At any rate, it was Shemyaza who taught men the art of magic, and along the way, he also meets a mortal woman named Ishtar. Shemyaza is another name given to the leader of the fallen angels, although researcher Andrew Collins notes that at some point before the Book of Enoch, Shemyaza and Azazel (or Lucifer) became two different angels. right? There's one fascinating tale that says at least one already has - and we see him all the time. Surely, fallen angels will have to pay for all this trouble they've caused mankind. Paul was a huge supporter of the idea that women needed to cover their hair, and we can all thank fallen angels for that one, too. It's also the reason for an age-old practice in numerous religions: the tradition that women needed to cover themselves, lest they tempt the men around them. Miryam Brand of the WF Albright Institute of Archaeological Research in Jerusalem (via The Torah), was considered forbidden knowledge that started mankind on the road to corruption.
He also introduced them to the idea of jewelry like bracelets and rings, and how to use their finery and their feminine wiles to seduce men.Īnd this, says Dr. But he taught the women something too: how to use cosmetics and specifically kohl, a black eye product popular since ancient times. At their head was an angel called Lucifer, Azazel, or Lumiel, and he's the one that taught men how to make armor so that, you know, it took a little more effort to kill each other. Originally, New Dawn Magazine notes, it was said that there were 200 fallen angels that headed to earth to cause some serious havoc. They were to be condemned to the ends of the earth, and punishment was definitely going to be a big part of their version of eternity. We do know that Enoch was the one God selected to act as an intermediary to the fallen angels, instructing him to tell them what their punishment would be for their transgressions. (It's also worth noting that Les Enluminures says Noah is the great-grandson of Enoch.)Įnoch, the story says, tried to speak on behalf of the angels and their giant children - but sadly, a lot of the texts are missing. The angels started teaching their giant offspring evil ways, and God not only imprisoned them, but subjected them to judgment and sent the flood to hit the reset button on his creations. Those children were the sons and daughters of 200 angels, and they were a race of 450-foot-tall giants. (The story also shows up in Genesis, but in less detail.) Before the Great Flood, angels and humans met and mingled pretty commonly, and the inevitable happened: children. They're a fascinating glimpse into what mere mortals fear most, and looking at just who fallen angels are and what they do tells just us just as much about ourselves as it does about them.Īccording to the Gnostic Society Library, the Book of Enoch tells the tale of angels who are destroyed by lust. The first - and often, the only - fallen angel most people think of is the Christian version of Lucifer, who took on God, fell from heaven, and went on to run a nightclub and consult with the LAPD.īut he's definitely not the only one, and different religious traditions even have their own and very different pantheons of fallen angels. Fallen angels started out not-so-different at all, and there's a lesson to be learned there.
So that being said, let's talk about some of the bad boys of several religions: fallen angels.Įveryone knows what angels are - wings, halos, all kinds of bright light and grace. Taking on even a small section of theology is a massive undertaking, and honestly, it's just a mess of different versions of all kinds of stories and beliefs.
First, a bit of a disclaimer: Religion is as complicated as the people who follow it.