Lucifer
Contrary to popular belief, Satan is not at all the eternal antipode of God, and demons are not the antipodes of angels. And the idea of the spiritual world as a kind of chessboard, where black pieces play against white pieces on equal terms, fundamentally contradicts the teaching of the Church about fallen spirits.
In the Christian tradition, there is an understanding of a clear boundary between God the Creator and His creation. And in this sense, absolutely all the inhabitants of the spiritual world equally belong to the category of God’s creations. Moreover, the very nature of demons is initially exactly the same as that of angels, and even Satan is not some special “dark god” equal in power to the Creator. This is just an angel who was once the most beautiful and powerful creation of God in the created world. But the name itself - Lucifer ("luminiferous") - is not entirely correct to use in relation to Satan, since this name does not belong to him, but to that same bright and kind angel that Satan once was.
Gustav Dore. Fallen Satan
Church tradition says that the spiritual world of angels was created by God even before the creation of the material world. This, in every sense, prehistoric period includes a catastrophe, as a result of which a third of the angels, led by Satan, fell away from their Creator: he carried away a third of the stars from heaven and threw them to the ground (Rev. 12:4).
The reason for this falling away was Lucifer’s inadequate assessment of his perfection and power. God placed him above all the other angels, giving him powers and properties that no one else had; Lucifer turned out to be the most perfect being in the created universe. These gifts corresponded to his high calling - to fulfill the will of God, ruling over the spiritual world.
But the angels were not like automatons, hard-coded to obey. God created them with love, and the fulfillment of His will should have become a reciprocal manifestation of love for their Creator among the angels. And love is possible only as the realization of freedom of choice - to love or not to love. And the Lord gave the angels this opportunity to choose - to be with God or to be without God...
It is impossible to say with certainty how exactly their falling away occurred, but its general meaning was as follows.
Lucifer-Dennitsa considered that the power he received made him equal to God, and decided to leave his Creator. Together with him, a third of all the angels made this fatal decision for them.
Between the rebellious and faithful spirits (who were led by the Archangel Michael) a conflict arose, described in the Holy Scriptures as follows: 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 already 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).
So the beautiful Dennitsa became Satan, and the angels seduced by him became demons. It is easy to see that there is not the slightest reason to talk about Satan’s war against God. How can one fight with God who has suffered a crushing defeat even from his fellow angels?
Having lost their angelic dignity and place in Heaven, the fallen spirits turned out to be like the soldiers of a defeated army, who tore off their orders and shoulder straps during the retreat.
Demon Possession
Possession is not a rare phenomenon in Christianity. Having taken possession of a person, the demon torments the body and soul, changes the person’s consciousness, and kills the person. It is not entirely clear what goals the entity pursues. Christians believe that evil spirits are trying to use someone else’s body as a weapon against God’s creatures. Or perhaps the demon is trying to prove to non-believers that dark entities exist and must be taken into account. It usually inhabits the body of a weak-spirited person or a sinner.
Esotericists claim that possession is possible only when a person’s protective shell is violated. An energy hole in one of the subtle bodies makes it defenseless. All dangerous astral entities rush into it. They tear the soul away from the body, penetrate the consciousness, and instill in the victim the idea of suicide.
Whether a person is obsessed or not can be determined by the following signs:
- sudden change in behavior, aggression;
- non-acceptance of the church, shrines;
- swearing, spitting on the cross;
- seizures similar to epilepsy;
- hallucinations;
- change in voice or manner of communication;
- amoral behavior;
- thoughts about suicide.
Individuals who use alcohol or drugs are most susceptible to obsession. Their consciousness is easily receptive and suggestible. Demons also easily inhabit the bodies of criminals: murderers, thieves, maniacs. People who, in their opinion, commit minor sins are suitable for the role of a victim: liars, traitors, envious people who do not consider themselves sinners at all. There is no God in the souls of such people, so evil spirits do not meet any resistance.
Crazy Postman
The word “angel” itself is of Greek origin; when translated into Russian, it literally means “messenger,” that is, the one who brings news from God, communicates His good will to the rest of creation. But whose will can an angel who did not want to serve his Creator communicate, what message can such a “messenger” bring - and can this message be trusted?
In Clive Lewis's book "Letters of a Screwtape," the demon Screwtape instructs his nephew on how to tempt the person to whom he is "assigned."
Suppose in a small town one postman became terribly offended by his boss for something and stopped coming to the post office for new letters. But he was very proud of the title of postman, he loved to deliver letters and, what’s saddest, he couldn’t do anything, well, he just couldn’t do absolutely anything else. And a strange life began for him. All day long he restlessly wandered around the city in his postman's cap with an empty mail bag on his shoulder, and instead of letters and telegrams, he stuffed all sorts of rubbish picked up on the road into people's mailboxes. Very soon he acquired a reputation as the town's madman. The police took his bag and cap away from him, and the residents began to chase him away from their doors. Then he was terribly offended by the residents too. But he really wanted to carry letters. And he came up with a cunning trick: on a dark night, when no one saw him, he slowly sneaked along the city streets and dropped letters written... by himself into mailboxes. He had worked at the post office for a long time, so he quickly learned to forge senders’ handwriting, their addresses and postmarks on envelopes. And in letters he wrote... Well, what could such a guy write? Of course, only all sorts of nasty things and lies, since he really wanted to annoy the residents who drove him away.
...Of course, this sad tale about a crazy postman is just a very weak analogy to the tragic story of the transformation of angels into demons. But for a more accurate description of the depth of moral decline and the madness of evil spirits, even the image of a serial maniac would be too light, soft and unconvincing. The Lord Himself called Satan a murderer: he (the devil) was a murderer from the beginning and did not stand in the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks his own way, for he is a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44).
Angels are not capable of independent creativity; they can only fulfill God’s creative plan. Therefore, the only way of existence for angels who abandoned their calling was the desire to destroy and destroy everything that they could even touch.
Envying God, but not having the slightest opportunity to cause Him any harm, the demons extended all their hatred of the Creator to His creation. And since man became the crown of the material and spiritual world, God’s most beloved creation, all the dissatisfied vengefulness and malice of the fallen messenger angels fell upon him, bringing to people, instead of God’s will, their own will, terrible for all living things.
And here a very important question arises: how can a person build relationships with such a formidable force that seeks to destroy him?
How God chooses parents for children: 2 points of view
We have long gotten used to the idea that relatives are not chosen. People to whom a child is born become his family, and the future of the new person depends only on them. Unfortunately, not everyone who dreams of children has the happiness of becoming parents. And those who do not plan to take responsibility have the opportunity to have offspring. Why is this happening? Who or what determines the birth of a child for a particular couple? Theologian Platon Severov examined these issues especially for allWomens.ru from the point of view of religious and philosophical doctrines. Read more
Shish or candle?
In the collection of Russian folk tales by A. N. Afanasyev there is an interesting story on a religious theme:
“One woman, putting a candle in front of the image of St. George the Victorious on holidays, always showed a fig to the snake depicted on the icon, and said: here is a candle for you, Saint Yegori, and for you, Satan, shish. With this she angered the evil one so much that he could not bear it; appeared to her in a dream and began to frighten: “Well, if you end up in hell with me, you will suffer torment!” After that, the woman lit a candle for both Yegor and the snake. People ask why is she doing this? “Yes, of course, my dears!” After all, you don’t know where you’ll end up: either heaven or hell!’”
Icon of St. George the Victorious with Satan defeated in the form of a serpent
In this story, despite all its Christian surroundings, the pagan principle of simultaneously establishing relationships with both evil and good deities is very succinctly and convincingly presented. And the path to a practical solution to the problem is indicated here quite clearly: a candle for everyone and everyone is happy! Why does the foresight of a naive woman look so comical in this folk joke? Yes, because only those who do not understand the simple truth can hope to appease the demon: it is impossible to establish good relations with evil spirits. Having hated all of creation without exception, demons have driven themselves into an ontological dead end, since they themselves are also God’s creations. Therefore, hatred has become for them the only possible form of relationship with each other, and even they can only hate themselves. The very fact of one’s own existence is painful for demons.
Such a terrible feeling can probably only be compared with the state of an unfortunate animal dying from a viral infection, which is colloquially called rabies, not without reason. The main symptom of this terrible disease is spasms of the esophagus, which do not allow any fluid to enter the body. Water may be very close, but the animal dies of thirst, without the slightest opportunity to quench it. Maddened by this torture, the sick animal rushes at everyone who had the temerity to approach it, and if no one is nearby, it bites itself in complete darkness. But even such a terrible picture can give only a very weak and approximate idea of what a creature that fiercely hates the whole world, not excluding itself and its own kind, can experience.
Now here’s the final question: would a sane person try to make friends with a mad dog? Or, for example, could Kipling's Mowgli survive in a pack of rabid wolves, constantly tearing each other apart? The answer in both cases is obvious. But then an immeasurably more hopeless undertaking is the attempt to appease the demon in order to secure a comfortable place in hell.
Making curtsies towards the forces of evil is a meaningless and useless exercise. The Holy Scriptures make it clear that Satan's only interest in people is as a potential victim: Be sober and watchful, for your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour (1 Pet. 5:8).
And although poking a cookie at the icon of St. George the Victorious, as the heroine of Afanasyev’s joke did, is not at all a pious thing, and, of course, it’s not worth doing this, but still, those Christians who experience a superstitious fear of demons would do well to remember that in the very rite of the Sacrament of baptism, every Christian not only shows a fig to the demon, but literally spits on him three times, renouncing Satan.
Moreover, subsequently the Christian daily remembers this renunciation in the prayer of St. John Chrysostom, read before leaving the house: “I deny you, Satan, both your pride and your service; and I unite myself with You, Christ God, in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”
But where does Christians get such boldness? The answer is simple: only those who are under reliable protection can give a damn about such dangerous and powerful enemies.
Scientific approach
Medicine has its own opinion on this matter. It is believed that this is due to mental illness. Those who are usually considered possessed show all the signs of hysteria, mania, psychosis, epilepsy, schizoid disorders, even split personality.
By the way, regarding the latter, it is curious that 29% of those who “took root” in the souls of such patients are demons. They can also be associated with monomania or paranoia.
Who drowned the pigs
People who are becoming acquainted with the Gospel for the first time sometimes pay close attention to those details of the Gospel narrative that for a churchgoer are secondary and insignificant. One such case is described by N. S. Leskov in the story “At the End of the World,” where an Orthodox bishop, traveling through Siberia, tries to explain to his Yakut guide the essence of Christian doctrine:
“Well, do you know why Christ came here to earth?
He thought and thought - and did not answer.
- Do not you know? - I say.
- Don't know.
I explained all of Orthodoxy to him, but he either listens or doesn’t, and he keeps giggling at the dogs and waving the weeds.
“Well, do you understand,” I ask, “what I told you?”
- Why, bachka, I understood: he drowned a pig in the sea, he spat in the eyes of a blind man - the blind man saw, he gave the people a loaf of bread and fish.
These pigs in the sea, a blind man and a fish, settled on his forehead, and he won’t rise further ... "
Elena Cherkasova. Christ, the demoniac he healed, and the pigs who threw themselves from the cliff. The demons themselves asked Christ, when he drove him out of man, to inhabit animals
Paradoxically, all the same pigs that have settled in the forehead of Leskov’s illiterate Yakut, in our days can sometimes confuse already quite civilized people with higher education. How could the meek and loving Christ, who “will not break a bruised reed or quench the smoking flax,” mercilessly drown a herd of pigs? Doesn't God's love extend to animals too?
The questions seem to be formally correct (although they could probably only arise from a modern person who in no way connects the ham on his table with the pig from which this ham was made). But there is still an error in such reasoning. And the point is not even that the pigs mentioned in the Gospel would sooner or later still fall under the butcher’s knife.
Upon careful reading of this passage in the Gospel, a simple fact becomes obvious: Christ did not drown the unfortunate animals. Demons are to blame for their deaths.
When He came ashore, He was met by a man from the city, possessed by demons for a long time, who had not put on clothes, and who lived not in a house, but in tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before Him and said in a loud voice: What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me. For Jesus commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man, because it had tormented him for a long time, so that they bound him with chains and bonds, keeping him safe; but he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the desert. Jesus asked him: What is your name? He said: legion, because many demons entered into it. And they asked Jesus not to command them to go into the abyss. There was also a large herd of pigs grazing on the mountain; and the demons asked Him to allow them to enter into them. He let them. The demons came out of the man and entered into the pigs, and the herd rushed down a steep slope into the lake and drowned (Luke 8:27-33).
Here the destructive power of demons’ hatred of all living things is very clearly demonstrated, forcing them to act even contrary to their own interests. Expelled from man, they ask Christ to allow them to enter the pigs in order to live in them and not go into the abyss. But as soon as Christ allows them to do this, the demons immediately drown all the pigs in the sea, again being left without shelter. It is impossible to understand such behavior, since there is no logic or common sense in hatred. A madman walking through a kindergarten with a straight razor in his hand will look like a harmless and peaceful everyman against the background of demons. And if such terrible creatures could operate unhindered in our world, then there would be nothing alive left in it long ago. But in the gospel story with the pigs, the Lord clearly showed that demons are not at all free in their actions. This is how St. Anthony the Great speaks about it:
“The devil has no power even over pigs. For, as it is written in the Gospel, the demons asked the Lord, saying: command us to go among the pigs. If they do not have power over pigs, much less do they have power over man, created in the image of God.”
By renouncing Satan in baptism, a person entrusts himself to the One who has absolute power over Satan. Therefore, even if demons attack a Christian, this should not particularly frighten him. Such an attack is possible under the only indispensable condition: if the Lord allows it. A snake bite is fatal, but a skilled doctor knows how to prepare medicine from snake venom. Likewise, the Lord can use the evil will of demons as a means to heal the human soul. According to the general opinion of the fathers, demonic possession is allowed by God to those people for whom this path turns out to be the best in acquiring humility and salvation. “Spiritually, such punishment from God does not at all serve as a bad testimony about man: many great saints of God were subjected to such a tradition to Satan...” writes Saint Ignatius (Brianchaninov).
“Meanwhile, being burdened with a demon is not at all cruel, because a demon cannot at all cast one into Gehenna, but if we are awake, then this temptation will bring us brilliant and glorious crowns when we endure such attacks with gratitude” (St. John Chrysostom).
From antiquity to the present day
The presence of these creatures has been felt at all times. Even now, when people are no longer so superstitious, they continue to use the terms “enraged,” “possessed,” and the like. Exorcism, which included prayers and a list of rituals characteristic of a particular religion, was considered an effective procedure for expelling harmful entities.
Such actions began to be carried out in hoary antiquity, when they were an integral part of beliefs, as well as cults. Today obsession is equated with mental disorders. Many are simply trying to attract attention by creating the impression that they are possessed by a demon. The healing that occurred after the exorcism procedure was more like a placebo or ordinary suggestion than a direct result of the actions of the priest.
Temptation of Saint Anthony
Demons act only where the Lord allows them to do so, turning the evil plans of fallen spirits for the good of people. This partly explains Goethe’s famous paradox of Mephistophelian self-determination: “I am part of that force that always wants evil and always does good.” Although even in a literary work, the demon still continues to lie: he, of course, is not able to accomplish any good and, as always, ascribes to himself the merits of others.
Hieronymus Bosch. Temptation of Saint Anthony
But what can a demon really do? In this matter, the opinion of the father of Christian monasticism, Anthony the Great, can be considered more than authoritative, since demons fought with him in the desert for several decades. The famous painting by Hieronymus Bosch “The Temptation of St. Anthony” depicts a terrible picture: a flock of fanged and horned monsters attacks a lonely monk. This plot was not invented by the artist, it was taken from the real life of St. Anthony, and the saint actually experienced all these terrible attacks. But this is the unexpected assessment that Anthony the Great himself gives to these horrors: “In order not to be afraid of demons, we must consider the following. If they had power, they would not come in a crowd, would not make dreams, would not take on various images when plotting; but it would be enough just to come alone and do what he can and wants, especially since everyone who has power does not amaze with ghosts, but immediately uses the power as he wants. The demons, having no power, seem to amuse themselves at the spectacle, changing their disguises and frightening children with many ghosts and phantoms. That’s why we should despise them most of all, as the powerless.”
From the church's point of view
According to the concept of Christianity, demons are spirits of evil, about whose habits you can learn a lot from stories or descriptions of the lives of saints. Also, when exploring this issue, it is worth paying attention to demons, gods of pagans and idols, which were classified in the same category. They were called the collective term “demon.” Christianity in many stories presented him as the tempter of saints or those who went into the desert.
Of course, many stories end with the victory of good over these manifestations of evil forces. A demon can send illnesses, tempt a sinner, or plunge a soul into vice. Christianity claims that it is he who pushes a person from the righteous path. So the devil is very close to this image, who is also a malicious character who spoils people’s quiet lives.
Further we go, worse it becomes…
Demons hate God. But how does God respond to this hatred? St. John of Damascus writes: “God always provides benefits to the devil, but he does not want to accept. And in the next century, God gives good to everyone - for He is the source of good, pouring out goodness on everyone, and everyone partakes of good, as much as he has prepared himself for those who receive it.”
Despite the depth of the fall of demons, God does not fight with them and is always ready to accept them back into the rank of angels. But the monstrous pride of fallen spirits does not allow them to respond to all manifestations of God’s love. This is how the modern saint, the Athonite elder Venerable Paisius the Holy Mountain, speaks about this:
“If they had said only one thing: “Lord, have mercy,” then God would have come up with something to save them. If only they had said “those who have sinned,” but they don’t say that. Having said “those who have sinned,” the devil would again become an angel. God's love is limitless.
But the devil has a persistent will, stubbornness, and selfishness. He doesn't want to give in, doesn't want to be saved. This is scary. After all, he was once an angel! Does the devil remember his former state? he is all fire and fury... And the further he goes, the worse he becomes. He develops in anger and envy. Oh, if only a person could feel the state in which the devil is! He would cry day and night. Even when a good person changes for the worse and becomes a criminal, one feels very sorry for him. But what can we say if you see the fall of an angel!.. the fall of the devil cannot be healed by anything other than his own humility. The devil does not correct himself because he does not want to. Do you know how glad Christ would be if the devil wanted to correct himself!”
Unfortunately, the devil does not give any reasons for such joy. AND
The only correct and safe attitude for a person towards fallen spirits, maddened by anger and pride, is to have nothing in common with them, which is what Christians ask the Lord in the concluding words of the Lord’s Prayer: ... lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. Amen.
The Bible and what came before it
Even before Christianity arose, one could become acquainted with demons by studying shamanism. It was already there that it was explained in detail who they were and how to expel them. Although in the Christian tradition, of course, this is not recognized and they claim that Christ was the first to engage in exorcism. After all, it was he who somehow healed a man enslaved by a demon, freeing his soul.
Dark entities forced the victim to live in a coffin. One phrase was enough for Jesus to command the dark spirits to fly away and fly into the pigs. According to Christians, God endowed individual apostles and other saints with a special gift of expelling evil spirits. Nowadays, there are many lovers of mysticism looking for it on the pages of books and movie screens. There are many films on this topic.
Demonic hierarchy
Holy Scripture gives a complete answer to the question: “Who is a demon?”, but does not explain what position he occupies in his world. Church ministers suggested that Hell is a reflection of Heaven, and by analogy with it, they divided dark entities into 9 ranks.
Each of the ranks is busy with their own business: one evil spirit impersonates God and expects obedience, the other forces people to lie and break laws. Someone incites conflicts and causes illness, and someone fools the minds of non-believers with pseudo-miracles. All of them are subordinate to Lucifer.
Imp Essence
All entities are divided into three levels:
- On the first level there are former cherubim and seraphim. For example, the cherub Balberit incites conflicts in the family, and Asmodeus inspires a person that money and luxury are the highest goal of life.
- The second level is the ranks of power and dominion in the angelic hierarchy. The demon Elle makes a person insatiable for wealth, and Rosier inclines the weak in spirit to debauchery and gluttony.
- The third level was occupied by former archangels, angels, and principles. Belial, the demon of arrogance, has great influence over women and children, and the archangel Olivia inspires hatred of the poor and forces them to treat people with cruelty.
