《The New Answers Book 2》(Ken Ham etc.) Table of contents

Who Is Satan and Was He Always Called Satan?

The first use of the name Satan is found in 1 Chronicles 21:1; chronologically, Job, which was written much earlier, surpasses this. Satan is found throughout Job 1 and 2. Satan literally means “adversary” in Hebrew.

Another name appears in the Old Testament in the King James Version:

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! (Isaiah 14:12; KJV).

This is the only passage that uses the name Lucifer to refer to Satan. This name doesn’t come from Hebrew but Latin. Perhaps this translation into English was influenced by the Latin Vulgate, which uses this name. In Latin, Lucifer means “light bringer.”

The Hebrew is heylel and means “light bearer,” “shining one,” or “morning star.” Many modern translations translate this as star of the morning or morning star. In this passage, heylel refers to the king of Babylon and Satan figuratively. Of course, Jesus lays claim to this title in Revelation 22:16. Though the passage in Revelation is in Greek while the passage in Isaiah is Hebrew, both are translated similarly.

Some believe that Lucifer was a heavenly or angelic name that was taken from Satan when he rebelled. The Bible doesn’t explicitly state this, though Satan is nowhere else referred to as Lucifer but instead is called other names like the devil, Satan, etc. This tradition may hold some truth, although the idea seems to miss that this verse is referring to him during and after his fall—not before. Since other scriptural passages refer to him as Satan, Lucifer wasn’t necessarily his pre-Fall name any more than Satan would be.

Even though Satan is first mentioned by name in Job, previous historical accounts record his actions (see Genesis 3, when Satan influenced the serpent, and Genesis 4 where Cain belonged to him [1 John 3:12]).

In the New Testament, other names reveal more about Satan’s current nature. Devil (diabolos) means “false accuser, Satan, slanderer” in Greek and is the word from which the English word diabolical is formed. Satan is called a dragon in Revelation 12:9 and 20:2, as well as the “evil one” in several places. Revelation 12:9 calls him “that ancient serpent” or “serpent of old,” and Matthew 4:3 calls him the “tempter.” Other names for Satan include Abaddon (destruction), Apollyon (destroyer, Revelation 9:11), Beelzebub or Beelzebul (Matthew 12:27) and Belial (2 Corinthians 6:15). Satan is also referred to as the god of this world/age (2 Corinthians 4:4), prince of this world (John 12:31), and father of lies (John 8:44).

Was Satan Originally a Fallen Angel from Heaven?

Satan is mentioned in conjunction with angels (Matthew 25:41; Revelation 12:9) and the “sons of God” (Job 1:6, 2:1), which many believe to be angels. Although no Bible verse actually states that he was originally an angel, he is called a cherub in Ezekiel 28:16. The meaning of cherub is uncertain, though it is usually thought of as an angelic or heavenly being. (Ezekiel 28 is discussed in more detail later.)

In 2 Corinthians 11:14, we find that Satan masquerades as an angel of light—another allusion to his angel-like status:

And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.

Although it is possible that Satan was an angel, it may be better to say that he was originally a “heavenly host” (which would include angels), since we know that he came from heaven, but don’t know with certainty that he was an actual angel. Recall Isaiah 14:12:

How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations!

When Satan, the great dragon in Revelation 12:9, fell, it appears that he took a third of the heavenly host with him (a “third of the stars” were taken to earth with him by his tail, Revelation 12:4). We know that angels who fell have nothing good to look forward to:

Then He will also say to those on the left hand, “Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41).

For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment (2 Peter 2:4).

What these passages don’t say is who and where the angels and Satan were originally.

And it grew up to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and some of the stars to the ground, and trampled them (Daniel 8:10).

Daniel is speaking of heavenly hosts and angels, which were often spoken of as stars or luminaries (see Judges 5:20; Daniel 8:10; Jude 13; Revelation 1:20). It is unlikely that this passage refers to physical stars, as such would destroy the earth. The Hebrew word for stars (kowkab) also includes planets, meteors, and comets. Were these stars comets and meteors? Likely not, since the context refers to heavenly beings, which would be trampled on. This is further confirmation that Satan (and perhaps some other heavenly host) and his angels sinned and fell.

Another key passage to this is Ezekiel 28:15–17 (discussed in more detail later). The passage indicates that Satan was indeed perfect before his fall. He was in heaven and was cast to the earth.

Were the Heaven of Heavens, Satan, and His Angels Created?

The Bible doesn’t give an exact time of Satan’s creation or of his fall but does give some clues. Paul says in Colossians that God/Christ created all things:

For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him (Colossians 1:16).

So logically, Satan was created, as was the “heaven of heavens.” We already found that Satan was originally in heaven prior to his fall. So the question becomes, when was the heaven of heavens created? The Bible uses the word heaven in several ways. The first mention is Genesis 1:1:

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

The Hebrew word for heavens is plural (dual form): shamayim, dual of an unused singular shameh. The word itself means “heaven, heavens, sky, visible heavens, abode of stars, universe, atmosphere,” and “the abode of God.” The context helps determine the meaning of a particular word; heavens is properly plural, and many Bible scholars and translators have rightly translated it as such.

Therefore, it seems safe to assume that the “heaven of heavens” was created along with the physical heavens (the space-time continuum, i.e., the physical universe, where the stars, sun, and moon would abide after they were created on day 4) during creation week.

The definition of the Greek word for heaven(s) (ouranos) is similar: “the vaulted expanse of the sky with all things visible in it; the universe, the world; the aerial heavens or sky, the region where the clouds and the tempests gather, and where thunder and lightning are produced; the sidereal or starry heavens; the region above the sidereal heavens, the seat of order of things eternal and consummately perfect where God dwells and other heavenly beings.”

By usage, this could include the heaven of heavens. However, other biblical passages also help to answer whether the heaven of heavens was created.

You alone are the Lord; You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and everything on it, the seas and all that is in them, and You preserve them all. The host of heaven worships You (Nehemiah 9:6).

A clear distinction is made between at least two heavens—the physical heavens and the heaven of heavens. The physical heavens include the expanse made on day 2, the place where the stars were placed on day 4, and the atmosphere (birds are referred to as “of the air” and “of the heavens,” e.g., 1 Kings 14:11; Job 12:7; Psalm 104:12). The heaven of heavens is the residing place of the heavenly host, angels, and so on. This would seem to be the third heaven, which Paul mentions:

I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows—such a one was caught up to the third heaven (2 Corinthians 12:2).

The passage in Nehemiah indicates that God made the heavens; they are not infinite as God is. So the question now becomes, when?

Since the heaven of heavens is referred to with the earth, seas, and physical heaven, we can safely assume that they were all created during the same time frame—during creation week. The creation of the heaven of heavens did not take place on day 7, as God rested on that day from all of His work of creating. So it must have happened sometime during the six prior days.

Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day. Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished (Genesis 1:31–2:1).

Everything that God made, whether on earth, sky, seas, or heaven, was “very good.” Did this include the heaven of heavens and Satan and the angels? Absolutely! Satan is spoken to in Ezekiel 28:15:

You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was found in you.

This passage says that Satan was blameless, hence he was very good originally. It would make sense then that the heaven of heavens was also a recipient of this blessed saying, since Satan was. In fact, this is what we would expect from an all-good God: a very good creation. Deuteronomy 32:4 says every work of God is perfect. So the heaven of heavens, Satan, and the angels were originally very good.

Ezekiel 28:15 says “from the day” (emphasis added) Satan was created. Obviously, then, Satan had a beginning; he is not infinite as God is. Thus, Satan has some sort of binding to time. Other Scriptures also reveal the relationship between Satan and time.

For this reason, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time (Revelation 12:12; NASB, emphasis added).

When the devil had finished every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time (Luke 4:13; NASB, emphasis added).

As a created being with a beginning, Satan is bound by time. He is not omnipresent as God is, nor is he omniscient. God has declared the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10); Satan cannot.

We can be certain that Satan, the heaven of heavens, and all that is in them had a beginning.