r/TheisticSatanism • u/bogusbrains Luciferian • 1d ago

Beginner Question

I see this page and another one that works with demonolatry.

My question is: it seems like angels and demons are both powerful beings that exist beyond the realms of matter and time. They are both councious, they have their own will. They can both sometimes be good, or not.

So, what's the difference between these two types of beings? Apologies if my question seems beyond stupid...

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u/Mikem444 1d ago edited 11h ago

Angel literally means "messenger of god (Yahweh)" - Although it refers to the name "El" at the end of the name "angel," which means "of god." More specifically, it is the name of the supreme elder god in the ancient Canaanite/Phoenician religion. Yahweh had been adopted and absorbed into this religion, making him an adopted brother of Ba'al and adopted son of El. At some point he committed identity theft, stealing El's title and became "the one and only God" before the religion became more structured into what we all know as Judaism. - Anyway, angel = messenger of god/Yahweh.

The word "Demon" is derived from the words "Daemon/Daimon" in Latin/Greek, but originating from Greek first. It originally referred to intermediary spirits more divine than man, but not quite as divine as gods either. They were guiding/advisory spirits that weren't necessarily "good" or "evil," they had individual personalities that could differ from one to another not unlike humans'. Down the road Christianity used it to mean evil spirits in league with Satan/the Devil.

So, my answer to this question isn't straightforward to the question in itself, but instead, it is a break down of these words' history and definitions, leaving you to take what you want from that and decide for yourself, or not. But that was the easier way for me to approach this question.