Is There Really A Shatan [ Satan ] And Fallen Angels?

 

Or is this an excuse to avoid personal responsibility and another industry method of the priesthoods?

 

Though this subject will probably be controversial, it is necessary to examine due to the importance placed on these matters by Judaism, Christianity and Islam, especially Christianity and Chasiydiym [Orthodox] Judaism. Anything that sets itself in opposition to YHWH is idolatry and He will not share you with another, especially a fabricated evil. So let’s delve into the deceptive belief that HaShatan [ Satan ] is a being, considered by most to be a fallen angel, and thereby that subject as well. It would be best to define terms to get on the same page.

 

Shatan / Satan – Hebrew [phy] means adversary, accuser. Arabic is Shaytan or Shaitan.

 

Diabolos – Greek [diabolos] means accusatory, slanderous, malicious.

 

Devil – Etymological Dictionary of the English Language by Ernst Klein – “Old English deofol "evil spirit," from Latin diabolus, from Greek diabolos "accuser, slanderer" (scriptural loan-translation of Hebrew satan), from diaballein "to slander, attack," literally "throw across," from dia- "across, through" + ballein "to throw." Jerome [early church father] re-introduced Satan in Latin bibles, and English translators have used both in different measures. In the Latin Vulgate, as in Greek, diabolus and dæmon  were distinct, but they have merged in English and other Germanic languages.”

 

Now lets also define angels. In the Hebrew, the messengers of YHWH are referred to as malakiym [malak is singular]. In the Greek, that word messenger is angelos, which came to be called angel in English. In the Hebrew text of the Tanak, malak is not specifically a divine messenger. A prophet is also a malak of YHWH. Anyone coming up and delivering a message is a malak. So from the Hebrew perspective of the Bible, which is the root of what we are dealing with on this subject, a malak is not just some sort of celestial being, but a messenger. Please keep this in mind as we progress in this study.

 

 

Personification of Shatan / Satan

 

Shatan / Satan is personified as a powerful being, most often viewed as an angel of God. Please note that I refer to the general concept of God. I am not referring to YHWH when I refer to God, which will be explained later. The story goes that Shatan began a rebellion against God, leading a third of the angels in heaven in his rebellion. Shatan / Satan and the rebellious third of the angles were defeated and cast down from the heavens to the earth. Shatan then became the adversary of God and enemy of man. He is characterized as nearly being an equal to God in the respect that he is viewed as being able to be everywhere at the same time, just doing evil everywhere he goes; knowing everything, just perverting that knowledge for evil; being all powerful in an evil sort of way; being immortal and timeless; having legions of minions at his command; can travel anywhere he wants in no time to wreak destruction; etc... People speak of and write of Shatan as though he is in a ying and yang type relationship with God; the black to Gods white, the evil to Gods good, an eternal struggle, with man as the field of battle. As we research this subject, I believe that you will find that no longer to be the case, just as I did many years ago.

 

 

Lets Begin in the "Beginning”

 

Bereshiyth  [Gen.]

"6 ¹ and it was that the men began to be many on the face of the ground, and daughters were born to them,  ² and the sons of the elohiym saw that the daughters of the men they were good; and they took for themselves wives, from all those whom they chose.  ³ and YHWH said, 'my ruach will not strive with man forever, since he is flesh; and his days will be one hundred and twenty years years.'  ⁴ the nephiliym were on the earth in those days, and also afterwards, when the sons of the elohiym came in to the daughters of the men, and they brought forth to them; they were the warriors who were of old, men of the name."

 

This is the first reference to the Nefiliym / Nephilim in the Tanak / Scriptures.  Right away, this passage brings a number of questions to be answered: Who are the sons of the Elohiym? How do they differ from men? How could the Nefiliym be on the earth before AND after the flood, since only Noach, his wife and sons and their wives, eight in all, were on the ark, if you fully believe the account as it is written? What are the Nefiliym / Nephilim?

 

First, let us look at the root of the name Nefiliym. Nefiliym / Nephilim is a plural of nafal. Nafal means to fall, not just in Hebrew, but also in Aramaic, Biblical Aramaic, Syriac, Ugaritic, and Arabic - fall, was prostrate, was cast down, thrown down, overthrown. 

 

If we look for something that was different from men and was fallen, cast down, one immediately thinks of what are termed the fallen angels, those that rebelled against YHWH and were cast down, according to the teaching of Christianity. Now we need to check for several things: where are those that are cast down referenced, what exactly were the terms of those that were cast down, and are the malakiym [Hebrew for messengers] ever referred to as the sons of the Elohiym?

 

Nowhere in the Tanak [OT] does it ever say that any malakiym [angels], hosts of the heavens or stars are cast down from the heavens or that they rebelled against YHWH. There are verses in the New Testament that speak of this, but not in the Tanak. There are passages that are associated with HaShatan falling and being cast down, but nothing of any others. We will pursue these verses shortly, but for me, alarm bells go off when there is nothing in the Tanak on a subject that is so old and major.

 

 

Beney Elohiym – Sons of God

 

Are malakiym ever referred to as the "beney Elohiym [sons of God]", in the Scriptures? No, but associations have been made over the centuries. In the book of Iyob [Job] there are a number of references to the beney haElohiym. 1:6 and 2:1, both state that a day came when the beney haElohiym [sons of the Elohiym] came to present themselves before YHWH and hashatan [the accuser] also came. Iyob 38:7,  "…when the morning stars sang together, and all the beney Elohiym [sons of God]  shouted for joy?"  These are the only times that the phrase "beney elohiym" occurs in the Masoretic text, other than the first quoted in Bereshiyth above. There are several factors that come into play here. First, there is one other place that the phrase occurs, but it is not in the Masoretic text,  it is in the Aramaic text of the Scriptures, as well as the Qumran copy of HaDebariym [Deuteronomy]. Chapter 32:8, in the Masoretic, states that the Most High divided the nations into their inheritance and that He set their number according to the beney Yisrael [sons of Yisrael] which is attributed to be 70. The Aramaic and Qumran texts have beney elohiym. The Greek Septuagint also uses sons of God in that verse. To make matters worse, there are two books, in the post-biblical Hebrew texts, the book of Enoch [oldest part dates to 300 BCE and latest parts to 100 CE] and the book of Jubilees [2^nd century BCE], that mention the phrase  "beney elohiym". Not only do they mention it, they go into great description concerning this fall and give names to those that fell.

 

 

The Text of Iyob [Job]

 

Now, let's look at some of the dating of these texts. Iyob is a late writing [after the exile]. According to most scholars who study the linguistics of the text, it is full of aramaicisms, meaning that the words are not Hebrew, but Aramaic in origin, the language of the common person after the exile.  Jubilees and Enoch are also post-exile writings. Next, the Aramaic version of the Scriptures, the Targum, is also post-exile, as well as the Qumran copy and the Greek Septuagint, which first began with the translation of the books of Mosheh [Pentateuch], around 250 BCE. So as it stands, there is no pre-exilic writing that refers to the malakiym [malakiym] of YHWH as the beney elohiym [sons of God].

 

Lets take a little rabbit trail here and discuss the writing of the book of Iyob. This is important for this factor of the quote involving the beney elohiym, as well as another dealing with “Shatan” later.

 

The TaNaK is the Hebrew Bible. It is an acronym for Thorah [Law], Nebiyiym [Prophets] and Kethubiym [Writings]. The three segments of the Tanak comprise the Hebrew canon. The canon was not all compiled at the same time. The popular belief is that the Thorah was closed by 400 BCE, the Nebiyiym by 200 BCE  and the Kethubiym by 100 CE. The last book to be closed, as far as the canon went, was the Kethubiym [Writings], which occurred after the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem. Up to that point, just as with the Christian canon, there were books being used that got dropped and others that were added, nothing was set in stone. It is speculated that after the destruction of the temple in 70 CE, the school began by Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai, in the city of Yabneh [Yamnia] became a major source for Rabbinic Judaism. It is speculated that a council of rabbinic elders presided over matters and that included the Hebrew canon, closing the third book. No Jewish sources can positively date the closing of the third book.

 

In 2 Maccabees 2:13-15, a book not contained in the Hebrew canon, we see a quote, “Besides these things, it is also told in the records and in Nehemiah's Memoirs how he collected the books about the kings, the writings of the prophets and of David, and the royal letters about sacred offerings. In like manner Judas [Maccabeus, around 167 BCE] also collected for us the books that had been scattered because of the war, and we now have them in our possession. If you need them, send messengers to get them for you.” From this quote, it is believed that the Hebrew canon, especially the Kethubiym, was not yet closed.

 

In the book of the Wisdom of Ben Sirach, also not included in the Hebrew canon, chapters 44-49 are a hymn in honor of the ancestors, which lists men in the same order as the Hebrew Canon, but has some differences. After listing Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel of the major prophets, mentions the twelve prophets, which are considered to be the 12 minor prophets, which does not include the book of Daniel, believed to have been written very late, mid 2^nd century BCE. Next the writer mentions Nehemiah. The author then mentions Enoch and Joseph, both late writings that are not included in the Hebrew canon, but were popular at their time. His list excludes the books of Ruth, Song of Songs, Esther and Daniel. The Book of the Wisdom of Ben Sirach is believed to have been written between 180-175 BCE, so at this time, there are different books being considered, showing that the canon was still not fixed.

 

The Dead Sea Scrolls are another source to what was being written and read among the Hebrew peoples. They refer to the Thorah and the Nebiyiym [Prophets], which suggests that the canon for those books was already closed, but the Kethubiym [Writings], was not. They have more psalms than the current Hebrew book and they are not in the same order. They contain fragments, including Job, or whole books from all books except the book of Esther. Also found were books of Jubilees, Enoch and Ben Sirach.

 

In the writings of Josephus, after the desturtion of the Temple in Jerusalem, he states that the books of the Scriptures are 22. Later, in 2^nd Esdras 14:45, 46, which was written in the first half of the second century CE, states that there are 24 books, the first reference to that canon.

 

In the Babylonian Talmud, Baba Bathra 15a is a quote about the book of Job, “A certain rabbi was sitting before Rabbi Samuel ben Nahmani and in the course of his expositions remarked, Job never was and never existed, but is only a typical figure.” It goes on to say that the writing is nothing but a parable. This passage is in a much longer discourse, or I should say, argument, about the books of the Tanak, who wrote what, in what order, beginning with 14b, but they mostly argue about the book of Job and whether or not he was a real man and if so, when he really lived and where, the discussion gets way off topic after that and carries on with other subjects.

 

The point in all this, is that the book of Iyob is very late and we cannot base 3 verses that occur in such a late book as a corroboration to the one in Bereshiyth [Genesis] making it gospel, so to speak.

This verse in Bereshiyth makes me wonder. Is it a lone verse, in an earlier writing, or is it the hand of a latter scribe, adding some information to an older text, as a means of an explanation? So we need to dig further.

 

 

Other Verses Concerning Sons

 

There is also the matter of the Canaanite/Ugaritic texts that were discovered. We now have a large amount of recorded text dealing with the Canaanite pantheon. El, the creator deity and head of the pantheon has 70 sons. He resides on Mount Tsafon [Zaphon] and presides over the assembly of the elohiym [plural for el]. These elohiym are his offspring and the other deities. Elohiym are not messengers, angels, or men, they are deities. For further information on the Canaanite pantheon, please see Worthless Deities Listed in the Hebrew Text study.

 

There is another verse in Thehillah [Psalm] 89:5-7, “and the heavens will thank your wonders, YHWH; also your faithfulness in the assembly of the qedoshiym [holy ones].  ⁶ for who in the sky will be ranked with YHWH, who among the sons of the eliym is like YHWH?  ⁷ el is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the qedoshiym, and to be adored by all around him.” As you can see, it is not elohiym, but elim, also a plural form of El. If you read the rest of this thehillah, you see that this is not about YHWH at all, but is borrowed from the Ugaritic myths dealing with the battle between Baal and Yam, sons of El. Baal destroys Yam, the god of the sea and rivers and becomes the supreme god, supplanting his father El, as most cultures myths do with the son deity eventually merging with the father deity and taking over, such as Cronus and Zeus in the Greek or within Christianity with Jesus and God [I am not referring to Yahusha and YHWH here].

 

In the late Aramaic book of Daniyel 3:25, dealing with the fiery furnace incident, the servant of the king of Babel says to the king that he sees 4 men in the furnace, not just the 3 they threw in, that the 4^th looks like a “bar elahiyn”, Aramaic for son of (the) Gods. While this verse does not specifically say the son of god was a malak/messenger, the book is written during a time period when the association of the messengers of God were the sons of God and that people had their own personal angel to protect them, as well as each nation having their own personal angel, represented in the end of chapter 10 by the word shar, for ruler or prince.

 

Psalm 82, “a mizmor of asaf. elohiym stands in the assembly of el; he judges in the midst of the elohiym .  ² until when will you judge unjustly, and lift up the faces of the wicked? selah.  ³ judge the poor and fatherless; do justice to the afflicted and needy.  ⁴ deliver the poor and needy; save out of the hand of the wicked.  ⁵ they neither know nor will understand; they walk in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken.  ⁶ i have said, you are elohiym, and all of you are sons of elyon.  ⁷ but you will die as men, and fall like one of the rulers.  ⁸ rise, elohiym, judge the earth; for you will inherit in all the goyim.”

 

It is obvious from the available passages concerning sons of Elohiym/God, that there is no precedent for fallen angels in the Tanak writings that are pre-exile. So where did the belief begin that there was a war in the heavens and a part of the angels fell?

 

 

Jewish Merkabah Writings Involving Angels

 

In the 3^rd to 2^nd centuries BCE [Before the Common Era, BC to religious observers of Christianity] we see a rise in a particular writing motif, merkabah, dealing with the angels of God, often called the Sons of God and the Watchers, who were supposed to watch over mankind. This belief system not only brought about a belief of ministering angels of God sinning in their commission to watch over man, who instead had sexual relations with them and taught them all manner of mysteries [weaponry, cosmetics, medicine, astrology involving a solar calendar of 364 days, etc.] that were supposed to remain the secrets of the heavens, but their offspring with the daughters of men produced an “unholy” union that came to be referred to as giants who became demons. These offspring were called mamzer – bastards. Mankind is now the battleground for all the torments, mischief, evil that these demons can muster. Whatever is evil is now attributed to these demons and fallen angels, including possession for the dispossessed spirits of the giants seeking another body. This is diametrically opposed to the teaching of YHWH, where personal responsibility for you thoughts, your heart, your actions is required in this walk with Him.

 

In the Hebrew, merkabah is defined as chariot, carriage, the chariot in the vision of Ezekiel. The vision that is referenced is in chapter 1 of Yechezqel [Ezekiel] with the 4 wheeled vehicle that bears the throne of God,  driven by chayoth, the living creatures described as having 4 faces: man, lion, ox and eagle. It is also referred to as the Throne of Glory. The Account of the Chariot is called the Ma'aseh Merkabah.

 

The book of Yechezqel is set during the time of the captivity to Babel. This is important because of the adoption of Assyrian and Babylonian symbolism and beliefs that have been incorporated into what is thought to be Scripture of God. The 4 faced being described is Ashshur. He is the chief, creator deity, sometimes associated with Marduk. He was the patron deity of Assyria, which bears his name. Ashshur is represented as a dragon slayer and warrior. He is lord of the four cardinal points and is also represented as the god of four faces, one of a bull, an eagle, a lion and a man, with wings. His symbols are the winged disk and the bow and arrow. When Babel conquered Ashshur some of its deities were incorporated with theirs, many were already the same with minor name changes. This is the imagery being presented in this first chapter of Yechezqel and the basis of the Merkabah teachings.

 

The study of Yechezqel 1 and the speculations on the mysteries, secrets of the heavens came to become a body of mysticism writings known as Heykaloth /Heichaloth [Palaces]. During the Talmudic period, this writing flourished. Merkabah literature is defined by a number of teachings, some of which are pertinent to this study.

 

Below are some excerpts from some of these merkabah writings, with a brief explanation of the books to give you a frame of reference.

 

Book of 1 Enoch

 

In the Book of 1 Enoch [oldest part dates to 300 BCE and latest parts to 100 CE], you see 5 divisions that are thought to originally have been 5 separate books, later combined into 1. It is the first book of the Watchers (1 Enoch 1 – 36), that I am quoting from. I am forced to list information on this book, not because I accept this book as truth or inspired, but to reveal a source for the Jewish, Christian belief in Shatan / Satan as a being and fallen angel. I exclude Islam from this statement, because their belief is just a wee bit different in this matter. Islam does not view Shaitan as having first been and angel, then fell. They view him as having been created that way and is part of the Djinn [Jinn, where English speakers get the word genie from, are lesser spirits from angels.] This is a Jewish writing. I would not suggest that anyone look up this book for reading, except to verify my statements as to the origins of this deception.

 

Chapter 6

1 And it came to pass when the children of men had multiplied that in those days were born unto them beautiful and comely daughters. 2 And the angels, the children of the heaven, saw and lusted after them, and said to one another: 'Come, let us choose us wives from among the children of men
3 and beget us children.' And Semjaza, who was their leader, said unto them: 'I fear ye will not
4 indeed agree to do this deed, and I alone shall have to pay the penalty of a great sin.' And they all answered him and said: 'Let us all swear an oath, and all bind ourselves by mutual imprecations
5 not to abandon this plan but to do this thing.' Then sware they all together and bound themselves
6 by mutual imprecations upon it. And they were in all two hundred; who descended in the days of Jared on the summit of Mount Hermon, and they called it Mount Hermon, because they had sworn
7 and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it. And these are the names of their leaders: Samlazaz, their leader, Araklba, Rameel, Kokablel, Tamlel, Ramlel, Danel, Ezeqeel, Baraqijal,
8 Asael, Armaros, Batarel, Ananel, Zaq1el, Samsapeel, Satarel, Turel, Jomjael, Sariel. These are their chiefs of tens.

 

From this passage you can see the first association with the angels/messengers and the children of heaven/sons of god. You can also see that the writer makes the association that for an “angel” to cohabit with a human was sin and there would be a penalty.

 

Chapter 9

1 And then Michael, Uriel, Raphael, and Gabriel looked down from heaven and saw much blood being 2 shed upon the earth, and all lawlessness being wrought upon the earth. And they said one to another: 'The earth made without inhabitant cries the voice of their cryingst up to the gates of heaven.
3 And now to you, the holy ones of heaven, the souls of men make their suit, saying, "Bring our cause
4 before the Most High."' And they said to the Lord of the ages: 'Lord of lords, God of gods, King of kings, and God of the ages, the throne of Thy glory (standeth) unto all the generations of the
5 ages, and Thy name holy and glorious and blessed unto all the ages! Thou hast made all things, and power over all things hast Thou: and all things are naked and open in Thy sight, and Thou seest all 6 things, and nothing can hide itself from Thee. Thou seest what Azazel hath done, who hath taught all unrighteousness on earth and revealed the eternal secrets which were (preserved) in heaven, which 7 men were striving to learn: And Semjaza, to whom Thou hast given authority to bear rule over his associates. And they have gone to the daughters of men upon the earth, and have slept with the 9 women, and have defiled themselves, and revealed to them all kinds of sins. And the women have 10 borne giants, and the whole earth has thereby been filled with blood and unrighteousness. And now, behold, the souls of those who have died are crying and making their suit to the gates of heaven, and their lamentations have ascended: and cannot cease because of the lawless deeds which are 11 wrought on the earth. And Thou knowest all things before they come to pass, and Thou seest these things and Thou dost suffer them, and Thou dost not say to us what we are to do to them in regard to these.'

 

From this chapter we see that there were some “angels of God” that did not sin.

 

Chapter 10

3... And again the Lord said to Raphael: Bind Azazel hand and foot, and cast him into the darkness: and make an opening  5 in the desert, which is in Dudael, and cast him therein. And place upon him rough and jagged rocks, and cover him with darkness, and let him abide there for ever, and cover his face that he may 6,7 not see light. And on the day of the great judgment he shall be cast into the fire.

 

11... And the Lord said unto Michael: Go, bind Semjaza and his associates who have united themselves with women so as to have defiled themselves 12 with them in all their uncleanness. And when their sons have slain one another, and they have seen the destruction of their beloved ones, bind them fast for seventy generations in the valleys of the earth, till the day of their judgment and of their consummation, till the judgment that is 13 for ever and ever is consummated. In those days they shall be led off to the abyss of fire: and 14 to the torment and the prison in which they shall be confined for ever. And whosoever shall be condemned and destroyed will from thenceforth be bound together with them to the end of all 15 generations.

 

In these passages you can see the casting out of heaven and to the earth Azazel and the angels that chose to follow him, as well as their judgment. Azazel is a name taken from Wayyiqra [Leviticus] 16:8-10. It is referring to the scapegoat [azazel] on Yom Kippur. The character Azazel/Azzael came to be associated with the personified Shatan/Shaitan.

 

Chapter 15

8 And now, the giants, who are produced from the spirits and flesh, shall be called evil spirits upon
9 the earth, and on the earth shall be their dwelling. Evil spirits have proceeded from their bodies; because they are born from men and from the holy Watchers is their beginning and primal origin;
10 they shall be evil spirits on earth, and evil spirits shall they be called. [As for the spirits of heaven, in heaven shall be their dwelling, but as for the spirits of the earth which were born upon the earth, on the earth shall be their dwelling.] 11 And the spirits of the giants afflict, oppress, destroy, attack, do battle, and work destruction on the earth, and cause trouble: they take no food, but nevertheless
12 hunger and thirst, and cause offences. And these spirits shall rise up against the children of men and against the women, because they have proceeded from them.

 

From this passage we see that the origin of evil spirits to afflict mankind.

 

So lets recap what is listed in Enoch – there were a group of angels that lusted after the daughters of men, sexually cohabited with them, which was judged as sin. For this, they are cast down from heaven and on the final judgment will be cast into a lake of fire. The offspring of these fallen angels are the demons and it is their lot to torment mankind. For any of you, the least bit familiar with Christianity, does this sound familiar? Yes, this is the whole teaching of Satan, his fall, his judgment, primarily listed in the book of Revelations, Jude and II Peter, but also mentioned in various other books.

 

3 Enoch

 

3 Enoch was written in Hebrew by Rabbi Ishmael ben Elisha who lived from 90 CE [AD] to 135 CE. He died just before the Bar Kochba revolt and was a contemporary of Rabbi Akiba. This is important as to the writing style and content. Rabbi Ishmael was a Tanna of the first and second century CE, a Rabbinic sage whose views are recorded in the Mishnah portion of the Talmud. 3 Enoch, as Rabbi Ishmael writes, is his account of being taken to the heavens and instructed by the Angel Metatron, who had been Enoch, the man in the Bereshiyth [Genesis] account, before the flood. Metatron is called the Lesser YHWH. The original title of 3 Enoch is believed to have been Sefer Heykalot [plural of heykal – temple, place], the Book of the Palaces.

 

4:6  In that hour three of the ministering angels, Uzza, Azza and Azzael came forth and brought charges against me [Enoch was turned into Metatron in heaven] in the high heavens, saying before the Holy One, blessed be He: Said not the Ancient Ones (First Ones) rightly before Thee: Do not create man. The Holy One, blessed be He, answered and said unto them: I have made and I will bear, yea, I will carry and deliver.

 

5:9  What power was in them [generation of Enosh, idol worshippers] that they were able to bring them down? They would not have been able to bring them [sun, moon, planets and constellations] down but for Uzza, Azza and Azzael who taught them sorceries whereby they brought them down and made use of them.

 

Chapter 14 makes a long list of the specific angels over various subjects, such as Gabriel over fire, Baradiel over hail, Ruhiel over wind, Kokabiel over the stars, Rahatiel over constellations, etc. The names of the angels are simply the Hebrew term for the item they are over + el.

 

Chapter 17 lists the seven great angels that are over the different levels of heaven, Michael being the highest, over the seventh heaven.

 

From these verses we can see a major belief system of angels, the fall of some of them, Azzael being one of a named group of three responsible for leading man into idolatry and the men succumbing to the idolatrous teachings of Azzael and other fallen angels.

 

The Life of Adam and Eve

 

The date of this book is believed to have been composed between 100 BCE to 200 CE [Common Era], with the probability closer to the latter. The relationship between the Life of Adam and Eve and the Jewish Pseudepigrapha, the writings of Josephus and rabbinic traditions is strong. It has been suggested that the author was of Pharisaic Judaism, originating in Palestine. The work compares to the writings of Midrash or Haggadah, very typical of writings from Qumran and Rabbinic Judaism.

 

Shatan’s / Satan's Account of the Fall

12 1 Groaning, the Devil said: O Adam, all my enmity, jealousy, and resentment is towards you, since on account of you I was expelled and alienated from my glory, which I had in heaven in the midst of the angels. On account of you I was cast out upon the earth. 2 Adam answered: What have I done to you? 3 What fault do I have against you? Since you have not been harmed nor injured by us, why do you persecute us?

 

13 1 The Devil answered: Adam what are you saying to me? On account of you I was cast out from heaven. 2 When you were formed, I was cast out from the face of God and was sent forth from the company of the angels. When God blew into you the breath of life and your countenance and likeness were made in the image of God, Michael led you and made you worship in the sight of God. The Lord God then said: Behold, Adam, I have made you in our image and likeness.

 

14 Having gone forth Michael called all the angels saying: Worship the image of the Lord God, just as the Lord God has commanded. 2 Michael himself worshipped first then he called me and said: Worship the image of God Jehovah. 3 I answered: I do not have it within me to worship Adam. When Michael compelled me to worship, I said to him: Why do you compel me? I will not worship him who is lower and posterior to me. I am prior to that creature. Before he was made, I had already been made. He ought to worship me.

 

15 1 Hearing this, other angels who were under me were unwilling to worship him. 2 Michael said: Worship the image of God. If you do not worship, the Lord God will grow angry with you. 3 said: If he grows angry with me, I will place my seat above the stars of heaven and I will be like the Most High.

 

16 1 Then the Lord God grew angry with me and sent me forth with my angels from our glory. On account of you we were expelled from our dwelling into this world and cast out upon the earth. 2 Immediately we were in grief, since we had been despoiled of so much glory, 3 and we grieved to see you in such a great happiness of delights. 4 By a trick I cheated your wife and caused you to be expelled through her from the delights of your happiness, just as I had been expelled from my glory.

 

17 Hearing this, Adam cried out with a great shout because of the Devil, and said: O Lord my God, in your hands is my life. Make this adversary of mine be far from me, who seeks to ruin my soul. Give me his glory which he himself lost. 2 Immediately the Devil no longer appeared to him. 3 Adam truly persevered for forty days standing in penitence in the waters of the Jordan.

 

In this account we see the similar belief from 3 Enoch that the dispute between Azzael/Shatan  and God, was due to the creation of man, which led to Azzael’s expulsion from the heavens to the earth.

 

 

New Testamant Merkabah Examples

 

Paul wrote in Acts 23: that he was a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee. This was Rabbinical Judaism in its infancy.  This is important to understand, as Paul is the author of the book of Luke, his scribe for Acts and the majority of the letters in the New Testament.

If a man wanted to write a fictional account of some story involving fallen angels, cohabitation with human women, producing demonic offspring, etc., that is his prerogative. BUT, these were not just regular fictional authors, writing fictional best sellers. These men were rabbis and church leaders, setting themselves up as the spiritual leaders of the people, teaching these beliefs as the word of “God” and not their own personal views. This is not acceptable. This is exactly the same practice as the false priests and false prophets that were condemned by the prophets of YHWH in the Tanak.

 

Solar Chariot and Mithra Worship

 

Information will be input shortly showing Persian origins for chariot imagery in Yechezqel and Merkabah writings, waiting on ILL reference book for full quotes.

 

Fallen Angels in New Testament Jewish Writings

 

Here are the verses of the NT that speak of fallen angels from the Peshitta version of the New Testament. In all the verses, the Greek text has angeloi [plural].

 

Revelations 12:7-9,  "and there was war in the heavens. and miykael and his malakiym [messengers, greek – angeloi] came to fight with the dragon; and the dragon and his malakiym warred. and they could not prevail, and their place was found no more in the heavens. and the great dragon was cast down, the old serpent, who is called malshiyn [slanderer]and shatan [accuser], which seduces the whole habitable world. and he was cast on the earth, and his malakiym with him were cast."

 

II Qefa [Peter] 2:4,  " for if the elohiym on the malakiym who sinned was not lenient, but in chains of darkness shut them in the deeps, and delivered them to be kept to the judgment of pain; and on the former world was not lenient,…"

 

Yahudah [Jude] 6,  " and the malakiym who did not keep their primacy, but left their habitation, to the judgment of the great day in chains unknown, under darkness, he has kept."

 

I am concerned by the lack of references from Yahusha` [Jesus] or from anyone in the books of Testimony [Gospels].

 

 

HaShatan / The Satan

 

In the Tanak, there are 33 times where shatan / satan is used. 14 of those verses are in the post-exilic book of Iyob [Job], 1^st and 2^nd chapters, which I have cited earlier. In all other cases shatan is used as accuser, not a personified evil, except for 3 other verses. I Dibrey HaYamiym [Chronicles] 21:1, which states that Shatan / Satan stood against Yisrael and moved Dawiyd [David] to number Yisrael. That is the equivalent of saying, “the Devil made him do it.” Chronicles is known to be a post exilic writing. ZekarYahu, written during the exile, 3:1 and 2 state, “and he made me see yahusha` the kohen gadol [joshua the high priest] standing before the malak [messenger] of YHWH, and hashatan standing at his right hand to accuse him.  ² and YHWH said to hashatan, YHWH rebuke you, hashatan. and, YHWH who has chosen yerushalaim rebuke you. is this not a brand plucked out of the fire?”

 

In the New Testament, Yahusha` does make a statement about HaShatan being cast down. Luke 10:18,  " ' then he said to them, i saw him, hashatan [the accuser], when he fell as lightning from the heavens.' "  Please note, that the author of this gospel is Luke, who did not personally know Yahusha, nor hear him speak. He is the scribe for Paul, who also did not hear Yahusha and deviated from the teaching, the Thorah of YHWH. Paul’s writings are rampant with Merkabah teachings, mentioned above. Paul’s teachings are a whole other study, dealing with the contradictions to the teachings of Yahusha and the Thorah of YHWH. Since Matthew and Mark, the earliest Hebrew books do not have this quote, I am inclined to believe that it is an influence from Paul’s rabbinic Merkabah beliefs, not what Yahusha actually spoke.

 

There are two passages that many Christians apply to the fall of HaShatan / the Satan in the Tanak [OT], though he is never directly named.

 

Yechezqel [Ezekiel] 28:11-17,  "and the word of YHWH was to me, saying,  'son of man, lift up a lament over the king of tsur [tyre], and say to him, "so says adonay YHWH, 'you seal the measure, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.  you have been in eden, the garden of elohiym. every precious stone was your covering; the ruby, the topaz, and the jasper, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the turquoise, and the carbuncle, and gold; the workmanship of your tambourines and of your flutes in you. in the day you were created, they were prepared.  you were the anointed kerub [cherub] that covers, and i had put you in the set apart heights of elohiym, where you were. you walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.  you were flawless in your ways from the day you were created, until iniquity was found in you. by the multitude of your trade, they filled your midst with violence, and you sinned. so i cast you defiled from the height of elohiym, and i destroyed you,  covering kerub, from among the stones of fire.  your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. i have cast you to the ground. i will put you before kings, that they may see you.  by the host of your iniquities, by the iniquity of your trade, you have defiled your set apart places. so i brought a fire from your midst and it will devour you, and i will give you for ashes on the earth in the sight of all who see you.  all who know you among the peoples will be appalled at you. you will be terrors, and you will not be forever.' " ' "

 

The king of Tsur was a Tsiydonian [Sidonian] king, a man. Yet, a man was not in the garden of Elohiym, was not a kerub, and was not put in the set apart heights of Elohiym. If this passage is about the fall of HaShatan / the Satan, it does not mention that he led a rebellion in the heavens and a third of the malakiym followed him and were also cast down.

 

Another passage attributed to the fall of HaShatan is YeshaYahu [Isaiah] 14. Beginning with verse 3, you see a taunt against the king of Babel, again, another man. From 3-11, you see the death of a wicked man being put in a grave, covered with maggots. A very human event. Verse 12 changes though. 12-15,  " ' oh heylel [shining star], son of shachar [morning, dawn], how you have fallen from the heavens. you weakening the goyim, you are cut down to the ground.  ¹³ for you have said in your heart, "i will go up to the heavens; i will raise my throne above the stars of el, and i will sit in the mountain of meeting, in the sides of tsafon.  ¹⁴ i will rise over the heights of the clouds; i will be compared to the most high [elyon]."  ¹⁵ yet you will go down to sheol, to the sides of the pit.' "  This passage is obviously not speaking of a man, but it does pose additional questions that need explaining. Who are Heylel and Shachar and what of the mountain Tsafon?

 

In the Canaanite/Ugaritic, Phoenician and Syrian pantheon of gods, occasionally borrowed or paralleled in Assyrian and Babylonian pantheons, Shahar is the god of the dawn, a twin son of El. El is the head of the pantheon, who was later replaced by Baal, his son. Shahar's son was Heylel.  Where Tsafon [Zaphon, Tsaphon] means north, Mount Tsafon is a place and part of the Ugaritic myths as the abode of El and Baal. Tsafon was to Canaanites what Olympus was to the Greeks. What we are seeing here is a taunt and comparison of a wicked boastful king of Babel compared to a well known myth of another boastful character who sought to be as the Most High and was cast down. It is not necessarily a passage about the fall of HaShatan when viewed in its proper context.

 

 I am aware that for centuries this has been the view of the majority of commentaries on the passage in YeshaYahu, but the finding and translation of the texts uncovered at Ugarit, shed a new light on the passage, especially when you take them as names and not definitions of words. This type of mishandling of Semitic words occurs elsewhere in the Scriptures. Another example is a passage in YiremeYahu [Jer.] 46:11,12,  " 'go up into gilead and take balm, virgin daughter of mitsrayim. in vain you will use many remedies; healing is not for you.  ¹² the goyim have heard of your shame, and your cry has filled the land. for the mighty man has stumbled against the mighty; they have fallen together, both of them.' " 

 

 The virgin daughter of Mitsrayim was Bastet, the daughter of Ra. She was considered one of his eyes. She was a virgin and a seducer, much in the same way that Astarte / Anat was. She was a warrior and a healer, just as Astarte / Anat were. She was said to have attacked man for their turning away from Ra, to the point that she had a blood lust and had to be stopped to not totally wipe out mankind. She was wading in blood. Which ties into the preceding verses about the day of YHWH being a day of vengeance on His foes and His sword will devour till it is satisfied, till it has quenched its thirst with blood. This passage is an attack on pagan deities and what they are known for, but due to translators handling, you miss what this is really about.

 

Personal Responsibility

 

From the evidence, there is no precedent from YHWH for the belief in fallen angels or Shatan / Satan. You have no need to fear a Shatan, no need to fear his army of fallen angels, no need to fear their offspring the demons, because they do not exist and they have no power over you. What you have to fear is YHWH. What you have to watch out for are your own minds, hearts and actions, for these are what will cause you to stumble in the Way of YHWH. Your own flesh and will are the enemy, not some evil demigod.

 

Fear of YHWH

 

YeshaYahu [Isaiah] 8:11-15, “¹¹ for so YHWH spoke to me with a strong hand, and taught me against walking in the way of this people, saying,  ¹² do not say, a conspiracy, to everything of which this people says, a conspiracy. and do not fear its fear, and do not dread.  ¹³ YHWH tsebaoth him set apart, and he will be your fear; and he will be your dread.  ¹⁴ and he will be for a miqdash, and for a stricking stone and a stumbling block rock to the two houses of yisrael; for a trap and for a snare to the ones living in yerushalaim.  ¹⁵ and many among them will stumble and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken.” This is very key to dealing with these peddlers of fear, deceiving people that they have to buy their “amulets, charms, doctrines” to protect them from a fraudulent “enemy”.  This verse is classic. It does not matter what these people have been fearing, regardless of the time period. That is not what you are to fear. You are to fear YHWH and no other. There is a verse in I Yahuchanan [John] 4:18 about love, living in the love of YHWH. Then it states, in love there is no fear; but perfect love casts out fear; because fear exists in punishment, and he that fears is not perfected in love. This is a key component to the fear mongers repertoire. They can only sell their fear by making you afraid of being punished. If you are walking in YHWH and His teachings, then you have nothing to fear, therefore no punishment. But if you are guilty of sin and you do not desire to have an upright relationship with YHWH, then you will fear punishment, hence you will succumb to the fear mongerers deceptions.

 

YirmeYahu 10:1-3, “¹  hear the word which YHWH speaks to you, beyth yisrael.  ² so says YHWH, do not learn the way of the goyim; and do not be terrified at the signs of the heavens; for the goyim were terrified at them.  ³ for the rules of the people are vanity.” 

 

Thehillah 128:1, “a song of ascents. happy is everyone who fears YHWH, who walks in his ways.”

 

 

Your Own Lusts

 

To empower a Shatan / Satan by any name, to empower a myth of the fallen, to empower demonic offspring is to hold those things as higher, stronger than YHWH and casts off all responsibility for your own actions by laying blame to an outside influence which is a form of idolatry.

 

A perfect example of this is in Bereshiyth [Genesis] 4:6,7, “and YHWH said to qayin [cain], why are you furious? and why has your face fallen?  ⁷ if you are good, will you not be lifted up? and if you are not good, before the entrance, sin lies down and it desires you, but you should master over it.” YHWH is saying to Qayin that if you walk upright, you will have a good relationship with Him, but if you give in to sin, the lust of your own flesh for something that is not upright, it will have you. I love that YHWH points out that we must master it. This relationship is not a given, it is not handed to you, it is work to mature ourselves in the Way of YHWH, to learn of Him and apply His principles in our lives, to become upright. The following passage in Mishley is a good example that sin is our personal responsibility, not some outside, fallen angel, demonic source.

 

Mishley [Proverbs] 6:16-32, “¹⁶ these six things YHWH hates; and seven are hateful to his nafesh;  ¹⁷ a proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,  ¹⁸ a heart that plots evil plans, feet hurrying to run to mischief,  ¹⁹ a false witness who breathes lies, and he who causes strife among brothers.  ²⁰ my son, keep the commands of your father, and do not forsake the thorath [teachings] of your mother.  ²¹ bind them to your heart forever; tie them around your neck.  ²² when you go, it will lead you; when you sleep, it will watch over you; and when you awaken, it will meditate with you.  ²³ for the command is a lamp, and the thorah a light; and corrections of instruction are a way of life,  ²⁴ to keep you from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of the strange woman.  ²⁵ do not lust after her beauty in your heart, and do not let her take you with her eyelids.  ²⁶ for on account of a woman, a whore, a man comes to the last loaf of bread, and the wife of another man hunts for the precious nefesh [being].  ²⁷ can a man take fire into his bosom and his clothes not be burned?  ²⁸ or can a man walk on hot coals and his feet not be burned?  ²⁹ so is he who goes in to the wife of his neighbor; everyone touching her will not be innocent.  ³⁰ they do not despise a thief, if he steals to fill his appetite when he is hungry.  ³¹ but if he is found, he will restore sevenfold; he will give all the goods of his beyth [house].  ³² he who commits adultery with a wife lacks heart; he who does it is a destroyer of his own nafesh [being].”

 

The last verse is wonderful in pointing this out that the man who does these things is the destroyer of his own being, not Shatan / Satan, or any other “fallen angel”, not any demon, but that man is the destroyer. This is repeated in the New Testament book of Yaaqob [James]. Yaaqob [James] 1:13-15, “let no man say, when he is tempted, from elohey i am tempted; for elohey is not tempted with evils, and he no man tempts. but each man from his own lust tempts himself, and desires, and is drawn away. and this desire conceives and bears sin; and sin, when it is mature, bears death.”

 

Mishley 4:10-19, “¹⁰ my son, hear and receive my sayings, and the years of your life will be many.  ¹¹ i have taught you in the way of wisdom; i have led you in the right tracks;  ¹² when you go, your tracks will not be narrowed, and when you run, you will not stumble.  ¹³ take fast hold of instruction, do not let her go; keep her, for she is your life.  ¹⁴ do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not go in the way of evildoers.  ¹⁵ avoid it, do not pass by it; turn from it and pass on.  ¹⁶ for they do not sleep if they have done no evil, and their sleep is taken away unless they cause some to fall.  ¹⁷ for they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence.  ¹⁸ but the path of the just is as a bright light going on and shining till the day is established.  ¹⁹ the way of the wicked is as darkness; they do not know at what they stumble.” 23-27, “²³ keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life.  ²⁴ turn away from you the crooked mouth, and put perverse lips far from you.  ²⁵ let your eyes look straight ahead, and let your eyelids look straight before you.  ²⁶ study the track of your feet, then all your ways will be established.  ²⁷ do not turn to the right hand or to the left; turn your foot aside from evil.”

 

Mishley 22:5, “⁵ thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse, he who keeps his nafesh [being] will be far from them.”

 

Just about everyone who believes in the Creator, regardless of whether you call Him Elohey, God or Allah, knows a verse about the heart being deceitful above all things. YirmeYahu [Jeremiah] 17:9,10, “⁹ the heart is deceitful above all things, and it is incurable; who can know it?  ¹⁰ i, YHWH, search the heart, i try the reins, even to give to each man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings.”

 

In the book of MaththiYahu [Matthew] 15:16-20, Yahusha [Jesus] is speaking to his students and asks them, “but he said to them, do you also not yet understand? know you not that whatsoever enters the mouth, goes into the belly, and from there in purification it is cast without ? but whatsoever from the mouth will come forth, from the heart comes forth, and this [is what] contaminates a child of man. for from the heart proceed evil thoughts, adultery, murder, prostitution, theft, slander, blasphemy. these are they which defile a man; ...” While the purpose of this passage is about hand washing, it is just as pertinent as to our subject, that it is the heart of man that cause him to sin, not some demonic, angelic force. In YirmeYahu [Jeremiah] 7:24, we see the prophet telling the people that it is their heart that dominates those that do not walk with YHWH,”but they did not listen nor bow their ear. but the walked in their own schemes, in the domination of their evil heart, and went backward and not forward. ” Remember what YHWH said to Qayin in Bereshiyth [Genesis]? “if you are good, will you not be lifted up? and if you are not good, before the entrance, sin lies down and it desires you, but you should master over it.” This walk is all about our mastering the thoughts of our mind, our heart, the words of our mouth, and our actions. We are the ones that are responsible for our spiritual condition, not fallen angels and demons.

 

Thorah of YHWH to Protect Your Being From Sin

 

Yahusha` [Joshua] 1:8, " 'do not let this book of the thorah depart from your mouth, but you will meditate on it day and night, so that you may observe to do everything that is written in it. for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will act wisely.' "   

 

Thehillah [Psalm] 37:31,  " 'the thorah of YHWH is in his heart; his footsteps will not slip.' " 

 

Thehillah 119:101, 105, “¹⁰¹ from every evil path i restrain my feet, so that i observe your word.

¹⁰⁵ a light to my foot is your word, and a light to my path.” 

 

It is my hope that this study has been a help in revealing another stumbling block on the path of YHWH, that of a false personification of evil by the name of Shatan / Satan and Azzael, as well as the notion that there was more than one angel that fell, but a whole mess of them, and their offspring that became demons with nothing better than to make your lives a living hell. People, we need to take responsibility for our minds, our hearts and our actions. No more should we say that the devil made us do something or that we were afflicted / tempted by demons or that they were attacked by the enemy. These are pathetic excuses of immature, ignorant people looking for a way to avoid responsibility for their own lusts of their flesh and the guilt of their sins. I am asking you, in the same vein as EliYahu [Elijah], to make up your minds who you will serve? If the baaliym and all their fears, then have at. But if you choose YHWH, realize, you dont have to live any longer with all that unnecessary fear that robs you of the shalom [wholeness, completeness, peace] of YHWH. Do not fear the impotent idol that is Shatan. Remember, YHWH is that perfect love that casts out all that fear.

 

Thehillah [Psalm] 19:7-14, “⁷ the thorath of YHWH is perfect, converting the nafesh [being]. the testimony of YHWH is sure, making the simple wise.  ⁸ the precepts of YHWH are right, rejoicing the heart. the commands of YHWH are pure, giving light to the eyes.  ⁹ the fear of YHWH is clean, enduring forever. the judgments of YHWH are true, they are righteous altogether.  ¹⁰ they are more precious than gold, even much fine gold, and sweeter than honey and drops from the honeycomb.  ¹¹ also your servant is warned by them; in keeping of them is great reward.  ¹² who can discern errors? acquit me from secret faults.  ¹³ also withhold your servant from arrogant sins; do not let them rule over me; then i will be upright, and i will be innocent from great transgression.  ¹⁴ let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing before you, YHWH, my rock and my redeemer.”

 

Kathryn QannaYahu