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Job's Evil Dreams Butts Set of Illustrations for the Book of Job Page 11 |
This is the Legend on the engraving which Blake later made of this image:
My bones are pierced in me in the night season: and my sinews take no rest (Job 30:17)
My skin is black upon me, and my bones are burned with heat (Job 30:30)
. . . the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment (Job 20:5)
. . . for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light . . . his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness (II Corinthians 11:14-15)
Then thou scarest me with dreams, and terrifiest me through visions (Job 7:14)
Why do ye persecute me as God, and are not satisfied with my flesh? Oh that my words were now written! oh that they were printed in a book! That they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock for ever! For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me (Job 19:22-27)
Who opposeth & exalteth himself above all that is called God, or is worshipped (II Thessalonians 2:4)"
Job 30
[16] And now my soul is poured out upon me; the days of affliction have taken hold upon me.
[17] My bones are pierced in me in the night season: and my sinews take no rest.
[18] By the great force of my disease is my garment changed: it bindeth me about as the collar of my coat.
[19] He hath cast me into the mire, and I am become like dust and ashes.
[20] I cry unto thee, and thou dost not hear me: I stand up, and thou regardest me not.
[21] Thou art become cruel to me: with thy strong hand thou opposest thyself against me.
[22] Thou liftest me up to the wind; thou causest me to ride upon it, and dissolvest my substance.
[23] For I know that thou wilt bring me to death, and to the house appointed for all living.
[24] Howbeit he will not stretch out his hand to the grave, though they cry in his destruction.
[25] Did not I weep for him that was in trouble? was not my soul grieved for the poor?
[26] When I looked for good, then evil came unto me: and when I waited for light, there came darkness.
[27] My bowels boiled, and rested not: the days of affliction prevented me.
[28] I went mourning without the sun: I stood up, and I cried in the congregation.
[29] I am a brother to dragons, and a companion to owls.
[30] My skin is black upon me, and my bones are burned with heat.
[31] My harp also is turned to mourning, and my organ into the voice of them that weep.
Job 20
[4] Knowest thou not this of old, since man was placed upon earth, [5] That the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment?
[6] Though his excellency mount up to the heavens, and his head reach unto the clouds;
[7] Yet he shall perish for ever like his own dung: they which have seen him shall say, Where is he?
[4] Knowest thou not this of old, since man was placed upon earth, [5] That the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment?
[6] Though his excellency mount up to the heavens, and his head reach unto the clouds;
[7] Yet he shall perish for ever like his own dung: they which have seen him shall say, Where is he?
[8] He shall fly away as a dream, and shall
not be found: yea, he shall be chased away as a vision of
the night.
II Corinthians 11
[12] But what I do, that I will do, that I may cut off occasion from them which desire occasion; that wherein they glory, they may be found even as we.
[13] For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
[14] And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
[15] Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.
[12] But what I do, that I will do, that I may cut off occasion from them which desire occasion; that wherein they glory, they may be found even as we.
[13] For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
[14] And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
[15] Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.
Job 7
[13] When I say, My bed shall comfort me, my couch shall ease my complaint; [14] Then thou scarest me with dreams, and terrifiest me through visions:
[15] So that my soul chooseth strangling, and death rather than my life.
[16] I loathe it; I would not live alway: let me alone; for my days are vanity.
[17] What is man, that thou shouldest magnify him? and that thou shouldest set thine heart upon him?
[18] And that thou shouldest visit him every morning, and try him every moment?
[19] How long wilt thou not depart from me, nor let me alone till I swallow down my spittle?
[20] I have sinned; what shall I do unto thee, O thou preserver of men? why hast thou set me as a mark against thee, so that I am a burden to myself?
[21] And why dost thou not pardon my transgression, and take away mine iniquity? for now shall I sleep in the dust; and thou shalt seek me in the morning, but I shall not be.
[13] When I say, My bed shall comfort me, my couch shall ease my complaint; [14] Then thou scarest me with dreams, and terrifiest me through visions:
[15] So that my soul chooseth strangling, and death rather than my life.
[16] I loathe it; I would not live alway: let me alone; for my days are vanity.
[17] What is man, that thou shouldest magnify him? and that thou shouldest set thine heart upon him?
[18] And that thou shouldest visit him every morning, and try him every moment?
[19] How long wilt thou not depart from me, nor let me alone till I swallow down my spittle?
[20] I have sinned; what shall I do unto thee, O thou preserver of men? why hast thou set me as a mark against thee, so that I am a burden to myself?
[21] And why dost thou not pardon my transgression, and take away mine iniquity? for now shall I sleep in the dust; and thou shalt seek me in the morning, but I shall not be.
Job 19
[21] Have pity upon me, have pity upon me, O ye my friends; for the hand of God hath touched me.
[22] Why do ye persecute me as God, and are not satisfied with my flesh?
[23] Oh that my words were now written! oh that they were printed in a book!
[24] That they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock for ever!
[25] For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:
[26] And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God:
[27] Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me.
[28] But ye should say, Why persecute we him, seeing the root of the matter is found in me?
[29] Be ye afraid of the sword: for wrath bringeth the punishments of the sword, that ye may know there is a judgment.
[21] Have pity upon me, have pity upon me, O ye my friends; for the hand of God hath touched me.
[22] Why do ye persecute me as God, and are not satisfied with my flesh?
[23] Oh that my words were now written! oh that they were printed in a book!
[24] That they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock for ever!
[25] For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:
[26] And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God:
[27] Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me.
[28] But ye should say, Why persecute we him, seeing the root of the matter is found in me?
[29] Be ye afraid of the sword: for wrath bringeth the punishments of the sword, that ye may know there is a judgment.
2Thes.2
[1] Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,
[2] That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
[3] Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
[4] Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
[1] Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,
[2] That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
[3] Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
[4] Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
On Page 10 Job had defended himself from the external accusations made by his corporeal friends but his situation was now more dire. Now he had exposed himself to the consequences of encountering his own visions. If his suffering were generated by the image of God his own mind had created, how could he escape? He was sandwiched in between an image of a vindictive God and of a cruel nature.
Once again we see three levels in the picture but Job is now in the middle level between the image of a false God and the punishment which is already being inflicted on him. The implication is that he must reject the false image of God which he had accepted in order to free himself from the demons of his visions which are torturing him.
But the answer that Blake gave was not that man need annihilate the the false God, but he must annihilate the selfhood which creates the false image of God. Job had allowed Satan to be transformed into an image of light. In Job's vision God had taken on the characteristics of the devil: the cloven hoof, the entwining serpent, the angry lightening, and the unyielding laws engraved in stone.
This is the struggle which man fights with himself. Will he accept the Satanic image which his selfhood provides him or will he annihilate that ability within himself to ignore the persistent call from his spirit which can make him whole? If Job could hold fast to the knowledge that his redeemer lived and that in his flesh he would see God, his selfhood would lose power over him. His false reasoning power would be annihilated by his perception of truth.
Four Zoas, Night VIII, PAGE 104 (SECOND PORTION), (E 377)
"We now behold the Ends of Beulah & we now behold
Where Death Eternal is put off Eternally
Assume the dark Satanic body in the Virgins womb
O Lamb divine it cannot thee annoy O pitying one
Thy pity is from the foundation of the World & thy Redemption
Begun Already in Eternity Come then O Lamb of God
Come Lord Jesus come quickly
So sang they in Eternity looking down into Beulah.
The war roard round Jerusalems Gates it took a hideous form
Seen in the aggregate a Vast Hermaphroditic form
Heavd like an Earthquake labring with convulsive groans
Intolerable at length an awful wonder burst
From the Hermaphroditic bosom Satan he was namd
Son of Perdition terrible his form dishumanizd monstrous
A male without a female counterpart a howling fiend
Forlorn of Eden & repugnant to the forms of life
Yet hiding the shadowy female Vala as in an ark & Curtains
Abhorrd accursed ever dying an Eternal death
Being multitudes of tyrant Men in union blasphemous
Against the divine image. Congregated Assemblies of wicked men
Los said to Enitharmon Pitying I saw
Pitying the Lamb of God Descended thro Jerusalems gates
To put off Mystery time after time & as a Man
Is born on Earth so was he born of Fair Jerusalem
In mysterys woven mantle & in the Robes of Luvah
He stood in fair Jerusalem to awake up into Eden
The fallen Man but first to Give his vegetated body
To be cut off & separated that the Spiritual body may be Reveald"
Milton, PLATE 38 [43], (E 139)
"In the Eastern porch of Satans Universe Milton stood & said
Satan! my Spectre! I know my power thee to annihilate
And be a greater in thy place, & be thy Tabernacle
A covering for thee to do thy will, till one greater comes
And smites me as I smote thee & becomes my covering.
Such are the Laws of thy false Heavns! but Laws of Eternity
Are not such: know thou: I come to Self Annihilation
Such are the Laws of Eternity that each shall mutually
Annihilate himself for others good, as I for thee.
Thy purpose & the purpose of thy Priests & of thy Churches
Is to impress on men the fear of death; to teach
Trembling & fear, terror, constriction; abject selfishness
Mine is to teach Men to despise death & to go on
In fearless majesty annihilating Self, laughing to scorn
Thy Laws & terrors, shaking down thy Synagogues as webs
I come to discover before Heavn & Hell the Self righteousness
In all its Hypocritic turpitude, opening to every eye
These wonders of Satans holiness shewing to the Earth
The Idol Virtues of the Natural Heart, & Satans Seat
Explore in all its Selfish Natural Virtue & put off
In Self annihilation all that is not of God alone:
To put off Self & all I have ever & ever Amen
Satan heard! Coming in a cloud, with trumpets & flaming fire
Saying I am God the judge of all, the living & the dead
Fall therefore down & worship me. submit thy supreme
Dictate, to my eternal Will & to my dictate bow
I hold the Balances of Right & Just & mine the Sword
Seven Angels bear my Name & in those Seven I appear
But I alone am God & I alone in Heavn & Earth
Of all that live dare utter this, others tremble & bow"
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