Page 86 - The 'X' Chronicles Newspaper - August/September 2017

86 Things Everyone Gets Wrong About Satan

Things Everyone Gets

Wrong About Satan

by Debra Kelly

There are many ideas about what or who the
Devil is, even among believers. The number of
differing sources and translations have led to
plenty of inconsistencies, rumors, and
assumptions surrounding the Prince of
Darkness. What is Satan’s position in Hell? Who
was Lucifer? There’s a whole lot that’s made its
way into the popular belief system that just isn’t
supported by the Bible or Christian canon.

The Church Of Satan Doesn’t Worship
Satan
the option to assign numbers and leave out surprisingly recent transformation. Today, the
Popular images of the Church of Satan names. In order to decode the numbers, we need upside-down pentagram is often decorated with
frequently depict ethically questionable people to know a little about both the writing system the goat’s head of the Devil, but its original
who perform dark rites, sacrifice animals, drink and how people thought. meaning and connotations were polar opposites
the blood of small children, or something else to The number of the beast is derived from of Satanism.
that effect. According to the Church of Satan the name of the person who, at the time, was Early references to the design attribute
itself, though, worshiping Satan isn’t what thought to be the earthly incarnation of the the five points of the star to the five wounds
they’re about at all. Their mission statement Devil, Nero. The number itself depends entirely Christ suffered as he was crucified. It’s often
stresses that they don’t believe in a literal Satan. on the translation of the name. When the name is still used in this way in Mormon art and
Instead, Satan is used as a metaphor to translated from its Greek form—Nero Kesar— architecture. It was only with the founding of the
represent their belief in the power of fantasy, to its vowelless Hebrew form—NRWN QSR— Church of Satan that the pentagram was used to
which they say they share with many other the numerical value is 666. represent a goat’s horns, ears, and beard. Church
religions. Satanists use Satan as an opposition to One theory states that the earlier text has historians have traced the goat’s head pentagram
the fiction and the fantasy of the presence of an a Latin base. This makes the numerical value back to an image in an 1897 book called La Clef
otherworldly, divine figure—like Christ. Rather 616 when translated back into Hebrew again. de la Magia Noire written by Stanislas de
than worshiping someone they consider just Guaita, a French occultist and proponent of the
another fictional character, Satanists do the Lucifer Isn’t Another Name For Satan distinction between occultism and Devil
opposite by putting their faith in the worldly and worship. Not long before that, another French
tangible. The use of Satan is simply a symbol for Anyone who’s been to Sunday School knows the occultist named Eliphas Levi wrote about the
their devotion to earthly things and their belief story: Satan was originally an angel named evil connotations between the pentagram and a
that they should revere other people at the same Lucifer who turned on God and was cast down goat-headed figure. By 1924, the goat’s head
level usually reserved for the deities of other from Heaven. The thing is, that story is nowhere had crept into the pentagram and the image was
religions. in the Bible. The one time Lucifer is mentioned labeled “the pentagram expressive of
The church goes on to say on its website is from a relatively new translation, and it’s also subversion” in a text called Science Occulte et
that these are complicated concepts, and some a misinterpretation. Magie Pratique. The Church of Satan’s adoption
people don’t understand. “Satanism is not The only occurrence of the name Lucifer of the image further tied its meaning to the
intended for dummies. Satanism demands in the Bible is in Isaiah 14:12, in this verse: Devil.
study—not worship. The capacity to think is “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer,
expected of Satanists.” son of the morning! How are thou cut down to The Goat-Headed Satan Is Also Pretty

the ground, which didst weaken the nations!” New
The Number Of The Beast Isn’t 666 Seems pretty straightforward, but it turns out
that it’s another case of misinterpretation and If one were to search the Bible for
Frequently featured in heavy metal posters and mistranslation. If you go back to the original descriptions of Satan with a goat’s head, one
bad tattoos, the number 666 has long been Hebrew text, you find a story not about a fallen might turn up a few mentions of the forbidden
identified as the number of the beast. It’s cited angel, but about a Babylonian king who worship of goat idols and demons in Leviticus
from the Book of Revelation, in which John figuratively fell from his throne when he began 17:7 and maybe some calf idols in Exodus. So,
associates the number with the Antichrist, but persecuting the Israelites. where does the goat-headed man come from?
the details of the story aren’t entirely clear. By the time the book was translated by The symbol of Satan as a half-goat
Archaeologists have stacks and stacks of Christian writers, the king became an angel. The creature is known as Baphomet, and the link
nearly indecipherable manuscripts from historic name Lucifer comes in when the king’s name, between the goat-headed demon and Satan only
dump sites in Egypt that date to the third or Helal, gets translated. Helal means “day star” or happened when people started throwing stones
fourth century. Researchers have been able to “son of the dawn.” The Romans found a word at the Freemasons. The story says that when the
translate more of the writing by utilizing recent close in meaning. Lucifer is the Roman name for Pope turned his attention to the Knights Templar
improvements in photographic imaging the planet we call Venus, which is often the first and issued arrest warrants for those he knew to
techniques. visible celestial body to appear near dawn. The be members of the organization, he cited the
On one piece of parchment, the number name didn’t have anything to do with the worship of a demon called Baphomet as one of
assigned to the proverbial beast is 616—not 666. appearance of a Satan-like figure until much the foremost pieces of evidence against them.
According to Oxford’s Centre for the Study of later, when its imagery was cemented with a The name hadn’t been assigned to the image yet,
Ancient Documents, deciphering the number of fourth-century translation of the text by Jerome. though, and trial records show that of the 231
the beast all comes down to numerology. In the knights who were interrogated by the pope’s
time this parchment was made, writing could be The Satanic Pentagram Is Pretty New agents, only 12 admitted (under torture) that
a dangerous act, especially for those who they had a passing familiarity with the image of
expressed their opposition to the controlling Similarly to the perversion of the swastika’s the unnamed, demonic goat.
power by drawing comparisons to the Devil. For symbolism from good fortune to the Third
this reason, numerology was used to give people Reich, the pentagram has undergone a (Continued on Page 87)