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The Origin of Satan
Was Satan created by God? And was Satan ever once a good angel turned bad and evicted by God from Heaven? Sincerely. ~ Joe Simmons
Few questions are posed to us as frequently as inquiries regarding the origin, nature or some other facet of man's great enemy--Satan. The reasons for which such questions are asked vary depending on whether the querist merely desires to understand more perfectly or is skeptical of the God of the Bible. Information about Satan is a strictly biblical subject, therefore, necessitating our consultation of the Bible. Our present effort to provide some fundamental information about Satan--including his origin--assumes a proper regard for the Divinely given Bible. (Other studies devote themselves to apologetics and internal and external evidences that verify the genuineness of the Bible as a Divine revelation.)
Exactly who is this devil, Satan, who has established himself as God's archfiend and mankind's ardent foe? Is he real? If he is, what is his origin? Why has he arrayed himself against both God and man? What is his mission? What are his powers? And what is his ultimate destiny? These are questions that cry out from the human heart for answers. Fortunately, God's Word provides those answers. (Bert Thompson, "Satan-His Origin and His Mission," Part 1, Reason & Revelation, October 1998, p. 73.)
The foregoing quote appears in a two-part series that provides one of the most extensive treatments of questions relating to Satan that I have ever seen. I highly recommend everyone obtaining a subscription to Reason & Revelation for $6 per year; write Apologetics Press, Inc., 230 Landmark Drive, Montgomery, AL 36117-2752 or call (800) 234-8558.
In short, regarding our present inquiry:
The Bible does not address specifically the origin of Satan, yet there is adequate information to draw a logical, well-reasoned conclusion as to how he came into existence. (Bert Thompson, "Satan-His Origin and His Mission," Part 1, Reason & Revelation, October 1998, p. 76.)
Since one learns from Scripture that Satan is not deity but is subject to deity, it must be that Satan is a created being (as we are also). From the opening pages of the Bible, regarding creation, everything God created was initially "good." Later, man and beast had departed from their original state, for which cause God destroyed all but eight souls in the days of Noah. Likewise, Satan departed from his original state. With mankind and Satan, the facility through which each departed from this "good" was the freewill with which God created both.
Several verses of Scripture support the common belief that Satan was once an angel of God who rebelled against God. Too, Satan was not alone in this rebellion, but was accompanied by other angels.
"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" (2 Peter 2:4).
"And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day" (Jude 6).
"Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels" (Matthew 25:41).
For a fuller treatment of several questions relating to Satan or the devil, check out the October and November 1998 issues of Reason & Revelation. You may also visit the Reason & Revelation webpage at www.apologeticspress.org.
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