What About Satan And The Origin Of Evil?
Bodie Hodge, M.Sc., B.Sc., PEI
Biblical Authority Ministries, October 26-27, 2025 (Donate)
All verses NKJV (unless otherwise stated)
Christians are often asked questions about Satan: Who is
he? Was he created? When was he created?
These and similar questions are valid questions to ask. To
answer them, we need to carefully consider what the Bible says, since it is the
only completely reliable source of information about Satan. The Bible doesn’t
give much information about Satan or the angels, but it does give enough to
answer some of these questions.
God’s Word is infallible and the absolute authority and we
need to be leery of conclusions drawn from sources outside the Bible, such as
man’s ideas or traditions. Let’s consider what the Bible says related to these questions.
Who Is Satan And Was He Always Called “Satan”?
The first use of the name Satan is found in 1
Chronicles 21:1; chronologically, this is surpassed by Job which was written
much earlier. Satan is found throughout Job chapters 1 and 2. Satan literally
means adversary in Hebrew.
Satan coming with the sons of God, which likely included Job—who was godly, as they present themselves to God. Image requested by Bodie Hodge (ChatGPT)
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)
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 chapter 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 dragon in Revelation 12:9 and Revelation 20:2, as well as the evil
one in several places. Other names for Satan include ancient serpent
/ serpent of old (Revelation 12:9), Abaddon (destruction), Apollyon
(Destroyer) (Revelation 9:11),
Beelzebub / Beelzebul (Matthew 12:27), Belial (2 Corinthians 6:15), and tempter (Matthew 4:3).
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” since we know that he
came from heaven, but don’t know with certainty that he was an actual angel
(which would include angels). 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 all
things were created by God/Christ:
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 is 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 out of the body I do not know, God
knows—such a man was caught up to the third heaven. (2 Corinthians 12:2)
The passage in Nehemiah makes 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 timeframe—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; emphasis added)
When the devil had finished every temptation, he
left Him until an opportune time. (Luke 4:13; 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.
When Were The Angels And Satan Created?
The Bible doesn’t give the exact timing of the creation of
Satan and the angels, however, we can make several deductions from Scripture
concerning the timing. Let’s begin by examining Ezekiel 28:11–19:
11 Moreover 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
covering: the sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire,
turquoise, and emerald with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes was
prepared for you on the day you were created.
14 You were the anointed cherub who covers; I
established you; you were on the holy mountain of God;
you walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones.
15 You were perfect in your ways from the day you
were created, till iniquity was found in you.
16 By the abundance of your trading you became
filled with violence within, and you sinned; therefore I cast you as a profane
thing out of the mountain
of God; and I destroyed
you, O covering cherub, from the midst of the fiery stones.
17 Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty;
you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor; I cast you to the
ground, I laid you before kings, that they might gaze at you.
18 You defiled your sanctuaries by the multitude of
your iniquities, by the iniquity of your trading; therefore I brought fire from
your midst; it devoured you, and I turned you to ashes upon the earth in the
sight of all who saw you.
19 All who knew you among the peoples are astonished
at you; you have become a horror, and shall be no more forever.”’”
In the sections prior to this, the word of the Lord was to
Tyre itself (Ezekiel 27:2) and to the ruler of Tyre (Ezekiel 28:2).
Beginning in Ezekiel 28:11, a lament (expression of grief or mourning for past
events) is expressed to the king of Tyre; or
more specifically, to the one influencing the king of Tyre. Note well that the king of Tyre was never a model of
perfection (verse 12), nor was he on the mount of God (verse 14), nor was he in
the Garden of Eden (verse 13; note that the Flood has destroyed the Garden of
Eden several hundred years prior to this time period).
Peering into the spiritual realm with Satan influencing the King of Tyre; Image requested by Bodie Hodge (ChatGPT)
God easily sees Satan’s influence and speaks directly to
him. Elsewhere the Lord spoke to the serpent in Genesis 3. Genesis 3:14 is said to the serpent; Genesis 3:15 is said 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 some parts to
Satan, who was influencing him.
In the Ezekiel passage we note that Satan was originally
perfect (blameless) from the day he was created until he sinned
(wickedness was found in him). Thus, we can deduce that Satan was created
during Creation Week; since he was blameless, he was under God’s “very good”
proclamation (Genesis 1:31) at the end of Day 6.
In Job 38:4–7, God spoke to Job:
“Where were
you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have
understanding. Who determined its measurements? Surely you know! Or who
stretched the line upon it? To what were its foundations fastened? Or who laid
its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God
shouted for joy?”
Although a poetic passage, it may tell us that some of
God’s creative work was eye witnessed by angels and that morning stars sang.
Are morning stars symbolic of heavenly host or other angelic beings? It is
possible—recall stars are often equated with angelic or heavenly beings, and most
commentators suggest this refers to angels.
If so, the creation of the angels was prior to Day 3 during
Creation Week. From Genesis 1, God created the foundations of the earth on either
Day 1 (earth created) or Day 3 (land and water separated). The logical
inference is that the angels were created on either Day 1 or at least by Day 3.
If not, then the physical stars (created on Day 4) were
present while the angels shouted for joy. If this was the case, then morning
stars and angels did their singing and shouting after the stars were created.
It seems most likely that morning stars symbolize
heavenly host. Satan, a heavenly host, was called a morning star; therefore,
Satan and the angels were created sometime prior to Day 3 (or early on Day 3), possibly
on Day 1.
When Did Satan Fall?
Satan sinned when pride overtook him and he fell from perfection (Ezekiel 28:15-17). When was this? The Bible doesn’t give an exact answer
either but deductions can again 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!
For you have said in your heart: “I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my
throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on
the farthest 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 from heaven (Isaiah 14:12). This must have been after Day
6 of Creation Week because God pronounced everything very good (Genesis 1:31).
Otherwise, God would have pronounced Satan’s rebellion very good; yet
throughout Scripture, God is absolute that sin is detestable in His eyes.
God sanctified the seventh day. It seems unlikely that God
would have sanctified a day in which a great rebellion occurred. In Genesis 1:28,
God commanded Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply. Had they waited very
long to have sexual relations, they would have been sinning against God by not
being fruitful. So, it couldn't have been long after Day 7 that Satan tempted the
woman through the serpent.
Archbishop Ussher, the great seventeenth-century Bible
scholar, placed Satan’s fall 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 coverings for Adam and Eve from the coats of animal skins (Genesis 3:21).
It may be that the generations to come (from Abel to Noah to Abraham to the
Israelites) followed this pattern of sacrificing for sins on the Day of Atonement.
Regardless, the fall of Satan would likely have been soon
after Day 7.
How Could Satan, Who Was Created Good, Become Evil?
The answer to this question delves deep into the
“sovereignty of God vs. man’s responsibility” debate over which the church has
battled for ages.
From what 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 enters us and causes us to sin, but the Bible
doesn’t teach this. We sin whether Satan enters us or not. Satan was influencing
the serpent when the woman sinned and when Adam sinned; they sinned on their
own accord without being able to claim that “Satan made me do it.”
But what causes this initial sin, why did Satan sin in the
first place?
Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by
God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But
each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then,
when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is
full-grown, brings forth death. (James 1:13–15)
Ancient image of James the Just (the half brother of Christ); Public Domain.
Death is the punishment for sin. Sin originates in desire—one’s
own evil desire. James 1:14 hints that evil comes from one’s own desire. It was by Satan’s own desire that
his pride in his own beauty and abilities overtook him.
In the “very good” original creation, it seems likely that
Satan and mankind had the power of contrite choice. In
the Garden of Eden, the woman was convinced by her own desire (the
tree was desirable to make one wise—Genesis 3:6).
Satan had not entered her; she was enticed by her own desire.
God is not the author of sin; our desires are. God did not
trick or deceive Satan into becoming full of pride. God hates pride (Proverbs 8:13),
and it would not be in His character to cause one to become prideful. Nor was
He the one who deceived Eve. Deception and lies go hand in hand (Psalm 78:36, Proverbs 12:17), yet God does not lie or deceive (Titus 1:2; Hebrews 6:18).
Note that since Satan’s own desires caused his
pride, the blame for evil’s entrance into creation
cannot be God’s. To clarify, this doesn’t mean God was unaware this would
happen, but God permitted it to happen. God is sovereign and acted justly by
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 gimmick to correct what He “messed up.” He
was glorified in His plan for redemption.
Some have asked why God didn’t send Satan to hell instead
of casting him to earth, assuming this would have prevented death, suffering,
or curses for 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 possibility
of salvation had he not continued in his rebellion and sealed his fate,
although Genesis 3:15 revealed that Satan’s head would be crushed (after his
continued sin and deception of the woman).
A related question is: was Satan required for man to sin? Satan’s
temptation of the woman instigated 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 another day, without Satan, the woman and/or
Adam would not have desired the fruit and sinned? However, in the words of
Aslan, the lion on C. S. Lewis’s 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 we continue to sin (Romans 5:12).
Adam did his part, but we must take responsibility for our part in committing
high treason against the Creator of the universe. It is faulty to think that
death and suffering are the result of Satan’s rebellion. Man had dominion over
the world, not Satan.
When Satan rebelled, the world wasn’t cursed; when Adam
sinned, the ground was cursed, death entered the world and so on. This is why
we needed a last Adam (1 Corinthians 15:45), not a last Eve or a last Satan. This is why Christ came. The
good news is that for those in Christ, the punishment for sin (death) will have
no sting (1 Corinthians 15:55).
Why Would God, Who Is Not Evil, Allow Evil To Continue To Exist?
As with the other questions in this chapter, great
theologians have struggled over how to effectively answer this. Paul, in his
book to the Christians in Rome,
offers some insight into the overarching perspective that we should have:
And we know that all things work together for good
to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
(Romans 8:28)
All things, including the evil in this world, have
a purpose. God is glorified through the plan of salvation that He worked out
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
would conquer both sin and death.
Jesus was glorified when He conquered 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 gloried through the Resurrection (see John 11:4, 13:31-32).
Everything that happens is for the glory of God, even
when we can’t see how God can be glorified from our limited perspective.
Those who have received the gift of eternal life look
forward to the time when we join God in heaven—a place there will be no evil (Revelation 21:27). This six-thousand-year-old cursed world is only a blip
compared to eternity. This relatively brief time on earth is all the time that
evil will be permitted.
What Will Become Of Satan?
Satan’s days are numbered, and he will be condemned
eternally.
Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in
them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come
down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time. (Revelation
12:12)
And he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut
him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more
till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be
released for a little while. (Revelation 20:3)
We should have no fear of Satan or his minions, since God
has power over him and has already decreed what his outcome will be—a second
death—an eternal punishment called hell.
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)
The devil, who deceived them, was cast 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)
Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of
fire. This is the second death. (Revelation 20:14)
Some people may claim that they want to “rule with Satan
in hell,” rather than go to heaven with and enjoy the infinite goodness of God.
Sadly, these people fail to realize that Satan has no power in hell,
nor will they. Satan is not the “ruler” in hell but a captive just as they will
be if they don’t receive the free gift of eternal life by repenting of their
sins and believing in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross.
We trust those reading this book will realize that the
only way of salvation is found 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?
Recommended Resource:
The Fall Of Satan
□
Bodie Hodge, Ken
Ham's son in law, has been an apologist since 1998 helping out in various
churches and running an apologetics website. He spent 21 years working at Answers
in Genesis as a speaker, writer, and researcher as well as a founding
news anchor for Answers News. He was also head of the Oversight
Council.
Bodie
launched Biblical Authority Ministries in 2015 as a personal
website and it was organized officially in 2025 as a 501(c)(3). He has spoken
on multiple continents and hosts of US states in churches, colleges, and
universities. He is married with four children.
Originally at Answers in Genesis; Edited; Republished
by permission.
