Beelzebub, Lord of The Flies
It is Halloween, and for this reason I chose to write about
Beelzebub (lord of the Flies).
The name ‘Ba’al Zebub’ literarily means ‘Lord of the Flies’
and he was a Semitic deity worshipped by the Philistines in the city of Ekron,
which is about twenty-five miles west of Jerusalem. Later in the Bible he is
identified as one of the ‘Seven Princes of Hell’. The prophet Elijah condemned
King Ahaziah of Israel to die by Yahweh’s words, because the king sent a
messenger to Beelzebub to see if he would recover from injuries caused by a
fall. The Pharisees accused Jesus of driving out demons by the power of
‘Beelzebub’, Prince of Demons. In the testament of Solomon, Beelzebub is a
former leading angel of cherubim associated with Venus, the evening star, who is
identified with Satan or Lucifer. In medieval times he becomes the chief
lieutenant of Lucifer. Some place him as one of the three most prominent fallen
angels, the others being Lucifer and Leviathan, and associate him with the sons
of pride and gluttony.
Beelzebub was often accused of being the object of
supplication in trials of witches, for example in the terrible Loudon
‘possessions’ of 1634 and the Salem Witch Trials. Lucifer, meaning ‘Light-Bearer, was a name originally applied
to Jesus as well as Venus, but St. Jerome and others began identifying Lucifer
with the fallen angel Satan, driven out of Haven for his pride. Thus Lucifer
over time has been regarded both as Jesus and Satan. Satan, in Aramaic, which
means adversary or enemy.
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