Page "Demiurge" Paragraph 43

Opinions on the devil, and his relationship to the Demiurge, varied.

The Ophites held that he and his demons constantly oppose and thwart the human race, as it was on their account the devil was cast down into this world.

According to one variant of the Valentinian system, the Demiurge is besides the maker, out of the appropriate substance, of an order of spiritual beings, the devil, the prince of this world, and his angels.

But the devil, as being a spirit of wickedness, is able to recognise the higher spiritual world, of which his maker the Demiurge, who is only animal, has no knowledge.

The devil resides in this lower world, of which he is the prince, the Demiurge in the heavens ; his mother Sophia in the middle region, above the heavens and below the Pleroma.