The Inferno: A Biblical Survey of Plagues

By Richie Cooley

This booklet spans the past, present, and future of God's judgment upon communities that are in the midst of moral atrophy. With a special emphasis on an exposition of Numbers 16 and also on current events that are shaping Western culture, this work seeks to call fundamental Christians to remain faithful in troublous times.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Richie Cooley
• Release date: Oct 19, 2016
• ISBN: 9781370076826

Richie Cooley

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The Inferno:

A Biblical Survey of Plagues

by Richie Cooley

Licensed by:

Richie Cooley (2016) [edited: (2018); (2020)]

Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0 International

Email: [e-mail]

Table of Contents

I. Introduction: Valley of Fear

II. Numbers 16:41-50

III. Three Modern Fires

IV. Conclusion: Mountain of Judgment

V. Citations

VI. Works by Me

Before getting started, let’s review a few notes that are common to my writings…

Bible Versions…

*Old Testament Scripture is normally taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE® (NASB), copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

*New Testament Scripture is normally taken from the Analytical-Literal Translation of the New Testament: Third Edition (ALT3). Copyright © 2007 by Gary F. Zeolla of Darkness to Light ministry. Previously copyrighted © 1999, 2001, 2005 by Gary Zeolla.

*For the sake of harmonizing the format, slight changes are sometimes made to the NASB and ALT3 verses.

*The ALT3 distinguishes between singular and plural second-person pronouns by means of an asterisk (*).

Writing Style…

*British spelling is often used, except for the quoted material, which normally employs U.S. spelling.

*The terms LORD, GOD, and Hashem are all ways to describe the personal name of God, also rendered as Yahweh or Jehovah (YHWH).

*Divine pronouns are normally not capitalized, unless they appear that way in Bible versions or other quotes.

*As a general rule, words that appear in brackets within quotes are not found in the original texts, and were added by the translators or are my personal comments, etc.

I. Introduction: Valley of Fear

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote a book which took his readers to the lawlessness of the wild American frontier. The novel is entitled The Valley of Fear, and it is a very engrossing tale. The situation that was described in this valley was somewhat based on actual events (although the real story occurred in Pennsylvania).

In the second half of the novel a young member of a lodge-oriented society moves westward to flee from a murder he committed in Chicago. He comes to a spot that is dominated by a powerful syndicate of organised crime and terror, all issuing from a local chapter of the lodge-society that he belongs to. Partly for the love of a young German woman whom he meets and partly because of apparent necessity, he falls in with the crime syndicate and becomes a notorious criminal himself.

Sir Doyle does a marvellous job of describing the valley of fear. He depicts it as being the height of violence and ruthlessness. Under such a climate as the one portrayed, the average citizen was left in a constant state of dread and sorrow. It would be easy in such circumstances to question the existence of objective justice and of a day of judgment. Unbeknownst to the criminals in the valley, justice was alive and active—only hidden for a necessary period of time.

Modern culture has turned into a valley of fear. Everything seems chaotic and seems to be set ablaze. Science, religion, and politics help form the backbone of any culture, and the lawlessness in these areas has reached a fever pitch. Compare the settled genius of Francis Bacon to the wild ravings of Neil deGrasse Tyson. Compare the holiness and comradery of the early Christian church as found in the book of Acts to the scattered, faithless mess which constitutes the body of Christ now-a-days. Compare the piety of Abraham Lincoln to the maniacal nonsense of the Clintons and Donald Trump. What is happening?

In short, we are in the midst of a proverbial plague set forth by the active providence of God against our rebellious and ungrateful social order.

Join me as I quickly survey one of the Hebrew words for plague found in the Bible. In studying this term we will uncover the solution to the present problems. Afterwards we will revisit the issues of modern science, religion, and politics, and will conclude by glancing at the plagues that are prophesied to come at the very end of the age.

II. Numbers 16:41-50

The Expository Dictionary of Bible Words provides a succinct overview