In the beginning the universe was formless. Empty, but bright, filled with the light of God's glory. The Creator had a vision of what this place could be made into and He set to work.
First He made galaxies and filled them with planets. He made water, plants, and stars. He made colors and clouds. He made laws for the worlds to follow. He made each world complex, with new discoveries awaiting around every corner.
The Creator saw that it was good, yet somehow lacking. And so He began an even greater work. He made living things of many different kinds: some that flew in the air, some that swam in the water, and some that lived on the ground. In many shapes, sizes, and colors did He create living beings, never making any two species exactly the same.
To some He gave the ability to speak and remember, the ability to develop a language and culture. To these He bestowed imagination. He even threw in a little free will.
And after He placed these creatures into their worlds He set to work on a new creation. This creature would have no world. It would inhabit the Heavens with Him. They would be His helpers, servants. To them He would reveal much knowledge so that they could in turn give it to the young creatures on the new worlds, as they grew more mature. And so He created beings that would stand beside His throne in Heaven: angels.
All was perfect in this new, young world, where each day brought some new pleasure and where pain and grief had not yet come. There was no reason to be sad, no reason not to be joyful. The creatures grew and prospered and the angels helped to teach them. All was peaceful.
And then one day The Creator gathered His angels to witness the birth of a new world. He spoke to them of His newest work. He told them of tall snow-covered mountains, green trees, and water that looked blue, yet wasn't. He spoke of day and night, and then of the creatures that were to inhabit this new place. And as He spoke, it came to be.
The angels watched and said that it was good. All but one. This angel was very important in his own eyes, indeed he was among the greatest of living beings ever created.
This angel had stood very near to God's throne, basking in the light of God's glory. Lately he had desired not simply to reflect his Creator's glory, but to shine with glory of his own. If he had only had the eyes to see it he would have known that the greatest of our own glory cannot compare with even the reflection of God's. This angel wanted power. His mind was too bent to see that he already had as much as he could handle. The thought of MORE haunted his mind. Poor fool! How could the creation ever become greater than the Creator? He refused to allow the thought entrance to his twisted mind.
And so, with an air of authority, the angel began to speak before the assembly as The Creator had done. He spoke of the right that should be theirs: to be able to create as God can. He spoke of the things that should inhabit this new world.
"Small one, that is not my will for you, or for this world," The Creator replied with an undertone of something the others present could not recognize: sadness.
For a moment this stopped the angel cold. The concept of walking apart from The Creator's will had never before occurred to any living thing. Then he reconsidered the words. Small One? He was much too important to be called names! It never crossed his rapidly darkening mind that to The Creator, all things are small. His rage erupted into a long wail.
"Small one, you are perilously close to falling. Beware!"
For a moment, during which an eternity passed, the fate of a world hung in the balance.
Then the angel began a passionate outburst, the likes of which had never before been heard in the Heavens, nor will be again. It is forbidden to repeat all that was said at that assembly. The end result was that about one-third of the angels present were moved and sided with the angel.
As he was speaking, the angel's face, which had hitherto shone, began to loose its light. In another moment his fate, and the fates' of those who sided with him, was sealed.
These fallen angels, who had once soared unhindered through the heavens, were flung down to the new planet and chained there. Except for their leader, who is still allowed limited access to God's throne, they are unable to leave.
The Creator placed this planet far from the other inhabited ones, so that they would not be contaminated with the evil.
The war had begun.
