"No."
I was disappointed. I had suspected that he would, and that he would have been a good editor. "If I may be so presumptuous, why not?"
"I already know what you have written. I didn't spend the night here waiting for you to reappear."
"Did you follow me?"
"Quite the contrary, I led you. You left here and were immediately assailed by doubts about what happened. I had to reinforce your faith, but you did reasonably well, although you are easily distracted. You also must learn to look to the right first when crossing the street. You have nearly been killed twice. My reminder didn't go amiss. It also helped to get you remembering what we had discussed. It is easy to get some important details wrong. Generally you did OK."
Once again I felt a fool. How could I have missed it? Michael had been following, no leading me. All my life? I decided to ask. "Have you been following, uh... leading... uh..."
"No. I am not your guardian. I am on a special assignment. You are important to the Most High, but not that important."
"It is rather tempting to think one might be important in God's eyes."
"Exactly. Temptation is what that is."
"What about Jesus?" I thought. "What about Jesus?" I asked, "The scriptures say that he was tempted in all things, just as we are, but without sin."
"Just as you are, but... In some ways it is an understatement. Any one person will experience far less than all possible temptations in the course of your life. He experienced them all, and not from the lesser tempters, but from Satan himself. The sacred writings don't record much of them. The clearest incident, that of the temptation in the wilderness, came at a time when I was not serving him personally. One moment, I will seek assistance."
Michael waited, briefly, then he began again. "My assistance comes from the one known to many as Raphael. He ranks highest among the angels of comfort. He is also a watcher, keeping vigil, on the alert for any new movements or strategies from our enemy. He knows the mind of Satan well. Raphael has observed his every action throughout the long years that he has been waging his war against the sons and daughters of the Most High. The comfort Raphael can give is all the more effective because he quickly uncovers what Satan has attempted to do or what he is seeking to do. Raphael's counsel has been very valuable to me through the years."
"Is Raphael here? I don't see him."
"In this case, you will not see him, nor will you sense his presence, because he is not here anymore."
"Was he?"
"Yes, but only for less than what you call an instant. He told me of the temptation in the wilderness, and then he left."
"That quickly?"
"I would hardly call it quick, but then we don't operate strictly according to what you call time. But we digress. The temptation.
"The Judean wilderness is not a pleasant place. It is hot, dry and empty. After his baptism in the Jordan, Jesus walked out into the desert in obedience to the Holy Spirit. He took forty days and spent them in prayer and fasting. A man doesn't do that to please his flesh. He was preparing for the coming three years and all of the difficulties he knew he would face. Yet it was in the desert that the warfare began. His companions for forty days were boredom, loneliness, fear and hunger. He knew them well and all of their lies. In fact he knew them better than any others have known them. The loneliness that many people face in your age has been faced before, but the loneliness of Jesus was much deeper because his capacity for love was much greater. His love for others was, and still is, unbounded. No one could give back to Jesus at the same depth which he gave. His capacity for communion with others far exceeded any other's capacity for communion with him. No one felt isolated when he was with them because of his great love, but it was the opposite for him. That was why he so regularly sought out the lonely places - to receive what only his Father could give.
"I won't give you a full account of his temptations. It was what happened at the end that is most noteworthy. Many demons had their opportunity to tempt him. Near the end of the forty days Satan called a meeting in his chambers. His most trusted advisors were to come: evil spirits of gluttony and lust, pride and envy, anger, sloth and avarice. As each one entered the room the darkness grew heavier. The atmosphere was foul, but even more it was thick. Free motion was growing impeded. When Satan himself entered, free motion ceased. The darkness was complete. He sought the blackened counsel of his most capable slaves.
"'We have an opportunity we must not waste,' Satan began, with a voice of malice, '...an opportunity for victory. Our enemy has led the man we despise into the desert. He has been more and more abandoned. The time is fulfilled for his fall. I have called you here for your wisdom. You understand this race of fools and have led them all to act according to our nature. You have wandered the face of the earth leading them to lie and covet, to lust and murder. Now speak to me of how we shall bring this man to fall. Abaddon, we will begin with you.'
'A wise choice my Lord.'
'We will see. Speak!'
'The sons of Adam are not like us. They are imprisoned in a body of flesh. They are enslaved by their senses. Physical pleasure and physical pain move them in a way that most of us do not understand, but, I have studied it. I know it like none other. Their pain is my pleasure.
'Your pleasure? Your PLEASURE??? What does that have to do with anything?'
'I stand corrected my Lord. Their pain is my obligation, my motivation. They can feel physically what we only comprehend spiritually. I can move them by touching the right nerves. I can sting them, or make them shiver with cold. I can make their bones ache, their muscles throb, their teeth grind, their skin burn, their stomachs gnaw, their bowels cramp. Yes, I can move them. I can enslave them with excruciating agony, until they cry for relief. Their nerves are raw, highly sensitive, easily agitated. This man is no different. I will make him bow in pain.'
'And is this true for every man?'
'That pain will move them? Yes.'
'And does it move them, always, toward your purpose?'
Now Abaddon hesitated. Immediately, Satan pressed on, shouting 'Answer me! Does it always move them?'
'Always? ...No.'
'And the result when pain does not move them toward your purpose?'
'They increase in their resolve. They harden their will. They subdue their flesh and become the worst of our enemies.'
"Now Satan stared directly at Abaddon, who was forced to turn away his gaze. 'You do not know this man as I know him. He is master over his nerves. Pain will not move him, though pain he shall have before I am finished, pain greater than any you have ever inflicted, ...but that is not where we start, not with pain. ...Zalal, my gluttonous friend, what do you know of tempting through pleasure.'
'My Lord, few know how pleasure moves this race as do I. For many days now he has fasted. I would set before his mind a feast to tempt even the most abstemious of men: exotic fruits from foreign lands, fruits he has never seen before. These would capture the eye with their colour and the nose with their aroma as they are broken open and their scent fills the air. The sweetness of honey is as nothing compared to the sweetness of what I would place before him. It would call to him as though it had a voice. I would roast a lamb over an open fire, the fat dripping into the flame. His tongue would cry out to know the taste. His nose would be held captive by the smell. His mouth would crave the perfect taste of meat. It would linger and extend the pleasure of eating for hours not minutes. Yes, savory pleasure can draw them, and I am a master of smell and taste. I would have him begging me for food. I would get him to eat from my table, and once he began he wouldn't stop. I would fuel his appetite until he would consume all that he could see. One who is hungry can easily be lead to oversatisfying his appetite.'
'And how many of the truly holy,' - Satan spat - 'men, who have fasted forty days have you tempted in this way, and how often has it succeeded?'
'With those you have mentioned?' Zalal looked down seeking a way to answer the question, 'I have tried it often with those on long fasts. What they begin in the' - now Zalal spat - 'spirit, I make end in the flesh.'
'You did not answer my question. I asked about those..., YOU KNOW WHO I ASKED ABOUT! Have you succeeded?' 'No, my lord.' He answered, bowing his head in humiliation.
'And why, you fool?'
'Their passions do not rule them as they do others of their race.'
'Their passions do not rule them? True. But even this man has them. I will tempt him to eat, but not as you describe. You seek to stir his hunger too fully, too quickly. He will be thoroughly aware of its ability to rule him. ...Subtlety, how can a gluttonous slob understand subtlety?... Yet that is what is needed. He must be carefully lured.'
'My Lord, if I may speak?' It was the voice of Bacchus
. 'You have my leave.'
'You are right in your understanding of the human psyche. That is the key to its behavior. This particular species has not yet purged itself fully of that weapon of our enemy called a conscience. Among the strongest in resistance to us I invariably find a well trained conscience. But the conscience can be weakened. The fruit of the vine is highly prized by this race. I would provide him with the finest of the vine. I too know how to tempt the palate. Smooth and subtle is my wine, smoother still would my temptation be: "Truly all of creation is good, and gratitude should be in the heart of man. Taste of the gifts freely given and then give thanks." Later, he would taste again. Soon the mind would be dulled, the conscience relaxed and more serious temptation could begin. The more innocent ones I then lead to white lies or to flattery. Others I have led immediately from disloyalty to murder, or from flirting to fornication.'
'You argue well Bacchus, but wine is not his weakness. He will not thirst for it during a long fast. In addition, its effects are too unpleasant at the immediate end of a fast. ...Astarte speak your mind.'
'There is one temptation no man can resist. He has been given a passion to which he will invariably yield if the temptation is rightly presented. I have a woman in Magdala who has sold me her soul. She is yet young. Her skin is soft. Her body is lithe. Her beauty is in the cast of her eye. With it she beckons and draws. Her promise of pleasure, though never unspoken, invariably convinces. How well she uses her hands to touch and entice. Her lips are subtle and alluring. With them, she seduces first the eye and then the mind. This temptation will not fail. Her wanton hunger will draw him. What man can resist being desired so deeply.'
'Fool! This is no ordinary man. You forget this woman has a soul. He will not forget. His eyes will not stop as they meet her eyes, they will look into her soul, and what will he see. I will tell you. He will see a woman caught in a web of desperation. He will see her need, not her charm. Charm is empty and deceitful and so we use it well, but with him her soul would cry out for help, for love, not for lust. And he would hear that cry. You would have lost her soul and never even tarnished his with the slightest thought of yielding to your temptation. 'Are there none here with wisdom? Are you all fools? ...Baal?
'Subtle it must be. The deception must be nearly imperceptible. He is called the Son of G...'
Suddenly, Satan jumped to his feet, his eyes ablaze with rage as he pointed to Baal. Baal was stopped in the middle of the word. 'Never say! Never think! Never! Never even spell that in my presence!'
'My Lord, as you command. I will not say it but I fear you must if you are to succeed. This man has a position and with it comes authority. Angels are at his command. They will obey him. That is their role. Suggest to him that if he is the Son... that he have these angels serve him. Have him show you a sign of his authority. "Is it evil for a king to wear a crown? Is it wrong for a master to be served by his slave? Let honour be given where honour is due!" So would I argue. Let him first obey you in doing what isn't evil and then lead him to do that which is. How often we snare the best of our enemies in doing what is only good, and not that which their master intends. In time they forget his will and follow their own. In more time they follow ours.'
'At last, one who speaks wisdom. But there is a more refined temptation beyond what you have said. I alone know his soul. I alone understand his destiny. He not only rules the angels, but believes he is meant to rule the earth, though it belongs to me. Yes.... Yes..., I will offer him the earth and all its kingdoms.'
'NO!' Baal interjected, rising to his feet. 'That can never be! You would put the earth under his dominion and ruin the work we have done through the ages. I will not serve him again!' He finished with his fist in the air and then brought it crashing down to the table for punctuation.
'Hold your rage, Baal. It is better used elsewhere. Let me finish. I will offer him the earth and its kingdoms, and over it he shall reign, if...'
'If?'
'If he will bow down and worship me! ...Such an easy price to pay for the very prize which he seeks, so much easier than torture, war or death. He can redeem this race. He can buy them back. Yes, he can even have the worship of this race of fools but I will have his.'
'My Lord, can this succeed? Is there hope?'
'Out! Be gone, all of you! Do you think I tempt because I have a hope of success? Hope is a trait of our enemy. I have no hope. Now, go sow your seeds of sin and destruction across the earth. I must consider well what I must do.'"
Michael continued with the following commentary. "Satan knows human nature and all of its weaknesses. He also had seen how the Most High responds to those who spend forty days fasting and praying. Fasting weakens human beings physically but faith and perseverance may increase. This is not desired by the powers of darkness. For them, the time to strike is when the spirit grows tired just before the end of the battle. Satan was seeking the perfect time to place his temptation. He knew the Son of God was sent into the world to do battle with him and a battle it would be.
"At the end of the forty days, the time of Jesus' fasting was over, and he was returning to civilisation. He was hungry, eager for companionship, zealous to begin the work the Father had given him. As he was leaving the wilderness, an unusual cloud appeared on the horizon. It wandered through the other clouds unnaturally, but purposefully to where Jesus was. From the cloud issued a voice, not unlike the one that had said, 'This is my beloved son...' Quietly an idea was planted. 'So many of these stones are so much like small loaves of bread, as manna in the wilderness. Your time of fasting is over. The forty days are complete. My son, speak to this stone. Have it become bread that you may eat and be strengthened.' It was a quick, quiet prod to the imagination, meant only to provoke a subtle desire. How simple it would be.
"Jesus looked at the stone, aware that his fasting was now at an end and that he had the power to turn it to bread. It would not be sinful. This was a legitimate use of his authority. His desire to eat was normal and good. His need to eat was unquestionable. It would not be a frivolous to use his power. He was seeking to impress n one. There would be no objective wrong done by doing what was suggested. The time of fasting was fulfilled. He was free to eat. A minute passed. Finally, he looked up from the stone and spoke.
"'It is written that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that issues forth from the mouth of God.' Jesus knew the word from the cloud was not a word from the mouth of the Most High. Whether or not it was permissible was not the issue. He decided against eating due to the source of the idea.
"Satan saw the number of angels gathered around Jesus waiting to minister to him, yet, he was unafraid. In fact, he ignored them, knowing that this was not yet the time for the final battle. That time was yet to come.
"Next he took Jesus to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest peak of the temple. 'This is the holy place where the Most High Dwells. There are angels all around, a multitude of servants to wait on your command, if indeed you are what has been proclaimed - the Son of God, saviour of the world, Lord of all. If you are, then throw yourself down from this height; for it is written, "He will give his angels into your charge," and "On their hands they will bear you up lest you strike your foot against a stone." When I see them respond to your command, then I too will believe!'
Michael continued, "We were used to receiving orders from the Son, after all it was through the Son that we were created. He waited with his eyes upon the hand of his master. Might he give such a command? Jesus knew what was at issue. Satan had made the truth the ground to be defended. Was this the time for him to prove he was the Son of God? No. Was there any question that the angels would obey his command? No. Was it wrong for him to prove who he was? No. And finally, would Satan keep his word and believe? No. Besides, for now Jesus had a position lower than the angels. This was the will of the Most High. In his time God would raise him up. Jesus would wait. He answered, 'Again it is written, "You shall not tempt the Lord your God."'
"There was one more temptation to be allowed in the desert. Satan took Jesus to a very high mountain and showed him all of the kingdoms of the world and all of their glory, one after another: Egypt, China, Greece, Rome, Japan."
"'All of these I will give you, I will yield them without a fight, without a word, if you simply bow down before me.'
"The first two temptations were directed to meet Jesus' own need and to make him show his power, but this one was an insult to his Father: to bow down before Satan, to give to him that which only belonged to the Father. Jesus' righteous anger rose. It was the wrath of man backed by the wrath of God. Jesus, with all of his authority, lifted his arm, pointed directly at Satan and said, 'You are to worship the Lord your God and to serve him. Him shall you serve. Him alone.... Satan, Be Gone!'
"Satan departed. His temptations had failed. He was defeated, but only for the time being. He expected he had at least one more, even better opportunity. He would wait and watch. Even so, in his frustration at this defeat, this blow to his pride, he ordered his minions, 'Harass him. Let not a moment pass where you do not tempt him. Make his life miserable. Give him no rest, spare him no temptation.' Now all subtlety was gone. Jesus needed to be fully on guard against temptation at all times.
"What happened next?" I asked.
"Raphael and the other angels of comfort ministered to Jesus. It was a great joy to bring him food and drink to strengthen his body, as well as light and truth to strengthen his soul. All of that was necessary to face the three years of unceasing warfare which would follow.
"He came into the world to destroy the works of Satan. His baptism in the Jordan and his time in the desert was when the war became public. His identity was known, and the battle was joined. His ministry had begun. Immediately after the temptation in the desert, as soon as he arrived at the synagogue in Capernaum, he was confronted by a man with an unclean spirit. Jesus was to be given no rest. Throughout the three years of his ministry he was at war in an unceasing battle with every evil spirit. Each case was different such that he faced every temptation known to the sons and daughters of Adam and Eve.
"That is not a popular way of understanding Jesus' mission in your era. Yet, it is critical to understand. Jesus was not just a teacher of ethics, a miracle worker, or a model extraordinaire‚ but a warrior from the beginning to the end."