Frank & Ralph, Chapter 1: Honor Wall

Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation? (Hebrews 1:14)

A single, crystal-faced etching, among billions of variously fashioned carvings and plaques, glistens on Heaven’s Honor Wall. Two angel names grace this space. Jesus calls them Frank and Ralph, though their given names are much more delightful to hear.

Unfortunately, humans cannot pronounce or spell an angel’s full forename. We are left with a nom de guerre, a dubbed trifle of the original. Poor translations—like Gabriel, Raphael, and Ariel—only hint at an angel’s grand name. So, too, with Frank and Ralph. We must settle on their christened aliases, which are noteworthy. They are the first two beings nicknamed by our incarnated Redeemer just months after his birth.

You can see Frank and Ralph’s honorarium to the left of Heaven’s main entry gate to the City. From the city, while at the gate, lean out, look a hundred yards to your right—about when letters are indistinguishable to a Heavenly soul’s squint—then count twenty carvings up the wall, midway.

Or, walk a hundred yards and gaze upward. Just there. Frank & Ralph. These two celestial creatures helped me write this book.

Like all acclaimed angels, Frank and Ralph deserve mention on the Honor Wall. They accomplished feats great and wonderful and shared their lives willingly with me, an unheralded man charged with a research project for a distant future. I doubt any other angels could have provided the insight I needed to understand the angelic realm. Angels don’t quickly or eagerly converse with humans.