The Celestial City

 

As one whose “journey of faith” had been anything but clean and simple, now with the passing of time I can honestly proclaim there are evil forces at work here on planet earth and beyond.  These forces are powerful, well-organized and committed to their purpose.  They have a hierarchy and there is one at the top.  They exist to create chaos and confusion, to transform what was created as good in the beginning into something they can claim as their own.  Some say they know they will ultimately be defeated but in the time that is left are doing everything they can to make life worse and take as many souls with them as possible.

As a Christian I believe what the Bible says about this.  I have also noticed that many other religions and traditions acknowledge the existence of evil forces; spirits to be more precise.  And they have names.  Some of those named in the Bible are likely the same spiritual beings in other religions but with different names. 

But for now, sticking with the Bible there are over 300 passages of scripture referring to evil spirits, the devil, Satan, Lucifer, etc. If one professes to be a Christian, they would be hard-pressed to deny the reality of evil spirits and their leader.  And if one should consider what the Bible says about these evil spirits and their leader, they would know that these spirits do not come wearing a red jump suit with horns, a tail and a pitchfork. Most often they come as a thought or an idea.  Sometimes they are delivered intentionally or otherwise by someone who looks a lot like us. But most often they simply arrive at the door of our soul like a package we weren’t expecting and dare not to open.  Yet sometimes we do open the package and are seldom ever the same.

We are now in a time when the those who deliver evil are lined up at the door.  Content that would have been banned 50 years ago is now mainstream.  Words, images, music and what has come to represent news, opinion, influence and entertainment conspire to tempt us, teach us and lead us astray. We are told what is good and what is bad, what is permissible and that truth is our own, as long as we are tolerant, inclusive and kind.

In John Bunyan’s classic Pilgrim's Progress, Christian and Faithful are on a treacherous journey to the Celestial City but must first pass through Vanity.  Here there is a Fair that goes on throughout the year.  Satanic personages identified as Beelzebub, Apollyon and Legion control Vanity and the Fair.  All the temptations of the world are in the marketplace.  Few of those who attempt to reach the Celestial City successfully pass through Vanity Fair without being drawn away.  

I’ll say no more lest I spoil the story.  It is enough to say that we are living in a modern day Vanity Fair where the marketplace of temptations has become omnipresent and inescapable.  And the question remains how does one reach the Celestial City?

“For to speak the truth, there are but few that care thus to spend their time, but choose rather to spend their time to be speaking of things to no profit.”- John Bunyan, Pilgrim’s Progress