Satan’s Fall

The Bible does not speak in detail about Satan’s fall and apostasy. We can only infer it from the character of his temptations of others. He tempted Adam and Eve to rebel against God and take the ambition of ascending to be God.

It has been said that Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28 refer to Satan’s fall. We have some problems with this view. First, nowhere in the Bible does it say that we should interpret these passages in this way. We interpret some passages as referring to Christ, because the New Testament authors do so. But neither Jesus nor any of the apostles interpreted Old Testament scripture in this way with regard to Satan.

Secondly, we cannot see why we should interpret Isaiah 14 as referring to Satan when the passage specifically states it is referring to the king of Babylon (vs. 4) and to a man (vs. 16). The passage describes all the king of Babylon did in laying waste to the nations. It describes his defeat, as was fulfilled after the prophecy.

The name Lucifer (KJV vs. 12) is not a name for Satan. Lucifer was first used by Jerome in the 4th Century Latin Vulgate, but in the original language the word means morning star (Venus). This word (from the Septuagint OT) is used in 2 Pet 1:19 to refer to Christ. In Babylon they worshipped the stars. The king was also the priest of the gods and carried their names. Isaiah 14 is speaking about the fall of Babylon and its king.

The verses on self-exaltation refer to the king’s pride (vs. 13-14). The Ziggurats and the Tower of Babel were high (Gen 11). The priests and king would ascend upon them to “heaven”. His pride is clearly seen in Daniel 4 in the story of Nebuchadnezzar. He was worshipped. If the ambition to be God represents anything else in scripture apart from the king of Babylon then it is mankind in general. This was the ambition of Eve and Adam in the garden.

Ezekiel 28 is a similar passage about the judgement upon the kingdom of Tyre. The passage is about the king of Tyre (vs. 2 and 12). It specifically says he is a man (vs. 2 lit. Adam). In Hebrew, Adam means man. It says he is wiser than Daniel. This is referring to his self-estimation, pride. He has become rich due to his trade. God said He will bring an army against him. This exactly describes Tyre and its fate.

Ezek 28:11 refers to the glory and riches of the kingdom. “You seal up the sum” means the king had everything. He was in Eden, from a Hebrew word for paradise, with music and all that was beautiful. His wealth in terms of the precious stones of his palace and temple are mentioned.

The “anointed cherub” and “holy mountain” refer to the king’s role as high priest and to his presumption in spiritual things. His “perfection” refers to the splendour of his kingdom and “the day that he was created” (made) refers to his inauguration as king. This is what it means in Ps 2. “This day I have begotten Thee” refers to Christ’s exaltation to the throne. This is poetic language describing the king’s pride.

The king of Tyre’s main sin was the “iniquity of your traffic”, meaning dishonest trade (NIV). Satan did not trade. The passage concludes by saying the kings of the earth and all the people shall be astonished when they see him brought to ashes upon the earth. This is speaking about the destruction of Tyre. If the passage alludes to anyone else it is to the pride of Adam and Eve (man in general) in our fall.

Many have said that Ezekiel 28 teaches that Satan was the worship leader in heaven before his fall. The passage does not state this. To interpret scripture in this way makes the whole of the prophets arbitrary. We study context and history for the meaning and intention of the words. If we study commentaries on these matters we must go back to those written before Dispensationalism (or modern works that avoid it).