Transcript

ANNOUNCER: How many different names for Satan can you think of? He’s got a lot of names and descriptors. What can we learn about him from his names? Hello there, thank you for joining us today. This is Grace in Focus from the Grace Evangelical Society. Find us at faithalone.org. And when you do, make sure to learn about our online seminary where we offer an M.Div degree. And it’s free if you maintain a 3.0 average. If you would like to study with us, go ahead now and get through the application process. In August we start classes, and we’d love to have you with us. Find out more at GESSeminary.org or faithalone.org.

Now with today’s discussion about Satan’s names, here are Bob Wilkin and Philippe Sterling.

BOB: What do you have for us today, Philippe, about angels? We’ve been talking about angels and fallen angels and demons, and I think you have some sort of quiz for me. Tell me it ain’t so. I haven’t been in seminary in many moons.

PHILIPPE: Well there is an angel of which there’s extensive revelation about when I was researching for the GES class on angelology. I really was intrigued by how much he said about this angel and the various names and descriptions and activities that are ascribed to this one. Now we primarily know him as Satan, but what I want to do is just ask how many names and descriptions from the Scriptures can you cite about Satan? And he’s referred to actually 52 times by the designation of Satan.

BOB: Okay I’ll tell you I’ve got a mug here and it doesn’t really help me on your question, but it shows that—we were talking before we started about Jesus is the protagonist in God’s story and Satan is the antagonist, right?

PHILIPPE: Yes.

BOB: Well the Lord Jesus Christ also has a lot of names. I’ve got a mug here and it says Messiah, Savior, Alpha and Omega, light of the world, bread of life, resurrection and the life, the way, the truth and the life, the Prince of Peace, the bright and morning star, the King of Kings, Jesus, our Savior, He’s the son of God, He’s the son of man, He’s the good shepherd, He’s the bread of life. And so they’ve got all these various titles of the Lord Jesus Christ.

PHILIPPE: They’ve got names and descriptors.

BOB: But you have something similar with Satan. So let me see how many I can come up with. He’s called by the name Lucifer.

PHILIPPE: And that would be the son of the morning, Lucifer the shining one.

BOB: Is that from Isaiah 14.

PHILIPPE: Isaiah 14.

BOB: And that’s actually son of the morning because Lucifer in Greek means bearer of light, right? It’s from Lucifero and luz is light and phero is “to bear”.

PHILIPPE: But Lucifer is the Latin translation of this, of the day star, of the bearer of light from Isaiah 14:12.

BOB: All right. And he’s also called the adversary, isn’t he? It’s some place. And let’s see, he’s called the Devil.

PHILIPPE: Adversary, the Devil that would be 1 Peter 5:8, “prowls around like a…”

BOB: Okay. So he’s also called a roaring lion or like a roaring lion. Okay, let’s see. And what else for Satan, he’s the accuser of the brethren, right?

PHILIPPE: And clearly labeled as such in in Revelation chapter 12, where four of his names are presented there. And then finally saying that he is the accuser of the brethren has been cast down. But do you know the four names that were used in Revelation 12?

BOB: Please.

PHILIPPE: Then Revelation 20?

BOB: No, no.

PHILIPPE: Well, he’s a serpent of old.

BOB: Okay, the dragon too.

PHILIPPE: He’s the dragon. And he’s the Devil.

BOB: Oh, and he’s the Devil. Okay. And he’s, let’s see, he’s also called the god of this world by Paul, right? Is that 2 Corinthians?

PHILIPPE: Oh, well, in Ephesians, he’s the prince of the power of the air.

BOB: Okay, the prince. So he’s called a prince.

PHILIPPE: The prince of the power of the air. And also elsewhere. Yeah, he is the ruler of this age, the god of this age, 2 Corinthians chapter four verse four, “in whom the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelieving that the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should not dawn upon them.”

BOB: All right. And isn’t there something about he’s the father of lies or did we already say that?

PHILIPPE: Yeah, he’s the father of lies. Jesus refers to him as the father of lies and as a murderer from the beginning. So murderer would be another designation. Yes.

BOB: All right, I give up beyond that. Do you have more?

PHILIPPE: Oh, of course, he’s the, I think he’s the anointed cherub. He is called that in Ezekiel 28:14. He’s the power behind the prince of Tyre and everything. But the anointed cherub,

BOB: The anointed cherub. I thought of another one from Genesis 3:15. He’s the seed of the serpent, right?

PHILIPPE: He’s of course, he’s a serpent and they,

BOB: But like the seed of the woman is going to stomp on the head of the seed, doesn’t it say the seed of the serpent?

PHILIPPE: I think the pre-incarnate Christ in this case addresses him directly—”to your seed and her seed”. But those of course who follow in his rebellion, among mankind, are also, as Jesus says, “You are of your father, the Devil”.

BOB: Yeah, yeah, okay. And they didn’t like that at all. And John 8, you know, we’ve never been enslaved to anyone.

PHILIPPE: That’s it. And he’s the father of lies, that will be John 8:44. And he disguises himself as an angel of light, 2 Corinthians chapter 11 verse 14. He’s the serpent who deceived Eve and he disguises himself and those who follow him, likewise, [unintelligible] basically deceivers. So yeah, that’s probably 20 to 25, depending on how, whether it’s a descriptor or an actual title or name, but just, it’s just so extensive.

BOB: Okay, so there’s the question. Why?

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BOB: Why so many? Because we don’t get that for, we don’t even know the name, do we, of another fallen except maybe Abaddon?

PHILIPPE: That’s Abaddon, Apollyon, in the book of Revelation, but that appears to be a different,

BOB: but are they actual names or are those descriptors?

PHILIPPE: I think you can go either way.

BOB: But so maybe we know the names of three then fallen angels, but there’s nothing extensive about the other two. And there is about Satan. So the question that we should ask is, why all this detail? Why all these names for Satan? And doesn’t this come back to what we were talking about before we started that he is the lead antagonist?

PHILIPPE: Yes. And he’s the one that that led a third of the angels to fall into rebellion. So all those names of Jesus that you and descriptors, you know, that you were there to see how many also of Satan. So the idea of what you had of a protagonist and an antagonist. And the question is, are there perhaps others involved, you know, in this conflict of the ages?

BOB: Okay. So where do we, we fall on the side of the protagonist, right? We’re joining with Him. If we’re faithful, we’ll be His co-heirs in the life to come, we’ll be His co-rulers we’ll be His partners. But what would you call, would you call us protagonists? He’s the capital P protagonist. Would we be little P protagonists?

PHILIPPE: Of course, when we come to the letters to the churches in the book of Revelation, Revelation chapters two and three, the overcomers and those who are persevering and in the struggle in this conflict of the ages, you know, who then become co-heirs and rulers with Christ. So I wonder if perhaps we couldn’t use a name agonist, you know, those involved in the struggle, but they’re not the protagonist or the antagonist, but we are serving Christ and persevering, suffering with Him. So we are agonists. You know, of course, that’s the idea of agony there too, right?

BOB: You know, well, the Greek word is agonizomai. And it means to strive or to struggle. And certainly the Christian life is to be one in which we’re striving and struggling to please God. In fact, the word for overcomer is the verb nikao, the noun is nike. That’s where the Nike sportswear and Nike shoes, it was named after the Greek goddess of victory, which is called Nike. And so in a sense, another name for an overcomer would be a victor, right? One who wins, one who is victorious.

And so Jesus is the ultimate victor with a capital V, but we can be lowercase V victors because He empowers us. He strengthens us. He is sending angels to enable us to be victorious. We’re not in this alone, in this conflict between us and the spiritual forces of wickedness, Ephesians 6:12. We have so many allies in the fight. We have the Lord Jesus praying for us. We have the Holy Spirit who lives within us and gives us all we need pertaining to life and godliness and enables us. We have fellow believers who teach us and fellow believers who encourage us. And we have angels who are sent out by the Lord Jesus Christ to aid us to be victorious.

PHILIPPE: Yes.

BOB: And we need to realize that this is all part of what do you call this?

PHILIPPE: The cosmic conflict.

BOB: And cosmos is the Greek word for world, but it also refers to the universe, right? Cosmos is all that God has created. And there is this cosmic conflict. That’s why you really don’t start with the New Testament. The New Testament is built on the Old Testament. And in order to understand Revelation, you really need to understand Genesis, right? Because the whole Bible goes together.

PHILIPPE: In fact, as bookends, you know, we have Genesis 3:15, right? The promise of the seed and the conflict, you know, with the serpent. And then the bookend, the book of Revelation is Revelation chapter 12 and the verses that talk about the dragon and the serpent of old. And then after the return of Christ and the casting of the beast and the false prophet into the lake of fire, then. But then the four designations in Revelation 20 are ascribed to Satan, the Devil, the serpent of old, the dragon who’s then chained in the abyss for a thousand years. But yet those two bookends specifically about the serpent of old.

BOB: The Bible is a beautiful book. And the conflict that we take part in is a glorious conflict and may we not shrink back, may we be and, as you talk, as we, maybe next time we’ll look at the book of Hebrews, may we be people who stay in the fight so that one day we’ll hear the Lord Jesus say, “Well done, good and faithful servant”. Meantime Philippe, let’s keep grace in focus.

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On our next episode: Which books in the Bible teach the most about angels? Come back and join us and in the meantime, let’s keep grace in focus.