A Testimony

 The air in Caleb's small workshop was thick with the scent of oil and the rhythmic hiss of steam. The walls were lined with half-finished gadgets and sketches of contraptions only a genius like Joshua could conceive. But today, the room felt emptier than ever, echoing the absence of his father.

 Ever since Joshua's abduction, Caleb found it increasingly difficult to focus on his work. He would stare at the blueprints and tools scattered across the workbench, but his mind would wander to the image of his father, taken captive by the pirates aboard the Sky Serpent. Detective Armstrong's promise of a rescue airship gave him a glimmer of hope, and a daring plan formed in Caleb's mind.

 Late that evening, as the gears of the city hummed and clanked in the distance, Caleb penned a note to his worried mother, explaining his intentions to stow away on the constabulary airship. He sneaked out of the house, leaving the note on the kitchen table, and made his way to the docks, cloaked in the shadows of the night.

 The constabulary airship, known as the “Thunderhawk,” was a sleek and nimble vessel designed for speed and stealth. Caleb made his way through the shadows surrounding the dock. The trick was going to be making it up the gangplank, which was out in the open. The number of sailors thinned until just two remained at the bottom of the gangplank. After a brief discussion they both headed over to the warehouse.

 Knowing this would be his best chance, Caleb darted from his hiding place and ran up the gangplank. He didn’t hear any voices and soon found himself hidden among crates and barrels.  He had only been there for about an hour when he heard the sailors running back and forth getting the ship ready to take off. Soon he felt the ship lift off the ground and surge forward, slicing through the clouds as they raced towards their disabled airship.

 Meanwhile, on the Sky Serpent, Joshua adjusted the gauges on his newly completed diving suit. The rhythmic ticking of the steam-powered motor echoed in the cramped workshop as he marveled at his creation. Alexander, the first mate, interrupted his thoughts announcing that Captain Atherton requested Joshua's presence for dinner.

 After cleaning up, Joshua joined the captain in the ornate dining room adorned with brass and polished wood. Captain Atherton, a burly figure with broad shoulders, greeted him warmly. The captain's disdain for Christianity had puzzled Joshua ever since he had mentioned it the night of the battle with the constabulary ship. After dinner seemed like the perfect opportunity to understand the reason behind the enigma.

 As they sat drinking tea, Joshua broached the subject delicately, asking about the captain's beliefs. Captain Atherton shared tales of a life of hardship and loss revealing a soul scarred by life's cruelties. Captain Atherton paused and looked over his cup of steaming tea, raising an eyebrow.

Joshua took that as his queue to speak. “I think that what we need to start with is an understanding of what went wrong in heaven to begin with. Before things went wrong in heaven,” Joshua continued,  “there was perfect peace, and that was because all of God’s large family trusted each other. They trusted completely in God and thus He could trust completely in them. The perfectness was marred, however, when Lucifer, one of God’s created angels, started to mistrust God. Lucifer was a high ranking angel. In fact, his name meant bearer of light, or teacher of truth. As jealousy and pride built up in his heart he set out to undermine God by spreading misinformation about God to the other angels. Hence he no longer has the name Lucifer, instead it is Satan, which means the opponent, the adversary, liar and slanderer. In John 8:44 it says, ‘You are the children of your father, the Devil. And you want to do the things that he wants. From the beginning, he was someone who killed people. He did not continue with what was true. There is nothing true about him. He says things that are not true. And the he is showing what he himself is like. He is the father of everything that is not true.’”

 Joshua paused and looked over at the captain, who was intently looking down at his tea.

 Joshua kept going, “He was insinuating that God was untrustworthy and a liar. He actually charged God with not respecting any of His creation. In fact, he said that God would use His power to bring His subjects back in line. God was patient, however, and finally war broke out in heaven and Satan took a third of all the angels with him. As is recorded in Revelation 12.” Joshua shook his head, “Then Satan brought his lies to earth, and Adam and Eve were deceived.”  

 “I am intrigued but unconvinced,” Captain Atherton spoke up, sitting his now empty cup of tea down on the silver platter. “I challenge you to prove the existence of a loving God. You can have the following night, after dinner, to do so!”

Joshua realized that his time with the captain was over. He got up and left the cabin accepting the challenge in his heart.

 That night, in the quiet confines of his cabin, Joshua knelt and prayed. He prayed for strength, wisdom, and for the safety of his family.

 

***

 

The Thunderhawk sailed through the night, carrying Caleb toward his father and the looming confrontation with Captain Atherton, a spark of hope ignited in the steampunk world, where faith and love would collide in the clouds above.

 

Then I saw another panoramic display across the sky: A massive red dragon with seven heads,

ten horns, and seven crowns on his heads -- symbolic of Satan and the conglomerate

of earthly political powers and false religions through which he works.

His tail dragged one-third of the stars out of heaven and threw them to the earth-- symbolizing

Satan’s lies that deceived one-third of God’s angels and dragged them into selfishness

and sin. The dragon opposed the pregnant woman who was about to give birth,

and stood ready to destroy the child the moment he was born--which symbolizes

Satan’s attempt to destroy the avenue through which Christ would come,  

and then destroy Christ when He was born on earth.

 

Revelation 12:3-4 The Remedy, by Dr. Tim Jennings