Imagine!™

     Jesus strolled up toward the bridge over the River of Life. Enoch was sitting on the bank of the river with his beagle Sam at his side. As was his custom, the canine was lying on its back with all four legs in the air. It was Sam’s favorite position as he encouraged his master to rub his belly.      “Good morning, Enoch.” Jesus called out as he approached. “How are things?”      “Just great!” Enoch exclaimed. “Couldn’t be better. Sam and I are just taking a break from the work at Rainbow Bridge.”      “Raphael was just telling me about the project you’ve begun over there. It sounds like a major undertaking.” Jesus continued, “He’s really excited about publishing all the details in the next edition of the Heavenly Herald .”      “Yeah! It is pretty exhilarating,” Raphael said. “He wants to put a photo of Sam on the front page,” Enoch said.      “Can you tell me the details? H...

There were nods of affirmation all around. Then Allen asked, “How many animals?” “We pondered that question for a good long while,” Jesus explained. “Then Gabriel calculated that the dimensions of our ship would hold a pair of all the wild animals and seven pairs of all the domesticated species. This would give Noah’s family and their new world a great start. The Ark would be large enough to separate animals from each other and hold enough food for a long time.” “The Ark?” Michael inquired.  “I guess that’s what you call the boat?” Gabriel back into the conversation, “Yes, Michael, that’s right. We even thought about the fierceness of some of the animals and the massive amounts of clean-up that would be necessary to maintain proper sanitation on board the ship?” “With the approval of my Father, we are hoping that those two issues could be handled with some supernatural help from above?” Jesus clarified with a questioning glance at his Father. “I think tha...

Looking at his Father directly, Jesus said, “Gabriel, you go first.” “Thank you, Jesus,” Gabriel stood holding one of the large rolled pages they had brought to the Throne Room. “Well, we were basically charged with developing a plan to destroy mankind while at the same time saving Noah and his family. We decided to do all of that mostly using natural principles and phenomena.” “How in the world did you manage that?” It was Allen who couldn’t keep quiet. Gabriel continued, “At first it wasn’t easy. We agreed that since water covers almost 75% of the Earth’s surface, we should use that element as the main method of destruction. The springs and the depths could open via earthquakes and other geological events. Rain from the atmosphere would fall on all the land formations. This wouldn’t be just a light shower. The deluge would last, by our calculations, for about 40 days and nights. These forces from both within and over the Earth will be enough to flood the entire planet to...

A short time later Jesus and Gabriel approached the Throne Room carrying several large, rolled-up sheets of paper. The Father was just entering from His private Meditation Room behind the throne. With God was the entire Discovery Team. Their presence was no surprise to the two architects, because God had informed them that He had just been in the latest update meeting with the team. God had suggested that the team be present to hear the unveiling of Jesus’ and Gabriel’s plans. Since there was no objection from the project planners, all immediately took their seats around the Throne. When everyone was sitting comfortably, God opened the meeting. “I would like for the Discovery Team to report first. Raphael, can you   please give us the team’s latest assessment   of life on Earth?” The Father asked. Raphael paused for a moment as he looked around the room at the faces of his colleagues. Then he began, “As you all know, the man Noah was born shortly after our last meeti...

Gabriel looked at his fellow worker and said, “Jesus, how long’s it been since your Father assigned us this task? Seems like forever.” “No, not forever,” Jesus alleged, “just several centuries. What’s the latest from Raphael and the Discovery Team? I haven’t read the Heavenly Herald in quite some time.” Gabriel straightened eagerly, “I make time to read it every day. No wonder you don’t with all we’ve been working on…the boat, the animal list, and your rainbow idea. I never thought this whole project would be so complicated.” “I know what you mean, Gabe; but the Father wants this all done right. We’re just about ready to report our ideas to Him. What do you think?” Gabriel stated excitedly, “I say let’s do it!” Equally elated, Jesus said, “Okay, I’ll let Him know we want a conference as soon as is convenient.” [to be continued]

“There is hope,” God concluded. “We shall just wait and see. I can tell you that Lamech’s first born will be named Noah, because he will comfort his family in the labor and painful toil of their hands caused by the ground that was cursed by me following the sin of Adam and Eve.”             Enoch inquired, “Hopefully I don’t seem too presumptuous in asking how long will you wait before you destroy everyone?”             God replied, “Not at all, Enoch. Jesus, will you respond, please?”             Jesus stated, “Yes, of course. Enoch, my Father and I discussed this and came to several conclusions.  First, we’re not rushing into anything. We might not take any action for a thousand years.”             Allen interrupted, “You’ve told us many times tha...