PART 4 INVISIBLE FORCES

4

What Does the Devil Look Like?

Since the Devil is a cherub, let’s find out what the Word of God says about what cherubim looks like. Do you have any thoughts about what he might look like? But before we do, let’s find out about some of the historical portrayals of him.

 

WHAT DOES THE DEVIL LOOK LIKE? HISTORICAL DEPICTIONS OF SATAN

What does the devil look like? Discover the historical origins [of] Satan’s frightening appearance.

From a fallen angel to a bearded, red-hued man with horns, the Prince of [Darkness] has been depicted in many different forms over the years. The satanic [figure, as understood today, is the result of centuries of art, literature,] and theater.

To find out what the [devil looks] like, All About History magazine spoke with Marina Montesano, professor of Medieval History at the University of Messina in Italy, and Jan Machielsen, senior lecturer in Early Modern History at Cardiff University in the [U.K.] Both of these scholars are experts in the history of Satan and the occult.

Here are eight ways that people have pictured Satan [throughout] history.

 

1. ANCIENT HEBREW: THE SERPENT

In the Old Testament’s Book of Genesis, the serpent who tempted Adam and Eve with the forbidden fruit in [Eden] is commonly associated with Satan. In the original Hebrew text, though, no such name is given to the creature who convinces them to eat the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. According to Marina Montesano, the only references to “Satàn” in the Hebrew Bible mean “adversary,” “[obstacle,]” or “enemy” and can refer either to human antagonists or supernatural entities. It is only later, in the New Testament, that Satan is referred to explicitly as a serpent. Despite this, serpents and snakes remain commonly associated with the devil.

 

2. EARLY MEDIEVAL: THE FALLEN ANGEL

In the Bible, the Book of Isaiah 14:12 reads: “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations.” This is a direct reference to God casting out Satan from heaven. “Lucifer, the ‘[morning star,]’ is the expression with which Isaiah defines a future king of Babylon,” Montesano said. “The fathers of the early medieval church, however, elaborated the figure of Lucifer far beyond the biblical text, making him the rebel angel and transforming him into the paradigm of pride as the capital sin.”

The earliest known suggested depiction of Satan is in a sixth-century [mosaic] in the Basilica of Sant’Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna, Italy. The image “shows the devil as an ethereal blue angel, [but this was] ultimately shed in favor of a more demonic appearance with animalistic traits,” Montesano said.

 

3. LATE MEDIEVAL: SATAN AS THE BEAST

Depictions of the devil during the Medieval period were commonly dragon-like, Montesano said. For example, an early pope known as Saint Sylvester reportedly slayed a devilish dragon, impressing a group of pagan priests and confirming the Christian faith of the Roman emperor Constantine, as Hans A. Pohlsander, a professor of classics, explained in “The Emperor Constantine” (Routledge, 2004).

However, while mythical creatures were often associated with the devil during the medieval period, [so were] real animals. According to the British Library, many medieval portrayals of the devil have animalistic features, including the iconic cloven hooves, tails, [talons,] and even webbed hands.

Illustrations from a 14th-century French manuscript called the Smithfield Decretals show the devil with animal body [parts] and depict him as a humongous beast. “We find [depictions of] foxes, bears, lions, and many others having connotations that can signify those attributed to the devil,” Montesano said.

 

4. DANTE’S INFERNO: THE WINGED DEVIL

The 14th-century poem “Inferno,” written by Dante Alighieri as part of his [“Divine Comedy,”] recounts a fictional journey through the seven circles that make up hell before the protagonist comes face to face with Satan himself. Dante describes Satan with “two mighty wings, such as befitting [was] so great a bird; sails of the sea I never saw so large. No feathers had [them], but as of a bat.” (Canto 34:49-51).

According to Montesano, Satan’s wings may originate in Babylonian [mythology] due to the devil’s association with the figure of Lilith. “Lilith comes from the ancient Babylonian Lilitu demons: Winged females who flew through the night, seducing men and attacking pregnant women and infants,” she said.

Dante also introduces elements from Greco-Roman mythology into his traditional Christian lore. He refers to the devil as “Dis” and to a [“City of Dis,”] which comes from Dis Pater, the Roman god of the [underworld,] according to “The Dante Encyclopedia” (Routledge, 2000) by Richard Lansing, professor of Italian studies and comparative literature at Brandeis University. In [“Inferno,”] Dante writes: “Hence in the smallest circle, where the point is Of the Universe, upon which Dis is seated, [Whoever betrays forever] is consumed.” (Canto 11:64-65).

 

5. SATAN WITH HORNS

A clear early link between Satan and goats is found in the Basilica of Sant’Apollinare Nuovo mosaic, constructed in the late 6th century in Italy. In the mosaic, the blue angel to Jesus’ left stands behind three goats, while the angel to Jesus’ right is joined by three sheep.

The artwork represents a parable in Matthew 25:31-46: “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.” In the story, the goat is associated with those not entering heaven. Some art historians, like Alastair Sooke of the BBC, claim that this is where the devil and his minions got their horns.

Other experts disagree. “The goat, which until the Middle Ages was barely linked to demonology, assumed a new role [around this time,]” Montesano said. “According to some scholars, this new role comes mainly from its association with Nordic myths. Others say it might derive from the pagan god Pan, while British historian Ronald Hutton thinks it has more to do with [the] neo-pagan revival of modern �" not Medieval �" times.”

In his book, “The Devil: Perceptions of Evil from Antiquity to Primitive Christianity” (Cornell University Press, 1987), Jeffrey Burton Russell claims the link between Satan and the goat derives from the devil’s association with underworld fertility deities, [whom] Christians rejected as demons. Along with other pagan gods, these horned idols were particularly feared “because of their association with the wilderness and with sexual frenzy.”

 

6. PARADISE LOST: THE DEVIL AS AN ADONIS

Many modern audiences are used to seeing Satan as a chiseled, handsome man, such as in the 2016 Netflix series [“Lucifer.”] This incarnation of the devil first appeared in the 17th century. In 1667, John Milton published his epic poem “Paradise Lost,” which tells the story of Satan’s expulsion from heaven and his temptation of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. According to Nancy Rosenfield’s book “The Human Satan in Seventeenth-Century Literature” (Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2013), Milton shows Satan as “a heroic military [leader]” who is “the most attractive of the satanic characters of [17th-century] literature.”

In the 18th and early 19th century, there was a revival of interest in “Paradise Lost.” Artist William Blake found Milton’s character of Satan so compelling that he produced several illustrations to accompany a version of “Paradise Lost” in which a nude Satan is shown as a handsome, god-like [figure] with entirely human features.

 

7. A DEVIL DRESSED IN RED

During the 19th and early 20th [century,] the image of the devil was used in advertisements and satirical cartoons. In one 1900 cartoon, he is being chased away by a women’s suffrage campaigner. Along with his horns, he is also entirely red, with a pointed beard, and carrying a pitchfork. 

The devil’s red [tights originate] in theatre productions. In 1859, composer Charles Gounod adopted the folktale “Faust,” which had also inspired Marlowe’s earlier play, “Dr. Faustus,” into an opera, in which the devilish character of Mephistopheles wears a Renaissance-era costume, including red tights, also known as hose.

In his book “A History of Opera: Milestones and Metamorphoses” (Opera Journeys Publishing, 2003), Burton Fisher wrote: “Marcel Journet sang Faust’s Mephistopheles over a thousand times, providing the stereotyped image of opera characters as devils in red tights.” Different interpretations of this theatrical clothing have endured and remain popular Halloween costumes today.

 

8. THE 20TH CENTURY DEVIL

During the 20th century, the devil continued to be re-invented by writers and filmmakers, placing him in the guise of mysterious strangers, smart [businessmen,] and even children, as in the 1976 horror movie [“The Omen.”]

In Mikhail Bulgakov’s novel “The Master and Margarita” (first published in Moskva magazine, 1966), the devil appears as a smart but secretive [stranger] who is accompanied by a talking cat. Similarly, in the 1987 film “Angel [Heart,]” Robert de Niro plays Louis Cyphre (Lucifer), a well-dressed but cryptic businessman.

In 1936, the American writer Stephen Vincent Benet wrote “The Devil and Daniel [Webster,]” in which the character Mr. Scratch (Satan) fights for his right to a man’s soul in a court of law. In a similar vein, the 1997 film “Devil’s Advocate” sees Al Pacino play Lucifer as the head of a shady New York City law firm.

But even these modern depictions of Lucifer as a lawyer have their origins in the Middle Ages. In an article from the journal la Revue de l’histoire des religions, Karl Shoemaker, a historian at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, described a medieval court drama in which “the devil and his hellish council selected a demon learned in the law and sent him to the court of heaven in order to sue for a legal title to the human race.”⁵

Is it surprising that there are many illustrations of what the Devil might look like throughout history? Well, where can we turn that will help us find an accurate likeness of his outward form? You guessed it, the Bible. We’ll begin in the book of Ezekiel.

 

Ezekiel 1:1-10

5 Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man.

In this vision, Ezekiel saw four living creatures. Are these cherubim? Follow along, and we’ll find out.

10 As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle.

Each entity is referred to as having the likeness of four living creatures because they have four faces. One was of man; another of a lion, an ox, and finally of an eagle. I can honestly say that this description is very strange. How can we conclude that what is described as that of a cherub?

Ezekiel 10:14 And every one had four faces: the first face was the face of a cherub, and the second face was the face of a man, and the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.

This verse, which provides similar physical qualities, says this creature is a cherub. In this account, one of the faces of an ox is replaced with the words of a cherub. The discrepancy could pertain to Ezekiel’s view of the cherub at this time, which was of the whole four-fold form who handed coals to a man in linen (Ezekiel 10:7).

 

What else can we find out about their appearance?

6-8 And every one had four faces, and every one had four wings. And their feet were straight feet; and the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calf’s foot: and they sparkled like the colour of burnished brass. And they had the hands of a man under their wings on their four sides; and they four had their faces and their wings.

This tells us that they had four wings, feet like the soles of a calve’s foot, which sparkled like polished brass, and a man’s hands under each wing. I honestly don’t know what to say other than their unveiling, which is quite unusual.

9 Their wings were joined one to another; they turned not when they went; they went every one straight forward.

Another aspect of these physical features is that the four faces allowed them to look four ways simultaneously. And the four wings enabled them to move rapidly in every direction without turning. Wow! Is there anything that indicates how tall they are? Please turn your Bible to the book of 1 Kings.

1 Kings 6:23-24, 27 And within the oracle he made two cherubims of olive tree, each ten cubits high. And five cubits was the one wing of the cherub, and five cubits the other wing of the cherub: from the uttermost part of the one wing unto the uttermost part of the other were ten cubits. And he set the cherubims within the inner house: and they stretched forth the wings of the cherubims, so that the wing of the one touched the one wall, and the wing of the other cherub touched the other wall; and their wings touched one another in the midst of the house.

Here’s a reference to two cherubim, each made out of wood and placed in the temple’s sanctuary (the Holy of Holies) under its construction during the reign of Israel’s third king, Solomon. If each of these objects were built in stature (in height) as an exact full-size model of a cherub, they’d be ten cubits or about 18 feet tall.

They were depicted as only having two wings each, not four as previously described. The reason for this was twofold. First, the length of half of one wing of each cherub was facing away from each other and touching two opposite walls. The other length of each half of one wing was opened toward one other to allow for the extension of the wings along the full length of the Most Holy Place. Secondly, the Ark of the Covenant was placed between the two cherubim under the halves of the two wings facing each other, expressing the idea of the cherubim being guardians or protectors of the holy place.

Let’s go back to the book of Ezekiel and find another feature of a cherub.

Ezekiel 10:12 And their whole body, and their backs, and their hands, and their wings, and the wheels, were full of eyes round about, even the wheels that they four had.

There are some interesting words depicted in this verse. The first is wheels. What are they? We’ll find out in the following section. And then there are the words full of eyes round about. Whatever these are, most of the cherubim’s bodies seem to be covered with them. Commentators have various opinions as to what they represent. However, most of them believe that their eyes are designed to represent ceaseless activity or divine omniscience.

And the final feature we’ll look at has to do with what are denoted as wheels. These actually don’t have anything to do with a cherub’s appearance. However, I think they’re interesting enough to find out what they are.

Ezekiel 1:18-19 As for their rings, they were so high that they were dreadful; and their rings were full of eyes round about them four. And when the living creatures went, the wheels went by them: and when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up.

Ezekiel 10:10 And as for their appearances, they four had one likeness, as if a wheel had been in the midst of a wheel.

Ezekiel 10:19a And the cherubims lifted up their wings, and mounted up from the earth in my sight: when they went out, the wheels also were beside them, …

Apparently, each cherub had wheels. What are they? They’re a wheel within a wheel, which seemingly was an apparatus that rolled or allowed them to move on the ground effortlessly. And their rings (the circumference of each wheel) were full of eyes (dazzling spots adding to their brilliancy⁶; yellow-green glow). And when they decided to leave the surface of the land, they’d use their wings to fly.

Now we know limitedly what cherubim looks like, and hence the Devil. However, there’s another aspect of appearance that’s only ascribed to him. Any idea what this could be? Please stay in the book of Ezekiel, and we’ll find out.

Ezekiel 28:13 Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.

On the day when the anointed cherub was created ([on the day of the] accession to the throne⁷), he was adorned with nine precious stones, i.e., they formed the ornaments of his attire.

So, now we know in an obscure sense what the Devil truly looks like.

Here’s a summary.

�-� Four faces. One was of a man, another of a lion, of an ox, and finally of an eagle.

�-� Four wings, feet that were like the soles of a calve’s foot, which sparkled like polished brass, and the hands of a man under each wing.

�-� 18 feet tall.

�-� Eyes (designs of such) on his entire body.

�-� Nine costly stones as decorations.

 

I don’t know about you, but it isn’t easy to comprehend this creature’s form. It’s something entirely otherworldly. Are you as surprised as I am that the Devil’s semblance is like nothing weve ever heard of before?

What we’ll look at in the following chapter is what caused this anointed cherub to fall.