What really is a demon?
Jesus is heard instructing his disciples to: “Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons.” (NKJV) Matthew 10:8. A New Survey of Universal Knowledge ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA states that the word demon is from the Greek word daimon meaning supernatural being or spirit. According to Greeks' belief, such a spirit could do both good and evil. It would only depend on its mood. If it would decide to be a good spirit then it would do good things to people and cause them to be benevolent. If it would decide to be a bad spirit it would then do evil things to people and cause them to be malevolent. The Encyclopeadia also states that Socrates had a daimon that used to warn him whenever he was about to make a wrong decision. Inferring from Greeks' belief, it becomes clear that demons have nothing to do with the devil or Satan but are in their own domain.
Read Deuteronomy 32:17 “They sacrificed to demons, not to God, to gods they did not know, to new gods, new arrivals that your fathers did not fear.” (NKJV) Let us also read Psalm 106:37 “They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons.” (NKJV) The Dictionary of the Bible also states that demonology was practiced in both Assyrian and Arabic countries. The word demon, the dictionary continues, denotes a species of genii or demi-gods that was conceived as invested with power for good or evil and for whom even human sacrifices were offered.
These demons or daimons as their original Greek name is, are also known as the jinni or jinnee or djinni or djinny in Arab communities. Collins English Dictionary states that djinni are spirits found in Muslim mythology that could assume human or animal form and could influence man by supernatural powers. Andrew Collins in his book; From the Ashes of Angels; has this to say: “In Muslim theology, the djinn were said to have been created two thousand years before Adam. They ranked alongside the angels and the chief among them was Eblis.” Djinn could be spelt as djinni, djinny, genie, jinnee or jinni.
What is a genie? Collins English Dictionary states that a genie is found in fairy tales and stories. It is a servant who appears by magic and fulfills a person's wishes. The dictionary also states that genie is another word for jinni. The etymology of this word according to this dictionary is from French genie, which is from Arabic jinni, demon. It is also greatly influenced by Latin genius which is an attendant spirit. This guiding spirit attends a person from birth to death in a Roman myth. It is also the guardian spirit of a place, group of people, or institution.
Jude in his epistle writes something which stands out as his own revelation. He writes something we have never heard of in all other previous books of the bible. Read Jude verse 9. 'Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” (NKJV) What Jude states here correspond with what is found in the book of Zachariah 3:2 where God Almighty is found rebuking Satan: And the Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you!” What is totally new is the account on the devil and the archangel Michael contending over the body of Moses. Such contention is not found in the bible. Perhaps it is found in other books that were not included in the bible. The Satan that is rebuked by Lord God Almighty, is the Satan that is obedient to Him not the rebellious one that will be looked at closely in this chapter as well as in this book as a whole.
Peter opens another door for us when he says in 2Peter 2:4 For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgement. (NKJV) The only angels who sinned against God Almighty that we know of are found in Genesis 6:4.
Most people have been told; and they all, in the most incredible manner believe it without qualms; that the leader of those rebellious angels was Satan who was dismissed peremptorily from heaven to earth. Peter talks of disobedient angels that are in hell and in chains awaiting God's judgement. Peter comes with something new to us now. He just mentions angels. What about Satan? We all generally have heard that the devil together with his angels was cast down to earth after his rebellion in heaven. The general assumption is, to this day they are all busy deceiving people and causing them to sin here on earth. Yet Peter says disobedient angels are in chains awaiting God's judgement. Surely Peter talks of other disobedient angels, not the angels that were cast down to earth from heaven together with their leader Lucifer. In fact myths of gods fighting against or rebuking one another, sometimes punishing other celestial beings for their wrongdoings are from Greece, Arabia and India.
Did you know that the person who fabricated this rebellion story which he claimed took place in heaven was Enoch? His books which are Pseudepigrapha, for they had been excluded from the Greek canon of the Old Testament. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia has it that; “In Medieval Judaism, the Rabbis rejected these Enochic literary works into the Biblical canon, making every attempt to root them out.” They were once more rejected by the early Fathers of the Church especially, St Augustine, and could not be part of the 27 books of the New Testament. The edict of the Fathers of the Church in the Council of Nicaea in A.D. or C.E 325 was; “All apocryphal writings had to be burnt to ashes.” Most such writings were destroyed but others were hidden and as was expected, were recovered centuries later. These apocryphal writings were then propagated by the Gnostics after Gnosticism had been tolerated. They have varying versions of Satan who grew temerarious and opposed God Almighty Himself.
When The People of Israel arrived in Canaan they might have been fascinated by stories about Canaanites' gods who sometimes fight one another. These stories might have caused Enoch, a Jew, to emulate the Canaanites by coming up with a myth of their God who, just like theirs, was once opposed by Lucifer.
It was in the land of the Canaanites where the people of Israel heard a lot about their gods who had challenged higher gods for their positions. The Canaanites' earliest myth is about their god Helel, who was also a mighty warrior that tried to dethrone his high god El from his throne which was situated high up in the mountain. To his dismay Helel was forced to go down to the depths. Later the Canaanites came with another myth about god Athtar or Attar who was referred to as The Morning Star, who also had tried to usurp power by occupying the throne of his highest god Ba'al but failed. He also was cast down and became the ruler of the underworld. Such myths together with similar myths from Greece and the East resulted in Enoch composing the myth about God Almighty having to rely on His archangel Michael's army against the army of Lucifer. Michael eventually defeated Lucifer, who was subsequently cast down to earth with all the angels who had supported him. All his angels were turned to demons and Lucifer was given a new name Satan. John Milton substantiated Enoch's account of war between Lucifer and the archangel Michael in his epic poem, Paradise Lost. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, puts it thus concerning Milton's epic poem: “Satan is comparable in many ways to the tragic heroes of classic Greek literature, but Satan's hubris far surpasses those of previous tragedies.” Wikipedia also states that “The Book of Enoch contains references to Satariel, thought also to be Sataniel and Satan'el (etymology dating back to Babylonian origins).” Satan then came to be acknowledged by Christians as the devil, the king of darkness, whose duty it was to cause people to sin.
There are also religious books with a version of Satan, as a rebellious angel. Their version resembles that of Christian Church Fathers from Cyprus, Armenia, Greece and France ( as Philip G. Zimbardo mentions them) for it also states that after God had created Adam He commanded all His angels to worship him. Lucifer impetuously defied worshiping Adam. Their version goes a step further for it gives reasons for Lucifer's disobedience. It states that Lucifer argued that he, far superior for having been created of fire, could not worship Adam who was made of dust. The URANTIA BOOK, intentionally or unintentionally elucidates the point that Lucifer and his disobedience is purely a figment of story tellers' imagination, when it mentions that Lucifer was in fact from the land of Nebadon and was also a son of Nebadon.
The book of Enoch is one of the most ancient books to influence the world in this incredible way, hence its teachings are being used to this day to propagate confusion all over the world that Satan was once a rebellious angel in heaven. It is said that when the Jews were in exile in Babylon they came into contact with the religion of the Magi preached by Mani as well as Zoroastrianism of Zoroaster. Just read what Manichaeism clearly and in no uncertain terms says about the devil. “…the devil is the king of darkness …a precosmic, uncreated, omnipotent power, the maker of the world and the equal with God.” That is why Paul preached in Corinth using what they already believed in saying in 2Corinthians 4:4 “In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of the unbelieving…” (The Holy Bible) What people of Corinth had been made to conceptualize was; it was the devil who created this world hence he owns it. This conception has later given rise to Luciferians that worship the devil under the name of Satanael (the God-Satan) or of Sammael. These two religions, of the Magi and Zoroastrianism, dualistic as they were and still are believe, as Collins English Dictionary states, that the universe has been ruled from its origins by two conflicting powers, one good and one evil, both existing as equal ultimate first causes. Yet the Pentateuch clearly states in unequivocal terms that those worshipping the idols with their demons were the gentiles and the Israelites were not even the least afraid of their demons. Read Deuteronomy 32:17 “They sacrificed to demons, not to God, to gods they did not know, to new gods, new arrivals that your fathers did not fear.” (NKJV) These demons are not known to the Israelites. They are just a new thing to them. According to Judaic religion, whatever wrong man chooses to do, man will suffer the consequences thereof. There is no buck passing to any incorporeal being such as Satan and his demons for any kind of influence.
Yet Jesus Christ is heard saying “Hypocrite! Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose an ox or donkey from the stall, and lead it away to water it? So ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound – think of it – for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?” (NKJV) Luke 13:15-16. Jesus here uses the word Satan figuratively for an adversary. This is how Satan is conceptualized in the Judaic Religion. Jesus Christ was referring to the disease that poor woman was suffering from as Satan. It had crippled her and she could not walk straight. This woman might have been suffering from multiple sclerosis. A chronic progressive disease of the central nervous system characterized by loss of some of the myelin sheath surrounding certain nerve fibres and resulting in speech and visual disorders, tremor, muscular incoordination and paralysis as Collins English Dictionary puts it. Multiple sclerosis is really an enemy of the body. It is incurable even to this day. It causes the patient to suffer unbearable pains especially in the joints. It takes many years to kill one suffering from it. So Jesus, like all other Jews understands Satan figuratively as an enemy. The enemy of the body in this case is the disease.
Luke also writes these words in connection with Satan; Luke 22:3-4 Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve. So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them. (NKJV) Here Satan takes a form of an evil thought which enters human mind causing him to evil to others. The concept of Satan here resembles that of Greek daimon. In Matthew 4:1 it is written: Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Most people, the world over who read the bible, take this line literally that Jesus was brought to Satan by the Spirit to be tempted. The truth is, God Almighty knew that after Jesus had fasted forty days and forty nights he would be famished and the first thing he would desperately long for would be something to eat. Surely Jesus, seeing all the way he had to go before reaching home for something to eat, thought of using his powers 'as a son of God' to turn stones into bread. That temptation took place right inside his mind. He was also able to brush that thought aside. Soon his mind started playing tricks on him. He saw himself on the pinnacle of the temple. He heard a voice telling him to prove that he really was the son of God by throwing himself down for it is written angels would fly down and catch him before hitting the ground. Jesus averted that thought again. Thoughts after thoughts came to him and he was also able to overcome them. After such thoughts had left him, angels who had been watching him from heaven, came down and helped him. (GNB Matthew 4:11) It could be the most absurd incident if Jesus could literally be tempted by Satan or the devil. To those who believe in Satan as an angel that was expelled from heaven, it would be like sending a prisoner serving a life sentence to tempt a judge of the Supreme Court.
John also writes about Satan. Read John 8:44 John says Jesus once said: “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.” (NKJV) Now here Satan takes a new form altogether. Here he is not only an enemy that kills but also a liar. Jesus mixes what the Hebrews thought Satan was; a foe; with what the Greeks and Arabs perceived Satan to be; a calumniator. Jesus says Satan is the father of calumny. It then could not be improbably that Jesus had studied demonology. Most people wrongly think Jesus was referring to the snake that tempted Eve. Jesus is referring to the Arabic demonology which has Iblis (Satan) as the chief of all demons. Iblis and his demons reveled in chaos, destruction and carnage. So Jesus Christ used what they believed in so as to be fully understood by them Let us hear what Paul says concerning Satan in 1Thessalonians 2:18 “Therefore we wanted to come to you – but Satan hindered us.” (NKJV) Does Paul literally mean that Satan stood on their way? No, no, no! Here Paul is figurative. Whatever hindrance they could not overcome is here referred to as Satan.
Peter again has something to say concerning Satan. Read 1Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Peter here figuratively depicts Satan as fearsome as a lion that is busy devouring up people. He must be referring to sinning but other biblical scholars would say he talks about The Roman Empire. He says sin (Satan) eats up people as if they are eaten up by the lion itself. If it is so, Peter then is one hundred percent correct. Sins eat up people. When people kill, rape and abuse one another, when some are busy eating unbalanced diet, or are busy subjecting themselves to all sorts of perils of this world and some getting hooked on drugs; they all in fact sin against God Almighty. All sins finish people up as if are devoured by hungry lions.
What does Jesus mean when he talks of Satan and his angels in hell? Matthew 25:41 Then He will also say to those on the left hand, Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: (NKJV) This is a parable which is aimed at encouraging people to take care of one another especially the indigent. Jesus in most cases would talk in parables. His disciples who were puzzled by it asked Him why He spoke in parables and he answered: Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them has not been given. (NKJV) Satan and his angels in this parable symbolize sin. The bible states that sinning itself will eventually come to an end. It will be thrown into the fire and be burnt. This is the obliteration of sinning as a concept. Sin and sinning will then be no more. Read Revelation 20: 10 The devil, who deceive them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. (NKJV)
What does Jesus mean when He says in Luke 10:18 “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven?” What does Satan now do in heaven? Was he not, according to some writings, cast down to earth? Does it mean that he was driven out of heaven and was later pardoned and reinstated? If it is so, why is such an event not stated in the scriptures? What does Jesus then mean with these words? Jesus was warning his disciples that once a person has been endowed with powers over demons and diseases, in most cases, deceit falls upon him like lightning. Subsequently some would then use their powers to make money so as to be affluent here in this world.
Where according to the bible is Satan?
What the bible says Satan really is, has never changed. That is, Satan is an obedient spirit that is in heaven with God. What The Dictionary of The Bible says about Satan, citing the book of Job? “Here Satan appears as a member of the celestial council of angelic beings who have access to the presence of God. His special function is to watch over human affairs and beings with the object of searching out men's sins and accusing them in the celestial court.” This Satan does not come up with fabrication to the celestial court. He states things as they are. He never lies. In the book of Zechariah 3 he is found accusing Joshua the priest of the sins he had committed. In all these books Satan is presented a loyal, submissive, and very much responsible celestial being. Is this Satan the same one Enoch wrote about? If he is not then how many Satans are there? If there is only one Satan so it means Enoch's Satan, which is known by almost all people on earth, is nothing but a fabrication.
Satan in the book of Job as well as in the book of Zechariah is not just figurative, but is a real celestial being. The Old Testament in most cases deals with things that really happened. In the Old Testament God Almighty is presented as omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient and omnicompetent. Omnipotent: He is having unlimited power. Omnipresent: He is present in all places at the same time. Omniscient: He is having infinite knowledge or understanding. Omnicompetent: He is able to judge or deal with all matters. These are His attributes.
God Almighty was able to see Adam and Eve defying Him miles away on earth. What then might have made Him not to quickly know about Satan's plot to dethrone Him in Heaven? God Almighty got vexed with the iniquities of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah and summarily annihilated them and demolished their cities. He freed single handedly people from enslavement in Egypt. There is nothing that could challenge Him. Whatever tries to raise a head against him is subjugated with alacrity. The Judaic God has no opposition. He is really the Almighty God. Which god is this that had to give its archangel a magical sword to fight against Lucifer. Surely this is not the Almighty God of Abraham, Jacob, Samuel, David, Job and all the prophets in the Holy Bible.
Where does then the concept of the Almighty God who struggles with opposing forces emanate from? Encyclopaedia Britannica states; “… pseudepigraphical Jewish literature offers a more developed demonology with some evidence of the influence of pagan literature.” It is this pagan literature that had created Satan and his demons. Witchcraft and sorcery practiced by people have turned Enoch's Satan into a demi-god, and then Christians as well as Muslims propagated him.
The New Testament is largely to blame for this confusion for it never makes it clear to people that a satan it refers to is neither a super incorporeal being, nor a rival to God Almighty, but only figurative. It never expounds on Satan as merely symbolic. The omniscient and omnicompetent God could not have been so foolish as to create His own opposition and rival. Satan and his demons are the results of witchcraft and sorcery and should never be made equal with God in anyway. As South African Christians never preach tokoloshe, izizwe and abalozi in their churches, Christians the world over have to stop preaching Satan in their churches. If they wish to preach Satan they have to state that Satan is figuratively the personification of evil.
THE INTRODUCTION OF SATAN IN THE BIBLE.
The name Satan is mentioned in the Chronicles for the first time in the bible. Read 1Chronicles 21:1. You will also find Satan in the book of Job. The last book that mentions the name of Satan in the Old Testament is that of the prophet Zechariah. It is the New Testament that is busy telling us more and more about Satan. In the New Testament we learn of Satan as the king of darkness and even having his own kingdom of demons. Such is not found in the Old Testament. If Satan appears in the Old Testament, he is under the control of God Almighty and is very much submissive to Him. What nowadays is referred to as Satanism by most people, is referred to as sorcery in the Pentateuch.
A Satanist Cult is in fact sorcery, as the Old Testament clearly puts it. Sorcery was, and even to these days is still practised all over the world. Nowadays it has been given this new name, which is Satanism. Some will argue that Satanism and sorcery are two different yet somehow related entities. But according to the Encyclopedic Dictionary of Cults, Sects, and World Religions they both use witchcraft as well as black-magic.
God Almighty never created Satan who became a rebellious angel. God Almighty is no fool. Only a nincompoop can deliberately create problems for himself. The Almighty God is not in any way an idiot.