Ephippas: The Arabian Wind Demon [Testament of Solomon] (Angels & Demons Explained)

just when you thought all was quiet within the kingdom of jerusalem someone has to go and pen a letter to solomon requesting him and his very unique skill set that skill set of course being the binding defeating and general domination over the demons now you may remember from the last episode that solomon may have been about done with facing off against these dastardly spirits especially having recently learned from the demon audience that they are able to infiltrate the firmament of heaven and are able to eavesdrop on god and the angels but sadly there is no rest for the wicked as solomon is compelled by the message brought to him on behalf of a darius the king of the arabians he wrote to king solomon all hail lo we have heard and it has been heard unto all the ends of the earth concerning the wisdom route saved in thee and that thou art a man merciful from the lord an understanding has been granted thee over all the spirits of the air and on the earth and under the earth now for as much as there is present in the land of arabia a spirit of the following kind at early dawn there begins to blow a certain wind until the third hour and its blast is harsh and terrible it slays man and beast and no spirit can live upon the earth against this demon i pray thee then for as much as the spirit is a wind contrive something according to the wisdom given in thee by the lord thy god and deign to send a man able to capture it and behold king solomon i and my people and all my land will serve thee unto death and all arabia shall be at peace with thee if that will perform this act of righteousness for us wherefore we pray thee condemn not our humble prayer and suffer not to be utterly brought naught the eparchy subordinated to thy authority because we are suppliants both i and my people and all my land farewell to my lord all health so already we can gather that this demon is certainly a formidable one for one it already breaks the usual formula for usually it is ornis bringing solomon the demons and there is something of a structure to their encounter one that solomon may have come to rely on but now he is summoned by a fellow king and quite alarmingly this demon seemed to have appeared on earth without any escort from ornis nor any summon of solomon himself as far solomon is concerned this demon which adairus describes as being the wind itself moves freely and is not restricted in any noticeable way this of course makes the demon a most dangerous adversary when compared to the other demons for they usually came with some form of weakness a kryptonite if you will that solomon was sure to exploit with this rogue demon though solomon has no leverage and considering it is described as the wind itself there can be no obvious strategy for solomon to utilize as far as solomon may have been concerned he was being asked to literally fight against an element a ludicrously impossible task hederis does describe some interesting and quite disconcerting features about this demon including that it spawns at 3 am every morning and brings with it winds that batter the land we are told that this demon spares no one and nothing and that it kills both animals and humans indiscriminately with its wild winds solomon does not take the task on immediately some might say he hesitates for he tells his people to remind him in 7 days of the letter from madaris in the meantime he returns to the building of the temple and we are told here that the temple is mostly complete except for one great stone that lays sticking out solomon tells us that he wished for this particular stone to be used as a cornerstone for the building but because of its size and weight both the workmen and the demons either refused to do it or physically could not this cornerstone has some relevance later on in the chapter but for now solomon is content to leave it where it sits given that none were able to move it it's also quite interesting that despite having received the urgent request from the king of arabia in regards to this wind demon solomon chooses to spend a whole week fussing over the temple clearly deeming the structure to be far more important than the lives of those in arabia perhaps this is the case and that solomon is so keen on finishing the temple that he foregoes giving anyone else his attention especially those who are not of his kingdom however it can also be deduced that perhaps on some level solomon is apprehensive about offering his help because this win demon sure sounds like the real deal we haven't seen solomon hesitate much when it comes to the demons but it should be noted that the demons always presented to him in person and offered something of an immediate threat perhaps then solomon's avoidance of the wind demon in arabia isn't fear but instead a lack of care after all the demon isn't threatening his kingdom and so solomon does not deem it to be an essential matter in any case his people do indeed remind him in seven days of adera's plea for support and solomon having given his word is obliged to respond but here the idea that solomon is scared or perhaps nervous about facing the wind demon is furthermore reinforced for he does not confront the demon himself but instead sends one of his servants he states and after seven days been reminded of the epistle of odarus king of arabia i called my servant and said to him order thy camel and take for thyself a leather flask and take also this seal and go away into arabia to the place in which the evil spirit blows and there take the flask and the signet ring in front of the mouth of the flask and hold them towards the blast of the spirit and when the flask is blown out that will understand that the demon is in it then hastily tie up the mouth of the flask and seal it securely with the seal ring and lay it carefully on the camel and bring it to me hither it isn't clear why solomon sends one of his servants instead of attending himself perhaps he found some sort of moral conflict in offering the arabians his help or maybe there were some last minute decorations to hang up around the temple once more those thinking that solomon has lost his edge in the wake of this wind demon might actually be onto something he not only places such a huge responsibility onto an unnamed servant one who we later learn was no more than a youth but also gives him the signet ring that was bestowed upon him by the archangel michael he instructs the servant on how to use the ring and tells him that he should thereafter trap the demon inside a flask something he seems to be very confident will work on the contrary solomon might not have lost his edge at all and simply deems the journey to arabia beneath him bear in mind solomon would also have to stay up until three o'clock in the morning in order to fight the demon in the first place and it's possible that he wasn't scared of the encounter but instead inconvenienced by it you'll notice he tells the servant to bring the demon to him afterwards suggesting that solomon did indeed wish to confront this demon but wanted to do it on his own terms perhaps this is an appropriate explanation for solomon's tarrying because he didn't want to give the wind demon validation by facing it on its own very specific conditions by this solomon is forcing the demon to face him outside of arabia and outside of his comfort zone another idea which might make sense as to solomon's reluctance to attend arabia is because in the pre-islamic era the arabians were thought to worship what were once the jinn wicked spirits that lived in the desert it's possible that this wind demon in question was actually one of these jinn and that solomon saw this creature as more of an arabian problem that they brought on themselves by paying it worship and not worshipping his god instead but in any case solomon isn't entirely heartless and we do see a merciful side to him as he eventually does offer his support by means of a servant who wields the signaring in ancient mesopotamian myth there are some ideas that jinn were also present in the form of demons and wind spirits quite fitting for our ferocious wind demon that plagued arabia during his time interestingly we also see another sight of solomon in the later part of this story a greedy side he tells the servant and if on the way it offered the gold or silver or treasure in return for letting it go see that thou be not persuaded but arrange without using oath to release it and then if it point out to the places where are gold or silver mark the places and seal them with this seal and bring the demon to me and now depart and fear thee well so suddenly the capturing of this demon isn't the only objective but solomon is also keen to acquire even more riches gone is his virtue in serving his lord but now he seeks to earn more wealth on the side i say he exhibits greed here because he had already been bestowed kingship by the ruling of jerusalem by his god he then receives an abundance of wealth from the neighboring kings and from the queen of sheba yet still he is strategizing on how to get more even going as far as to collaborate with demons to get it you might also remember that solomon acquired an abundance of gold after interrogating the demon dragons who revealed to him where a stash could be found by instructing the servant to mark out any areas of gold and silver that the demon reveals solomon demonstrates a more unbecoming trait a certain desperation perhaps for more and more gold i believe it is in the small dark details of solomon's character that sow the seeds of his eventual downfall it's almost as if the blessings and good favor of his god is no longer enough to keep him sated and now after going through these encounters he now seeks a more tangible earthly reward some might say that he even collaborates with the demons in order to achieve this form of payment something that his god would have surely raised an eyebrow to you'll notice that while solomon does praise god after every encounter he does also heed the demons words and accept them as truths especially when they benefit him financially in some ways it's almost as if solomon comes to play both sides accepting both the blessings of god and the shady suggestions of the demons we understand that the servant does what solomon tells him and that he sets off to arabia with the signet ring and the flask but upon arriving the servant is met with the chorus of dismay evidently the arabians were expecting the grand demon slayer solomon to grace them with his presence and not this nameless boy who they would have believed was way in over his head but the servant is not dismayed and proceeds to wait until the early hours of dawn where he prepares himself for the onslaught of the demon's winds and the winds came at him without restraint roaring down upon the young led and tearing at both his flesh and his nerve but the servant showed courage and was able to lay open the flask on the ground before using the signet ring to bind the demon it is understood that the serpent is able to lure the demon into the flask and when the demon is secured he stuffs the flask shot imprisoning the spirit we are told that in order to prove this account the servant is held by the arabians for three days whereby the winds do not reckon against them thus proving that the demon was indeed trapped within the flask to his credit the arabians elevated the seven to celebrity status for his conquering of the wind demon and bestowed upon him many great gifts upon his return to jerusalem the servant laid the flask in the middle of the temple and awaited solomon to receive him however it isn't until the next day before solomon comes to the temple and there he does not go straight to the servant to hear of his account nor does he address the demon but instead openly tells us that he was lamenting over the cornerstone from earlier evidently solomon does not have his priorities straight and though you might say he was trying to build the temple perfectly for his god surely tackling the demon was a far more pressing concern in that moment he tells us when he did see the flask it stood up and walked around seven steps before falling onto its mouth and paying homage to him solomon proceeds to tell us and i marveled that even along with the bottle the demon still had power and could walk about and i commanded it to stand up and the flask stood up and stood on its feet all blown out and i questioned him saying tell me who art thou and the spirit within said i am the demon called epifast that is in arabia and i said to him is this thy name and he answered yes wheresoever i will i alight and set fire and do to death now eagle-eyed watchers will remember epi fast first mentioned in one of the earliest episodes of the testament of solomon where solomon encounters bill's above in a conversation with the lord of the flies bilzebov reveals to solomon that he has a secret child that lives in the red sea but when solomon asks bill's above to present his son before him bill's above declines saying that he will not bring his son to him but that there shall be a time where they will meet after another demon makes himself known a demon named epifast bilzebob's exact words were i will not bring him to thee but there shall come to me another demon called epi fest him will i bind and he will bring him up from the deep unto me now you might have thought that the servant who trapped epifast did so with relative ease and there is an idea here that this capturing of epi fest was not of his own merit but actually bilzebobs doing having already promised solomon that he would bind eppi fest so it's quite possible that the binding of epifast had nothing to do with the servant and his use of the signet ring but actually bills above working behind the scenes to fulfill his promise to solomon this could also be another reason why solomon does not attend arabia himself for he knew bilzebob would keep to his word and bring epifast to him regardless of course by this idea descending on the servant was merely a clever ruse by solomon for he could not have been seen to be working with a demon like bilzebob for it would be seen as blasphemy by his people you might remember he did raise bilzebob onto a seat of honor and it's possible that the two were actually working together in some capacity unlike ornis who solomon is frequently seen treating like a slave he does seem to treat bills above with more respect despite putting him to work whether or not the two had an alliance is merely speculation but it does make me wonder why bilzebra promised to bind epifast at all or why solomon had raised the prince of demons upon a seat of honor as bill zibab stated epifaths after having been bound would bring bill's above sun up from the deep and it is here after having learned the demon's name that solomon would have realized what horrors were on the horizon with epifast in his presence solomon may have regarded the spirit as a prelude to a far darker and more gruesome spirit in the form of bilzebob spawn epi festo does not specify whether bill zabob had anything to do with his capture in fact he seems adamant on letting solomon know that he will set like anyone whenever he wants and that he intends nothing but death upon man something that he had no doubt proven during his time in arabia solomon attempts to defeat epifast using the tried and tested method of asking by what angel art thou frustrated but epiphanes answered by the only ruling god that hath authority over me even to be heard he that is to be born of a virgin and crucified by the jews on a cross whom the angels and archangels worship he doth frustrate me and enfeeble me of my great strength which has been given me by my father the devil evidently epifast is so powerful that none of the other angels are able to do much against him only god himself or jesus as the son of god have any chance of defeating him we also see epifasts claim lineage to the devil himself reinforcing the idea that he is born of evil and therefore a product of the most wicked and the most vile still solomon proceeds to question him and asks what it is that he does and epifast replies that he's able to remove mountains overthrow kings and destroy forests all of which can be done with ease in comparison to the other demons effie pass is most certainly the most threatening and perhaps the most unpredictable with that sort of power at his disposal that he is able to manipulate the earthly environment he's not an entity that should have been taken lightly there is an idea here that epi fast though is simply exaggerating for his comments about removing mountains and destroying forestry could be in relation to the gradual erosion caused by the winds something which can take thousands of years yet having seen the destruction he had caused in arabia it's less likely that this is an idle threat and more of a declaration of his devastating abilities but despite the revelation of this tremendous power solomon almost comically disregards the demon's strength and seeks only to learn if effie pass is strong enough to lift up that blasted cornerstone from earlier that he'd been so fixated on he says and i said to him can't stout raise this stone and lay it for the beginning of this corner which exists in the fair plan of the temple so yes whilst epi fast is spewing his dreadful words at solomon solomon's attention is very much on the darned cornerstone he becomes so fixated on the absolute completion of the temple that he does not even spare much thought to the danger of epifast's strength but instead how best he can use that strength to facilitate his vision the fact that he mostly goes ignored here is lost to ethypas who declares that he can not only raise the cornerstone where the others had failed but that with the demon who rules over the red sea the son of bilzebab he can bring him the pillar of air and stand it in jerusalem unfortunately the nature nor function of this pillar of air is ever elaborated on in the testament whilst there are some theories as to what the pillar is or at least what it represents we'll be saving that for the next episode in the meantime we see solomon shove the flask under the stone and we learn that the demon while still trapped in the flask is able to lift up the stone and lay it down at the end of the entrance of the temple content at last with the interior design solomon states and i solomon be holding the stone raised aloft and placed on a foundation said truly the scripture is fulfilled which says the stone which the builders rejected on trial that same is become the head of the corner for this it is not mine to grant but gods that the demon should be strong enough to lift up so great a stone and deposit it in the place i wished solomon seeks to justify his usage of the demons by essentially saying that it is a part of god's plan he essentially declares that it is not he who is controlling the demons but god instead and that if god didn't want him treating the demons in this fashion then he would not be allowed to do so there is an implication here that solomon believes he is not acting out of free will and that his rulership over the demons does not come from his own intent but gods i feel like this is almost his way of vindicating himself of what some might say is an abuse of power such as using the demons to obtain more gold or as we'll see later on falling for the demons charms and guiles while some might begin to see the cracks in solomon's armor he is correct in some regard that if his god wanted to stop him from any course of action he would have sent him a sign though it can also be argued that god had sent solomon enough signs through scripture and that solomon for all his wisdom should have known what was right or wrong anyway with that being said that is all we have time for on today's episode of the testament of solomon next time we see the prophecies spoken by bills above come to fruition as epi fast brings forth the demon of the red sea the very son of bilzebob and what some might call the final battle if you've enjoyed today's installment of the testament of solomon be sure to leave a thumbs up and don't forget to subscribe for more content just like this as we move into the penultimate episode of the testament let me know in the comments below of any other obscure religious books that you'd like to see covered next until next time

Channel: The Legends of History

Views: 101,989

Keywords: Ephippas, Testament of Solomon, Solomon, Angels, Demons, Angels & Demons Explained, Angels and Demons, Legends, Legends of History, Biblical Stories, Bible Stories

Id: SFitwR-NXC8

Length: 22min 21sec (1341 seconds)

Published: Fri Oct 16 2020