There are many names for
Satan
The Bible gives many names
for Satan. These reveal more about his nature and his
activities.
Names for Satan from the Old Testament
In the
book of Ezekiel, Satan was referred to as the King of
Tyre
"Mortal man," he said,
"grieve for the fate that is waiting for the king of Tyre. Tell him
what I, the Sovereign LORD, am saying: You were once an example of
perfection. How wise and handsome you were! (Eze 28:12
GNB)
Before his
rebellion, one of the names for Satan was the "anointed
cherub"
You were the anointed
cherub that covers, and I had put you in the holy height of God
where you were; you have walked up and down in the midst of
the stones of fire. (Eze 28:14 MKJV)
Another
of the names for Satan was Lucifer "the morning
star"
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! (Isa 14:12
KJVR)
King of Babylon, bright
morning star, you have fallen from heaven! In the past you
conquered nations, but now you have been thrown to the ground. (Isa
14:12 GNB)
This was
actually a name stolen from Jesus, the true morning
star
"I, Jesus, have sent my angel
to announce these things to you in the churches. I am descended
from the family of David; I am the bright morning star." (Rev 22:16
GNB)
Names for Satan from the Gospels
Satan means
"adversary" or "opposer"
As soon as Judas took the
bread, Satan entered into him.
Jesus said to him, "Hurry and do what you must!" (Joh 13:27
GNB)
One of the
best known names for Satan was "Beelzebul" (Lord of the
flies)
When the Pharisees heard
this, they replied, "He drives out demons only because their ruler
Beelzebul gives him power to do so." (Mat 12:24 GNB)
but some of the people said,
"It is Beelzebul, the chief of the demons, who gives him the power
to drive them out." (Luk 11:15 GNB)
The most
common of the names for Satan is "the Devil"
(slanderer)
Be alert, be on watch! Your
enemy, the Devil, roams around like a roaring lion, looking for
someone to devour. (1Pe 5:8 GNB)
Then the Spirit led Jesus
into the desert to be tempted by the Devil.(Mat 4:1 GNB)
Other names
for Satan are "murderer", "liar" and "father of
lies"
You are the children of your
father, the Devil, and you want to follow your father's desires.
From the very beginning he was a murderer and has never been on the
side of truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a
lie, he is only doing what is natural to him, because he is a liar
and the father of all lies. (Joh 8:44 GNB)
Less familiar
names for Satan are "the prince", "the chief "and "the ruler" of
the demons
Some teachers of the Law who
had come from Jerusalem were saying, "He has Beelzebul in him! It
is the chief of the demons who gives him the power to drive them
out." (Mar 3:22 GNB)
And the scribes who came down
from Jerusalem said, He has Beelzebub, and He casts out demons by
the ruler of the demons. (Mar 3:22 MKJV)
The scribes who had come from
Jerusalem said, "He is possessed by Beelzebul," and "By the prince
of demons he drives out demons." (Mar 3:22 NAB)
Amongst all
of the names for Satan, the least familiar is "the ruler of this
world"
Now is the time for this
world to be judged; now the ruler of this world will be
overthrown.
(Joh 12:31 GNB)
and they are wrong about
judgment, because the ruler of this world has already been judged.
(Joh 16:11 GNB)
I cannot talk with you much
longer, because the ruler of this world is coming.
He has no power over me, (Joh 14:30 GNB)
Another of
the names for Satan is simply "the enemy"
and the enemy who sowed the
weeds is the Devil. The harvest is the end of the age,
and the harvest workers are angels. (Mat 13:39 GNB)
The best
descriptive of the names for Satan is "the
tempter"
The tempter approached and
said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command that
these stones become loaves of bread." (Mat 4:3
NAB)
Names for Satan from the epistles
Your
enemy/opponent
Be alert, be on watch! Your
enemy, the Devil, roams around like a roaring lion, looking for
someone to devour. (1Pe 5:8 GNB)
Be sober and vigilant. Your
opponent the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking
for (someone) to devour. (1Pe 5:8 NAB)
The
snake
I am afraid that your minds
will be corrupted and that you will abandon your full and pure
devotion to Christ---in the same way that Eve was deceived by the
snake's clever lies.
(2Co 11:3 GNB)
An angel
of light
Well, no wonder! Even Satan
can disguise himself to look like an angel of light!
(2Co 11:14 GNB)
Belial
What accord has Christ with
Beliar? Or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?
(2Co 6:15 NAB)
The
Destroyer: "the angel of death
Do not grumble as some of
them did, and suffered death by the destroyer.
(1Co 10:10 NAB)
We must not complain, as some
of them did---and they were destroyed by the Angel of Death.
(1Co 10:10 GNB)
The Devil:
"slanderer
How can Christ and the Devil
agree? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?
(2Co 6:15 GNB)
The Evil
One
We know that no children of
God keep on sinning, for the Son of God keeps them safe, and the
Evil One cannot harm them. (1Jn 5:18 GNB)
The evil
god of this world
They do not believe, because
their minds have been kept in the dark by the evil god of this
world. He keeps them from seeing the light shining on them, the
light that comes from the Good News about the glory of Christ, who
is the exact likeness of God. (2Co 4:4 GNB)
The prince of
the power of the air
in which you once walked
according to the course of this world, according to the prince of
the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of
disobedience; (Eph 2:2 MKJV)
The
Serpent/snake
But I fear lest by any means,
as the serpent beguiled Eve in his craftiness, so your thoughts
should be corrupted from the simplicity due to Christ. (2Co 11:3
MKJV)
I am afraid that your minds
will be corrupted and that you will abandon your full and pure
devotion to Christ---in the same way that Eve was deceived by the
snake's clever lies.
(2Co 11:3 GNB)
The
Tempter
For this cause, when I could
no longer endure, I also sent to know your faith, lest by some
means the tempter may have tempted you and our labor may have been
in vain.
(1Th 3:5 MKJV)
A Roaring
Lion
Be sober and vigilant. Your
opponent the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking
for (someone) to devour. (1Pe 5:8 NAB)
Ruler of
darkness
For we are not fighting
against human beings but against the wicked spiritual forces in the
heavenly world, the rulers, authorities, and cosmic powers of this
dark age. (Eph 6:12 GNB)
The spirit
that works in the children of disobedience:
in which you once walked
according to the course of this world, according to the prince of
the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of
disobedience; (Eph 2:2 MKJV)
At that time you followed the
world's evil way; you obeyed the ruler of the spiritual powers in
space, the spirit who now controls the people who disobey God. (Eph
2:2 GNB)
Names for Satan from the Book of
Revelation
Angel of
bottomless pit: the destroyer; Abaddon,
Apollyon
And they had a king over
them, the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew
tongue is Abaddon, but in Greek his name is Apollyon.
(Rev 9:11 MKJV)
The
dragon
And another sign was seen in
the heavens. And behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and
ten horns and seven crowns on his heads! (Rev 12:3 MKJV)
The
serpent, the devil, Satan, the deceiver of the whole
world
The huge dragon was thrown
out---that ancient serpent, named the Devil, or Satan, that
deceived the whole world. He was thrown down to earth, and all his
angels with him. (Rev 12:9 GNB)
The
accuser of the believers
Then I heard a loud voice in
heaven saying, "Now God's salvation has come! Now God has shown his
power as King! Now his Messiah has shown his authority! For the one
who stood before our God and accused believers day and night has
been thrown out of heaven. (Rev 12:10 GNB)
These
then, are the names for Satan, as revealed by the word of
God.
|