2. Sheol (ii)

The Lamb of God, the Christ, with eagle’s wings
Took flight unto the realm of listless souls
Transcending time and space, in which all men
And women and their offspring were kept tied
And governed until earthly life was done.
Graceful and swift to the astonishment
Of those who thought Him dead for evermore,
Thrones, powers, dominations and the hoards
Of Satan’s demons who now terror struck
Flew out of sight, confused and filled with rage
At false hope offered by the serpent who
Himself deceived by his own deluded
Thoughts of grandeur, himself now hurtled down
To taste the fruits of his own foolish mind
Perpetual defeat and desolate
Meandering in lost and hapless state
The fallen liar whose time is now short
Before the final sentence that will be
Passed by Yahweh, of torment eternal
And separation from all hearts and minds
Of mortals who will rise in grace-filled state
To taste the fruits of Paradise opened,
To welcome and receive those souls who will
Accept eternal salvation from Him
Who for their souls has trampled underfoot
That same serpent to his shame and remorse
But for whom no salvation can be given.
Such was his lot, only to taste the fruits
Of acts so villainous and evil which
From his hand came and which will now return
To haunt and torment him, retribution
From Yahweh’s righteous hand for evermore.
Now at the gates of Sheol, here the Lamb
Of God scaled high its portals bleak and drab,
No gates of iron to receive those souls
Who in times long ago before the flood
And after, languishing in listless state
Awaiting with despondency for hope
Which for them seemed like an eternity
Away from hankering and longing grasp.
No walls of earthly substance to surround
These souls who cry aloud with pitiful
Crying with voices dull as if all life
Had been sapped from their lowly existence.
Yet now behold a radiance so bright
Which flooded Sheol’s realm, thus scattering
The dullness from before their eyes in which
The vision glorious became as day
Most bright and full of hope for which those hearts
Now leapt in hope to rise from prison drab
To glory who in past times did obey
The laws and precepts given by Yahweh
But those for whom obedience hid its face
From those who cared not or who knew not Him
Who them created now must rise to meet
The righteous judgement, Yahweh’s sole domain.
And so the Christ, the Lamb of God did speak:
“O Sheol, Sheol, you who for so long
Have in perpetual captivity
Kept these my children who in ages past
Did walk the earth in darkness and despair
Who either sought to do the will of Him
Who was their creator and living God
Or who for their own reasons turned their backs
On Him, my Father, Yahweh eternal
Or knew Him not, or worshipped other gods
In their own ignorance and who are now
Bowed down by weight of consequences of
Their acts which to them seemed a righteous path
But who are now wrapped in eternal night
As if in chains from which no respite can
Relieve them from their torment: Sheol, back!
In my name I command you: release them
To glory or to judgement, never more
Will you hold them bound in captivity.
Gone is your power, your authority
Which was not yours but only given you
By Yahweh and I in the Spirit’s power
By our express permission and command
Which we from your hand take back and by which
Empty you stand, your state shall be no more
Your forlorn existence shall only hold
Those who by our right judgement turn their backs
From truth perpetual wrought by pure love
For humankind, my sacrifice supreme
To rid the stain of sin and consequence
Of disobedience and unbelief.
Only by our permission shall you hold
Those souls for whom our judgement has ordained
That they be separate from our presence
Which to them will be Hell eternally.
Ours is the glory, splendour, majesty,
To us belong all things, even those souls
Who will for evermore be separate
From our glory, in outer darkness cast
As consequence for wickedness and sin
Which by their choice they took regardless of
Their thoughts and actions, bleak will be their lot.
Mine was the agony of mortal pain
To pay the price of sin and open up
The gates of Paradise for all who would
Accept me as their Saviour and their Lord
And find true innocence as Eden did
Once hold, before the Fall of humankind.”
Sheol, lamentable, of dullest grey
In pallour actual and metaphor
Began to crack and crumble, then to sound
Of thunder and of lightning, fell the noise
So deafening, the sight so terrible
As if with rage unparalleled it gave
Up those who had been held in timeless cage
Which had in human terms no door or key
No hope of freedom to those held captive
Of time long past, of Eden’s virgin state
And since, until redemption’s price was paid
Whereby the Lamb of God, in love unbound
Did suffer, die and rise by Yahweh’s will
To pay the price once only and for all.
The state of Sheol now in ruins lay
Whereby the sounds of mourning which came from
Those who until this time with heads bowed down
Had been denied the merest glimpse of light
To soften their existence dull and drab.
Now saw they in the distance one who had
To their aid come, to preach salvation for
Their sins long past, committed either by
Design, or ignorance. Now also did
They see the state of Sheol, crumbled shell
A fortress spiritual no more to hold
Them back from choosing life by Him who for
Their sakes became their sin, who knew no sin
And bring them at the last to Paradise.
The light surrounding Jesus, Lamb of God
Flooded their souls with terrifying rays
So bright by which with hands they tried to shield
Their faces from this apparition whose
Glory became for them too much to bear
Beset with blindness of their eyes and hearts
The realisation terrible of sin
Contrasted with the dazzling perfection
Of Jesus, Lamb of God, now burned within
To bring them out of Sheol’s captive realm.
As if with one loud voice, they cried aloud:
“Are you the Christ, Messiah once foretold
By prophets whom we killed or cast away
From our presence, or tortured or enchained
In prison, for to us they spoke as if
They were a threat to Yahweh’s ordinance?
What bids you come to us, we cannot see
For blindness fills our eyes, our hearts, our minds
And terror seizes us, we have not seen
A sight like this, we do not know if you
Are Him by whom humanity is saved
Or some dread ghost with power to destroy
Us all. We beg you, tell us who you are
And what your purpose is by being here!”
On hearing cries so pitiful the Lamb
Of God replied with words that spoke of His
Presence and purpose. Uttered He aloud:
“Tormented souls who have since time long past
Spent timeless dull existence in this place
Of listlessness, of sheer uncertainty
Held captive by the power of Sheol’s grip
To keep you ever wondering if there
Might be a way out of your misery
And plight. Listen to me, I bring you news
Of hope and joy, of Paradise in which
You may attain if you would but believe
And hold unwavering the message which
I bring to you. Uncover your eyes and
Your hearts and minds, be open to all that
I have to say. The shores of Paradise
Are open to you, take heart and believe.
I knew before created things were born,
All stars and planets, and space with its vast
Immeasurable distance which to sight
And mindset mortal is far out of reach,
The earth with its abundance giving life
At our command: The Spirit, Yahweh, Christ
We holy Three who live and move as One,
Who hold supreme authority by which
All things created have their existence.
Before the Fall of human souls, a war
In Paradise was raged by Satan with
His followers to take my rightful place
At the right hand of Yahweh, foolish pride
And envy, jealousy, and lust for power
Was all their purpose, blinded by their wish
To become as We Are, yet but were they
Created as you are, yet fell from grace
To be the consequential act of sin,
The opposite to our perpetual grace
Which from before all time, always We Are.
Eden thus fair, perfect, unspoiled and pure,
A habitation for humans and all
Created things became a darkness to
What we had created in our pure light,
A blot, a stain upon our great design
A tarnished image not of our making
And now beset by evil at the hand
Of the vile serpent, Satan, and of those
Who chose to follow his mistaken wish.
Yet even now as then his power is not
Limitless, for Yahweh made him to crawl
Upon his belly, enmity was put
Between all human souls and him in which
Unending conflict would besmirch all that
Had been created, causing our regret
Whereby our creation would be destroyed
And made anew despite the warfare that
Still raged between the serpent and all those
Who in our image were created thus.
I see all you who mocked our servant Noah
You who with eyes so blind could not foresee
Calamity awaiting you who cared
Not for yourselves nor anything that we
Had thus created, whereby that great Ark
Was filled with all the living creatures that
We had created for our good pleasure
And glory, preserved by Noah and his
Sons and daughters, a living testament
To his obedience by our ordinance
And yet I see them now among you all
Most undeserving of their longing for
Deliverance from this unworthy place.
You souls who by derision crude and foul
Derided Noah and his efforts to
Preserve what we had created to our
Good pleasure and our glory, even now
Here is your chance to repent and reject
Your former sinful ways and taste the fruits
Of Paradise upon the heavenly shore.
Of my willingness, became I as you
To do my Father’s will, for the sake of
The sins committed by the human race.
In its perpetual weakness it succumbed
To disobedience by Satan’s wiles
Whereby the barrier of sin was built
To block the path to Yahweh’s throne in Heaven
And banished be from Eden which became
A hostile place besmirched by sin and shame
Bedecked forever in the blackest night
With daylight hidden from all human hearts.
We gave you laws by which you might return
To our good pleasure, mercy unbounded,
But these were broken, rejected and scorned
As human frailty, being unable to
Observe, obey and live by our high state
Of living unto our eternal days
Of perfect union in sweet fellowship
Despite our wishes for you to be clothed
In holy righteousness as is our will.
Sent we you holy prophets who did speak
Out of their mouths our holy edicts true
To warn, admonish and to point the way
Towards the heavenly realms where we do sit
Knowing all things which take place on the earth
Despite human denial of the same
Wherein the ways of sin were promoted
Above our holy order, then were those
Prophets and seers made outcast, shunned or slain
Because you would not listen to our words
To bring you back and life eternal give
As due reward for righteous diligence.
So came I to you and all who will come
After, to be the One by whom all men
And women could relate, I am the proof
Of Yahweh’s pleasure, gave He unto Me
As human Saviour, Godhead laid aside
The power to redeem, restore and save
All human souls by signs and wonders which
Are unattainable to human strength
But only by our grace could they be given
To point the way to Heaven’s lofty heights.
But yet a third time humankind was wont
To take a life, yet knowing not what they
Were doing, for I was the sacrifice
By which the path to Heaven would become
A road unhindered by that barrier
Of sin which was removed by my selfless
Act of obedience to my Father’s will.
Despised, rejected, beaten, spat upon,
Scourged without mercy, dragged and crucified,
Buried but will rise again to cheat
Death and the grave of victory, no more
Would sacrifice be needed to appease
The wrath of Yahweh, come now, see before
Your eyes the spotless Lamb, in which no blame
Or blemish can be found, I am the One
Who saves your mortal souls from death, and frees
You from this place most desolate and bare.
I am the way, the truth, the life, the gateway to
Eternity upon the shores of Heaven.
There is no other way by which you may
Redeemèd be, come rise at my command
For judgement is dispensed at my right hand
As I upon my mercy-seat do sit
Imparting due reward for lives as lived
By royal ordinance or sinful ways.
You all shall rise, all those who died before
The Flood and after, all excepting none.
It is the will of Yahweh and of I
The Christ, anointed for this purpose by
The power of the Spirit true and just.
Our will be done, in Heaven and on earth.”
So went they all, those who had lived their lives
By faith, and those who lived according to
Their own beliefs and precepts, to be judged
According to the righteousness of God
To glory or to separation from
The Presence eternal for evermore.
So waited they upon the heavenly shore
For that time when they all would judgèd be,
For now the Christ whose spirit had been sent
To Sheol to release the captives there,
And in readiness for last days on earth
In human form, descended once again
Through spiritual realms until the grave in which
His mortal body in the grave sealed up
Now lay, awaiting resurrection of
The dead to life, so that all humankind
Might share this act of mercy and of grace.