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Q: What often occurred at the Temple? A: Animal sacrifices.
Q: What would lots of animal blood and burnt flesh attract? A: Flies.
Q: What can Beelzebub be translated to? A: Lord of Flies.
Q: Was Beelzebub welcome to be at the Temple? A: probably not.
Q: What could possibly chase away the flies? A: Burning of incense.
Q: Was there an object called the Altar of Incense at the Temple? A: Yes
Q: Can flies spread disease by biting people and such? A: yes.

Ok, you can hopefully understand where I’m going with this line of reasoning.

Does the Bible directly say anywhere that the purpose of the Altar of Incense was to chase away the flies? No.

Matthew 12:24, 26

24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.

26 And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?

When retranslating devils, Beelzebub, Satan, as being flies the argument suggests that preventing disease and a plague of flies is the purpose. Nobody wants to get into an in-depth theological argument about flies and the nature of reality because it contradicts the rational foundations of monotheism without construed reasons of dispensationalism. Who wants to be the master of the flies? Mankind was given dominion over all the living creatures on Earth, hence becoming also the lord of the flies, Beelzebub.

Genesis 1:26

Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

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    I think this is based on a misunderstanding of the rites and ceremonies in the Torah - all animal sacrifice remains were burnt! Flies are NOT attracted to burnt carcasses.
    – Dottard
    Commented Jun 7 at 22:20
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    Beelzebub is the Mogul of Arrows (which fly), not insects. King of Flies is probably a derogative mockery of the original term. So although you’re asking an interesting question I don’t think this term helps your argument.
    – grammaplow
    Commented Jun 7 at 23:50
  • Another thing to consider is that slaked lime was probably known as a disinfectant as early as the destruction of Sodom. Maybe the remains were covered with lime or brought to Gehenna (the fiery) where they were burned or decomposed.
    – grammaplow
    Commented Jun 8 at 0:00
  • I agree that flies would directly avoid the fire and the alter when it was hot. More specifically that blood was sprinkled on the alters is where flies would definitely be attracted to, and the ground nearby. Pretty sure it would be impossible not to spill some blood on the ground around where the slaughtering took place. Then it gets walked on and spread around.
    – ReturnOfRoamer
    Commented Jun 8 at 3:29
  • britannica.com/topic/Beelzebub
    – ReturnOfRoamer
    Commented Jun 8 at 3:49

2 Answers 2

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The Bible does detail swarms of flies in the Old Testament, shortly before God set down laws for sacrifices for his newly liberated people.

While slaves in Egypt, God caused the pagan Egyptians to suffer a plague of flies. This was the fourth plague. Notably, although the first three plagues were also suffered by the Hebrews, God caused a distinction with this fourth plague. From that plague onward, the Hebrews would not suffer the plagues (that numbered ten in all). They lived in the land of Goshen, and the flies did not plague that area. Read all about it in Exodus 8:15-24.

The Hebrews were finally liberated, and shortly after, God regulated how and when they were to sacrifice to him.

There are millions of things the Bible does not mention, of course, but we can be sure that when God wants to draw our attention to the way he views matters of importance, that has been recorded in the Bible. He draws our attention to the plague of flies he cursed the pagan land of Egypt with, but that he kept his suffering people from that plague. It is not unreasonable to conclude that, God having summoned a massive plague of flies to arise at his command, restricting their location, and then causing every last one of them to disappear the day after Moses prayed, that that is what we need to consider, and not an unmentioned detail about his ordained animal sacrifices? God is sovereign over literal flies, everything that flies, and spirits that fly. Do we obey God, knowing him to be Sovereign Lord over everything?

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  • Flies at the Temple. I’m stating that the Alter of Incense had a purpose of keeping the flies away. Not the only purpose, but that was an intentional purpose of it
    – ReturnOfRoamer
    Commented Jun 8 at 15:39
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To directly answer the question, the author of scripture (the Spirit) must not have deemed it prudent to mention.

Ephesians 6:17

And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

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  • I’m more the less trapped here trying to stay within a foundational assertion that highly influenced montheism is that Beelzebub was the existence of flies. That the casting out demons was a dramatic hyperbole expression of swatting away flies from people.
    – ReturnOfRoamer
    Commented Jun 7 at 16:36
  • I would upvote your answer but I don’t have enough “points” to do ( ἐποίησεν) that
    – ReturnOfRoamer
    Commented Jun 7 at 16:42
  • Thanks! The "casting out" of devils were literal demons within someone. Although flies dispersing also could have been a residual effect I suppose, the point is not that Christ was casting out flies in the vicinity of that demon possessed individual.
    – Mark Vestal
    Commented Jun 7 at 16:49
  • I might add to your point that mankind does follow Satan at birth until we are spiritually regenerated. "There are none righteous". I would not say that we ourselves (humanity) are Beelzebub, but we certainly follow "the god of this world" (darkness and the lie) due to our carnal desires until we know we need truth and light (the Spirit through Christ). John 3:19 "And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil."
    – Mark Vestal
    Commented Jun 7 at 16:59
  • A fly cannot swat away a swarm of flies and then destroy all the flies. It cannot be.
    – ReturnOfRoamer
    Commented Jun 7 at 18:02

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