the prayer.  So, too, did her black unicorn.

Martial recited, “’Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.’  II Timothy 3:12.”

And to this the girl Dionysius recited, “’I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.’  Philippians 4:13.”

“Amen, O Mistress,” lauded her good black unicorn.

“Let us now resume our trek in God’s continuing guiding hand, Martial,” said Miss Daugherty.

“Aye, Mistress,” said Martial.  And Dionysius again mounted her unicorn pet.  Suddenly that horrifying shriek of griffin filled the skies again like a tornado siren.  And that raucous grating voice of accusations again called down upon the Christian cheerleader from above, saying this time, “Woman, you shall not worship Jesus the Son of God!  You shall not worship Jesus the Son of God! You shall not worship Jesus the Son of God!”  Each accusation was more stentorian than the one before, and when this griffin finished this triple utterance, the woman’s head hurt with a headache.  Putting her hands to her ears and looking up, behold, the mighty form of the Accusing Griffin crashing right into her as she sat upon the unicorn.  She did not know right after what happened to her.  What she did know was that she was now upon her back, supine upon the ground, and her ears hearing the Accusing Griffin mocking her further, saying, “O girl called ‘Dionysius,’ you are most unworthy to present yourself before your Maker.”

Stunned, she heard her unicorn say back to her attacker, “You have assaulted my mistress!  Try assaulting me!”

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And she heard clearly the fell griffin accuse now the unicorn, “A mighty angel you are, O archangel.  Your mistress lies there behind you, and I did but graze her with my left wing.  Ha ha ha!”

Dionysius lifted herself to a sitting position, shook the daze out of her head, and held herself up on her bottom with both arms extending to the ground on both sides.  And she looked at the battle between good and evil going on again now.

Martial suddenly leaped several feet into the air, his unicorn horn seeking vengeance for his mistress.  And he impaled the Accusing Griffin into his belly about an inch.  The Accusing Griffin had not known a unicorn to leap so high before, and he was caught by surprise, and with a cry of screech, he fell down to the ground before Martial.  And Martial charged the grounded griffin, his unicorn horn lowered for another thrust.  Ever-tactical, the griffin waited for the unicorn till just before he got to him,  then lifted back up into the air, while the unicorn horn was still horizontal, and the griffin drove his eagle talons down upon the back of the unicorn’s neck.  The unicorn had a clean miss with his horn.

And the griffin, now having the advantage, his eagle claws gripping the unicorn at the top of his back, then went and drove his eagle beak down into the lower back of the unicorn with a powerful peck.

And the unicorn warrior fell to his knees on all four of his legs.  And his back just above his bottom was bleeding.  Martial swung his unicorn horn in a left to right sweep from where he was down.  And again he scored, with wounds across the two ankles of the griffin’s lion legs.

At this point, the unicorn mistress was fully conscious now, and what she saw clearly now done unto her beloved pet was unlike anything she had seen happen to him before.  And it scared her rightfully so.  Knowing the power of the name of Jesus, the saved woman cried out in wise and needful prayer in this most dire time:  “Help us, Jesus!”  Upon hearing the name of Jesus in this prayer from the mighty and faithful woman of God, the Accusing Griffin stopped this battle and turned to look upon

this daughter of God with fear in his eagle eyes.  This brave and evil griffin who accused feared only one Being in all of the Unicorn Lands—and that was the man Christ Jesus.  And Dionysius’s invoking

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of His name did render the formidable Accusing Griffin enfeebled.  Martial then rallied and again charged the wicked griffin with his lowered unicorn horn, and the demon quickly fled the two Christian soldiers in hasty flight up and away into the skies.  Mistress and pet watched with bated breath until they could see him no more.

“Good!” said Dionysius.

“Praise Jesus!” said Martial.

“Martial, you’re hurt,” said Dionysius in great cares.

“Mistress, you’re hurt, too,” said Martial in concern.

“I am?” she asked.

“Mistress, it is your nose.  Do not look upon your cheerleader sweater,” said Martial in misgivings.

She looked down upon the front of her cheerleader sweater.  Lo, her nose was bleeding all over her cherished outfit there.  And the Christian cheerleader let out a great moan.  And she gnashed her teeth in great enmity at the Devil and his demon of this day.

“I’m sorry to tell you that, Mistress,” said Martial.

With a groan, the cheerleader said, “He flew into me pretty hard.”

“We have a hope, though, mistress,” said Martial.

“Something for your battle wounds and mine, Martial?” she asked,

“A healing creek,” said Martial.  “If we can find a healing creek, I do believe that our good Lord can heal my three back wounds and your nose wound and clean up your cheerleader sweater from all that blood if we climb down into the flowing waters.”

“I do believe that I hear water flowing, Martial,” said Miss Daugherty.

“Let us go there at once and be healed and cleansed and refreshed, Mistress,” said the unicorn soldier.  And they went there, jumped in, and were healed and cleansed and refreshed in the Lord.

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The two travelers then resumed their journey toward the farthest north.  And after some time they again came to a most hospitable wayside again, indeed their fourth wayside of this trip.  Miss Daugherty read this wayside’s Scripture verse out loud:  “’But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days:  but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.’  Daniel 10:13.”

“A vision about angels awaits us, It looks like,” said her angel in glee.  “Good angels and evil angels. I think that I’ll like this one the most, O Mistress.”

“You are the only angel I know, Martial,” said the woman Dionysius.

“Well, in there you will see others like me,” said the black unicorn.  And together they went on in.

And, lo, a dashing young prince of a man who was an angel.  He was handsome of visage, dressed in a dark tuxedo, a white shirt, dark dress pants, and shiny black shoes, and he was endowed with large black wings on his back.  His masculine eyes were dark, like his hair.  Yet Dionysius thought

that he could be Beelzebub, the prince of the devils, for some reason.  Before this man-angel stood a powerful unicorn of red, his red mane shaking about in dismay.  Though he was red, he did not look like a devil.  Dionysius knew that all unicorns were good angels.  And this man-angel said to this unicorn-angel, “I seal up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.  I have been in Eden the garden of God.  Every precious stone was my covering—the sardius, the topaz, the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, the carbuncle, and gold.  The workmanship of my tabrets and of my pipes was prepared in me in the day that I was created.  I am the anointed cherub that covers, and God has set me so.  I was upon the holy mountain of God.  And I have walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.”

To this braggadocio the red unicorn said to the prince of a man, “And you were perfect in your ways from the day that you were created, till iniquity was found in you.”

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In challenge, this man-angel said, “Yes, I am the King of Tyrus of Ezekiel 38, little red unicorn.

And I do stand before you now as the prince of the kingdom of Persia.  What are you going to do about that?”

“You are Beelzebub himself,” said the red unicorn, “and I say unto you, ‘Let me pass by.’  I have a message from the Creator unto Daniel, a man greatly beloved of Him.”

The Demon man then conjured a stick and with it drew a long line in the ground between himself and the unicorn of red.  And this Demon then said to this red good angel, “You will not pass over my line to go unto that Daniel.  He is a prophet of God, and I do not like prophets of God.”

This unicorn then said to this man prince, “Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty.  You have corrupted your wisdom by reason of your brightness.  God will cast you to the ground.  He will lay you before kings, that they may behold you.  Your time will come in God’s fullness of time.”

Then the red unicorn said again, “Let me pass by and do God’s will.”

“I shall not let you tell that Daniel the Word of God,” said the evil prince.

“You have kept me back for twenty-one days, Lucifer,” said the red unicorn.

“And if I have to, O good angel, I shall stay here and keep you back for another twenty-one days,” said the Fallen Angel.

Behold, one like unto the most powerful unicorn that Dionysius could ever have believed in before marching up to this field of battle between evil and good!  He was pure glistening white from horn to tail to hoof with neither blemish nor blot anywhere.  He was three times the size of her Martial in magnitude!  And he was like the sun in its brightness.  And he cantered up quite fearlessly to Beelzebub, stopped right in front of him, and said to him in the voice of thunder, “I am Michael, the great prince which stands for the children of God’s people.”

“Michael, we meet again,” said Lucifer.

“I command you to stand aside and let the red angel go and deliver God’s message to the great

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prophet, O Lucifer, son of the morning,” proclaimed Michael.

“Michael, shall we wrestle again?” asked Lucifer.

“I do not want to shake up the Unicorn Lands, Lucifer,” said Michael.  “I challenge you to wrestle me up in the second heaven, lest we bring cataclysm to this world below.”

Lucifer gave forth a sigh and said, “I do not feel like wrestling this day, Michael.  I give in this time.  I will step aside and let the little angel pass by on his errand from God.”

Lucifer stepped aside.  Michael, with his unicorn horn, went ahead and erased the line drawn in the ground.  And the red unicorn ran off to give the great prophet the reply that God had to give to him.

Lucifer then said, “Maybe next time, Michael.”

And with a smile in his unicorn teeth in victory in the Lord, Michael said, “Yes, Lucifer. Maybe next time.”  Then the evil prince and the good prince flew away from this battle field over Daniel.

And just like that the cheerleader found herself back with her own black unicorn once again in these Unicorn Lands.  The vision at this wayside had finished.  Miss Daugherty asked him, “Did you like that one, O Martial?  Was it your favorite, like you said?”

“Yes.  And, yes, Mistress,” said her unicorn pet.  “How humbled I felt beholding Michael!  How much humbler I would have felt if I had beheld Jesus!”

Side-by-side, the two journeyers left this wayside and continued on their way to Jesus.  After more travel, Miss Daugherty said, “That last vision makes Ephesians 6:12 so very plain to me now, O

Martial.”

“Ephesians 6:12,” said the he-unicorn. “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”

“Angels are so powerful and wise compared to us mortals, O Martial,” said Miss Daugherty.

“What is a woman compared to a unicorn?”  Martial grinned back at her with his big equine teeth.

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“You’re laughing on the inside.” said Dionysius.  With a grin herself, she asked, “What’s so funny about what I just said?”

The wily unicorn gave forth a mischievous toot on his horn and he said, “I know I Corinthians 6:3, O Mistress.”

“What’s it say, Martial?” she asked.

“Ooo, do look it up and be edified by a mystery in the Scriptures, Mistress,” teased wise Martial.

She took out her King James Bible from Martial’s saddlebags, searched this verse, and read it out loud to them both, “Know ye not that we shall judge angels?  How much more things that pertain to this life?”

“People will judge unicorns in a time to come,” said Martial.

“I will judge you sometime?” asked the cheerleader, mystified.

“A woman shall judge her angel,” said her beloved Martial.

“What’s that mean?” she asked.

“God will reveal that to both of us in His time,” assured her he-unicorn.  “But it will be a good and happy thing.”

“I think that I will get a kick out of that, O Martial,” said the cheerleader believer with a big grin showing on her feminine overbite.

“Now it is you laughing on the inside, O Mistress,” said her beloved pet.

“Oh, but not on the outside,” she said, covering her teeth with her right hand.  Woman and unicorn laughed together in the Lord.

Evening soon drew on for the two weary pilgrims, and they stopped for the night.  They sat side-by-side to each other in fellowship of praise and thanks to God for this day.  The last thing she heard were her unicorn singing the hymn lyric, “Anywhere with Jesus we can safely go.”  Then she

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fell asleep, her head resting against his shoulder.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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CHAPTER VII

She found herself in a surrealistic seashore of deep dusk.  Her bare feet stood upon cool dry sand.  A cool breeze blew upon her cheerleader form from the great ocean beyond.  The red setting sun cast a deep red glow upon this world.  The waves washed ashore seemingly blue-purple in color in this approaching twilight.  The sky was dark orange.  The clouds were light purple.  Dionysius Daugherty smelled pleasant smoke from a wood fire, and she looked and saw a little burning yellow fire of logs upon the sand not fifty feet away.  She skipped up to it with the joy of a little girl here in this strange

world she had never known.  And she saw a bow and a single arrow there upon the sand by this little wood fire.  She came to remember all of those flaming arrows and fiery darts that her adversary the Devil had shot point-blank into her in her walk with Christ, and she came to think like an adult woman of God again.  Picking up this lone bow and arrow, the woman Dionysius sought to symbolically do the same back at that Devil; she was going to “shoot a flaming arrow right at him now this time.”  The born-again believer picked up this bow in her left hand and picked up this arrow in her right hand; and she dipped the tip of this arrow into the fire of logs.  Now she had her own flaming arrow.  She then nocked this flaming arrow, pulled back on the bowstring, and did let fly her fiery dart “at the wicked

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one.”  This fiery arrow flew off into the horizon above the sea with the sound of a rushing of wind.  And it landed in the dark waters of the sea with a sizzling and a puff of black smoke and a putting out of the flame.  “Got him!” said the woman Dionysius in this symbolic demonstration.  And she did a victory hop in the Lord here upon this strange sand.  And she set back down her bow beside the little log fire.

Just then she heard a familiar voice of a best friend speaking a short distance away, saying to someone else, “This next one will be his fourth such assault upon my lady, Michael.  This time he will try to slay her, even if he has to die to do so.”

The cheerleader turned to say “Hello,” to her familiar best friend Martial.  But when she did so, her lips became silent with veneration.  There stood that giant white unicorn that she had seen in that wayside vision just the other day.  It was that Michael again, and he stood beside her mighty Martial like unto a Clydesdale horse next to a little pony.  The mortal woman dared not speak in the presence of the great white unicorn.  And, behold, as she watched astonied, another great white unicorn truly equal even to this Michael came bounding up to join the two.

“Gabriel, you have come,” said Martial, bowing his unicorn horn below Gabriel’s unicorn horn.

Gabriel said, “I have a message from God, Martial.”  Martial gave heed to great Gabriel’s divine message, and Gabriel said, “It is for your mistress, Martial.  God says, ‘Dionysius, your lonesomeness shall end soon; your battles will continue after for a season.  Then all shall be rest.’”

“I understand, O Gabriel,” said Martial.

“God is good,” said Gabriel.

“God is good,” said Michael.

“God is good,” said Martial.

Michael, however, went on to say, “All griffins are powerful adversaries to our Father.  The Accusing Griffin has already won numerous victories for his father.  And his accusations are as virulent

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as his eagle talons and as his lion claws.  Take good heed with this one, Martial.”

And much to Miss Daugherty’s fears, she then heard Gabriel say, “Oftentimes for the believers, before all shall be rest, the valley of the shadow of death takes them out of their world.”

Martial went on to say, “It is written in Psalm 116:15, ‘Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.’”

“Well said, good Martial,” said Michael.  Also it is written in Matthew 20:15 in Jesus’s Words, ‘Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own?…”

And Gabriel said, “And again in II Corinthians 5:1 about the death of all Christians, ‘For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.’”

“I may see the death of my beloved mistress,” said Martial, “if we two continue on our pilgrimage.  It could come from an attack from our foe the Accusing Griffin.  Or it could come from a demon even worse than the Accusing Griffin.  This rest that our Good Lord promises could be either a rest in this life or a rest in the life to come.  If I lose my mistress in this life, I shall mourn in great grieving.  But I shall take comfort in my Holy Comforter the Holy Spirit.”

Hearing this conclave in its development did not give the cheerleader any comfort.  Though Dionysius knew that no matter what happened to her, she would go to Heaven to be with her Lord Jesus forever, she had always assumed that it would be by way of rapture and not by way of death.

She wanted to meet Jesus in the clouds—not in the vale.  The middle-aged woman, though she did not think about death, still feared death were it to come.  And the reason for this pilgrimage—first to see Jesus, and second to ask Him for a boyfriend—now looked to be a step away from perishing in battle against the Accusing Griffin who hated her.  Maybe this lonely cheerleader had not known what she was getting into when she and her unicorn decided to go north like this beyond the edges of the world.

The Christian woman now dared to speak, “Martial?  Martial?”  And he turned to look at her,

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and his countenance was surprised to see her here.   “What is this place we are in?” she asked him.

And he spoke in compassion to her, “Mistress, take comfort.  The morning is dawning back in the Unicorn Lands for us two.”

And Dionysius Daugherty found herself opening her eyes, and she saw the familiar dawn of morning back in the Unicorn Lands.  The sun was bright and yellow, and the sky was blue.  And there were no more great white unicorns around.  And her unicorn best friend was alone with her.  “Where was I, Martial?” she asked.

“You must have been having a dream, O Mistress,” said her good black unicorn.

“A dream!” she said.  “What a dream.  It started out good, and it ended up bad.”

“I heard you calling out my name just before you woke up, my mistress,” said her he-unicorn.

“You were in my dream, Martial,” she said.

“Oh, I know,” he said.  “I could tell.”

“Were you there?” she asked.

“I was here,” he said to her.

He leaned his head down toward her, and she kissed it over and over again in great comforts

of his companionship.  He kissed her head back with his unicorn tongue many times in equal affection.

She said, “It is so good to be back.”

“It is so good to have you back,” he said in a mysterious savvy.

“Let us go and continue our journey to Jesus, O Martial,” said the cheerleader.

“To Jesus we go, Mistress,” said the angel with a glad and joyful heart.

And Miss Daugherty mounted her unicorn, and she did bid him to gallop onward with Godspeed.  And he did sprint as a fleet unicorn can.  And all was soon calm and tranquil within the soul and spirit of the woman again.  And she rode and rode, ever drawing nearer to God upon His throne, where their pilgrimage would reach its consummation.

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Then, there it was—right in front of them!  “Look!  Oooo! Martial!” exclaimed the cheerleader, giddy.  “Real sand dunes!”

“Mistress, we are almost there.” said Martial.  “We are coming into the north!”

“The north!  The north!” exclaimed the woman.  “Where Jesus is!”  She began to sing the hymn, “When We All Get to Heaven.” Her unicorn joined in with the accompanying music of his unicorn horn.  And his hooves stepped out into the north and its celestial sand.

Suddenly a vise grip of two mighty grasping appendages grabbed Dionysius Daugherty upon her two shoulders!  And the woman was seized off of Martial’s back!  And she was lifted up into the air!  And in terror, twenty feet above the ground, the Christian lady heard that terrible and horrible screech of her Accusing Griffin, his shriek of mockery at her in her helpless state in his eagle’s talons.

In fear for her life, Miss Daugherty cried out,  “Help me!  Help me!  Martial!”

The unicorn could not get up in the sky to go get this fell griffin.  He needed the griffin to come down to the ground to fight him.

And the Accusing Griffin went and gave accusation hard into the face of ever-faithful Martial, saying, “You protector of God’s good daughter, you have failed in your service to your God.  For now she shall die.  Ha ha ha, Martial!  Bon voyage, Dionysius!”  And the Accusing Griffin sought higher skies now with his eagle wings, his hold tight on his woman captive with no way for her to escape.

Turning to Christ in this great exigency, the angel said to the demon, “O Accusing Griffin, in the

name of Jesus I command you, ‘Set my mistress down!’”

Struck point blank in his ears by the name of Jesus, the Accusing Griffin’s eagle head became disorientated.  And his wings failed him for just a moment.  And griffin and woman began to descend awkwardly and all too suddenly.  Why, the griffin was falling to the ground, the lady between him and the ground.  She would surely be crushed to death!  But Dionysius prayed now and said, “Sweet Jesus, quick open up these talons that hold me captive.  If it be Thy will.”

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And the Accusing Griffin, overpowered by the Holy Spirit of God, found his eagle claws pried

open from the girl’s shoulders against his will.  Yet he rallied and quickly tried to ascend back up into the air.  And he let go of the girl.  He flew higher.  The girl fell several feet to the ground.  And when the cheerleader struck the ground, she was instantly knocked unconscious.

In a most nightmarish dread, the archangel Martial saw his most beloved mistress lying there, not moving at all, all sprawled and twisted, and maybe living still, or maybe dead by now.  And he felt panic for this moment.  But the still small voice of the Holy Ghost spoke to this great black unicorn, saying to him, “Go and fight for me now.”

And the Accusing Griffin, who hated the good unicorn almost as much as he hated the good Christian woman, did light upon the ground now to challenge Martial to physical combat.  The Accusing Griffin was strong in the Devil again after his temporary weakness.  And Martial was strong in the Lord now after heeding the Holy Ghost’s commandment to fight.

And unicorn and griffin attacked in charge.  In a very fierce and violent battle to end battles, horn and hoof and tooth pitted against talon and beak and claw.  Good fought evil over the life of the woman.  And wounds were given, and wounds were received.  And Dionysius was not aware of what was happening right now here very near where she did lie.

And then it was drawing near an end.  The black unicorn, scraped and scratched and torn and rent, stood there weakly upon his four hooves.  He had very little fight left in him.  The evil griffin, battered and bruised and gashed and gouged, lay on his side before the lowered horn of the he-unicorn.  The Accusing Griffin had no fight left in him.

Martial needed now to speak a verse from the Holy Bible to finish off this Accusing Griffin once and for all.  It had to be the one that God needed him to quote for this specific circumstance.  Martial knew that this Accusing Griffin had served the Devil mainly by making accusations against the cheerleader and her pet.  And Martial knew the Devil to be called “the accuser of the brethren.”  And

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God put in the angel’s mind His efficacious words of Revelation 12:10.  And Martial now declared those same words in ferocious assault upon the fallen and wounded demon:  “O Accusing Griffin, it is written, ‘And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ:  for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.’  Revelation 12:10—in the name of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ!”

The great and malevolent Accusing Griffin began to quake in his much evil where he did lie.  Then the earth opened up into a bottomless pit beneath him.  And then he fell down into the fires of Hell, never to accuse in this world again.  God had the final victory.  The Devil lost again.  And the earth closed back up again.  Then Archangel Martial fell down in exhaustion and in pain.

Calling upon God and rallying his body, the loyal and loving unicorn crawled up to be at his mistress’s side.  She still looked the same—living, but maybe not much longer.  And Martial felt fear for the first time in his ancient life.  He then feebly lay his head down upon the ground beside her, and his quiet unicorn tongue began to pray to his and her Heavenly Father that she live.

For a day and a night, gallant Martial forced his eyes to stay awake; and his wounded tongue, to keep praying out loud.  Every five minutes he forced his head off of the ground to look at her to see if she yet breathed life.  Each time he did so, he felt hope and promise.

The next morning dawned.  And, behold, Dionysius Daugherty stirred, and she opened her eyes, and she spoke words, “Martial?  Jesus?”

“Martial here at your service, O dear, dear Mistress,” said the unicorn, his voice falling into stammer of great worry now allayed.

“Am I going to live?” she asked.

“I think so.  I hope so.  I pray so,” said Martial.  “O Dionysius!  You frightened me so!”

“I’m going to be okay,” she said with truth and understanding and certainty.

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“Praise our Jesus for His mercy and for His grace!” proclaimed Martial in relief from grief of heart.

“You are hurt, O beloved Martial,” said Miss Daugherty.

“But I shall be okay, as well,” he said to her.

“Where is the Accusing Griffin?” she asked.

“The Accusing Griffin shall never come back to fight and to accuse again, O wonderful Mistress,” declared the unicorn in triumph.

“He’s dead.  Isn’t he, Martial?” asked the cheerleader.

“The Accusing Griffin fell down into Hell, my righteous mistress,” said the angel.

“Let us both stay here for a while, several days, before we continue our pilgrimage.  We need to get more well from this battle before we can travel together again,” said Dionysius Daugherty.

“We two must wait a little while longer and get better,” agreed Martial.

“Then to Jesus we go, Martial!” sang out the woman, encouraged with living.

“Yes, then to Jesus we go, Mistress,” sang out the unicorn pet in praise of the God of life.

“Martial,” said Dionysius.

“Yes, Mistress?” asked Martial.

“I love you very much,” said Miss Daugherty.

“And I surely love you very much,” said Martial.

And mistress and pet fell asleep there where they lay to rest and to recover from this last encounter against that fearsome and diabolical Accusing Griffin.  The cheerleader’s arm was resting upon the unicorn’s side.

 

 

 

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BOOK III

ENCOUNTERS WITH THE DECEIVING DRAGON

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER I

His name was Flanders Arckery Nickels, a born-again believer in love with his personal Saviour

Jesus Christ.  He was here now at Fortieth Day Baptist Church, a fundamental Baptist church whose title gave glory to the Ascension of Jesus back to Heaven forty days after His crucifixion.  It was Sunday night now.  Sunday Evening Worship was done for the day.  And Flanders was locking up the little church for the night.  He was the official church usher of Fortieth Day Baptist Church, and his faithfulness to all of its services was second only to that of the pastor himself.  Alone with God now in this precious sanctuary, this house of worship, Flanders looked around this little refuge and admired it in the Lord in all of its charms.  The dais, upon which Pastor preached, was made of yellow brick, and it stood one foot above the auditorium.  Pastor’s pulpit, in the center of this dais, was made of pine with a single column of pine upon a square base of pine.  Behind this pulpit, in the back of this dais, was a fireplace for the winters of the year.  To the left of this fireplace was a little fireplace rack with a wrought iron poker and a wrought iron shovel and a wrought iron brush.  To the right of this fireplace was a wooden easel with a poster of adhesive letters reading, “’…, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,

and thou shalt be saved,…’  Acts 16:31.”  On the back wall, above the fireplace, was an old rugged

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cross, three feet up and down and one foot left and right, made of the wood ash.  In the front of this raised platform, to the left and to the right of the podium, descending to the floor of the auditorium,

was a single cement block upon its side to serve as a step.  As for the auditorium, the flock did sit upon whole logs, big and massive and heavy.  These logs came from the woods of the central portions of the Unicorn Lands, and they were each big enough to seat ten people.  Underneath these “pews” were strong wooden bases at each end, these pews bound to these bases by thick hemp rope.  Ten of these logs filled this little auditorium, one behind another.  The floor underneath these logs was of wide and tan colored wooden boards. And the walls of this auditorium within were of red brick.  Along the right wall of this auditorium in the middle was a little bookcase of the church hymnbooks.  And along the left wall of this auditorium in the middle was a little bookcase of the church Bibles—all of them the Authorized King James Version.  For light in the daytime, this auditorium had ten windows along each side wall, each window one foot across and eight feet up and down; these windows opened out laterally with a latch to let in the good summer air in the warm times of the year.  For decoration only, the flock had shades put in along the tops of these windows; for none preferred blinds.  But all liked the look of the darkness outside in the evening services, so none ever pulled down the shades in the nights.  As for light in the nighttime, the flock had red kerosene lanterns upon old orange crates standing on their ends.

These were many, and they each rested along both side walls and all between the windows left and right.  Along the front in this auditorium were box fans and oscillating fans and plug-in sockets to cool the flock in the hot summer days.  As for the foyer of Fortieth Day Baptist Church, to one side was a card table which held the church collection plate, and to the other side was a little folding table that held the church bulletins for the services.  The floor of the foyer was dark brick.  And the walls of the foyer were paneling.  And the door for the good Baptist church was of Redwood.  Flanders’s own home

was just a five-minute walk from here.  His work as usher finished for the day, he then locked up Fortieth Day Baptist Church.  And he left for the night.

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On his walk home, Flanders Nickels drew his sword and parried with it in practice.  Tossing a green leaf into the air, he deftly cleft it right down the middle with his great sword, dividing this leaf into two even halves.  He then swung his sword right into a little tree’s trunk two inches in diameter.

And the tree began to fall.  “Timber!” he said, watching this tree fall.  Then he saw a little gnat in the air about his head.  With a forward thrust of his sword, he slew the little gnat where it had flown about.

Then he swung his blade left to right and right to left, and he did hear the sound of the wind from his sword’s swings both times.  With his sword, the man Flanders had served his Saviour in many battles.

He was born again now for many years, and in his many years as a believer with a sword he had slain fauns and satyrs and centaurs and chimeras and basilisks and harpies and winged horses and gargoyles—even a griffin once—and he did so all for the cause of Christ.  These creatures were devils and the spirits of devils.  Flanders knew, though, that he had not yet slain a dragon with his sword.  And he shuddered at this thought.  Flanders had never fought a real live dragon before.  It sounded like a good way to get oneself killed.  And yet his sword for Jesus was said to be a most singular sword in all of this land of the west.  It was called “The Brass Sword.”  It was a straight-blade sword with a blade of brass three feet long.  The haft of this sword was of the wood pink ivory.  The scabbard to this sword was of the wood snake-wood.  Indeed this swordsman’s Brass Sword of God was said by many that it was as deadly in battle as any unicorn’s horn.  With it, Flanders Nickels had defeated many evils.  Having thought upon this, the Christian warrior then sheathed his Brass Sword once again.  And soon he was home once again.

It was the next day, and Flanders walked out into his precious little grove in his backyard.  Here in his grove were his delightful grapefruit trees.  And these were big white grapefruit—neither red nor pink inside; but, rather, quite yellow inside—and quite yellow on the outside.  Big white grapefruit was his favorite food.  With his sword he cut off a grapefruit from its branch, and he caught it in his left hand.  Sitting down at his picnic table, he thanked the Lord for his food, and he cut it in half upon the

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table with his sword.  Then he took his little paring knife to it, and he meticulously began to cut around the many triangular sections.  Then he took his spoon and began to eat each section of both halves one at a time.  After this, he took his bowl and squeezed both empty halves into it, and he drank this grapefruit juice from the bowl.  Then he wiped his beard and mustache with his sleeve, and he thanked God again.  So succulent.  So delightfully sour.  So very citrus.  Only the Creator could create such a fruit for mankind to enjoy.

“O kind master,” called out his best friend.  And a mighty and gallant brown unicorn came bounding up to him.

“O wise Knight,” called back Flanders to his adored pet.  Master and unicorn held their heads against each other, and Flanders hugged him around the neck, and Knight groaned in contentment.

Flanders began to stroke Knight’s full and abundant brown mane.  Knight said, “Master, no angel was ever so cherished of his master as I am of mine.”  He then said, “If I could but die for you, even then I could not pay you back for all the love you have given me in our many years together.”

“Good and most noble Knight,” replied Flanders Nickels, “the only thing for a lonely man better than a good dog is a good unicorn.  It is I who have received the wonderful blessings in our unique friendship as best friends in the Lord, O gallant Knight.”

“I know what day this is for you, O Master,” said the handsome brown unicorn.

“I am forty years old,” Flanders said.

“Forty years old this day,” said Knight.  “Happy fortieth birthday, happy Master.”

“Thank you, Knight,” said Flanders.  “I am now a quadragenarian,”

“Quadragenarian, Master?” asked learned Knight.  “Is there really such a word?”

“Maybe not, Knight,” said Flanders, laughing.  “But I feel my many forty years in my bones.”

Inside his thoughts here with his unicorn confidant, Flanders ruminated upon a life of forty years sans girlfriends.  He had never had a girlfriend in all of his forty years.  And now, despite his Knight’s

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love and companionship and equine savvy, Flanders Nickels began to feel a strange loneliness.  He loved his brown Knight as any master could.  But what might it be like to fall in love with a woman?

What was it like to have a crush on a girl?  What was puppy love like back in school?  As a man of God and as a master of a unicorn, Flanders had never thought about anything like this before—until now that he turned forty years old.

“Master,” called out his brown he-unicorn, “thoughts of sorrow do pass across your eyes now.”

“Why, I do believe that I am sad,” confessed Flanders.  “I feel a kind of void in my life for my first time now, Knight.”

“Do tell me what it is that our Jesus has not yet blessed you with in your Christian life, O good Master,” exhorted the angel in exhortation and encouragement.

“My Jesus has truly given me showers of blessings in all of my years as a born-again believer,” said Flanders right out.  “He has blessed me with a good yard, a good house, a good church, a good unicorn, a good protecting hand in my many battles with the demons, a good K.J.V. Holy Bible, a good

prayer life, a good hymnbook, and great fellowship with other believers, and of course good food and good drink.”

“Good drink, my master—you and your tea,” said Knight.

“And yet, Knight, I feel alone now in a new and strange way now that I am a middle-aged man,” said Flanders.

“What else could a man want who has a personal relationship with his Maker as you do, Master?” asked the angel.

“I never found romance,” the man said in succinctness.

“A romance?” asked Knight.  “You mean as in a girl?”

“A romance, as in a girl, Knight,” said Flanders Nickels.

“Have you seen such a girl as that?” asked Knight.

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“No.  Not yet.  But maybe later sometime.  Maybe even soon,” said Flanders.

“You see no pretty girls here in this west, O Master?” asked Knight.

“I never looked before, Knight,” he said.

“You mean that you never noticed before,” said Knight.

“Of course the girl has to be saved and living for the Lord, you know,” said Flanders Nickels.

“Our Maker does not want His sons to be unequally yoked together with women who are not His daughters,” said the brown unicorn from the Word of God.

“For sure, Knight!” agreed Flanders.  “What do you think?”

“The Good Lord provides for his saints all of their needs and even some of their wants, kind Master,” said Knight.

“Do you think that I need a girlfriend?” asked Flanders.  “Or do you think that I only want a girlfriend?”

“It is written, Master,” recited the brown unicorn, “’And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a help meet for him.’  Genesis 2:18.”

“A help meet, in this case, would be a wife,” said Flanders.

“If it is not good for a man to be alone, would not a girlfriend be just as good a thing for you as a wife would be, Master?” asked Flanders.

The lonely man thought now out loud, “I may not want the responsibilities of a husband with a wife at home, but I would like the companionship of a girlfriend to go out on dates with for sure, O Knight.”

“That is good in the Lord for a Christian fellow, Master,” averred his pet unicorn.

“I’m getting excited now about things,” said Flanders.  “Can you imagine me finding a pretty girl?  Can you imagine a girl thinking that I am a handsome guy?  Can both happen at the same time

for me?”

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“Christ can find you the right woman, my master, if you let Him,” said the angel.

“Jesus would trust me with a woman?” asked Flanders.  “I do not even know what a Christian guy does with a Christian gal.”

“Pray about it,” said Knight.

“I know what James 4:1-3 says to me about praying about such a new thing as all of this,” said

Flanders.

“James 4:1-3,” said the learned he-unicorn, and he recited it for himself:  “From whence come wars and fightings among you?  Come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?  Ye lust, and have not:  ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain:  ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.  Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.”

“I am a man now ravenously hungry and parched-thirsty for female companionship after forty years of complete separation and utter abstinence,” declared Flanders Nickels.

“You do not trust yourself with a girlfriend-in-the-Lord,” summed up his pet unicorn.

“I do not know if I do, or if I don’t,” Flanders did say.

“Well I trust you with a woman, Master,” said his best friend.  “And so does God, if He brings

one into your life.”

“This lonely man can be just as much a gentleman with a lady as he is without a lady,” said Flanders Nickels in great and wild hopes.

“And that lonely woman can be just as much a lady with you as she is without you, O Master,” said Knight.

“I can see already how it works both ways in a relationship now, Knight,” said Flanders.  “The girl that God might have for me may be just as lonely as I am.”

“Yes, Master,” said Knight.  “And you can have fellowship with her as you have fellowship

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with me.”  Then his angel said, “And I would bet that your fellowship with her would be a more magical fellowship than your fellowship with your good unicorn.  With her you can have that unique

human romance that you people so love.”

“You would not be jealous if I found such a gal, Knight?” asked Flanders.

“Master, above all else, your faithful angel wants you to be happy in the will of our Maker,” said Knight.

“Would you pray with me in a prayer circle for the will of the Lord about all of this right now?” asked the Christian man.

“Master, I was thinking something all the more direct than a prayer meeting here out in the west,” said the angel.

“What were you thinking?” queried Flanders in inquisitiveness.

“I was thinking about the both of us going to see the Lord Jesus Himself and have you ask Him personally for a girlfriend-in-Christ to come into your life,” said Knight.

“Knight, do you mean for us to go to the uttermost parts of the north?” asked Flanders.

“It would be a long trip, but then you get to see Jesus face-to-face, my good master,” said the brown unicorn pet.

“Let’s go and do it!” said the born-again Christian man.  “And let us not wait until the morning!”

“Right now, Master?” asked Knight.

“Yes! Right now, Knight!” said Flanders Nickels.  “Let us go to the north and worship God and ask of Him a girlfriend for me!”

“To the north then we will go,” said Knight.  “To the Creator I shall take you.”

And Flanders Nickels, his Brass Sword along his side, right away mounted his Knight, and the unicorn of God began to gallop from the west with Godspeed, carrying his master toward Heaven.

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CHAPTER II

“Oh, how I love Jesus,” proclaimed Flanders as brown Knight carried him through the groves

and across the orchards of the west.

“’Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.’  John 15:13,” declared Knight about Jesus.

“And what a friend we have in Jesus,” said Flanders, petting his brown unicorn on his full brown mane.  His unicorn tooted a note of praise to God on his horn.

“Master, do you remember July 28?” asked the he-unicorn pet.

“I was there,” said Flanders.  “So many years ago for me.”

“That was the day that you got baptized in the river outside,” said Knight.

“Yeah!  Yeah!” said Flanders.  “Rain and cold and wind.”

“I was there,” said Knight.

“And all my church friends and some of your fellow angels, too, were there,” said Flanders.

“The pastor and the usher of that time were there in the water with you, Master,” said Knight.

“The pastor was there to baptize me, and the usher was there to keep me from drowning,” said

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Flanders Nickels.  “You know about that very steep and sudden drop-off in that river that Usher Gary knew about just right beyond where I was standing, Knight.”

“Uh huh,” said Knight, with a nod.

“Brother Gary could swim; I could not swim,” said Flanders.

“He was the first one at Fortieth Day Baptist Church who called you, ‘Brother Flanders,’ wasn’t he?” asked Knight.

“Yes.  He was, Knight,” said Flanders.

“At that river, in your baptism, Master, Pastor asked you, ‘Do you believe that Jesus Christ died for your sins and rose again the third day?’  And you said, ‘Yes.’  Then Pastor asked you, ‘Have you received Jesus Christ as personal Saviour?’  And you said, ‘Yes.’  And then he said, ‘In my authority as pastor of Fortieth Day Baptist Church, I now baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.’  Then Pastor put your head under water, and then he brought you up out of the water.  You stood there up to your waist in the flowing river, water dripping down from your top half.

Right after that, you got voted into church membership at once, Master.” said Knight in recollection.

“Why, Knight, that was the first time I ever had my head below water,” said Flanders.  “It was a good thing for me that Pastor said that I should keep my mouth closed and hold my fingers to my nose when he would baptize me.”

“After the baptism, Pastor and his wife Emmy drove you, dripping wet, in their car to their place to get into the dry clothes that you brought with you,” said Knight.

“Oh, the camaraderie that Pastor and Gary and myself so quickly came into among ourselves,” said Flanders.  “Right after the baptism, Brother Gary said that Pastor should have held me under water

much longer because of all my sins I had committed.”

“You needed much cleansing, my master,” said Knight, turning his head and showing a toothy grin.

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“Oh, I have a funny, funny unicorn,” teased Flanders right back to his Knight.

“And I have a serious, serious master,” said the wily angel, laughing through his nostrils.

“Let us have both funny and serious meet somewhere in the middle,” said Flanders, laughing out loud at his witticism.

“What does that mean, Master?” asked the game-some unicorn.

“I do not know, but it sounded smart,” said Flanders.  “Didn’t it?”

“You win, O Master,” said the unicorn pet in this fun prattle.  “But it did sound smart.”

As they continued on in their pilgrimage, Flanders Nickels asked his angel, “Would you like to hear all about my worship life as a born-again Christian again, O Knight?”

“You call it ‘Your Story and your Song,’” said his best friend.

“’My Story and My Song,’” said Flanders.  And he defined it in sum, “My walk with Christ.”

Knight went on to list his master’s means of worship in his walk with Christ thus, “Prayer, Bible

study, church, witnessing, singing, tithing, and thanksgiving.”

“Of course for me, prayer comes first,” said Flanders.  “It is written about prayer, ‘But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father, which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.’  Matthew 6:6.”  Flanders went  on to tell some about his prayer life:  “My prayers are not always fervent in the daylight.  In the morning I cannot focus on prayer at all.  My prayers are always the most effectual in the dark of evening or night.  If I pray outside, I like to be alone in my fields or in my orchard or in some beautiful meadow nearby.  I do not wish to pray in a forest.  If I pray inside, I like to be alone in my bedroom with the lights off—sometimes lying on my bed, sometimes kneeling beside my bed, sometimes sitting up on my bed, or sometimes sitting beside my bed.  I do not wish to pray away from my bedroom.”

“Prayer, Master—one half of your quiet time with your Heavenly Father,” said his confidant.

“And Bible-reading—the other half of your quiet time with your Heavenly Father.”

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“Yes, Knight, among all of my means of worship that you did list, for me Bible study comes second of all,” said Flanders Nickels.

“You love the Word of God even more than you love me,” said his adored pet.

“I know,” he said.

“That’ s good, Master,” said his brown unicorn.

“It is written about the King James Version Bible, Knight,” recited Flanders, “’Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.’  II Timothy 2:15.”

“Indeed there are some unicorns who do not know the Scriptures so well as you do, my master,”

said the angel Knight.

“Verily the Holy Scriptures are composed of ten different sections across sixty-six books of canon,” said the Bible student: “First the books of the Pentateuch, then the books of history, then the books of poetry, then the books of the major prophets, then the books of the minor prophets—these first five comprise the Old Testament.  Then the books of the Gospels, then the book of the history of the first-century church, then the books of the Pauline epistles, then the books of the general epistles, then the book of eschatology—these last five comprise the New Testament.”

“And all those Words of God are inerrant, plenary, perfect, and God-breathed in divine inspiration, my master,” declared Knight.  “That is, the King James Version.”

“Woe unto those who wrote the false translations of the Bible!” said Flanders.  “The modern versions all add to the Word of God and take away from the Word of God and do change the Word of God.  Those Bibles were written by men and not by God.”

“Revelation 22:18-19, good Master,” said wise Knight:  “To those who dare to add to the Bible, God will add to him the plagues that are written in Revelation.  And to those who dare to take away from the Bible, God will take away from him his part out of the book of life and out of the holy city

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and from the things that are written in Revelation.”

“Woe unto those false translators when they stand before God their Judge,” said Flanders.

“Your pastor who takes such a stand for the K.J.V. and who taught you to do likewise is a good fundamentalist, Master,” said Knight.

“Ah, my happy church life,” said Flanders.  “For me in my means of worship, my church comes

third of all.”  Then he said, “Knight, is it not written in Hebrews 10:25 for me about Fortieth Day Baptist Church, ‘Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching?’”

“Aye, Master,” said learned Knight.

“Our church is Baptist, independent, fundamental, separated, Bible-believing, sin-hating, soul-winning, and Devil-chasing—indeed the enemy of all unrighteousness in our part of the west.  It is the pillar and ground of the truth.  It is the church of the living God.  Visiting pastors and missionaries and evangelists all say, ‘God is in this church.’  And the gates of Hell can never prevail against it.  I was scarcely saved for only a couple months when Usher Gary first gave me that church invitation booklet.”

“And when you found out that that church was a Baptist church, what did you say to yourself,

Master?” asked his unicorn pet who already heard about it before.

“I thought to myself, ‘Baptist.  Baptized?  I don’t want to get baptized!’” confessed Flanders in

remembrance.

“You went to that church that first time very soon after, Master, and you quickly changed your mind about the words ‘Baptist’ and ‘Baptized,’ didn’t you?” admitted Knight.

“And I never turned back from there,” said Flanders.  “I did get baptized, and I did become a Baptist.  And I never regret that.”

“Praying, Bible-reading, church-attending,” said Knight.  “Your three chief worships in your

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walk with Christ.”

“As I have come to see these three, I give them a ratio, a measurement, a comparison, by the symbol ‘100/99/98.’  That is, prayer would be the ‘100,’ and Bible-study would be the ‘99,’ and going to church would be the ‘98.’  All the other means of worship in my life with Christ are lesser to me,”

said the born-again believer.

“Lesser, yes, but extra, no,” said Knight, knowing his master’s love for his horn of plenty of sundry and diverse means of worship that God had so beneficently given him to enjoy.

“Then there comes Thursday Evening Visitation for the men of the church,” said Flanders.  “It is our little church’s soul-winning program.  We go out knocking on doors and spreading the saving Gospel to folk.  And many lost people get saved when we go and do this.”

“It is written about soul-winning, O Master,” recited brown Knight, “’And for me, that utterance

may be given unto, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel.’  Ephesians 6:19.”

“We who go out on visitation from our church are not only called ‘soul-winners,’ but also ‘witness-warriors’ and ‘messengers from Heaven’ and ‘Gospel preachers’ and ‘bearers of glad tidings of good things,’ and even ‘men whose feet are beautiful,’” said the veteran visitation partner of many Thursday evenings.

“Jesus Christ the Lamb of God wrote a book in Heaven called ‘The Lamb’s Book of Life,’” said

the angel Knight.   “This book of God is the list of all the names of those men and women and children who became born-again Christians.  These in that book are the only ones going to Heaven or have gone already to Heaven. You have your own little Lamb’s book of life for yourself for all the souls that you have led to Christ; they also are going to Heaven, because you witnessed to them, and they asked God to save them.”

“My list of saved souls is several hundred so far and more names get added every Thursday

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night,” said Flanders.  “Pastor is the real soul-winner of our group—he has led several thousand lost souls to salvation.  He’s always testifying of our great Saviour to everybody all the time.”

“Your Thursday Evening Visitation includes a great salvation tract ministry, Master,” said Knight.  “Every time you leave a tract in the hands of a person at the door, if they resist Christ when you are there, after you leave, they might go ahead and read the tract and then go ahead and seek and find Christ from that.  That happens, doesn’t it, Master?”

“Yes, it does, Knight.  For the price of eight cents, a lost and searching soul can read that little booklet and get born again.  And the Good Book says that a human soul is worth more than all the wealth in the world,” said Flanders.

“Amen!” said the angel.

“After witnessing, next in My Story and My Song comes hymns and Christmas carols for me,” said Flanders.

“God had put a new song in your heart when you became a child of God, my Master,” said Knight.

“It is written about God’s kind of music, Knight,” recited the man of God, “’Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands:  Sing forth the honour of his name:  make his praise glorious.’  Psalm 66:

1-2.”

“Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs indeed,” said Knight.  “Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16.”

“Indeed not at all the music of the world, which is the music of the Devil,” said Flanders.

“The Lord’s music is different from the Devil’s music,” said Knight.

“When the lost listen to a Devil’s song, they can tell what he is saying to them, but they cannot tell that it is he that is telling them that.  And when the saved hear one of these Devil’s songs, they cannot hear what the Devil is saying, but they know that it is he that says what he says,” said the wise

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son of God riding the angel.

“You learned all kinds of new and godly songs from the church hymnbook, Master,” said the unicorn.

“Praise God for ‘Great Hymns of the Faith’ and its 538 songs, most of which I now know,” said

Flanders Nickels.

“And you give ten percent of your gross income to the Lord and also a little bit extra than that,”

said Knight.

“I learned about tithes very early in my church life,” said Flanders.  “It is good that I help support the finances of our good church and of our good pastor.”

“It is written, Master,” said Knight, “’Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.’

Malachi 3:10.”

“The Bible says just before that that those who do not tithe are actually robbing from God Himself!” said Flanders.  “Those who tithe not will be cursed with a curse from God.  Those who tithe indeed will be blessed with a blessing from God.”

“You thank God for this privilege of giving,” said Knight.

“Thanksgiving,” said Flanders, “another of my cornucopia of means of worship.”

“Thanksgiving, Master, your only holiday you like better than Christmas and Easter,” said his brown unicorn pet.

“Is it not in the Bible, Knight, where God says this?:  ‘In every thing give thanks:  for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.’  I Thessalonians 5:18,” asked Flanders Nickels.

“You, being a Christian, have God Himself indwelling you in His Holy Spirit,” said the angel.

“How can any Christian not be ever-thankful for that?”

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“It is different for you than it is for me, isn’t it, Knight?” asked the man.

“It is different for angels than it is for believers,” said Knight.  “Angels stand before God at His

Throne; believers have God’s Spirit inside their hearts,”

Flanders Nickels looked upward toward Heaven, and he said, “Thank You, Lord.”

“It is getting late now this day on our pilgrimage, Master, and my legs are tired from much journey,” said the he-unicorn.

“Let us stop and rest and turn in for the night,” said Flanders.  The rider dismounted the unicorn.  They sat down on the ground. They fellow-shipped some as they rested.  Then sleep slowly came upon their heads.  And Flanders and his unicorn fell asleep there for the night, back against back.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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CHAPTER III

Flanders opened his eyes wide, leaped to his feet, and drew his Brass Sword.  Knight stood nearby, eating clover. Raising his unicorn head, he said, “My master, what a way to get up in the morning!”

“Knight, I sense evil here right now.  I dreamed about it just now,” said Flanders.

His brown unicorn lifted up his head to the skies and looked, listened, smelled.  “I do sense evil now, too,” he agreed.

“I sense this evil to be worse than a griffin even,” said Flanders.

“Worse than a griffin, Master?” asked the brown unicorn.  “Do you mean…?”

“Behold, O Knight,” declared the Christian soldier man, pointing up into the air with his index finger.

“A dragon,” said Knight, poising himself for battle, standing there at his master’s side and his unicorn horn pointed outward at a forty-five degree angle.

“He’s coming after us,” said Flanders.

“Is he coming after us?” asked Knight, unsure what to say now.

And the dragon spoke, “Yes, I do pursue you.  I am the Deceiving Dragon.  And I am come to

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deceive.”

And in a show of force, this Deceiving Dragon swooped by overhead and made a fell wind crash into man and unicorn, taking away their breath and almost knocking them down where they stood.

Knight was the first to speak to the dragon, saying, “O minion, why have you come to trouble us?”

The Deceiving Dragon lighted upon the ground before them with a little earthquake, and with a dark voice he answered the unicorn, “Not unto you, O unicorn of brown, not unto you do I seek contention; yea, rather, with your master who rides you.”

Knight spoke again to the Deceiving Dragon, “My master’s friends are my friends.  My master’s foes are my foes.  What mischief do you seek with my master, O Deceiving Dragon?”

Standing there like a colossus, the Deceiving Dragon billowed out brimstone and smoke from his nostrils and from between his teeth.  Then he spoke again in his dark tone, “O man of God, you who are Flanders Nickels with the Brass Sword, is it not written unto God, ‘What is man, that thou shouldest magnify him?  And that thou shouldest set thine heart upon him?  And that thou shouldest visit him every morning, and try him every moment?’”

“Job said those words,” said Flanders, himself now addressing the dragon.   “Job 7:17-18.”

“Careful with his words, Master,” said Knight his counselor.

“Be of good cheer, O man who believes Christ.  It is your Father’s good pleasure to answer your prayer that you will pray at His throne,” the Deceiving Dragon went and said just like that.

Knight said, “Ask him what that prayer will be , Master.  How can he know that?”

“What is it that I will ask the Lord, O Deceiving Dragon?” challenged Flanders Nickels.

“You wish for a Christian girlfriend given you by Christ,” said the Deceiving Dragon.

Knight quickly whispered in Flanders’s ear, “Master, the dragon is a demon, and being a demon,

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his words mix truth and error.”

“But he’s right, Knight,” whispered Flanders back.

“Only so long as it is convenient for him,” said his angel.

“His words already confuse me,” said Flanders.

“And no wonder.  Satan is the author of confusion,” said Knight.  “Keep your eyes on Jesus as this dragon speaks, and you will soon see through his words with God’s truth.”

This Deceiving Dragon resumed his deceptions, “Christian man, you will find your Christian woman, and evil will come of it from me.”

“Only if God lets evil come of it from you,” declared Flanders Nickels.

“I do declare, man of the Lord, that you would prefer I make her a widow, but I will make you a widower, instead” said the subtle dragon.

“You’re wrong, Deceiving Dragon,” said Flanders.  “You just slipped up!  I seek not a wife, but a girlfriend.”

Confusion filled this dragons’ face for a moment.  The good unicorn said, “Bravo, Master!  Even demons do not know everything.”

Then hardness filled the dragon’s features, and he said, “Nonetheless, smart man, the gal will still die, and I will be the one to do such unto her.”

“But first you have to get past God to do that,” said Flanders with Holy Ghost wisdom.

“Oh, man of Christ, that is just it.  It will be God’s will that she be taken from you right after you get her,” said the Deceiving Dragon.  “Her death shall be to the glory of God. Your faith shall be tested by her demise, and you shall come forth as gold in the Lord.  It will be in that valley of her death where you shall cling to your God with a great and mighty bond.  And you will love the Lord your

in a way that you have never loved Him before.  And with this furnace of affliction God will make you into the greatest swordsman of all the west. Then no demon will be able to stand before you—not even

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any dragon!  Think about that, O Christian soldier.  All of the Unicorn Lands will know about Flanders

Arckery Nickels and his redoubtable Brass Sword.”

His focus on his prayer request and not on his own fame to be, Flanders said, “O Deceiving Dragon, I seek not my own glory, but the glory of Christ only.  And Christ need not take away the joy of my eyes like that to make me a better warrior.  I can be a better warrior if I have a girl to complete me.  Jesus is a God of life, and Satan is a god of death.” Flanders took one step forward toward the dragon where he stood.  Following in cue, his unicorn also marched forward one step.  The Deceiving

Dragon also advanced one step.  How easily the dragon could kill him where he stood were he to go and take his eyes off of Jesus right now.

“Your pilgrimage stops now, Flanders and Knight,” threatened the Deceiving Dragon.

“Our pilgrimage does not stop now,” gave Flanders rebuttal, glaring at the fell dragon right into his face.

Suddenly fire shot out of the Deceiving Dragon’s mouth right toward man’s and unicorn’s heads!  Man and unicorn dropped down to the ground just in time, and the blaze passed by above where they lay and went out behind them.  Knight then dared to assault the dragon with his unicorn horn lowered.  Flanders leaped up and went after the dragon likewise, his Brass Sword held up in the air.  And the great and evil dragon escaped into the skies before the horn and the sword could reach him.  And this Deceiving Dragon fled, in order to fight another day.  The two Christian soldiers watched in the sky until they could see him no more. Then Flanders sheathed his saber.

Flanders said, “Wow!  My first dragon fight, Knight.  Praise God we still live!”

“You are yet to serve God as a dragon-slayer,” said Knight.

“But I think that I am ready now,” said Flanders.

“Your famous Brass Sword will draw dragon blood in time, Master,” said wise Knight.

“And he, my blood, with his dragon scales, Knight,” said Flanders, knowing the perils of war.

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“And the Word of God, his devil’s heart,” said the wise angel.

Flanders Nickels then drew his great saber again and looked at it and thanked the Lord for this.   He held it in front of himself in both hands, the sword vertical with himself.  And he said, “This Brass Sword still shines despite its many kills, Knight.”

“Indeed its brass came from beneath the waters beyond the ends of the Unicorn Lands from underneath the ocean to the west,” said Knight.

“How many people do you know who search for brass beyond the world?” asked Flanders.

“Our supernatural Lord works with supernatural means, Master,” said the brown unicorn.

“Not only in that He wrought the Brass Sword, but also how He had come about to give it me in the first place,” said Flanders.

“There was a girl who had a crush on you in Best West High School, Master,” said his best friend.

“Annette Skirtz,” said Flanders.

“But you did not have a crush on her,” said Knight.

“I was only a new convert in Christ then, but even then already I was too much into Jesus to go looking for a girlfriend,” said Flanders.  “Annette was a Best West High School woman gymnast.  We of that high school were called ‘Westerners.’ That was our mascot..”

“Miss Skirtz, a Westerner woman gymnast,” said Knight.

“Yes, and her gymnastics leotard was all solid white throughout with yellow diamonds and red diamonds across her shoulders and around her neckline left and right and front and back,” said Flanders. “She asked me out on a date to see her perform her gymnastics tricks. I said, ‘No,’  Later on, she then asked me out on a date to see her do her tricks on the vault.  Again, I said, ‘No.’   Then again, some time after that, Annette asked me out on a date to see her do her tricks on the uneven parallel bars.  Of course, Knight, I said,’No’ once again.  A few days later, she again asked me out to see her do

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her tricks on the balance beam.  I said, ‘No, Annette.’  Then she asked me out a fifth time, asking me to see her do her tricks in the floor routine.  Wearied by her persistence and hoping that I could get rid of her, I said, ‘Yes, Annette.’  All of a sudden right after I said,’Yes,’ to her, the woman gymnast threw her arms around me in a quick little hug, and she said, ‘Thank you!  Thank you!’  You may not understand what happened inside me right then, yourself being a unicorn, but suffice it to say that she in her women’s gymnastics leotard hugged me.  And I discovered a real fetish—for her yellow and black diamonds of her long-sleeved leotard.  That was the closest I had found myself to anything lascivious taking place in my head at that time.  It felt quite novel and also quite dirty both at once, Knight.  I refused to become her girlfriend.  But I was not so sure where I stood in becoming a type of lover.

I found myself aroused by Annette Skirtz in her gymnastics leotard, and I found myself aroused by her gymnastics leotard with or without her in it.  I felt wonder, and I felt bad.  And I was not sure to whom I ought to turn.  Well one night in Wednesday Night Bible Study and Prayer Meeting, I had Brother Gary all to myself in our prayer group in the back storage room.  And, alone with Gary, I told him my problem I found come into my life by agreeing to see the girl gymnast perform a floor routine.

Brother Gary asked me, ‘Does the girl know Jesus, Brother?’

I said, ‘I never hear her talk about Jesus all around school, like I do, Brother.’

He then said to me, ‘Do you think that she is not saved?’

‘I think that I can say that she is not saved, Gary,’ I said.

And he said, ‘This girl is all wrong for you, Brother.  Run away from her like Joseph ran away from Potiphar’s wife.”

‘Annette Skirtz is a danger to my walk with the Lord, Gary?’ I asked.

‘I am not sure why I feel that way, Brother Flanders,’ he told me.  ‘I just don’t have rest in this for you.’

‘I have to see her perform the floor routine, even though I do not wish to.  I said that I would be

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there, and I cannot go back on my word,’  I told my good brother-in-the-Lord.

‘It is good that a born-again believer never go back on his word,’  said Brother Gary.  “But, if you wish, I can go and sit with you in the bleachers.’  That was good for me to hear.  And we agreed.

Before that gymnastics meet took place and after my comforting talk with Gary, Pastor preached right into my heart that Sunday Morning Worship in another great sermon.  Pastor preached, ‘It is a sin for a saved man to marry an unsaved woman.  It is a sin for a saved man to date an unsaved woman.  It is is sin for a saved boy to date an unsaved girl.  Likewise in these three examples for a female to a male.’  Then Pastor said to our little flock—but especially to me, though he did not know–’Open up your King James Bibles to II Corinthians 6:14-18, and let us read together these five verses:’  And we read this Bible passage out loud as a congregation, and this was what I did see for my first time in the Bible:  ‘Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers:  for what fellowship hath

righteousness with unrighteousness?  And what communion hath light with darkness?  And what concord hath Christ with Belial?  Or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?  And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols?  For ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.  Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,  And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.’

With this new-found Bible wisdom, I know longer wanted the girl gymnast for any of the wrong reasons.  And I lost my desires for her.  And when I went to see her do the floor routine, big and burly and scowling Brother Gary sat right next to me.  One look at him, my faithful brother-in-Christ, and Annette Skirtz was too afraid to come up to me after the gymnastics meet.  In fact good Gary scared that girl gymnast right out of my life—to the praise and glory of the righteous God.  And I am ever-thankful for that.  She never asked me out again after that.  And I prevailed for the Lord.  And I forgot

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lust ever after in my walk with Christ, and it never came back into me again since.  Later on, I saw this same Annette not dressed in her gymnastics leotard, and I wondered what I had seen in her.  I tried to give her a salvation tract, but she spit upon the ground toward my feet at my Jesus and said in most telltale scorn and wickedness at me, ‘Jesus freak!’  Then did I really see how good my decision was in rejecting that high school girl.”

“And, Master, because of that and not long later from that, God gave you your gift from Above,” said Knight.

Holding his Brass Sword above his head, he said, “No greater gift has God given a Christian soldier than this brass saber given unto myself, O Knight.”

“Our supernatural Maker works in supernatural means,” said Knight again.  “Do tell me the rest of that testimony, Master,”

“I was walking in the park one night, when the park was closed for the night, and, behold, a big gray unicorn standing on top of a big brown treasure chest.  He stood there, looking down upon me, and around the base of his unicorn horn resting upon his forehead was a key ring with one key in it—in fact, an old-fashioned skeleton key.  This gray angel, atop this big wooden chest then said to me, ‘O good and faithful servant of God, it is written, “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much:  and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.”  Luke 16:10.  Because you have rejected the girl gymnast despite her wiles and have honored God with the sanctity of your body, which is the temple of the Holy Spirit, I also will give unto you that which I have made and that which is from

Above and that which will earn you many rewards in Heaven to come.  Flanders, do reach out and take the key I have around my unicorn horn, and do go ahead and unlock this treasure chest, and do receive

and thank God for the Lord’s treasure within, waiting only for you for the ages.’  Then the gray unicorn  lowered his horn and let the key chain and its key slide into my open palms.  This angel from God then leaped off of this big wooden chest and ran off away to do his Lord’s next bidding.”

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“You then right away unlocked and opened and looked into the treasure chest from God and Heaven, my Master,” said Knight.

“And there it was.  And here it is,” said Flanders,  swinging and parrying and feinting with his brass saber.

“Your famous Brass Sword, Master,” Knight said to him.

Flanders Nickels began to slice up the air with his formidable Brass Sword,  “I am a demon-slayer in the Lord, Knight,” said Flanders about his mission for Christ.

“And you will soon grow into a dragon-slayer, Master,” said good and loyal Knight.

“Dragon-slayers, you and I, Knight,” said Flanders Nickels, praising his comrade in battles.

“You and I, my master,” concurred the big brown unicorn pet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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CHAPTER IV

Flanders Nickels was riding a fleet equine of some sort in a pitch dark of woods of night.  His equine was deftly dodging big trees in this black of forest as in running through a maze.  Flanders felt leaves and thin branches brush across all parts of his body.  But big limbs and thick trunks never hit him.  He said nothing for a long while.  His equine said nothing for a long while.  He did not know it to

assuredly be his brown Knight.  This beast could be a horse he knew not, or a donkey or a pony, or maybe another unicorn.  Not knowing how he got here, he called out in query, “Knight, is that you?”

“It is I, Master,” said most comforting Knight.  “Your angel, at your service.”

“Oh, good.  I am so glad,” said Flanders.  “I do not remember starting this ride with you in the night like this.”

“Do look out for the box elders, Master.  This forest is filled with them,” said the he-unicorn friend.

“So that is what all these trees are,” said Flanders.  “Where are we going?”

“I know how to get there, O Master, but I will not know that we have arrived when we do get there.  How about you, my master?  How do you feel about our wild ride in the dark of night?”

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“What I’m thinking, Knight, is that I do not know how to get there, but that I will know that we have arrived when we do get there,” said Flanders.

“It is a good thing that the Lord has the two of us together on this strange little escapade.” said the he-unicorn.

“This is like I am dreaming, O Knight,” said Flanders.

“Pinch yourself in the arm and find out, Master,” said Knight.

“It is too dark in this forest for me to see my arm,” said Flanders.

“Suit yourself, O Master,” said his angel.  “Now I am going to run really fast!  Hold on, friend!”

And the unicorn ran like a cheetah now.

“Look out for the trees, unicorn!” exclaimed Flanders in fear.

“Master, you’re talking to an angel,” said his wise unicorn.

“Aye.  That’s right, Knight,” said Flanders, chastised mildly.  And he held on tightly around his pet’s neck.

After a while, man and unicorn discerned a light in the dark woods up ahead.  And very soon Flanders could make it out to be a little fire of logs upon the ground amid the slew of box elders.

And Flanders dismounted, and man and pet stealthily approached this strange light in this strange dark place. Knight had brought him here, and Flanders knew that this was the place.  He tapped the tip of Knight’s unicorn horn, and Knight knew that this was where he had taken his master and that they had arrived.  Looking out from behind the tree, the he-unicorn saw a log fire with roasted corn-on-the-cob upon a metal grate and a little black wrought iron stand beside the fire with a poker and a brush and a little shovel.  What Flanders saw from behind the tree was a most fascinating young woman dressed as a cheerleader, taking the poker from the rack and tending to the fire with it.  This goddess of a woman

had a chenille emblem on her cheerleader sweater that read, “ARTEMIS.”  This Artemis did not look up.  She did not see Flanders and Knight.  And yet she called out, “Flanders and Knight, come out from

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from behind the great big tree.”  Then she looked up and looked upon them eye-to-eye.  And man and unicorn presented themselves.

“Young miss, are you sent from God?” asked Flanders.

“I am waiting from God, good soldier,” she said.  Flanders did not know what that meant.

Knight said, “I believe the girl is saying, Master, that you are sent from God to her.”

“Both of you are sent from God to me, good angel,” said Artemis.  Her cheerleader uniform was  all red and black.  (Reader, take note, the girl Dionysius’s cheerleader uniform was all black and red.

Where Dionysius had red on her cheerleader outfit, Artemis had black on her cheerleader outfit.  And where Dionysius had black on her cheerleader outfit, Artemis had red on her cheerleader outfit. The girl

Artemis was a converse to the girl Dionysius.)

In this woman Artemis the lonely man Flanders found a beautiful cheerleader with blonde hair in gentle curves along the sides of her head, with pretty eyes of blue, and with most fetching braces.  Her hair was a converse to Dionysius’s straight brown hair; her eyes, a converse to Dionysius’s brown eyes; and her attractive braces, a converse to Dionysius’s attractive overbite.  Upon her cheerleader person this Artemis also had the lady archer accouterments of a quiver of arrows and a bow; thus making her a converse to Dionysius who wielded no weapon for battles.

“Come, good soldiers of Christ, eat with me,” said the cheerleader in red and black.

And the three sat down to a good dinner of roasted corn-on-the-cob with much real butter and with a choice of table salt or garlic salt or seasoned salt.  And they talked much about God.  Then they were done and were full.  The man Flanders secretly wondered in his heart if this were his first date with his first girlfriend, given him by God.  He had not arrived up north and stood before God’s throne to ask God for her, but here she seemed to be for him.  He held on wisely to some doubts.  He would wait and find out soon enough.  She was delightfully comely.  He had never noticed cheerleaders before until now with alluring Artemis.

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Wise Knight then asked the lady archer, “Artemis, for what has the Lord brought my master and I unto you?”

“That I shall tell you right now, O brown unicorn,” she said.  “We have need of two visitors here

with us now.”  And she took a silver cornet, blew into it a summons, and lo, a Gargantua of a white unicorn came bounding up to join them.

“Archangel Michael!” exclaimed Knight in awe.

“Glad to meet you, good Knight,” said Michael.

“The gladness is mine,” said Knight, bowing his unicorn horn before Michael’s unicorn horn.

Then Artemis took a silver trumpet, blew into it a calling forth, and, lo, a Colossus of a white unicorn came galloping up to join them.

“Archangel Gabriel!” declared Knight in obeisance.

“Hello, friend, O Knight,” said Gabriel.

“Hello, Gabriel.  What can I say?” asked Knight at a loss for words.  And Knight lowered his unicorn horn below Gabriel’s unicorn horn in deference.

“I never met you two before,” said the Christian man Flanders.  “But I read a lot about you both   in the Bible.  To what does a mortal man like myself have the honor of meeting the Holy Bible’s only two good angels mentioned by name in the Scriptures?”

The fair young cheerleader said, “Flanders, with my two horns I did bring Michael and Gabriel down to earth here in the box elder forest with my own will.”

The two white unicorns shook their heads in a, “Nay.”

Michael said, “Our Maker brought us here for you, Flanders.”

Gabriel said, “God wants us to give a message to you, O Christian warrior.  The Lord used the young lady to call for us when the time was right.”

“The Good Lord has something to tell me?” asked Flanders Nickels before the august angels.

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Michael said, “Flanders, do go ahead and pinch your arm now, if you would.”  Flanders did so, but it did not hurt.  Michael continued, “O son of God, this is a dream from God, but the Devil has come into this dream.  A lie has been uttered.  And this dream must be purged.”

“Satan has corrupted a work of the Lord?” asked Flanders.

“A liar has entered this dream, Flanders,” said Gabriel.  “A lie from a proud heart.”

Artemis then spoke up and said, “You are the one for me from our Lord, Flanders.”

“I do smell a second lie right there, Master,” said Knight.

“What was the first lie?” asked Flanders.

“Master, remember when the gal said that she commanded these two great angels to come here as she did?” asked Knight.  “That had to be a lie.  No human girl could make Michael or Gabriel do anything.  What do you think?”

In flirt, the pretty cheerleader cocked her head to the side at Flanders to beguile him with wiles.

Then she said, “Shall I do a cheer for you, Flanders, right now?”

In rebuke Knight said, “O demon inside the young woman, come out of her in the name of Jesus!”

Behold, fair lady archer Artemis fell to the ground and did shake and quake.  Then she stopped her agitations and lay there unmoving and astonied.  Her eyes were open in great fears. And she did not speak for now.  And her breathing was heavy.  The demon who served the Devil had come out of the cheerleader.

“Is Artemis going to be okay?” asked Flanders, kneeling at her side as he said this.

Gabriel said, “Artemis will be okay in a little while, Flanders.  As she rests and gets better, we must quickly tell you why this dream has come upon your sleeping life right now.”

Michael went and said, “This dream from God was meant to prepare you for a girl very similar to—and very opposite from—this dream-Artemis you have fallen for tonight.  God does have a girl that

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He wants to bless you with in your real and waking life as woman-friend-in-Christ. She is a real cheerleader who loves cheer-leading even at an age when cheering has already past a normal woman by

for over twenty years.  To love this cheerleader your own age, you must love her cheerleader uniform.

Her cheerleader uniform is an inverse to Artemis’s cheerleader uniform.  And her beauty of features and comeliness of hair is an inverse to Artemis’s features and hair.  And her cheerleader accessories are inverses to Artemis’s artillery of battle, this coming cheerleader not a lady warrior of weapons.  And, unlike this Artemis, this cheerleader to come cannot have a demon come into her.  Indeed this new girl

will be just as saved in the Lord as yourself, Flanders.   She is a good and faithful daughter of God, just as you are a good and faithful son of God.”

Artemis stirred and said, “What happened?”

With compassion, Flanders said, “My unicorn cast a demon out of you in the name of the Lord.”

“Thank you, good and kind unicorn,” said Artemis.  And she fell upon sleep where she lay.

Gabriel then said, “However, Flanders, there is a much stronger demon out there than the one that has just been exorcised out of the pretty cheerleader. He has contended against you and mighty Knight once already, and he will come back and contend against you and Knight once again.  Maybe more.”

“That Deceiving Dragon!” exclaimed Knight.

“Him?” asked Flanders, grinding his teeth for battle.

Gabriel said, “That fell dragon does not want you to go and see Jesus Christ.  He opposes all that is God and all that is godly, because he is a demon.  And demons do not rest in their works of evil.

And dragons especially are not afraid to fight.  And this Deceiving Dragon is able also to fight with his tongue as well as with his form.  He goes forth and deceives with his words.”

“It sounds like then, O great and powerful angels, that in order to see Jesus and in order to live long enough to find my special new girlfriend, I must slay a dragon and live to tell about it,” said

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Flanders Nickels, understanding this promotion in his ministry as demon-slayer.

Knight said, “And I ever at your side, dear Master.”

Michael said, “Keep your Brass Sword along your hip for the rest of your pilgrimage, O great soldier of Christ.  And, Knight, prime your deadly unicorn horn.  And above all, quote great and effectual Scripture back into the face of the Deceiving Dragon.  God’s Word is more efficacious in fighting dragons even than great swords and long unicorn horns.”

“I shall,” promised Flanders Nickels.

“And I, also,” vowed the he-unicorn pet at Flanders’s side.

Artemis stirred again, woke up, sat up, and rubbed her eyes, and shook her head about.  “What am I doing sitting on the ground?” she asked, her senses back into her consciousness.

“You got a little sick,” said Flanders, putting it mildly for her sake.

“Well, I feel all right now,” she said.  And she leaped to her feet.  Then the cheerleader put her arms akimbo, kicked up her right leg, kicked up her left leg, and cheered, “Go, go, go team, go!  Go, go, go team, go!”

“I like that, Artemis,” Flanders praised her.

“And I like doing that for you, Flanders,” said Artemis.

“And you did that without spilling any of your arrows out of your quiver,” Flanders said.

“I must have fallen when I got sick, but I don’t see any arrows spilled out on the ground from my strange fall, either,” said Artemis.

Knight asked, “Artemis, would you shoot an arrow for me?”

“I’d be honored to shoot an arrow for you, O brown unicorn,” said this gal of the dream.  And fair cheerleader Artemis drew an arrow from her quiver, nocked the arrow on her bowstring, aimed her arrow, drew back her bowstring, looked off into the distant dark, and let go the arrow.

Flanders heard the sound of splitting wood.  His pet asked, “Where did it go?”

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And the most adept lady archer said, “It went into the outer edge of that lowest branch of the twelfth box elder from where we stand, and it broke off the top half from the bottom half just about one foot from that branch’s tip.”

“I cannot see out there in the woods,” said Flanders.

“Do go and look and see, O Flanders,” said Artemis.

Making a torch with a stick by putting it in the log fire, Flanders went out into the woods to look.  And sure enough, the twelfth tree that he came to had the lowest branch broken off near where its tip would have been, and two halves lay upon the ground below, and the arrow lay just beyond.  Flanders Nickels exclaimed, “What an archer you are, Artemis!”

“What a cheerleader I am, Flanders,” said Artemis.

And Knight said, “What a precursor this dream woman is, Flanders.”

The cheerleader in red and black said, “It is time for me to go now, isn’t it Flanders?”

“I must be the one who goes, O comely girl,” said Flanders.

“I’ll miss you,” said the dream cheerleader.

“I’ll remember you always, O Artemis,” said Flanders.

“Would it be all right with you if you hugged a cheerleader?” asked Artemis.

“It would be all right with me, and it would be all right with God if I did that right now in our farewell, O alluring Artemis,” said Flanders Nickels.  And he and a cheerleader hugged each other for their first time.

“Whoa!” said Knight.  “My master has discovered cheerleaders!”

Just then Flanders woke up and saw familiar daylight of morning back in the Unicorn Lands, alone with good and loyal Knight.  “What are we waiting for, Knight?  We have a pilgrimage to resume, and we have a Deceiving Dragon to slay, and we have a God to go and see.”  And he mounted Knight, his Brass Sword along his hip.  And his most athletic brown unicorn began to gallop north.

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CHAPTER V 

Unicorn and rider came out of a spruce tree forest and out into a clearing of wild weeds.  Behold, in the midst of the weeds was indeed a stone structure like unto a Stonehenge.  Indeed a towering circle of sets of two vertical stones with one horizontal stone atop stood there, empty and barren and cold.  Milkweed plants and goldenrod plants formed the perimeter of this great stone edifice.  And all manner of thorns and thistles and picker plants filled the interior of this roofless home.

Man and angel could hear the cold north wind whistling through these great stone arches, and it hurt their ears.  Upon these great and massive boulders grew moss and lichens and algae and mold in colors of pale gray and dull green.

“What could such a place be, do you think, Knight?” asked Flanders, dismounting and standing before one of its arches.

“I know what this is, Master.” said Knight.  “It is a dragon den.”

“You mean that a dragon lives here?” asked Flanders, putting his hand on his sword haft and marching forward.

Knight put his unicorn horn upon Flanders’s shoulder from behind, and Flanders stopped his advance.  The he-unicorn warned him, “Master, it is written, ‘A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and

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hideth himself:  but the simple pass on, and are punished.’  Proverbs 22:3.”

“I should not go into this dragon den, O Knight?” asked Flanders.

“No dragon-slayer who ever came into a dragon den alive ever came out of a dragon den alive, O Master,” said Knight.

“Thanks for telling me that, good friend,” said Flanders, standing almost between two vertical boulders underneath a horizontal boulder.  “I can see that no one is home.” Yet with Knight’s counsel taken to heart, the sword fighter began to step backwards from this dragon den wall a number of steps,

keeping his eyes upon the den.

Just then what looked to be a cloud passed by overhead, obscuring the bright yellow sun.  Yet this “cloud” called down to them, saying, “Welcome to my humble home, Flanders, Knight.”  This

that blocked the sun was instead the Deceiving Dragon himself.  And the great saurian beast quickly descended and did light upon the open ground in the midst of his dragon den with a quaking of the ground.  Even the structure’s boulders did shake where they had been set up long ago.  Flanders gasped

when he saw these great stones shake, and the Deceiving Dragon noticed that and did laugh at him in

scorn.

Flanders regained his Christian fortitude and said, “You may laugh now, but you will wail later,

Deceiving Dragon.”  His sword drawn, the Christian warrior said, “Come out of your den now and fight me.”

“Good pilgrim, I am come home to rest from my labors this day.  I seek no fight with you this time.  Let me not trouble you anymore.  Go on and resume your journey.  I will not stop you from seeing Jesus,” said this Deceiving Dragon.

Flanders and Knight looked upon each other after hearing such words of peace from so bellicose a demon.  Knight said, “He speaks with deceit, my master.”

The Deceiving Dragon then said, “Look up into the skies and ask the God of truth if I lie, O

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man of prayer.”

Knight said, “We prefer our heads bowed in deference to our Maker when we pray, O Deceiving

Dragon.”

“Do bow your heads and seek God’s wisdom, unicorn, man,” the dragon said to them, himself still back inside his own den.

Flanders and Knight looked at each other, consent in their eyes at each other.  And Flanders and his unicorn bowed their heads, and Flanders had a quick word of prayer, “Father, tell us if this Deceiving Dragon tells us now a truth or a lie.”

Flanders looked up.  He saw a great shadow coming down upon him where he stood.  He heard a panicked voice of his unicorn friend cry out. “Master!  Look out!”  And he turned to see this crashing shadow.

It was one of those boulders that served as one of those arches from high up in the sky!  It was falling right toward where he now stood!  The Deceiving Dragon had knocked it down off of its vertical boulders to seek to crush Flanders and his unicorn with it! The angel had gotten out of the way.

The Christian man had not yet gotten out of the way.  His Brass Sword from God Almighty still in his right hand, Flanders leaped off to the side, took his brass saber in both hands, swung it right to left, and did strike this rock that was several times bigger than himself with it.  Behold, this boulder broke into two pieces—a big piece and a bigger piece—and both pieces crashed to the earth to both sides of Flanders and landed upon the ground with a mighty and a heavy thud.

Instantly Knight was right beside Flanders where he was still standing, “Master, Master, are you all right?”

“Why, that nearly hit me!” he said, his life spared.  “I’m all right.  “I am all right, Knight.”

“Praise God for His mercy!” exclaimed the brown unicorn.

“That accursed Deceiving Dragon!” uttered Flanders, more angry than scared.

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“Ha! Ha! Ha!” laughed the Deceiving Dragon in contempt at the man of God.

“I’ll get you for this, Deceiving Dragon!” said Flanders, marching toward the dragon, waiting for him in his den, his Brass Sword ready to do to the dragon as it had just done to the great stone.

“No, Master, do not do so foolish a thing as to go in there with him in battle,” said Knight.

“I’ll get him for that, O Knight,” said Flanders Nickels.

“I will not let you, Flanders,” said the wise angel of God, addressing him by his name.

“You will not let me go in and cut off this devil’s neck, Knight?” asked Flanders, angry now at his best friend for his first time.

“You will be doing just exactly what this devil wants you to do, Master,” said Knight, addressing him once again by his title.

“Knight, which one of the two of us is the master, and which one of the two of us is the pet?” asked Flanders, provoked by his unicorn’s words with a pricking of his own human pride.

“Blessed Master, this dragon does deceive,” said Knight in entreaty and with compassion.

And Flanders stopped to think now.  Yes the demon had tricked him.  And he had almost fallen for his deceit.  And he had almost marched in to his most certain demise.  Flanders Nickels would not do this now.  He chose not to enter this dragon den.  And he said in gentleness, “Forgive me, blessed Knight.  I was wrong.  You were right.  I will not go in there where he is.”

“Oh, Master,” said his brown unicorn in adoration.  And he nestled his brown head against Flanders’s open arms, and Flanders hugged him around his brown neck with both arms.  And they

right away looked back up at the battle scene here.

With the voice of authority and rationality, Flanders said, “Deceiving Dragon, we will not go in there and fight you in your den.  You refuse to leave your den and fight us out here.  We had a stand-off.  But this impasse is not in your favor.  This impasse is in our favor.  If you will not come out here, then that means that we two can continue on in our pilgrimage without any more resistance on your

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part for now.  Later, you will change your mind and come after us again, and you will have the shame of cowardice on your dragon face for your shutting yourself up so safe inside your home like this when you face us again.  And I know that with you, there shall be a third contention we will have to face against you, and maybe a fourth.  But now for sure, neither I nor my unicorn are afraid of you.  And if you do not remember what you did in this our second encounter with you, I shall remind you, O Deceiving Dragon. Till next time we meet, O dragon of the Devil.”  And with this, Flanders Nickels mounted Knight, said, “To the north, O gallant unicorn,” and they resumed their journey across the Unicorn Lands toward Jesus.  The Deceiving Dragon snorted and stamped his feet and shot fire at his great stones, but he did not right now leave his dragon den to go after them to stop them.  And man and angel headed northward.

After many miles of trek, Flanders asked, “Remember the day we first met, Knight?”

“Our first day, together.  Yes, my master,” reminisced the brown unicorn.

And master and pet shared memories in sweet nostalgia of that first day.  This was how God had brought man and unicorn together thus that first time:

God had blessed the young man Flanders Nickels with that greatly celebrated Brass Sword, and Flanders had undergone a several-year training regimen with this sword to become the greatest swordsman of the west.  He had first become an apprentice sword fighter; then he had become a journeyman sword fighter; then he had become a master sword fighter; then he became the champion sword fighter of the west region.  All of the Unicorn Lands were curious about this gifted and mighty

Christian with this sword made by God.  Flanders, ready now to serve the Lord with his Brass Sword, said to God, “I wish to be the great white hunter.  My ministry for You will be in hunting down bears and lions and tigers.  I will hunt game for You with the sword You did give me.”   But the Lord had already said to this man, “You will be the great demon-slayer.  Your ministry for Me will be in battling evil beasts of the Devil.  You will kill minions with the sword I did give you.”  And Flanders dared to

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say, “No, God.  I would rather hunt.  Animals are not as dangerous as demons.”  And the great swordsman rebelled against the will of the Lord for his life.  And he tempted the Lord his God with his own self-will, his flesh resisting the Spirit.  And Almighty God always has the final say in affairs of His Christians.  And Flanders was going to learn a hard lesson the hard way.

In His divine authority as Maker, God one day told Flanders, “I want you to go into the next town tomorrow.  I will have a Centaur there, waiting for you from Satan.  You are to slay the demon with your Brass Sword.”

But when the next day came, the stubborn Flanders instead began a great long journey to the east to hunt lions.  He was running away from God, but God is everywhere.  After several weeks of

trek, Flanders came out into the edges of the eastern region, just beyond the edges of the central region.

He saw hills and knolls of beautiful short green grass and blue skies and yellow sun.  Standing there like a hunter without peer, Flanders petted his sheath that held his sword along his hip, and he called out into the distance, farther out to the east, “Ready when you are, O lions!”  So quickly did Flanders Nickels see a lion off in the distance right after he got here.  In his carnal heart he went ahead and thanked God for that.  God did not like to hear that in this man’s ignorant sincerity.  Yet to this man’s zeal and delight, this great male lion with the full tawny mane did see him and begin to stalk him.

“Saber, get ready to do your work again, good friend,” said Flanders, and he thought to unsheathe his

Brass Sword to kiss it on its haft.  But, lo, when it came out of its scabbard, all that he held in his hand was just the haft!  Why, the blade of brass was completely severed from its handle!  In fact the brass blade was still there, loose, in its sheath, without its handle!  Words could not come out of his mouth for the ruination that happened to his beloved saber.  Such a thing was not possible and not feasible and

not logical.  Only the Lord could have done something so crazy as this.  And the great lion was drawing  closer.  And the hunter was now the hunted.  Soon the lion stood before him, a little off to his right.

And Flanders Nickels was afraid.

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Then things got worse for Flanders.  Behold, off in the distance, a centaur spotted him, and this centaur came bounding up toward him with his hooves pounding upon the grass.  Then the centaur stopped just in front of him to look upon him in inquisitiveness.  This centaur was not far away, a little off to his left.  Both centaur and lion were the same distance away from Flanders, one to his right and one to his left in front of him.  The devil, being a centaur, held a bow and arrow.  Flanders did not know

what to do at all now.  He would surely be killed two times over now with these two beasts stalking him now like this.  He looked at his impotent haft in his right hand, and for his first time he did not know what to do with his Brass Sword the way it was now.  He now sought God’s will, and he prayed,

“Lord, what am I supposed to do right now?  I got myself into this mess, and I cannot get myself out of this mess.  I really did it this time, God.  Didn’t I?”

Just then God manifested two objects upon the plush green lawn between him and the animals

where they stood.  A little to his left was a big rock too heavy for Flanders to lift up, and it was halfway between him and the centaur.  And a little to his right was a big wooden spear stuck into the ground, and it was halfway between him and the lion.  Flanders asked, “Lord, am I too try to get both of these beasts before they get me?”

And the Holy Spirit said, “No, my son.  You are to try to get one of these beasts before he gets you.”

Flanders understood.  He was to choose one of these two to slay.  But it had to be the right one.  It must not be the wrong one.  It must be the one that God would will him to slay. And once he were to slay the right one, the wrong one would right away flee.  Flanders was convicted of his sins.  He was supposed to slay a centaur back home in the west.  He had come way out here to the east, and yet even here he was supposed to slay a centaur.  God was sovereign, and Flanders knew that now.  He must renounce all hunting and begin all demon-fighting.

But there was a most disturbing paradox in this situation for Flanders.  If he tried to pick up the

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large rock to take out the centaur, the more formidable of his two foes here, he would surely perish in battle.  But if he picked up the wooden spear to take out the lion, the less formidable of his two foes here, he would surely prevail in battle.

Then the centaur took an arrow from his quiver, nocked it on his bowstring, aimed it at Flanders’s heart, and drew back the bow.  And just as this was happening, the great lion, the king of the beasts, crouched down on his hips to pounce upon Flanders where he stood and to maul him.  Whatever choice Flanders had to make, he had to make it right now at once.

Flanders leaped up to the big rock, and, calling upon God, he lifted it up over his head, and he let it fall out of his hands, he thought, maybe upon the top of the centaur archer.  Flanders fell.  Everything happened all at once.  He did not know what happened.  But his body felt not wounded.

And he got back to his feet.  And he looked around at the battle scene.  The first thing he saw was the centaur lying dead upon his side, his head crushed between the ground and the big rock.  In a confusion, Flanders studied the rest of this battle field. He saw a loose arrow nearby, itself broken into two pieces.  This must have been the arrow that the centaur had threatened him with; it had been fired at Flanders.  To the centaur’s side was his bow, itself also broken into two pieces.  Behind the equine back of the centaur were a whole pile of arrows spilled out of their quiver, every one of these arrows broken into two pieces.  And lying on top of the centaur, over his man’s torso, was his empty quiver, the leather bag torn into two pieces.

In prayer Flanders, flabbergasted, asked God, “What just happened?”

And the still small voice of the Holy Spirit said to him, “It is written in I Corinthians 10:4, ‘…;

and that Rock was Christ.’”

Then Flanders Nickels remembered the lion of the east, and he looked around for him.  But the lion was gone, just as God had said.

Then Flanders Nickels remembered the dread happening to his Brass Sword.  At once, he

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drew it out of his scabbard.  Glory to God, his saber of brass was made whole once again by the Good Lord Who had given it to him. “Blessed be the name of the Lord!” praised Flanders the restorer of his battle sword.  His Brass Sword was all right.

Right then and there, Flanders Nickels said, “Jesus, I now yield to Your will for my life.  With my sword I will serve you by slaying demons.  And I will battle against any devil you send my way, no matter how big and no matter how fierce and no matter how diabolical.  My Brass Sword is your Brass

Sword.”

Then God said to him, “O good and faithful Christian warrior, ask what I shall give you.”

And Flanders said, “If you would, Lord, give me a comrade at my side to serve with me in my ministry at demon-slayer.”

Lo, just then a most noble and august unicorn of brown came bounding up to him across the little green knolls.  This unicorn stopped before Flanders, lowered his unicorn horn in respect toward

Flanders, and spoke to Flanders, “I am archangel Knight, sent by God from the far shores of this region of the east.  I am ever at your service, good sir.”

“My name is Flanders Nickels, soldier of Christ,” said the man.  “And I do begin my mission for Jesus as slayer of devils.”

“My master,” said Knight.  “I am come to fight at your side.”

And that was how Flanders and Knight had become master and pet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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CHAPTER VI

It was the next day, and Flanders was riding his Knight ever closer to their divine destination.  Flanders said, “I was thinking for the longest time, Knight, that maybe we should have gone in and fought that dragon anyway.”

“And perish in so doing, Master?” asked his he-unicorn.

“God told me to go and kill myself the Deceiving Dragon, and I was told never to enter a dragon den, and now he still lives,” said the Christian soldier.  “It is my job to slay this demonic beast, before I am to present myself before Jesus, you know.”

“But the Deceiving Dragon will come back after us before we get to where Jesus rules, Master,” said Knight.

“Oh, that I do know.  He is most tenacious in his pursuit of evil, Knight,” said Flanders.

“Take heart.  We did the right thing in not going in to try to slay the dragon in his own den, Master,” said brown Knight.  “Believe my advice as an angel, Master, a dragon den is no place for a child of God.  A dragon den is a den of iniquity.  No born-again believer ought ever to come into anything at all like that.”

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“It is really that bad then, isn’t it, O Knight?” asked Flanders.

“There is a saying about dragon dens among us good angels, my master,” said Knight.  “’Enter a dragon den sane; exit a dragon den mad.’”

“I believe you now, O Knight,” said Flanders.  “Now I can see that it was a good thing I did not try to get him that time.”

“When do you think that we will encounter that Deceiving Dragon next time?” asked the unicorn, looking up into the skies and seeing nothing.

“I would say, ‘Not long from now.’” said Flanders Nickels.  Then he said, “I feel oppression in the air.”

“Master, I would say, ‘Right now,’” said Knight.  “I see him.  He is here.”

“He seems to have come from nowhere,” said Flanders, watching the great dragon as he slowly spiraled down toward the ground.

In battle rally, Knight said, “Master, it is written, ‘Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.’  Ephesians 6:10.”

In reply, Flanders gave forth his battle cry for this day, “’Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.’  Ephesians 6:11, good Knight.

And the Deceiving Dragon lighted upon the ground with a shaking of the earth.  He looked at them and did not yet speak.  They looked at him and did not yet speak.  Then he spoke and said, “I do divide the brethren one from the other.”

Flanders replied, “Knight and I are indivisible in the Lord.  We are one in the Holy Spirit.”

In reply, the Deceiving Dragon leaned down his head and shot fire out of his mouth right toward  them, between them, and beyond them.  Flanders had to jump to one side, and Knight, to the other side, to flee the fire.  Now there was a wall of burning fire upon the ground between the two soldiers of Christ.

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The Deceiving Dragon smiled smugly and declared, “Behold how I have divided the brethren!”

And he laughed an evil laugh at them.

“I am going to get him for this, Knight,” said Flanders.

“And I, as well, Master,” said Knight.

And on either side of the wall of fire, the swordsman and the unicorn charged the great wicked dragon where he stood, waiting for them.  And Flanders swung his Brass Sword before the Deceiving Dragon could shoot out his next fire cloud.  And Flanders scored, cutting off the dragon’s right ear.  Flanders swung again, and this time cut off the dragon’s left ear.  Knight swung his unicorn horn from right to left and put a gash in the dragon’s lower belly.  Knight, right after, swung his unicorn horn back, from left to right, and put a gash in the dragon’s upper belly.  Flanders then swung his sword in both hands from up to down, and he cut off the left front dragon paw from its dragon arm.  In confidence he went ahead to try the same thing with this malevolent beast’s right front dragon paw.

The Deceiving Dragon now retaliated against the two from God.  He grabbed Flanders around his sword wrist with his remaining good fore paw, jerked his sword arm straight up, lifted him up off the ground, and let him fall in a pile back down to the ground.  Flanders sat there in a daze, but his Brass

Sword was still in his right hand.  Seeing this happen to his master, Knight hesitated for just a moment.

Then the he-unicorn again charged the he-dragon, his unicorn horn aimed at the dragon’s right foreleg

at the wrist.  The great dragon roared intimidatingly, though not without pain from his many battle wounds this day, and he swiped at the charging unicorn with his good right foreleg.  What happened would frighten any angel who might be watching.  The veteran of Christian warfare, Flanders, saw it happen, and he leaned over where he sat and threw up.  Heaven itself was suddenly quiet.  Good brown  Knight stood there, his self not struck by the Deceiving Dragon, but his whole essence as angel quite taken out of his body.  Knight’s forehead was now without his unicorn horn!  The Deceiving Dragon had struck off Knight’s unicorn horn off of Knight’s head right at its base.  Knight looked barren.

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Knight looked naked.  Knight looked mortal.  Knight was now a horse.

Flanders got back to his feet, struggled in walk to get to where Knight was standing, his hobble more from the shock than from his battle wound, and he tried to talk to his former unicorn.  Human words could not come to him now. Behold, the former great angel gave forth a most hideous mortal horse’s neigh.  His best friend could no longer speak words.  Wise and Bible-learned Knight was now a dumb horse with a beast’s limited intellect.  Knight must now someday die.

In great pride of Lucifer, the Deceiving Dragon said in most arrogant swelling words point-blank right at Flanders Nickels, “O mighty man of valor, behold your nice brown horse!”  And the horse who was once Knight gave forth another sickening whinny at Flanders.

“O mighty minion of the Great Dragon Lucifer, behold your last moment in these Unicorn Lands!” yelled Flanders.  And he assaulted the Deceiving Dragon in a most ferocious fury with his Brass Sword.  Overcome and overwhelmed, the Deceiving Dragon fled for his life.  And in flight he lifted up into the skies to get away from the saber made by God, and he quickly disappeared as quickly as he had appeared.

And Flanders was left alone with his dumb brown horse.  He looked into his animal’s mortal eyes.  He looked upon his animal’s bare forehead.  He looked upon his animal’s broken off horn lying upon the ground.  He threw up again, this time standing.  Then he prayed to God in this most dire moment he had ever encountered in his wars together with Knight.  And he said to God, “O Heavenly Father, I do not know what to say right now.  Would that I had died instead of this!  I know that You have created all things.  You have created men, and you have created angels.  You save men from their sins.  Can you also save angels from mortality?  When You walked the world of the Bible as Jesus Christ, it is written how You healed many who were sick.  These were people whom You cared for as Maker of all.  You have the same power here today, many years later, in these Unicorn Lands.  You can heal my angel who is wounded.  This is my Knight, whom You care for as Creator of all angels.  I ask

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You now, O God, ‘Would You put so-gallant Knight’s unicorn horn back upon his head and make him as he was before?’  Abba, Father.  In Jesus’s name.  Amen.”

Just then the two biggest white unicorns that Flanders had ever seen came bounding up to him.

He had seen them before.  They were in his dream.

The one grand white unicorn spoke and said, “Flanders, I am Gabriel that stand in the presence of God.”  Then he said, “Do pick up the unicorn horn.”  Flanders obeyed.

And the other white unicorn of grandeur spoke and said, “Flanders, I am Michael, which stand

for the children of the people of God.”  Then he said, “Hold on to the unicorn horn.”  Flanders did so.

“Do follow us, Flanders,” said Gabriel.  “And bring him who was Knight.”

“And walk in faith, Flanders,” said Michael. “God always rewards faith.”

Flanders Nickels obeyed, and he followed them, leading his wounded unicorn with his hand on the back of his brown neck.

And the four came out onto a little utopia place.  “What do your eyes see?” Gabriel asked Flanders.

Flanders beheld this utopia with wonder and great admiration, and he said, “I do see a very high

waterfall coming down here from way above.  It falls down along the rocky flat wall of mountain before me.  Where it lands is a little river, clean and pure and wholesome.  In the midst of this river, very near to this great waterfalls, is a beautiful little island the size of a yard in the country.  This island is rife with short green grass and with green clovers and with yellow dandelions.”

“What do your ears hear?” asked Michael.

“I hear the roaring of many waters.  I hear the flowing of a little river.  I hear the singing of crickets.  I hear a chorus from Heaven coming down from Above.  I hear the still small voice of the Holy Spirit of God,” said Flanders.

“Listen now to God,” said Michael.  “And let God be your guide in this place.”

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And Flanders Nickels listened to the Holy Ghost:  “Behold this utopia, O mighty and good servant.  This place is a unicorn den.  Before any of My unicorns are sent out into the world to minister

for Me, I teach him about Myself in such dens as these.  This unicorn den was your unicorn’s den long, long ago.  I raised brave Knight here in this very den in the ways of God.  And then he went out into my Unicorn Lands to do good and to spread righteousness and to resist evil and to subdue unrighteousness.  This little island was home to Knight at an earlier time in this world.  Knight has come back home, and I have brought him here to restore his angelic powers and supernatural wisdom

that had been his before that third encounter with the Deceiving Dragon.”

Flanders Nickels then asked the still small voice, “Do You want me to do anything about all of this, Lord?”

And the still small voice of God said, “All I ask of you, my son, is that you only trust, only thank, only wait, upon Me.  Listen to my two great angels in their final two counsels before they leave you here.  Come out onto that idyllic island then—you and Knight.  Then behold and watch the great work of the Lord which He will do.  And thank Me with thanksgiving.  After that, then go ahead and finish your pilgrimage.  You are now very near to the north, where I do dwell.  And I do await you in My Person in the north of the north.  Go with God, O Flanders Arckery Nickels.  For I am Good.”  Then the Holy Spirit’s voice left him from within.  And Flanders was alone now once again with Knight and God’s two great angels.

Gabriel then said, “My counsel from God, O Flanders Nickels, is written in Proverbs 3:5, where God says, ‘Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.’”

And Michael said then, “And my counsel from God, good man, is written in Proverbs 3:6, where our Lord tells us, ‘In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.’”

Then the two most venerable white unicorns galloped off away to do more work for God at another place He needed them to be.

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The Christian man was alone now with his horse that had been his unicorn.  Acting in good Christian faith, Flanders, leading the handicapped angel across the waters with him, came up to this

island paradise, and man and equine climbed up out of the waters and out onto the bank.  Flanders and

“Knight” were not alone.  The born-again believer knew that God was here in great power and wisdom.

And Flanders held up the unicorn horn in his right hand, prayed, ‘God make this horn stay where it belongs,’ and put the horn on the head.

Suddenly the brown equine called forth in so familiar and so welcoming a unicorn voice, “Master!  Dearest Master!”

“Knight!  So wonderful Knight!” cried out Flanders in so great gladness like none he had ever felt before.

Strong in the Lord and sure of the Lord’s work, Knight began to brandish his restored unicorn horn most appropriately confidently.  He knocked it into the ground over and over again, and it stayed strong and sure upon his forehead.  Flanders’s he-unicorn even gave a most human laugh of so great delight.  “Master, I’m all right!” he sang out in glee.

“Knight, you’re okay now,” said Flanders in joy of the Lord.

“Thank You, O Maker,” the he-unicorn prayed.

“And I thank You, too, O Creator-God,” the believer prayed.

Knight then looked around this little island with the discernment now of a unicorn.  He said, “I’ve seen this place before, Master.  I’ve been here before.  It looks familiar.  It is a place I must have been in some thousands of years ago.”

“It is your unicorn den, Knight, where you had been raised as a child unicorn,” said Flanders.

“Why, it is!” exclaimed the unicorn with great wonder and marvel in his eyes unlike any wonder and marvel Flanders had ever seen in his angel’s eyes before.  “Master, I have come back home!”

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“Knight, in all of my travels in these Unicorn Lands, I have never seen so beautiful a place as your own unicorn den here from ancient days,” said Flanders.

“Do you like it, Master?” asked Knight.

“I love it, Knight!” exclaimed Flanders, enamored of this haven.

“May we stay here just a little while before we get back to our trip, Master?” asked the unicorn pet.

“Let’s spend a day here, Knight,” said Flanders.

“Oh, good!” said Knight.  “A day it shall be.”

And there in the surrealistic unicorn den, man and unicorn sang the hymn “Praise Ye the Lord, the Almighty,” in most fervent and ardent thanksgiving to Jesus Christ the Lord:

“1.  Praise ye the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation!

O my soul, praise Him, for He is thy health and salvation!

All ye who hear, Now to His temple draw near;

Join me in glad adoration!

 

2. Praise ye the Lord, who o’er all things so wondrously reigneth,

Shelters thee under His wings, yea, so gently sustaineth!

Hast thou not seen How thy desires e’er have been

Granted in what He ordaineth?

 

3. Praise ye the Lord, who with marvelous wisdom hath made thee,

Decked thee with health, and with loving hand guided and stayed thee;

How oft in grief Hath not He brought thee relief,

Spreading His wings for to shade thee!

 

4. Praise ye the Lord! O let all that is in me adore Him!

All that hath life and breath, come now with praises before Him!

Let the Amen Sound from His people again:

Gladly for aye we adore Him.”

 

 

 

 

 

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CHAPTER VII

Flanders Nickels, upon Knight’s back, turned to look back at the beatific former unicorn den across the waters. “I kind of wish that we could have stayed there, O Knight,” confessed Flanders from this opposite shore.

“My master, is not Heaven even better than a unicorn den in truth?” asked Knight.

“I do so want to meet my Saviour,” said Flanders, dreamily, turning back ahead toward the north.  “Knight, it looks like we are leaving the west.”

“We are approaching the north indeed, Master,” said Knight, breaking into a gallop.

Flanders, being a born-again believer, began to think about Heaven and Hell as he rode.  Heaven was the eternal destiny of the righteous.  Hell was the eternal destiny of the unrighteous.  All

men and women and boys and girls in these Unicorn Lands had either of these two eternities awaiting them in the afterlife.  And what they did about Jesus in this life determined to where they would go in the life to come.  Flanders began to speak his thoughts out loud, “Did you know, Knight, that Hell was not originally created for mankind, for those who died without Christ?”

“Verily, Master,” said wise Knight.  “Hell was originally meant for the Devil and his angels.”

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“That lake of fire,” said Flanders with a shudder.

“II Peter chapter two, verses four and nine,” said the angel.  “’For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;’ and ‘…, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:’”

“I know all about Hell from the Bible and from all those sermons at church, but I will never have to spend one second there.  And the lost know nothing about Hell, but in the life to come, they will know all about it, and most personally at that.  The damned down there know far more about Hell than I do with my Holy Bible wisdom in the Unicorn Lands.  Glad I’m not going there, Knight,” said

the Christian man.

His brown unicorn slowed down now to a canter, and he began to orate a most erudite doctrine of Hell:  “Foremost Hell is a place of fires.  The fires of Hell are so hot, that they are too hot to give off light.  Down there, the accursed have physical bodies suffering overwhelming and horrible physical torments.  Their bodies are indestructible corruptible eternal bodies on fire forever.  These damned are in a realm of both outer darkness and utter darkness, and they shall never see light again.  These bodies are floating and falling and stumbling and tripping in a limbo of no solid foundation upon which to put their feet. These accursed are separated from God for forever.  And they will never leave this place of torments. If one told them, ‘You’ll be out of here in a thousand years,’ they would have hope. But down in Hell there is no longer any such thing as hope.  And not only that, but the injury or illness that had killed their body as a mortal will forever be killing them in this eternity after.  And so great a parched thirst all in Hell have. They beg for just one drop of water to cool their burning tongue.  And so ravenous a desperate hunger their bellies do have who are down there.  They would beg for a buffet; they will get naught. And there are worms in Hell—creeping worms, crawling worms, slithering worms, terrible worms—and they are on all the bodies of the damned people.  As it is written thrice– in Mark 9:44; Mark 9:46; Mark 9:48–’Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.’”

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“I’m glad that good angels and redeemed people like us two will never have to be there, Knight,” said Flanders Nickels.

“Good Master, let us go and talk about the other place, too,” said Knight.  “What will Heaven be all about for you other than Jesus Christ the Lord on His throne?”

“Second only to my Saviour, Heaven for me will be an eternity with no more trials,” said Flanders most eagerly. “In Revelation 21:4, it is written for us saints this great promise from the Lord:

‘And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain:  for the former things are passed away.’”

“No bad things happen to people in Heaven,” said the he-unicorn.

“Only good things happen Up There, Knight,” said Flanders.

“Your resurrected body There will be an indestructible and incorruptible eternal body, a body perfect like our Maker’s body,” said Knight.

“Once I get There, I need not suffer injury or sickness again,” said Flanders.  “Is it not written, good friend, ‘As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness:  I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness?’  Psalm 17:15,” said the Christian man about his personal Saviour.

“And, Master, is it not also written, ‘Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet

appear what we shall be:  but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see

him as he is?’  I John 3:2,” recited the wise brown unicorn.

“Also it is written, ‘Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.’

Philippians 3:21, O Knight,” recited the saint.

“And in Heaven, the curse of sin will not be There as it is here in the Unicorn Lands, Master,”

said his pet unicorn.

“I will pet the lions and tug on their manes,” said Flanders, with a little laugh at himself at this

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blessed truth.

“And do not forget God’s promise in Isaiah 2:4, good Master,” said Knight.

“Isaiah 2:4,” said Flanders, thinking out loud.  “Yes.  ‘…:  and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks:  nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.’”

“Master, when Jesus comes, you will put away your Brass Sword for forever,” said the brown unicorn.

Looking upon his God-ordained Brass Sword and remembering his life of violence with which he did serve his Jesus in this life, Flanders spoke his thoughts now, saying, “That won’t be so bad at that.”

“And there will be streets of gold for us two to walk on together,” said the he-unicorn.

“And there will be gates of pearl for us two to pass through,” said Flanders.

“And there is Heaven’s river, Master—it is called ‘the river of water of life,’ said learned Knight.

“We two can wade down this river of life—you and I, Knight—and we can splash around in it, frolic in it, have a water fight in it,” said the man.

“And we will get to see the tree of life There, the famous tree mentioned in the Bible as being in the Garden of Eden in most early days,” said the spiritual unicorn.

“Ah, the tree of life,” said Flanders.  “Heaven’s tree.”

Just then the daydreaming unicorn stopped and exclaimed, “Master!  Master!  Do you see what I see just up ahead for real?”  Joy in the Lord was in his unicorn’s voice.  Flanders looked up ahead.

“Why, I think that I see a sand dunes, O Knight!” exclaimed Flanders.

“It really is a sand dunes!” exclaimed the angel.

“We are on the borders of the north, Knight!” said Flanders, rejoicing in his Lord.  He leaped

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off of his unicorn, tore off his shoes, and ran barefoot into this north region and hopped and pranced about in the sand.  “Yes!  Yes!  Good Lord!  Beautiful, beautiful sand!” he exclaimed in glee.

“Wait for me, Master!” called out Knight.  And the game-some unicorn ran out into the sand dunes right after and began to stomp his happy hooves upon the sand.  He ran his unicorn horn across the sand in a frolic and pushed sand all over about his head.  And he rolled over on his back and ran his equine back across the delightful white sand of the north.  And he said, “This beautiful, beautiful north!

How happy I am to be here! Jesus is now very near!  Such sand after our long journey, Master!”

And man and unicorn frolicked for an hour in the sand dunes here at the edges of the north.

Then, lo, the smell of sulfur and brimstone came upon their nostrils.  Flanders stood up from

where he had been logrolling, and he said, “Knight, I do believe that I smell a dragon.”

“I do, also, Master,” said Knight.

“Has a dragon dared enter this north?” asked Flanders.

“This north is holy,” said Knight.  “It is no place for a dragon.”

“I see him coming down now to the ground,” said Flanders in dismay.  “It is our dragon from before,” he said with resolve now.

“Aye, it is the Deceiving Dragon,” said the brown unicorn.

Flanders drew his Brass Sword.  The unicorn readied his unicorn horn.  There was no time for the man to put back on his shoes.  There was time only for a three-word prayer from the unicorn, “Help us, Lord.”  Both Christian soldiers knew that this time the Deceiving Dragon had come with a grave vengeance and that this day there would be death in this battle.

And the Deceiving Dragon lighted upon the ground in the grass just before the first sand dunes.

He stayed there for a while, breathing out fire between his teeth and through his nostrils.  But he did not yet advance toward them where they stood upon the sand.

Knight said, “It is true then what I heard, Master, an old proverb:  ‘As dragons love fire, so

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dragons hate sand.’”

“Sand dunes, O Knight, the main geography of the north,” said Flanders.

“It seems, Master, true then that sand dunes can burn right through a dragon’s armor,” said Knight.  “He will not come after us where we are right now.”

“Then we must come after him where he is right now,” said Flanders.

“I’m with you, Master,” said the brown unicorn warrior.

Just then the Deceiving Dragon spoke dreadful words:  “O Flanders, Knight, your journey is now without cause.  The woman your Maker had prepared for you, Flanders, has been slain by a griffin

in the south.  She lies quite dead now in a field under the sun.  A faithful red unicorn who was her pet is standing now beside her corpse in mourning.  And she was even a Christian woman.  Too bad, man of God.  Things happen.”

Flanders and Knight looked at each other.  Both considered, reconsidered, then shook their heads, “No.”  Flanders rebuked the Deceiving Dragon saying, “You lie!”  And he and Knight knew that they were just deceiving words that this dragon had said to them. Flanders went on to say further, “O dragon, you speak such deception so that I do not go to see Christ.  It makes no difference to you whether I get my born-again girlfriend.  And you seek to lie to me about her to keep me from finishing my pilgrimage.  I and my Knight will meet our Maker!  I dare you to try to stop me, O Deceiving Dragon!”

“Oh, that I surely will, Flanders.  I will stop you by slaying you where you stand,” threatened the lying dragon.  Still the demon-dragon did not step out onto the sand to assault them.

So the soldiers of Christ stepped off the sand dunes to attack the dragon.

The Deceiving Dragon grabbed Flanders in his chest with his good right fore-claw, just as Flanders swung his Brass Sword.  The dragon threw the man off to the side a good five feet, just as

the saber cut into the left side of the dragon’s neck.  Flanders lay there, sprawled for a moment, with

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great pain of broken bones in his chest.  It had to be broken ribs,  And they were on the right side of his

chest.  Flanders shook his head and sat up and rallied to battle.  And he saw the dread dragon shoot fire out of his mouth right in upon Knight where he was charging.  And his noble brown main caught on fire in a blaze!  Flanders jumped to his feet, tore off his shirt, and ran up to his unicorn and put out the fire with his shirt.  The Brass Sword was still in his right hand.  His broken ribs were on his right side.

Flanders put his Brass Sword now in his left hand to continue this battle.

The Deceiving Dragon said, “Soldier boy, you are not left-handed.”

“Or am I, little dragon?” said Flanders in subtle guile of ploy.

Just then the he-unicorn ran right into the distracted Deceiving Dragon horn-first right into this own dragon’s right rib cage.  And the dragon was wounded with a broken rib.

Right after that, Flanders swung his Brass Sword with his left arm and did cut into the dragon’s side of his neck again, this time on his right side.

Yet even now the greatly formidable Deceiving Dragon stood back up again, as fell a bane now as he had been before his much wounds.  Knight said to Flanders. “Master, we have done now all we can with sword and horn.  To finish off our wars with this Deceiving Dragon, we must now seek and speak the Words of God from the Good Book.  A Bible verse will do more harm to a dragon even than this holy sand of the north.

“Knight, do you know any verses about dragons who go around and deceive?” asked Flanders, searching for Scripture that he had hidden in his heart sometime over the years.

“Yes, I do, Master,” said his brown unicorn.  “Do you know Revelation 12:7-9?”

“I surely do!” said Flanders.

“Master, I implore you to strike the dragon with it right now while you still can,” urged the he-unicorn.

And the born-again believer declared, “O Deceiving Dragon, it is written, ‘And there was war

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in heaven:  Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,

And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.  And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world:  he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.’”

Just then the ground below opened up beneath the wounded Deceiving Dragon.  The Deceiving

Dragon gave a great bellow of rebellion.  And the Deceiving Dragon fell faint down into the pit.  And the ground closed back up again.

The two victorious soldiers of good looked at each other after this happened.  The he-unicorn said, “It is done.”

The man said, “The Deceiving Dragon is slain.”

Then both sat back down upon the ground, Flanders with broken ribs; Knight with a scorched

neck.  Knight said, “This time we are hurt, O Master.”

“We have to stop for a little while and heal up before we can continue our trek,” said Flanders.

“Let us step back onto the dunes of sand and get better in the north,” suggested the unicorn.

“That is a good idea, good friend,” said Flanders.  And they rallied a few steps back into the north region and sat down in the north’s tranquil dunes.

“Our Jesus will be glad to see us,” said Knight.

“Our Jesus is with us now,” said the born-again man.

“And He was with us in our last battle,” said the brown unicorn.

“Oh, to soon see His smiling face.” said Flanders in reverie.

“Soon, my master.  Soon,” said Knight.  “I promise you.”

And very soon after, so-needful sleep overcame the wounded warriors, and their necessary little convalescence began with a good sleep there on the edges of the north region, both man and unicorn now protected to the uttermost by Christ the Lord.

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UNIT IV

 

ENCOUNTERS WITH THE TEMPTING WIZARD

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER I

“The Fair Havens,” Dionysius said, reading the sign out loud as she sat upon Martial.

“The capital city of the north region, O Mistress,” said Martial.

“Here we two really are, good Martial,” said Dionysius.  “We are finally in the north!  It’s beautiful up here.”

A tawny unicorn passed by in front of them did bid them both greetings, “Maranatha, O cheerleader girl.  Maranatha, Martial.”

“Maranatha,  O tawny unicorn,” called Dionysius back.

“Maranatha O le Maitre,” called Martial back.

Miss Daugherty asked Martial, “’Le Maitre’…that’s his name?”

“It is, my mistress,” said her black unicorn.

Just then another unicorn called out, “Maranatha, O cheerleader woman.  Maranatha, Martial.”

Dionysius Daugherty looked and saw this one to be a sorrel unicorn.

The woman called out, “Maranatha, O unicorn so sorrel.”

Martial called out, “Maranatha, le Monsieur.”

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“That one’s name is ‘le Monsieur,’” said Miss Daugherty.

“It is,” said Martial.  “We angels know each other all of us by name.”

Her good angel proceeded to lead her throughout this holy city.  As she rode him, Dionysius said, “This city is a godly city like no other.  I see unicorns walking and talking and living their lives and ruling this world everywhere we turn here in these The Fair Havens.  I have never seen so many unicorns before, O Martial.  And so many different colors they do come in.  And I see other black unicorns like you that look different from you.”

Martial said, “Indeed, my mistress, here in The Fair Havens, there are more unicorns than there are people.”

“God is in These Fair Havens,” said the cheerleader gal.

Martial then came up to another sign and stopped.  Dionysius read this sign out loud:

“Blessed Hope House of Worship

Come and join us for worship and fellowship daily

‘Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing

of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;’

–Titus 2:13.”

 

A beautiful passageway of flat white stones and short little wooden posts and trees of all manner

of fruit led up to the door of this house of God.

“Oooo, Martial, let’s go inside and worship!” said Dionysius.

“There is no better thing to do than that in The Fair Havens, Mistress,” said Martial.

“There is no better thing to do than that in any place, O good unicorn of mine,” said Miss Daugherty.  She dismounted, and woman and unicorn ran side-by-side up to the door.  The unicorn got there first.  But the woman went inside first.  This house of worship was wondrously bright inside with windows everywhere, but it was empty right now.

Martial explained, “There is a capital city business meeting going on right now at the capital city hall.  There have come problems with wizards causing trouble in these Unicorn Lands, and the

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unicorns have to resolve this new problem.  All the angels are there now, discussing business.”

“Then we have this great church all to ourselves for now, O Martial,” said the Christian lady in great gladness.  She began to walk around this divine temple of the north.  The cheerleader of God took into her spirit and into her soul the peace of God and the peace with God as she walked about this silent

and tranquil sanctuary.  She admired the much yellow sunlight pouring into this refuge through the large bright windows.  She came up to the biggest window, the one in the back, the farthest window from the front door.  She stood in the great miracle of God’s light of the sun upon these Unicorn Lands.

She felt God’s Presence in this creation of this star shining down upon her whole form.  She saw in the

midst of this yellow daylight a large King James Bible upon a tall white marble pedestal.  The K.J.V.

Bible was open to the book of Psalms.  She began to read the Psalter here in this bright yellow light.

She lost track of time.  Then she fell upon prayer of praise to God and prayer of thanks to God for this book of the Psalms.  She lost track of more time.  The sun was bright.  And God was light.  Then the cheerleader remembered her unicorn Martial.  She raised her head, called out, “Martial, are you still here?” and turned around to look.

Behold, a brown unicorn she had not seen before was standing there.  He said to her in greeting,

“Even so, come, Lord Jesus, fair cheerleader of the Lord.”

She greeted him back in like, saying, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus, O unicorn all of brown.”

This brown unicorn introduced himself, “My name is ‘Knight,’ O comely worshiper of God.”

And she introduced herself to him, saying, “My name is ’Dionysius.’  Glad to meet you, Knight.”

“The honor is mine, Dionysius,” said Knight.  She noted that his brown hide matched her brown

hair.

Not knowing what to say further to this strange and friendly angel, Miss Daugherty said, “I came to the city to look for Jesus.”

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This brown unicorn said, “Our Good Lord is indeed near.”

“Just a little farther north from here,” she said.

“Just a little farther north from here, fair maiden,” said Knight.

“I have a unicorn for a pet.  He brought me here from the south,” said Dionysius.

“I myself am a pet,” said Knight.  “I brought my master here from the west.”

“My unicorn told me today that all unicorns all know each other everywhere,” said Miss Daugherty.

“That is truth, O cheerleader in black and red,” said Knight.  “What is your unicorn’s name?”

“His name is ‘Martial.’” said the woman.

“Ah, good and faithful archangel Martial,” said Knight.  “Him I do know well.”  Knight went on to say, “Martial has a mistress named ‘Miss Daugherty.’”

“That is I!” exclaimed the Christian pilgrim.

“Indeed you and Artemis—though antonyms—are much like synonyms, O girl Dionysius,” said

Knight cryptically.  “I think that my master needs to meet you, O cheerleader-for-God.”

“Pray tell me, O black unicorn, where your master is right now,” said Dionysius in fervency.

Knight said to her, “My master right now is outside, picking white grapefruit.  Where might

Martial be right now?”

“That I do not know,” said the woman believer. “He was with me when we came in.”

And the girl Dionysius began to run toward the door of the church leading out.

Meanwhile, Flanders Nickels was peeling a rind off of a big white grapefruit from one of the many fruit trees out in front of Blessed Hope House of Worship.  And he gave thanks to God and bit into it in great delights.  “Knight,” he said, “would you like a wedge of white grapefruit?”  And the man looked up and around.  Knight was not there.  Yet, instead he saw a black unicorn whom he had never met before, standing now before him.  Man and unicorn went and exchanged greetings for the Second

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Coming, and Flanders said to him, “Excuse me.  I thought that you were my unicorn Knight.”

The black unicorn said, “I am the unicorn Martial.  I know your Knight, sir.”

“I’m pleased to meet you, Martial,” said the Christian man.  “My name is Flanders.”

“Flanders Nickels of the west?” asked Martial.

“I am he,” said Flanders.

“I heard about you, O warrior-for-Jesus,” said Martial.  “Your Brass Sword has slain many devils in these Unicorn Lands to the glory of God.”

“I was nearly slain by the last one, Martial,” said Flanders.

“He must have been a dragon,” said Martial.

“That he was, O Martial,” said Flanders.

“My mistress and I are recovering from a war with a griffin,” said Martial.

“You have a mistress?” asked Flanders.

“Yes, I do, Flanders,” said Martial.  “She is a Christian woman on a journey to see Jesus—she and I from the south.”

“Are you both well from the encounters with that griffin?” asked Flanders.

“We are both well now.  Thank you, Flanders,” said Martial.

“Does she love Jesus?” asked Flanders.

“My mistress loves Jesus,” said Martial.  “And she loves cheer-leading, even these past twenty-five years, O Flanders Nickels.”

“The woman is a cheerleader?” asked Flanders.

“Second only to all that is Jesus for my mistress is her cherished cheerleader uniform indeed, O son of God,” said Martial.

“Artemis made real!” said Flanders, with an excitement this day suddenly second only to the excitement of the moment he found Christ on the day he got saved long ago.

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“What do you mean about Artemis?” asked Martial.

“Martial, where is your mistress now?” asked Flanders, on the verge of finding God’s answer to his question of the pilgrimage.

“She is in the house of worship,” said Martial.

“Thank you, Martial! Thank You, Jesus!” said Flanders Nickels.  And he ran toward the house of God.

The cheerleader Dionysius Daugherty, running out of the temple door, suddenly crashed into a form that crashed into her; and both forms fell down in the entrance way.  Picking herself up off the floor, she saw a guy picking himself back up off the floor.  Both stood up.  Both smiled.  Both said not a word.  Both began to laugh.  Both said now, “I’m sorry.”  Both said, “My fault.”  Both liked what they saw in each other.

Then he said to her, “You met Knight, miss.”

She said in equal affection, “You met Martial, sir.”

“My name is ‘Flanders,’” he said.  “Flanders Arckery Nickels.”

“My name is ‘Dionysius,’” she said.  “Dionysius Drago Daugherty.”

“A most resonant alliteration, O cheerleader in black and red,” he said.  “D.D.D.”

“And a most interesting acronym in your name, O man of God,” said Dionysius.

He thought hard, then guessed, “F.A.N.?”

“FAN,” she told him in most clever intuition.  “Are you a fan of our Saviour?”

“I do love Him with all of my heart and with all of my soul and with all my mind and with all my strength,” he said.

“Why, I do, or try to do, that also, Flanders,” she said.

He then said, “I have been on a pilgrimage to go see Jesus and ask Him for a pretty Christian girlfriend to come into my life.”

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She then said, “And I have been on a journey to see Jesus up here to ask Him to give me a handsome born-again believer for a boyfriend.”

“Am I your one, Dionysius?” he asked.

“What greater boyfriend-in-the-Lord can a girl have than the one who has a sword like that at his side?” she said.  “That is the world-famous Brass Sword, isn’t it?”

“It is at that,” he said.                                                                                                                                     “I love this Brass Sword!” exclaimed Dionysius Daugherty.                                                                                “Then I am your one from God, O girl Dionysius!” exclaimed Flanders Nickels.

“Am I your one, Flanders?” she asked.

“I dreamed about a dream cheerleader, and now I see life with a living cheerleader,” he said.

“Do you approve of my cheer-leading uniform, Flanders?” asked Dionysius.

“Why, Dionysius, it is almost as beautiful as you!” he said.

“I am your one from God too, then, Flanders,” said Miss Daugherty.

“Can a soldier fall for a cheerleader, and can a cheerleader fall for a soldier?” he asked.

She said, “Yes, a soldier-for-Christ can fall for a cheerleader-for-Christ, and a cheerleader-for-Christ can fall for a soldier-for-Christ.”

“It is written about what happened between us this day,” he said, “’O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!  How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!  For who hath known the mind of the Lord?  Or who hath been his counsellor?’  Romans

11:33-34.”

“In other words, in a believer’s proverb of this day, ‘God works in mysterious ways.’” said

Miss Daugherty.

“It looks like our Maker has already answered our prayer requests, and we have not yet come before His throne and asked them before Him,” said Flanders.

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“God is good, and God is great,” said the cheerleader Christian.

“But I’m still going There to see Him anyway,” said Flanders.  “I can go There and say to Him, ‘Thank You for my Dionysius, Lord Jesus.’”

“I want to finish my pilgrimage, also,” said Miss Daugherty.  “I didn’t go this far to quit and go back.”

“I really want to see God,” said Flanders.

“I want to meet my Creator first of all,” said Dionysius.

“Only now we can go together to see him,” said Flanders.

“May Knight and Martial finish our pilgrimage with us?” asked Miss Daugherty.

“We four will go to the northern seas and behold the ocean of the north,” said Flanders.

“The sea of the north,” said the cheerleader dreamily.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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CHAPTER II

Boyfriend-and-girlfriend-in-the-Lord, upon their unicorns, resumed their journey to see God.

Dionysius spoke, “I praise the Lord for His so great salvation offered so freely.  I pass the praise to you,

Flanders.”

He said, “I praise my Heavenly Father for His perfect sacrifice of His only begotten Son on the cross of Calvary.  I pass the praise to you, Dionysius.”

“I praise my Saviour for His perfect holiness.  How He loves righteousness, and how He hates unrighteousness,” said the girl.  “I pass the praise to you.”

“I praise the Lord for His great mercy and for His great grace,” said Flanders.  “Our patient God withholds from us due curses and bestows upon us undue blessings.  I pass the praise back to you, Dionysius.”

The girl Dionysius said, “I praise my Maker for this world full of unicorns.  I praise the Creator for His angels of The Fair Havens.  I pass the praise to you again.”

“I praise Christ that we can go and see Him anytime we want to,” said Flanders.  “I pass the

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praise.”

“I especially praise the Son of God for shedding His perfect blood to cleanse me from all of my sins,” said the cheerleader.  “I pass the praise.”

“And I praise Christ for His precious shed blood that has redeemed you and me,” said Flanders Nickels.  “I praise the Lamb of God for sinners slain.”  And he said, “I pass the praise to you again,”

The Christian lady began to sing her praise this time, a hymn lyric she had learned at church:

“Glory, glory to the Father!

Glory, glory to the Son!

Glory, glory to the Spirit!

Glory to the Three in One!”

 

Flanders went on to finish this line of lyric, and he sang his praise to Jesus Christ by way of

 

hymn as well:

 

“I will praise Him!  I will praise Him!

Praise the Lamb for sinners slain;

Give Him glory, all ye people,

For His blood can wash away each stain.”

“O God my Lord, I’m coming to see You,” prayed Dionysius Daugherty in great ardor.  “Will

You receive a humble cheerleader woman?”

“He shall, O Dionysius,” said Flanders Nickels.  “He surely shall.”

“This will be my first time,” she said.  “I have never visited the uttermost parts of the north before,”

“This will be my first time, too,” said Flanders.

“What does a mortal girl say to immortal God?” she asked.

“Whatever her heart bids her to say to Him,” said Flanders.  “As you talk to God in prayer everyday, talk to Him as you kneel before His throne in our coming day.”

“When I pray to my Heavenly Father, I simply talk to Him as I talk to you,” she said.                    “You chat with Almighty God in daily prayer,” he said.  “Simply chat with Him when you see

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Him yourself when you stand before His throne.”

“Will He do likewise with me?” asked the saved woman.                                                                                        “Jesus will chat with you as He sits upon His throne,” said Flanders.

“I dare not babble at God, Flanders,” she said.

“We would be wise to speak little and listen much,” he said.

“We two are unworthy,” said the wise cheerleader.

“Yet He loves us anyway and desires fellowship with us despite ourselves,” said Flanders Nickels.

In awe and silence, the four pilgrims continued farther and farther into the north region.  Beautiful sand dunes were now everywhere around.  And all was good.  And all was rest.

After a while, Dionysius hugged herself with her arms; she was strangely cold all of a sudden;

and the wind had become unusually cool as she rode Martial.  She looked at her boyfriend.  She said,

“Flanders, are you cold like I am?”

“I feel an odd chill here in the north,” he said.  “Weirdest thing to happen up here.”

“What do you think is wrong?” she asked.  And she saw him draw his saber of brass.  “Flanders, what’s happening?” she asked, suddenly afraid in this benign north.

He thought out loud, “It is neither a griffin nor a dragon.”

“Oh, that’s good,” she said.

He said, “I believe that it is worse than a griffin or a dragon, girlfriend.”  She gasped.

“What do you think we should do, Flanders?” she asked.

“We must dismount, pray to God, and hope for the best,” he said.

“That’s it?” she asked in consternation.

“God will see us four through,” he promised her.

“It is one of those demons that is coming.  Isn’t it, Flanders?” she asked.

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“A more recent kind of devil, Dionysius,” said the seasoned warrior.  “The worst kind of demon there is that is out there.”

The girl quickly dismounted her unicorn.  The man did likewise.  And the four stood there among the sand that was normally quite benevolent.

Behold, a little whirlwind of gray dust coming down to the ground from the skies.  And when it dissipated, lo, a gray and hoary old man with a staff standing there with the spirit of the Devil in his eyes, glaring at them in disdain.  And this man said to them, “I am the Tempting Wizard.  And I do tempt saints and angels with temptation.”  None of the four said anything for this moment.  Then the Tempting Wizard said, “Sit down, Martial,” and he pointed his staff at Martial.  Martial sat down in obeisance to the wizard.  Then the Tempting Wizard said, “Stand back up, Martial.”  And Martial stood back up.  Then the wizard pointed his magic staff at Knight, and he said, “Knight, point your horn toward Hell.”  Knight pointed his horn toward the ground.  Then the Tempting Wizard said, “Knight, point your horn toward Heaven.”  And Knight pointed his horn toward the skies.  Then the wizard lifted

his staff away from the four, and he laughed with great satisfaction and malice against God.

The veteran of battles had never seen so formidable a foe before as this Tempting Wizard, and

Flanders took his eyes off of God for just a moment, and he said, “O Tempting Wizard, how did you do that just now?”

And the Tempting Wizard tempted Flanders Nickels to despair as he told him about himself,

“Flanders A. Nickels, I have all the wisdom of all the ages of these Unicorn Lands.  I know all the wisdom of the east and all the wisdom of the south and all the wisdom of the west and all the wisdom of the north and all the wisdom of the central.  I have studied and read and learned all there is to know

in all this world.  I am omniscient.  And as I do know, so, also do I know to do.”

Flanders felt his breathing straining in his throat.  He was sweating in his forehead in this cold air about the Tempting Wizard.  He believed the wizard.  And the Christians soldier was afraid of the

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wizard.

Just then Knight spoke up in challenge of the Tempting Wizard and asked, “What is wisdom?”

Taking the cue, Martial also spoke up in challenge to this wizard and said, “Wisdom is fearing God.”

Dionysius spoke up now and said, “The Holy Bible says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, O Tempting Wizard.”

And Flanders quoted Scripture at the Tempting Wizard, “’And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.’  Job 28:28.”

The wizard shook where he stood—maybe in rage; maybe in wound from the Word of God—and he said in pride of the Devil, “Four wayward pilgrims, I fear no God!”

“Then you have not wisdom, O Tempting Wizard,” rebuked Flanders the magician demon.  Flanders was fearful no more at all.  He said then, “Devil’s minion, have you not come to keep us from seeing Jesus?”  The wizard gave no reply other than a huff.  “Wizard of Lucifer, do you know what the Bible has to say in Leviticus and Deuteronomy and Isaiah about wizards like you and your wizardry?”

The wizard gave another huff, but his countenance betrayed apprehension all of a sudden.

“And in Exodus, as well!” broke in Dionysius.

Flanders Nickels said, “I’d bet that despite your great show here before us just now, all I would have to do to vanquish you to the uttermost is to recite one of those verses right at you where you stand.”

Suddenly the wizard stepped back a step in defense, and he said, “I’ll put down my staff.”

“You go and do that right now, Tempting Wizard,” said Flanders.

“Exodus 22:18, Flanders,” said Miss Daugherty.  “That’s the one I know.”

“That one of all verses, cheerleader?” asked the wizard, seemingly naive.

“I don’t know how that verse goes,” said Flanders.

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A sky glint in his eyes, the wizard declared, “I’m putting down my staff, O lady of Christ.”

Knight said, “I don’t know how Dionysius’s verse goes, either, Master.”

And Martial said, “I confess that I have never memorized that verse, either, my mistress.”

“It’s up to me now,” said Dionysius.

“Mistress,” exclaimed Martial, “he’s picking back up his staff!”

And Miss Daugherty fired her best shot of God’s Word verbally and loudly and clearly right upon this demon sorcerer, as he stood back up with his staff again in his hands:  “O Tempting Wizard, it is written, ‘Thou shalt not suffer a wizard to live.’  Exodus 22:18!”  There!  She did it! The wizard would bother them no more again.

Instead, the Tempting Wizard was completely unfazed, unharmed, unaffected.  Even had the cheerleader but slapped his face, that would have hurt him more than this deadly Scripture verse had.

“Ho!  Ho!  Ho!” laughed the Tempting Wizard, mimicking the false character known as Santa

Claus in great mockery at the four of God.  “Ho!  Ho!  Ho!”

“Master, God’s Word hit him and did not kill him!” exclaimed Knight.

“Mistress, nothing can injure the wizard!” cried out Martial.

Dionysius Daugherty grew sickly pale, and she fell down into a squat, and lowered her head between her knees.  Such a thing as this should have wounded even Satan himself!

Flanders then asked the Tempting Wizard the four’s sudden greatest fear, “O wizard, does not the Word of truth of the Holy Bible faze you when spoken at you by a believer?”

And the Tempting Wizard said, “Little man Flanders, that which slays griffins and dragons can never slay wizards.”

Dionysius raised her head where she did squat, and she said feebly, “God cannot help us.”

Angry at his girlfriend and furious at the wizard, Flanders yelled at her, “God can always help us, Dionysius!”

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“Do you believe what you say, Flanders?” asked Miss Daugherty.

“Of course he does, Mistress,” said Martial.

“Tell her, Master,” said Knight.  “Tell her you meant what you said.”

The Tempting Wizard raised his staff before Flanders and said, “You only know what you see here right now, O born-again fellow.  And it is not working, is it?”

Struck by the wizard’s magic, Flanders found himself compromising on his faith and saying, “God could help us if He would.”  Then he said, “He would help us if He could.”

A rational spirit enlightened Miss Daugherty’s countenance as she sought to understand these crazy things happening all of a sudden.  The Tempting Wizard saw this.  God was helping her.  She got back to her feet.  The Tempting Wizard raised his staff toward her, and he said to her, “Daughter of the Lord, go back home—you and Flanders—and do not go any farther north.  Your prayer for a boyfriend has been answered by God.  You do not have to go to God personally to thank Him.  You can thank Him just as well back home down south in your comfortable bedroom.  He will hear you just as loudly there than in the north of the north.” And a spirit of irrationality came upon her face with a sick pale complexion.

“Mistress, you look sick,” said Martial.

“Let’s all go home,” said Dionysius.

“We cannot do anymore here,” agreed Martial.

“We cannot proceed any farther north,” said Knight.  “What do you say, Master?  You are our boss under God.”

The Tempting Wizard said, “Say it now—what you’re thinking– O soldier of the Lord.  Say that God cannot help you.”

Instead, Flanders said, “We must flee battle right now.  We lost this battle.  But we must be ready for the next battle.”

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“Does that mean that we cannot see God?” asked the cheerleader with ambivalence.

“We will see God, Dionysius,” he said.

“Does that mean that God could not help us, Flanders?” asked Miss Daugherty.

“God does not help His children if there is unconfessed or unknown sin in their life,” preached Flanders Nickels, rallying.  “Let us now retreat to the Fair Havens.  Let us seek God in the Blessed Hope House of Worship.  He will show us the right way to His throne beyond the north.  He will take care of this Tempting Wizard in His time and in His way.  The fault is ours—not God’s.”

“Ha!  Ha!  Ha!” taunted the Tempting Wizard.  “Ha!  Ha!  Ha!”  And the gray wizard transformed himself into the gray whirlwind again and ascended back up into the skies.

“Back to the city at once!” commanded the man Flanders Nickels.  And the four spent a part of the day on a setback, going away from the throne of God instead of going toward the throne of God for the first time in all of this pilgrimage.  Once inside the grand temple, Flanders instantly came upon the idea to check out his girlfriend’s Bible verse.  And they came up to the great King James Bible that had mesmerized Dionysius just a few days ago, there upon the pedestal in the bright radiant sunlight.

Flanders asked, “Did you say that it was the verse Exodus 22:18, Dionysius.”

“Uh huh, Flanders,” she said.  “That is the reference I did say.”

He searched the Scriptures, found it at once, and read it to them out loud, “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.”

A collective gasp came upon all four, Dionysius Daugherty’s the loudest.

“I have sinned,” she said.  “I have misquoted a Bible verse.  The Word of God said, ‘Witch,’

and I said, ‘Wizard.’  Because I did not quote the right Bible verse the right way, I could not injure that Tempting Wizard.  And he tempted me to quit our pilgrimage.  I am sorry.  Please forgive me.  I will not do such a thing again.  Could we all return to our journey toward the northern north?”

“I am sorry for my lack of faith, also,” said Flanders.

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“And I, too, for my iniquity,” said Knight.

“And I have transgressed as well,” said Martial.

Flanders said, “We all agree to go and finish our pilgrimage.”

“Yes!” said the three other travelers.

“Are we all willing to face the Tempting Wizard and his temptations again in order to get to the throne of God?” asked the veteran with his Brass Sword.

“Yes!” said the three other travelers.

“I believe that to get to the end of our journey, we will have to learn how to slay this most challenging of demons and to go and slay him once and for all,” warned Flanders Nickels.

He looked earnestly upon the face of his cheerleader-girlfriend.  And she declared in all proper faith, “God can help us, Flanders.”

“It is settled,” said Flanders Nickels.  “Let us go now and see our Creator.”

“Amen!” exclaimed the four all together.  “Amen!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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CHAPTER III

As the four journeyers progressed deeper into the north, the girl Dionysius could see Martial and Knight whispering between each other and nodding their unicorn heads.  “Whisperers,” said the woman, “you must be talking about me.”  She said this in tease of mock-paranoia.

Martial gave a toot on his horn and said to her, “You girls are a suspicious gender.”

“Am I wrong?” she asked, moving her head to try to see Martial’s face.

“No, my mistress,” said her unicorn, and all four laughed.

“What are you guy saying about me?” asked the cheerleader.

Knight replied, “I think that my master would greatly like to hear of how you got saved.”

“Knight,” said Flanders, “you do read even my thoughts inside my head.”  And he and his girlfriend looked at each other.

“I love to tell my story,” she said.  “I never got to tell it to you before, Flanders.”

“Let’s hear it, girl,” he said in avid anticipation.

And Dionysius Daugherty gave the testimony of her salvation to Flanders and Knight for their

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first time:  “Funny how the worst day of my life ended up being the best day of my life.  And a guy with a peg leg of all people.  High school cheerleaders do become born-again believers.”  She went on to narrate:  “It was Friday night.  We Zephyrs were playing the Tornadoes in a home varsity football

game.  It was August, the first game of the year.  And it was Homecoming.  And all of us Zephyrs said that we were going to ‘wrestle the tornado to the ground’ with our opponent.  They said that they were going to ‘cause the tornado sirens to go off’ with us with this big game.  This was my first game as a cheerleader.  This was my first day I had on my cheerleader uniform.  It was dazzling.  It made me dazzling.  I loved all the black on my uniform.  I loved all the reds on my uniform.  It fit me just perfectly.  I never felt so good before with anything else on than I did then with my cheerleader’s outfit on.  Why, it was more important to me than God!  But that shouldn’t surprise you, Flanders, Knight.

I was at that time still lost in my sins.  All lost people find everything in their lives to be more important to them than God.  Not knowing the Lord, I made a bargain with Him in prayer in the secrets of my thoughts that night at the football field just before the game started:  I said to the Lord, ‘If You take good care of my wonderful new outfit, so that nothing bad will ever happen to it for the rest of my

life, then I will give this back to You after I die.’  Well we kicked off, and the game began.  We Zephyr cheerleaders began to cheer.  Wouldn’t you know it, the Tornadoes ran this kickoff back for a touchdown, the return man untouched all the way down the field.  Then, of all things, on our opponent’s extra point attempt, our star special teams star ran into the kicker, and we got penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct, and he was ejected from the game.  And, Flanders, Knight, everything got worse for us than that for the whole rest of the game.  We cheerleaders lost our spirit of cheer.  I lost my spirit for cheer.  Then the rain began to come down.  And my cherished god I did wear got all drenched.

It hung upon my body in all the wrong way.  And I no longer felt beautiful in my cheerleader outfit.

In fact, my cheerleader’s outfit no longer felt comfortable to have on.  I raised my beautiful black cuff, and rain water dripped off of it onto my sneakers.  I lifted a part of my skirt in two hands, and I

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watched the rain quickly fill it up, and I let go of my black and red pleats, and I saw the rain pour out of my cheerleader pleats upon the ground like I was emptying a bowl of water.  And I cursed the terrible, terrible rain that evening.”

“What a bad day of cheer leading,” said Flanders.

“Her very first day of cheer leading,” said Knight.

“And it was going to get worse, before it got better,” said Martial who heard the true tale before.

“Yeah, much worse,” said Miss Daugherty.  “Now at our football field right next to where we cheerleaders performed, there was a little patch of ground where the grass was recently seeded.  There

was no grass growing then quite yet.  It was still just plain dirt.  And you know that it was raining that evening.  And what happens when rain falls on dry dirt?”

“It becomes wet dirt,” said Knight.

“It gets real dirty,” said Flanders.

“It becomes mud,” said Martial.

“That’s right!” said Dionysius.  “And when our horrible homecoming game was done, we were shutout.  We cheerleaders were in shock.  And then the real bad thing happened to me, guys.  My high school enemy Burleigh had been watching the game all evening, and for those three hours he had been yelling against the Tornadoes louder than we cheerleaders had been cheering for our Zephyrs.  Himself

frustrated at our football team’s incompetence on the field, he then yelled for all the spectators to hear,

‘Let me show our boys how to tackle!’  And he ran right out of the stands, came at me like a charging

bull, and crashed into me hard with his all.  And the high school bully tackled a high school cheerleader.  He tackled me hard right into the ground.  In fact he tackled me right down into that pile of mud we were just talking about.  And as I lay there, Burleigh ran off, laughing.  Right after that, ‘our boys,’ as he called them all went after Burleigh in vengeance.  And he ran off for fear of his life.  My body was okay.  My emotions were sick.  My idol covering my female form was now all muddy in all

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parts and accouterments from the top of my head to the bottom of my toes, even inside within my uniform.  I sat up and cried a cry of a girl.  And I did say to the Lord, ‘It’s not fair!’  And I refused to get up from the ground.  I had been angry with God before.  This time I was really mad at Him.  Everybody soon left the field.  Stubborn and bitter, I purposefully stayed and would not leave.

And in the dark of night, I was alone.  And I still sat there, down in the mud, a young lady cursing not at all like a lady.”

The woman Dionysius continued, “Then a most odd little fellow came walking up to me.  I mean a most unusual-looking man I had ever seen.  He had a peg leg on his left leg, a wooden peg extending down from his knee.  And his right leg, though human, seemed to limp along as if it were either too long or too short.  He made me think that he was a sort of pirate, because of that wooden leg.

But he was singing a song.  I did not know the song then; but now that I am a church woman I know it to be the hymn, ‘Now Thank We All Our God.’  He came up to me where I sat in my rebellion against the Creator, looked down upon me, saw that I was all right, and asked me, ‘Why are you sad, pretty cheerleader?’

I answered him, ‘He ruined my cheerleader uniform, sir.’

‘Was it an adversary who did that, miss?’ he asked.

‘Yes, it was,’ I said.  ‘It was the Lord.’

‘Do you believe that the Lord is mean, young lass?’ he asked me.

‘Yeah,’ I said.  ‘Sometimes God does bad things to me.  He’s bigger than me.  I cannot keep Him from doing anything He wants to me.’  I stroked my pleats in love in a swipe.

‘You love your cheerleader clothes, fair miss,’ the peg-leg man said.

‘More so than anything else I have,’ I told him.

Then he said it.  What he said took away all of my pride.  And I found my great need for repentance.  And I changed my mind completely all about Jesus,” said Miss Daugherty.  She paused.

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Flanders asked, “What did he say?”

Knight said, “What did God have the peg-leg man tell you about Himself?”

“Tell them, O Mistress,” said Martial.

“He said, ‘Sad cheerleader, it is written about your cheerleader uniform, “For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain that we can carry nothing out.”  I Timothy 6:7.  And it is written about this Maker whom you defy, “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.”

Hebrews 13:8.’

I instantly understood what this peg leg believer was saying to me from God’s Word,” said

Miss Daugherty.  “He was saying that my god my cheerleader apparel was only for this life, and that it could not be forever.  And he was saying that Jesus Christ was the true God, and that He ought to be God in this life and in the life to come, and that He never changes.”  I was immediately convicted of my sins, and I saw that I needed to get right with the Saviour of the world.  And the peg-leg man asked me if I wanted to get saved.  And I said that I wanted to get saved.  And he led me through a little prayer.  You three know all about that prayer.  You said it yourself, Flanders, when you got saved.

We Christians call it ‘the sinners’ prayer.’  And this is what the peg leg man had me to pray, as I repeated what he said line by line, unto my own great salvation:  ‘Dear God.  I sin a lot.  I do murmur,

and I do complain, and I do blame You for things.  And I know that You can forgive me for everything, no matter how bad and no matter how much.  Would you right now forgive me for all of my sins?

Forgive me especially for sitting in this mud all this while.  I believe that Your Son Jesus Christ died for me.  And I believe that Your Son Jesus Christ arose from the dead and is alive today.  Please hear my cry and save me from Hell.  Please become my own Saviour and give me life to come forever Up in Heaven.  Thank You, O Good Lord.  In Jesus’s name I pray.  Amen.’”

Miss Daugherty then finished the testimony of her salvation, saying, “That is how I became a

born-again Christian.  And right after I prayed the prayer, then I got up out of the mud and stood back

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up on my feet.  And I said to the peg-leg fellow, ‘Christ comes first in my life for now on.  He is God.

These clothes I have on now and everything else in my life comes second from here on.’  After that this

peg leg guy blessed me and then walked away, singing the church hymn I now know to be ‘Come, Ye Thankful People.’  Now that I am going to be in Heaven in my life to come, the first thing I’ll do after thanking my Jesus, will be to find that peg leg saint and to thank him, too.”

“Amen, woman!” praised Flanders Dionysius for her testimony.

Just then Knight gave off a warning toot on his unicorn and pointed with it straight up ahead.

And Martial proclaimed, “Mistress, the Tempting Wizard!”

And sure enough that wizard came back down again in a whirlwind of gray dust and did appear as the old wise man of gray before them, his staff yet in his hand.

Flanders said in battle command, “Surround him where he stands!”  And the four soldiers-for-Christ surrounded this wizard where he had metamorphosed.  The Tempting Wizard raised his magic staff, and, behold, suddenly he was not there in their midst, but was now instead off behind them.

Flanders said, “Unicorns, charge—Knight from his left; Martial from his right!”  The unicorns charged.  Just as the unicorns were about to impale the wizard where he stood, he lowered his staff, and, lo, now he was back between Flanders and Dionysius.  And in order not to accidentally impale each other, the two charging unicorns had to very quickly veer off to the side, and their unicorn horns

just missed striking each other point to point.

Flanders then drew his Brass Sword and said, “Tempting Wizard, pick on someone your own size.  Try me on now.  I am going to show you a little lesson from God’s saber.”

Coolly, the wizard said, “Am I now going to see what a man can do, Flanders Nickels?”

“A man of God can do all through Christ Who strengthens him, O Tempting Wizard,” declared

Flanders, ready to cut off the wizard’s head.

“I behold a man who wants to be a woman,” said the Tempting Wizard.

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Miss Daugherty fell upon a girlish giggling at the wizard for his really silly words now.

But this wizard did not stop his accusations.  He went further and said to Dionysius, “Cheerleader woman, I’d bet that Flanders wishes that he could be you.”

Provoked by his sober-minded tone, Miss Daugherty turned somewhat indignant.  And she said,

“Tempting Wizard, you are mad—crazy mad.”

Undaunted, this wizard went and made a third accusation against her boyfriend, saying to her,

“I think that he lies awake at night, wondering how he can get you to let him put on your cheerleader uniform.”

The girl Dionysius looked at her Christian boyfriend.  “Flanders, why don’t you say something to him?”

Knight said, “Master, strike him down with your sword!”

Martial said, “Why is he just standing there, Mistress?”

Instead the wizard spoke to Flanders:  “Ask her for it, Flanders.  She will not say, ‘No’ to you.

She is your girlfriend.  Remember your old days.  You miss them.  Go and do it only one more time for old time’s sake.  Once you do it, you will feel like you have come back home after a long, long journey.

Indeed is it not true, that the longer you abstain, the harder it gets to resist?”

The woman cheerleader was troubled and confused.  Martial was not sure what he was hearing, but it did not sound good.  Even Knight was mystified and did not know what this wizard was implying

about his master.

Then Dionysius Daugherty guessed the answer.  And she said, “Flanders, were you a cross-dresser before you got born again?”

In confession, Flanders Nickels said, “I can see, O Tempting Wizard, that you are most aptly named.  You do tempt the saints with tempting words.”

Dionysius asked, “My cheerleader uniform tempts you with thoughts about what it feels like to

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put on?”

He said, “Not only to put on, but to have on, and to wear all the time all day long.”

In dismay, Miss Daugherty said, “My so-straight boyfriend is a wannabe drag queen.”

In confession, Flanders said, “Because I have tasted of it for a season, I will never be able to

forget that taste again, even though now that I am a Christian I have victory over sin in my life because of Christ.”

Aghast, Martial said, “Yikes, Mistress, the man wants to put on your clothes!”

“I think we know that now, Martial,” Miss Daugherty stately bluntly.

“Master,” said Knight,  “I never knew.  You never told me.  I was clueless.”

Dionysius, the daughter of God, said, “Would it help right now, with this wizard bothering us,

if I were to tell you, Flanders, that our wise Maker made you a man, and that He does not make mistakes in His creations?”

“All I can say right now is that the flesh wrestles against the spirit, and the spirit wrestles against the flesh,” said Flanders.  He turned to his cheerleader woman and lusted after her apparel.

The Tempting Wizard spoke and said, “Little guy, she and you are the same height, the same weight, the same age.  If it fits her and makes her look so good, it will fit you and make you look

good, too.”

Just then Dionysius spoke up and said, “Flanders—your Brass Sword!  It’s on the ground!”

Knight said, “Why, Master, you went and dropped your sword!”

Martial said, “I do not think that he knows that he even did that!”

And the Tempting Wizard said.  “Go ahead!  Have fun!  Try it on!”

Staring at Dionysius’s cheerleader skirt pleats right where no gentleman ought to look, suddenly

he saw a glint of light strike his eye from the side with his peripheral vision.  He turned to see what this light was that distracted him.  And, behold, it was the reflection of the sun off of the shiny brass blade

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of his saber from God.  His eyes off of the cheerleader for this moment and on this symbol of God in his warrior life, he came mightily and forcefully back around to God and to His will.  With the overcoming power of the Holy Spirit, the man Flanders picked back up his Brass Sword, and he looked

the invincible Tempting Wizard in his face, and he said to him, “Wizard of Satan, it is written for me, ‘The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman’s garment:  for all that do so are abomination unto the Lord thy God.’  Deuteronomy 22:5!”  This scripture, accurately quoted and most relevant to this temptation, hit the Tempting Wizard hard in his face.  And the wizard was dazed where he stood.  Then he began to metamorphose back into that gray

whirlwind of dust to flee.  Flanders swung his sword and caught the Tempting Wizard on his left

hand.

“My hand!  My hand!” yelled out the Tempting Wizard.  But then his physical form had become his amorphous form of dust of whirlwind.  And then the dust of whirlwind ascended back up to the skies.

“He’s hurt, Master!” exclaimed Knight.

“The wizard can be beat,” said Martial.

“He almost had us this time,” said Dionysius.

Sensible again, Flanders said, “I wouldn’t look right in that, would I, Dionysius?”

“You would look not so straight,” she said.

“I vow to God, Dionysius, Knight, Martial, that as long as I am dating this cheerleader woman, I shall not sin and put on her cheerleader uniform for myself,” Flanders Nickels promised.

Knight asked, “Master, can a guy with such strange urges keep such a promise?”

“Yes,” said Flanders.  “In my unsaved days, when I looked at my drag pictures of myself, I did not like what I saw.  All I need to do in these saved days, with the power of the Holy Spirit, is to think of looking at a drag picture of myself dressed as my Christian cheerleader girlfriend, and any more

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such foolish thoughts of temptation will go away.  I do not want to see photographs of cross-

dressers—especially of myself.  Then and only then can I clearly see such an abomination as God sees it.  Not good.  Not again.  Not this man.”

All was well again.  The four soldiers of God had prevailed over the Tempting Wizard this time for now.  And the four pilgrims resumed their pilgrimage toward the utter north where Jesus was.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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CHAPTER IV

Coming up to the top of a hill, the four saw a broad panorama before them of field grass and sand dunes under a blue sky alive with two suns—one to the east of the evening and one to the north of the evening.  Dionysius sang out, “The sun of the seas!  Do you see it, guys?  The other sun!”

“We are getting close now, Dionysius,” said Flanders.  “We are very deep into the north now.”

Martial said, “Soon we shall see the ocean of the north.”

Dionysius said, “They say that the seas go on forever.”  Flanders could see dream in her eyes.

Knight said, “The sea of the north touches the sky at its end. Experts say the same thing about the other three endless seas.”

“Knight, do you believe that the four seas come to an end?” asked Flanders.

“I do not know, Master,” said Knight.  “Does the sky come to an end?”

“No,” said Flanders.  He could see from this analogy that neither did the oceans come to an end.

Then he saw Dionysius and Martial whispering to each other.

Then he heard Martial say to her, “Ask him, my mistress.”

Having seen such machination before, Flanders said, “Whisperers, I bet that you want to hear

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the testimony of my salvation.”

“Uh huh, Flanders,” said the cheerleader. “It is your turn now.  Would you tell me and Martial

how you got born again?”

“I would be so glad to, O Dionysius,” he did say.  And he began at once:  “Like you, girl, when I got saved I also was in high school and was fifteen years old and was in ninth grade.  I owe my salvation much to Grandpa.  We kids all called him, ‘Grandpa Gehrde.’  And I was his favorite of us grand-kids. Myself being only a teenager, I thought that I was going to live forever, and I did not think at all about Heaven, and I did not fear Hell.  Grandpa Gehrde, being an old man with a cane and being a born-again believer for many years, knew that he was not going to live forever down here and looked forward to Heaven and thanked God that he was never going to Hell.  My Grandpa knew things, and he was truly wise in the Lord.  And he told me much about Christ.  But that one day in my freshman year in high school his words about God began to make me think about God for my first time.  That was the day he saw me making mischief in our front yard just before our baseball game with the neighbors.

We all had agreed to play baseball here in our bare feet.  We always used my plastic bat and plastic ball.  And the stump at the bottom of our hill in the front yard was always home plate.  Well I got there early before the others, and I picked thistles and thorns and spread them out onto this home plate.  And Grandpa Gehrde saw me doing this.  And he said, ‘This trick will not fool anyone, little Flanders.’  And

I said, ‘Yeah, you’re right, Grandpa.’  And he told me, ‘Fill it up with more pickers, Flanders.’  And we both laughed, and I went and did as he said.  I saw how heavily he did lean on his cane.  And I said to him, ‘Grandpa, I remember when you did not have to have a cane.’  And he said. ‘I remember, too, little Flanders.’  I asked him, ‘Will I need a cane someday, Grandpa?’  And he said, ‘You might.’  I asked him, ‘Grandpa, will you die someday after you can no longer use your cane?’  And he said with strange

contentment, ‘I do not always have tomorrows for myself down here in this Unicorn Lands, Flanders.’

I asked, ‘Do I, also, not forever have tomorrows for myself down here, Grandpa?’  And he said to me,

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‘Little Flanders, it is written in II Corinthians 6:2: “…:  Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” And again is it written in Ecclesiastes 12:1, “Remember now thy creator in the days of thy youth,…”  Seek and find the Saviour Jesus Christ, O little Flanders.  That is why we are here.  Seek and find him before it is too late.  There is no promise of tomorrow for any person.  Even young people die.’

And I began to think lots about Grandpa Gehrde’s Saviour for my first time.

The next time he visited me was just a few weeks later.  I was enjoying my little summertime game which I called ‘making caramel roads.’  In this fun little diversion of my own making, I came to the front of the front yard—the ditch just beyond that aforementioned stump and near to the road.  In this ditch was a path of sand some feet wide by the culverts that was formed by the water that had flowed through the culverts.  I would dig into the sand with Mom’s trowel down to where the clay was.

Then I would scoop up this deep clay and put it into Mom’s pail and add water.  After that, I stirred it up in the pail into a concoction.  Then I would carefully pour this clay solution down upon the trail of sand to form a little road about maybe four inches wide.  And, lo, ‘my caramel road.’  And then the sun would bake my caramel road dry.  And it was done.  Grandpa came along that one day when I was doing this.  He asked me what I was doing, and I told him.  And he said, “Caramel roads?  Did you know that in Heaven the roads are gold roads?’  I asked him, ‘Like streets of gold, Grandpa?’  And he said, ‘Yes, little Flanders.’  And I said, ‘I like doing this.  It’s so much fun.’  And he said, ‘In Heaven you can have fun forever.’  And I said, ‘Sometimes I don’t always have fun.’   And he said, ‘That is the difference between these Unicorn Lands and Heaven. Flanders.  Nothing bad happens Up There.’  Then he said, ‘In Revelation 22:4, it says, “And they shall see his face;…”  This is the Lord Jesus’s face that the Bible is talking about.  And this is what born-again believers like myself will find so fun Up in Heaven.’

After that talk, I began to think even harder upon Grandpa Gehrde’s good words.  And I first

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started pondering about Heaven.

Then a few weeks later, Grandpa came again to the house.  That time I was doing my other summertime countryside diversion.  I did that game in the same sand by the road.  This pastime of my own making I called ‘making arenas.’  Here, I put my bare foot down upon the dry white sand and pushed downward on my heel.  Then, holding my foot just like that, I began to turn my body around where I stood in place in several rotations.  And by doing this, my bare foot formed a crater in the sand

down into the wet sand below.  And when I was done, I had a deep little hole in the center made by my heel, and I had a smooth surface all around this deep hole, a surface higher than the hole and lower than the ground made by my foot, and I had a wall of sand extending above the crater all around its circumference made by my toes.  My little brother said that it looked like an upside-down flying saucer.

My big brother said that it looked like the Milky Way galaxy seen through a telescope.  But I called it

‘my arena.’  I was just getting done making one of my arenas when Grandpa Gehrde came up to see what I was doing.  Grandpa asked me what I was doing, and I told him.  He said, ‘I can see that you are digging a little bit down.’  I said, ‘Yes, Grandpa.  I would say maybe three inches.’  And Grandpa said

to me, ‘Were a digger to dig down far enough into the ground, he would find Hell.’  I asked him, ‘Is Hell way, way down there, Grandpa?’  And he said, ‘Hell is all the way down to the bottom.’  I said,

‘That is the bad place, isn’t it?’  And Grandpa said, ‘Little Flanders, in Luke 16:24, God says to us in the words of a man who went there, “…; for I am tormented in this flame.”’  I then asked him, ‘Is Hell the worst place?’  And he said, ‘There is no worse place.  It is the lake of fire.’”

And once again Grandpa’s preaching got me thinking very much more about God.  And I became afraid of Hell for my first time.                                                                                                                       And God’s Holy Spirit began to talk to me with His thoughts of eternal truths.  I came to know that this life down here in the Unicorn Lands was not forever for me.  And I came to know all about Heaven in its Goodness, that it was a better Place than the Unicorn Lands, and that the Lord Jesus was

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always There.  And I came to know all about Hell in its badness, that it was a worse place than these Unicorn Lands, and that the Lord Jesus was never there.

What could I do?  What should I do?  What would I do?  Of course, I went right to Grandpa.

And he told me all about the Saviour of the world.  And when he finished preaching Jesus Christ to me,

I was ready to become a born-again Christian just like Grandpa Gehrde.  And Grandpa led me line-by-line through the sinners’ prayer that got me saved.  These were the exact words that he had me to say to God so that my soul was finally made right with Him:  ‘Dear Father, Who is in Heaven Above.  I do not

yet know You, nor Your Son, nor the Holy Spirit.  What I do know, though, is that I sin, and that my sins made my soul a lost soul.   I apologize for all of those sins, God.  I ask You to forgive me for having done all of them as I have.  I am a bad person.  Clean me up inside, if You would, with Your Son’s blood shed for me on Calvary’s cruel cross.  Jesus loved me enough to die for me as He did.

And Your Son did not stay dead.  Indeed, three days later, He became alive again—forevermore.

This is the resurrection.  This same living God can save my soul now as I pray.  Save my lost soul right now.  Give me everlasting life in Heaven.  Become my own personal Saviour.  Make me a Christian as You have made Grandpa a Christian.  I now know Who You are, O Father and Son and Holy Ghost.  Thank You.  In the name of Jesus I do pray this.  Amen.’

That, O good and great friends, is how I found Christ.” said Flanders Nickels with Dionysius and Knight and Martial here way up north near the sea.

“What a great grandfather you had, Flanders!” said Miss Daugherty.

“He loved me and our Maker, and I loved him and learned to love our Maker,” said Flanders.

“Amen again to the true tale of your first day of salvation, Master,” said Knight.

Martial said, “I can see how our Creator uses people—and not only angels—to win souls for Him.”

“Grandpa Gehrde has passed away long ago, but I will see him again in Heaven for the rest of

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forever—him, myself, and Jesus,” said wise Flanders Nickels.

Just then the Tempting Wizard came back in his conventional manner.  Flanders and Dionysius quickly dismounted.  And Flanders gave battle commands, “Unicorns, flank left, flank right, lower your  horns, be ready for the battle.  Dionysius, think upon the Words of the Holy Bible.  I shall make ready my sword.”  And he unsheathed his Brass Sword.  And then the wizard in gray was fully manifested.

“My foe from Hell, we meet again,” said Flanders Nickels.

“My adversary from God, this third time will be the last time,” said the Tempting Wizard.

Cognizant of a subtle change in tone in the wizard’s voice from the other two times, Dionysius said, “Flanders, he sounds different to me this time.”

Then the wizard raised his left arm, and, behold, it was a stump of an arm without its hand.

“Oh yes, Master.  Remember that last thing that happened in that last encounter—when you struck the wizard just as he was becoming gray dust,” said Knight.

“What a Brass Sword that is!” exclaimed Miss Daugherty.

Martial went on to say, “Funny how this great and powerful wizard can do anything—and yet he cannot bring back his own hand for himself.”

Knight said, “There must be some things that his staff cannot do.”

And Flanders said, “Tempting Wizard, you are mortal, after all.”

“Curse that brass saber from God!” exclaimed the powerful wizard in frustration and embarrassment.  Then he said, “I shall turn to the woman.”  And he gave an evil eye of wizardry into Miss Daugherty’s face.

“Mistress,” called out Martial with all due concern, “do not look him in the eye.  The Bible says

that the woman is the weaker vessel than the man.  And God’s Word says that the woman is more easily deceived by the Devil than the man is.”

Knight asked, “Master, do you think that that is why the wizard has just now turned away from

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you?”                                                                                                                                                  The wizard then raised his staff, and Dionysius’s face fell into a spell.  The Tempting Wizard was about to speak and to tempt the cheerleader with words of falsehood against the Creator.

Flanders said, “Away with your right hand that does hold that staff, O Tempting Wizard!”  And Flanders thought to chop off this hand as well with his formidable brass saber.

In a flash of insight, Knight said, “Not his wrist, Master—but his staff!”

And in a moment of vacillation, Flanders did follow through on his unicorn’s most novel strategy instead of his own seasoned strategy.  And the great soldier of Jesus struck down upon the magic staff right in its center with his Brass Sword with the power of God.

And two most unprecedented happenings in the war between good and evil both suddenly happened at the same time.  In the one, the staff of the Tempting Wizard broke cleanly into two now impotent halves.  All five looked down upon the two pieces of the staff down upon the ground, now as powerless as two mere sticks.  And the wizard betrayed a human gasp of surprise.  And in the other, the sword of Flanders suffered its first damage in battle—the tip of his saber was broken off from the rest of his blade, and this two-inch-long brass notch lay on the ground like a dismemberment.  The Brass Sword suddenly looked naked and barren where it was held in the warrior’s right hand.  Flanders did not know quite what to do now.  And he was suddenly unsure in battle for a moment.  He turned to the woman and saw the spell broken from off her face.  Then his silent thoughts turned to God in confident

and faithful prayer.  And God told him what to do now.  As the wizard looked down upon the two sticks

which were once a single staff, Flanders picked up the brass notch from off the ground, held it up in his

left hand near the broken off end of the blade of the sword, whose handle he held in his right hand.  Then he called upon God and said, “Thy will be done with Your saber, O Lord the Most High.”  And then Flanders put the loose notch onto the end of the damaged blade where it had been.  And he took away his hand from the notch.  Lo, the notch was again attached, strong and sure, to the rest of the

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blade right where it had been before it was damaged.  Behold, the Lord restored the Brass Sword to the

uttermost.  “Praise Thee, Lord Jesus!” said Flanders in glory to God.

Now the Devil is a wily mimicker of God.  And his demons are wily mimickers as well.  And the Tempting Wizard decided to follow through in like with his own powers from Satan.  And he took the one half of his staff, set it upright upon the ground, took away his hand, and saw it standing up vertically upon the ground on its end.  He then took his other half of his staff, set it upright upon the top of his half of staff already standing—end upon end—and he took away his hand.  Lo, the two sticks now became one single staff once again.  As all five beheld the wizard’s staff of magic standing supernaturally upon its end on the ground, the wizard reached out to his staff with his right hand, took it in his hand, and held it again in his hand.  The Tempting Wizard had thus regained his great power of magic once again.

And before the unicorns knew what to do, the sly wizard raised his staff before the vulnerable cheerleader, and he tempted her with these most personally challenging words, “Woman of loneliness, why did God make you wait forty years before He would give you a boyfriend?  Now you are an old maid.  And you are no longer young enough to have a handsome young boyfriend to take care of you.”

Then the unicorns charged the wizard, one from in front, and one from in back.  And they both came in upon him so quickly that he had not time to point his staff at either of them.  And one unicorn horn got him in the center of his back, and one unicorn horn got him in the center of his chest.  But their horns could not impale the old man of gray.  It was like he was clothed in armor that could not be seen.  And their horns could only scrape him, grazing him and sliding off to the side where they did strike.  Knight was incensed.  Martial was indignant.  Neither were intimidated.

Yet Dionysius Daugherty was in a spell from his words of temptation and from the power of his staff in his yet-good right hand.  And all she could think about right now were her forty years of lonesomeness she had lived through in her life.

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Then Flanders swung his Brass Sword down toward the wizard’s good right wrist.  Maybe this sword of God might have more power than a unicorn’s horn upon this demon.  The Tempting Wizard never saw it coming.  And, behold, the Brass Sword cut off the wizard’s right hand from his right wrist!

And the staff fell to the ground!  And the spell was broken from the woman.  And Dionysius now found

the Bible verse she needed with which to attack the Tempting Wizard.

And the cheerleader said point-blank upon the wizard about her loneliness as God did see it for her, “O Tempting Wizard, it is written for me, ‘Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be

content with such things as ye have:  for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.’  Hebrews 13:5.”

“Ouch!” cried out the Tempting Wizard.  “That hurts worse than my hand!”  And in hasty flight,

he picked back up his staff in both stumps of his arms, held it against his chest, and quickly fled back up and away in his whirlwind of gray dust.  The girl Dionysius had come through.

And she said to Flanders, “With you I am lonely no longer, good boyfriend.”

He said, “I will make you a great boyfriend, Dionysius.”

And the cheerleader then said, “And with Jesus I shall never be lonesome again.”

And Martial said, “Amen, Mistress!”

And Dionysius said, “And with you, Martial, I shall never lack fellowship in God.”

Knight said, “What about me?”

And the cheerleader Christian said, “With you, godly Knight, we here together this day shall be a foursome for the rest of my life.”

Flanders Nickels asked, “Shall we resume our pilgrimage farther north right now?”

And all four said together, “Let us go and see Jesus!”

 

 

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CHAPTER V

Boyfriend-and-girlfriend-in-the-Lord stood before Lac Du Nord, a great lake of the north not far from the northern seas.  They were staring into each other’s reflections.  Flanders spoke and said, “Dionysius, you have a beautiful reflection.”

“Do I have a beautiful face not the reflection?” she asked.  She turned not away from his reflection.

“You have a beautiful face not the reflection, even more so,” he said.  “Indeed one so beautiful that a forty-year-old guy is falling in love with her.”

“Flanders, did you say, ‘falling in love?’” she asked in ardor.

“I did not say, ‘falling in like,’” he said, knowing that this was no mere crush on a girl.

“This lonely woman is feeling the same way about you, Flanders,” she said.  Then she said, “Right now we are alone together.”

“We are alone together, Dionysius,” he said.  They turned away from the reflections and gazed upon each other’s real faces.

“Martial is away,” said the cheerleader.

“And Knight is also away,” said the soldier.  The girl Dionysius’s eyes were half-closed in

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wondrous reverie.  The wind was playing game-some flirts with her long brown hair all about her head.

Her bewitching brown bangs were very near to his eyes.  Her overbite stirred him up inside with new thoughts of new things he had never felt before with a woman.  As for Dionysius, what he was feeling for her was what she was feeling for him.  The cheerleader found herself bringing her face close to his face.  She saw him also bringing his face close to her face.  The woman drew down her lips over her overbite.  He made his lips ready also.  And the two fell upon their first kiss.  It was like drinking nectar.  It was like eating ambrosia.  And the girl’s head grew a little dizzy in great romantic delights.

Dionysius wanted to taste a kiss again, but she would not.

Flanders asked, “Dionysius, did we just do what I think we did?”

“Yeah, Flanders,” she said.  “I think that we went and did it.”  Then she said, “Did I get it right,

Flanders?”

“Wooo!” he answered in the affirmative.

“Has a lonely cheerleader conquered a lonely warrior this day, Flanders?” asked Miss Daugherty in romance.  He said nothing out loud, but his dreamy nod was a loud, “Yes!”

Her black and red pleats knocked about him where he stood in this wind by the lake.  “Dionysius, what do they feel like, all those pleats around yourself like that?” he asked.

“Go ahead and touch one, if you’d like, Flanders,” she said in coquetry.  “I won’t bite.”

Then the wind stopped blowing.  Her cheerleader skirt was still, and the pleats hung down before him in invitation.  He looked down upon her middle black pleat in the front—the one that covered her in her most personal femaleness.  Flanders reached out his hand and touched the bottom of that black pleat between his thumb and his index finger.  He then spread his whole hand across this romantic polyester double knit fabric.  He then lifted this pleat a couple inches at its edge.  He said in great fervor of awe at this cheerleader skirt, “Whoa!”  Then he let go of this sleek black pleat.  And it fell back into place with the rest of the pleats.  Then the wind came back upon boyfriend and girlfriend.

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“God is watching,” said Miss Daugherty.

“God does not mind,” said Flanders.  Then he asked, “Have I stolen the heart of a born-again cheerleader?”

“Yes!  Yes!” said Dionysius.  “And again, ‘Yes!’”

“We kissed this day,” he said.  “Shall we hug this day, too, Dionysius?”

“What if I hug not quite right?” she said.

“You kissed quite right, Dionysius,” he did say.  “You will also hug quite right, too,”

Boyfriend and girlfriend extended their arms along each other’s sides where they stood.  They then wrapped their arms around each other’s backs.  And they had their first embrace in a gentle squeeze.  Dionysius raised her leg backward behind herself where she stood in hug.  Flanders felt her chenille emblem pressed against his chest.  He felt her cuffs along his back.  He would never let her go.

But, after a long moment, they did draw apart.  Dionysius wanted to do it again, but she would not.

Flanders Nickels then asked, “Shall we go out into the lake and play, woman?”

Thinking upon her beloved cheerleader uniform, she lifted an edge of the black bottom hem to her cheerleader’s sweater, thought for a moment, and said, “I’ve gotten this all wet in the rain before, and it turned out okay.  I can get this wet today in this Lac Du Nord, and it will be okay, too.”

“Let’s go and jump into the lake, pretty gal!” said Flanders.  And he turned and ran out into the lake.

“Wait for me!” said Dionysius, also running out into the lake in frolic with a boyfriend.

He stood farther out into the lake in waist-deep water.  She stood less far into the lake in knee-deep water.  And he said in spree, “Water fight, O girlfriend!”  And he slammed his open palm down into the lake before himself.  And he splashed her completely all over her face.

“I’ll get you, Flanders Arckery Nickels,” she said right back to him.  And she kicked up her leg

where she stood.  And she splashed his face full of water as well.

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Both laughed in great fun of flirts.

In merriment, Flanders said, “Dionysius, you kick quite a kick with your cheerleader leg.”

“And I punch quite a punch with my cheerleader arm, I’ll have you to know, Mr. Nickels,” she

said in tease.

“I’d bet that you can slug me, and it will not hurt me at all,” he said.

“Shall I come out there and show you?” she asked, still out of reach of him with her fist.

“Yes, show me, gal,” he said.  “Hit me and hurt me.  I dare you to try.”  Confident of herself, she began to wade out deeper in the lake toward him.  Taunting her with big talk, he said, “I’m a man, and you’re a woman, you do know, I hope.”

Then she stood right before him.  She asked, “Where would you like me to sock you?”

He said, “How about right here?”  And he proffered her his right upper arm just below his shoulder.

And the woman hauled off and slugged the man right there where he stood, grinning in confidence of his male build.  Instantly her hand hurt her.  She quickly put her sore fist into her open palm of her other hand.  And as she stood there, his countenance betrayed no pain at all in his arm.  In fact he actually laughed in gaiety.  And he said, “Are you hurt, my damsel?”  Her hand began to feel better now.  And the only thing that Dionysius could find to do now was to laugh.  And she did laugh at herself.  Her hand was almost all okay now.  Then he said tantalizingly, “What do you have to say for yourself, wench?”

With the wiles of a clever woman, she said, “This is what I have to say, my gentleman.”  And she leaped upon him, grabbed him around his neck with both arms, and let her weight make him fall down into the lake underneath herself.  As he climbed back up out of Lac Du Nord, she stood there with her arms akimbo and asked him, “What do you have to say to that, Mr. Flanders Nickels?”

“All I can say, Dionysius, is that I am head-over-heels in love with you,” he confessed with his

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man’s heart.

“And I have fallen in love with you, O Flanders—head over heels myself, too,” said Miss Daugherty.

He went on to say, “’The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.’

Proverbs 10:22.”

And she likewise said, “’Hope deferred maketh the heart sick:  but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.’  Proverbs 13:12.”

Then the two began a romance of wrestling frolic in this lake of the north here in the isolated countryside, and it lasted for the rest of this day’s most especial date of dates.

Meanwhile their unicorns were conversing in a field not far away from this lake, and they were chatting about unicorn matters.

Knight said, “You know, Martial, in my service to Flanders in the west, I do not get to see many other unicorns.”

“I know what you mean,” said Martial.  “Where I am in the south with my mistress, I don’t see a lot of other unicorns, either.”

“Oh, I am happy with my master,” said Knight.  “How many unicorns here in the north have a master and a best friend like I have?  Flanders has been good to me.  And we love each other as brethren-in-Christ.”

“Aye.  Well said, Brother,” said Martial.  “I am blessed from God to serve Him and my mistress

both in my life together in these days.  Our friendship is also a best friendship—hers and mine.”

Knight asked, “Have you ever thought of settling down in The Fair Havens?”

“The Fair Havens is the place of rest for us angels here in the Unicorn Lands,” said Martial.

“Unicorns fellowshipping with unicorns,” said Knight.  “Ahhh,” he sighed.  “What a city of God is that fair city.”

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Martial said, “Back in the south, when my mistress would be away from home and not with me,

I would go walking into the towns.  I would talk to the unicorns passing by, and we would tell each other what we were doing for our Creator.  I would talk to the horses, and they would listen, but they could not reply except with a neigh or a nod of the head.  I would soon get lonely for my mistress, and I would come back home.  And when she would come back home, I would kiss her with my tongue on her cheek and greet her with several, ‘Maranatha’s’”

“Yeah.  You’re right, Martial.  I would get lonely without my master, too, when we were apart for a part of the day,” said Knight.  “Back in the west, when my master left the house to go on an errand without me, and I was left home alone, I would go on walks by myself and visit neighbors in the countryside.  Good people told me of their trials, and I would listen to them and encourage them with the Word of God.  But I could not give them the same compassion I so gave my master when he told me of his trials.  And then I would come back home and wait for my beloved master to come home, as well.  And when he did, I was truly happy once again.  And he would tell me all the great things that God had done for him.”

“We are truly blessed—even for angels,” said Martial.

“It is a blessing to love a son of God or to love a daughter of God, Brother,” said Knight.

The two rejoicing unicorns looked off into the lake of the north not too far away.  The angels saw the humans playing games in romance.

“Look how they fight in the lake, yet are not really fighting,” said Knight.

“They are wrestling—a man with a woman, and a woman with a man,” said Martial.

“What do you think that that means?” asked Knight.

“What do you think that that is all about?” asked Martial.

“Men and women among people do some pretty crazy things with each other when they fall in love like that, it seems to me, Martial,” said Knight.

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“Do you suppose that that is what they are doing right now—falling in love?” asked Martial.

“It is odd, I do say,” said Knight.

“It looks silly,” said Martial.

“People are not like unicorns,” said Knight.

“I cannot understand that,” said Martial.

“Neither can I, Martial,” said Knight.

“My mistress told me that that kind of thing was always what she wanted the most—even more than her cheerleader uniform—a boyfriend to share Christ with,” said Martial.

“Their frolic in the lake does not look like they are sharing Christ,” said Knight.  “It looks like they are splashing around in the water to me.”

“Did your master ever say anything to you about wanting what he has now in the lake?” asked

Martial.

“He never thought about it  much at all until that dream he had about a cheerleader archer in this pilgrimage before he found your mistress,” said Knight.

“What would you do if you lost your master?” asked Martial.

“Do you mean if he fell in battle?” asked Knight.

“Indeed,” said Martial.

“I never stopped to think about that, Martial,” said Knight.  “He is mortal.  I am immortal.  He will age.  I will never age.  Even if he lives, his days of battle cannot continue forever, now that he is middle-aged.  Were I to lose him, I would grieve.  We have fought battles together against evil.  I have saved his life at times.  He has saved me from harm other times.  I do not want to think about life without him.  What about you, Martial?”

“Do you mean if I lost my mistress?” asked Martial.

“Yes, were she to die young or were she to die of natural causes,” said Knight.

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“I do think upon that.  And I do fear that, Knight,” confessed Martial.  “Even though she be an

angel’s mistress, she is more like my sister-in-the-Creator.  She and I have shared peaks and troughs together in the Lord—both hers and mine.  She has told me all of her secrets.  I have told her all of my secrets.  I would mourn upon her passing away.  And then I would have to learn to love another person as pet in my work for our Maker.”

“We are two angels accompanying two greatly faithful children of God to Jesus on His throne,” said Knight.  “One angel talking to another angel.”

“What hinders us from calling each other ‘good friends?’” asked Martial.

“Yea, better yet, good Martial, ‘great friends!’” said Knight.

The two unicorns of God bowed their heads before each other and touched unicorn horns in new best friendship.

“Friends for eternity,” declared Martial.

“Friends for eternity,” proclaimed Knight.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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CHAPTER VI

It was the next day of a very long pilgrimage for the four travelers.  Right now Flanders and Dionysius were on foot, he to the right and she to the left.    Her Martial was to her left, and his Knight was to his right,  And they four heard it.

Dionysius asked, “What is that sound?  Is it the Tempting Wizard coming back so soon?”

Martial said, “Mistress, it sounds like the sound of peace and not the sound of war.”

Knight said, “It sounds like much great waters.”

“I do believe that is is the sound of a sea!” proclaimed Flanders.

“A sea!” exclaimed the cheerleader.

“Why, that’s the North’s ocean we do all hear this day!” exclaimed Martial.

“Master, our pilgrimage has reached its destination,” said Knight.

“We are so close that we can hear it,” said Flanders.

Miss Daugherty spoke and said, “The Bible says that our Lord Jesus’s voice sounds just like that—like the sound of many waters.”

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“Ezekiel 43:2,” said Knight.  “…:  and his voice was like a noise of many waters:…”

And Martial said, “’…; and his voice as the sound of many waters.’  Revelation 1:15, my mistress.”

“It makes sense then that the sea of the north sounds like Jesus of the north,” said Miss Daugherty.

“But Jesus’s glory is far greater than His north sea’s glory,” said Flanders.

Dionysius Daugherty began to sing a hymn about her Saviour’s glory:

 

“1.  All hail the pow’r of Jesus’ name!  Let angels prostrate fall;

Bring forth the royal diadem, And crown Him Lord of all;

Bring forth the royal diadem, And crown Him Lord of all!

 

2. Ye chosen seed of Israel’s race, Ye ransomed from the fall,

Hail Him who saves you by His grace, And crown Him Lord of all;

Hail Him who saves you by His grace, And crown Him Lord of all!

 

3. Let ev’ry kindred, ev’ry tribe, On this terrestrial ball,

To Him all majesty ascribe, And crown Him Lord of all;

To Him all majesty ascribe, And crown Him Lord of all!

 

4. O that with yonder sacred throng We at His feet may fall!

We’ll join the everlasting song, And crown Him Lord of all;

We’ll join the everlasting song, And crown Him Lord of all!”

 

“What a great hymn!” said Knight.

“What a great voice!” said Flanders.

“’All Hail the Power,’ Mistress,” said Martial this hymn’s title.

And the four pilgrims became silent for this while and listened to the roaring of the waves pounding ashore of the great ocean to the north indeed now very near.

Then an evil gray whirlwind descended from the skies, and an evil gray wizard stood there before them in his diabolical war against good and God.  Without a hand, this Tempting Wizard held his long staff horizontally in front of himself inside both elbows, his stumps raised at a ninety-degree angle from his upper arms.  But in his words he could still wrought magic with temptations.

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Flanders Nickels drew his Brass Sword and held it into the air before the wizard.  Martial stamped his fore hooves upon the ground before the wizard.  Knight blew a battle call on his unicorn horn before the wizard.  And Miss Daugherty held her King James Bible tightly against herself in both hands before the wizard.  Yet the wizard just stood there.

Then the Tempting Wizard attacked the pilgrims with the words of the Devil:  “Do you four really want to go and see Jesus?”

Flanders Nickels motioned with his left hand, telling them not to say anything in reply to this wizard right now.

The Tempting Wizard said, “You four do not really want to go any farther north, do you?”

Again Flanders looked at the other three, and all four for now did not say a word to this wizard of tempting words.

This Tempting Wizard then said, “If you were to stand before Jesus way way up north, things will never be the same for you four again.  And bad things will happen in your love among each other

for ever after.”

Flanders Nickels now spoke and asked, “Bad things will happen to a born-again believer because he sees Christ?” Flanders could not believe that even this wizard would think to fool him with such an utterance as this.

“Oh yes, Flanders,” said the wizard.

“Do dare to explain that one to me, O Tempting Wizard,” said Flanders, wondering what this wizard could think with such a reasoning as this.

“Oh, that is easy to explain,” said the wizard.  “But it will not involve any unicorn-and-unicorn love among your group.  Nor does it involve any mistress-and-pet love or any master-and-pet love in your little group.  But it will very much involve your girlfriend-and-boyfriend love in your group of four, Flanders.”

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There arose a discordant chattering among the four pilgrims.  Flanders raised his hand before them, and they became silent again.  Flanders then said, “How can seeing the Lord beyond the north

take away my love for Dionysius and Dionysius’s love for me?”

And the Tempting Wizard said most disturbingly tersely, “Your heart will no longer appreciate

romance.”

“That’s not true!” exclaimed Miss Daugherty.

“Oh, but it is true, O woman of God,” said the wizard most staidly and most assuredly.

“God is good, and good wholesome romance is good,” said Flanders with the heart of a Christian boyfriend.

“Let me explain, Flanders,” said the Tempting Wizard.  And he went on to explain a demon’s logic:  “Where you four are going in the north north, you will see Almighty God in all of His great and divine regal glory.  You believers say that God is perfect.  You suitor man and you suitor’s woman will

take one look at your Creator, and his celestial majesty of perfect deity, and you will quickly forget about each other in your mortal and flawed and human attraction.  Do you know what I am saying?”

“You claim that once we see the perfect God in His perfect physical form, that we—Dionysius and I—will not find each other so attractive anymore in our mortal and imperfect human bodies.” said Flanders.

“Yes!  That’s it,” said the Tempting Wizard.  “God is so divine of deity, that once you two see Him, you will not see Dionysius as pretty anymore, and Dionysius will not see you as handsome anymore.”

“That cannot be true,” said Flanders.

“Master, there is doubt in your words,” said Knight.

“Is what you say true, O Tempting Wizard?” asked Miss Daugherty.

“Mistress, there is credulousness in your voice,” said Martial.

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“I have discovered the magic of romance, and now I might lose it,” said Flanders.

“I do not want anything to come between me and Flanders,” said Dionysius.

“Dionysius, what if we fall out of love?” asked Flanders.

“And we will fall out of love, Flanders,” said Miss Daugherty.

“Yes, you shall,” said the Tempting Wizard.  “You both surely shall.”

With all of this happening, the unicorns, who knew not the way of romance, did not know what to say.

But the Tempting Wizard was not at a loss for his words, and he went on and said, “Maybe it is best now to turn and go back home.  You should not go and see Jesus right now.  Why go There and ask

Him your petitions?  He has already answered your prayers—you two found each other, and you are happy with each other.  The reason for this long pilgrimage is already settled.  There is nothing more that you four need to do with the Maker.  Go back now.”

“But I want to see Jesus,” said Flanders.

“And lose Dionysius in doing so?” tempted the wizard.

“I still want to see Jesus,” said Flanders.  “And He will not take my Dionysius away from me because of that.”

Dionysius Daugherty went on to say, “And I did not come this far to quit and go back.  I want to see my Saviour’s face, too, O wizard.”

“At the cost of losing the only boyfriend you ever had?” asked the Tempting Wizard.

“I won’t lose my Flanders,” said the cheerleader, pouting at the wizard.  “With Christ, things do not happen the way you say they will, wizard.”

“But,” stammered the Tempting Wizard.  But he could find no ready rebuttal.

Flanders Nickels went on to say, “But, O Tempting Wizard.  The truth is that I and my new girlfriend are going to see God very soon, and we will talk with Him and listen to Him in His great

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‘regal glory,’ as you call it.  And after we leave Him and start back home, our love for each other will be even greater than it is now.  Seeing the God of love can only enhance true love between a boyfriend-and-girlfriend-in-Christ.  You do tempt us this last day here, because you do not want us children of God to fellowship with Him where such fellowship is best—There in the uttermost north before His throne.”

“Yet,” muttered the Tempting Wizard, the truth about himself spoken right back at him.

The cheerleader Dionysius also spoke her part with her wisdom as a woman of God, “You are no better a source of wisdom than your father the Devil.  If you’re not lying a big fib, you are telling only half-truths with the subtlety of little white lies.  You, O Tempting Wizard, have been tempting us four pilgrims these past couple of weeks ever since we came into this north region.  Four times you have come to contend against us on our journey,   Your war against our Creator you do wage mainly on us Christians and us good angels.  I do not believe any of your tempting words any more, O Tempting Wizard.”

“Nonetheless,” began the wizard in search for tempting.  But he could not find a ready answer to this.

Even his staff in his arms seemed to be at a loss for the wizard’s wizardry.

Then Martial spoke up and said about temptations to this Tempting Wizard, “It is written, ‘My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;  Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.  But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing,’  James 1:2-4.”

The Tempting Wizard’s head snapped back as if He had been smitten of God.  And he stood there, stunned, weak, about to fall.

Then Knight spoke the Word of God against this demon, “It is also written, O Tempting Wizard,

about temptation, ‘Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God:  for God cannot be

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tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:  But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of

his own lust, and enticed.  Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.  Do not err, my beloved brethren.’  James 1:13-16.”

The Wizard stood there, feeble now.  And, behold, his staff suddenly flared up in a flame in his own arms.  He had to drop it and try to step back away from it in order not to get burned.  And soon his staff was impotent burned-up ashes, never to become whole again for his work.

Then Dionysius said, “About temptations, the Bible says this, my Tempting Wizard:  ‘Blessed is  the man that endureth temptation:  for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.’  James 1:12.”

Struck now the third time with a Scripture verse, the wizard collapsed upon the ground in a heap and lay there alive and with his eyes open.

Then Flanders Nickels said, “O Tempting Wizard, God says about your tempting words against us this day, ‘There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man:  but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.’  I Corinthians 10:13.  Your temptations return upon your own head this day!  Lord, I leave the Tempting Wizard in Your hands!  It is done!”

Behold, the ground opened up now between the four pilgrims and the one wizard.  A bottomless

pit lay there beside the fallen demon.  Then a strong wind came up, and the wind rolled the sprawled wizard over the edge of the abyss and down into Hell’s fires below for ever and ever.  Then the wind ceased, and the chasm closed back up, and there was a great calm.

It was finished.

No more encounters with demons awaited the four pilgrims on their trek to see Christ.

“Praise the Lord for His mercy!” said Flanders.

“Praise the Lord for His grace!” said Knight.

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“Praise the Lord for His wisdom!” said Dionysius.

“Praise the Lord for His strength!” said Martial.

“We may see our Maker maybe sometime tomorrow,” declared Flanders.

“Sweet Jesus,” said the cheerleader dreamily.

“Let us four have a prayer-meeting right now,” said Flanders.

“Amen to that, boyfriend!” said Miss Daugherty.

And they stopped to have a one-hour prayer-meeting amid the sound of the waves of the unseen, but quite heard, sea to the north,

And when they were done with that, Flanders said, “Let us go on and finish our pilgrimage across the Unicorn Lands.”

“Precious Saviour,” sang out Dionysius.

“Onward we go, Master,” said Knight.

“And forward, my mistress,” said Martial.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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CHAPTER VII

The four pilgrims stood before a great and a vast and an endless infinity of waters beyond the northern border to these Unicorn Lands.  They had arrived.  The demons were gone.  Their pilgrimage was done.  Here was the north sea.  Out there on an island somewhere was Christ their Maker.  A winged unicorn would soon come and take the man of God and the woman of God to see their great Creator and Saviour and Lord out there in the north beyond the north.

Flanders and Dionysius and Knight and Martial stood upon the northernmost part of these Unicorn Lands and looked out into the north ocean.  Flanders said the words of I Chronicles 16:25:  “For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised:  he also is to be feared above all gods.”

The cheerleader woman said, “’Give unto the Lord, ye kindreds of the people, give unto the Lord glory and strength.’  I Chronicles 16:28.”

“These waves are loud, and yet this shore is peaceful,” said Flanders Nickels.

“God is out There,” she said, pointing out to the uttermost north.  “And God is right here,” the cheerleader said, spreading out her arms and spinning in place.

“The sand here is the most holy sand in all of this north,” he said.

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“This northern seashore is holy ground, and we born-again believers can walk on it, because we

have our Creator also as our personal Saviour,” said Miss Daugherty.

“I wonder if God would mind if we stepped out into this ocean,” said Flanders.

Knight said, “Maybe not, Master.  The ocean here may be no place for people to wade out in.”

Martial said, “The north shore, yes; the north sea, no.”

“It might be real cold, anyway, Flanders,” said Dionysius.

Just then a gray winged unicorn came flying in from the north beyond the north.  Miss Daugherty asked Flanders, “Is he the one who will take us to Jesus?”

“I believe so, Dionysius,” said Flanders.

“We did not have to wait long at all,” she said.

And the winged unicorn lighted upon the sand before them, and he said, “I am Transporting

Angel Legacy at your service for God.”

Flanders said, “Good Transporting Angel, I am Flanders Nickels and this is my girlfriend Dionysius Daugherty and these are our unicorns Knight and Martial.  My girlfriend and I would like to see Jesus if we could.”

“Our Maker desires to meet with you, O son of God and daughter of God,” said Legacy.

“And we, Him,” replied Flanders.

“Flanders Nickels, do you understand the holiness of God?” asked the Transporting Unicorn.

“I believe that I do, good Legacy,” said Flanders.  “God says in His Word in Romans 7:18,

‘For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing:…’”

The Transporting Unicorn then looked at the woman of God and asked her, “Dionysius Daugherty, do you understand the holiness of God?”

“I think that I do,” said the cheerleader.  “It is written about me, ‘The Lord knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity.’  Psalm 94:11.”

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“Good and faithful pilgrims, you two do understand your own unholiness.  God is pleased to hear what you have to say,” said Legacy.  “But now you must understand the holiness of Christ, before you can stand before Him in the Farthest North.”

“Would you teach us, O Legacy?” asked Flanders.

“I shall teach you,” said Legacy.  “Let us go to class now at once.  After you learn about our Lord’s most fundamental attribute of holiness, then you can go and talk with Him and He with you.”

And class began beside the great ocean of the north:  Legacy preached thus:  “In Isaiah 6:5 the prophet Isaiah saw this same Jesus in Heaven, and he exclaimed thus, ‘…, Woe is me! For I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips:  for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.’  In Isaiah 6:3 the seraphim in worship of Almighty God before His throne cried out, ‘…,Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts:  the whole earth is full of his glory.’  And in Revelation 4:8 four mighty beasts with six wings and many eyes declared before Jesus on His throne, ‘…, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.’  In Psalm 111:9 it is written, ‘…:  holy and reverend is his name.’  In I Chronicles 16:29 we are commanded to ‘…:  worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.’  In Leviticus 20:7, God says, ‘Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy:  for I am the Lord your God.’  And in Leviticus 20:26, one reads, ‘And ye shall be holy unto me:  for I the Lord am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be mine.’  Further in Leviticus 19:2, it is said, ‘…, Ye shall be holy:  for I the Lord your God am holy.’  In Psalm 99:3 the psalmist tells us, ‘Let them praise thy great and terrible name; for it is holy.’  Again the psalmist tells us in Psalm 99:9, ‘Exalt the Lord our God, and worship at his holy hill; for the Lord our God is holy.’  Near the end of the Psalter, David says this:  ‘The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works.’  Psalm 145:17.  And in Exodus 3:5, when God called Moses at the burning bush, He said to him,’…, Draw not nigh hither:  put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.’”  The Transporting Angel Legacy paused in his teaching.

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The woman Dionysius asked, “O Transporting Angel, is this sand holy ground?”

“It is, milady,” said Legacy.

And the cheerleader took of her sneakers and her knee socks, and Flanders took off his penny loafers, and the two pilgrims stood barefoot upon this northernmost sea coast.

Legacy then asked, “Do you good and faithful and weary journeyers now understand the holiness of God?”

Flanders Nickels said, “God hates unrighteousness and loves righteousness.”

Miss Daugherty said, “God is not so much the God of love as He is the God of holiness.”

“God cannot sin,” said Flanders.

“Nor can God look upon sin,” said Dionysius.

Flanders went on to say, “God the Father could not even look upon His own Son on the cross, because His own Son bore upon His sinless body all the sins of the world.”

“And there is no such thing as sin in God’s holy Heaven,” said the Christian cheerleader.

“Good Christian pilgrims, you comprehend with Holy Ghost wisdom our holy Maker,” said the Transporting Angel.  “Pray now in the privacy of your thoughts unto God the Father, and ask Him to prepare your hearts to see Him.  After you are thus cleansed by the Holy Spirit, then I will take you to the Good Lord in the midst of the north sea.”

Dionysius Daugherty prayed thus in her silent moment of prayer of confession and repentance:

“’Search me, O God, and know my heart:  try me and know my thoughts:  And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.’  Psalm 139:14.  Then she began to sing the hymn “Cleanse Me.”

Flanders prayed thus in his quiet time here with his Creator and Heavenly Father in his confession and repentance:  “’If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all

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unrighteousness.  If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.’

I John 1:8-10.”  Then he began to sing the hymn, “Holy!  Holy!  Holy!”

Flanders and Dionysius finished their songs.  They looked upon each other.  They looked upon the gray winged Transporting Unicorn.  Flanders said, “I think that we are ready now—my girlfriend and I—O Legacy.”

“You two Christians are ready to meet Christ indeed,” said Legacy.  “Climb now up upon my back, both of you, and I shall take you There.”

Dionysius was so excited now like never before, that she forgot about her Martial.  Her black unicorn touched her shoulder with his unicorn horn. He spoke to her in affection, “My mistress…I shall not be with you There.”

“Oh, but I’ll be back,” said the cheerleader in all due confidence.  “We two shall not be parted for long, O Martial.”  The woman kissed him on his noble black head.  He groaned in contentment.

“My mistress?” called out Martial.

“Yes, Martial?” she inquired.

“When you get There, ask our Creator about the mystery of the world of the Bible,” the black angel said to his mistress.

“Indeed the world of the Bible is not the world of the Unicorn Lands,” she said, mystified.

“If you do that, Mistress, and the Lord tells you, then you shall have the wisdom of us angels,”

said most wise Martial.

“You know something I don’t,” said Miss Daugherty.

“Are not these Unicorn Lands named after us unicorns, O mistress?” he replied with great savvy of quip.

Flanders looked upon his brown unicorn, and he said, “Where I go now, Knight, you cannot now come with me.”

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“I have not wings, Master,” said Knight.

“Is there anything I can ask of God for you?” asked Flanders.

“I am content as angel,” said Knight.  “I shall be here and waiting for you, my master.”

“Is there any thing that I should ask the Lord when I’m There, now that He has already given me my cheerleader, Knight?” asked Flanders.

“Ask God for your great revelation about the world where Jesus had walked for thirty-three years, Master.  Ask Him about that place Israel where He ministered for three years.  Ask Him about that Calvary of the cross and where that was,” said Knight.

“Jesus has never as a man walked these Unicorn Lands, nor is there a place called Israel in these Unicorn Lands, nor is any cross of crucifixion in these Unicorn Lands,” said Flanders, wondering upon

such an enlightenment.  “But everything we know about our Maker from the Holy Bible we believers of these Unicorn Lands know to be truth.”

“The Holy Bible is truth, and Jesus is truth,” summed up Knight.

Flanders reached out his right hand and petted his brown unicorn down his full abundant mane.

Knight adoringly leaned his head against Flanders’s petting hand.

“Jesus awaits you, Miss Daugherty, Mr. Nickels,” said the winged unicorn.

Flanders mounted Legacy first.  Dionysius mounted Legacy second.  She sat behind her boyfriend.  He steadied himself by putting his hands on the gray unicorn’s shoulders.  She steadied herself by putting her arms around her boyfriend’s waist.

Not another word was spoken.  With great ease and safety the Transporting Angel lifted up off the ground and up above the white sands.  And he began to carry the two Christians out above the great sea. And he ascended.  And the celestial north sea lay below them in its infiniteness.  After a while, Miss Daugherty turned back and she could no longer see the Unicorn Lands.  The speedy winged unicorn had traveled far fast.  She turned to look ahead again.  She saw no land in sight.  She looked

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down to the sea below.  So much water there was in this endless ocean.  She felt such peace now so near to Jesus.  What a peaceful sea this was.  She would not speak now.  She would just look ahead and wait to see Heaven coming in view.  Flanders would not speak now, either.  He was thinking all about

their Saviour, also.  Legacy also spoke not, in order not to distract them from their feelings here way up above the sea of the north and beyond the Unicorn Lands.  And the gray unicorn continued their last span to their most lengthy pilgrimage here up in the skies.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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BOOK V

 

CONCLUSION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER I

Miss Dionysius Daugherty and Mr. Flanders Nickels dismounted winged Legacy and stood upon the ground of Heaven.  She found herself in a celestial world of fogs and mists and dews and low-lying clouds.  Below her feet was glistening white sand almost clear in color.  Above her head was a sun brighter than the sun above the land and the sun above the seas of her familiar Unicorn Lands.  Here was no presence of evil anywhere.  There could be no sin here.  All was holy.  Here was only good.  Here was God.  She had come.  She and Flanders were Here.  She could see the throne of God just up ahead in front of her.  This throne of the Lord was concealed by the fogs and the mists and the dews and the low-lying clouds.

Behold, two women descending from the skies above Heaven, lighting upon the ground of Heaven, and bowing down in worship before the shrouded throne in Heaven.  So very beautiful in grandeur were these two women that Dionysius could tell that they had never been anywhere other than

Here in all time in all creation.  Such pulchritude Dionysius had never seen even in her Unicorn Lands.

The one girl knelt before the hidden throne to the throne’s left and to Dionysius’s right.  Miss Daugherty had seen her eyes—they had a vivacious brown to them truly the spirit and the soul of life.

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And her brunette hair was angel hair—black, shoulder-length, with bangs, straight, and all of magical wisps.  And her female form was slender and supple.  And on her back were most magnificent white wings.  And she was clothed in the righteousness of God.  She spoke now before the throne and said,

“My Saviour, behold Thy servant Gravel.”

And as for the other girl, she knelt before the concealed throne to the throne’s right and to Dionysius’s left.  Miss Daugherty had seen her eyes also, and her eyes were like passageways to paradise.  And her blonde hair was straight, shoulder-length, and with bangs; and her tresses were like golden strands of wheat in a tranquil meadow.  And her female form, also, was slim and lithe.  And she also had most grand white wings on her back.  And she was also clothed in the righteousness of God.

And she spoke to God also, saying, “My Maker, behold Thy servant Carol Bree Dale.”

Then the brunette Gravel proclaimed, “I am the incarnation of Isaiah 64:4.  It is written therein:

‘For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.’”  Dionysius understood that this incarnation of Isaiah 64:4 personified the beauty of God’s Heaven.  Gravel continued, “Amen, my Saviour.  And again, Amen.  I represent all the saints worshiping Thee in Heaven.  Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might be unto Thee, O God, for ever and ever.  Amen.”  Truly this Paradisaical woman was a dreamgirlangel in the eyes of any man who might see her.

Then the other great and awe-inspiring woman spoke as she knelt in worship.  This blonde Carol Bree Dale declared, “I am the incarnation of I Corinthians 2:9.  It is written thereby, ‘But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.’”  Miss Daugherty comprehended this incarnation of I Corinthians 2:9 to also personify the beauty of God’s Heaven.  Carol Bree Dale spoke further in official

utterance:  “Alleluia and Hallelujah!  I represent the angels in worship of Thee Up Here in Glory.

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Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.  Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.”  In great awe did the mortal cheerleader wonder if this incarnation were even a little bit more angelic than the other incarnation.

Then the brunette Gravel spoke and said in worship, “Multiple and apt and glorious are Thy sundry and diverse metaphors, O Saviour, in the book of Psalms:  Thou art a shield.  Thou art my glory.

Thou art the lifter up of my head.  Thou art the Highest.  Thou art my rock.  Thou art my fortress.  Thou art my deliverer.  Thou art my strength.  Thou art my buckler.  Thou art the horn of my salvation.  Thou art my high tower.  Thou art my shepherd.  Thou art the King of glory.  Thou art my light and my salvation.  Thou art the strength of my life.  Thou art our help and our shield.  Thou art the health of my countenance.  Thou art our refuge and strength.  Thou art a very present help in trouble.  Thou art my defence.  Thou art the Shepherd of Israel.  Thou art a sun and shield.  Thou art my strength and song.  Thou art my salvation.  Thou art my portion in the land of the living.  Thou art my goodness.  Thou art

their King.”  Then she said, “Thus Thy metaphors in the Psalter, O Lord Jesus.”

After this, the blonde Carol Bree Dale went on to say in this worship, “O Lord of hosts, Thou hast many and divine titles in the prophecy of the book of Revelation:  Thou art ‘Him, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.’  Thou art ‘the faithful witness.’  Thou art ‘the first begotten of the dead.’  Thou art ‘the prince of the kings of the earth.’  Thou art ‘Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending.’ Thou art ‘Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.’  Thou art ‘He that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.’  Thou art ‘He that holdeth the seven stars in His right hand, Who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks.’  Thou art ‘the first and the last, Which was dead, and is alive.’  Thou art ‘He Which hath the sharp sword with two edges.’  Thou art ‘the Son of God, Who hath his eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet are like fine brass.’  Thou art ‘He that hath the seven Spirits of

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God, and the seven stars.’  Thou art ‘He that is holy, He that is true, He that hath the key of David, He

that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth.’  Thou art ‘the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God.’  Thou art ‘the Lion of the tribe of Judah.’  Thou art ‘the root of David.’  Thou art ‘the bright and morning star.’” And she said, “These be Thy titles in the book of Revelation, O Lord of angels.”

Then the brunette Gravel petitioned the God concealed from the two people, “My Saviour, may I look upon The Book of Remembrance?”

And, lo, a deity’s hand reached out of the fogs with a book in His hand.  And Gravel took it in her hand, and she said, “Thank You, Lord Jesus.”  Its cover was of gold color, and its pages’ edges were of silver color.  It was a book about the size of a collegiate dictionary.  And it was hardcover.  Gravel opened up this Book from Heaven and read its prologue, “It is written, ‘Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another: and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name.’  Malachi 3:16.”

Then this brunette woman angel turned some pages, read to herself from one page, and spoke and said, “I see the names of Dionysius Drago Daugherty and Flanders Arckery Nickels in this book, O Lord.”  And she shut the gilded book up and said, “It is good.  So be it.  So shall it ever be.  Glory to God for the testimony of these two saints before Thee this day for the rest of their lives together.”

Then she proffered The Book of Remembrance back to the Lord in the fogs, and the deity’s hand reached out and took it, and it disappeared back in the obscured throne of God.

After this, the blonde Carol Bree Dale asked the Lord, “O Creator, may I look into The Book of Life?”

Behold, both hands of God reached out into the two saints’ view, and in His hands was a great tome, the size of a big family Bible.  Carol Bree Dale reached out for it and held it in both of her hands.

And the Lord’s hands disappeared back in upon His throne.  Its cover was of real gold, and its pages

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were of real silver.  And Carol Bree Dale held The Book of Life –God’s own book which was a list of the names of all the born-again Christians in the history of the world—in both arms.  She opened up this book and read its prelude out loud, “It is written, ‘And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.’  Revelation 20:15.  And again it is written, ‘And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie:  but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.’  Revelation 21:27.”  Those whose names were not written in this book were in Hell.  Those whose names were written in this book were in Heaven.  She turned pages to the section whose last names started with “D.”  And she found the entry that read, “Daugherty, Dionysius Drago.”  And she looked up at the cheerleader visitor and said, “Be of good cheer, O Dionysius.  Your name is in the book.”  She then turned to the section whose last names started with “N.”  And she found the entry, “Nickels, Flanders Arckery.”  And she looked up at this soldier visiting here for now, and she said to him, “Good news for you, too, O Flanders.  Your name is in the book, too.”  Both pilgrims already knew that, because they were both born-again believers.  Then

Carol Bree Dale shut this Book of Life back up and gave it back to the not-yet-revealed Jesus upon His throne.

After this, Gravel, still on her knees before the throne of God, raised her head, lifted her eyes, and held up her arms.  And she began to sing a hymn to God:

“1.  My Jesus, I love Thee, I know Thou art mine–

For Thee all the follies of sin I resign;

My gracious Redeemer, my Saviour art Thou;

If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ‘tis now.

 

2. I love Thee because Thou hast first loved me

And purchased my pardon on Calvary’s tree;

I love Thee for wearing the thorns on Thy brow:

If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ‘tis now.

 

3. I’ll love Thee in life, I will love Thee in death,

And praise Thee as long as Thou lendest me breath;

And say when the deathdew lies cold on my brow,

 

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‘If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ‘tis now.’

 

4. In mansions of glory and endless delight,

I’ll ever adore Thee in heaven so bright;

I’ll sing with the glittering crown on my brow,

‘If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ‘tis now.’”

 

Truly did Dionysius hear in this song sung by Gravel a worship that even unicorns could not emulate.

Next Carol Bree Dale went on to sing a hymn before the throne hidden by the fogs and the mists and the dews and the low-lying clouds:

“1.  Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty!

Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee;

Holy, Holy, Holy!  Merciful and Mighty!

God in Three Persons, blessed Trinity!

 

2. Holy, Holy, Holy! All the saints adore Thee,

Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;

Cherubim and seraphim falling down before Thee,

Which wert and art and evermore shalt be.

 

3. Holy, Holy, Holy! Though the darkness hide Thee,

Though the eye of sinful man Thy glory may not see;

Only Thou art holy—there is none beside Thee

Perfect in pow’r, in love and purity.

 

4. Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty!

All Thy works shall praise Thy name in earth and sky and sea;

Holy, Holy, Holy!  Merciful and Mighty!

God in Three Persons, blessed Trinity!”

Truly in this singing of a hymn by Carol Bree Dale did the woman Dionysius feel a worship stronger even than any time that she herself had sung her favorite hymns to Jesus.

Then the two incarnations stood up in worship.  Gravel spoke and said in final words, “It is written about Thee, Good Lord Jesus, ‘For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers:  all things were created by him, and for him:’  Colossians 1:16.”

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And Carol Bree Dale also went on to finish her most celestial worship in like, saying, “It is written, Maker and Creator, ‘Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power:  for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.’  Revelation 4:11.”

These two incarnations of Heaven thus consummated their worship of the Good Lord God as the two Christians watched in great awe and wonder.

Then Gravel and Carol Bree Dale lifted up their wings and spread them out, and they flew up away from God’s throne, and they disappeared into another part of Heaven far away.

And Flanders and Dionysius were now left alone before this mysterious throne.  They both knew now that the next thing that was going to happen was that their personal Saviour was going to reveal Himself to them.  The two Christians were going to see Christ in His regal glory.

And as they beheld, the fogs and the mists and the dews and the low-lying clouds began to lift up from the ground and to rise up toward the sky and to dissipate.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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CHAPTER II

“My Lord and my God!” prayed Flanders, falling down in worship.

“My Lord and my Master!” prayed Dionysius, also falling down to her knees.

And man and woman could say no more.

“My son Flanders, My daughter Dionysius,” called out the Lord Jesus from His throne, “welcome to the Elysian Fields.”  God’s voice was of authority and of compassion, of the sound as of many waters and yet a still small voice, of holiness and of love, and abounding with grace and mercy.  He spoke again, “My children:  Lo.  Behold.  Selah.”  And the two Christians looked up at Him.  And He showed them His two hands and His two feet.  Therein were the nail prints that He had suffered on the cross for them.  They were going to be there in His perfect body for the rest of eternity as an everlasting reminder of the price that Jesus had paid at Calvary for the redemption of mankind.  His hands and feet were unmarred in eternity past, and His hands and feet were marred in eternity future.

The hands and feet of the saints in Heaven were never to look like these of the Saviour here in the Elysian Fields.  These two believers were most unworthy, and Christ was most worthy.  Their salvation was free, but it was not cheap—it had cost the Son of God His Heavenly Home for thirty-three years as he walked the world, and it had cost Him His own deified life.  It was His agape love that did this for

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them.

He knew the number of her hairs on her head.  He knew the fall of every sparrow.  He fed the fowls of the air.  He knew her when she was yet in the womb.  He gave her wondrous life.  He clothed her with clothes. He nourished her with food and drink.  He kept her warm and dry with a good house.  And he gave her a wonderful boyfriend with which to share fellowship and good fun romance.  She was alive, and she was wonderfully and fearfully made a girl by God.

And as a woman, she was truly a creation wrought by a most wise Designer.  Look at her brown hair.  What a comely and original idea that hair was to cover up her human head.  Only the Maker could have thought about and made such things as these tresses.  Her thoughts praised God for her strands so abundant and so straight and so brown.  Other women’s hair was blonde, some black, some red, some gray, some white, and again, some brown like hers.

Look at her brown eyes.  God had made her seeing eyes.  With her women’s eyes she could see in life cute guys walking down the road.  She could behold a platter of strawberry shortcake upon her dining room table in life.  In life she could see the setting sun or the white moon.  She could see where she was going or from where she was coming.  And such simplicity of beauty in eyebrows and eyelashes.  Only the wise Maker knew why such adorned the eyes of women.

Look at her hearing ears on the sides of her head.  God had given this young woman ears, and she could hear Pastor’s great sermons from the pulpit.  She could hear the pleasing ticking of her wind-up clock.  She could hear the melodies of all the Christmas carols.  Hammer and stirrup and anvil—God the all-wise Creator had created these workings in the inner ear.

Look at the woman’s nose with its two nostrils.  She could lean down toward her beloved coffeecake right out of the oven, and take into her nose the most pleasant aroma of warm cinnamon and dark brown sugar.  She could smell coffee beans that were freshly ground.  She could smell rain on a summer afternoon.  She could even touch her nose to Flanders’s nose in a moment of romance.

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And look at the woman Dionysius’s teeth.  If man in his wisdom were to create such things as teeth, would he not think to make them of bone?  But, lo, God in His omniscience, chose to make teeth of enamel, instead–something stronger than bone.  With her teeth she could eat meat like pork steak.  She could eat corn-on-the-cob.  She could eat Cornuts.  She could eat Bugles.  And her women’s teeth made her mouth pretty.  And with her teeth—though unusual and different, being an overbite—she could flash a smile at her boyfriend that could make him giddy where he stood.

And look at the cheerleader’s tongue.  This tongue, wrought of her Divine Maker, gave her the

pleasure of enjoying eating and drinking.  Her tongue gave her mouth the delights of sweet things and salty things and sour things and bitter things.  And she even liked the taste of cough syrup were she to have a bad cold.  And she was thankful for Mom, for not making her eat beets, when that was part of dinner for the family in her childhood days.

Miss Dionysius D. Daugherty was a woman, and she was a beautiful creation of her Maker.

The Lord Jesus spoke unto her now in the midst of this whirlwind reflection going on in her heart here before His throne:  “My daughter, thy thoughts are thoughts of thanksgiving and of praise.  My hands have made thee and fashioned thee together round about.  And in My hand is the soul of every living thing and the breath of all mankind.  For in Me you live and move and have your being.  I, even I, am Creator alone. I have made the five regions of the Unicorn Lands with My words—the North and the East and the South and the West and the Central.  I have made the four seas that lie beyond land itself.  I have made the skies above that have no end.  I have made these Elysian Fields.  And I have made thee, O my daughter Dionysius.  And I love thee with an everlasting love.”

The cheerleader Christian said in overwhelming adoration of her personal Saviour, “O God, ‘Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.’”  These were the words of Acts 15:18.  Then she said, “O Lord, ‘The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the Lord hath made even both of them.’”  These were the words of Proverbs 20:12.  Then she said, “I praise Thee and thank Thee for

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having made me female.”

“Well said, thou good and faithful maiden,” said the Lord from His throne.

Then Jesus turned to Flanders, and He asked. “Good and faithful servant, thou hast a question to  ask of me.  Ask and you shall learn.”

And Flanders remembered the query that Knight had for him to ask God and the same query that Martial had for Dionysius to ask God.  He was not quite sure how to put it in words in a succinct interrogative.

But Jesus asked the question for him, “Thou and thy Dionysius inquire about the world wherein

the Holy Bible takes place.”

“Yes, Lord,” said Flanders Nickels.  “Where is Israel?  There is no such place as Israel in any site at any time in all this world of the Unicorn Lands.  My girlfriend and I are without such wisdom.

And we come before You now to ask, ‘Where is that world of the Holy Scriptures?’”

And the Creator went on so say, “As I have wrought thy world, so have I wrought their world.

As thy world is called ‘The Unicorn Lands,’ so is that world called ‘Earth.’  As your world is a newer world, their world is an older world.  Flanders, Dionysius, know ye the Scripture verse Isaiah 65:17?”

Flanders said, “I do, Lord.”

Flanders looked at Dionysius, and Dionysius looked at Flanders.  “I do, Lord,” also said Miss Daugherty.

Jesus quoted this verse before them, “For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth:  and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.”  Then Jesus Christ declared unto the two pilgrims the secret of the Holy Bible world, “Before the Unicorn Lands and these Elysian Fields, there

was Earth and Heaven.  Behold, the Unicorn Lands are the new earth that I have made.  Behold, the Elysian Fields are the new heavens that I have made.  The planet of the Holy Bible was the first earth.”

Understandest ye both this most revelatory wisdom, My son, My daughter?”

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“I think that I do a little bit,” said Flanders.

“I kind of do,” said Dionysius.

“Ye shall both understand such in fullness when ye shall be here for forever in the life to come,”

said Jesus.  And He went on to teach all about Earth to the two people of the Unicorn Lands:  “There once was a time before the first unicorn.  There was a world of nations, instead of regions.  There was a world of continents and of oceans mixed together in a sphere.  There was a world where mankind was the dominant species.  There was a world where government was ruled by humans.  There was a world that was a globe.  This world was the third planet from a single sun in its solar system.  And this world had a moon that was the same all throughout this world at any given time, and this moon changed according to the days of its rotation.  This world in its history was divided by a demarcation–’B.C.,’ before My birth in Bethlehem; and ‘A.D.,’after My birth in Bethlehem.  This marked my First Coming.

Angels did My bidding in this world as abstract spirit beings.  And demons did Satan’s bidding as intangible evil beings of spirits.  Mankind could not see angels and demons in that world as he can the parallel unicorns and evil beasts here in the Unicorn Lands. Where was Bethlehem?  Where was Israel, My chosen nation?  Where was Jerusalem, mount Zion?  Where was the cross?  Where had I walked for thirty-three years as a Man?  It was in a small land along the eastern border of a great inland waters called ‘the Mediterranean Sea.’  It took place in a world ruled by Rome.  There I did live and die and rise again for the sins of mankind both for that world and for your world.  That was the planet Earth, O My children.”

Flanders said, “What a fascinating place was that Earth, O Lord.”

Dionysius said, “’In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.’  Genesis 1:1.”

Flanders Nickels asked, “What was Earth like without unicorns, O Saviour?”

And their Saviour said, “My Earth’s history was divided into seven dispensations across seven thousand years.  A ‘dispensation’ can be defined as ‘a system of order, government, or organization of Page 210

a nation, community, etc., especially at a particular time’; as ‘ways of doing things that were God-ordered and God-ordained’; ‘each dispensation having a purpose in the overall story.’”

“By ‘dispensation,’ do You mean ‘age’ or ‘era,’ Lord?” asked Flanders.

“Yes, My son,” said the Lord Jesus.

“And does that mean that things were different for Your Earth in each dispensation?” asked Dionysius.

“Verily, My daughter,” said God the Creator.

Then the Omniscient Teacher went on to tell all, “The first dispensation was ‘the dispensation of innocence.’  All of My creatures lived at peace with themselves and with each other.  That world then was without sin and death.  Mankind was to procreate, rule the Earth and the animals, and take care of the Garden of Eden.  He was given only one commandment—‘Thou shalt not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.’  But Adam and Eve broke My commandment.  This was Earth’s first sin.

And they were thereby expelled from the garden paradise.  The dispensation of innocence ceased.”

Jesus continued, “The second dispensation was ‘the dispensation of conscience.’  This was a time when man was left to rule himself by his own will and conscience—both of which were now tainted by sin.  It was a disaster, and it ended in disaster—and that was My great worldwide flood cataclysm which was My judgment upon mankind.  It was during this dispensation where man had become so wicked that ‘every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.’  I even had to repent of having created mankind.  I was grieved in My heart at humankind.  So I ended humanity with a global flood, and I began again with Noah and his family.”

Jesus continued, “The third dispensation was ‘the dispensation of human government.’  Herein I  did make promises and give commands to Noah and his family.  I promised never to curse the Earth again and to flood it again thereby.  I commanded Noah and his family to repopulate the world and to scatter across the Earth.  And I told them that they could eat animals now for food.  And I ordained

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capital punishment.  However, the descendants of Noah failed to ‘fill the Earth,’ as I had commanded.  Instead they all worked together to build the Tower of Babel.  I then countered this action by confusing their language and by creating different nations and cultures that later spread to different areas.  This was the beginning of human government.”

Jesus continued, “The fourth dispensation was ‘the dispensation of promise.’  My calling of Abraham began this dispensation.  In this dispensation there took place the lives of the patriarchs and the enslavement of the Jewish people living in Egypt.  This was the time when Abraham’s descendants waited for My promise to Abraham to be fulfilled –that I would make them a great nation and give them their own land.  This dispensation ended with the exodus of the Jews from Egypt.  Once My people left Egypt, they became officially a nation, led by Myself, into the wilderness toward the Promised Land.”

Jesus continued, “The fifth dispensation was ‘the dispensation of law.’  It lasted 1,500 years, starting with the exodus and ending with My crucifixion and resurrection,  The delivery of the ten commandments and the Mosaic law outlined the standard of perfection that I required from my people.

In this dispensation was included My instructions about temple worship and sacrifices.  This was the age of priests and prophets and kings, both good and evil.  But My people repeatedly broke My commandments and did wander off after other gods.  Take note, however, that strict following of commandments was never so important to Me as were mercy and faithfulness.  This law I did give to show My people that they needed to depend on Me, to trust Me to save them and not to trust their own selves, their own goodness, or other gods to save them.  I had never expected perfection from My nation Israel; otherwise I would never have provided the sacrificial system in a way for man to say, ‘Yes.  I have sinned. Here is a symbol of my need for forgiveness and atonement.’  Verily I do say, ‘The  blood of bulls and goats cannot take away sin.’  They are a symbol, looking forward to Myself, Whose blood only takes away sin.”

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Jesus continued, “The sixth dispensation was ‘the dispensation of grace.’  This dispensation began at My resurrection, and it lasted over 2,000 years.  This was all about the new covenant in My blood.  This age was also called ‘the age of grace’ or ‘the church age.’  This was the time in which the prophet Daniel spoke of between his ‘sixty-ninth week’ and ‘his seventieth week.’  Atonement for mankind I did provide on the cross—once for all—for any who would believe.  ‘Abraham’s children’ were all those who had faith—both Jews and Gentiles.  In this dispensation, people also had a Comforter with them, Who was the Holy Spirit of God.  And this Holy Spirit indwelt the believers.  This church age ended with the rapture of the church.  But the dispensation of grace did continue for another seven years in a judgment from God called ‘the tribulation,’ a worldwide cataclysm even worse than the great flood.  Men and women and children still got saved in this dread tribulation.  And the great tribulation ended with the battle of Armageddon, when I did return in my Second Coming and defeated Satan and any who followed him in battle.”

Jesus continued, “The seventh dispensation was ‘the dispensation of My Millennial Reign on Earth.’  There, at that time, I brought upon Earth 1,000 years of peace.  I ruled a good Earth from My throne in Jerusalem in My person.  This was the fulfillment of many Bible prophecies declaring that I would return and be King.  After My thousand-year-reign ended, Satan was released, and people again followed him, and he waged his last battle against Me on Earth.  And he and his rebel people were defeated once and for all.  After that, for the first Earth and first Heaven, there was a final judgment of all people, great and small.  And this old Earth and old Heaven were destroyed by fire. And Satan was thrown into the lake of fire.  And then began the eternal kingdom, the new Heaven and the new Earth.”

Then Jesus, the all-wise Teacher, finished his lesson for Flanders and Dionysius Here in Heaven with Him for this while:  “Verily, verily, I utter unto you, My faithful children, the way of salvation was the same in each dispensation of the seven dispensations.  And that way was and is and always will be by grace through faith alone in My shed blood of the cross.  In the dispensations B.C., mankind looked

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forward in time to My death and burial and resurrection for salvation.  And in the dispensations A.D., mankind looked backward in time to My death and burial and resurrection for salvation.”

“I understand, Lord,” said Flanders.

“I comprehend, also, God,” said Dionysius.

The Lord then said, “Flanders, I have given thy life the woman Dionysius.  Do love her.”

“I promise, Lord,” he said.

The Lord said then, “Dionysius, I have blessed thee with thy boyfriend Flanders.  Obey him.”

“I surely shall,” she promised.

“Thank You for my cheerleader Dionysius, O Jesus,” said Flanders.

“And thank You for my soldier Flanders Nickels, God,” said Miss Daugherty.

Then the Good and Great Lord Jesus Christ said with compassion, “Precious children, thy unicorns long for thee.”

It was time now to leave Jesus.

And the fogs and the mists and the dews and the low-lying clouds returned upon the throne of Heaven.  The winged unicorn Legacy awaited them.  And they mounted him.  And the archangel again lifted up high into the skies.  And the pilgrims left these Elysian Fields on their way back to the Unicorn Lands.  Flanders could not wait to tell brown Knight how it went.  And Dionysius daydreamed of all that she was going to say to black Martial.

It is written, ‘For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:’  Philippians 1:23, the Scripture’s keynote verse about Heaven.

 

 

 

 

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