The birth of the devil. Who is Lucifer in Orthodoxy and what is his history What is the difference between Lucifer and Satan

The classification of representatives of the other world has long been interested in. As early as the 6th century, a peculiar division was developed that assigned its place to each angel, demon, spirit, devil and elemental. There was a "shelter" in these descriptions and the above-mentioned characters.

Who is Lucifer

Lucifer is essentially an archangel, not inferior in power to God. Once Lucifer came to the aid of people, for which he was punished, expelled from heaven and, in addition, turned into a snake. Other images of the entity are a child or a beautiful green-eyed youth with long, slightly curly hair. He is often compared with the ancient Greek Prometheus, who, secretly from the Olympians, brought fire to earth and then was chained to a rock for many years. But the role of Lucifer is more important, because he gave people knowledge, and therefore the right to choose and the opportunity to disobey the divine will.

From the point of view of the canonical church, such an act is an undeniable evil. So Lucifer became an instigator and tempter who leads good people astray. Lucifer, like God, is also a creator, but not cosmic matters, but the earthly world is in his power. He took many angels down with him, who naturally became demons in the human mind. While Lucifer's power over the forces of evil is certain, it is not absolute. He has many deputies, among them - Astaroth and Mephistopheles.

The sin of Lucifer is pride.

Who is Satan

Under the name of Satan, or the evil one, the prince of the human world is hidden. He brings deceit and is one of the main enemies of God. Satan easily changes guises, taking on any images. The Evil One is often personified with Lucifer. But if the latter is a “light-bearing”, “daylight”, once beloved angel of God, then Satan is a “slanderer”, “conspirator”, “enemy”.

There is an opinion that Lucifer, after the fall, was reborn into an entity lower in status and consciousness. According to the classification of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, Satan is a subordinate; its master is Lucifer. Although the most evil one has a whole host of devils under his command, who are considered the attendants of hell. We can conclude about the mundane function of Satan, who acts as a kind of "caretaker" in the world of evil. It is not in his power to create, but he quite copes with the task of maintaining a given order. By the way, it is with Satan that Michael the Archangel will someday have to fight in the main battle against evil. According to the biblical version, the evil one will be defeated, which will put an end to all that is unkind in the world.

Satan's sin is anger.

Who is Beelzebub

Beelzebub rules the world of insects and went to hell not from the Christian sky, like Lucifer, but migrated from the beliefs of the Middle East. The entity's name is traditionally translated as "lord of the flies". Beelzebub is depicted as a large ugly insect; an ugly goat, calf, or cow; winged woman. The demon is able to overthrow those in power, bringing foreign tyrants to their lands. He excites good people, especially priests and believers, to iniquity, destruction, envy, murder, sodomy.

It is believed that Beelzebub's ultimate goal is to destroy the world. The demon is often identified with Satan, although most authors call him the first helper of the evil one. According to another common version - Beelzebub serves directly to Lucifer. Although they try to put on the crown of the Christian Prince of Darkness on the “lord of the flies”, it is quite rare: according to the classical versions, the entity plays the role of a powerful “assistant”.

In the name of Beelzebub, along with Satan and Lucifer, black magicians call on lower demons, thereby emphasizing not only its importance, but also a separate existence. Sometimes Beelzebub is portrayed as a kind of "cook" at a hellish feast: he roasts the soul of a sinner and sends a "delicacy" to his master's table.

The sin of Beelzebub is gluttony.

Demons are united by one thing - serving evil. Each entity on the path of its literary development has acquired many conjectures, ranging from appearance to position "in society". Lucifer, Satan and Beelzebub are different personalities, but together they represent the collective image of the devil as the source of all evil in the world.

Lucifer, Dennitsa, the First Fallen - with what names they did not endow the most beautiful angel. But, alas, one day he sinned and was cast out of heaven. Who is Dennitsa and what happened to him, we will analyze in this article.

In the article:

Dennitsa and Lucifer are the same angel

The scene of the fall from heaven of Doenitsa and a third of the angelic army

The name Dennitsa from Old Slavonic means "morning Star". It was also called Venus or midday haze in the sky. In Slavic mythology, Dennitsa is the daughter of the sun, whom the moon fell in love with, which is why the eternal enmity between day and night appeared.

For the first time, the word "daylight" appeared to denote the greatness of the king of Babylon, who was like the morning dawn. However, already in the book of the prophet Isaiah he is called Dennitsa. He is the son of the dawn, bright and sparkling, but sinful, fallen from heaven.

In the Bible, Isaiah, chapter 14, verses 12 - 17, we read about the angel Dennitsa:

How you fell from the sky, morning star, son of the dawn! Crashed on the ground, trampling the nations. And he said in his heart: “I will ascend to heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God, and I will sit on a mountain in the assembly of the gods, on the edge of the north; I will ascend into the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High.” But you are cast into hell, into the depths of the underworld. Those who see you look at you, think about you: “Is this the man who shook the earth, shook kingdoms, made the world a desert and destroyed its cities, did not let his captives go home?

So in Orthodoxy the name of Lucifer appeared - Dennitsa.

Angel Dennitsa - beloved son of God

Dennitsa was the first angel created by God. He was placed in charge of them, and thus received his name, meaning the early star. Dennitsa, like all angels, was full of love, and his beautiful appearance inspired other spiritual creatures, awakening to be faithful to God and help him in all endeavors.

Angel Dennitsa loved life very much and strove to show all the love that God put into his creations. Born from God's desire to manifest himself and his emotions, Dennitsa became the angel closest to Him. was appointed his viceroy, an instrument of God's providence.

For a long time the angel Dennitsa stood before God as high priest giving him prayers. Not being selfish, the angel, like no one else, followed all the plans of God, with self-forgetfulness carrying His will among his fellows. Close to God, Dennitsa was for the angels an ideal image of divine perfection. His fame spread among the host of spirits, and love only grew stronger.

Dennitsa-Lucifer, the lord of the lower heavenly powers, loved Adam and Eve. The hypostasis of Lucifer in many other mythologies, and especially Roman, is called Prometheus, which means "wise, thinker." Everyone knows the story of Prometheus - he stole fire from the forge of Hephaestus for people. Thanks to this, people were able to get out of the caves, hunt animals and keep warm. Dennitsa, like Prometheus, brought light to people - knowledge of the difference between good and evil.

Like Prometheus, who brought fire to people and led them out of the darkness of the caves, to gain strength and confidence, Dennitsa desired to give people Divine knowledge. And then he made his first mistake. The leitmotif of the first angel of God Dennitsa and Prometheus, punished for conscription, runs like a red thread through all the beliefs of mankind.

Fallen Angel Dennitsa

The fall of Dennitsa, like another third of heavenly beings, was due to the fact that he disobeyed God. Despite the fact that angels are carriers of the desires and aspirations of God, fulfilling His will, they are not deprived of the right to choose. But God did not become the root cause of the fall of Lucifer, since in those days there was no sin yet.

The original angel was much weaker than his Creator, his capabilities were limited. However, watching the rest of the angels, who, being much weaker, admired and loved him, Dennitsa thought that he was worthy to be in the place of God. In Isaiah chapter 14 we read again:

And he said in his heart: “I will ascend to heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God, and I will sit on a mountain in the assembly of the gods, on the edge of the north; I will ascend into the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High.” But you are cast into hell, into the depths of the underworld.

Dennitsa-Lucifer decided that he knows better what people need. Ignoring God's direct warning to Adam and Eve not to touch the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he descended into garden of eden. Taking the form of a serpent, the angel tempted the gullible woman, thus forcing the forefathers of mankind to sin.

God called his once-faithful son to account. Seeing that Lucifer's heart was filled with pride, and his thoughts were full of darkness, the Creator became very angry. He cursed the angel and threw him into an ever-burning hell to serve his punishment.

The sudden division of the angel community was another unfortunate consequence of Lucifer's betrayal. A third of the heavenly host went over to Dennitsa's side, unable to believe that their radiant leader had disobeyed God. Now their ruler is Lucifer, "the bearer of light", who has departed from the canons of love and justice dictated by the Creator.

The vicious passion of selfishness, the desire to rise above everyone, to rule, to be the main one, gave rise to pride, which led the former vicar of God to fall. Unfortunately, the angels who admired Lucifer were also to blame. Their prayers and love convinced the angel that the perfection with which he was endowed should not go unnoticed.

The topic of betrayal for the Slavs has always been very acute. That is why such a strong hatred of Lucifer and demons has long been characteristic of the Orthodox. There are even proverbs and sayings with the mention of Lucifer:

Anger is a human thing, but rancor is from Lucifer.

Among the Slavs, the names Satan, Lucifer and Beelzebub mean the same thing - the closest angel who betrayed God. In the Old Testament, Satan is a common noun - "the enemy of God." Satan Dennitsa is first called in the book of the prophet Zechariah, in the third chapter. There he acts as an accuser at a heavenly court, protesting against the will of God and devaluing His plan.

Good day, dear readers! We continue our series of articles devoted to prototypes and primary sources. And today we will talk about the most important fallen angel. So, without further ado, let's get started.

Lucifer (lat. Lucifer “light-bearing”, from lux “light” + fero “carry”; in the same meaning - other Greek Eosphorus or Phosphorus, other Russian Dennitsa) - the image of the “morning star” in Roman mythology ; in Christianity since the 17th century - a synonym for a fallen angel, identified with Satan and the devil.

The first mention of the morning star with a negative connotation is found in the Book of the prophet Isaiah, written in Hebrew. Here the dynasty of the Babylonian kings is compared with a fallen angel, thanks to which the reader will learn the story of how one of the cherubim desired to become equal to God and was cast down from heaven for this. In the original, the Hebrew word "heylel" (morning star) is translated as "Lucifer" (in the Russian translation "Dennitsa"):

“How you fell from the sky, morning star, son of the dawn! Crashed on the ground, trampling the nations. And he said in his heart: “I will ascend to heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God, and I will sit on a mountain in the assembly of the gods, on the edge of the north; I will ascend into the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High.” But you are cast into hell, into the depths of the underworld. Those who see you look at you, think about you: “Is this the man who shook the earth, shook kingdoms, made the world a desert and destroyed its cities, did not let his captives go home?”

The Jews and early Christians did not use "heilel" as a name for Satan, for them this word did not have a negative connotation. For comparison, in the New Testament, Jesus Christ was compared with the morning or predawn star.

At the turn of the 4th-5th centuries, when translating the indicated passage from the Book of Isaiah, Jerome of Stridon used in the Vulgate the Latin word lucifer (“light-bearing”, “light-bearing”), which was used to designate the “morning star”. And the idea that, like the king of Babylon, cast down from the heights of earthly glory, Satan was once cast down from the heights of heavenly glory, led to the fact that the name Lucifer was transferred to Satan. This identification was also reinforced by the apostle Paul's remark about Satan, who "takes the form of an angel of light."

However, Jerome himself did not use the word "luminiferous" as a proper name, but only as a metaphor. The creator of the Vulgate used this word in other passages of Scripture, even in the plural. However, it was the translation of Jerome, which enjoyed great authority in the Christian world, that ultimately served as the basis for giving the Latin equivalent of the Hebrew "heylel" the meaning of the personal name of Satan. In the King James Bible (1611), the phrase took on a different meaning: “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!”. Written with a capital letter, the appeal was no longer perceived as a metaphor. These words could no longer be perceived as a song about the victory over the king of Babylon, it was a direct appeal to Satan.

Lucifer in Satanism and other religious teachings.

The image of Lucifer remains more or less unchanged in sources whose authors belong to different traditions.

Characteristics of this image:

Freedom or rebellion.

Cognition (immoral knowledge, vulgar).

Belonging to a limited list of higher demons, archdemon (The Complete Book of Demonolatry, Liber Azerate).

He is the Devil of Aquarius, the elements of Air, Saturn and Uranus

Inferion, a system of demon signs and short descriptions published by Vox Inferni Press, describes Lucifer as the spirit of Rebellion and the father of Pride. In Liber Azerate, Lucifer is described as "the benevolent aspect of Satan, who with his light illuminates the safe path and points the way to freedom and divine power beyond the limits of creation." In Luciferian Witchcraft

Lucifer is described as the "Black Flame of Reason and Will". Anton Szandor LaVey's list of demons gives the following description of Lucifer: "Lucifer is (lat.) the bearer of light, enlightenment, the morning star, the Lord of the air and the East."

Lucifer in the mythology of the Rose of the World is a great demon, a God-born monad, who raised a rebellion against the plan of God, which caused the falling away of many smaller monads - demons.

Lucifer in The Urantia Book is the fallen and deposed Son in the hierarchy of universal authority. He fell into the arms of sin, succumbing to selfish urges and the sophistry of false personal freedom - the denial of universal devotion, disrespect for brotherly duties, forgetfulness of cosmic relationships.

Well, that's all for today. We will continue the series of articles about the prototypes and the source. Fortunately, there is a lot of material, for which thanks to the author. See you soon, dear readers!

The Vulgate (lat. Biblia Vulgata - "The Common Bible") is an honorary title attached to the Latin translation of the Holy Scripture, dating back to the works of Blessed Jerome. Previous (before the Vulgate) Latin translations of the Bible were given the name Vetus Latina (Old Latin, also called Latin Itala). Since the 16th century, the Vulgate has been the official Latin Bible of the Catholic Church.

"Rose of the World" is the most famous work of the Russian mystic and poet D. L. Andreev. The book systematically outlines his original religious and philosophical teachings.

The Urantia Book is an esoteric book that tells about the nature of God, cosmology, the origin and destiny of mankind, in the form of a religious revelation, a detailed biography of Jesus Christ and his teachings. It was first published in Chicago (USA) in October 1955 in English.

The Creator created Lucifer beautiful and powerful, but the proud seraphim wished to take the place of the Creator in the Universe, for which he was punished. According to mythology, having turned into the patron of the underworld, the former angel directed all his strength to tempt people and turn them into their allies.

Origin of an angel

“Bringer of light” or “son of the morning dawn” - this is how the name Lucifer is translated from Latin. The inhabitants of Ancient Rome called Lucifer the planet Venus, which is visible only during the morning dawn. The Romans were sure that the morning and evening luminaries were two different celestial bodies, so the “evening” Venus was called “Hesperus”.

Lucifer was one of the seraphim - powerful six-winged creatures. Mentions of him are found in the Bible, in kabbalistic texts, theosophical works, as well as in ancient grimoires (books that describe magical rituals).

The luminiferous disembodied spirit was created by the Heavenly Lord before the Almighty created the material world and people. As an angel, Lucifer was extraordinarily handsome: an eternally young face radiated light, a high forehead testified to a sharp mind, a stately posture and a perfect physique attracted the eye.

Some medieval theologians claimed that angels were created from stellar energy called Lucida. In many religious texts rejected by the church, Lucida figured as the mother of a heavenly rebel. Over time, the image of the inanimate "star mother" has changed. In the Renaissance, brave minds tried to animate the image of the Devil.

According to the interpretation of philosophers, Lucida is the heavenly mother, the embodiment of the Universe. From it the Father of all things created the highest matters. Lucida can be neither evil nor good. Human qualities or ambitions are incomprehensible to her. The cosmic mother symbolizes creative energy, progress, vitality.

According to the Christian version, the rebel became the patron of evil, so all his positive qualities have long been lost.

The attitude of philosophers and sorcerers to the fallen angel is ambiguous. It is believed that the first rebel in the universe is not the embodiment of all vices. The most daring students of religion see the other side of the Divine in the proud rebel. Philosophers often compare him to Prometheus.

Causes of the uprising

Goodwill, wisdom and humility, ingenuity and courage were the main qualities of the seraphim. Other angels treated him with reverence and love. The Son of God Jesus Christ at that time was still one with his Heavenly Father and was the mentor of a talented angel.

The fact that Jesus Christ meant more to the Father than any of the angels did not initially upset Lucifer, but soon the seraphim began to resent that the Heavenly Father trusted Jesus Christ more than him. The fact that all angels were required to worship the Son of God as the Creator himself did not please the “son of the dawn” either. His discontent grew.

The proud seraphim considered himself very talented for good reason. Forgetting that all the virtues were bestowed upon him by the Creator, Dennitsa began to think about overthrowing God's power.

He acted cunningly and cautiously: hiding his ambitious plans, in conversations with angels he hinted that, being servants of God, heavenly beings do not receive due attention from the Father. He then proceeded to convince the angels that God's government had many shortcomings.

Lucifer said that he was worried and upset by the Father's lack of respect for the angels. He ended each of his speeches approximately like this: “If I had become the Lord of Heaven, we would not have to recognize the supremacy of Jesus Christ. Our knowledge and possibilities would have no limits. We would govern the universe without asking anyone for permission."

Rebellion and punishment

Not all angels liked the talk of the cunning seraph. His brethren, obedient to God's will, persuaded the rebel to change his mind and abandon the idea of ​​seizing power in Heaven, but the ambitious Lucifer also found like-minded people.

Opponents of God's rule have rebelled. Some rebels the Creator destroyed. The rest, including their leader Lucifer, were banished to hell, which was created specifically for the guilty angels. Later, people who sinned greatly during their lifetime began to get there.

There is no explanation in the Bible for why the fallen angel Lucifer survived. One can only guess about them, based on the texts of Holy Scripture.

The chief opponent of the Lord's order sought power. Pride blinded his mind and alienated him from the laws of the Father. In the underworld, the former seraphim gained unlimited power. He was worshiped by all demonic entities. When the Almighty created the first people, the Devil began to tempt them.

There are several versions explaining why the Heavenly Sovereign did not kill his recalcitrant creation:

• The Creator expected that the guilty would repent of sins;
• the power of Lucifer was very great;
• after the Devil persuaded Eve to taste the forbidden fruit, the Almighty allowed him to lead people into temptation. True faith that has been tested grows stronger. Having a choice, a person will not be able to say that he was forced to serve the Good.

In one way or another, all the prophets, many monks and hermits were subjected to demonic temptations. Based on the lifestyle of the saint, the lord of hell selected temptation for him: a person living in poverty was offered untold riches; a hermit who had taken a vow of celibacy was seduced by charming women. As the New Testament shows, even Jesus Christ was tempted by the wicked.

The idea that the fall of an angel was planned by the Creator can be traced in the writings of many Theosophists. In the interpretation of Helena Blavatsky, the image of the “son of the dawn” exiled to the underworld looks positive. According to the philosopher, the purpose of the fallen angel was not to increase evil, but to spread knowledge among people.

Infernal metamorphoses

In the underworld, Lucifer's life has changed dramatically. Devilish qualities - anger, vanity, envy - were useful to the Devil. His supporters, who turned from angels into demons, unconditionally recognized the authority of the lord.

The angelic appearance remained only a memory: the rebel lost his white wings. In some descriptions, the Devil is depicted with dark bat wings.

Options for the appearance of the lord of the underworld:

• Human. Sometimes the tempter looks like an ordinary young man with dark hair and piercing black eyes. Some writers portrayed the sly one as a tall, sullen man with eyes of different colors;
• monster from the depths of the sea;
• a red devil with a pitchfork, having pointed ears, horns, sharp claws on his fingers and a long tail;
• the Dragon;
• snakes;
• goat.

The New Testament says that the lord of hell can take on any form.

Devil Family

There is no mention in the Bible of the wife of the ruler of the underworld. But in the Old Testament Jewish traditions, a lot is said about the woman Lilith, who turned into a demon and became the wife of a fallen seraphim.

Apocryphal sources that appeared long before the rise of Christianity tell us that Lilith, not Eve, was the first woman in the Garden of Eden. The Heavenly Lord created Lilith and her husband Adam from clay, but the freedom-loving disposition did not allow the first lady to enjoy family happiness. Lilith longed to be equal to her husband in everything, including in bed.

According to the legends, Lilith dared to argue with the Father. The main reason for the quarrels was that Adam did not agree to take the lower position during marital affection. The creator was upset by the behavior of the shrew, and Lilith left Paradise. She became a demonic being.

Lilith is portrayed as the embodiment of lust and chaos. No wonder the former angel made this woman his wife. From Lucifer and Lilith, demons and demons were born - creatures that did not have an angelic past and were born in the underworld.

According to the legends, Satan had three sons.

1. Demon Moloch. In some Semitic tribes, human sacrifices were made to this formidable creature.
2. Demon Asmodeus. He can push a person to adultery and to participate in sexual orgies.
3. Belphegor. A demonic being that leads people into the temptation of wealth.

According to many theologians, the Devil also has earthly children. The child of the Tempter is every hardened sinner who does not want to fight his vices.

The sons of Satan are popularly called bloody tyrants and perjurers. The expression "damn son" is used in relation to a greedy person who is able to destroy anyone for the sake of profit.

Conclusion

The bright meaning of the name Lucifer - "carrying light" - is associated with the original majestic mission. Once Lucifer was one of the powerful angels of the Lord, but he rebelled against Heavenly Father. As a punishment, the Lord deprived his former beloved of his angelic essence and threw him into the underworld.

Inspired by a post I read at the VERB. And I didn't agree with the post. Tried to find it later - did not work. Somewhere in the quote book it was as I remember now.

"Satan", "Lucifer", "Devil", "Demon", "Damn" are important concepts that are widely used in religion, theology and philosophy. Unfortunately, in the scientific world, and not only at the level of everyday consciousness, incorrect identifications are allowed. In everyday life, these words are very often perceived as synonyms, and it often happens that they are even considered as individuals differentiated by sex.

So, we read, remember and do not confuse.

"Satan" - a Hebrew word often found in the Bible. According to the context, in all places of Holy Scripture it means "adversary." By the way, the main meaning of the word does not depend on the qualitative assessment of “good” or “bad”. The "enemy" is simply there. As there is heat, cold or hot.

The semantic analysis of the term "Satan" allows us to conclude that this is not a simple, but a compound word. Two important roots are contained in it: sat (sat) + "an" with the ending "a".

The first - "sat" - has two main meanings: 1) powerful, hard; 2) truth, truth. The second - en - big, great. Hence the "giant" - "great among the great". Taking into account the second semantic meaning of the root sat, it is not difficult to determine that "satan" means "great truth" or "great truth." She can be strong and tough.

It is no coincidence that in the book of Job, God himself appeared in the guise of Satan, and this idea is conveyed in a peculiar display language. He brings tests into our lives if we have embarked on the path of a false course of action. The idea of ​​a certain unified reality, truth - sat, where both the object and the subject are dissolved, can also be found in Zen Buddhism.

The root sat is ancient, and the above interpretation corresponds to the Sanskrit or Proto-Slavic linguistic structure. It is quite possible that there was something similar in the Hebrew language. It is no coincidence that Job said of God: “You have become hard on me; with a strong hand you make war against me” (Job 30:21). In this verse, the idea of ​​great power, rigidity can be traced. It also acts as truth and truth, which a person cannot comprehend.

Word "Devil" in Holy Scripture is not related to some super-being that opposes God, but to an ordinary person. The Greek word "diabolis", which is reproduced as "devil", means "false accuser, liar" with a connotation of "enemy". The devil acts as a symbol of the personification of the slanderer, in the form of a person who distorts the truth. Our second hypostasis is diabolical. Any sinful deeds of a person are diabolical, but not in the sense that they are imposed on him by some powerful entity that opposes God, but in the fact that a person acts according to his own will.

Complicated verses can be interpreted in this sense: “Whoever commits sin is of the devil” (1 John 3:8) or “... that by death he might deprive him of the power of death, that is, the devil” (Heb. 2:14). A beautiful comparison of a sinful man with the devil is given in the sixth verse of Psalm 110: "Set a wicked man over him, and let the devil stand at his right hand." The basic idea is that "our sins" and "the work of the devil" are essentially the same thing. In Acts (5:3), the apostle Peter says to Ananias: "Why did you allow Satan to put into your heart the idea of ​​lying to the Holy Spirit." Placing a sinful plan in our thoughts, we launch a program for its implementation.

Lucifer -"morning star" or "carrier of light","son of the dawn", as the Bible also calls him,the most beautiful of angels.Lucifer was the first among the overshadowing cherubs and constantly contemplated the everlasting rays of the glory of God. How did he turn into a devil?

There are several versions here:

1. The most famous - Lucifer , who considered himself the most perfect creation, went against God out of jealousy, because he loved Adam and Eve more than more perfect angels. Lucifer declared himself equal to God and rebelled. As a result, he and the angels who followed him (about a third) were cast into hell.

2. The second version is given in the Book of Enoch. It says that the angels descended from heaven themselves, desiring mortal women. Their descendants were giants - Nephilim. It is believed that the famous Goliath is a Nephilim. Modern theologians believe that both events described took place, but at different times.

3. In the third version, overly proud of himself, enjoying closeness to God, Lucifer did not want to have any masters over him, even God. This beautiful and wise angel desired the glory and reverence that belongs only to God. He craved power and wanted to rule the Universe himself instead of the Creator. “I will ascend into heaven; I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; Lucifer sowed confusion among other celestials. Lucifer recruited an army of equally disgruntled angels and led them to war against the Lord. And when a third of the angels rebelled against God, the Lord considered it necessary to deprive them of the right to be present in the perfect world. The troops of God were commanded by the Archangel Michael. “And there was war in heaven, and the great dragon was cast down” (Apocalypse).

In general, one way or another, Lucifer was expelled from heaven. Since then, his name has become Satan - the enemy. But even in this image, he is rather the leader of earthly affairs, moreover, the leader appointed by God. E His main job is to test human beings and blame them for their evil deeds. True, he is cynical and too diligent in the performance of his duties.

"Demon" means "full of wisdom". The word demon comes from the Greek term daimon (Diamon), that is, "divine power", "rock", "God". Daimons mediated between gods and people. A person was considered lucky if he had a demon nearby to help him.

With the development of Christian demonology, demons began to be associated exclusively with evil, already in their origin being confidants of the devil. According to the Bible, demons are fallen angels who followed Lucifer when he was cast out of heaven by God. By the end of the early Christian period, all demons began to be identified with fallen angels. Satan was their supreme ruler. The only purpose of the demons was to incite people to immoral acts and to stand between people and God.

In the Middle Ages and during the Renaissance, demons, as agents of the devil, became associated with witches and sorcerers.

"Crap" according to the generally accepted definition - a demon, in religious and superstitious ideas - an evil spirit, "evil spirits", a supernatural being. However, one should not confuse demon and devil. According to its rank, the devil is much lower than the demon. And if the demon is“full of wisdom” fallen angel, then the devil is just a petty demon, not even possessing the proper quick wit and capable only of minor dirty tricks. Over time, if he is very lucky, the devil can grow up and become a real devil. But it rarely comes to this, because during the growth of the devil, as a rule, some good fellow appears and destroys him.

“The devils have six qualities: three are like people, and three are like angels: like people, they eat and drink; like people they multiply, and like people they die; like angels, they have wings; like angels they know the future, like angels they go from one end of the world to the other. Some say: they take on any form and can become seeing, but invisible.(Avot de rabi Nathan 37)"

That's it ... There will be a continuation and it is also very interesting