SECTION VI
Chapter 1. Judaic-Christian View of the Universe--Earth, Heaven, and Hell

View of the Universe by the Ancient Hebrews

  The ancient hebrews pictured the universe--as did their semitic neighbors--
as comprised of three levels--with Heaven at the top, Earth in the middle,
and a shadowy netherworld called Sheol at the bottom.  Sheol was often pictured
as a cave underneath the earth where the shadowlike remains of virtually ALL
people--ie BOTH good AND bad dwelled after death.

  Out modern concept of a heaven in the sky, as an eternal home for the
VIRTUOUS, and hell as a punishment for the WICKED was, as we shall see,
a LATER development.

Ancient Hebrew Views of Heaven

  The image of Heaven being up in the clouds is presented in Genesis 28:12
in the description of Jacob's vision of a bridge to Heaven:

  " And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of
  it reached to heaven; and behold the angels of Gods ascending and
  descending on it"

  Some scholars have compared this view of a heaven in the sky, with
the ancient Greek view of Mt. Olympus, a large mountaintop on which
lived the ancient gods.

  It is interesting to study how the hebrew view on life after death evolved
over time--after the ancient hebrew came into contact with other religious
point of views.  Ancient hebrews believed that heaven was reserved for God.
Earth had been created for humans. The Garden of Eden was a paradise on EARTH.
Around the time of Moses, ancient hebrews did NOT believe in the possibility
of the dead going to heaven. That is, in the books of the Old Testament written
BEFORE the Babylonian exile, (the books of Genesis through Kings)--there is
NO reference to a belief or hope of a general resurrection of the virtuous
after one has died!

  Now there were some cases, where God physically "took" some of the most
exemplary men to heaven-- such as Enoch and Elijah.  However these individuals
were snatched from earth and taken to heaven before physically dying (as
opposed to them being resurrected to life). They were also considered
by the hebrews to be VERY special exceptions-- Thus, the hope for a life with
God in heaven after death was NOT considered a possibility for the common
man.

  Instead, the reward for living a good life was for God to bless man with
a long and prosperous life, and a large family.  Thus, we are told in Genesis
15:15 how God tells Abraham that "As for yourself, you shall go to your
fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age."  Again in Genesis
35:29 and 49:33, a dead person is described as being "gathered to his people"
at his funeral.  This view is present again in the book of Job: Here Job was
"tested" by God with terrible afflictions, yet remained firm as God's faithful
servant. The reward for his loyalty was NOT a promise to enter heaven, but to
live a traditional long and prosperous life!--That is, the last verses of Job
state that Job lived a hundred and forty years, and saw four generations after
him.  After that time,

   "Job died, an old man, and full of days."

  It was not until after the Babylon Captivity, when hebrews came into
contact with Zorastrian beliefs, that the hebrews came to believe in a cosmic
conflict between the forces of good and evil that would ultimately destroy the
world.  Even then, however, hebrews believed a NEW kingdom for mankind would
be another paradise built on EARTH, and not in a heavenly kingdom in the sky.
(The view of a spiritual afterlife in a HEAVEN IN THE SKY, did not arise until
the hebrews came into contact with Platonic dualism and gnosticism.)

Ancient Hebrew Views of the Earth

  The ancient hebrews believed in a flat (not round) earth, as did virtually
all ancient peoples of this time.  The earth was viewed as immovable:
For example, Chronicles 16:30 states: "tremble before [the Lord], all
the earth; yea, the world stands firm, never to be moved" (See also, Psalms
93:1,96:10, and 104:5).  The immovable, flat earth was envisioned to be
sitting on top of giant pillars which supported the weight of the earth.
"...For the pillars of the earth are the Lord's, and on them he has set
the world" (1 Samuel 2:8, see also Micah 6:2)

  The prophet Daniel described a vision of a giant tree situated in the middle
of the earth, whose "top reached heaven and  was visible to the end of the
whole earth."  (Daniel 4:10-11).  Daniel is clearly envisioning a flat earth,
since this giant tree is visible throughout the entire world. Likewise,
Matthew views the earth as flat when he states that "the devil took him
[Jesus] to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world
and the glory of them." (see Matthew 4:8)

   I once saw a physicist on television once, who announced that the verse
Isaiah 8:22 "proved" that the ancient hebrews knew that the earth was a
sphere. Intrigued, I looked up the verse, which reads (Revised Standard
Version) as follows:

  "and they will look to the earth, but behold, distress and darkness, the
  gloom of anguish; and they will be thrust into thick darkness."

  My first reaction, was to check that I really had the right reference.
(I did!) Then I re-read the verse several times to make sure-- For to me,
the verse says absolutely nothing about a round earth! Presumably, the
physicist must have reasoned that if darkness exists then this must be
because one side of the earth had rotated on its axis away from the sun.
However, many ancient peoples believed darkness occurred simply because the
sun moved around a flat earth.

  From the other examples given above, the ancient hebrews, along with the
majority of the ancient world, almost certainly held the earth to be flat.

Ancient Hebrew Views on the Underworld

  Most ancient peoples buried their dead, in the belief that the dead quite
literally dwelled in the bowels of the earth. When the sun sank below the
horizon at night, some cultures such as the Greeks believed that it dropped
down into the residences of the dead for the night. The location of the
underworld shifted even within ancient Greece over time.  Homer placed the
residence of hell, in an underworld named Hades.  It could only be reached
by crossing the River of Woe by means of Charon's ferry and continuing
on past the river Styz.  The Pythagorean Greeks believed the dead lived on
the moon.

  Before the emergence of the idea of hell traveled to Babylon (seventh
century B.C.E.), most residents of the Middle East--including the ancient
Mesopotamians and the hebrews--believed that spirits of the dead lived in an
underworld cavern. The ancient hebrews termed this shadowy realm below the
earth--Sheol. Sheol was considered NEITHER a heaven nor a hell, but a
netherworld-like existence. It was described as the final gathering of all
the living, (Job 30:23) and was pictured as a "pit" or "ditch" (Psalms 30:10,
Ezekiel 28:8) under the earth. (Deuteronomy 32:22)

   The physical act of burying the body or placing it in an underground
vault was believed to place the corpse into contact with the realm of
the underworld, whereupon the spirit-like essence of the deceased descended
into this dismal land of shadows. Sheol is described in Ecclesiastes as
follows:

  "But for the man who is counted among the living there is still hope:
   remember, a live dog is better than a dead lion.  True the living know
   they will die; but the dead know nothing.  there are no more rewards
   for them; they are utterly forgotten.  For them love, hate, ambition,
   all are now over. Never again will they have any part in what is done
   here under the sun...

   Whatever task lies to your hand, do it with all your might; because in
   Sheol, for which you are bound, there is neither doing nor thinking,
   neither understanding nor wisdom [Eccl. 9:4-10 (NEB)]

   Sheol in the Old Testament was NOT a place of eternal punishment, but a
place where EVERYONE went when they died--including the prophets. The ancient
hebrews appear to have believed that their ancestral spirits could be contacted
(through mediums, etc) to provide guidance and wisdom to the living.  Rituals
relating to a form of ancestor worship dictated that descendants should
prepare regular offerings of water and food nearby the tomb of the deceased.

   In the Old Testament we see an interesting glimpse of a "witch", who
was employed by Saul, (the first King of Israel), to call forth the spirit
of the Old Testament prophet, Samuel. Saul had engaged the help of this witch
of Endor in his desperation to learn the future of an imminent battle with the
Philistines.  The witch dug a hole into the earth to properly make contact
with this spiritual world, Sheole. She then described an appearance of the
prophet Samuel--who though angry at being disturbed-- correctly predicted to
Saul that he would die the very next day for displeasing God. (Footnote, the
reason God was displeased with Saul, is that he had been earlier instructed
to destroy ALL people and animals of the defeated Canaanites--but Saul had
NOT killed ALL the animals, but kept them for his own use).

Influences on the Judaic-Christian view of the Universe-

I. Persian Influence (ie Zorastrianism)

  In the 6th century B.C.E., hebrews living in exile in Babylonia were freed by
the Persians under Cyrus the Great, and allowed to return back to Palestine.
For the next two hundred years until the conquest by Alexander the Great,
the Near East was controlled by Persia. The teachings of the prophet
Zoraster was adopted by the successors of Cyrus the Great and, in this
way, spread throughout the region.

   Through this encounter with Zorastrian theology, Judaism was exposed to
new concepts and doctrine--during which time they noticed the similarities
between certain Zorastrian beliefs and their own aspirations for a new
nation dedicated towards God. During this contact, some new doctrines
emerged for the first time within Jewish theology--such as:

   * the belief in a POWERFUL Devil who is the cause of evil in the universe

   * the belief in a resurrection of the dead on earth after a powerful
divine conflict between the forces of Good and Evil (involving legions of
angels on one side and demons on the other.)

 * the belief that demons were responsible for moral and physical evil,
   and could thus be removed through exorcism. (footnote: The apocryphal
   book of Tobit, which dates after the period of the Babylonian exile
   is believed to be among the first Jewish writings to mention demonic
   possession and exorcism.  According to the story, a jealous evil spirit
   possessed Sarah and had her kill all her previous husbands on their wedding
   night.  Tobias was warned by the angel Raphael, and he exorcised the
   demon by "burning the liver and heart of a fish on smoking incense."
   (see Vermes, op cit., p 61)

  The Persian prophet Zoraster, who lived around 1400 B.C.E., had taught that 
the
universe could largely be understood as a divine struggle between the forces
of good led by Ahura Mazda, creator of the universe, and the forces of evil,
led by the powerful prince of darkness, Ahriman.  All history was viewed in
terms of epochs--beginning with a golden age, followed in successive periods
by periods of lesser value--silver, bronze, iron and so on. Ultimately time
would run out, and all souls would be called before Judgment.  On this Day of
Judgment, there would be a cleansing of the earth, and a general resurrection
from the dead.

   Those who had lived a virtuous life and had died would now have their
bodies reassembled back together. Restored to its previous beauty and
perfection, there would be a new Eternal kingdom of Earth whereby the
virtuous would live forever.  The image of a terrible hell to punish the
wicked was the complement to a belief in heaven. This dualistic concept of
heaven and hell became popular and spread rapidly throughout the ancient world.
(Interestingly, in some versions the evil would be rehabilitated in hell,
so that eventually everyone would be reconciled in heaven.)

  Ezekiel, an exiled Jewish prophet in Babylon, was the first to write on
the new concept of a bodily resurrection.  In a series of hopeful visions,
Ezekiel prophesized the rebuilding of a new glorious Jerusalem along with
its magnificent Temple. In one vision, Ezekiel was shown a vast plain covered
with human bones that had been left out in the sun. God commanded him to
prophecise to the bones and announce their resurrection. Instantly, the
bones were reassembled into bodily form. Again, God commanded Ezekiel to
order the winds to breath life into the bodies. At this, the bodies came
back to life, and were led out of Babylonian exile back to their Palestine
homeland.

  The hebrews believed in a formal burial of their dead.  Many scholars believe
that the vision of the vast plain strewn with human bones, shows Ezekiel
possessed knowledge of the customs of a Zorastrian funeral --whereby the
dead were never buried, but left out in the open to decompose and/or be eaten
by animals of prey.  Even if the bones were carried off by predators,
Zorastrian doctrine taught that the Creator had the power to reassemble
the scattered parts at the time of the general resurrection. (Colleen
McDannell and Bernhard Lang, HEAVEN A HISTORY, Yale Univ. Press, p 12-3)

  Although Judaism absorbed new doctrines from its encounter with Zorastrian
beliefs, this was generally done from WITHIN a Jewish nationalistic framework.
For example, while the Zoroastrian concept of the resurrection was viewed from
a worldwide, universal perspective, Jews such as Ezekiel linked the idea of
the resurrection with their LOCAL concerns of rebuilding the nation of Israel.
That is, Ezekiel did not expect a new universe, but a new Jewish nation,
free from foreign oppression. (Ibid, p 13). The new kingdom would be eternal,
but the people themselves would not live forever. Instead people would live a
long, fulfilled lives of some "five hundred years", even approaching close
to the one thousand years of some of their patriarchal ancestors--after which
time they would eventually die. (Ibid, p13 referencing the book of Enoch.)

  Some Jewish groups appear to have evolved in less "nationalistic" directions.
Scholars note a more "individualistic" response to the question of life after
death was posed by the poet-author(s) of some of the Psalms.--Psalm 49
describes how the fate of the rich and wicked would be to perish and be sent
to the dark abyss of Sheol.  The righteous, on the other hand, can be
confident that God will "take me from the power of Sheol". The psalmist of
Psalm 49 seems to be aware that this is a new insight to a difficult "riddle"
and urges "all who inhabit this world" to listen to him. (Ibid, p 14-15).
Previously, only a handful of men such as Enoch and Elijah had been "taken
up" into heaven--These psalmists noted that since God had the power to take
men up into heaven, surely in His love and justice, He would also free the
righteous from a life in Sheol.

  However, although the psalmists spoke passionately of their feelings for
God, there were only vague references to what the future would hold for the
dead. That is, these were really songs of hope, as opposed to firm promises
or doctrine of a New era on earth or a heavenly existence with God.  Therefore,
when the hellenistic idea of an IMMORTAL SOUL became fashionable in the
ancient world, this idea would also be taken up by many hebrews--especially
those who lived outside Palestine in hellenized cities.

II. Greek Influences

   Homer, in his book the ODYSSEY speaks of an afterlife for the good in
a faraway place on earth known as the Elysian Fields--a place,


   "...where all existence is a dream of ease.
       Snowfall is never known there, neither long frost of winter,
         nor torrential rain,
       but only mild and lulling airs from Ocean
       bearing refreshment for the souls of men--
       the West Wind always blowing..."

    (ODYSSEY, IV, p. 81 (translated by Robert Fitzgerald.)

  Some of the mystery religions later placed this heaven in a location in the
sky. This view was in turn, picked up by some of the Greek philosophers. Plato
(428-347 B.C.E.) believed that there was a Creator of the Universe who resided 
in
the highest realms of the universe. Within each human body, resided a pure
spirit--ie soul, which upon its release from the body's death, naturally
gravitated upward towards the realm of the Creator--described as a celestial
city in the sky. If one did not live a good life on earth, then one's soul
sank back down to earth-- where it was reincarnated in some animal form that
reflected its character in its previous life (for example a wolf or mule.)

  When the Romans adopted Greek culture and philosophy, Greek Platonism was
picked up by many Roman philosophers. For example, Cicero wrote SCIPIO'S DREAM
to encourage young Romans to participate in the politics and administration
of the republic.  The "dream" in the play culminates with the promise of
eternal life for those, who dedicated their lives for the welfare of others.
(McDannell, op cit, p 60) Scipio, the hero of the story, and a Roman statesman,
is in this way rewarded when he meets several Romans in heaven, including his
own father whom he embraces and kisses with tears of joy.  (The Romans tended
to depict their afterlife in terms of an orderly, law-abiding society, where
one performs their "duty" towards goodness and virtue.)

  As we have seen, the Zorastrians believed there would be a cosmic battle
between good and evil--leading to a newly resurrected kingdom on earth.
This, in turn, influenced the ancient hebrew view of the universe.

   In their earliest writings in the Old Testament, the ancient hebrews viewed
God as being a local for their tribe.  The preoccupation of these writers was
for God to act on behalf of his "chosen people" to make Israel into a strong
nation and to protect them from their enemies.

  During the second century B.C., the hebrew Maccabees (influenced by the
recently discovered book of Daniel) fought off their Seleucid Greek oppressors.
The writings from these later times show they now possessed apocalyptic hopes
that were similar to Zorastrianism doctrines.--It was believed that god and his
legion of angels would come down to help the virtuous Jews fight off their
wicked oppressors on earth, in a final showdown with evil. The faithful would be
resurrected to live in a a new kingdom ON EARTH!

  This new hope for a resurrection can be seen in Daniel 12:2,

   "And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake,
  some to everlasting life, and some to shame AND everlasting contempt"

  Another memorable line from the book of Maccabees tells of the young
captured hebrew, who offered his limbs to his torturer saying,

  "It was from Heaven that I received these [limbs]; for the sake of His laws,
   I disdain them;  from Him I hope to receive them again.") (2 Macc. 7:11)

  Later, Greek concepts also penetrated into some hebrew writings. The
books of Enoch and Wisdom (circa 100 B.C.) are believed to have been influenced
by Greek gnosticism.  These writings tell of intermediary divine spiritual
beings, who existed between God and mankind.  One immortal female spirit
known as Wisdom came down from heaven to earth, and returned to live with
God after her revelations were rejected by men on earth.  Some hellenized
hebrews spoke of a SPIRIT that survived man's death and lived with God in a
kingdom in the SKY. Philo of Alexandria (20 B.C.E.-43 C.E.), wrote of a 
spiritual
afterlife in heaven with God--believing that Moses' spirit lived in the very
highest realm with God.

Christian Concepts of Heaven

  When the early Christians were heavily persecuted during the second and
third centuries C.E., some Christian communities (such as the one at Lyon)
found inspiration from the writings of the Maccabees, which were well-known
to the early Church communities because they were included in the Septuagint.
(The Protestant canon today excludes these books.)

  During this time, Christian fathers, such as Irenaeus, bishop of Lyons
envisioned a heaven whereby the faithful could essentially enjoy all the
"material blessings of creation" that Christians were missing because of
the persecutions against them. As did the Maccabean hebrew martyrs
before him, Iranaeus believed that for the FIRST THOUSAND YEARS, faithful
Christians would live on an EARTHLY kingdom, under the leadership of Jesus,
the messiah. Here mankind would live in a paradise similar to the
one in the Garden of Eden--Nature itself would provide wine and bread, so
that it would no longer be necessary to work to enjoy the best delicacies
of life.  Likewise, Irenaeus believed that men and women would be blessed
with countless children, and that no one would ever grow old or die.

   After the one thousand years was up, the Kingdom under the Messiah
would be succeeded by a spiritual Kingdom of God the Father. Irenaeus
was more vague as to what life in this new state would be like,
describing it as a "communion with the holy angels, and a union with
spiritual beings".  His main interest appears to have been to assure
his fellow suffering Christians that although they suffered now, they
will be repaid a thousand times over with earth-like pleasures on a
thousand year kingdom on earth. The final state, after a long period of
a thousand years, was apparently not really that important for one to
speculate on.

Other Christian Views of Heaven

  Other Christians (including Gnostic Christians)  perceived the nature
of heaven quite differently than did Irenaeus.  Heavily influenced by
the ascetic Greek philosophies that were very fashionable during the
times, these Christians would reject the concept of a pleasurable heaven
espoused by Iraenaeus and others.  Instead,  they viewed heaven as an
extension of the ascetic lifestyle on earth.  All material sensations--
such as sex and pleasure would therefore not exist.

  This view of Christianity was especially strong in the Greco-Roman centers
of the world.  By the fourth century, the status of Christianity changed
from that of a persecuted religion, to the official religion of the Roman
Empire itself. Religious Christians--looking for another way to become
champions of God, began increasingly to embrace an ascetic, sexless lifestyle.
(See Section VI, Chapter 7).

Thomas Aquinas' Views on Hell and Heaven

  By the sixth century C.E., views such as Origen that held that many people
could be "saved", had been condemned as heresy.  The terrors of hell were
emphasized, in contrast to a state of bliss in heaven.  During medieval times,
most theologians preached that only a very small percentage--say 1 in 1,000,
or even as few as 1 in 10,000 would make it to heaven.

  During the Middle Ages, there were great debates among Christian theologians
regarding the exact nature of heaven and hell.  For example, since it was
commonly believed that the soul is a spiritual being, theologians and
religious scholars worried over how a non-material substance could FEEL
the PAIN inflicted from the flames in hell.  Some had speculated that to
properly suffer, one's nerve endings must come into contact with the soul.

  Other theologians argued that the fire on the Day of Judgment was a
spiritual fire (as opposed to a physical fire) and therefore those fallen
spirits could be justly tortured in eternity.  Thomas Aquinas argued this
view, stating: "the corporeal fire is enabled as the instrument of the
vengeance of divine justice thus to detain a spirit, and thus it has a
penal effect on it, by hindering it from fulfilling its own will."

  Thomas Aquinas located hell at the center of the earth.--And since the
earth was the center of the universe--he logically deduced that the damned
lived at the hot core of the universe itself. (Thomas Aquinas, SUMMA THEOLOGICA)
Obviously some people were concerned that hell would not be large enough to
hold all the damned souls.  Aquinas believed that it is not "unreasonable
that God's power should maintain... a hollow great enough to contain all the
bodies of the damned."

  As for the righteous souls who made it to heaven, Aquinas felt that they
would spend eternal life engaged in "spiritual pleasures":  As both eating
and sex are "bodily" pleasures, these would be unnecessary in heaven.
(Aquinas being a good Catholic, believed that the only purpose of sex was
procreation, which was of course useless in heaven).

   What, one might ask, is there left to do in heaven? Aquinas identified two
activities that would engage the eternal attention of the believer--
One was in the eternal contemplation of God.  The other came from the
"rejoic[ing] in the punishment of the wicked." Of course, the saved soul
does "not rejoice in it 'as such', but by considering therein the order of
Divine justice and their own deliverance, [this] will fill them with joy."

  Thomas Aquinis was also fully absorbed in the theological issue as
to WHO in heaven would be deemed to be worthy to have their own "aureole"--
meaning "halo".  Not everyone in heaven would receive one: On the contrary,
"the aureole is a crown awarded not to all, but especially to some." Thomas
Aquinis devoted not one, but THIRTEEN articles to this important subject
of who would be worthy to receive a halo in heaven.  To get a feel for
the breath of this topic, I have listed the titles of these articles:

  (1) Whether the aureoles differ from the essential reward? (2) Whether
they differ from the fruit? (3) Whether a fruit is due to the virtue of
continence only? (4) Whether three fruits are fittingly assigned to the
three parts of continence? (5) Whether an aureole is due to virgins?
(6) Whether it is due to martyrs? (7) Whether it is due to doctors [meaning
theologians] (8) Whether it is due to Christ? (9) Whether to the angels
(10) Whether it is due to the human body? (11) Whether three aureoles are
fittingly assigned? (12) Whether the virgin's aureole is the greatest?
(13) Whether one has the same aureole in a higher degree than another?
(quoted from Ronald A. Lindsay's 'Thomas Aquinas's Complete Guide to
Heaven and Hell', FREE INQUIRY , Summer 1990 p 38-9)

Purgatory

   It has often been said that the concept of purgatory was an invention of
the Catholic church.  However this idea can be traced back to the ancient
Greeks.  Plato, for example envisioned a purgatory, where spirits who
committed smaller sins would dwell for a year.  Virgil likewise described a
special place reserved for children who had died young--a place that Medieval
scholars and theologians turned into "limbo".

  The concept of purgatory originally developed in the early Church
in response to the theological question, "If Heaven and Hell are the only
choices open to mankind, where did the Old Testament patriarchs, unbaptized
Catholic infants, and marginal Christians end up?" St. Augustine, in defending
his doctrine on unbaptized babies, hinted that John 14:2's term of "many
mansions" might refer to a kind of limbo for certain souls. Around 1264,
Jacques de Voragine, in his LA LEGENDE DOREE, described the place of purgatory
as a pseudo-hell where sinners are plunged into lesser flames than those of
the damned. During the fifteenth century, this was sometimes pictured as a
large dungeon piled high with naked bodies of souls, looking sadly towards
heaven.

  Protestants hotly denied the existence of purgatory, arguing that there
was no biblical basis for it. The Catholic Church responded to this
Protestant challenge at the Council of Trent by making belief in purgatory
an article of faith for Catholics: "There is a purgatory, and the souls
which are detained there are aided by the appeals of the faithful, and
above all by the holy sacrifice of the mass."

    During the sixteenth century, it became popular for people to buy
indulgences whereby a priest promised to pray for their soul--thus reducing
their time in purgatory and hastening their departure into heaven. Despite
the rise of Protestantism (which refuted its practice), indulgences became
a popular practice up through the nineteenth century--Sometimes the wealthy
would purchase 1000, 2000, or even as much as 10,000 masses. There was such
a demand for the masses to be said for the souls in purgatory, that there
was concern in some religious communities whether there would be enough
priests available to fulfill all the purchased prayers.

Protestant Views of Heaven

  When Protestants rejected the Catholic concept of Purgatory in their
doctrines on heaven, this raised the issue of what happens to the souls of
the virtuous, between the time of their death and the appearance of the
Second Coming.  During the sixteenth century, two Protestant schools of
thought emerged to answer this question:  The Anabaptists and some Lutherans,
taught that the soul SLEEPS until Judgment Day, after which it will awaken
to experience either heaven or hell. Calvin, on the other hand, insisted
that the soul did NOT sleep, but remains in a blissful state.  The soul,
does not receive its "spiritual body" until Judgment Day-- at which time
it also experiences full communion with God. (Later Protestant theologians
elaborated on Calvin's doctrine to motivate their parishioners into living a
"Christian life" by expounding on the rewards of immediately entering a heaven
upon death--or for sinners, falling immediately to hell.)

  Two hundred years after Calvin, philosophers and theologians influenced
by the Enlightenment and its optimistic view on the progress of humans,
began to view heaven differently than an eternity of ascetic contemplation and
singing.  Instead, they viewed heaven as a continuation of spiritual
education, growth and activity.

"Official" Christian Date for the Creation of the Earth and Heaven

  James Ussher (1581-1656), archbishop of Armagh in Northern
Ireland, calculated the OFFICIAL age of the earth used even today
by some Christian groups, writing as follows:

"Heaven and Earth ... were created all together, in the same instant.  This
work took place and man was create by the Trinity on October 23, 4004 B.C.,
at 9 o'clock in the morning."

  "They [Adam and Eve] entered into the garden about noon, and, having
desired to eat, she took the apple, then came the Fall--according to our
account, about two o'clock." (ADW 1,288)

  Despite any hard evidence in the Old Testament for an exact date (not
to mention the time), this "guesswork" by Bishop Ussher was welcomed by
many for the CERTAINTY that it offered.

Emanuel Swedenborg's View of Heaven

 The Swedish theologian Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772) is often credited
with the modern sensuous view of heaven--complete with heavenly angels,
pastoral parks, and family reunions.

  Born in Sweden in 1688, Swedenborg spent the first half of his life as
an engineer, and mathematician. In his late fifties, he recorded in his
journal receiving  "holy" and "indescribable" visions and dreams.  The
presence of these were so strong, that it shook him to the ground, and
forced him to pray.

  During the next twenty five years until his death in 1772, Swedenborg
chronicled his visions and dreams that detailed a heavenly city of angels.
In contrast to contemporary Protestant and Catholic theologians, who
pictured the dead spirit as an asexual being who spent their life in eternal
contemplation and praise of God-- Swedenborg envisioned  a heaven existance
that promised essentially a continuation of material and sensual living
on earth. According to Swedenborg, eternal rest and contemplation "would
not be an active life, but an idle one, in which [the angels] would grow
torpid." (ibid, 203)  Swedenborg insisted that angels were "not formless
minds, not ethereal gases, but people to a T" (Heaven, p 189)  They were
invisible to us, because they were not composed of material substances,
and therefore could not reflect sunlight. But, "when it is the Lord's
pleasure, the good spirits appear to others, and each other, like bright
lucid stars."

   Swedenborg's visions of angels showed him that they retained their
sexually differentiated bodies, along with their feelings and earlier
memories. Families were reunited, and engaged in a number of spiritually
driven and progressive activities, such as playing in heavenly parks.
Many of the heavenly scenes portrayed by Swedenborg--princes draped in
purple robes, golden tabernacles, groves of palm trees and laurels --
were reminiscent of the splendor and elegance of the baroque courts in
many European capitals during Swedenborg's time. (Ibid, p 226)

  Swedenborg is also sometimes held out as the first medium to communicate
with the dead. Going into a trance-like state, Swedenborg claimed that
he could visit and converse on other planes of existence. In addition to
visiting heaven, Swedenborg claimed in his altered state, to travel to other
planets, where he described other civilizations living there. Mars had the
most God-fearing people, and the Lord sometimes came down to visit with
them. The Venesians had both gentle AND cruel inhabitants. God would visit
them in their own form. Inhabitants of the moon were the size of children,
although they possessed the strength of an Earth adult. Due to the different
atmosphere on the moon, their voices sounded like thunder when they talked.

  Although Swedenborg did not have a large following during his lifetime.
(Kant for one remained a skeptic of Swedenborg's visions), his rich detailed
visions of heaven have strongly influence some philosophers and other
theologian's more modern conception of heaven.

Ancient views of the Devil, or Satan.

   Most Christians are taught that it was the DEVIL who tempted Eve to eat 
from the Tree of Knowledge in the Garden of Eden.  However, a close reading 
of Genesis will show that the serpent is NEVER identified as the Devil, or 
Satan--nor is there any reference made to the serpent being a "fallen angel".--
Instead Genesis describes the serpent as "more subtle than any beast of the 
field which the Lord God had made". (see Gen. 3:1).

   Around the late first and second centuries C.E., early Christian Fathers 
determined the serpent and Satan HAD to be one and the same, and this 
interpretation has carried down to modern times.

  In the earliest books of the Old Testament (ie the Books of Moses, etc
which were written BEFORE the Babylonian Exile) there is NEVER any mention
of a powerful divine being of Evil—i.e., a Devil. Instead, the early hebrews
viewed their God (then a national, or local god) as the creator of both
GOOD AND EVIL.  This is explicitly stated in several passages in the Old 
Testament.  For example, consider these verses:

  * "I form the light, and create the darkness:  I make peace, and create
evil:  I the Lord do all these things." (The RSV Bible softens this last
sentence somewhat, translating it as "I make weal and create woe, I am the
Lord, who do all these things) (Isaiah 45:7)

  *"And the Lord repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his
people" (Exodus 32:14 KJV)

  There is a passage where God is said to have put a "lying spirit" in the
mouth of false prophets:

 * "You see, then how the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all
these prophets of yours, because he has decreed disaster for you
(1 Kings 22:23, 2 Chron, 18:22)

  And God deceives:

 * "And I said, O LORD GOD, thou surely didst deceive this people and Jerusalem
in saying, 'You shall have peace', while the sword is at our throats."
(Jer. 4:10)

  All acts of punishment are performed either by Yahweh himself or by an
angel acting under His direct orders, including:

 * tempting Abraham to sacrifice his son
 * the slaughter of the first-born of Egypt
 * turning of Lot's wife into a "pillar of salt" for disobeying the warning
not to look back at the brimstone and fire rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah.
(Gen 19:17,26),
 * the evil spirit which came upon Saul
 * the death of David's illegitimate son by Bathsheba (as punishment for
   David's murder and adultery) (2 Sam 12:13-4)
 * dispatching an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem
(jud. 9:23, 1 Sam. 16:14, 1 Kings 22:19-23)
 *destroying the northern Kingdom of Israel via Assyria (2 Kings 17:18)

Satan in the Post-Exilic Period

  The concept of the Devil does NOT appear in the OLDEST books of the
Old Testament such as the Pentateuch--the Five Books of Moses.  Instead,
the concept of the Devil only appears in those books of the Old Testament
that were written AFTER the ancient hebrews were exposed to Zorastrian
dualism from Persia in the sixth century B.C.

  It is in the post-exilic book of Job, where Satan makes his first appearance 
in the Old Testament.  Here we are told that Satan is among the Sons of God
who "came to attend on Yahweh". God asks Satan where he has been and he replies
he has been "roaming about" the earth.  God then states he must have seen
that God-fearing man--Job.  Satan replies that he has, but then taunts God
that Job is only God-fearing because he has been blessed by God. Satan talks 
God into testing Job's faithfulness, and God proves to him that Job is 
sincere by inflicting terribly punishments on him.  

 Still, in the  book of Job, Satan is presented as more of a teaser than the 
formal arch-enemy of God, and the personification of all evil. It is when 
hebrew chronicles rewrote their old testament histories in 1 and 2 Kings and 
later, that Satan's character also took on its wicked personification.

The Story of the Census--Ordered by God, or by the Devil?

   As shown in Section III, Chapter 1, many biblical stories appear two
or more times within the Old Testament.  One of these repetitive stories
dealing with the story of why King David order a census count of the
peoples of Israel and Judah, shows the development of the concept of Satan:
In 2 Samuel 24:1, it is stated that "God" ordered a census because He was
"angry" at Israel.

  In 1 Chronicles 21:1, the writer tells the SAME story, but states that
it was "Satan" who "stood up against Israel and incited David to number
Israel."

  Other books (also written after the Babylonian exile, and the hebrews' 
encounter with Persian dualism) also show this shift in the personification 
of Satan. The prophet Zechariah speaks of "Satan" as an angel whose purpose 
is to prosecute the wicked for their evil works. The gods of enemy nations 
were transformed (a common practice by most ancient peoples) into demons of 
evil.  In this manner, Beelzebub, the Phoenician god, became another name 
for Satan.

   In apocryphal writings such as Enoch, Satan appears as an absolute being
of evil.  The earlier portions of Enoch (written in the second and first
centuries B.C.E.) refer to fallen "sons of God" who were sent to Earth as a
punishment for a rebellion against God.  There, they cohabited with women--
who passed on their evil knowledge onto subsequent generations.  In the
Wisdom of Solomon (100-1 B.C.E.), Satan is identified as the one evil-being,
while in the Similitudes, there are references to a plural of satans--who
are evil angels. In THE LIFE OF ADAM AND EVE, a Jewish text dating from
the first century B.C.E., the serpent is associated with Samael, who rebels
against God when everyone is ordered to pay worship to Adam, His new 
creation.  Samael (which is said to mean Venom of God) bragged he would
instead build a throne above the stars where angels can worship him as
the greatest of all beings.  God throws out Samael and all his supporters
out of heaven and into a deep dark dungeon.

  In the Book of the Secrets of Enoch (1-50 C.E.), hosts of angels attend to 
regulating the positions of the sun and stars in the sky, and monitoring the 
weather. Their leader (originally called Satanial) changed his name to Satan 
after revolting against God.  He had become envious of Adam, and descended 
down from the heavens in the attempt to rule the world.

   By the time of the New Testament, Satan was already identified as the devil.
Jesus, following the common belief of the time, attributed mental diseases
to the possession of demons.  There is a story in the gospels where Jesus
was said to have been tempted by the Devil, much in a similar way as the
the Buddha was tempted by the evil Mara.  In Revelations 12:9, Satan is
identified with the Devil:

  "The great dragon, the primeval serpent, known as the devil or Satan,
   who had deceived all the world, was hurled down to the earth and his
   angels were hurled down with him."  

  Throughout the New Testament, Satan stood in opposition to the goodness
of God.  He is referred at various points as the "slanderer", the "accuser",
the "destroyer", the "evil one" and the "enemy." (Smith, op. cit., p 233)
At one point, Jesus rebukes his favorite disciple Peter with the words "get
thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savorest not
the things that be of Yahweh, but those that be of men."

   The word "Satan" originally meant "accuser" in Hebrew, and only in later
was it used as the personal name for the devil.  It was St. Jerome who
determined that another name for Satan was Lucifer.  He read in Isaiah 14, 
how Lucifer was a king of Babylon whose pride led him to believe: "I will 
"ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high... 
I will make myself like the Most High." And for this he was spoken of as 
"fallen from Heaven." Since Luke 17:18 also spoke of Satan falling from 
heaven, St. Jerome inferred that they were one and the same.

  The Gnostic Christian view of Hell embodies many ancient traditions
of Egyptian, Indian, and Persian mythologies.  Roman Catholics, later
drew on this material in describing Hell to their followers.

Medieval Views of the Devil

  The most important literary development of the Devil and hell came
from Dante (1265-1321), the medieval theologian and poet. In his famous
work, the DIVINE COMEDY, Dante conceived of the universe as a series of
concentric spheres, with earth located at its center. Above and beyond
the earth, was the sphere of the moon, followed by the spheres of the
planets, sun, and stars. Above and beyond the highest sphere was heaven.
At the core of the earth was hell. There, imprisoned in darkness and ice,
lived Satan himself. (Interestingly, northern European tribes conceived
of their hell as a place of cold, instead of a place of intense heat.)

  The Devil frequently was a major character in many of the literary works
of the latter Middle Ages. The miracle plays (written mostly by clerics
for purposes of giving a moral lesson to the people), presented a Devil
who was active in the affairs of the world--ie in the form of plagues, famines,
and wars. The medieval scholastics had emphasized a strong Devil in their
writings, and spoke of individuals who made a pact with the Devil, in order
to receive the powers of witchcraft.  As we have seen, as religious heresies
increased (climaxing with Protestantism in the sixteenth century), religious
leaders portrayed the whole world as locked in conflict between God and the
Devil. Followers were whipped up into such a frenzied state, that they
imagined that they saw witches all around them.

    It was only after a scientific foundation was established, that rational
men and women could question the basic premises on which a belief in witches
was based.  And after this point of view had disseminated downwards to the
general public, suddenly the accusations against witch visitations dropped
off dramatically.  Proponents of the "old" view were hard pressed to explain
why Satan was suddenly becoming less active in society.

  It was during the Enlightenment, in the wake of new discoveries in the
sciences, that belief in a strong devil AND witchcraft waned.  Romanticists
such as Rousseau likewise attacked the concept of the Devil as the cause of
evil.  To Rousseau and many of his followers,  it was society that was morally
corrupting mankind, as opposed to some personification of evil in the form of
a devil.

  At first, many conservative theologians resisted letting go of the concept
of a strong devil.  After all, the Devil was the second most famous character
in all Christendom, and the threat of hell was seen as a powerful motivation
in threatening sinful congregations to obey God's commandments.  Allowing
for the possibility that the Devil did not exist, would also, it was
feared, lead to the atheistic charge that God might also not exist.

  Nonetheless, a number of liberal religious scholars and theologians
attempted to harmonize the new scientific thought, with the Scriptures.
Friedrick Schleiermacher (1768-1824) implied that Jesus had personally
never believed in a Devil. Instead, all references to the devil were not
physical happenings, but a discussion using simplistic, symbolic terms
that could be understood by his superstitious audience.  Some religious
scientists, such as Karl Jung argued that the Devil was a helpful aid in
symbolizing the evil in the world, even if it did not represent a real,
metaphysical being.

  The advancement of science has continued to discover NATURAL explanations
for phenomenon once held to be within the realm of witches and evil spirits.
Liberal, humanistic religious leaders who preach a God of love, generally
do not feel the need for a return to doctrines that stress a strong Satan
and hell.

  Fundamentalists of course strongly disagree, and are calling for a
return to belief in a physical Devil and eternal hell. They will argue that
liberal attempts to downplay Satan's active role is a direct cause of the
moral decay they see present in society. (See Section XI, Chapter 1).

Angels

    Jews, Christians and Muslims believe angels are as separate creation of God,
who staff his holy court in Heaven and assist Him with His many tasks -- be it
on heaven or on earth.  Today, angels are usually pictured as winged figures.
But the earliest references of them in the old testament portray them to look 
more like humans.  In Genesis, we are told that angels made love with the
beautiful "daughters of men". In his famous dream, Jacob saw angels climbing 
up and down on a giant ladder between heaven and earth -- not flying.  

   The word "angel" means "messenger".  Many of the Greek pagans believed
birds to be messengers from the gods.  As more and more pagans converted to
Christianity, they brought the winged view of angels with them.  The
ancient Greek word "psych" means both "soul" AND "butterfly". The Greeks
believed, that upon the instant of death, the soul emerged from the physical
body, much as a butterfly is freed from its chrysalis.

  The ancient Jews saw the angels as awesome and mighty beings, wielding
death by sword at the commandment of God.   Islamic angels are also 
bearers of God's vengeance and terrifying in power.   Israfil, the Angel
of Day in Islam, also known as "the Burning One", sings praises to
Allah in a thousand languages.  Every day, Israfil gazes down towards hell
and weeps such tears that "would inundate the earth if Allah did not
stop the flow".  Azrael, the Angel of Death, is said to be hidden by a
million veils. He has 4 faces, 70,000 wings, and his face is covered with
eyes. Whenever one of the eyes blink, a person dies. Djibril, (known as
Gabriel to Christians) is believed to be the angel who brought the Koran
to Muhammed.  His hair is saffron, and between his eyes sits the sun.  He
dives into the ocean 365 times a day, and when he re-emerges, the drops
of water that fall from his 1,600 wings are transformed into new angels.

  During the Middle Ages, there was endless debate over the nature of angels--
including the famous discussions over how many angels could fit on the head
of a pin.  Some argued that angels could not fit on the head of a pin, because
they were giants in stature, not small.  

  Today, due to the influences of Swedenborg (discussed above) and others, 
angels are seen in pop culture as loving, winged creatures-- usually female-- 
who invisibly perform miracles to help those in need.  Sometimes they are
believed to change into human form to test the goodness of humans.  As the
saying goes:

   "Be not afraid to have strangers in your house
    for some thereby have entertained angels."