Bible Dictionary
DEMON
DEMON
Among the Greeks this term designated:
(a) a god or deity in general;
(b) the genie or familiar spirit that accompanied one;
(c) the fate of him;
(d) the soul of an individual who lived in the golden age (the age before affliction entered the world.
When Pandora’s box was opened, all its evils were precipitated into the world. [Greek mythology]), and since then acted as a tutelary divinity; a god of lower category.
The pagan idea, expounded by philosophers, was that demons were mediating beings between God and man. This is how Plato puts it:
«Each demon is an intermediate being between God and the mortal. “Man does not approach God directly, but the entire relationship and communication between gods and men is achieved through the mediation of demons.”
This was a satanic deception, achieving the worship of God through the mediation of demons or demigods. We can see how this pagan conception has left its profound deforming mark on large sectors of so-called Christianity, in open opposition to the Scriptures (cp. 1 Tim. 2:5).
The Scriptures also make clear the true nature of demons as evil spirits (see Rev. 16:13, 14).
In the Scriptures it is also seen that idolatry is essentially worship of demons since the idol itself is nothing “They sacrificed to demons (shed) and not to God (Deut. 32:17; 1 Cor. 10:19, 20) , “never again will they sacrifice their sacrifices to demons (sair)” (Lev. 17:7; Rev. 9:20).
Jeroboam fell so low that he ordained priests for the demons (sair) and for the calves he had made (2 Chron. 11:15), and some “sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons (shed)” (Ps. 106:37).
The things worshiped may have been invisible objects, or they may have had some mystical representation, or they may have been mere idols; but behind all this were true, evil and unclean beings; so that it was morally impossible to have fellowship with the Lord Jesus and with these demons (1 Cor. 10:19-21).
The evil spirits that possessed so many people when the Lord was on earth were demons, and so we learn a lot about them. The Pharisees said that the Lord cast out demons through Beelzebub the prince of demons.
The Lord interpreted this to mean “Satan casting out Satan.” This is why we know that demons are agents of Satan; and that Satan, as a strong man, had to be bound before his kingdom could be assaulted (Mt. 12:24-29).
The demons are also powerful, due to the way they handled those they possessed, and how one possessed attacked seven men, causing them to flee from the house naked and wounded (Acts 19:16).
We also know that they were intelligent beings, they recognized the Lord Jesus and bowed before his authority. They also knew that punishment awaited them, some asked if the Lord had come to torment them before their time (Mt. 8:29).
It should not be assumed that demonic activity has ceased. We are given the exhortation: “Do not believe every spirit, but test whether the spirits come from God” (1 John 4:1).
With this is consistent the statement that “in later times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons” (1 Tim. 4:1).
Spiritualists and theosophists have a relationship with them and receive teaching from them. Also in a future day, when God pours out his judgments on the earth, men will not repent, but will worship demons and all kinds of idols (Rev. 9:20).
Also the demonic spirits, working miracles, will gather the kings of the earth in the battle of the great day of the Almighty God (Rev. 16:14). And mystical Babylon will become “the habitation of demons and the haunt of every unclean spirit and the shelter of every unclean and hateful bird” (Rev. 18:2).
The world and the professing church are evidently maturing for this state of things and many are those who, with the intention of investigating parapsychological phenomena, are unconsciously becoming prey to demons.
The end of the church age is marked by the terrible prophecy of 2 Thes. 2:11: “For this reason God sends them a deceitful spirit, so that they believe a lie, so that all those who did not believe the truth but took pleasure in unrighteousness would be condemned.”
BETHEL
is the name of a Canaanite city in the ancient region of Samaria, located in the center of the land of Canaan, northwest of Ai on the road to Shechem, 30 kilometers south of Shiloh and about 16 kilometers north of Jerusalem.
Bethel is the second most mentioned city in the Bible. Some identify it with the Palestinian village of Beitin and others with the Israeli settlement of Beit El.
Bethel was the place where Abraham built his altar when he first arrived in Canaan (Genesis 12:8; Genesis 13:3). And at Bethel Jacob saw a vision of a ladder whose top touched heaven and the angels ascended and descended (Genesis 28:10-19).
For this reason Jacob was afraid, and said, “How terrible is this place! It is nothing other than the house of God, and the gate of heaven »and he called Bethel the place that was known as «Light» (Genesis 35-15).
Bethel was also a sanctuary in the days of the prophet Samuel, who judged the people there (1 Samuel 7:16; 1 Samuel 10:3). And it was the place where Deborah, the nurse of Rebekah, Isaac’s wife, was buried.
Bethel was the birthplace of Hiel, who sought to rebuild the city of Jericho (1 Kings 16:34).
When Bethel did not yet belong to the people of Israel, Joshua had to battle against the king of Bethel and other kings and defeated them (Joshua 12-16).
When the people of Israel had taken possession of the promised land, in the division by tribes it was assigned to the Tribe of Benjamin (Joshua 18-22), but in later times it belonged to the Tribe of Judah (2 Chronicles 13:19).
It was one of the places where the Ark of the Covenant remained, a symbol of the presence of God.
In Bethel the prophet Samuel judged the people.
Then the prophet Elisha went up from there to Bethel; and as he was going up the road, some boys came out of the city and mocked him, and said to him: “Go up, bald man; Come up, bald! When he looked back and saw them, he cursed them in the name of the Lord. Then two bears came out of the forest and tore to pieces forty-two boys” (2 Kings 2:23).
After the division of the kingdom of Israel, Jeroboam I, king of Israel, had a golden calf raised at Bethel (1 Kings 21:29) which was destroyed by Josiah, king of Judah, many years later (2 Kings 23:15). .
Bethel was also a place where some of the Babylonian exiles who returned to Israel in 537 BC gathered. (Ezra 2:28).
The prophet Hosea, a century before Jeremiah, refers to Bethel by another name: “Bet-Aven” (Hosea 4:15; Hosea 5:8; Hosea 10:5-8), which means ‘House of Iniquity’, ‘House of Nothingness’, ‘House of Vanity’, ‘House of Nullity’, that is, of idols.
In Amos 7: 12-13 the priest Amaziah tells the prophet Amos that he flee to Judah and no longer prophesy in Bethel because it is the king’s sanctuary, and the head of the kingdom.
The prophet Jeremiah states that “the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel” (Jeremiah 48:13), because of their idolatry and, specifically, the worship of the golden calf.
PUTEOLI
(lat.: “small fountains”).
Two days after arriving in Rhegium, the ship carrying Paul arrived at Puteoli, which was then an important maritime city.
The apostle found Christians there, and enjoyed their hospitality (Acts 28:13).
It was located on the northern coast of the Gulf of Naples, near the site of present-day Pouzzoles.
The entire surrounding region is volcanic, and the Solfatare crater rises behind the city.
PUT
Name of a nation related to the Egyptians and neighbors of their country (Gen. 10:6).
Put is mentioned with Egypt and other African countries, especially Libya (Nah. 3:9) and Lud (Ez. 27:10; Is. 66:19 in the LXX. Put appears between Cush and Lud in Jer. 46:9; Ez. 30:5).
In the LXX he is translated as Libyans in Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Josephus also identifies it with Libya (Ant. 1:6, 2), but in Nah. 3.9 is distinguished from the Libyans.
Current opinion is divided between Somalia, Eastern Arabia and Southern Arabia (Perfume Coast).
PURPLE
A coloring substance that is extracted from various species of mollusks. The ancient Tyrians used two types of them: the “Murex trunculus”, from which the bluish purple was extracted, and the “Murex brandaris”, which gave the red.
The ink of its coloring matter varies in color depending on the region in which it is fished.
Piles of murex shells, artificially opened, have been discovered in Minet el-Beida, port of ancient Ugarit (Ras Shamra), which gives evidence of the great antiquity of the use of this purple dye (see UGARIT).
Due to its high price, only the rich and magistrates wore purple (Est. 8:15, cf. the exaltation of Mordecai, v. 2, Pr. 31:22; Dan. 5:7; 1 Mac. 10 :20, 62, 64; 2 Mac. 4:38; cf. v 31; Luke 16:19; Rev. 17:4).
The rulers adorned themselves in purple, even those of Midian (Judg. 8:26). Jesus was mocked with a purple robe (Mark 15:17).
Great use had been made of purple-dyed fabrics for the Tabernacle (Ex. 25:4; 26:1, 31, 36) and for the high priest’s vestments (Ex. 28:5, 6, 15, 33; 39: 29). The Jews gave symbolic value to purple (Wars 5:5, 4).
PURIM
(Heb., plural of “luck”).
Haman cast lots to determine a day of good omen for the destruction of the Jews.
As Haman’s designs were undone, the liberation of the Jews was marked by an annual festival (Est. 3:7; 9:24-32) on the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month of Adar.
This festival is not mentioned by name in the NT, although there are exegetes who assume that it is the one referred to in Jn. 5:1.
This festival continues to be celebrated within Judaism: the book of Esther is read, and curses are pronounced on Haman and his wife, blessings are pronounced on Mordecai and the eunuch Harbonah (Est. 1:10; 7: 9).
PURIFICATION, PURITY
In the Mosaic Law four ways to purify oneself from contamination were indicated:
(a) Purification of contamination contracted by touching a dead person (Num. 19; cf. Num. 5:2, 3),
(b) Purification from impurity due to bodily emissions (Lev. 15; cf. Num. 5:2, 3).
(c) Purification of the woman in labor (Lev. 12:1-8; Luke 2:21-24).
(d) Purification of the leper (Lev. 14).
To this, the scribes and Pharisees added many other purifications, such as washing hands before eating, washing vessels and dishes, showing great zeal in these things, while inside they were full of extortion and iniquity (Mark 7: 2-8).
In Christianity the necessary purification extends:
to the heart (Acts 15:9; James 4:8),
to the soul (1 Pet. 1:22), and
to the conscience through the blood of Christ (Heb. 9:14).
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BETHEL
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