Free Essay: Deception of Satan in John Milton’s Paradise Lost

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Deception of Satan in Paradise Lost

The speeches of Moloch, Belial, Mammon, and Beelzebub represent particular ways of looking at life. Milton derived these views from I John 2:15 and 16 which says, "Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world--the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does--comes not from the Father but from the world." Coming into the world, these demons transferred their philosophies to the human race. That is why these views are still common in today's world, even though the battle of the supernatural is often overlooked. Even at Christian schools, the effect of these philosophies can be seen. However, in hell and in the world they have proved a failure - the high ideas of the plans will not work with the separate realities that both hell and the earth represent. Only Beelzebub's idea seems to work, but that to will be proven false with time.

In the Bible, Moloch was the god of the Ammonites who sacrificed their children to him, believing that then he would bring them power. They lusted after power and went to extreme, perverted measures to attain it. In Paradise Lost, Moloch also lusts after power. After being cast down to hell, he calls for the demons to wage war again on heaven. He believes (probably he has deceived himself) that they can defeat God now because they are strong with fury - the fury that comes from being cast out of glory. They have acquired the new, torturous weapons of hell that would that coupled with their wrath would prove victorious over God.

"I just don't think I'll do well ... I don't understand the... As he strutted into the classroom, the two kids in conversation groaned.

"So... " he intoned to one annoyed guy, "Have you studied for the test?"

"Last night, yeah." More hesitantly, "How 'bout you?"

"Oh yeah, piece of cake." A smile stretches across his face. "I heard you saying you don't understand, " he put his hand on her shoulder in a sort-of motion of comfort, "You'll do fine. " Again the smile, and he walked size off to another group of kids.

The two kids rolled their eyes.

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