By Robert Mortem
You may have heard it said before that Satan is a fallen angel. The fact of the matter is, although Christians claim this, the Bible never actually teaches it anywhere. According to 2 Corinthians 4:4, Satan is in fact a God, not a created being. Gods, by their very nature and essence are uncreated and eternal.
For instance, they may give you a passage such as Isaiah 14:12 which says: "How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!" Yet according to Isaiah 14:4, this is speaking to the king of Babylon, not Satan. The Hebrew word translated "Lucifer" here is הֵילֵל (heylel) from הָלַל which has to do with boasting (e.g. Psalm 5:5), and can simply be translated "shining one" (e.g. Young's Literal Translation). How can a man (Isa 14:16) be considered fallen from heaven (i.e. fallen from the sky)? Simple, just as Matthew 11:23 says: "you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades." Many fail to recognize this! (also see Obadiah 1:4).
Moreover, another passage often cited is Ezekiel 28:14 which says, "You were the anointed cherub", but it is actually referring to "the king of Tyre" according to Ezekiel 28:12. Also, the Septuagint reads different. The Septuagint says, "with the cherub" (μετά του χερούβ), not that he is the cherub. It actually never mentions Satan anywhere here. Christians simply add to the passage, even though Proverbs 30:6 specifically commands them "Do not add to His words." One may argue, "How could the king of Tyre be in Eden?" (Ez 28:13). In other words, the idea is that this is in reference to the Serpent in the Garden of Eden. Actually, nothing in the text specifies this. Notice, the Hebrew word eden is simply a word for "pleasure" or "luxury" and is even used in Genesis 18:12 for Abraham's wife ("shall I have pleasure [eden]")! In other words, the king of Tyre was in luxury, but God says He cast him out of his mountain on the earth (Ezekiel 28:16). This all says absolutely nothing about Satan being a fallen angel.
Finally, some may give you Revelation 12:7 as if this somehow proves Satan is an angel. The fact of the matter is, the passage simply says that Satan has angels! God also has angels (e.g. Psalm 91:11). Satan is a God (2 Corinthians 4:4), so it is no surprise he would have angels. Some translations may put a lower case letter (god) instead of a capital (God), but the original 1611 KJV has a capital letter, "the God of this world" (2 Cor 4:4), and the Greek text makes no such distinction. Also see Matthew 4:8; John 16:11; Ephesians 2:2; Rev 2:13. Some may argue that idols are called gods (Psalm 96:5), but notice, mere idols are spoken of as objects that "have mouths, but cannot speak" (Psalm 115:4-6). Satan indeed speaks (e.g. Matthew 4:5). Those who make this argument commit a category error therefore. Some may reference Philippians 3:19, "whose God is their belly," claiming this illustrates how Satan is not really a God, but notice, this translation is actually off. The text more literally reads: "whose God is the belly" (ων ο θεος η κοιλια). Nothing mandates that their own stomach is in view here, and it is articular in the Greek. The context is destruction, and this text is apparently noting that God Himself devours people therefore (e.g. Hosea 13:18). In other words, God is the Belly (cf. Isa 25:8), and being devoured into that Belly is a destructive depiction, nothing more. Since Satan is God (2 Corinthians 4:4), the same applies to Him. As it is written, "the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour" (1 Peter 5:8).
Moreover, you may also hear Christians claim that Michael the Archangel defeated Satan. If this is true, why are they still warning about Satan's power after (1 Peter 5:8; Acts 26:18)? Did Michael get the job done or not? Note the context of Revelation 12 also. It was after Jesus ascended to His Father (12:5), "Then a war broke out in heaven" (12:7). What about after this? After this, Ephesians 6:12 says He is back up in heaven apparently! (also see Eph 2:2) Moreover, when it says He was cast to the earth, the Greek word is βάλλω, and is even translated "bring" in Matthew 10:34 ("come to bring peace"). Notice, it never says that God or Michael casted Satan out. It simply says, "the great dragon was cast out." One can even cast (or bring) themselves out in Scripture (e.g. Matthew 4:6; John 21:7). Right after, Satan is going about his day (Revelation 12:12f). It doesn't say he was laying in defeat. However, the Bible does teach that God lost a wrestling match (Genesis 32:24-30) and was put to death (1 Corinthians 2:8). God indeed tasted defeat, and even forsook His own Son (Matthew 27:46). Lastly, The Greek Magic Papyri reveals that "Michael" was a pagan spirit actually (see PGM IV). Apparently he was a daimon, yet Christians are known to take traditions from other cultures.
And what about the Book of Job? Often we hear from Christians that Satan needed permission from God. Yet, the text says no such thing. Christians are simply adding this concept into the passage, even though the Bible commands them: "Do not add to His words" (Prov 30:5-6). So what is actually stated? God simply says, "Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person" (Job 1:12). It never says He is granting Satan this power here. He is stating a fact; since Satan is God (2 Corinthians 4:4), it is no surprise that all Job has is in his power. God simply tells Him, "do not lay a hand on his person." Since when is merely telling someone something an automatic granting of power? Notice, in the verse prior, Satan tells God: "stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has" (Job 1:11). Is Satan granting God something here? Furthermore, the following passages of this chapter do not even demand that Satan did anything to Job. Verse 16 says that it was "the fire of God" that burned the sheep and servants! As for the deaths spoken of, Job 1:20 records Job saying that it was in fact God who took them away, and he did not sin in saying this truth apparently, as it says: "In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong" (Job 1:22). Finally, in the next chapter, it finally records that Satan "struck Job with painful boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head" (Job 2:7). Yet, at the end of the book it also says that God is the one who brought evil upon Job (Job 42:11)!
Besides all this, does the Bible even mention fallen angels? Yes in fact, it does. In 2 Peter 2:4 it says, "the angels that sinned" were cast down to Tartarus (ταρταρόω) in the context of chains of darkness. This same theme is mentioned in the epistle of Jude and says, "the angels who . . . left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness" (Jude 1:6). Some may argue that this is a reference to the planets in relation to the darkness of the sky above. Actually, Tartarus is a reference to below (e.g. see Job 41:4 in the LXX) and in Greek mythology, where Zeus cast the Titans. It is not a reference to the planets being chained to their current movements here. Furthermore, the context is "sexual immorality" (Jude 1:7) and apparently is drawing from Genesis 6:1-4 when the sons of God consummated with women on the earth.
In Revelation 12:4, Satan himself threw angels to the earth (it doesn't say God cast them out here). Moreover, Revelation 12:9 (in the context of after Jesus ascended to His Father, 12:5-7) indeed says Satan and His angels were "cast out", but it doesn't say who did the casting. Notice, Matthew 4:6 shows that one can cast themself. Moreover, the Greek word βάλλω can simply be translated "bring" (e.g. Matthew 10:34). This specifies nothing of some fallen state of banishment in the beginning of creation. In fact, Jesus seems to think Satan was a sinner from the beginning (see 1 John 3:8). Christians argue just the opposite: that he was good from the beginning but became evil.
Finally, aside from the Biblical story, what did the ancient Greek word angel (ἄγγελος) depict? It was a reference to a God itself, specifically a messenger God (e.g. see Hermes in the Homeric Hymns). Apparently this was the Old Testament usage as well, as the famous burning bush passage of Moses appearing to God is actually an angel speaking saying, "I am the God of your father" (Exodus 3:2-6). Later in the New Testament the apostle Paul speaks against the worship of angels (Colossians 2:18; also see Revelation 22:8-9).