December 2021

The Keys of Hell and of Death

May 23, 2023

Speckled throughout the divine scriptures that make up the corpus of writings which we know today as the New Testament of the Holy Bible, do we come across the imagery of keys: the kind of instruments which have the ability to open and shut or lock and unlock a door. These specific “keys” mentioned in the New Testament are not necessarily meant to signify physical keys that we all use to open physical doors, but rather refers to the types of spiritual keys which open spiritual doors. For example, in both the Gospels and in the book of Revelation the Lord speaks of certain “keys” that are understood to represent a deeper spiritual mystery and allegory. For in Revelation 1:18 Jesus states, “I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.” This passage reveals that Jesus, being the firstborn from the dead, has power and dominion over hell and death. For if one holds the key to something, that person has the power over that something. This argument is confirmed by Christ after His resurrection when He told His disciples, “…all power is given unto me in heaven and in earth” (Matthew 28:18). So as we shall see, Jesus not only possesses the key of death, but also holds the key of life, which unlocks untold blessings upon all those who serve God and follow His commandments.

It is interesting to note that even though hell and death are interrelated, the Lord refers to hell and death as two separate things. This is revealed when Christ says that He holds the “keys” and not the “key” of hell and death. This fact is further confirmed in Revelation when Jesus opens the fourth seal. For it is written, “And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him…” (Revelation 6:7-8). Going further at the time of the final judgment the Bible tells us that, “…the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:13-14). So here we see that death and hell are indeed two separate things, yet at the same time both are closely related. In fact part of their kinship lies in their total opposition to the very nature of the Almighty. God is life, not death and God dwells in heaven, not hell. So hell being a place without life, makes it the abode of death: a place of everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41).

In other passages of Revelation Jesus states that He possesses the key of David, and emphasizes His spiritual power as the one who, “…opens, and no one shuts; and shuts, and no one opens” (Revelation 3:7). So again we see the complete authority that Christ has been given over creation, both in the physical as well as in the spiritual realms. In the Gospel we see Jesus sharing His authority with Simon Peter. For when God the Father revealed the divinity of Jesus Christ to St. Peter, the Lord praised His disciple and stated that He would build His church upon his leadership, and that the gates of hell would not prevail against it. Christ also gave Peter the keys to the kingdom of heaven and granted His disciples the authority to bind and loose sins (Matthew 16:17-19). Now this may be a stretch, but I would argue that all people who believe in their heart that Jesus is the Son of God also have the keys to the kingdom of heaven. For in God’s plan of salvation, faith in Jesus is the key which opens the gate to the kingdom of heaven (Romans 10:9).

Continuing in Revelation we see that after the seventh seal is opened, seven angels are given seven trumpets and the sounding of each of these trumpets ushers in more, and more of the various judgments of God. For it would happen when the fifth angel sounded, that a star fell from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit (Revelation 9:1). This star which falls from heaven is believed to be an angel, due to a verse from the book of Job which reveals that at the beginning of time when God laid the foundations of the earth, “…the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy” (Job 38:7). Other schools of thought hold that the star is actually a fallen angel, since the same verse says that this star fell from heaven, just as the devil and the other rebellious angels fell from heaven (Revelation 12:9). But the most important factor of this verse has to do with the key of the bottomless pit that was given to the star or angel. Going further scripture says that the key to the bottomless pit was given to the angel, so that means the angel was given permission to open the pit with that key. And since all things originate with God and due to the fact that Christ holds the keys of hell and death, then we can justifiably assume that the one who gave the angel the key to the bottomless pit was none other than the Lord Jesus Christ, the one Who possesses the key to the gates of hell.

Another key which Christ spoke of is the key of knowledge. For in Luke’s Gospel we see Jesus warning and chastising the lawyers by saying unto them, “Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered (Luke 11:52). So here it is revealed that the responsibility of those placed in authority is to guide the people and impart unto others the knowledge which they have been initiated into themselves. Alas this key of knowledge was not given to the people in Jesus’s day and the ones who possessed the key ended up casting it aside, so that they could not enter into the way of knowledge themselves, and on top of things they even tried to stop others who were entering into enlightenment on their own. Knowledge is power, and God has spoken through the prophets by saying, that His people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6). The importance of gaining knowledge is emphasized all throughout the Bible. For example, the wise king Solomon wrote in the book of Proverbs that the principle thing in this life is to acquire knowledge, and in the New Testament the Apostle Paul encourages us to study to show ourselves approved ( 2 Timothy 2:15). So by applying ourselves mentally to the study of God’s Word, are we given the key that unlocks our spiritual understanding, even granting us the very mind of Christ.

In conclusion, whether we are speaking on the keys of hell and death, or if we are personally seeking the key of knowledge, the fact remains that Christ holds all these keys and ultimately all the power within them resides in Him. Not only does Christ have the authority to unlock spiritual doors with spiritual keys, His holy hands also break the seven seals which unlock the fearsome and terrible judgments of God. And since it is Jesus that saves, then it would seem that it is Christ Himself that is the key that opens the door to Paradise. Just as Cherubims were placed to guard the tree of life, after Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden, so too has Christ unlocked the door which separated mankind from the kingdom of God. So, in God’s plan for the salvation of mankind does Jesus Christ (The Son and Word of God) serve as the master key which opens the gates of heaven to humanity, and Who unlocks the grace of God to mortals granting His children everlasting life. Amen.

 

References:

Nelson. The Holy Bible, New King James Version. (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 1984).

Zondervan. The Holy Bible, King James Version. (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2009).

The Arab Conquest of Central Asia

May 23, 2023

The geographical area known as Central Asia, lies in a region of Asia who’s territories span from the Caspian Sea to the west to China in the east, and from Iran in the south to Russia in the north. The names of these countries belonging to this part of the world include: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan along with Afghanistan, which is considered by some to also be a part of Central Asia. Historically, Central Asia was a part of the trading routs connected to the famous Silk Road. For due to it’s location, Central Asia became the crossroads of commerce and enterprise between Europe and Asia in the centuries past. In pre-Islamic and early Islamic times, the racial demographics of Central Asia were comprised mostly of Persian and Turkic stock, with both Iranian and Turkish languages spoken. In the realm of religion (prior to the introduction of Islam) the three main faiths of Central Asia were Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, and Manichaeism. However, as we shall see, Islam would become the dominant religion of the region in the early part of the 8th century as a result of the Arab conquest of Central Asia. For after the death of Mohammad in 632 AD, his successors would go on to spread the religion of Islam all the way from the Arabian Peninsula into North Africa in the west and into Iran in the east, to an area known as Khorasan. But before the Islamic Caliphate could enter Central Asia, they had to go through Iran, which at this time was ruled by the Persian Sasanian Empire.

The Sasanian Empire, also known as the Neo-Persian Empire, was founded in the year 224 AD by Ardashir I, who named the dynasty as Sasanian in honor of his grandfather, Sasan, and which was also the name of his tribe. The house of Sasan ruled for over four hundred years, until it was overthrown by the Arabs in 651 AD, making it the longest enduring dynasty of all the Persian dynasties. Preceded by the Parthian Empire, the Sasanian Empire would go on to reestablish Persian authority in the region right next to its arch-enemy, the Byzantine Empire. The Byzantines and the Sasanids strove against each other in a series of wars, until the year 628 AD, which marked the final conflict between the two powers. At the end of the fighting, both sides found themselves exhausted with much human life lost and a great amount of material resources wasted. As a consequence of this vulnerability, the Islamic Rashidun Caliphate swiftly conquered the whole of the Sasanid Empire, as well as capturing Byzantine territories in the Levant, the Caucasus, Egypt, and North Africa. In 661 AD the Islamic Umayyad Dynasty came to power and captured even more territory, all the way to the Indus River. It was at this time that the Umayyads fixed their eyes on Central Asia as a potential prize for further expansion.

Now out of all the great military generals that the Umayyad Dynasty produced, none was more honorable than Qutayba ibn Muslim al Baahili. For Qutayba accomplished something that no other Arab chief before him had ever dared to do. And this successful military achievement made by Qutayba was none other than the invasion of Central Asia, “The Land of the Turks.” However, the Arab conquest of Central Asia was not easy, for the Turkic peoples of the steppes fought down to the death against their Arab invaders. The Arabs were indeed impressed with the strength and fighting abilities of the Turks. But in spite of the skills of their worthy opponents, the Arabs were tenacious and with continued attacks over a long period of time, did the Arabs eventually wear down the defenses of the the Turks and finally achieved their goal of conquering the peoples and territories of Central Asia. In addition to the capture of the Turkish areas, in 715 AD Qutayba also conquered the Chinese territories of the steppes and even sent diplomats to the Chinese king Yon Chong to offer him the opportunity to convert to Islam. Later, after some infighting in the Caliphate, Qutayba would eventually be killed by his own men. Upon hearing the news of Qutayba’s death did the Turks rejoice, for it was this man who overpowered the Turks and who also humiliated the Emperors of China.

As devastating as the Arab conquest was for the people of Central Asia, a glimmer of hope would indeed arise from the ashes of their Arabic defeat. For in just a few decades after the war with the Arabs, did Central Asia experience a Golden Age. Not only would the people of the steppes benefit materially from the trade routs connected to the Silk Road, but a blossoming of high intellectual thought and culture would exalt Central Asia onto the world stage as a leading power in the various disciplines of the arts and sciences. For during the time period between 800 and 1100 AD, did the various nations of Central Asia produce many significant people who would go down in history as great mathematicians, astronomers, poets, and architects. As part of the greater Islamic Golden Age, Central Asia flourished in wealth and wisdom alongside her Arab neighbors in the Middle East. Just as Baghdad produced the Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid, who founded the House of Wisdom in the late 8th century, so too did Uzbekistan bless the Islamic Golden Age with the mathematician and polymath Mohammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi, who was appointed the astronomer and head of the library of the House of Wisdom in Baghdad in 820 AD.

Al-Khwarizmi’s contributions to the study of mathematics is legendary. He impressively made many accomplishments in the fields of trigonometry, and also established a particular way to solve linear and quadratic equations, which led to the invention of algebra. For both the mathematical terms algebra and algorithm, would derive their names from al-Khwarizmi, the man who expanded on this particular field of scientific knowledge. In addition to math al-Khwarizmi also studied geography, astronomy, and cartography making huge intellectual contributions towards the advancement of these disciplines. Al-Khwarizmi would go on to assist the caliph al-Ma’mun in a project to determine the circumference of the earth. He was also instrumental in making a map of the world, which he did while overseeing a team of seventy other geographers. Al-Khwarizmi’s discoveries not only benefited the Muslim world, but also made a great impact in the countries of Europe. For in the 12th century his works spread throughout Europe, assisted by the translations of his studies into Latin.

Now just as all good things must come to an end, so too did this melting pot of ideas, religions, and industry go the way of the dodo. A key factor which contributed to this decline, was the heightening of border closures along the trade routs that ran through Central Asia. This led many merchants to seek out alternative trade routs, bypassing the steppes all together. As a result of this weakened economy the wonderful traditions of the arts and sciences, which had been built up over a number of years in Central Asia, suffered tremendously. It has also been speculated that an overemphasis on religion, namely Islam, resulted in a loss of the high culture and the intellectual achievements made at the height of Central Asia’s renaissance.

Apart from the the Arab conquest of Central Asia which occurred in the early 8th century, the Mongols would also go on to conquer Central Asia in the early 13th century. Also in the 14th century much of Central Asia was conquered by Tamerlane. Later in the 19th century, the Russian Empire along with the Qing dynasty of China, were able to expand into the region and capture much of it’s territories. In the 20th century after the Russian Revolution of 1917, the Soviet Union was able to seize control of most of Central Asia. In the post-Soviet era, beginning in 1991, other world powers have taken an interest in Central Asia in the hopes of building positive relationships. Turkey has reached out in order to build links between the western and eastern Turks, and Iran has also successfully worked with the various governments of Central Asia in order to build stronger ties. And although it is debatable if Afghanistan is a part of Central Asia, the fact remains that Afghanistan is the only country in the area which no foreign power has ever been able to conquer, not even by the most powerful superpower in the world: The United States of America. For as history informs us, “Afghanistan is the graveyard of empires.”

 

References:

Axworthy, M. Empire of the Mind: A History of Iran. (New York, NY: Basic Books Inc., 2008).

Daniel, E. The History of Iran. (Westport, Connecticut: The Greenwood Histories of the Modern Nations, 2001).

Glubb, S.J, A Short History of the Arab Peoples. (New York, NY: Barnes & Noble Books, 1995).

Starr, S.F. Lost Enlightenment: Central Asia’s Golden Age from the Arab Conquest to Tamerlane. (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2013).

The Veil of Moses

May 23, 2023

When the holy prophet Moses first encountered the Lord God at the burning bush, the Bible tells us that, “…Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God” (Exodus 3:6). However, as Moses continued to serve the Lord and further advance in his personal relationship with his creator, did Moses boldly ask the Almighty to show him the glory God (Exodus 33:18). The Lord would partially fulfill His servant’s request by showing Moses His back, but not His face. For as the Lord spoke unto Moses saying, “you cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live” (Exodus 33:20). Now even though Moses did not see God’s face, the portion of the glory of God which was revealed unto Moses did indeed make his face shine. So bright in fact, that when Moses came down from the mountain he had to place a veil over his face. For the skin of Moses’ face shone so brightly that the children of Israel were afraid to come near him (Exodus 34:30). Also, though Moses put a veil on his face while speaking to the people, Moses would take the veil off whenever he went in before the Lord to speak with Him. So, now that we have broken ground in this presentation concerning the veil of Moses, let us begin to dig a little deeper as we uncover God’s divine use of veils as revealed in other parts of the holy scriptures.

In addition to the veil that Moses put over his face in order to shield the congregation from the glory of God, the tabernacle in the wilderness which housed the ark of the covenant also had within it a veil which separated the most holy place from the rest of the tent. Later when king Solomon built the temple to house the ark, a large veil was erected in front of the golden room known as the Holy of Holies where the ark was kept. For above the ark, between the two golden cherubs, was the earthly dwelling place and the earthly throne of the LORD God of Israel, the one true God. And this holy presence of God on earth in ancient times, was known as the “shekinah glory.” In the era of the New Testament we see how the skekinah glory was made flesh and dwelt (or tabernacled) among us in the person of Jesus Christ (John 1:14). For included in God’s plan of salvation for all of mankind, was the incarnation of the Son and Word of God. But in order for humanity to not be consumed by the awesome holiness of God, the Lord took flesh from the Virgin Mary and was made man while still possessing the fullness of His divinity. For the human flesh that the Lord took from His earthly mother served as His veil (Hebrews 10:20).

As we continue to compare and contrast the veil of the temple in the Old Testament with the flesh of Jesus in the New Testament, do we come to the tearing of the veil in the temple at the time of Christ’s crucifixion. All three of the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) mention how the veil of the temple was torn in two from the top to the bottom at the moment when Christ died on the cross. For the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ would usher in a new covenant between God and mankind. And the tearing of the veil of the Holy of Holies would symbolize that now all people who accept Christ have access to the presence of God. For through the acceptance of Christ, the Holy Spirit can now enter into the hearts of all believers making our bodies the temple of God and our heart the Holy of Holies where the LORD God dwells and rests therein. For as believers in Jesus do we not only have access to the anointing of God, but also the indwelling of the Holy Spirit: Holy Communion (Revelation 3:20).

Now apart from His veil (that being the flesh which Jesus took from the ever Virgin Mary) Christ also masked His deep spiritual teachings by speaking to the crowds in parables. When the disciples asked Jesus why He spoke to others in parables the Lord answered by saying, “Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given…therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand (Matthew 13:11,13). This spiritual blindness of the Jews in Jesus’s day is also reminiscent of the stubbornness of the children of Israel during the days of their wanderings in the wilderness. For the Lord spoke unto Moses concerning the Israelites saying, “I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiff-necked people (Exodus 32:9). So from these verses it is evident that rebellious souls (those who are devoid of the grace of God) cannot penetrate spiritual mysteries, nor are individuals with hardened hearts able to receive spiritual understanding. For unbelievers possess a darkened or veiled conscience within, making them utterly incapable of grasping teachings which require faith, thereby separating them from the Holy Spirit. For as it is written, without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). So here we see that the Lord not only uses a veil to protect mankind from being consumed by the intense fire which is holy God, but also to inversely darken the understanding of nonbelievers.

In closing I would like to suggest that Christians also see Christ through a veil. Not through the veil of Moses, and neither the veil which is Christ’s flesh, but through the veil which is the mystery of the Holy Spirit. Just as Moses was granted to see the back of God but not His face, so too do Christians in this age know Christ in part (1 Corinthians 13:9). This era of grace of which we now live in, as we expectantly await the Lord’s return, is but a shadow of the things to come. For when Jesus returns in all of His glory will the fullness of the Kingdom of God be established along with a new heaven, a new earth, and even a new Jerusalem. Though Christ has ascended to His Father, Jesus has not left us orphans, as He sends the Holy Spirit to comfort us in His absence. For in this present age do we see Christ through a dark glass, but at His second and glorious advent the veil will be lifted and we shall see God face to face (1 Corinthians 13:12).

 

References:

Nelson. The Holy Bible, New King James Version. (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 1984).

Readers Digest. ABC’s Of The Bible. (Pleasantville, NY: The Readers Digest Association Inc., 1991).

Zondervan. The Holy Bible, King James Version. (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2009).

The Sons of God and The Children of Disobedience

May 23, 2023

According to the Biblical narrative, at the dawn of human history we find in the scriptures a group of individuals known as the sons of God (Genesis 6:2). The Orthodox Church identifies these sons of God found in the sixth chapter of Genesis as the righteous descendants of Seth, the son of Adam, and not fallen angels as other schools of thought teach. Though angels are referred to as sons of God in the book of Job, human beings who are led by the Spirit of God are also classified in the Bible as the sons of God (Romans 8:14). In contrast to the sons of God who serve the Lord faithfully, the Bible also identifies another type of people who walk not after the Spirit of God, and these rebellious individuals are known in the scriptures as the children of disobedience (Colossians 3:6).

In one of His many parables, the Lord Jesus likened the kingdom of heaven unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way (Matthew 13:24-25). Jesus went on to explain this parable by stating that, the man who sowed the good seed is the Lord Himself, and that the field is the world. The good seed are the children of the kingdom, but the tares are the children of the wicked one (Matthew 13:37-38). St. Paul also illustrates that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham (Galatians 3:7). Paul goes on to say that the prince of the power of the air (the devil) is the same spirit that now works in the children of disobedience (Ephesians 2:2). So, from these passages taken from the holy scriptures, it is clearly revealed that there are indeed only two types of people in this world: the children of God, and the children of the devil.

Concerning the resurrection of the dead, the second coming of Christ, and the separating of the sheep from the goats it is revealed that on the day of Judgment those on Christ’s right hand will receive an incorruptible body similar to the glorified body that Christ now has which was given to Him when He rose from the dead. Speaking on the resurrection of the righteous St. John writes, “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is” (I John 3:2). As described in the scriptures Christ’s resurrected body is quite unique in that the Lord can not only pass through walls like a spirit (John 20:19), but His glorified body is also made up of flesh and bones which can be handled (Luke 24:39). So it would seem that at Christ’s resurrection His spirit and His body were merged into one, the same thing which will happen at the resurrection of the just when the soul’s of the believers in heaven will be reunited with their bodies that are in the graves. Like the glorified body of Jesus which is incorruptible and immortal, so too will the sons of God have a resurrected body not subject to aging nor decay and shall inherit the Kingdom of Heaven and enjoy everlasting life.

Now when it comes to the resurrection of the children of disobedience (who’s names were not found written in the book of life) scripture says that they will be cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:15). In addition to unrepentant sinners, death and hell will also be cast into the lake of fire, which the Bible says is the second death. Though scripture does not plainly express what type of body the damned will inherit, we can come to some conclusions as to the nature of the resurrected bodies of the children of disobedience by rightly dividing the Word of Truth. Since the Bible informs us that death will be cast into the lake of fire then this must mean that there is no life in hell. As Leviticus 17:11 tells us, the life of the flesh is in the blood. If there is no life in hell then there can be no blood in hell for there is life in blood. So, from this analysis we could strongly argue that in hell the children of disobedience will possess a body without blood. In the resurrection of the damned, not only will their souls be condemned, but their bodies will also suffer an eternal death, or as it is written: the second death.

In conclusion, from what we read in the New Testament, “The earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God” (Romans 8:19). And as the beloved Apostle John wrote, “In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother. For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous” (I John 3:10-12). So it would appear that the difference between a child of God, and a son of satan is that the sons of God are filled with love for God and their fellow man, whereas the children of disobedience are filled with disdain towards God and filled with hatred and jealousy towards God’s children. And knowing the persecutions that God’s people would suffer from the wicked people in this world, Jesus encouraged His followers by telling them that, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first” (John 15:18).