The subject of the modern belief of the devil or satan, which people call Lucifer, the great dragon, the serpent who was in the garden, the evil one, and a number of other names and connotation to it has a number of valuable, intelligent, and provocative questions to be asked and explored before any concrete belief should be believed about it.

1. Did the serpent become satan, or did satan become the serpent?

As there is not any biblical proof of an angel becoming a serpent, and there is a verse for a serpent becoming an angel in 2 Corinthians 11:14, then the majority of the modern Satan myths are incorrectly taught and pollute Christianity.

2Co 11:14  And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.

Rev 12:9  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.

• IF satan were the serpent of genesis, how could he stand?

Gen 3:13 to 15  And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.  And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

Zechariah 3:1  And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him.

He was cursed to go onto belly all his days, modern snakes cannot stand, and it is clear the angel satan clearly stood.  At this point as human individuals we need to make a clear decision on whether or not God would lie to us, if so then satan can stand.  If not then this must be a different satan.  Even the thought of 2 Corinthians 11:14, saying the serpent was morphed into an angel and then could stand does not change the issue.  Even a morphed serpent to angel satan is still cursed by the curse of “on your belly shalt thou go” the shape has no bearing on the curse, it is the same individual who was cursed.

• If satan were lucifer how was he alive to fight Jesus, or alive for Jesus to see him fall? Isaiah 14:9-15
• If satan was a fallen angel how could he die?
• If fallen angels can loose immortality could we?
• If fallen angels are possibly mortals, then who is to say satan is not a human being?
• What is satan’s actual length of life?
• What is satan’s actual domain of rule?

It appears his throne is in pergamos, a place on the surface of the planet, not deep within it, because the believers of the time were able to meet there.

Rev 2:12  And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges; 

Rev 2:13  I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth. 

It also appears the he has his own churches or synagogues to fight against the Sons of God with.

Rev 2:8  And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive; 

Rev 2:9  I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan. 

• Does the bible support the idea of satans?
• Do the languages Greek and Hebrew support the logic of “ha” and “o” to specifically specify titles?
• Is the Hebrew word שׂטן Satan, and grammatical permutations of it good, bad, or indifferent? Numbers 22:22, 1 Samuel 29:4, 2 Samuel 19:22, 24:1 to 3, 1 Chronicles 21:1 to 3, 1 Kings 5:4, 11:14.  Even the Satan of Job only requested God put Job through trials to prove his faith, which is why God agreed.  The Satan of Zachariah 3 does not even speak to condemn “Joshua the high priest”.  In some cases satan is very clearly good, others we lack knowledge of so satan is neutral, in fewer cases than otherwise would seem to be true satan clearly is evil.
• Now that we know that satan is not consistently good bad or neutral in the Old Testament is it possible the new testament satan is speaking of a different existence?  Perhaps an organization or a set of thoughts, or groups of people?  The initial lie was “thou shalt not surely die”  this lie has been taught for as long as human memory is recorded in the teachings of many different religions both those identified as Pagan, Muslim, Jewish, and Christian in the philosophy of the immortal soul.  In this work the immortal soul has already been discussed and sufficiently disproven. Then we do have proof of something as a collective group perpetuating this idea.
• Is there some correlation between the seed of the woman, and the seeds of the serpent, and the synagogue of satan, or immortal soul theories?

John 8:43 to 45  Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.  And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not. 

11.) Is the serpent in the garden only an allegory, and never was real? No, thought the bible does use him as a type, he has been used as a type for leviathan, snakes, dragons, Poisiden, father of lies, and flesh. The initial snake has never been spoken of as only a prophetic symbol in the bible.  It is not an allegory.

Satan does not have servants. The devil does not have servants. The evil one does not have servants. At least not in terms of the word used in the KJV servant which is δουλος, this means slave. There is only 1 verse which mentions anything kind of like this. The word is for minister or deacon but can also mean servant in waiting, or messenger διακονοι. 

2 Corinthians 11:13 to 15 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

This compares to Revelation 12:9

Revelation 12:9 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.

The word angels αγγελοι means messengers. It is no coincidence both Revelation 12 and 2 Corinthians 11 use words with parallel meanings.

The places in the bible where this word was used was relevant to men. A completely different word is used for women.

John 2:9 “When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants” διακονοι “which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom,“

1 Corinthians 3:5 “Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers” διακονοι “by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man?”

2 Corinthians 6:4 “But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers” διακονοι “of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses,”

2 Corinthians 11:22 to 23 “Are they Hebrews? so am I. Are they Israelites? so am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? so am I. Are they ministers” διακονοι “of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft.”

1 Timothy 3:12 “Let the deacons” διακονοι “be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well.“

A different word is used for women, this word often can be defines as “ministry or ministration”, and context show certain verses describe how the female role in the body is supposed to act.

2 Corinthians 6:3 “Giving no offence in any thing, that the ministry” διακονια “be not blamed:”

Romans 12:7 “Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching;”

2 Corinthians 6:3 “Giving no offence in any thing, that the ministry be not blamed:”

2 Corinthians 9:12 to 13 “For the administration of this service not only supplieth the want of the saints, but is abundant also by many thanksgivings unto God; Whiles by the experiment of this ministration they glorify God for your professed subjection unto the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal distribution unto them, and unto all men; “

Notice the bible does not use this feminine deacon role in any teaching capacity, only in a role to provide for physical needs of the body. This is not to say that women cannot be against God, but in their proper role there is no possibility for them to distort the teachings of Yhvh.

This means the mortal deacons of the enemy are predominately male.

Revisiting the previous thought pattern from a different perspective. Lucifer is not the king of devils, if satan has a name it is “βεελζεβουλ” Beelzeboul, however Satan is mentioned in a different phrase as a different entity than Satan.  Not only this but also Satan is mentioned as a single entity casting out himself another single entity. Whereas Beelzeboul is singular and the diamonia “δαιμονια” is a singular to plural relationship.  If we assume Satan is Beelzeboul then he then becomes the equivalent of a “evil trinity” or “evil oneness” based on this passage, and also the next.  

Mat 12:22 to 31  Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw. And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David? But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils. And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand: 

And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand? [and if an enemy, The Enemy cast out himself…](needs translation)

And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges. 

But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. Or else how can one enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house.  He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.  Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.

This is indeed an actual reality of gospel teaching because Jesus says this not once but twice.

Luke 10:17 to 18  And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. 

Notice how again Jesus references a singular Satan, to plural demonia.  The connection to an “evil trinity” or “evil oneness” is shored up.

At this juncture an examination of the name and religeon of Beelzeboul should be taken into accout, the name in the hebrew means Lord of an honored dwelling place, or Lord of indwelling.  The actual practices of the religeon and worship of Beelzeboul have been obscured by both time and misinformation.  The word זבל “zebol” is frequently used in reference to and honored temple, or in one case the body of a person.  

Gen 30:20  And Leah said, God hath endued me with a good dowry; now will my husband dwell with me, because I have born him six sons: and she called his name Zebulun.

1 Ki 8:12 to 13  Then spake Solomon, The LORD said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.  I have surely built thee an house to dwell in, a settled place for thee to abide in for ever.

There is no coincidence between this “honored dwelling”, the previous 2 verses, and how Jesus speaks of the temple of his body and Paul speaks of the temple of our body.

Joh 2:19  Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. 

Joh 2:20  Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days?

Joh 2:21  But he spake of the temple of his body.

1Co 3:16  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

1Co 3:17  If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

Word of Yhvh Genesis 3:3 to 4

ויאמר הנחשׁ אל האשׁה לא מות תמתון

כי ידע אלהים כי ביום אכלכם ממנו ונפקחו עיניכם והייתם כאלהים ידעי טוב ורע

Thus Beelzeboul is ruler of in-dwellers inside a persons frame.  These could be parasites, bad ideas more specifically the teaching a person will not truly die, fly eggs in the intestinal tract, bacteria, or multiple personality disorders, or viruses, or any other foreign living object, or evil spirit dwelling inside a persons frame. All of this comes under the rule of indwelling in the body. Satan is equivalent to Beelzeboul which is equivalent to the snake, which is the plurality of demonia inside a persons frame.  

Now the question becomes, how can a snake whether meta morphed to look like and angel of light or not, also be a plurality of other creatures, ideas, and evil spirits.  The simple answer is it can not.

Jesus then must having been using the name Beelzeboul to teach the concept of sin in the flesh, by literally using a name which perfectly matches the concept of sin also being in the flesh.

Romans 8:1 to 3  There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:

Notice how it was not Satan who was condemned here but sin in the flesh.  The definition of what Beelzeboul

Mark 1:13 places the entire temptation of Jesus in the wilderness.  This constrains the area of the temptation.  Jerusalem being a city means it could not have been called a wilderness, thus Jesus could not have physically gone there.  The passages in Matthew 4:1 to 12, and Luke 4:1 to 14 do not conflict with this information.  This points to another experience than the physical would have been necessary, either waking dreams, or sleeping visions. It is doubtful the devil could have taken him to an alternate spiritual plane, as alternate spiritual planes are not mentioned in the bible, only heaven, and even that is not provable to be a separate spiritual plane.  Hell however as was previously discussed in Two hells, 1 Time Sensative is not a spiritual plane at all, but separate physical places in or on the earth.

Mark 1:13 και ην εκει εν τη ερημω ημερας τεσσαρακοντα πειραζομενος υπο του σατανα και ην μετα των θηριων και οι αγγελοι διηκονουν αυτω

Hebrews 2:14 brings up another thought, at first glance in the King James Version, and also in others the Greek word  καταργηση is translated as “he might destroy”, this is not the definition of the word, the word means “causing to cease, or causing to be idle”.  If this is truly what Jesus did on the cross then the current actions attributed to the devil would be constrained to complete idleness.  It might not at first glance seem important but the Greek grammar of both verse 14 and 15 come in to play, as the phrasing is completely lacking in future tense.  This means the “causing to cease” of the actions of the devil was done at the time Jesus was on the cross. The other portions of verses are all Aorist tense which is typically used in the bible when explaining a concept which is timeless, in other words this was caused to happen for all time, past, present and future.  If then Jesus has caused the actions of the devil to cease to operate. Why do people still teach the devil as an active supernatural creature?  This is at odds with the bible record.

Rom 16:16  Salute one another with an holy kiss. The churches of Christ salute you.

Rom 16:17  Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.

Rom 16:18  For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.

Rom 16:19  For your obedience is come abroad unto all men. I am glad therefore on your behalf: but yet I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil.

Rom 16:20  And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.

First of all the context of the scripture speaks of those responsible for dividing and offending the faithful, the sudden switch to speaking of Satan should be pointed out.  The Greek does read “τον σαταναν” or “the satan” this only relevant in pointing out what people call the supernatural enemies title is used in this scripture.  The other part of Greek phrasing συντριψει is defined as crushed, or to break in pieces, or rub sticks together.  It is the process of creating a fine powder.  The only time this could be done to the enemy is at the judgment of the living and dead, in Gehenna during the burning process of the bones of the dead.  This is a reference to the mortality of the enemy. Living people squish, rotten people do too, only bones can be crushed.

In Job it is often assumed that satan stole the powers of God, to afflict a righteous man.  It is easy to show this power was freely given, and specifically the power was only over 1 man.

Job 1:12  And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.

In the second chapter of Job, it is very clear both Job and also his wife knew the trial sent to them was because of God’s work.  If then we believe Satan has power to sent trials on just men, how did he get it?  He was only given this over 1 man in the book of Job and we have testimony of other people this was a clear lending of power once.  Not the permanent bequeathing of God’s might to another.  Job was correct in the this is and it was God’s might because he did not sin.

Job 2:6 to 10  And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life. So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown. And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat down among the ashes. Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die. But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.

Another thought which reinforces this is found in the gospel in both 1 Corinthians 5, and 1 Timothy 1.

1Co 5:3  For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed,

1Co 5:4  In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,

1Co 5:5  To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

1Ti 1:19  Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck:

1Ti 1:20  Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.

It appears that although satan seems evil, he is to this day still a tool which God uses to correct blasphemy.  Job’s blasphemy was in his thinking he tried to correct or instruct God.  

Job 40:1  Moreover the LORD answered Job, and said,

Job 40:2  Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct him? he that reproveth God, let him answer it.

When we think to question God on his judgments, God may use his tool against us too.

Rom 9:21  Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?

Rom 9:22  What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: