Loosing Sight of Hell

Adun Tovedos

Recently I read Ann Rice's Memnoch the Devil.  In it, The Vampire Lestat is haunted by the Devil, himself.  This being, named Memnoch, makes Lestat an offer to help Memnock in his opposition against God.  It is a spectacular journey begining in the streets of New York, followed by a trip to Heaven, through time, and finally to Hell itself.

As Christians, and those evangalized to by Chirstians, we often have the question "Where does Hell come from?"  Or, more precisely "Why would a Benevolent God create such a place as Hell?"  Ms. Rice direcetly addresses this question.  Acording to the account of her character Memnoch, around the time in evolution that mankind began burring their dead, the angels began to hear invisible voices.  They were confused by it, because there was nothing invisible other than themselves and God.  In time, they witnessed the death of a human for themselves, and at that time, they saw the soul rise out of the body.  It was then that they first found the source of the invisible voices.  They were the souls of men and women who had passed on.  These spirits had entered into a new layer of the atomosphere, creating a place of gloom.  The angels named it Sheol.

For those who are not familiar with the Bible, the word Hell doesn't appear until the New Testament.  In the OT, only Sheol, or the land of the dead, is mentioned.  So how do we go from a land of the dead to a Heaven for good people/Christians and Hell for bad people/Non-Christians?  Ms. Rice addresses this as well.  Over time, Memnoch becomes convinced that God doesn't actually know everything, and thus is making mistakes.  As he becomes more and more convinced of these mistakes, in particular God Incarnate's sanctification of suffering, the rift between the Devil and God deepens.  Memnoch becomes convinced that God must be dethroned for the sake of mankind.  In the meantime, Memnoch teaches the school of the dead.  Confronting the spirits of those who have died with the full consequenses of their actions, the souls are tormented only until they learn to forgive.  Learn to forgive themselves, learn to forgive those who have wronged them, and above all, learn to forgive God for his appearant lack of concern.  Once they have attained this state, they may enter Heaven.  But there has always only been one place for the dead to go.  Sheol.  So this school called Hell lies on the foundations of Sheol.

I mention this not because I believe the book to be an accurate accout by any means.  Whatever his reasons, The Devil hates the human race.  I am uncertain if this is because he hates God and God loves us, or if it is that he loves God and is jelous of His affection for us.  It makes little difference to me.  I mention it, because it caused me to question something.

What happened to Sheol?  Where did Hell come from?  What about Heaven?  I've come to the following conclusions.

Hell does not exist.  Not the way we think of it.  Death is not a one way street that leads to one and only one destination depending on what we did, what we believed or who we were when we were alive.  When we die, we pass through Sheol.  Many decide to stay.  Not because Sheol is a pleasant place, per se.  Some become afraid that continuing on will ultimately lead them to God, who will dislike who they were in life.  Others don't know where they are or that they can move beyond.  Others still might not know that they are dead.  Some of these may still walk the earth in the form of ghosts and spririts.

Those who chose to continue on, do so by the grace of God and the power of the Cross, though I'm not certain if they have to know that exactly.  I'm sure the become aware of it at some point.  The journey is long and hard, and many turn back, for whatever their reasons.  Nevertheless, I am not convinced that remaining in Sheol, or returning later for that matter, is perminant by any act of God.  Those who stay or return do so by their choice, and may change their mind at any time.  The journey may be harder for them, it might not. 

If God is truely just and benevolent, then how could he turn away anyone who sought him, even if it was the wrong name, in the wrong place, or on the wrong terms.  I believe that a soul could be truely corupted, and thus could not escape God's jugement, but I don't think that there are nearly as many such people as the Church wants to think.

If entence to Heaven were based on good lives, there would be far more Penticles in Heaven, and far more Crosses in Hell than the Church realizes.

Entaro Adun
Legacy, the Madd Hatter
Keeper of the Holy Fires

Who and What  Prophet Is

Adun Tovedos

It has been a while, my friends.

Recently, I've been trying to catch up on Xangas.  I came a cross a recent posting from a friend.  It was something he came across from his time in the HA.  I was somewhat offended by it, though clearly no offense was intended.

What my friend talked about was being God's sheep dog.  Now while this may seem trivial to you, there is a very good reason why I should be offended by such a statement.  The concept of the sheep dog in God's flock is a reference to the Prophetic Office.  It is the job of the Prophet to fend off the wolves (intercession) and to nip at the heals of the flock to keep them in line (through revelation).

Now, when most of you hear the word "prophet" you think of the person/people in your church who stand up during the worship service and say "I have a word from The Lord."  This is not a Prophet.  This is a person who has recieved the gift of prophecy.  No, if a Prophet stands up to speak in a church, the church is headed for deep shit.  Either God is about to send them into battle or through a serrious trial, or the church is simply dying.

A Prophet stands to the side on most occasions.  His/Her job is in the prayer closet, on the knees (figuratively speaking).  Unless called to active evangilsim, teaching or preaching, a Prophet hates to speak to the crowd.  Even then somtimes.

We often confuse the Old Testament and New Testament Prophet.  In the Old Testament, the Prophet had to do everything.  They were the Evangelists and the Teachers and the Pastors, and sometimes even the Apostle.  The Prophet was the one who heard the secrets in the dark and proclaimed them from the rooftops.  S/He was the one to teach the Law, proclaim the vision, and invite the new comers.

But the New Testament Prophet doesn't have to do all these things.  He/She now may focus on God and His revelation alone and not worry about the details to the people.  The other things are delegated to the Evangelist, the Teacher and the Pastor.  Though a Prophet is concerned about if and how these tasks are preformed, and must relay God's satisfaction/dissatisfaction with the results, these duties are not his/hers to perform (unless they are a direct part of his calling, which becomes a coupling of two offices, or God has laid the duties on her/his heart for a short period of time).

 A very large part of what irked me from my friend's statment is that he is very political.  A PROPHET CANNOT BE POLITICAL!  A Prophet has no true allegiance to anyone or anything other than God.  This does not mean that one must reject country, ethnicity, culture, or family to be a Prophet.  It means that a Prophet must put God and His revelation FIRST AND ABOVE ALL ELSE!  Take a look at the OT Prophets.  Samual raised up and threw down the first kings of Israel.  Elijah was hunted by Jezebel, the queen.  Elisha ate salt with his family (a sign that his departure was permenant).  Jeramiah declaired that his home country was about to be ripped apart.  Ezkial protested against Israel, Juda, and Jerusalem.  Daniel served the kings of three foreign nations.  The common thread here is quite simple.  None of these men had any loyalty BEFORE GOD!  If any of these men could have served God without doing these things, they would have and gladly.  But the times and their dedication to God would not allow it.

I am not saying that there is anything evil about being political or dedicated to your country.  I am saying that a Prophet cannot  be swayed by the tides of this world, and politics is one such tide.  Being dedicated to a country run by politics is another.  If God tells me that the United States is about to be scattered to the Four Winds, then I will mourn its passing, declair His word, and prepare to serve the new country I find myself in no differently than I would serve the US.

Earlier, I made refference to the person who speaks revelation in church.  Allow me to clarify the line between that person and a Prophet.  In the book of I Samuel, Samuel tells Saul that he is to be king of Israel, and one of the signs he will be given is that he will see a procession of prophets in Gibeah and will join them.  It happened as Samuel said.  Note that though the same word, prophet, is used to describe the procession and Samuel, there is a huge differnece.  The prophets at Gibeah had just come down from worshiping at a shrine.  When Saul arrived, the Spirit of God "siezed him,"  and he began to prophecy.  Pay careful attention here.  Saul, a regular young man, was siezed by the Spirit and he began to prophecy.  Also note where the prophets had been and what they had been doing.  They had just come down from worship in a shrine.  Here's the point.  The Holy Spirit is in no way limited.  He acts as He sees fit to the occasion.  The phrase "God dwells in the praises of His people"  Tells us that (genuine) worship calls the Holy Spirit to us.  Once there, it becomes His party.  At any point, for any reason, He will have a person do certain things.  I have no doubt that if the people are truely open to His work, He'll get people to do things purely for amusement (His own, and of course others).  Two of the biggest (as we learn from I Corinthians) is speaking in tongues and prophecying.  What we are left with is that this group was a bunch of average Joes (and perhaps Janes) who went to worship God and got hit by the Spirit.  Saul caught up with them, and the Spirit got him too.

Now look at Samuel.  His first revelation came as he tried to sleep.  His part in this story came to him during quiet meditation.  He has spent his whole life dedicated to God's Revelation.  He threw down Saul as quickly as he had raised him up, because each was God's Will.  He anointed David while Saul was still king, because it was God's Will.  He didn't do these things in the frenzy of worship, or the excitement of the Spirit.  The Spirit was Samuel's constant companion and closest friend.  This is the difference.  The people in Gibeah, the person who stands up in church, the ones crying and screaming in the Name of God during prayer meetings and conferences, these are those caught in the moment, prophets of the hour.  The Prophet, those who hold the Prophetic office, is the one who's life and heartbeat is the Revelation.  The one who's constant companion is the Spirit.  They can go for days, weeks, even months without a proper "quiet time" and not notice a thing, because God is everywhere they turn, and always looking to talk to them.  No matter what they're doing or where they go, prayer is the order of the day.  It fills in the gaps between every thought.

So to my friend, who I know reads this (or used to), I say that your ideas are noble, though your imagery is off.  You are most definatley not a Prophet, which is not wrong.  (You probably wouldn't want the job if you really knew what it entailed).  Serve your country as you see fit.  And I will serve as I see fit (although this is simply where I reside for the time being).  I thank you in for the Ideals you promiss to defend, and the freedom's that you and those like you set out to supply.  However, my freedom, my true freedom, no terroist, dictator, or any other world power can strip from me, ever.

Entaro Adun
Legacy, the Madd Hatter
Keeper of the Holy Fires

I am a Light in the Shadows, and a Shadow in the Light.

Recent events on the home front have caused some trouble for me in the area of my faith.

I am presently without a job.  Now my life operates on a single princple:  When I need it, it will be there. My jobs have always done this.  I had to get a job after I graduated and my family moved.  I was working at K-Mart within a month.  After Christmas, K-Mart started jerking me around and so I quit.  I spent the next few months working on my comic book.  Though nothing came of it, I got it done and submitted it to a company.  Then, when I needed a spiritual awakening, Yo called me and asked if I would work at Teen Mania over the summer.  I came back convinced that I needed to go into the internship.   Once again, God made the way by giving me a job.  I didn't like it, but that job paved the way to my internship.  And though I don't agree with much of anything the internship seems to be doing, that was one of the best years of my life.  Once home again, God provided me with a small job to keep me going, then a better job later.

I held that last job for little over a month.  The problem was (as far as I was concerned) the fact that I had the desire to get OUT of Michigan as quickly as possible, and this job seemed to want me to stay with them forever.  I was offered a promotion, which I repeatedly turned down because it would result in a five year commitment I wasn't prepared to give.  Further, my parents were driving me crazy.  My thoughts were to move to Colorado to meet up with a friend who I felt could help me get started.  But that fell through when my friend told me she was returning to college in another state.  Not being able to move, and not wanting to stay put me in a bad position.  A position that was made worse when I lost my job.  Yet God struck again and sent me to college in California.

Now, I made mistakes in California.  I didn't do my homework, and I didn't go to class.  There were problems I should have dealt with and I didn't.  So I ended up homeless.  But that, in turn, was another great year.  And God once again provided.  When I lost my support, I got two small jobs.  Not enough to get off the streets, but enough to keep going.  And when those jobs started to fade, God stepped in again and my parents brought me home.

Now, God hasn't given me another job.  Not yet.  He assures me that one is coming, but reminds me that "God is not slow to act as we think of slow."  This has put not only my patiences to the test, but my parents as well.  I'm not sure any of us are dealing with it very well.  Still, the way my parents are handling this has been driving me crazy.  It's just agrivating.  I could handle this trial a lot better if it was just me to deal with.