Origin of the Devil
Where did the devil come from? Who created it and what is its purpose? The name “devil” from Greek means “slanderer.” But he wasn't always called that.
History begins before the creation of the world. God, the Lord Almighty, created everything: heaven, earth (and everything that fills it), angels and, of course, man.
Even before the creation of the earth, God created ministering spirits - archangels and angels. Scripture describes them as the army of heaven.
And suddenly a large army of heaven appeared with the Angel, glorifying God and crying: glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will towards men! When the Angels departed from them into heaven, the shepherds said to each other: let's go to Bethlehem and see what happened there, which the Lord told us about. (Luke 2:13-15)
Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Lucifer were like army generals carrying out the orders of the Creator Himself. One of them who sinned became Lucifer. He wanted to take the place of God, accept glory, be great and omnipotent.
Whoever commits sin is of the devil, because the devil sinned first. For this reason the Son of God appeared, to destroy the works of the devil. (1 John 3:8)
In Ozhegov's dictionary
DEVIL, -a, m. In religious mythology: an evil spirit opposing God, Satan, used. as a swear word, as well as in certain expressions. Smart (cunning) like a d. (very smart, cunning; colloquial). What's the ass? (expression of irritation, bewilderment; simple). What devil or behind what devil? (why, for what?; simple, disapproving). What the hell didn't I see there? (what didn’t I see there, why would I go there?; simple, disapproving). Go to the devil (get out, get lost; simple). || adj. devilish, oh, oh.
The Fall of Lucifer
Rebellion and disobedience to the Creator entailed a consequence - expulsion from the Kingdom of Heaven.
Because of your beauty your heart was lifted up, because of your vanity you destroyed your wisdom; Therefore I will throw you to the ground, I will hand you over to shame before kings. (Ezek. 28:17)
He said to them: I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning. (Luke 10:18)
But Lucifer did not want to give up so easily - the Archangel carried away a third of the angels.
And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven crowns. His tail carried away a third of the stars from the sky and threw them to the ground. (Rev. 12:3,4)
And there was a war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought against them, but they could not resist, and there was no longer a place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that ancient serpent, called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world, he was cast out to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. (Rev. 12:7-9)
Today, Lucifer has many names, one of which is "devil", and the angels who followed him are now called "demons".
Since the devil is a fallen angel, he cannot create anything the way God does. Obsessed with a thirst for power and kingdom, domination and worship, he did and is doing everything possible to this day to remain in this position.
DEVIL
DEVIL, Satan, Lucifer, Lucifer, Beelzebub, etc. [Heb. שׁטך, Arabic. šayṭa̅n – opponent in court, dispute, war, obstructor, contradictor, accuser, insidious earpiece, instigator; euro בעל זבןב – lord of the flies (decay); Greek διάβολος – slanderer; lat. lucifer, Church Slavonic star - bringer of light (son of the dawn) (cf.: Isa. 14:12)], in Judaism and Christianity the main antagonist of God and all the forces faithful to him in heaven and on earth, the enemy of the “chosen people” and the human race, the king of hell, the ruler of demons and other forces of evil and darkness, the will, source, action and center of world evil.
Devil. Fragment of the Last Judgment mosaic in the dome of the Baptistery of San Giovanni in Florence. 1225–1325.
Devil. Fragment of the relief “The Last Judgment” in the tympanum of the western portal of the Cathedral of Saint-Lazare in Autun. Sculptor Gislebertus. 1130–40.
From the point of view presented in the Old and New Testaments (Job 1:12; 2:6; Zech. 3:2; Luke 10:17–19), D. does not oppose God on equal grounds, not as a deity or an anti-deity evil, but as a fallen creation of God, as a rebellious subject of the power of God, who can only turn against God the power received from him, and against his own. the will to ultimately contribute to the fulfillment of God's plan. In the Old Testament, Satan is also a common noun, used in all of the listed etymologies; in special When applied to Satan, this name is perceived as a nickname for a nameless enemy, who may have other nicknames of similar meaning [for example, as in the apocrypha of the 2nd century. BC e. “Book of Jubilees” (17:18) – Mastema (enmity)]. By his nature, Satan is similar to the angels (“sons of Elohim”), in whose circle he appears before the face of Yahweh (Job 1:6). Fearing the prohibitions of Yahweh and depending on him, Satan acts as the enemy of man, defaming him before the Almighty (Job 1:9–10). Satan treats with particular hostility the holders of sacred authority in the “chosen people,” be it King David (1 Chron. 21:4) or the high priest Jesus (Zech. 3:1–2). Satan's behavior as an instigator and seducer has always brought him closer to the figure of the serpent from the initial chapters of the Book of Genesis, which leads to their final and complete identification already in the Book of the Wisdom of Solomon (2:24, etc.). Interpreting the episode of the Book of Genesis, later targums point to Satan not only as a slanderer of man before Yahweh, but also as a slanderer of Yahweh before man, “bringing evil against his creator” (“Targum of Pseudo-Jonathan” to Gen. 3:4 ). A number of legends attribute to Satan a carnal relationship with Eve and the conception of Cain, and also present a view of Eve as a friend and accomplice of Satan (“Pirke Rabbi Eliezer,” 21; “Yalkut Bereshit,” 1, 23; one of the possible etymologies of the name Eve in Aramaic “Hevya” and Phoenician “h/v/t” - snake; snake-like goddess). All the “dark deeds” from the history of the “chosen people” are attributed to the suggestions of Satan: the worship of the golden calf (Satan’s revenge for the “chosen people” receiving the law of Yahweh at Sinai - “Shabbat”, 89a, etc.), the adultery of David with Bathsheba (“Sanhedrin” , 95a), Haman’s decree on the destruction of the Jews (“Esther Rabbah,” 7). All the moral evil of the world goes back to Satan; the extra-image equivalent of the image of Satan is the concept of “evil thought” characteristic of the Talmud. Since the product of sin, akin to it and necessarily resulting from it, is death, Satan is often merged in late Jewish legends and interpretations with the angel of death, “taking out the soul of a person” (“Baba Batra”, 16a).
Despite the dept. the characteristics of Satan presented by so. in the Old Testament texts and later texts of the Jewish tradition, in general, the existence of Satan is a problem that is hardly solvable within the confines of Judaism. However, Judaism still outlined two ways to solve it. One of them involved emphasizing the weakness of Satan, the unequal nature of his confrontation with Yahweh, Satan’s fear of the light of the Messiah, and his impotent envy of the human race. The original weakness of Satan and the victory over him were actualized in cult acts, for example. on the penitential holiday of Yom Kippur, which made such a path quite acceptable and orthodox not only for decedents. directions of Judaism, but also for Christianity, where the victory over Satan of Christ is associated with the ridicule of Satan. A fundamentally different path was realized in the mysticism of Judaism, when Satan is placed in greater proximity to God, as a product of his anger, which emerged from the divine fullness and became isolated. The basis for the implementation of such a path was also found in the area of Old Testament texts, when the same event in earlier texts is motivated by the wrath of Yahweh, in later ones - by the action of Satan: “The wrath of the Lord again kindled against the Israelites, and he aroused David in them to say: go , number Israel and Judah” (2 Sam. 24:1); “And Satan rose up against Israel, and stirred up David to number the Israelites” (1 Chron. 21:1). The possibility of the existence of Satan as the personification of the “wrath of God” is most clearly realized by Kabbalists, who allow the integration of the power of evil in the deity, which ceases to be such within him and becomes evil only outside of him.
In the New Testament tradition, for which D. is primarily the “evil one” (Matthew 6:13, 12:19, 38), opposing the “Word of God” (Rev. 19:13), “the dragon, the ancient serpent, who is ... the devil and Satan" (Rev. 20:2), the existence of Satan is clearly defined through the prism of the victory of Christ - first the shame of Satan on the path of temptation of the Son of Man (Matt. 4:4-11; Mark 1:12-13; Luke 4: 1–13), then - victory over him in the Resurrection of Christ and the descent of Christ into hell (cf. “Catechetical word on the holy and great day of Easter of the Lord” by St. John Chrysostom: “No one should be afraid of death, for the death of the Savior has freed us! Embraced by death, He extinguished death. Having descended into hell, He captivated hell and grieved those who touched His flesh. Anticipating this, Isaiah exclaimed: Hell was grieved when it met You in its nether regions. Hades was grieved because it was abolished! It was grieved because it was ridiculed! It was grieved, for he was killed! He was grieved, because he was deposed! He was grieved, because he was bound! He took the body, but touched God; he took the earth, but found heaven in it; he took what he saw, but was subjected to what he did not expect!"). From this moment on, Satan is obviously condemned and can only, while remaining for the time being “the prince of this world,” wage a hopeless struggle between the earthly and the heavenly and the temporal against the eternal. The specified eschatological the vector finds its end. confirmation in the overthrow of Satan, described in the Revelation of John the Theologian (Rev. 20:3, 9–10, 14).
Similar D. images in Islam are Shaitan, Iblis, in Buddhism - Mara; As the will and center of world evil, D. is a well-known analogy to the character Iran. mythology to Ahriman.
Iconography. Images of D. in the form of a serpent (with Adam and Eve), a lion, and a dragon have been known since the 3rd–4th centuries. In the 6th century. images of D. appear in human form - as the fallen angel Lucifer (mosaic “Christ Separates the Sheep from the Goats”, Church of Sant’Apollinare Nuovo in Ravenna) or as a demon, usually winged, in the form of a human figure (miniature of the Gospel of Rabbala “Healing” possessed"). D.'s body is colored black or blue. In some scenes (“Descent into Hell”) he appears in the guise of a half-naked man (sometimes an old man), athletic. physique (Fieschi-Morgan stavrotheca, early 9th century, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; ivory relief, 10th century, Hermitage, St. Petersburg). D. in the image of a traveler is represented in a miniature of the 8th century. “The Temptation of Christ” (Gospel from the Monastery of St. John the Theologian on Patmos). In the 9th century on the miniature of the Stuttgart Psalter, D. appears, recording human sins (later on - a stable detail in the miniatures of the “Ladder” of St. John Climacus). Anthropomorphic ugly D. is present on the reliefs of Rum. and gothic temples (Saint-Sernin Church in Toulouse, 1096–1250; Saint-Lazare Cathedral in Autun, 1130–40; Notre Dame Cathedral in Reims, 1211–1311, etc.). In the scenes of the Last Judgment, D. is interpreted as the king of hell, on the throne, sometimes in a crown and with a scepter, with Judas on his knees (Church of Santa Maria Assunta on the island of Torcello, Venice, 12th century).
In the 12th–13th centuries. images of an animal-like D., often covered with hair, with bat wings, horns, a tail, claws or hooves, are distributed (mosaic “The Last Judgment”, Baptistery of San Giovanni in Florence, 1225–1325). For this option, which has taken hold in Western Europe. art (drawing by W. Graf the Elder “The Wandering Monk and the Devil”, 1512, Art Collection, Basel; engraving by A. Dürer “Knight, Death and the Devil”, 1513), influenced by the iconography of the god Pan and ancient satyrs. D. could also be represented in the form of a bear, goat, wolf, monkey, centaur, etc. In the works of artists of the Northern Renaissance (M. Schongauer, M. Grunewald, P. Bruegel the Elder and especially I. Bosch) there are many devils - monsters made up of dept. parts of human bodies and various animals, birds, and reptiles. In post-Byzantine art, the anthropomorphic type of winged dragon with long, erect hair (“crest”) was consistently preserved. In Russian icons with apocalyptic the plot of “Archangel Michael - Voivode”, known from the 2nd half. 16th century, thrown into the abyss, D. sometimes has a mask on its belly in the form of a second head. Perhaps this feature, also found in Europe. iconography, is associated with the text of the Epistle to the Philippians by St. Paul: “The end of them is destruction, and theirs is God” (Phil. 3:19). In modern times D. preim. had the appearance of a half-man, half-goat, less often a dragon (Raphael, “Archangel Michael Slaying the Devil,” c. 1503–05, Louvre, Paris; J. Tintoretto, “The Battle of the Archangel Michael with Satan in the Image of a Seven-Headed Dragon,” c. 1590, KG , Dresden). G. Reni (“The Archangel Michael Trampling on the Defeated Satan,” ca. 1635, C. Santa Maria dei Cappuccini in Rome) gave D. a human appearance and a physiognomic resemblance to Cardinal G. B. Pamphilj (from 1644 Pope Innocent X ). The era of symbolism and modernity revived the theme of Lucifer - the beautiful angel-demon (M. Vrubel, “The Seated Demon”, 1890, Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow; “The Defeated Demon”, 1902, ibid.).
The Fall and Recovery of Man
The Lord created man in the Garden of Eden in His image and likeness, and gave him authority to have dominion over everything on earth (Gen. 1:27-28). The devil, by this moment, had nothing, and therefore, by deception, through temptation, he took away this power from man.
For many centuries and centuries he reigned over the earth. But the day came, 2000 years ago, when Jesus came and took this power from the devil. At the cost of His life, He returned it to man, saving him from death and hell.
Many people think and believe that the devil is strong, but this is not so. Scripture speaks of him as a roaring lion that goes about seeking someone to devour (1 Pet. 5:8).
His weapons are fear, lies and deception. Anyone who trusts him will be in his power.
Your father is the devil; and you want to do the lusts of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning and did not stand in the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks his own way, for he is a liar and the father of lies. (John 8:44)
But this will not always be the case, if only a person accepts Christ into his life. Then he will receive the power to be free from lies and deception, because only those saved by Christ can know the truth.
In the dictionary Dictionary of foreign words
a, m., shower.
1. In religious beliefs: evil spirit, devil; see also BEELZEBUB" title='BEELZEBUB, BEELZEBUB this, what is BEELZEBUB, BEELZEBUB interpretation'>BEELZEBUB, DEMON" title='DEMON, DEMON this, what is a DEMON, DEMON interpretation'>DEMON, LUCIFER" title='LUCIFER, LUCIFER this, what is LUCIFER, LUCIFER interpretation'>LUCIFER, MEPHISTOPHELES" title='MEPHISTOPHELES, MEPHISTOPHELES this, what is MEPHISTOPHELES, MEPHISTOPHELES interpretation'>MEPHISTOPHELES, SATAN" title='SATAN, SATAN this, what is SATAN, SATAN interpretation' >SATAN, SHAITAN" title='SHAITAN, SHAITAN is, what is SHAITAN, SHAITAN interpretation">SHAITAN.
2. In some expressions it is used as a swear word or interjection.
What kind of d.? (expression of bewilderment or annoyance, irritation). D.! It's all messed up again! (expression of annoyance). Existing d. (about man). Little devil - 1) small d.; 2) transfer little devil, tomboy (Not a boy, but a little devil). Diabolism (colloquial) - about an incredible and usually unpleasant coincidence of circumstances. Diabolical - 1) related to the devil; 2) transfer exceptional in its negative or positive properties (devilish cold, devilish endurance).||Cf. ANTICHRIST, SATAN" title='SATAN, SATAN is, what is SATAN, SATAN interpretation'>SATAN, SHAITAN" title='SHAITAN, SATAN is, what is SATAN, SATAN interpretation'>SHAITAN.
Share the meaning of the word:
How to recognize the devil's networks?
St. Abba Dorotheos points out: “Why is the devil called not only an enemy, but also an adversary? He is called an enemy because he is a misanthrope, a hater of goodness and a slanderer; he is called an adversary because he tries to hinder every good deed. Does anyone want to pray: he resists and hinders him with evil memories, captivity of the mind and despondency. Does anyone want to give alms? He is hindered by love of money and stinginess. Does anyone want to stay awake? He hinders us through laziness and negligence, and this is how he resists us in every matter when we want to do good. That is why he is called not only an enemy, but also an adversary. With humility of mind all the weapons of the enemy and the adversary are crushed.” How to recognize the devil's networks? St. St. Paisius the Svyatogorets writes: “Having humility, we are able to recognize the devil’s snares, because with humility a person is enlightened and becomes close to God. Humility is what makes the devil crippled.”
Other names
Christianity, having established itself in Europe, over two thousand years formed an entire culture, part of which were stories that developed or supplemented traditional religious texts. This applies to both folk art and works created by individual creators. In this regard, the number of names of the “progenitor of evil” (this is Conan Doyle’s definition, given by him in the story “The Hound of the Baskervilles”) has greatly increased. Let's remember some of them:
- Beelzebub ("lord of the flies");
- Lucifer (“bringer of light”);
- Mephistopheles (a German folk character used by Johann Wolfgang Goethe in Faust);
- Woland (the name of Satan in Mikhail Bulgakov’s novel “The Master and Margarita”).
And in Islam the devil is called Iblis or Shaitan.
To summarize, the words “Satan” and “devil” are synonymous. Moreover, in the modern Russian language there are many other concepts denoting the enemy of the human race.
Should we be afraid of the devil?
The New Testament says that persecution of Christians is the work of the devil, but one should not be afraid of him: “Do not be afraid of anything that you will have to endure. Behold, the devil will cast you from among you into prison to tempt you, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life” (Rev. 2:10). In order to lead a godly life in such a world, to resist the wiles of the devil and not to suffer the same fate as him, we are given advice in Scripture: “Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil walks around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Pet. 5). :8). Christians must fight the devil and, with God’s help, defeat him: “Submit yourselves therefore to God; resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). At the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, the devil will be forever “cast into the lake of fire and brimstone” (Rev. 20:10).
***
See SATAN, EVIL, FALLEN SPIRITS, EXORCISM, REMAND
Does the devil know what is in our hearts?
Only God knows the hearts completely and completely. As follows from various works on asceticism, the devil can partly know about both good and evil thoughts, but only partly, that is, not always and not about all. And he, of course, knows the deceit and malice that he himself implants in those who serve him. “If I have an evil thought, then the devil knows it, because he himself plants it in me,” writes St. St. Paisiy Svyatogorets. – If I now want to go somewhere and do a good deed, for example, save some person, then the devil does not know about it. However, if the devil himself tells a person: “Go and save so-and-so,” that is, gives him such a thought, then he himself will spur his pride and therefore will know what is in this person’s heart.”
Satan
The word " Satan " is Aramaic in origin. Aramaic languages belong to the group of Semitic languages, and one of them was spoken in Judea at the time of Jesus Christ. Translated, “Satan” means the same as “devil,” that is, “slanderer, deceiver,” as well as “one who interferes.” In the Bible, Satan is personified, in particular, in the form of the Serpent, who convinced Eve to eat an apple from the Tree of Knowledge. In addition, in the Bible he is also mentioned under the name “Leviathan”.
Leviathan is an ancient Semitic (Ugaritic) multi-headed sea monster accompanying the sea god Yam. It has long inspired religious horror, and it is not surprising that the Arameans, related to the Ugaritians, and who also lived in their neighborhood, “borrowed” the image of the monster along with the name. And the ancient Jews, who professed monotheism, treated pagans as beings of a lower order, and therefore sometimes used their mythological images to designate creatures opposing God. This is not such a rare case: for example, many researchers of Russian folklore believe that Baba Yaga was originally a Slavic pagan goddess who could act as both a positive and negative character, and only with the advent of Christianity did her bad reputation become firmly established.
