Port and Starboard

348.  chariots of fire

The great prophet Elijah did not dies, according to 2 Kings 2.  He was with his successor, the prophet Elisha, when "suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven"  (V.11).  Chariots of fire appeared for Elisha in another incident.  He was wanted by the king of Aram, who sent a mighty force to capture him.  Elisha's servant saw the Aramaean troops coming and was terrified.  Elisha said to him,  "Those who are with us are more than those who are with them."  And then the Lord opened the servant's eyes and he saw that "the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. "  This story is one of th eBible's most vivid reminders that there indeed are angels who protect God's people (2Kings 6:8-18).

Star of Virginia

672.  halo

Why do works of art often depict saints and angels with rings of light around their heads?  A halo  (also called a nimbbus)  is an old symbol of divinity, glory, or holiness.  The halo is a way of saying,  "This person [or being] is special in a sacred way."  Halos are never mentioned in the Bible, however. 

Ocean Wave

667.  Michael, Row the Boat Ashore"

This old black spiritual is addressed to the angel Michael.  According to tradition (*thoughnot the Bible itself), the angel Michael is the guide of departed souls to heaven.  Thus in the song, Michael guides the person's soul across the river Jordan  (representing death)  to the shore (heaven).  One verse of the song is "Jordan's river is chilly and wide, /  Milk and honey on the other side,"  Of course, this song sung by slaves might have had another meaning: a plea to be taken across the river (the Ohio, that is) into the nonslaveholding states. 

Simple Flower Basket

198.  Abbadon

This Hebrew word means "destruction" or "ruin."  It is found untranslated in Revelation 9:11, where it is the name of the angle of the bottomless pit.  But in the Old Testament, it is not the name of an angel but of a place, often translated as "hell" or "destruction."  Clearly, with such a name the angel of the bottomless pit is a nasty character.  Milton, in his Paradise Lost, used the name Abaddon for the bottomless pit itself. 

Underground Railroad

956.  the road to hell

"The road to hell is paved with good intentions"--the proverb is used commonly, but who said it first?  The English author and dictionary compiler Samuel Johnson said that "hell is paved with good intentions," and somehow "the road to" got added on later.  It reflects a basic Christian idea:  People can do much evil while thinking they are doing good...

Summer Winds

846.  Stay Tuned

Is hell a series of sadistic TV shows where one is punished by being "channel surfed" from one torturous program to another?  It is in this off-the-wall 1992 comedy, with John Ritter as a couch potato who is sucked in by a satellite dish from hell (literally).  The movies shows that people who neglect their real-life families for TV fantasies will be punished by losing their souls in some very unpleasant programs--forever.  Some inside jokes:  One of the demons is named Crowley and some of the shows are I Love Lucifer and Waynes's Underworld.

Summer Solstice

869.  Summerland

New Agers sometimes refer to the afterlife as "heaven," but for a time the term "Summerland" was popular.  The name comes from the writings of Swedish author Emanuel Swedenborg.