Was Satan a Fallen Angel...?

This brings us to the issue of whether or not satan was a fallen angel who once lived in heaven.

The most quoted text on this topic is Isaiah 14:12-22…

"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! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.

Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?

All the kings of the nations, even all of them, lie in glory, every one in his own house. But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcass trodden under feet.

Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial, because thou hast destroyed thy land, and slain thy people: the seed of evildoers shall never be renowned. Prepare slaughter for his children for the iniquity of their fathers; that they do not rise, nor possess the land, nor fill the face of the world with cities.

For I will rise up against them, saith the LORD of hosts, and cut off from Babylon the name, and remnant, and son, and nephew, saith the LORD. Isaiah 14:12-22

This is the only place in the Bible where the word, Lucifer, is mentioned. But who is this scripture referring to? Verse 4 explains….

"That thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon"… who at that time in history was Nebuchadnezzar.

The term Lucifer, meaning "the day star", identifies the bringing in of the morning light. It is used in reference to Nebuchadnezzar…and nowhere in this text is the devil, or satan, remotely suggested.

The entire text refers to the pride and arrogance of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon…who allowed his subjects to regard and worship him as though he was a god. His pride led to his eventual fall and ruin as prophesied in this scripture…and which is confirmed by history to have happened precisely as Isaiah predicted.

Note in verse 16… "Is this the man" …. referring to Nebuchadnezzar. Surely, had this text identified satan, never would he be called a man.

Isn't it strange how some people will twist texts of scripture to make a point… even when the truth of the text is so clear? This text cannot be used to support the theory that satan was an angel who one time lived in heaven…nor should it be used to apply the name Lucifer to satan.

Oh, by the way, if verse 15 is confusing to you… "thou shalt be brought down to hell"… be enlightened. The English translation "hell" is used for several Hebrew and Greek terms. It does not always mean the fiery abyss of eternal punishment. In this text the Hebrew word "she'owl" is used…which means "the world of the dead"…i.e. grave. The warning was that Nebuchadnezzar would end up in the grave just like all other mortal men…that he was no god.

But what about another text that clearly states that there was a war in heaven. This text is found in Rev 12:7-9…

"And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him." Rev 12:7-9

Our topic and space does not allow us to deal with this scripture at full length in this study. We can only make a few observations.

(NOTE: a complete free on-line study of the Revelation is available to you to learn the mysteries of that remarkable prophetic book. You may access it at... http://www.siscom.net/~direct/revelation )

First, the book of Revelation itself. Is this a book to be taken literally, symbolically, or part literal and part symbolic? This has been a question for quite some time but the truth is that the book of Revelation cannot be interpreted literally. To do so would demand that we locate some very strange creatures and beasts that have never existed nor ever will. There are just too many mysterious visions that cannot be literally interpreted.

This leaves us with the other alternatives…the Revelation is to be interpreted as totally symbolic…or as part symbolic, part literal. But why would God make it part literal and part symbols? He wouldn't, for that would complicate the writing even more…for who would be wise enough to distinguish which is literal and which is symbolic.

Sincere students of the Revelation who are not biased with religious teachings agree on its symbolic interpretation. And yes, the Bible also gives us the formula of how to interpret the symbols. The symbols represent religious and political powers that would become adversaries to the followers and teachings of Christ. History has fulfilled this Biblical prophecy in perfect detail. There is no question or confusion to those who understand the symbols.

This brings us to the vision of the twelfth chapter…which is a symbolic picture of the early Christian church in its spiritual warfare with the Roman empire. For this to be a literal war in heaven long before the creation of man doesn't make sense with the "flow of teaching". Why would such a lesson be introduced at this point in the writing?

Angels are referred to throughout the Bible as "messengers". They need not be heavenly messengers with wings and halo's as often depicted, but angels can be people in human flesh who are God's messengers, or ministers. The angels of God in this vision are the early apostles who took the gospel of Jesus into the pagan world of the Roman empire.

The war was a spiritual battle between truth and idolatry…between the followers of Christ's teachings and the idol religions of Rome. The official insignia of the Roman empire was the dragon. Note that the dragon is "called", or referred to, as satan, the devil…so called because the Roman empire was an instrument of the devil to try to destroy the cause of Christ. The Roman empire was the first aggressive challenger to the followers of Christ.

Both the idolatrous religions and political powers of Rome were threatened by the teachings of Christ. Their angels (ministers) fought against the angels (ministers) of God…using all the political powers of Rome to defeat God's truth…but to no avail. God's truth continued while the Roman empire fell. Thus the meaning of the vision.

If this was a literal war in heaven then it was not an "angel" who fought against God but rather a literal "dragon". God's angels fought against the "dragon and his angels". The simple logic and position of this vision's teaching demand that we not interpret a literal war to have incurred in heaven from this vision.

Then there is this text in Luke 10:17-20…

"And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. And he(Jesus) said unto them, "I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven."

To what was Jesus referring? Seventy disciples were sent out by Jesus to minister and to heal in His name. Power was given them to perform miracles…including the ability to cast out demons. On their return the disciples confirmed their success…that they had even defeated demons (devils). Jesus replied… "yes, through my spiritual vision I was able to see your success…how that satan was quickly defeated by your ministry… in fact just as quick as lightening falls from heaven.

If this is a text to suggest a war in heaven long before man was ever on earth… why would Jesus bring up that topic now? His answer would seem to be out of place to the subject the disciples were dealing with at the time.

But what about 2 Peter 2:4…

"For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment…"

Note the verses preceding and following this text. They were referring to false ministers (angels) who would pervert the gospel of Christ. Such ministers and teachers shall be harshly judged by God because of their potential of destroying men's souls.

"But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privately shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of." 2 Peter 2:2

Jude 6 refers to the same situation of false teachers but is another scripture taken out of context to support an erroneous doctrine that satan was a fallen angel from heaven.

The reality of where the devil came from.... So, now that this is all said…where did the devil come from if indeed he was not a fallen angel from heaven?

The simple answer is…we have no idea. The Bible does not deal with that topic. Apparently God considered this not to be an important issue for human beings to understand.

More important to God is...how human beings can deal with the devil to defeat him. That's why there is much teaching in the scriptures on that topic rather than on theological gobbledygook about where the devil came from.

What we do know, however, is that

1. satan was never in heaven

2. satan did not war against God in heaven

3. satan was not a fallen angel.