Satan is called many names in the Bible. In the New Testament, he is referred to as the devil more than thirty times. He is also called “the great dragon” and “that serpent of old” (Rev 12:9), “the prince of the power of the air” (Eph 2:2), “the god of this age” (2 Cor 4:4), “the accuser” (Rev 12:10, and a deceiver (Rev 20:3), to name a few. However, before all this, he was known as Lucifer.

Lucifer was an angelic creation of God. Ezekiel describes Lucifer as having been the “seal of perfection… an anointed cherub” (Ez 28:12-14). Like mankind, God created the angels with free will. Lucifer grew arrogant in his beauty and position, deciding that he would be greater than God and sit on a throne above Him (Is 14:13-14). Lucifer’s pride led to his fall. Because of his unrepentant sin, God removed him from his position and cast him out of heaven (Lk 10:18). He did not go quietly, though. The Apostle John was shown that when he was cast down to earth, he brought along one-third of the angels in heaven that were loyal to him (Rev 12:3-4). Lucifer would now be known as Satan, and the fallen angels would be known as the “unclean spirits” or “demons” we read about in Scripture (Mk 9:25, for example).

Satan lives in perpetual opposition to God and all that God holds dear. His sole purpose of existence now is to do all he can to disrupt God’s plans. He deceives followers of Christ, attempting to turn them away from the Truth. Satan goes about like “a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Pet 5:8). The Bible has many warnings about his “devices” (2 Cor 2:11). Believers are called to “Submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (Jas 4:7). Satan cannot touch the eternal souls of the redeemed. Still, he can make human life miserable if we let him. Satan will do everything he can to oppose God, but his fate is already sealed, an eternity of torment in “the lake of fire and brimstone” (Rev 20:10). God wins.