THE HISTORY OF THE “FALLEN ANGEL”, LUCIFER, SATAN, DEVIL, THE EVIL ONE…..

My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ Our Only True Lord, God and Savior,

CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.

THE HISTORY OF THE "FALLEN ANGEL", LUCIFER, SATAN, DEVIL
THE EVIL ONE…

The devil has been designated as the chief fallen angel. In the Old Testament narrative of the Fall (Genesis 3), the serpent which seduces Eve and thus generates man’s first sin has been traditionally considered to be the embodiment of the devil. Thus, "DEATH ENTERED INTO THE WORLD." All through the Old Testament the devil acts AS A TEMPTER and TORMENTOR. But he is always under the CONTROL OF GOD. In the New Testament, the devil is ALLOWED TO TEMPT THE LORD, PRESENT HIMSELF AS THE MASTER OF THE WORLD (Matthew 4:8-9). Later he renews his attacks in the persons of the demoniacs thus making apparent the enmity existing between his kingdom (evil) and the Kingdom of God (good). He was after the Disciples, especially Peter, but Christ prayed for them, for their faith to remain steadfast. He was considered to be "the prince of the world," but HAS NO POWER OVER CHRIST (John 14:30). The Holy Apostle Paul and the other Holy Apostles follow this teaching about the devil. Saint Peter recommends SOBRIETY AND VIGILANCE AS THE CHIEF MEANS OF RESISTING HIM (1 Peter 5:8-9). In the Epistle of Saint Jude there is a brief allusion to the fall of the angels, but a fuller account of the angels’ fallis given in the Book of Revelation (Apocalypse) 12:7-9).

Among the Holy Father of the Church there is no definite view on the devil. Saint Athanasius and Saint Basil the Great believed that the devil was A SPIRITUAL BEING FALLEN FROM HEAVEN AS A RESULT OF PRIDE. Saint Athanasius believed THAT THE DEVIL FELL THROUGH PRIDE BECAUSE HE WOULD NOT SUBMIT TO GOD, AND THAT HIS ENVY OF MAN WAS ONLY A LATER CONSEQUENCE OF HIS FIRST SIN.

There have been very few canonical decisions on the subject of the existence and nature of the devil. Both come from the West, the one from the Council of Braga (561) by which the devil was created good but could not himself create, the other by the Fourth Lateran Council (1215) which affirmed that the devil became evil by his own will. Whatever the explanations on the origin and the nature of the devil may be, his identification with evil is UNIVERSAL and very much in existence today. But besides this identification with evil, there is a pan-Christian belief that the devil is an objective reality in the life of the individual Christian and his avowed aim to push the individual to particular decisions that render the latter’s experience confusing and condemnable by others. And though the freedom the person has for adopting either good or evil promptings and realities of life is undoubted, there are many Christians who in a tendency of abdicating personal responsibility, elect to blame the devil for their evil dispositions and acts.

In Orthodox Christian theology, the devil (Satan or Lucifer) is a created bodiless angelic spirit who fell from grace through pride and the misuse of his free will, becoming the instigator of evil. God did not create any evil being; all Angels were made inherently good, pure and glorious. The Angel known as the MORNING STAR (Lucifer) or high-ranking spirit held a sublime station in the Angelic hierarchy. He possessed free will, which allows rational creatures to love God genuinely. Lucifer CHOSE to turn his love away from God and toward himself. He DESIRED TO BE EQUAL TO OR INDEPENDENT OF THE CREATOR OUT OF PRIDE. According to Tradition reflected in imagery like the Book of Revelation, Lucifer drew a portion of the Angelic host (symbolically a third) into his rebellion. They were cast out of the heavenly realm by the loyal Angels led by Archangel Michael. Evil is understood NOT as an independent substance co-eternal with God, but A PARASITIC "FALLING-AWAY" OR CORRUPTION OF GOODNESS.

Our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ refers to the devil as the "prince of this world" because humanity yielded to his DECEPTION in Eden. The fallen spirits do not possess absolute power or equal standing with God. They operate through deceit, temptation, whispers of doubt, and the promotion of self-love, attending to sever human beings from the divine life. Cut off from the Life-creating grace of God, demons operate as spiritual parasites within creation, trying to drag humanity down into their state OF SELF-IMPOSED DARKNESS AND ALIENATION.

Our Lord Christ’s incarnation , dsath, and Resurrection shattered the ABSOLUTE DOMINION OF DEATH AND THE DEVIL OVER MANKIND. Orthodox Christianity teaches a definitive end where evil will be fully exposd and neutralized. The lake of fire or eternal darkness described in Holy Scripture is the state of FINAL SEPARATION FROM GOD’S PRESENCE FOR UNREPENTANT SPIRITUAL AND HUMAN BEINGS. Some Orthodox Saints (such as Saint Paisios the Athonite) have noted that God’s mercy is infinite and would accept repentance, but the fallen angels are so hardened in their self-idolatry and hatred that they perpetually REFUSE SALVATION.

"He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do
with the truth because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he
speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the
father of all lies" (John 8:44).

The devil and his multitude of evil spirits, "the principalities… the
powers… the world rulers of this present darkness…the spiritual
host of wickedness in heavenly place" (Ephesians 6:12) war
against man seeking to destroy him by ensnaring him to sin.

The Holy Apostle Peter writes, " Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary, the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world" (1 Peter 5:8-9). The devil and his angels (principalities) explore us individually, looking for our weaknesses. The enemy, the devil, offers appealing or anticing visions to our eyes, music to our ears, to each of our senses setting forth whatever might tempt us to sin. He arouses our tongues to speak evil about others, and urges our hands to injure them. He sets forth profits to be earned by shady and corrupt or immoral means, and holds out earthly honors and false values to be preferred to heavenly ones. He plants evil thoughts known as logismoi to transgress and allow our imaginations to inflame our passions and desires with evil phantasies. He, the evil one and his wicked demons never sleep, nor hunger or thirst but instead concentrate their efforts to separate us from our Divine and All-Holy Creator and God. Thus we must alway be alert and vigilant for his many-faceted attacks, ready to resist him at every turn.

Saint John of Damascus writes, "Lucifer was not made wicked in nature but was good, and made for good ends, and received from his Creator no trace whatever of evil in himself. But he did not sustain the brightness and the honor which the Creator had bestowed on him. Of his free choice, he was changed from what was in harmony to what was at variance with his nature, and became roused against God; thus, he was the first to depart from good and become evil. For evil is nothing else that absence of goodness, just as darkness also is the absence of light. For goodness is the light of the mind, and similarly, EVIL IS THE DARKNESS OF THE MIND…Now along with him an innumerable host of angels, subject to him, were torn away followed him, and shared in his fall, therefore, being of the same nature as the angels, they became wicked, turning away AT THEIR OWN FREE CHOICE FROM GOOD TO EVIL."

"And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his Angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who decieves the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, ‘Now salvation, and strength, and the Kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down" (Revelation 12:7-10).

The "war" with Archangel Michael and the good Angels is usually interpreted to picture an event before the creation of the world. However, the context places it jsut before the end of the world. Satan has been accusing the "brethren", the Christians, and his downfall (see Luke 10:18) presages the consummation of the Kingdom. Satan is overcome by Christ’s self-sacrifice and that of the martyrs–those who "did not love their lives to the death". The "short time" Satan has is the period of tribulation just prior to the end. Satan hates Christ and His Mother, the Theotokoks. The Ever-Virgin Mary was saved by the inspiration of the Angel who told Joseph to run into Egypt. Likewise, Satan hates our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and the Church (John 15:21)..

Our Holy Orthodox Church teaches that the faithful should NOT be afraid or intimidated by the devil and his demons. Furthermore, the Church teaches our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ fundamentally CONQUERED DEATH AND DISARMED PRINCIPALITIES AND POWERS THROUGH HIS CRUCIFIXION AND RESURRECTION. Our Holy Church Fathers, such as Saint Nicodemos the Hagiorite, emphasize that demons are ultimately powerless unless given permission by God or invited in through human sin and a lack of watchfulness. They cannot force a human being to sin against their FREE WILL. Traditional teachings assert that because Christians are clothed in the grace of baptism, the sign of the Cross, and the name of Jesu Christ, the demons actually tremble before the faithful rather than the other way around. Our Holy Church prescribes concrete, sober spiritual disciplines–such as prayer, fasting, humility, participation in the Mysteries (Sacraments) (Confession and Holy Communion), and guarding one’s thoughts (logismoi)– to repel temptation.

LET US PRAY TO THE LORD:

OUR FATHER in heaven, ,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your Kingdom come,
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven,
Give us this day our daily
bread.
And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
And do not lead us into
temptation,
But deliver us from the evil
one.
For Your is the Kingdom and
the power and the glory
forever. Amen. (Matthew 6:9-13)

____________
"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"
+Saint John Chrysostomos

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With sincere agape in Christ’s Divine and Glorious Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+ Father George