segunda-feira, 23 de dezembro de 2013

SATAN IN NOT FIGHTING CHURCHES

There are many churches as well as groups and individuals who hide under the umbrella of Christianity to carryout their evil plans. Beloved beware of wolf in sheep clothe. Jesus said by their fruits, we shall know them. Test every spirit by the word of God. On behalf of the admins of Christian Unite, we love you and remain blessed. Henry

segunda-feira, 16 de dezembro de 2013

DOCUMENTARY ABOUT NORWEGIAN BLACK METAL - SATAN RIDES THE MEDIA

By: Valdemir Mota de Menezes.
 The music style rock'n roll with their strong beats, with vocalist singing often gravely, and with gestures of defiance is a strong satanic appeal in which people around the world blaspheme God and all symbols of authority. This documentary deals with the movement of rock in Norway.
DOCUMENTARY ABOUT NORWEGIAN BLACK METAL - SATAN... por favoritosescribavaldemir

terça-feira, 26 de novembro de 2013

NIÑA POSEÍDA POR EL DEMONIO

Por: Escriba Valdemir Mota de Menezes

En este video vemos más una vez, una mujer participando del madito ritual de Quibayo, este culto comun en Venezuela, ahora vemos en el Chile. Personas lejas de Dios y de cCristo se entregan a practicas de cultos demoniacos. En la sequencia  del video miramos otra muchacha en Brasil que quedó muchos dias poseída por demonio por tener jogado con Oui-ja.


NIÑA POSEÍDA POR EL DEMONIO por scribevaldemir

quinta-feira, 21 de novembro de 2013

DAMN AFRICAN HERITAGE


Maria Mulambê and Gypsy are two evil entities that manifest in Umbanda, African religion brought to Brazil by slaves, despite the ban on worship evil by the Portuguese who colonized Brazil, these demons cults still survive in modern society. Watch video in a cult where women dance wildly possessed. (Comment Theologian: Valdemir Mota de Menezes)

terça-feira, 5 de novembro de 2013

L' EXORCISTE - LA VRAIE HISTOIRE - DOCUMENTAIRE



Ce film a été un des plus impressionnants production cinématographique. Nous avons des nouvelles que des milliers de personnes étaient possédés par le diable en regardant ce film, le jour de ses débuts aux États-Unis, de nombreuses églises ont passé la nuit chassant les démons de gens qui avaient vu le film. Ce documentaire tente de reconstituer les événements réels qui ont donné l'inspiration à la production de ce film. (Commentaire de: professeur d'histoire, et théologien Valdemir Mota de Menezes)

 
L' EXORCISTE - LA VRAIE HISTOIRE - DOCUMENTAIRE... por videosfavoritesescribe

segunda-feira, 4 de novembro de 2013

TEMPLO LUCIFERIANO JOAO CAVEIRA ASCHTAROTH



Lamentavelmente muitos buscam o Diabo como uma forma de autoafirmação. A idéia de rebeldia e contestação é pregada pela sociedade moderna, por isso as familias, a escola, a igreja e toda a sociedade esta em crise. O satanismo prático não é ritualistico é praticado em todos os atos de desordem e desafio às leis de Deus. Satanás fica contente com os humanos que o adoram. (Comentário do Escriba Valdemir Mota de Menezes)

terça-feira, 29 de outubro de 2013

WITCHCRAFT QUIBAYO - STRONG KULISSEN

 Jetzt zeige ich Ihnen eine Sammlung von Amateur-Videos, die die satanischen Kult in Venezuela praktiziert offenbaren. Das Land in Lateinamerika gibt es eine Praxis der Hexerei genannt QUIBAYO. gibt es acht Videos, die grafische Szenen zeigen. Dieses Ritual ist üblich bösen Menschen von Dämonen besessen übergeben, um die Zunge Klinge in einem typischen Blutritual geschnitten. Die meisten erschreckt, ist, um Menschen fahren diese geistigen Wesenheiten bitten um Segen und Beratung anzusehen. (Kommentar von Scribe Valdemir Mota de Menezes)


QUIBAYO - DEMONISMO PURO

Quibayo, um ritual sangrento

 Um dos rituais mais enigmáticos e surpreendentes em todo o mundo é o ritual de quibayo no culto a grande deusa da natureza, para os venezuelanos, Maria Lionza.
 Dizem seus adeptos que nesse ritual,em meio as montanhas, onde eles indentificam como a montanha encantada, conseguem se purificar e afastar todos os males através de alguns espíritos incorporados em pessoas que se auto multilam como sinônimo de figor e existência do espírito.
 Em meio essa característica assimilada pelos adeptos, o derramamento de sangue é um fator de fortificação e existencia do ser espiritual.

SORCELLERIE QUIBAYO

Maintenant, je montrerai une collection de vidéos amateurs qui révèlent la secte satanique pratiqué au Venezuela. Ce pays d'Amérique latine il ya une pratique de la sorcellerie appelé QUIBAYO. il ya huit vidéos qui montrent des scènes forts. Dans ce mal rituel est courant pour les personnes possédées par des démons passent pour couper la lame langue dans un rituel de sang typique. Le plus effrayant, c'est de voir les gens tendent ces entités spirituelles demander des bénédictions et conseils. (Commentaire de Scribe Valdemir Mota de Menezes)


FEITIÇARIA QUIBAYO - CENAS FORTES

FEITIÇARIA QUIBAYO
Eu mostro agora para vocês uma coleção de videos amadores que revelam o culto satanico praticado na Venezuela. Naquele país da América Latina existe uma pratica de feitiçaria chamado QUIBAYO.  são oito videos que mostram cenas fortes. Neste ritual maligno é comum as pessoas possuidas por demônios passarem a cortar a língua com lamina, em um tipico ritual de sangue. O mais aterrador é ver pessoas se dirigindo a estas entidades espirituais pedir bençãos e conselhos. (Comentário do Escriba Valdemir Mota de Menezes)


BRUJERÍA QUIBAYO


Ahora les muestro a usted una colección de vídeos de aficionados que revelan el culto satánico que se practica en Venezuela. En este país de América Latina hay una práctica de la brujería llamada QUIBAYO. hay ocho videos que muestran escenas fuertes. Este ritual es mira gente poseídos por los demonios y pasan a cortar la lengua en un ritual de sangre. El más alarmante es ver a las personas de conducir hasta estas entidades espirituales pidiendo bendiciones y consejos. (Comentario de Escriba Valdemir Mota de Menezes)


WITCHCRAFT QUIBAYO


Now I show to you a collection of amateur videos that reveal the satanic cult practiced in Venezuela. That country in Latin America there is a practice of witchcraft called QUIBAYO. there are eight videos that show graphic scenes. This ritual is common evil people possessed by demons pass to cut the tongue blade in a typical blood ritual. The most frightening is to see people driving these spiritual entities asking for blessings and advice. (Comment from Scribe Valdemir Mota de Menezes)




STREGONERIA QUIBAYO




Ora vi mostro a voi una raccolta di video amatoriali che rivelano il culto satanico praticato in Venezuela. Quel paese in America Latina vi è una pratica di stregoneria chiamato QUIBAYO. ci sono otto video che mostrano scene grafiche. Questo rituale è la gente male comune possedute dai demoni passano a tagliare la lama della lingua in un tipico rituale di sangue. Il più spaventoso è vedere persone che guidano queste entità spirituali chiedendo benedizioni e consigli. (Commento di Scriba Valdemir Mota de Menezes)




quinta-feira, 24 de outubro de 2013

HOMBRE POSEÍDO - EL GADARENO

 Um bueno video con la reconstitución digital de la pasaje biblica del endemoninhado gadareno. Acá se retrata el cambio de vida de un hombre que después de encuentrar Jesus su vida pasó a mejor. (Valdemir Mota de Menezes, el Escriba)



terça-feira, 15 de outubro de 2013

LE COMBAT ENTRE PASTEUR ET SORCIER

LE COMBAT ENTRE PASTEUR ET SORCIER

En Afrique, nous voyons les choses qui n'est souvent pas si imaginé par les Européens. Dans cette vidéo, nous voyons un leader chrétien et d'un magicien combattant pour voir qui a frappé spirituellement qui. Retour en l'an 1994, je me souviens que j'avais une bagarre avec un sorcier, et il est tombé devant moi et fut emporté par ses aides totalement inconscients. (Scribe Valdemir Mota de Menezes)
LES COMBATS ENTRE PASTEUR ER SORCIER por videosfavoritesescribe

terça-feira, 24 de setembro de 2013

ENFANTS DU DIABLE AU CONGO


Certaines églises dans le pays du Congo agissent très mal, en pratiquant des actes de cruauté envers les enfants. Cet acte abominable d'encourager les parents à abandonner leurs enfants, en les accusant de sorciers est une aberration. Cependant, nous devons reconnaître l'église chrétienne pour promouvoir la pratique de l'abandon des enfants, il est dans la culture populaire du Congo. La littérature chrétienne du premier siècle montre que le christianisme a combattu ce genre de pratique est également courante dans l'empire romain. Cette vidéo m'a ravie quand un garçon a dit que sa mère l'a abandonné parce qu'elle a épousé un homme qui avait de l'argent, et le garçon a dit que sa mère ne l'aimait pas depuis qu'il est né. Regardez la vidéo et à cri ... (Revue de Scribe: Valdemir Mota de Menezes)


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En RDC, les “enfants du diable” se retrouvent à la rue

Le 14 novembre dernier a été diffusé sur France O le documentaire “les Enfants du diable”. Retour sur ces enfants congolais, confrontés à la force des croyances et à la précarité de leurs familles, à qui Slateet le Nouvel Obs consacrent deux longs articles.

Désenvoutement d’un enfant “sorcier” © Gwenn Dubourthoumieu. Tous droits réservés
«C’est maman qui m’a chassé. Parce que je mangeais trop. Je réclamais. On m’a injurié et frappé avec un bâton pour que je dise que j’avais la sorcellerie. Maman m’a amené à l’église de Bima [église évangélique de la commune de Bumbu, ndlr]. Là, on a dit que j’étais un sorcier. On m’a mis de l’huile sur les yeux pour me délivrer. Mais quand on est rentrés à la maison, maman a pris mes habits et m’a dit de partir, que j’étais un sorcier.»

Sankas, 13 ans,  est un de ces “enfants du diable” de la capitale congolaise qui vivent dans la rue après avoir été accusés de sorcellerie et chassés par leurs familles. Selon Slate, ils seraient entre 30 000 et 50 000 à se retrouver à la rue, contraints à mendier, à se prostituer pour survivre. Ou à travailler dans les mines de diamants, soumis au risque de finir enterrés vivant.
En cause, l’explosion démographique, la précarité croissante mais surtout la prolifération d’ Églises et de prophètes locaux qui “encouragent un véritable nettoyage social en fournissant une caution spirituelle. Ils s’appuient sur la croyance en la sorcellerie pour faire face aux préoccupations des familles confrontées à la précarité “. (Slate)
“Papa et maman m’ont chassé à coups de machettes de la maison. On me disait que j’étais possédé par le diable”, explique un enfant de dix ans.
“Désenvoutement” des “enfants du diable”
Mais parfois, les parents font appel à des intercesseurs, chargés de désenvouter les enfants. Les enfants deviennent alors la cible de rituels de différentes sortes. Exaucé, 13 ans, le raconte à la journaliste de Slate:
«Quand ma grand-mère est morte, nous sommes allés à l’église de mon grand-père pour le deuil. Le pasteur m’a désigné. Il a dit que j’avais mangé ma grand-mère. Ils m’ont gardé enfermé à l’église avec des cordes aux pieds et aux mains. Je ne voyais pas dehors. On faisait le jeûne pendant trois jours [méthode courante qui a pour objectif «d’affamer le sorcier qui est en eux», ndlr]. Puis on prenait la purge: un litre d’huile de palme à avaler. On nous mettait dans les yeux une eau qui nous faisait pleurer [de l’eau salée mélangée à des herbes, ndlr]. On me versait la bougie fondue sur les pieds et le front. J’ai fui pour retrouver ma famille. Ils m’ont battu pour que j’avoue [c’est-à-dire pour qu’il accepte qu’il est sorcier, afin qu’on le délivre, ndlr]. J’ai fui dans la rue.»
L’accusation de sorcellerie est illégale. Un tribunal a même été mis en place en 2011 pour faire respecter les droits de l’enfant. Mais malgré cela, “aucune mesure réelle n’est prise pour faire appliquer la loi et poursuivre pasteurs et parents”. De plus, peu d’enfants sont en contact avec les associations. (Slate)
Mais certains pasteurs tentent de faire évoluer les croyances, en prenant la défense de ses “enfants sorciers”. Ils mènent depuis deux ans une campagne de sensibilisation.
Pour Jean Monzambe, pasteur de l’Eglise du Christ au Congo, «ces milliers d’enfants accusés de sorcellerie ne sont que des boucs émissaires de la société. Frappées par le chômage, le deuil, l’accident, la pauvreté…, des familles trouvent à travers eux, avec la bénédiction des pasteurs, une échappatoire à leurs malheurs.»(Slate)

quarta-feira, 18 de setembro de 2013

DANCING WITH THE DEVIL - Documentary

DANCING WITH THE DEVIL - Documentary

By: Valdemir Mota de Menezes

This is an excellent documentary film by French TV portraying Rio de Janeiro, in the material, we see the struggle of Police, crime of trafficking, and in the spiritual realm we see the interference of Christian leaders who work in combat evil by converting the thugs for Christ. The situation of the Christian church is delicate, because at the same time acquiring the confidence of the villains whom the Church brings the message of salvation across many distrust police and judicial authorities of the church, and others to get jealous to see the positive church.

DANÇANDO COM O DIABO - DOCUMENTARIO

Por: Valdemir Mota de Menezes

Este é um excelente documentário feito pela TV francesa retratando o Rio de Janeiro, no campo material vemos a luta da Policia contra a criminalidade do trafico, e no campo espiritual vemos a interferência dos líderes cristãos que trabalham em combate o mal, convertendo os bandidos para Cristo. A situação da igreja cristã é delicada, pois ao mesmo tempo que adquire a confiança dos bandidos a quem a Igreja leva a mensagem de salvação, do outro lado muitas autoridades policiais e judiciárias desconfiam da igreja, e outros até ficam enciumados por ver o resultado positivo da igreja.


ARCHIVOS DEL TERROR DEMONIOS

Por: Valdemir Mota de Menezes, el escriba
En este documental hay cosas interesantes, mas al final la Producción hice habla con un especialista psiuiatrico que tiene creyencias espiritualistas y nega na existencia del Diablo, pasando a difundir las ideias espiritualistas de que la tierra esta bajo la influencia de los espiritos de los muertos. Este es un erro. En la primera parte del documental se hace la dramatizacción con base en los archivos de la Iglesia Catolica, cuando en el siglo XVI una mujer poseida por los demonios  revelaba los pecados de los catolicos en el ritual de exorcismo. La producción de este documental intenta poner descrencia en la veracidad de los factos. Los demonios intentan seduzir los hombres y muchas veces los demonios se pasan por espíritus de muertos para engañar los hombres.


ARCHIVOS DEL TERROR DEMONIOS por scribevaldemir

terça-feira, 3 de setembro de 2013

DEMÔNIOS CONHECEM A BÍBLIA

Por: Escriba Valdemir Mota de Menezes
Este video mostra um demônio que se chama na Umbanda por TRANCA RUA. Este anjo caído se vangloria de conhecer a Bíblia e o seu autor, insinua que nela a verdades e mentira e ainda blasfema dizendo que é mais antigo que o Filho de Deus. O demônio cita o nome de vários personagens históricos a qual ele conheceu.



O Diabo e seus demônios conhece toda a Bíblia... por favoritosescribavaldemir

sexta-feira, 12 de julho de 2013

BEYONCE, SASHA FIERCE AND DEMON POSSESSION

Many famous artists have pact with the devil in order to gain power, wealth and fame. Christians should stay away from all appearance of evil and everything that does not glorify God. Beyonce has already made ​​statements in his shows is possessed by a spirit. It's the devil that put it on top of success. (For Valdemir Mota de Menezes)



BEYONCE, SASHA FIERCE AND DEMON POSSESSION - por favoritosescribavaldemir

MARTINHO DA VILA E O DEMÔNIO YEMANJÁ

O cantor Martinho da Vila homenageia esta entidade maligna chamada YEMANJÁ. Esta casta de demônio que possui esta denominação, são espíritos demoniacos que habitam as águas. São demônios chamados também na Bíblia de Leviatã. Nesta música Martinho da Vila mostra toda a sua fé nos espíritos malignos da Feitiçaria africana Claramente as músicas de Martinho da Vila são consagradas a estes espíritos impuros. Ouvir as músicas de Martinho da Vila é incompatível com o cristianismo (Por: Valdemir Mota de Menezes, O Escriba)


MARTINHO DA VILA E O DEMÔNIO YEMANJÁ por favoritosescribavaldemir

MARTINHO DA VILA E O DEMÔNIO EXU CAVEIRA

O cantor Martinho da Vila homenageia esta entidade maligna chamada EXU CAVEIRA. Esta casta de demônio que possui esta denominação, são espíritos demoniacos que levam os homens a viverem na desgraça, a ficarem doente e se definharem até a morte. Claramente as músicas de Martinho da Vila são consagradas a estes espíritos impuros. Ouvir as músicas de Martinho da Vila é incompatível com o cristianismo (Por: Valdemir Mota de Menezes, O Escriba)


MARTINHO DA VILA E O DEMÔNIO EXU CAVEIRA por favoritosescribavaldemir

quarta-feira, 5 de junho de 2013

DIABLO VT

Diablo VT
MON COMMENTAIRE
Le chrétien ne doit pas acheter une Lamborghini Diablo VT pour deux raisons:
1 - Parce que le prix est prohibitif et d'autre part parce que nous ne devrions pas acheter n'importe quel produit qui apporte la marque de l'ennemi de nos âmes. Le chrétien est de glorifier Dieu, même dans leurs achats, en rejetant les marques et les modèles qui mettent en évidence les caractéristiques du diable. Ce véhicule est vraiment belle, comme Lucifer ... (Ezéchiel 28.14ss)

TESTAMENT DE SALOMON

TESTAMENT DE SALOMON

Et je vais appeler à nouveau devant moi Belzébuth, le prince des démons, et il s'assit sur ​​un siège surélevé d'honneur, et je lui ai dit:

"Pourquoi es-tu seul, prince des démons?" Et il m'a dit: «Parce que je suis seul parti des anges qui descendaient du ciel Parce que j'étais d'abord dans le premier ciel, maintenant je suis Belzébuth et de contrôler tous ceux qui sont liés dans le Tartare ...».




Je Salomon a dit: «Belzébuth, quel est votre travail?" Et il répondit: «Je détruirai rois Aliarei I tyrans étrangers et mes propres démons que je joue pour les hommes, afin que ce dernier puisse croire en eux et être perdu et les serviteurs élus de Dieu, les prêtres... et des hommes fidèles, je vais excitarei désirs pervers au péché, l'hérésie et le mal et la méchanceté, et ils m'obéissent, et je vais les amener à la destruction. et je respire hommes avec envie, assassiner, et pour les guerres et la sodomie, entre autres mauvaises choses. et je vais détruire le monde ... "



- Testament de Salomon, premier siècle de notre ère, traduit par FC Coynbeare

PREDICTIONS DEMONIC

PREDICTIONS DEMONIC

by Valdemir Mota de Menezes

Ancients also had a sort of faith in the prophetic words spoken by those whom they believed to be possessed by demons, and this was often a component of ancient oracles. In connection with this, it is important that a teacher respected modern psychology once witnessed a friend who suffered from paranoid schizophrenia make a specific and surprising prophecy that turned out to be perfectly accurate.




The professor had no explanation for this event. ouija board still tempted to assume that there is a link between altered mental status and psychic ability. Some also associate the Oui-ja board with demonic prophecy, and those who have seen Linda Blair in The Exorcist will recall that this was how her character's problems began. (Source: www.djmcadam.com)

It happened, we were going to prayer, we went out to meet a young woman who had a spirit of divination, which, guessing, gave great profit to their masters. (Acts 16:16)
This passage explains most of the phenomena of clairvoyance and divination occult

THE EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE

THE EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE

Reviewed by Valdemir Mota de Menezes

This film was reported as based on a real case. I watched him on TV, now in 2010, well after the launch. But the many years I have heard of this movie. This film has a "why" of evil and diabolical, not only in your script with in your publication. I've heard reports of people who were spiritually disturbed after watching this movie. Do not recommend it for sensitive people. Although the scenes of violence and terror are minimal compared to many films of the genre, there is a subliminal message in it.

Demonism CRIMINAL AND DIEITO

The critical point of view, this film can also be studied taking into account the relationship with demonism and Law. As the courts and tribunals face demonic possession. For though men can not be considered without excuse when they commit crime under satanic influence, can be taken into account that in many cases people have committed a crime that had no intention of performing it. If this is proven, the legislation could at least slow down the sentence. It is logical that this would lead to legal chaos, because the "bastards" of shifts when they had no alternative to be acquitted, would surely appeal to demonic forces to evade their criminal responsibilities.

Psychiatry and demonism

I speak as having a certain knowledge of the facts, because during the years 1985 to 1997 I worked with exorcism and had dozens of experiences to expel demons in Brazil and Uruguay. Some cases had a suspected chemical, brain dysfunction, but still had demonic influence in the apparent mental illness in patients.





In the case of movie EXORCISM OF EMILE ROSE came into question the incompatibility of using spiritual remedy (exorcism) and psychiatric drug (the famous drugs), as some would have witnessed a doctorate in anthropology in court in defense of the priest exorcist, saying the remedy would block the spiritual energy which prevented healing of Emile and eventually contributed to her death. I honestly have no definite position on this issue, taking medicine may mean a lack of faith in the spiritual liberation, beyond what the symptoms are just psychological, the remedy would be poisoning the patient.
EXORCISM failed


The central theme of the film is the failure of exorcism Emile Rose. I, as I said, I drove out many demons in my life and I confess that has also failed. In many cases the exorcism fails for lack of faith and spiritual power of the exorcist, in other cases a lack of real will of the patient is free from the things that bind with the devil. I remember a case of a boy who was praying for him two days until the demon out, and when I say two days I meant two days of uninterrupted ...

The physical was too big for me, however, was much more to the patient who was screaming and writhing. There was a moment I had to stop that spiritual struggle because I could revesar with another pastor, but the patient had to bear alone that physical wear. Seeing him weakened and I stopped for another day marked the continuation of the process of liberation. What happened thanks to God. In the event that Émile Rose (I mean the real case) probably the priest may not have considered the physical limits of the victim who was already undernourished.

Disturbances DEMONIC

The film portrays the fact that hardly demons appear visibly, but they approach the victim causing her terror and fear. In the case of Emile Rose, she began to hear voices and see monsters. The priest also became the victim of disturbances and even agnostic lawyer.


PROMOTES THE DEVIL IDOLATRY

Unfortunately Émile Rose died under the influence of demons and the devil gave the coup de grace to appear for Emile like the Virgin Mary, asking Emile accept death to go to heaven because, if she would continue living a life of suffering because her body belonged to demons.

Surely this view Emile was demonic because Maria has no power to save anyone, no paradise for anyone to take the promise of the Bible is the redemption of body and soul, for we have the promise of bodily resurrection and immortality complete. God would not leave the body of Emile with the devil and still say that she does not want to die would have to endure a life of suffering. Thus, contrary to the promise of deliverance which is so often done in the Bible.

The Devil always uses this argument in the minds of the weak: "It is better to die than live like this." In the Bible shows that the prophet Elijah when tired of life, stopped under a tree and waited for death, why not take it anymore suffering. Scripture says that God sent a bird to take food for Elijah and then Elijah said to continue that God still had plenty to do through him.

Finally, the film informs us that after the death of Emile Rose, many people began to make pilgrimages to the tomb of Émile in search of herons. As the people are easy to be deceived by Satan!!! A person who had in his body six terrible demons after death is worshiped and people are going to find these demons without being able to see who are delivering these demons. How easy it is to deceive humans!!!

TEMPTATION OF CHRIST

TEMPTATION OF CHRIST - BY VALDEMIR MOTA DE MENEZES


Matthew 4

The Temptation of Jesus (Mark 1.12,13, Luke 4:1-13


TEMPTATION OF CHRIST - IN VALDEMIR MOTA DE Menezes


1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
2E, having fasted forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.

3Chegando then the tempter said to him: If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.

4But Jesus answered him, It is written, Not by bread alone doth man live, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

5Then the devil took him to the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,

6e said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and: they shall bear thee up in their hands, so that it never strike your foot against a stone.

7Replicou Jesus unto him, It is written: You shall not tempt the Lord thy God.

8Novamente the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory;

9e told him, All these things will I give thee up, down and worship me.

10Then Jesus ordered him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written: worship the Lord thy God, and serve him only.

11Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and ministered unto him.



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JESUS ​​WAS CONDUCTED BY THE SPIRIT

The text seems to tell us that the temptation of Christ was a necessary step that Jesus began his ministry. Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit so that he could be available to the devil, or rather, the temptation of the Devil. Jesus had anthropological attack the three spheres: the body, soul and spirit. Jesus was probably teleported to the desert to be tempted by the devil, but it can also be that Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit to go through the ordeal.

JESUS ​​HAD HUNGER

The first point of attack of Satan was seeking to fill a physical need of Jesus, for Jesus will eventually complete a consecration to God which required him to abstain from food for 40 days. The fact that the text say that Jesus was hungry instead of thirst suggests that Jesus fasted abstaining from solid food and drank water. But it is likely that fasting has been full of Christ, we know that the human-body can not stand long without water, but when the person is in a state of spiritual elevation or in a trance, she goes to a ball superhuman and these needs are met the spirit.

PERSON OF THE DEVIL

The Devil is not just a symbolic representation of evil, he is an intelligent entity that develops reasoning and perception of the world around processes information and makes decisions according to the opportunity that appears before you. If Jesus was hungry, the ideal would be to start a conversation about the issue of hunger feeling was that Jesus and the devil proposed a magic solution, instantaneous, using supernatural power, the devil suggested that Jesus used his spiritual power to meet their needs.


Maybe the devil tries to seduce Christians with the gifts of science (revelation) to get the numbers LOTTERY to win fabulous prizes and solve their particular problems. The Devil offered Jesus output immoral and illegal to resolve their problems and physical materials. Here lies the first kind of diabolical temptation, diabolical solution to their problems. The Devil offered Jesus to transform this simply rocks in food, did the miracle of transubstantiation.



Otherwise the Devil act is to suggest that the servant of God to use the spiritual gifts to pamper yourself, here we see how the devil takes some preachers of the gospel who has the gift of preaching to make it a means to enrich themselves, many evangelical preachers live with such luxury that the popes of the Middle Ages, became beggars nearby these emperors who make their real designations companies with high revenues and cashing while on the mission field if one spends money negligible.

We should not be concerned with the Globo Organizations, should be concerned as the Devil is working in believers, leading them to make the Gospel a method to raise money as in the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God, that money is then transferred to the Rede Record , and on the pretext that it is for the work of God, the Devil meets more than the globe.

The Temptation of Christ shows that for the Devil is more important to divert a Christian's right to take care of the wicked that are already subject to his will.

THE DEVIL MASTER OF THE WORLD

The Devil offers Jesus the kingdoms of this world, the devil said that everything is behind him and he wants to give. At no time did Jesus challenged this assertion of the Devil, that because he has the same power over the Earth, this power he got when he convinced Adam and Eve to follow their advice to eat the fruit of the tree of good and evil, there was an alliance between Satan and mankind, represented by Adam and Eve From the beginning of the world that this domain of the Devil on Earth has been the subject of atmospheric disturbances, climate change, the destruction of fauna and flora, and especially in human suffering through wars, diseases, and the greater power of the devil over men: DEATH.

The Devil has influenced all sectors of human life, be it politics, education, family, labor relations, religion and so the world convulses as a patient about to die. The devil rules the planet and its hatred of God is such that his desire was to destroy once and for all the Earth, special work of God, and this just does not happen because God does not allow your domain is unlimited.

The devil never made an offer to someone as great as it did for Jesus, the Devil gave up the dominion of the earth, since the Son of God, let go a mission to save the world. In Revelation chapter 13, we see the Devil relating with two Beasts, and the First Beast seems to be the man who in the future will receive the power of Satan to rule the Earth, will be a governor Universal Planet. Someone who will make a special covenant with the devil like this that the Devil wanted to do with Jesus.


ONLY GOD serve and worship ONLY HIM

The principle of all sins and the worst of them is idolatry. The objective pursued by the devil from the beginning is the worship, to be the target of attention and have the angels and the men under his control. We are all born with a tendency to want to be recognized and admired, it is a seed of evil, because we are created to worship God. All honor and glory be to God. When Satan tempted Jesus loves submit it by bribery, and bribery was high, it was the government of the planet earth, Jesus refused to worship him and the Master made clear the reasons why they would not worship him: ONLY GOD IS WORTHY OF WORSHIP.

Throughout history Satan has tempted away from this ideal man monotheistic worship the one God, nothing makes Satan happier than someone loves him, but he has used thousands of mythological characters, folklore and religious to achieve his purpose. There is no doubt that when a person pays worship and prayer invokes in any real or imaginary creature that is not GOD, this person is committing the sin of idolatry and therefore this worshiping Satan through one of its thousands of disguises.

One of the things that the Devil loves most is the open worship, in various cultures, as in Umbanda and Candomblé Quimbada the Devil manifests itself folk character called Zé Pilintra, Eshu, Old Black Dove Gira and other figurines of these cults . These ceremonies are often violent with animal sacrifices and clear demonstration spirits that are contrary to God The Devil loves these types of services, as well as the Black Masses and other satanic rituals. When the Devil was manifested to Jesus he wanted full communion with Christ, an open relationship, the way that most pleases the devil, when the person knows that worshiping a spirit of Evil


The USA DEVIL BIBLE (THE WORD OF GOD)

Satan saw that bring Jesus to his side playing openly with him was becoming impossible, he turned to his most splendid coup, falsely interpret the Word of God. Thanks to this trick the devil had seduced a third of the angels of heaven, and then taking the word which God had spoken with Adam, not only misrepresented it in your direction as well as citing it in a distorted way. The plan worked twice at important moments in the history of the universe.

Now before Jesus the devil had another chance to bring the Messiah to fail, he could not do God to sin, but he could defeat the man Jesus. As God, the person of Jesus was invincible, but as a man he was subject to the same weaknesses that we and limited intelligence and wisdom. Knowing this, Satan suggested that Jesus would use his psychic powers to make public statements for the purpose of power pure and simple self promote. So how does the Israeli Uri Geller, the devil wanted Jesus to sin by self promoting with demonstration of supernatural power, and to induce him to error, the Devil even said that Jesus would have divine support in doing this, because God would send angels to protect him, as it is written in Psalm 91 says that God would send angels to your feet will not stumble on any stone.

Jesus showed that he had been prepared as a man to face the devil and he demonstrated it by perfect knowledge of biblical theology and the Lord immediately refuted the Adversary also in quoting Scripture passage that says: "Do not tempt the Lord thy God." We see millions of people professing Christianity, and did not even take the Bible for worship, but worse than that, they have some skill in using the Scriptures, and even more its leaders are preachers of selected texts, just preach upon verses of blessings and wonders, not teaching the whole Word of God, not calls for holy and pure life away from the pleasures of the world and the flesh, not urges to fight the devil, being relegated to this medieval figure (nothing better for the enemy) and finally the church is becoming a humanistic society and preaching about hell became obsolete and considered drawbacks.

The prophet Hosea said by the Spirit of God: "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge."


The DEVIL is absent BY A LITTLE TIME


In the course of the life of Christ, the devil alternated moments of great approach as in the beginning of his ministry as we are meditating on the passage about the temptation of Christ, but certainly in other time also the devil tempted the Lord, like the time it took Peter to say that he would never let Jesus die, and he yet without understanding God's plan right thought he was showing love to God, when in fact I was being used by the devil, Jesus immediately rebuked Satan was inspiring Peter to speak would prevent God's plan of salvation through Christ's atoning death on the cross.

The life of Christians the devil also alternates moments of temptation and times when it moves away for a while, the devil knows that the variation in spiritual warfare tactics can lead the believer to relax when things are going on well in your life, or can beat the servant of God by suffocation and tribulations. Besides the more the variation of temptations can lead the Christian to be confused and think that quiet is a blessing, when in fact this being seduced and in case of blatant temptations can awaken Christians to become even more fervent and faithful to God.

quarta-feira, 22 de maio de 2013

DEMONOLOGY - BY JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA

DEMONOLOGY.

—Biblical and Post-Biblical Data: Systematic knowledge concerning demons or evil spirits. Demons (Greek, δαίμονες or δαιμόνια; Hebrew, [Deut. xxxii. 17; Ps. cvi. 37] and [Lev. xvii. 7; II Chron. xi. 15; A. V. "devils"; Luther, "Feldgeister" and "Feldteufel"]; Aramaic, or rabbinical, and as spirits animating all elements of life and inhabiting all parts of the world, have their place in the primitive belief of all tribes and races. When certain deities rose to be the objects of regular worship and became the rulers of the powers of life, demons, or spirits, were subordinated to them. But inasmuch as they were still feared and occasionally worshiped by the populace, they became the objects of popular superstition. Jewish demonology can at no time be viewed as the outcome of an antecedent Hebrew belief. While the nomadic Hebrews had much in common with the Arabian Bedouins in their belief in spirits (see Wellhausen, "Reste Arabischen Heidenthums: Skizzen und Vorarbeiten," 1887, iii. 135 et seq.; Smith, "Rel. of Sem." 1889, pp. 112-125, 422 et seq.), Canaanite practise and belief were greatly influenced by ancient Chaldea, whose demonologyis in the main pre-Semitic (see Lenormant, "Chaldean Magic," 1877, pp. 23-38; German transl., 1878, pp. 22-41; Jastrow, "Religion of Babylonia and Assyria," pp. 260 et seq.; Zimmern, in Schrader's "K. A. T." 1902, ii. 458-464). In Babylonia the Jews came under the influence of both the Chaldean and the Persian belief in good and in evil spirits, and this dualistic system became a dominant factor of Jewish demonology and Angelology. In Europe, Teutonic, Celtic, and Slavonic demonology in the form of superstition permeated Jewish practise and belief. See Superstition.
Demons in the Bible. The demons mentioned in the Bible are of two classes, the "se'irim" and the "shedim." The se'irim ("hairy beings"), to which the Israelites sacrificed in the open fields (Lev. xvii. 7; A. V. "devils"; R. V., incorrectly, "he-goats"), are satyr-like demons, described as dancing in the wilderness (Isa. xiii. 21, xxxiv. 14; compare Maimonides, "Moreh," iii. 46; Vergil's "Eclogues," v. 73, "saltantes satyri"), and are identical with the jinn of the Arabian woods and deserts (see Wellhausen, l.c., and Smith, l.c.). To the same class belongs Azazel, the goat-like demon of the wilderness (Lev. xvi. 10 et seq.), probably the chief of the se'irim, and Lilith (Isa. xxxiv. 14). Possibly "the roes and hinds of the field," by which Shulamit conjures the daughters of Jerusalem to bring her back to her lover (Cant. ii. 7, iii. 5), are faunlike spirits similar to the se'irim, though of a harmless nature. The (Job v. 23. A. V. "stones of the field"), with which the righteous are said to be in league—obviously identical with, if not a corruption of, the (Mishnah Kil. viii. 5), explained in Yer. Kil. 31c as "a fabulous mountain-man drawing nourishment from the ground" (see Jastrow, "Dict.," and Levy, "Neuhebr. Wörterb." s.v. )—seem to be field-demons of the same nature. The wilderness as the home of demons was regarded as the place whence such diseases as leprosy issued, and in cases of leprosy one of the birds set apart to be offered as an expiatory sacrifice was released that it might carry the disease back to the desert (Lev. xiv. 7, 52; compare a similar rite in Sayce, "Hibbert Lectures," 1887, p. 461, and "Zeit. für Assyr." 1902, p. 149).
The Israelites also offered sacrifices to the shedim (Deut. xxxii. 17; Ps. cvi. 37). The name (believed by Hoffmann, "Hiob," 1891, to occur in Job v. 21), for a long time erroneously connected with "the Almighty" (), denotes a storm-demon (from , Isa. xiii. 6; A. V. "destruction"; compare Psxci. 6, , "that stormeth about"; A. V. "that wasteth"). In Chaldean mythology the seven evil deities were known as "shedim," storm-demons, represented in ox-like form; and because these oxcolossi representing evil demons were, by a peculiar law of contrast, used also as protective genii of royal palaces and the like, the name "shed" assumed also the meaning of a propitious genius in Babylonian magic literature (see Delitzsch, "Assyrisches Handwörterb." pp. 60, 253, 261, 646; Jensen, "Assyr.-Babyl. Mythen und Epen," 1900, p. 453; Sayce, l.c. pp. 441, 450, 463; Lenormant, l.c. pp. 48-51). It was from Chaldea that the name "shedim" = evil demons came to the Israelites, and so the sacred writers in tentionally applied the word in a dyslogistic sense to the Canaanite deities 'in the two passages quoted. But they also spoke of "the destroyer" () Ex. xii. 23) as a demon whose malignant effect upon the houses of the Israelites was to be warded off by the blood of the paschal sacrifice sprinkled upon the lintel and the door-post (a corresponding pagan talisman is mentioned in Isa. lvii. 8). In II Sam. xxiv; 16 and II Chron. xxi. 15 the pestilence-dealing demon is called = "the destroying angel" (compare "the angel of the Lord" in II Kings xix. 35; Isa. xxxvii. 36), because, although they are demons, these "evil messengers" (Ps. lxxviii. 49; A. V. "evil angels") do only the bidding of God, their Master; they are the agents of His divine wrath.
The Nether World in the Clutches of a Demon.
(From an Assyrian bronze tablet in the collection of M. de Clerq.)But there are many indications that popular Hebrew mythology ascribed to the demons a certain independence, a malevolent character of their own, because they are believed to come forth, not from the heavenly abode of Yhwh, but from the nether world (compare Isa. xxxviii. 11 with Job xiv. 13; Ps. xvi. 10, xlix. 16, cxxxix. 8). "The first-born of Death who devours the members of his [man's] body" and causes him to be brought "to the king of terrors" (Job xviii. 13, 14, Hebr.), is undoubtedly one of the terrible hawk-like demons, portrayed in the Babylonian Hades-picture (see illustrationabove, and Roscher, "Lexikon der Griechischen und Römischen Mythologie," s.v. "Nergal"), and the "messengers of death" (Prov. xvi. 14) are identical with the "servants of Nergal," the King of Hades and god of pestilence and fever in Chaldean mythology (see Jeremias, "Die Babylonisch-Assyrischen Vorstellungen vom Leben nach dem Tode," 1887, pp. 71 et seq.; Zimmern, l.c. pp. 412 et seq.; Jensen, l.c. pp. 478, 557).
Other Demons. 'Alukah (Prov. xxx. 15; A. V. "horseleech"), the bloodsucker or vampire, whose two daughters cry "Give! Give!" is none other than the flesh-devouring ghoul of the Arabs, called by them "'aluḳ" (Wellhausen, l.c. pp. 135-137). She has been rendered in Jewish mythology the demon of the nether world (= see 'Ab. Zarah 17a), and the names of her two daughters have in all probability, as familiar names of dreaded diseases, been dropped (compare Ewald, Delitzsch, and Wilderboer's commentaries, ad loc., and the description of the demon "Labartu" in "Zeit. für Assyr." 1902, pp. 148 et seq.). Deber ("pestilence"), originally the death-dealing sting of the midsummer sun-god Nergal (see Roscher, l.c. iii. 257), and Keṭeb ("smiter"), the deadly hot wind (Deut. xxxii. 24; Isa. xxviii. 2; A. V. "destruction," "destroying"), are demons, the one walking in darkness, the other storming along in midday (A. V. "that wasteth at noonday"), against which God's protection is invoked in the incantatory psalm "Shir shel Pega'im," ascribed to Moses by the Rabbis (Ps. xci. 5, 6; compare Midr. Teh. ad loc.; Tan., Naso, ed. Buber, 39; Num. R. xii.). Possibly the evil spirit that troubled Saul (I Sam. xvi. 14 et seq.) was originally a demon (compare Josephus, "Ant." vi. 8, § 2), turned into an evil spirit coming from Yhwh in the amended Masoretic text (see Smith, Commentary, ad loc.). None of these demons, however, has actually a place in the system of Biblical theology; it is the Lord who sends pestilence and death (Ex. ix. 3, xii. 29); Deber and Reshef ("the fiery bolt") are His heralds (Hab. iii. 5). The shedim are "not-gods" (Deut. xxxii. 17); there is no supernatural power beyond Yhwh (Deut. iv. 35; compare Sanh. 67b). It is possible, however, that, as at a later stage in the development of Judaism the idols were regarded as demons, so the Canaanite deities were, either in disparagement, or as powers seducing men to idolatry, called "shedim" by the sacred writers (Deut. xxxii. 17; Ps. cv. 37); all the more so as the latter ascribed a certain reality to the idols (Ex. xii. 12; Isa. xix. 1, xxiv. 21; see Baudissin, "Studien zur Semitischen Religionsgesch." 1876, i. 130).
Time and Place of Appearance. —In Rabbinical Literature: It was the primitive demonology of Babylonia which peopled the world of the Jews with beings of a semi-celestial and semi-infernal nature. Only afterward did the division of the world between Ahriman and Ormuzd in the Mazdean system give rise to the Jewish division of life between the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of evil. Rabbinical demonology has, like the Chaldean, three classes of, demons, though they are scarcely separable one from another. There were the "shedim," the "mazziḳim" (harmers), and the "ruḥin" or "ruḥotra'ot" (evil spirits). Besides these there were "lilin" (night spirits), "ṭelane" (shade, or evening, spirits), "ṭiharire" (midday spirits), and "ẓafrire" (morning spirits), as well as the "demons that bring famine" and "such as cause storm and earthquake" (Targ. Yer. to Deut. xxxii. 24 and Num. vi. 24; Targ. to Cant. iii. 8, iv. 6; Eccl. ii. 5; Ps. xci. 5, 6; compare Ps. lxx. and Is. xxxiv. 14). Occasionally they are called "mal'ake ḥabbalah" (angels of destruction) (Ber. 51a; Ket. 104a; Sanh. 106b). "They surround man on all sides as the earth does the roots of the vine"; "a thousand are on his left, and ten thousand on his right side" (compare Ps. xci. 7); if a man could see them he would lack the strength to face them, though he can see them by casting the ashes of the fetus of a black cat about his eyes, or by sprinkling ashes around his bed he can trace their cock-like footprints in the morning (Ber. 6a). They hover around the house and the field (Gen. R. xx.), particularly in the lower regions of the air (Num. R. xii.; Tan., Mishpaṭim, ed. Vienna, 99a; compare Diogenes Laertius, viii. 32, ix. 7). Their main abode is in the northern part of the earth (Pirḳe R. El. iii., after Jer. i. 14). Their sporting-places are caper-bushes and spearworts, where they dwell in groups of sixty; nut-trees, where they form in groups of nine; shady spots on moonlight nights, especially the roofs of houses, under gutters, or near ruins; cemeteries and privies (there is a special demon of the privy, "shed shel bet ha-kisse"); water, oil, and bread-crums cast on the ground; and they harm persons and things coming near them (Pes. 3b; Ber. 3a, 62b; Shab. 67a; Giṭ. 70a; Ḥul. 105; Sanh. 65b).
R. Johanan knew of 300 kinds of shedim living near the town of Shiḥin (Giṭ. 68a). It is dangerous to walk between two palm-trees (Pes. 111a). Demons are particularly hurtful at night. It is unsafe to salute a person in the dark, for he might be a demon (Meg. 3a); to sleep alone in a house, as Lilith may seize one (Shab. 151b); to walk alone in the night or in the morning before cockcrow (Ber. 43a; Yoma 21a; compare Cock); to take water from one whose hands have not been washed in the morning (Ber. 51a). Especially dangerous are the eves of Wednesday and of the Sabbath, for then Agrat bat Maḥlat, "the dancing roof-demon" (Yalḳut Ḥadash, Keshafim, 56), haunts the air with her train of eighteen myriads of messengers of destruction, "every one of whom has the power of doing harm" (Pes. 112b). On those nights one should not drink water except out of white vessels and after having recited Ps. xxix. 3-9 (the verses mentioning seven times "the voice of the Lord") or other magic formulas (Pes. 3a). Another perilous season is midsummer noon from the 17th of Tammuz to the 9th of Ab. Then the demon Keṭeb Meriri reigns from ten in the forenoon to three in the afternoon. He has the head of a calf, with one revolving horn in the middle, and an eye on the breast, and his whole body is covered with scales and hair and eyes; and whosoever sees him, man or beast, falls down and expires (Pes. 3b; Lam. R. i. 3; Midr. Teh. to Ps. xci. 3; Num. R. xii.). Demons assume the shape of men, but have no shadow (Yeb. 122a; Giṭ. 66a; Yoma 75a). Attimes they are black goat-like beings (; Ḳid. 72a); at other times, seven-headed dragons (Ḳid. 29a). "Like angels, they have wings and fly from one end of the world to the other, and know the future; and like men they eat, propagate, and die" (Ḥag. 16b; Ab. R. N. xxxvii.). They cause the faintness of students and the wear and tear of their dress in the schoolhouses and assemblies of the learned (Ber. 6a). But they are not always malign spirits. As they, by virtue of their semi-celestial nature, can overhear the decrees of heaven, they may be consulted by men as to the future; this can be done by means of oil and eggshells; only on Sabbath is this forbidden (Shab. 101a). Hillel and Johanan ben Zakkai understood their talk just as King Solomon did (Mas. Soferim, xvi. 9; B. B. 134a; Suk. 28a; Giṭ. 68b; Ker. 5b; Pesiḳ., ed. Buber, 45b).
The saint Abba Jose of Zaintor saved his town from harm, when informed by a water-demon living near by that a harmful fellow demon made his dwelling there, by causing the inhabitants to go down to the water's edge at dawn, equipped with iron rods and spits, and beat the intruder to death; blood marked the spot where he was killed (Lev. R. xxiv.). The magicians in Egypt made use of demons to perform their miracles, as all witchcraft is the work of demons (Sanh. 67b; 'Er. 18b; Ex. R. ix.), though demons can not create, but only transform existing things (Sanh. 67b). Egypt was considered the stronghold of such witchcraft as worked by means of demons (Ḳid. 49b; Shab. 104b; Men. 85a; Tan., Wayera, ed. Buber, 17, 27; Tosef., Shab. xi. 15; compare Friedländer, "Sittengesch. Roms," i. 362, iii. 517). Some of the Babylonian amoraim employed shedim as friendly spirits, and received useful instruction from them, calling them by familiar names, such as "Joseph" or "Jonathan" (Pes. 110a; Ḥul. 105b; Yeb. 122a; 'Er. 43a; regarding see Schorr in "He-Ḥaluẓ," 1865, p. 18). Demons were regarded by antiquity as beings endowed with higher intelligence (see Friedländer, l.c. iii. 562). They were said to have been created at the twilight of the Sabbath (Abot v. 9); "after the souls were created the Sabbath set in, and so they remained without bodies" (Gen. R. vii.).
Nature of Demons. In the main demons were workers of harm. To them were ascribed the various diseases, particularly such as affect the brain and the inner parts (compare Rhode, "Psyche," 1894, p. 385). Hence there was a constant fear of "Shabriri" (lit. "dazzling glare"), the demon of blindness, who rests on uncovered water at night and strikes those with blindness who drink of it (Pes. 112a; 'Ab. Zarah 12b); "ruaḥ ẓeradah," the spirit of catalepsy, and "ruaḥ ẓelaḥta," also "ruaḥ palga," the spirit of headache (megrim or meningitis ?), hovering on palmtrees (Pes. 111b; Ḥul. 105b; Giṭ. 68b); "ben nefilim," the demon of epilepsy, and "ruaḥ ẓeḥarit," the spirit of nightmare (Bek. 44b; Tosef., Bek. v.3; Schorr, in "He-Ḥaluẓ," 1869, p. 15); "ruaḥ tezazit," the spirit of delirious fever and madness, befalling man and beast (Pesiḳ., Parah, 40a; Yer. Yoma viii. 45b; Yoma 83b; Gen. R. xii.; see Aruch and Dictionaries, s.v. ); "ruaḥ ẓara'at," the spirit of leprosy (Ket. 61b); "ruaḥ ḳardeyaḳos," the spirit of melancholy (καρδιακός; Giṭ. vii. 1, p. 67b; Yer. Giṭ. 48c); "shibbeta," a female demon, bringing croup to persons, especially children, who leave their hands unwashed in the morning (Ḥul. 107b; Ta'an. 20b; Yoma 77b), probably identical with the "bush-asp," the Parsee demon "with long hands," who lulls men to sleep and attacks them ("Vendidad," xviii. 38; "Bundahish," xxviii. 26); "bat ḥorin" (daughter of freedom; possibly a play on "ḥiwar," a euphemistic expression for blindness), a demon bringing a disease of the eye to one who fails to wash his hands after meals (see Brüll's "Jahrb." i. 157); "kuda," a demon of disease which attacks women in childbirth ('Ab. Zarah 29a); "eshshata," the demon of fever, (ib. 28a; Shab. 66b); "ruaḥ zenunim," the spirit of sexual desire (Pes. 111a); "she'iyyah," an ox-like demon dwelling in desolate houses (B. Ḳ. 21a, after Isa. xxiv. 12); and many others mentioned in Rabbinical lore, only part of which has been preserved in Shab. 66 et seq., 109 et seq.: Pes. 109-113; Giṭ. 68-70; Sanh. 67 et seq.; see Brüll, l.c. i. 154 et seq., who refers also to "puta" or "pura," the spirit of forgetfulness, mentioned in Siddur Rab Amram, i. 31b; see also Blau, "Das Altjüdische Zauberwesen," 1898, pp. 71-85. On the demon "ben temalyon" (probably a euphemism for St. Vitus' dance) see Ben Temalion; Exorcism.
These demons were supposed to enter the body and cause the disease while overwhelming ("kefa'o shed," R. H. 28a; Sifre, Debarim, 318) or "seizing" the victim ("aḥazo," Shab. 151b; Yoma 83a, 84a); hence the usual name for "epileptic" is "nikpeh" (Bek. 44b; Yeb. 64b: Ket. 60b; Pes. 112b). The Greek word is δαιμονίζεσΘαι, meaning the condition of being in the power of a demon. To cure such diseases it was necessary to draw out the evil demons by certain incantations and tailsmanic performances, in which the Essenes excelled. Josephus, who speaks of demons as "spirits of the wicked which enter into men that are alive and kill them," but which can be driven out by a certain root ("B. J." vii. 6, § 3), witnessed such a performance in the presence of the emperor Vespasian ("Ant." viii. 2, § 5), and ascribed its origin to King Solomon.
In the Book of Wisdom, Solomon claims to have received from God power over the demons (Wisdom vii.20). The same power of curing by exorcism such diseases as dumbness, blindness, epilepsy, mania, and fever was exercised by Jesus and his disciples (Matt. viii. 16, ix. 32, xi. 18, xii. 22; Mark i. 25; v. 2 et seq.; vii. 32 et seq.; ix. 17, 27; Luke iv. 33, 39 et seq.; viii. 27; ix. 39; xi. 14; xiii. 11; Acts xvi. 16), as also by their Jewish contemporaries (Acts xix. 13 et seq.). It remained for a long time a practise among the early Christians (see Irenæus, "Hæreses," ii. 4, 32; Origen, "Contra Celsum," iii. 24; Friedländer, l.c. iii. 572, 634).
King and Queen of Demons. The demons were believed to be under the dominion of a king or chief, either Ashmodai (Targ. to Eccl. i. 13; Pes. 110a; Yer. Shek. 49b; Lev. R. v., where is a corruption of ) or, in the older Haggadah, Samael ("the angel of death"), who kills people by his deadly poison ("sain ha-mawet"), and is called "head of the devils" ("rosh saṭanim"; Deut R. xi.; Pirḳe R. El. xiii.). Occasionally a demon is called "saṭan": "Stand not in the way of an ox when coming from the pasture, for Satan dances between his horns" (Pes. 112b; compare B. Ḳ. 21a). The name "mashḥit" ("destroyer," Ex. xii. 23) seems to refer to the head of the demons in the sentence: "When permission is given to the destroyer to do harm, he no longer discriminates between the righteous and the wicked" (Mek., Bo, 11; B. Ḳ. 60a).
The queen of demons is Lilith, pictured with wings and long flowing hair, and called the "mother of Ahriman" ( B. B. 73b; 'Er. 100b; Nid. 24b). "When Adam, doing penance for his sin, separated from Eve for 130 years, he, by impure desire, caused the earth to be filled with demons, or shedim, lilin, and evil spirits" (Gen. R. xx.; 'Er. 18b), and according to Pseudo-Sirach ("Alphabetum Siracidis," ed. Steinschneider, p. 23) it was Lilith, as Adam's concubine, who bore them (compare "Chronicles of Jerahmeel," ed. Gaster. xxiii. 1). Whether identical with Lilith or not, a more familiar personage, as queen of the demons, is Igarat bat Maḥlat (Num. R. xii.; Pes. 112b), with herchariot and her train of eighteen myriads of demons. According to Yalḳuṭ, Ḥadash, Keshafim, 56, she dances at the head of 478 (), and Lilith howls at the head of 480 (= ), companies of demons. The cabalists have as a third queen of the demons and wife of Samael, "Na'amah," the sister of Tubal Cain and the "mother of Ashmodai" (Gen. iv. 27; see Beḥai's commentary, and Yalḳuṭ, Reubeni, ad loc.). Agrat bat Maḥlat seems to be "the mistress of the sorceresses" who communicated magic secrets to Amemar (compare Pes. 110a, 112b). Yoḥane bat Reṭibi, who, according to Soṭah 22a. prevented women by witchcraft from giving birth to their children, seems to be the same mythical person mentioned by Pliny as "Iotape" or "Lotape" in "Historia Naturalis" (xxx. 1, 2), together with Jannes (Jambres) and Moses (see Reinach, "Texte d'Auteurs Grecs et Romains," 1895, p. 282).
Pre-Talmudic Demonology. Upon pre-Talmudic demonology new light has been thrown by the "Testament of Solomon," translated by Conybeare in "Jew. Quart. Rev." (1898, xi. 1-45), a work which, notwithstanding many Christian interpolations, is of ancient Jewish origin and related to the "Book of Healing" ("Sefer Refu'ot") ascribed to King Solomon (see Pes. iv. 9; Josephus, l.c.; Schürer, "Geseh." iii. 300). In this "Testament" it is told that by the help of a magic ring with the seal of Pentalpha, Lilith-like vampires, Beelzebub, and all kinds of demons and unclean spirits were brought before Solomon, to whom they disclosed their secrets and told how they could be mastered (see Solomon, Testament of). It contains incantations against certain diseases, and specifies the task allotted to each of the chief demons in the erection of the Temple. The latter was a favorite theme of the Haggadists (Pesiḳ. R. vi.; Soṭah 48b; Giṭ. 68a). The later Haggadah ascribed to Moses this power to make the demons work at the erection of the Sanctuary (Pesiḳ. R. iv. 6b; Num. R. xii.); and Solomon's "sword against the fear of the spirits at night" (Cant. R. to iii. 8) was transformed into the Magic "sword of Moses" (Pesiḳ. 140a; Pesiḳ. R. 15; Cant. R. iii. 7; Num. R. xi., xii.). Henceforth the magic books of Moses and the "Sword of Moses" (see Dieterich, "Abraxas," 1891, pp. 155,169 et seq.; Gaster, "Sword of Moses," London, 1896) took the place of "Solomon's Testament" in the magic lore of the Jews.
Cosmic Demons. In the main, demonology among the Jews preserved its simple character as a popular belief, the demons being regarded as mischievous, but not as diabolical or as agencies of a power antagonistic to God. Even Ashmodai, or Asmodeus, the king of demons (Tobit iii. 8, vi. 14, Aramaic version), who kills the seven successive bridegrooms of Sara before their marital union, is but a personification of lust and murder; but there is nothing Satanic—that is, of the spirit of rebellion against God—in him; he is driven out by the recipe prescribed by the angel Raphael, and sent to Egypt and bound by Raphael (Tobit viii. 3). It was only at a certain period and within a certain circle that demonology received its specific character as part of the cosmic power of evil, and in opposition to angelology as part of the cosmic power of good.
Babylonian cosmogony describes the combat of Bel-Marduk with the chaos-monster Tiamat, the sea-dragon, the power of darkness whose defeat is the beginning of the world of light and order. The same monster appears in various Biblical passages as Rahab, the sea-monster; Tannin, the dragon of the sea; and Leviathan, the "crooked serpent" slain by Yhwh "with his sure and great and strong sword" (Isa. xxvii. 1, li. 9; Ps. lxxxix. 10, 11; Job xxvi. 12; Gunkel, "Schöpfung und Chaos," 1895, pp. 30-46 et seq.). While this mythological figure became in the course of time a metaphor symbolizing nations like Egypt (Ezek. xxix. 3; Ps. lxxxvii. 4), the monster remained a real being in the popular belief; and inasmuch as this conflicted with the monotheistic system, the battle of God or His angel Gabriel with Leviathan and Behemoth was transformed into a great eschatological drama which ended in the perfect triumph of divine justice (B. B. 75b). The Babylonian Tiamat, as Behemoth and Leviathan, became on the one hand infernal monsters devouring the wicked, and on the other food and cover for the righteous in heaven (see Leviathan). Nevertheless, the Mandæan and Gnostic heresies maintained the belief in these cosmic monsters (Brandt, "Mandäische Schriften," 1893, pp. 144 et seq.), and many descriptions of Gehenna in Jewish and Christian literature preserve traces of these. "Tartarus-holding" or "watching" demons of the lower regions (see Dieterich, l.c. pp. 35, 76 et seq.; Eschatology; Gehenna). In fact, the hosts of demons punishing the wicked in Gehenna are in the service of angels of divine justice, and though called "saṭanim" (Enoch xl. 7 et al.), belong to the category of angels rather than of demons. According to the Book of Jubilees, Noah learned from the angels (Raphael) the remedies against these diseases, and wrote them in a "Book of Healing", similar to the one ascribed to King Solomon (x. 5-12; Jellinek, "B. H." iii. 155 et seq., xxx. et seq.). The host of demons under Satan's direction accordingly seduce all heathen people to idolatry (Jubilees, vii. 27, x. 1, xi. 5, xv. 20, xxii. 17), but the end of Satan will be the healing and resurrection of the servants of the Lord (xxiii. 30).
The speculation regarding the nature and origin of these demons and their leaders led as early as the second pre-Christian century, in those fragments preserved under the name of the Book of Enoch, to the story of the fall of the angels (Enoch, vii.-viii.; lxix.). Like Beelzebub, or Lucifer (Isa. xiv. 12; compare Slavonic Enoch, xxix. 4), two hundred 'Irin or "watchers" fell, attracted by the beauty of the daughters of men (Gen. vi. 4); only tradition obviously differed as to the leader of the rebellious host, whether it was Azazel or Shamḥazai. At any rate, they acknowledged the supremacy of Satan (liii. 3, liv. 6), though occasionally many satans are mentioned (xl. 7 et al.), and these fallen angels became "the evil spirits" (xv. 8, xix. 19) who taught mankind all the arts of deception, witchcraft, and sin (vii.-viii., lxix.). But their children, the offspring of this mixture of an earthly and a celestial race, became, when slain, the hybrid race of disembodiedspirits or demons doing the work of destruction until the Day of Judgment (xvi. 1). Belial is another name for Satan found in the Book of Jubilees (xv. 33), in Sibyllines (iii. 63), and in Ascension of Isaiah (ii. 4), where he is also called "the prince of injustice" (Sar ha-Masṭemah), who rules over this world. Belial (or Beliar) occurs most frequently in the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs. He has "seven spirits of deception" in his service (Reuben, 2), and as author of all evil, "the spirit of hatred, darkness, deception, and error," he is the opponent of God, the "Father of Light," and of His Law (Simeon, 5; Levi, 19; Issachar, 6; Dan, 5; Zebulun, 9; Naphtali, 8; Gad, 4; Joseph, 20), and when "he and his evil spirits are crushed the heathen world will be converted to the belief in the Lord" (Simeon, 7; Zebulon, 9). Under this aspect the world appeared as the arena in which Satan contends with the Lord, the God of life everlasting, until "the great dragon, the old serpent, he that is called Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world, shall be cast down and his angels with him" (Suk. 52a; Assumptio Mosis, xi.; Matt. xxv. 41; Rev. xii. 9).
New Testament Demonology. The whole Jewish and pagan world at the beginning of the Christian era believed in those magic formulas by which the evil powers of the demons could be subdued, and the Jewish exorcists found a fertile soil everywhere for the cultivation of their Essene notions and their magic. This was the atmosphere in which Christianity arose with the claim of "healing all that were oppressed of the devil" (Acts x. 38), enforcing the recognition by the unclean spirits themselves of the Son of David as the vanquisher of the demons (Mark i. 27, iii. 11). The name of Jesus became the power by which the host of Satan was to be overcome, as Jesus himself had seen "Satan as lightning fall from heaven" (Mark ix. 38, xvi. 17; Matt. xii. 28; Luke x. 18). But there was danger lest the exorcism practised by Gentiles and Jews alike (see Conybeare, "J. Q. R." ix. 88 et seq.) should engender the spirit of impurity underlying all magic, the dividing line between legitimate and illegitimate magic being anything but sharply drawn (see Book of Jubilees, viii. 2; Sanh. 91a: "Abraham handed the name of unclean witchcraft to the sons of Keturah"; compare Blau, "Das Jüdische Zauberwesen," pp. 15, 23, 41 et seq.). It was, therefore, not hostility which prompted the Pharisees to accuse Jesus and his disciples of "casting out devils by the power of Beelzebub, the prince of devils" (Matt. xii. 24; compare Ben Stada, Shab. 104b). The more devils cast out, the more appeared (Luke xi. 26). The cure offered to an age in constant dread of demons (Acts v. 16, viii. 7, xvi. 16, xix. 12-20) only aggravated the disease; nor did Paul's system (see Everling, "Die Paulinische Angelologie und Dämonologie," 1888) spiritualize the idea of Satan as the Testaments of the Patriarchs endeavored to do, in order to remove the fear of demons (see Eph. vi. 12: Gal. iv. 3, 9).
The Law, the Prophylactic Against Demons. Pharisaism diagnosed the disease of the age differently, and therefore insisted that the observance of the Law was the best prophylactic against demons. The wearing of the Tefillin, the Greek name of which, φυλακτήρια, indicates that they were regarded by the Hellenistic Jews as amulets (comp. Targ. Cant. viii. 3; Gen. R. xxxv.; Men. 33b), the fixing of the Mezuzah at the door, the reading of the Shema 'with the name of God in the first verse, and the putting on of the ẓiẓit, while direct observances of the Law (Deut. vi. 4-9, Num. xvi. 38), were also regarded by the Rabbis as a safeguard against all evil powers (Ber. 5a; Num. 48b). The recital of the set prayers each morning and evening (Ber. 9b), the observance of the commandment of the Sukkah (Pesiḳ. 187b), protect against evil powers. In fact, "the wicked are accompanied by the angels of Satan; the righteous by the angels of God" (Tosef., Shab. xvii. 2-3; compare Book of Jubilees, x. 6). For each commandment observed by man becomes an angel "to guard him against demons" (Ex. R. xxxii. and Tan. ad loc.). "Every observance of the Law is a protection" (Soṭah 21a), and those bent upon doing some sacred work ("sheluḥe miẓwah") need fear no evil powers (Pes. 8b). The priest's blessing also is a protection against malign influences (Num. R. xi.). And as in the Passover night, "the night of watching," Satan was bound and prevented from doing harm to Israel (Book of Jubilees, xlviii. 15; Pes. 109b), so is "the left hand when adorned with the tefillim surrounded with thousands, and the right hand performing acts of religion surrounded with myriads, of guardian angels" (Midr. Teh. to Ps. xci. 4). "Every limb engaged in the fulfilment of a divine commandment is protected against the 'Strong One'" (Pesik. R. ix.; Midr. Teh. to Ps. xxxv.). Thus Pharisaism, while increasing the yoke of ceremonial laws for the sake of love of God, showed a way to overcome the fear of demons. Belief in the power of the Law became the antidote against what may be termed "Satanophobia," and against the spirit of pessimism and asceticism which was fostered by the Essenes and by their Christian heirs.
The Philosophers. Though the belief in demons was greatly encouraged and enlarged in Babylonia under the influence of Parsee notions, demonology never became an essential feature of Jewish theology. The reality of demons was never questioned by the Talmudists and casuists; therefore the Halakah accepted it as a fact (see Shulḥan 'Aruk, Oraḥ Ḥayyim, 4, 2 et seq.; 90, 6; 181, 2; Yoreh De'ah, 116, 5; 179, 16, 19; Eben ha-'Ezer, 17, 10: based upon Shab. 101a, 109a; Ḥul. 105a; Ber. 3a; Pes. 112a; Meg. 3a; Pes. 109b; Yeb. 122a). Nor did most of the medieval thinkers question their reality (see Naḥmanides on Lev. xvii. 7; "Cuzari," v. 14; Crescas, "Or Adonai," iv. 6; Solomon b. Adret, Responsa, i. 413; Moses Tachau, in "Ketab Tamim"; "Oẓar Neḥmad," iii. 97). Only Maimonides, when ignoring or circumscribing the rabbinical references to the demons (see "Yad," Roẓeaḥ, xii. 5; Gerushin, ii. 13 et seq.; compare "Moreh", i. 7, the commentary to Mishnah Pes. iv. 11, and Abot v. 6), and Ibn Ezra, on Lev. xvii. 7, denied their existence.
The Cabalists. The cabalists, on the other hand, not only took up all the ideas expressed in Enoch and Pirḳe R. El.xxxiv., regarding the demons as the spirits of the men of the Flood and as the result of the union of Adam and Lilith, but they made demons form part of the cosmic design in the emanistic system in which the right and the left are the opposite currents of pure and impure powers filling the world and dividing it between the Holy One and the serpent Samael (see Zohar, Bereshit, 47b, 53 et seq., 169b et seq., 174b, and Cabala). But while the malign powers became agencies of the spirit of impurity working in men and nations, there goes along with this view the popular conception of demons as spirits of the dead roaming about as specters and vampires. This latter view is especially prominent in the school of R. Judah of Regensburg, and is dwelt upon in the Book of Raziel and the "Sefer Ḥasidim," 172, 326 et seq. Nevertheless, while the number of the demons of diseases increases (see Güdemann, "Gesch. des Erziehungswesens," 1880, i. 205; Yalḳ., Ḥadash, Mita, 149), and the belief in the efficacy of incantations is firmly adhered to, these writers repeatedly urge their readers not to resort to any conjuration or magic practises, but to have perfect confidence only in prayer and in the power of God. "No one who indulges in such practise will see good results for himself and his house" ("Sefer Ḥasidim," ed. Wistinetzki, Nos. 211 et seq., 1448-57; Güdemann, l.c. 207).
Prayers Against Demons. Notwithstanding this closing admonition of the "Sefer Ḥasidim," many prayers for the warding off of demonic influences have found a place in the Jewish liturgy and the Shulḥan 'Aruk. The privies having been in Talmudic times isolated spots which filled the imagination with specters of fear, a special incantation is prescribed invoking the protection of guardian angels against the evil spirits haunting these places (see Ber. 60b; compare Ber. 62a and Oraḥ Ḥayyim, 13, 1). Most of the prayers to be recited before retiring to bed are intended to guard the sleeper against demons (compare Ber. 4a; Shebu. 15b). At the close of the Sabbath, when the angel Dumah calls all spirits of the wicked back to their place of torment after their Sabbath respite, the evil spirits are supposed to swarm everywhere, poisoning the wells and doing harm in many ways; wherefore Psalm xci. is recited (see Pesiḳ. R. xxiii.; Sheeltot, Bereshit; Tanya, xxi.; Ha-Manhig, Shabbat, 65; Solomon b. Adret, Responsa, 1119; Kol Bo, xli.). See Dumah.
As early as geonic times there was a special incantatory formula, to be recited before drinking from the cup of the Habdalah wine, against "the demon Puta, the prince of forgetfulness," that "by the power of the holy names of the angels Arimaz, Arimas [Ahuramazda?], Ansisel, and Petahel, he may be cast upon the high mountains [Alburz]" ("Seder Rab Amram," i. 31). To this Isaac Luria added new features in the form of incantations against all the demons, and instead of "Puta" he read "Purah," connecting it with Isa. lxiii. 1 as the name of Esau-Samael (see Isaac Luria, "Tiḳḳune Shabbat," and Ḳiẓẓur Shelah, "Moẓe'e Shabbat"; compare M. Brück, "Pharisäische Volkssitten," 1840, p. 121; Brüll, l.c.).
Death at all times impressed people with the fear of evil spirits. Many rites and prayer-formulas were introduced to avert their malign influence, and special formulas for the dying were prescribed by the cabalists, by which all the demons—the shedim, ruḥin, lilin, mazziḳim, etc.—that may have been created by the impure thoughts and deeds of the departing, are adjured, by the Holy Decrees, the Powers of Heaven, and the anathemas of men, not to follow the dead nor injure him, nor in any way, direct or indirect, to cause injury to any person through him (see "Ma'abar Yabboḳ," ed. Landshut, pp. 30-33, Berlin, 1857, and introduction, where the literature is given; Amulet; Childbirth; Incantations). Customs are sometimes explained by the superstitious as being based upon belief in demons; for instance, the one prohibiting women from going to a cemetery because demons are fond of following her who yielded to the temptation of the serpent and thus caused death to come into the world, or the custom of blowing the shofar at funerals to ward off the shedim (see Yalḳ., Ḥadash, l.c. 47).
Bibliography:
  • Herzog-Hauck, Real-Encyc. s.v. Feldgeister und Dämonische;
  • L. Löw, in Ben Chananja, 1858, i. 150-154;
  • Hamburger, R. B. T. s.v. Geister;
  • Winer, B. R. s.v. Gespenster;
  • M. Kalisch, Commentary on Leviticus, 1872, ii. 310-319;
  • Weber, System der Altsynagogalen Theologie, Index;
  • Schorr, in He-Ḥaluẓ, 1865, vii. 17 et seq.; 1869, viii. 8 et seq.;
  • Fuller, in Wace's Apocrypha, 1888, i. 176, 183 et seq.;
  • Edersheim, Life and Times of Jesus, ii. 752-760, 771;
  • Kohut, Angelologie und Dämonologie in Ihrer Abhängigkeit vom Parsismus, 1896.
—In Arabic Literature:This article treats only of parallels to Jewish demonology found in Arabic literature. Ante-Islamic mythology does not discriminate between gods and demons. The jinn are considered as divinities of inferior rank, having many human attributes: they eat, drink, and procreate their kind (compare Ḥag. 16a, where a similar belief is expressed), sometimes in conjunction with human beings; in which latter case the offspring shares the natures of both parents. The jinn smell and lick things, and have a liking for remnants of food. In eating they use the left hand ("Manaḳib Al-Ansar," No. 32). Usually they haunt waste and deserted places, especially the thickets where wild beasts gather. Cemeteries and dirty places are also favorite abodes (compare Shab. 67a; Ber. 62b; Mark v. 5). In appearing to man they assume sometimes the forms of beasts and sometimes those of men; but they always have some animal characteristic, such as a paw in place of a hand (Darimi, "Kitab al-Sunnah," ii. 213). Eccentric movements of the dust-whirlwind ("zawabi'") are taken to be the visible signs of a battle between two clans of jinn (Yaḳut, iii. 478).
Under the influence of Jewish and Christian demonology in post-Islamic times, the only animals directly identified with the jinn are snakes and other obnoxious creeping things (compare Pes. 112a). When Mohammed was on his way to Tabuk, it is said that a swarm of jinn, assuming the form of serpents, approached him and stood still for a long while.
Generally jinn are peaceable and well disposed toward men. Many an ante-Islamic poet was believed to have been inspired by good jinn; and Mohammed himself was accused by his adversaries of having been inspired by jinn ("majnun"). But there arealso evil jinn, who contrive to injure men. Among these are specially conspicuous the three female demons named "Ghul" (corresponding to the Talmudical ), "Si'lat," and "'Aluḳ" or "'Aulaḳ" (compare Prov. xxx. 15), and the four male demons "Afrit," "Azbab," "Aziab," and "Ezb." Ghul is especially harmful to new-born children, and in order to keep her away their heads are rubbed with the gum of an acacia (Zamakhshari, "Asas," s.v. "ḥaiḍ").
Demons in Islam. Islam recognized the existence of all the pagan demons, good and evil, protesting only against their being considered gods. It divides the evil demons into five species: "jann," "jinn," "shaiṭans," "afrits," and "marids." Mohammed frequently refers in the Koran to the shaiṭans, of whom Iblis is the chief. Iblis, probably a corruption of the name "Diabolos" = Satan, is said to have been deprived of authority over the animal and spirit kingdoms, and sentenced to death, when he refused, at the creation of Adam, to prostrate himself before him (Koran, vii. 13). The shaiṭans are the children of Iblis, and are to die when their father dies; whereas the others, though they may live many centuries, must die before him. A popular belief says that Iblis and other evil demons are to survive mankind, though they will die before the general resurrection; the last to die being 'Azaril, the angel of death.
Tradition attributes to Mohammed the statement that every man has an angel and a demon appointed to attend him. The former guides him toward goodness, while the latter leads him to evil ("Mishkat," i. ch. 3). The shaiṭans, being the enemies of Allah, strive to disturb worshipers. Mohammed, it is said, prefaced his prayers with "O God! In Thee I am seeking for a refuge from the attacks of the shaiṭan and his witchcraft" (Ḥamzah, vii. 293). Among the evil jinn are distinguished the five sons of Iblis: "Ṭir," who brings about calamities and injuries; "Al-A'war," who encourages debauchery; "Suṭ," who suggests lies; "Dasim," who causes hatred between man and wife; and "Zalambur," who presides over places of traffic. It was in order to keep them away that the faithful were commanded the cleansings and fumigations which are unbearable to the shaiṭans, who delight in dirt and filth (Waḳidi, ii. 178). The pronouncing of the "takbir" formula ("Allah akbar" =Allah is very great) is also a means of driving them away. Mohammed, it is said, pronounced it in his travels whenever the appearance of the region changed, lest it might be enchanted. In later times amulets were invented to which were ascribed the virtue of protecting their bearers from the attacks of demons.
As in cabalistic literature, the cat plays a great part in Islamic demonology. A demon assuming the form of a cat is said to have presented himself to Mohammed while he was praying (Darimi, l.c. ii. 449). The demons called "Ḳuṭrus" usually assumed the form of cats (Mas'udi, "Muruj al-Dhahab," iii. 321). As to the good jinn, there are some among them who profess Islamism, and Mohammed pretended that many of them had listened to his sermons (Koran, sura lxxii.).
Interesting are the accounts given in the Koran of the power of Solomon over the shaiṭans, which accounts parallel the legends found in Talmud and Midrashim, and of which the following are examples:
"And we [subjected] to Solomon sundry devils to dive for him, and do other works; and we watched over them" (sura xxi. 81, 82). "And we tried Solomon, and we placed upon his throne a counterfeit body. . . . So we subjected unto him the wind, which moved gently at his command whithersoever he desired; and the devils also—every builder and diver bound in chains" (sura xxxviii. 33-37). "And of the jinn were those who worked in his presence by the will of the Lord; and such of them as swerved from our command we caused to taste of the punishment of hell. They made for him whatever he pleased of lofty halls and images, and dishes large as tanks for watering camels" (sura xxxiv. 11-12).
In the tradition it is said that Solomon possessed power over the demons by virtue of a talisman, which consisted of a signet-ring of brass, upon which was engraved the most great name of God.
Bibliography:
  • Wellhausen, Reste Arabischen Heidenthums, pp. 148 et seq.;
  • Goldziher, Abhandlungen zur Arabischen Philologie, i. 3, 107, 198, 205;
  • Freytag, Einleitung in die Arabische Sprache, p. 167;
  • E. W. Lane, Arabian Society in the Middle Ages, pp. 25 et seq.;
  • W. R. Smith, Semitic Religions, pp. 122 et seq.