Summary

    Luciferism is a philosophical and religious movement which started in pre-Christian times.  Lucifer is said to be the leader of the angels in heaven and the heavenly messenger from G-d to the people.  Generally, the Christian identities of Gabriel, Michael and Satan are combined in the single identity of Lucifer in this faith.  Lucifer, with a role as a punisher for humanity, with a task to tempt humans and punish them for disobeying G-d, is often claimed to be the Satan of Christianity in disguise by more conservative and traditional Christians.  This has resulted in the misclassification of Luciferism as a cult, or a Satanic religion.  [2]  Luciferism later became one of the multiple early Christian sects and among its many views were:

    *    When G-d created Adam, he ordered all the Angels to bow down to Adam, placing Humanity above everything except G-d.  Lucifer refused to bow down before anyone other than G-d.  To punish Lucifer for his disobedience, G-d cast him down to Earth and never to return to Heaven.  To reward Lucifer for his loyalty, Lucifer was given the position of Judge, Jury, and Punisher for all Humanity. [3, 4, 5]

    *    The true story of the Fall of Mankind according to the followers is very similar to the Book of Job.  Lucifer was to tempt Adam and Eve into disobeying G-d, it was a wager between G-d and Lucifer.  Humanity failed the the test and was thrown out of the Garden of Eden.  Lucifer also played a key role in the Flood and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. [6, 7, 8]

    *    The true evil on earth is Cain and his descendants.  Cain lives on, and because Humanity was placed by G-d above everything else he is able to exert large amounts of power over things.  Many of the ills in history, such as the enslavement of the Hebrews, were caused by Cain.  As a twisted parallel to the Tribes of Israel, Cain's descendants are said to have founded twelve Tribes of their own. [9, 10, 11]

    The movement and its literature were essentially wiped out by the end of the 5th century CE by heresy hunters from mainline Christianity.  Its beliefs are currently experiencing a minor rebirth throughout the world because of the discovery and translation of the Al Fashir library discovered in Libya.

History

    Luciferism consisted of many syncretistic belief systems which combined elements taken from Asian, Babylonian, Egyptian, Greek and Syrian pagan religions, from astrology, and from Judaism and Christianity.  By the second century CE, many very different Christian-Lucifer sects had formed within the Roman Empire in North Africa and the Middle East.  Some Lucifers worked within Jewish Christian and mainline Christian groups, and greatly influenced their beliefs from within.  Others formed separate communities.  It is generally believed that the Al Fashir library was a group of Christian-Luficers.

    As mainline Christianity grew in strength and organization, Lucifer sects came under increasing pressure and persecution.  They almost disappeared by the 6th century.  The only group to have survived into modern times is the Gabrielite sect of Libya and Chad.  This group has about 10,000 members (one source says 100), and can trace their history continuously back to the original Lucifer movement.  [12]

    Many new emerging religions in the West have adopted ancient Lucifer beliefs and practices.  The belief by some Muslim sects that Satan was thrown out of heaven by not bowing to Adam may have been borrowed from Luciferism.

Sources of Ancient Lucifer Information
    Until after WWII, only a few pieces of Lucifer literature were known about.  Most Lucifers used the Hebrew Scriptures, and also included the Testimony of Adam, the Hymn of the Executioner, and the Gospel of James.  Much of the knowledge about this movement also comes from the attacks on Luciferism by early Christian writers.  These included Irenaeus (130? - 200? CE), Clement of Alexandria (145? - 213?), Tertullian (160? - 225?) and Hippolytus (170? - 236).  [13] Unfortunately, these 'witch hunters' were not particularly accurate or objective in their analysis of Luciferism.

    In 1936, an Italian Construction Crew stumbled onto a small library of Luciferist literature when digging a new well in the Al Fashir oasis in Libya.  This library was quickly sent back to Italy, where it was soon forgotten during World War Two.  It was not until the surrender of Italy that the library was finally known about to the rest of the world.  A team of French and Italian archaeologists managed to translate the writing, and found over 43 different works of Luciferism.  [14]  It included the Gospel of Judas, a slightly different version of Job, the Book of the Law, many Prayer Books, Aristotle's Ethics, several versions of the Luciferist Genesis, the Book of Cain (also called A History of the Enemy) and several Revelation like Books, predicting the fall of Rome and the rebirth of the Theocracy.

    Of these, the Gospel of Judas is considered the most important.  The Gospel starts off with a genealogy of Jesus different from the other Gospels, but still presents a line from King David.  It continues, focusing on previously unknown parts of Jesus's life.  It describes a trip to Persia, and perhaps beyond, where he is said to have first battled with Cain.  According to the Gospel of Judas, Jesus and his followers had joined together in a plot to assassinate Pontius Pilate.  Peter betrayed Jesus and turned him into the Romans, who then attempted to crucify him.  Judas took the place of Jesus instead, allowing Jesus to live on and continue to preach to the Lucifers.  [15, 16, 17]

Sources

    1- The name Lucifer comes from the Latin word for "light-bearer."  Generally, this means that members of this faith could be called "Followers of the Light-bearer" or themselves "Light-bearers."

    2- Please see related article, Satanism, for a real study into this religion.

    3, 11- "The Lucifer Gospels" by Robert Manad

    4- "The Fall of the Fall of Mankind: Genesis Revisited" by Guy Pages

    5- "The Gospel of the Magi" translated by Benito Malthos

    6, 9- "The Book of Nod" translated by Benito Malthos

    7- "The Book of Cain" translated by Benito Malthos

    8, 10, 14, 17- "Notes on the Al Fashir Library" by Benito Malthos, Robert Manad, and Jack Roberston

    12- "Living Religions: 1990 Edition" by West Boston Publishing

    13- "Making a Religion" by Moore Notingham

    15- "The Gospel of Judas" translated by Jack Roberston

    16- "The Jesus-Buddha Connection" by Han Edwards

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