Christians are often asked questions about Satan: Who is he? Was he created? When was he created?
These and similar questions are valid questions that people may ask. To answer them, we need to carefully consider what the Bible says, as it is the only source of information about Satan that is completely reliable. The Bible does not give much information about Satan or angels, but it does give enough information to answer some of these questions.
God’s Word is infallible and is the absolute authority; therefore, we must be wary of conclusions drawn from sources other than the Bible, such as the ideas or traditions of men. Let’s look at what the Bible has to say about these questions.
Who is Satan and has he always been called Satan?
The first use of the name Satan is in 1 Chronicles 21:1 ; chronologically, Job, which was written much earlier, predates him in time. Satan is found throughout Job 1 and 2. Satan literally means “opponent” in Hebrew.
Another name appears in the Old Testament in the Reina Valera Gomez version:
How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, thou that didst lay low the nations. ( Isaiah 14:12 ).
This is one of the few versions where the name Lucifer is used to refer to Satan. The word does not come from Hebrew but from Latin. Perhaps this translation into Spanish was influenced by the Latin Vulgate, where this name is used. In Latin, Lucifer means “light bearer.”
In Hebrew it is heylel and means “daystar,” “morning star,” or “bright star.” Many modern translations translate it as morning star or shining star . In this passage, heylelrefers to the king of Babylon and Satan figuratively. Of course, Jesus claims this title in Revelation 22:16 . Although the Revelation passage is in Greek and the Isaiah passage is in Hebrew, they are translated similarly in both.
Some believe that Lucifer was a heavenly or angelic name taken from Satan when he rebelled. The Bible does not say so explicitly, although Satan is nowhere else called Lucifer, but is called by other names such as the devil, Satan, etc. There may be some truth to this tradition, although this idea does not fully explain why this verse refers to him during and after his fall; not before. He is referred to as Satan elsewhere in Scripture; Lucifer was not necessarily his name before the fall, nor would the name Satan be.
Although Satan is first mentioned by name in Job, earlier historical accounts record his actions (read 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 real nature. Devil (diabolos) in Greek means “false accuser, Satan, slanderer” and is the word from which the English word diabolic is formed. In Revelation 12:9 and 20:2 he is called “the dragon” as well as the “evil one” in several places. In Revelation 12:9 he is called “the old serpent” or “the ancient serpent” and in Matthew 4:3 he is called the “tempter.” Other names for Satan include Abaddon (destruction), Apollyon (destroyer, Revelation 9:11 ), Beelzebub or Beelzebub ( Matthew 12:27 ), and Belial ( 2 Corinthians 6:15 ). Satan is also known as the god of this age or world ( 2 Corinthians 4:4 ), the prince of this world ( John 12:31 ), and the father of lies ( John 8:44 ).
Was Satan originally a fallen angel from heaven?
Satan is mentioned along with angels ( Matthew 25:41 ; Revelation 12:9 ) and the “sons of God” ( Job 1:6 ; 2:1 ), who many believe to be angels. Although no Bible verse actually says he was originally an angel, he is called a cherub in Ezekiel 28:16. The meaning of cherub is uncertain, although it is generally thought to be an angelic or heavenly being. ( Further details are given later in Ezekiel 28. )
In 2 Corinthians 11:14 , we find that Satan disguises himself as an angel of light; another allusion to his angelic status:
And no wonder, because Satan himself disguises himself as an angel of light.
Although it is possible that Satan was an angel, it is perhaps better to say that he was originally a “heavenly host” (which would include angels), since we know that he came from heaven, but we do not know for certain whether he was actually an angel. Recall what it says in 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, he apparently took a third of heaven’s host with him (he dragged a “third of the stars” down to earth with him with his tail, Revelation 12:4 ). We know that nothing good awaits the fallen angels:
Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.’ ( Matthew 25:41 ).
For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be reserved for judgment… ( 2 Peter 2:4 ).
What these passages don’t tell us is who the angels and Satan were and where they were originally.
And it magnified itself even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the earth, and trampled them underfoot. ( Daniel 8:10 ).
Daniel speaks of the heavenly host and angels, and they are often called 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, since they would destroy the earth. The Hebrew word for stars ( kowkab ) also includes planets, meteors, and comets. Were these stars comets and meteors? Probably not, since in context it refers to heavenly beings, which he trampled underfoot. This is further confirmation that Satan (and perhaps some other heavenly host) and his angels sinned and fell.
Another key passage for this is Ezekiel 28:15–17 (see below for more detail). The passage indicates that Satan was actually perfect before his fall. He was in heaven and was cast down to earth.
Were the heavens of heavens, Satan and his angels created?
The Bible does not give an exact date for Satan’s creation or his fall, but it does give some clues. Paul says in Colossians that God/Christ created all things:
For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and things 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 have already learned that Satan was originally in heaven before his fall. So the question is, when were the heaven of heavens created? The Bible uses the word heaven in several ways. The first mention is in 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 the unused singular shameh . The word itself means “sky, heavens, firmament, visible heavens, abode of stars, universe, atmosphere” and “the dwelling place of God.” Context helps determine the meaning of the particular word; heavens is correctly plural, and many Bible scholars and translators have correctly translated it as such.
Therefore, it seems safe to assume that the “heaven of heavens” were created along with the physical heavens (space-time, i.e., the physical universe, where the stars, sun, and moon would remain after they were created on day four) during the creation week.
The definition of the Greek word for heaven(s) ( ouranos ) is similar: “the expanse of the heavens with all things visible in it; the universe, the world; the aerial heavens or firmament, the region where clouds and tempests gather, and where lightning and thunder occur; the sidereal or starry heavens; the region above the sidereal heavens, the seat of the eternal and perfectly consummated order of things where God and other celestial beings dwell.”
By its usage, this could include the heavens of heavens. However , other biblical passages also help answer whether the heavens of heavens were created.
You alone are the LORD; you made heaven and the heaven of heavens with all their host, the earth and all that is in it, the seas and all that is in them; and you give life to all of them, and the hosts of heaven worship you. ( Nehemiah 9:6 ).
There is a clear distinction between at least two heavens; the physical heavens and the heaven of heavens. The physical heavens include the expanse made on the second day, the place where the stars stood on the fourth day, and the atmosphere (e.g., in 1 Kings 14:11 ; Job 12:7 ; Psalm 104:12 the birds are said to be “of the sky” and “of the heavens”). The heaven of heavens is the place where the heavenly host, the angels, and so on reside. This appears to be the third heaven, which Paul mentions:
I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows—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 now the question is, when?
Since the heaven of heavens are mentioned along with the earth, the seas, and the physical sky, we can safely assume that they were all created during the same time frame, during the week of creation. The creation of the heaven of heavens did not take place on the seventh day, since God rested on that day after all the work of creation. So it must have occurred sometime during the previous six days.
And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. Thus the heaven and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. ( Genesis 1:31 to 2:1 ).
Everything God made, whether on earth, in the heavens, in the seas, or in the sky, was “good.” Does this information include the heaven of heavens, Satan, and the angels? Definitely! Satan is the one spoken of in Ezekiel 28:15 .
You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, until iniquity was found in you.
This passage says that there was no guilt found in Satan, meaning that he was originally good . So it would make sense that the heaven of heavens would also have been beneficiaries of this blessed word, since Satan was one. In fact, this is what we would expect from a good God: a good creation. In Deuteronomy 32:4 it says that every work of God is perfect. So too the heaven of heavens, Satan, and the angels were originally good.
Ezekiel 28:15 says that “from the day” (emphasis added) that Satan was created. So, obviously Satan had a beginning; he is not infinite as God is. Therefore, Satan has some connection with time. Other Scriptures also reveal the relationship between Satan and time.
For this reason, rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! Woe to the earth and the sea, for the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has only a short time ( Revelation 12:12 ).
When the devil had finished every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time ( Luke 4:13 ).
Being a created being and having a beginning, Satan is limited 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 do it.
Can we be sure that Satan, the heaven of heavens, and everything in them had a beginning?
When were angels and Satan created?
The Bible does not give the exact date for the creation of Satan and the angels; however, we can make several deductions from Scripture about the calendar. Let’s begin by examining Ezekiel 28:11–19 :
11 The word of the LORD came to me, saying:
12 Son of man, take up a lamentation for the king of Tyre, and say to him, Thus says the Lord GOD: You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.
13 You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your clothing: garnet, topaz, jasper, chrysolite, beryl, onyx, sapphire, carbuncle, emerald, and gold; the finest workmanship of your tabrets and flutes was prepared for you on the day you were created.
14 You, great cherub, protector, I placed you on the holy mountain of God; you were there; you walked among the stones of fire.
15 You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, until iniquity was found in you.
16 Because of the multitude of your merchandise you were filled with iniquity, and you sinned; therefore I cast you out from the mountain of God and threw you, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.
17 Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor. I will cast you to the ground; I will set you before kings, that they may look upon you.
18 By the multitude of your iniquities and by the wickedness of your trade you have profaned your sanctuary; therefore I brought forth fire from the midst of you, and it consumed you, and I turned you into ashes upon the earth in the sight of all who behold you.
19 All who knew you among the peoples will be astonished at you; you will be a terror, and you will be no more forever.
In the sections before this one, the word of the Lord was directly to Tyre ( Ezekiel 27:2 ) and to the king of Tyre ( Ezekiel 28:2 ). Beginning in Ezekiel 28:11 , a lament (an expression of grief or mourning over past events) is expressed to the king of Tyre; or more specifically, to the one who influencesthe king of Tyre. Also note that the king of Tyre was never a model of perfection ( verse 12 ), nor was he on the mountain of God ( verse 14 ), nor was he in the Garden of Eden ( verse 13 ; note that the Flood had already destroyed the Garden of Eden several hundred years prior to this time period).
God easily sees Satan’s influence and addresses him directly. Later the Lord spoke to the serpent in Genesis 3: Genesis 3:14 is spoken to the serpent; Genesis 3:15 is spoken to Satan, who influenced the serpent. Jesus rebuked Peter and then spoke to Satan ( Mark 8:33 ). In Isaiah 14 , the passage speaks to the king of Babylon and in some places to Satan, who was influencing him.
In the Ezekiel passage we see that Satan was originally perfect (blameless) from the day he was created, until he sinned (wickedness was found in him). Therefore, we can deduce that Satan was created during the creation week; since he was innocent, he was under God’s “good” proclamation ( Genesis 1:31 ) at the end of the sixth day.
In Job 38:4–7 , God spoke to Job:
Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundations? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who laid its foundations, if you know? Or who stretched out its line? On what were its foundations founded? Or who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
Although this is a poetic passage, it may tell us that angels may have witnessed some of God’s creative work and that the morning stars sang praises. Are the morning stars symbolic of the heavenly host or other angelic beings? Possibly; remember that stars are often the equivalent of angelic or heavenly beings, and most commentators suggest that it refers to angels.
If so, the creation of the angels was before the third day during the creation week. In Genesis 1, God created the foundations of the earth either on the first day (when the land was created) or on the third day (when the land was separated from the water). The logical inference is that the angels were created either on the first day, or at least on the third day.
If not, then the physical stars (created on the fourth day) were present, while the angels rejoiced. If this were the case, then the morning stars and angels praised and rejoiced after the stars were created.
Most likely, the morning stars symbolize the heavenly host. Satan, a heavenly host, was called a morning star; therefore, Satan and the angels were created sometime before the third day (or early on the third day), possibly on the first day.
When did Satan fall?
Satan sinned when pride got the better of him and he was no longer perfect ( Ezekiel 28:15–17 ). When was this? The Bible doesn’t give an exact answer either, but again deductions can be made from the Scriptures.
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! You who said in your heart, I will ascend to heaven, I will raise my throne above the stars of God, I will sit on 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. ( Isaiah 14:12–14 ).
When he sinned, he was cast out of heaven ( Isaiah 14:12 ). This must have been after the sixth day of creation week because God declares everything to be very good ( Genesis 1:31 ). Otherwise, God would have declared Satan’s rebellion to be good; yetthroughout Scripture, God absolutely asserts that sin is detestable in His sight.
God sanctified the seventh day. It seems unlikely that God would have sanctified a day on which a great rebellion occurred. In Genesis 1:28 , God commanded Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply. If they had waited too long to have sexual relations, they would have sinned against God by not being fruitful. Therefore, it could not have been long after the seventh day that Satan tempted the woman through the serpent.
Archbishop Ussher, the great 17th century Bible scholar, places the fall of Satan on the tenth day of the first year, which is the Day of Atonement. The Day of Atonement seems to reflect back to the first sacrifice when God made tunics for Adam and Eve from animal skins ( Genesis 3:21 ). It may be that succeeding generations (from Abel to Noah to Abraham to the Israelites) followed this pattern of making sacrifices for sins on the Day of Atonement.
In any case, Satan’s fall would probably have taken place shortly after the seventh day.
How could Satan, who was created good, become evil?
The answer to this question goes deep into the debate of “God’s sovereignty versus man’s responsibility” over which the Church has long struggled.
As far as we can tell from studying the Bible, Satan was the first to sin. He sinned before the woman sinned and before Adam sinned. Some claim that we sin because Satan comes into us and causes us to sin, but the Bible doesn’t teach that. We sin whether Satan comes into us or not. Satan was influencing the serpent when the woman sinned and when Adam sinned; they sinned of their own free will, without being able to say, “Satan made me do it.”
But what causes this initial sin? Why did Satan sin in the first place?
When anyone is tempted, he should not say, “I am being tempted by God.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone. But each person is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. ( James 1:13–15 )
Death is the punishment for sin. Sin originates in self-will; our own desire. James 1:14 implies that evil comes from each person’s own will. It was because of Satan’s own desire that his pride in his own beauty and abilities got the better of him.
In the original creation which was “good,” it seems likely that Satan and mankind had the power to make contrite choices. In the Garden of Eden, the woman was persuaded by her own desire (the tree was desirable to make one wise, Genesis 3:6 ). Satan had not entered her; her own desire seduced her.
God is not the author of sin; our desires are. God did not deceive or trick Satan into becoming proud. God hates pride ( Proverbs 8:13 ), and it would not be in His nature to cause one to become proud. Nor did He deceive Eve. Deception and lying go hand in hand ( Psalm 78:36 ; Proverbs 12:17), and God does not lie or deceive ( Titus 1:2 ; Hebrews 6:18 ).
Please note that since Satan’s own desires caused his pride, God cannot be to blame for evil entering creation. To clarify, this does not mean that God was unaware that this would happen, but God allowed it to happen. God is sovereign and acted justly in casting Satan out of heaven after he rebelled against the Creator.
Therefore, when God incarnate came to destroy evil and the work of the devil ( 1 John 3:8 ), it was truly an act of love, not a trick to correct what He “had messed up.” He was glorified in His plan for redemption.
Some have asked why God didn’t just send Satan to hell instead of casting him down to earth, assuming that would have prevented death, suffering, or the curses of mankind. But God is love, and this shows that God was patient with him as God is patient with us. Perhaps Satan would have had a chance at salvation had he not continued in his rebellion and sealed his fate, although Genesis 3:15 reveals that Satan’s head would be crushed (after his continued sin and deception of the woman).
A related question is: Was Satan necessary for man to sin? Satan’s temptation of the woman prompted her to look at the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but it was she who desired it and sinned. Can we really say with certainty that on some other day, without Satan, the woman or Adam would not have desired the fruit and sinned? However, in the words of Aslan the lion in C.S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia , “There are no what-ifs.”
In reality, we suffer death and the curse because Adam sinned (Genesis 3) and we sinned in Adam ( Hebrews 7:9–10 ) and continue to sin ( Romans 5:12 ). Adam did his part, but we have to take responsibility for our part in committing high treason against the Creator of the universe. It is wrong to think that death and suffering are the result of Satan’s rebellion. Man had dominion over the world, not Satan. When Satan rebelled, he cursed the world; when Adam sinned, the earth was cursed, death entered the world, and so on. That is why we needed a last Adam ( 1 Corinthians 15:45), not a last Eve or a last Satan. That is why Christ came. The good news is that for those who are in Christ, the punishment for sin (death) will have no sting ( 1 Corinthians 15:55 ).
Why does God, who is not evil, allow evil to continue to exist?
As with the other questions in this chapter, great theologians have wrestled with how to answer this question effectively. Paul, in his book to the Christians in Rome, offers insight into the dominant perspective we should have:
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. ( Romans 8:28 ).
All things, including evil in this world, have a purpose. God is glorified through the plan of salvation He prepared from the beginning. From the first Adam to the last Adam, God planned a glorious way to redeem a people for Himself through the promise of a Savior who conquered both sin and death.
Jesus was glorified when He defeated Satan, sin, and death through His death and resurrection (see John 7:39 , 11:4 , 12:16 , 12:23 , 1 Peter 1:21 , Acts 3:13 ). Both God the Son and God the Father were glorified through the resurrection (see John 11:4 , 13:31–32 ). Everything that happens is for the glory of God, even when we cannot see how God can be glorified from our limited perspective.
Those of us who have received the gift of eternal life look forward to the time when we will join God in heaven, a place where there will be no evil ( Revelation 21:27 ). This old, cursed world of 6,000 years is just a blip compared to eternity. This relatively short time on earth is the only time that evil will be allowed to exist.
What will become of Satan?
Satan’s days are numbered, and he will be eternally damned.
Therefore rejoice, you heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to you who dwell on the earth and on the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has only a short time. ( Revelation 12:12 ).
And he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed for a little season. ( Revelation 20:3 ).
We should not be afraid of Satan and his minions, since God has power over him and has already declared what his consequence will be (a second death) the eternal punishment called hell.
Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.’ ( Matthew 25:41 )
And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever ( Revelation 20:10 ).
And death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death. ( Revelation 20:14 )
Some people may say that they want to “rule with Satan in hell,” rather than go to heaven and enjoy God’s infinite goodness. Sadly, these people do not realize that Satan has no power in hell, nor will they. Satan is not the “ruler” in hell, but a prisoner just as they will be if they do not receive the gift of eternal life through repentance of their sins by believing in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross.
We trust that those who read this book will realize that the only way to salvation is through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. God has provided a way of salvation, a right relationship with Him, and a means of forgiveness; have you received Christ as your Savior?