Ariathe June had made it. She'd made it to Heaven! Despite her problems with pornography, getting dangerously close to suicide from low self-esteem, and realizing she was bisexual, her faith in Christ and His love and mercy had helped her see she was worth saving. Still, she had a hard time being happy with her plain brown hair and brown eyes as she saw the beautiful people of Heaven.
Something that surprised her, however, was how imperfect the people of Heaven were. Sure, Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost were perfect, but knowing she got into Heaven despite her weaknesses comforted her. Her understanding of how eternal life worked matched the orientation party she'd had when she'd arrived in Heaven. Ultimately, the life before this one shaped her progress in the afterlife. Progress still continued, since it'd take more than one lifetime to achieve the perfection so prevalent in the prophecies of the holy prophets written on Earth. So it made sense that jobs, cities, church services, and entertainment venues progressed in Heaven as well, albeit in a more uplifting and moral way.
She thought of her friends and neighbors in Heaven as she walked the pristine, golden streets. Sally next door, as sweet as she was, still had a bad habit of getting angry when she didn't get her way, which oddly made Aria laugh when she'd call her out on it. Mark and Veronica, some black coworkers of hers that were helping her with her new job as a guardian angel, were surprisingly kinky with their sex life. Given they'd stayed loyal to only each other throughout their mortal lives, she could see how that had worked out for them.
She was more surprised, however, to find a Hindu, a Muslim, and a Jew all conversing kindly to each other at the local Manna Cafe. She didn't hear the whole conversation, but a mutual, beneficial conversation on the similarities of their core beliefs seemed to be the subject matter. They'd also agreed it was insane that Jesus Christ existed as He really was portrayed by the holy prophets documented on Earth, given many of their ancestor's histories insisting on the contrary or denial of it.
All in all, Aria found Heaven incredibly refreshing, brilliant, and liberating! Everyone genuinely worked to find common ground with each other, honesty and integrity abounded, and best of all, there was no poor of inequality among them. All had the same opportunities for learning and growth and Aria sighed in contentment as a laughing group of gays harmlessly joked and teased each other, while a transsexual, beautifully dressed, walked with his wife and daughter towards the Celestial Cinema building just down the street.
As Aria looked at the listing of movies and considered catching a film before going home, her phone started going off. In fact, everyone's phone started going off. People stopped all around her and murmured with curiosity as Aria looked down at her phone. Her face grew concerned as she read the message, but that expression turned into surprise when she realized who it was from.
It was from God Himself. He was calling everyone in for an emergency meeting.
The amphitheater was packed. Every soul was in attendance. Aria waited with nervous curiosity as she wondered what could be so important that every soul in Heaven needed to be in attendance. A young boy asked his mother what was going on as Aria noticed that she sat in what appeared to be a very crowded area of the amphitheater with many young children who had died before they'd really gotten to grow up. Aria was just glad none of them were condemned to an endless torment in Hell like some people on Earth believed.
The noise of the crowd soon silenced as Heavenly Father Himself introduced His son, Jesus Christ, and called for everyone to hear what He had to say. Aria could've heard a pin drop as she saw her beloved savior stand before the multitude. He was glorious to behold in His shining, blood red robes, the symbol of Him having taken the sins of every living soul that would ever be born on Earth. His very being shown brighter than the sun.
"My dearest kindred and friends," Jesus spoke as His gaze gently passed over every soul of the multitude despite it's impossible size. "I come to you to share a most troubling subject with you."
The crowd murmured in concern and restlessness as everyone wondered how anything awful could happen here in Heaven. Aria watched with bated breath as Jesus raised a hand gently to settle down the crowd. Aria felt the comforting feeling she'd always had on Earth when she tried to do as the savior would do and realized the Holy Ghost was in attendance as well. Aria watched in wonder as the sea of souls settled down until Jesus felt He could speak again without interruption.
"Thank you," Jesus said with a gentle smile before a sad expression fell upon His glorious countenance as He continued. "As you all know, I love you all dearly. I have taken upon myself the sins of the world and would that every man and woman would come unto me and be saved. Many of you accepted me in your lives, while many other goodly souls learned of me after their lives on Earth were over. I have sought to bring all truth into one, great whole and have succeeded to do so here in Heaven."
Many murmured in agreement, and Aria nodded as she witnessed that truth every day. Heaven was wonderful. It was all she'd ever dreamed.
"However," Jesus Christ continued soberly, "there are those who have rejected me, rejected the men and women I inspired to do good, and rejected truth and goodness in all its forms. As you know, they do not reside here, but in Hell. They are those who chose cruelty over kindness, lust and abuse over love and respect, and sought power and wealth through violence, corruption, and deceit. They are our lost brothers and sisters who continue to languish in the very sins that torment them to this very day."
Murmurings abounded, but they settled as Jesus looked at the multitude before continuing.
"Our Heavenly Father, ever compassionate and seeking the redemption of His children, provided a way to teach the sinners in Hell how to return to Him by sending ministering angels to teach them," Jesus explained calmly, but his face grew grim as He moved on to the next item at hand. "Which is why what I must bring to your attention now is so important. As of this day, being March 12, 2035, by Earth standards, a hundred years ago, twelve teams of the best ministering angels that our Heavenly Father has sent to minister to Hell have gone silent."
A wave of murmurs and concerned faces rippled across the sea of faces as Jesus Christ looked on. Aria could hear a few muttered words of disbelief around her, while many wondered why it had taken so long to notice the teams hadn't been heard from. Aria's apprehension was almost overwhelming at the thought that God's own angels sent to Hell hadn't been heard from. How could this have happened? After waiting for the initial reaction to die down, Jesus Christ continued.
"Many of you seek to know why this predicament has only come to our Heavenly Father's attention only recently," Jesus stated which drew a lot of nods and comments of affirmation from the multitude. "The nature of this redemption endeavor spans to the very beginning when Adam and Eve were assigned to start the human family on Earth. Throughout thousands of years and countless generations, the redemptive work for those in Hell remained fixed in place, for the worth of souls is great in the sight of God."
Aria looked around to see many souls nod, while others new to the concept of redemptive work for those in Hell either looked curious, hopeful, or skeptical at best. Aria hoped the redemptive work bore fruit. She didn't know how well redemptive work would be accepted, though, in Hell as she noticed the noise started to die down as Jesus continued.
"However, the nature of redemptive work after death is not one based on time, but the experience needed for every individual soul to come to terms with their own sins, weaknesses, and temptations," Jesus explained as Aria smiled at that, remembering how incredibly long it took her to gain the self-worth she desperately craved in life. "As it stands, reports coming in from our ministers in Hell were often sparse, spanning many years at a time, even to the extent of one hundred years in a few cases. That being said, being that progress for an individual soul could span many lifetimes, it was not demanded of our teams to return and report every year, but to report when successes or troubles deemed important would arise."
Now Aria understood, and it looked like the multitude did, too, as a dark cloud of concern seemed to darken the incredibly bright and well-lit amphitheater. Even the bright and glorious face of Jesus seemed to gain a veil of sadness that left Aria feeling heartbroken. Clearly, this predicament concerning the souls of those in Hell and those He'd sent to save them weighed heavily on Him.
"So, understanding already where this leads, there was no news from our ministers for a hundred years," Jesus stated, looking troubled as He continued. "Being reports had always come within one hundred years or so, it was assumed by those who checked in from time to time that there was no news to be had. That is, until I was personally told recently of the unusual length of silence between myself, our Heavenly Father, and even the Holy Ghost from our ministers in Hell. However, if a lack of a report was all there was to this, our Heavenly Father would not have summoned you all here. No, there is an even more dire matter to yet address."
Aria could hardly breath as the silence in the amphitheater was almost deafening at this statement. Then a murmur of voices wafted through the crowds again like a wind all around her. This time, it took Jesus a greater effort to help everyone settle down as the unease of that tempest of hushed voices left Aria feeling restless.
"I understand your apprehension and concern," Jesus reiterated as He looked around the amphitheater with deep concern on His own face, yet He was still a vision of calm as He slowly eased the hearts of the crowd. "Be calm and please endure this just a while longer. The news I bear is heavy, yet all of you must understand it in its entirety. That is why a full counsel was called. I wish no rumor or hearsay upon what I will be revealing to you."
That made sense as the multitude finally began to settle down. Having everyone there at once to hear the news in real time would banish any doubts on what was said and heard. Still, Aria was glad she didn't have to do it as Jesus continued.
"Dark forces are at work," Jesus stated grimly as He passed a hand above Him to show a diagram of Hell, it's pentagram shape glowing red and threatening within the amphitheater of Heaven. "The laws written on the management of Hell, it's denizens, and the redemptive program placed therein have been tampered with."
There was an audible gasp from almost everyone, including Aria as Jesus forged onward.
"How the law was written was as follows: that there's plenty of room in Hell for the people therein; the laws are set for as much as can be enforced by the populace, which is minimal at best; our own forces, which were self-sufficient, were only placed therein to keep denizens unworthy from entering Heaven out of Heaven, and that the erasure of souls, even the most wicked, was impossible," Jesus said.
"These laws were in full force and function when we still had ministers in Hell, as this diagram shows," Jesus stated as He showed a surprisingly organized view of where the ministers worked and implemented the daily routine for souls to be redeemed, filling a good amount of the pentagram. "This is what our scouts have found after a hundred years of silence."
The organized ministries disappeared as though they'd never been, leaving the pentagram diagram almost completely unmarked. The only forces left on the diagram were the angelic forces protecting Heaven from Hell and one solitary marker on the diagram that was so small, Aria almost missed it. Nothing else remained on the diagram.
"The redemption program, as you can see, is all but gone," Jesus replied sadly. "One remains and it's being run by only one designated minister. All other ministries have either been destroyed or taken over by the denizens of Hell. Our remaining forces protecting Heaven from Hell remain intact, but I am grieved by the loss of our ministers and desire to know what has become of them."
The multitude murmured in agreement before Jesus moved on.
"The law that ensures that there's enough room for those in Hell has been altered," Jesus stated with an undercurrent of anger, the first Aria had ever seen on His gentle face. "There is now an overpopulation in Hell, but that is the least of my concerns. The greatest crime that Hell has dared to commit is the most unpardonable. The eternal law that the erasure of souls is impossible has been completely destroyed. I have confirmed reports that countless souls have been erased from existence just before and after the ministers and their teams disappeared."
Aria felt stunned at the thought as she stared at the diagram, while countless voices shouted in the crowds as an uproar ensued. Many shouted their desires to seek justice against Hell itself for the crimes they committed, earning a disapproving look from Jesus. Many others, however, wanted to start up the redemption program despite the initial loss, which brought a tender smile to Jesus's face. The amphitheater roiled and agonized with the upset as Aria tried to process the horror of it all.
"My friends, please calm yourselves," Jesus called out, encouraging the immense sound of countless voices to soften enough so He could be heard. "There is still more to be revealed. I have spoken with our Heavenly Father and the Holy Ghost about these serious circumstances and we have come to an agreement. It seems that Lucifer, our common enemy, is at the center of this chaos. As the nature of God's work encourages each of you to choose for yourselves and what you will do with the trust we offer you, we all agreed that that trust has been grossly violated. It grieves me to announce that one of our most chosen has chosen to betray us and manipulated the very fabric of reality in Hell."
The cacophony in the amphitheater was almost deafening as the emotional uproar came to its peak. This betrayal from one of their own caused so much grief and suffering in the minds of the multitude that no one wanted to believe it was occurring a second time. Yet, as Aria saw the tumult in the crowds all around her, she realized it must've been just like this when Lucifer, the son of the morning, betrayed them all before the world was created.