What are the names of Satan?

Satan is a powerful spiritual being who led a heavenly revolt against God and was subsequently cast down into the earth (Luke 10:18). His personal name, Satan, means “adversary.” This name indicates Satan’s basic nature: he is the enemy of God, of all God does, and of all God loves.

He is also called “the devil” in the New Testament. The word devil means “false accuser” or “slanderer.” Satan plays this role in Job 1—2 when he attacks Job’s character.

In Matthew 12:24, the Jews refer to Satan as “Beelzebul,” an epithet derived from Baal-Zebub (“lord of the flies”), a false god of the Philistines in Ekron (2 Kings 1:2–3, 6).

Other titles of Satan include tempter (1 Thessalonians 3:5), wicked one (Matthew 13:19, 38), and accuser of the brethren (Revelation 12:10). Three additional titles point to Satan’s present authority: ruler of this world (John 12:31), god of this age (2 Corinthians 4:4), and prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2). As a deceiver and “the father of lies” (John 8:44), the devil “masquerades as an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14).

There are a couple of passages that refer to the judgment of earthly kings but may very well also refer to Satan, the power behind those wicked kings. The first is Isaiah 14:12–15. This passage is addressed to the king of Babylon (verse 4), but the description also seems to fit that of a more powerful being. The name Lucifer, which means “morning star” or “light-bearer,” is used here to describe a being who sought to overthrow God’s very throne.

The second passage is Ezekiel 28:11–19, addressed to the king of Tyre. As in the Lucifer passage, this prophecy contains wording that seems to go beyond the description of a mere mortal. The king of Tyre is said to be “anointed as a guardian cherub” (Ezekiel 28:14), but he was laid low by pride and God Himself threw him to the earth (verse 17).

The Bible also uses various metaphors to reveal the character of our enemy, Satan. Jesus, in the parable of the four soils, likens Satan to the birds that snatch the seed off the hardened ground (Matthew 13:4, 19). In another parable, Satan appears as the sower of weeds among the wheat (Matthew 13:25, 28). Satan is analogous to a wolf in John 10:12 and a roaring lion in 1 Peter 5:8. In Revelation 12:9, Satan is the “great dragon . . . that ancient serpent”—a reference to the serpent that deceived Eve (Genesis 3:1).