Is Satan an archangel who rebelled against God? Many believe so, but one may search Genesis and read on until the end of Revelation, but one would never read that Satan is an archangel. In order to discover information that says Satan is an archangel, one must read extra-biblical literature. The idea is not scriptural, because it simply is not in the Bible! In fact, the scriptures reveal the existence of only one archangel, and that is Michael (Jude 1:9).
On the other hand, if Satan is not an archangel could he be an angelic being? No, neither is he an angel, although some might conclude that he is by reading 2Corinthians 11:14.
2 Corinthians 11:14 KJV (14) And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
Nevertheless, when one considers the context, this idea lacks support. 2Corinthians 11:13 says men were troubling the church at Corinth, claiming to be apostles, but Paul calls them false apostles. Using the logic many derive from 2Corinthians 11:14, one could hardly conclude from verse-13 that by virtue of their power to transform their appearance, these false apostles became actual apostles. They were never apostles to begin with, for Paul calls them false apostles and later (verse-15) refers to them as ministers of Satan, who transformed themselves to appear as though they were ministers of righteousness.
Therefore, using this same reasoning about false apostles, can we say with certainty that verse-14 claims Satan is an angelic being, when it calls him an angel of light? This, itself, is an oxymoron. How could we ever believe, by the virtue of his power of deception, that Satan is an angel of light. The whole idea of his transformation is for deception or to impersonate the reality. The act of transformation, vis-à-vis the deception, does not make Satan the real thing. However, if Satan is not an angel of light, could 2Corinthians 11:14 be construed to indicate that he is at least an angelic being? In other words, could Satan be an angel, whom God created in the beginning (cp. Genesis 1:1)? I don’t believe so, because nowhere else in scripture are the words Satan, devil, serpent, wicked one or dragon associated with the word angel! One needs more than one verse in the Bible to build a doctrine.
Many believe Job chapters one and two and Revelation chapter 12 show that Satan is an angelic being, but even in these scriptures Satan is not called an angel or an archangel. They cannot be used to support the assumption that Satan is an angel.
The word ‘satan’ is from the Hebrew satan (H7854) and simply means “adversary” or “enemy.” Christians have used the word for a title for a rebellious being, but the scriptures cannot be used to prove that a being, of the nature we describe in our doctrine of Satan, ever existed. Consider, for example, in 1Samuel 29:4 David is called the Philistine’s satan (H7854). In 2Samuel 19:22 one of David’s close associates acted as his satan by giving him bad advice. 1Kings 5:4 reveals that God gave Solomon peace on all his borders, and he had no satans or enemies! Later, however, God stirred up several satans, because of Solomon’s unfaithfulness (cp. 1Kings 11:14, 23, 25). We can even find that the Angel of the Lord, who later became Jesus, was Balaam’s satan or adversary (H7854, cp. Numbers 22:22, 32)!
In scripture referred to above, the same word is used. Therefore, just because we see the word satan in scripture does not necessarily indicate some evil and powerful being is presented in the text. On the contrary, what would we do with David (1Samuel 29:4) or the Angel of the Lord (Numbers 22:22, 32)? For that matter, what would we do with Peter? The Lord called him a satan, when Peter tried to give Jesus bad advice about the necessity of Jesus having to die on the cross (Matthew 16:23), just as David’s close associate did to him (2Samuel 19:22).
If we believe the scriptures are accurate testimony to teach us what we should believe, not only can’t we prove Satan is an archangel, but we can’t even say he is an angel. 2Corinthians 11:14 simply cannot be used to show he is an angelic being. The context simply doesn’t support this proposition, and there are no other scriptures in all the Bible that claim Satan is an angel. So, if he isn’t an angel, what is he?[1]
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[1] This study has been revised and updated as of December 2024.
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16 responses to “Is Satan an Archangel or Even an Angel?”
AMG, greetings, and as I have said before, you are always welcome here. I struggle in my spirit when brethren don’t get along well together. I don’t enjoy discussions that degenerate into innuendo etc., but even then I cannot foresee that I would ask you not to respond to my blog. I only ask the person to look at what he is doing and ask if “he” wishes to continue. Sometimes this approach will cause a person to cease discussing at all with me. Fortunately, you have chosen a different approach, and I do appreciate that.
I would be glad to continue under the terms you put down here.
May the Lord bless you and yours,
Eddie