Who is Satan?

“For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment….” (2 Peter 2:4 NIV)

People all of the world have heard of the devil—they fear the devil. But who is the devil? The devil is Satan—Satan is the Hebrew word for “adversary.” He was often called Lucifer, which is a reflection of the Latin term for “light-bearer.” He has even been identified as the “son of the morning” or the “shining morning star.”

Satan is the monster in the scariest horror movie you can possibly imagine. This life is our movie, and Satan is the antagonist who will work hard and stop at nothing to see you fall just like he fell. Because of the Bible, we know that Satan is a real creature. The Bible also teaches us about spiritual warfare and that Satan is our enemy. But where did he come from and why does he hate everyone?

What most people don’t know is that Satan was actually the angel Lucifer, who was created by God. Lucifer opposed God; therefore he was banished, cast out of Heaven, and his name was changed to Satan. He was not the only one cast out, however; as about one-third of the angels were sent to Hell, also.

Lucifer was an angel of the highest order, created sinless, beautiful, and morally perfect in all ways. He also had free access to the “holy mountain,” the presence of God. Then everything was ruined. In fact, Heaven existed in perfect majesty until Lucifer defied God.

In today’s world, most people believe Satan to be a hideous red monster with horns and a tail. However, that is not true. For all we know, Satan could be the most gorgeous and beautiful being in the world. His tricks are all around us; we have seen him all throughout history.

We are first introduced to Satan in Genesis Chapter 3, where he is disguised as a cunning serpent, and tricks Eve into sinning. We are not told how long Adam and Eve enjoyed the Garden of Eden, since they were kicked out when they sinned. The Bible does not say specifically when Lucifer was cast out of Heaven, but it is believed by some Bible scholars that this happened between the first and third chapters of Genesis. We know that all things were created by God (John 1), and He called all that He created “good” (Genesis 1-2). Lucifer was “good,” since he was created with all of the angels, but he had already been cast out before he tempted Eve.

The real question here is: how could Lucifer have fallen if he was with God? If you want a simple answer, it is this: Lucifer sinned against God by becoming prideful. In Ezekiel 28:17, God talks with Satan and tells him, “Your heart has become proud because of your beauty; for the sake of your splendor you corrupted your wisdom. So I threw you down to the earth.”

The Book of Revelation tells us that Satan was cast to the earth and will be consumed by fire in the final judgment. Satan fell, and now he is called the Devil. Satan is the leader of the angels that fell with him, which are now called demons. There was a war in heaven, but of course our God won. And today, heaven is at war against Satan and the fallen angels.

Jesus says in Luke 10:18 that He “watched Satan fall from heaven like a lightning flash.” Lucifer was given free will; he was gifted the freedom to choose his own destiny. Foolishly, he chose to rebel against God. He was less powerful than God, but his pride made him want to be better than God. Lucifer exchanged his place with God for a place of his own: Hell.

Satan, like God, has a plan. However, the two plans could not be more different from each other. The plans God has for us are good. Satan’s only plan is to keep you from knowing the truth—to keep you from recognizing Jesus as your Lord and Savoir; to keep you out of heaven and bring you to an eternal flame with him. Satan puts sin into the world; he causes hatred between humans, and in some cases he manipulates humans into hating God.

Never say that your life isn’t worth anything, because that is a trick of the Devil, and the Devil is a liar!

You must always remember that Satan is the father of lies; he is the ruler of demons; he is our adversary and the author of all evil. Though the Devil has powers like God, he is not as powerful as God. Satan is not God’s equal (1 John 4:4). Satan may be the ruler of this world, but Christians can resist him through prayer with God’s help (James 4:7)

As Christians, we can achieve victory over Satan because of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Through God, sin has lost its power, and death has lost its sting.

Now that we have established who Satan is, what about the other angels that were cast from heaven with him?

In the Bible, demons are often referred to as: fallen angels, principalities, powers, and evil spirits (there are many more names, these are just a few). Apparently, some angels are locked away, but others are still on earth until the day of God’s judgment. However, demons do not get redeemed through the blood of Jesus Christ like we do. No, these fallen angels have already chosen their fate—Hell, a special place God made for Satan, the fallen angels, and anyone else who rejects Christ as their Savior.

Demons are fallen angels. They are at work, just like the heavenly angels; except the angels protect Christians, and the demons try to harm humans. In fact, the Bible says that demons are on earth causing bodily harm (Matthew 9:32-33; Luke 13:10-16); possessing unbelievers and animals (Matthew 4:24; Mark 5:13); working against the spiritual growth of Christians (Ephesians 6:12); and spreading lies about God, His work, and His people (1 Timothy 4:1).

Jesus’ followers have a sense of security, because of God’s sovereign authority. Demons cannot do anything to us on earth that God has not allowed. If you feel that demons are near, all you have to do is pray and the demons will be forced to leave. Often, when evil spirits are near, the hairs on the back of your neck will stand up.

During Jesus’ time on earth, He met people that had been possessed by demons. Possessed people have often been misdiagnosed by doctors, as having various forms of mental or physical illness. But while Jesus was on earth, He showed superiority over them (Mark 1:25). Demons were very active during His time on earth, trying to ruin His mission and turn people against Him.

If you believe in God, you must believe in Satan and his demons. As crazy as this may be, demons working on earth serve as proof of God. Jesus was able to prove His authority and divinity because of demons (James 2:19; Matthew 12:24-32). Even His disciples recognized Christ’s authority by the way demons reacted to His name (Luke 10:17). Jesus even gave His disciples power over the evil spirits while they were ministering (Mark 3:14-16).

Because we are precious to God, we are hated by the devil. However, as Christians we should not live in fear of them, for we know our God and we put faith in our God. When God becomes interested in blessing us, Satan becomes interested in destroying us. When God works within us, Satan and his minions flee from us (James 4:7).

Sin may be pleasurable, but it is only temporarily pleasurable. It may cause satisfaction for a short time, but only God can give you eternal life. Nothing is more important than God, and every time you sin, you are taking Satan’s side in the war. Heaven is at war, and you really don’t want to choose the wrong side. The “wages of sin is death,” but through God and Jesus Christ we never have to die.

Immediately when your heart stops beating you are with God, and if you are saved, you are gifted with eternal life. When your judgment day comes, and the nicest thing God can say about you is that “you believed in God, but you never accepted Christ into your heart,” you will not be given eternal life. Because guess what? Satan believes in God too, but he is not in heaven. There are two sides: there is light, and there is dark. Don’t make the wrong choice like Satan and a third of the angels did.