Is the Devil real?

I’ll include angels in this discussion, mainly because one is the antithesis of the other.

The concept of a devil is prominent in many religious. Otherwise, how could we have the expression: ‘The devil made me do it’. Just kidding!

Satan is a main character in both Christianity and Islam. Islam refers to the devil as iblis or Shaytan, and his main mission is to deceive Adam’s children.

Christians also refer to Lucifer, the once proud angel who defied God and was thrown into the chasm of Hell along with his followers. In the New Testament, we see the Devil tempt Christ to divert from his mission to do His Father’s will. What’s crazy about this is that the Devil tried to engage Jesus in a Scripture quoting contest. Really? That would be equivalent to one of us challenging the Supreme Court about the constitution.

Lucifer, or the Morning Star, is Satan in John Milton’s Paradise Lost, the lyrical poem about the cosmic battle between the fallen angels and the angels of heaven. Of course God wins, but Lucifer declares that he would rather rule in Hell than serve in Heaven. Or was that Kahn in Star Trek?

So, is Satan or the Devil real? Based on the Bible and the massive amount of references to the idea, one is compelled to agree. However, how much influence the Devil has in our daily lives is open to question. Christianity attributes temptation to the Devil. The Devil is always trying to make us sin and turn away from God.

There have certainly been many books and movies about the Devil. The Bible has many references to him, including the Temptation of Christ in all three synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke). Many times Christ relieves people of demonic possession, and, of course, the Book of Revelation has plenty of references to Satan.

Popular culture also has many references to the Devil. ‘The Devil Went Down to Georgia’ by the Charlie Daniels Band is only one example. Jay-Z song, ‘Lucifer’ is in his ‘The Black Album’ in 2003.

Movies have glorified the Devil: Rosemary’s Baby in 1968, The Omen in 1976, The Ninth Gate in 1999, End of Days in 1999, The Devil’s Carnival in 2012, to name a few.

TV also liked he Devil: Touched by an Angel in 1994; Doctor Who in 2006; Xena: Warrior Princess in 2000; Touchwood in 2007; Ashes to Ashes in 2008.

Literature is rampant with Devil references. Devil worship is a cult religion. Video games feature the Devil. The list goes on and on.

I would suggest that if one believes in the spiritual world, than a devil and demons are quite possible, but the idea that the Devil tempts us to sin is not really necessary. We’re certainly evil enough to not need a tempter.

Angels, on the other hand, are our spiritual friends. They typically are associated with helping God tend to his flock, which is us. The word Angel comes from the Latin angelus or messenger of God. One place this was demonstrated in the New Testament is when an angel visited Mary to tell her that she would become the mother of God.

Christian ideas about angels come from Jewish tradition, which eventually considered angels to be semi-divine benevolent beings. There is also the aspect of the battle between good and evil as portrayed in the Book of Job.

Christians created an angel hierarchy arranged in three spheres. The first sphere contains the Seraphim and Cherubim. These kinds of angels serve as God’s heavenly counselors and assistants. There are also Thrones in this angelic realm. Thrones are Elders. Daniel saw them as colored wheels within wheels covered with many eyes.

The second sphere contains Dominions, who regulate the duties of lower angels. Virtues also occupy this category and they supervise the movement of heavenly bodies. I would consider them to be conductors. Authorities collaborate with the Principalities in the Third sphere. Principalities carry out orders from above. They’re often depicted as wearing crowns and holding scepters.

Archangels and angels make up the rest of the third sphere. Gabriel, Michael, Raphael, Uriel, Raguel, Remiel and Saraqael are the members of this top class of angels. They’re the ones most people are familiar with and they are the envoys and the guardians of nations.

The angels are the grunts of the Angelic order. They are, however, the most recognized.

Angels are often displayed as females, but most angels and especially archangels are male. I suppose that artists had to choose the gender and they often depicted angels as being soldiers. This is where the idea of devils or demons fighting angels in a heavenly battle came about.

Despite this, I like to think of angels as being feminine because it makes them seem more loving and helpful.

Thanks for reading.