Satan, also known as the Devil, was the angel who opposed God and was cast down from heaven. He was once known as Lucifer, which means "light-bringer" (derived from Isaiah 14:12 in the King James Version and from the Latin Vulgate), before evil was found in him. After a great battle in heaven, Lucifer and his forces were cast out of heaven, and God renamed him Satan.
He is the overreaching antagonist in the entire Left Behind series written by Jerry B. Jenkins and Dr. Tim LaHaye, since he is the true mastermind behind Nicolae Jetty Carpathia's plot, and was also one of his spiritual mentors, alongside Satan-worshiper Viv Ivins. He is also the source of all evil, and God's archenemy. He is also one of the overarching antagonists in Left Behind: The Kids.
In Tradition and Terms[]
Satan is the Hebrew term for "accuser", "opposer" or "adversary", whereas Devil is the Greek word for "liar" or "slanderer". In Jewish tradition, he acts as God's accuser, or prosecutor. In Christian tradition, he is the ultimate enemy of God, as he works to kill, steal, and destroy what God has created, including man, whom God has created in His image. Both of these statements in Jewish and Christian traditions are true.
Personality[]
His most infamous act as "the serpent of old" was to deceive Eve into eating from the Tree of Knowledge in the garden of Eden, which later led to Adam's disobedience which brought death upon all mankind. Satan's power over death, however, would be destroyed when Jesus Christ was sent to earth born as a man to the virgin woman Mary to die for the sins of all mankind and then rise from the dead three days later. Despite this, Satan's ambition still remains:
- "I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High." (Isa 14:13-14)
Therefore, Satan is the diabolical and fearsome antithesis of Jesus Christ himself.
Powers and Abilities[]
It is assumed that Satan has all the powers of an Angel, such as selective invisibility, enough telekinesis to remotely open cell doors, and the ability to utter a soporific blessing that can cause unprepared humans to fall asleep instantly, the ability to cause human metabolism to temporarily freeze (resulting in momentary paralysis and gap in short-term memory) and the ability to generate the illusion of becoming much larger than his physical body is.
As befits a being with the name Lucifer, Satan is also able to generate a powerful, blinding light (as shown to Tsion by the Archangel Michael in a vision) to which he is himself immune.
Satan also is shown to have the power to "indwell" select human beings, such as Nicolae Carpathia, granting them a form of undeath that leaves them operating at peak physical form and not needing food or sleep. This false life quickly starts decaying when Satan departs from the target. Finally, Satan is able to grant powers to heal, multiply food, and tap into aquifers to a number of "false messiahs" operating at Miracle Fairs, up to a few hundreds at the same time.
During his struggle with Michael when confronted with Jesus at His Glorious Appearing, Satan had shapeshifting abilities, transforming into a lion, and then a snake, and then a dragon, before resuming his default appearance as an angel.
Books[]
The Indwelling: The Beast takes Possession, The Mark: The Beast Rules the World, Desecration: Antichrist takes the Throne, The Remnant: On the Brink of Armageddon, Armageddon: Cosmic Battle of the Ages[]
It is revealed that Satan attempted to overthrow God in heaven with the help of his angels, but was cast down from heaven, in fulfillment of Scripture. He indwelt Nicolae Jetty Carpathia and resurrected him from the dead in order for him to resume his role as the Antichrist.
Glorious Appearing: The End of Days[]
He briefly departed from Nicolae in an underground bunker in Solomon's Stables to warn the Carpathia that, post-indwelling, the Antichrist was nothing but a shell for Satan to reside in. Later on, when Nicolae and Leon Fortunato were captured, Jesus caused Satan to never indwell Nicolae ever again, before he and Leon were sent to the Lake of Fire. Satan was then chained up and cast into the bottomless pit by the angel Michael, where he would remain for 1,000 years until the Millennial Kingdom ended.
Kingdom Come: The Final Victory[]
When the 1,000 years ended, Michael released Satan from his prison, and Satan led the army of The Other Light believers into a final battle against God and Jesus Christ, only for his forces to be instantly consumed by fire that came down from the heavens. Satan then confessed that Jesus Christ is Lord before he was also sent to the Lake of Fire and brimstone (where Nicolae and Fortunato already are) to be tormented for all eternity.
Appearances[]
Mentions[]
- 8. Death Strike
- 36. Ominous Choices
Trivia[]
- Throughout the story, Satan displays a thorough ignorance of military tactics and strategy beyond the Bronze Age, failing twice to use the capabilities of a modern army to his advantage.
- Satan appears to feel significant contempt for Nicolae Carpathia, dedwelling him temporarily a day before the Battle of Armageddon and insulting him repeatedly.
- Satan claims to believe that he was the second being to evolve out of primordial life energy, right after God, and refuses God's claim to have created all other beings. It is possible that Satan convinced himself to genuinely believe this, since he makes the same claim in front of Jesus, who being a part of the triune God knows the ultimate truth.