If you asked the average person what Satan's backstory was, they'd probably say that he used to be God's right-hand man, an angel named Lucifer, but he got too prideful and tried to lead a rebellion, so he and his angels became demons and were kicked out of Heaven.
Entertaining as that is, it is not Biblical. Let's look at the main passages this idea comes from.
Isaiah 14:12 (KJV) : How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
Origen of Alexandria, a prominent Christian theologian in the early third century, was the first to interpret this passage as referring to Satan. Now, seeing as this is the passage where the whole myth began, we need to talk about it first.
The word translated 'Lucifer' is actually 'helel,' a word that only appears once in the Bible. The historical interpretation was that it meant 'morning star' or, more literally, 'light-bringer.' The Greek Septuagint translates the word 'heosphoros,' the ancient Greek name for the morning star, and Latin translators of the Vulgate followed this interpretation when they translated it 'Lucifer,' the Latin name for the morning star, that is, Venus.
As general interpretive principle states that simple interpretations closer to the time of writing are more dependent that later speculation, most modern English translations render 'helel' as 'morning star.'
And if we look at the verse in context, we see that it speaks not of Belial, but the king of Babylon.
The passage consists of four groups of people taunting the King-
1. The Israelites, who are glad that he has stopped oppressing them. These frame-narrative characters then tell the stories of three more groups of taunters:
2. The trees, who are glad that he isn't around to cut them all down anymore.
3. The shades of dead kings in Sheol, who rejoice that he has died and become like them.
4. Those who see his corpse on the battlefield, who point out that nobody will bury him.
The passage then concludes with Yahweh saying that he will not allow the King of Babylon's lineage to rule the land any more.
Isaiah 14:3-23 : On the day the Lord gives you relief from your suffering and turmoil and from the harsh labor forced on you, you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon:
"How the oppressor has come to an end! How his fury has ended! The Lord has broken the rod of the wicked, the scepter of the rulers, which in anger struck down peoples with unceasing blows, and in fury subdued nations with relentless aggression."
All the lands are at rest and at peace; they break into singing. Even the junipers and the cedars of Lebanon gloat over you and say:
“Now that you have been laid low, no one comes to cut us down.”
The realm of the dead below is all astir to meet you at your coming; it rouses the spirits of the departed to greet you— all those who were leaders in the world; it makes them rise from their thrones— all those who were kings over the nations. They will all respond, they will say to you:
"You also have become weak, as we are; you have become like us. All your pomp has been brought down to the grave, along with the noise of your harps; maggots are spread out beneath you and worms cover you. How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations!
You said in your heart, 'I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of El; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.' But you are brought down to the Realm of the Dead, to the depths of the Pit."
Those who see you stare at you, they ponder your fate:
“Is this the man who shook the earth and made kingdoms tremble, the man who made the world a wilderness, who overthrew its cities and would not let his captives go home? All the kings of the nations lie in state, each in his own tomb. But you are cast out of your tomb like a rejected branch.
"You are covered with the slain, with those pierced by the sword, those who are tossed into a pit of stones. Like a corpse trampled underfoot, you will not join them in burial, for you have destroyed your land and killed your people. Let the offspring of the wicked never be mentioned again. Prepare a place to execute his sons for the sins of their ancestors; they are not to rise to inherit the land and cover the earth with their cities."
"I will rise up against them,” declares the Lord Almighty. “I will wipe out Babylon’s name and survivors, her offspring and descendants,” declares the Lord. “I will turn her into a place for the quippod and into swampland; I will sweep her with the broom of destruction,” declares the Lord Almighty.
As you can see, the verse about the 'son of the morning' is not a random verse about Belial, it is part of this whole long essay about the King of Babylon falling from glory- becoming too prideful, oppressing the nations and finally being killed.
But, of course, proponents of the Lucifer/Satan theory will say that the Shades of the Kings are making a poetic comparison between the King of Babylon and Satan. This doesn't really hold up, as nothing in the passage indicates any thought of Belial whatsoever.
The shades say that this 'morning star' character has been brought down to the depths of the pit, which is exactly what just happened to the King of Babylon. This Lucifer section is NOT an aside, or a footnote about Satan, it is specifically talking about the King of Babylon's fall from glory.
However, there is an allusion here, and it has nothing to do with Satan. If we reexamine the passage, we discover a couple peculiarities, all of which come together in the myth of Attar, or Athar, the Caananite god of the Morning Star.
How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations!
You said in your heart, 'I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of El. I will sit enthroned on the Mount of Assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.'
But you are brought down to the realm of the dead, to the depths of the pit."
OBSERVATION ONE: YAHWEH IS NOT NECESSARILY IN THIS STORY
Now, don't be led astray by the reference to 'the Most High.' This is not talking about God.
Many of Yahweh's titles are taken from El, the chief Caananite deity, creator and father of most of the other gods, in a form of titular subversion of power. Among those titles is 'Elyon,' meaning 'Most High.'
The story also mentions 'the stars of El.' Though often used as a generic term, roughly parallel to our English word 'god,' here 'El' is used in its typical role and refers to the Caananite deity El. So this story could very well be set within the cosmos of Caananite mythology.
OBSERVATION TWO: A USURPER TO BAAL'S THRONE
Act one of Helel's short tale involves his attempted usurpation of the mount of assembly. But if you look closely at the passage, it never actually states that the role he tried to take over belonged to El. In fact, it just says that he wants to be equal to the Most High- he wants to be 'like Elyon,' seated at his level above all the lesser deities, called the 'stars of El.'.
In Caananite mythology, Baal was seen as the second-in-command, placed above all the stars of El and made the highest of all his children.
Dr. Michael S. Heiser believes that this passage references a myth in which Attar tries to take over Baal's unique position of power.
OBSERVATION THREE: THE TRUE RULER OF MOUNT ZAPHON
There is also the puzzling mention of Mount Zaphon. Isn't Horeb the mountain of God? Or Zion?
Sure enough, Zaphon was seen as being Baal's throne, on which he was nigh on par with El Elyon. In fact, one of Baal's epitaphs is 'Baal-zephon.' Older texts describe it as the place where the gods met, reflected by Isaiah calling it the 'mount of assembly.'
If we read the passage in this light, the shades are comparing the King of Babylon to Attar, who tried to take over Baal's throne on Mount Zaphon and make himself equal to El Elyon, instead being thrown down to Sheol and becoming lower than he was in the first place.
Whether this passage is about Attar or not, it certainly carries no indication of connection to the Accuser.
The second major passage used in the Lucifer myth is Ezekiel 28. As with the Attar passage, it is a comparison of an evil human ruler (in this case the king of Tyre) to a mythological figure.
Ezekiel 28:12b-19 : "You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone adorned you: carnelian, chrysolite and emerald, topaz, onyx and jasper, lapis lazuli, turquoise and beryl. Your settings and mountings were made of gold; on the day you were created they were prepared.
You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you.
Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned.
So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones. Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth.
I made a spectacle of you before kings. By your many sins and dishonest trade you have desecrated your sanctuaries. So I made a fire come out from you, and it consumed you, and I reduced you to ashes on the ground in the sight of all who were watching. All the nations who knew you are appalled at you; you have come to a horrible end and will be no more.’”
The story goes back and forth between talking about this character who was on the Mountain of God and talking about the King of Tyre being likewise corrupted, giving up wisdom for trade and economic power and being destroyed.
It doesn't make sense for a cherub in Eden to be condemned for dishonest trade- who was he trading with? Nor for the nations to be appalled- there were no nations, there were only two people on the whole planet! Thus I highlighted in blue the parts I believe to be breaking the Eden allegory and talking about Tyre.
With the Lucifer narrative already in mind, it is only natural that many scholars associate the guardian cherub of this chapter with Satan. After all, cherubim are angels (kind of)!
The translation 'you were an anointed guardian cherub' actually comes from the Masoretic Text of the Bible.
But the Septuagint, another Greek text which Jesus and the New Testament authors quoted from, changes the idea completely, making the Cherub an enactor of God's judgment and not the object of it. Increasingly, modern scholars believe the Septuagint's translation to be superior.
Observe the NRSV translation:
You were the signet of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, carnelian, chrysolite, and moonstone, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and emerald; and worked in gold were your settings and your engravings. On the day that you were created they were prepared. With an anointed cherub as guardian I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God; you walked among the stones of fire.
You were blameless in your ways from the day that you were created, until iniquity was found in you. In the abundance of your trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned; so I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God, and the guardian cherub drove you out from among the stones of fire.
Turns out this passage is actually comparing the King of Tyre to Adam, or perhaps Eve or both! Personally, I think it is retelling the story of Eve in Eden, putting the King of Tyre in her shoes (thus the masculine constructs).
The Satanic-Fall interpretation actually obscures the very deep and Biblically-crucial meaning of this passage. God made humanity to rule alongside him- it says that he prepared 'settings and engravings' of gold- probably referring to royal jewelry. But then we fell, succumbing to pride, and we lost our status as royal image-bearers of the Infinite.
But even if this passage is talking about a fallen Cherub, there's no reason to assume that it's Satan. Satan is never described as a Cherub, or indeed any kind of Heavenly Being at all!
Some might say that both passages (Babylon in Isaiah 14 and Tyre in Ezekiel 28) have particular problems with the pride of rulers. They would say that 1 Timothy 3:6 says that the Devil's sin was pride, thus two prideful kings being compared to prideful spiritual beings implies that Satan is a fallen spiritual being.
1 Timothy 3:6 : He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil.
This does seem to make a connection between Satan's judgment and conceit. But let's look at Young's Literal Translation, shall we?
Not a new convert, lest having been puffed up he may fall to a judgment of the devil.
Here, it more seems to imply that being prideful leads to judgments like those which befell the Devil, not necessarily that pride was the Devil's cardinal sin. This becomes even more apparent when we examine the next verse:
1 Timothy 3:7 : And it behoveth him also to have a good testimony from those without, that he may not fall into reproach and a snare of the devil.
Here, we see that falling into reproach will lead to a 'snare' of the Devil. So pride leads to a share in Satan's punishment, reproach leads to a trap of Satan tempting you to sin, that you may share in his punishment. In context, it really doesn't say that Pride was Satan's cardinal sin.
The reason both Babylon and Tyre's kings were criticized on account of pride is that pride is God's big problem with human rulers, especially symbolized by Babylon (remember Babylon the Great from part one).
The last two 'prooftexts' are related, and both fall to the same flaw- timing.
Luke 10:17-20 : The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.” [Jesus] replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
Jesus seems to be saying that the demons submit because Satan fell from heaven. Though many have interpreted verse 18 as Jesus simply stating that he was there when Lucifer fell, the context indicates that this is a matter of Jesus' spiritual victory over Satan and his demonic empire. The 'snakes and scorpions' may refer to literal animals, but it seems to be a figurative way of talking about demons, perhaps referencing the common notion of demons as desert spirits.
But there seems to be a problem- God doesn't defeat Satan until the cross, right? Well, there are two possibilities.
1. Satan was defeated even before the cross, and the cross was simply the final step in a process.
2. Jesus was making a prophetic statement ('I saw' is often used of prophetic visions, such as in Daniel 4:10, 7:2, 7:4, 7:6-7, 7:9, 7:11, 7:13, 7:21).
At any rate, it does not make sense for Jesus to be referring to a past event, at least not very far in the past (whereas most Lucifer proponents would have us believe Jesus was referencing an event that happened at the beginning of the Universe!).
In context, Jesus had sent the disciples to heal and spread the good news about the kingdom of God (Luke 10:1-9). When they return, they are amazed that the demons submitted to them. Jesus' response is that he saw Satan fall from heaven. Clearly Jesus makes a connection between the Kingdom of God 'drawing near,' the defeat of demons, and Satan's fall, and the connection seems to be that because of this Satanic defeat, the demons obey.
If Satan was defeated at the beginning of the world, why is he still powerful until the time of Jesus?
What exactly is Jesus accomplishing here?
Why was Satan still active in the Divine Council during the time of Job (Job 1) and in Zechariah 3?
Also notice that this passage doesn't actually infer that Satan was once an angel, just that he was once in heaven. We've seen that the fallen Sons of God still operated in the Third Heaven even after their fall. Seeing as the Accuser is the King of Demons, it makes sense to assume that he was in the Third Heaven up until his defeat.
And this is precisely the story our final 'prooftext', Revelation 12, gives us.
Read carefully, and you'll notice that Satan and his angels were evil, tried to kill Jesus at his birth, THEN fought the war in Heaven and were thrown to earth. They were thrown down because Jesus had defeated them, not because they turned bad.
Revelation 12:1-10 : A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads. Its tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth.
Two notes before we move on- first, around the time of Jesus' birth, Virgo (the Virgin) rose with twelve stars above her, the Moon under her feet and the Sun's rays within the constellation. It is quite probable that the 'signs in heaven' refers to astrological signs that accompanied the advent of Christ.
Secondly, the part about 'a third of the stars' being knocked to earth does not mean that exactly one third of the angels revolted and became fallen angels. Though stars and angels are deeply connected, this does not seem to be one of those times. The point is that this Dragon is powerful and huge. If anything, it means that a third of Michael's angels were killed.
The dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that it might devour her child the moment he was born. She gave birth to a son, a male child, who “will rule all the nations with an iron scepter.” And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne.... Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.
Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down."
Notice that the passage says that the Accuser had been Accusing for some time, and his accusatory nature is put in a very negative light. It is not that he suddenly became evil and they had to kick him out. And this is also contradictory to the idea that Satan was a guardian Cherub- as he is here seen as a member of the Heavenly Council, and a dragon not a tetramorphic warrior.
The idea of Lucifer's fall from grace is utterly alien to Revelation 12.
Revelation is the story of the evil authorities in heavenly places being deposed once and for all, their rule over the nations being taken away, and the kingdom of God coming through the Messiah, who has the government upon his shoulders and the crowns of all nations upon his head. And that's the exact same story told in Luke 10.
So here's the thing. Satan never fell- God created him evil.
John 8:44 : You people are from your father the devil, and you want to do what your father desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not uphold the truth, because there is no truth in him. Whenever he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of lies.
1 John 3:8 : The one who practices sin is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the very start. This is why the Son of God was revealed, to destroy the works of the devil.
Isaiah 45:7 : I form the Light and create Darkness, I make peace and create evil: I the Lord do all these things.
The Light here is Jesus in his primordial state (as seen in Genesis 1), sharing in the glory of God before the world. And notice that, with the Light, it says God 'formed' it, which carries the idea of being created from existing material. Jesus has always existed as part of the Infinite, but was brought into the story of the Universe as a character- the main character in fact.
The darkness however, the 'evil' opposed to the Prince of Peace and the Light of the World Everlasting, was created. Belial, the very essence of sin and evil (not a being who just happened to be bad), was formed from nothing.
But why would God bring disaster to the Universe? He could have made the world a completely pure utopia, but what kind of story do you have with no conflict? Not one that brings much glory to the mind of the Infinite Storyteller. Still, good will triumph. Belial will be evaporated in smoke from the cleansed reality, and the child who is both human and Infinite will light the way into the happy ending.
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