Beelzebub

Ekron's god

Beelzebub was not one of the most important gods of the Philistines, yet he was a god to them. Who and what was he? He is the "lord of the flies." Because of the reference to this god in II Kings 1:2-3 there is a singular important thing to learn about this god. In this chapter he is called Baalzebub. This is important because the first part of the name was Baal, the Canaanite fertility god. The people of Ekron prayed to this god to recieve healing from diseases that were caused by flies. The first time it is mentioned in the Bible is when Ahaziah became ill in II Kings 1:2. Instead of calling for the man of God, Ahaziah decided to send his messengers Ekron to see if he was going to recover from the disease that was caused from a fall. This could very easily be some kind of infection in a broken foot, and could have even been maggots in his wound, which is why he would go to the god of the flies. This was possibly a new god at that time and Ahaziah wanted to see if this god could help him. Apparently the worship of this god was very satanic. It is believed that while sacrificing to it the priests would hum to give the sound of a fly buzzing. In fact, archaeologists found little golden flies to show that they had made them into a small image that could be carried around with a person. 


Beelzebub in the New Testament
The only references to this god is in relation to Christ. The Pharisees claimed that Jesus, by the power of Beelzebub was casting out devils. Here is an interesting thought. Why would the Jews say that by the power of the lord of the flies Jesus was casting out devils? To the Jews a fly was not just unclean. It was seen as demonic, partially because of the worship that surrounded it. To the Jews this would have been a huge insult to Jesus and His followers. Jesus, of course, refuted the Pharisees by asking why would the devil cast out one of his own. This gives a little deeper insight into the disgust that the supposed religious people of Israel had for Jesus. The name was used at that time to represent Satan himself.

Beelzebub in modern times
According to John Weyer (occultist) Beelzebub was chief lieutenant of Lucifer and emperor of hell. He commanded a successful uprising from Satan and several demons followed him. He presides over the order of the fly, at least that is what Weyer said.
Another myth about Beelzebub formulated by Sebastien Michaelis (author of Admirable History) is that he was one of the most prominent demons to fall, the other two were Lucfer and Leviathan. According to him these three form the evil trinity, while God the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit make up the holy Trinity. (loony if you ask me)
Any person that has read Pilgrim's Progress is familiar with the name Beelzebub. He and several of his demons shoot arrows at Christian to try and keep him from entering the Wicket Gate. Here, along with Apollo, Beelzebub is a representation of Satan. Of course, I tend to believe this theory more than the others. The Bible refers to the fiery darts fo the wicked, and Beelzebub in the Bible is used as another name for Satan. 

Beelzebub mentioned in the Bible
II Kings 1:2, Matthew 10:25, Matthew 12:24, Luke 11:18