The devil(from Church Slavonic deyavol, the ancient Greek διάβολος - “ slanderer ") - one of the angels who fell away from God, even before the creation of the visible world by God. Subsequently - one of the names of the head of the dark forces.
The devil is a being that God created good, kind, luminous (the Greek word "Eosphoros" and the Latin "Lucifer" mean "light-bearer"). As a result of opposition to God, divine will and divine Providence, the light-bearer fell away from God. Ever since the falling away of the light-bearer and some part of the angels from God, evil has appeared in the world. It was not created by God, but was brought in by the free will of the devil and demons.
At the dawn of the existence of created being, even before the creation of the visible world by God, however, after the creation of angels in the spiritual world, a tremendous catastrophe occurred, which we know only by its consequences. Some of the angels, opposing God, fell away from Him and became hostile to everything good and holy. At the head of this fallen army was Eosphorus, or Lucifer, whose very name (lit. "luminiferous") shows that he was originally good, but then, by his own will, "and by autocratic will, he changed from natural to unnatural, took pride against the one who created him. God, wanted to resist Him, and the first, falling away from good, found himself in evil "(John Damascene). Lucifer, also called the devil and Satan, belonged to one of the the highest ranks angelic hierarchy... Together with him, other angels fell away, which is allegorically narrated in the Apocalypse: “... And she fell from heaven big star burning like a lamp ... and was struck ... the third part of the stars, so that the third part of them was eclipsed ”(Rev. 8:10, 12).
The devil and the demons found themselves in darkness of their own free will. Every intelligent living being, be it an angel or a man, is endowed with free will from God, that is, the right to choose between good and evil. Free will is given to a living being so that, while exercising in good, it can ontologically join this good, that is, so that good does not remain only something given from the outside, but becomes its own property. If good were imposed by God as a necessity and inevitability, no living being could become a full-fledged free person. “No one has ever become kind by compulsion,” say the Holy Fathers. Through unceasing growth in goodness, the angels had to ascend to the fullness of perfection, up to the point of being completely likened to the supremely good God. Some of them, however, made a choice not in favor of God, thereby predetermining both their own fate and the fate of the Universe, which from that moment turned into an arena of confrontation between two polar (albeit unequal) principles: good, Divine and evil, demonic ...
Demons do not know the thoughts of a person, but they certainly know those thoughts that they themselves inspired this person. Again, they cannot know whether we have accepted these thoughts or not, but they guess about it from our actions. As for thoughts from God or some natural ones, they can guess about them from our behavior, but they cannot know them exactly.
Inside human soul the demon (or demon) cannot enter, only the Lord can enter there with a supernatural Divine action. The demon can live only in the body of a person, mastering to one degree or another his mental or bodily manifestations, i.e. either the possessed person occasionally undergoes seizures, or completely loses control over himself.
A demon can enter a person's body under the influence of witchcraft - unless, of course, a person resorts to God's help, confesses, takes communion, or prays. And maybe some kind of permission from God, for admonition.
The only thing the devil is capable of is to plant a sinful intention on a person, for example, the thought of suicide. And he does it not because he is open inner world man, his heart, but only focusing on outward signs... Having instilled in a person some thoughts, the devil is not able to control what will happen to them next. And if a person knows how to discern which thought came from God, which from his own human nature, and which from the devil, and reject sinful thoughts at their very appearance, the devil will not be able to do anything. The devil grows stronger as a sinful or passionate thought penetrates the human mind.
The Revelation of St. John the Theologian says: the final victory of Christ over the Antichrist, good over evil, God over the devil, will be won. In the Liturgy of Basil the Great, we hear that Christ descended into hell with the Cross in order to destroy the kingdom of the devil and bring all people to God, that is, by His presence and thanks to His death on the cross, He permeated with Himself everything that we subjectively perceive as the kingdom of the devil. And in the stichera dedicated to the Cross of Christ, we hear: "Lord, you have given us a weapon against the devil"; it also says that the Cross is "the glory of angels and the demons' plague", it is a weapon in front of which the demons tremble, the devil "trembles and trembles".
How the devil works
The devil persuaded a person to him through the medium of a lie, deceived a person, the forefathers took a lie under the guise of truth. “Since that time, our nature, infected with the poison of evil, tends voluntarily and involuntarily to evil, which seems to be good and delight in a distorted will, a distorted mind, a distorted heart. Arbitrarily: because we still have a remnant of freedom in the choice of good and evil. Involuntarily: because this remnant of freedom does not act as complete freedom; he acts under the inalienable influence of sinful injury. We will be born this way; we cannot but be like that: and therefore all of us, without any exception, are in a state of self-deception and demonic delusion. " The return of a person to God is extremely difficult, almost impossible, not possible on the part of his own forces, due to the obstruction of the path to Truth by "countless seductive false images of Truth." The devil clothe the demands of our passions with plausibility, uses the pernicious inclinations of our fallen nature to keep us in his snares. One of the types of seduction, according to St. Ignatius, is that we consider ourselves eternal on this earth. A sense of immortality is put into us from God, but we do not see that due to the fall, both our immortal soul and body are struck by death, we forget about the hour of death and the impending judgment.
However, the worst thing is that, due to our blindness, with which we are born, we are satisfied with our condition, we are careless, we admire our blindness. “Despite my terrible sinfulness, I rarely see my own sinfulness. In spite of the fact that in me good is mixed with evil, and has become evil, as fine food is made by poison, mixed with poison, I forget the plight of the good given to me at creation, damaged, distorted during the fall. I begin to see my goodness in myself as whole, immaculate, and to admire it: my vanity carries me away from the fertile and fat pasture of repentance to a distant land! to a stony and barren country, to a land of thorns and tares, to a land of lies, self-delusion, destruction. "
The sacrament of Baptism we have accepted, according to St. Ignatius, of course, restores our communion with God, restores freedom, again grants spiritual strength, and hence the Holy Spirit is present to a person throughout his life. We receive even more than the original man had in his immaculate state: in Baptism we put on the image of the God-man. But, along with the power received to reject passions, the freedom to submit to them was also abandoned, as “in the sensual paradise it was left to the mercy of the primordial man either to obey the commandment of God, or to listen to it”. Moreover, Baptism did not destroy the property of the fallen nature to give birth to mixed evil with good in order to test and strengthen our will in choosing the good of God. “At baptism,” says St. Ignatius - Satan, dwelling in every person of a fallen nature, is expelled from a person; left to the arbitrariness of the baptized person or to remain in the temple of God and be free from Satan, or to remove God from himself and again become the dwelling place of Satan. " St. Ignatius compares the effect of Baptism to grafting a bitch from a noble apple tree into a wild apple tree. Branches should no longer be allowed to be born from the trunk of a wild apple tree; they should be born from a noble apple tree. Referring to St. Isaac the Syrian (Sl. 1, 84), St. Mark of the Ascetic (Word about Baptism), Ksanfopulov (chap. 4, 5, 7), St. Ignatius says that in Baptism, Christ is planted in our hearts, like a seed in the earth, this gift is perfect in itself, but we either develop or drown it with our lives. The state of renewal received in Baptism "needs to be sustained by living according to the gospel commandments." It is necessary to prove your loyalty to Christ by preserving and increasing the gift received from Him. But St. Ignatius quotes the words of St. John Chrysostom that we preserve the glory of Baptism for only one or two days, and then we extinguish it with a storm of worldly concerns. Spiritual treasure is not taken away, but is under the wraps of our defilement, and then Christ dwells in us, only by reviving our old man we have taken away from Him the opportunity to complete our salvation. “By doing evil after baptism, providing activity to the fallen nature, reviving it, a person loses more or less spiritual freedom: sin again receives violent power over a person; the devil enters man again, becomes his ruler and guide. " Only, St. Ignatius, “the power of sin creeps into us imperceptibly: imperceptibly we lose spiritual freedom”, we do not see our captivity, we do not see our blinding precisely because of blindness. “Our state of captivity and bondage is revealed to us only when we begin to fulfill gospel commandments: then our mind rebelles with bitterness against the mind of Christ, and our heart looks wildly and hostilely at the fulfillment of the will of Christ, as if at our death and at our murder; then we will experience the grievous loss of freedom, our terrible fall ”.
But what was lost returns again in the sacrament of Repentance, “whoever was born and then died can come to life through repentance”. Having entered into a struggle with sin in ourselves, into this subtlest invisible warfare, with which intelligent deeds are filled, having begun the work of repentance, which is "the consequence and action of the grace implanted by Baptism," we will again achieve revival for us, the active discovery of this mysterious given to us in baptism. the gift of God's grace, which consists "in the union of the human nature with God's nature and in the healing of the first from touching the second." And "if only God can change nature, then the consciousness of the damage done in the nature by original sin, and the humble prayer for healing and renewal of nature by its Creator, is the most powerful real weapon in the struggle against nature." He who has felt the poverty of the fallen nature, he really, by his very life realized the need for communion with Christ, he no longer hopes for himself, not for his blindness, not for his fallen forces, but only for Christ, for help from above, he rejects his will, everything He sacrifices himself to God, strives for Him with all his mind, heart, with all his being, and this is what fulfills the incessant feat of intelligent doing.
Demons, demons
Demon- translation Greek word demon, which in Homer, Hesiod and others means something in between gods and people, and in Plato and the souls of good people who have died. According to the beliefs of the ancients, such souls were made patronizing geniuses who influenced personal well-being. Socrates often speaks of his "demon". In the Seventy, this word is used to reproduce the Hebrew words "gods" (Ps. 94: 3), "the devil" - shedim (Deut. 32, 17), "infection" (Ps. 90, 6 - "devil at noon", - " infection that devastates at noon ") and so on. Josephus always uses it about evil spirits. Demons, by his definition, are the souls of wicked people ("Jude. War", VII, 6, 3). In the New Testament, this term is used several times in general in the sense pagan gods or idols (Acts 17, 18; 1 Cor. 10:20), but usually - about evil spirits or devil, who, although they believe and tremble (James 2:19), recognize Icyca as the Son of God (Matt. 8:29) , but the essence of the servant of his prince - Beelzebub - Satan (Matt. 12, 24). See under sl. Beelzebub, Devil, Satan.
Source: Orthodox Theological Encyclopedia
Evil forces in the Old Testament
The presence of demonic beings in the world is already evidenced in the book. Genesis, which describes the temptation of the first people by the serpent. However, ideas about evil forces have been formed over a long time, including some elements borrowed from popular beliefs. When describing the actions of dark forces, they also use “folklore, which inhabits the ruins and desert areas with a varied vague presence, interspersed with wild animals: these are hairy satyrs (Is.13.21; 34.13 LXX), Lilith, the female demon of the nights (34.14 ) ... They are assigned accursed places, like Babylon (13) or the land of Edom (34). The rite of cleansing prescribes to betray to the demon Azazel a goat, on which the sins of Israel are entrusted (Lev 16. 10) "(Brunon J.-B., Grelot P. Demons // Leon-Dufour. Dictionary of the Bible. Divine. Stb. 45). Evidently, the development of Old Testament demonology is indicated by the discrepancy in 1 Chronicles 21. 1: “And Satan rose up against Israel, and stirred up David to number the Israelites,” where the author of the book ascribes to Satan what is in the text of 2 Samuel 24. 1: “ The anger of the Lord was again kindled against the Israelites, and he stirred up David in them to say: Go, number Israel and Judah ”- is made dependent on the anger of the Lord. This comparison of the texts shows in which direction the Old Testament theological thought is developing in understanding the actions of malicious forces. Initially, this thought tries to avoid openly opposing the world of good (God) and the world of evil (Satan), so as not to give rise to dualism, to which the Israeli people were pushed by the pagan environment. Therefore, in some cases, Satan is depicted appearing before the Lord along with other angels, called in the Book of Job "the sons of God" (Job 1. 6); in others - his initial fall and self-deification is described using the image of the king of Tire: “Son of man! Weep for the king of Tire and tell him: thus says the Lord God: you are the seal of perfection, the fullness of wisdom and the crown of beauty. You were in Eden, in the garden of God ... you were an anointed cherub ... you were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, until iniquity was found in you ... you sinned, and I cast you as an unclean person from the mountain of God, drove you out ... Thy heart was lifted up because of your beauty, because of your vanity you ruined your wisdom; for this I will cast you to the ground, before kings I will give you to shame ”(Eze 28. 12-17). The repeated mention of evil forces in the Old Testament texts is also found in connection with the often arising temptation to appease demons with the help of magical rites and spells. At the same time, evil forces actually turned into gods, since they were worshiped and sacrifices were made. For the Israelites, these were the "new" gods, "whom they did not know" and "who came from the neighbors" (that is, the pagans); The Bible directly calls such gods demons (Deut 32.17). God sometimes allowed this temptation for the Israelites to test their love and faithfulness to Him (Deut 13.3). However, Israel often cheated on God by offering “sacrifices to demons” (Deut 32.17). At the same time, treason sometimes turned into a monstrous crime, for the Israelites “sacrificed their sons and their daughters as a sacrifice to demons” (Psalm 105: 37-38). They also resorted to the help of the dark forces in those cases when, following the example of the pagans, they were engaged in divination, conspiracies, and sorcery. 1 Samuel 28. 3-25 describes in detail the case of the Endorian sorceress, who summoned the spirit of the prophet at the request of Saul. Samuel. The wicked Queen Jezebel was also engaged in sorcery (2 Kings 9:22). King Manasseh "and divined, and bewitched, and brought the summoners of the dead and wizards" (2 Kings 21.6). Ahaziah “sent ambassadors to question Beelzebub, the deity of Akkaron” (2 Kings 1.2, 3, 16). All these are "abominations" (Deut 18:12), against which God warns His people: "You should not have a soothsayer, a fortuneteller, a sorcerer, a sorcerer, a charm, summoning spirits, a magician and asking the dead" (Deut 18. 10-11). All these servants of demonic forces only build for themselves the illusion of their power; they are always conquered by the power of God. Joseph, thanks to the Spirit of God living in him, prevails over the soothsayers of Pharaoh (Gen. 41); Moses turns out to be stronger than Egypt. sorcerers (Ex 7-9); Daniel puts to shame the Chaldean "magicians and diviners" (Dan 2; 4; 5; 14). Therefore, the demonic army is defeated not by magic spells, to which the Babylonian religion resorted, but by prayer to God, Who can forbid Satan to commit his malicious actions (Zech 3. 2), and to arch. Michael, who, together with his army, is constantly fighting the demonic hordes (Dan 10:13; Tov 8. 3).
In the OT, there is not only voluntary submission and service to demonic forces. The latter could themselves attack a person and even take possession of him, as evidenced by the influence of an evil spirit on King Saul, from whom “the Spirit of the Lord had departed” (1 Kings 16:14; 18:10). The Book of Tobit (6.8) mentions the torment people endure from evil forces, calling one of the demons Persians. named Asmodeus (3.8).
Demonology in the New Testament
It is revealed through the prism of the struggle and victory of Jesus Christ, and then of Christians over the devil. The Son of God was incarnate for this purpose, “to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3. 8) and “so that by death he might deprive him of the power of the one who had the power of death, that is, the devil” (Heb. 2:14). The struggle of Christ with the prince of darkness begins with the temptation in the wilderness, although it resembles the temptation of the first people, but incomparably stronger.
The temptation of Christ in the wilderness
The ancient serpent again follows the path of deception, hiding behind the texts of the Holy. Scriptures that he uses as arguments for his lies (Matthew 4.1-11; Luke 4.1-13). Shamed by Jesus Christ, he leaves Him "for a time" (Luke 4:13). However, the Savior's struggle with Satan and his dark kingdom does not stop throughout His public ministry. The phenomenon, with which Christ has to meet quite often, is the demonic possession of people. The widespread spread of this disease at the turn of the OT and NT was not accidental: the coming of the Messiah took place at a time when the spirit of the people was extremely weakened, and its moral strength was largely lost. According to Christ, “an unclean spirit” enters a person only when it finds the dwelling place of his soul “unoccupied, swept and cleaned”, of course, not for a meeting with God, but for the instilling of dark forces into him. “Then (an unclean spirit - MI) goes and takes with him seven other spirits, more wicked than himself, and having entered, they live there” (Matthew 12. 43-45). The direct presence of malicious forces in a person causes him great suffering (Luke 8. 27-29), but the demonic influence in such cases does not become absolute. Under all circumstances, God “commands unclean spirits with authority, and they obey Him” (Mark 1:27). The power to cast out demons has not only Christ Himself, but also His disciples (Mk 16.17; Luke 9.1; 10.17). At the same time, the possession of such power is not an exclusive gift: “… do not rejoice in this that the spirits obey you; but rejoice that your names are written in heaven ”(Luke 10:20). In the Gospel parables, Christ describes, in addition to demonic content, other ways of the influence of demonic forces on a person. The parable of the sower and the seed says that the seed of the gospel preaching does not always find fertile ground in the hearts of people. Sometimes this is prevented by the devil, who “takes away the word (of God - MI) from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved” (Lk 8. 12). In the parable of wheat and tares, a picture of the world is drawn, which "lies in evil" (1 John 5:19), where good, the source of which is God, lives in the neighborhood of evil, which the devil "sows" ( Mt 13.24-30, 37-39). Disregard can be not only the result of a person's immoral life, but also a way of upbringing him. So, ap. Paul delivered the Corinthian incest to “Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that the spirit might be saved” (1 Cor. 5. 1-5). Any devil's temptation can be educational in nature, if it is properly perceived and endured. Ap. Paul writes about himself: “… lest I be exalted by the extraordinary revelations, I was given a thorn in the flesh, the angel of Satan, to depress me so that I would not be exalted. Three times I prayed to the Lord to remove him from me. But the Lord said to me: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness” ”(2 Cor. 12. 7-9). The actions of the dark forces are accompanied, as a rule, by cunning and deceit, because the devil “did not stand in the truth, for there is no truth in him; when he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own, for he is a liar and the father of lies "(John 8:44). Satan can even take on "the form of an Angel of Light" (2 Cor 11.14), and the coming of the Antichrist "by the action of Satan" will be accompanied by "all power and signs and false wonders" and "all unrighteous deception" (2 Thess 2. 9-10 ). “The thought of lying to the Holy Spirit” (Acts 5. 1-3) was also instilled in Ananias by the “father of lies”, and Judas's betrayal took place after “the devil ... put this malice in his heart” (John 13.2). Judas' consent to betray Christ became a truly satanic sin, so after that Satan freely enters the heart of the betrayer (Luke 22.3). Jesus Christ directly calls Judas “the devil”: “… didn't I choose you twelve? But one of you is a devil ”(John 6.70). In facing ap. Reproof Peter: "Get away from Me, Satan" (Matthew 16. 23) - Christ, according to some interpreters, calls Satan not the apostle, but the devil, who continued to tempt Him and to whom Christ had already addressed with the same words (Mt 4:10). "He (Jesus Christ. - MI) looked for a moment through Peter and saw behind him his former enemy ..." (Lopukhin. Explanatory Bible. T. 8. S. 281). Blinded by malice, the Jews attributed demonic possession to John the Baptist (Matthew 11:18; Luke 7:33) and even to Christ Himself (John 8:52; 10:20). However, a demoniac can neither heal the sick (John 10:21), nor cast out demons (Mt 12.24-29; Lk 11. 14-15). "If Satan casts out Satan, then he is divided against himself: how then can his kingdom stand?" (Mt 12.26; compare: Mk 3.23-27). Jesus Christ overcomes the devil not "by the power of Beelzebub, the prince of demons" (Mt 12:24), but by the "Spirit of God" (Mt 12:28) - this means that the "strong", that is, the devil, is already "bound" ( Mt 12.29), “condemned” (Jn 16.11) and “will be cast out” (Jn 12.31). However, he does not stop a bitter struggle both with Christ (John 14.30) and with His followers. He asks the apostles to sow "like wheat" (Luke 22:31). “Like a roaring lion,” the devil “walks ... looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5. 8); he has "the power of death" (Heb. 2:14); Christians he will "throw ... into prison" (Rev. 2:10). For the apostles who performed the work of the gospel gospel, Satan puts up all kinds of obstacles (1 Thess 2. eighteen). Therefore, explains ap. Paul, “our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against the spirits of wickedness in heaven” (Eph 6:12). However, “the fiery arrows of the wicked one” (Eph 6:16) should not instill fear in Christians. Dark spirits "tremble" before God (James 2:19); violence, a cut they oppose to the power of God, is actually powerless. If a person demonstrates obedience to God and resists the devil, he will immediately “flee” from him (James 4. 7).
As spirits, the dark forces are not limited by space, but they prefer to be in their favorite places. If the Old Testament texts call such places mainly pagan temples, then the NT repeatedly speaks of the infestation of demons in people. At the same time, the spirits of darkness of the demon-possessed themselves were sometimes forcibly driven into lifeless and gloomy places, into deserts and tombs (Luke 8.29; Mt 8.28). The request to send them to the herd of pigs, with which they turned to Jesus Christ (Mt 8. 31; Lk 8. 32), can be explained by the fact that pigs, according to the Old Testament law, belonged to unclean animals. In the Revelation of John the Theologian, it is reported that Babylon for her debauchery "became a dwelling place for demons and a refuge for every unclean spirit" (18.2), and Pergamum, in which paganism flourished and a fierce struggle with Christianity was waged, became a city "where Satan lives ", Who arranged his" throne "in it (2. 13).
The activity with which Satan acts in different historical periods depends on the extent to which God allows him to manifest his evil will. Having won the victory over Adam and Eve at the beginning of history (Gen. 3. 1-7), the enemy of the human race turned into a "prince", by the will of whom (Eph 2. 2) plural. people lived throughout the Old Testament period (Heb. 2:15). They walked “in darkness” and lived “in the land of the shadow of death” (Isa 9. 2). As slaves of the devil, they became “dead” because of their own sins and crimes (Eph. 2 1-2). And only with the Incarnation there was a hope that "the prince of the world will be expelled out" (John 12:31). 
Through his suffering, death and resurrection, Jesus Christ really overcomes the devil and gains full power “in heaven and on earth” (Matthew 28:18), and thanks to this victory “the prince of this world is condemned” (John 16:11) and is bound in his actions (Rev 20 1-3). The millennial period for which the "ancient serpent" was "fettered" (Rev. 20. 2), interpreters define as the period from the Incarnation to the Second Coming of Christ (Aug. De civ. Dei. XX 8), when the devil no longer can exercise to the fullest. After this period, he will be released "for a short time" (Rev. 20. 3) and will act not only as a tempter of individuals, but also as a seducer of the whole world. Then he will appear as an “angel of the abyss” (Rev. 9.11), as “a beast coming out of the abyss” (Rev. 11. 7), and in the person of the Antichrist, in whom he possesses, he will manifest his destructive energy to the highest degree. However, he will not triumph for long; together with the antichrist he will be thrown “into the lake of fire” (Rev. 19:20). His fight against God will be so obvious that it will exclude any need to be present at the Last Judgment to determine his future fate. The devil and the angels seduced by him, rejecting God, thereby rejected eternal life, replacing it with the existence in death, a cut is nothing but eternal torment (see the articles Hell, Apocatastasis).
Demonic nature and hierarchy
Lucifer's sin only damaged his nature. In its consequences, it was not like the original sin committed by Adam and Eve and left an imprint on the entire human race. The rest of the angels who sinned after Lucifer fell "through an example, through the influence that one person can exert on other persons ... Lucifer carried other angels along with him, but not all fell ..." (Ibid., P. 252). The nature of the angels who resisted goodness did not undergo any changes due to the fall of demonic forces.
Possessing a spiritual nature, the dark forces, like the angels who remained faithful to God, apparently have a certain corporeality (see Art. Angelology), but they are not subject to the laws of physiology. The idea that angels can have sexual intercourse with humans, inspired by the erroneous interpretation of the text of Genesis 6. 1-4, is not recognized by the Church. In their favor Tov 6. 15 also says nothing, where the demon appears to be loving the bride of Tobiah, for demonic love always appears "with a minus sign." The incident with the bride Tobias found an explanation in Christ. ascetic literature, which describes in detail the carnal warfare of the ascetic with the demons of fornication.
The dark forces represent the kingdom of evil, which is headed by the devil himself (cf. Lk 11:18), who carried away with him in his fall, according to St. John Damascus, "an endless multitude of angels who were under his power" (Ioan. Damasc. De fide orth. II 4). Certain interpreters, considering Revelation 12. 3-4, 7-9, where it is said that the "great red dragon", "the great dragon ... called the devil and Satan," earth ”, it is believed that the stars here symbolize angels who fell away from God together with the devil (Lopukhin. Explanatory Bible. T. 8. S. 562-564). Despite the fact that the fall of the angels brought disharmony and disorder into the created world, the kingdom of evil itself is a certain structure based on the hierarchical principle. This is evidenced by Ap. Paul, who called certain ranks of the devil's hierarchy “principalities”, “authorities”, “rulers of the darkness of this world” (Eph. 6:12; Col. 2:15). Since some of these names are used by the apostle and in relation to the good angels (Eph 1:21; Col 1:16), it is not completely clear how the hierarchy of the fallen angelic world is structured. There are 2 assumptions, according to which the angels included in it either remained in the same rank in which they were before the fall, or their rank is determined by the intensity of their atrocities (Ioan. Cassian. Collat. VIII 8).
Source: Orthodox Encyclopedia
The devil and the origin of sin
As an evil creature trying to harm a person and lead him into sin, Satan clearly appears in the book of Genesis, which tells how he, having entered the serpent, tempted our first parents and eventually persuaded them to break the commandment of God - to eat the fruits of the forbidden tree ( Genesis 3); further, the same evil creature is the devil in the book of Job (Job 1: 6-12, 2: 1-7). The book of Chronicles says that “Satan rebelled against Israel and moved David to number the Israelites” (1 Chronicles 21: 1). Here Satan appears to have roused David to the reckoning of the Israelites and thus involved him in the sin that David himself confessed before God (1 Chronicles 21: 8) and for which the Lord punished the people of Israel with a pestilence (1 Chronicles 21:14). 
Likewise, there are clear indications in the New Testament that the devil leads a person into sin. First of all, the very name of him "tempter" (Matthew 4: 3; 1 Thessalonians 3: 5), that is, seducing a person to sin. Satan is a tempter even in relation to Jesus Christ (Matthew 4: 1-11; Mark 1: 12-13; Luke 4: 1-13). In the wilderness, where Jesus Christ retired after baptism, Satan appeared to Him and began to deceive Him with all his tempting means, such as: “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life” (1 John 2:16). But Jesus Christ resolutely resisted all the temptations of Satan, so that the latter had to withdraw from Him and realize his powerlessness to lead the Son of God into sin.
The influence of the devil on the origin of sin in the human race is clearly recognized by the Savior in His parable of the seed and the tares (Matthew 13: 24-30, 36-43). “The kingdom of heaven,” he says, “is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. While the people were asleep, the enemy came, and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away ”(Matthew 13: 24-25). “The field,” according to the Savior's explanation, “is the world, the good seed are the sons of the Kingdom, and the tares are the sons of the evil one; the enemy who sowed them is the devil ”(Matthew 13: 38-39). Thus, evil in the world appears, according to the words of the Savior, to be sown or originated from the devil. According to the testimony of the Gospel, Satan inspired Judas to betray Jesus to the chief priests and scribes (Luke 22: 3; John 13: 2, 27). The Apostle John also clearly recognizes the devil as the culprit of the origin of sin when he says: “Whoever commits sin is of the devil, because the devil sinned first. For this reason, the Son of God appeared to destroy the works of the devil ”(1 John 3: 8). Here the sinful actions of a person are directly called the works of the devil. Hence, the devil influences their origin; therefore they are called his works. In the words of the Apostle Peter, in which he warns Christians against the wiles of the devil, we also find an indication of the participation of the devil in the origin of sin. “Be sober, watch,” says the apostle, “because your adversary, the devil, walks like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Pet. 5: 8). Here the devil is presented as an adversary of man, trying to destroy him; and he destroys a person when he leads him into sin.
From the presented passages of the Old and New Testaments, it is clearly seen that the devil influences the origin of sin in man.
What should be the attitude of a Christian towards the devil?
Today we are seeing two extremes. On the one hand, there are many Christians today who do not believe in the reality of the devil at all, do not believe in his ability to influence their lives. Some people think that the devil is a mythical creature in which the world's evil is personified. On the other hand, there are many people who attach exaggerated importance to the devil, who are convinced that the devil influences all aspects of a person's life, and see his presence everywhere. Such believers are constantly afraid that the devil's forces will affect them in one way or another.
On this basis, there are many superstitions, from which church people are not free either. A set of " folk remedies”That would prevent Satan from penetrating into a person. For example, some people, yawning, baptize their mouths so that the devil does not enter through it. Others manage to cross their mouths three times in one yawn. I have heard conversations that an angel is sitting on our right shoulder, and a demon is sitting on our left: making the sign of the cross, we cross ourselves from right to left, throwing the angel from right shoulder to left, so that he entered into a fight with the demon and defeated him (accordingly, Catholics who cross from left to right throw the demon on the angel). This may seem ridiculous and ridiculous to some, but there are people who believe in it. And, unfortunately, these are not anecdotes, but real conversations that can be heard in some monasteries, theological seminaries, and parishes. People who think this way live in the conviction that their whole life is permeated with the devil's presence. I once heard how a hieromonk, a graduate of the theological academy, taught the faithful: when you get up in the morning, then cross your slippers before putting your feet into slippers, because a devil is sitting in each of them. With such an attitude, the whole life turns into torture, because all of it is permeated with fear, constant fear that a person will be "spoiled", jinxed, that evil spirits will be brought to him, etc. All this has nothing to do with the Christian attitude towards the devil ...
To understand how it should be true Christian attitude to the devil, we must turn, firstly, to our worship, to the sacraments, and, secondly, to the teaching of the Holy Fathers. The sacrament of Baptism begins with incantations addressed to the devil: the meaning of these incantations is to expel the devil who is nesting in the heart of man. Then the newly baptized one, together with the priest and the recipients, turns to the west. The priest asks: "Do you renounce Satan, and all his deeds, and all his army, and all his pride?" The priest says: "Blow and spit on him." This is a symbol that has a very deep meaning. "Blow and spit on him" means "treat the devil with contempt, do not pay attention to him, he does not deserve anything more."
In patristic, in particular, monastic, literature, the attitude towards the devil and demons is characterized by calm fearlessness - sometimes even with a touch of humor. You can remember the story of St. John of Novgorod, who saddled a demon and forced him to take him to Jerusalem. I also remember the story from the life of Anthony the Great. Travelers came to him, who had been walking for a long time through the desert, and along the way, a donkey died of thirst. They come to Anthony, and he says to them: "Why didn't you save the donkey?" They ask with surprise: "Abba, how do you know?", To which he calmly replies: "The demons told me." All these stories reflect a truly Christian attitude towards the devil: on the one hand, we admit that the devil is a real being, a bearer of evil, but, on the other hand, we understand that the devil acts only within the framework established by God and will never be able to to overstep this framework; moreover, a person can take control and control of the devil.
In the prayers of the Church, in liturgical texts and in the works of the Holy Fathers, it is emphasized that the power of the devil is illusory. In the arsenal of the devil there are, of course, various means and ways with which he can influence a person, he has vast experience of all kinds of actions aimed at harm to a person, but he can apply it only if the person allows him to. ... It is important to remember that the devil cannot do anything to us if we ourselves do not open the entrance for him - a door, a window or at least a crack through which he will penetrate.
The devil is perfectly aware of his weakness and impotence. He understands that he has no real power to influence people. That is why he tries to persuade them to cooperate, to assist. Finding in man weakness, he tries to influence him in one way or another, and often he succeeds. First of all, the devil wants us to fear him, thinking that he has real power. And if a person falls for this bait, he becomes vulnerable and prone to "demonic shots", that is, those arrows that the devil and demons shoot into the soul of a person.
How to deal with the devil
The Holy Fathers teach about the gradual and gradual penetration of sinful thoughts into the soul of man. You can get acquainted with this teaching by reading "Philosophy" or "Ladder" of St. John of Sinai. The essence of this teaching is that at first a sinful or passionate thought appears only somewhere on the horizon of the human mind. And if a person, as the Church Fathers say, “stands guard over his mind,” he can reject this thought, “blow and spit” on it, and he will disappear. If a person becomes interested in a thought, begins to consider it, to converse with it, he conquers more and more territories in a person's mind - until he embraces his whole nature - soul, heart, body - and does not move him to commit a sin ...
Various kinds of superstition open the way for the devil and demons to the soul and heart of man. I would like to emphasize: faith is the exact opposite of superstition. The Church has always waged a fierce struggle with superstition, precisely because superstition is a surrogate, a substitute for true faith. A truly believing person realizes that there is God, but there are also dark forces; he rationally and consciously builds his life, is not afraid of anything, placing all hope in God. A superstitious person - out of weakness, or stupidity, or under the influence of any people or circumstances - replaces faith with a set of beliefs, signs, fears, which make up some kind of mosaic, which he takes for religious faith. We Christians should abhor superstition in every possible way. It is necessary to treat any superstition with the contempt with which we treat the devil: "Duni and spit on him."
The entrance of the devil into the soul of man is also opened through sins. Of course, we all sin. But sin is different. There are human weaknesses that we struggle with - what we call petty sins and try to overcome. But there are sins that, even committed once, open the door through which the devil enters the mind of a person. Any deliberate violation of the moral norms of Christianity can lead to this. If a person systematically violates, for example, the norms of married life, he loses spiritual vigilance, loses sobriety, chastity, that is, integral wisdom that protects him from the attacks of the devil.
Moreover, any duality is dangerous. When a person, like Judas, begins, in addition to the basic value that constitutes the religious core of life, to adhere to other values, and his conscience, his mind and heart are bifurcated, a person becomes very vulnerable to the devil's actions.
I have already mentioned the so-called "lecturing". I would like to dwell in some detail on this phenomenon, which has deep historical roots. In the Ancient Church, as you know, there were exorcists - people who were entrusted by the Church to cast out demons from the possessed. The church has never perceived demonic possession as a mental illness. We know from the Gospel many cases when a demon, several demons, or even a whole legion settled in a person, and the Lord by His power drove them out. Then the work of driving out demons was continued by the apostles, and later - by the very exorcists to whom the Church entrusted this mission. In the following centuries, the ministry of exorcists as a special ministry within the Church practically disappeared, but nevertheless there were (and still are) people who are engaged in driving out demons from the possessed either on behalf of the Church, or on own initiative.
You need to know that, on the one hand, demoniacs are a reality that the Church faces in Everyday life... Indeed, there are people in whom a demon lives, who penetrated into them, as a rule, through their fault - because in one way or another they have opened access for him inside themselves. And there are people who, through prayer and special spells, similar to those that the priest reads before performing the sacrament of Baptism, cast out demons. But there are many abuses on the basis of "reprimand". For example, I saw two young hieromonks who, on their own initiative, were engaged in driving out demons from the possessed. Sometimes they rendered this service to each other - one lectured the other for two hours. There was no apparent benefit from this.
There are cases when priests willfully take on the role of exorcists, begin to attract demoniacs and create whole communities around them. I have no doubt that there are priests who possess divine healing power and are truly capable of casting out demons from people. But such clergy must have the official sanction of the Church for this. If a person takes on such a mission on his own initiative, it is fraught with great dangers.
Once, in a private conversation, a well-known exorcist, an Orthodox priest, around whom crowds of people gather, admitted: "I do not know how this happens." He said to one of the visitors: "If you are not sure that you are really possessed, it is better not to come there, otherwise the demon can leave another person and enter you." As you can see, even this well-known and respected exorcist did not fully own the processes that take place on the basis of "reprimand", and did not fully understand the "mechanics" of driving demons out of one person and their entry into another.
Often, people with various problems - mental or simply vital - come to the priest and ask if they can go to such and such an elder to give a lecture. A woman once turned to me: "My fifteen-year-old son does not listen to me, I want to take him to a lecture." The fact that your son is disobedient, I replied, does not mean that he has a devil in him. To some extent, disobedience is even natural for adolescents - through this they grow up, assert themselves. A report is not a panacea for life's difficulties.
It also happens that a person has signs of mental illness, and relatives see this as the influence of demons. Of course, a mentally ill person is more vulnerable to the action of demons than a spiritually and mentally healthy person, but this does not mean that he needs an account. A psychiatrist is needed to treat the mentally ill, not a priest. But it is very important that the priest knows how to distinguish between phenomena of a spiritual and mental order, so that he does not mistake a mental illness for demonic possession. If he tries to heal mental defects by scolding, the result may be the opposite, exactly the opposite of what was expected. A person with an unbalanced psyche, getting into a situation where people scream, squeal, etc., can cause irreparable harm to their spiritual, mental and mental health.
In conclusion, I would like to say that the devil's action, authority and power are temporary. For a while, the devil won back from God a certain spiritual territory, a certain space in which he acts as if he were the master there. At the very least, he tries to create the illusion that there is an area in the spirit world where he dominates. Believers consider hell to be such a place, where people find themselves mired in sins, who have not brought repentance, who have not taken the path of spiritual perfection, who have not found God. V Great Saturday we will hear wonderful and very deep words that “hell reigns, but does not last forever over the human race,” and that Christ, by His redemptive feat, by His death on the cross and descent into Hell, has already won a victory over the devil - that very victory , which will become final after His Second Coming. And hell, and death, and evil continue to exist, as they existed before Christ, but they have already signed the death warrant, the devil knows that his days are numbered (I'm not talking about his days as a living being, but about the power with which he temporarily has).
"Hell reigns, but does not last forever over the human race." This means that humanity will not always be in the position in which it is now. And even those who find themselves in the kingdom of the devil, in hell, are not deprived of the love of God, because God is also present in hell. The Monk Isaac the Syrian called the opinion that sinners in hell are deprived of the love of God blasphemous. The love of God is present everywhere, but it acts in two ways: for those who are in the Kingdom of Heaven, it acts as a source of bliss, joy, inspiration, for those who are in the kingdom of Satan, it is a scourge, a source of torment.
We must also remember what the Revelation of St. John the Theologian says: the final victory of Christ over the Antichrist, good over evil, God over the devil, will be won. In the Liturgy of Basil the Great, we hear that Christ descended into hell with the Cross in order to destroy the kingdom of the devil and bring all people to God, that is, by His presence and thanks to His death on the cross, He permeated with Himself everything that we subjectively perceive as the kingdom of the devil. And in the stichera dedicated to the Cross of Christ, we hear: "Lord, you have given us a weapon against the devil"; it also says that the Cross is "the glory of angels and the demons' plague", it is a weapon in front of which the demons tremble, the devil "trembles and trembles".
Films about the devil and demons:
Angels and Demons. The Law of God with Archpriest Andrei Tkachev
The book “Angels and Demons. Secrets of the Spiritual World "
What sins should be avoided the most?
The word "Satan" (Satan) is used in the Tanakh in the meaning of "adversary" or even "traitor" (Mlahim 1, 5, 18), "accuser at trial" (Teillim 109, 60) and "opponent" (Shmuel 2, 19, 23). This word was also used to denote one who puts obstacles in someone's path (Bemidbar 22:32), when an angel put obstacles to Bilam. But Satan, as a separate being, is not subordinate to Gd, was not mentioned in the Torah.
Satan Appears for the First Time as a Being higher order in the book of Job, where he appears among the “sons of God” (1, 6). In dialogue with the Almighty, Satan appears as a member of the Divine council and the accuser of man. However, persecuting a person, seeing in his actions only injustice and sins, Satan is deprived of the right to act independently, without the permission of Gd, therefore he cannot be considered as an adversary of Gd. The doctrine of monotheism does not suffer in the least from its existence, as well as from the recognition of other heavenly forces. The same Satan appears in the book of the prophet Zhariah (3, 1-2), where he is the adversary and accuser of the high priest Yeshua. Satan is opposed by an "angel of the Lord" who imposes silence on him in the name of Gd. In both of these cases, Satan appears only in the role of a prosecutor and acts only when he is allowed to do so, but in the book Divrei ha-Yamim he is described as a much more independent figure: he, on his own initiative, leads David into such a sin that entails the death of many people. This approach is all the more striking because the original source says that Gd, not Satan, misled David. But this is easy to explain: after all, he is, in the end, the conductor of the instructions of Gd.
In Pirkei Avot 4, 11, sin itself is the accuser of man, not Satan. The Tosefta Shabbat says that Satan accompanies the blasphemers of the Lord, according to Teillim 109, 6.
The Midrashi say that Satan was created simultaneously with the foremother Hawa (Yalkut, Bereshit 1, 23) and therefore is a mortal being, but, like all celestial beings, he can fly (Bereshit Raba 19) and is able to take any form, for example, birds (V. Talmud, Sanhedrin 107a), women (V. Talmud, Kidushin 81a), beggars (ibid.). Satan is like a goat; they turn to him with words of contempt: “an arrow is in your eyes” (V. Talmud, Kidushin 30a, 81a).
Satan is the embodiment of all evil, all his thoughts and actions are aimed at the death of man. Satan pushing for evil ( yetzer a-ra- bad aspiration, Heb.), and the angel of death is one person. He descends from heaven, leads a person into sin, then rises to accuse him before God. At the behest of Gd, he takes out the soul, in other words, he kills (V. Talmud, Bava Batra 16a). He can use one accidentally dropped word to raise an accusation against a person, therefore one should beware of “giving Satan the opportunity to open his mouth” (V. Talmud, Berachot 19a). Satan tries to accuse a person exactly when he is in danger (Talmud Yerushalmi, Shabbat, 5 b). The circle of Satan's knowledge is limited and much confuses him, for example, blowing the shofar on the New Year's Day (V. Talmud, Rosh Hashanah 16 b). And on the day of Atonement ( Yom Kippur) his power is completely destroyed; this is explained using gematria: the sum of the numerical values of the letters of the name a-Satan ( hey sin, tet, nun) - 364, therefore, one day a year is free from his power (V. Talmud, Yoma 20a). When Satan somehow fails to achieve his goal, he is terribly discouraged. He was terribly saddened by the fact that the Jews received the Torah, and he did not rest until he led them to worship the calf (V. Talmud, Shabbat 89a).
According to Haggadah, Satan played a prominent role in the fall of Adam (Pirkei de Rabbi Eliezer 13), he is the father of Cain (ibid., 21). In addition, he took an active part in many events described in the Torah, for example, in the story of David's infatuation with Bat Sheva (V. Talmud, Sanhedrin 95a), in the death of Queen Vashti (V. Talmud, Megilah 11 b), and the decree of Haman the extermination of all Jews in one day was written on parchment delivered by Satan (Esther Rabbah 7).
Satan will have to give in to the Mashiach. The Light, created at the beginning of Creation, Gd hid under his throne, and when Satan asked about the purpose of this light, Gd answered him: "It is intended for the one who will put you to shame." Then Satan began to beg the Almighty to let him look at the Mashiach. Seeing him, Satan fell in horror and exclaimed: “Truly, this is the Mashiach, who will cast me and all the princes of angels into gein(Hell) ”(Psikta Rabbati 3, 6).
In Kabbalah, all the villains mentioned in the Torah (Amalek, Goliath, Haman) are identified with Satan. Satan's hordes are named clip(Hebrew: husk, shell, outer shell, something secondary, opposed to the main one).
Devil
I. Etymology of the word
1)
Russian the word "D." comes from the Greek. diabolos, "slanderer", "instigator"... This is Greek. the word was used in the Septuagint to convey the meaning of Heb. words see Satan, denoting the accuser before the court, the adversary and the enemy, and ultimately that supernatural person, which we own. and call it D. Grech. the word ehtros ("enemy") is also a special designation of D. in the parable of the tares among the wheat (Mt 13:24 et seq .; cf. Luke 10:19)
... D., or Satan (Greek Satanas), is in the full sense of the word the enemy of God, His Kingdom and the human race; as a tempter (Greek peiradzon; Mt 4: 3; 1 Thess 3: 5) he, by his actions, seeks to embroil a person with God (Genesis 3; Mt 4; Luke 4)... Probably with an allusion to Genesis 3 in Revelation D. is called a dragon and an ancient serpent (Rev 12: 9; 20: 2);
2)
D., acc. with its essence, it is also called "evil" (Greek go poneros (in the Synod. trans. - "crafty" - Mt 13:19 1Jn 2: 13.14; 3:12; 5:18
)). That which is under "evil" is valid here. means D., follows from paral. Matt 13:19 Passages where Satan is mentioned (Mark 4:15) and D. (Luke 8:12)... But in some places in the Bible the form is Greek. the word does not allow one to judge what is meant in a given context - "evil" or "evil". One of these controversial places is Mt 6:13 in prayer see Our Father. East The Church believes that here we are talking about "evil" ("crafty"), that is. o D., Zap. The Church interprets this word as "evil". Luther also follows this tradition, but, on the other hand, in the Great Catechism he shows that in the concept of "evil" he also includes D., "a malicious, spiteful, main enemy." Texts Mt 5:37 13:38; John 17:15 also acquire greater clarity and poignancy, if you do not mean general concept evil, and D., in whose power lies the whole world (1 John 5:19);
3)
being "the ruler (in the Synod. per. -" prince ") of this world" (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11) D. is the most ardent opponent of the Savior. As the ruler of this world, he can give earthly kingdoms to whom he wishes. (Luke 4: 6)... Paul even calls him "the god of this age" (2 Cor. 4: 4) who have acquired the glory of this world. D. is also presented in the form of a "strong" guarding his home (Mark 3:27 & parallels)... The unsaved people are also in the power of D. (Acts 26:18) and only God can free them from submission to this authority (1 Col 1:13);
4)
the kingdom of D. belongs to unclean spirits (see Shaggy, goblin), and demons, or demons (Greek daimonion). This is Greek. the word is probably reminiscent of the tongue. views on demons, but its use in NT is devoid of any deification of the demonic principle; however, the people's attitude to the terrible is preserved here: they see evil spirits in demons, striving, at the will of Satan, to destroy the spiritual and physical life of a person. But evil spirits initially recognize in Jesus the possessor of greater power. (Mt 8: 29,31; Mk 1:24).
Acc. According to the views of later Judaism, Satan, or the devil - Sammael - was one of the most exalted angelic beings in heaven. Envy, pride and the desire for power prompted him to lead the first man into temptation. a couple. A serpent served as a tool for him, about to-rum in a rabbinic. the literature contains statements that allow us to conclude that he means D. The angels who took part in his deed are called "the angels of Satan"; he himself is designated as "the head of all satanic powers." Its malignity is viewed in three aspects: it incites people to sin and leads them into temptation; he slanders them and accuses them before God; he brings them death as the punishment for sin.
III. LANGUAGE CONCEPTS OF THE DEVIL
In the popular beliefs of the Greeks, "demons" are creatures possessing a superhuman. power; they often refer to the spirits of the dead. Demons are wayward and unpredictable. A person enters into communication with them through magic. actions, trying to appease them, subdue them or keep them away from you. Greek philosophy tried to overcome these popular notions by looking at demons as deities. strength; the demonic among philosophers was not opposed to deities, but was presented as equivalent to it. In the Persian religion, evil is the personified forces of nature. For the Persians, all being was an incessant struggle of equal forces of good and evil. Greek philosophy considered D. as independent. and independent of the deity. In the Bible, D. is a subordinate. A being to God, His adversary, by no means equal to God. Vavil. beliefs, communication. with spirits, demons, Satan, at times, an external resemblance to the Bible is manifested, but about internal. interdependence is not here. But it is quite possible that the authors of bibl. books in cases where they talked about the reality of demonic. forces, repelled from the ideas that existed in their environment.
IV. BIBLICAL CONCEPTS OF THE DEVIL
1)
THE BIBLE ABOUT THE EXISTENCE OF THE DEVIL.
The Bible testifies to the real, personal existence of D. and his followers. Specificity bibl. descriptions and many spontaneous. indications of the existence of D. do not allow talking about exclude. mythological. the nature of the stories of the fallen angels. Cr. Moreover, it is impossible to talk about the mythological character of D. also because true and fallen angels always appear in the Bible as creatures of God and never - as godlike or equal beings. In the story of the Fall, it is noteworthy that among the creatures. God of beings were also such, to-rye, proceeding from the internal. motives, could show a gravitation towards evil. In the OT on such personified. the enemies of all good are witnessing the trail. places: Job 1: 6 et seq .; Zech 3: 1-2, and probably Leo 16: 7 et seq.
(see Azazel). The Bible does not provide information on the number of D .; apparently, here we are always talking about one D. (the word diabolos is always used in singular), or Satan. But he is the ruler of the demon realm; in Matthew 12:24 he is called see Beelzebub, "the prince of demons", cr. in addition, his angels, or messengers, are spoken of in Mt 25:41; 2 Corinthians 12: 7; Rev 12: 7. The unclean spirit in Mark 5: 9 calls itself "legion" and says "we are many";
2)
ESSENCE OF THE DEVIL.
D. is obviously one of the "angels who have sinned" (2 Pet 2: 4; Jude 6; see Pride, vanity, arrogance). In essence, he is a co-creator. spirit, and, consequently, free from attachment to matter. D. is a person, as indicated by his personification. opposition to Jesus; he was given the authority to measure his strength even with the Son of God, tempting Him (see Temptation; Mt 4 Lk 4). Jesus' words prove that D. is behind enormous power: he is "the prince of this world" (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11), in his power to show Jesus "all the kingdoms of the world and their glory" (Mt 4: 8)"in a moment of time" (Luke 4: 5)... The texts also speak of the enormous power of D. Eph 2: 2; 6:12... The spiritual essence of D. is also conditioned by the fact that in his striving to lead into temptation, he can even take the form of an "Angel of Light" (2 Corinthians 11:14)... In the prologue to the Book of Job (Job 1: 6 et seq .; 2: 1 et seq.)
D. appears before God and speaks to Him. Rejected God and, next., Before. will graduate. curse, he nevertheless acc. this book still has access to God's heavenly throne. The essence of D. and his actions is explained in John 8:44... Jesus calls him "a murderer from the beginning", not standing in the truth and a liar, true to his essence, "when he speaks a lie", for he is "a liar and the father of lies." His deadly hatred for people is caused by the commission given by the Creator. (Genesis 1:28)... In this hatred for people lies D.'s hatred for God Himself. A lie, the father of a cut is D., means, in its essence, satisfaction from non-being; it is the striving to elevate non-being to the place of creation. God, and therefore good in its essence, reality. D. wants untruth instead of truth, darkness instead of light; he wants death instead of life. Christ is life (John 11:25; 14: 6)... D. seeks to put himself in the place of God, so that he himself is considered God (cf. 2 Thess 2: 4); he wants to be equal to God (cf. Gen. 3: 5) and this is pride and see Lies;
3)
any ACTION OF THE DEVIL is see Sin. "Whoever commits sin is of the devil, because the devil sinned first" (1 John 3: 8)... D. dominates the air, evil spirits and demons (Eph 2: 2; 6:12; cf. 1 Cor 8: 5)
; he prowls the earth and seduces people in order to seduce them into sin. He appears before God as an adversary of believers, as one who slanders them. (Rev 12:10)... D. walks on the ground like a "roaring lion" (that is, imitating God: Os 11:10; Wed Is 31: 4), but unlike God, he seeks whom to devour. To resist it, you need to stand firm in faith. (1 Peter 5: 8 et seq.)... The New Testament Church is a stumbling block for D.'s actions in this world (Wed Rev 12:17)... At the end of times he will try to exert himself; he will be allowed to short time to gain apparent dominion and so develop the art of temptation (see Antichrist) that the temptation to fall away will become great for the fav. (Mt 24:24; Mk 13:22)... But this power of D. is illusory - suddenly, like a bolt from the blue, Christ appears (Mt 24:27, 30; see Second Coming of Jesus) and put an end to D.'s reign on earth (2 Thess 2: 8; Rev 19: 20,21)
... D. will be shackled for a thousand years (Revelation 20: 1-3; see the Millennium), but then again will have the opportunity to tempt people - until God finishes. will not destroy it (v. 7-10). Ap. Paul Says God Will "Soon" Crush Satan (Rom 16:20)... Meanwhile, D. continues to tempt people in order to hinder Christ's work of salvation; but the power over death is taken from him death on the cross Jesus (Heb. 2:14 et seq.)... D. is able to blind people, so that they may not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ and not come to faith in Christ (2 Cor. 4: 3 et seq.); he can carry the word of God out of their hearts (Luke 8:12) and sow tares there (Mt 13: 37-39)... He can use false teachers as his weapons (2 Tim 2:26), can turn into an angel of light himself, so it is not surprising that his servants pretend to be servants of truth (2 Corinthians 11: 13-15)... But he can't get away from graduating. judgment of God (Mt 25:41)... Unredeemed. the world is full of fear of evil spirits, but Christ gave His Church the power to overcome them (Mk 16:17; Lu 9: 1; Acts 16:18)
... Believers defeated the evil one (1 John 2:13 et seq.), and where they confront D., he flees from them (James 4: 7)... For he who believed in Christ became a child of the Heavenly Father who protects him, the almighty Lord, who rules over D.
Brockhaus Bible Encyclopedia. F. Rinecker, G. Mayer. 1994 .
Synonyms:See what "Devil" is in other dictionaries:
- (from the Greek διάβολος, "slanderer"), Satan (from other Hebrew šãtãn, "opposing", "enemy"), a mythological character, the personification of the forces of evil (" devilry"), Opposing the" good beginning "to God. D. occupies a prominent place in the Christian ... ... Encyclopedia of mythology
See the devil. Dictionary foreign words included in the Russian language. Chudinov AN, 1910. Devil of the Devil, M. [Greek. diabolos, lit. slanderer]. 1. In religious beliefs - an evil spirit, devil, Satan. 2. Swear words (vernacular). Where are you going ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language
This is a woman The Devil is a Woman Genre Drama Director Joseph von Sternberg Starring M ... Wikipedia
Cm … Synonym dictionary
Devil- Devil ♦ Diable Chief demon, prince of demons. The devil does evil for the sake of evil, and this is his inhumanity. A person, Kant explains, never does evil for the sake of evil itself, but is always guided by selfishness (doing evil to others for his own good). ... ... Sponville's Philosophical Dictionary
Who is Satan
Satan, according to Christian doctrine, is a fallen angel who became the Prince and the embodiment of all evil, tempted the ancestors of mankind who fell into sin, and thus condemned himself to eternal destruction. The word Satan means "adversary", "enemy" or "adversary."
The meaning of the name "Satan"
However, originally the word "Satan" was not a proper name, but in the Old Testament literature it meant an obstacle or an adversary. Back in the VI century. BC. the storytellers used a supernatural character called Satan, by which they meant one of the angels of God - ben ha-elohim ("Sons of God)," whom God sent to hinder or interfere with the affairs of people. Sometimes such an obstacle bore good results if people followed the path of sin.
Satan in the Bible
The word Satan in the Bible first appears in the Book of Numbers. God sends the Angel of the Lord as Satan to block the path of Balaam, who angered God. When the Balaam donkey sees Satan standing in her way, she stops in place, forcing Balaam to hit her three times. Then the Angel of the Lord reveals himself, and Balaam promises to fulfill the will of God expressed through his messenger Satan.
In the Book of Job there is a character called Satan, who is entrusted with wandering the earth and looking after people. He tortures Job to test his faith. Thus, Satan was originally characterized as one of God's faithful servants.
Stana - the lord of evil
Later, Satan increasingly became the personification of evil. Satan began to be identified with the fallen angels, or Guardians, who cohabited with women and were therefore cast into darkness. Semyaza and Azazel dominated the Guardians. The Book of Enoch contains a story about how God sent four archangels - Raphael, Gabriel, Uriel and Michael - to kill the giants (Nephilim) generated by the Guardians and attack the Guardians themselves. The Book of Jubilees says that God spared one tenth of the Guardians so that Satan, their leader, had someone to rule on the earth.
The story of the Guardians has undergone numerous changes, and has gained great popularity among Christians. The overthrow of sinful angels, who became hellish demons and led by the prince of darkness, became an important part of Christian theology, and quite soon Satan was identified with Lucifer.
Satan in the New Testament
Throughout the New Testament, the name of Satan is exclusively associated with evil. He is called a slanderer, an adversary, a prince of demons, a devil, an enemy, an evil one, the father of lies and a murderer, the god of this age (that is, false cults), a tempter and a serpent.
In the New Testament literature, Satan is credited with practically any conceivable and inconceivable atrocities from seducing believers into sin and lies to opposing Christianity throughout the world.
The writers of the Gospels portrayed Satan as a creature full of evil and opposed to God the Father and Jesus. Jesus became a kind of "battle arena" by God and the forces of Good and Satan and the forces of Evil. The resurrection of Christ was a victory over Satan.
Satan and the Middle Ages
Satan's role as a conduit for evil has only increased over time. In the Middle Ages, Satan, or the Devil, was already considered a real and powerful being who possessed terrible supernatural power and sought to destroy a person, destroying morality and conscience in him. For this purpose, Satan was assisted by demonic ratios. The fight against the machinations of Satan lay at the basis of the actions of the Inquisition, which persecuted the enemies of the Christian Church, considering them as disciples of Satan.
© Alexey Korneev
If God is good, why is there so much evil in the world?
Astronauts who saw the Earth from orbit tell how beautiful, calm and majestic it looks. How could something bad be happening on such a beautiful planet? But, barely returning to Earth, they understand that not everything is so well here!
Wars are going on, tears and blood are shed. Every day we hear news of new terrible events. This has become so commonplace that we do not really worry - until it touches ourselves!
Have you ever wondered why good people suffer along with the bad ones? Why are innocent victims of crime and violence? Why kind people it is so difficult, and the wicked enjoy life? Why do they die through the fault of a drunk driver? innocent people, and he himself gets off with light bruises?
The planet Earth is tormented by earthquakes, floods, fires and other disasters! The number of freak children and orphans has increased. Millions of earthlings are starving and have no roof over their heads. And the hearts of people are tormented by the question: "IF GOD IS SO GOOD, WHY IS THERE SO MUCH EVIL IN THE WORLD?"
Is the whole reason only in God? Or perhaps there is another force that opposes the Lord? What is this power called? Where does it originate? What does he do? Will it exist forever or will it end?
All these questions can only be answered by the Bible.
Does Satan Exist?
Yes, indeed, there are opposing forces in the Universe! These are the forces of good and the forces of evil, the forces of heaven and the forces of hell. God is not guilty of the evil that is happening on planet Earth! God is the Creator of love and blessing. Satan gave birth to hatred and suffering. Let us turn to the Bible for confirmation: “God is love” (1 John 4: 8). “With everlasting love I have loved you, and therefore have extended my favor to you” (Jeremiah 31: 3). God's love is eternal! God never changes!
The Bible also characterizes the devil: “He 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 of his own, for he is a liar and the father of lies ”(John 8:44).
You and I are at the center of a cosmic drama - a conflict between power and lawlessness, between the Creator and Satan, a fallen angel.
We are not spectators, but participants in the action, because we are involved in this struggle - whether we like it or not.
Believing that Satan is just a myth or a phenomenon, we remain completely unprepared to meet the intelligent being that he really is. The Apostle John empathizes with us in Revelation 12:12: "Woe to those who dwell on the earth ... for the devil has come down to you in a great rage, knowing that he does not have much time."
Ap. Peter compares him to a roaring lion: “Be sober, stay awake, for your adversary the devil walks like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5: 8).
Is God Satan's Creator?
We need to know: WHO IS SATAN, WHAT IS THE EXISTENCE AND WHERE HAS COME FROM? Jesus Himself provides the answer to this question:
“I saw Satan fall from heaven” (Luke 10:18).
The devil lived in heaven! Incredible, but true! Holy Bible reveals to us the most tragic story. Satan, or Lucifer ("the luminiferous"), as he was called before, was a beautiful and powerful heavenly angel. So why did he indulge in sin?
Lucifer occupied the most high position among the heavenly angels. “You were the anointed cherub to overshadow, and I put you to that; you were on the holy mountain of God, you walked among the stones of fire. You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, until iniquity was found in you ... Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty, because of your vanity you destroyed your wisdom ”(Ezekiel 28: 14-17).
This beautiful and wise angel desired the glory and reverence that belongs only to God. He craved power. This created angel wanted to rule the Universe himself instead of the Creator!
“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 the mountain in the host of the gods, at the edge of the north; I will ascend to the cloudy heights, I will be like the Most High ”(Isaiah 14: 13-14).
Not long before this, Lucifer began to spread a spirit of discontent among the angels. He began to insidiously destroy love and justice, with the help of which the Lord ruled the Universe!
How did our world become subject to sin?
The planet Earth has just come out of the hands of the Creator in all its splendor and perfection. The perfect world and in it two perfect people - Adam and Eve, to whom God gave dominion over this world. Observing the first couple in their genuine love and perfect joy, Satan planned to lead them into doubt and resentment against God.
God told Adam and Eve about His difficulty with Satan and warned against his tricks.
Created with free will and free choice, they were free to choose: love God and follow Him, or ignore His teachings. Their loyalty required a test.
God placed a special tree in the middle of paradise and gave the following instruction and warning: “But from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, do not eat from it; for in the day that you eat of it, you will die by death ”(Genesis 2:17).
People could eat fruits from all the trees in the huge garden - except one. And this demand was not difficult. Human faith, love, loyalty and obedience were tested in such a simple way.
Most of all, a person is vulnerable when he is taken by surprise. This is exactly what happened to the first people. Satan used his supernatural power to deceive them. The prince of darkness does not always approach openly, and, acting with flattery and cunning, he seduced the first couple. By disobeying God, they lost everything: happiness, perfect love, communication with God, their home and dominion over the Earth.
Free man or slave?
As we read the third chapter of Genesis, we ask ourselves the question: "Why did God, knowing the danger of the Fall, allow Satan to tempt man?"
He allowed this, wishing that man would love Him with all his mind and consciously respond to His love. Before the first people on earth, there was a choice: to listen to God or to succumb to the flattering words of the tempter? What will they choose? The entire universe watched with bated breath.
And they made a choice, alas, not in favor of good. If God gave man a difficult test, one would doubt His intention. The very lightness of the prohibition made sin great. By sinning, Adam and Eve lost the dominion they had been given, and Satan became “the prince of this world” (John 12:31). And to this day, he constantly tempts a person who has become a slave to his own sin.
Since then, everything unkind has come: illness, quarrels, confusion, despair, fear, death. After the Fall, God appeared to Adam and said: “Cursed is the earth for you; with sorrow you will eat of it all the days of your life. Thorns and thistles she will grow for you ... In the sweat of your face you will eat bread, until you return to the ground from which you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you will return ”(Genesis 3: 17-19).
They failed to pass God's test. They turned from masters into slaves: “Don't you know that to whom you give yourself up as slaves for obedience, you are also slaves ...” (Romans 6:16).
Why didn't God immediately destroy the devil?
Before the rebellion of Lucifer against God, there was no lie, deception. The thought that one could tell a lie never appeared among the angels. When Lucifer began to accuse God, slandering Him, the other angels could not understand that this was a sin. For their sake, the Lord could not destroy the first sinner without first showing the full weight of his sin.
God could claim that Satan is a deceiver, liar, thief, destroyer and murderer. But the angels created by the Lord had to understand this themselves. The Creator determined the time at which the evil had to reveal itself to the end.
Satan showed his hatred of God at the birth of Jesus, influencing the jealous mind of King Herod, prompting him to destroy the Child in Bethlehem. But it seemed to Herod not enough to take the life of Jesus alone; he put to death many babies under the age of two. This is the handwriting of Satan: hatred, malice, violence, murder ... But Satan's plan failed: Christ remained alive.
Satan does not calm down and continues to look for an opportune moment for his black work. After baptism, the devil, disguising himself as an Angel of Heaven, approached Christ in the wilderness. Satan could receive an eternal inheritance on earth if he could at least somehow prevent Christ from fulfilling His mission of saving sinful people. But Christ triumphed over all temptations.
Defeated Satan withdrew, but not for long. He returned - this was followed by Calvary. All his power was directed towards preventing Christ from restoring the dominion that man had lost. This was the last chance for a person to survive.
In the end, Satan managed, through betrayal, to deliver Christ into the hands of a bloodthirsty crowd, and He died on Calvary. God gave His Son, and the Son gave His life to change our fate with you. Contemplating the cross of Calvary, the entire Universe saw that Satan is the source of lies and a murderer. His essence was finally revealed when he led to the death of the innocent Son of God. The cross revealed to everyone another truth: Christ is the Savior of our world.
About His death on the cross, which brought salvation to people, Jesus said: “Now is the judgment of this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out; and when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to Me. He spoke these things, indicating what kind of death He would die ”(John 12: 31-32).
Satan directs all efforts to destroy those for whom Jesus died on the cross of Calvary, and Christ died for everyone: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life ”(John 3:16). God's Word says: “The devil has come down to you in great rage, knowing that he has not much time left” (Revelation 12:12).
Satan's hatred for God, His followers and every righteous law is great. Lacking even a drop of love and compassion, he makes a person endure physical, mental and spiritual torment.
But God is stronger than Satan - He won the victory. And He gives us the assurance: “For I am the Lord thy God; I hold you by your right hand, I tell you: “Do not be afraid, I am helping you” (Isaiah 41:13).
To repel all the attacks of Satan, strength is needed, it is hidden in God. You can ask Him for help in simple words, for example, like this: “Dear Heavenly Father, I thank You for the victory that the Son of God won over Satan in this world. I thank You for the promise that Jesus will give me victory over the devil and my sinful life. I thank you that you hear my prayer. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen".
Thinking out loud:
The source of good is God: “God is love” (1 John 4: 8).
The source of evil is Satan: “He 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 of his own, for he is a liar and the father of lies ”(John 8:44).
The origin of evil took place in heaven: “And there was a war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought against them” (Revelation 12: 7). Christ said, “I saw Satan fall from heaven” (Luke 10:18).
The reason for the fall of Lucifer is pride: “Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty” (Ezekiel 28:17).
The devil brought into sin the first people on earth. Even today he is looking for his victims: “Be sober, stay awake, because your adversary the devil walks like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5: 8).