Hello, and welcome back to The Moral Vision of Jesus Christ. If you are new here, and desire the full effect, you should start here at the Introduction.
Regulars to this Gospel Study will recall that, last time, we were still in the middle of a study-within-a-study, trying to understand the origins of the modern conception of the devil as a pitchfork wielding demon who literally roams the earth tempting men, women and children to sin so that he might have the opportunity to watch them suffer eternally inside some intricate and vast hell-system. And all with God's blessing.
You'll recall that, to begin our study-within-a-study, we looked at various devil-like characters that predated the Jewish scriptures, showing that such creatures of malevolence predated the Jewish and Christian traditions and were by no means "new" in these faiths.
You'll recall that we surveyed the extent to which the modern "capital-S" Satan originated in The Old Testament, and found that the "capital-S" Satan didn't exist in The Old Testament. He doesn't even appear in the Garden of Eden, despite the prevalent modern belief that he does.
You'll recall that we looked at the Intertestamental Period for a "capital-S" Satan and found something very close to him in The Book of Enoch, an intertestamental, apocryphal, pseudepigraphical text. In Enoch, we found a supremely evil leader of a group of fallen angels who had revolted against God. The evil leader, Azazel, was kicked out of heaven, tempted humankind, taught them evil ways, and was banished to a fiery netherworld just like the Satan people frighten their children with today.
You'll also recall that, last time, we went through every instance of the use of the word "Satan" in The New Testament, and found that The New Testament is riddled with references to the "capital-S" Satan. You may have been surprised to learn that The New Testament offers zero biographical information in its references to Satan, but, rather, takes knowledge of the tempter and the story of his angelic fall at the outset of history for granted in its readers.
Today, our study continues as we parse through every single instance of "devil" in The New Testament. This work is tedious, and might strike some as overkill, but we desire certainty in our effort. We go to these great lengths so that we can be absolutely sure when we say "Satan's backstory does not exist in Christian scriptural canon."
We will also continue to follow the story of Jesus in Matthew, as he is about to begin his "Galilean Ministry."
Happy studies.
Understanding the Origin of Modern Common Conceptions of The Devil in Christianity
Part V
Instances of the Word "Devil" in The New Testament
The Catechism of the Catholic Church is the official learning tool for the Church faithful. It is the text used to orient people to cosmology, or the big picture, as the Church sees it. It is taught and distributed world-wide in incredible quantities.
The word "catechism" is rooted in the Greek "katēkhein" meaning "to instruct orally." To study one's faith, as a young Catholic, is to study "The Catechism."
The word "devil" appears twenty-some times in The Catechism of the Catholic Church. The word "Satan" occurs around twenty times in the same text. The Catechism says:
The word "catechism" is rooted in the Greek "katēkhein" meaning "to instruct orally." To study one's faith, as a young Catholic, is to study "The Catechism."
The word "devil" appears twenty-some times in The Catechism of the Catholic Church. The word "Satan" occurs around twenty times in the same text. The Catechism says:
The Church teaches that Satan was at first a good angel, made by God: "The devil and the other demons were indeed created naturally good by God, but they became evil by their own doing."
The material quoted here in The Catechism is not from scripture, but rather from Canon 1 of The Fourth Lateran Council, which occurred in 1215 AD. Lateran Council IV was one of a series of "eccumenical councils" wherein hundreds of clergy, heads of the Church and (sometimes) heads of state from all over Christendom gathered together to vote on changes to the doctrine and practice of the Christian faith.
In addition to the scripturally unfounded assertion that "the devil and the other demons were indeed created naturally good," Lateran Council IV added the following notable laws to Church Canon:
- Before a doctor is allowed to treat a person's ailment, he ought to be compelled by law to try to make the patient talk to a priest about God.*
- All Christians should confess all of their sins to a priest at least once per year. (Prior to this, forms of sacramental confession and penance were varied across Christendom, or, in some places, didn't exist at all.)
- All Jews and all Muslims must wear clothing that makes them distinct from the Christians in their community, so that they will not accidentally intermingle with Christians sexually.**
- Jews and Muslims need to stay inside on Passion Sunday, and during the last three days of Holy Week. (Especially on Good Friday.)***
The text produced by Lateran Council IV ends by discussing plans for the unsuccessful Fifth Crusade, a Holy War against non-Christians (primarily Muslims) occupying the Holy Land.
The Church does not try to hide the fact that its modern Catechism gets at least part of its concept of Satan directly from a thirteenth century ecumenical council that advocated things like racial segregation, genocide, and extortion of the ill.
We assert again that the modern concept of Satan, or "The Devil," did not come from Christian or Jewish scripture. By the end of this fifth segment of our study, we will have demonstrated this definitively.
We assert again that the modern concept of Satan, or "The Devil," did not come from Christian or Jewish scripture. By the end of this fifth segment of our study, we will have demonstrated this definitively.
We have a lot of material to cover, so we cannot delay. Here are the thirty-two instances of the word "devil" that occur in The New Testament, in order of appearance. (It will be helpful to have a Bible open in front of you while you read this.)
#1 through #4 - Matthew 4:1, 4:5, 4:8, and 4:11
As we've just seen in our broader study, Matt ch. 4 features "the devil" (not capitalized anywhere in The Bible outside of Revelation) appearing to and tempting a fasting Jesus in the desert, soon after Jesus' baptism. This occurrence of the devil in the Temptation Narrative does not give us any information about the character's origin. The mechanics of the modern concept of Satan are not explicated here.
#5 - Matthew 13:39
In this passage, Jesus is explaining "The Parable of the Weeds" to his inner-circle. He says that the devil is like an enemy who sows weeds into one's field. Here, the devil is made out to be the creator of the bad portion of the human race. The explanation of the parable assumes the reader's familiarity with the concept of a "devil" and doesn't give the character a backstory in any sense.
In Matthew 25:41, Jesus explains an apocalyptic vision about the judgement of humankind by the "Son of Man." He says that the Son of Man will invite some of humanity into the kingdom that had been promised them since the beginning of time, and that others he will send to "the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels." The conception of the devil as being damned to a fiery place is spoken of here as if it is common knowledge. The cosmology of Satan is not explained here, but assumed.
#7 through #10 - Luke 4:2, 4:3, 4:6, and 4:13
Luke ch. 4 corresponds to Matt ch. 4 in its retelling of the Temptation Narrative. The devil's history as a fallen angel from heaven is not explained here. Intimate knowledge of him is assumed in the reader.
#11 - Luke 8:12
#12 - John 6:70
John 6:70 has Jesus speaking to The Twelve. He says:
#13 - John 8:44
John 8:44 has Jesus telling a group of Jews that they are illegitimate and that they are children of the devil because they do not love him. The sayings here are not characteristic of the Jesus we know from the Synoptic Gospels. The modern conception of the devil clearly did not originate here. The common knowledge of the concept of Satan continues to be taken for granted here in John.
#14 - John 13:2
In this passage, the devil is given credit (as he was in Luke) for the actions of Judas the Iscariot, namely, the betrayal of Christ to the authorities. The devil's origin and motivations are not explained here. The author assumes that the reader already knows very well who this singular "devil" is.
#15 - Acts 10:38
In Acts ch. 10, Peter is summoned by a well known guy from a town or two over named Cornelius. Peter goes to him, and Cornelius asks Peter to share the "good news" with him, as it were. Peter begins by telling Cornelius that God accepts any nation that fears him and acts uprightly. He then briefly recounts the action of Jesus during his ministry: "He went about doing good and healing all those oppressed by the devil, for God was with him."
Here, the devil is not defined or explained, but merely mentioned in passing. It is clear that his biography predates this text in the mind of the author and in that of the intended audience.
#16 - Acts 13:10
Here, Paul and Barnabas are sent off by the Holy Spirit to convert the people of the island of Cyprus. They land on the eastern coast at Salamis and make their way across the island to Paphos, declaring the word of God in the synagogues they found on the way.
In Paphos, they meet a Roman Proconsul named Sergius Paulus. Paulus is amenable to hearing the proclamation of the word from Paul and Barnabas, but there is a magician in his retinue that tries to prevent it. Paul calls the magician a "son of the devil," and then, magically and temporarily, the magician is struck blind.
Good story, but it isn't the story of the origin of Satan, so we must move on.
#17 - Ephesians 4:27
In Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians - perhaps not actually Pauline in origin - we see "Paul" explaining some guidelines that he would like to see enacted in an early Christian community. He cautions them, starting in Ephesians 4:26, against anger. Read for yourself:
What is entirely clear here is that the author doesn't feel a need to explain to his audience who "the devil" is. The biography of this "devil" is taken for granted.
#18 - Ephesians 6:11
Ephesians ch. 6 advises the recipient of the letter to "put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the devil." Offering no explanation of who the devil is, the text then contradicts the modern conception of "Satan" and "devils" as being hellbound by saying that one must fight against "the evil spirits in the heavens."
Immediately before this section of text, the author of Ephesians endorses slavery, which, for us here at The Moral Vision, pretty much negates everything the letter says anyway.
#19 and #20 - 1 Timothy 3:6 and 3:7
1 Timothy ch. 3 should be compelling to the modern reader because the text seems to directly contradict the concept of clerical celibacy. The section of text at hand, labeled "Qualifications of Various Ministers," says that a bishop can only be married once, and that he ought to keep his children well behaved, otherwise how can he be expected to keep a church in order?
The references to the devil in this text occur as the "qualifications" for the ministers continue to be laid out. See for yourself:
Luke 8:12 has Jesus explaining "The Parable of the Sower," which is very much like "The Parable of the Weeds." In The Parable of the Sower, the sower's seed, having been sown, is not allowed to sprout to fruition because it is carried off by birds who eat it. In his explanation, Jesus says that the seed taken by the birds represents "the word" being taken away from human hearts by the devil. Here, as always in The New Testament, the biography of the devil is assumed to be known by the reader. The modern concept of Satan did not originate here.
#12 - John 6:70
John 6:70 has Jesus speaking to The Twelve. He says:
“Did I not choose you twelve? Yet is not one of you a devil?”Here, we are not talking about the devil, or Satan, but rather a devil. Jesus is referencing the betrayal of Judas, of course. Again, the passage doesn't refer to Satan, and certainly doesn't give us any portion of the Satanic biography.
#13 - John 8:44
John 8:44 has Jesus telling a group of Jews that they are illegitimate and that they are children of the devil because they do not love him. The sayings here are not characteristic of the Jesus we know from the Synoptic Gospels. The modern conception of the devil clearly did not originate here. The common knowledge of the concept of Satan continues to be taken for granted here in John.
#14 - John 13:2
In this passage, the devil is given credit (as he was in Luke) for the actions of Judas the Iscariot, namely, the betrayal of Christ to the authorities. The devil's origin and motivations are not explained here. The author assumes that the reader already knows very well who this singular "devil" is.
#15 - Acts 10:38
In Acts ch. 10, Peter is summoned by a well known guy from a town or two over named Cornelius. Peter goes to him, and Cornelius asks Peter to share the "good news" with him, as it were. Peter begins by telling Cornelius that God accepts any nation that fears him and acts uprightly. He then briefly recounts the action of Jesus during his ministry: "He went about doing good and healing all those oppressed by the devil, for God was with him."
Here, the devil is not defined or explained, but merely mentioned in passing. It is clear that his biography predates this text in the mind of the author and in that of the intended audience.
#16 - Acts 13:10
Here, Paul and Barnabas are sent off by the Holy Spirit to convert the people of the island of Cyprus. They land on the eastern coast at Salamis and make their way across the island to Paphos, declaring the word of God in the synagogues they found on the way.
In Paphos, they meet a Roman Proconsul named Sergius Paulus. Paulus is amenable to hearing the proclamation of the word from Paul and Barnabas, but there is a magician in his retinue that tries to prevent it. Paul calls the magician a "son of the devil," and then, magically and temporarily, the magician is struck blind.
Good story, but it isn't the story of the origin of Satan, so we must move on.
#17 - Ephesians 4:27
In Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians - perhaps not actually Pauline in origin - we see "Paul" explaining some guidelines that he would like to see enacted in an early Christian community. He cautions them, starting in Ephesians 4:26, against anger. Read for yourself:
26 Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun set on your anger,
27 and do not leave room for the devil.It is not entirely clear here what is meant by "do not leave room for the devil." Since the phrasing occurs in the same sentence as the mandate not to "let the sun set on your anger," we must assume that anger and space for the devil are somehow being related.
What is entirely clear here is that the author doesn't feel a need to explain to his audience who "the devil" is. The biography of this "devil" is taken for granted.
#18 - Ephesians 6:11
Ephesians ch. 6 advises the recipient of the letter to "put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the devil." Offering no explanation of who the devil is, the text then contradicts the modern conception of "Satan" and "devils" as being hellbound by saying that one must fight against "the evil spirits in the heavens."
Immediately before this section of text, the author of Ephesians endorses slavery, which, for us here at The Moral Vision, pretty much negates everything the letter says anyway.
#19 and #20 - 1 Timothy 3:6 and 3:7
1 Timothy ch. 3 should be compelling to the modern reader because the text seems to directly contradict the concept of clerical celibacy. The section of text at hand, labeled "Qualifications of Various Ministers," says that a bishop can only be married once, and that he ought to keep his children well behaved, otherwise how can he be expected to keep a church in order?
The references to the devil in this text occur as the "qualifications" for the ministers continue to be laid out. See for yourself:
6 He should not be a recent convert, so that he may not become conceited and thus incur the devil’s punishment.
7 He must also have a good reputation among outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, the devil’s trap.
The devil's biography is assumed, here, not explained. Our search for a morsel of the Satanic backstory in The New Testament continues.
#21 - 2 Timothy 2:26
2 Timothy 2:26 is part of an injunction to not argue with one's fellows, but rather to be gentle and kind to all people. The entirety of the injunction reads as follows:
23 Avoid foolish and ignorant debates, for you know that they breed quarrels.
24 A slave of the Lord should not quarrel, but should be gentle with everyone, able to teach, tolerant,
25 correcting opponents with kindness. It may be that God will grant them repentance that leads to knowledge of the truth,
26 and that they may return to their senses out of the devil’s snare, where they are entrapped by him, for his will.Here, the devil is understood to be a tempter of mankind, working against God. The modern conception of Satan or "the devil" as the counterbalance to God and administrator of hell are not born here. If one read 2 Timothy without knowing about the devil beforehand, one would be left wondering "who is this "devil" guy?"
#22 - Hebrews 2:14
Hebrews 2:14, while explaining why God had made Jesus in the form of man, says that Jesus defeated the devil, "the one who has the power of death," by dying himself. Hebrews was probably written to early Jewish-Christians who were seen as wavering in the Christian portion of their faith for one reason or another. The text does not explain the cosmology of the devil, but merely features him as part of this "death" motif.
#23 - James 4:7
James 4:7 reads:
So submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
The text doesn't go on to explain that the devil used to be a leader off angels in Heaven. It doesn't explain that the devil fell from heaven because of pride and was cursed to Hell by God. It doesn't illuminate the devil's impetus for roaming the earth tempting humans to sin.
James assumes we already know everything we need to about "the devil."
James assumes we already know everything we need to about "the devil."
#24 - 1 Peter 5:8
In 1 Peter ch. 5, Peter reaches out to the Christian communities in Asia Minor, telling them to act with humility in their daily lives. He tells his readers to lay all of their problems at God's feet, because he cares for them. It warns the reader to be "sober and vigilant" because "the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour."
Ad nauseum, we see that these New Testament references to "the devil" do not present or explain the devil, but rather take common understanding of the devil's backstory for granted.
#25 and #26 - 1 John 3:8 and 3:10
In 1 John we are told that "one who sins belongs to the devil, because the devil has sinned from the beginning." The text also talks about "the children of God" in contrast with "the children of the devil."
No novel information about the devil is revealed here. If you didn't know the devil already, you'd finish reading 1 John wondering "who is the devil?"
#27 - Jude 1:9
The Letter of Jude is interesting because of it's brevity and its apparent link to at least two apocryphal texts. Jude borrows from The Book of Enoch, which we've learned about before, and another text known as "The Assumption of Moses."
The Assumption of Moses, which we do not have in a complete form, likely included an argument over the final resting place of Moses' body between the Archangel Michael and an entity called "Sammael," which Jude wants us to read as "the devil." In "The Assumption," Michael resists reviling this "Sammael" because he lacked the authority to revile anything. Instead of vociferously judging Sammael, Michael simply tells him "I hope God judges you!"
In the "Letter of Jude," the author warns the reader against false teachers, mentioning that false teachers "revile glorious beings." It is at this juncture that Jude references the Michael/Sammael story, saying "if Michael wasn't allowed to revile the devil himself, how can a human be allowed to revile a glorious being?"
This reference to the devil is compelling because it is also a reference to intertestamental apocrypha, but neither the Letter of Jude nor this "Assumption of Moses" offer us the recognizable modern backstory of "the devil" that we've been looking for. We'll call Jude 1:9 and the apocryphal text near-misses and move forward.
#28 through #32 - Revelation 2:10, 12:9, 12:12, 20:2 and 20:10
Remember last time when we lumped all the references to "Satan" appearing in the Book of Revelation together? We're going to do that again here with "devil."
The word "devil" appears five times in Revelation. Every instance of "the devil" in Revelation is a projection forward in time. Revelation relays a bizarre fever-dream of an apocalypse that is all supposed to happen in the future. One will find no biographical information about the devil in Revelation, but merely outlandish predictions of things that never came; for the last time today, I will say that "in this text, knowledge of Satan is presupposed in the reader by the author."
---
It's been a long couple of segments, I know. We had to do this, though, and we had to do it this way.
We had to know for sure.
---
It's been a long couple of segments, I know. We had to do this, though, and we had to do it this way.
We had to know for sure.
Join us again next time when we look briefly at the evolution of the concept of "the devil" since the Apostolic Age, and then redraw our main assertion: that Christian scripture is not where modern Christians got their preposterous idea of "the devil."
Now, back to our regularly scheduled Gospel reading.
------------------------------
Matthew 4:12 through Matthew 4:14
12 When he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee.
13 He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali,
14 that what had been said through Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled:
------------------------------
My apologies for cutting a sentence in half here with today's Gospel selection. Because of the awkward placement of some of the verse-breaks in The Bible, we will occasionally have to split a sentence or two up around here. I will do my best to maintain continuity.
Last time we met, Jesus' temptation in the desert ended with angels ministering to him. Immediately subsequent to that, and with no transition, Jesus now finds out that his friend (teacher?) John the Baptist has been arrested. We aren't told exactly why he has been arrested.
The way the text reads, this moment in time is absolutely formative for Jesus. It is as if the news of the arrest of his friend (teacher?) is what spurs all of his subsequent action. Here, as we rarely see him, Jesus seems reactionary. They've arrested his teacher, so he ratchets up his political action by moving and proclaiming a ministry. God doesn't appear to Jesus with instructions. Jesus simply acts.
The way the text reads, this moment in time is absolutely formative for Jesus. It is as if the news of the arrest of his friend (teacher?) is what spurs all of his subsequent action. Here, as we rarely see him, Jesus seems reactionary. They've arrested his teacher, so he ratchets up his political action by moving and proclaiming a ministry. God doesn't appear to Jesus with instructions. Jesus simply acts.
There's a lot of geographical information in this reading. Jesus had left Galilee southward to go to the place where John was baptizing. Now, upon hearing of the arrest, Jesus heads back up north to the region of Galilee, although he changes his actual residence from Nazareth to a town called Capernaum. The whole region of Galilee was known as a hotbed of political and/or religious radicalism at the time, especially when compared to the more conservative communities near Jerusalem, so it makes sense that this is where Jesus will commence and conduct his radical ministry.
We can see in verse 14 the first half of what will be a classic case of "Shoehorn Matthew," wherein Matthew will try to make it seem as though The Old Testament predicted Jesus' life and exploits exactly. We will get the second half of that next time.
The big thing to remember here is that Jesus had expressed no interest in leading a movement up until the point that John the Baptist was taken out of the picture. This is, perhaps, because John the Baptist was the leader of the movement, to whom Jesus wished to defer as long as he could.
We'll continue to explore the compelling idea that Christ was not only baptized but also taught by John the Baptist as we move forward.
Thank you for sticking this out with me. I know we've tended toward scholastic density lately, which makes for challenging study. Our efforts and our patience with this will one day be rewarded one-million-fold. I'd bet my whole life on that.
Please share this writing.
Love.
-------------------------
* That's messed up.
** That's really messed up.
*** Come on! Really!?
-------------------------
To read what's next, click here.
* That's messed up.
** That's really messed up.
*** Come on! Really!?
-------------------------
To read what's next, click here.
To read what came prior to this, click here.
For the index of Christ's words, click here.
