But the reason Christians don’t yoke (in the most intimate way) with nonbelievers is because nonbelievers, no matter how upstanding, are not children of the heavenly father. Most often, Christians will use that passage as a reason for why they can’t marry an unbeliever. In the context of the Corinthians passage, he talks about not yoking ourselves with unbelievers. That applies to the father imagery we see.įinally, we need to understand the reason why Paul uses the name for Belial in the New Testament. Often Satan likes to copy what God does and twist it ever-so-slightly. But those who do not belong to Christ are the sons and daughters of the Father of Lies or “the sons and daughters of Belial.” As Christians, we are sons and daughters of our heavenly father. Second, we can often see the “sons of,” “daughters of” attribution in the Bible, whether it refers to God or Satan. If we hear the name Belial, we should know that whomever it describes is not a person who is walking on the narrow path of righteousness. Why should we care about the name Belial? Why should we care whether it represents a being or just an adjective to describe lawless people?įirst, we should realize that the name Belial has negative connotations no matter how you spin it (whether it refers to Satan, to lawlessness, or to another demon). In either case, whether Belial truly is another demon or the Antichrist, we need to approach these works with caution and discernment and turn to the canonical Scripture for guidance. For instance, the Book of Jubilees seems to be another demon who follows Satan.Īnother text, from the pseudepigrapha, the Sibylline Oracles, appears to equate Belial with the Antichrist, whom we see doing works of lawlessness and wickedness in Revelation.Īs mentioned in the article linked above, even popular literature such as Paradise Lost seems to explore the ideas presented in the Book of Jubilees, making Belial out to be the last angel who fell away from heaven. Nevertheless, we should mention that we find a different use of the word Belial in these texts. What Does the Apocrypha Say about Belial?Īs with every instance of the Apocrypha, because apocryphal writings do not make up a part of the biblical canonical text according to many Christian traditions, we do have to exercise discernment when we reach a portion of apocryphal text. So, we can argue that Belial both represents a name of the devil and an all-encompassing title of wicked, worthless men or women. However, the one instance we find in the New Testament does use Belial as a proper name for Satan ( 2 Corinthians 6:15). They may then appeal to the Lord against you, and you will be found guilty of sin. So, the verses aren’t saying, “Satan alone is Belial.” Belial appears to be a spirit or personification of evil through people.įor instance, Deuteronomy 15:9 seems to compare Belial to having a wicked heart.īe careful not to harbor this wicked thought: “The seventh year, the year for canceling debts, is near,” so that you do not show ill will toward the needy among your fellow Israelites and give them nothing. Interestingly enough, most of the instances don’t refer to a specific being. In the Old Testament, the word appears 20 plus times. In this article, we’ll dive into what the Bible says about Belial, what we can find in the Apocrypha (using heavy discernment), and why it matters that we should know about Belial. In Apocryphal literature, we also witness a different take on this word and what it means. More than just attributed to a single being. It seems to be the personification of wickedness and evil. But this word, Belial, means more than just a name for the devil. We may be familiar with some of Satan’s other names, for instance, another B-name is Beelzebub. Mostly because Belial is used once as the name of Satan, “What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?” ( 2 Corinthians 6:15). Although we can find variances of words that can mean lawlessness or rebellion, one word appears to stand out from the rest - that is the name Belial. We often will see the word “wickedness” throughout the Bible, including the Old Testament.
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