Rest Where You May

Interestingly enough, there is no 'official' biblical description of Hell nor Lucifer. One can attribute the vision of an organized, multi-layered place of torture to the creativity of writers much greater than myself. The Lucifer we identify originates from misconceptions experienced by ancestors who were too closed-minded to fully comprehend the scriptures and deities of other religions. Regardless, in virtually every single belief system, the afterlife of the damned and the one entity responsible for it all varies endlessly in both consequence and appearance.

This leads me to believe that Hell is what we make of it. In the past, the fears of people were simple; thus, the simple image of a fiery pit would be forever accepted in our minds. However, as we (and our fears) become more complex, our eternal suffering takes on new and horrifying forms. As with Lucifer, people dream up of new ways to represent the symbol of everything fallen over the years and reinvent him in, previously, unimaginable forms. If Hell is truly a place of ultimate punishment, it would make sense if the realm itself changes in accordance with what we fear the most and its ruler assume the appropriate form.

If Heaven is meant to be the opposite, the place of ultimate reward for the righteous, does it follow the same rules? Are we the architects of our own Heaven and Hell, based on the fears and joys of our souls? Certainly no one form of either destination would sufficiently serve to effectively torment or uplift every single human being.