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The Ranks of Hell
Just
as archangels and angels, Dominions, Principalities,
and Powers are in heaven, so it is said demons and devils are in hierarchy of hell, Princes, Ministers, Ambassadors,
Justices, The House of Princes, and the Trivial Spirits, Alphonsus de Spina (who brought into Christianity a lot of Jewish
lore) says there are ten orders of demons. Some other authorities say
there are nine orders of devils, some six, some four.
This
was an idea that was especially appealing to the hierarchical mind-set of the Middle Ages. At the top is God's Adversary himself,
Satan. At various times he is confused
with Lucifer, The Angel of Light, The Prince
of Darkness, The Dark Angel, and others but it is Satan we usually mean when we speak of The Devil. All others are demons, not
devils, though our language tends to regard devils and demons as synonymous.
Here are
the principal personages in the infernal kingdom, in alphabetical order, because there is some disagreement about their exact
placement.
What is
more interesting than that, however, is how it is imagined that the kingdom of hell mirrors other kingdoms. It is also interesting
how and why students of demonology hit upon the very specific numbers of infernal legions commanded by this or that power.
Mark V:7
says Christ was attacked by a legion of demons in the form of pigs. They were drowned.
But to
our hierarchy: Here, collected from a number of sources, is probably the most complete - I do not claim 'the most accurate'
- list to be found anywhere:
| Abaddon |
King
of Demons. Better known by his Greek name Apollyon. |
| Abigor |
A horseman
with a lance and scepter, commanding 60 legions of devils. |
| Adramelech |
Chancellor
of Hell and President of The High Council of Devils. |
| Aguares |
Grand Duke of Eastern
Hell, commanding 30 legions of devils. |
| Alocer |
Grand
Duke of Hell, commanding 36 legions of devils. |
| Amduscias |
Grand
Duke of Hell, commanding 29 legions, popular with black magicians. |
| Andras |
Marquis
of Hell, commanding 30 legions of devils. |
| Asmodeus |
Head
of the Casinos of Hell, banished to the desert by Raphael. |
| Astaroth |
Grand Duke of Western
Hell, Lord Treasurer of Hell. |
| Astarte |
One
of a number of heathen gods and goddesses sometimes consigned to Hell. |
| Aym |
Grand
Duke of Hell, commanding 26 legions of demons. Also Haborym. |
| Ayperos |
Prince
of Hell, commanding 36 legions of devils. |
| Azazel |
Standard
Bearer of the armies of Hell. Also Satanael. |
| Baal |
Commanding
General of the Infernal Armies. |
| Baalberith |
Chief
Secretary and Archivist of Hell, a second-order demon. Also Berith. |
| Balan |
Prince
of Hell. |
| Bearded
Demon, the |
His
name cannot be given lest people deal with him in search of the Philosopher's Stone (as King Solomon and Paracelsus are said
to have done). |
| Beelzebub |
Prince
of Demons, Lord of the Flies, second only to Satan. |
| Belial |
Prince
of Trickery, Demon of Sodomy, sometimes called The Antichrist. It is likely he is also the
one called Zephar by the German demonologist Weir. |
| Belphegor |
Demon
of Ingenious Discoveries and Wealth. |
| Buer |
Second-order
demon but commanding 50 legions of devils. |
| Caym |
Grand
President of Hell |
| Charon |
Boatman
of Hell who ferries souls across the Styx or Archeron |
| Chax |
Grand
Duke of Hell. Also Scox. |
| Cresil |
Demon
of impurity and slovenliness (according to Sebastien Michaelis, 1613). |
| Dagon |
Baker
of Hell, member of the House of Princes. |
| Eurynomus |
Prince
of Hell who feeds on corpses. |
| Furfur |
Count
of Hell, commanding 26 legions of demons. |
| Geryon |
Giant
centaur who (Dante said) guards Hell.
Others say the guardian is a dragon. |
| Hecate |
Queen
of the witches. |
| Jezebeth |
Demon
of Falsehoods. |
| Kasdeya |
According
to The Book of Enoch (LXIX:12) 'the fifth Satan.' |
| Kobal |
Entertainment
Director of Hell, patron of comedians |
| Leonard |
Inspector-General
of Black Magic and Sorcery, The Great Negro of the witches'
sabbats as a giant black goat. In Germany, Urian. |
| Leviathan |
Grand
Admiral of Hell; androgynous, he is said to have seduced both Adam and Eve. |
| Lilith |
Princess
of Hell, first wife of Adam. |
| Malphas |
Grand
President of Hell, commanding 40 legions of devils. Same as Caym? |
| Mammon |
A word
misunderstood was personified as the Demon of Avarice. |
| Mastema |
Leader
of the offspring of fallen angels by human beings. |
| Melchom |
Treasurer
of the House of the Princes of Hell. |
| Mephistopheles |
In
some versions, servant of Lucifer, in others, The Devil himself.
|
| Merihim |
Prince
of Pestilence. |
| Moloch |
Another
demon inherited from Jewish belief. |
| Mullin |
Servant
of the House of Princes, lieutenant to Leonard. |
| Murmur |
Count
of Hell, Demon of Music. |
| Naburus |
Marquis
of Hell, connected with Cerberus. |
| Nergal |
Chief
of Secret Police of Hell, a second-order demon, married to Allotu. |
| Nybras |
Grand
Publicist of the Pleasures of Hell, an inferior demon. |
| Nysrogh |
Chief
of the House of Princes of Hell, a second order demon. |
| Orias |
Marquis
of Hell, Demon of Diabolic Astrologers and Diviners. |
| Orthon |
A minor
demon familiar to the Comte de Corasse and the Comte de Foix. Another personal demon known by name is Sybacco, rather
unreliably said to have attended Adriano Lemmi, connected with the alleged Satanic-Masonic cult of Palladinism in 19th century
Italy and then there are all sorts of demons (usually with French names) that possessed French nuns, etc. |
| Paymon |
Master
of Ceremonies of Hell. |
| Philotanus |
Demon
assisting Belial in furthering pederasty and sodomy. |
| Proserpine |
In some
accounts, Princess of Hell. |
| Pyro |
Prince
of Falsehood. |
| Raum |
Count
of Hell, commanding 30 legions of demons. |
| Rimmon |
Ambassador
from Hell to (Czarist) Russia, Chief Physician of Hell. Also Damas. |
| Ronwe |
Minor
demon commanding 19 legions of devils. |
| Samael |
Angel
of Death, Prince of the Air, perhaps the one who tempted Eve. |
| Semiazas |
Chief
of the Fallen Angels. |
| Shabriri |
Demon
who struck people blind. The Jews also had goat demons (Schirim, Seirim), demon monsters (Behemoth, Leviathan), and Lilim, Nazzikim,
Ruchoth, and many more. |
| Sonneillon |
Demon
of Hate (Michaelis). |
| Succorbenoth |
Chief
Eunuch of the House of Princes, Demon of Gates and Jealousy. |
| Thamuz |
Ambassador
of Hell, Creator of The Holy Inquisition, Investor of Artillery. |
| Ukobach |
Stationary
Engineer of Hell, Inventor of Fireworks, maybe Cooking Out. |
| Uphir |
Head
of the HMO of Hell, Demon physician and apothecary. |
| Valafar |
Grand
Duke of Hell 'in charge' say Tondriau and Villeneuve (1972) 'of good relations among brigands.' |
| Verdelet |
Master
of Ceremonies of the House of the Princes of Hell. |
| Verin |
Demon
of Impatience. |
| Vetis |
A devil
who specializes in tempting and corrupting the holy. |
| Xaphan |
Stokes
the furnaces of Hell, a second-order demon. |
| Zaebos |
One
of the many animal-human combinations in Hebrew imitation of the Sumerians. This one is part crocodile, part human. |
| Zagam |
Demon
of Deceit and Counterfeiting. He can do Christ's first miracle, changing water into wine. |
In the list above the information allegedly was revealed by Baalberith to Soeur Madeleine de
Demandoix in the early 17th century. She had pretty familiar names in her first hierarchy but her second (Carreau, Carnivean,
Oeillet, Rosier, Verrier) and their hierarchy (Belial, Olivier, Juvart) look incredibly French.
My
list is long enough, though if Weir (who wrote in the 16th century) is to be believed, Hell has 66 princes, each commanding
6,666 legions, each legion comprising 6,666 devils. That would amount to about half the world's populations in his time. This
looks suspiciously like a riff on the number of the Beast of The Apocalypse, 666, which some cabalists
say is 600 (false religion), 60 (greed), and 6 (this world).
It might
be added that some devils or demons refuse to give their names even when summoned by magical means because in their names
is power. On the other hand, having a name always makes communications of any sort easier.
The
above information was obtained from www.angelfire.com please see their website for further information.
Demons
Demons are fallen angels
under the command of Satan, those who are still free after the Gen. 6 affair. Satan is called the Prince, or Ruler, of all
demons in Matthew 9:34; 12:24; Mark 3:22; Luke 11:15. Demons are also called the ministers, or ambassadors of Satan, Luke
4:35; 9:1,42; John 10:21. Satan is brilliant, an administrative genius. He has an excellent organization, mentioned in Eph.
6:10-12 (READ) The Bible also makes a distinction between demon possession and demon influence.
Demon possession
occurs when an actual fallen angel, a demon, enters and occupies the body of an unbeliever. Demons cannot enter the bodies
of Christian believers because the Christian's body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Inviting demons can be accomplished
in a number of ways.
* Through idolatry (Satan's communion table), 1 COR. 10:19-21*.
* Through drug addiction,
called in Greek, farmakeia, "the use of drugs, potions, or spells; poisoning, witchcraft, sorcery" GAL. 5:20 ("witch-craft,
sorcery"), cf. also REV.9:21; 18:23.
* Through religious backsliding, religious sensitivity activities such as dabbling
in the occult, consulting mediums, necromancy. cf. ISA. 8:19.
Demon Influence is the residence of evil in the
soul; can be unbeliever (ROM. 1:23) or believer. This is the method that Satan uses to trap and neutralize the believer, by
introducing, if allowed, the Doctrine of Evil inside the soul of the born-again believer. Demon influence in the believer
comes about in the later stages of negativity, or backsliding.
The first stage of backsliding is some kind of reaction
to life -- whether discouragement, disillusion, disenchantment, boredom, self-pity, loneliness, frustration, instability,
pride complex and various sins of arrogance, revenge tactics, reaction to contemporary events or social pressures, etc. Whatever
causes it, the reaction stage makes one very vulnerable to the attacks of Satan. This is not the entrance into demon influence,
at this point, but merely vulnerability to it.
The second stage of backsliding is the frantic search for happiness
following the trends of the Sin Nature (towards asceticism or lasciviousness). This also increases vulnerability, especially
as one moves away from the protection of doctrine and Grace provision.
The third stage intensifies the reaction stage,
but still has only the potentiality, not the actuality, of demon influence. It is at the fourth stage of backsliding, in which
the soul is in revolt emotionally, where the possibility of demon influence comes in. Doctrinal content is located in the
mentality of the soul (including standards, conscience, frame of reference, memory center, vocabulary, doctrinal storage under
edification, and the area of applied doctrine resulting in production of divine good). It is the lack of doctrinal content
which is the primary factor in vulnerability to demon influence.
The soul also has its area of response to outside
influences, centered in the emotions of the soul. Emotion has no doctrinal content, no character of its own, no spiritual
content, no ability to think or rationalize, or even to use common sense. It is designed to respond; it is not designed to
lead or initiate anything. The tongues movement is an illustration of the soul's emotions being led about by falsehood. Sometimes
believers in the tongues movement are under demon influence. Sometimes unbelievers are actually demon possessed.
The
thing that opens the door for demon influence in the life of the believer is negative volition toward the Word of God. The
believer says "Negative" to doctrine and opens up a vacuum in his soul. Whatever evil is in the neighborhood will be picked
up -- false teaching, TV, newspaper...
Regardless of what causes the negative attitude, the effect is the same. It
may be antagonism or a negative attitude or personality conflict with the pastor, or with other members of the congregation.
It may be apathy or indifference to teaching. It may be failure to use Grace provision, Faith Rest, or inability to handle
prosperity, slavery to the details of life. Whatever it is, negative volition opens up the emptiness of the soul.
As
a result of evil in the soul, there is demon influence, the "darkness in the soul" of Eph. 4. There is the infiltration of
the doctrines of Satan into the soul of the reversionistic person (believer or unbeliever). Here, the believer is "worshipping
and serving the creature rather than the Creator".
There are two systems for demon possession of the unbeliever. The
first is the unlawful isolation of dormant facilities. The body is brought under the control of the soul, and the soul has
been given to Satan. It is like a conversion in reverse. Seances, or the ceremony called the Satanic mass, are means by which
this is accomplished. This person becomes a disembodied spirit or an "adept". All of the activities of supernaturalism may
be attributed to this; mental telepathy, spiritism, out of body experiences.
The second system is passive submission
to demons. This can be accomplished through idolatry, through drugs, or other means. In the ancient world, the various oracles
used this means in attempting to predict the outcome of events. (The "mephitic vapors" of the oracle of Delphi, which was
some form of narcotic gas.) Another example is the Hindu "soma" mysteries, and the various sutras of Indian religions. There
are also various systems of mesmerism or hypnotism, whether induced by one's self or another person, such as Whirling Dervishes,
or unbelievers involved in the tongues movement.
Demonism is directly related to idolatry and thus to human sacrifice
Ps. 136:37,39. Sacrifices to demons were prohibited by law in Lev. 17:7, "And they shall no longer sacrifice to the goat demon
(or satyr) with which they shall play the harlot. This will be a permanent law in every generation." Or in Deut. 32:17, "They
sacrifice to demons, not gods, new things which came lately which your ancestors did not fear." Heathen nations worship demons,
acc. to Ps. 96:5, "For all the gods of the peoples are idols (daimonia in LXX)." It was thoroughly understood that
idolatry meant demons. Capital punishment by stoning was the penalty for witchcraft, demonism, etc.
The judgment against
Egypt concerning the death of the first-born was also a judgment against the demons in Egypt. Ex. 12:12, "For I will pass
through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the first-born in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against
all the demons of Egypt I will execute judgment; I am Jehovah." Num. 33:4, "While the Egyptians were burying all their firstborn
whom the Lord had struck down among them, the Lord had also executed judgment against their demons."
Demons are powerless
to change the course of history. Isa. 19:3, "Then the spirits of the Egyptians will become demoralized within them; also,
I will frustrate their strategy, so that they will resort to idle demons and to the ghosts of the dead and to mediums and
to spiritists." Demonism is always subject to the justice of God and is always judged in its various forms.
The reason
why the Canaanites were removed from the land is that they practiced demonism. Deut. 18:9-12 (READ). In the reign of King
Manasseh, evil is associated with demonism, 2 Kings 21:2-16. Demonism brings the discipline of total destruction to a nation,
Isa. 47; Jer. 27:6-10; Isa. 29:4.
Satan and demons are often used by God in the administration of the sin unto death
to reversionistic believers. Ex. Hymenaeus and Alexander, I Tim. 1:19,20. The believer committing incest in 1 Cor. 5:5 was
turned over to Satan, but it was so painful that he repented.
Satan's power of death is mentioned in four categories.
He has the power of death, Heb. 2:14,15; 1 John 3:8. He killed Job's children, Job 1:12,18,19. He motivated Cain to murder
Abel, John 8:44; 1 John 3:12.
Satan is a source of disease. Satan produced the illness in Job, Job 2:6,8. Satan uses
demons to produce disease in human beings. There is therefore the principle of demon-induced illness, Matt. 12:22; Luke 13:16;
Acts 10:38. Certain mental diseases, and illness which are related to abnormal behavior, may be demon induced. Dumbness and
deafness, Mark 9:17; Luke 11:14; Matt. 11:22. Certain forms of epilepsy, Mark 1:26; 9:20; Luke 4:35. Satan is the source of
at least ten different types of abnormal behavior which are mentioned in the Bible.
Convulsions, Mark 1:26.
Violence,
Matt. 8:28.
Abnormal strength, Mark 5:4.
Raving, Mark 5:5
Self-mutilation, Mark 5:5
Foaming
at the mouth, Mark 9:20
Public nakedness, Luke 8:27
Living among corpses, Mark 5:3
A type of grinding
of the teeth, Mark 9:18
Falling into fires and throwing oneself into dangerous things, Matt. 17:15
Satan also heals. He heals
by the withdrawal of demons and establishes the credentials for some of his evangelists. In Acts 19:11,12 legitimate healing
by God was used to establish apostolic authority. On the other hand, healing was used by Satan in a similar way, II Thess.
2:9; Rev. 16:14; Matt. 24:24.
Satan wanted to punish Peter by using demons. Luke 22:31,32 (READ). Peter had denied
Christ, and Satan had the audacity to suggest how the justice of God should function toward Peter. Of course the Lord refused
this.
I Tim. 3:6,7 (READ)-- Satan is used as a warning for discipline.
The power of Satan is summarized in
Psalm 109:6-13 (READ). He can blind true religion, shorten life (where God permits), remove people from authority, can kill,
can persecute children, remove wealth, turn everyone against you, he can cut off posterity to the second generation. So certain
powers are permitted Satan as the "ruler of this world", but they are always under the sovereignty of God.
The above information
is courtesy of www.realtime.net for further information please visit their website.
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