There's many theories about what or who the Devil is, even among believers. The number of various sources and translations has led to many discrepancies, rumors and suppositions concerning the Prince of Darkness.
However, most of the confusion has been brought on from modern pop culture, especially movies. The reason is, people today love a good horror story, and the movie industry has taken full advantage of this, playing on our religious and natural fears to scare us. Here are some of the misconceptions about Satan that have been created by pop culture.
The Church of Satan does not worship the Devil
According to the latest information, the Church of Satan is one of the fastest growing religions in the US. And yet, the belief that it worships the Devil continues to be widespread. The fact is, this belief system stresses the idea that Satan doesn't exist as a character. They worship it as a metaphor of their belief in the power of earthly things and against the fanaticism of other religions that worship, according to Satanists, made-up things.
The number of the Beast is not 666
Although so many movies and promotional posters for heavy metal bands depict 666 as the number of the Devil, this is not the case. Historical evidence shows that this inaccuracy has been prevalent since the 6th century. The real number of the Beast is 616. The error occurred after parchments written in an ancient form of Hebrew were translated into Greek.
Lucifer is not another name for Satan
Yet another example of how complex a language ancient Hebrew is is the propagated opinion that Lucifer is another name for Satan. The only mention of "Lucifer" in the Bible is in Isaiah 14:12: "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! " Lucifer was actually the king of the Babylonian empire, who organized hunts against the Israelites and because of this was taken down from the throne. The real name of the ruler was Helal but Roman chroniclers gave it a more Roman-sounding name.
Satanic symbols are relatively new
The pentagram and devil with a goat's head are images that first appeared in French occult books in 1894 and 1924, respectively. Film directors loved them and decided to use them in their movies. Since then there's been this idea that they are ancient but that is not the case.
Satan is not the ruler of Hell
According to the ancient manuscripts, Satan is not the ruler of the underground kingdom... Hell is in fact his eternal prison.
Satan doesn't live in Hell but in... Turkey
The Bible says that Satan doesn't reside in Hell but is here on Earth. He walks among men and tempts them. The book of Revelation even claims that his throne is located in the city of Pergamon (its ruins are in modern-day Turkey) and that he lives there. According to researchers, Pergamon once contained one of the wonders of the world - the Altar of Zeus, and the throne upon which the Greek god sat was compared to the Devil's own.
