The Name of Satan-Lucifer Before His Fall

Catholic Living Spirituality
#1

Satan-Lucifer is described in Scripture and in tradition as, if not second-in-command to God, at least one of the highest-ranking “Archangels of the Presence” before his “fall” or metaphysical degeneration.

For certain reasons, I am interested in ascertaining his name before his decadent metamorphosis.

I know for a theological certainty Satan-Lucifer was originally-primordially among the twelve “Angels of the Presence”, those closest to the Godhead; and in Hebrew ha-satan means “prosecutor”, viz., prosecutor and accuser of Adamic mankind before God in God’s “heavenly royal court.” Thus pre-fallen Satan-Lucifer had a Viceroyal and Justiciar ambiance before his fall, as a high-ranking functionary of Divine Justice, believe it or not; additionally even a little bit of the “secret police chief” and “spymaster” about him too… In the Book of Job, Satan reports soldier-like to God in Heaven and is implicitly licensed by God as His “Prosecutor-Agent” against the sins of Adam-kind and as the Inquisitorial Tester of man’s spirit and loyalty to God–there is no dualistic conceptualization of Satan here as of a different essence of Evil, a sort of independent anti-God, but only as a sharp-witted high-ranking courtier and spy-scout of God, if over-zealous in his accusations against man before Divine Justice…

The transition conceptually from the Satan of the Old Testament to the Satan of the New Testament is honestly radical and I am interested in the history here… How does the grim but God-sanctioned spymaster and punisher of mortal sin, an operative licensed by and working under the directions of Yahweh, in the Old Testament…become the ontologically separated, schizophrenically scissored from God absolutely and quintessence of sheer Mega-Evil in the New Testament?

In any case, as to his name before he fell, I have studied the matter decently, and here are my results:

~Akatriel, Hakathriel, or Akrasiel=“Angel of the Crown”; Heb. “kether”=Crown; numerologically=“666”

[Yes I know “Hakathriel” is my username–it should not be over-interpreted and is only my nod to the prelapsarian, paradisial Golden Age we all long to return to in our present post-Edenic selves…]

~Seraphiel=“God’s anointed seraph”; Chief of the Seraphim

~Cherubiel=“God’s anointed cherub”; Chief of the Cherubim; Aquinas says Satan is an ex-High Cherub

~Sariel, Suriel, Suriyel, or Saraqael=“Officer of God”; “Angel of Sanctification”; “Angel of Death”

~Sorath=“Dark Face” of Metatron; “solar arch-daemon”; numerologically=“666”

~Samael=“Prince of the World”; Metatron’s “Shadow”

~Metatron=Archangelomorphic Logos–extremely close to God

~“Angel of the Presence”

~“Angel of the Lord”

~“Angel of Glory”

~“Angel of the Face”

Any other stimulating, pertinent suggestions or ideas?

#2

Something the the chapters of the Prophet Ezekiel might lend a few clues.

#3

Thanks for the suggestion, Wesley.

Did you perchance mean Ezekiel 28? Right, that is part of where my evidence of the “anointed Cherub” idea (=“Cherubiel”) originated, but the passage relates to the King of Tyre (as salesman, etc.) in ways hard to reconcile with the primordial Satan-Lucifer figure… But still a very excellent and appreciated suggestion!

#4

Lucifer fell before Adam was created.

#5

It is my understanding that before he fell, his name was Lucifer, which means “Light”.

Satan became his name afterwards.

#6

Okay, I’m not polemically fighting against that proposition. Do you know what Lucifer’s name was, long before the Adamic age (!), in the state of “Golden Age” primordiality?

#7

Well, “Lucifer” as phosphoros is okay, but I was thinking more “esoterically” perhaps… I do understand that some Fathers taught “Lucifer” conveys in a sense the primordial, splendid, “shining” state as Chieftain of the Seraphim (and Cherubim) from which the Fallen Angel has degenerated, but is that all there is to the story…?

#8

+JMJ+

Lucifer wouldn’t have time to have another name before his Fall, for the Fall of the Angels happened right after their creation…if St Thomas Aquinas, the “Angelic Doctor”, would be believed.

God love you.

#9

God love you my friend!

Between the nanosecond interval separating the angelic creation and the angelic fall, I believe the Evil One might have had for a short time a more enigmatic “secret” name…at least according to some theologians I have been reading… But if “Lucifer” it is, Lucifer it is…

~By the way, how do people here interpret Isaiah 45:7, when God or Yahweh declares, “I form the Light and create Darkness; I make Peace and create Evil”…?

And Lamentations 3:37-38: “Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass, when the Lord commandeth it not? Out of the mouth of the most High proceedeth not evil and good?”

And Amos 3:6: “Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done it?”

A philosophically-minded friend of mine argues these and other similar verses in the Old Testament confirm the Devil is only the “Shadow-Side” of the Godhead, the dark aspect of “God’s Face” oriented to sinful mankind–God’s “Bright Side” being too unbearable and fierce for man to experience… (My friend has a doctorate in philosophy, BTW.) He additionally asserts these types of passages are evidence the Hebrew One God encapsulated within Himself both creativity and destructiveness in one indissoluble Principle “beyond Good and Evil”, similar to the Hindu deity Shiva… He adds, How is it possible Satan became so ontologically separated from God, existing one minute as spy-scout and courtier of Yahweh and the next minute existing almost as an independent anti-Divinity or anti-God entirely, an embodiment of Absolute Evil, between the Old and New Testaments?

I am arguing and polemicizing as best I can to defend my Faith, but it would be delusional to pretend my philosopher-friend is irrational and has not made any interesting observations or points… Advice on how to counter his argumentative thrusts?

I imagine I can assert the classical teaching that God only **permits ** evil at His sufferance, for His own mysterious reasons–He is not the Creator of Evil. Yet Scriptural verses such as the ones from above are not helping my case…

#10

+JMJ+

Thank you :slight_smile:

If there is another name, then I do not think it is important enough for God to reveal it to us.

I think you should open another thread if you want to discuss another topic.

But for now, I would point out the work of St Alphonsus Liguori, Uniformity with God’s Will. In the second chapter of the said book he discusses those very scripture passages that you posted. The second chapter’s link is here.

The point can be found in the third chapter:

God love you.

#11

nuntym,

I agree the pursuit of the Fallen Angel’s original name is now seeming to my mind as unfruitful, at least spiritually… I suppose I am just “eccentric” and enjoy theological “dark” or “forgotten” spots others take for granted, I don’t know…

I agree I should have started a new thread, ideally, instead of awkwardly introducing another subject-matter to this current one. I am not the best “multi-tasker”, and my mental attentiveness is thrown off sometimes infelicitously–apologies… If the mod. wants to divide the post, okay with me…

I sincerely want to thank you for the book and chapters you highlighted from St. Alphonsus de Liguori–I am presently assiduously reading these texts to my enlightenment and as polemical battle-fuel :slight_smile: in my ongoing verbal exchange with my pompous friend…

And lastly, May God Love You Truly and Protect You within His Sheltering Wings of Supernatural Peace. :slight_smile:

#12

I need help on this one! There were some writings out there a few years back that said that Lucifer was never the correct name of Satan. The writers claimed that we put that name on Satan from a bad translation and that the name properly referred to another.

Has anyone else read that? If so, can you refresh my memory on that position? Is it a valid argument?

#13

To the OP what theological works are you reading? I would like to sift through that material.

#14

According to some, Lucifer’s name before the fall was that same as that of the OP.
Hakathriel is Hebrew for Angel of the Crown.

#15

Very sharp eyesight, Mr. Mountain Dweller… “Angel of the Crown” indeed… “Kether” in Hebrew signifies “crown”… Only a few mystery-searching souls know this obscure fact…

My purpose in self-entitling myself thus? Not “satanic”, rest assured.

The pre-fallen name is a…symbol…of Primordial Holiness…the Primordial Divine Union, existing beyond the “original sin” and separative division haunting this plane of reality, we are called to mystically reattain as Christians…

According to some theological writers of the Middle Ages, when Hakathriel-Lucifer the High Crown Prince of Heaven was first cast down by God from Heaven into the tellurian realm and the Underworld, his otherworldly crown dropped to earth, holding an emerald stone of mystical power. The tradition relates the Heaven-fallen emerald was the material from which the Holy Grail or Holy Chalice of later history was originally fashioned.

The medieval “theo-mythology” is interesting and significant, as the basic underlying theme is mired in impure, non-Christian elements, but beyond the intermixing the implicit psycho-spiritual meaning is encoded esoterically and spiritually instructive–the re-conquering of the Primordial state of consciousness and initiation into the “prelapsarian” condition, as the apex of Christian contemplation…

#16

He was the most beautifull and sublime of God’s creatures. He was what the name ‘Lucifer’ means. 'Bearer of light". He appeared to be the light of God. He still does. As the Apostle taught, " Satan appears as an angel of light".

In the book of Job he does not have free access to God’s presence. Satan’s presence is contingent on the Angels of God. It is they who are called the court of angels and Satan is ‘with’ them.

This becomes more evident when God asks 'where have you been?" Satan’s answer is evidence that he is cast out of heaven. His angelic nature allows him to be with the other angels and through them present to God. His role in the story is evidence that he has already exchanged his place as ‘light bearer’ to become ‘accuser’. God mocks his self appointed role by pointing his attention to a person who he will not only be unable to accuse but will make his work a means to unveil the blamelessness of the accused and God’s righteousness. God uses Satan the ‘accuser’ to do what God created him to do as ‘lightbearer’.

He is not yet identified as the evil ‘one’, the personal enemy of God. His true identity as the person who’s action is the origin of sin and deception becomes known to man when God becomes man. God revealed Himself personally on earth so Satan is revealed as the ‘one’ who originated hatred for God. Satan becomes known as the person who tempted Eve. Satan becomes known as the one who’s seed is the enemy of Eve’s offspring. This is the reason Jesus calls him a father.

#17