We are at the the end. I am not totally sure how this fits into the cosmology scene. Since there was already a level on the sun it is not that. This blazing rose is so bright that Dante cannot see Beatrice’s face. Is this an actual star? Who know.

Empyrean is full of mysteries but also contains some answers. For instance, why does this not merit a level? I suppose that it could be like pre-hell or pre-purgatory but this is a final destination. It is the prize. Unlike the pre stages, those are waiting for entry and will ultimately get the soul’s just desserts.

One thing that is finally solved for me was where were the rock starts of the Old Testament? With the exception of David, we finally get to see some of them here like Moses. There were plenty of very faithful souls that never got a mention like Noah and Jonas. Instead, we got a whole lot of popes and kings that had very little overall influence on Christianity.

Without delving too much into theology, there was a path before the crucifixion to heaven. If I were trying to write a convincing story I would think that it has to include many of the known characters that were extremely faithful and surely I would expect to see before Adam and Eve.

I never gave it much thought. I suppose that Adam and Eve represent the Christian foundation of humanity but they were the origin of sin. They did disobey God so it is hard to me to believe that they deserve higher seats than others. I have to say that I am conflicted on this one.

As the rose is described, God is at the center of it. There are layers of petals that are seats belonging to the ultra faithful. The closer you got to the center the more godlike you were. There were some interesting choices with seats in the rose. One of them was a whole vertical of Hebrew women. Another was unborn children. Of course none of this was really explained or detailed. There you go Catholics. At least all of the aborted fetuses have a seat next to God.

Dante’s time is short here as he must return to earth. He never sees or God or Jesus. Not too much is said about them other than it is too bright to stare into. I find it interesting that the apostles are in the lower levels of heaven and yet Beatrice, Dante’s personal obsession ranks higher than the founders of Christianity.

Finally, there is no doubt that Mary is worthy of being next to God. She was chosen by God. But, since I am not Catholic, I don’t hold the same reverence for the Virgin Mary. In fact, in my book Bernard’s prayer to the Virgin Mary borders on idol worship, the first commandment. I kind of keep my distance from this whole idea but ‘thou shalt not have any idols before me’ is a violation of that. Mary is not one of the Trinity (father, son and Holy Spirit) nor is she in the center. I rest here.

End Your Programming Routine: We have gone through many, many weeks of this tome. Next week I will be talking about Paradise in total. My final thoughts will be the entire work the following week. If we are looking farther than that ahead, the next Brooke is going to be Sun Tsu’s Art of War. Keeping it here one last time, according to Dante the ultimate reward is true love. That is something that modern Christianity can identify with.