Worms, Wormholes, and Wormwood



(Nematode and Egg)

The wiggly lines that constitute newsprint have been composed (or decomposed) more and more of worms lately.  So much so, that it’s been difficult to come across a headline that isn’t screaming:  Worms from hell!

That’s partly because nematodes (nicknamed mephisto in “honor” of the demon, Mephistopheles) were recently found to be living 2.2 miles beneath the earth’s surface, near the corner of Hell and Brimstone.  For some, this is scientific “proof” that life exists in outer space.  After all, if beings as complex as nematodes exist where we thought only bacteria could, then beings as complex as ET could also exist.  And how would we visit with these intergalactic ETs?  Through wormholes (those spacetime shortcuts that theoretically also exist), of course.

Others feel that the nematodes are “old news” (very old news) – and that Mark was therefore right all along.  They quote Mark 9:44-48, which refers (not once, but three times over) to worms that do not die.  According to Mark, these worms are located in the neighborhood of fires that are not quenched (his not-so-

subtle references to “hell”).  Mark, in turn, is quoting from Isaiah 66:24, which (in the KJV) states:  And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcasses of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.      

There is also talk of “wormwood” in both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament.  Deuteronomy 29:18 (KJV) speaks of a root that “beareth gall and wormwood.”  Jeremiah 9:15 (KJV) also associates wormwood with gall.  “Gall” has been traditionally associated with bitterness.  The Book of Revelation is more specific about wormwood.  Revelation 8:10-11 (KJV) speaks of a star named Wormwood which falls from the heavens into Earth’s waters, turning them bitter like wormwood.  This, in turn, kills many of Earth’s people.  Some symbolically interpret this “Wormwood star” to be an anti-Christ type ruler; others interpret it more literally to be an asteroid that hits the earth.

Worms can either be life-promoting (earthworms), or life-destroying (parasites).  It remains to be seen whether humans will succumb to the “Conqueror Worm” or transcend it.

Resources

http://www.care2.com/causes/environment/blog/worms-from-hell-found-2-2-miles-beneath-the-earth/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wormhole

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mephistopheles

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nematode

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wormwood_(star)

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark+9%3A44-48&version=NKJV

http://bible.cc/isaiah/66-24.htm

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/178359

Copyright June 15, 2011 by Linda Van Slyke   All Rights Reserved