I had originally called this post “Episode One.” Sorry about that, it is Episode Two.
The previous Biblical Reference post here about “weeping and gnashing of teeth” was used to point out that the evil satanic character Corion would mete out retribution onto those he commanded if they did not carry out his will. But Corion never says anything about ‘gnashing’ of teeth on the bones of those wayward minions—he uses the term “gnaw” and “gnawing.” While both ‘gnashing’ and ‘gnawing’ mean pretty much the same thing—teeth scraping on bones or whatever—I used the term ‘gnaw’ because it is more commonly used. Everyone knows about the gnawing of rodents on wood, on nuts, on gardens, on leftover food such as dog or cat food; gnawing is why rodents have those sharp fanged front teeth that they have.
There are only two references to ‘gnaw’ or ‘gnawing’ used in the Bible; I learned this by using Strong’s Concordance, which defines both in a similar way as it defines ‘gnashing,’ which is only found in the New Testament referring to Christ’s “weeping and gnashing of teeth” quotes in Matthew and Luke Gospel verses. But both ‘gnaw’ in Zephaniah 3:3 and ‘gnawing’ in Revelation 16:10 make the same connotations, except that while in Zephaniah the ‘gnaw’ is on bone, in Revelation the ‘gnawing’ is on the tongue ‘for pain.’ Zephaniah’s ‘gnaw’ on bone refers to evil leaders within Jerusalem that “are evening wolves; they gnaw not the bones till the morrow.” (KJV) One could compare the evil Corion to these evil leaders in Jerusalem. So one could say that Corion’s ‘gnaw on bones forever’ has the same connotation as Zephaniah’s use of the word. However, in Revelation 16:10, the gnawing is on the “tongues for pain” and the ones doing the ‘gnawing on their tongues for pain’ are likely those who refused to repent of their deeds in the Revelation time-frame, which could mean either Corion’s minions had their tongues gnawed on by Corion or the evil minions gnawed on their own tongues. In The Prodigal Band Trilogy, the connotation is that Corion or his Demons did the ‘gnawing,’ but not one tongues, but bones. Forever.
The term ‘gnaw on bones forever’ is used several times in all three novels that make up the trilogy, and all refer to Corion’s gnawing on bones of either wayward minions or on the forces of Good, such as the angels called The Tooters who work for The Creator, God.
Three snippets referring to gnawing bones forever will be cited, one from each of the three novels in the trilogy. From Chapter Four of Battle of the Band is a ‘prophesy’ about a Demon ordering an evil Duke to make sure the debts of serfs he controlled was never repaid as the Demons this Duke called upon were ravaging the city of Wall Town in the year 1136. If the Duke named Effingchester allowed the debt to be repaid such that Corion would ‘lose’ the souls of these serfs if it was repaid, then Corion would have his way with the Duke’s bones. This snippet is narrated by ‘His Counselor-Angel’ and is a ‘prophesy.’
And I, His Counselor-angel, knew the prophecy. It was told to the fourth Duke of Effingchester that night in July, 1136, when he called forth The Demons.
“Mind you,” Gold Demon had told the Duke. “This debt must never be paid. Make sure the peasants remain destitute, never to be free from debt. For the one who clears the debt will be a curse to you and your descendants, and will send the souls of you and yours to Corion’s abyss. He will gnaw your bones evermore. Corion won’t like it if he loses the souls of your indebted servants. And you must pay for your carelessness!”
What Effingchester wasn’t told was that he was just one pawn in Corion’s grand design. He wasn’t the only person in the world to make a pact with the son of darkness.
The second snippet from Chapter Five of The Prophesied Band has Corion’s evil minions including the descendant of this evil Duke in the previous snippet, the evil Baron Torquay-Lambourgeau and media moguls X and Y ‘praying’ to Corion at an altar in the dungeon where they performed satanic sacrifice rituals. They prayed that Corion would ‘give more time’ to carry out Corion’s mission for them to ‘capture the souls’ of the prodigal band Sound Unltd. They felt their time was growing short, especially after Corion had captured the evil soul of Swami Negran with his Red Crystal of Corion to end the novel Battle of the Band while two of the band members were suffering mild heart attacks in a local private hospital.
“He is here.”
Within a secret room housing a granite flat-stone altar to Corion in the dungeon of Torquay Hall, the Duke of Effingchester and Messers. X and Y heard Baron Torquay-Lambourgeau’s pronouncement.
“And he is exercising judgment.” Effingchester was nervous for his own life. For he had allowed the Hovels debt to be repaid.
“It was swift, I’m sure.” X shivered though the small room was warm. The media mogul had been unable to acquire Foray Records as his lord had wished.
“Pray we will have more time.” Y was really sure they wouldn’t. He felt goosebumps on his goosebumps. He, too, had failed to gain Foray.
The rotund Baron knelt at his altar and said in a quivering voice, “Corion, our lord, tell us your will that we may serve you.”
The others also bowed to their god.
Still undefined and unseen, Corion spoke through the Baron. “I have destroyed your fellow, Negran. The world’s media will know he perished in a car crash south of London on the 9th of February, 1996. See they know it, X. And know, too, a similar fate awaits those who will not carry out my will.”
Corion, through Torquay, didn’t wait for his servants to gulp with fright. “It is apparent you need my direct assistance to win over this planet. Swami could not deliver to me the band of the spoken-pact. You must still use your influence to get them to turn over their record company. I myself will work with them directly. I’ll do whatever it takes to bend them to my will. Each’ll gladly pay with their souls and the souls of all youth by the time I finish with them. Further, I’ll give you the power to win their company. They won’t refuse. They’ll have no choice.”
The others thought with smiling faces.
X: Economic chaos. Currencies will be ruined. The masses will beg us to save their worthless money. We will bend them to our will. And our will be done!
Y: Companies not already under our control will collapse unless the owners bow to us. We’ll control it all!
Effingchester. I will again own the Hovels folks—and all the masses of the world. And that drummer who defiled my family will be served on my most prized gold platter. I will gladly consume him while his Tina, my beloved wife, watches in horror! His heart laughed.
Corion went on. “I will now take my place in this realm among you mortals. As you fulfill your duty, you will know who I am in this world. I will be a healer the world’s populace will follow, for it is written. In time you’ll know for sure, and you’ll complete my will. And then you’ll sit at my right hand.”
The elect smiled with drooling mouths and blazing eyes.
“Or I will gnaw your bones forever.”
And how did ‘that drummer’ defile the Duke’s family? By paying off the debt! Tina, the wife of Duke Effingchester, is the drummer Tom’s lover.
The final snippet is from the final chapter of The Prodigal Band. An evil entertainment mogul and tech oligarch, Mark Besst, who actually requests that Corion inhabit and control him, has failed in the task to kidnap and sacrifice Mo, the wife of synthist Bry, in an underground dungeon room. As punishment, Corion is about to impale Besst with a sword that Besst was supposed to use on Mo but was prevented from doing so by Bry and the rest of the band who rescued her. To end the chapter, the narrator of the novel, Lloyd Denholm, speculates on the fate of the band in carrying out their ‘missions of God.’
Alone and still screaming, a red crystal sight then appeared, held right at Mark’s screaming face.
A voice said to Mark, “For failing in your mission, weakling, I, Corion, will now gnaw on your bones forever.”
The sword, flung onto the floor earlier, then levitated above Mark’s heart. Pointed straight down, then gored him.
As the spirit within Mark Besst was imprisoned within the crystal and taken to the Abyss—where God had instantly sent Corion. Only to be released near The End.
(Later, Denholm speculates)
I can only speculate, but I imagine the six will be up there somewhere—the void?—in white garments and barefoot, heading toward the Judgement. Perhaps the One who sat on it, after all the judging and the adversary whining about their past perversions trying to get Him to send them to the Lake of Fire where there would be weeping and gnashing of teeth—Corion’s teeth, that is, gnawing on bones forever—the One we call God would send out this verdict.
What verdict? Buy the trilogy novel using the links in the Bookstore page to find out!
The Prodigal Band Trilogy © 2019 by Deborah Lagarde, Battle of the Band © 1996 by Deborah Lagarde, The Prophesied Band © 1998 by Deborah Lagarde and The Prodigal Band © 2018 by Deborah Lagarde. Permission needed to copy any materials off this page.
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