The names of the Watchers
Volkaitis:
Fall of Satan
Satan, presented in the Hebrew Bible as subordinate to God's designs, is pictured in Jewish pseudepigrapha as a chief evil figure opposed to God, as ruler of demons and from 2 Enoch as a fallen angel cast out of heaven.[29]
In Christianity also Satan, though capable of disguising himself as an "angel of light" (2 Cor 11:14), is the leader of the fallen angels.[30] The New Testament mentions Satan 36 times in 33 verses, and the Book of Revelation tells of "that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world," being thrown down to the earth together with his angels.[31] Luke 10:18 has Jesus say: "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven", a phrase that, according to Ben Witherington, can mean either "fall from heaven, like lightning" or "fall, like lightning from heaven".[32]
Volkaitis:
In the New Testament, Revelation 12:3-4 speaks of a great red dragon whose tail swept a third part of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. In verses 7-9, after defeat in a War in Heaven in which the dragon and his angels fought against Michael and his angels, "the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world - he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him."[33] Thus, amongst Christians, fallen angels have been associated with the term “cast out”.[1]
Volkaitis:
The fall of Lucifer finds its earliest identification with a fallen angel in Origen,[citation needed] based on an interpretation of Isaiah 14:1-17, which describes a king of Babylon as a fallen morning star (in Hebrew, הילל ). When this description was interpreted as regarding an angel, not a human king, the image of the fallen morning star or angel was applied to Satan both in Jewish pseudepigrapha[dubious – discuss][29] and by early Christian writers,[34][35] following the transfer of the Lucifer myth to Satan in the pre-Christian century.[36] Origen and other Christian writers linked the fallen morning star of Isaiah 14:12 to Jesus' statement in Luke 10:18, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven" and to the mention of a fall of Satan in Revelation 12:8-9.[37] In Latin-speaking Christianity, the Latin word lucifer, employed in the late 4th-century AD Vulgate to translate הילל, gave rise to the name "Lucifer" for the angel believed to be referred to in the text.[dubious – discuss]
Religious views
Judaism
The concept of fallen angels is first found in Judaism among texts of the Second Temple era, being applied in particular to Azazel[38] and Satan.[29] However, from the Middle Ages certain Jewish scholars, both rationalist and traditionalist, rejected belief in rebel or fallen angels, since they considered evil as simply the absence of good or at least as not absolute.[39]
Christianity
Christians adopted the concept of fallen angels mainly based on their interpretations of the Book of Revelation Chapter 12.[1]
In Catholicism, the Catechism of the Catholic Church speaks of "the fall of the angels" not in spatial terms but as a radical and irrevocable rejection of God and his reign by some angels who, though created as good beings, freely chose evil, their sin being unforgivable because of the irrevocable character of their choice, not because of any defect in the infinite divine mercy.[40]
In 19th-century Universalism, Universalists such as Thomas Allin (1891)[41] claimed that Clement of Alexandria, Origen and Gregory of Nyssa taught that even the Devil and fallen angels will eventually be saved.[42]
In Unitarianism, Joseph Priestley suggested that the passages refer to Korah.[43] William Graham (1772) suggested that it referred to the spies in Canaan.[44] These passages are generally held today to be commentary, either positive or neutral or negative, on Jewish traditions concerning Enoch circulating in the Early Church.[45]
Islam
The Quran mentions angels (malak ملاك) around ninety times, usually in the plural and referring to obedient angels.
The Quran states that Satan was a jinn (as in Islam, angels cannot disobey Allah) and also he is mentioned with the angels in verses (2:34,[46] 7:11, 15:29, 17:61, 18:50, 20:116, 38:71) prior to his fall. Satan (also called Iblis from Greek diabolos, "the devil") rebelled and was banished on earth, and he vowed to create mischief on earth after being given respite by Allah till the Day of Judgment, according to verses (80-85:38).[47] In Islamic terminology, jinns, like humans, have the capacity to choose whether to obey Allah or disobey him, which means they have free will.
Harut and Marut (Arabic: هاروت وماروت) are two angels sent to test the people of Babylon. That there are fallen angels is not in the Quran and the Quran explicitly states angels have no free will, but are like appendages of Allah.[48][49] But, it is said Allah gave free will to those two angels for 2 months to show them why human beings are superior creatures, and then they were taken back to the heavens. In the meantime, they taught some spiritual things and magic to human beings.(Quran 2:30)
Influence
In literature, John Milton's Paradise Lost (7.131-134, etc.), refers to Satan as being "brighter once amidst the host of Angels, than the sun amidst the stars."[50]
Volkaitis:
The sculpture of The Fallen Angel at Plaza del Ángel Caído, in the Retiro Park in Madrid (Spain). Created in 1877 and cast in bronze for Universal Exposition in Paris. Work by Ricardo Bellver (1845-1924), a Spanish sculptor. Photo by Thermos.
Volkaitis:
Sculpture 1893; photo 7-23-2011
Source Salvatore Albano in Brooklyn Museum
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