Lucifer and The Fallen Angels

In many of the world's religions, angels are spiritual beings who act as intermediaries between God and humans. Messengers of God, angels may serve any of a number of purposes. Their role may be to teach, command, or inform individuals of their destiny. Angels may also act to protect or help people.

Hierarchies of Angels

Angels in different orders, or levels, were a part of the mythology of ancient Mesopotamia. Later in the A. D. 400S, the Greek philosopher Dionysius the Areopagite described a hierarchy of angels. Based on his writings, angels are traditionally ranked in nine orders. The highest order of angels is the seraphim, followed by the cherubim, thrones, dominions (or dominations), virtues, powers, principalities, archangels, and angels.

According to this system, the first circle of angels—the seraphim, cherubim, and thrones—devote their time to contemplating God. The second circle—the dominions, virtues, and powers—govern the universe. The third circle—principalities, archangels, and angels—carry out the orders of the superior angels.

Fallen Angels

Fallen angels were angels who had once been close to God but "fell" to a lower position. They tried to interfere with the relationship between human beings and God by encouraging individuals to sin. Fallen angels were also believed to cause such disasters as famine, disease, war, and earthquakes. In Christian belief, the leader of the fallen angels was Satan. He led a rebellion against God, for which he and the other fallen angels were cast into hell.

 To find the origin of Lucifer, we turn to the Old Testament. In the Hebrew, the name Lucifer is translated from the Hebrew word "helel," which means brightness. This designation, referring to Lucifer, is the rendering of the "morning star" or "star of the morning" or "bright star".

To dwell in the awesome presence of a perfect and holy God, Lucifer had to be perfect. There was nothing ordinary or plain about his appearance. Adorned with gold and precious stones, he truly fit the name, 'Son of the Morning.' He was a step above the other angels, not only in appearance but also in intellect. Lucifer's wisdom far exceeded that of other angelic beings. He understood the ways of God.

But Lucifer's splendor and beauty did not last forever. While ministering, he began to consider his own position of prominence. Lucifer became prideful, believing that he deserved more than what he already had. He wanted to become like the Most High.

Lucifer’s rebellion against God resulted in a mighty war in Heaven. Lucifer, along with one third of the angelic host was defeated by the Archangel Michael and was cast down from Heaven to a new place, called Hell, where he became known as "Satan", (a name which literally means "Adversary" as well as "Devil", which means, "Accuser of the brethren"), the ruler of the fallen angels.

Atargatis, Goddess of the Mermaids

A mermaid is a legendary aquatic creature with the upper body of a female human and the tail of a fish. Mermaids appear in the folklore of many cultures worldwide, including the Near East, Europe, Africa and Asia.

The first mermaids in ancient cultures were worshiped as gods and goddesses and appeared in mythology between 700 B.C - 1000 B.C. The earliest mermaid myth appeared in Assyria in 1000 B.C.

Atargatis was a Syrian deity, the chief goddess of northern Syria. She was called Derceto by the Greeks and Dea Syriae (“Syrian goddess”) by the Romans. At first, she was a goddess of fertility, but, as the mistress of her city and people, she was also responsible for their protection and well-being.

The legend says that Atargatis fell in love with a beautiful shepherd-boy and she became pregnant.

Intent on ending the unwanted pregnancy, Atargatis fled into the sea to drown herself, but instead her body changed, becoming half goddess and half fish, with a tail below the waist and human body above the waist.

It is said that her followers abstained from eating fish and often mutilated themselves. Atargatis was depicted as having long, flowing hair like the water, and some of her symbols are a lion, a crescent moon, and two fish confronting one another.

Temples devoted to Atargatis often had ponds on the outside, which were filled with sacred fish that only the priests could touch. Even today there are still sacred ponds of fish in Lebanon that are not to be touched.