History Main / HeavensDevils

* ''[[VideoGame/PrincessMaker Princess Maker 2]]'''s Prince of Darkness, Lucifon, is an example of this trope. In the very beginning of the game, the LORD tells him to attack the corrupt and decadent human kingdom and punish it for its sins. He accepted the LORD's will and attacked humanity, only to be defeated by an unknown warrior. In a discussion after the battle, he tells the warrior that he was JustFollowingOrders and "I killed only fools," a statement that the warrior has no answer to.

* The demons in ''Film/DarkAngelTheAscent'' are religious, and Hell is indicated to be working in concert with Heaven. They're not evil, just {{Punch Clock Villain}}s.

** ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse]]'': God set up the LawVsChaos conflict (and split Satan into the Four Archangels and Lucifer) to keep humanity distracted and fearful; humans are actually the ''only'' species that can naturally ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve, so convincing them that they are under constant threat of being enslaved or eaten makes them pray to YHVH constantly, ensuring He remains all-powerful. That is, until one of the demons finally catches on...

[[folder:Web Comics]]
* This is how Hell operates in ''WebComic/WhiteDarkLife'', with Dark Matt and Artemis's shenanigans prior to the TimeSkip being a deviation from the norm.

* Christian blogger Fred Clark (aka ''Slacktivist'') wrote a detailed analysis and deconstruction of this trope entitled "[[https://www.patheos.com/blogs/slacktivist/2011/03/16/the-paradox-of-pitchforks-a-devilish-problem/ The Paradox of Pitchforks]]", arguing that belief in it is at odds with belief that GodIsGood.

* This appears to be the case in ''Series/TheGoodPlace''. Although employees of the Good Place and the Bad Place tend to regard each other with disdain and distrust, they are ultimately two branches of the same CelestialBureaucracy and answerable to the same cosmic laws.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Afterlife}}'', you need demons to run Hell just as much as you need angels in Heaven. Shortages will result in souls not being punished efficiently. However, too many unemployed angels or demons will get bored and eventually declare war on the opposing astral plane.

* ''Angels of Hell'' (see "Myths & Religion") appear in a book of the ''ComicBook/TheSandman'' continuum, where Lucifer tires of running Hell and, to fill the void, God sends two righteous Holy Angels down to take over and ensure things are running properly. The two Angels, out of a combination of [[KnightTemplar self-righteousness]] and [[{{Jerkass}} Jerkassery]], end up making Hell a never-before-seen place of pitiless and unmitigated horror and suffering, convinced this is necessary to fulfil God's will...

* A character in ''Film/JacobsLadder'' (who is heavily implied to ''be'' an angel) explains that the entities in the film that appear demonic tormentors are actually angels trying to cleanse the souls of the damned that they may eventually ascend to heaven.
* Downplayed in ''Film/LittleNicky''. Satan rules hell mostly because someone has to see to it that evil souls are punished, and he's simply the guy who's most suited for the job. His older sons Cassius and [[BigBad Adrian]] ''are'' evil to the core, however. His youngest son, Nicky? [[TheHero Not so much]].

But sometimes, the demons are that way for a reason, and they're doing it with the express approval of the Big Guy Upstairs. They still torture and corrupt people, but the corruption and torture are portrayed as [[PunchClockVillain serving a necessary function in the grand scheme of things]]. When they attempt to corrupt humans, they're doing it as a way of testing humanity's faith, morality or both. When they torment the souls of the damned, it's because the damned deserve punishment and someone has to deliver it.

** In ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII'', Satan is YHVH's [[TheDragon Dragon]] and the most powerful demon of Law. [[spoiler: On the Law path, he finally gets fed up with YHVH's bullshit and joins Aleph to take his boss down.]]

* ''Angels of Hell'' (see "Myths & Religion") appear in a book of the ''ComicBook/TheSandman'' continuum, where Lucifer tires of running Hell and, to fill the void, God sends two righteous Holy Angels down to take over and ensure things are running properly. The two Angels, out of a combination of [[KnightTemplar self-righteousness]] and [[{{Jerkass}} Jerkassery]], end up making Hell a never-before-seen place of pitiless and unmitigated horror and suffering, convinced this is necessary to fulfil God's will....

Likely to be a PunchClockVillain. Contrast EverybodyHatesHades. Subtrope of GoodRunningEvil.

Likely to be a PunchClockVillain. Contrast EverybodyHatesHades.

* [[Literature/TheBible The Book of Job]] is the TropeMaker, where ''ha-satan'' ("The Accuser") is a member of God's divine council. When God points out Job as a righteous and virtuous man who has never turned away from Him, Satan responds that of course Job is a loyal servant of God; he has everything he could possibly want, and if he lost all of that, he would curse God and turn away from him. God agrees that Satan may put his claim to the test.

* Downplayed in ''Film/LittleNicky''. Satan rules hell mostly because someone has to do it to maintain the BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil. He's simply the guy who's most suited for the job. His older sons Cassius and [[BigBad Adrian]] ''are'' evil to the core however. His youngest son, Nicky? [[TheHero Not so much]].

* In ''VideoGame/{{Afterlife}}'', you need demons to run Hell just as much as you need angels in Heaven. Shortages will result in souls not being punished efficiently. However, too many of either angels or demons will get bored and eventually declare war on the opposing astral plane.

!Examples:

[[AC: {{Art}}]]

[[AC: ComicBooks]]
* ''Angels of Hell'' (see "Religion and Mythology") appear in a book of the ''ComicBook/TheSandman'' continuum, where Lucifer tires of running Hell and, to fill the void, God sends two righteous Holy Angels down to take over and ensure things are running properly. The two Angels, out of a combination of [[KnightTemplar self-righteousness]] and [[{{Jerkass}} Jerkassery]], end up making Hell a never-before-seen place of pitiless and unmitigated horror and suffering, convinced this is necessary to fulfil God's will...

[[AC: {{Film}}]]
* A character in Film/JacobsLadder (who is heavily implied to ''be'' an angel,) explains that the entities in the film that appear demonic tormentors are actually angels trying to cleanse the souls of the damned that they may eventually ascend to heaven.

[[AC: {{Literature}}]]
* ''Literature/IncarnationsOfImmortality'' features the failed version. Supposedly, Satan is corrupting people and manipulating souls for the purpose of self-aggrandizement, while God is [[HaveYouSeenMyGod not minding the store]], leaving the other Incarnations to fight against Satan's plots. In his own book, however, Satan is portrayed as a PunchClockVillain who has gotten tired of the system's breakdown, and is plotting a takeover so that he can update the system's definitions of Good and Evil, and stop souls who are supposed to go to Heaven from ending up in Hell. [[spoiler: After the Incarnations defeat Satan's final plot, God is fired, Satan chooses God's replacement, and the system starts working again.]]

[[AC: {{Religion}} and {{Mythology}}]]

[[AC: TabletopGames]]

* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons''

** {{Implied}} in the ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms'' setting: the devils/baatezu have contracts with the god of the dead (currently the LawfulNeutral Kelemvor) that allow them to recruit unclaimed dead souls from the Fugue Plane (where the dead are sorted). Exactly what the gods get out of it is not explained, but it contrasts sharply with the demons/tanar'ri, who occasionally mount raids on the Fugue Plane and simply kidnap the souls they want.

[[AC: VideoGames]]

[[AC: WesternAnimation]]
* This is actually pretty close to how Satan and Hell are portrayed on ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark''. Satan is actually one of the [[OnlySaneMan more level-headed characters in the entire show]], and he sees the tormenting of sinners as just a job he does. Then again, it's also shown that, in the ''South Park'' universe, ''everyone'' goes to Hell except for Mormons. Even though [[MindScrew God is a Buddhist.]]

** In ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII'', Satan is YHVH's [[TheDragon Dragon]] and the most powerful demon of Law. [[spoiler: On the Law path, he finally gets fed up with YHVH's bullshit and joins Aleph to take his boss down.]]

** Supplemental sourcebook ''Tyrants of the Nine Hells'' proposes the theory that the LawfulEvil Devils are angels who were created by the heavens for the purpose of battling the ChaoticEvil Demons, and who took on some of the fierce and terrible traits of the Demons to better understand how to combat them. This caused the other angels and gods to shun them and eventually led to the Devils being granted (or possibly being exiled to) the realm of Baator the Nine Hells to ensure the conflict was kept away from the other realms of Law.

* In ''Literature/TheDivineComedy'', Virgil trusts the devils of fraud because his paganism has taught him that demons are agents of the gods' justice. The trope is Subverted when the Malebranche try to kill Virgil and his ward after lying to them about how to leave their torture-chamber. Its so foolish to think {{Fallen Angel}}s would act justky that even a damned {{Hypocrite}} can fairly mock wise Virgil for his blunder.