Learn about the dangerous nature of Satan—his original position, fall from grace, and ongoing deceptive work against humanity and God’s purposes.
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By R. K. Campbell
Make no mistake about it—Satan is a real personality. He is also a positive enemy against God, all His purposes, His activities, and His people. The name Satan means “adversary,” and Devil means “accuser.” He is called “the prince of demons” in Matthew 12:24.
In Revelation 12:9-10, our adversary is labeled “the great dragon,” “that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world.” He is also designated there as “the accuser of our brethren,” accusing them before God day and night. The name “great dragon” would speak of his power politically as world ruler and “prince of the power of the air” (Eph. 2:2).
“That old serpent” speaks of his power spiritually as the deceiver of the whole world and “god of this age who blinds the minds of those who believe not” (2 Cor. 4:4). Satan is the same old serpent who came in the Garden of Eden and deceived Eve, leading her and Adam into disobedience and sin against God. Eve had to later say, “The serpent beguiled (or deceived) me” (Gen. 3:13).
In Isaiah 14:12-15 and in Ezekiel 28:12-19, we have a remarkable account of the original place that Satan once had as Lucifer, the “son of the morning.” His fall from this exalted place, perhaps the greatest of created angelic beings, is described in these Scriptures. Pride, self-will, iniquity, rebellion, and violence are the reasons given for his fall.
Under the figure of the “King of Tyrus,” Ezekiel declares that this great created being “had the seal of perfection, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.” He was on the holy mountain of God, and every precious stone was his covering. He was set as “the anointed covering cherub” by God and walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. He was perhaps the appointed guardian of the holiness of God, probably over this original planet Earth.
The inspired record says, “Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee” (Ezek. 28:12-15).
The prophet Isaiah says (ch. 14), “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning.” The name “Lucifer” comes from a Hebrew word meaning “bright or shining one.” The title “son of the morning” is a poetic expression for “the morning star.” Lucifer, the bright morning star, is the first name given to this great angelic being as he came from the creative hand of God. Great as he was, he was only a creature of God, responsible to obey his Creator.
Five times we find the expression, “I will,” and the fifth one is “I will be like the most High.” Lucifer was not satisfied with the exalted place he had in the creation of God. Ezekiel says, “Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness” (Ezek. 28:17). So he purposed to exalt himself and his throne and aimed to be like God Himself. His ambition was to be worshipped as God, and he has never given up this ambition. The “I wills” expressed by Satan manifest the very essence of sin: it is the will of the creature set against the will and appointment of the Creator.
So sin came into the universe by Lucifer’s self-will before man was ever created. Furthermore, we learn from Ezekiel 28 that Lucifer engaged in a multitude of traffic, which means “going about.” He filled heaven with violence and sinned. The Word says, “Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffic” (vv. 16, 18). This indicates unholy actions by Lucifer, whereby other angelic beings were seduced from their allegiance to God, giving their loyalty to him.
Thus, Lucifer instigated violence and rebellion among the heavenly hosts before man was created, and those who followed him became his angels or demons. Divine sentence of expulsion from his exalted place was pronounced, though not yet fully executed. This will take place at a future time according to Revelation 12:7-17. As fallen from this heavenly place, he is afterwards called Satan, the adversary, and in the New Testament, he is named the Devil (Job 1:6-12; Mt. 4:1-11).
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