[Essay Today] Lucifer

The solar system consists of the Sun, eight planets, and about 160 moons orbiting them. In addition, it includes numerous asteroids, comets, meteors, meteorites, and interstellar matter forming faint clouds. The Sun is a star. It emits light and heat by itself and remains stationary without moving.

Planets are celestial bodies orbiting a star but do not emit their own light. They are divided into terrestrial planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars) and Jovian planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune). Terrestrial planets are smaller in size and mass but have high density and rocky surfaces. Jovian planets are larger in size and mass but have low density and lack rocky surfaces.

Mercury orbits closest to the Sun, followed by Venus in the second closest orbit. Venus can be seen in the eastern sky before sunrise or in the western sky after sunset. To the naked eye, it appears as a dot, but through a telescope, its phases change like the Moon.

We call Venus the 'morning star.' The Sino-Korean term is Gyemyeongseong (啓明星). In the West, it is called Venus. In ancient Greece, it was called Aphrodite, the name of a beautiful woman. In Christianity, it was called Lucifer. This is the Latin translation of the Hebrew word 'Helel,' recorded in the Book of Isaiah in the Bible as 'the son of the dawn goddess, the morning star.' It was used to mock the proud king of Babylon. Just as the morning star shines briefly and disappears when morning comes, it prophesied the end of the king's fate.

The time of the universe as humans perceive it passes slowly. 'God's justice' also seems slow. However, to God, 'a thousand years are like yesterday that has passed, or a brief moment of the night.' Humanity observed the last 'Venus transit' of the 21st century, which began in 2012 today. A transit occurs when a planet closer to the Sun than Earth passes across the Sun's face. It happens when the planet is aligned in a straight line between Earth and the Sun. There were two Venus transits in the 21st century (2004 and 2012). The next transit is expected to occur on December 10-11, 2117. Most readers of this article will have left their earthly dwellings by then. But to God, it will happen 'soon.'

In Christianity, Lucifer was an angel who served God. Originally created good, he became a fallen being due to pride, turning into an evil spirit, Satan. Since God is omniscient and omnipotent, how did Satan come to be? Christianity explains that "all that Satan does is limited and under God's sovereignty." Satan is like Sun Wukong trapped in Buddha's palm. At the end of the world, he is destined to fall into the eternal lake of fire and brimstone. Also, the reason God allows Satan's evil deeds is to bestow greater grace upon humans. In the Old Testament, God listens to Job's prayers and doubles his possessions.

Having passed through those sorrowful days of May, I finally look back and pray. God, consider human evil and judge without missing a single hair. Even if the bloodstained demons live out their natural lives and depart, a handful of light of justice and hope must remain at the bottom of the earth. Therefore, Matthew foretold: "When that day comes... all those who cause others to sin and commit evil deeds will be gathered and thrown into the fiery furnace. There they will weep and gnash their teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father's kingdom."

Heo Jin-seok, poet and professor at Korea National Sport University