War in Heaven (myth)
The War in Heaven was a cosmic battle in which the loyal heavenly hosts defeated the rebel angel Lucifer (Satan) and his followers, leading to their expulsion from heaven and the establishment of divine order. According to tradition, this event took place somewhere between 705 and 691 BC., as revealed by the Hebrew prophet Isaiah. This celestial war, waged beyond the mortal realm, resulted in the fall of Lucifer and his followers, who were cast from the divine heavens into the lower realms. The war's repercussions rippled through history, shaping the mortal world and influencing the rise and fall of empires.
The war erupted as Lucifer, once among the greatest of the divine hierarchy, defied the celestial order and sought to overthrow the rule of the Supreme Deity. His rebellion sparked a brutal struggle that raged across the divine realms, reshaping the heavens and casting ripples through the mortal world. For fourteen years, the battle consumed the celestial plane. The war saw entire dominions reduced to ruin, as once-loyal angels turned against their brethren. Michael and his forces fought tirelessly to preserve divine law, while Lucifer's legions sought to unseat the established order and remake creation in their own vision. The conflict reached its climax in 691 BC, upon the radiant heights of the Eternal Spire, where Michael, wielding the divine blade Celestia, struck down Lucifer in single combat. Defeated and broken, Lucifer and his followers were cast from heaven, many imprisoned in the infernal depths of Hell, while others scattered, taking refuge in the dark corners of existence.
The War in Heaven was not confined to the celestial realm alone. As the divine struggle raged above, its consequences manifested in the mortal world. The rise of empires, the fall of kings and the devastation of entire civilizations mirrored the battles in the heavens. The great upheavals in the Assyrian Empire and the siege of Jerusalem in 701 BC were direct consequences of the celestial war, as the influence of the Fallen Lords extended into the realm of mortals. The echoes of this war still linger — relics of the conflict, ancient ruins imbued with divine power and bloodlines forever marked by the touch of celestial or infernal ancestry.
Though the war itself ended, its consequences endure. Lucifer's banishment was not the end of his ambition, and his followers continue to weave their schemes, seeking to reclaim what was lost. The heavens remain vigilant, knowing that the forces of rebellion are never truly vanquished, only waiting for the moment to rise once more.
Zoroaster
Writing in the 15th century BC, the prophet Zoroaster stumbled upon evidence of the war's occurrence, discovering that the universe had been created by two opposing yet complementary forces, each acting as a demiurge. Zoroaster described these forces in detail: Ahura Mazda, the embodiment of truth, order, justice and light, was a new conceptualization of an ancient deity, El, the consort of the great mother goddess Ana. By the time of Zoroaster, El had already been worshipped for millennia. However, Zoroaster introduced a new figure into his teachings — Angra Mainyu or Ahriman — who represented falsehood, deceit, malevolence and darkness. This duality formed the foundation of Zoroastrianism.
Zoroaster's influence spread, but his teachings were only accepted to the extent that the worship of El, now called Ahura Mazda, was already established. Ahriman remained an idea rather than a widely accepted entity, his role in the cosmic order awaiting fuller realization with the rise of the Persian state under the Achaemenids.
Abraham
Among the Semitic peoples of the Fertile Crescent, the concept of an unnamed "adversary" existed. Abraham, the patriarch of the Hebrew faith, migrated to Egypt in the 14th century BC, roughly a century after Zoroaster. The Hebrew tradition incorporated the idea of opposition but did not yet personify it as a distinct being. By the time of Moses and the Exodus, the term "satan" appeared in the Book of Numbers, meaning "accuser" or "adversary," but it referred to an abstract role rather than a named deity or demon.
Abraham's teachings solidified the worship of a singular, omnipotent deity, Yahweh, which was another iteration of the ancient god El. The Hebrews, unknowingly following a deity with deep historical roots, further magnified his power, casting aside the worship of El in favor of the stricter monotheism of Yahweh. Yet, despite this evolution, Ahriman had still not fully emerged as a figure of worship or fear.
The transformation of Ahriman into a defined adversary began in the late 8th century BC with the rise of the Achaemenid dynasty. In 705 BC, Persia fell under the rule of King Achaemenes, founder of the dynasty and ancestor of Cyrus the Great. Under the Achaemenids, Zoroastrianism became the state religion and expanded eastward, reaching as far as China. With this expansion came a greater emphasis on the struggle between Ahura Mazda and Ahriman, solidifying Ahriman's presence in religious thought. However, as the Hebrew tradition evolved in parallel, the concept of an adversary in their faith also took shape. The growing Zoroastrian influence over Persian lands and its interactions with Hebrew theology ensured that Ahriman and the Hebrew Satan became linked. In time, the adversarial figure found in Hebrew texts became intertwined with Ahriman's mythology.
Consequences of the War
The war resulted in Lucifer's condemnation into the "bottom" of the Abyss, the plane also called Sheol, a realm of desolation where the echoes of creation's first rebellion still linger. The Abyss lies below Tartarus, the deepest prison of the cosmos, where the most ancient and forgotten horrors are bound, and it is conjoined with Hell, the infernal dominion where the Fallen Lords rule over their corrupted legions. Unlike Tartarus, which is a place of total imprisonment, and Hell, which serves as a twisted mockery of divine order, the Abyss is a liminal realm — a vast, lightless chasm where reality itself is unstable, and where Lucifer, even in defeat, still exerts his will.
Though cast down, Lucifer has not relented in his ambition. From the Abyss, he schemes tirelessly, his whispers seeping into the minds of mortals and immortals alike, planting the seeds of rebellion and corruption. His agents, both seen and unseen, work to unravel the divine barriers that confine him, manipulating war, ambition and heresy to weaken the celestial order. Some of the Fallen Lords remain bound within the Abyss alongside him, forging alliances in darkness, while others roam the world, spreading his influence and gathering followers who seek to restore his power. If the Abyss were ever fully unsealed, if the barriers between realms were to fracture, Lucifer's return would not be as a mere usurper but as a conqueror, seeking not just heaven, but dominion over all of creation.
See Mythology
