Angels-AHRIMAN (ANGRA MAINYU)

Ahriman (or Angra Mainyu) is the Zoroastrian Satan and the prototype
of Satan for the Judeo-Christian-Islamic family of religions. The central
theme of Zoroaster’s religious vision is the cosmic struggle between the
god of light, Ahura Mazda (Wise Lord), and his angels and the god of
darkness, Ahriman (Evil Spirit), and his demons. Unlike Zoroastrian ism’s related religious traditions, in which the outcome of the war
between God and the Devil has already been decided, Zoroastrianism
portrays the struggle as more or less evenly matched (although many
strands of the tradition would assert that Ahura Mazda’s triumph is
inevitable). Individuals are urged to align themselves with the forces of
light and will be judged according to whether their good or evil deeds
predominate. Eventually there will be a final battle (a Zoroastrian
Armageddon) between good and evil in which it is anticipated that
Ahriman and his hosts will be defeated. The earth will then be
renewed, evil people destroyed, and the righteous resurrected.
Zoroastrianism differs from other monotheisms in its conceptualization
of the genesis of Satan. Mainstream Judaism, Christianity,
and Islam all view Satan as a fallen angel who was cast out of heaven,
either for disobeying God or for rebelling against God. By way of contrast,
early Zoroastrians believed Ahriman to be very much on par
with Ahura Mazda, and that they even created the world together,
which explains why the world is such a mixture of good and bad. Later
thinkers speculated that the two beings were twins, both fathered by
Zurvan (Boundless Time). Ahriman is not very creative, however, in
that his evil creations are always responses to his brother’s good creations.
For example, when Ahura Mazda created life, Ahriman
responded by creating death. Ahriman also formed an infernal host as
an inverted mirror image of the celestial host. For instance, in opposition
to Asha, the Archangel of Truth, he created the archdemon Druj,
“the Lie.”