THE FIRE AND THE WORM1
Torment by fire was a recurrent motif in early Christian depictions of Hell. In the late first century, the author of the Book of Revelation foretold how the armies of Gog and Magog assembled against the saints would be consumed by fire from heaven, “and the devil who had deceived them would be thrown into a lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night for ever and ever” (Revelation 20.10). No description of Hell’s topography and the tortures practiced there was more popular in medieval Europe than the Apocalypse of Paul. An anonymous work of the third century, this text purported to describe a vision of Heaven and Hell experienced by the apostle Paul, who spread the message of Christ to the Greeks and the Romans in the first century CE. Allegedly discovered alongside the apostle’s shoes in a marble box hidden in the foundation of his house in Tarsus, the Apocalypse of Paul revealed for Christian readers a nightmarish landscape of molten rivers, where “angels of Tartarus” oversaw the punishment of men and women, each torture tailored for their specific sins. Singled out for suffering were church officials (bishops, deacons, etc.) who had failed to fulfill the duties of their office. While fire was the dominant form of punishment in Paul’s vision, many sinners were also eaten alive by gnawing worms, abused by hellish angels, plunged into deep pits, and tormented by extreme cold. This apocryphal text was not accepted into the canon of Christian scriptures, but this did not prevent it from circulating widely throughout medieval Europe.
When the angel had ceased speaking to me, he led me outside beyond the city through the trees and back from the places of the land of good things, and he set me at the river of milk and honey. And after that, he led me to the ocean that bears the foundation of heaven. The angel responded and said to me, “Do you know that you are departing this place?” And I said, “Yes, Lord.” And he said to me, “Come and follow me, and I will show you the souls of the impious and the sinners, so that you may know what kind of place they have.” And I went with the angel and he took me toward the setting of the sun and I saw the beginning of heaven built upon a great river of water, and I asked, “What is this river of water?” And the angel said to me, “This is the ocean that surrounds the entire earth.” And when I was at the farthest reaches of the ocean, I looked and there was no light in that place, but only shadows and sadness and sorrow, and I sighed.
And I saw there a burning river of fire, and in it there was a crowd of men and women sunk up to their knees, and other men up to their navels, and indeed others up to their lips, and others up to their hair. And I asked the angel and said, “Lord, who are these people in the river of fire?” And the angel responded and said to me, “They are neither hot nor cold, for they have not been found in the reckoning of the just or the reckoning of the impious. For these people spent their lifetime on earth sometimes occupied in prayer, but sometimes occupied in sins and fornication until they died.” And I asked and said, “Who are these ones, Lord, sunk up to their knees in the fire?” In response, he said to me, “These are the ones who, when they came forth from church, busied themselves in unsuitable conversations. But the ones who have been sunk up to the navel are those who, after they had received the body and blood of Christ, went and fornicated and did not stop in their sinning until they died. And the ones sunk up to the lips are those who slandered each other when they gathered in the church of God. And the ones sunk up to their eyebrows were those who conspired with one another, plotting evil against their neighbor.”
And I saw to the north a place of various and diverse torments full of men and women, and the river of fire flowed upon them. I looked and I saw pits great in depth and in them were many souls together and the depth of the pit was about three thousand cubits and I saw the souls groaning and crying and saying, “Have mercy upon us, Lord” and yet, no one had mercy upon them.2 And I asked the angel and said, “Who are they, Lord?” And in response, the angel said to me, “These are the ones who placed no hope in the Lord as a helper.” And I asked and said, “Lord, if these souls remain like this, piled one upon the other for thirty or forty generations, unless they are cast deeper down, I do not believe that the pits will hold them all.” And he said to me, “The abyss has no end, for beyond this follows what lies beneath it. And it is such that if someone hurled a stone with great strength and aimed it into a very deep pit and it took many hours for it to hit the bottom, this abyss is like that too. Indeed, when souls are cast in there, they barely reach the bottom after forty years have passed.” Truly, when I heard this, I mourned and groaned for the human race. In response, the angel said to me, “Why do you mourn? Are you more merciful than God? Indeed, since God is good and he knows that there are punishments, he treats the human race with patience, allowing each person to do their own will during the time that he or she dwells upon the earth.”
Yet I looked back at the river of fire and I saw there a man seized by the throat by angels of Tartarus, holding in their hands an iron implement with three hooks, with which they were piercing the entrails of this old man. And I asked the angel and said, “Lord, who is this old man who suffers such torments?” In response, the angel said to me, “The man whom you see was a presbyter, who did not fulfill his ministry well. When he was eating and drinking and fornicating, he was also offering Lord’s sacrifice at his holy altar.”
And I saw not far off another old man, whom four evil angels were leading, running with great haste, and they submerged him up to his knees in the river of fire and they struck him with stones and wounded his face like a storm and they did not allow him to say, “Have mercy on me.” And I asked the angel, and he said to me, “This one whom you see was a bishop, and he did not fulfill his duties well. Indeed, he received a great title, but he did not enter into the holiness of the one who gave the name to him for his entire life, because he made no just judgment and he had no pity for widows and orphans. But now it is paid back to him according to his iniquity and his works.”
And I saw another man sunk up to his knees in the river of fire. His hands were stretched out and covered in blood, and worms poured out of his mouth and nostrils, and he was moaning and lamenting. And crying out, he said, “Have mercy upon me, for I am suffering more than any of the others who are subject to this punishment!” And I asked, “Who is this, Lord?” And the angel said to me, “This one whom you see was a deacon, who ate the offerings and fornicated and did no right in the sight of God. For this reason, he suffers this torment forever more.”
And I looked and saw at his side another man, whom they brought out in haste and they cast him into the river of fire, and he was sunk up to his knees. And an angel in charge of his torments arrived with a long flaming knife, with which he sliced the lips of this man and his tongue as well. And with sighs, I wept and asked, “Who is that man, Lord?” And he said to me, “That one whom you see was a lector and he read to the people, but he did not follow God’s commandments, so now he suffers this particular torment.”
And I saw another multitude of pits in the same place and in their midst a river filled with a crowd of men and women, and worms were devouring them. But I wept and with sighs I asked the angel and said, “Lord, who are these ones?” And he said to me, “These are people who demanded interest upon interest [on loans they had made] and placed their trust in their riches, holding out no hope in God, that he would be a helper to them.”
And thereafter I looked and saw another exceedingly narrow place, and there was something like a wall and fire all around it. And I saw inside men and women gnawing on their own tongues, and I asked, “Who are these ones, Lord?” And he said to me, “These are people who diminished the word of God in church, paying no attention to it, but acting as though the Lord and his angels meant nothing. For this reason, they now likewise suffer this particular torment.”
And I looked and saw another old man down in the pit and his appearance was like blood, and I asked and said, “Lord, what is thi
s place?” And he said to me, “Into this pit flows every torment.” And I saw men and women sunk up to their lips and I asked, “Who are these ones, Lord?” And he said to me, “These are sorcerers who provided magical deceptions to men and women and they could find no rest until they died.”
And again I saw men and women with a very dark appearance in a pit of fire, and with sighs I cried and asked, “Who are these ones, Lord?” And he said to me, “These are fornicators and cheaters who had wives of their own and committed adultery; likewise, the women who already had husbands cheated in the same way. For this reason, they suffer these torments forever more.”
And I saw there girls draped in black garments and four terrifying angels holding in their hands flaming chains, which they put on the necks of the girls and led them into the darkness. And again with tears I asked the angel, “Who are these ones, Lord?” And he said to me, “These are girls who had been virgins, but had lost their virginity without their parents’ knowledge. For this reason they suffer these particular torments forever more.”
And again, I saw there men and women whose hands and feet had been hacked off. They were naked in a place of ice and snow, and worms devoured them. Seeing them, I cried and asked, “Who are these ones, Lord?” And he said to me, “These are people who harmed orphans and widows and the poor and placed no hope in the Lord. For this reason, they suffer these particular torments forever more.”
And I looked and saw others hanging over a channel of water, and their tongues were very dry, and many pieces of fruit were near at hand, but they were not allowed to consume them. And I asked, “Who are these ones, Lord?” And he said to me, “These are people who broke their fast before the proper time. For this reason, they suffer these particular torments forever more.”
And I saw other men and women strung up by their eyebrows and hair and the river of fire dragged at them. And I said, “Who are these ones, Lord?” And he said to me, “These are people who did not commit themselves to their own husbands and wives but to adulterers. And for this reason, they suffer these particular torments forever more.”
And I saw other men and women covered in dust and their appearance was like blood. And they were in a pit of pitch and sulfur and hastening away in the river of fire. And I asked, “Who are these ones, Lord?” And he said to me, “These are people who committed the wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah, men upon men. Because of this, they suffer these torments forever more.”
And I looked and saw men and women dressed in white clothes, having blind eyes and placed in a pit. And I asked, “Who are these ones, Lord?” And he said to me, “These are pagans who gave alms and yet did not recognize the Lord God. Because of this, they suffer these torments forever more.”
And I looked and saw other men and women upon a flaming spit, and beasts were tearing at them, and they were not allowed to say, “Have mercy upon me, Lord.” And I saw the angel of torments subjecting them to the worst torture and saying, “Recognize the son of God. For it was preached to you, but you did not listen when the holy scriptures were read to you. Because of this, the judgment of God is just. Your own evil actions have seized you and led you into these torments.” But with sighs and tears, I asked, “Who are these men and women who are strangled in this fire and suffer these torments?” And he responded to me, “These are women who defiled the creation of God when they aborted infants from the womb, and those are the men who lay with them.” Indeed, the infants of these women addressed the Lord God and the angels in charge of the torments, saying, “Protect us from our parents, for they have defiled the creation of God. They possessed the name of God but did not follow his commandments. They abandoned us to be eaten by dogs and trampled by pigs. Others they cast into the river.” But these infants were delivered to the angels of Tartarus in charge of the torments, who led them to a spacious place of mercy. But their fathers and mothers were tortured in everlasting torment.
And after this, I saw men and women wrapped in clothing full of pitch and burning sulfur and there were dragons coiled around their necks and shoulders and feet, and angels with fiery horns grasped them and struck them and blocked up their nostrils, saying to them, “Why did you not know the time when it was right for you to repent and serve God and you did nothing?” And I asked, “Who are these ones, Lord?” And he said to me, “These are people who seemed to make a renunciation to the Lord (during baptism), wearing our habit, but the hindrances of the world made them miserable and unable to show love. They had no pity on widows and orphans, received no stranger or pilgrim, made no offering, and had no pity on their neighbor. Their prayer did not ascend pure to the Lord God even one day, but the many hindrances of the world held them back and they could not do right in the sight of God, and the angels surrounded them in the place of torments.”
* * *
And with sighs, I wept and said, “Woe to humankind! Woe to sinners! Why were they born?” And in response, the angel said to me, “Why do you weep? Are you more merciful than the Lord God, who is blessed forever, who established the judgment and left everyone to choose good and evil by their own will and to do what they please?” Still I wept again very strongly and he said to me, “You weep, when you have not yet seen the torments that are greater still? Follow me and you will see torments seven times worse than these.”
And he took me to the north and set me over a pit, and I found that it was sealed with seven seals. And the angel who was with me said to the angel in charge of that place, “Open the mouth of the pit, so that Paul, the most beloved of God, can look, because the power was given to him to see all of the torments of Hell.” And the angel said to me, “Stand back, so that you can endure the stench of this place.” Therefore, when the pit had been opened, immediately a harsh and very evil stench arose from it, which surpassed all of the torments. And I looked into the pit and I saw fiery heaps burning on every side, and there was anguish, and the mouth of the pit was so narrow that it fit only one person at a time. And the angel responded and said to me, “If anyone is thrown into this pit of the abyss and it is sealed over him, there will never be a memory of them in the sight of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit and the holy angels.” And I said, “Who are these ones, Lord, who are thrown into the pit?” And he said to me, “They are people who did not confess that Christ had come in the flesh and that the Virgin Mary bore him and whoever says that the bread and the cup of the blessing of the Eucharist is not the body and blood of Christ.”
And I looked farther north and I saw there the worm that does not sleep and in that place there was a gnashing of teeth. The worms had a length of one cubit and there were two heads on them. And I saw there men and women in the cold and gnashing their teeth. And I asked and said, “Lord, who are these ones in this place?” And he said to me, “These are the people who said that Christ did not rise from the dead and that his flesh did not rise again.” And I asked and said, “Lord, is there no fire or heat in this place?” And he said to me, “In this place there is nothing except for cold and snow.” And again, he said to me, “Indeed, if the sun rose upon them, they would feel no warmth because of the extreme cold of this place and the snow.”
Hearing this, I extended my hands and wept and with sighs, I said once more, “It would be better for us if we had never been born because we are all sinners!”
THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS1
The earliest Christians esteemed the Jewish patriarchs and prophets as messengers who foretold the coming of Christ, but theologians wrestled with the problem of the fate of these righteous Jews after death. Would everyone who lived before Christ’s earthly ministry be damned to eternal torment simply because of the bad timing of their birth? Augustine of Hippo (354–430 CE) drew on the prophet Hosea 13.14 (“I will deliver them from the power of death. I will redeem them from death. O death, I will be your death”) to argue that Christ descended into the underworld after his death upon the cross to rescue the Jewish patriarchs and prophets, who
had expressed their faith in him as a hidden mystery. On account of their faith, they did not reside in Hell, but in a place adjacent to it known as “the bosom of Abraham,” where they awaited Christ’s birth in peace. Augustine and other theologians found evidence for this inference in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16.19–31). While the rich man was unmistakably confined to Hell for his sins, Lazarus was in close proximity to him, yet comforted in Abraham’s bosom. Later Christian tradition identified Lazarus’s location not as Paradise, but as a part of the underworld known as “the Limbo of the Patriarchs.”
There was a rich man who dressed in purple and fine linen and feasted every day in a splendid fashion. And there was a poor man named Lazarus who lay at his gate covered in sores, longing to be fed by the scraps that fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, the dogs came and licked his sores. Eventually, the poor man died and was carried by angels to the bosom of Abraham. The rich man died as well and was buried. While he was tormented in Hell, raising his eyes he could see Abraham far off and Lazarus resting in his bosom. And calling out, the rich man said, “Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus to touch the tip of his finger in water to cool my tongue, for I am suffering in this flame.” And Abraham said to him, “Son, remember how you received good things in your life and Lazarus received bad things, but now here he is comforted, while you in turn suffer. And besides there is a great chasm between us and you, so that those who wished to pass from here to you could not, nor could anyone cross from there to us.” And the rich man said, “Then I beg you, Father, to send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them, lest they themselves wind up in this place of torments as well.” But Abraham said to him, “They have Moses and the prophets; let them listen to them.” And the rich man said, “No, Father Abraham, but if one from among the dead goes to them, they will repent.” And Abraham said to him, “If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.”
The Penguin Book of Hell Page 5
