Christian doctrines: the Original Sin and its cure, Redemption! He is also identified as the accuser of Job, the tempter of the Gospels, Leviathan and the dragon in the Book of Revelation. The title Satan (Hebrew: הַשָּׂטָן ha- Satan), "the opposer", a title of various entities,
both human and divine, who challenge the faith of
humans in the Jewish Bible, became the name of
the personification of evil. Christian tradition and
theology changed "Satan" from an accuser
appointed by God to test men's faith to God's godlike fallen opponent: "the Devil", "Shaitan" in Arabic (the term used by Arab Christians and
Muslims). Traditionally, Christians have understood the Devil
to be the author of lies and promoter of evil'. However, the Devil can go no further than the word of Christ the Logos allows, resulting in the problem of evil'. Liberal Christianity often views the devil metaphorically. This is true of some Conservative Christian groups too, such as the Christadelphians and the Church of the Blessed Hope. Much of the popular lore of the Devil is not biblical; instead, it is a post-medieval Christian reading of the scriptures
influenced by medieval and pre-medieval Christian
popular mythology. Old Testament Christian teachings about the Devil in the Old Testament include these passages: The Serpent (Genesis 3) In the view of many Christians, the devil's first
appearance in the Old Testament is as the serpent
in the Garden of Eden. The serpent tempts Adam and Eve into eating the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, which God had forbidden them to eat, thus causing their expulsion from the Garden and indirectly causing sin to enter the world. In God's rebuke to the serpent, he tells it "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman
and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise
thy head and thou shalt bruise his heel." (Genesis 3:14-15 ) Christian scriptures are often interpreted to identify
the serpent with the Devil. The deuterocanonical Book of Wisdom says, "But by the envy of the devil, death entered the world and they who are in
his possession experience it." (Wisdom 2:24) Satan
is implicitly identified, in the New Testament, with the serpent in Eden, in Revelation 12:9: "This great dragon — the ancient serpent called the Devil, or
Satan, the one deceiving the whole world — was
thrown down to the earth with all his angels." Job's adversary (Job 1) Main article: Book of Job Christian teaching about the Satan (Hebrew שָׂטָן, Adversary), to whom God proposes his servant Job is that he appears in the heavenly court to challenge Job, with God's permission. This is one
of two Old Testament passages, along with Zechariah 3, where Hebrew ha-Satan (the Adversary) becomes Greek ho diabolos (the Slanderer) in the Greek Septuagint used by the early Christian church.[1] David's satan (2 Sam 24. & 1 Chron.
21) Christian teaching about the involvement of Satan
in David's census (a practice explained in Exodus 30:11–16), varies, just as the pre-exilic account of 2 Samuel and the later account of 1 Chronicles present differing perspectives: 2 Samuel 24. 24:1 And again the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them to say, Go, number Israel and Judah" 1 Chronicles 21:1 Satan stood up against Israel and moved David to number Israel. Zechariah 3 Zechariah's vision of recently deceased Joshua the High Priest depicts a dispute in the heavenly throne room between Satan and the Angel of the
Lord Zechariah 3:1 . Goulder (1998) views the vision as related to opposition from Sanballat the Horonite. Azazel (Leviticus 16) Main article: Azazel Some[who?] see the Scapegoat (Hebrew Azazel) : Leviticus 16:8 "And Aaron shall cast lots over the two goats, one lot for the LORD and the other
lot for the scapegoat (NIV) / for Azazel (ESV)." Also, Leviticus 16:10 Leviticus 16:26 as relating to Satan. Isaiah's Lucifer (Isaiah 14) Main article: Lucifer Since the time of Origen and Jerome some Christian concepts of the devil have included the Morning Star in Isaiah 14:12, which is translated Lucifer "Light Bringer" in the Latin Vulgate, and directly from Latin into the KJV as a name "Lucifer" Cherub in Eden (Ezekiel 28) Main article: Ezekiel's cherub in Eden Ezekiel 28 is thought by some to be referring metaphorically to Satan, rather than to the
king of Babylon. New Testament New Testament references include: The Devil - (Greek ho diabolos) : Following the use in Job and Zechariah in the Septuagint this title, "the Accuser", is ascribed to Satan 32 times
in the New Testament. The three other uses of the word are for humans - Judas, and gossips. (Revelation 12:9 ). Satan - (Greek ho satanas): Luke 10:18 "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven." See also Matthew 4:10 Matthew 12:26 Mark 4:15 Luke 22:31 Acts 26:18 1Corinthians 5:5 2Corinthians 11:14 1Thessalonians 2:18 1Timothy 5:15 Revelation 3:9 Revelation 20:2 Beelzebub - (Greek Beelzeboul) : In Matthew 10:25 , Matthew 12:24 , Mark 3:22 , and openly in Luke 11:18-19 there is an implied connection between Satan and Beelzebub (originally a Semitic deity called Baal, and referred to as Baal-zebul, meaning lord of princes). Beelzebub (lit. Lord of the Flies) has now come to be analogous to Satan. The Wicked One - (Greek ho poneros[8]) : Matthew 13:19 --"Then cometh the wicked one." Matthew 6:13 , 1 John 5:19 . This title suggests that Satan is one who is wicked himself. Abrahamic religions generally regarded sin as a physical manifestation of opposition to God, and
therefore evil; dissent only comes from the topic of 'where does sin come from?' Prince of this World - (Greek ho Archōn tou kosmou toutou,Latin Rex Mundi) : in John 12:31 and John 14:30 . The Tempter - (Greek ho peirazōn) : Matthew 4:3 --"And when the tempter came to him." Also, 1Thessalonians 3:5 A liar - (Greek psěustēs[11]) : John 8:44 --"He is a liar and the father of it." Belial - (Greek Belial) : in 2 Corinthians 6:15 "What agreement does Christ have with Belial?"
may be a reference to the Devil, or to eating idol
meats. In the Old Testament, rebellious people and nonbelievers are sometimes called 'sons of
Belial'. See also Deuteronomy 13:13 Judges 20:13 1Samuel 2:12 2Samuel 23:6 1Kings 21:10 2Chronicles 13:7 The god of this world in 2 Corinthians 4:4 . The prince of the power of the air in Ephesians 2:2 . Your adversary - (Greek antidikos) : in 1 Peter 5:8 --"Your adversary the devil." In the Christian worldview, Satan is the adversary of both God and the believers. The Dragon - (Greek ho drakōn) : in 2 Revelation 20:2 The Ancient Serpent - (Greek ho ophis ho archaios) : also in 2 Revelation 20:2 Gospels The Devil depicted in The Temptation of Christ, by Ary Scheffer, 1854. Main article: The Temptation of Christ The Devil figures much more prominently in the New Testament and in Christian theology than in the Old Testament and Judaism. The New Testament records numerous accounts of the Devil
working against God and his plan. The Temptation of Christ features the Devil, and is described in all three synoptic gospels, (Matthew 4:1-11 , Mark 1:12-13 , and Luke 4:1-13 ), although in Mark's gospel he is called Satan. In all three synoptic gospels, (Matthew 9:22-29 , Mark 3:22-30 , and Luke 11:14-20 ), Jesus' critics accuse him of gaining his power to cast out demons from
Beelzebub, the chief demon (often identified with
Satan in mainstream Christendom). In response,
Jesus says that a house divided against itself will
fall, so, logically speaking, why would the Devil
allow one to defeat the Devil's works with his own power? Main article: Demonic possession There are numerous incidences of demonic
possession in the New Testament. Satan himself is
said to have entered Judas Iscariot before Judas's betrayal. (Luke 22:3 ) Jesus encounters those who are possessed and casts out the evil spirit(s). A
person may have one demon or multiple demons
inhabiting their body. Jesus encountered a man filled with numerous demons in Mark 5:1-20.[12] Acts and epistles In the New Testament, Letter of Jude (Jude 1:9), reference is made to the Archangel Michael arguing with the Devil over the body of Moses. Revelation According to most Christian eschatology, Satan will wage a final war against Jesus, before being cast into Hell for "aeonios." A few early Church Fathers are known to have prayed for Satan's eventual repentance;it was not generally believed that this would happen. On the other
hand, Dispensationalists teach that Jesus returns to earth before the Tribulational period to reclaim the righteous, dead and living, to meet Him in the air (known as the Rapture. Many Fundamentalists believe that immediately following
this, the Tribulational period will occur as
prophesied in the book of Daniel, while others
(especially Seventh-day Adventists) believe that immediately following Jesus' Second Coming,
Satan will be bound on this Earth for a thousand
years, after which he will be “loosed for a little season” —this is when the battle of Armageddon (the final confrontation between good and evil) will be waged—and Satan and his
followers will be destroyed once and for all, the
Earth will be cleansed of all evil and there will be “a
new Heaven and a new Earth” where sin will reign no more. Extra-Biblical material Some Christian teaching stems from extra-Biblical
material, for example the Book of Enoch. In various Gnostic sects, the serpent of Eden was praised as the giver of knowledge, sometimes with
references to Lucifer, “the light-bringer,” being created by the goddess Sophia. The serpent is presented as an antinomian figure rebelling against the tyranny of the Archons; in the Nag Hammadi texts, he is even called "the Beast". However, this being is never explicitly referred to as Satan. Like their Cathar ideological descendants, they used the terms "devil" and "demon" to refer to the Judeo-
Christian God, whom they called Yaldabaoth. Middle Ages The Devil on horseback. Nuremberg Chronicle (1493). Particularly in the medieval period, Satan was often
shown as having horns and a goat's hindquarters (though occasionally with the legs of a chicken or a mule), and with a tail. He was also depicted as carrying a pitchfork,the implement used in Hell to torment the damned, or a trident, deriving from the regalia of the sea-god Poseidon. Occasionally more imaginative depictions were
illustrated: Sometimes the Devil was depicted as
having faces all of over his body, as in the painting
of a Deal with the Devil. Depictions of the Devil covered in boils and scars, animal-like hair, and
monstrous deformities were also common. None of
these images seem to be based on Biblical
materials, as Satan's physical appearance is never
described in the bible or any other religious text.
Rather, this image is apparently based on pagan Horned Gods, such as Pan, Cernunnos, Molek, Selene and Dionysus, common to many pagan religions. Pan in particular looks very much like the images of the medieval Satan. These images
later became the basis for Baphomet, which is portrayed in Eliphas Lévi's 1854 Dogme et rituel de
la haute magie (English translation Transcendental Magic, its Doctrine and Ritual). Even some Satanists use Baphomet as the image of Satan in
Satanic worship. It has been alleged that this image
was chosen specifically to discredit the Horned God. Cathars What is known of the Cathars largely comes in
what is preserved by the critics in the Catholic
Church which later destroyed them in the Albigensian Crusade. Alain de Lille, c.1195, accused the Cathars of believing in two gods - one of light, one of darkness. Durand de Huesca, responding to a Cathar tract c.1220 indicates that
they regarded the physical world as the creation of Satan. A former Italian Cathar turned Dominican, Sacchoni in 1250 testified to the Inquisition that his former co-religionists believed that the devil made the world and everything in it. The Reformation Luther taught the traditional personal devil. Among his teachings was a recommendation of music since "the devil cannot stand gaiety." The devil being fought by Christian using a gold sword, Norwich Cathedral cloisters ceiling detail. Calvin taught the traditional view of the devil as a fallen angel. Calvin repeats the simile of Saint Augustine: "Man is like a horse, with either God or the devil as rider." In interrogation of Servetus who had said that all creation was part of God,
Calvin asked what of the devil? Servetus
responded "all things are a part and portion of God" Anabaptists and Dissenters David Joris was the first of the Anabaptists to venture that the devil was only an allegory (c.1540),
his view found a small but persistent following in the Netherlands. The view was transmitted to England and Joris's booklet was reprinted
anonymously in English in 1616, prefiguring a
spate of non-literal devil interpretations in the
1640s-1660s: Mede, Bauthumley, Hobbes, Muggleton and the private writings of Isaac Newton. In Germany such ideas surfaced later, c.1700, among writers such as Balthasar Bekker and Christian Thomasius. However the above views remained very much a minority. Daniel Defoe in his The Political History of the Devil (1726) describes such views as a form of "practical atheism". Defoe wrote "that to believe the existence of a God is a debt to nature, and to
believe the existence of the Devil is a like debt to
reason". Rudolf Bultmann and modernists Rudolf Bultmann taught that Christians need to reject belief in a literal devil as part of first century culture. This line is developed by Walter Wink. Against this come the works of writers like Jeffrey Burton Russell, a believer in a literal personal fallen being of some kind. In Lucifer, the Devil in the Middle Ages, the third volume of his five volume history of the devil,Russell argues that such theologians are missing
that the devil is part and parcel of the New
Testament from its origins.
A number of prayers and practices against the Devil exist within the Roman Catholic tradition. The Lord's Prayer includes a petition for being delivered from Evil, but a number of other specific
prayers also exist. The Prayer to Saint Michael specifically asks for Catholics to be defended "against the wickedness
and snares of the devil." Given that some of the Our Lady of Fatima messages have been linked by the Holy See to the "end times",some Catholic authors have concluded that the angel referred to
within the Fatima messages is St. Michael the
Archangel who defeats the Devil in the War in Heaven. Author Timothy Robertson takes the position that the Consecration of Russia was a step in the eventual defeat of Satan by the Archangel Michael. The process of exorcism is used within the Catholic Church against the Devil. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that: "Jesus performed exorcisms and from him the Church has received the power and office of exorcizing". The Catholic Church views the battle against the
Devil as ongoing. During a May 24, 1987 visit to
the Sanctuary of Saint Michael the Archangel, Pope John Paul II said: Pope Paul VI expressed concern about the influence of the Devil and in 1972 stated that: "Satan's smoke has made its way into the Temple of God through some crack". However, Pope John Paul II viewed the defeat of Satan as inevitable. Father Gabriele Amorth, the chief exorcist of the Diocese of Rome, warned about ignoring Satan, saying, "Whoever denies Satan also denies sin and no longer understands the actions of Christ". He also said that Satan is active in such current media as the Harry Potter books and films. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that the Church regards the Devil as being created as a
good angel by God, and by his and his fellow fallen angels choice fell out of God's grace. Satan is not an infinitely powerful being. Although,
he was an angel, and thus pure spirit, he is
considered a creature nonetheless. Satan's actions are permitted by divine providence. 395 Eastern Orthodox In Eastern Orthodox Christianity, Satan is one of humanity's three enemies, along with sin and death
(in some other forms of Christianity the other two enemies of mankind are "the world",and self (or the flesh), which is to be taken as man's natural tendency to sin). Evangelical Protestants Evangelicals agree with the Protestant orthodox of
theology that Satan is a real, created being given
entirely over to evil and that evil is whatever
opposes God or is not willed by God. Evangelicals
emphasize the power and involvement of Satan in
history in varying degrees; some virtually ignore Satan and others revel in speculation about
spiritual warfare against that personal power of darkness Anglican The Anglican tradition of questioning the literal
existence of the devil goes back at least to the Rev. Arthur Ashley Sykes (1737) and the Latitudinarians. Unitarians and Christadelphians Some Christian groups and individuals view the
devil in Christianity figuratively. They see the devil
in the Bible as representing human sin and
temptation, and any human system in opposition
to God. Early Bible fundamentalist Unitarians and Dissenters like Lardner, Mead, Farmer, Ashdowne and Simpson, and Epps taught that the miraculous healings of the Bible were real, but that the devil
was an allegory, and demons just the medical
language of the day. Such views today are taught today by Christadelphians and the Church of the Blessed Hope. Latter-day Saints In Mormonism, the devil is a real being, a literal spirit son of God who once had angelic authority,
but rebelled and fell prior to the creation of the
Earth in a premortal life. At that time, he persuaded
a third part of the spirit children of God to rebel
with him. This was in opposition to the plan of
salvation championed by Jehovah(?). Now the devil tries to persuade mankind into doing
evil. Because they have no physical bodies, they
can and do attempt to possess the bodies of mortal
beings. His goal is to make mankind as miserable
as he is. Mankind can overcome this through faith in Jesus Christ and obedience to the Gospel. The Unification Church teaches that Satan will be restored in the last days and become a good angel again. Teachings about the Devil vary, depending on the
local folklore. Still, the characteristics present in the
Bible are present in most depictions. Rebel According to the gospels of Matthew (chapter 4)
and Luke (chapter 4), the Devil tempted Jesus at the
beginning of his ministry. After Jesus fasted forty
days and forty nights in the wilderness, the Devil
approached Jesus with offers of stones turned to
bread, rulership over the kingdoms of the Earth (but with subservience to the Devil himself), and
spectacular protection from physical harm. Satan
uses the Scripture of the Old Testament to solidify
his arguments. This would indicate Satan's full
knowledge of all of Scripture and a use of that
knowledge to tempt and deceive man (Mat 4). Jesus refused all three temptations, rebuking Satan with
his own knowledge of Scripture (Mat 4). Christianity holds several different views on
Christ's role in defeating Satan. Some emphasize
Christ's death and resurrection as sealing Satan's
fate, so that the Devil is already defeated though
not banished. Others emphasize the Devil's final
judgment when Christ returns, at which time the terror and deceit of Satan will have no more effect
on the world. This is because mankind will face
final judgment and the earth will be purged or
cleansed with fire. Satan will be bound to the lake of fire (Rev 20) with the Beast, the false prophet and all those whose names are not in the Book of Life. There will no longer be any way for Satan to have an impact on mankind. Sealed in the Lake Of
Fire, he will have his own pain and misery like those
who had on earth. Possession The Devil and his demons are portrayed as able to possess and control humans. The Roman Catholic Church occasionally performs exorcisms, usually only after medical and psychological evaluations have taken place to rule
out a mental or physical ailment. Black magic The Devil has been described as granting spells
and magic powers to sorcerers and witches. In Acts of the Apostles 16:16 Saint Paul meets 'a slave girl who had an evil spirit that enabled her to predict
the future'. He performs an exorcism using the
name of _________________. Christian tradition Christian tradition differs from that of Christian demonology in that Satan, Lucifer, Leviathan and Beelzebub all are names that refer to "the Devil", and Prince of this World, The Beast and Dragon (and rarely Serpent or The Old Serpent) use to be elliptic forms to refer to him. The Enemy, The Evil One and The Tempter are other elliptic forms to name the Devil. Belial is held by many to be another name for the Devil. Christian demonology,
in contrast, does not have several nicknames for
Satan. It should be noted that the name Mephistopheles is used by some people to refer to the Devil, but it
is a mere folkloric custom, and has nothing to do
with Christian demonology and Christian tradition. Prince of Darkness and Lord of Darkness are also folkloric names, although they tend to be
incorporated to Christian tradition. Hell: The belief that Satan is in Hell has its roots in Christian literature rather than in the Bible. The Bible states that he still roams Heaven and Earth. It also states that Satan appeared with other angels "before the
Lord," presumably in heaven. When God asked
Satan where he had been, Satan replied, "From
going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it".
1 Peter 5:8 declares, "Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion
looking for someone to devour". As demonstrated
by Dante, Milton, and several other writings, the
Devil is commonly thought to be in Hell. Sinfulness of angels Some theologians believe that angels cannot sin
because sin brings death and angels cannot die,or because they are spiritual beings that are completely aware of God's will..
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