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Devil: A name derived form the
Greek Diabolos, "slanderer." The name for the supreme spirit
of evil, the enemy of God and man. In primitive religious systems
there is not conception of evil, and the gods are neither good nor bad, as
we conceive these terms, but may possess "good" and "bad" attributes at
one and the same time. Thus we have very few traces of beings which
are absolutely evil in the older religions, and it may be broadly stated
that the conception of Satan as we have it to-day is almost purely Hebrew
and Christian. In Egypt and Babylon, figures like Apepi and Tiawath,
although clearly in the line of evolution of a Satanic personality, are by
no means rulers of the infernal regions. Again the Hades of the
Greeks is merely a ruler of the shades of the dead, and not an enemy of
Olympus or mankind. It is strange that in Mexico, Mictlantecutli,
lord of hell, is a much more directly Satanic figure than any European or
Asiatic ruler of the realms of the dead. But in some mythologies,
there are frequent allusions to monsters who may quite easily have
coloured our conception of Satan. Such is the Hindu serpent Ahi, and
the Hebrew Leviathan, the principle of Chaos. In the Teutonic
mythology we have the menacing shape of Loki, originally a god of fire,
but afterwards the personification of evil. The conception of
Satan, too, appears to have some deeply-rooted connection with the ancient
serpent-worship, which seems to have penetrated most oriental countries.
Thus we find the Tempter in the Old Testament in the guise of a serpent.
The serpent or dragon is being generally regarded as the personification
of night who swallows the sun and envelopes the world in darkness.
The Hebrew conception of
Satan it is thought, arose in the post-exilic period, and exhibits traces
of Babylonian or Assyrian influence. It is not likely that before
the captivity any specific doctrine respecting evil spirits was held by
the Hebrews. Writing on this subject, Mr. F. T. Hall in his book The
Pedigree of the Devil says:- "the term 'Satan' and 'Satans' which
occur in the Old Testament, are certainly not applicable to the modern
conception of Satan as a spirit of evil; although it is not difficult to
detect in the Old Hebrew mind a fruitful soil, in which the idea,
afterwards evolved, would readily take root. The original idea of a
'Satan' is that of an 'adversary,' or agent of 'opposition.' The
angel which is said to have withstood Balaam is in the same breath spoken
of as 'The angel of the Lord,' and a 'Satan.' When the Philistines
under Achish their king were about to commence hostilities against the
Israelites under Saul and David and his men were about to march with the
Philistines; the latter objected, lest, in the day of battle, David should
become a 'Satan' to them, by deserting to the enemy. When David, in
later life, was returning to Jerusalem, after Absalom's rebellion and
death; and his lately disaffected subjects were, in turn, making their
submission; amongst them came the truculent Shimei: Abishai, David's
feelings, at a time when he was filled with exuberant joy at his own
restoration; and he rebuked Abishai as a 'Satan.' Again Satan is
said to have provoked David to number Israel, and at the same time, that
'the Lord moved David to number Israel;' a course strenuously opposed by
Joab, another of the sons of Zeruiah. Solomon in his message to
Hiram, king of Tyre, congratulated himself on having no 'Satans' and that
this peaceful immunity from discord enabled him to build the Temple, which
had been forbidden to his warlike father, David. This immunity was
not, however, lasting; for Hadad, the Edomite, and Regon, of Zobah, became
'Satans' to Solomon, after his profuse luxury had opened the way for
curruption and disaffection. In all these cases, the idea is simply
identical with the plain meaning of the word: a Satan is an opponent, an
adversary. In the elaborate curse embodied in the 109th Psalm, the
writer speaks of his enemies as his 'Satan' standing at his right hand.
The Psalmist himself, in the sequel, fairly assumes the office of his
enemy's 'Satan,' by enumerating his crimes and failings, and exposing them
in their worst light. In the 71st Psalm, enemies (v. 10) are
identified with 'Satans' or adversaries (v.13).
"The only other places in
the Old testament where the word occurs, are in the Book of Job, and the
prophecy of Zechariah. In the Book of Job, Satan appears with a
distinct personality, and is associated with the sons of God, and in
attendance with them before the throne of Jehovah. He is the cynical
critic of Job's actions and in that character he accuses him of
insincerity and instability; and receives permission from Jehovah to test
the justice of this accusation, by afflicting Job in everything he holds
dear. We have here the spy, the informer, the public prosecutor, the
executioner; all embodied in Satan, the adversary: these attributes
are not amiable ones, but the writer does not suggest the absolute
antagonism between Jehovah and Satan, which is a fundamental dogma of
modern Christianity.
"In the prophecy of
Zechariah, Satan again, with an apparent personality, is represented as
standing at the right hand of Joshua, the high-priest, to resist him:
he seems to be claiming strict justice against one open to accusation; for
Joshua is clothed in filthy garments are taken away, and fair raiment
substituted. Even here, the character of Satan, although hard, is
not devoid of virtue, for it evinces a sense of justice."
The Babylonians, among whom
the Hebrews dwelt during the Captivity, believed in the existence of vast
multitudes of spirits, both good and bad, but there is nothing to show
that the Hebrews took over from them any extensive pantheon, either good
or evil. Indeed the Hebrew and Babylonian religions possessed many
things in common, and there was no necessity that the captive Jews should
borrow an animism which they probably already possessed. At the same
time it is likely that they adopted the idea of an evil agency from their
captors, and as the genius of their religion was averse to polytheism, the
probabilities are that they welded the numerous evil forces of Babylonian
into one central figure. Again, it must have occurred to them that
if the world contained an evil principle, it could not possibly emanate
from God, whom they regarded as all-good, and it was probably with the
intention of separating all evil from God that the personality of Satan
(having regard to the amount of evil in the universe) was invested with
such importance
In later Judaism we find
the conception of Satan strongly coloured by Persian dualism, and it has
been supposed that Asmodeus of the Book of Tobit is the same as Aeshara
Daewa of the Ancient Persians. Both "Satan" and "Satans" were
mentioned in the Book of Enoch, and in Ecclesiasticus he was identified
with the serpent of Genesis, and in the "Book of the Secrets Enoch" his
revolt against God and expulsion from Heaven are described. In the
Jewish Targinn, Samael, highest of the angels, merges with Satan into a
single personality.
The Satan of the Net
Testament is merely a reproduction of the later Jewish forms. In
Matthew he is alluded to as the "Prince of Demons," and in Ephesians is
spoken of as ruling over a world of evil beings who dwell in the lower
heavens. Thus he is prince of the powers of the air. In
Revelation the war in Heaven between God and Satan is described, and his
imprisonment is foreshadowed after the overthrow of the Beast and the
Kings of the earth, when he will be chained in the bottomless pit for one
thousand years. After another period of freedom he is finally cast
into the lake of brimstone for ever. According to the orthodox
Christian belief of the present day, Satan has been endowed with great
powers for the purpose of tempting man to prove his fortitude. In
the middle ages, the belief in Satan and Satanic agencies was
overwhelming, and was inherited by Protestantism from Roman Catholicism.
This is not the place to enter into a discussion as to the likelihood of
the existence of an evil being, but the great consensus of theological
opinion is in favour of such a theory.
Resource List - entry taken verbatim from the
original source:
(b)
"Encyclopaedia
of Occultism" by Lewis Spence. ©1959
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