Revelation's metaphoric 'lake of fire' and the universal symbolical images of brutality and deception: focal points of Evil, oppressing humanity for thousands of years

Doctor Strange (2016), The Ancient One (Tilda Swinton)

“We never lose our demons. We only learn to live above them.”

Jekyl-and-Hyde canines, faithful sheepdogs by day, bloodthirsty monsters by night

It’s 1966 and I’m sitting in Mrs. Willardson’s English class. I’m excited because the monthly shipment from Scholastic Book Services has arrived, and I’ve purchased ten or more paperbacks. The cover prices were often only 60 cents, cheap even then, but students got a discount and could buy for something like 35 cents! It was great. Those were the days.

Every month I’d order books. Not that I read them all, mind you, I wasn’t yet disciplined enough to do that, but I just liked having them. However, one book I did read, and parts of it were so shocking that I still recall nearly 60 years later.

Ernest Thompson Seton (1860-1946) offered, he said, “true stories” of animals he’d encountered. Among the most noteworthy is that of “Wully” the sheepdog, a very strange case of a pooch living a veritable “double-life.” By day, he attended faithfully to his master’s business, but by night “he became a savage, treacherous sheep-killer.”

Even more intriguing, with the publication of Seton’s book, other similar accounts were brought to his attention. “All told, I now have information of six of these Jekyl-Hyde dogs. In each case it happened to be a collie.” These duplicitous and vicious creatures “added to night amusements the crowning barbarity of murdering the smaller dogs of the neighborhood.” One of them “had killed twenty, and hidden them in a sand-pit.”

A certain image has lodged in my spirit all these years as it reaches for highest order of cunning, deception, and two-facedness.

The author vividly paints the scene concerning one of these dogs; it may have been Wully. In the early hours of the morning, the master happened to be awake and was ambling about the kitchen.

Suddenly, who should bolt through an open window but Wully! On his fur and about his mouth remained bloodstains from the night’s escapades. Normally, Wully would have met his owner with a studied deference and feigned loyalty, but the dog realized that the evidence of its malfeasance could not be hidden.

And now Wully turns into his real self, a snarling, menacing monster. The master backs away, keeping a wary eye on the canine. The dog moves in, about to pounce for its kill, but not before a steel poker from the fireplace was raised against the ogre, to end his devilish adventure.

the beast, the wild animal

When an animal, with heart laden with viciousness, feels itself threatened to the utmost; when it’s exposed for what it is, with realization that it’s now do or die, kill or be killed; it will invest all its energies to stay alive, at whatever expense. Desperate situations, the egoic inner-being advises, demand desperate measures.

At the time of this writing, the whole nation is witnessing an example, writ large, of the spirit of Wully the conniving false-fronted one. At the highest levels of government, we see those of respectable, august office, exposed for what they really are. All these years they’ve been “raiding the neighborhood at midnight,” living the rapacious life in the shadows, but feigning service-mindedness, speaking in platitudes, smiling sweetly for the cameras.

But now they realize that, if certain ones come to power, it will be the end of their duplicitous treachery. No more chicken-coop larceny in the dark. See them now, of wild and crazed mind, foaming, attempting to defend themselves by sophistic ways and means; methods unwise, boorish, heavy-handed, illegal, criminal. But it’s do-or-die for them. And Wully knows that time is short, and this makes him reckless, lathered up, and more insane.

The Beast, or the Wild Animal, has made its way through history pillaging, brutalizing, taking what it likes from others. If required, to get what it wants, it will at times assume the guise of a “lamb,” a studied respectability, an outward veneer of civility. But, when he's backed into a corner, go for that poker now, as the real monster-heart will be coming out, and coming for you. 

Restatement:

a deeper look at 'thrown alive into the lake of fire'

In the “levels of consciousness” article I recall feeling very disturbed by the lowest rung of spiritual blindness, a pure shamelessness. Allow me to quote from that writing:

the utter shamelessness

Aselegeia from the New Testament Greek, according to Dr. William Barclay, is "the ugliest word in the list of NT sins." Often translated "lasciviousness" or "licentiousness," such words fail to elucidate the depth of depravity.

violence and audacity, consummate disrespect for propriety, no restraints, shocking to public decency

Dr. Barclay offers usage-examples from ancient classical Greek. Aselegeia describes "violence coupled with audacity"; it is used to explain "the spirit which knows no restraints." A man may commit a crime, but - in a sense, wisely, discreetly - often will attempt to hide his misdeed, but the person gripped by aselegeia sneeringly flaunts his maliciousness and "shocks public decency."

some people are so far under, so perverted, that they'd need to improve a lot just to reach the next-higher consciousness level of shame

In other words, aselegeia doesn't have enough good sense to know how to be ashamed. It has no sense of shame or propriety. Common decency is far too high for this dark-spirited mind-set.

It is so much under the influence of the basest of animal instincts and passions - my apologies to our dear friends, the animals - that, in the words of Barclay, it "does not care what people say or think so long as he can gratify his evil desire. He is the man who is lost to shame. Most men have enough decency left to hide their sin, but [one gripped in aselegeia] is long past that. He will be guilty of any outrageous conduct, and cares for nothing except to satisfy his desires... Aselegeia is a grim word. It is the wanton insolence lost to shame."

It is more grim than we have known, than I have known, and I'd like to talk about just how grim. In that article I used The Joker as an example of basest of minds.

Most people we meet every day, those run by the dysfunctional ego, are generally polite enough, offer a modicum of civility. However, this thin veneer of courtesy, we sense, is supported not so much by the milk of human kindness but a fear of retaliation or punishment or judgment should they overstep a line of legal duty toward propriety.

In other words, in an unenlightened state, they’re being nice because they know what’s good for them. But, what if they didn’t care what’s good for them?

You can’t reason with The Joker, explaining that, if he does such and such it will be better for him, or worse if he doesn't. He doesn’t care what’s better for him -- not as a guiding principle for his life; something else is more important to him. You can inflict pain on The Joker, beat his face with blows, and he will just laugh at you. He doesn’t care about his own well being, to say nothing of yours.

Batman punches The Joker. The Joker laughs:
“You have nothing! Nothing to threaten me with!
Nothing to do with all your strength.”

What does The Joker want? What does the utter shamelessness want? On the surface of his activities, The Joker wants to create as much chaos as possible. He wants to hurt as many people as possible. He wants to destroy as much of society as possible.

Well, strictly speaking, he would allow most people to live as long as they became his slaves, and acknowledged his superiority. What does The Joker want? What does any pathological ego want? It wants to quiet the inner clamoring of "I don't have enough" because "I am not enough."

the joker is wild

In order to calm this riot of existential craving, The Joker would be willing to kill as a many as necessary. In fact, The Joker, so far under in his insanities, would be willing to destroy the whole world rather than allow one person to escape bending the knee to him.

Editor’s note: Dr. Carl Jung, in an interview when he was very old, commented, to the effect, “We don’t need some mythical super-evil being like Satan to plague the world, we have all evil within us, each one of us, and do just fine poisoning the world without him.” We bring to mind Joseph Conrad’s famous descriptor, “The Heart Of Darkness.”

lessons from history

Is it really as bad as all this? Are not most people led by a basic decency? Isn’t it true that much of the world’s ills are caused by a small group of corrupt ones? In fact, many afterlife researchers today will say that one’s ticket into Summerland is simply that of living a generally good life, helping where one can, and that will be enough; no need for sainthood as entrance requirement. I myself have written of these things.

On one level, all this is true, but, as we go deeper, things become more problematic. Eventually, we'll have to do better than being "generally decent," but that's another topic.

Would the “utterly shameless ego” really destroy the world rather than give up attempts to secure “more and more” to assuage the inner bedlam?

The lessons of history are not encouraging in this regard. I shall not attempt any thorough survey but several examples immediately come to mind.

if you're willing to do that, then what aren't you capable of

It was said of King Herod of Judea that “it was safer to be Herod’s pig than his son.”

This was not so uncommon. Many notable potentates of history killed family members deemed to be threats to maintaining power. The butcher Emperor Constantine, of the famous Nicene Councils, father of Big Religion's “holy doctrines,” murdered family members who ventured too close to the throne.

In fact, as we discussed in “30 art masterpieces of the ancient world,” all art produced at that time served as “visual propaganda”, an effort to impress and intimidate the masses. In line with this, essentially all of the ancient rulers exercised dominion in a brutal and murderous way. The BBC documentary series “I, Claudius” well dramatizes the killing of family member who might have rivaled the current Caesar.

I think the point is this. In those days, while no one had the power to destroy the whole world, it takes little imagination to understand that, if one is willing to kill one’s own child, or brother, or mate, or parent, then – what aren’t you capable of? Those controlled by this degree of insanity, we suspect, would not stop even at destroying the whole world if they felt power might be taken from them. In the conflagration, their own children would be killed by their own actions, but, as we've seen in history, the lives of children and family mean little when one's insane quest for power is at stake.

compiling elements of perdition

Today it is possible to destroy the whole world; and, from many different angles – over-population, wars, destroying the ecosystem in a hundred different ways, pesticides and pollutants, damage to the ozone layer, fresh water shortages, harming the oceans and the rain forests, the extinction of flora and fauna, nuclear, biological and chemical weapons, the dumbing-down of the school system, inundation by plastic garbage, rising rates of illiteracy and childhood diseases, mindless and low-grade entertainment and generally amusing ourselves to stultifying death, corruption of the food supply and medicines, and others; we lose heart in keeping track of the elements of autopsy.

Poor Mother Gaia. It’s so bad that any thinking person marvels, and despairs, concerning which of these competing “poison pills” will do us in first. They all circle like vultures now, and we sense that some sort of dark climax cannot be forestalled forever. We don't need to study the Bible to believe that we live in an "end time."

But, probably our worst threat, just as in ancient times, are the totalitarians who gain more power in the world with each passing year. They pose as smiling servants but work against the common good. How far will they go to quiet “the inner bedlam” that troubles The Joker?

We’re not encouraged as we see how great political power has conducted itself in the last few thousand years. How far would they go? When we witness what’s happening in society today, how authentic reformers are vilified and attacked, with unjust charges, with the rule of law trampled and personal freedoms effectively gone, we suspect that "the utterly shameless" would be willing to go very far.

And what does this mean concerning Revelation’s metaphor of “thrown alive into the lake of fire”? My earlier understanding on this led me to think that the forces of evil will be active to the very end. And while this is true, I think it’s worse than this.

The “lake of fire” is John’s symbol of cleansing all the world of evil. When the Wild Animal and the Lying Teacher see this coming purge, they will know that their game is about over. But this doesn’t cause them to stand down; instead, they continue on, probably, double down, in their efforts to cling to power.

This means that the level of frenzy to maintain control is ratcheted up. They become more insane, and reveal their true colors to a greater degree. This makes the world an even more dangerous place as the Evil Duo now are willing to do anything to stay in power. Is this level of frantic clinging-to-the-throne not what we see in the world today? Are not the vectors of evil becoming more bold, more outrageous, and more reckless, in their attempt to entrench themselves in their positions of power? It is "violence coupled with audacity".

'it is an end time'

The Aramaic Bible in Plain English translates I John 2:18 as, “My children, it is an end time…” We note the indefinite article.

'end time' means 'end of an age' not the end of the world

As the temperature rises in this “end time” conflict -- "end time", in that it is the current "end time" among an endless chain of "seven times" -- how far will they go to avoid being ousted? We might even be on the brink of a new Dark Age; it’s not as if this hasn’t happened before. But how far would they go if they feel substantially under threat?

Certainly, they will be active to the end, and therefore will enter the purging fire “alive,” but, we suspect, there's more -- they will not allow themselves to be “thrown in the fire” without a good measure of retaliation. Could the Evil Duo actually bring down the entire global system if they feel sufficiently threatened? They're thinking about it, if, like Wully, their worse comes to worst.

Editor’s epilogue: two recent reports from the other side  

I decided to write this "last word" because of new reports from the other side. These messages concern the pathological ego and the possibility that its insanity might even destroy the whole world.

Over the years, I've reviewed many channeled works. So many of these reports, purportedly from advanced ones, speak of a “new golden age” coming for the Earth. These prophecies, usually from immature teachers in the next world, have always fallen flat. I wrote of this problem in “the 500 tape-recorded messages from the other side.”

But I came across a new source with a better understanding of the dark side of human nature. This teacher’s warnings, grave and somber, were much in line with what we heard from the discarnate Winston Churchill, as reported in “the 500” writing.

The message was this: The vested interests of power-and-control in your world have already stepped beyond the point of no return; meaning, their selfishness, and insanity, now churning at such high frenetic level, plus all of this linked to new technologies, make it very difficult to avoid a coming dark climax in your world affairs. He said that advanced ones do what they can, or must, to keep us from annihilation, but, even so, the insane power-mongering ones of your dark world, he plainly asserted, would, indeed, decide to destroy the entire planet if, at last resort, they cannot get their way.

I’ve long wondered why God would allow things to go that far. It’s a difficult teaching situation for divinity, I think, because such a large percentage of the population is not that interested in living and discovering the truth. So many people seek out their favorite Dear Leader, fail to do any thinking on their own, and then simply hate those who disagree. The serious problems in the world today are not just the result of criminal leadership for the people themselves, too many of us, “love to have it so” (KJV).

Editor’s note: Coming to mind is a scripture I’d not thought of in years. Jeremiah 5:31: "The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule by their own authority. My people love it so, but what will you do in the end?" Berean Standard Bible
 

Yes, "the end." What will we do then? the scripture asks. We sense now, palpably, that we are living in an "end time.” Things cannot continue on the present basis.

The people do not object to the diminution of personal freedoms, "love to have it so," are purchasable, mindless, easily stirred to hate those who offer "misinformation", and clamor for leaders of the most knavish and ignoble sort.

Many of us sense the gathering storm, feel that the current state of affairs on planet Earth is heading toward some unpleasant culmination. Our materialistic-hedonistic way is unsustainable, cannot continue, with too many on the take, too many having been dumbed down; worse, we witness the demonizing of those, the modern Wilberforce, who offer reform. Truth is trampled, violated in the streets.

There's always been trouble here in this sorrowful world, but not like this -- planet-wide control and censorship, totalitarian surveillance of the globe aided by high tech, the wide-spread pillaging of Mother Earth's ecosystem. Civil society unravels at the edge, also at the core.

Many now feel that life, just to continue on, business as usual, will not be possible; however, even if it could continue, I believe that this would not help people spiritually but make them worse.

a second message

Over 60 psychic-mediums were tested and asked to pose questions to guides on the other side. Read the details here.

One of the questions concerned the dire state of the world and will humanity survive? Many answers were given, but one spirit respondent in particular helps our discussion on the meaning of Revelation. Why might a time of trouble be coming for the world?

"[It's] due to a mindset that listens to external authoritative influences rather than their own internal guidance system ... every human has free will and some souls are just not ready to make the choices needed for survival. The forces from the other side are providing the tools for survival, but it’s up to each individual to grab and use these tools."

Let us note the focus on things "external" as opposed to the guidance within. On Word Gems we have repeatedly discussed the perils of cultism, be it the political, religious, or corporate version. When people surrender critical reasoning faculties to some Dear Leader, then "internal guidance systems" go offline and, increasingly, they become more detached from reality, more spiritually insane. Social order crumbles in the wake.

In other words, this spirit-guide is saying that, when we lose touch with our own internal guidance, we become prey to the "harlot-woman".

I must direct you to the "ultimate reality" page for more discussion on Revelation, items we've not discussed on this page. The image of "the Bride", in the original Greek text, is linked to the "holy of holies" of the mind. You must read the details there, but, essentially, the meaning for us is that when we lose touch with the "true self," the "light within," then our internal guidance system will go offline. We will not recognize the smiling, deceptive allure of the "harlot-woman."

And this is the state of much of the world today. People are materialistic, venal and subject to venery, and know nothing of the inner guidance. They're easily led by plastic smiles, empty promises, and fake-news charges against those who attempt to safeguard freedoms.

The spirit-guide said that this kind of detachment from the inner light will result in dystopia, a break-down of social order, of civilization itself.

We can see it happening, and it's "one minute before midnight." Can we turn this around? So many of us are utterly devoid even of common sense, let alone higher evaluative abilities. I think we're about to be led into a severe classroom.

a short restatement

The problem is much larger than a “Beast and False Prophet”, with celebrity status, oppressing the Earth. As we’ve learned, “we are the world, we are society,” the seeds of evil reside comfortably in each one of us. The spirit of the “Beast and False Prophet”, brute force and deception, pervades the entire unenlightened planet, and vast regions of the next world, as well.

This systemic cancer is the entire reason why this “this world cannot be saved, only transcended; cannot be fixed, only forsaken.” The dysfunctional ego, fueling and giving rise to this pandemic chaos, cannot be reformed, only displaced with a rising tide of inner “soul energies.” All this serves as translation of a cryptic phrase in an ancient book, describing the fate of the “Beast and False Prophet” who are “thrown alive into the lake of fire.”

Alive! – active to the end; until a purging by fire, a coming to incendiary spiritual awareness, renders them ineffective. When this occurs, it does so only on an individual basis, one at a time, never a wholesale "saving" of a group.

mindlessly compelled to keep coming at us, and keep coming at us

as we’ve said, it’s like the Joker – you can’t reason with him, he doesn’t care what’s good for him

Recently, a champion of personal liberties scored a major political election victory. This has delivered to the forces of evil a severe blow. Their snake-in-the-grass polices are better understood by a majority now.

But they will be back. Undaunted, on the morning after their shellacking, on one of their talk-shows, we heard this, to the effect:

“We will never stop fighting for our cause. We join together this day in renewed solidarity and dedication, a brotherhood of soldiers pressing forward for our rights. We will regroup. They will think we are defeated, but we will bide our time and strike again, at the right opportunity.”

And this is how evil is perpetuated in this world. The “beast and false prophet” never give up, because their inner neediness, and frothing waywardness, never gives up.

It will not subside, for these hard-core cases, until a thousand years has passed, for them, in the Dark Realms.

Editor's last word:

In Revelation, Satan is also thrown into the Lake of Fire; but he, too, is an abstraction, just a symbol of evil in the world, and not a living entity. I deal with the Satan-myth in a separate article.

Also, see the Jiddu Krishanmurti lectures. For 60 years he gave talks around the world explaining how the seeds of evil reside within each heart of darkness.

'we are the world, we are society'

Very often, Krishnamurti would caution his audiences against blaming others, seeing ourselves as "above." It's not easy to stand down as there’s much aspersion to cast. Right now, we witness the world marching toward totalitarianism, to a degree not seen since the days prior to World War II. Many of us are angry, and we want to believe that if we could just get rid of “the bad guys,” the ones causing all the trouble, then life would be good for all of us “good guys.” But this is illusion.

The seeds of evil, not always unsprouted, reside within each of us. If sufficiently provoked, if blinded to the light within, each person is capable of any atrocity, any brutality, and more, that we’ve seen in history.

In other words, “We are the world. We are society.” We are not exempt, as we too reflect the human condition, and we take with us the vectors of perdition wherever we go. And until we learn to access the light within, there will be no peace and happiness; not on an individual basis nor for the world.

See the Krishnamurti page and especially his "summary" discourse.