Minnie Goes to Heaven (44)

(a novel continued)

“I lived among Muslims back in Kenya,” Lydia said. “They told me many things. I spoke to some about Jesus. I never knew if what I said had an effect...until I came to heaven, and Jesus brought me to this very castle.

"Well?" Minnie asked.
“Well what?”
“Did it have an effect?”
Lydia glowed with the remembering. “Oh, yes. We celebrated in this castle with Jesus and the angels. We ate and danced and sang and told stories. They put me at the head table with Jesus and the three friends I spoke to on earth. The ballroom was filled with the people my friends had reached; and those told of the thousands more among their families and friends still back on earth. 
 “And, while on earth, my friends had never once hinted to me that they had become Christians.”

Minnie and Lydia walked on.

A third castle appeared on the horizon. This castle with no moat was bigger than the other two castles combined. Each wall was made up of four sections with open archways in every section, sixteen sections in all. Minnie and Lydia knew this because they walked all around the castle. Then, they picked an archway and went in. 
A large angel with six wings stood just inside the archway with his wings spread. His wingtips touched the wingtips of the angels at the archways on either side. The angels didn’t stop Lydia and Minnie from passing through. The women crossed a very large courtyard.

 Across the courtyard they came to a stone wall. A stairway lead up the side of this wall. Minnie followed Lydia up the stair. At the top they walked through a smaller archway in the same design as the outside archways. Here there were sixteen archways all in a row. Through the archways they found a group of men in suits sitting around a large table and deep in discussion. The men didn’t look up or acknowledge the women in any way. 

 “Heavenly doctrine is a necessity. We must set the parameters or heresy will creep in,” one man said.

“This is heaven. Surely everything is as it should be.” another replied.

“That’s not the point,” said a third. “The doctrines of the church have always protected against corruption. Heaven must be kept pure. Look what happened among the angels the first time.”

“We never want sin to enter the gates,’ the first man added.

Who were these men? Minnie had no idea. Why were they doing this in heaven? Why didn’t they ask Jesus about these things? They seemed to be talking in circles. How long had they been here?

Lydia looked at Minnie and then at the door. They left as quietly as they had entered. Had the men even seen them?

Once outside and past the angels, they continued on down the road. 
“Jesus didn't show me this place,” Lydia said.
Minnie decided to ask Hershal about it.