Demonology Course: Fallen Angels, Demons & Satan in Judeo-Christian Traditions

How people think about evil changes as cultures change. Yet most cultures have some type of personification of evil: whether that is real or imagined, literal or metaphoric. This lesson looks at what role demons and the Devil play in shaping our modern Western culture and how one might study demonology.

Why do evil and suffering exist in the world? Is evil a fundamental part of human behavior? If God is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent, how can evil exist? This lesson explores these philosophical questions.

Over the years, many philosophers and theologians have grappled with the questions posed in the problem of evil. In this lesson, we discuss what theodicy is and several of the most popular Christian theodicies.

The concept of the Devil, which is personified evil, evolved from about 200 BCE at a time when Apocalyptic Judaism was becoming popular. In this lesson, we will discuss what apocalypticism is. We will look at both the characteristics of an apocalyptic worldview and literature within the apocalyptic genre. And we will discuss the reasons why studying apocalypticism is relevant to our modern world.

This course takes a historical-critical approach to the study of religion rather than a theological one. This means that we approach the texts and materials from the presupposition that you cannot understand a text without understanding its context.

One popular theme in the ancient near eastern literature is the Combat Myth, involving combat between two gods or near-gods. In this lesson, we look at a few of the common elements of the myth.

In this lesson, we will look at one of the earliest examples of the Combat Myth. The story of Anzu describes how the warrior Ninurta defeated the bird-like creature Anzu, who stole the king’s powers from Enlil, king of the gods.

The Babylonian Epic of Creation, Enuma Elish, tells the story of how Marduk defeated the primordial chaos monster Tiamat to become king of the gods and create the world. We will look at how the Combat Myth is presented in this story.

The Ugaritic Baal Cycle describes how the god Baal defeated Yamm (the Sea) and Mot (Death) to become king of the gods. Again, we will see themes of the Combat Myth in this Canaanite story.

In the Old Testament, there are numerous references to Yahweh having previously defeated various enemies like Sea, dragons (”tanninim”), or named dragon-like creatures like Rahab or Leviathan. We will see how Yahweh is often described in similar terms as the Combat Myth warriors of other stories.

What does the Old Testament say about the characteristics of the Hebrew God and his relation to foreign gods? Are these foreign gods real? In this lesson, we will explore several biblical passages that describe the Hebrew God and foreign gods.

The Old Testament says God is the source of both good and bad fortune. In this lesson, we discuss the aspects of God that would allow him to kill the Egyptians’ firstborn or command Joshua to leave no Canaanite alive.

Yahweh acts at the head of a heavenly council of angels, sons of God, spirits, and potentially foreign gods, similar to a royal court or a divine courtroom. In this lesson, we explore what roles these other entities play.

The term “satan” is used several times in the Old Testament to refer to a supernatural entity. In this lesson, we explore the Satan in his role of “Adversary” or “Accuser” in Yahweh’s divine council. We will look specifically at Numbers 22:22; 32, Job 1-2, Zechariah 3, and 1 Chronicles 21.

In this lesson, we will discuss what the Dead Sea Scrolls are, when they were discovered, and why they are important.

The apocryphal Book of Tobit which dates to the 3rd century BCE contains the first reference to a named demon in Jewish literature. In this lesson, we will look at how the author describes the exorcism of the demon Asmodeus.

The Old Testament doesn’t describe the fall of the rebel angels, but this legend was well-known by the time the New Testament authors wrote. 1 Enoch was an influential Jewish book that circulated widely and was the first to elaborate on who these “watchers” were, why they fell, and the consequence of their sins. In this lesson, we will explore key passages that discuss the fallen angels and their sins.

What is the origin of evil spirits? Where do the demons that roam the earth come from? Like 1 Enoch, Jubilees was influential during the period after the Old Testament but before the New Testament. In this lesson, we look at how Jubilees compares to 1 Enoch in its explanation of why the rebel angels fell and why evil spirits roam the earth.

The War Scroll (1QM), also known as the War of the Sons of Light against the Sons of Darkness, was found among the Dead Sea Scrolls. It provides a vivid depiction of a holy war between good and evil, which will eventually climax with God intervening to defeat Belial and his minions. In this lesson, we will explore how Belial is described and how the war between Belial and the angel Michael will play out.

The Community Rule (1QS) is an ethical treatise found among the Dead Sea Scrolls that describes who is considered righteous vs who is considered wicked. When God created mankind, he appointed two spirits to walk with them: one of truth and the other of injustice. In this lesson, we will discuss the dualistic framework that separates those who follow the Prince of Light and the Angel of Darkness.

The role of Satan as a tempter is widely known. In this lesson, we explore the three challenges Satan tempts Jesus in the wilderness. We will focus on Matthew and Luke’s accounts.

The role of Jesus as an exorcist is prominent among the Gospels. In this lesson, we look at five exorcism stories to determine what symptoms the demoniacs had, what Jesus did to exorcise them, and what these stories say about Jesus’s power over demons.

The book of Revelation offers the most complete account of Satan in the Bible. Here, Satan becomes the leader of the rebel angels and leads his demonic army against the angelic army of Michael and Christ. In this lesson, we will look at Revelation 12 which describes the Great Red Dragon, Revelation 13 which describes the rise of two beasts and the number 666, and finally Revelation 19-20 when Satan is defeated.