Better to Reign in Hell than to Serve in Heaven

"It is better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven..." is a line from the epic poem by John Milton, "Paradise Lost".  In evangelical circles, Paradise Lost has a significant impact on how the theology of God and the devil is understood.  While it is a poem, it has shaped the thoughts of men and women of God for years.  As a general rule, it is unwise to subscribe to extra-biblical accounts to shape theology- theology should be shaped by the bible, not the other way around.  Nevertheless, Milton's poem gives us an illustration of the pride of Satan, the fall of man and the fall of everything not God, hence the title, Paradise Lost.  In Book 1, line 260 of the 10 books of Paradise Lost, this is Satan's famous line in a speech that he was giving to fallen angels that rebelled with him.  Satan says that in hell, they would reign secure- because God had not built there.  His idea is that he and his cohorts would be "free" in hell to do as they pleased.  The bible says of Satan in Isaiah 14:14 (see also 2 Thess 2:4) that in his loftiness and his pride, he said to himself, "I shall ascend above the tops of the clouds, I will make myself like the Most High."  Satan is an ambitious fellow if there ever was one.  His desire to usurp the power of God and refusal to bow to God ultimately led to his demise and his dismissal from "heaven" [I placed heaven in quotes because the bible clearly states in Ephesians 6 that spiritual wickedness exists in high places; the bible also states in the book of Revelation that Satan and his angels are not cast down until the final battle, which takes place near the coming of Christ].  A better way to state the previous would be to state that Satan was dismissed from the presence of God.  What we get from this description is a clear picture that Satan is so deceptive that he has even deceived himself to think that he can be equal to God.  How can the created be equal to the Creator?  He is a being, created just like we are created- only not flesh and blood, but spirit.

This brings me to the purpose of this post.  I went to see "Safehouse" with Denzel Washington this weekend.  It was a very good movie.  I think that the part was written for Morgan Freeman because that's who Denzel Washington looked like at the beginning of the movie, before he converted to  his more polished, clean shaven look towards the end.  Freeman wouldn't sell tickets like Washington, so the producers probably said to Denzel, "we're going for a Morgan Freeman type look..."  Washington even donned the signature hoop earring that Morgan Freeman sports off camera. 

Anyway, the lead song on the movie soundtrack is a song by Jay Z and Kanye West ("Watch the Throne" album) featuring singer Frank Ocean and produced by 88 Keys.  The song, admittedly, has a very spellbinding sample of a guitar riff simply repeated and a very alluring drum track which makes for an almost hypnotic sound.  I was nodding my head as the end credits rolled until I started listening to the lyrics.  The lyrics have been thoroughly analyzed by James W. McCarty III (Theology of No Church in the Wild  see also Rap Genius Explanation).  While  I enjoyed reading Mr. McCarty's synopsis and I think that his blog post was brilliantly written, I believe he gives WAY too much credit to Jay Z and to Kanye West for the depth of their lyrical content.  He's exegeting Jay Z's lyrics as if they were scripture and in my opinion he read more into the lyrics than the lyrics actually said.  What got me was the hook of the song, which I do give great credit to McCarty for analyzing and I am in agreement with.  The hook is as follows:

Human beings in a mob
What's a mob to a king? What's a king to a God?
What's a God to a non-believer who don't believe in anything?
Will he make it out alive? Alright, alright, no church in the wild

If you look at the hook, there is a progression of insignificance from a human being in a mob, a mob to a king, a king to a God and finally, a God to a non-believer that doesn't believe anything.  This is a fairly bold statement meant to totally diminish God.  In the eyes of a non-believer, i.e. one that does not even acknowledge that God exists, the lyric is quite true, God is nothing to them.  This is not only a blasphemous statement, it is one that says loudly, I'd rather reign in hell than serve in heaven.  Sure, a non-believer probably does not believe in heaven or hell, but that doesn't mean that they don't exist.  To a BELIEVER like myself, this type of brashness and bravado is trademark of Jay Z.  He is constantly equating himself with God.  He has also subtly stated that he does not believe in God.  I guess he just likes playing with the name of God or taking it in vain, which he does often by calling himself JayHova- a play of the name Jehovah.  Mr. Carter may very well be a "god" to someone, but he is no God.  Ezekiel 28:2 says explicitly:

“Son of man, say to the leader of Tyre, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD,
“Because your heart is lifted up
And you have said, ‘I am a god,
I sit in the seat of gods
In the heart of the seas’;
Yet you are a man and not God,
Although you make your heart like the heart of God—

In other words, come down off the high horse Shawn.  You can become the first trillionaire and NEVER be God.  Truth is, money doesn't make you God.  It may make you think that you are a god.  God is invincible, He is the first and the last, there was NONE before Him and there is NONE beside Him.  Whenever you come off of the 5% trip that man is God and sole controller and develop a real conception of the God of the universe that spoke galaxies into existence, you will realize how insignificant we are as human beings.

Without going into a full blown analysis of the song, let me just say that if Mr. Carter and Mr. West think that this is the "wild", if they experience the hell that awaits "non-believers", that will be, to quote my mother, "sho-nuff, wild!"  There is a true concept of "wild" in that in the absence of God, and the absence of the love of God, EVERYTHING goes wild.  I understand the song to be a dig at organized religion.  I can understand the beef with "organized religion" and that the history of the church is not good in the eyes of many.  Religion has been used to surpress, to kill, to manipulate and to brainwash people for centuries.  However, religion is simply man's attempt at explaining God- what is more important is that each man develop his own personal relationship with Christ.  When men "act bad" in the name of religion, moreover, in the name of Christianity, it places a stain on all Christians but it does not define the movement.  It defines the actions of those particularly depraved individuals.  My suggestion to these gentlemen is to seek God for yoursleves instead of subscribing to a narrow, myopic view of what you perceive as religion.  The preface to the book "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan makes a very astute observation in that if the church acted the way it was supposed to act, non believers could no longer use it as a scapegoat and would finally have to admit that it's not "organized religion" that they don't subscribe to, but the God that "organized religion" i.e. Christianity worships.  The One that is greater than our grandiose delusions of ourselves.

With that being said, I don't see the song as groundbreaking or awe-inspiring.  Yes, it has some controversial words in it.  Sure,  it has brought the conspiracy theorists out in droves to analyze the lyrics and make some sort of connection between Mr. Carter and Mr. West and the illuminatti.  My feeling is that the devil is real and whether he works through some shadowy organization or not, he's a real being with real power and he can only be defeated through Christ Jesus.  What I see from this particular song is two men that have made the decision to reign in hell rather than serve in heaven.  Their choice to denounce "religion" is actually their choice to denounce Christ.  Making themselves out as the Trinity with Carter "flows the Holy Ghost",  Christ as simply the carpenter and West laying down the beats is absolutely astonishing.  The blasphemous and hedonistic messages in the song point to two lost souls whose minds are blinded by the god of this world, Satan.  10 years ago, you couldn't pay me to say anything like this about anything hip-hop; but time, wisdom, discernment and a true relationship with Christ allows me to see things now that I didn't see as a younger man.  These men are downright foolish.  But men that do not fear the Almighty do foolish things.  Proverbs 26:12 says that there is more hope for a fool that there is for a man that is wise in his own estimation.

I don't know if either of these guys sold their soul.  I think that is an ironic statement in itself because your soul belongs to God and you cannot sell what does not belong to you.  What IS possible is to live your life in such a way that your allegiance is to Satan.  Here is the problem with that.  Whatever Satan promises will eventually crumble.  He promised Jesus kingdoms in exchange for worship- Jesus has riches and a kingdom in glory that is eternal, why would he accept brick and mortar?  Any promise from Satan could never be fulfilled simply because he cannot tell the truth.  If he promised you that you would reign in hell with him, that's not possible because hell represents the END of Satan's reign on earth, the END of sin, the END of Hades and the END of death (Revelation 20).  Not only will you not reign with him, you will suffer the same fiery fate that he does.  Jesus says that he is a murderer and a liar and the truth is not in him (John 8:44).  Anyone presumptuous enough to accept Satan's fool's gold has a serious problem.   According to Mr. Carter, "Jesus can't save you and life begins when the church ends..."  Again, he's confusing the "church" with the "Church".  The building versus the Body of Christ- two different things.  One, the building, you can go into on Sunday morning and leave and have nothing change about you.  The other, the Body, causes us to change through a transformative relationship with Christ, and as such, become a functioning part of His body to carry out His work and will in the earth.

Before you attack anything, be sure that you understand it.  Mr. Carter and Mr. West have attacked religion (man-made) in a feeble attempt to call God on the carpet.  Religion doesn't equate to God- it's that simple.  God is to be worshipped, not religion.  God alone sits on the throne, not any rapper or rappers with overblown egos.  Get a clear understanding of who God IS and there will be no confusion between God and religion.  The true and living God transcends religion.  It is my prayer that both of these brothers see the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ before it is too late. 

Just like Satan lied to Eve in the garden of Eden and told her that she would become "like God", he has lied to this New Age generation and has them believing that they can be "like God".  He lured Eve into sin and he has lured the prideful brood of vipers known as post-modern man into the same sin.  The good news is that no matter how deep in sin one is, there is a way out.  That same carpenter referenced in the song, died on a cross to save us from the penalty of sin and to bring us back into fellowship with the Father.  There is even a way out for the atheist and the hedonist, if they are willing to accept it.  If we are willing to forego our presuppositions about God and are willing to admit that we are sinful and are willing to repent of sin, Christ is right there to say to you, as the father of the prodigal son said to him, welcome home, my son or my daughter...you were dead and now you are alive.  You can be made alive in Christ today and serve in heaven in eternity- there is no shame in that.  I'd rather serve in heaven than to reign in hell.

Photo Credit: Satan, as drawn by Gustave Dore, in John Milton's Paradise Lost.