The Satan

### Aliases

The Devil, The Slanderer, The Deceiver, The Father of Lies, The Prince of Demons, Lucifer, The Serpent, The Great Red Dragon, The Prince of this World, The Prince of the Power of the Air, Samael, Azrael, Beelzebul, Asmodeus, Belial (Come on people- he can't possibly be all of these- you have to see that you are merging characters at some point) Roaring Lion

### Affiliation

Heaven (formerly) (or currently), Hell, Darkness, Evil, Demons

### Occupation

The Accuser of Heaven (formerly) (or currently), Prince of Hell, Prince of Demons, Great Deceiver, Leading the World Astray

## Appearances

### Appears in

Genesis, Job, Kings? Chronicles? Ezekiel, IsaiahEzra? he laughs at Joshua, the High Priest, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Ephesians, Revelation, Dante's Inferno, Paradise Lost

### Debut

Genesis (sure, I guess)

The prince of darkness, the king of Hell, the father of lies, the lord of demons the powerful but not too powerful nemesis of God and all good Christians. He is behind every evil thing and every evil person, pulling the strings to impede God's good design for the world and seeks to destroy the faith of every human and deceive the whole world. He is said to have many names, the serpent, the devil, Lucifer, Satan, Samael, Beelzebub, Belial, Abaddon, Apollyon, Azazel, Azrael, the Prince of Tyre, the great red dragon. What texts speak of this unspeakable evil and what do these texts reveal about this great deceiver?

I may regret making this all one page but for now- all of these names will lead here.HA! If I include every character that is often said to just be another name for the devil on this page- the "Harmonized History" section will be hilarious.

Considering splitting this into multiple pages for each name/character that collectively are "the Devil." However at this time I will be keeping them together. Chronological may be the best system for this page when they are all together. (Texts chronological not events) All characters together... The biggest ones should be seperate. The ones that clearly are their own thing. But the texts that conflate them should be included here. (and on their respective page)

## The Serpent

### Genesis

Dates

"1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”

4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”

10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”

11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”

12 The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”

13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”

The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

14 So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this,

“Cursed are you above all livestock

   and all wild animals!

You will crawl on your belly

   and you will eat dust

   all the days of your life.

15 And I will put enmity

   between you and the woman,

   and between your offspring[a] and hers;

he will crush[b] your head,

   and you will strike his heel.”"

**Genesis 3:1-15 NIV**

In the interest of efficiency only 1-15 have been included here. For the purposes of study I recommend that the entirety of at least Genesis 2 and 3 be read together.

A discussion of the hebrew and greek words for snake and serpent would be pertinent. Especially the greek word "drakon."

### Revelation

Dates

"1 A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. 2 She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. 3 Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads. 4 Its tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that it might devour her child the moment he was born. 5 She gave birth to a son, a male child, who “will rule all the nations with an iron scepter.”[a] And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne. 6 The woman fled into the wilderness to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days.

7 Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8 But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. 9 The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.

10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:

“Now have come the salvation and the power

   and the kingdom of our God,

   and the authority of his Messiah.

For the accuser of our brothers and sisters,

   who accuses them before our God day and night,

   has been hurled down.

11 They triumphed over him

   by the blood of the Lamb

   and by the word of their testimony;

they did not love their lives so much

   as to shrink from death.

12 Therefore rejoice, you heavens

   and you who dwell in them!

But woe to the earth and the sea,

   because the devil has gone down to you!

He is filled with fury,

   because he knows that his time is short.”

13 When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. 14 The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent’s reach. 15 Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent. 16 But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. 17 Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring—those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus."

**Revelation 12:1-17 NIV**

"1 And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. 2 He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. 3 He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time."

**Revelation 20:1-3 NIV**

Only the references to "serpent" will be included in this section. The great red dragon has his own section below. The purpose in including Revelation here is to highlight the incredible time gap and utter dearth of devilish snakes in the cannon. If Revelation had not made it into the cannon (as it almost didn't) there would be no canonical text (in the Protestant Bible) to link the adversary with the serpent of Genesis. In response to the question: "Well who else would the serpent be?" I say: "Who indeed?"

Oh dear. This method is going to have a lot of overlap... I will consider how else to do this. But the repetition should only be in Revelation. This will hopefully be revelatory to many and perhaps the repetition will aid in driving the point home. (Not likely to be a big deal but at least it is a victory for Biblical literacy.

I wonder if there is a way to search the apocrypha and the Talmud and the Quran?

## The Satan

### 1 Chronicles

Dates

"1 Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel. 2 So David said to Joab and the commanders of the troops, “Go and count the Israelites from Beersheba to Dan. Then report back to me so that I may know how many there are.”"

**1 Chronicles 21:1-2 NIV**

Compare to the parallel text of Kings (and Samuel maybe? check)

"1 Again the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, “Go and take a census of Israel and Judah.”"

**2 Samuel 24:1 NIV**

interesting. No parallel text in Kings?

### Job

Dates

"1:1 In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. 2 He had seven sons and three daughters, 3 and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East.

4 His sons used to hold feasts in their homes on their birthdays, and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5 When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would make arrangements for them to be purified. Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, “Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular custom.

6 One day the angels[a] came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan[b] also came with them. 7 The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?”

Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.”

8 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.”

9 “Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. 10 “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. 11 But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.”

12 The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.”

Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.

13 One day when Job’s sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, 14 a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby, 15 and the Sabeans attacked and made off with them. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”

16 While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The fire of God fell from the heavens and burned up the sheep and the servants, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”

17 While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three raiding parties and swept down on your camels and made off with them. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”

18 While he was still speaking, yet another messenger came and said, “Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, 19 when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on them and they are dead, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”

20 At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship 21 and said:

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,

   and naked I will depart.[c]

The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away;

   may the name of the Lord be praised.”

22 In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.

2:1 On another day the angels[a] came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them to present himself before him. 2 And the Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?”

Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.”

3 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason.”

4 “Skin for skin!” Satan replied. “A man will give all he has for his own life. 5 But now stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face.”

6 The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his life.”

7 So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head. 8 Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes.

9 His wife said to him, “Are you still maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die!”

10 He replied, “You are talking like a foolish[b] woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?”

In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.

11 When Job’s three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite, heard about all the troubles that had come upon him, they set out from their homes and met together by agreement to go and sympathize with him and comfort him. 12 When they saw him from a distance, they could hardly recognize him; they began to weep aloud, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads. 13 Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was."

**Job 1:1-2:13 NIV**

Note the ways in which the Satan "attacks" Job. The Satan uses the fire of God and the wind. He is also able to weaponize people against Job. Of interest to me is how one who is supposedly in opposition to God wields God's fire.

It should be noted that nowhere in this exchange is it made clear that the Satan is an enemy of God. He is counted among the Angels that presented themselves before God. He is never identified as an intruder in God's court. He is never rebuked for challenging God's opinion. God is more friendly with the Satan than he is with Job.

There is much discussion to be had about royal advisors and prosecutors in the ancient near-east. One must acknowledge that... Perhaps that should be saved for later. How different traditions within Judaism view the Satan should be instructive of how this passage if not should, could be read.

It is quite simple to reconcile a heaven-aligned Satan in Job with the Devil of the NT. The Satan's rebellion simply happened later in the story. Not before Eden. Not During Eden. But at some point after Job but before Ezekiel and Isaiah. The question clearly becomes wasn't the serpent of Eden clearly opposed to God? Clearly seeking to deceive Eve? Yes, that is one interpretation of the story. For now I must move on. These discussions should probably be saved for later. Relocate these ideas in the edit.

### Zechariah

Dates

"1 Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan[a] standing at his right side to accuse him. 2 The Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Is not this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?”

3 Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood before the angel. 4 The angel said to those who were standing before him, “Take off his filthy clothes.”

Then he said to Joshua, “See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put fine garments on you.”

5 Then I said, “Put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him, while the angel of the Lord stood by.

6 The angel of the Lord gave this charge to Joshua: 7 “This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘If you will walk in obedience to me and keep my requirements, then you will govern my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you a place among these standing here.

8 “‘Listen, High Priest Joshua, you and your associates seated before you, who are men symbolic of things to come: I am going to bring my servant, the Branch. 9 See, the stone I have set in front of Joshua! There are seven eyes[b] on that one stone, and I will engrave an inscription on it,’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘and I will remove the sin of this land in a single day.

10 “‘In that day each of you will invite your neighbor to sit under your vine and fig tree,’ declares the Lord Almighty.”"

**Zechariah 3:1-10 NIV**

The Satan again stands before God accusing a human. This time he is rebuked. This does seem like a wrench in Heiser's claims of a heaven-aligned accuser. However, if this is one of the later texts of the OT then it fits well in the model of an evolving Satan from a member of a morally grey heavenly court to a out and out evil outcast from a purely good court of heaven.

Also of note here is that the phrasing of "The Lord rebuke you Satan!" is incredibly similar to the story of The Satan disputing over the body of Moses with Michael found in Jude? is it? I will be going over that episode soon enough and I will correct this comment if I was mistaken.

Also bizarre to me is the statement: "The lord said, "The lord rebuke you-"" What is going on there? Clearly the Lord speaking cannot be God- yet the NIV capitalizes Lord. More research needs to be done.

### Matthew

Dates

"1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted[a] by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”

4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’[b]”

5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:

“‘He will command his angels concerning you,

   and they will lift you up in their hands,

   so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’[c]”

7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’[d]”

8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”

10 Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’[e]”

11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him."

**Matthew 4:1-11 NIV**

The tempter, Satan, the devil. Why all of the different names/terms?

"22 Then they brought him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, and Jesus healed him, so that he could both talk and see. 23 All the people were astonished and said, “Could this be the Son of David?”

24 But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons.”

25 Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. 26 If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand? 27 And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. 28 But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

29 “Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man’s house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can plunder his house.

30 “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. 31 And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.

33 “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. 34 You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. 35 A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. 36 But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. 37 For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”"

**Matthew 12:22-37 NIV**

Ugh more names. These texts do show that- since no one is arguing with Jesus on these points- it was commonly held that Satan was associated with demons. (and that Beelzebub and Satan are associated in some way if not completely synonymous)

"21 From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.

22 Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”

23 Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save their life[f] will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. 26 What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.

28 “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”"

**Matthew 16:21-28 NIV**

A lot going on in this passage. Is there any similarity between the phrases "get away from me Satan" in Matt 4 and "Get behind me Satan" of this passage?

Why does Jesus address Satan when Peter is the one that spoke? Is Jesus calling Peter Satan? Why such a seemingly passionate response? Would it have been common at this time to rebuke people in this fashion? Referring to the by the name of the demonic power you think they are acting like or being influenced by? I suppose John/Jesus does refer to a woman as Jezebel in Revelation. It is interesting that in the preceding story Peter is juxtaposed with Hades- the gates of hades will not overcome Peter but in this story immediately following that- Peter is called Satan who in some traditions rules or is imprisoned in Hades. Peter you will conquer Hell. Dang it Peter, now you're acting like the ruler of Hell. Obviously that particular idea had not yet developed- but perhaps the author is working with an association between Satan and Hades. It is also possible that no such idea is in play.

### Mark

Dates

"9 At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

12 At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, 13 and he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted[g] by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.

14 After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 15 “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”"

**Mark 1:9-15 NIV**

The story of Jesus in the wilderness only gets the briefest of mentions in Mark.

"20 Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. 21 When his family[b] heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”

22 And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons.”

23 So Jesus called them over to him and began to speak to them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26 And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come. 27 In fact, no one can enter a strong man’s house without first tying him up. Then he can plunder the strong man’s house. 28 Truly I tell you, people can be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter, 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin.”

30 He said this because they were saying, “He has an impure spirit.”

31 Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. 32 A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.”

33 “Who are my mother and my brothers?” he asked.

34 Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”"

**Mark 3:20-35 NIV**

An interesting interplay of Jesus' family, health and demonic influence.

"1 Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge. 2 He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said: 3 “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.”

9 Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”

10 When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. 11 He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables 12 so that,

“‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving,

   and ever hearing but never understanding;

otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’[a]”

13 Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? 14 The farmer sows the word. 15 Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 16 Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 18 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. 20 Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.”"

**Mark 4:1-20 NIV**

Satan is compared to birds in Jesus' explanation of the parable of soils. The Satan snatches away the word in people.

"31 He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. 32 He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.

33 But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”"

**Mark 8:31-33 NIV**

It is interesting that this story finds itself situated in a similar manner to Matthew's account. Should note any differences.

## Conflation

Azazel

Samael

Beelzebub

Belial

Abaddon/Apollyon

Leviathan

## Sources

Religion for Breakfast's video on the Devil

Michael Heiser's videos and books.