Fire and Ice

We've been asked recently to blog about the works of the Bible reflected in poetry or song. Every time I think about the Bible in relation to poetry, I think about Robert Frost's poem Fire and Ice:

Fire and Ice by Robert Frost

Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice
From what I've tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire
But if I had to perish twice
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
is also great
and would suffice.

Fire and ice are metaphorical representations of the religious 'coming' of the Lord but also mans great involvement in his own demise. Fire represents desire within every man which often leads to their own downfall, as desire often turns into lust and greed, things considered a sin in the eyes of God. Ice is a representation of the hatred which exists in all of us and has caused the world so much suffering. Though we haven't read or discussed this section yet in class (and, honestly, I've not read it yet), I know Biblical Prophecies exist about the 'end of the world as we know it'.

Isaiah, a prophet from the old testament, hinted at this Biblical prophecy in Isaiah 40:13:

Who is able to advise the Spirit of the LORD? Who knows enough to be his teacher or counselor? 14 Has the LORD ever needed anyone's advice? Does he need instruction about what is good or what is best? 15 No, for all the nations of the world are nothing in comparison with him. They are but a drop in the bucket, dust on the scales. 22 It is God who sits above the circle of the earth. The people below must seem to him like grasshoppers! ... 23 He judges the great people of the world and brings them all to nothing. 24 They hardly get started, barely taking root, when he blows on them and their work withers. The wind carries them off like straw.

Isaiah goes even further to elaborate on the destruction the Lord will bring to the Earth after he has seen enough of man's sin:

The Lord is going to devastate the earth and leave it desolate. He will twist the earth's surface and scatter its people. 2 Everyone will meet the same fate-the priests and the people, slaves and masters, buyers and sellers, lenders and borrowers, rich and poor. 3 The earth will lie shattered and ruined. The Lord has spoken and it will be done. 4 The earth dries up and withers; the whole world grows weak; both earth and sky decay. 5 The people have defiled the earth by breaking God's laws. ... 6 So God has pronounced a curse on the earth. Its people are paying for what they have done. Fewer and fewer remain alive. 7 The grapevines wither, and wine is becoming scarce. Everyone who was once happy is now sad, 8 and the joyful music of their harps and drums has ceased. 9 There is no more happy singing over wine; no one enjoys its taste any more. 10 In the city everything is in chaos, and people lock themselves in their houses for safety. 11 People shout in the streets because there is no more wine. Happiness is gone forever; it has been banished from the land. 12 The city is in ruins, and its gates have been broken down.

These Biblical passages prophesize God will bring great pain and suffering to the people of the earth, and Robert Frost's poem seems to suggest man will only be at fault for their sin against fellow man. The prophecy and the poem both imply that either we will all kill each other because of our own weaknesses or God will do it for us. Either way, we are all meeting the same bitter end by the same means.