Fallen angel

Fallen angels are angels who were expelled from Heaven. The literal term "fallen angel" does not appear in any Abrahamic religious texts, but is used to describe angels cast out of heaven. Such angels are often described as corrupting humanity by teaching forbidden knowledge or by tempting them into sin. Common motifs for their expulsion are lust, pride, envy, or an attempt to usurp divinity. The earliest appearance of the concept of fallen angels may be found in Canaanite beliefs about the bənē hāʾĔlōhīm ('sons of God'), expelled from the divine court. Hêlêl ben Šāḥar is thrown down from heaven for claiming equality with ʻElyōn. Such stories were later collected in the Hebrew Bible (Christian Old Testament) and appear in pseudepigraphic Jewish apocalyptic literature. The concept of fallen angels derives from the assumption that the "sons of God" (בני האלוהים) mentioned in Genesis 6:1–4 or the Book of Enoch are angels. In the period immediately preceding the composition of the New Testament, some groups of Second Temple Judaism identified these "sons of God" as fallen angels. During the late Second Temple period the Nephilim were considered to be the monstrous offspring of fallen angels and human women. In such accounts, God sends the Great Deluge to purge the world of these creatures; their bodies are destroyed, yet their souls survive, thereafter roaming the earth as demons. Rabbinic Judaism and early Christian authorities after the third century rejected the Enochian writings and the notion of an illicit union between angels and women. Christian theology teaches that the sins of fallen angels occur before the beginning of human history. Accordingly, fallen angels became identified with those led by Lucifer in rebellion against God, also equated with demons. The angelic origin of demons was important for Christianity insofar as Christian monotheism holds that...