Christian Bible '' by
John Milton In
Mark 3:22, the
scribes accuse
Jesus Christ of
driving out demons by the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons. The name also appears in the expanded version in
Matthew 12:24,27 and
Luke 11:15, 18–19, as well as in
Matthew 10:25. Beelzebub is also identified in the
New Testament as the
Devil, "the prince of demons". Recognizing
translation concerns, biblical scholar
Thomas Kelly Cheyne suggested that it might be a derogatory corruption of ''Ba'al-zəbûl'', "Lord of the High Place" (i.e., Heaven) or "High Lord".
Gnostic tradition Texts of the
Gospel of Nicodemus vary;
Beelzebul and
Beelzebub are used interchangeably. The name is used by
Hades as a secondary name for the
Devil, but it may vary with each translation of the text; other versions separate Beelzebub from the Devil. According to the teachings of the Modern Gnostic Movement of
Samael Aun Weor, Beelzebub was a prince of demons who rebelled against the Black Lodge during World War II and was converted by Aun Weor to the White Lodge.
Christian tradition Beelzebub is commonly described as placed high in
Hell's hierarchy. According to the stories of the 16th-century occultist
Johann Weyer, Beelzebub led a successful revolt against the Devil. Similarly, the 17th-century exorcist
Sébastien Michaëlis, in his
Admirable History (1612), placed Beelzebub among the three most prominent fallen
angels, the other two being Lucifer and
Leviathan.
John Milton, in his epic poem
Paradise Lost, first published in 1667, identified an unholy trinity consisting of Beelzebub, Lucifer, and
Astaroth, with Beelzebub as the second-ranking of the many fallen angels. Milton wrote of Beelzebub "than whom, Satan except, none higher sat." Beelzebub is also a character in
John Bunyan's ''
The Pilgrim's Progress'', first published in 1678. In 1409–1410
The Lanterne of Light (an anonymous English
Lollard tract often attributed to
John Wycliffe) provided a classification of the princes of Hell based on the
seven deadly sins and associated Beelzebub with the deadly sin of
envy. However, Sebastien Michaelis associated Beelzebub with the deadly sin of
pride, one of the other
seven deadly sins, and according to
Peter Binsfeld in his 1589
Treatise on Confessions by Evildoers and Witches Beelzebub was the demon of
gluttony, whereas
Francis Barrett asserted that Beelzebub was the prince of
idolatry. Not only had the
Pharisees disparagingly accused
Jesus of using Beelzebub's demonic powers to heal people (Luke 11:14–26), but others have been labelled possessed for acts of an extreme nature. Down through history, Beelzebub has been held responsible for many cases of
demonic possession, such as that of Sister Madeleine de Demandolx de la Palud,
Aix-en-Provence in 1611, whose relationship with Father Jean-Baptiste Gaufridi led not only to countless traumatic events at the hands of her inquisitors but also to the torture and execution of that "bewitcher of young nuns", Gaufridi himself. Beelzebub was also imagined to be sowing his influence in
Salem, Massachusetts; his name came up repeatedly during the
Salem witch trials, the last large-scale public expression of
witch hysteria in either
North America or
Europe, and afterwards, the Rev.
Cotton Mather wrote a
pamphlet titled
Of Beelzebub and his Plot. == Translation concerns ==