The End of the World

Have you ever had a conversation that moved you so deeply that it left you in awe and wonder? A conversation that leaves you with endless amounts of questions? Recently, I had an “in class” conversation that touched my soul and left me in amazement. I never would’ve guessed that I would be involved in such a universal conversation.

I was at my regular Wednesday bible study at my father’s church. Usually we use a book that is about the history of the church. This would be the time that I would normally be thinking of anything from what I would do when I went home to why the ceiling looked so weird. I would think and listen to everything but what I was supposed to. But that night was different. A week prior to this night, a few of my friends at the church had gone to a youth conference in Phoenix, Arizona, called Blaze. The purpose of this conference was to open teens up to the Lord and teach them how to tell others of His good news: Spread the word. So when they came back, our pastor asked them to tell us a little about what they learned. Inevitably, they told us of the worship time and some dramas that were performed in reference to “getting saved” and avoid “going to hell.” However, there was one word that caught my attention: Hell.

I had just seen a movie called “Constantine” which was a story (based on the DC/Vertigo comic book Hellblazer) about irreverent supernatural detective John Constantine (Keanu Reeves), who has literally been to hell and back. It made numerous references to the Devil, God, and angels (good and bad). Unfortunately, this movie left me extremely confused. I didn’t understand much about the movie and I was wondering what was true and what was made up.

Therefore, just as the pastor was going to speak about John Wycliffe, I asked him, “Have you seen ‘Constantine’? Because I’m confused.” I began to ask questions about hell and how the Devil came about. Following my lead, all of the other people in my class began to ask questions as well. This had been, by far, the most intriguing conversation I’d been involved in. The pastor explained that the Devil was once one of three guardian angels. His name was Lucifer and he wished to be God, therefore, he was “kicked out” of Heaven and he became “The Fallen Angel.” And in this process, he convinced 1/3 of God’s angels to turn away from God and follow him (the Devil). These angels are now known