Although I had him spread terror in the land of the living, Pharaoh and all his hordes will be laid among the uncircumcised, with those killed by the sword, declares the Sovereign LORD. – Ezekiel 32:32

Today's Scripture Reading (August 15, 2023): Ezekiel 32

Sometimes it is easiest to examine some of our beliefs by looking at their reflection in some of our fictional depictions. And many of our beliefs are reflected even in fantasy and science fiction stories. For instance, Star Trek fans recognize the name Gre'thor. It is the antithesis of Sto-vo-kor. Both are depictions of the Klingon afterlife, with Gre'thor representing Hell and Sto-vo-cor mirroring our idea of heaven. Gre'thor is the place of the dishonored, those who did not live their lives according to well-held Klingon values. Souls arrive in Gre'thor on the Barge of the Dead, a ship that Kortar captains. According to Klingon lore, Kortar became more powerful than the Klingon gods who created him, and as his punishment, he is condemned to take the dishonored Klingon souls to their final place of suffering in Gre'thor. The story of Kortar compares to that of Satan, who in pride thought he was greater than God and began a rebellion against God's rule, a revolt which continues today, but one day will end with Satan's condemnation to hell. One of many differences between Kortor and Satan is that Satan is condemned to hell; he is not just a transportation officer for souls headed for hell; hell is also his destination.

We need to understand that the Hebrew Bible's conception of hell is not fully developed, but there is evidently some idea of what hell might be like by the time of Ezekiel. And so, Ezekiel imagines all of the world's powers of which he is aware at the moment of their demise. And all of them, both because of the trouble they caused Israel and their ignorance of the law, were together in a place of punishment. They had gone down into the pit and lay in a position of dishonor. The name of that place is ultimately not important. This is the Gre'thor of the dishonored and the hell of the opponents of God.

Death has always been the great equalizer. Regardless of who we are in life, we will die. Our tombstone will bear two dates, one is our birth and the other our death, and the only difference is how long the dash between the dates might be. And, of course, what it was that we were able to do with that dash. All the wealth and power we might have achieved in life disappears at the moment that we die. In death, we are equal whether we are national leaders or janitors working the night shift. And we will find ourselves with the righteous or the dishonored, depending on how we live our lives. But "here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him" (2 Timothy 2:11).

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Ezekiel 33

Happy Anniversary to my wonderful wife, Nelda.