Behind the Folklore - The Monster at the End of this Book

For Folklore Main Page Click Here

PROPHET
In religion, a prophet is a person who has claimed to have been encountered by the supernatural or the divine, often one who serves as an intermediary with humanity.

Claims of prophets have existed in many cultures through history, including Christianity, Judaism, Islam, the Sybilline and Delphic Oracles practices in Ancient Greece, Zoroaster, the Völuspá in Old Norse, and many others. Traditionally, prophets are regarded as having a role in society that promotes change due to their messages and actions. The label 'prophet' is subjective; a person considered an authentic prophet by some will be considered a false prophet by others: In modern times, some individuals suggest the visions or insights of prophets or would-be prophets, are simply the result of Schizophrenia. In the late 20th century the appellation of a 'prophet' has been used to refer to individuals particularly successful at analysis in the field of economics, such as in the derogatory 'prophet of greed'.

Alternatively, social commentators who suggest escalating crisis are often called "prophets of doom.'

In Christianity a prophet (or seer — 1 Samuel 9:9) is one inspired by God through the Holy Spirit to deliver a message for a specific purpose. It is often associated with predicting future events, but in Biblical terms it is wider and can include those given the power to preach repentance to those who do not want to hear the message and to warn of God's wrath for disobedience. God's calling as a prophet is not considered to elevate an individual for their glory, but for the glory of God and to turn people to him. Some Christian denominations would limit that and exclude those who receive a personal message not intended for the body of believers, but in the Bible on a number of occasions prophets were called to deliver personal messages. The reception of a message is termed revelation and the delivery of the message is termed prophecy.

In Judaism, a prophet is seen as a person who is selected by, and speaks as a formal representative of God, and the intention of the message is always to effect a social change to conform to God's desired standards initially specified in the Torah dictated to Moses.

The Qur'an identifies a number of men as Prophets of Islam. Muslims believe such individuals were assigned a special mission by God (Arabic: Allah) to guide humanity. Besides Muhammad, this includes Tanakh prophets such as Moses and David, and Jesus from the Christian religion.


ARCHANGELS
All Archangels end with the "el" suffix. "El" meaning "in God" and the first half of the name meaning what each individual Angel specializes in. The most popular Archangels are Michael, Raphael, Gabriel and Uriel who are depicted in the Christian Bible. There is a debate as to the name of the other Archangels. In the eighth century, the Christian Church became alarmed at the rampant adoration of Angels by the Christian community. For some unknown reason, in 745 A.D. under Pope Zachary, a Roman council ordered seven Angels removed from the ranks of the Church’s recognized Angels, two of them being Archangels Uriel and Raguel.

The first Angel created by God, Michael is the leader of all the Archangels and is in charge of protection, courage, strength, truth and integrity. Michael protects us physically, emotionally and psychically.

Raphael is a powerful healer and assists with all forms of healing - humans and animals.

The only Archangel depicted as female in art and literature, Gabriel is known as the "messenger" Angel and is one of the four Archangels named in Hebrew tradition and is considered one of the two highest-ranking Angels in Judeo-Christian and Islamic religious lore.

Uriel is considered one of the wisest Archangels because of his intellectual information, practical solutions and creative insight, but he is very subtle.

The Archangel of pure love, Chamuel can lift you from the depths of sorrow and find love in your heart. Chamuel helps us to renew and improve existing relationships as well as finding our soul mates.

Jophiel was the Angel present in the Garden of Eden and later watched over Noah’s sons. The Archangel of art and beauty, he is the patron of artists, helping with artistic projects, thinking beautiful thoughts, to see and appreciate beauty around us.

Referred to as the Archangel of Justice and Fairness, Raguel oversees all the other Archangels and Angels. He watches over them to make sure they’re working well together in a harmonious and orderly fashion according to Divine order and will.


OTHER REFERENCES
Castiel: You should have seen Luke
Referencing one of the 12 apostles and writer of part of the New Testament.

Publisher: He's very private, like Salinger.
Referencing J.D. Salinger, the author of the 1951 novel Catcher in the Rye. Salinger was a very reclusive and private person.

Chuck: Is this some kind of Misery thing?
Referencing the 1987 novel by Stephen King. In it an obsessed fan, Annie Wilkes, captures Paul Sheldon, author of the Misery Gothic romance novels. She alternately praises and tortures him into writing a new novel featuring her beloved her character. she insists she's Sheldon's "Number One Fan."

Chuck: That's like M. Night-level douchiness.
Referencing M. Night Shyamalan, famous writer and director of such movies as The Sixth Sense (1999), Unbreakable (2000), Signs (2002), The Village (2004), and Lady in the Water (2006), known for both his twist endings and a tendency to write himself into his own movies as a character.

Agents DeYoung and Shaw
Referencing Dennis DeYoung, founding member and vocalist and Tommy Shaw, guitarist for the rock band Styx. Styx was the first band to have four consecutive albums certified multi-platinum by the RIAA.

Title:
References "The Monster at the End of This Book: Starring Lovable, Furry Old Grover" by Jon Stone. In it Grover tries to warn the reader not to read further because there is a monster at the end.


Sources: Wikipedia, Angel Focus