Contents
Who is Beelzebul?
As the Sun-god, Baal was worshipped under two aspects, beneficent and destructive. On the one hand, he gave light and warmth to his worshippers; on the other hand, he made the fierce heats of summer destroy the vegetation he had himself brought into being. Hence, human victims were sacrificed to him in order to appease his anger in time of plague or other trouble, the victim being usually the first-born of the man making the sacrifice and being burnt alive. In the Hebrew (Old) Testament this is euphemistically termed “passing” the victim “through the fire” (cf. 2Kgs 16:3; 21:6). Baal-Zebub is only one among the many forms of Baal. Others include Baal-Berith; Baal-Gad; Baal-Hamon; and many others. What then is the correct name – Baalzebul or Baalzebub? Without doubt, the original and correct name is Baal-Zebub.
The Philistines at Ekron worshipped a deity called Baalzebub (cf. 2Kgs 1:2.3.6.16). Baalzebub (lord of flies) had some fame as a god that gave oracles. Ahaziah, son of Ahab, and king of Israel, went to consult him whether he should recover of his sickness, and was therefore rebuked by Elijah, who declared that his death would be the result of this unfaithfulness and negligence on the Lord. The Babylonian Belu or Bel meaning “Lord,” was the title of the supreme god among the Canaanites. In Babylonia Baal was the title specially applied to Merodach of Babylon, which in time came to be used in place of his actual name. The Babylonian Bel-Merodach was a Sun-god, and so too was the Can Baal whose full title was Baal-Shemaim, “lord of heaven.”
The Jews committed the unpardonable sin of ascribing Jesus’ work of casting out demons to Beelzebul, the prince of demons. How can they ascribe to such being the supreme manifestation of goodness? It is a well-known phenomenon in the history of religions that the gods of one nation become the devils of its neighbours and of its enemies. For instance, when the Aryans divided into Indians and Iranians, the Devas remained gods for the Indians, but became devils (daevas) for the Iranians. On the other hand, the Ahuras remained gods for the Iranians and became devils (asuras) for the Indians. Therefore, there can be little doubt that Beelzebul is the same name as Baal-Zebub. The god who gave oracles (Baal-Zebub), is now the prince of demons (Beelzebul). Attributing the work of the Holy Spirit to a man-made god is truly an unforgivable sin. The Jews knew the truth, but they refused to acknowledge and accept it. This is why their sin is unpardonable.
Conclusion
How can the Lord forgive us and reconcile us to a sharing in His life if we refuse to recognize the sin as a sin and to ask for forgiveness? When the Pharisees wanted to prove to Jesus that Moses gave them the permission to divorce their wives, Jesus explained to them that it was due to their hardness of heart that Moses left them to do as they wanted (cf. Matt 19:1–9). The inability to recognize the truth is due to a heart that has been hardened. This “hardness of heart” leads to a sustained and firm rejection of the love and mercy of God, which in turn leads to damnation. Due to their hardness of heart, the Scribes refused to acknowledge the operations of the Holy Spirit. Instead, they preferred attributing such works to Beel-Zebul, the prince of demons. It is not our verbal profession that makes us children of God (cf. Jas 2:20.26). In one of his teaches, Jesus tells us that it is those who listen to the word of God and put it into action that are his mother, father, brother, sister (cf. Luke 8:21; Mark 3:35). While we think of biological family, Jesus teaches us that he is more interested in spiritual family. If our being members of earthly and biological family cannot transform us into members of heavenly and spiritual family, then, we might be suffering from the hardness of heart. And since such hardness of heart could lead to the unforgivable sin, we must avoid it. Always remember the question: Ayehka – Where are you? God’s voice should not make you run and hide yourself. Instead, let it draw you closer and closer to God, the source of life, joy, progress, salvation and eternal life. God bless you this week and always. Shalom!
[1] Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to the Biblical Doctrine (Zondervan, 2009), pp. 508–509.
