Hey everyone, welcome to Mythology Explained. In today’s video, we’re going to discuss Lilith, the queen of hell, mother of demons, angel of prosti.tution, killer of pregnant women and infants, Adam’s first wife, and seducer of men. We’re going to start off
By looking at a couple of allusions to her in the Old Testament. Following that, we’re going to look at early influences that originated in Mesopotamia, and finally, we’re going to look at the tide of information presented in various works published throughout the Middle Ages. Let’s get into it.
Lilith barely features in scripture: she’s absent from the Quran and doesn’t appear in the New Testament; it’s only in the Old Testament that she’s included, and even then, her inclusion depends either on the translation or on the interpretation.
In the Book of Genesis, which is the first book of the Old Testament that describes the Cosmogony (the creation of the universe) and the anthropogony (the origination of humanity), the creation of women is described twice, each with different wording,
Which has led to some interesting theories and stories that endeavor to reconcile the two. The first instance reads as follows: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.”
One interpretation of this passage is that God created the first man and the first woman simultaneously, which, by this reckoning, places it at odds with the second instance in which the creation of the first woman is described. Here’s the passage that describes the second instance:
“And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; and the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man,
Made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of man.” To reconcile the two accounts, one version, such as the one given in the Alphabet of Ben Sira,
Which we’ll expand on later, explains that the woman created at the same time as Adam in the first passage is a different person than Eve, the woman created from Adam’s rib in the second passage. Moreover, this version holds that the woman created in the first passage
Is actually Lilith, making her Adam’s first wife. Again, we’ll cover this part of lilith’s story in greater detail later in the video. The other mention of Lilith in the Old Testament is given in the Book of Isaiah, though her inclusion by name depends on the language and the translation.
In the JPS parallel Hebrew and English version of the Tanakh, Isaiah 34:14 reads as follows: “And the Wild-cats shall meet with the jackals, and the satyr shall cry to his fellow; yea, the night-monster shall repose there, and shall find her place of rest.”
Night monster is indistinct and ambiguous, but many other translations, either of the Tanakh or of the Old Testament, have seen various monsters and animals substituted in, including: Lilith, night specter, night creature, night hag, Lamia (a female monster of Greek origin that
Preys on children), night bird, and screech owl. This last is especially interesting because it parallels a detail of the Queen of the Night plaque, which is nearly 4,000 years old, made in ancient Babylon sometime between 1800 – 1750 BCE. It depicts a winged woman
With talons for feet standing on two lions flanked by a perched owl on either side. Who this figure is isn’t known for certain, but the list of possibilities has been whittled down to just a few candidates: Ishtar, goddess of war and sexual love,
Ereshkigal, ruler of the underworld, or the demon Lilitu, who became later known as Lilith. And this takes us into the part of the video that looks at Lilith’s origins. Lilith, a female demon infamous for preying on infants and pregnant women,
And for copulating with sleeping men, thereby birthing a plethora of demons into the world, is a central figure in Jewish demonology. You could say that Lilith, as conceptualized in Jewish lore, is but one expression of an archetype, that of the demon who targets infants and pregnant women,
That seems to rear its head across cultures and millenia, particularly in the near East. If this is tracked backwards through time, it looks as though Lilith’s origins can be connected back to ancient Mesopotamia. She briefly features in the Epic of Gilgamesh,
A Sumerian work, and she’s identified with Lilu and Lilitu, respectively, male and female spirits of ancient Babylon – both of them notorious for attacking infants and women in labour. Another figure who shares this MO is Lamashtu, either a goddess or demon, who endangered women during
Childbirth and even abducted infants as they suckled at their mother’s breast. In appearance, she was a hideous amalgamation of many animals, having the head of a lion, the talons of a bird of prey, the teeth of a donkey, a body covered in hair, blood-stained hands, and long fingers with
Long nails. Another variety of demon germane to Lilith is the Ardat-Lili, which rendered men impotent as a sort of revenge for itself not being able to copulate. Sometimes women were also targeted and rendered infertile. In appearance it looks like a wolf with a scorpion’s tail.
Much of the best known information surrounding Lilith comes from the Alphabet of Ben Sira, a work thought to have been written sometime in the Geonic period, which lasted from the late sixth to the mid-eleventh centuries CE. The third part describes Ben Sira recounting 22 stories to
Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. One of these gives an alternative anthropogeny. Rather than Eve being created from one of Adam’s ribs, it describes Lilith, not only as the first woman, but also as being created from the earth just as Adam was. Unfortunately, their relationship is
Characterized by acrimony and incessant fighting, and ultimately, Lilith refuses to submit to Adam; so she invokes God’s name and flies away. Three angels, Senoy, Sansenoy and Semangelof, are sent after her, and they eventually catch up with her; but she negotiates
Her way out of the encounter, promising to be repelled by any amulets bearing their likeness, which is why thereafter such amulets were used to ward her off, safeguarding those she preyed on: pregnant women and infants. Furthermore, she also accedes to 100 of her children perishing each day.
Here’s a quote that describes this: “He also created a woman, from the earth, as He had created Adam himself, and called her Lilith. Adam and Lilith immediately began to fight. She said, ‘I will not lie below,’ and he said, ‘I will not lie beneath you, but only on top. For you
Are fit only to be in the bottom position, while I am to be the superior one.’ Lilith responded, ‘We are equal to each other inasmuch as we were both created from the earth.’ But they would not listen to one another. When Lilith saw this, she pronounced the
Ineffable Name and flew away into the air…. The angels left God and pursued Lilith, whom they overtook in the midst of the sea… They told her God’s word, but she did not wish to return. The angels said, ‘We shall drown you in the sea.’ “‘Leave me!’ she said. ‘I was created only to
Cause sickness to infants. If the infant is male, I have dominion over him for eight days after his birth, and if female, for twenty days.’ “When the angels heard Lilith’s words, they insisted she go back. But she swore to them by the name of the living and eternal God: ‘Whenever
I see you or your names or your forms in an amulet, I will have no power over that infant.’” In one account, after the fall of man, which resulted in the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the
Garden of Eden, the first man and the first woman became separated for 130 years. During that time, Lilith returned to Adam and copulated with him in his sleep; supposedly the son that resulted from their coupling turned into a frog. Another account, the one given by Rabbi Eliezer in
The Book of Adam and Eve, claims that at one time Lilith was bearing Adam 100 children per day. The Zohar depicts Lilith as “a hot fiery female who at first cohabited with man”, who “flew to the cities
Of the sea coast” when Eve was created. The cabala portrays her as the demon of Friday, who appears as a naked woman with a snake’s tail for legs. Another description maintains the nude upper body, but gives her a column of fire for legs. And in Talmudic Lore, Lilith is presented as an immortal
Demon who will continue to plague mankind until God eradicates evil from the face of the earth. Eventually, a profusion of early traditions coalesced, and from them emerged two predominant activities associated with Lilith: the strangling of newly born children and the seduction of men.
Regarding the latter, it was thought that anytime a man woke up with wet undergarments, made so by the nightly discharge of seed, it was indicative of Lilith having paid them a visit and seducing them in their sleep. And in this she was thought so prolific that a virtually infinite
Number of demonic spawn were attributed to her, said to be her brood – legions upon legions sired by unwitting men as they slept. Apparently, people were so wary of her erotic powers that in some Jewish communities it was commonplace for sons not to accompany their father’s as their
Bodies were laid to rest in graveyards, sparing them the shame of bearing witness to all their demonic half-blood siblings, those conceived when Lilith seduced the father. Because of this, In the Zohar as well as other sources, Lilith is known by many colourful appellations that denigrate
For lasciviousness and wantonness. These include: the black, the wicked, the false, and the harlot. In Zoharaistic cabal, Lilith, along with Eisheth Zenunim, Naamah, and Agrat bat Mahlaht, three angels of prostitution, was one of the consorts of Samael, a figure with many identities,
Not all of them evil, depending on the version; among them were: the great serpent with 12 wings, a prince of hell, and another name for Satan, especially in Jewish lore. As conceptualised in Kabbalism, Lilith was given preeminence, becoming the principal and permanent partner of Samael –
Basically, in effect, crowned queen of hell. And that’s it for this video! If you enjoy the content please LIKE the video and SUBSCRIBE to the channel As always, leave your video suggestions down below
Pop culture is filled with depictions of fallen angels, once holy beings that have succumbed to sin. But how and why did the idea of fallen angels even come about in the first place? Here’s the untold truth of fallen angels.
Fallen angels are basically angels that have given up on the good and righteous path and turned to evil, right? Well, not necessarily. It’s true that Jewish and Christian traditions believe that fallen angels were originally just as holy as any of the other angels, but fell when the most beautiful of them – Lucifer
– decided to rebel and enticed others to go with him. But in Hindu traditions, it’s a little different. They believe that the creator god, Brahma, actually made some angelic beings good and some evil from the very beginning. Why? Because it’s meant to illustrate the natural order of things, and balance in the universe.
And fallen angels don’t even exist in Islam, where traditions says that all angels are good, including the ones tasked with overseeing those whose evil souls have landed them in hell. These angels are lording over hell, yes, but they aren’t fallen, as they are still doing divine work.
There’s another explanation for Satan there, too, and it basically says he’s not an angel, he’s a jinn: a creature made from fire and free will. Put a pin in that, because there will be more about this pesky “free will” stuff later.
Historically, those who believe in fallen angels typically have believed them to be responsible for things like tempting mortals into sin. And fallen angels are tricky about it, too, sometimes masquerading as good angels as they torment and tempt. How do believers know all this?
Well, these days, most of it comes from the non-canonical Book of Enoch, which was written about 350 B.C. The text claims to be the revelations of Enoch, who was taken up to heaven and told the universe’s deepest secrets, then shown just what would happen during mankind’s ultimate judgment.
Enoch shows up in other texts as well, which claim he lived to be 365 years old, and eventually told his tales to his son, Methuselah, who lived to be an impressive 969 years old. Strangely, even though the stories of Enoch were influenced by the mythology of places
Like Babylon and, in turn, influenced Judaism and Christianity, the only place that all 100 chapters of the book survived was Ethiopia. And among those chapters was a fascinating explanation on fallen angels. One of the most widely told tales of fallen angels says it was Lucifer who rebelled against
God and brought a bunch of angels down with him, but the story told in the Book of Enoch is very, very different. It tells a story of lust. According to the Book of Enoch, long before the Great Flood, angels and humans met and mingled pretty commonly, and the inevitable happened: children.
Those sons and daughters of angels were a race of 450-foot-tall giants. The angels started teaching their giant offspring evil ways, and God not only imprisoned them, but subjected them to judgment and sent the flood to hit the reset button on his creations.
Enoch, the story says, tried to speak on behalf of the angels and their giant children, but sadly, a lot of the texts are missing. We do know that Enoch was the one God selected to act as an intermediary to the fallen angels,
Instructing him to tell them what their punishment would be for their transgressions. They were to be condemned to the ends of the earth, with an eternity of punishment to follow. Early Jewish writers considered Enoch to be a prophet, but when Christianity started to
Adopt his teachings, he largely fell out of favor with Judaism. Christian writers then took the Book of Enoch with them when they converted isolated areas of Ethiopia in the fourth and fifth centuries. Though the Book of Enoch was lost to the rest of the world, it was preserved in Ethiopia,
And was finally brought back to Europe in 1773. In the meantime, though, with the Book of Enoch to guide them, Christian scholars and writers had centuries to let their imaginations go wild, leading them to the really convoluted origin of Satan as a fallen angel. See, that’s not actually in the Bible.
But theologians turned themselves into pretzels trying to explain how Satan exists in the first place. The reasoning went like this: God created everything in the universe, and therefore, God created Satan. But the only things God creates are good things, so therefore, Satan must have been good at one point.
He also needed to have the free will to turn bad. But since he clearly wasn’t human, he must therefore have been a fallen angel. Clearly, these scholars went to the Princess Bride school of logic and reasoning. “You must have studied, and in studying you must have learned that man is mortal, so you
Would have put the poison as far from yourself as possible, so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of me!” Oh, and once more, there’s that free will thing. Don’t worry, it’ll come up again! According to the Book of Enoch, the first batch of fallen angels was each responsible
For teaching humanity about a specific sin. Asbeel, for example, was repsonsible for teaching humanity about sex, so thanks very much for that. Tamiel, on the other hand, taught humanity about demons and spirits. And then there’s Shernihaza, who is apparently responsible for that race of giant half-angels.
Those giants, if you remember, led to the imprisonment and punishment of the fallen, as well as the Great Flood, which was brought to cleanse Earth of their gigantic sins. Perhaps the strangest fallen angel of all, though, was Penemue, who was credited with
Giving mankind something that led to all kinds of evil: the written language. With writing came knowledge, and that, of course, is really really bad, because it might lead to…free will. The big lesson you’re apparently supposed to learn from fallen angels?
That knowledge and free will are bad and will get you killed, so the only way to remain safe is to choose ignorance and obedience. Funny how that works. Maybe the biggest diversion The Book of Enoch takes from the regular Bible is its depiction of the Garden of Eden and the fall of mankind.
Everyone knows the traditional story from the Bible: a serpent, usually associated with Satan, tempts Eve into eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil (there’s that whole knowledge is bad thing again) and then, boom, goodbye, paradise!
In the Book of Enoch, though, it’s not Satan who tempts Eve, it’s a fallen angel named Gadreel. And then this jerk also went on to give humanity weapons and armor and teach us all how to kill each other. Sounds like Gadreel has a lot to answer for! Quick, describe a fallen angel!
There are probably some scowly faces, bat-like wings, maybe even some horns or cloven hooves, right? Maybe a double chin…who knows. But it wasn’t always like that. In early Christian art, fallen angels looked pretty much the same as their holier counterparts.
One of the earliest representations of the idea that there were angels and fallen angels opposing each other in an otherworldly battle is featured in an ancient mosaic in Italy. Jesus is in the middle, and on one side is an angel in red with some sheep, representing the home team.
On the other side are the bad guys, a figure thought to be Lucifer or Satan, standing with some goats. He’s wearing blue, which is the color of the damned, plus he has goats, so we know he’s the bad guy, but otherwise he doesn’t seem all that bad.
The mosaic even suggests fallen angels kept their iconic halos, which at the time were a symbol of power, not holiness. It wasn’t until the middle ages that images of fallen angels started turning more grotesque. During that time, something weird happened: Creatures from ancient Babylonian texts, called
Lilitu, began to be associated with Adam’s non-canonical first wife, Lilith. At the same time, parallels were drawn between Satan and the ancient Canaanite deity Beelzebub, and the ancient Roman half-goat, half-man god of nature, Pan. In the 14th Century, these pop culture influences led Dante to describe Satan as lording over
The depths of hell while sporting bat wings. And that in turn influenced the 17th century author John Milton to describe fallen angels in his work Paradise Lost as the sort of grody monsters we think of today. Remember those theologians who turned themselves inside out trying to explain how Satan existed?
Well, they faced the same issue with the rest of the fallen angels, and came up with some typically convoluted explanations. Until the 12th century, “pride” was the typical answer as to why fallen angels fell. But that meant God would have had to create something with a crippling, all-powerful amount
Of pride, and that didn’t fly. So scholars came up with the idea that angels had been created with a natural love that allowed them to love God, themselves, and each other. It’s the last part that scholars in the Middle Ages believe caused the fall of the angels.
After Lucifer fell because his love was a selfish love of power, the other angels who fell did so because they loved Lucifer. God was largely an absent, distant figure, after all, and Lucifer was their friend. Rather than condemning themselves to struggle for the acceptance of an unreachable father,
Perhaps they followed their brother into exile. It’s kind of heartbreaking, when you think about it, especially once you add love to free will and knowledge as things too dangerous for mortals to contemplate. According to the Mirabilia Journal, one of the most convoluted bits of theology that
Grew up around the legend of fallen angels is the way Christian writers used it to excuse and promote the persecution of the LGBTQ community. Scholars have long debated about whether fallen angels and demons are capable of love, with many believing that instead, fallen angels are consumed with lust, a desire to use others
For their own ends. Indeed, Christian writers as far back as the apostle Paul himself warned women about the danger of attracting the attention of a lusty fallen angel. But since they didn’t write anything about fallen angels having lust for members of their
Own gender, early scholars decided that meant that there was something so fundamentally wrong about the idea that even fallen angels wouldn’t do it. This kind of self-satisfied circular logic was used as an excuse for centuries of persecution, which still continues today.
Our contemporary view of fallen angels might suggest that they kind of got off easy. After all, though they might be in hell, they aren’t exactly at the mercy of the demons there, because they…kind of are those demons, right? Well, not exactly.
According to the Jewish Virtual Library, the seven archangels (those are the leaders of the good angels who stayed loyal to God) count the punishing of the fallen angels among their heavenly duties. Each one of the archangels was in charge of particular facets of the otherworldly life:
Jeremiel, for example, keeps watch over the souls in the underworld, while Michael protects Israel, Gabriel is the overseer of Paradise, and Uriel leads the host. They’re the ones with direct access to God, and they’re also in charge of punishing the fallen. Punish how?
Take Azazel, who according to some sources was the one who taught mankind how to make weapons rather than Gadreel. According to the Watkins Dictionary of Angels, Azazel was punished by Raphael, who put him in chains, threw him in a pit full of sharp rocks in the middle of the desert, and brought
The darkness down on him while he waited for his condemnation after the final judgment. That doesn’t sound so great after all. And it’s a pretty steep price to pay for expressing love and free will! Better luck next time, fallen angels. Check out one of our newest videos right here!
Plus, even more Grunge videos about your favorite stuff are coming soon. Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you don’t miss a single one.
Today’s episode is brought to you by Wondrium Many of us are familiar with the Knights Templar – or simply, the Templars – a Catholic military order formed in the mid 12th century who rose to surprising heights of power in such a short
Space of time. The Knights themselves were often thought to be some of the most skilled warriors in Crusades and donning foreboding armour, those that were not without their distinct white mantles bearing the red cross, they were certainly a force to be reckoned with
And not one that you’d want to be on the bad side of. But most of the Templars weren’t actually fighters but were instead more like financiers and those more interested in the economic infrastructure throughout not just in their own Christian kingdom,
But the rest of the world too. In fact, it can be argued that given the global reach of the templars during their century long operation, that they were the first multinational corporation. But when the Holy Land was lost and support for the order waned, rumours about the Templars
Began to circulate, those very rumours which came to cast a most ominous and spine-chilling shadow around this most suspicious group. In fact, these rumours became so palpable that King Phillip IV of France, who happened to also be in debt to the order – took advantage
Of the Templars’ decline and seeking to erase his debts, had many of the Templars arrested, tortured and executed. After harassing Pope Clement V for long enough, the Pope disbanded the Templar Order, but those rumours that had permeated the air would live long throughout the ages and spur
On speculation that the Templars were far more sinister than one might’ve realised… perhaps even, owing to the supernatural. Amongst those rumours was the idea that the Knights Templar worshipped not the Christian god to whom their operations seemed to revolve around, but instead a more
Fiendish and hellish deity known as Baphomet. Today’s video is brought to you by Wondrium. [You’ve heard me talk about The Great Courses Plus before… well, the folks behind The Great Courses are making big moves to create even better, broader, bigger, and more mind-blowing
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Gain access to a library of over 11,000 videos and lectures about… well, pretty much anything from science, maths, history, literature or even the more creative arts like photography. If you’re enjoying hearing about the demons in my recent videos, you might like to explore the
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Amongst the crimes that the Templars were accused of, some were more outrageous than others. Accusations of the usual heresy, homosexual activity and spitting and or urinating on the cross were all quite typical, but the latter of these crimes – the spitting and urinating
On the cross were thought by some historians to have actually been conducted by the Templars so as to mentally prepare them for violations they might have been forced to commit should they have been captured. But interestingly, there exists accounts that the spitting on the cross was
Also a ritual commanded by the cult of Baphomet and that this was seen as an initiation process within the Knights Templar. With this idea, the Templars, or at least a sect of them, were not actually Christians and were using the image of Christ as a guise for much more sinister antics.
In his book The Knights Templar and their Myth, Peter Partner states that one of the main accusations made against the Templars was their worship of the deity Baphomet, but that the description of Baphomet varied from confession to confession,
Leading many to believe that the Templars who were accused of this were tortured for their admissions until they just made something up. Some were resolute in their denial of Baphomet and explained that they knew nothing of this deity, but others would confess that they had worshipped the deity
And described him as being anything between a severed head to a being with three faces. Others spoke of it taking a zoomorphic form and possessing limbs and features incongruent with the standardised image of God. Yet despite these accusations, there did not seem to be any concrete
Evidence from this time period that suggests the Templars were in league with Baphomet, further suggesting that those who confessed did so out of desperation to end their suffering. Another idea proposes that the Templar Knights who were posted in the Crusader states
Had come to adopt Islamic doctrine into their own beliefs and either discovered a dual faith, or had outright converted. This would of course have been viewed as the utmost heresy in a time where Medieval Christians believed that the Muslims were idolaters and that the prophet Muhammed
Was a false prophet. In fact, Muhammed would have been referred to as Mahomet in Old French and by some, it was believed that the name Mahomet was at some point transformed into Baphomet. Mahomet would also become ‘mammet’ in old English and as one might imagine, it would become the definition
Of a false god. It might also be the case that Baphomet had more Byzantine Greek influence and that the name Baphomet originated from the Greek name for Muhammed – Moameth. This is further substantiated by the fact that the Templars were exposed to Greek culture in the first crusade
And would have come to learn of Moameth and the sinister reputation he had amongst the contemporary Greeks. BIblical scholar Hugh J Schonfield argues in his book The Essene Odyssey that the word Baphomet came about with the Atbash substitution
Cipher in mind – a complex system which replaces the first letter of the alphabet for the last, and the second for the second last and so on. Using this system, the word Baphomet becomes ‘Shofya’ which can be interpreted as the name Sophia – meaning wisdom. With this, not only
Does Baphomet become a more androgynous figure as the name Sophia is adopted, but also comes to stand for sagacity and intelligence – elements that perhaps the Templars were keen to absorb. Another idea regarding the Templars association with Baphomet comes from a
Belief that the Templars were actually gnostics and thus, subscribed to polytheism. Of course, Baphomet was thought to be one of these deities that they worshipped, though given their secrecy it’s possible that this was kept under wraps so as to avoid public outcry and political admonishing.
Furthermore, some ideas – chiefly from Viennese Orientalist Jacob Freiherr von Hammer-Purgstall, suggests that Baphomet was indeed an androgynous figure based on various stone antiquities that share the same name. These Baphomets were thought to be hermaphrodites and possessed additional limbs or even features that were placed in unconventional places.
Hammer-Purgstall argued that many of these stone ‘Baphomets’ were inscribed with Arabic, furthermore suggesting an Islamic origin, but this link is hard to determine. There are also claims by Hammer-Purgstall that the Templars carried these Baphomets in their luggage and that these were indeed articles that served as idols, but again these claims
Are almost certainly born out of assumption. By the mid 19th century, Baphomet would become popularised by the French esoterosit and poet Eliphas Levi who likened Baphomet to that of the Sabbatic Goat. In fact, in his book Dogma and Rituals of High Magic, he illustrated his own
Idea of Baphomet that would become known as the Goat of Mendes. It’s likely that this followed the account by Greek writer and geographer Herodotus, who spoke of the God of Mendes (Mendes being an Egyptian city) as having a goat’s face and a goat’s legs. Levi depicts the deity
As a winged humanoid goat that much like Hammer-Purgstall’s idea, also possessed breasts and thus adopted a more androgynous form. There was also a torch sported atop the goat’s head where the sign of a pentagram can also be found. Baphomet’s hands are also positioned to
Form the sign of the occult, according to Levi, with one hand pointing up to promote kindness and love and the other pointing down to promote judgement and limitation. It was believed by Levi that the positioning of Baphomet’s hands promoted the perfect harmony between mercy
And justice – one hand that expressed love and the other which expressed judgement. One of his arms is female and the other is male, yet again incorporating the blend of both sexes and forming something of a representation for everyone in existence. The torch
Positioned between his horns was thought to be either symbolic for intelligence or symbolic for the soul itself, which through Baphomet could elevate beyond the physical state. Levi tells us himself in Dogma and Rituals of High Magic: “The beast’s head expresses
The horror of the sinner, whose materially acting, solely responsible part has to bear the punishment exclusively; because the soul is insensitive according to its nature and can only suffer when it materializes. The rod standing instead of genitals symbolizes eternal life,
The body covered with scales the water, the semi-circle above it the atmosphere, the feathers following above the volatile. Humanity is represented by the two breasts and the androgyne arms of this sphinx of the occult sciences.” The depiction of Baphomet by Levi
Was also believed to have been a symbol for a more heretical tradition that existed outside of typical religious belief and that the symbol stood for the emancipation of humanity and a perfect social order. He would also come to speak of his own belief
In the ‘astral light’ that shone from between the horns of Baphomet – that which was a magical light that promoted the progressive idea of blending religion and science. Or at least, advocated a social system that championed both religion and science without one impeding the other.
But many might be wondering why a goat was used for Baphomet’s face at all – other than the possible inspiration that Levi may have drawn from Herodotus. Well, Herodotus did speak of goats being revered creatures in Egypt and that by one of his observations,
He saw a woman having sex with one – thus was the prominence of the goat in the region of Mendes. Furthermore, some goats that were worshipped were even believed to have been given ceremonial burials when they died and that public mourning of the goat was not uncommon.
Fans of Aleister Crowley might also be interested to know that the Occultist recognised Baphomet as the ‘hieroglyph of arcane perfection’ and that this deity was a reflection of ourselves. Baphomet would become an important figure within Crowley’s cult of Thelema in the early
20th century and he would also be recognised by Crowley’s writing as an androgynous being that stood for life and love. As anyone who’s studied Crowley for more than a minute, you’ll know that sex magic played an integral role in his beliefs and according to Crowley, Baphomet was also
Symbolic of the ‘magical child’ that was produced through such sex magic. With this in mind, it was believed by Crowley that Baphomet represented the convergence of opposites; especially in this instance where the magically infused child would be conceived through the physical act of sex.
Both magic in the ritualistic copulation and the biological fusing of sperm and egg would in a sense become a representation of Baphomet, he who resembled the opposites. Interestingly, this is not the first time that Baphomet has been addressed as a deity who marries
Up the opposite elements, for Levi himself in his illustration of the Goat of Mendes details him as having the Latin word Solve (meaning dissolve) on one arm and the Latin word Coagula, (meaning coagulate) on the other- yet again supporting this idea of two opposites coinciding.
But let me know of any tales that you might have heard in regards to Baphomet in the comments below and as always, if you’ve enjoyed today’s episode, then don’t forget to give this video a thumbs up and don’t forget to subscribe for more content just like this.
For thousands of years, people around the world have believed in the existence of Satan, an entity that is thought to be the embodiment of pure evil. But is Satan just a myth, a figment of our collective imagination? Or is he lurking, ready to tempt us and possess our souls?
Well, that is what we’ll try and find out. [music playing] [non-english singing] WILLIAM SHATNER (VOICEOVER): Jerusalem, Israel, the Holy Land. For thousands of years, religious pilgrims of many faiths have come to this sacred city to express their devotion to God. But just outside the walls of Jerusalem
Lies the Valley of Hinnom, an ancient place of unholy worship, where evil deeds were performed long ago in honor of God’s enemy, Satan. In the Book of Jeremiah, God reports through his prophet that people outside Jerusalem in a place called the Valley of Hinnom are sacrificing their sons and also their daughters.
And God explicitly says, I never asked you to do this satanic ritual, and expresses that he’s angry, that there’s going to be a terrible punishment for this. Historically speaking, in the days of the Bible, not everybody was faithful to the Lord. Satanism influenced the Israelite community.
And what they would do literally was they’d create a big pit of fire, and they actually would sacrifice their first-born male through the fire. This was performed in the Valley of Hinnom, which is actually the Hebrew word today for hell. I can’t imagine what would cause someone
To want to sacrifice their own child to anything for any reason, but this demonstrates how in antiquity, people believed that their crops wouldn’t grow, that the rains wouldn’t come, if they didn’t offer sacrifices up to some satanic demons, spirits, whatever. And now you have introduced this new being
That’s responsible for the bad things, and his name comes to be Satan. WILLIAM SHATNER (VOICEOVER): What can explain the shocking events that took place in the Valley of Hinnom thousands of years ago? Was it simply the result of human wickedness? Or is it possible that, as the biblical accounts suggest,
Satan and his demons were and still are real entities that have the power to influence people? Some people think of Satan as Beelzebub or Lucifer or the Prince of Darkness or the Evil One or Old Nick. And some of these names come from scripture. A lot of them come from folklore.
And if you think of Satan as this ubiquitous figure who’s constantly tormenting and tempting people, then it makes sense that the devil can be known by all of these different nicknames. Is there really a character of the Satan? Well, the definition of that is going to differ between the major world religions.
But fear of an eternal damnation in the afterlife has always been sufficient to keep people religious and in line with the beliefs of their religious clerics, who warn them that failure to comply will lead to an eternity of suffering in damnation. Or in other words, the stories from which this developed
Were to teach moral lessons. Throughout history, many religions have interpreted the world through the lens of having a figure of evil, Satan, who is responsible for evil in the world. According to Christian tradition, Satan was one of the most powerful and beautiful of the angels. He rebelled against God.
A third of the angels sided with Satan, and there was a war in heaven. Satan lost and was cast down into hell. Satan is the embodiment of evil, a fallen angel who tempts you to not follow your best values. He is a god of sorts, and he can offer
Something like that to us– great knowledge, control, mastery, the stuff of transcendence. Of course, it will cost us everything. After all, this is not a straight shooter. This is not somebody who’s going to tell the truth. His job is to tempt you. CHRIS BADER: Satan is believed to have tried
To tempt Jesus when he was in the desert with visions of earthly delights. So Satan is continually throughout the Bible someone trying to draw people from God to evil.
Angels, as we’ve come to understand them, are beings that reside in a higher plane of our own – celestial beings, if you will, that go about doing God’s bidding and also offer a certain, ambiguous protection to the righteous man. Typically, they are depicted as glorious, beautiful
Winged creatures that gracefully glide across the heavens, humanoid in appearance and the epitome of physical perfection. Some come with halos, some come with wings but a common misconception, at least, according to the bible, is that all of these angelic beings are wonderful to behold. In actuality, nothing could be further from the truth…
We’ve seen angels appear in the bible quite frequently from the very beginning of Genesis and in these pages we’ve come to see the angels perform a variety of roles. Most often, they are seen as messengers – those delivering the word of God to either bring warning,
As we see them do in Genesis 19 where they warn Lot to leave Sodom before its destruction, or to bring hope, as we see them do in Genesis 16 where they bless Hagar with numerous descendants. It’s easy to imagine the angels in these more innocent and nurturing roles as being
Beautiful and graceful and full of such virtue that their physical appearance would reflect that. But in other accounts, we see them behave more violently, such as where David is punished for numbering his people, which sees an angel sent to destroy Jerusalem. Or when Jerusalem is later attacked, which sees an angel of death
Slaughter the one hundred and eighty five thousand Assyrians who were responsible. With these more destructive and vengeful characteristics, it becomes more conceivable that the angels were not these handsome champions of regal charm and glamour, but instead something far more menacing and perhaps something truly terrifying to witness. In today’s episode, we’ll
Be exploring some of these more uncanny angels in detail in an effort to discover what they looked like, what their purpose was and how bizarre and downright fearsome some of them really were. The Cherubim… Sometimes considered to be the highest form of the angelic beings, the cherubim are
Occasionally scattered throughout Scripture and appear to take on a varied set of roles. The Cherubim, or in their singular form ‘Cherub’, were considered to be angelic servants of God, those who performed divine duties upon the earth and set about to ensure his will
Was being carried out. But primarily, their occupation far preceded the antics of man, where they were initially thought to have been created by God to guard the gates of Eden. We’ve all likely seen the Cherubim from western Christian artwork where they appear to be small,
Plump boys with wings – sometimes even babies – that hover around the clouds looking pretty innocent. It’s likely that this was inspired by the putto – a figure in classical artwork depicted by a chubby child and that the use of a child in this
Instance in accordance with the Cherubim, was to exemplify their purity and innocence. The putto would also become closely associated with that of the Roman and Greek god Cupid or Eros and so, it is not uncommon for the Cherubim to be confused with the mythological deities.
But this stout and chunky form of the Cherub would not be its only representation, for it would come across as far more intimidating in the descriptions from the Hebrew prophet Ezekiel. In the bible, Ezekiel is seen to have noticed the Cherubim transporting the throne of God
Across the river Kebar in Ezekiel 1:5-11 titled Ezekiel’s Inaugural Vision, where the beings are described as having the likeness of man, but with the addition of four heads – that of a man, a lion, an ox and an eagle. We are told, “I looked, and I saw a windstorm coming out
Of the north—an immense cloud with flashing lightning and surrounded by brilliant light. The centre of the fire looked like glowing metal, and in the fire was what looked like four living creatures. In appearance their form was human, but each of them had four faces and four wings.
Their legs were straight; their feet were like those of a calf and gleamed like burnished bronze. Under their wings on their four sides they had human hands. All four of them had faces and wings, and the wings of one touched the wings of another. Each one went straight ahead;
They did not turn as they moved.” (Ezekiel 1:4-8) Here, we get a pretty good description of what these beings looked like – that they had four wings, that they were human in form and that
They had four faces made up of animals. We also see that some of their limbs appear to be like those of animals – notably their feet which belong to those of a calf. It is understood that the four
Faces are representations of the four domains of God’s rule – man which stands for humanity, the lion for wild animals, the ox for the domesticated animals and the eagles for the birds. It’s also interesting to note that they moved like flashes of light,
Implying that they were swift and were likely far beyond the power of a regular human man. Interestingly, Ezekiel does not actually refer to them as Cherubim in this part of the bible, but confirms their identity in chapter 10, telling us “I looked, and I saw beside the cherubim
Four wheels, one beside each of the cherubim; the wheels sparkled like topaz. As for their appearance, the four of them looked alike; each was like a wheel intersecting a wheel. As they moved, they would go in any one of the four directions the cherubim faced;
The wheels did not turn about as the cherubim went. The cherubim went in whatever direction the head faced, without turning as they went. Their entire bodies, including their backs, their hands and their wings, were completely full of eyes, as were their four wheels.
I heard the wheels being called “the whirling wheels.” Each of the cherubim had four faces: One face was that of a cherub, the second the face of a human being, the third the face of a lion, and
The fourth the face of an eagle. Then the cherubim rose upward. These were the living creatures I had seen by the Kebar River.” (Ezekiel 10:9-15) Now, you might’ve noticed that his description of them slightly changes from his account in chapter one. You’ll notice that here, the face
Of the ox is replaced by the face of a cherub – though the reasoning for this is ambiguous. There is also an implication here that the Cherub face looked strikingly different from the human face, though Ezekiel does not go on to explain what these differences were. Furthermore, another
Difference that’s quite profound in this chapter, is that the entire cherub is described as being covered with eyes and is either centred within or around a set of ‘whirling wheels’ – that which is also covered with eyes. The wheels themselves are quite an interesting feature for they are
Otherwise referred to as the ophanim in hebrew and are sometimes thought to be the wheels of a chariot used by God – but more on those later. This is an east orthodox art piece from the 5th or 6th century that depicts Ezekiel’s vision and is referred to unofficially as the tetramorph cherub.
In this mosaic and other pieces of Christian art, the tetramorph shows us a being with wings and the four animals as described in Ezekiel 1:4-8. It also believed that each of these four components represent the four Evangelists with Matthew being the man, Mark the lion,
Luke the ox and John the eagle. The mosaic is also thought to be an amalgamation of the seraphim that Isaiah sees in Isaiah’s Commission or the six winged creatures found in Revelations where John sees what might have been another set of Cherubim in chapter 4.
Often in Christian mythos, the Cherubim are thought to be second to the Seraphim in the angelic hierarchy and whilst details can differ between the two classes depending on the source, the key distinction between them appear to be their closeness to God (with the Seraphim being
Above the Cherubim) as well as their form, with the Seraphim appearing with up to four wings. Yet again, even these details can be altered depending on the author where one can expect to find even the mechanics of their wings to be a point of contention.
Whilst Ezekiel’s account of the Cherubim appears to be one of the most vivid, we are still left in the dark as to who the Cherubim are and what exactly their role is, other than to serve God. We see them carrying his throne across the Kebar river
And we see their presence amongst the whirling wheels in Ezekiel’s vision, but beyond this Ezekiel does not tell us what purpose they serve in the grander scheme of things. Some ideas propose that the Cherubim are merely just another sect of angels or celestial
Beings – similar to the seraphim, or that they are physical representations of God’s judgement. This likely stems from the account in Genesis 3 after God has banished Adam from the Garden, where we are told “So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which
He had been taken. After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.” Here, the role of the Cherubim is primarily to guard the gates of Eden
And to prevent man from getting back in. After Adam had taken fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, his natural progression would have been to take fruit from the tree of life and to gain immortality. But after having betrayed God by falling for the serpent’s words,
God deemed man unworthy of immortality and so denied him from ever supping from the tree. Taking no chances, we even see him here give the Cherubim (as if they weren’t strong enough already) a flaming sword, to fend off man should he dare find his way back to Eden.
Yet another idea regarding the Cherubim also relates to the fall of man, in that they are considered by some to be a symbolic representation of a redeemed humanity – or a humanity who had never sinned. The Cherubim by this idea are perfect in appearance, eternally youthful,
Powerful and the closest to God. By this, they serve as a reminder of what could’ve been had Adam and Eve not given into their temptations and remind believers that they should strive to be better. There is also hope in this idea, in that should one be righteous and not make the same
Mistakes as Adam and Eve, they might yet achieve the Cherubim status and become closer to God. There is also an idea that the Cherubim are a symbol of God’s mercy, for in Exodus 25 we see God make a covenant with the children of Israel as he sets out
Instructions for the construction of the Ark – that which was a golden chest which contained the tablets of the covenant. He tells them, “Make an atonement cover of pure gold—two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide. And make two cherubim out of hammered gold at the
Ends of the cover. Make one cherub on one end and the second cherub on the other; make the cherubim of one piece with the cover, at the two ends. The cherubim are to have their wings spread upward, overshadowing the cover with them. The cherubim are to face each other, looking toward the cover.
Place the cover on top of the ark and put in the ark the tablets of the covenant law that I will give you. There, above the cover between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the covenant
Law, I will meet with you and give you all my commands for the Israelites.” (Exodus 25:17-22) As can be seen, God’s instructions state that two cherubs are to be fashioned out of gold and placed on the cover of the ark. This is otherwise referred to as ‘The Mercy Seat’ – a
Term which has hubraic meaning to ‘cover, appease, cleanse or make atonement for. It was believed that once a year, a high priest would sprinkle blood of a sacrificed animal onto the Mercy Seat so as to atone for his own sins and the sins of the Israelites
In an effort to appease God’s anger. It was also believed that here in the presence of the Ark, was the only place where forgiveness from God could be truly achieved. With that, the inclusion of the Cherubim atop the Mercy Seat certainly make them seem like
Advocates for God’s mercy and figures that represent God’s compassion towards mankind. God also tells the Israelites that “There, above the cover between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the covenant law, I will meet with you and give you all my commands for the Israelites.”
(Exodus 25:22) and by this, it might be said that the Cherubim are something of a bridge towards God or perhaps as close as one can ever get on the mortal realm. By promising the Israelites that he will meet them there before the Cherubim, the Cherubim automatically become hallowed tokens or
Characters – those which are still held today in high regard as they signpost the way to God. The Seraphim It is in chapter 6 of the book of Isaiah that we
Are given a look into what exactly the prophet had seen in one of his more compelling visions. It was in the year that King Uzzah had died and Isaiah tells us in what is known as ‘Isaiah’s Commission’
That he had seen God seated upon a throne. But it wasn’t just God that had caught his eye, but also the six winged angelic creatures that floated above him. These, as Isaiah tells us, were the Seraphim (or the singular Seraph), otherwise known as ‘The Burning Ones’ or ‘The Fiery Ones’.
Isaiah tells us, “In the year that King Uzzah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet,
And with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and
The temple was filled with smoke. (Isaiah 6:1-4) We understand from this passage, that the Seraphim had six wings and that Isaiah had seen these creatures flying around the exalted throne of God. You’ll notice, he described them as having their wings covering their faces and feet, though
The reasons for this are uncertain. It has been suggested that they cover their faces to protect Isaiah, for they shone so brightly, that they would blind him if they were to reveal themselves. We know that the word Seraphim was the hurbraic root word for ‘Seraph’ meaning, ‘to burn’,
Hence ‘burning ones’, so by this it could be understood that the Seraph were akin to fire and thus, did indeed emit fierce, radiant light that Isaiah would not have been able to bear. You’ll notice that whilst Isaiah recognises that they do have faces, it is unclear whether he gets
To see their features, or is merely assuming they have human facial features based on the rest of their composition. Additionally, the covering of their feet might be in respect to God, who they constantly circle around, for they would not want to reveal any dirt or uncleanness in his presence.
This could also be another reason why they use two of their wings to cover their faces, for they wish to remain humble in the presence and God and deem themselves to be unworthy to even look upon him. With this constant circling, they repeatedly proclaim the holiness of God and his glory, making
It clear that he is the highest being and that he is the one that they hold in the highest regard. The declaration of him being holy outlines God as being sacred and certainly determines him as greatness personified – an entity that is and should be constantly worshipped – perhaps,
An example to believers that their celebration of God should never be forgotten. What’s interesting about this passage is the Seraphim’s declaration of the word ‘Holy’ three times in a row. In ancient Jewish culture, the number three was considered to be a representation of fulfilment
And so, anything that came in threes was usually a good omen. In this instance, holy is used three times not just as an affirmation of the holiness of God, but also the wholeness of God, which believers see as evident in the past, present and future.
The use of holy thrice, also connotes the appearance of God in the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, suggesting that the Seraphim’s repetition of the word Holy three times is not coincidental, but actually meaningful and to promote the greatness of God.
Amongst this, Isaiah also speaks of the sound of the Seraphim voices, those which are so intense that the doors shake and the entire temple in which he stands is flooded with smoke. Whilst this could be merely a sign of their power in that they cause the foundations of the building to rumble
With just the sounds of their voice, it might also be said that this was symbolic of earthquakes or tremors, those which in ancient times could have been equated with the divine presence of God, or associated with God because of the tremors he was seen to evoke in the bible.
Isaiah’s account continues with him becoming painfully aware that he is unprepared for this encounter and that unlike the Seraphim, he has not hidden his face nor his feet, and has not shown the high levels of humility that God would have likely expected. With this, he immediately begins to panic, telling us
“Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”Then one of the seraphim flew to me
With a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.” (Isaiah 6:5-6) As we can see, Isaiah fears the worst. He
Recognises that he is unclean and a sinner and that he has come from unclean sinners, yet he has now seen his God in the flesh – something he deemed himself unworthy of doing. Yet, it is perhaps because of his immediate realisation of this
And his subsequent repenting that the Seraphim take pity on him and rush to absolve him of his sin. They realise that his sorrow is genuine and that going by his reaction, he probably would have taken better precaution to be humble had he been more prepared for this encounter.
As we can see, one of the Seraphim flies over to him and places a coal, which he had taken from the altar, upon his lips. There he tells Isaiah that because this had touched his lips, his sin and guilt was now removed. Because the coal would likely have been boiling hot,
It links in with an idea that Isaiah was purified by the fire – or by the Seraphim who were in essence the ‘fiery ones’. There is also an idea established here that the Seraphim, along with being the eternal worshippers of God, also have the ability to remove people’s
Sins if they believe them to be authentic in their repentance. With his sins cleaned, Isaiah was then able to speak to God directly and proceeded to nominate himself to do God’s bidding. Whilst Isaiah’s account appears to be the only reliable source of Seraphim in the bible,
In that he literally does identify and describe them as such, the Seraphim do exist in other biblical apocrypha including the Book of Enoch, where Seraphim are mentioned alongside Cherubim as they coexist around the throne of God. Both entities are described as relating to the sun,
Or that they are elements of the sun itself, which would fit in quite well with the Seraphim being known as the ‘Burning Ones’. The implication here would of course be that the Seraphim shine so brightly that it would not be possible to perceive them – well,
Not without blinding yourself anyway – or that they can produce such a high intensity of heat, that only God can bear to stand next to them. In other ideas of Christian theology, the Seraphim can be seen as the caretakers of God’s throne and much like Isaiah’s account,
They too continuously sing the words ‘Holy, Holy, Holy’. There are also ideas that the Seraphim assisted God in maintaining order in the world, though the specifics of this are often vague. Other ideas focus on the heat or the fire that the Seraphim have been associated with,
And that the fire is a symbolic notion of themselves and their relationship with God. Fire’s movement is constant and gradually rises upward – much as the Seraphim do as they fly above God, and the constant crackling of the fire could be linked with the constant praising of his name.
The other idea that paints the Seraphim as fire is that fire consumes that which it touches and thus, destroys – or in the case of the Seraphim, destroys the sin of a person, much like that which is done for Isaiah. Some might say that the fires cleanse and in this,
The Seraphim are indeed quite similar. There is also the idea that we’ve already discussed that fire emits light and the Seraphim share that same property, though a far more divine and intense light that can be comparable to the sun itself. In Judaism, Isaiah’s vision is recognised in
Various Jewish services and the Seraphim are acknowledged. In the Kabbalah for example, the Seraphim are seen to drift from God, only to burn up and return to his side. Whilst in other beliefs, the Seraphim become equivocal to that of the Cherubim as seen in
Ezekeil’s vision. But in more conservative Judaism, the Seraphim and angels in general are seen as more symbolic than anything else. In Islam meanwhile, a hadith by Persian scholar Al-Tirmidhi speaks of a conversation between the prophet Muhammed and Allah where they speak of
The ‘Exalted Assembly’ – those being the angels amongst Iblis who disputed the creation of Adam, or who had refused to bow to him. It is believed that the Seraphim are included within this category, or that Iblis had been of the Seraphim himself, or perhaps the only Seraph,
For he was created from fire – fire being a key trope for these angelic beings. Though this belief and idea is not universal, nor is it specified in the Quran. In fact, Seraphim, at least in the way described by Isaiah do not seem to have much of a presence.
Another interesting idea regarding the Seraphim paint them in a more malevolent light where they adopt the form of serpents. In Numbers 21:6 for example, God sends venomous serpents amongst the Israelites after their rebellion in the wilderness, but in some translations and ideas,
The serpents are replaced with that of the Seraphim. This is also true for Deuteronomy 8:15, where the wilderness is described as being a thirsty and waterless land with venomous snakes and scorpions. In the original hubraic, the term ‘seraph’ can be found instead of ‘snakes’,
Suggesting that God might have sent the Seraphim as a means to punish those who had rebelled. Some have interpreted the meaning of this translation as a particular type of snake – this ‘Seraph Snake’ and that they might be referring not to an angel, but instead a reptile
Of some kind. There is also the idea that the snakes were venomous and so, their bite could be linked with the burning sensation one might feel should they have come across a fiery Seraph. Another cool idea is that the snakes in the wilderness are described as flying – something
They certainly would have in common with the Seraph. Other ideas propose that the Seraphim were the angels who supported Lucifer in his rebellion, or that Lucifer himself was a Seraph which some believe facilitated his transformation into a serpent in the garden of eden. The Ophanim One of the most strangest and
Downright weirdest creatures that are thought to exist within scripture are the Ophanim – those that are believed by some to be just a mechanism of God’s chariot and by others to be angelic beings with significant powers. The reason why they are called the Ophanim
Is because in ancient hubraic, the word Ophanim was thought to have meant wheels. It was also believed that the word could be spelled as auphanim or ofanim, as well as a third variation as ‘galgalim’. In other beliefs, Ophanim are also described as spheres or
Whirlwinds, or again the very wheels that were attached to the chariot of god and the reason for all three of these ideas can likely be pinpointed once in the visions seen by Ezekiel. As mentioned earlier, Ezkiel’s Inaugural Vision consists of some pretty wild and extraordinary
Things, but as far as the Cherubim and the Ophanim go, Ezekiel tells us, “As I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the ground beside each creature with its four faces. This was the appearance and structure of the wheels: They sparkled like topaz, and all four
Looked alike. Each appeared to be made like a wheel intersecting a wheel. As they moved, they would go in any one of the four directions the creatures were faced; the wheels did not change direction as the creatures went. Their rims were high and awesome, and all four rims
Were full of eyes all round.” (Ezekiel 1:15-18) The ‘living creatures’ that Ezekiel sees here are indeed the cherubim as we’ve already established, but he spends an equal amount of time taking in the sight of these four wheels – these Opahnim. He describes them as glistening
Like topaz and that all four assembled to make the shape of one wheel intersecting another. He also adds that whilst they appeared independently mobile, they only moved wherever the cherubim were facing, which has since led some to believe that the Cherubs controlled the Ophanim,
Or was a symbol for their outranking of them. He continues to state that they do not appear to ever change their direction, and that all the rims of their being were covered with eyes. But with this passage alone, it only raises our intrigue as to what these wheels were
And what exactly their function was. Ezekiel is able to paint a somewhat vivid picture of what these wheels looked like, but perhaps what makes them so stark and fascinating is how elusive they are. These wheels are not something that appear frequently throughout the bible
And the fact that God allows Ezekiel to see them only teases the idea that they do have some significance that we are not grasping. One interesting idea that further supports the notion that these wheels were the wheels of God’s chariot comes from a song of praise
By David in Psalm 18, where we are told “He (God) mounted the Cherubim and flew. He soared on the wings of the wind.” (Psalm 18:10) In this rather unique imagery, it could be said that Cherubim had more of a practical function as they served as God’s
Vehicle, or a means for which to transport him across the sky, or from heaven to earth. The Cherubim in this instance become the chariot and by this, the wheels that they are seen to manipulate become the wheels of that very chariot. Those being, the Ophanim.
But Ezekiel does not make this connection, but is instead taken aback by what he continues to witness. He tells us, “When the living creatures moved, the wheels beside them moved; and when the living creatures rose from the ground, the wheels also rose. Wherever the spirit would go,
They would go, and the wheels would rise along with them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. When the creatures moved, they also moved; when the creatures stood still, they also stood still; and when the creatures
Rose from the ground, the wheels rose along with them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.” (Ezekiel 1:19-21) Here, he essentially confirms the idea that the wheels were controlled by the Cherubim, and that they did indeed have power over these elements,
And that wherever the cherubim went, the Ophanim would go too. He also adds that the very spirit of the Cherubim exists within the Ophanim, suggesting that on some level, perhaps these strange creatures are extensions of the angels, as opposed to being angels themselves.
Touching once again upon the chariot idea as hinted by the song of David in Psalm 18, one might also say that the Cherubim were the drivers of the chariot and the wheels were merely just that – wheels. With this idea, they are not angelic and they do not have sentience,
But instead are more along the lines of machinery. Yet, the idea that the Ophanim were indeed angels – perhaps, the weirdest of angels given their appearance, remains to be consistent within some communities and traditions. We can agree from
Ezekiel’s account that despite their association to the Cherubim, there is nothing particularly angelic about the Ophanim. They do not appear to have human characteristics like all other angels, they do not speak and bring prophecies and they do not appear to even have wings. Reference of
Them is made in the second book of Enoch, where we see Enoch ascend before the throne of God. He tells us, “ I saw there a very great light, and fiery troops of great archangels, incorporeal forces, and dominions, orders and governments, Cherubim and seraphim, thrones and many-eyed ones,
Nine regiments, the Ioanit stations of light, and I became afraid, and began to tremble with great terror, and those men took me, and led me after them, and said to me:Have courage, Enoch, do not fear, and showed me the Lord from afar, sitting on His very high throne.” (2 Enoch 20:1-2)
Whilst again not specifically mentioned as ‘Ophanim’, Enoch does refer to them as the ‘many-eyed ones’, which correlates with Ezekiel’s description. What’s interesting here is that he later identifies all the present entities including the Cherubim, Seraphim and these ‘Many Eyed Ones’ as being men and that these men took
Him and led him to the throne of God, where they reassured him he was safe. Whilst hard to say given that Enoch does not explicitly determine these Many Eyed Ones to be the Ophanim, it could be said that in this story, that the Many Eyed Ones did maintain some characteristics of men
And that instead of wheels, they possessed a more expected and relatable form. They also share the same compassion as the Cherubim and the Seraphim and seek to comfort Enoch when he would otherwise panic, thus suggesting another layer of benignity to these otherwise misunderstood creatures.
The second book of Enoch continues to tell us of the Many Eyed Ones that, “And the Cherubim and Seraphim standing about the throne, the six-winged and many-eyed ones do not depart, standing before the Lord’s face doing his will,
And cover his whole throne, singing with gentle voice before the Lord’s face: Holy, holy, holy, Lord Ruler of Sabaoth, heavens and earth are full of your glory.” (2 Enoch 21:1) Here, we get a sense that the Many Eyed Ones guard the throne of heaven and along with the
Cherubim and the Seraphim, they will remain here for eternity at the beck and call of God. It is also established that they sing with gentle voices, which yet again humanizes the Many Eyed Ones and portrays them as more relatable, perhaps even as a charming set of characters.
With the Many Eyed Ones singing, it could also be associated with several Jewish prayers known as the Kedusha, where the Ophanim are told to offer praise upon God and glorify him as the creator.
Whilst the second book of Enoch refers to them as the Many Eyed Ones, the first book of Enoch refers to them directly as Ophanim and they are said here to also guard the throne of heaven and that together with the Seraphim and the Cherubim, they do not sleep. Enoch tells us here,
“And round about were Seraphim, Cherubim and Ophanim: And these are they who sleep not. And guard the throne of His glory.” (1 Enoch 71:1) There appears to be some variation in these very angels when it comes to both their ranking and their closeness to God.
Most commonly in Jewish expositions of angelic hierarchy, the significance and purpose of the Cherubim, Seraphim and the Ophanim seldom seem to coincide across all traditions. To some, the Cherubim are the closest to God and as mentioned before, they are his chariot. More significantly, they are much more prominent in the bible
And actually appear to Ezekiel, thus giving them the edge at least in terms of recognition. The Seraphim by comparison are also seen in a variety of ways including as a caretaker to God’s throne, and as the bible shows in Isaiah’s vision, the Seraphim can be viewed as absolvers of guilt.
To more conservative Judaisim though, the Seraphim are more symbolic in nature. These inconsistencies, if you will, are the same for the Ophanim in Jewish beliefs, with some believing them to be the closest of all the angels to God (as told to us by
Medieval Jewish philosopher Maimonides) or as ‘the thrones’, another classification of angels. Many other Jewish philosophies confirm this idea that the thrones and the Ophanim are one in the same and one of the ways that this is done is by one interpretation of Daniel’s Vision,
Where Daniel tells us he sees God in his chariot. He states, “As I looked, thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool. His throne was flaming with fire,
And its wheels were all ablaze.” (Daniel 7:9) With this idea, the thrones become established as the wheels of God’s vehicle and are set in place before he takes his seat upon it. A quote from American spirituality writer Rosemary Ellen Guiley sums up the notion of the thrones
And the Ophanim being the same quite concisely, where we are told “The ‘thrones’; also known as ‘ophanim’ (offanim) and ‘galgallin’, are creatures that function as the actual chariots of God driven by the cherubs. They are characterized by peace and submission; God rests upon them. Thrones
Are depicted as great wheels containing many eyes, and reside in the area of the cosmos where material form begins to take shape. They chant glorias to God and remain forever in his presence. They mete out divine justice and maintain the cosmic harmony of all universal laws.”
As we can see, going by this interpretation, the thrones – or the Ophanim – lose their more typical angel appearance and again resume the more biblically accurate depiction as a mechanism. In any case, one might say that the function of the Ophanim, whilst intriguing and novel,
Is not essential to believers, which is why concrete information about them is so scarce. Whether it be from the characters of the bible themselves or scholars who studied them, the wheels are only vital in their accordance to God. They serve to remind believers that
Their mystique and uncanny form is just one of many of the creations that God has made that man cannot understand and in some cases, it might serve to humble believers into realising that they do not have all the answers. It also brings God’s enginerial ingenuity into the limelight,
For whilst many may take for granted the way in which the world was created, elements like the Ophanim remind them of how much of mechanical mastermind a supreme being like God must be – especially given we to this day would not be able to create something so unusual.
Others might see the Ophanim as a representation of God himself, in that because they are covered with eyes, the eyes become symbolic of God being all-seeing. If the Ophanim have a multitude of eyes and spin omnidirectionally, then it would be believed that they can see everything from
Every angle. This would imply then that God could very well do the same – as we know he can from very specific mentions in the bible that God is everywhere and God knows everything. Thrones
As previously mentioned, the Thrones are a class of angels that are similar to the Ophanim – and sometimes, are outrightly assumed as being the same as the Ophanim. Very little is actually known about this type of angel and its appearance in the bible is scarce.
One of its more notable appearances is in Collisians where we are told “The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers
Or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.” (Collisians 1:15-16) What the Thrones actually looked like is up for some speculation, with some believing them to look similar or identical to the Ophanim or for them to appear as a combined image of the Throne of God
-hence their name. In some interpretations, it is believed that the Thrones are also wheels within wheels and that these wheels are also spinning and covered with eyes. In another interpretation that coincides with the idea that the Ophanim are the
Wheels of God’s chariot, some believe that the Thrones take on the form of the chariot itself. Another interesting idea proposes that the Thrones show up much later in Revelations 11 as ‘Elders’. John of Revelation tells us that these Elders appear to be gathered around the throne of God
And are all praising him. Whilst the Elders are not described, it is their proximity to God that is most interesting to us. It could be the case that these are not just older men, but instead the very Thrones that are described in Collisians. Of course, this can also be dismissed
Given that the only reason this is speculated is because the Elder men appear to have actual thrones of their own, those that are gathered around the one throne of God. Others believe that if these are the Thrones, they have likely taken the form of old men so as to make it easier for
John to digest what he is seeing, for John had by this point seen so many ghastly and bizzare things that it may have pushed him over the edge to see the Thrones in their truest appearance. In his work De Coelesti Hierarchia, Greek author and Christian theologian
Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite tells us that the Thrones were the third highest of the 9 classes of angels, ranking just below the Seraphim and the Cherubim. In many classifications, these are considered to be the ‘First Sphere’ of angels,
And these are the angels that serve God directly and thus, are closer to him than any others. It should be noted that many angels in the Old Testament do not even get a description and instead are believed to have appeared simply as men. They had no halos, no wings and no
Tangible physical aspect that separated them from the common man if not for a certain demeanour. For example, the men who appear to Abram to bear prophecy and also have their feet washed by him are not visibly angels, but Abram can tell that there is something special about them.
The same could be said for the angel who wrestles all night with Jacob, and whilst this character was later depicted as an angel in classical art, the bible simply describes him as a man. These angels, you might say, were what 12 century Jewish scholar Maimonides described as the
Mal’ak – the ancient Hebrew word for ‘Messenger’ and whilst they had a certain distinction about them, they were not as outlandish in appearance as the Cherubim, Seraphim or Ophanim. You might say that they adopted a guise that was more suited to their task, choosing to appear in a more humanoid
Form to deliver their message, instead of scaring the living daylights out of the recipients. The Mal’ak, or the Malakim (plural), were just one type of angel that appeared in Maimonides’ classification of angels – a sort of angelic hierarchy, if you will,
But the question still remains that if these Mal’ak, these messengers, took the form of men instead of appearing in their natural state… what horrors were they sparing us from seeing? On the subject of angels appearing before man, there is a concept from several classifications
That incorporate the ‘Second Sphere’ of angels, these being the angels that govern over earth and thus, are not as close to God as the aforementioned angels. Of this second sphere, the angels adopt a more familiar look… Dominions The classifications of these ‘Second Sphere angels’ do not appear in the bible as such.
However, several of the angels who do appear in the bible have been classified into these various groups. The Dominions for example can be angels who help keep the world in order. They act on behalf of God, often carrying out his tasks and or directly implementing his divine plan.
According to many classifications, these angels also bring about God’s judgement against sinful situations within the world, and whilst humanity might not understand or agree with the work that takes place, the Dominions are believed to enforce the biblical God’s perspective.
Of course, because the Dominions operate on Earth, they are believed to take the form of humans, much like the Malakim, perhaps in an effort to avoid scaring the humans they interacted with. An example of Dominions at work could be when angels are sent down to Sodom and Gomorrah to inspect the
Land of what the biblical God perceived as ‘sin’. These Dominions took the form of men so as to not arouse suspicion, although ironically, this is exactly what they ended up doing. The Dominions are also believed to deliver the wisdom of God to humans,
Most notably to those in leading positions such as world leaders. In essence, it is believed those that pray or seek the aid of God will be answered by the Dominions who may appear in physical form to guide one into taking the best course of action.
To some, these angels are led by the Archangel Zadkiel, an angel whom some believe prevented Abraham from sacrificing his son Isaac. Dominions in this essence are believed to take on the same role, intervening (often at the last minute) to spare someone from making a terrible decision.
Naturally, to those of us with a more sceptic nature, it would be natural to argue that angelic beings do not descend from the heavens to stop us from making mistakes. However, some rationalise that these Dominions act from the shadows and or are imperceptible to the human eye.
In this, they can alter our fate without us really knowing it, or may put obstacles in our path so as to prevent us from making a wrong choice. Virtues One of the more baffling entity of angels that appear in the ‘Second Sphere of Angels’
Are the Virtues. Unlike the Dominions, the Virtues aren’t necessarily believed to possess a form at all, but instead appear as a flash of light, which would explain their secondary moniker as ‘The Shining Ones’. Their role within the universe is much less understood,
Though it is believed that they have some influence over the elements and over nature. To others, the Virtues can be interpreted as a sort of ‘divine energy’, one that can both encourage and strengthen one’s belief in God. In some classifications,
The Virtues are believed to perform miracles to the deserving, where they reward the noble, the righteous and those who are doing their best to get back into the algorithm. Hi. Powers or Authorities The Powers or Authorities are angels that as you might imagine, ensure order within the earthly
And the celestial realms. You wouldn’t be wrong for considering these angels as ‘warrior angels’, those who do battle against evil spirits and demons. Whilst not specified in Revelation where the ultimate battle between good and evil took place, it is not a stretch to assume that
The angels who battled against Lucifer in his rebellion were likely the Powers and Authorities, those who would’ve been donned in full shining armour and wielding fantastic weapons. However, in other beliefs, it is these very angels who were swayed by Lucifer
Given that he was believed to be the Chief of Powers. This may have led to the strength of Lucifer’s army and why the rebellion was not so easily thwarted by God in the first place. Despite maintaining a human appearance, the sight of such an angel is believed to be quite an
Intimidating one. These were mean faced soldiers that probably stood a whole head height taller than the tallest man, with wings that were sharp to the touch and with weapons too heavy for any mortal to wield. To some, these angels could be viewed as God’s taskforce against evil entities,
Those that don’t necessarily have to be of the demonic persuasion. The angel of death that is sent to destroy Jerusalem may very well have likely been of the Powers or the Authorities, which goes to show their immense and dastardly strength given that God only sends one of them.
Yet again though, the original authors do not give a vivid description of these angels, making their actual image all the more elusive. Principalities Beyond the ‘Second Sphere’ of angels, we have the ‘Third Sphere’, these being angels
That are believed to exist on the earth, and thus are the most likely set of angels that a human might run into. Luckily for us, these angels, much like the Dominions and the Malakim, adopt the form of humans and so out of all the angels, it’s probably these ones that you’d have the
Most in common with. Unlike the other angels the Principalities also live on the earth, and by this you might say that these angels are more in touch with what is happening in the world and thus, more relatable. To some, these Principalities, or ‘Princes’, directly inspire world leaders,
Nations and in some cases churches, in an effort to keep things running smoothly. Given their status as ruling various areas of the earth, or at least, imparting power to various people, these angels are believed to wear crowns and carry with them a staff or a sceptre. To some believers,
It is the Principalities who bless mankind with art, science, maths or some wholesome intention that will benefit the world in some way. In other cases, the Principalities are believed to give strength to those who will go on to do something miraculous. Ideally, as mentioned,
If you were going to run into an angel, the Principalities might be your safest bet. Or maybe not, if you ask St Paul. St Paul believed that it was actually the Principalities who joined Lucifer
In his rebellion (as well as the Powers), where he tells us in his letter to the church of Ephesus “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world
And against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Ephesians 6:12) Here, St Paul speaks of man’s struggle not being with each other, but instead with a more spiritual threat – the principalities and the powers. This leans into the idea that the principalities,
Along with the powers now worked against mankind in an effort to corrupt them. With the idea that these angels joined Lucifer, you may very well label them as fallen angels – those who now do the opposite of what the Principalities were originally created for.
Indeed, where they were once dolled out wisdom, inspiration and even strength, St Paul gives us the idea that they would now sooner give out lies, demotivate man and even sap away his strength. Nephilim The Nephilim predominantly appear in the Book of Enoch, where they are described as
Performing exceptionally evil deeds. Whilst not actually angelic beings themselves, the Nephilim were produced by the angels and the mortal women in the times before the flood. Now, if you thought some of the angels were scary to behold, you’ll likely find that their offspring are simply the stuff of nightmares.
The Nephilim – these sons of the fallen angels could technically be considered as part fallen angel, part human and part giant. Indeed, they were large, hulking beasts that were more animal than man, and when they weren’t tearing apart the landscape
And devouring the fields for food, they were spilling blood like it was going out of style. We see that when man can no longer sustain the Nephilim’s diet, they begin to hunt man, devouring them without hesitation, and when they run out of men to hunt,
They turn cannibal, consuming their own kind to satiate their ungodly appetite. There’s an idea that these Nephilim obtained their tremendous size and strength through the merging of angelic DNA and human biology, something that even the biblical God shudders at the sight of. In
Fact, he is so disgusted by the offspring of the angels that he is seen to send down his archangels to destroy them. In other ideas, some believe that this purge of the Nephilim wasn’t enough for God
And that he deemed the Nephilim to be so hideous, that their existence is what warranted the flood. What you might take away from this is that these sons of the angels must’ve been truly ghastly monsters, for if even Enoch’s God is disgusted by them, then surely man would be outright repulsed. Fallen Angels
The Fallen Angels certainly have a lot to answer for given that in the case of the Powers and Principalities, they still conspire against mankind. Meanwhile, in the Book of Enoch – where they are known as ‘The Watchers’,
It is they who fornicate with the mortal women and bring to life the dreaded abominations that are the Nephilim. But would you believe it, there’s another trick the Fallen Angels are believed to do in some Christian Mythos, and that is to transform themselves into demons.
Whilst this belief was not shared by the original authors and translators of the Hebrew bible, it has since become a popular trope – especially when used in conjunction with the fall of Lucifer, where the angels who side with him appear to go through something of a demonic transition.
As you might’ve guessed, these are probably the worst kind of angels you could come into contact with, for like Lucifer, they hate mankind and will do whatever needs to be done to lure them away from their god.
As far as what these now evil angels look like, the bible doesn’t really give us much to go on. Instead, we have to look to more mythological sources or even rely on literature. John Milton’s Paradise Lost shows us several fallen angels that are unique from one another,
Including Beelzebub, Moloch, Chemos, Baal, Dagon, Belial and even the Egyptian Gods themselves. In various classifications, the likes of Beelzebub, Moloch and Baal have each earned colourful depictions, showing us that if we were to come into contact with these entities, we’d probably faint from shock. The fallen angel Beelzebub, after his demonic transition,
Can be seen in some stories as being made up of flies – likely owing to his moniker as the ‘Lord of the Flies’. In other depictions, he appears as a grim, bloated fly. Moloch on the other hand is often portrayed with a bull’s head and with his arms outstretched
Over a fire. His role is to sacrifice children and so, you can imagine that running into this fallen angel would be pretty detrimental, depending on how old you are. Baal, often determined to be the nemesis of Yahweh, also appears similarly to Moloch,
Opting to wear a bull’s head. Despite being listed in Milton’s Paradise Lost as a fallen angel, Baal was also considered to be a Cannanite deity, showing us that perhaps Lucifer isn’t the only angel wishing to step out of his God’s shadow.
There is an idea that the reason the bible is not keen to describe the angels that appear before men, is because to do so would either be impossible, in that there were no words to illustrate such a creature, or that they were so horrendously abnormal that to do so
Would scare anyone out of ever being open to seeing one. You might’ve noticed that on more than one occasion, the first words out of an angel’s mouth is ‘Do not be afraid!’. We see this shortly after the birth of Jesus when an angel appears to the shepherds in the nearby field,
And we see it when Paul sails for Rome and an angel appears to him to declare the very same thing. Now, this may simply be the angels being courteous for having dropped in unannounced and attempting to placate the sudden alarm one might experience after being snuck up on. But some argue
That this is because the angels in question are so inexplicably strange or even monstrous, that they have to first convince the recipient of their message that they are not a threat. In this sense ‘Do not be afraid’ is not a directive, it is an earnest request from the angels, seeking
To soothe man’s fears and anxieties in the wake of beholding something that they cannot comprehend. The exact nature of an angel’s appearance is still relatively unknown to us, though it would not be out of the realm of possibility to assume that angels can pretty much take whatever form
They want – or that perhaps more likely, God has specifically designed each one with an intended purpose. It should also come as no surprise that in heaven, or a cosmic environment that is beyond us in some spiritual plane, there will likely be elements and characteristics that simply cannot be
Explained, much less imagined. The Cherubim, Seraphim and Ophanim for example may be the least weird angels that exist in such a celestial region. Indeed, it is not farfetched to suggest that there are probably far more diabolical things lurking in our own universe, let alone
A spiritual plane that we know even less about. Let me know in the comments below which angel stuck out for you the most and which angel you think you’d be most scared of. As always guys, if you’ve enjoyed today’s episode then don’t forget to give it a thumbs up and don’t forget
To subscribe for more content just like this. If you’d like to continue supporting the channel, you can do so by hitting the blue Join button beneath the video to become a channel member. You might also find more incentive to become a Patreon where I have some merchandise available! Until next time
AS A YOUNG GIRL GRACE WILLIAMS HAD A DESTINY VISION FROM GOD. SHE SAW MUSICAL NOTES LITERALLY ENCIRCLING THE EARTH NOW GRACE IS RELEASING THE SOUND OF HEAVEN AROUND THE WORLD THROUGH THE MUSIC GOD GIVES HER, BRINGING SUPERNATURAL HEALING AND DELIVERANCE TO PEOPLE. DO ANGELS EXIST? ARE HEALIING MIRACLES REAL?
IS THERE LIFE AFTER DEATH? CAN PEOPLE GET SUPERNATURAL HELP FROM ANOTHER DIMENSION? HAS THE FUTURE BEEN WRITTEN IN ADVANCE? SID ROTH HAS SPENT TWENTY-FIVE YEARS RESEARCHING THE STRANGE WORLD OF THE SUPERNATURAL. JOIN SID ON THIS EDITION OF, “IT’S SUPERNATURAL.” HELLO, SID ROTH HERE, WELCOME TO MY WORLD WHERE IT IS NATURALLY SUPERNATURAL.
I WOULDN’T WANT TO BE ANYWHERE ELSE AND THE OXYGEN HERE ISN’T OXYGEN, IT IS FROM THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. IT IS SUCH A WONDERFUL ATMOSPHERE BECAUSE WE HAD GRACE WILLIAMS REHEARSING. I HAVE TO TELL YOU SOMETHING. I HAVE HER CD HERE “FIRE FALL, I HAVE NEVER HEARD MUSIC THAT BRINGS SUCH AN
ABUNDANCE OF THE ATMOSPHERE OF HEAVEN AND WHAT I CALL SUPERNATURAL PEACE, I ALSO HAVE GRACE’S MOTHER GERRI HERE, AND GRACE I HAVE TO ASK YOU A QUESTION, DO MANY PEOPLE TELL YOU WHAT I’VE JUST SAID ABOUT THAT PEACE? YES, THAT IS JUST ONE OF THE MANY THINGS WE
HEAR, OVERWHELMING PEACE, PEOPLE ARE SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT, PEOPLE ARE RECEIVING JUST DEEP COMFORT, HEALING, A LOT OF INNER HEALING, DELIVERANCE FROM REALLY ABUSIVE THINGS AND SOUL ISSUES THAT THEY HAVE BEEN HURTING IN THEIR SOUL, THIS CD HAS HEALED THEM IN THE DEEPEST PARTS OF THEIR SOUL.
YOU KNOW GERRI, WHAT I FIND IS THE DEVIL, I BELIEVE, HAS INSIGHT OF SOMETHING SIGNIFICANT IN A BABY’S LIFE, AND MANY THAT ARE CALLED TO HAVE VERY, VERY SIGNIFICANT ROLES IN THE KINGDOM THE DEVIL TRIES TO SNUFF THEIR LIFE OUT AND THAT’S WHAT HAPPENED WITH GRACE, TELL ME ABOUT THAT.
YES, GRACE WAS BORN PREMATURE AND SHE HAD WATER ON HER LUNGS. ISN’T IT INTERESTING SHE USES HER LUNGS FOR SINGING AND THAT’S WHERE SHE WAS ATTACKED. YES, TOTALLY ATTACKED IN HER LUNGS, HER LITTLE CHEST WOULD CONCAVE TWO OR THREE INCHES JUST GASPING FOR BREATH,
AND AFTER SHE WAS BORN MY HUSBAND WENT DOWN TO THE NURSERY TO SEE OUR NEW LITTLE BABY GIRL BUT HER BED WAS EMPTY, SHE WASN’T THERE AND THE NURSE SAID THE DOCTORS NEED TO TALK TO YOU, AND SHE WAS HAVING TROUBLE BREATHING. SO THEY PUT HER IN INTENSIVE CARE AND IT WAS
A FIGHT FOR HER LIFE, EVERY HOUR THEY WOULD CHECK HER BLOOD TO SEE IF SHE HAD ENOUGH OXYGEN AND SHE WASN’T GETTING ENOUGH OXYGEN SO EVERY HOUR HER BODY WAS LOSING WEIGHT, SHE LOST UP TO A THIRD OF HER BODY WEIGHT JUST TRYING TO BREATH,
AND IT WAS A TREMENDOUS TIME OF PAIN AND GREAT WEEPING. BUT AT THE TIME I DIDN’T BELIEVE IN GOD, I WAS AN ATHEIST AND I THOUGHT, GOD I CAN’T PRAY TO YOU NOW, I CAN’T BE A HYPOCRITE, I DON’T BELIEVE IN YOU.
SO I JUST CRIED THAT WAS ALL I COULD DO AND ONE DAY THE DOCTOR CAME IN, TWO DOCTORS, WE WERE IN A CHILDREN’S SPECIALISTS’ HOSPITAL, AND THEY CAME AND SAT ON THE SIDE OF MY BED AND THEY SAID, “PREPARE, YOUR DAUGHTER IS NOT GOING TO MAKE IT.”
AND I REMEMBER SUCH A, KIND OF A COLD STONE FEELING, I THOUGHT GOD THERE IS NO HOPE WITHIN. AND LIKE I SAID I NEVER REALLY PRAYED BECAUSE I STILL DIDN’T BELIEVE, BUT GOD IN HIS GREAT MERCY HE VISITED THAT HOSPITAL. AND WE FELT JUST AN AMAZING ATMOSPHERE,
A SHIFT IN THE ATMOSPHERE LIKE ENERGY AND STRENGTH AND GREAT LOVE, AND SHE WAS TOTALLY HEALED. AND SHE LEFT THE HOSPITAL WITHIN A WEEK. WHAT WAS THE PROGNOSIS OF THE DOCTOR’S BEFORE SHE WAS HEALED, DID THEY THINK SHE WOULD MAKE IT? NO, THEY CAME TO MY BEDSIDE AND THEY SAID YOUR
DAUGHTER WILL NOT LIVE AND JUST PREPARE YOURSELF FOR HER DEATH, THEY SAID WE HAVE DONE WHAT WE CAN DO AND SHE IS JUST TRYING TO BREATHE AND IT IS EMACIATING HER BODY AND SHE IS WITHERING AWAY JUST TRYING TO GET A BREATH. WHEN SHE WAS JUST AN INFANT YOU SAW AN ANGELIC
VISITATION, TELL ME ABOUT THAT. YES, AT THAT TIME IN MY LIFE I WAS VERY DISHEVELED AND BROKEN IN EVERY WAY, COME FROM A VERY DARK, ABUSIVE FAMILY, AND I WAS JUST REALLY CRYING OUT TO GOD, I SAID GOD I DON’T KNOW HOW TO RAISE A CHILD,
I DON’T KNOW WHAT IT IS THAT I COULD DO, I FEEL SO OVERWHELMED AND I FEEL SO UNDERNEATH THE SITUATION AND AS I, HER CRIB WAS IN OUR BEDROOM AND I FELT THE AIR BECAME ELECTRIFIED AND RAREFIED, AND I FELT LIKE MYRIAD WINGED CREATURES IN THE
AIR AND I LOOKED OVER AND IT LOOKED LIKE KIND OF THE MILKY WAY, THEY WERE JUST LITTLE FLASHES OF LIGHT AND I FELT THE WINGS OF THE ANGLES LIKE MINISTERING TO HER IN HER CRIB AND IT WAS JUST LIKE THE LORD SAID I AM GOING TO TAKE CARE OF THIS,
I AM GOING TO CAUSE YOU TO BE ABLE TO BE THE MOTHER, I AM GOING TO CAUSE YOU TO KNOW HOW TO RAISE THIS CHILD, JUST SUPERNATURALLY. AND YOU KNOW WHAT I THINK IS SO FASCINATING IS GRACE, WHEN YOU WERE SEVEN YOU HAD A VISION, A VISITATION; TELL ME ABOUT THAT.
I DID AND IT WAS REALLY A DESTINY VISION, AND I SAW MY MUSIC LITERALLY ENCIRCLING THE EARTH AND KEYBOARD NOTES AND PIANO LITERALLY CIRCLING AROUND THE WORLD, AND AT THAT MOMENT I WAS LIKE THIS IS WHAT I AM CALLED TO DO, THIS IS WHAT THE LORD HAS CALLED ME TO DO,
TO COVER THE EARTH WITH HIS GLORY AND TO RELEASE THAT SOUND OF HEAVEN. IT REALLY IS A SOUND OF HEAVEN; IN FACT YOU TOLD ME THAT EVERY SONG THAT GOD GIVES YOU COMES FROM HEAVEN. YES, I AM JUST AN INTERPRETER, I JUST SAY JESUS FLOW THROUGH ME,
LET YOUR SONGS BE SUNG, YOU KNOW IT TALKS ABOUT THAT IN HIS WORD, THAT HE SINGS OVER US SONGS OF DELIVERANCE, SONGS OF HEALING, AND THAT IS BASICALLY, I AM A CONDUIT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, SAYING HOLY SPIRIT WHAT DO YOU WANT TO SING OVER YOUR PEOPLE?
YOU KNOW I INTERVIEWED A MAN BY THE NAME OF GARY WOOD WHO DIED AND WENT TO HEAVEN AND A WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL STORY BUT THIS IS WHAT HE SAID AND IT WAS SO AMAZING AND IT HAS NEVER LEFT ME GRACE, HE SAID THAT HE HEARD SONGS IN HEAVEN AND
THEN MAYBE A DECADE LATER ON EARTH THE SONGS WOULD BE RELEASED, THAT IS WHAT IS GOING ON WITH YOU. YES, THAT’S WHAT HAPPENS TO ME AND IT IS GETTING EVEN GREATER, I WAS IN A SERVICE ON FRIDAY NIGHT AND THE LORD POURED OUT A PROPHETIC SONG AND
IT WAS SIMPLY HE IS HOLY, HE IS WORTH, HE IS MIGHTY AND DURING THE SERVICE I WAS MINISTERING AND WE HAD A PROPHET IN TOWN AND SHE TOLD ME THAT SHE SAW AN ANGLE STANDING BEHIND ME DECLARING THE LORD IS HOLY, THE LORD IS MIGHTY, THE LORD IS WORTHY,
LITERALLY AS I WAS SINGING THIS FORTH AND THERE WERE MANY PEOPLE AFTER THE SERVICE THAT SAID THEY LOOKED UP AND SAW WARRING ANGELS IN THE ATMOSPHERE, IT WAS MIGHTY, MIGHTY AND THAT SONG WILL BE ON MY NEXT CD, I MEAN I AM JUST BIRTHING WHATEVER GOD IS SAYING, BLESS THE LORD.
LISTEN, I WANT YOU TO EXPERIENCE THIS SUPERNATURAL PEACE, BECAUSE GRACE IN JUST A LITTLE BIT IS GOING TO [MUSIC♪] PLAY “NEVER LET ME GO.” HE WILL NEVER LET YOU GO, BE BACK IN A MOMENT. [MUSIC♪] WE’LL BE RIGHT BACK TO, “IT’S SUPERNATURAL.” [MUSIC♪] WE NOW RETURN TO, “IT’S SUPERNATURAL.”
I JUST WANTED TO SHARE WITH YOU HOW THIS SONG CAME ABOUT, I BELIEVE THIS IS A MELODY FROM HEAVEN, IT IS GOING TO RELEASE COMFORT INTO THE EARTH, AND ONE NIGHT I WAS UP LATE AND I HAD JUST BEEN THROUGH A REAL DESERT SEASON IN MY LIFE PERSONALLY.
I WAS CRYING OUT TO GOD, AND I WAS IN PRAYER, AND I SAID, “JESUS,” AND I FELT THIS OVERWHELMING PRESENCE COME INTO MY STUDIO, AND I STARTED WEEPING AND AS I SENSED THIS HOLY PRESENCE AND I LITERALLY FELT JESUS, HIS ARMS EMBRACED ME AND HELD ME FOR SEVERAL HOURS
AND I SAID JESUS DON’T EVER LET GO, IT IS SUCH A SAFE PLACE, IT IS SUCH A BEAUTIFUL PLACE, A PLACE OF COMFORT, AND PEACE AND AMAZING LOVE, AND GOD POURED OUR HIS AMAZING LOVE TO ME IN THAT MOMENT AND I WENT OVER TO THE KEYBOARD AND I
BEGAN TO WRITE THIS SONG AND FLOW. AND I BELIEVE THAT THE PRESENCE OF HEAVEN IS COMING TO YOU RIGHT NOW AND HIS AMAZING LOVE IS GOING TO HOLD YOU IN THAT BEAUTIFUL PLACE. [KEYBOARD MUSIC♪] [♪GRACE SINGING] HOLD ME IN YOUR ARMS LORD LET ME FEEL YOUR LOVE
♪ DON’T EVER LET GO ♪ WRAP ME IN YOUR ARMS LORD I FEEL YOUR WARM EMBRACE ♪ ♪ DON’T EVER LET GO ♪ DON’T EVER LET GO ♪ BEING IN YOUR ARMS IS LIKE DON’T EVER LET GO ♪ BEING IN YOUR ARMS IS LIKE
A DREAM ♪ CAN’T BELIEVE IT’S FOR ETERNITY ♪ DON’T EVER LET GO ♪ DON’T EVER LET GO ♪ DON’T EVER LET GO ♪ HOLD ME IN YOUR ARMS LORD LET ME FEEL YOUR LOVE ♪ DON’T EVER LET GO ♪
WRAP ME IN YOUR ARMS LORD I FEEL YOUR WARM EMBRACE ♪ DON’T EVER LET GO ♪ I FEEL CLOUDED BY YOUR MYSTERY ♪ SOMEDAY I’LL KNOW YOUR LOVE FOR ME ♪ DON’T EVER LET GO ♪ DON’T EVER LET GO ♪
DON’T EVER LET GO ♪ DON’T EVER LET GO ♪ DON’T EVER LET GO ♪ DON’T EVER LET GO ♪ DON’T EVER LET GO ♪ DON’T EVER LET GO ♪ ♪ DON’T EVER LET GO ♪ DON’T EVER LET GO ♪ ♪
[INSTRUMENTAL ♪] [FOR OUR CAPTION READING FRIENDS PLEASE FEEL FREE TO REACH OUT TO THE SPEAKER OF YOUR T.V. AND FEEL THE VIBRATIONS OF THE MUSIC, AND LET MESSIAH HEAL YOU AND TOUCH YOUR SPIRIT!] JUST SEE THE LORD HOLDING YOU RIGHT NOW ♪ IN HIS
EVERLASTING ARMS OF LOVE ♪ ♪ HE IS HOLDING YOU RIGHT EVERLASTING ARMS OF LOVE ♪ ♪ HE IS HOLDING YOU RIGHT NOW ♪ TOUCHING YOU RIGHT NOW ♪ EMBRACING YOU RIGHT NOW ♪ HE IS HOLDING YOU RIGHT NOW ♪
IN HIS ARMS OF LOVE ♪ ARMS OF LOVE ♪ LET HIM HOLD YOU IN HIS ARMS ♪ THERE IS SAFETY IN HIS ARMS ♪ THERE IS MERCY THERE IS GRACE ♪ THERE IS SAFETY IN THIS PLACE ♪ ♪ HIS EVERLASTING LOVE HIS
MIGHTY ARMS OF LOVE ♪ HE WILL NEVER LET YOU GO ♪ HE WILL NEVER LET YOU GO NO, NO, NO. ♪ HE WILL NEVER LET YOU GO NO, NO, NO ♪ HE IS HOLDING YOU IN HIS ARMS,
♪ HIS MIGHTY ARMS OF LOVE ♪ YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE ALONE ♪ YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE AFRAID ♪ YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE ALONE ♪ HOLD ME IN YOUR ARMS LORD ♪ LET ME FEEL YOUR LOVE ♪ DON’T EVER LET GO ♪
WRAP ME IN YOUR ARMS LORD ♪ I FEEL YOUR WARM EMBRACE ♪ DON’T EVER LET GO ♪ DON’T EVER LET GO ♪ ♪ DON’T EVER LET GO [MUSIC♪] WE NOW RETURN TO, “IT’S SUPERNATURAL.” HELLO, SID ROTH HERE WITH GRACE WILLIAMS.
WELL WAS I RIGHT, DID THAT PEACE JUST TOTALLY INVADE YOUR PRESENCE? I TELL YOU ALMOST EVERY DAY I AM LISTENING TO THIS CD AND THE PHYSICAL MIRACLES THAT ARE HAPPENING. THERE ARE PLACES, THEY CALL THEM HEALING ROOMS AND THEY PLAY THIS AND THE ATMOSPHERE OF HEAVEN COMES IN AND MAJOR HEALINGS ARE HAPPENING,
TELL ME ABOUT THAT WOMAN THAT WAS SO FEARFUL. SHE HAD WHAT IS CALLED AGORAPHOBIA, AND IT IS BASICALLY WHERE YOU ARE CONFINED TO YOUR HOME, YOU CANNOT LEAVE THERE IS SUCH FEAR AND PANIC ATTACKS, SHE HAD CLOSED THE SHADES, SHE LITERALLY COULD NOT LEAVE HER HOUSE AND A
FRIEND GAVE HER THIS CD AND SHE PUT IT ON, BASICALLY LOCKED HERSELF AWAY FOR TWO DAYS LISTENING TO THIS CD NONSTOP, WAS COMPLETELY SET FREE, SHE NOW GOES OUT OF THE HOUSE SHOPPING, SHE IS A NEW WOMAN THAT GOD HAS SET HER FREE FROM EVERY SPIRIT OF FEAR AND EVERYTHING.
SOME AMAZING SUPERNATURAL THINGS ARE HAPPENING WHEN PEOPLE LISTEN TO THIS MUSIC; TELL ME ABOUT THAT PERSON WHO HAD THE AROMA OF HEAVEN. YES THEY WERE IN A SERVICE I GUESS AND THEY WERE PLAYING MY CD AS LIKE SOAKING MUSIC AND JUST WORSHIPPING BEFORE THE LORD, PEOPLE WERE LAID OUT, PEOPLE WERE JUST RECEIVING
DEEP INNER HEALING TYPE OF MINISTRY AND SEVERAL PEOPLE SAID THAT THEY LITERALLY SMELLED THE FRAGRANCE OF THE LORD COME DOWN THE MIDDLE AISLE AND JUST LINGER AT THE ALTAR WHERE PEOPLE WERE RECEIVING MINISTRY, AND A LADY EMAILED ME AND SAID I JUST WANT YOU TO KNOW WHAT THIS CD IS DOING,
IT IS CHANGING PEOPLE’S LIVES, WE WILL NEVER BE THE SAME, AND SHE SAID THEY ARE ADDICTED TO IT. THEY CAN’T STOP PLAYING IT; IT IS PLAYING CONTINUALLY ACTUALLY IN THEIR PRAYER ROOM. WHAT HAPPENED IN THAT CHURCH IN ALABAMA YOU WERE AT? THEY HAVE AN AWESOME MINISTRY TO RECOVERING ADDICTS, PROSTITUTES,
DRUG ADDICTS, AND THINGS LIKE THAT AND THEY USE IT AS A TOOL FOR MINISTRY AND PEOPLE WERE GETTING TOTALLY COMPLETELY SET FREE, CHAINS BREAKING, THINGS THEY HAD DEALT WITH FOR LOTS OF YEARS, A LOT OF WOMEN. PEOPLE HAVE HAD DELIVERANCE FROM YOUR MUSIC? THEY PUT THIS MUSIC ON AND IMMEDIATELY YOU KNOW GOD
WILL SET THEM FREE OF THINGS MAYBE THEY DIDN’T KNOW THEY HAD OR CHAINS THAT HAVE BEEN ACCUMULATING OVER THE YEARS, A LOT OF BROKEN HEARTS MENDED AND DEEP SOUL WOUNDS THAT ONLY THE HOLY SPIRIT COULD SUPERNATURALLY TOUCH THAT AND SET THEM FREE. WHEN YOU MINISTERED AT THAT ALABAMA CHURCH WHAT HAPPENED?
WELL IT WAS MIGHTY, WE HAD PEOPLE JUST FILLING THE ALTARS IN WORSHIP CRYING, I MEAN PEOPLE WERE LAID OUT ON THE FLOOR SAYING I FELT LIKE I WAS LITERALLY IN HEAVEN, I WAS IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD AND PEOPLE WERE SEEING ANGELS AND HEARING, I HAVE EVEN HAD PEOPLE SAY I HEAR
ANGELS, SINGING, THAT HAS TO BE THE LORD. YOU KNOW I FEEL SUCH AN ATMOSPHERE OF HEAVEN IN THIS STUDIO NOW, IT JUST KIND OF FLOODED IN. AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I BELIEVE OCCURS WHEN HER MUSIC IS SUNG OR PLAYED IS IT MAKES YOUR AREA A DEMON
FREE ZONE, I GUESS THAT’S WHY PEOPLE SLEEP SO WELL. YES AND THEY PLAY IT IN THEIR CARS, I HAVE HAD A LOT OF PEOPLE EMAIL ME AND SAY YOUR CD IS PLAYING 24 HOURS A DAY IN OUR HOME AND OUR CHILDREN’S ROOM BECAUSE LIKE EXACTLY WHAT YOU SAID
IT KEEPS THE ATMOSPHERE CLEAR AND FREE AND IT CREATES THAT OPEN HEAVEN SO IT IS EASY TO BREAK THROUGH INTO THAT SECRET PLACE OF WORSHIP. GRACE YOU HAVE AN UNUSUAL ANCESTRY. LET’S SEE IF I GET THIS RIGHT, YOUR GREAT, GREAT, GREAT, GREAT GRANDFATHER, PEOPLE SAID THAT WHEN HE WOULD SPEAK GOD’S WORD,
RATHER THAN ME SAY IT, WHAT DID THEY SAY ABOUT HIM? WELL HE WAS AN AMAZING MAN AND IT WAS WRITTEN ABOUT HIM THAT HE LITERALLY CARRIED THE FIRE OF GOD AND PEOPLE WOULD SEE BURNING FLAMES IN HIS EYES AND HE PRAYED IN SOME OF HIS JOURNALS THAT HIS
SEED AND HIS CHILDREN’S CHILDREN CHILDREN WOULD CARRY THIS FIRE AND WOULD CARRY THE MANTEL AND IT WAS WRITTEN ABOUT HOW HE WOULD LITERALLY GLOW IN THE PULPIT AND SO I KNOW THAT WHAT HE PRAYED I AM WALKING IN THAT, THE GENERATIONAL BLESSING THAT
I AM WALKING IN AND I AM SEEING HIS PRAYERS COME TO PASS, IT IS AWESOME HE WAS LIKE A CIRCUIT RIDER PREACHER, EVANGELIST, HE WAS MOVING IN SIGNS AND WONDERS IN A TIME WHEN THAT WAS VERY, VERY UNHEARD OF. NOW PEOPLE SAY THIS ABOUT YOU,
TELL ME THAT LAST PERSON THAT SAID I SEE FIRE IN YOUR EYES. WELL I WAS AT AN AZUSA MEETING A FEW WEEKS AGO AND WE WERE CELEBRATING THE AZUSA EVENT AND I WAS WORSHIPPING AND PEOPLE WERE JUST GETTING SO BLESSED AND A LADY CAME UP
TO ME AFTERWARDS AND SHE GRABBED MY HAND AND SHE SAID I HAVE ALL YOUR CD’S, SHE SAID I AM SO GLAD TO KNOW YOU, AND SHE LOOKED IN MY EYES AND SHE SAID I SEE THE FIRE OF THE LORD IN YOUR EYES AND SHE SAID I SEE HIS BURNING LOVE.
THERE IS SUCH A PRESENCE OF GOD THAT I BELIEVE IN THIS ATMOSPHERE ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE, I AM GOING TO ASK GRACE TO SING WITHOUT ANY MUSIC BUT JUST SING AS THE SPIRIT OF GOD TELLS HER WHAT TO SING, BUT I HAVE INSTRUCTIONS FOR YOU,
I GIVE ORDERS YOU KNOW, I DON’T KNOW IF YOU HAVE NOTICED OR NOT, I GIVE ORDERS, I ORDER YOU TO OPEN YOURSELF UP TO LOVE, NOW THAT IS NOT A TOUGH ASSIGNMENT, OPEN YOURSELF UP TO HEALING, OPEN YOURSELF UP TO THE MIRACULOUS, OPEN YOURSELF UP TO, YOU THAT ARE WEAK,
SUPERNATURAL STRENGTH, GRACE WOULD YOU SING. I SENSE THE LORD IS HEALING A WOMAN RIGHT NOW, YOU HAVE HAD, IT IS LIKE WHAT I AM GETTING IS LIKE A CHRONIC BROKEN HEART, YOU HAVE GONE THROUGH TRAUMA AFTER TRAUMA AFTER TRAUMA AND YOU HAVE BEEN EVEN TO THE POINT WHERE YOU ARE SUICIDAL RIGHT
NOW, AND YOU ARE WANTING TO TAKE YOUR LIFE, YOU ARE JUST WANTING TO END IT BECAUSE YOU CAN’T TAKE IT ANY MORE. AND RIGHT NOW GOD SAYS THAT IT IS NOT OVER, IT IS NOT OVER, HE IS FILLING YOU RIGHT NOW WITH HOPE FOR A BRIGHT FUTURE, JUST REACH OUT TO HIM
RIGHT NOW AND RECEIVE THAT, RECEIVE THAT LOVE RECEIVE THAT HEALING AND RECEIVE THAT HOPE, THAT SPIRIT OF HOPE IS COMING TO YOU IT IS LIKE IT IS INFUSING YOUR SPIRIT RIGHT NOW. IN JESUS NAME BE FREE, BE FREE TO LIVE, BE FREE TO LIVE AND WE THANK YOU LORD. [GRACE SINGS♪]
♪ THE ATMOSPHERE OF HEAVEN IS IN THIS ROOM RIGHT NOW ♪ THE PRESENCE OF HEAVEN IS TOUCHING YOU RIGHT NOW ♪ IT’S HEALING YOU RIGHT NOW, RESTORING YOU RIGHT NOW, ♪ ♪ AND IT IS FRESH OIL, FLOWING FROM HEAVEN ♪ IT IS FRESH OIL FLOWING FROM
HEAVEN ♪ JUST RECEIVE THAT FRESH OIL RIGHT NOW WHERE YOU ARE, ♪ IT IS TOUCHING YOU, CHANGING YOU MAKING ALL THINGS NEW ♪ THE ATMOSPHERE OF HEAVEN IS HEALING YOU RIGHT NOW. ♪ RESTORING YOU RIGHT NOW, YES IT IS, JUST RECEIVE IT,
♪ RECEIVE IT, LIFT YOUR HANDS AND RECEIVE IT, RIGHT NOW, ♪ RECEIVE IT RIGHT NOW, RECEIVE IT RIGHT NOW. ♪ HALLELUJAH, THANK YOU GOD. IF YOU EVER EXPERIENCED THE LOVE OF GOD YOU WOULD SAY GOD NEVER LET GO, THERE IS NOTHING IN THIS EARTH TO COMPARE WITH THE
LOVE OF GOD, YOU GET THE LOVE OF GOD BY A FREE GIFT FROM GOD, JESUS DIED IN YOUR PLACE, JUST SAY JESUS FORGIVE ME OF MY SINS, I BELIEVE YOU DIED IN MY PLACE, I MAKE YOU LORD OF MY LIFE, JESUS COME INSIDE OF ME, BE THE SHAR SHALOM,
THE PRINCE OF PEACE IN MY LIFE, AND JUST BASK IN THE ATMOSPHERE OF HEAVEN. JESUS, NEVER LET GO, JESUS NEVER EVER LET GO, [MUSIC♪] NEVER LET GO OF YOUR PEOPLE, NEVER.
You ‘ve heard of bible accurate angels, but what about Bible-accurate demons? You’ll be familiar with them from pop culture, but demons in the Bible – that’s a murky subject. For example. Where does Satan really come from? Who came before him?
Welcome to the realm of evil spirits, fallen angels, and ancient gods. Where the boundaries of good and evil are not as clear cut as you d expect. This is… an A to Z of biblical demons. I suppose I ought to get something clear. What even is a demon?
In its broadest sense, a demon is an evil spirit. A supernatural being that’s up to no good. Demons appear across all world religions in one way or another, but the demons we’ll be exploring are from the Bible. The sacred text plays a key role in Christianity, and to some extent, Judaism and Islam.
The Bible is made up of two halves: the Old Testament, ancient Jewish writings about the history of Israel; and the New Testament, early Christian texts about the life of Jesus. Now, not every letter has a suitable demonic counterpart. So sometimes, I’ll have to get
Creative with the term “biblical”. From books that didn’t make it into the Bible, known as the Apocrypha; to the wider world of demonology inspired by these religious texts. But enough caveating and demon-splaining. It’s time to learn our ABCs. Starting with A for Asmodeus
Asmodeus is from the Book of Tobit. It’s a strange story, not included in all versions of the Bible. In one tale, Asmodeus falls in love with a woman called Sarah. But Sarah is already betrothed. In a fit of jealous rage, Asmodeus slays the groom and repeats this every time Sarah remarries.
Seven times no less! Asmodeus is eventually banished with an unusual spell. The heart and liver of a fish are placed onto a bed of burning hot embers. The smoke it produces smells so bad that the demon flees to the deserts of Egypt. Sarah moves on to her eighth husband and lives happily ever
After. B is for Belial Belial never chose the demon life, the demon life chose him. The word “beliya’al” appears throughout the Old Testament, but not as the name of a demon, but instead as the Hebrew word for “wickedness”.
But over time, people began to read this word as a name. It’s not clear why exactly, but beliya’al became Belial and *poof* a demon was born. This newly created demon appears throughout the Dead Sea Scrolls, a group of Jewish writings found in pots beside the Dead Sea.
In the amazingly named War of the Sons of Light Against the Sons of Darkness, Belial commands a vast legion of evil. It’s real Lord of the Rings stuff, shame it never got included in the Bible. This version of Belial offers the blueprint for Satan from the New Testament. More on that demon later.
From a Hebrew word that meant “wickedness”, to the demonic embodiment of wickedness itself, Belial has a surprising origin story. C is for Chemosh One person s deity is another person s demon. Chemosh appears in the Old Testament and was the chief god of the Moabites.
Now, a core biblical belief is that there is only one God, the God of Israel. So having another god in the picture simply won’t do. Chemosh became the victim of a biblical smear campaign. His worst crime: an apparent appetite for human sacrifice. Especially children.
Outside the Bible, Chemosh is far less bloodthirsty. He appears on this, the Mesha Stele, a carved stone dating to 840 BC. It was made by King Mesha of Moab to honour Chemosh. The god kindly gave them victory against their rivals, including Israel. This rock was a way of saying thanks.
D is for Dagon Dagon is another pagan God from the Old Testament. He was the god of wealth and prosperity and for some reason was depicted as a mermaid. A reference to lost treasure maybe? I say this as Dagon appears in an episode featuring the Ark of the Covenant, a golden
Box that supposedly housed the Ten Commandments. In the story, the ark is stolen by the Philistines and is placed at an altar to Dagon. Being the biblical superweapon that it is, the Ark destroys the statue and causes a deadly plague. It was returned shortly after E is for Exorcism
Mixing it up now, a key part of studying demons is learning how to get rid of them. A process known as exorcism. In the New Testament, many of Jesus’ miracles are exorcisms. In one story, Jesus encounters a man living in a cave. Inside him are not one, but several
Demons. When asked their name, they respond: “Legion for we are many”. Realising they are about to be forcibly ejected from their host, the demons persuade Jesus not to be destroyed. Jesus kindly agrees to transfer them into a nearby herd of pigs, which then run off a nearby cliff to their death.
This story establishes a quirky tradition in modern-day exorcism: asking a demon its name. Apparently being on a first-name basis helps banish them F is for Fallen Angel Another key word in demonology, a fallen angel is a good spirit that has been corrupted.
The idea of the fallen angel doesn’t really appear in the Bible but is common in those apocryphal books. Like the Book of Enoch. It s about a group of angels called “The Watchers” who visit earth one day. Things take a turn when they start falling in love with human women who
Then give birth to a monstrous race of giants called “Nephilim”. It s another great story that’s apparently too spicy for the Bible. The myth of the fallen angel really influenced Christian writers and works of fiction like Paradise Lost. It gave rise to the figure of Lucifer, God s right-hand angel who went rogue.
G is for Grimoire A Grimoire is an occult textbook. Full of magical spells, dark incantations and of course demons. One of the most famous is The Lesser Key of Solomon, a comprehensive compendium of demons. It s a staple of demonology today as it contains advice on how to summon them.
Like Gaap, a prince of Hell who is the patron demon of philosophy. Conjure Gaap to get help with learning the difference between Plato and Aristotle. Grimoires are not biblical per se, but many demons that appear in them do stem from the
Bible. Like the demon Belial from before, he is described as having a “comely voice”. H is for Hades You may have heard of Hades from Greek mythology, but it appears in Biblical mythology too. In the New Testament, Hades is the underworld a realm of fire and brimstone, demons and sinners.
When our spirits are not on the surface world harassing human women or leading legions of darkness, they’re in Hades. Blowing off some steam. It s very different to the Old Testament’s version of the underworld by the way, a gloomy chasm called Sheol.
All souls go here, regardless of whether you’ve been good or bad. I is for Ipos Finding a biblical demon with the letter “I” is a challenge. But I’ve settled on Ipos. Ipos is a little strange looking: it has the head of a goose, the body of a lion and the
Feet of a chicken. You can find him in The Lesser Key of Solomon, a demonic grimoire According to his entry, Ipos is one of the sixteen dukes of Hell, and has this rather splendid seal. He knows all things, past, present and future J is for Jezebel
J is another difficult letter for biblical demons, especially as this letter doesn’t technically exist in either language the Bible was written in, Hebrew or Greek. Jezebel is a character from the Old Testament, the wicked wife of King Ahab. She isn’t a
Demon, but there is a demon in her name: Ba al, the Lord of the Underworld. The name Jezebel is from the Hebrew phrase “ezeh Ba’al” or “where is Ba’al?”. A prayer used at ancient funerals to encourage Ba al to claim the souls of the deceased.
This demonic name might explain why Jezebel is a villain in the biblical story. For her various crimes, including Ba al worship, she gets defenestrated (aka thrown out of a window). Jezebel may not be a demon, but if there s an opportunity to talk about Levantine Death gods, I’ll take it.
K is for Kokkabiel Kokkabiel is one of our fallen angels from the book of Enoch. This angel is responsible for corrupting humans with the dark art of stargazing. Kokkabiel teaches the people astronomy. Apparently, that s a bad thing? Maybe it s because the
Sky was seen as the realm of God and shouldn’t be the subject of scientific study. Kokkabiel later appears in the Kabbalah, a series of Jewish mystical texts. But now he s a good guy: his knowledge of celestial bodies is regarded as a worthy thing to teach. Which is it Kokkabiel? Angel or demon?
L is for Lilith The demoness Lilith is perhaps the oldest one on this list. She appears in the Old Testament s Book of Isaiah, lurking in a ruined town. Lilith is surrounded by creatures of the desert: jackals, owls and goats.
But she goes back way further than this, to a Mesopotamian demoness called Lilitu a shadowy being who prowls the night. References to her reach back to the Epic of Gilgamesh the world’s first written story. Lilith s name also appears in old pottery. This is an incantation bowls: along the side
Are prayers to be read aloud, prayers that trap demons. In the centre is a figure who has been ensnared by the bowl. Many believe that this is Lilith. M is for Mastema We’re mid-way through the alphabet, and what better way to celebrate this milestone than with Mastema: the demon of persecution.
Mastema is from the Book of Jubilees. Again, another apocryphal book. Those banned biblical texts certainly contain the juiciest demonic lore. His job is to punish people. But strangely, Mastema gets his orders from God. Whether that be sending plagues to wreak havoc, to torturing folk who may or may not deserve
It. He’s kind of like a divine hitman. Mastema blurs the line between angel and demon. And what does this say about God? He not only allows demons to exist but actively uses them to carry out his punishments. Maybe demons aren’t so evil after all N is for Nephilim
The Nephilim are a race of demonic giants. In the Old Testament’s Book of Numbers, they are so big that people look like grasshoppers in comparison. The Nephilim also appear in the Apocrypha. Enter our old friend the Book of Enoch, which explores how they came to be.
In the story, the Nephilim are the cursed offspring of fallen angels and humans and go about causing trouble on Earth. At 450 ft tall they become a very big problem, so God decides to wipe them out with a big flood.
Oh well, it was fun while it lasted. The Nephilim are an enigmatic bunch for sure, and not much else is known about them O is for Ornias Ornias is a demon from one of the oldest grimoires in existence, The Testament of Solomon. Despite
The name, it was not written by the biblical King Solomon. It s a bizarre book, especially as it’s about how Solomon was a secret demon slayer. His first assignment is to deal with Ornias. He s been harassing a man by stealing his
Money and draining his life energy, classic demon stuff. Solomon traps Ornias by sealing him in a magical ring. Then he goes around collecting more demons. It’s a biblical precursor to the Ghostbusters franchise. None of King Solomon’s demon-busting exploits are in the Bible by the way. This story is
Biblical fan fiction at its finest. P is for pseudo-Christos We’re back in the New Testament to talk lies, deceit and false messiahs. That s what “Pseudo-Christos” in Greek: false messiah. You don’t have to be a biblical historian to know that Christians believe in one messiah: Jesus.
But there are others who claim to be divine, others that will deceive unwary followers. There are hard to spot, like a “wolf in sheep’s clothing”. One of these false messiahs is quite literally that. In the apocalyptic Book of Revelation,
The Antichrist takes the form of a little sheep monster, just with a few more horns. His job it is to hail the arrival of The Beast and get everyone to believe that somehow this creature isn’t evil. Q is for Qeteb We’re back in the Old Testament with Qeteb. The demon of disease.
Or maybe not. Depends on how you translate Qeteb. He appears in the Book of Psalms, alongside his brother, Deber. The poem encourages readers not to fear these demons. Whether that be: “Deber that stalks in the darkness or Qeteb that destroys at midday”.
But in Hebrew, the word Qeteb also means plague; and Deber, means pestilence. So it could also be translated as: You shall not fear: “pestilence that stalks in the darkness, or plague that destroys at midday”. Instead of demons, what if the poem is about disease? What if this is a case of personification,
Where the idea of plague is given demon-like behaviour for creative flourish. R is for Ruach Elohim Ra-ah Speaking of language, this next demon I’ve highlighted is the Hebrew phrase, Ruach Elohim Ra-ah. Which translates to: “an evil spirit of God”.
As we saw with Mastema, when God wants to punish someone, he sends a demon to haunt them. In the Old Testament, this happens too. In one story, an “evil spirit of God” is sent to torment King Saul, driving him to madness.
This has stumped people for a while. Is God responsible for evil? After all, he gets demons to do his dirty work It s an uncomfortable thought, we like to imagine God as all peace and love. But in early biblical texts, God is more morally questionable.
As time went on, people didn’t quite like the idea of a vengeful God. By the New Testament, people placed evil upon another figure S is for Satan Here we are. The big one. The demon of demons. Satan. In Christianity, Satan is the arch-prince of evil. From tempting Jesus in the desert
To a red multi-headed dragon, for the past two thousand years, Satan has been evil incarnate. Early Christian thinkers believed that the snake in the garden of Eden story was Satan himself. If so, all human suffering can be traced to him.
Before Christianity however, Satan was a little less well-defined. In the Old Testament Book of Job, there is a mysterious character known as “The Satan” literally meaning “the adversary”, who challenges God s judgement. A literal devil s advocate.
But The Satan doesn’t seem to be a bad guy, he s just one of the angels. Originally, the word satan didn”t exclusively apply to angels and demons. It’s common for people be called satans, even countries get called satans. Everyone s a satan!
It seems like the classic picture of the devil hadn’t yet evolved by this point. Satan grew into his horns by New Testament. T is for Titivillus Over our journey into biblical demons, they seem to spring out of spelling mistakes and mistranslations. But who is behind those errors?
Introducing Titivillus, aka The Printer’s Devil. The patron demon of typos. His speciality: biblical errors. Imagine if you had to write out the King James Bible by hand, that s 783,137 words. Mistakes are bound to creep in. In fact, they often did.
Like in 1631, when someone accidentally removed a “not” from one of the Ten Commandments: “Thou shalt not commit adultery” was changed to “Thou shalt commit adultery”. Cheating on your partner was now permitted! Of course, the demon Titivullus was blamed, not the careless hands of an overworked bookmaker. U is for Unclean Spirits
Unclean spirits is what the New Testament often calls demons. But what has hygiene got to do with it all? There seems to be an idea that demons are dirty, if they touch you, you are spiritually contaminated. This partly explains the idea of Baptism, a literal bath to wash away your sins… and
Those demons. As they say: a shower a day keeps the demons away. V is for Vampire Yes, you heard me, vampires appear in the Bible. Well, only once. There s a quote in the book of proverbs which says this “The Vampire has two daughters. Give! Give! they cry”.
This pithy saying is not about the reality of being a Vampire dad. Instead, the two daughters in question could be a reference to two thirsty fangs. “Give! Give! they cry”. It’s either that or the passage is talking about leeches. Another bloodthirsty animal with sharp teeth.
Regardless, this biblical Vampire appears in Jewish folktales. The “alukah” is a beast that takes the appearance of a human but lives entirely off blood. When threatened it will transform into a fearsome werewolf. The question is, is a vampire a demon? It depends on how far you want to stretch the
Term “evil spirit” I suppose W is for Witches First vampires. Now witches? The Bible has a bunch of rules against the practice of witchcraft and divination. Like: “Thou shalt not allow a witch to live”. These biblical rules against magic were used to support the witch trials throughout Europe
And the Americas. There was a fear that witches lived among the population, and that they were in cahoots with demons. You’d even get specialised witch hunters who’d go accusing people of sorcery, predominately older women. These hunters took the Bible’s laws very literally. The punishment for witchcraft? Death. X is for Xezbeth
Xexbeth is one of the only demons out there beginning with the letter X. Xezbeth is from the “Dictionarre Infernal” or “Hell’s Dictionary”. A little catalogue of French demons. There s not a lot of information on this one. Perhaps for the best. Xezbeth is the demon
Of lies and deceit. Whether it’s a white lie or full-blown tax fraud, Xezbeth is behind it. No one knows the origin of this demon. There is an Islamic demon called “al-Khadab”, Arabic for “the liar”. But that’s pretty much it.
Khadab, Xezbeth maybe those names are related somehow. Or maybe it s all just lies. Y is for Yamm It s time for Yamm. But not the food, the Mesopotamian god of the Sea. Yamm appears in several ancient myths about Earth’s creation.
These stories take the form of a giant battle between Yamm, his giant sea serpent pet, and a heroic god. To the Babylonians, it was Tiamat vs. Marduk. To the ancient Hebrews, it was Leviathan vs El (aka. God). Once Yamm’s sea beast is vanquished, the god creates the earth out of its body parts.
German scholars refer to these myths as the “Chaoskampf” the primordial struggle. Today, it s widely agreed that life began in the ocean. So, I can t help but feel a bit sorry for Yamm. He doesn’t get the respect he deserves. Z is for Zedek
The final letter, one that I m cursed to pronounce as “Zed” not “Zee”. We’ve spoken a lot about demons, but not about the angels appointed to deal with the ones that get out of hand. Enter Zedek or Melki-Zedek. The “Angel of Righteousness”.
His big moment is in the Dead Sea Scrolls, in the War of the Sons of Light Against the Sons of Darkness. In this epic battle at the end of time, Zedek defeats the demon Belial and his legions of evil. Truth, happiness, and love abound. And the demons are no more.
A good place to end this list. Twenty-six letters later we’ve covered biblical demonology from A to Z. It s a ragtag bunch, all from different stories and eras in time. But we can unscramble this lot, and draw out some wider themes.
You may have noticed that lots of biblical demons do not originally come from the Bible. Instead, they come from the Apocrypha: those books that didn’t quite make it into the canon. It seems that fallen angels, demonic hitmen, and giants were too scandalous for mainstream audiences.
The Bible itself has a mixed picture of demons. Take the Old Testament for example demons either take the form of ancient Gods like Chemosh, Dagon and Yamm, or “evil spirits” sent from God himself. Others like Belial, Qeteb and Satan were not originally demons, but just plain, everyday words that became names over time.
But then, fast forward to the New Testament writings, this had all changed. There’s an explosion of demons! Satan becomes a name and exorcisms are now a thing. These Christian writings were clearly inspired by those apocryphal books and their rich collection of demons.
From then onwards, demons have been a big part of Christianity and the Abrahamic faiths. Scholars of religion believe that demons offer a neat explanation for the problem of evil: if God is all good, where does evil come from? Answer: Demons.
Exploring evil spirits in the Bible and its Apocrypha reveals how these demons took root and began to grow and evolve. Nowadays, the study of demons is livelier than ever before. There is demonological content for every occasion, and enough to fill an entire alphabet.
Hey! Thanks for watching. I really hope you enjoyed this one. Any demons you think to deserve an honourable mention? If you liked this video and want to see more, why not subscribe? A like and comment also go a really long way.
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>> NARRATOR: In a backwater of the ancient world, a newborn child heralds new hope for mankind. It is a birth riddled with paradox. A virgin has become a mother; God has become human; a child is King. The biblical account of Jesus’ birth has enraptured millions. But the passage of 2,000 years
Has obscured the historical events that inspired it. What really happened? The answers, though elusive, may still be within our grasp– in clues contained in the Bible, in ancient historical documents and in recent new discoveries by scholars and scientists. Join us as we try to reconstruct the true story of a birth as
Mysterious as it was momentous. [Captioning sponsored by A&E TELEVISION NETWORKS] >> NARRATOR: For many, the search for the truth begins here. This sanctuary in Bethlehem was built in 326 A.D. at the behest of the mother of the most powerful man on Earth. A decade earlier, Constantine
The Great had altered history by declaring Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire. His mother Helena became convinced by local residents that his newfound faith began on this spot. Visitors to the Church of the Nativity can descend to a grotto below, where Jesus is said to have been born.
Many share Helena’s belief. Others, who do not, still acknowledge the site’s symbolic if not historic value. Here, both can find satisfaction. Here, they can touch Christmas. For Christians, the birth of Jesus marks the moment when the world was transformed by the arrival of humanity’s savior. To others, it is an epochal
Turning point: the dawn of the dominant figure of Western culture. The mystery of Jesus’ birth is contained in two books of the New Testament: the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. But many scholars believe that they are works concerned not so much with facts than faith. To extract history from their pages is problematic.
>> DANIEL SMITH-CHRISTOPHER: The Hebrews knew that some truths are more profoundly communicated by telling a story than simply narrating historical events. That presents us an interesting difficulty. Sometimes we have to take a biblical passage and decide how much of this is the narration of events and how much of this is
Story and how do we tell the difference? >> ELIZABETH McNAMER: Our idea of history is different from writers who were writing then. We’re interested in the facts and only the facts. People writing at that point were interested not just in what happened, but in the interpretation of what happened.
It didn’t disturb them at all to add things to put forward their own theology, and it didn’t disturb their readers, either. >> JUDY YATES SIKER: They weren’t historians and they weren’t biographers. They were people whose communities had been impacted by the life of one they called Jesus of Nazareth, and it was
Imperative that they tell the story. >> NARRATOR: But did Matthew and Luke base their accounts of Jesus’ birth on actual events? Or did they merely invent the story after Jesus rose to prominence? The answers are all the more elusive because the narrative known to millions is in fact a fusion of two strikingly
Different tales. It begins when God chooses an obscure young virgin named Mary to carry his son. He tells her of his plan in an extraordinary encounter known as the Annunciation. >> “The angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in
Your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus.’ And Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be since I am a virgin?’ And the angel answered, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you and for that reason the holy offspring shall be called the Son of God.'”– LUKE 1:30.
>> NARRATOR: When Mary reveals her pregnancy to Joseph, her fiancé, he disbelieves her story. But when another angel visits him to verify it, his devotion to Mary is restored. Months pass… then a drama begins that is described by Luke but never mentioned by Matthew. The Emperor demands that all the
Roman world, including the Hebrew people, return to their ancestral homes in order to be taxed. >> “Now it came about in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited Earth. And all were proceeding to register for the census,
Everyone to his own city.”– LUKE 2:1. >> NARRATOR: Joseph, originally from Bethlehem, must escort the pregnant Mary on an arduous journey to his home city, 90 miles away. >> SMITH-CHRISTOPHER: One of the realities that we must always keep in mind in thinking about the Christmas story is that Palestine was Roman- occupied Palestine.
This was not a time or a place when the Hebrew people were in control of their own fate. Rome was very much in control of the fate of these people. So, there’s a human drama: There’s the drama of a father and a mother protecting their child and of trying to do the
Right thing. There’s a larger drama, and that is, this is a Hebrew family trying to do the right thing under the brutal occupation of Palestine by a foreign entity– the Roman Empire. >> NARRATOR: When Mary and Joseph arrive, they discover that Bethlehem is crowded to capacity. With no lodging available, the
Couple’s dilemma worsens. Mary goes into labor. >> “And she gave birth to her newborn son, and she wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”– LUKE 2:7. >> NARRATOR: The setting where Jesus was born is not specified.
But the presence of a manger– a feeding trough for livestock– has led many to believe it was a stable. Both Matthew and Luke describe how God makes known the miraculous birth to a receptive few. But they differ about who was informed and how. According to Matthew, God conveys the news through a
Wondrous morning star. It serves as a beacon for foreign dignitaries, who travel hundreds of miles to pay homage to the infant Jesus. >> “The star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them until it came and stood over where the child was. And they came into the house and
Saw the child with Mary, his mother, and they fell down and worshipped him. And opening their treasures, they presented him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh.”– MATTHEW 2:9. >> NARRATOR: In Luke’s version, the message of the birth is carried by an angel. It is delivered not to powerful
Foreigners, but to the local area’s most humble inhabitants. >> “There were shepherds in the fields keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which shall be for all the people.
For today, in the city of David, there has been born for you a savior, who is Christ the Lord.'”– LUKE 2:8. >> SMITH-CHRISTOPHER: The birth of Jesus represents one of those shining moments in human history when there seems to be a kind of sunrise in human darkness.
The birth of Jesus and the life and teachings of Jesus provide us with a level of hope, a message of trust and of just the human possibilities, and I think even non-Christians can come to appreciate that in Jesus as well. >> SIKER: Whether you are a person of faith or not, you have
Echoes of the story in art, in literature, and you can’t avoid it. And so, one needs to be aware of what this story is and what the significance of this story is in order to survive in Western culture. >> MARVIN MEYER: There’s something about the birth of any child that is a wonderful
Moment. It’s a wonderful moment for a family, but in the case of the story of the birth of Jesus, the point of it is, here is a birth that may have some meaning for a bigger family, for the family of Israel, for the family of humankind. >> NARRATOR: One man’s birth
Would turn the world upside down. A new faith would challenge the old order. Jesus, claiming to be the Son of God, would be seen as a threat to Caesar, who claimed to be a god himself. Two charismatic leaders, each asserting their divinity, would offer a revolutionary choice for the future.
>> JOHN DOMINIC CROSSAN: For millions of people, Caesar as divine made sense. He owned the legions, he controlled the Mediterranean world, he brought peace to it and he lived in a huge palace over there on the Palantine Hill in Rome. Now, over here is another story, a counter-story, an anti-story,
Which says, “No, God is not the god of power and violence incarnate in Caesar; God is the Jewish god of justice and righteousness incarnate in a little child who was born in a tiny country, an occupied colony of the Roman Empire, born just about as low as you can imagine.
So you hear of the clash of two gods.” And the question of the story– and it is the Christmas question– “Where is your god? Is your god in power or in justice? Take your choice.” >> NARRATOR: For two people, the choice is never in doubt. The virgin and the carpenter who
Bring Jesus into the world are the first to love him and all he represents. Surprisingly, however, the Gospels tell us little about them. All efforts to trace the historical roots of Christmas lead back to two pivotal figures. The human drama in the story belongs to Mary and Joseph.
They are the parents of God’s only Son, responsible for bringing up the Savior of the world. Yet the Gospels provide little information about them. Today, we think of them simply as a virgin mother and a humble carpenter. Mary’s identity has been obscured by centuries of idealization, encouraged by the Catholic doctrine of the
“Immaculate Conception.” >> SIKER: The phrase the “Immaculate Conception” is often misunderstood as a reference to the immaculate conception of Jesus, when, in fact, it is a reference to Mary. There was a sanctifying grace that preserved her from the stain of original sin. It was important that Mary’s pureness be preserved.
And so, I think that in order for this young woman to be the mother of one who was later, in Christianity, considered God, that it was important that we not have original sin stain this family. >> NARRATOR: For a less romanticized, more accurate portrait of Mary, scholars take
A deeper look into the Gospels. According to Luke, she is neither meek nor mild, but driven by a sense of purpose. She reveals herself in a powerful proclamation now known as the “Magnificat.” >> “My soul exalts the Lord. He has brought down rulers from their thrones, and has exalted those who were humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things, and sent away the rich empty-handed.”– LUKE 1:46. >> SMITH-CHRISTOPHER: What is the image that Luke portrays for us of the young Mary? It is not an image of this kind of glowing, white, virginal woman floating in the air. It’s the image of a
Revolutionary young woman in Roman-occupied Palestine, who sees the implications of the coming of her child to be expressed in those powerful words that the rich will be sent away, the poor will be fed, and the powerful will be pulled down from their thrones. This is a very politically savvy young woman.
>> NARRATOR: If Luke saw Mary as a revolutionary, he also saw her as a virgin. For historians, the virgin birth defies analysis. They are not equipped or inclined to discuss miracles. In their quest to understand the Christmas story, they must confine themselves to a conventional approach. In recent years, they have
Discovered other possible explanations for Mary’s dual role as virgin and mother. Advances in reproductive biology have focused attention on a phenomenon called parthenogenesis. It is a rare process in some plants and animals in which an egg can develop into a new organism without being fertilized. No instance of the process
Occurring in a human female has ever been recorded. Still, it leaves open the possibility that a virgin birth could have a basis in science. Some scholars, however, believe the Gospel authors did not base the virgin birth on a real event, but were inspired by an Old Testament prophecy.
>> “The Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call his name Immanuel.”– ISAIAH 7:14. >> NARRATOR: According to some scholars, the Gospel authors likely claimed Jesus was born of a virgin to remain consistent with Isaiah’s prophesy of the
Coming Messiah. >> ROHALD F. HOCK: Isaiah himself, so far as we know, had no intentions of looking that far ahead, but the standard procedure throughout the ancient world was to make connections between the present and the past, and Christians are doing that with Jesus by connecting him with the past Scripture– in
This case, the prophecy of Isaiah. >> NARRATOR: Ironically, however, some claim it is possible that Isaiah never intended to predict that the Messiah would be born of a virgin. His words, written originally in Hebrew, may have taken on an erroneous new meaning when translated into the Greek version available to Matthew and Luke.
>> MEYER: In the original Hebrew of Isaiah, the word that is used for, well, “virgin” is actually ” alma,” the Hebrew word that means “a young woman”– a young woman of the age when women can conceive and bear children. And there is no more baggage than that that is connected to
That particular term. >> SIKER: When this gets translated into the Greek, which is what the early Christians would have been using– the text that they would have had– is ” parthenos,” which is more heavily nuanced as “virgin.” >> MEYER: The fact of the matter is, the doctrine of the virgin
Birth works better with the Greek than it does with the original Hebrew. >> SIKER: I don’t think that the speculation that the whole idea of Mary’s virginity comes from this “mistranslation” is one that argues very well. For one thing, it’s not a mistranslation. It is one of several words that
Is perfectly acceptable as a translation. But it does have a more heavy nuance of virginity. >> NARRATOR: Scholars who scrutinize the virgin birth focus not only on Isaiah’s prediction in the Old Testament, but also the Gospels themselves. In an apparent contradiction, the same biblical authors who celebrate Mary’s virginity also
Write that Jesus had several siblings. >> “Is this not the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James and Joseph and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters with us?”– MATTHEW 13:54. >> McNAMER: The orthodox tradition on this is that they were children of Joseph by an earlier marriage.
The Roman Catholic tradition is that these were simply cousins of Jesus. >> NARRATOR: Matthew and Luke, however, provide no information supporting this interpretation. >> MEYER: If one will insist, theologically, upon the perpetual virginity of Mary, then there are some great problems when it comes to the brothers and the sisters of Jesus.
And then some creative theological and historical work has to be done. The spin doctors have to go to work. I think that the simplest way to read those accounts is to understand that Jesus had real brothers and real sisters. It was that kind of an ordinary family. >> NARRATOR: If Jesus had
Biological siblings, it would negate only the notion that Mary was a virgin her entire life– not necessarily her virgin birth of Jesus. >> “Joseph knew her not until she had borne a son, and she called his name Jesus.”– MATTHEW 1:25. >> NARRATOR: Some scholars argue that this verse implies that Mary conceived Jesus
Miraculously, and later lost her virginity as she and Joseph assumed a conventional sexual relationship. For skeptics, the question remains: “If Mary was not a virgin, and God was not the father of Jesus, who was?” The most likely candidate, predictably, is Joseph. But in the first century, a rumor surfaced of another possibility.
It was chronicled by the Christian theologian Origen, who taught in Egypt in the second century. He wrote of an allegation that Jesus was the offspring of Mary and a Roman soldier. >> “The Jew, speaking of the mother of Jesus, said that she was guilty of adultery, and that
She bore a child to a certain soldier named Panthera. It was to be expected, indeed, that those who would not believe the miraculous birth of Jesus would invent some falsehood.”– ORIGEN, AGAINST CELSUS, CHAPTER 33. >> SIKER: Origen argues that they had to create this lie– this lie of Mary and the Roman
Soldier– because they knew, and they unwittingly admitted in their lie that Jesus’ birth was not a usual birth. And so, if they couldn’t accept the miraculous nature of this birth, what else would they do but create such a lie? >> CROSSAN: The accusation that Mary was raped by a Roman
Soldier and produced a child, therefore out of wedlock, seems to me to be the obvious rebuttal that I would make if I didn’t accept the virginal birth. This is the nasty, within-the- family, and therefore very nasty name-calling that goes on between Christian Jews and non-Christian Jews in the first
Century, each sort of saying rather nasty things about the other. >> NARRATOR: But could this accusation have any basis in fact? One clue scholars have examined is the name of the Roman soldier mentioned by Origen– Panthera. >> MEYER: Lo and behold, it turns out that a tombstone of a
Certain “Panther” has been found in Germany– the tombstone of a Roman soldier whose name was Tiberius Julius Abdes Panther. And it is said that he was a Sidonian archer who was based in Palestine. And so, that leads then to the speculation: Could it be the case that Mary was actually
Raped by, seduced by– but, at her age, we would call that rape– raped by a Roman soldier? And it is one of the historical possibilities. >> NARRATOR: The tombstone, discovered in 1859 in the city of Bingerbruck, is an intriguing yet inconclusive piece of evidence. Some scholars have argued that
Panthera was likely a common name among the ancient Romans. So, finding it etched on an ancient tombstone should not seem surprising. The discovery has become part of a 2,000-year-old theological debate over Jesus’ parentage. But the issue was once a private crisis for one humble carpenter. After Joseph learns Mary is
Pregnant, say the Gospels, he naturally assumes she has betrayed his trust. Under the laws of his time, he could have Mary stoned to death for her perceived infidelity. Instead, he quietly breaks their engagement. God intervenes. He sends an angel to Joseph in a dream, who tells him that her child has been miraculously
Conceived. Joseph accepts the divine explanation. He and Mary resolve to carry out God’s miracle. In 1997, archaeologists make a remarkable discovery three miles from Bethlehem. The pinkish limestone appears utterly ordinary, except it is located precisely in the center of the ruins of a 5th-century church. The church, it seems, was built
Purposefully around it. The diggers believe they have found the fabled kathisma– the Greek word for “the seat.” According to an apocryphal text, Mary rested on it on her way to give birth to Jesus. Ancient Christians gathered here to commemorate her journey to Bethlehem. The find renews debate over an age-old historical question:
Where was Jesus born? >> McNAMER: I believe that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, just as the stories tell us. The reason I believe this is that there were very early traditions in the church of the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. These would have surfaced very soon after his death, when
People still remembered things, that he was born in Bethlehem. >> MEYER: I think it was likely Nazareth. Jesus was known as Jesus of Nazareth. And, typically, people were known by their birthplace. This is where the family lived. The way in which Matthew and Luke go through some contortions
To get the family to Bethlehem in order for Jesus to be born there seems to indicate that there’s something that is theologically motivated about this kind of account. >> NARRATOR: Some scholars believe that the Gospel authors knew Jesus was born in Nazareth, but altered the truth in the name of faith.
Their inspiration, once again, may have been a prophecy from the Old Testament. >> “But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you one will go forth for me to be ruler in Israel.”– MICAH 5:2. >> NARRATOR: From Bethlehem,
Predicts Micah, will arise a Messiah for God’s chosen people. If Luke and Matthew wished to exalt Jesus as the awaited King, no other city would suffice as his birthplace. Whether inspired by facts or faith, Luke’s account of the journey to Bethlehem is complex and colorful. His story begins in Nazareth,
Where Mary and Joseph await the birth of Jesus. But the Roman Emperor, Caesar Augustus, orders a census of his empire. >> HOCK: A census involved essentially finding out the numbers of people, the wealth of people, for purposes of taxation. So you had to have figures. You had to have concrete data
About what a province could generate in terms of taxes so that when the Empire decided what its tribute should be, they would be able to raise those funds. And, presumably, the reason Joseph and Mary traveled to Bethlehem is because Joseph has property there and, for that reason, is required to register
Himself there rather than at Nazareth. >> NARRATOR: Luke does not specify their means of transportation. But since donkeys were commonly used to move both goods and people, the popular image of Mary riding one is entirely plausible. The roads in Palestine, even by ancient standards, were primitive. The food commonly taken on an
Extended journey was bread and water. Scholars imagine the 90-mile trek would have been grueling. Slowed by Mary’s condition, they would have traveled perhaps ten miles a day. The entire journey would have lasted more than a week. The question remains whether Joseph and Mary really endured such a journey.
The key to the answer may lie in the census that Luke says motivated it. >> “This was the first census taken while Quirinius was Governor of Syria.”– LUKE 2:2. >> NARRATOR: Independent historical sources confirm that a Roman census did occur during the reign of Quirinius. But it occurred in 6 A.D., long
After Jesus was born. It has been suggested that Luke misidentified the Governor; he may have meant to specify the similarly named Quintillus. His reign began in 6 B.C., around the same time that another Roman census was conducted. Even if this is true, however, paradox persists. Roman records indicate that
Every census ordered by Caesar Augustus over a 42-year span involved only Roman citizens. Mary and Joseph would not have participated. Also suspect is a census that required registrants to return to the city where they were born. >> CROSSAN: If everyone goes back to their ancestral home to be recorded and then goes back
To wherever they live, that’s a bureaucratic nightmare. It’s not the way the Romans did it. They wanted you recorded where you were working. “We want to know where you are to pay your taxes.” So, it’s a story which Luke creates in order to get Mary and Joseph and Jesus, of course to
Be born yet, to Bethlehem. But it is not factual. It’s fictional. >> DR. RICHARD HORSLEY: For a long time, we thought that this was just a story, and that this was just a literary device. Well, we’ve discovered papyri in Egypt, now, that put a whole different slant on this.
The Romans required peasants who had found themselves unable to both pay their taxes to Caesar and provide for their families to return to their villages precisely in order to be down on the farm where they would raise crops and pay the Roman taxes. Then that puts some great credibility back in this legend
That Joseph and Mary journey to Bethlehem on the occasion of Caesar having decreed a tax. >> NARRATOR: Whether Luke’s story of the census is credible or not, there may be a completely different scenario that compelled Mary and Joseph to journey to Bethlehem. Some scholars suggest it is possible that Mary was aware of
The Old Testament prophecy in Micah. They believe she may have purposely delivered her baby in the predicted city to bolster his role as the Messiah. >> SMITH-CHRISTOPHER: Let’s remember Luke’s portrayal of Mary as a socially and politically very sophisticated young woman who sees her role as part of the resistance of the
Hebrew people to Roman-occupied Palestine. For this woman to associate the coming of this messianic child with the line of David and to make a move to Bethlehem to emphasize that association would be a politically very savvy move on her part. Is it possible? Absolutely, I think it’s possible.
>> NARRATOR: If Jesus was born in Bethlehem, it is still a mystery as to the precise setting. One passage, however, may hold the answer. >> “And she gave birth to her newborn son, and she wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there
Was no room for them in the inn.”– LUKE 2:7. >> McNAMER: Luke says to us, “There was no room at the inn.” Actually that can be translated: “It was not the place for them in the inn.” You know, an inn was simply an open field, surrounded by a wall
Where travelers could go to be safe from the animals and robbers, and there was a huge fire in the middle where they could do their own cooking, and many travelers would have been staying there. It probably would be the last place in the world you would want to have a baby.
>> NARRATOR: Luke’s mention of a manger implies Jesus was born in a stable, where it would most likely be found. But it is doubtful it would have been a freestanding structure. The more likely setting is a cave, as caves were commonly used to house livestock in the Holy Land.
Wherever Jesus was born, Matthew and Luke call attention to the modest nature of the setting. Though they decree Jesus a King, they make clear that he was not born in a palace. >> SMITH-CHRISTOPHER: Virtually all of the Gospel accounts want to emphasize the humble beginnings of Jesus– the poor beginnings of Jesus.
Look at the setting for the arrival of God’s Messiah. God chose the least, God chose the powerless as the stage upon which salvation shall be worked out. That’s a very profound and important point. >> NARRATOR: For Christians, Jesus’ birth signifies a new beginning for mankind. 2,000 years later, the centuries
Themselves are measured from this pivotal moment in history. But when it occurred still remains a mystery.ou a merry Christmas We wish you a merry Christmas and a Happy New Year… ♪ >> NARRATOR: Every December 25, millions embrace Christmas with reverence and revelry. >> ♪ Navidad, Navidad, hoy es Navidad… ♪
>> ( chanting in Latin ) >> NARRATOR: But unconsciously, the entire world celebrates it every day. In theory, every minute and second that ticks by is measured from the moment Jesus drew his first breath. On New Year’s Eve, the number emblazoned above Times Square declares how many years we believe have passed since Jesus was born. The only problem is that we are almost certainly wrong. The answer was a mystery even in Jesus’ own time. For the early Christians, the defining moment of his life was not its beginning, but its end. The question of when Jesus was born was not an issue until the second century. Christians found themselves
Challenged by a splinter group of believers who claimed Jesus had never been born in the conventional sense. >> McNAMER: I believe that the birth of Jesus only became important in the second century with Gnosticism. Gnostics were an heretical group within the church who were suggesting that Jesus never had a real body.
They essentially did not believe that matter was good. The only thing that was good was spirit. They did not believe in the incarnation. They believed in what we call the Docetic Christ– he only appeared to have a body– and I believe that the infancy narratives were written to counteract this heresy.
>> NARRATOR: When the early Christians became more curious about the circumstances of Jesus’ birth, they began to speculate about the date it occurred. In Egypt, a bishop named Clement determined that Jesus was born on November 18. Elsewhere in North Africa, an anonymous scholar of the same era declared it to be March 28.
Why they chose these dates is unknown. By the fourth century, Christians were no closer to finding the truth. But they decided which day seemed most appropriate– at least symbolically. December 25 had long been celebrated as the pagan holiday honoring the Sun God, Mithras. It was part of a two-week
Festival of the winter solstice, when the days began to lengthen. For the first several centuries of Christianity, the church found itself in fierce competition with popular pagan religions. What better way to challenge them than to usurp their holidays? >> CROSSAN: In the same way that you might take a pagan temple
And put a Christian shrine right on top of it, you put a Christian feast, the birth of Jesus, right on top of the winter solstice, right on top of a pagan feast. You sort of obliterate the pagan layer with the Christian layer. >> NARRATOR: Beyond the practical motivation was the symbolic.
>> McNAMER: I suppose we could say that Jesus was the light of the world, and this was a wonderful time to have the celebration, when there is darkness and then there is light– this light suddenly appearing. >> NARRATOR: In the year 349, Pope Julius formally designated December 25 as Christmas.
Believers now had an official date on which to celebrate, but the declaration extinguished whatever curiosity remained to discover the actual date of Jesus’ birth. Throughout the centuries, few clues have surfaced to solve the mystery. One is provided by Luke in one of the best-known passages from his Gospel.
>> “There were shepherds in the fields keeping watch over their flocks by night.”– LUKE 2:8. >> NARRATOR: In ancient Israel, shepherds guarded their flocks at night only during the season when the ewes gave birth to their lambs. It happened in the spring. In December, sheep were generally kept in corrals, unwatched.
Some scholars believe Luke’s reference suggests we may be celebrating Christmas eight months too late. Ultimately, determining the month and day Jesus was born may be impossible. But determining the year offers scholars more hope. The effort began some 500 years after his birth. By then, the Christian Church had expanded its influence to
All dimensions of life. Perhaps the only untouched dimension was the most intangible of them all: time. To that point in history, calendars measured time beginning with the founding of Rome or the reign of some of its rulers. For Christians, this was no longer acceptable. >> Meyer: As Christians were contemplating a calendar, they
Thought, “Wouldn’t it be wonderful if there would be a calendar that would be geared into Christian values? Wouldn’t it be remarkable if there could be a Christian calendar that would begin with Jesus?” And then it becomes important to find out: “Well, when did Jesus begin?” >> MOSLEY: The question of the
Nativity– the date of the birth of Jesus– has puzzled people for 1,500 years. >> MOSLEY: Church Fathers decided that rather than count years from the beginning of the reign of an impious, non- Christian Roman emperor, that they should count the years with the birth of Jesus. And so Dionysus Exiguus, a monk
Within Rome, was given the project of determining when precisely Jesus was born. >> NARRATOR: For reasons known only to Dionysus, he decided to place Jesus’ birth in the year 753 of the old Roman calendar. He then invented a new calendar, decreeing that Jesus was born on December 25 in the year 1 B.C.,
With the year 1 A.D. beginning a week later. Today, many scholars believe Dionysus made a critical error. They say he failed to take into account a key piece of information from the Gospels. >> SIKER: One of the details in Matthew and Luke’s infancy stories is that his birth took
Place during the reign of Herod. So, if we can determine the reign of Herod and the death of Herod, then we can more closely determine the date of Jesus’ birth. >> HORSLEY: The question of the timing of Herod’s death is not in question. We’re fairly sure that Herod died in what would be
Chronologically 4 B.C., and then that provides the symbolic if not the actual point at which Jesus must have been born: just before that happened. >> NARRATOR: 4 B.C. Perhaps a few years earlier. Until additional evidence is discovered, this range is as close as we can come to the answer. This renowned astronomer
Believes he may have found the answer. For several years, he has been investigating yet another mystery of the Christmas story. >> NARRATOR: The search for Christmas transcends the bounds of Earth. Light years away might be one of the tale’s greatest mysteries: the Star of Bethlehem. >> “Behold, there came wise men
From the east to Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where is he that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east, and have come to worship him.'”– MATTHEW 2:2. >> NARRATOR: For centuries, the star has endured as a mesmerizing symbol of Christianity– almost as powerful as the cross.
But did it truly exist, or was it created after the fact to make Jesus’ birth seem more miraculous? >> McNAMER: Generally, after people died, it was often said that a star had proclaimed their birth. This was said for Alexander the Great. It was said for the Emperor Augustus himself, that a star
Appeared at his birth. In fact, Shakespeare tells us the heavens themselves tell forth the birth of princes. I don’t believe there was a star. I don’t believe that there were magi who came from the east. >> SIKER: I don’t know what that Star of Bethlehem was, but I do
Think that it’s highly likely that there was an astrological event that occurred in that region that was brought into the legend, brought into the story, brought into the tradition of the birth of Jesus. >> NARRATOR: For centuries, astronomers have tried to determine if the Christmas star was more than a myth, and what
Celestial phenomenon could have accounted for it. >> MOSLEY: The first astronomer to speculate on what the Star of Bethlehem might have been was the great Johannes Kepler, 400 years ago– the man who worked out why it is that the planets move the way they do– and when Johannes Kepler saw an exploding
Star in 1604, he thought, “Aha! That might have been what the Magi saw. What could be more glorious?” And we can look at the old Chinese records and they recorded all stars that exploded that they saw, but none appeared at the time of the birth of Jesus. So, despite the charm of the
Idea, and despite Kepler’s enthusiasm for it, apparently it was not an exploding star. >> MICHAEL MOLNAR: Some astronomers have proposed comets, or in particular, Halley’s Comet, which is probably the most famous comet of all, and it appeared at around the time that we believe Jesus was born. However, if you look at the
Ancient texts and try to understand what the people of ancient times believed in, they feared comets. Comets didn’t indicate the birth of a king. It really meant, usually, the death of a king or the start of a war. So, we really cannot propose that a comet, or in particular
Halley’s Comet, was the Star of Bethlehem. >> NARRATOR: For some modern astronomers, the key to unraveling the truth lies in understanding the point of view of the magi. The term “magi” is the root from which we derive the word “magic.” They were a respected class of advisors in the ancient Near
East who used astrology to predict the future. >> MOSLEY: The magi thought the planets moved because the gods were causing them to move. The gods were making them go this way and that way, and when one planet happened to line up with another planet, that that was because the gods had
Something in mind for us, and there was some correspondence between what happened in the sky and what happened down below. They believed in magic, and they believed in the magic of the sky. >> NARRATOR: In the ancient Near East, belief in astrology began several centuries before the birth of Christ.
It was almost universally accepted throughout the region. The only place where it had little influence was the nation in which Jesus was destined to be born. >> MOLNAR: We find that tiny Judaea is sort of an island in a sea of astrology believers. That is, all the countries, the
Cultures in and around Judaea, they believed that astrology did predict the future, that it was a science, and that it really helped them to understand their own lives. But only when we go to Judaea, we find that it is not practiced or believed in. >> NARRATOR: Judaea’s lack of astrological insight is evident
In a key passage from Matthew that may help explain what the Star of Bethlehem was. >> “Then Herod secretly called the magi, and inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.”– MATTHEW 2:7. >> MOSLEY: An important clue in Matthew is that only the magi saw this star, whatever it was.
Herod and his advisors didn’t know about it. They had to inquire diligently of the magi what they’d seen, so that tells us it wasn’t something spectacular in the sky, like a bright comet, that everyone cave seen. >> NARRATOR: Some astronomers believe that what the magi saw, and the Hebrews did not, was a
Visually subtle conjunction of planets. It happens when one heavenly body appears to cross the path of another. It is a common occurrence. But many scholars believe that 2,000 years ago, a specific conjunction may have been viewed as a sign that the Old Testament prophecy had been fulfilled– that the Messiah had finally
Been born. John Mosley, of the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, has had an avid interest in the Star of Bethlehem for 20 years. He believes he has discovered the celestial phenomenon that attracted the magi. >> MOSLEY: I think that what the magi saw was a series of conjunctions. There were three conjunctions of
The planet Jupiter and the star Regulus, and two very close conjunctions of Jupiter and Venus over a ten-month period of time during the years 3 and 2 B.C., and the final of these conjunctions was really spectacular. It’s the sort of thing that I would love to see. Jupiter and Venus were so close,
They almost touched. So, if you were looking for something of great astrological interest– and after all, the magi were astrologers– then I think you could do nothing better than to look at these conjunctions– this series of events– as the sort of thing that would have made the magi think, “Aha, this is important.
The prophecies were fulfilled.” >> NARRATOR: Michael Molnar, an astronomer formerly of Rutgers University, has a different theory. His interest in the Star of Bethlehem began when he discovered a clue on an ancient coin at a New York collector’s show. It was minted in Syria in 13 A.D. His findings represent perhaps
The most significant recent insight into the Christmas story. >> MOLNAR: One side had the god Zeus on it, or our Jupiter. I’ve seen lots of coins with that god on it. But I flipped it over and the other side was a beautiful picture of Aries the Ram, a sign of the zodiac.
There was the ram, leaping across the sky, looking backwards at an overhead star. Aries the Ram is key to the whole puzzle. We astronomers were looking in the wrong part of the sky for the Star of Bethlehem. The star had appeared in Aries the Ram. >> NARRATOR: Molnar’s research into ancient astrological texts
Reveals that each sign of the zodiac represented a particular kingdom. Aries represented Judaea. Molnar discovered that a specific set of conditions occurring in Aries would have convinced the magi that a person of cosmic importance was to be born there. >> MOLNAR: The most important star that would confer
Kingships– make a young boy a king– was the star of Zeus, which we call the planet Jupiter today. So I knew that the star was most likely the planet Jupiter. I found that the moon played a very important role, and that the closer the moon was to Jupiter, the better were the
Conditions to have the birth of a young king. But most important was that Jupiter had to be in the east. Well, “in the east” means, according to the beliefs and practices of stargazers of 2,000 years ago, that it was about to emerge as a morning star– that is, in the eastern morning sky.
>> NARRATOR: Molnar’s challenge was to find the precise moment when this particular set of conditions occurred in the constellation of Aries. >> MOLNAR: Well, to make a long story short, I ran my computer program for a huge swath in time that biblical scholars believe Jesus was born, and we find that
In 6 B.C.– on April 17 to be exact– these events happened. Jupiter was in the east, in Aries the Ram, and at the same time, the moon came extremely close to Jupiter. The moon came so close, in fact, that it eclipsed Jupiter, and these celestial objects in Aries the Ram indicated, according to
The astrologers, that there was the birth of a great king. >> NARRATOR: Molnar’s findings are perhaps the most compelling evidence that the Star of Bethlehem was a genuine phenomenon. His theory is all the more intriguing in that it places the star’s appearance in the very year that many scholars believe Jesus was born.
The magi, whose belief in astrology compelled them to follow the star, are as much of a mystery as the star itself. Tradition holds that there were three wise men, but Matthew never specifies how many there were. Matthew also never tells from what nation they came, but many scholars think they were from
Babylonia– the site of modern- day Iraq. Outside of Israel, no other country was as aware of the tale of a coming Jewish Messiah. 500 years before Jesus’ birth, the Babylonians conquered the Hebrews and exiled tens of thousands of Jews back to their kingdom. Scholars believe that it was therefore inevitable that the
Ancient prophecy became common knowledge among the Babylonians. Ironically, their astrological interpretation of the star would compel them to believe that their true king had emerged from a nation they had vanquished. >> SMITH-CHRISTOPHER: The Babylonians were one of the most brutal ancient regimes to have ever conquered the Hebrew people, and here come the
Babylonian descendants, subservient to the birth of a Hebrew Messiah, so deeply impressed with the significance of this birth that they come on bended knee to this child. There is a wonderful irony in this story, almost as if the Gospel writers are saying to us, “Remember the people who thought
That they were so powerful and who conquered us so many centuries ago? Even they now are on their knees before the birth of our humble Messiah.” >> NARRATOR: According to Matthew, the magi present the infant Jesus gifts of gold and two aromatic resins: frankincense and myrrh. The gifts held deep symbolic
Significance for the readers of Matthew’s day. >> McNAMER: Some believed that the Messiah, when he came, would be a king. Some believed that he would be a great prophet. Some believed that he would be a priest. Gold is for a king, frankincense for a priest, myrrh would signify a prophet.
So, what Matthew is doing in this little story is simply telling his audience, “Whatever you were expecting in the way of a Messiah has been born.” >> NARRATOR: Although every nativity scene depicts the magi honoring a newborn, many scholars believe they arrived when Jesus was as old as two.
The Greek word Matthew uses to describe Jesus is one the Greeks attached not to a baby, but a toddler. For 2,000 years, the comforting images of the Christmas story have warmed the hearts of millions. But the search for the tale’s historical roots leads to one of the most horrifying incidents
Described in the Bible. The birth of Jesus triggers an event that bathes the streets of Bethlehem in blood. It begins when the Magi, led by the star, pause in Jerusalem. They seek an audience with King Herod the Great. For more than 30 years, Herod has ruled despotically over
Judea as a loyal ally to the Roman Empire. His power is matched only by his unpopularity. The Magi hope that Herod can help them find the infant destined to be king. But their questions inadvertently imperil Jesus’ life. >> “The Magi arrived in Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where is he
Who is born king of the Jews?’ And when Herod, the king, heard it, he was troubled.”– MATTHEW 2:1. >> NARRATOR: According to Matthew, Herod regards Jesus as a dangerous political rival. Fate has pitted an innocent child against one of history’s most ruthless and vengeful leaders. >> HORSLEY: This fellow was the
Very epitome of a tyrant. He had secret police. He had informers sort of spying on the people, especially in Jerusalem. The minute he would hear of any resistance, he’d send out the troops first and ask questions later. He was suspicious of his own sons, and he killed his own sons.
He put to death his own sons that would have been his heirs. >> McNAMER: He murdered so many of his own family, including his mother, his favorite wife, Marianna. He was unscrupulous and extraordinarily cruel. >> NARRATOR: Herod’s paranoia is ignited by the Magi’s news of the Messiah’s birth. His thoughts turn instantly to
Murder. But he keeps his intentions secret from the Magi, hoping that they will lead him to his target. >> “And he sent the Magi to Bethlehem and said, ‘Go and make careful search for the child, and when you have found him, report to me, that I, too, may come and worship him.'”–
MATTHEW 2:8. >> NARRATOR: After the Magi honor Jesus, writes Matthew, an angel informs them of Herod’s scheme. They defy his order to return to his palace and hastily leave Judea. By taking a different route than the one they used to arrive, they avoid capture by Herod’s soldiers and interrogation as to Jesus’ whereabouts.
Enraged, Herod hatches an alternate plan. Estimating Jesus’ age from the time the Magi first saw the star, he orders that all boys in Bethlehem aged two and under be killed. From Jerusalem, the Christian Era’s first death squad approaches. At this moment, according to Matthew, the unsuspecting Mary, Joseph and Jesus are asleep.
But God sends an angel to alert them to the danger. >> “The angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, ‘Arise, and take the young child and his mother and flee into Egypt.'”– MATTHEW 2:13. >> NARRATOR: As the family escapes, Herod’s soldiers sweep into Bethlehem. The king’s cold-blooded order is
Carried out. The incident becomes known as “The Slaughter of the Innocents.” Matthew’s account of what occurred in these streets is the most dramatic episode of the Christmas story. But many scholars contend it never happened. They cite a lack of any corroboration from other sources. >> SIKER: If this event was indeed as horrific as Matthew
Described it, it seems that it would appear in Luke’s Gospel. It seems that it would have appeared in the writings of one such as Josephus, a significant Jewish historian of the first century. I think that those things indicate to us– especially the absence in Josephus– indicate to us that… Matthew may have
Been up to something else. >> NARRATOR: Some scholars say the lack of corroboration is not by itself proof that the slaughter is simply Matthew’s invention. They point out that the population of Bethlehem was then perhaps 1,000, and that there could have been as few as 20 infants under two.
The limited scope of the slaughter may have kept it from entering the history books. >> CROSSAN: It would certainly have been awful, but it would probably not have been a huge number. And yes, of course, it could easily have escaped Josephus. So I couldn’t argue that it didn’t happen because Josephus does not mention it. It’s quite possible he wouldn’t have heard of it, or he could
Have heard of it and not thought it was important. >> SMITH-CHRISTOPHER: Could the Slaughter of the Innocents have happened? Was Herod the kind of ruler capable of this kind of brutality? The answer to that question is, absolutely yes, he was capable of that kind of brutality. We have account after account of
Ancient rulers terrified of the idea amongst their captive population that a ruler was going to come, that a deliverer was going to come, and their attempts to try to deal with it. This is not at all an unbelievable element to the story. >> NARRATOR: Whether fact or fiction, the Slaughter of the
Innocents is reminiscent of another horrific episode from the book of Exodus. It describes how the Egyptian pharaoh tries to murder another messenger of God– the infant Moses– by ordering the execution of all Israelite boys. Some scholars believe Matthew’s account is an invention based on the older story, and an effort
To reinforce Jesus’ role as the deliverer of his people. >> CROSSAN: In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus is the new Moses. So the same way that Pharaoh tried to kill all the children and almost killed Moses but Moses escaped by divine power, bad Pharaoh becomes bad Herod. This is Matthew working the
Parallelism between Jesus, the new Moses in his life, so Jesus must be born, as it were, and almost killed like the old Moses was. >> NARRATOR: In Egypt, writes Matthew, the young Jesus finds safety from Herod’s wrath. But Matthew provides no details about how Mary and Joseph endure
The 250-mile trek to bring him here. Some scholars speculate that they finance the journey by selling the gold, frankincense and myrrh given to them by the Magi. But other scholars doubt they ever venture here. No historical evidence has been found to support Matthew’s account. And Luke’s Gospel contradicts it, describing how Mary and
Joseph travel uneventfully with the newborn Jesus back to Nazareth. Where the holy family lived and how long they stayed in Egypt, Matthew does not say, but a number of legends have survived. In Cairo, the Church of Saint Sergius is built upon the site where it is believed that they stayed for three months.
Outside Cairo, Christians since the fifth century have gathered at this ancient sycamore. They call it the Tree of Mary… for here they believe she sought shade beneath its branches. >> McNAMER: I have visited those sites in Cairo, and they are fun to go to, and if they help people’s piety, that’s fine, but
I don’t think they have any, uh… have any basis in history. >> NARRATOR: One reason that scholars believe Jesus never visited Egypt is that his teachings many years later bear no sign of Egyptian influence. >> CROSSAN: I don’t find anything that Jesus would have learned in Egypt, even if I take
Literally the idea that he went there as a young child and lived there for a length of time. I do not find anything in the teachings of Jesus or the life of Jesus that does not come straight out of the Hebrew Scriptures, the Jewish tradition. >> NARRATOR: Despite the lack of
Any Egyptian nuance to Jesus’ ministry, some scholars believe he may have indeed spent time in Egypt. >> SMITH-CHRISTOPHER: Jesus would’ve been a member of a minority in Egyptian culture. It could very well be that the Egyptian influence on Jesus was exactly the opposite of what some people speculate.
In other words, it may have solidified his Hebrew identity and not so much made him open to Egyptian influence. After all, we know that living in exile, living in Diaspora, sometimes makes people intensely more interested in their cultural tradition, and so less interested in the influences of the majority culture around them.
>> NARRATOR: After an unspecified time in Egypt, writes Matthew, Mary and Joseph receive a message from God that it is safe to return. >> “When Herod was dead, an angel appeared, saying, ‘Arise and take the child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel, for those who sought the
Child’s life are dead.'”– MATTHEW 2:19. >> NARRATOR: Joseph escorts his family back to Judea to the city of Nazareth. There, some 30 years later, Jesus will begin his earth-shaking ministry. Reconstructing the history of Jesus’ birth begins by examining the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. But there is another version of
The first Christmas unknown to millions of believers: The Infancy Gospel of James. It was purportedly written soon after Herod the Great died, which scholars believe happened in 4 B.C. The author claims to be James, one of the brothers of Jesus alluded to several times in the New Testament.
James is identified as Jesus’ brother in the books of Matthew, Mark and Galatians. And Josephus, the first-century historian, corroborates James’ identity when he writes of James’ death at the hand of a treacherous high priest. >> “So he assembled a council of judges and brought it before James, the brother of Jesus,
Known as Christ, and several others, on a charge of breaking the law and handed them over to be stoned.”– JOSEPHUS, THE JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. >> NARRATOR: Although The Infancy Gospel of James was accepted by early Christians, the church never authorized it as scripture. As such, it has been relegated
To the biblical literature known as the Apocrypha. It presents many of the same elements as the traditional story. There is the census, the trek to Bethlehem, the Magi and the Star. But there, the similarities end. James writes that Mary goes into labor not in Bethlehem, but before they are ever able to
Reach the city. >> “When they came to the middle of their journey, Mary said to him, ‘Joseph, take me off the donkey, the child is pushing from within me to let him come out.’ So he took her off the donkey and said to her, ‘Where will I take you and shelter you?
This area is a desert.’ And he found a cave and led her there while he went to find a Hebrew midwife in the land of Bethlehem.”– THE INFANCY GOSPEL OF JAMES 17:10. >> NARRATOR: In contrast to Matthew and Luke, James specifies that Jesus is born in a cave which coincides with what
Many scholars believe to be the true setting. While Joseph is away searching for a midwife, Mary begins to deliver the baby Jesus. At the same moment, a bizarre phenomenon occurs. Joseph is stunned as time literally stands still. >> “With utter astonishment, I saw the birds of the sky were not moving.
And I looked at workers picking food up and they were not picking it up. And I saw sheep being driven, but the sheep were standing still.”– THE INFANCY GOSPEL OF JAMES 18:4. >> HOCK: He is suddenly struck by everything in nature– the heavens, the stars, the birds, the workers, the animals all
Around him stopping right in their tracks, and then suddenly, everything returns to the way it was, and life goes on as it had formerly. And presumably in the context of that story, the moment of the suspension of time, Jesus himself is being born. >> NARRATOR: Joseph returns to the cave with two midwives.
But Mary has already given birth. One of the midwives believes Mary’s claim that she is a virgin. But the other, named Salome, is skeptical. >> “The midwife said ‘Mary, position yourself, for not a small test concerning you is about to take place.’ When Mary heard these things, she positioned herself.
And Salome inserted her finger into her body. And Salome cried out and said, ‘Woe for my lawlessness and the unbelief that made me test the living God. Look, my hand is falling away from me and being consumed by fire.'”– THE INFANCY GOSPEL OF JAMES 20:1. >> NARRATOR: Salome begs
Forgiveness for her lack of faith. God hears her prayer and sends an angel to heal her. James’ account reaches its dramatic peak with a version of the slaughter of the innocents that differs slightly from Matthew’s. >> HOCK: You do have the murder of the infants with Herod attacking the babies.
Mary, who had given birth to Jesus in a cave, now hides Jesus by placing him in the manger so the familiar manger from Luke is now used in a different way in The Infancy Gospel of James. >> NARRATOR: Is it possible this intricate tale is the most accurate version of the Christmas story?
Although James’ Infancy Gospel was supposedly written just after the death of Herod in 4 B.C., scholars believe it was produced as much as 150 years later after the books of Matthew and Luke. They note that it is written in a literary style not invented until the second century.
The style is known as an encomium, which follows strict rules of composition to praise virtuous persons– in this case, the Virgin Mary. And James, they argue, could not possibly have been the author. The historian Josephus records that he died in 62 A.D., a hundred years before the document was apparently written.
>> HORSLEY: One of the reasons why The Infancy Gospel of James seems to have less credibility, perhaps, than the stories contained in Matthew and Luke is it doesn’t seem to be quite as familiar with local color in Palestine– the thought being that maybe whoever put this together, didn’t really have
Much direct knowledge of Palestine. >> SIKER: It was also probably not someone who was Jewish, because there are errors in the understanding of Jewish customs and traditions. >> NARRATOR: Many scholars believe that the only knowledge the author had of Jesus’ birth was what had been recorded several decades earlier in the
Gospels now familiar to millions. >> CROSSAN: The major source that the author of The Infancy Gospel of James has is Matthew and Luke. There is not any clear evidence that he has any other real information. It does not seem that he has any sort of raw, unfiltered traditions that Matthew and Luke
Didn’t know about, but somehow this author has found out about. It’s possible, of course, but that doesn’t seem to be what the author has. What the author has simply is two sources and a very, very good imagination. >> NARRATOR: Although its value as an historical source is questionable, the Gospel of
James still provides valuable insight. Many scholars believe it represents the earliest effort to idealize Mary– an effort that centuries later would culminate in the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception. >> SMITH-CHRISTOPHER: The significance of these writings is often that they give us a picture into the concerns and
The cares of the time they come from. So sometimes these writings give us very interesting insights in what were Christians thinking and worried about in the 200s, in the 300s, in the 400s. For that question, these writings are very important and very valuable. But for missing historical information, not very important.
>> NARRATOR: The Infancy Gospel of James is ultimately more intriguing than it is enlightening. Rather than holding any key to the truth about Christmas, it is perhaps the earliest effort to speculate on what that truth may be. To what degree the Christmas story should be considered historical fact may never be known.
To Christians, the Christmas story is an imponderable miracle– God’s invasion of human history in a stable 2,000 years ago. The miracle, however, lies dormant for some 30 years. Then, as told by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, Jesus emerges with a message that redefines man’s purpose. The man born in the most humble
Setting imaginable teaches that the poor are imbued with as much dignity as the most powerful king. The man born beneath a shining star teaches that hope will burn brightly as long as men love each other as brothers. The man born of a virgin teaches that the world can be
Transformed by the pure in heart. >> McNAMER: The message of Jesus was the most powerful and the most idealistic message ever. I mean, to stand on that mountain and say, “Blessed are the poor in spirit. Blessed are you when you forgive your enemies. Be good to them that hurt you.”
>> MEYER: “To do unto others as you would have them do unto you. To turn the other cheek. To go the extra mile.” To do those sorts of things that may make our world a better place for all of us to live in. >> SMITH-CHRISTOPHER: Suddenly we’re presented with an
Incredible hope that burns brightly, a hope that there is a god who cares about us, a hope in the possibility that we can live with each other differently than the way we so often have, a hope that there’s a different way of being a human society, and the very coming of Jesus
Embodies that hope in a profound sense. >> HORSLEY: Not only was he understood as the Savior and Christ by the new religion Christianity that developed, but Jesus was the one who really defined and articulated the agenda for ordinary people who were struggling for independence from domination by foreign powers and their own unjust
Rulers, and laid out an idea of what a life of justice and mutual caring could be. >> NARRATOR: Jesus’ revolutionary ministry is but a continuation of the Christmas story– as the Son of God carries out his plan to save mankind from sin and death. It continues further with his arrest, trial and execution.
The significance of his birth in the manger can be understood only by recognizing his sacrifice on the cross. Still, it is Jesus’ resurrection that marks the ultimate fulfillment of God’s plan. 30 years after a miracle brings Jesus into the world, another enables him to rejoin his heavenly Father.
From the empty tomb emerges the faith destined to transform the world. >> SIKER: There are those who would argue that it’s based on a lie, that’s it’s based on false rumors of disciples who stole the body of Jesus to make a good story, and yet, somehow, this story has made its way through
History and time in a way unequaled. >> NARRATOR: Beginning as a fringe faith, Christianity receives widespread acceptance after the Roman Emperor Constantine accepts Jesus as his God and Savior. 300 years after Jesus’ birth, Christianity becomes the official religion of the Roman Empire. As the centuries pass, its influence becomes immeasurable:
Art and science, politics and economics, self and society– all are transformed by Christianity. But Christianity’s impact on history is not always positive. During the crusades, medieval Christians try to recapture the Holy Land from the Muslims. In the name of Jesus, they kill thousands of innocent men, women and children. During the Inquisition, the
Church supports torture as a means of coercing confessions from those considered heretics. By the 16th century, the church grows so powerful, it becomes corrupted by its own success. One measure of its decline is that salvation, once only earned by the faithful, can now be purchased by the rich. A German monk, Martin Luther,
Declares his outrage. Inspired by Jesus, who cast the moneychangers from the temple, he fights for reform. The Reformation splits its believers into Catholics and Protestants. Today, millions of Christians still struggle to live up to the high standards of their own faith. >> SMITH-CHRISTOPHER: We have had a very checkered history as
Christians of trying to embody the teachings of a peaceful Messiah who calls on us to care for each other rather than dominate each other, to share with each other rather than hoard from each other. And it’s unfortunate that the first 2,000 years of our attempt as humans to embody the
Teachings and example of Jesus have not been terribly successful. >> McNAMER: Gandhi once said about Christianity, “It is so magnificent. What a pity it’s never been tried.” I do believe it has been tried. There are just hundreds and hundreds of wonderful people in the pages of history of Christianity that show that
It has been tried and has made a difference. >> CROSSAN: Christianity has done many things in the name of Jesus for which I, as a Christian, am ashamed. It has also done many good things in the name of Jesus for which I am very glad as a Christian, and which makes me
Very glad to be a Christian. >> NARRATOR: 2,000 years after Jesus was born, a third of the world’s population professes to be followers of the faith he inaugurated in a manger. For Christians, Christmas celebrates how God gave the world a gift it never deserved but needed more than anything. To accept the gift is to acknowledge the responsibility of giving something back. >> SMITH-CHRISTOPHER: The Christmas story is intended to question us on the deepest levels of being a human being.
Here was the coming of a new way of living. Here was the coming of a new hope. Here was a profound challenge to how we as humans think that the world has to run, as opposed to our belief that the only way that we can live together is to
Be armed to the teeth and to be ready to fight. Here was one who brought a message: “No, that’s not the way. We can care for each other; we can take care of each other; we can live justly; we can live at peace.” If we miss that profound challenge, then we miss the
Significance of the Christmas story. >> SIKER: For me, the Christmas story is an account of the recollections of people like you and I who had an experience of God’s presence that was so powerful that they couldn’t hold it in. It’s a story of mystery and a story of hope replete with the
Possibilities of peace and goodwill in a world where both are in short supply. >> NARRATOR: For generations to come, the search for the historical truth of the day it all began– the search for Christmas– will continue. No matter what is discovered along the way, millions will always find comfort in the story.
They will find fulfillment in the images of an infant’s gentle smile and a virgin mother’s loving glance. [Captioning sponsored by A&E TELEVISION NETWORKS Captioned by The Caption Center WGBH Educational Foundation]
NARRATOR: He is the personification of evil. Satan was the source of torture and death and destruction. NARRATOR: He is the ruler of hell. He grew arrogant, and he lost his heavenly position. He was thrown out of the heavens and fell. NARRATOR: And he commands an army
Of demons united on a vengeful quest to destroy mankind. A demon needs a body to accomplish its evil purposes– You can’t have her. So they can bring about their plan of death and destruction. NARRATOR: But is the character known as the Prince of Darkness merely a myth?
Or could he be something much, much more? Satan may well be a person, a god, an angel, an ET who’s been maligned in a sense. NARRATOR: Millions of people around the world believe we have been visited in the past by extraterrestrial beings. What if it were true?
Did ancient aliens really help to shape our history? And if so, could evidence be found in centuries old stories of a fallen angel? Could there really be a Satan conspiracy? [theme music playing] He is called Satan, Lucifer, the devil, and his name conjures up horrifying images
Of a horned demon whose sole purpose is to corrupt and destroy mankind. Satan is portrayed as the enemy of God, trying to destroy good people, to make good people bad, and to keep them from being saved, keep them from going to heaven so that they can go
To hell where he’s in charge. KATHLEEN MCGOWAN: Satan has become the catchall for the embodiment of evil. When we think of Satan, I think there are two different ways that our brains can go. The first is this almost comical character that rules over the land of flames,
The red guy with the horns and the pitchfork. But then on the darker side, I think that Satan has become this very, very terrifying, frightening embodiment of evil who causes man to do terrible things, who is the source of torture and death and destruction. NARRATOR: But are these perceptions of Satan correct?
Is he really the master of all things evil in the universe? Lakeland, Florida, 2012. Hundreds of faithful followers congregate at the Ignited Church to witness the removal of demons from those who believe they’re possessed by the devil. You let him go. All the pain and the hurt you’ve caused this man,
You let him go. The devil wants to get even. How else to hurt the heart of God to the greatest possible extent but to harm the beloved of his creation, the height of his creation, the thing that God loves most, humanity, human beings, me, you, every single person on Earth?
NARRATOR: In the ritual known as exorcism, a priest or minister performs a sacred right in order to confront Satan and drive him back to hell. It is a ceremony that dates back hundreds and perhaps thousands of years and is considered quite controversial even within the Catholic church.
I torment you by the blood of Christ. When I’m battling Satan, there are a lot of mind games going on, and it’s a bit of a chess match. You think you have her, don’t you? Don’t you? – Yes. You think she’s yours, don’t you? Well, she’s not.
So I have to be mentally and spiritually prepared for that. How long have you had her? Long time. Yeah? Well, now it’s going to be a short time. Torment to you. Torment! Torment you. NARRATOR: But just who or what is Satan? And why is he determined to corrupt all of humanity?
Perhaps the answers can be found in the myths and legends that describe Satan’s ancient origins. ADAM BLAI: In the beginning, Satan was one of the angels that was created by God before the physical universe was created, and there was basically a sphere of angels around God, worshiping God.
And Satan at that time was Lucifer or the day star. He was the brightest of the angels. KATHLEEN MCGOWAN: Satan is actually one of the archangels. He is one of the high angels, one of the highest ranking, one of the most beautiful, the most beloved. He is beloved of God.
He is a bringer of light. When God created man in his image, he ordered all the angels to worship his image in this man. And Satan refused. He says, look, they’re mud people. We’re made out of fire. I’m not going to do it. And so he gets kicked out.
He grew arrogant. He began to challenge God. And for this arrogance, he lost his heavenly position. He was thrown out of the heavens and fell. ADAM BLAI: When Lucifer was cast down, it was instant and abrupt and total. And he was cast down to Earth to roam here
Until the end of time. NARRATOR: Although few references are made to Satan in the Hebrew testament, he is depicted as an opposer or accuser and is generally acknowledged to have been the inspiration for the serpent in the Garden of Eden. BRETT PETERSON: One of the great stories in the Bible
Is Adam and Eve in the garden. You know, we have this picture of a beautiful garden scene, and Adam and Eve in their innocence just enjoying God and each other and this beautiful creation. And all of a sudden enters Satan in the form of a snake.
And he finds Eve close to the one thing, the one law God gave mankind. NARRATOR: According to the book of Genesis, God placed two trees in the garden, the tree of life and the tree of knowledge and forbade Adam and Eve to eat fruit from the tree of knowledge.
Satan convinces Eve to eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and she convinces Adam to do that. And, of course, we see that suddenly their whole personality changes. BRETT PETERSON: Prior to eating the forbidden fruit, Adam and Eve were sinless.
It means that the one law that God gave them, they had not disobeyed. Satan himself decided that if he could get them to break that one law, then sin would enter mankind. And when Adam ate, all mankind from that point on has been selfish, prideful, and were genetically
Given the ability and really the desire to rebel against authority and thus obtained the knowledge of good and evil. NARRATOR: But is this story of Adam and Eve really a fanciful account of how evil entered the world? Or might there be another even more profound explanation?
You can make a case that Eve actually wants to mature. She wants to grow up. God wants to keep us in a state of perpetual innocence, infantility perhaps. Eve decides that knowing everything she can know about this world into which she has been placed
Is more important even than obeying a particular command of God. The serpent enables her. Satan’s wanting to give humanity all this incredible wisdom that maybe can even elevate humankind to the level of gods. But the Old Testament God Yahweh is saying not so fast. Humankind aren’t perhaps worthy of this knowledge,
And this becomes then the battle between God and Satan. NARRATOR: Was the serpent’s temptation of Adam and Eve really a case of sabotage? Was it a deliberate effort to seduce mankind into sinning against its creator? Or might Satan’s real purpose have been to encourage mankind to share the fruits of God’s wisdom?
Ancient astronaut theorists believe more clues may lie in another book of the Hebrew testament. Southern Israel, this dry sun-blasted desert was once the realm of Edom, an ancient kingdom that some researchers believe was home to the biblical figure Job. According to the Hebrew Bible, Job was among the wealthiest men in the kingdom
And owned enormous herds of cattle, sheep, and camels. He was also among the most righteous, making sacrifices to the Almighty God to atone for his transgressions and the sins of his family. BARRY H. DOWNING: In the story of Job, Satan as part of the heavenly council of angels
And the council meets and God is at the council meeting and basically he and Satan have a discussion. WILLIAM FULCO: And God says, you know, look at Job. He’s very faithful. And Satan, in charge of quality control, and says, well, of course, you know. You give him everything. What do you expect?
KATHLEEN MCGOWAN: And Satan actually challenges God and says if Job were tempted, if he no longer had all of these wonderful things that God had given to him, what happens to him then? Satan convinces God the Job should be tested to see if he is really all that good.
And this is where Satan becomes the first adversary, the first tester of humans. JONATHAN YOUNG: So it’s interesting in this story, Satan is actually working with God as a kind of member of his staff or his heavenly council. WILLIAM HENRY: The divine council of God is very interesting because we learn
That it is composed of various angelic beings including Satan. And the idea is that these are advanced beings who carry out God’s orders and God’s wishes from the commands of this council. It really seems like we’re seeing some kind of divine bureaucracy, something like you would see in a corporate
Or a governmental bureaucracy. NARRATOR: Could our notion of Satan as an evil force be incorrect? Ancient astronaut theorists believe there is much more to this story and that the answer may be found not only in the pages of the Hebrew Bible but on ancient scrolls, scrolls whose origins date back thousands of years.
Qumran, the West Bank. Here during a series of excavations beginning in 1949, archaeologists unearth hundreds of ancient scrolls. They are believed to have been written by a Hebrew sect known as the Essenes more than 2,000 years ago. Several of the scrolls contained fragments of what has become known as the Book of Enoch
And the account of a rebellion launched by a group of angels called the Watchers. One of the most famous parts of the Book of Enoch is the story of the Watchers. This is a story about 200 angels that were charged with watching over mankind in its early stages and basically taking care
Of us, looking out for us. The Watchers are a group of angels who were dispatched to watch humans and to help humans. Now the Watchers are very interesting because they are angels who interact with humans. ADAM BLAI: There’s a brief reference to this in Genesis,
But the Book of Enoch essentially expands that story and tells a more full story. This was taken out of the canon of the Bible early in the church’s life, but it was in for a period of time. KATHLEEN MCGOWAN: Once the Watchers begin to interact with humans, they become infatuated
With this new species, and they become lustful of this new species. And all of the sudden, the original idea, the original commands that they were given seem a lot less interesting to them. ADAM BLAI: They came to a point where they wanted to take wives and have children, and so they decided
To rebel, create bodies, marry, and bear children. NARRATOR: According to the Book of Enoch, the leader of this rebellion is a watcher known as Samyaza or Sataneal. Could this be the same character we know as Satan? So what we’re seeing in the story of Samyaza
And the Watchers is very similar to the story of Lucifer in charge of the angels. In both cases, we are confronted with a hierarchy of a species which is between us and God, the leader of which disagrees with God and basically wants to live amongst mankind.
When you look at a different versions of the Book of Enoch, the one thing that combines all of them is that they talk about the Watchers, the Watchers from heaven, and they are the ones who gave knowledge. And when I look at terms such as Watchers from heaven,
Then personally I interpret them as possible extraterrestrials. NARRATOR: Do the ancient accounts of Samyaza’s revolt and Lucifer’s fall suggest that Satan’s efforts to corrupt mankind in the Garden of Eden were actually an attempt to give man forbidden knowledge? And might these legends be based not on myth
But on actual historical events, events involving extraterrestrial visitors? Ancient astronaut theorists say yes and believe that close examination of the Book of Enoch may point to physical evidence of where Satan’s so-called rebellion against God may have actually occurred. Mount Hermon, Lebanon. Straddling the border of Syria, this legendary mountain
As described in the Book of Enoch is the peak where Samyaza and the Watchers descended to Earth. ADAM BLAI: In the Book of Enoch, there’s a reference to Mount Hermon. We see the angels basically descending to Mount Hermon. So Mount Hermon was both a place of connection with heaven
And kind of sally port between Earth and heaven. The Watchers being angels from heaven knew the sciences of heaven. Samyaza was basically an expert in enchantment and lute cutting. You could think of it as basically witchcraft, the casting of spells, creating magic, and using roots to create potions.
The Book of Enoch lists very specifically the subjects that are taught to humans by the Watchers, by these angels, who begin to share their wisdom with them. NARRATOR: The Book of Enoch describes Mount Hermon as the place where Samyaza taught humans about magic and medicine.
Other powerful angels passed on knowledge of metallurgy, weapons, astrology, science, and even warfare. SCOTT ROBERTS: The Watchers delivered to humanity the forbidden knowledge of God. All the stories in ancient cultures cross-cultural had these tales of beings that would deliver the forbidden knowledge of the gods to humans,
And they were all condemned for it. KATHLEEN MCGOWAN: The Watchers through Samyaza give us extraordinary tools which make our lives much, much better on Earth. So is Samyaza really a bad guy, or did he in fact liberate humans from ignorance? And if Samyaza actually is the forerunner of Satan,
Has Satan actually been misrepresented all of these years? NARRATOR: Is it possible that Samyaza and the other Watchers were extraterrestrial beings that gave humanity the foundations for civilization? Then if so, how did Satan come to be so misunderstood and misinterpreted by history? PHILIP COPPENS: If we equal Samyaza and Satan, what we’re
Confronted with here is a larger framework which basically tells us that Samyaza, Satan we’re here to civilize us. The Watchers were civilizing deities. They basically helped us to develop our skills of civilization. And so what we are confronted with here is basically the conclusion that civilization
The way we know it is not something divine but is literally satanic. It was Satan who gave us the tools of civilization. NARRATOR: Was Satan really a civilizing force for early humans as some ancient astronaut theorists believe? And if so, might further evidence be found by examining other ancient myths and legends?
In ancient Sumeria, you have these very curious stories of the Annunaki. The Annunaki where half god, half man who came down from the stars. They were instructing the Sumerians in various arts of civilization. They were very strange looking. They had elongated heads. They looked almost like insect-type people
Or what they call reptilian features in a sense or a viper visage as the Watchers were called in the Bible. In global cultures, we find constant references to these giant celestial beings coming to Earth and initiating or instructing humankind. Satan himself is considered to be a Seraphim, which means
Winged serpents or fiery serpents, but yet the word Seraphim contains the word ser meaning serpent and raphim them meaning giant. NARRATOR: Was the character we know is Satan really an extraterrestrial being, one who broke with his own species in order to live among our distant ancestors?
Did he, along with other so-called fallen angels, actually break with God not out of spite or arrogance but instead to help mankind? Perhaps further clues can be found in legends of a flying serpent and in the story of a titan who is savagely punished for all eternity. The Yucatan Peninsula.
Here in the jungles of Southern Mexico lie the ruins of the great Mayan city Chichen Itza. Constructed more than 1,000 years ago, Chichen Itza was one of the largest and most powerful cities in the Mayan world. And dominating the site is the Great Pyramid El Castillo.
A temple built to honor the Mayan serpent god Kukulkan. WILLIAM HENRY: Kukulkan is a name for Satan or for the winged serpent. He’s always portrayed as a wisdom burying being who delivers this cosmic knowledge to humankind. Often we’ll see Kukulkan portrayed
As half human or half serpent or as a human being coming out of the mouth of a serpent. This is how Christianity will traditionally portray Satan as a dragon figure or a serpentine like being. The question is why is he depicted as such,
And I think we really can find out that Kukulkan is not unique in this sense. NARRATOR: One of the most powerful gods in the Mayan pantheon, Kukulkan was believed to have descended from the stars. He is also credited with teaching astronomy, mathematics, and agriculture to mankind.
WILLIAM HENRY: This is identical to the Christian tradition of Satan being the serpent of the tree of knowledge delivering the forbidden wisdom to humanity. In the Book of Enoch, we learn of the Watchers who are described as having visage as of vipers or the face of a serpent and delivering
This powerful knowledge to humankind. So it’s possible that what we’re seeing in all of these instances is the same figure or representative of the same tribe of angels, the satanic beings or these serpentine like angel beings. NARRATOR: Are the stories of Satan and Kukulkan
Really based on the same being as many ancient astronaut theorists believe? And if so, might this same character also be found in the myths and legends of other ancient cultures. PHILIP COPPENS: Satan is a creature who comes out of nowhere to live amongst mankind
And teaches is not something which is limited to the Bible. We find it in most traditions across the world. NARRATOR: According to the legends of ancient Greece, the titan known as Prometheus sinned against the gods by stealing the secret of fire and giving it to man. For his transgression, he was doomed
To suffer a gruesome eternal punishment by being chained to a rock and having an eagle eat his liver only to have the organ grow back each night so that the eagle could continue to feast on it the next day. RICHARD RADER: He’s a God that becomes associated with humans
Because he is a champion for humans. Right and the mythological stories talk about how Prometheus is basically like they’re representative. NARRATOR: Another such deity was the god Viracocha. Worshipped by the ancient Inca in the Andes of South America, Viracocha was a powerful creator god who came to Earth to pass on celestial knowledge.
Like Prometheus, this Incan god was described as a bringer of light and is depicted in ancient Incan sculpture as holding two lightning bolts and wearing the sun as a crown. WILLIAM HENRY: The Inca describe a luminous being called Viracoco or Viracocha who brought knowledge of medicine, astronomy, and other advanced sciences.
It’s possible that Viracocha is the same as Samyaza or Satan as a figure bringing this liberating wisdom to humankind that seeks to bring us along the path of advancement and enlightenment. So you have to ask yourself why would such diverse cultures have such similar mythologies. PHILIP COPPENS: In the case of Viracocha,
What we see is a deity which manifests itself from Earth, lives amongst mankind, gives us sciences, and after a number of years, disappears again. NARRATOR: The ancient Egyptians had cults that worship the god Set, a divine being who like Satan ruled over darkness and chaos. PHILIP COPPENS: The tradition traditional civilizing deities
Who go around civilizing, educating us is something which we find in all traditions whether they are the great cultures of Egypt, Inca, or the Mayan empires, or smaller cultures elsewhere in the universe. And so what we’re finding is that the story of Satan has a civilizing deity is definitely not unique
But sits within a clear framework across the entire world. And it shows you that the importance of Satan is not just something limited to the Bible but really tells us an awful lot about civilization as a whole. NARRATOR: Could it be that these ancient myths were actually
Describing the same creature, the fallen angel we now refer to as Satan? But how then did a creature who is so often credited with bringing mankind knowledge and enlightenment become thought of as the personification of all things evil. ERICH VON DANIKEN: The word Lucifer comes from Latin, makes looks fiery, making light.
It’s the same as in the Greek mythology from Matthaios, who stored the light from the gods. It’s really a sympathic idea that all these figures are finally just one figure in different languages but they were all sympathetic to the humans. It is quite possible that our religious traditions and those
Who selected the old holy texts some thousands of years ago, they made out an evil figure out of Lucifer and the devil. And maybe it was the other way around. He was the good one. PHILIP COPPENS: When we’re looking at something like Satan, we’re not necessarily
Talking about morality, but we’re actually exploring things about our ancestors. We’re exploring mythology. We’re exploring accounts of our ancestors saying that they developed civilization not on their own but with the help of non-human intelligences. And in the case of one such story, we see that that intelligence is Satan.
DAVID CHILDRESS: In many ways, Satan may well be a person, a god, an angel, an ET who’s maligned in a sense. Lucifer is Prometheus. He’s the light bringer. He’s the god of hard work. He’s the one who brings us fire. He’s the one who gives us the opportunity to do things ourselves.
NARRATOR: If the biblical character of Satan is really based on an extraterrestrial being, one who stole technology from his masters in order to benefit early man, then why is he now reviled as a creature of consummate evil? Ancient astronaut theorists believe the answer may lie not in ancient scriptures
But in numerous accounts of demonic possession. Klingenberg, Germany, located 32 miles southeast of Frankfurt. This small city is home to one of the most famous and frightening cases of demonic possession ever recorded. In September 1973, a young woman named Anneliese Michel began hearing voices that told her she was damned
And would rot in hell. When medical treatments failed, she sought the help of an exorcist. [speaking german] Demonic possession is perhaps the most frightening and visceral of all phenomena associated with Satan. According to Christian tradition, possession occurs when a demon enters the body, corrupting a person’s physical and spiritual being.
The belief in demonic possession is widespread. It seems to show up pretty much all over the planet. It was believed to be the presence of a satanic energy, truly dark, terrible evil that could take over a person, take over their body, take over their mind.
And they would be acting with no free will. They would be a complete slave to the power of the dark side. ADAM BLAI: Demons manifest on Earth to interact with people to afflict us and tempt us in various ways. The oppression involves physically wounding us attacking us, causing effects
On our body and our mind. Possession is when we surrender our lower faculties to them and they take over our body and use it as their own. And in rare cases, they can appear visibly to multiple people as supposed human spirits. NARRATOR: Most Christians believe
Demons are evil incarnations of the other angels who followed Lucifer in his rebellion against the Almighty God. They bear names like Beelzebub, Asmodeus, Moloch, and Mammon and are dedicated to corrupting the souls of mankind. Biblically speaking, the demonic comes from the fallen angels, those who fell with Lucifer during the great wars
In heaven. And their purpose is to deceive humanity, to lead them astray, to distract them from God, and there are many castes. They range from your basic thugs in the bottom all the way up to your, if you will, your intelligentsia that is governing behind the scenes of the affairs of mankind.
ADAM BLAI: It is essentially you can imagine a military structure with generals, officers, privates. There’s basically nine levels which are fallen angels of various ranks serving under each other, ultimately serving Satan. NARRATOR: In many religious traditions, there are sacred rites to exorcise these demons from the bodies of the afflicted.
Let her go. Let her go. I come against you again, Satan, by the blood of Christ. NARRATOR: The Reverend Bob Larson is an evangelical minister, an exorcist, who says he has come face to face with the demonic and the truly satanic. The blood of Christ, I torment you, Satan.
You can’t have her. She belongs to God. Torment you. I torment you by the blood of Christ. Torment you! I’m here to be an instrument of God to cast out the devil, to free human souls. It’s not my power that does it. It’s God’s power. I’m simply the instrument that he uses.
But my mission is to get every demon possible out of every possible human being and send them straight to hell. How long have you had her? Get me some oil please. I anoint you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. How long have you had this woman?
How many generations? How many generations? The demon is metaphysical. It is invisible. It’s spirit. Doesn’t have a physical body so a demon can’t really do anything evil. A demon can’t start a war, can’t pull the trigger of a gun, can’t rape anybody. A demon needs a body to accomplish its evil purposes.
So demons are looking to inhabit human souls so that through the physicality of human beings, they can bring about their plan of death and destruction. NARRATOR: According to Larson and other Christian theologians, demonic forces have always been present on Earth, and demons are continually traveling to Earth to sow the seeds of ruin.
But where exactly are they coming from? Is it hell or perhaps someplace else? BOB LARSON: Both the Jewish and Christian scriptures as well as other religious books that delve into the subject of demonism never fully describe the nature of their existence, where they operate.
It seems to be in a kind of parallel reality, another dimension, out of our time, space continuum. They’re there. We’re here. Einstein opened a little bit of a door into the possibility of other realms. We are getting a small glimpse of the reality that exists beyond our understanding.
We just need to know there’s another realm out there, and when I do an exorcism, I step in and out of those realms. I’m in the physical natural realm, but I’m also invading the realm in which demons operate. So I step from the physical into the metaphysical.
I don’t have to understand what’s going on there. I’m on a simple mission, not to find out everything I can about that world but to get the demon out of the human soul. NARRATOR: Might devils and demons really be beings from another realm?
And might that realm not be hell but an actual extraterrestrial world? And are they really malevolent? Or might they have another perhaps even more profound agenda? Ancient astronaut theorists believe the answers may be found in the mysterious prophecies of the Book of Revelation. Megiddo, Israel. Located 11 miles from Nazareth, this ancient city
Is mentioned more than a dozen times in the Bible, most prominently in the prophetic Book of Revelation. According to the religious text, it is outside this city on the so-called plains of Megiddo where the forces of the Almighty God will wage a final battle against Satan and the forces of evil.
The Book of Revelation is certainly one of the most complicated books in the Bible, and it belongs to a separate set of material that’s called apocalyptic. It is a book that gives visions of the future to come. BRETT PETERSON: There’s a battle that will take place
In a valley in Israel called Megiddo or Har Megiddo, thus Armageddon we get the term. Satan himself will gather the armies of the world to Megiddo to fight Jesus Christ. Satan takes on a more physical appearance, uses various technologies to enslave more and more of mankind.
Ultimately, he becomes a geopolitical force, basically essentially a dictator of the entire world. NARRATOR: The Book of Revelation further describes that this battle will be fought in heaven and on Earth. Angels will descend from the sky. Demons will spread out across the land to destroy with fiery swords.
And the Almighty God will reign destruction down upon Earth. KATHLEEN MCGOWAN: The Book of the Revelation is really a pretty terrifying document if we’re to look at it and think that these things could happen literally. I mean, when you look at what’s happening in the book, we have cataclysms on the Earth.
We have earthquakes. We have fire raining from the sky. We have angels doing battle in heaven. And then repeatedly we have Satan coming back. NARRATOR: But could it be that this biblical prophecy isn’t a doomsday prediction of cataclysm and war but it has another even more profound interpretation?
The Book of Revelation gives us some of the clearest depictions of what not a few moderns would call extraterrestrial activity. Think about it. We have supernatural beings flying through the cosmos blowing trumpets, casting fire upon the Earth. We have great conflict between light and darkness, good and evil.
There’s a cosmic dualism going on here that involves in the end the reassertion of divine authority over those wayward angels who had gone astray so long ago. NARRATOR: Extraterrestrial combat? Could the Bible’s Book of Revelation really be referring to a galactic war, one waged over the ultimate fate of mankind?
If so, who or what is Satan? Is he a demon, the devil, the personification of evil? Or was he, in fact, a benevolent extraterrestrial being, one who stole technology from alien beings in an effort to lead early man out of darkness and ignorance?
If so, then why did Satan become a force for evil? Does he seek to punish mankind for siding with our creator against him? Perhaps he is testing us, using alien technology to modify human behavior in ways we have yet to understand. He’s this idea of an adversary, this idea of a liar
Or a tester combined with this concept of Lucifer, the fallen angel, combined with this leader of the Watchers who also leads rebellion. I think that ultimately what we find is that Lucifer is a conflation, a character who is a composite of all of these different ideas and different characters.
It’s important for us to remember that Satan is part of the class of angels called Seraphim. The Seraphim were sent to Earth as benefactors of humankind bringing wisdom. The church has created this evil monster out of Satan, perhaps even out of thin air, when in reality Satan’s entire mission
Was about bringing knowledge and wisdom to humanity and, in fact, caring about humanity, not seeking to destroy humankind. DAVID CHILDRESS: In a sense, Satan’s not such a bad guy. You cannot have the light without the dark. You can’t have right without wrong. And we have to learn these things for ourselves.
And ultimately through choice, wrong and right, we grow, and we become who we are. And ultimately that is to be like our makers to become gods ourselves. NARRATOR: Might Satan’s reputation as the personification of evil really have been his punishment for giving mankind scientific knowledge? If so, might his evil acts really
Be expressions of revenge against the human creatures that abandoned him? Or are the evil deeds associated with Satan really a part of a grand plan, a series of moral challenges intended to prepare us for our next and perhaps final close encounter?
We do not sacrifice children. The foundation of Satanism is built upon the self and carrying out the devil’s work. Hail Satan! Hail Satan! Hail Satan! Hail Satan! Hi! My name is Zeke Apollyon and I am the chapter head for the Satanic Temple, London and UK.
I think what attracted me most to Satanism, I think how preposterous a lot of stuff that was coming from people who call themselves Christians. These people are extremists, they’re religious extremists. That use Christianity to kind of further their extremism. Some of these people have blood on their hands, and so
I figured if they could do horrible things in the name of Jesus then I could do wonderful things in the name of Satan. It’s so liberating. It is so liberating. I don’t think I’ve ever felt as in my own skin as I do as a Satanist
Because, I mean part of it is looking at like ugly sides of yourself and being able to sort of reconcile that and looking at ugly sides of humanity. No. No. I don’t want to catch anything and I’m pretty sure other people don’t either.
People get in touch with us and we just have a conversation. A lot of times what people want is community, a lot of people feel like outsiders and so they come to us because they’re looking for people that are accepting. They do not come around anymore. They don’t come around anymore.
They came over one time when we were having a big ritual and they must have seen it on my face or something ’cause I opened the door to come out to get something and they were walking up the path and I was just like, no! And they just turned around and left.
And I haven’t seen them since. We still live in a time when people who are satanists have to live incognito? But I think in terms of misconceptions about Satanists I think people think that we sacrifice babies, that we are engaged in some kind of like underground sex trafficking.
I’ve definitely met some babies that I haven’t really gotten on with very well, but I’ve never actually killed one. There’s a little girl in the window right there. Satanism, it’s been a philosophy or a way of life for people for a very long time.
For me, Satanism is really about not letting myself off the hook. And I believe for me that being a Satanist is about trying to continually advocate for people especially people who aren’t able to advocate for themselves. You could definitely go much worse than to use those things
As your way to kind of move forward. Every day! In fact somebody is probably right now, asking us to put them in touch with the devil. People ask for riches, they ask if we can allow them access to the Illuminati. Some of the weirdest interactions are people who like send us satanic prayers.
People will sometimes ask us to pass on messages to the devil. And I’m like, we’re not the devils answering service. I wish! Satanism is a love affair with the self. Actually, I think one of the things that the Satanic Temple wants to do is actually sponsor an orgy.
We do, but like we would be there as people who would fold the towels and we would make sure that there was enough condoms and lube. And we would provide sex education. A lot of us are trained. Some of us are medics. And what we would do is facilitate
What would be like a safe, consensual, group sex practice for people and it would benefit something. I think it would be great if Satanists went on Love Island. That would be amazing. I totally would. I would turn that party out.
