"Who is Satan? Who is Lucifer? Who is Beelzebub?

"
In many cultures, including ancient Middle Eastern cultures, people were not given
names such as "Frank" or "Roger," they were given names that had a meaning. For
instance, Abraham means "father of a multitude"; Isaac means "He laughed"; Sarah
means "Princess." It was common to change a person's "descriptive" name at various
times in his life. For instance, Sarah's earlier name was Sarai, which means "mockery" --
because it was considered extremely embarrassing for a woman to be barren.
"Lucifer" comes from the Latin word luciferos, which means "light bearer," i.e., someone
who carries a light. "Satan" means "the Accuser." Beelzebub or Beelzebul means "Lord
of the Flies." And Beelzebub claims to cause destruction through tyrants, to cause
demons to be worshipped among men, to excite priests to lust, to cause jealousies in
cities and murders, and to bring on war. Satan, Lucifer and Beelzebub are some of the
names for the Devil.

"Who or what is the Devil?"

Lucifer, the Devil, was the model of perfection (Ezekiel 28:12):

most perfect
most wise
most intelligent
most powerful
most knowledgeable
being ever created. (Ezekiel 28:15) -- PERIOD!
Ezekiel 28:12-15 Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto
him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in
beauty. Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy
covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the
sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of
thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. Thou art the anointed
cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God;
thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast (You were)
perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.

As a result of sin, Lucifer became the most corrupt, most evil creature in existence.
God drove Lucifer out of paradise.
Satan corrupted his own wisdom.
Although Satan's wisdom is now corrupt, he is still very wise.
God punished Satan by bringing him to a terrible fate.

Ezekiel 28:16-19 By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee
with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the
mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones
of fire. Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom
by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings,
that they may behold thee. Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine
iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst
of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all
them that behold thee. All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at
thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more.
It is important to understand that Satan will never cease to exist.
Ezekiel 28:19 ... "Thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more." This seems to
say that God will cause Satan to cease to exist. Many people take solace in this to justify
their own refusal to accept Christ: "See, the Bible says that God will destroy sinners.
Since I won't exist anymore, why should I care?" This is clearly not the case. "you ... will
be no more" means Satan will not have influence. He will not have power. His ultimate
fate is that he will spend eternity being punished in Hell.
Matthew 25:41 Then shall he (Jesus) say also unto them on the left hand, "Depart from
me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels."
It is important to notice that in this passage Jesus will be speaking to those humans who
did not accept Him, not to Satan -- but the fire is eternal and it was prepared for Satan.
"Can Satan or demons perform miracles?"
Yes! Satan and demons are supernatural beings. All supernatural beings are not bound by
the laws of nature (thus the term supernatural).
Here's an interesting proof:
Exodus 7:8-12 And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, When Pharaoh
shall speak unto you, saying, Shew a miracle for you: then thou shalt say unto Aaron,
Take thy rod, and cast it before Pharaoh, and it shall become a serpent. And Moses and
Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did so as the LORD had commanded: and Aaron
cast down his rod before Pharaoh, and before his servants, and it became a serpent. Then
Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers: now the magicians of Egypt, they
also did in like manner with their enchantments. For they cast down every man his rod,
and they became serpents: but Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods.
Usually, when this story is told the emphasis is on the fact that Aaron's staff won. How
did the sorcerers ("magicians") transform their staffs??? Did they pray to the God of their
slaves? Hardly likely! They weren't even impressed! They had to already be hooked into
some serious power to know they would be able to do miracles ! There are only two
sources of that kind of power: (1) God and His angels and (2) Satan and his demons.
Let's be clear that when the text says "magicians" it is not talking about illusionists like
David Copperfield. It is talking about sorcerers, i.e., people who tie in to occult demonic
forces. Technically, there is a difference between "magic", such as card tricks, sawing a
woman in half, etc., which involve misdirection, sleight of hand, trick props, etc., and
magick (magic), which means getting involved with the occult, i.e., "secret arts."

God generally prohibits Satan from performing miracles.

Usually, God will not allow Satan to perform miracles, for four reasons:
If Satan routinely performed miracles, too many people would not try to resist his ways
because they would be looking for the benefits of miracles.
God performs miracles on the basis of faith. Most people can't get God to perform a
miracle because they don't have enough faith. If Satan routinely performed miracles,
most people would have faith that miracles can occur.
If Satan routinely performed miracles, many people who sincerely want to follow God
would be misled.
God generally has used miracles as a 'seal of approval' to show that a prophet, pastor,
etc., has God's approval. It would be very confusing if evil people could frequently do the
same things.

"Does Satan know the future?"

Isaiah 44:6-7 Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of
hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God. And who, as I, shall
call, and shall declare it, and set it in order for me, since I appointed the ancient people?
and the things that are coming, and shall come, let them shew unto them.
Isaiah 48:3,5 I have declared the former things from the beginning; and they went forth
out of my mouth, and I shewed them; I did them suddenly, and they came to pass. I have
even from the beginning declared it to thee; before it came to pass I shewed it thee: lest
thou shouldest say, Mine idol hath done them, and my graven image, and my molten
image, hath commanded them.
Satan knows the Bible -- including the prophecies.
Satan does know the Bible; he quoted Scripture to Jesus in Luke Chapter 4 and Matthew
Chapter 4. Therefore, he knows those future things which God has revealed through His
prophets.
Satan also can predict the future from past trends, just like lawyers, accountants, financial
analysts, etc.
Satan can predict the future. However, predicting the future does not require supernatural
knowledge or powers. On a regular basis, people ask lawyers, accountants, and many
other experts to predict the future:
"The jury is going to find you guilty. They're likely to give you somewhere between eight
and twelve years."
"Sales in the next quarter will be about $100,000."
"This stock will pay about $5 per share."
"Your medical treatment will cost about $4,700."
"In your [medical] condition you have about a year to live."
"We'll strike oil at about 18,000 feet."
"This stock is overvalued; it's selling for a lot more than it's worth. The price has got to
fall pretty soon."
"The Fed has increased the prime rate. Interest rates are going to increase and credit will
tighten."
"Your mother, your aunt, both your grandmothers, and your older sister have had breast
cancer. You probably will get breast cancer."

All these types of predictions are based on historical trends. Satan is very smart,
knowledgeable about history (he was there when it happened), and wise. He knows how
to 'read' people, i.e., interpret body language, recognize fear, lust, etc. If humans can
recognize historical trends, so can Satan and his demons.
Satan has access to 'insider information' which sometimes enables him to predict events
in the near future.
Because Satan and his demons are non-corporeal spirits without physical bodies, they can
go places and see things that the average person can't.
For instance, let's say Smith wants to buy some stock. He goes to a 'psychic' and asks
what he should buy. The psychic goes into a trance and contacts the spirit world and asks
a 'spirit guide' what stock Smith should buy. Other spirits hang around some lawfirms,
investment banking firms, accounting firms, etc., where greed, arrogance, pride, jealousy,
office politics, divisiveness, etc., are common. In the course of hanging around such
places, the second group of spirits learns 'insider information', such as upcoming
corporate mergers, etc. The first spirit contacts the second group of spirits, who provide
the information. The first spirit then furnishes the information to the 'psychic', who passes
it on to Smith. Smith uses this information about the future, and makes a substantial
amount of money.
Acts 16:16-19 And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with
a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: The
same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most
high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation. And this did she many days. But
Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus
Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour. And when her masters saw
that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the
marketplace unto the rulers,

WARNING

Obviously, going to a psychic with that type of connections sounds like an easy way to
make a quick buck! It is important to understand that this type of conduct can have
horrible, eternal consequences:
Deuteronomy 18:10-14 There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son
or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times,
or an enchanter, or a witch. Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard,
or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and
because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee.
Thou shalt be perfect with the LORD thy God. For these nations, which thou shalt
possess, hearkened unto observers of times, and unto diviners: but as for thee, the LORD
thy God hath not suffered thee so to do.
Galatians 5:19-21 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery,
fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance,
emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings,
and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they
which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
Mark 8:36 For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his
own soul?
We cannot initiate direct contact with good spirits. Many people get "sucked into" occult
practices by saying "I will only contact good spirits." God has prohibited us from
initiating contact with the spirit world. Therefore, good angels will obey His laws and not
respond to attempts by us to make direct contact. If we attempt to make any contact with
the spirit world, evil spirits will take advantage of this sin and contact us, claiming to be
good. God does send angels to us in response to our prayers, but they normally do not
make direct visible contact, like demon spirits.

"Who created the Devil?"

Jesus created Satan. In fact, He created everything or all things that exist (perfectly).
John 1:1-3 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word
was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and
without him was not any thing made that was made.
It is clear that "the Word" is another name of Jesus:
John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us...
"If God is supposed to know everything, how could He have been so wrong about
Lucifer?"
Matthew 26:21-25 And as they did eat, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you
shall betray me. And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say
unto him, Lord, is it I? And he answered and said, He that dippeth his hand with me in
the dish, the same shall betray me. The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe
unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he
had not been born. Then Judas, which betrayed him, answered and said, Master, is it I?
He said unto him, Thou hast said. God wasn't wrong about Lucifer.
God who created and endowed every created being with a free will knew before hand
exactly what Lucifer would eventually do, just as He knew what Judas Iscariot would do.
The devil and demons are angels who rebelled against God.
Revelation 12:7-9 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against
the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their
place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent,
called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the
earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
These fallen angels have chosen to do evil, and they seek to ruin the lives of humans.
1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion,
walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
John 10:7-10 Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the
door of the sheep. All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did
not hear them. I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in
and out, and find pasture. The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to
destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more
abundantly.
Note: There is only one Devil -- Satan. However, there are many demons.
Satan must ask God's permission to tempt someone.
Luke 22:31 And the Lord said, "Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you,
that he may sift you as wheat."
God sets limits on what Satan can do. Although God allows Satan to tempt us, He always
provides a way out.
1 Corinthians 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man:
but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will
with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
Mankind is caught in the midst of a spiritual war with the holy God and His loyal angels
on one side and the evil Satan and his demons on the other. To resist the Devil we must
put on the "full armor of God."
Ephesians 6:11-18 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against
the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against
principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against
spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God,
that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand
therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of
righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all,
taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the
wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word
of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching
thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.
If we resist the Devil, he will then flee.
James 4:7 ...Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
We do not have the power to resist the Devil on our own.
Jude 9 Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the
body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, "The Lord
rebuke thee."
Satan knows the Scriptures and will try to misuse them to suit his own plans.
As described in Matthew 4:3-10 and Luke 4:3-12, during the temptation of Jesus in the
wilderness, Satan quoted Him Scripture several times. Jesus replied each time with
additional Scriptures refuting Satan's attempts to take things out of context or only use
part of a section.
Satan tries to prevent or stop people from studying the Bible.
You should develop a plan of study, e.g., 20 minutes a day starting at 7:00 a.m. There are
spirits that can induce sleepiness -- they normally will do this when you first start a study
program. If you talk to people who are new to Bible study, they will routinely say "I try
to study, but I keep falling asleep." This is one reason that it is better to start studying in
the morning than in the evening. Satan will raise all sorts of distractions, e.g., telephone
calls, things you need to catch up on, etc. This is another of his tactics. When someone
first starts studying the Bible, all sorts of little distractions suddenly start to show up.
Many of them are legitimate, just not terribly important. This is another reason why
early-morning Bible study is recommended.
Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil and his fallen angels so men may eternally
have the best life possible.
John 10:10 The thief (the Devil) cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I
am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. comes
only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the
full.
John 3:16-18 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not
his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be
saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned
already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
1 John 3:8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning.
For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the
devil.
It is important not to misinterpret passages such as 1 John 3:8. It does not mean that a
person who sins from time to time will be condemned. It means those who make a
regular practice of sinning, those for whom sinning is a way of life, will be condemned.
The outcome of the spiritual war is already determined. Jesus conquered Satan and his
demons and death and sin for all eternity by His sacrifice on the Cross. He proved it by
coming back from the dead.
Revelation 1:17-18 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right
hand upon me, saying unto me, "Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth,
and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and
of death."
'Hell', 'Hades' and 'the Lake of Fire' -- a word about terminology.
It is important to draw a technical distinction in terminology.
On the word "Hades"
Strong's Greek Concordance Number: 86
Romanized spelling: haides
Pronounciation: HAH-dace
Meaning: 'Hades' or the place (state) of departed souls: -- (the) grave, hell
Some English versions of the Bible translate the Greek word haides as "Hell" and others
translate it as "Hades". Theologians and translators who consider the temporary holding
place of the damned to be "Hades" consider the term "Lake of Fire" to be synonymous
with "Hell". Theologians and translators who consider the temporary prison to be "Hell"
call the Lake of Fire the Lake of Fire. And, of course, there is some overlap in use of
these terms!
Examples:
Revelation 1:18 [KJV] I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for
evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
Revelation 1:18 [NKJV] ..."And I have the keys of Hades and of Death."
Ultimately, the devil and his demons will be punished in the Lake of Fire for all eternity.
2 Peter 2:4 For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and
delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;
Jude 6 And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he
hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.
Satan won't be the boss of Lake of Fire.
Many people, including most Christians, believe that even after the White Throne
Judgment of Revelation, Satan will be the "boss" of Lake of Fire. There is no basis for
this in the Bible. In fact, Isaiah reports the opposite - that Satan will be just one more
spirit being punished forever. Isaiah 14:7-17 The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: they
break forth into singing. Yea, the fir trees rejoice at thee, and the cedars of Lebanon,
saying, 'Since thou art laid down, no feller is come up against us." Hell from beneath is
moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the
chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations. All
they shall speak and say unto thee, "Art thou also become weak as we?" art thou become
like unto us? Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the
worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee. 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! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my
throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the
sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most
High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. They that see thee
shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the
earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; That made the world as a wilderness, and
destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?
SOME RECOMMENDED READING
Alnor, William. UFO's in the New Age; Extraterrestrial Messages and the Truth of
Scripture. 1992 Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, Michigan (out of print) This is an
extremely well-researched, well-written and objective Christian Research Institute book
by a former investigative reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper who now
serves as a contributing editor for The Christian Research Journal. Alnor substantiates the
strong ties between the activities of "space aliens" and activities historically attributed to
demons.
Lewis, C.S. The Screwtape Letters. Collier Books, Macmillan Publishing Books,
Riverside, N.J. Lewis is considered the most original Christian theologian of the
Twentieth Century. This fictional work gives a clear insight into the tactics demons use to
tempt and deceive men and destroy lives. This work particularly shows how most
demonic attacks are not direct assaults, but rather, 'side' attacks.
CONCLUSION
Studying about Satan and demons can become very intriguing. It commonly starts with
general curiosity and an attitude of "I don't have to worry, since this stuff obviously is
baloney." It then leads to "Hey, I'll try a few of these things. I know nothing will happen."
Demonic spirits need this type of activity in order to interact with humans. A number of
people have reported that when they began occult activities such as Ouija boards, Tarot
cards, etc., nothing happened, but over time spirits started contacting them. These spirits
start out pretending to be benevolent but over time they gradually start exerting control
over the "experimenter." Many people fool themselves with things like "I'll only contact
good spirits." As pointed out above, good spirits will not violate God's law by
participating in human-initiated contact with the spirit world.
As far as trying to exert influence over people's lives is concerned, demon spirits will not
wait for a person to attempt contact. Even general activities such as extensive studying
about demonic activity, or investigation of "the paranormal", etc., will lead to demonic
attempts to influence and control the person doing the studying or investigation.
For the most part I would urge you to check out my answers against the Bible and against
well-regarded biblical reference books, etc. However, when it comes to information about
Satan, demonism, the occult, etc., please don't check it out thoroughly yourself. If you
want to check it out, please check out the few references I have provided and leave it at
that.
When you do study specifically about Satan and his tactics, you should be "prayed up"
and "put on the whole armor of God:" Lucifer is just another name for Satan, who as head
of the evil world-system is the real, though invisible, power behind the successive rulers
of Tyre, Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome, and all of those evil rulers that we have seen
come and go in the history of the world. Both Lucifer (his former name means "Light
Bearer:" he thereafter became known as Satan, a Hebrew word which means accuser - the
opposite of, and the opposition to, the Truth in the Light) and men under his counsel
possess astonishing wisdom. God said of Lucifer, "Behold, thou art wiser than Daniel;
there is no secret that they can hide from thee: With thy wisdom and with thine
understanding thou hast gotten thee riches. ...thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom."
But "thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness." Humans have been
influenced by Satan's evil brightness right from the Garden of Eden. Men and devils
pervert wisdom (remember Solomon). And it all will be extinguished upon Christ's soon
return, for "then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the
spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming." As God alone
perpetuates "True" wisdom.

2 Thessalonians 2:7-10 "For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now
letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed,
whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the
brightness (spendor, pure light) of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after the
working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all
deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love
of the truth, that they might be saved."
Ezekiel 28:16 By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with
violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of
God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.