The identity of the devil.?

Question

Ok, there are really only a few mentions of 'the devil' in the canonical christian bible. Theres the serpent in the garden of eden (in genesis), theres 'lucifer' in the book of Isaiah, and then satan in the apostles' gospels. Where exactly are these three seperate guys linked together, and where does the popular christian theory that they are all the same, and they are 'the big bad guy' that gods in a metaphorical fist fight with over humanity come from?(hint, its not in the bible... ironically)

the nothing: indeed it does, weird that the ideas would carry into modern christianity, i wonder how many evangelical christian preachers have read it...

pegacita: well you say they arent... but, could you reference a few verses that confirm this.. or even one? They dont have the same name, and they arent even really 'implied' to be the same entities in any of the canonical scripture ive read, and i have read quite a bit.

ok, ok, lots of very interesting answers, but references are essential. These are the types of 'answers' that provoked me to ask the question.

I am not christian, so i cannot consult the holy spirit, all i have to work with is scripture. Lets say this is my last question before i become christian. How would you explain this to me, with references.

Kelly L: but wouldnt the father of the devil, if the devil is equated with lucifer, and satan, be god himself? Lucifer/Satan is an angel, they are refered to as the 'sons of god' all over the bible.

err yeah, 'your father the devil' nevermind that last comment

ok kelly, good answer. Though, heres an alternate interpretation. The 'god' of the old testament was this father of lies. this 'slayer of men'. the serpent was refering to death in the christian sense, in the pit. Not a death of the flesh. Maybe this is even the first prophesy of christ? By eating from the tree of life (metaphor for christ) you shall surely not die. Jesse, the father of david, is refered to the 'stump of life' as in, the base of the tree of life, a distant ancestor of christ. BUT, this was in the context of canonical, popular christianity, and you've actually answered my question. Thanks.

Answer 1

They aren't 3 separate guys.
I'm thinking that you haven't studied the Bible, you're getting bits & pieces here & there.
If you want to know truth from the Bible, you have to read it. Most anything you want to know is told in separate verses, you get bits & pieces.
God's not in a fist fight over humanity. He's giving everyone a free choice. In a nut shell, Lucifer is a fallen angel. Lucifer had free choice and he chose evil, before the Earth was even created. 1/3rd of the angels went with him and they work for him. That's all explained in other scripture like Ezekiel, etc.
The Bible is so reliable because so many parts are explained in different areas and they verify what the other parts say.
You may not believe this, but studying the Bible is so exciting because of all these "mysteries" that get explained.
Oh, and read the book of Ephesians, you'll learn even more about Satan. And it seems that America is getting alot like Ephesis was.

Answer 2

"I believe things like this are spiritually discerned."
Certainly the Bible is a book which requires illumination by the Holy Spirit. 1 John 2:27 says "the annointing teaches you about all things." Many verses show that the Bible can only be understood through the Spirit, but you might think none quite so forcefully as when Paul says, "Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?" (1 Corinthians 1:20).
Christians often feel that logic is the antithesis of faith. If one is "too logical" or "thinks too much about it" they might come to the wrong interpretation of a biblical passage.

What an opposite approach of Paul the Apostle! One need only read Romans to see how logical and organized was his mind. Paul's customary method of evangelism was to "reason with them from the Scriptures" (Acts 17:2, 17). He used reason to persuade people to accept Christ (Acts 18:4, 19). Is reason then the antithesis of faith!?

We believe the Lord rewards our contemplation of his scriptures. David meditates on God's word (Psalm 119). And Paul exhorts Timothy to "reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this" (2 Timothy 2:7). Timothy strives for a perfect unity of man's logic with the necessary insight from the Lord!

Answer 3

First of all, the serpent in Genesis chapter 3 (the Garden of Eden) is not Satan. That is the tradition of the church, but you will not find anywhere in scripture that ties Satan to the serpent. He is in other places as well like Job and Revelation. The idea that there is a big bad guy that is in some sort of a cosmic struggle with God comes from the influences that were exerted on Judaism as a result of their contact with Zoroastrianism and its cousins. The Bible however does not present the idea that this is a struggle. It is a battle which has its outcome already decided.

Answer 4

REVELATION 12 verse 9 identifies the serpent as being Satan. He used the serpent to cause Adam & Eve to sin, thus bringing death upon mankind (ROMANS 5:12) Mankind was created to live forever but the act of disobedience brought sin/death into mankind.

If we read the account in Genesis, we see that Satan challenged God's authority, His right to rule mankind. He suggested to Eve that she didn't need God and could make her own decisions & choose for herself what was right & wrong.
God has let things run it's course to prove Satan a liar.
History shows that we cannot rule ourselves, that we need God's guidance. Soon God will step in to restore things back to how he originally intended them to be in the first place. Satan will be removed & the wicked with him.

The answers ARE in the bible if we look for them

Any more serious questions?

Answer 5

The serpent might be just a serpent, although manipulated somehow by the "evil one", but lucifer and satan are just the same (I like that you don't capitalize), and the same with "the devil". (You can also have more devils or demons.) Of these, satan comes from Hebrew and means enemy (of God), devil comes from the Greek diabolos which means slanderer (of man, as the one who slanders man in front of God), and lucifer means in Latin morning star. This is a metaphor, because before fall satan was the first of angels, as the morning star (planet Venus) is the brightest of the stars.
And the fall of angels goes like this: God created only angels and no evil spirits. However, the first angel (greatest, brightest, most beautiful etc.) was filled with pride and thought to himself that he is do wonderful, that he should place his throne higher than God's. And with this thought he fell from heaven, which shouldn't be seen as a material fall (as from moon to earth or something like that). And very quickly, many other angels who were not secure in their faith and good will followed him. They now wander around the earth and do their best to persuade humans to detach themselves from God or, if already so, to stay away of God forever. They are envious on humans because they have the ability and opportunity to repent and find their way to heaven.

Answer 6

Satan takes on many forms and is called by various names yet His origin was that of an Angel named Lucifer.
Lucifer was an Angel on the same level as Michael the Archangel but Lucifer had the ability to make music, His purpose was to lead the angels in singing to the Lord.
For whatever reason Lucifer got it in His head that He could be equal with God and was betrayed by His pride. God cast Him out of Heaven with a 3rd of the Angels who followed Him.

Answer 7

Hello, While it appears you may be only referencing the christian use of the concept of the Devil or Satan, I believe I can help from a non christian Point of view.

The NHSP Nativist Human Spiritual Path, has the understanding that there is Only one Creator and from him comes all. This includes Good, and Evil.

There is a balance to the world that is maintained in all aspects. We, those of us that are living in this world, are one type of spiritual creature. The Creator made other spiritual creatures though. Two of which are what we shall call "angels" and "demons"

These other two spiritual creatures were made by the Creator with more focus built into them. Their task is to help maintain the balance in the world. This includes the balance between Good and Evil.

"Satan" or the devil is one or more of the demons that are doing what they were made to do, foment chaos and disorder, to wreak havoc and dismay. to actively demonstrate their calling. They have come to us in many ways in order to achieve this goal. the very powerful ones who are able to breach the veil have at times manifested themselves here and done all they could to ply their horrible trade with devastating results. to assume a name in the course of these actions is another of their tactics.

We ( the NHSP) do not doubt the truth of this and have occasionally been present to witness their efforts in action.

Answer 8

The first lie was spoken "by the serpent" in Genesis who told Eve that she would positively not die if she ate the fruit that God said not to eat. Adam was well aware that animals did not speak and that God had never used an animal to speak to him. So Adam wasn't deceived. (1 Timothy 2:14) You don't get an immediate answer to who the serpent in Genesis is, but if you continue to read the Bible's references to Satan, it becomes clear that it was he who spoke through the serpent. Going back to the fact that the first lie was spoken to Eve in Eden, John 8:44 says: "You are from your father the Devil, and you wish to do the desires of your father. That one was a manslayer when he began, and he did not stand fast in the truth, because truth is not in him. When he speaks the lie, he speaks according to his own disposition, because he is a liar and the father of the lie." So its easy to make the connection that Satan the Devil used the serpent to speak to Eve since he is described as "the father of the lie".

The term "Lucifer" was directed primarily to the King of Babylon who, by reason of his many conquests (including Judah in 607 BC), became world ruler and thus was likened to a "shining star" (Hebrew translation of Lucifer) or "bringer of dawn" (Greek translation). The kings of Babylon elevated themselves above everyone and the dynasty is portrayed as bragging that "...Above the stars of God I shall lift up my throne..." (Isaiah 14:13, 14) The stars of God refers to the royal line of David. (Numbers 24:17) So basically this reference to Lucifer was directed against the King of Babylon who exulted himself very highly and is thus being humiliatingly taunted on his downfall. (Isaiah 14:4 says "...you must raise up this proverbial saying against the king of Babylon..."). The pride of the kings of Babylon certainly reflect the attitude of Satan, but the term Lucifer applies to the King of Babylon and therefore is not a name Scripturally given to Satan.

"Satan" was not his original name. He was given the name because it describes his course of action against God - it means "resister" and "devil" means "slanderer".

Answer 9

the Devil can take on different forms... the snake in genesis, lucifer in isaiah, and satan in the gospels are all the same person... i don't know how to convince you... but they are the same person... satan took on the figure of a snake in the garden of eden to tempt eve to eat the apple... he is lucifer, that is his "formal" name i guess you could call it, like my name is Storm... its his first name... and he was thrown out of Heaven for trying to become greater than GOD and no one is greater than GOD... and he is obviously satan...

Answer 10

Do not seek understanding of a power you would not accept.

If the truth shall be told unto you then what would you have done?

He is power and he is illusive; for the truth shall never be known by those who seek to uncover his power. The truth is beyond your comprehension.

Those who seek to uncover his power shall never receive; Should you still wish to know then you may learn from his servant and he shall teach you of all his power and the truth of all that is unseen.

Should you wish to know the truth simply call out his name and let you wish be known; seek his servant and you shall be rewarded with the knowledge you seek but beware for the knowledge you seek comes with a price not of this world or of the value therein

More fool the one who seeks his knowledge with false motivation for you shall receive not but unwanted rewards