The Phoenix in Religions

Hebrew

In Jewish legend, the phoenix's name is Milcham.
According to tradition, after Eve ate the forbidden fruit,
she became jealous of the immortality and purity
of the other creatures in the garden.
Eventually, she persuaded all the animals
except the phoenix to share in her fallen state
by eating from the forbidden tree.

God rewarded the phoenix by setting him up in a walled city
where he could live in great peace for 1000 years.
At the end of every 1000-year period, the bird is consumed
by fire and reborn from an egg found in its ashes.
One variation of this Jewish legend states that at
the end of each 1000-year period, the phoenix's body
becomes small and featherless like a baby's
and then he grows up all over again.

In any case, the Angel of Death may never touch him.

Christian

Wherever it is found, the phoenix is associated with resurrection,
immortality, triumph over adversity, and that which rises out of the ashes.
Thus it became a favorite symbol on early Christian tombstones.
In chapters 25-26 of his letter to the Corinthians, St. Clement, Bishop of Rome,
upheld the legendary phoenix as an evidence of Christ's ability to accomplish
the resurrection of the faithful. He quotes Job as saying,
"Thou shalt raise up this flesh of mine, which has suffered all these things."

In numerous ways, the phoenix was found to be a symbol of Christ.
In most countries, it was believed that only one phoenix lived at a time.
It was born from itself without following the natural laws of reproduction.
During the Middle Ages, it was believed to rise from the dead after three days.
Often, as an emblem of Christ, it was found with the palm tree
(another symbol of resurrection) or carrying a palm branch (a symbol of triumph over death),
or carrying an olive branch (a symbol of God's peace offered to humans).

The Phoenix is symbolic of rebirth, hope, purity, chastity, marriage, faith,
constancy, summer, eternity, immortality, and light. It is an image of the cosmic fire
some believe the world began and will end in. The Taoists called it the
"cinnabar bird." Romans placed the phoenix on coins and medals as an emblem of their
desire for the Roman Empire to last forever.