Amenadiel: Who Is He And What Is Said About Him In Religious Texts
Amenadiel’s name has been gaining more popularity because he is one of the protagonists of the famous FOX series Lucifer.
There is no doubt that this series takes inspiration from symbols and characters typical of the Christian religion, and in this article we are going to talk about the origin of the figure of Amenadiel, in addition to commenting on what other sources, both ancient and modern, he appears in.
The term Amenadiel can refer to several people, although the best known is a fictional character who appears in the FOX television series “Lucifer,” created by Tom Kapinos.
However, the name is much older than that series in question, and its origin, according to theologians and experts in the Bible and other sacred Christian texts, referring to an angel considered one of God’s cherubs, but this one revealed himself and became a fallen angel being expelled from heaven.
The word “Amenadiel” is of confusing etymological origin, surely coming from ancient Hebrew or Aramaic. It has been suggested that it must mean something like “divine punishment”, relating it to the fact of having lost God’s blessing and having been condemned as a fallen angel.
Although this is the most accepted story, its identity and exact origin is uncertain. There is hardly any information about this angel and experts in Christianity have proposed several theories. The possibility has even been raised that this name is not his real name, or that it was a reinterpretation or poor transliteralization of a previous name.
One of the theories is based on the magic book Steganography, by Johannes Trithemius (1462-1516), a German monk born in Trittenheim. In the book, Trithemius maintains that Amenadiel is an aerial spirit , created as a combination of roles played by the archangels Michael and Gabriel, being both head of God’s army and his messenger. Being an aerial spirit, this peculiar religious character exists between the earthly world, that is, that of the living, and the Christian heaven.
Several medieval texts describe aerial spirits as angels but of a somewhat ambiguous nature. It is not that he is necessarily an evil being, but he is not like an angel understood in the popular sense. In our collective ideology, we understand that an angel is a heavenly being that is always benign and protective, however, in these texts, Amenadiel is described as a being that can do both good and evil, like people themselves, which is why what is between heaven and earth.
But other theories point him further down, towards hell, comparing him to Lucifer himself, given that He is attributed powers similar to the prince of demons Others go so far as to say that Lucifer and Amenadiel are brothers. Be that as it may, and based on this brief introduction of some theories, it can be seen that there is quite a bit of confusion regarding the role that Amenadiel plays within Christian beliefs and what kind of powers he has.
What does the Bible say?
Although he has his importance, although anecdotal, within the Christian world, the Bible says nothing about this character. It may be somewhat shocking, given that he has been attributed a striking role within his relationship with God and Lucifer, but the truth is that Amenadiel must be a very late invention in the history of the Christian religion.
It appears in a Renaissance book, called “Theurgia-Goetia”, which is based on the already mentioned “Steganographia” by Johannes Trithemius, as well as on the Book of Enoch.
Theurgia-Goetia
Theurgia-Goetia is the second book of The Lesser Key of Solomon (“Lemegeton Clavicula Salomonis”), a grimoire (book on magic) anonymous from the 17th century which is known for being one of the most important texts that talk about demons in Christianity.
In this text, Amenadiel is known as the Great King of the West, commander of 300 grand dukes, 500 minor dukes, 12 hierarch dukes, and a significant number of lower spirits. Amenadiel is a demon of day and night, which can be summoned at any time. To do this, it is best to use a crystal ball, or something that reflects it, which will allow you to observe its true form.
The Book of Enoch or Enoch is a text that is part of the Bible of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church As strange as it may seem, during the Middle Ages Ethiopia was a Christian country, whose vision of faith evolved separately from the European one, and that is why it has some discrepant points with respect to Catholicism and the Slavic Orthodox Church.
In the Book of Enoch it is said that Amenadiel is a fallen angel, who, as we were already commenting previously, He rebelled against the Father Creator, joining the fight to create a new kingdom , but without God. After being defeated by the archangel Michael, Amenadiel, who had been a valued celestial figure, was sent to hell for having betrayed God, along with other angels who were part of the revolt.
Encyclopedia of Angels
In the Encyclopedia of Angels the name of Amnediel, and given the similarity with the name Amenadiel, it can be assumed that it is another way in which he is referred to. In this encyclopedia Amnediel is one of the 28 angels who rule the mansions of the moon and has the power to offer friendship, love and happiness to travelers.
Lucifer from FOX
“Lucifer” is a television series on the FOX channel, released in 2016 and created by Tom Kapinos His main character is based on the figure of Lucifer from the comics “The Sandman”, by Neil Gaiman. In this television series Amenadiel is the brother of the protagonist, in addition to being one of the fallen angels who has arrived on earth and has become a human being.
Without spoiling the plot of the series, the main story of the series is that Lucifer, who had been banished, was sent to rule hell for all eternity and was renamed Satan, the prince of darkness. But since it is too hot in hell and the suffering of others comes a moment that is boring, Lucifer got tired of ruling that kingdom and decided to flee to Earth, residing in the cinematic Hollywood
The problem is that hell needed someone to control it, and Amenadiel saw how his brother’s escape implied an imbalance between good and evil, so he sees it necessary to go in search of Lucifer and convince him to return to hell. . She finds him being the owner of the bar “Lux”, and seeing how he begins to collaborate with homicide detective Chloe Decker. Amenadiel decides to observe his brother closely, and based on this the plot of the series unfolds.
Lucifer from DC Comics
Amenadiel also appears in DC Comics comics, specifically in “Lucifer”, based on “The Sandman” comics by Neil Gaiman In those comics the figure of Lucifer appears as a secondary character, but Mike Carey made a 75-issue spin-off in which he becomes the main character and the one who gives its name to the saga.
In these issues, Amenadiel is an angel who represents violence, revenge, and the totalitarian ideals of the Celestial Kingdom. Here, unlike the series, Amenadiel feels a deep hatred towards Lucifer, and plans attacks against him. These offensives include cursing and fighting, and he is willing to sacrifice innocents just to carry out his revenge. But Lucifer is intelligent and knows how to counterattack, always managing to defeat Amenadiel.
