CHAPTER XVI.
1. Nearer and nearer came the visiting stars, the etherean ships from thousands of worlds,with countless millions of emancipated souls, dwellers in the Nirvanian regions ofJehovih. And when they reached the boundaries of the earth's vortex they halted a while,to form in rank and rank, that their glory might add to one another; and whilst they stoodthus in the great vault of heaven, there opened on one side a gateway amidst the stars; andfar beyond came a strange and mottled sun, swaying to and fro; and this was the greatfields and forests of Hautuon letting loose the thousands of millions of the deliveredearth.
2. God and his hosts saw it. And every soul burst forth one universal shout of applause. Itwas coming straight to Hored. And as it came nearer, the curtains and sails and streamers,made of yellow, blue and red fire, began to wave and surge, like a ship in a rough sea, butsteadily holding course in the undulating elements. Presently could be seen guardianships, thousands and thousands, traveling beside the laboring sun, the hosts of Hautuon.
3. And the guardian ships were themselves like stars, and carried millions of ethereansouls who had been Gods and Goddesses on many worlds; and they formed wings for theHautuon avalanche, to hold steady the course to the red star, the earth of mortals. Andthus, in honored discipline, came the fleet of Jehovih's worshippers, who only twohundred years since, were but as vermin delving into darkness, and deep buried in death,as their only knowledge; to whom Great Jehovih and His exalted worlds were unknown.
4. Brighter and brighter grew that great waving sun, sailed by the immortal Gods, andlarger and more imposing, till, when it entered the earth's vortex, it became as living fire,large as the earth, and of brilliant colors, from black to adamant, and blue, and white, andpurple, yellow, scarlet, pink, and of all shades; and living, and sparkling, with the broadcurtains suspended, deep as the breadth of a world, and sails and flags that reachedupward, high as the moon.
5. Midway in the vortex of the earth it halted, and the myriads of stars beyond nowgathered in, majestically, from every side, till nearly around about the fabric of the earth'satmosphere was not a place but glowed with Jehovih's fire of heaven. Music, which rosefrom the throne of God a little while before, now ceased; for here was the play ofelements in harmony, of which music is the same to the ear of mortals.
6. Hardly stood the kaleidoscope of splendors in one attitude, but moving, changing andforming by the decrees of the Gods and Goddesses; as a general on earth manipulates hisarmies, in the evolution of arms, so in majesty and splendor the marshaling stars foreverevolved new and glorious changes stretching abroad over the whole firmament of heaven.
7. And now another gateway opened amidst the stars; and a cluster star was seenapproaching from the southeast. It was as a star surrounded by stars, and brighter than allthe others. This was the ship-star of Aph, the Orian Chief. At sight of which all souls inthe firmament turned in pride and wonder. Swift and mighty above all the countlessmillions of Gods and Goddesses assembled had he attained in the play and managementof worlds. And at sight of his etherean star, angels and Gods whispered: Aph! And themagic of his name, widely known in the Nirvanian fields of the emancipated heavens,spread abroad, till every soul uttered, APH! in all the regions of atmospherea and on theearth.
8. Nearer and nearer he came, nor halted at Chinvat, the boundary of the earth's vortex;but steadily, and with power, sailed on till his star stood in the doorway of heaven, andhere halted as if to complete the immortal scene.
9. But a moment more, and all the avalanche of the glorious worlds around movedonward toward the earth, and surrounding it on every side, and the star of Aph makingheadway for Hored, even to the throne of God.
10. This was the morning of the third day in tide of dan, in which there were still fourdays left. But now the marshals took their parts; first, Sue'ji, Chief over all the rest, fromthe throne of God, cried out: All hail, O Aph, Son of Jehovih! And the words were caughtup on every side, and uttered in one breadth around the world. Yet nearer and nearergathered in the great star-ships and sun of Hautuon, till even like a net they joined andfilled the earth's atmosphere in the east and west and north and south, and below andabove; on every side. And the words of the marshal: All hail, O Aph, Son of Jehovih! went like an echo over all the heavens.
11. Then Aph's fleet drew near, and he and his hosts alighted, and he ascended the throne,saluting, saying: All hail, O Neph, God of heaven and earth! And this was also uttered bythe millions of hosts. Whereupon the signs and ceremonies of the Gods were brieflyconcluded, and a recreation of three days proclaimed. And the angels' hosts came forthout of their ships, or by the endless chain sped to any quarter of the earth they desired tovisit. And for three days and nights the visitors dwelt on the earth and in the loweratmospherea; inspecting how the earth was made; its land and water; its mountains andvalleys; its beasts of prey and beasts of burden; its birds and fishes; and above all, itsmortal people and spirits who lingered about the earth, the great story tellers, who knewno higher heaven. And then they surveyed atmospherea and the works of God and hisLords; their nurseries, hospitals, factories, schools and colleges.
12. And on the fourth day the marshals called order; and so great was the discipline of thehosts and the arrangement of the star-ships, that in a moment of time order reignedamongst all these countless millions of people.
13. Now, during the recreation, the Chiefs from many worlds, and Gods and Goddesses,mingled together, and exchanged their varied experience in the wide regions of Jehovih'suniverse, of the management of both corporeal and es'sean worlds, and of the cosmogonyof etherean planets; and the surveying of roadways, and of turning worlds from theirorbitic course, or changing their axic rotation, and of the deliverance of millions of soulsinto the ji'ay'an fields, and of the creation of new corporeal worlds and the dissolution ofothers, and the gathering together of the spirits disinherited, and of their finalresurrection. Neither seemed there any end to Jehovih's universe, where such wonders goonward forever!
14. When order was restored, God commanded Wak'hah to rise to be anointed, and Godsaid: In Thy name, O Jehovih, I anoint this, Thy Son, God of heaven and earth for thenext four hundred years. Guide him in wisdom and love, O Father.
15. And God gathered from the abundance of eth'ic and made a crown and placed it onWak'hah's head, saying: Hail God of heaven and earth, Jehovih's Son! This was shoutedby the hosts. And then God took off the triangle, the sam'gan, the heirloom of the Gods ofthe red star, the earth, and God hung it on Wak'hah's neck, saying: Take this heirloom,the symbol of three entities in one, and wear it for the glory of the Great Spirit, Jehovih.
16. To which Wak'hah, now God, answered: Thy will be done, O Father, Creator andRuler over all. And all on the throne stood aside, and God (Wak'hah) ascended the throneand sat in the midst, whereat the es'enaurs chanted, and the hymn sounded around thewhole earth. Then Aph, Son of Jehovih, spake, saying:
17. In four hundred years, O God, I will come and deliver thee and thy harvest, and thyLords and their harvest, for the glory of Jehovih, the Unapproachable Almighty! Amen.
18. And now Aph went and sat down at the foot of the throne, whereat God came downaccording to custom and took his hand, saying: Arise, O God, Son of Jehovih, and go thyway! And Aph rose up, saluting, and he and his attendants departed and entered his starship. The es'enaurs chanted, the trumpeters played, and the solemnMARCH OF JEHOVIH’SSEA OF FIRE sounded from heaven and earth.
19. The marshals now put the great works in order: Neph and his attendants werestationed on the right of Aph in a ship new built; next to him, the ships of his Lords andtheir attendants; after them, their marshals from the different divisions of the earth andatmospherea; next to them, the ships of the messengers; then the factors, then the nurses,then the physicians, and so on; and finally the divisions of earth-raised, who were nowadjourned to the sun-avalanche, being of the same rank. And these comprised the harvestof Neph for Jehovih's emancipated realms; and the number of souls exceeded all otherharvests raised up from the earth.
20. And now had come the time for the ascent, and Aph said: Give us of Thy power, OJehovih! And his words were echoed in all places in heaven and on earth. The plateauxtrembled and oscillated. Again Aph said: Of Thy power, O Jehovih! Arise, O Heaven! Arise, O Heaven!
21. And the plateaux of the sphere started from their foundations, and slowly moved backand outward from the earth. The es'enaurs played the march; the ethereans tore off stripsof fabric and threw them down in Hored, and then formed flowers and leaves andperfumed them, and cast them out, to fall in the lower heavens.
22. Outward and outward the etherean world moved and moved, and then parted thebreadth of the earth, and then rose slowly upward. Presently it turned on its own axis, andwas as yet one entire world; but with its rotation the different stars began to individualizeand separate, all save the harvest of Neph, which was the central figure, led onward andupward by Aph, Son of the Great Spirit.
23. Faster and faster rose the glorious scene, and more awful, and sparkling withsplendor! Nor could one from Hored scarce look upon the dazzling light. But higher itrose, and onward, toward its far-off destiny, till it disappeared in the firmament above.
CHAPTER XVII.
1. Now was the atmospherea like a new heaven stripped of visitors, and ready to resumelabor after a glorious festival. So God at once dispatched all hands to their places, and thefactories, schools and colleges, nurseries and hospitals, were once more alive with willingworkers.
2. And Hored prospered in every department; and so also did the departments ofthe Lords on earth; and mortals also prospered under the light of the Great Spirit.
3. For four hundred years God reigned in heaven, and his Lords under him, and thesecond dan of Aph fell upon earth and heaven. So God appointed An'on as his successor. And now Aph and his attendants came to deliver God; his Lords and people prepared fortheir resurrection up into etherea.
4. And the number of Jehovih's harvest was one thousand million souls.
5. And God (An'on) reigned his time, and his Lords under him, and they were alsodelivered by Aph, but by proxy, and the harvest of Jehovih was eight hundred millionsouls.
6. And his successor, God of Hored and atmospherea, and his Lords, fulfilled their dan,and they and their harvests were delivered by the proxy of Aph also; and the number ofsouls delivered was six hundred million. And Jehovih commanded Aph to commitatmospherea and the earth to the successors of Ra'zan of Garowista, in Ems of theetherean phalanx of eighty Ar'doth.
7. And the next harvest of God and his Lords was two hundred million souls. Afterthat the earth passed into the a'ji of Urk'stand for eight hundred years, and the light ofthe upper heaven was lost to earth and atmospherea; so there was no harvest for theetherean realms. And because of the darkness in atmospherea it began to fall in hada;and the seven entities of tetracts took root in Hored, and overspread the dominionsof God and his Lords. And many in heaven rose up, and, proclaiming themselvesGods or Lords, obtained followers, some to the extent of three millions of souls.
8. And these false Gods made slaves of their followers, exacting service, and in lieugiving pitiful homes and regimen; and by the labor of their slaves embellishing theirmansions and cities in hada.
9. Jehovih had said of old: Before mortals I keep death forever present that they may notforget the change from corporeal to spirit life; otherwise they would dispute it possible inMy hands for these things to be. But My resurrections in heaven are far apart, and theinhabitants thereof lose faith in those above them. Through faith is all power and gloryattained; therefore have I exacted that angels cultivate faith in the next resurrection.
10. But during the last thousand years in atmospherea, there being no resurrections toetherea, many fell into disbelief of the emancipated heavens, and so sat about, building upheavenly kingdoms on their own account, and for their own glory. And in order to haveexalted kingdoms they sent their slaves back to mortals to inspire them with theglory of their false God's kingdoms, that others in turn might become slaves also.
11. So confusion began in heaven again, and it reacted on mortals, through the angels'presence, and war and misery overspread the nations and tribes of men on earth. Thusended the cycle of Aph's arc of Noe, which was three thousand six hundred years.
END OF THE BOOK OF APH, SON OF JEHOVIH.
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