Satan

**Satan**, formerly known as **Samael**, also known as **Ha-Satan**, or **The Tempter**, **The Evil One**, **The Adversary**, and **The Devil**, is a prominent demon in hierarchy of Hell prayed against by all Abrahamic religions (though mostly Christianity and Islam), being written about in their literature and history.

## Satan

### Aliases

Samael, Beelzebub, Lucifer, Mastema, Iblis, Dis, Pluto, Mara, Antares, Nicholas Scratch, Pol Gornek, Old Nick, Old Scratch, Diablos, The Serpent, The Devil, The Dragon, Great Red Dragon, Red Angel, Angel of Disaster, Angel of the Abyss, Prince of the Power of the Air, Prince of this World, Prince of Darkness, Prince of Lies, Black Foe of the World, The Adversary, Great Enemy, Venom of God, Deceiver, Accuser, The Prosecutor, The Arbiter, Leviathan, the Dark Lord, Wicked One, Archfiend, Evil One, Tempter

### Affiliations

Hell, Seven Princes of Hell, Stygian Council, Satanic Triumvirate

## Physical Description

### Spirit of

Violence, Evil, Hatred, Wrath, Temptation, Discord, Destruction

## Relatives

### Siblings

Michael, Lucifer, Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel, Araphel, Metatron, Barachiel, Ariel, Camael, Merkabah, Jophiel, Anael, Remiel, Sariel, Raziel, Azrael, Zadkiel, Cassiel, other Angels

## Overview

In the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament, Satan is primarily an accuser and adversary, a decidedly malevolent entity, also called the Devil, who possesses demonic qualities. He is called the Adversary due to the fact that he is "anti-everything", working through lies to drag humanity back into darkness and disorder. Satan was God's personal arbiter for the afterlife to check if man was worthy of the Millennium Kingdom and even when he fell, he was still allowed limited access to Heaven.

He is known for bringing deception and temptation, and is known as the deceiver who leads humanity astray. Satan is even able to take control of the life of a person in the stead of God, though only to an extent to what God allows. He is a malevolent force that works behind the scenes, animating division and hatred between humans. He was Lucifer's trump card during the civil war in Heaven and his greatest asset during the starting phases of the Apocalypse; prophesied as the *"Great Red Dragon"* that will destroy the Earth.

In the Old Testament, a being who is addressed as "*the satan"* is shown to be an angelic member of God's court that requests permission from the Almighty to torment Job in order to test his faithfulness towards God to which the latter allows. The satan is described as the Heavenly accuser and one that decidedly punishes humans that show doubt in their faith towards God, especially if those humans were chosen by God in the first place. The satan in the Old Testament is a possible tie-in to the Satan of the New Testament.

## Appearance

Satan's appearance is never described in the Bible, but, since the ninth century, he has sometimes been shown with horns, cloven hooves, hairy legs, and a tail, often naked and holding a pitchfork, an amalgam of traits derived from various pagan deities including Pan, Poseidon, and Bes, though he is fully able to completely alter his physical appearance.

During the year 7 BCE to 33 CE, his appearance was that of an androgynous being with very pale skin, they had no hair, eyelashes or eyebrows. The Devil just wore a dark tunic that covered his entire body. During Christ's temptation, he was constantly changing between a beautiful woman and an elegant man.

When he came to earth to kill the Sun Woman and her child, he took the form of a dragon. It was a huge, red, western dragon the size of an entire city. He had a small muscular build. He could walk on four legs, and optionally on two. He had seven heads with elongated necks. On each of them were ten horns taking the form of a crown, they also symbolize 10 cursed kings. In this form, he instills fear, death and destruction in people and even gods.

During the Apocalypse, he regained his full strength and changed from the "Great Red" to the "Ancient Serpent". He looked like a monstrous snake with several arms, more than 12 kilometers long, capable of reaching the stratosphere while standing on its own tail.

## Personality

Satan would appear to those who are sinful, playing into their hearts and towing them into despair. He may either be depicted as a rebel to the will of God, or as one who tempts mankind to commit sin to show God that mankind can easily be led astray from Him. In the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament, Satan is primarily an accuser and adversary, a decidedly malevolent entity, also called the Devil, who possesses demonic qualities. He is described as the "ruler of the demons" and "the God of this Age". He is the true embodiment of all evils in the world, second or below only to Azathoth and Ayin themselves.

Satan is mostly known as the Devil and, although the Book of Genesis does not mention him, he is often identified with the serpent in the Garden of Eden. Satan is said to also be associated with one of the Seven Deadly Sins being Wrath. This is the source of all misjudgments and rage that crosses in the hearts of man. He is also one of the Seven Princes of Hell, and he personally serves as Lucifer's second in command, despite being superior than him in power and might (possibly he sees Lucifer as suitable leader because of his mind, intelligence, wisdom, wits, and his dangerous cunningness).

During the beginning of time, he is see's himself as an enigmatic entity. Strayed and wandering his purpose among the creation. He is always seen as an expressionless arbiter and judge of God prior to his fall. Firm and cruel yet honest and fair in his judgements towards the guilty and sinners.

His ways is the direct opposite and the supreme antithesis of God's fair and just ways. While God use light and justified ways to test his subjects and believers, Satan uses temptations, deceiving, manipulations, and tricking his victim's inner mind and heart to prove that man is sinful by nature, yet still allows and respect's God's authority and deems who will be sent to Heaven (for eternal bliss and peaceful rest) or Hell (for eternal torment and sufferings).

Being an arbiter of God, it is up to him if the person is worthy to go in Heaven or Hell, yet the final decision lies only to God. Despite being rebellious countless times in God, he still acknowledge his authority (even if it is against his will). Despite his obsession to humanity and wanting them to fall into sin so badly to prove to God that they were inherently sinful, by nature, he will still spare innocent and righteous souls, and will never permit them to be dragged or be brought unto Hell showing that he can be honest and fair when needed. As he states that only sinners and filthy souls are worthy to be punished eternally on Hell, and not the innocents. This is proven when he angrily attack a deceased man, that dragged an innocent woman to hell (due to his obsession to the woman) and save her life from the man, and sent her to Heaven via reality gate. This showing that despite being a ruler of Hell, he can still be empathic and rightness in his actions.

According to Michael, Lucifer, and Gabriel, he must follow God's will and authority, unless if he dares to defy His will, he will be punish further more. Being fed by Satan's countless defiance, even before his fall, and it is something that he tries to prevent and to further not provoking God's wrath. For all of his rebellious, malevolence, and evil deeds, God is the only being that he will serve. While being incredibly powerful, Satan is fearfull of beings superior power like Primordials and Arcuthas, knowing they could easily destroy him.

## Powers and Abilities

***•* Fallan Transcendent Angel/Archdemon Physiology**

**• Immeasurable Demonic Power**

**• Absolute Strength**

**• Absolute Stamina**

**• Immense Speed**

**• Immense Senses**

**• Immense Reflexes**

**• Immense Endurance**

**• Immense Durability**

**• Immense Agility**

**• Absolute Immortality**

**• Nigh-Absolute Invulnerability**

**• Nigh-Absolute Regeneration**

**• Immense** **Concealment**

**• Unlimited Intelligence**

**• Hell Lordship**

**• Demonic Presence**

**• Dark Aura**

**• Demonic Ugliness**

**• Corruption Embodiment**

**• Demon Manipulation**

**• Demonization**

**• Hell Fire Manipulation**

**• Lie Manipulation**

**• Primordial Darkness Manipulation**

**• Underworld Beast Manipulation**

**• Demonic Psionics**

**• Telepathy**

**• Apathy**

**• Cerebrokinesis**

**• Dimensional Travel**

**• Inferno-Pyrokinesis**

**• Jaydaykinesis**

**• Umbra-Ergokinesis**

**• Inferno-Weaponry**

**• Advanced Combat Skills & Powerful Master Combatant**

**• Master Tactician & Strategist**

**• Master Deceiver & Manipulator**

**• Omnilingualism**

**• Thermokinesis**

**• Localization**

**• Self-Sustenance**

**• Self-Sufficiency**

**• Intangibility**

**• Invisibility**

**• Resurrection**

**• Summoning**

**• Biokinesis**

**• Voice Mimicry**

**• Possession**

**• Omnifarious**

**• Teleportation**

**• Apportation**

**• Flight via Wings**

## History

### Genesis

Satan was then known as Samael, a mighty and great angel who was created by God and Barbelo right after the first five archangels. Other archangels were created after him as well with the first among them being Azrael himself, the archangel of death. Samael came into being sometime during the creation of the universe though the latter was still in somewhat disarray due to the chaos inflicted by the warring factions between the Light and the Dark. Thus, Samael was tasked by God to repair the discord that was wrought by the Darkness.

Samael was given a great hammer by God, used to mend the broken infrastructure of the universe. With each swing he unleashed a great wave of power that reverberated across reality, affecting that which was broken and properly restoring them to their original form which was then given a purpose by the five archangels. Sparks emitted from his strikes, with these then taken by Lucifer, pouring his Lightbringer power within them, then scattering them across the illuminating space to create the stars. On top of that, he also found collaboration with Lucifer and Uriel, often during times where they helped each other craft material suns and spiritual suns, the latter of which would become a lit pathway to where Heaven shall be.

After the universe's full and proper restoration, Samael was then tasked by his Mother, Barbelo, to accompany his siblings in the search for any remaining Ogdru Hem that managed to flee from their wrath. Samael encountered several and disposed of them with violent efficiency, becoming a venomous sting to the forces of darkness, crippling them before they are thoroughly destroyed by Michael. Among the most prominent during his mission was slaying Lu-Kthu, the Birth-Womb of the Old Ones, who attempted to escape through a singularity before Samael unleashed a mighty swing of his hammer upon Lu-Kthu, smashing it against the surface of the singularity. The impact created a reaction which made the singularity collapse unto the Outer God and completely destroy it. When more angels were created and the threat of the Ogdru Hem vanquished, Samael reigned over the angels that came before him, which includes the lesser archangels.

**Heavenly Judge**

After the creation of Heaven, Samael became an exalted cherub for his power and status, second or even on par with Lucifer himself. He was the chief of the Divine Council, or the "Sons of God", overseeing the development of the universe and its creatures. Samael was a judge, also known as an Arbiter and the first among them, determining who or what is worthy to be encompassed in the light and glory of God, but with God's permission of course. Samael was known to be strict, blunt, and straightforward with Raphael describing his tongue as a "venomous sting" which relates to the meaning behind his name as the Venom of God.

It was not until God created the first humans that Samael began to change. When God ordered the angels to bow before them, not only did Lucifer refused, but also Samael, as he could see the destruction and mayhem they would bring. Instead of judging them, he accused them, declaring to God that these creatures are flawed and murderous and that they are not worthy of being likened in His image. Because of this, God stripped Samael of his status and cast him down from the Holy Mountain.

Upon being cast out, Samael was approached by Lilith who was Eve's predecessor. While he was initially hostile towards Lilith due to the fact that she was human, she stated that her supposed one purpose in existence to be subservient to Adam is nothing but a farce, a blindfold to keep her from finding and achieving a higher goal. She wanted no part in humanity's affairs within the oncoming centuries and instead would rather be above them than below them, further going on to say that she shares Samael's view when it comes to the destructive nature of what humans will bring with no concept of equality between them in their societies. This convinced Samael to have trust in her, and more so when she tended to his injured state.

**War in Heaven**

Samael soon joined Lucifer's cause to usurp God's throne and take over Creation itself but Samael was mainly doing it for his own personal goals and that is to eradicate these humans. Samael saw the evils that mankind would bring while God would simply sit back on His throne and not raise His hand and as a result, feeling that His time of being ruler would only make creation fall into chaos. Thus, he needed to remove humans from the equation as His time spent on them would have an effect on his judgment and decisions. Before all of this, his thoughts of rebellion resulted in the birth of Sin who sprung forth from his head like a bastardized parody of Athena's birth from Zeus' head.

Afterwards, Samael joined forces with Lucifer alongside Beelzebub and war in Heaven soon broke out with Lucifer leading the charge, Beelzebub acting as his second-in-command and Samael being his trump card. Samael easily defeated many of the angels that attempted to stop him and was even capable of overcoming an archangel or two that engaged him in combat. In one instance, he wrestled with two of the mightiest angels that being Ariel, the Lion of God, and Hasmed, the Angel of Annihilation. Ariel subdued Samael by one arm while Hasmed subdued him by the other arm, giving Abdiel an opening for him to drive his sword into his chest. However, this only served to infuriate Samael as the Arbiter let out a terrible hollar that shook the stars and made angels flee in terror, knocking back Abdiel before doing the same to Hasmed and Ariel. Ariel, again, attempted to restrain him by holding the handle of his great hammer against his neck, while Hasmed unleashed blows of inconceivable power against Samael, of which were said to have rocked his very being to the core. Samael used the momentum of his hammer to toss Ariel into Hasmed before knocking the two angels away with his hammer.

It was not until Samael faced Michael alongside Lucifer that he found himself being truly pushed. Seeing Michael's enormous power, Samael assumed the form of a Great Red Dragon which Lucifer used as his steed and actually began to overwhelm the great archangel. However, Michael was soon aided by Merkabah who joined the archangel's battle against the two fallen archangels. Their blows created streaks of dense geometric structures of light that blazed across the sea of stars and set clouds ablaze. The stars surrounding them imploded into supernovas with the speed of their attacks generating a gravitational field that drew in these battered celestial luminaries creating a cyclone of destruction. After a long and arduous battle, Michael defeated and terribly wounded both Lucifer and Samael before casting them out of Heaven alongside the rebel angels.

**Ruler of Hell**

Samael's impact into the Abyss was so powerful and great that the implosion upon contact drastically shifted the landscape of the Abyss into what would later be called Hell. Samael's collision with the Abyss was also said to be the greatest out of all the falls and corresponds with Samael's once enormous beauty and power during his days in Heaven. His fall created a gargantuan crater and hole that would be called the circle of Treachery. He was the second to awaken to Lucifer's call when the Morning Star summoned his fallen brethren after their own respective falls from Paradise, although in Samael's case he had to climb the unfashioned darkness and the furious flapping of his wings to maintain his momentum created powerful gusts of wind that soon cooled off the fiery impact crater which would become the icy winds of the Ninth Circle.

Upon emerging from the crater, Samael abandoned his angelic name and went by the title of "Satan" which means Adversary. He emerged as a new being, and one that would be against all that God has created which he perceives as lies. He chose the title of "Satan" as a declaration that he will be the ultimate enemy of mankind; their accuser. He was able to meet up with his two prominent cohorts and brothers, Beelzebub and Lucifer. Beelzebub advised Lucifer on striking back against God not physically but spiritually and emotionally. In agreement with this, Lucifer proposed that Satan should also prove, through the use of this plan, to God that His greatest creation is not as "great" as He proclaims to His angels.

However, before he could conquer this new Hell, he was also met with resistance in the form of the Three Great Evils, also known as the Prime Evils, ancient demonic beings that sprang forth from the Abyss and awakened upon the full birth of the universe. Satan, alongside Lucifer and Beelzebub, fought the Prime Evils with Satan personally battling Tor'Baalos, the Second of the Evils. He defeated the Lord of Destruction and banished him and his two brothers out beyond Hell's borders and further into the depths of Tartarus. With the Evils out of the way, he and his fallen brothers conquered Hell alongside the original Princes of Hell and made it his domain. Since conquering Hell, he not only rules over the fallen angels, but also the demons that were native to the Abyss. He and Lucifer soon commissioned a grand and glorious palace known as Pandemonium to be built within the center of Hell.

**Fall of Man**

**Breaking into Eden**

As Satan and Lucifer prepared to leave Hell, they came across Sin, the former being born from Satan's head when his own thoughts went against the will of God. Sin states that she cannot allow them to leave through the Gate by God's orders but Satan responds by informing her that she is not a creation of God and therefore should not be obedient to Him. Contemplating on this, Sin relents and allows them to leave. As they made their way back to Paradise, Satan and Lucifer came across Lilith sitting by the Red Sea, accompanied by Tanin'iver, and was in despair over the fact that God would have His angels kill 100 of her children every day for not returning to Adam. Knowing this, Lucifer had Lilith and her steed join the two fallen archangels on their quest to strike back at God and to pay back her debt to Lucifer for freeing her from Adam's presence. The four would only make their move at the hour the angels go up to worship God.

The four saw the angel Gadreel guarding the gates of Eden. Lucifer distracted Gadreel by conjuring stars in front of him, briefly disorienting the angel, which then had Lilith command Tanin'iver lunge at Gadreel and subduing him by the throat, preventing him from alerting the angels guarding the other gates. This gave Satan and Lilith the opportunity to sneak into the Garden of Eden undetected. Inside the Garden, Satan informed Lilith that she must plant the seeds of rebellion and defiance in Eve's mind, whereby she leads her to the forbidden tree allowing Satan to make these thoughts bloom with his own words. Lilith, in the form of an owl, would whisper words of power, doubt, independence, and self-reflection into Eve's eat as an owl, coaxing her enough for Satan, who possesses a Serpent, to deceive Eve. Controlling the mind of the serpent, he began to seduce Eve, the mother of humanity, into eating the Forbidden Fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil which will grant them everlasting life and exalt themselves atop of the Mountain of God next to the Most High. This also would benefit Lucifer as he knew that Adam and Eve are tied to the puppet strings of his father and by granting them the knowledge of good and evil, they would have independent thought and free-will to make their own choices; freedom from control.

**Seduction of Eve**

The plan succeeded as Adam and Eve gave into temptation by eating the fruit, cutting them off from a singular thought process and experiencing all sorts of emotions at once, the first of which was shame upon seeing that they were naked. For their disobedience they were cast out of the Garden of Eden and were cursed with mortality. At some point in time, Satan and Eve eloped together. Satan harbored a deep contempt for the fate that befell his children and opted to instead mate with Eve in order to further pollute her will and spirit.

When Eve was praying to God, Satan came before in the guise of an angel, answering her prayers involving her fears for her future children bearing the curse of mortality and limited power. In response, he would seduce her with the promise of a child born of the union between the essence of Heaven and the indomitable spirit of man. A child that will lead their descendants to a future where they shall reign over the Earth as gods, carrying the legacy and blood of Heaven within. When Satan and Eve made love, she would come to produce from Cain from their union. However, Cain would then go on to murder his brother Abel, bringing the world and humanity further down into sin, and granting Satan more authority and power to judge and punish them for their wickedness. At one point later in time, Satan also eloped with Lilith, their union resulting in the birth of the second batch of demons after the previous ones were slain by Senoy, Sansenoy and Semangelof.

Despite Satan's banishment from the Heavenly plane, he was still allowed to roam the material world but in spirit form, and his actions that affect the human world are only to the extent of which God allows thus limiting his immeasurable power to acceptable levels. Moreover, Satan's lies and illusions live on and are sowed in the souls and hearts of man and beast, who have inherited the world, and take shape in men as the fear of death through Lucifer's machinations of having exploited Cain's fear of death and thereby nurturing his inner instincts of inheriting Satan's traits by damning his descendants with the fear of death which would lead to immoral crimes. They were a seed that did not die and could not be destroyed, but ever and anon sprouted anew, and bore dark fruit ever after. Satan's true body was chained into the deepest layer of Hell where the full brunt of his power lays dormant which forces Satan to create a small portion of himself that would be able to roam Earth and even the borders of Heaven itself to a certain extent.

**God of the World**

**Destruction of Hyperborea**

Satan would come to be known as the God of this World, for wherever there is sin, there is his presence and thus his control over the region of the world where sin reigns supreme. Satan did not need to truly manifest himself to destroy humanity, but instead would nurture their basic instincts and have them commit crimes of their own volition, as Satan simply gives them a "push". Through the first murder ever committed on Earth by his own son Cain, the spread of darkness and corruption would forever hold onto the spirits of humanity. However, he was not truly the god of the world at the time when Rahab, the Angel of the Sea, held dominion over the oceans which infuriated Satan. While he could not set foot upon Hyperborea, his children can, and in this case, Cain, the Father of Murder.

Unbeknownst to Rahab, Satan guided Cain to the continent of Hyperborea where he could perhaps find some meaning in his pitiful existence once again and Cain set sailed towards Hyperborea. However, Satan also was alerted by the presence of Yhoundeh, posing as a foreign Elk-Goddess, but is in actuality one of the Old Ones. Yhoundeh came to claim the lands and people of Hyperborea but Satan fought against her power through Cain. Cain and Yhoundeh's presence within Hyperborea led the people to divulge into sin and unleashing mayhem, splitting into two factions where those who embrace sin and those take to a power which is not of God's making. This resulted in Rahab decimating the continent and fell from grace against the orders of Heaven, and Yhoundeh fled from the sound of Gabriel's trumpets to apprehend Rahab. With Rahab fallen from grace and Yhoundeh fleeing from the hosts of Heaven, Satan now held dominion over the elements of the Earth.

**Ruler of Empires**

Through the corruption of the surviving Hyperboreans, Satan was also the spiritual ruler of the empires that would come after, with chief among them being the Roman Empire. While he did hold the most power over the Roman Empire he nonetheless held sway over almost all the superpowers of Earth all those many centuries ago. His meddling with the corruption of empires would pave the way for his fellow ruling monarchs to exert their influence over the weak-willed humans.

While Satan silently moved the strings around the great kingdoms of man, he had several moments in biblical legends. His most well-known appearances involve his roles in destroying Job's faith in God, tempting Jesus, and his pivotal role in the Apocalypse. In the book of Job, Job is a righteous man favored by Yahweh. Job describes the "sons of God" (bənê hāʼĕlōhîm) presenting themselves before Yahweh. Yahweh asks one of them, "the satan", where he has been, to which he replies that he has been roaming around the earth. Yahweh asks, "Have you considered My servant Job?" Satan replies by urging Yahweh to let him torture Job, promising that Job will abandon his faith at the first tribulation. Yahweh consents; Satan destroys Job's servants and flocks, yet Job refuses to condemn Yahweh. The first scene repeats itself, with Satan presenting himself to Yahweh alongside the other "sons of God". Yahweh points out Job's continued faithfulness, to which Satan insists that more testing is necessary; Yahweh once again gives him permission to test Job. In the end, Job remains faithful and righteous, and it is implied that Satan is shamed in his defeat.

**Temptation of Christ**

When Satan learned of Lilith's failed attempt at slaying the infant messiah, the Devil shamed her and decided to take matters into his own hands, by breaking Jesus' will and spirit. An adult Jesus strolls through the desert during his forty days of fasting, which is quite risky given that the desert was seen as outside the bounds of society and as the home of demons such as Azazel. When Jesus sat down to rest, he was approached by Satan himself, outwardly displaying his disdain and is unimpressed by Jesus's showings of miracles and the promises of paradise. To the Devil, Jesus is no different than the mortals that roam the Earth. Satan proclaims that if he truly is the son of God bound in human flesh then he will test Jesus' integrity, purity, and morale by putting him through three trials. Should he fail any of them, this will be seen as definitive proof that even "Son of God" is not infallible and perfect.

He first shows Jesus a stone and tells him to turn it into bread. Jesus' struggle against hunger in the face of Satan points to his representative role of the Israelites, but he does not fail God in his urge for hunger. He then takes him to the pinnacle of the Temple in Jerusalem and tells Jesus that if he really is the "Son of God" then he must prove it by throwing himself down so that the angels will catch him, but Jesus again rebukes him, maintaining his integrity, by saying that one should not put God to the test.

And lastly upon the third temptation, the devil takes Jesus to a high place, which is explicitly identified as a very high mountain, where all the kingdoms of the world can be seen. The spot pointed out by tradition as the summit from which Satan offered to Jesus dominion over all earthly kingdoms is the "Quarantania", a limestone peak on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho. This temptation is seen as a form of acceptance towards the adulation of the crowds, assume leadership of the nation to overthrow Roman rule, take the crown of his own nation, and from there initiate the kingdom of God on earth. The kingdoms Jesus would inherit through Satan are obtained through love of power and political oppression.

Showing all these powerful and mighty kingdoms to Jesus, Satan promises to give them all to him but only if he will bow down and worship him. Jesus, once again, angrily rebukes Satan and casts him down to his face. Enraged, Satan threatens to destroy him as he possesses the body of a mere man, but Jesus again repels him with his words, and were words that held the Speech of God, which prevents Satan from even touching Jesus. Jesus takes the "iron crown" of Satan and tosses it down to his feet, declaring that he is nothing more than a false king proclaiming himself a god in front of the true Lord of Lords. Satan retreats with extreme scorn and contempt and, after the third temptation, Jesus is administered by the angels as the speech of God was incredibly taxing for his mortal body. While spiritually, Jesus was the victor, Satan's influence over the Roman Empire, before its sacking and stretched resources, led to Christians being persecuted by being fed to lions in the Roman colosseum or crucified alongside Jesus himself.