This article does not promote any point of view, presenting material for informational purposes only and does not seek to offend or hurt anyone's religious feelings.
The names and titles presented in this article are written with a capital letter in cases where they represent proper names, that is, God and the Devil are understood as biblical, and God and the Devil are images relevant to many religions and beliefs.
Midnight. Dark basement or abandoned house. Debris and shards of broken glass on the floor. Walls covered with strange symbols and inscriptions. Scattered sheets of paper with incomprehensible writing and strange symbols. In the depths of the room, a five-pointed star inscribed in a circle is drawn on the floor; black candles burn at the corners of the star. At a distance, on the dusty floor lies a goat skull.
In the middle of the pentagram, the victim is writhing in a hypnotic trance, probably from the effects of a heavy drug. There are several people standing around the pentagram in black robes covering their naked bodies. Their faces are hidden by hoods. Holding hands, they repeat words over and over again in a language that has not been spoken for millennia. The victim does not hear their words, only sluggishly moves his glassy eyes from side to side. Those standing around the pentagram finish pronouncing the words, one of them stands at the victim’s head. In the light of the candles, a medallion with a five-pointed star in a circle, strange symbols and the head of a goat, whose horns, ears and beard are directed along the rays of the star, glitters on his neck. He takes out a knife and raises it over the victim, wanting to present this innocent soul to his master...
This is how most people imagine Satanists, this is how they see them in films, TV series, and some may be haunted by similar nightmares. And besides the horror inspired by thoughts of such a scene, people at the same time were always attracted by this forbidden, dark life, they wanted to know what these servants of evil were doing in the night. In addition to horror, the figure of the Satanist aroused curiosity, a desire to learn in all colors the details of their black rituals, orgies and prayers to the Devil.
And in our time, absolutely everyone has the opportunity to do this without having to risk their own soul. Anyone who wants to become a Christian, or simply get acquainted with Christianity, first of all picks up a book that is considered its basis - the Bible. And a book containing the ideas of Satanism exists. And it is also called the Bible. The Satanic Bible. And the origin of the Satanic Bible is much simpler. It was written by a man who was the founder of the first church, which called itself the Church of Satan. His name was Anton Lavey.
Anton Sandor Lavey
The childhood and youth of Anton LaVey
It seemed that life had been preparing him for this since childhood. From the age of five he was distinguished by his intellectual abilities and interest in the occult and mysticism. He also had musical talent. Without graduating from school, at a young age, Anton Lavey joined a traveling circus, where he became an assistant trainer. He also accompanied the introductions of many famous artists on the organ. Later, he mastered the profession of a magician, learned hypnosis and many different tricks. Living in an atmosphere of circus and entertainment, he often observed how men, whom he saw playing the organ during church services, praying and asking to be delivered from sinful impulses, that same evening at the performance, devouring the half-naked dancers with their eyes, and then again, the next day, praying for deliverance from sin.
At 21, he left the performing world to join the criminology department and then became a photographer for the San Francisco police. He saw something that further confirmed his belief that ideas about divine justice and divine providence have little in common with the observable world. Victims of crazy people, children hit by cars, people killed by family and friends - all this should not have existed in a world where there was God... but it did. After leaving the police force, he played the piano in nightclubs for a while to earn a living, while continuing to study the occult and various mystical works. Gradually, the hobby began to interest many people, and he began to give lectures. Many of the influential visitors to such lectures soon organized a “Magic Circle” with LaVey at its head. They were mainly engaged in the worship of the Devil as a personified deity.
However, Anton LaVey had completely different views on what Satan is. In his understanding, it was a combination of the dark forces of nature, the spirit of progress and rebellion. And in 1966, on Walpurgis Night, Anton LaVey announced the creation of the world's first Church of Satan and was ordained as a priest of this church. Three years later, a book was published in which he outlined his vision of what Satanism is. The book was a huge success in the US and abroad. Then others came out - “Satanic Rituals”, “The Satanic Witch” (the new name of the translation), “The Devil’s Notebook”, “Satan Speaks”.
Cover of “The Satanic Bible” by A. S. LaVey, English edition.
History of the Devil's Bible
This tome was written by one monk, according to various sources his name is either Herman or Sobislav. The writing continued either for one night alone with Satan, or for 10 years.
The writing took place in the monastery of the city of Podlazice, which is located approximately 100 km from the capital of the Czech Republic. After this, the book was moved several times, and each time brought some kind of misfortune.
This was the opinion of the ministers of the churches in which the scripture was contained, but it is not known for certain whether this is true or a coincidence. For example, at the beginning of the 14th century the scripture was kept in the city of Kutna Hora. At the same time, the plague came to the city, and almost the entire population died as a result of the disease. Of course, all the bumps went to the innocent book, although who knows...
Currently, the Devil's Bible is kept in Sweden, the city of Stockholm. The Scriptures are the property of the National Library of Sweden. The book came here after the end of the Thirteen Years' War, when it was brought as a trophy.
This happened in the 17th century, and since then no mystical coincidences or misfortunes brought by the book have been noticed.
Will there be a buyer for the soul?
What does his most famous work offer the reader? Methods of summoning dark forces from otherworldly dimensions, methods of selling an immortal soul to the Devil himself for earthly goods? Not really…
The philosophy of Satanism as outlined by LaVey in the Satanic Bible is as far from metaphysics and immaterial as possible. It is just as far from the traditional generally accepted concepts of morality, duty, goodness and justice. Instead, it combines Nietzscheanism, objectivism, rational egoism and the occult.
In other words, it rejects collectivism, unrequited altruism, the desire for non-material goals (God, nirvana, paradise, ancestral spirits, etc.). LaVey's Satanic Bible represents the rejection of religion, the installation of personal goals, personal happiness, personal success, material and tangible achievements at the head of one's own life. The Satanic Bible offers natural human desires, which are nothing more than desires inherited from animals, intellect and reason, as means to help accomplish this. The author sees occultism and “magic” as a way for the mind to take control and influence one’s own emotions and the emotions of other people, a way to appeal to a person’s natural inclinations. In other words, magic, rituals and similar acts in the Satanic Bible mean only the impact on the irrational nature of people’s emotions, their sensations, feelings and state, and not an appeal to otherworldly forces.
LaVey finds that all the qualities that are traditionally accepted as sinful - pride, greed, anger, gluttony, lust, envy and laziness, are sources of thirst for life and pleasure from it, and are quite capable, being properly balanced and subordinated to the mind, to serve it for the benefit, and not at all lead to personality degradation. For example, pride encourages you to achieve more, greed allows you to concentrate resources, anger gives you the strength to overcome obstacles... All these feelings involve you in the struggle of life, which Anton LaVey considers more worthy and real than all kinds of spiritual experiences.
About God and the Devil
As for the very concept of God, then, according to LaVey, different people and nations have so many points of view on this matter and so much blood was shed for the truth of all at one time, and in the dogma of each religion, in his opinion, there are so many contradictions that any idea of a personified god is quite close to its destruction. And the Satanic Bible invites man himself to take the place of God. Not to consider yourself a god above all people, why on earth would you ask? But consider yourself your own god, believe in the same way, but in yourself and your own powers. He finds this much more practical and wise. Do not ask for forgiveness, do not repent and do not pray for deliverance or enlightenment. Do not strive for heaven, do not be afraid of hell after death.
Anton LaVey finds that a person is capable and has the full right to independently invent those deities and patrons, those forces and concepts that are convenient for her and give practical results. The result is a full life without restrictions that serve only the afterlife, to the detriment of the earthly.
But what should a being look like who does not blame a person for his desires, does not consider them sins, but is happy about them, and allows him to achieve earthly success with their help? If you need to formalize these attitudes into a single entity, into a single absolute, what or who will it be? And Anton Lavey found a “person,” a concept with these characteristics. And this is the Devil. This is exactly what this image is like in world culture.
The history of the Devil's Bible
The legend of the creation of the Devil's Bible says that it was written by a certain monk. The writing of the book dates back to the late 12th - early 13th centuries. The circumstances under which the manuscript was created are very vague.
The monk committed some sin, to atone for which he had to write a book in one night. It is not entirely clear to whom and why he had to do this, and what kind of sin was committed. However, the monk realized that he could not cope overnight, so he turned to the Devil for help, who helped create the manuscript.
This is also a very controversial point - why did the monk turn to the Lord of Hell , and not to God, since he was a minister of the church? Besides, he already had a sin, so why did he decide to aggravate his already precarious position? Unfortunately, there are no answers to these questions. But there is a legend about the creation of the book, and we start from it.
A manuscript specialist at the National Library of the Czech Republic believes that this scripture was compiled by one monk over a long period of at least 10 years. The book originally consisted of 640 pages, but only 624 have survived in readable form. It is also emphasized that the probable date of creation of the book is the beginning of the thirteenth century.
How to build a dark cult
As for the concept of religion, LaVey draws a similar conclusion: if everything that church teaching directly condemns: the accumulation of wealth, the blessing of murder and much more, is widespread in the American Protestant church he observes, then shouldn’t the idea of religion and church be perceived more freely? and borrow it for your own use, creating a church that preaches healthy, controlled selfishness instead of ostentatious altruism. Declaring not the rule “treat others the way you expect to be treated,” but the rule “treat others the way they treated you” and call it... the Church of Satan.
And there will be no hypocrisy characteristic of all sorts of fortune tellers and psychics who remove a curse from a person (eliminating his own conviction that he has been subjected to this curse) and saying that they are using their “gift” (de facto - techniques known to magicians, hypnotists and people , who know the human psyche) for “noble” purposes (but for a fee, of course), and not for the sake of personal enrichment and fame. This change in the definitions of “church”, “religion”, “magic” and “miracle” eliminates these dissonances and gives the right to exist for the Church of Satan and to practice such magic, devoid of otherworldly and sublime, spiritual and non-material aspects, but having a direct and material impact on psyche no less than any church and any magician and psychic, regardless of how it is presented from a “spiritual” or mystical point of view.
Anton LaVey foresees the obvious objection: why then, in the course of this attraction of unheard-of honesty, not call this teaching philosophy, and not religion, and this magic and ceremonies that they practice - psychology, psychotherapy and manipulation (or self-manipulation), and not magic, even if and devoid of white, black, green and other shades. And the answer of the Satanic Bible is this: since a person, in his opinion, is closer to everyday perception at the level of emotions, sensations and the subconscious level than at the level of facts, logic and intellect, then the description of truly working techniques in terms of magic and ritual and their corresponding visual design will be more convenient than the scientific-psychological explanation. And since popularity and success in society depends on the presentability and recognition of the form of a certain complex of views and positions, then dressing the created worldview in the familiar image of religion, and the community of followers - in the church - is also a more pragmatic solution than being called a philosophy, a school, or something completely in a new way.
Another objection: why, why take such a strange and compromising name, in the minds of people associated with a bunch of atrocities and madness? Madness, both contrived by the medieval Inquisition (for the colorful description of the depravity of those who rejected God) and actually at times practiced under the influence of these fantasies by crazy or mentally unstable people, whom Anton LaVey classifies as devil worshipers. This is what Satanists call people who are seriously convinced that the Devil, Satan, exists as a personified, intelligent and human-responsive entity, desiring innocent souls and those who have decided to serve and worship him. Why confuse your image with them in people’s perceptions?
The answer is, again, for the sake of convenience. Having the goal of taking control and forcing everything that is most suitable for this to work for oneself in order to achieve earthly well-being - and, as a result, everything that is called sin, because it distracts from the path to God, from caring about the afterlife, no There is no simpler way except to take everything that the church has collected under the definition of sin and appoint it as its “benefactors,” and make the person personifying the totality and root cause of this sin the name and symbol of its church. It turns out to be a funny paradox that Satanists see Satan as much less material and real than the Abrahamic religions.
Anton Sandor LaVey
satanic bible
Publishers' Foreword
We are pleased to finally present the second, revised and expanded edition of Anton Sandor LaVey's immortal creation. We admit that it is being published not only because the first one became a bestseller without any promotion, but also because we consider ourselves obligated to correct the mistakes made both through our fault and through no fault of ours. Unfortunately, the first edition was done in a terrible hurry, so the translation of individual chapters was entrusted to a person far from black magic and the concepts with which LaVey operates in his worldview. This resulted in glaring errors, which, unfortunately, were noticed by us only after the book was published. We apologize for the annoying shortcomings of the first edition and assure that in the second we did everything in our power to convey to you the philosophy of the Black Pope in an undistorted form. We hope that this will serve to attract even more true followers of the Left Path Movement into our ranks. Along with the founding work of modern Satanism, we are releasing Satanic Rituals, a book that our magicians have been waiting for. Together with The Devil's Notebook, they form a kind of trilogy - a legacy of thirty years of experience in applying the Satanic principles. Now this heritage is available to the Russian reader. All he had to do was put it into practice. Good luck in your work. A world without end. Ave Satanas!
Moscow
July XXXII Anno Satanas
Preface. Burton Wolf
(Author of The Hippies, Hitler and the Nazis, The Devil and Dr. Noxin, Crowded Death Row, and The Devil's Avenger: The Biography of Anton Szandor LaVey)
One winter evening in 1967, I drove across San Francisco to hear Anton Szandor LaVey speak at a public meeting of the Sexual Freedom League. I was intrigued by newspaper articles calling him the “Black Pope” of the Satanic Church, in which baptisms, weddings and funerals are dedicated to the Devil. I was a freelance journalist and felt that LaVey and his pagans could be the subject of a good article; as the editors put it, the Devil “gave circulation.”
I decided that the main topic of the article should not be the practice of black arts, since there has been nothing new in this world for a long time. Sects of devil worshipers and voodoo cults existed long before Christianity. In 18th-century England, the Hellfire Club, which had connections even in the American colonies through Benjamin Franklin, gained fleeting fame. At the beginning of the 20th century, the press covered the exploits of Aleister Crowley, “the most unclean man in the world,” and in the 20s and 30s, hints of a certain “black order” were traced in Germany.
To this relatively old story, LaVey and his organization of modern Faustians have added two entirely new chapters. First, unlike the traditional Satanic cabal of witchcraft folklore, they blasphemously presented themselves as the Church, a term previously applied only to branches of Christianity. Secondly, they came out of hiding and began practicing black magic openly.
Rather than make an advance appointment with LaVey to discuss his heretical innovations, which was usually the first step in my research, I decided to watch and listen to him as an unrepresented member of the public. In some newspapers he was presented as a former circus and carnival lion tamer and magician, in whom the Devil himself was incarnated on earth, and therefore, to begin with, I wanted to determine whether he was a real Satanist, a mummer or a charlatan. I have already met people under the spotlight of the occult business; By the way, at one time I rented an apartment from Jean Dixon and took the opportunity to write about her before Ruth Montgomery did. But, bearing in mind all the occult swindlers, hypocrites and charlatans, I would not spend five minutes describing the various forms of their tricks.
All the occultists I had met or heard of so far were whitelighters: supposed clairvoyants, soothsayers and witches, with their supposed mystical abilities originating in God-oriented spiritualism. LaVey, who seemed to mock them, not to say spit with contempt, emerged between the lines of newspaper stories as a real black magician who based his art on the dark side of nature and the carnal side of human life. There seemed to be nothing spiritual about his “church.”
As soon as I heard LaVey speak, I realized that there was nothing in common between him and the occult business. He could not even be called a metaphysician. The brutal revelations from his lips were pragmatic, relativistic, and, moreover, rational. Safe to add, they were unorthodox; they were a blow to generally accepted spiritual practices, to the suppression of the carnal nature of man, to the feigned piety of existence, based on material principles like “man is a wolf to man.” His speech was full of sardonic grins at human folly, but, most importantly, it was logical. LaVey was not offering his audience charlatan magic. It was a common sense philosophy based on the realities of life. Once I was convinced of LaVey's sincerity, all I had to do was convince him of my intentions to conduct serious research rather than add my contribution to the pile of articles describing the Church of Satan as a new freak show. I studied Satanism, discussed its history and rationale with LaVey, and attended midnight rituals in the famous Victorian mansion that was then the headquarters of the Church of Satan. Then I wrote a serious article, but discovered that it was not at all what “respectable” magazines wanted to see in their pages. Finally, there was one publication from the “strawberry” or “male” category - Knight, which in September 1968 published the first complete article about the Church of Satan, LaVey and his synthesis of ancient legends about the Devil and the folklore of black magic into modern philosophy and the practice of Satanism, which all followers and imitators now use as a model, guide and even Bible. My article was only the beginning and not the end (as was often the case with other objects of my attention) of a long and close relationship with LaVey. Their fruit was my biography of LaVey, “The Devil’s Avenger,” published by Pyramid Publishing House in 1974. After the publication of this book, I became first an official member and then a priest of the Church of Satan; I proudly bear this title along with many famous personalities. The late-night philosophical discussions I began having with LaVey in '67 continue today, a decade later, in a strange cabaret populated by surreal humanoids created by LaVey; our meetings are accompanied either by a witty witch or by music performed by ourselves: LaVey on the organ, me on the drums.
LaVey's entire previous life seemed to prepare him for his current role. His ancestors included Georgians, Romanians and Alsatians, including a grandmother of gypsy blood who told him legends of vampires and sorcerers from her native Transylvania. From the age of five, young LaVey read magazines such as Weird Tales and books such as Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and Bram Stoker's Dracula. Despite the fact that Anton was different from other children, they always chose him as a leader in marches and maneuvers, playing war. In 1942, when LaVey was 12 years old, his fascination with toy soldiers grew into an interest in World War II. He immersed himself in military manuals and discovered that army equipment and ammunition could be purchased as easily as goods in a supermarket and then used to enslave nations. Even then, the idea began to form in his head that, contrary to the statements of the Christian Bible, the Earth would be inherited not by the weak, but by the strong.
By the time he graduated from high school, LaVey had become a strange child prodigy. He devoted his free time from school to serious study of music, metaphysics and the secrets of the occult. At age 15, he was second oboist in the San Francisco Great Symphony Orchestra. Bored with the school curriculum, LaVey dropped out of his senior year, left home and joined Clyde Beatty's circus as a cage worker. His duties included watering and feeding lions and tigers. Trainer Beatty noticed that LaVey felt no fear when working with big cats and made him his assistant.
Captivated by a passion for the arts and culture since childhood, LaVey was not satisfied with the thrill of taming jungle creatures and working with them in the arena. At the age of 10, he taught himself to play the piano by ear. This skill came in handy when a full-time circus musician became extremely drunk before a performance, and LaVey volunteered to replace him, confident that he could master the unfamiliar organ keyboard sufficiently to perform background music. However, it turned out that he knew more melodies and played better than the main organist, so Beatty, having settled with the drunkard, put LaVey at the instrument. He accompanied many famous circus performers of that time: Hugo Zacchini during his performance of the Nuclear Man act, the Wallendas high wire acrobats. When LaVey turned 18, he left the circus and joined the carnival. There he became a magician's assistant, learned hypnosis and began to devote more time to studying the occult. It was an interesting combination. On the one hand, he worked in an atmosphere of the most carnal life: sensual music, the smell of sawdust and wild animals, performances in which the slightest delay could lead to death, performances that required youth and strength, throwing away the aged like last year’s clothes; a world of physical excitement and magical attraction, On the other hand, working with the magic of the dark side of the human brain.
It was probably this strange mixture that awakened in him a different point of view on human nature. “On Saturday night,” LaVey recalled in one of our long conversations, “I saw men ogling the scantily clad dancers at the carnival, and on Sunday morning, when I played the organ for the tent evangelists at the other end of the carnival, I saw on the benches the same men with their wives and children, and these men asked God to forgive them and cleanse them of carnal desires. And the next Saturday evening they were again at the carnival, go somewhere else, indulging their desires. Even then I knew that the Christian Church flourished on hypocrisy, and human nature found a way out despite all the tricks with which white-light religions burned it out and cleaned it out.”
Even then, without even realizing it, LaVey was on the path to the crystallization of a religion that served as the antithesis of the Christian and Judaic heritage. It was an ancient religion, older than Christianity and Judaism. But it has never before been defined and clothed in ritual form. This task was to become LaVey's role in the civilization of the twentieth century.
After LaVey married in 1951 at the age of 21, he left the magical world of carnival to devote himself to an occupation more suitable for putting a roof over his head. He joined the Department of Criminology at City College of San Francisco. Then he got his first conformist job - a position as a photographer with the San Francisco Police Department. As it turned out later, this work gave him as much as others in developing the idea of Satanism as a way of life.
“I saw the bloodiest and darkest side of human nature,” LaVey recalled in one conversation, “people shot by psychos, stabbed to death by their friends, children smashed into gutters by hit-and-run drivers. It was disgusting and depressing. I asked myself: “Where is God?” I began to hate the sanctimonious attitude towards violence on the part of people who repeated: this is God’s will.” LaVey left this job in disgust and three years later returned to playing the organ for a living, this time in nightclubs and theaters, while continuing to study his life's passion - the black arts. Once a week he gave lectures on mystical topics: ghosts, extrasensory perception, dreams, vampires, werewolves, fortune telling, ceremonial magic, etc. These lectures attracted many people who were or subsequently became famous in the circles of art, science and business. Gradually, the “Magic Circle” was formed from this group.
The main purpose of the Circle was to meet to perform magical rituals unearthed or invented by LaVey. He has amassed an entire library on the subject of the Black Mass and other famous ceremonies performed by such groups as the Knights Templar in 14th-century France and the Hellfire Club and Golden Dawn in 18th- and 19th-century England, respectively. The task of these secret orders was blasphemy, ridiculing the Christian Church and turning to the Devil as an anthropomorphic deity, the opposite of God. From LaVey's point of view, the Devil was not like that at all. He, in his opinion, represented a dark, hidden force of nature, responsible for the accomplishment of earthly affairs, for which neither science nor religion gave any explanation. LaVey's Satan is “the spirit of progress, the inspirer of all great movements, involved in the development of civilization and the progress of mankind. He is the spirit of rebellion leading to freedom, the embodiment of all liberating heresies."
On the last night of April 1966, Walpurgis Night, the most important holiday of magic and witchcraft, LaVey, in accordance with magical tradition, ritually shaved his head and announced the creation of the Church of Satan. In order for everyone to recognize him as a priest, he began to wear a clerical collar. But his shaved head in the manner of Genghis Khan, Mephistophelian beard and narrow eyes gave him the demonic appearance necessary for the rank of high priest of the Church of the Devil on earth.
“On the one hand,” LaVey explained his intentions, “by calling this venture a church, I was able to follow the magic formula for success, consisting of one part outrage and nine parts social respectability. But the main goal was to gather like-minded people to use common energy in calling on a dark natural force called Satan.”
As LaVey noted, other churches based their teaching on the worship of the spirit and the denial of the flesh and intellect.
He also realized the need for a church that would once again elevate the human mind and its carnal desires to the rank of objects of worship. Rational self-interest must be encouraged and a healthy ego must prevail. He realized that the old concept of the Black Mass, which consisted of a satire on Christian worship, had already become obsolete and had become, in the words of LaVey, “prodding a dead horse.” Instead of self-deprecating Christian services, LaVey began to practice cheerful psychodramas, banishing the restrictions and oppression of white light religions. Pages:
Who created the Devil?
This is exactly how Anton LaVey understood Satan - the totality of the “dark” (represented as such in traditional religious morality) inclinations of the human psyche. Anton LaVey also cites the origin of this name as quite appropriate: “Satan” translated from Hebrew means “enemy”, “accuser”. According to LaVey, he and all of Satanism should become an opponent and accuser for the traditional orthodox paradigm. He also cites the origin of the image of the devil as a horned goat, but an anthropomorphic creature.
Pan. Image from an antique statue
The prototype of his appearance was Pan - a rather harmless and cheerful god of fields, winemaking and carnal pleasures from ancient Greece and Rome, who had a hybrid appearance of a man-goat. With the advent of the Roman (this is the irony) Catholic Church, all the old deities in full force were recorded in the army of darkness, evil and accomplices of Satan-Lucifer - the fallen angel and progenitor of sin, according to Christians. And as a result, his appearance, with significant changes, depending on the artist’s imagination, went to the demons. This was also facilitated by the presence of the Hebrew ritual of sacrificing a goat, onto which the sins of all people were “shifted” - the “scapegoat”. And for Satanists, the plot of Lucifer’s rebellion against God appeared as a worthy example of refusal to obey the precepts of Scripture and assume the right to determine one’s actions.
Exile of Lucifer
In the Satanic Bible, LaVey also gives many names of devils and demons from various mythologies. They all had similar properties - animal traits, which were later clearly reflected in works describing the demonology of Christianity. By this, he once again emphasizes the connection with the wild, “animal” aspirations of man, which the Satanist strives not to suppress or despise, but to use for his own good. The use is not intended to be an attempt to summon something similar from somewhere; rather, such images are perceived as symbols of those aspects of the animal essence of a person that they personify, and serve as ways of addressing them. Like masks worn not from the outside, but from the inside.
This demonology is presented in the grimoire “Lemegeton”, the lesser key of Solomon, related to the Kabbalistic branches of Judaism
What does the Bible say about demons?
The Bible teaches that there are evil spiritual forces that war against the knowledge of God and enslave people by tempting them to sin. They are called demons and demons, and their leader is Satan. Christ Himself said that they exist. For example:
“He said to them: I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning...” (Holy Gospel of Luke 10:18)
Elsewhere the Lord said:
“These signs will follow those who believe: in My name they will cast out demons...” (Holy Gospel of Mark 16:17)
Casting out demons and delivering people spiritually was part of Jesus' ministry. The apostles also had no doubt that demons exist. Yes, app. Peter instructed Christians:
“Be sober and watchful, for your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8)
Here are the words of the Apostle Paul:
“Therefore we, I, Paul, wanted to come to you once or twice, but Satan prevented us” (1 Thessalonians 2:18)
So Scripture states that the devil and demons exist. A frequently asked question: who are they, how and where did they come from? We will look at it in this article, as well as their goals in the light of the Bible, and talk about the victory of Jesus Christ over the powers of darkness.
Origin of Demons and Satan
The Bible doesn't tell us much about how demons came to be. However, the information available in it allows us to conclude that they were originally angels and served God, and then rebelled against Him and became His opponents. They were once also led by a good angel, who began to be called Satan, which means “enemy.”
The fact that God created all angels sinless follows from His words at the end of the six days of creation:
“And God saw everything that He had made, and, behold, it was very good...” (Genesis 1:31)
There was no flaw in all creation, including the angelic world. Sin did not yet exist. However, we know from Scripture that angels have free will and serve God voluntarily. Subsequently, some of them used this gift against the Creator. In ancient times, there was a rebellion in the heavens that seriously affected all of creation and human history.
The first to rise was the exalted angel, the cherub, who overshadowed the presence of God. The most information about this event is found in two chapters of the Bible - Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28.
They begin with a description of the proud rulers of Babylon and Tyre. However, there are indications in the text that the prophets were not just talking about people. Their description smoothly merges with the image of another creature. So, for example, Ezekiel calls the ruler of Tyre the seal of perfection, the fullness of wisdom and the crown of beauty. The expression “seal of perfection” translated from Hebrew means “perfect example.” It describes someone who was an example of creation, filled with beauty and wisdom.
Speaking about this creature, the prophet states: “... you were in Eden, the garden of God.” Since the king of Tire was not an example of creation and was not in the Garden of Eden, it is clear that we are talking about someone else.
In addition, he mentions the day of creation of this creature. The rulers of Tire and Babylon were men born of their parents. They were not created. Finally, the one whom Scripture speaks of was “the anointed cherub to overshadow.” Cherubim are one of the highest orders of angels. These and other indications allow us to conclude that the prophets describe a certain angel who is sinless and close to God.
Revolt in Heaven
However, the anointed cherub did not preserve himself in this state. Ezekiel says his heart was lifted up by his beauty. The heart in the Bible is the inner world in which decisions are made and feelings and aspirations live. Cherub allowed pride to fill him. This subsequently led to a change in his personality and his rebellion against God.
Isaiah says that he decided: “I will be like the Most High” (Is. 14:14). Pride blinded him so much that he ceased to understand: not a single creation can become equal to God.
Cherubim wanted to have angels who would serve him as God. However, he could not create them, since he himself was a creation. So he decided to persuade some of God's angels to join him. We do not know the exact number of spirits who rebelled against the Creator, but text from the Book of Revelation suggests that a third of the angels joined the devil.
“His tail drew a third of the stars from heaven and threw them to the ground...” (Revelation of John the Theologian 12:4)
Bible scholars believe that the stars refer to the angels who formerly served God.
The result of this rebellion was the overthrow of Satan and his angels from the third heaven, the dwelling place of God, which is mentioned by St. Paul, to the first, above the earth. From that moment on, the former anointed cherub became the enemy of God and the opponent of His will, and the fallen angels became demons.
Purposes of the Devil and Demons
The Bible describes the forces of darkness as a well-organized structure with a hierarchy and clear goals. These goals correspond to the name of Satan - the enemy. He and his demons oppose God and His will. What does this mean?
Demons oppose God's holy angels. An example of such a confrontation is described in the book of Daniel. When the prophet fasted for three weeks, an angel appeared to him and brought a revelation about the future. However, besides this, he told Daniel something else important.
“But he said to me: “Do not be afraid, Daniel; from the first day that you set your heart to attain understanding and humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I would come according to your words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia stood against me twenty-one days; But behold, Michael, one of the first princes, came to help me, and I remained there with the kings of Persia” (Daniel 10:12,13)
The reason why the angel was delayed was the confrontation with the prince of the Persian kingdom, the evil spirit who patronized this kingdom. The angel said that Michael came to his aid, and only then was he able to defeat the demon. The Bible does not describe in detail how the confrontation of angels occurs, but the fact that it occurs is an undeniable fact.
The goal of the evil angel in the described case is obvious - to prevent God's messenger from bringing the message to the prophet Daniel. Scripture also contains other examples of evil forces interfering with God's work on earth.
Thus, the Apostle Paul wrote in his Epistle to the Thessalonians that twice Satan prevented him from coming to them to serve. He does not describe how and in what way this manifested itself, but the fact was clear to him that evil spiritual forces stood behind the visible obstacles.
Paul wrote to the believers in Ephesus:
“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12)
The apostle makes two statements:
- Christians engage in spiritual warfare against the spirits of evil.
- The forces of darkness are organized into a structure with a hierarchy. Paul identifies among them principalities, powers, rulers of the world, and spirits of wickedness.
The forces of darkness may be hidden under the guise of circumstances or people, but Scripture exposes our true enemy.
Since the devil is not omnipresent, he realizes his plans through demons. The name “Satan”, “devil” is often applied in the Bible to them, as to his servants.
The devil and demons seek to lure a person into sin through temptation.
“And the tempter came to Him and said...” (Holy Gospel of Matthew 4:3)
The Apostle Peter admonished believers to watch and be sober so that the enemy would not consume them.
The Bible also says that the action of evil spirits is the cause of some diseases. The Gospels describe cases of healing of the sick by Jesus Christ. Sometimes in order for a person to receive healing, it was necessary to cast out the spirit of infirmity.
“Jesus... rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to him: a dumb and deaf spirit! I command you, get out of it and do not enter it again” (Holy Gospel of Mark 9:25)
Victory of Christ over demons
Although believers are aware of the existence of evil spirits and their purposes, they should not be afraid of them. Christ won complete victory over the powers of darkness and gave it to the church. Let's take a closer look at this issue.
According to app. Paul, Christ:
“...having taken away the power of the principalities and powers, He subjected them to shame, having triumphed over them in Himself” (Colossians 2:15)
The principalities and powers in this verse refer to the spirits of the kingdom of darkness. The basis of the Lord’s victory over them was the forgiveness of sins, won by Him on the cross.
The verse above says:
“Blotting out the handwriting that was against us, which was against us, and He took it out of the way and nailed it to the cross...” (Colossians 2:14)
The word translated “handwriting” also means a certificate of debt. Paul reveals a picture of how Jesus blotted out the record of our sins. God no longer remembers them. The results of Christ's atoning work are lasting and permanent. Records of past sins will never threaten us again.
Thanks to this acquisition, Christ took away the strength of the spiritual principalities and powers. What does it mean? He made it impossible for Satan and his angels to slander and condemn believers before God, bringing upon them His wrath and demanding punishment for mankind.
Look what the book of Revelation says about this:
“And I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, Now is the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ, because the accuser of our brethren is cast out, who slandered them before our God day and night” (Revelation of John 12:10)
Now, according to Paul,
“...neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor the present, nor the future, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:38-39).
Scripture says that Christ triumphed over the evil angels. The term referred to the triumphal procession that generals led after defeating an enemy, leading their captives through the streets of the city. Thus, the Bible states that the Lord defeated the demons and presented them defeated before the spirit world.
For this reason, we fight the spirits of evil from a position of victory. The devil is still the father of lies. He tries to deceive us by making us think that God is still angry with us or does not forgive us. Self-judgment creates doubts that rob us of God's grace. Ap. Peter admonished Christians:
“...your adversary the devil walks around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Resist him with firm faith, knowing that the same sufferings happen to your brothers in the world. Now the God of all grace, who has called us to His eternal glory in Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself perfect you, establish you, strengthen you, and make you steadfast” (1 Peter 5:8-10).
To live in the reality of victory over evil, we must firmly believe that we are redeemed and forgiven by God through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
According to the Lord, believers have the power to cast out demons in His Name:
“These signs will follow those who believe: in My name they will cast out demons...” (Holy Gospel of Mark 16:17)
Christ conquered, and therefore we are given this right. All authority in heaven and on earth belongs to Him, and He delegates it to whomever He pleases.
Conclusion
The devil and demons were once angels. Having become proud, they fell into deception and lost their dignity and position. Since then they have been at war with the saints and against God's plans. However, the good news is that even their attempts to resist are turned into good by God in the end.
Christ defeated the fallen angels on the cross and gave victory to the church. He took away their ability to accuse believers before God. Therefore, we should not be afraid of the enemy. The devil has no power. However, it would be a big mistake to take it lightly. He is still trying to deceive man and lure him into sin. Scripture calls believers to watch and stand firm in the faith. Finally, Jacob reveals the secret of defeating the enemy:
“So submit yourselves to God; Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7)
Rampant sin
In relation to feelings and desires, passions and inclinations, the Satanist, according to LaVey, follows the rule of “indulgence instead of abstinence.” A Satanist, however, according to the Satanic Bible, will be forced to clearly distinguish between the concepts of “indulgence” and “coercion” (note: “indulgence”, in my opinion, is not quite the right word, a sufficiently precise word, which in this context can be translated “indulgence” into in Russian no, the closest would be “permission without guilt”). The difference is that he does not follow any desire that arises in his head - this would mean that the desire forces him to act in a certain way, but allows the desire to be realized as it sees fit. As he sees fit, not as he wants.
In other words, it is nonsense for a Satanist if, after realizing his desire, he regrets what he did. Or if it is not he who independently chose to follow the desire, but his own complexes, injured pride, fear, despair or any other desire pushes him to actions in which he does not find meaning, and which only become an addiction for him. Anton Lavey considers such a person simply dangerous to everyone around him and himself in his helplessness. That is why, as the Satanic Bible points out, indulgence in desire is not permission to kill (not for the purpose of self-defense), rape, vandalize, create destruction, etc. Just as it is not permission to get blackout drunk or otherwise lose control control. Any freedom will always carry with it responsibility. Even the Satanic Bible will not deny this. Which implies the inevitable need for complete self-control. And natural inclinations will be a driving force for a Satanist, but not what determines his choice. The car is controlled by the driver, not the engine.
Suddenly
The Fall of Satan
However, Satan turned away from his Creator and began to admire His creation - himself. “Because of your vanity you have destroyed your wisdom.” (Ezek. 28:17) He became proud and exalted. A desire to dominate was born in him. He wanted to take the place of God. With the help of lies, he lured a third of the heavenly army to his side.
“How you fell from the sky, Lucifer, son of the dawn! He crashed to the ground, trampling the nations. And he said in his heart: “I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God, and I will sit on the mountain in the assembly of gods, at the edge of the north. I will ascend to the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High." (Isaiah 14:12-15)
All problems began with this “I want” . Satan stopped listening to the voice of God and began to do his own will. Exalting someone else's will over God's will is tantamount to considering God's will to be imperfect. When Satan said, “I will,” sin was born. God calls himself by name and says “I AM.” (Exodus 3:14) He does not want to share his name with others. He who desires to be something comes into conflict with God and will be cast out.
“And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought against them, but they did not stand, 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).
The depths of depravity
Speaking about love and hatred, Anton LaVey suggests experiencing them naturally, without forcing yourself to love all people, including enemies, to constantly forgive them, and without trying to eradicate hatred that has grounds. The Satanic Bible suggests turning love to those who deserve it, just like hatred. Satanism considers the sexual component as a source of pleasure, satisfaction, and intimacy. Satanism does not imply any restrictions on same-sex, group relationships, masturbation, fetishism, masochism, etc. On the contrary, complete freedom is provided in this.
But! It is freedom that introduces restrictions - any form of violence and dependence is condemned. Sex, according to the Satanic Bible, should be a natural desire of the participants, and not stem from complexes, obsessive mania, fear, guilt or deception, including self-deception. This follows from the desire for freedom from imposed rules - often it is the presence of such that gives rise to an unhealthy forbidden desire, the inadequate forms of which only justify the need for the prohibition and serve to preserve and tighten it. Therefore, those who see in Satanism an opportunity to indulge in the fulfillment of sick fantasies that constantly torment them and strive to break out will be disappointed.
About sacrifices
Regarding sacrifices, Anton LaVey laughs caustically at those who try to achieve something by shedding the blood of a sacrificial animal. According to him, magicians who seek psychic powers in the agony of others are simply pathetic and are more likely to be victims themselves. Such behavior is simply unworthy of a Satanist. Regarding the sacrifice of people, such nonsense should not occur to anyone who follows the Satanic Bible. Why on earth?! In ancient Jewish cults, sacrifice symbolized a gift to God, but a Satanist does not believe in any higher spiritual power, what meaning could such an action have? In the absence of a deity, the greatest value for a Satanist is a living being, including himself and others like him. And under no circumstances will he harm a child; children, in the understanding of Anton LaVey, are closest to the natural nature of man, to an unclouded living existence.
However, there is one semblance of a sacrifice that, according to the thoughts of Anton LaVey, would actually make sense. But it’s hard to call it a sacrifice. We are talking about people who intend to harm the Satanist, no matter what, not wanting to just pass by on their way, ready to lay down their lives for it. They, according to LaVey, most deserve any trouble and suffering, being masochists at their core. Everything that happens to them, that they independently run into in their manic attempts to harm another, is the result of their own desire, and there is no reason to worry about what will happen to such people.
Therefore, for their own peace of mind, a Satanist may perform a ritual of symbolic damnation in order to feel only satisfaction from their self-destructive actions. Symbolically, as an act of self-soothing and relieving stress from their attacks, rather than poking a knife into someone's body! In other words, according to the Satanic Bible, just as a person independently chooses his actions, he can also choose the role of a victim only on his own, no one else is able to make him a victim, to sacrifice him. And the consequences of everyone's actions are the result of their choices. This idea is often found in his later works.
What is the Devil's Bible - description
The book The Devil's Bible is handwritten and consists of parchment sheets - there are 310 of them. From the marks left on the binding, it is clear that there used to be more of them - 320, but ten have disappeared. It is believed that eight sheets were cut out and two more were lost for unknown reasons. Sheet length - 89 cm, width - 49 cm.
They are made from calf or sheep skins (160 pieces), so their thickness is uneven and some sheets are thicker than others. On one side the leaf has a yellowish color (where the hair was), and on the other it is light, almost white. The book is thick (22 cm) and heavy - it weighs 75 kg, which makes moving and reading difficult.
Some pages show traces of the effects of drugs used in the 19th century. tried to restore the lost fragments of the text.
The text is written in an even, easily readable handwriting, but the letters, their size 2.5-3 mm, seem small on a large sheet. Apparently, this is due to saving space and the desire to place as much material as possible. It is located symmetrically, the margins and dimensions between the lines are maintained. It is noticeable that the page was ruled with a blunt object - most likely, this was done with the back of a knife.
Thick boards were used for binding, covered with pre-treated white leather. To prevent the skin from rubbing, there are metal corners in the shape of griffins, and in the corners and in the center there are special metal hemispheres - when opened, the cover does not touch the table surface.
Such a large volume of the Gigantic Codex is explained by traditions that originated in Italy in the 11th-12th centuries, when the significance of the content was emphasized by the size of the manuscript. It was inconvenient to use such books, so their practical significance is questioned.
Purgatory
As for life after death, the Satanic Bible denies the existence of such a thing, or finds it organized in such a way that life before this very death does not affect it in any way. In short, according to the Satanic Bible, life is the greatest mercy, and death is the greatest disgrace. Therefore, the conscious renunciation of life without a good reason, located here and not somewhere “on the other side,” is perceived by Anton LaVey as nonsense. Giving up the ego, the desires that fill life, which is more characteristic of Eastern beliefs, is also unacceptable and similar to death. Life for him is valuable for its colors, and not for complete dissolution in the world and depersonification. Therefore, in cases where life absolutely does not bode well, in the case of a hopeless illness, for example, Satanism approves of suicide. But never as a way to avoid solvable difficulties, temporary problems or martyrdom for the sake of some reward after it. Death is the final loss, there can be no reward after it.
Ferocity of the Beast
Of course, while rejecting the ideas of creationism and the divine origin of man, the Satanic Bible adheres to an explanation of the origin and nature of homo sapiens as a product of animal evolution. Therefore, all his natural aspirations are completely consistent with the natural aspirations of other higher mammals living in groups. However, there are also differences, which Anton LaVey calls “divine, spiritual and intellectual development.” They mean everything that culture is capable of instilling in a person - both religious and mystical elements, as well as the skills of abstract thinking and logic. All these phenomena, according to Anton LaVey, are not in stable balance with natural biological tendencies, which often leads to the fact that they, armed with the fearlessness of a self-denying fanatic, and/or weapons created by technological progress, lead to monstrous consequences. This is his vision of modern society.
Who is Lucifer: videos, icons, literature
Icons
In the Middle Ages, the image of Satan was painted in great detail. It was enormous in size and combined the features of a human and an animal. His mouth was associated with the gates of hell. To enter hell meant to be eaten by Satan. Among the subjects of icon painting there is an image called “The Fall of the Star.” It is based on a chapter from the book of the prophet Isaiah . Angels turn into demons, and among them is Lucifer himself. He is the star, in this case identified with Satan.
Literature
- Dante Alighieri in the immortal “Divine Comedy” describes Satan as a fallen angel of enormous size and terrifying appearance. He has: six wings, similar to the wings of a bat; three faces: one red, the other light yellow, the third the skin color of an Ethiopian; his teeth sink into Judas, who betrayed Jesus Christ; in Brutus and Cassius, who killed Julius Caesar.
- Milton's poem Paradise Lost, the image of Satan is given a dark grandeur, which makes it possible to consider him as an epic hero. Milton describes a third force - Chaos, which has no connection with the angels who rebelled against God, but is friendly to them.
- One cannot ignore the depiction of the devil in Mikhail Bulgakov’s “The Master and Margarita.” Here he is described as the dreamy philosopher Woland, ironically criticizing the reality contemporary to the writer. He is surrounded by a retinue that mocks humanity.
Video
Many films and TV series are being made about Lucifer. Almost all of them can be watched on video on the Internet. But in them he is usually viewed not from a religious point of view, but as a hero of funny adventures. For example, in the American television series Lucifer, the main character is the Demon King, who is bored while on the throne. He decides to come down to earth and ends up in Los Angeles. There he gets a job as the director of a nightclub and begins to lead a riotous lifestyle, and subsequently solves complicated crimes using his supernatural abilities.
Almost all films about Lucifer are not at all religious or philosophical, but are rather entertaining, which does not contribute to the spiritual development of young people.
Who is Lucifer
The Devil and the Church
Returning to the image of the devil and his origin, Anton LaVey notes that this image turned out to be extremely convenient and was present in most religions and beliefs. Moreover, in an invariable role - the source and root cause of all evil - namely, those phenomena and actions of people that directly contradicted the declared ideals and the highest justice. Thus, the devil served as a scapegoat, explaining all the problems that orthodoxy had in describing what was really happening in the world. Therefore, he calls such “help” from the devil invaluable.
Sabbat
The most important holiday for a Satanist, according to the Satanic Bible, is his own birthday. If religious people celebrate Christmas with joy, then why not a person who feels the same way about their own birthday? The next most important holidays, according to LaVey, are Walpurgis Night - the night of May 1, and Halloween - October 31.
Anton LaVey also gives a description of one of the most famous satanic rituals in society - the Black Mass. The ritual is considered a blasphemous parody of the Catholic Mass, accompanied by foul language, kissing each other's private parts, desecration of icons and... and no Satanist would practice it, according to Anton LaVey. The description of the ritual, along with all its savory details, was compiled with amazing awareness of the propaganda of the Catholic Church back in the Middle Ages. According to the author, if for the sake of fun he wanted to arrange a psychodrama or an outrage against some values, he would find something less hackneyed than the Catholic mass. Hysterical rumors about the abduction of unbaptized babies, drinking blood, and so on have a similar origin. And of course, everyone who went to the stake of the Inquisition on charges of witchcraft and worship of the Devil was simply obliged to do such things, it could not be otherwise...
About symbolism
It would also be worth mentioning that the authorship of the most famous satanic symbol today - an equal-beam five-pointed star with a goat’s head inscribed inside and two circles described around it, between which there are distorted Jewish symbols, also belongs to Anton LaVey and is the official symbolism of the Church of Satan in the USA. The image of a goat has been present in descriptions of Satanism for quite a long time, and is also associated with another image that is extremely often associated with Satanism - Baphomet. The latter became known during the trial of the Knights Templar in 1307. They were accused of worshiping Baphomet - which the Inquisition, without any hesitation, recognized as the Devil himself. The Templars, of course, were burned at the stake. But for some reason there are serious doubts about their guilt, because the elimination of the Templar Order was very beneficial to the then King of France, Philip IV...
Burning of two Templars. Miniature from the Chronicles of Saint Denis. Con. XIV century
Actually, the “hero” of the occasion. Although it may be the “culprit”. One way or another, the appearance of the demon is known from the work of an occultist who lived five centuries after the Templar trial. Namely, the head of a goat with a candle on top, the body of a woman, goat legs and a pair of wings. Author: Eliphas Levi, 1854
And here is modernity. One of the Satanic organizations related to the Church of Satan, The Satanic Temple, held a rally in front of the Capitol in Oklahoma after the installation of a monument to the 10 Commandments there. Satanists proposed, in order to comply with constitutionally enshrined religious pluralism, to erect a bronze statue of Baphomet there. After the end of the action, they removed the statue
Other Legends of Lucifer
Lucifer's Mother
In the Middle Ages, some theologians believed that angels did not come from the void, but were created from the energy emitted by the stars.
This energy was called Lucida. Therefore, in many religious texts, it is Lucida who is identified with the mother of Lucifer. However, such a vision is interpreted by the church as heretical. Later, during the Renaissance , there was a tendency to view Lucifer not as the devil, but as a follower of his mother, who is the source of goodness and light. That is, Lucifer was credited with the mission of the Revival of humanity.
The Devil, Satan and Lucifer in the Old Testament
In the Old Testament the forces of evil were described in different aspects.
- In the Bible, Satan was viewed as a man; this word was a common noun. It denoted the one who creates obstacles and interferes. It began to designate a specific angel in the book of the prophet Zechariah . There he acted as an accuser in a trial taking place in heaven.
- The devil first appears on the pages of the book of Genesis in the form of a serpent. It was he who resorted to temptation to force Eve to try the forbidden fruit. Adam followed her, as a result of which God became angry and expelled them from Eden. After this, they were forced, like all people on earth, to work hard to earn their bread. And also as punishment, women give birth to children in pain. As we see, the snake, which embodies evil forces, played a huge negative role in the fate of all humanity. Unlike paradise, where Adam and Eve originally lived, life on earth is difficult and full of trials. Moreover, man became mortal. And God also punished the snake; now all earthly reptiles move, touching the earth with their “belly.”
- In the book of Job, Satan is equated to an angel who tests a righteous man by doubting his faith. He makes a proposal to the Lord about testing Job. The idea that the devil is not an independent figure is clearly visible here. He submits to the Almighty and serves Him. Satan is seen as the son of God, asking God for permission for his actions. But nevertheless he is endowed with great power. He can: control nations, send fire and water to the earth, punish people with diseases. At the same time, this book contains the image of Leviathan. He appears as a sea monster of enormous size and as a flying dragon, and is associated with the devil.
- Close to the image of Lucifer is the image of the king of Babylon in the prophecy of Isaiah . According to his interpretation, Satan was originally an angel and then became the prince of darkness. This happened because he was overwhelmed by pride. He desired to be equal to the Creator himself, and for this he was thrown to the earth. After this, they began to call him: the progenitor of lies, a murderer, a rebel and an opponent of God. It was in the prophecy of Isaiah that Satan was first called by the angelic name Lucifer - light-bringer.
- There is also a mention of Lucifer in the book of the prophet Ezekiel . It says that he was on the mountain of God, was loved by him, and then transgressed the law of God.
Lucifer in the New Testament
In the New Testament, Lucifer also appears in different forms, but everywhere he is the personification of evil forces.
- In the Gospel, Lucifer tempts Jesus by saying that he can give power over any kingdoms to whomever he wants. Jesus also mentions the devil before ascending to Calvary. He tells people who want to deprive him of his life that their father is the devil, a murderer. They want to fulfill the lusts of the father, while his desires are not true, he utters lies. Christ also said that he saw the fall of Satan, similar to lightning. As you know, Jesus Christ won the final victory over the Devil. He took upon himself the sins of all people, died for them, and then rose from the dead.
- The Apostle Paul also speaks about Lucifer , pointing to his habitat. According to him, this is: a prince who commands in the airspace; his servants rule the darkness; they are spirits of evil. And Paul also claims that the devil, the prince of darkness - Satan - can reincarnate into Lucifer, the bearer of light.
- John the Theologian in Revelation describes the devil as a huge red dragon, with ten horns, with diadems on seven heads. He predicted that some of the angels, whom the Bible considers unclean spirits or angels of Satan, would follow the Devil. But later he will be cast out of heaven, losing the battle to the Archangel Michael. Then there will be another battle between the forces of good and evil, which will take place on Judgment Day. Satan will fight with the angel and will be thrown into the earth for 1 thousand years. And after a millennium, he will be freed for a while, and another battle will take place. In it, the victory of good will be eternal, and Satan will find himself in a lake of fire and brimstone.
