"The easiest place to start is that I too am a created being. I owe my existence to the Most High. The existence that I have is received. I can take this form you see today only because that ability has been given to me."
"But you seem to be able to move anywhere in space and time that you choose. Does that mean you too could be omnipresent?"
"Not exactly. Although I am not bound by the same time and space restrictions as you, I am still bound. I can live in the present moment for an eternity, but I cannot visit the future and I cannot affect the past. The right to affect a point in time belongs only to those living in that time, never to those visiting it." "But could you not visit every point in space in a given point in time from the past or present?" "In theory, possibly, but in fact, no."
"Could you explain please?"
"Because I am not omniscient, I don't know where everything is so as to go visit it. Second, I am an angel whose every act is to glorify the Most High. I only do as he says. He has not ordered me to go and visit all that is."
"Michael," I interjected quickly, not wanting to stop yet changing the subject slightly, "are there any ways to describe or to measure the spiritual world and its interaction with the material world?"
"As a matter of fact, yes."
"So can you tell me how a spiritual being like you can take on a material shape like you have?"
"Yes. As I noted before, the interaction between energy and matter is a delicate balance. Angels have been give the ability to affect that balance and turn energy into matter. That is what I am doing. It is, however, unnatural for me. My preference is to be a spiritual being only, not a mixture of matter and spirit as humans are. In the age to come, you too will have this power, just as Jesus had it naturally in his resurrected body." "I'm not a physicist, but are there laws which determine how that works?"
"Yes. Let's start with the speed of light. What do you know about it?"
"Isn't it 176,000 miles per second?"
"That isn't the key point."
"Oh, then you were probably looking for me to say 'The speed of light is the speed nothing can exceed.'"
"Yes, but remember that is in reference only to matter. To move matter faster than the speed of light takes an infinite amount of force. However, angels are immaterial. We can indeed travel faster than the speed of light. We are not bound by material laws. Now if you take that fact and combine it with the formula for the mathematical resolution of the four forces in the universe, and make some minor modifications in the theories of relativity and quantum mechanics which I can show you, and then develop greater understanding of how imaginary numbers work and what happens when you divide a number by zero in the non-material universe the interrelationship between the spiritual world and the material world becomes much simpler."
"Wait a minute. I said, 'slow.' Besides, the last I heard, you still can't divide a number by zero." "What is impossible with man is possible with..."
"Nope, nope, nope... hold it. I wanted a mathematical explanation, not a theological one. Michael, could you just write up the mathematics for me?"
"Have you ever seen the Einstein's derivation of E=MC2?"
"Yes, why?"
"It takes a good bit of time to write it out. The same is true with regard to Quantum Mechanics. Both of them are simple derivations relative to some of the formulas governing the spiritual world. Unfortunately, in order to reconcile those two plus the four forces in the universe, as you call them, and then to resolve it all into one formula which would then need to be reconciled with the mathematical principles which govern the spiritual world which are based on a system of numbers substantially more complicated than the imaginary numbers system and after all of that to explain how and why it works would take a bit more time than we have."
"How about if I ask you some more simple questions?"
"Go ahead."
"Good. It is about space and matter. There was a big debate in the Middle Ages on this. The question is, 'How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?'"
"All of us or none of us. Take your pick. We are immaterial beings. We are without measure. An infinite number of angels could dance on the head of a pin, except there aren't an infinite number of angels." "And none of us?"
"None of us because without bodies it is difficult to see how you would describe anything we do as dancing. I could also answer, 'None of us,' because the Most High would not likely command such trivial behaviour from his primary messengers and servants."
"That makes sense. Now, how did you do that bit with my coffee?"
"It again has to do with the control of matter. On this assignment I have been given the ability to make molecules do as I will, therefore it was no problem to have the molecules which comprised your cup move in such a pattern that there appeared to be three cups simultaneously. In fact, each cup was in existence only one third of the time. The other two thirds it appeared as each of the other two cups. Because they were moving at nearly the speed of light your eye could not perceive it as anything but three cups."
"But when I drank the coffee it didn't feel like only one third of what it should."
"I didn't say that I divided everything into thirds. The cup from which you drank had all of the molecules but only for a third of the time. Once you drank them they were out of the three cups and into you. That is why the level went down in all three."
"O.K., next question. In your present form are you limited to normal human functions?"
"I mainly appear to be human. I am not. I could walk through a wall. I will not grow hungry and tired. I am not an angel incarnate. I am energy turned to matter under the control of my angelic powers. In my capacity to think, I remain Michael the Archangel. My ability to think is not a function of a human brain. It is that of an angel."
"Nice trick, I wish I could do it."
"No, you wouldn't, and even in heaven, when you could, you won't."
"Did I understand you correctly before and now again that human beings,
in heaven, will be able to materialize and dematerialize at will?"
"Able to, yes, want to, no." "Why? or Why not?"
"For the same reason that although I can take on material form, I prefer not to do so. The Most High created me to be an angel, a specific one named Michael. I have no desire to be anything other than what the Most High created me to be. I do not envy human beings even though they are created in the image and likeness of the Most High himself. Human beings in heaven will only want to be exactly what they were created by the Most High to be. They won't want to be angels, they won't even want to be the Most High. When you are constantly being satisfied, you will not be seeking a substantial change. In that day you will finally be content with who you are. You will be at peace internally. Your sole desire will be to know the Most High more deeply, love him more fully and serve him more totally."