Lucifer? Satan? Devil?

[LoganBice]

Okay Im confused… thanks to the different opinions. But from what I understand Lucifer, Satan and the Devil are three separate entities. Devil is a general term for a demon or evil force. Satan is, well, Satan the fallen angel who defied God. And Lucifer is a separate being all together and is a crown prince of hell under the rule of Satan.

Can someone clarify the difference? From what I understand Hell mimics the Kingdom of God as a hierarchy.

 

[glendab]

Just use the dictionary and let it go.

Glenda

 

[Hope_Philomena]

Erm…
Where exactly did you receive this information?

From what I have always understood, Lucifer is the one who fell from Heaven. That was his name, as an angel. But then he fell. People use the three words interchangeably; Satan, Devil, Lucifer, most people use these names referring to “The guy who rules hell”.

I’m curious about this as well. Are these names considered to be separate entities entirely? What are others’ views?

I, for one, cannot simply “Use the dictionary and let it go.” I like to learn things even if they have no benefit, so if anyone has any information, please do post.

 

[ClearWater]

Okay Im confused… thanks to the different opinions. But from what I understand Lucifer, Satan and the Devil are three separate entities. Devil is a general term for a demon or evil force. Satan is, well, Satan the fallen angel who defied God. And Lucifer is a separate being all together and is a crown prince of hell under the rule of Satan.

Can someone clarify the difference? From what I understand Hell mimics the Kingdom of God as a hierarchy.

I have this same question. What’s the difference?

 

[ClearWater]

Erm…
Where exactly did you receive this information?

From what I have always understood, Lucifer is the one who fell from Heaven. That was his name, as an angel. But then he fell. People use the three words interchangeably; Satan, Devil, Lucifer, most people use these names referring to “The guy who rules hell”.

I’m curious about this as well. Are these names considered to be separate entities entirely? What are others’ views?

I, for one, cannot simply “Use the dictionary and let it go.” I like to learn things even if they have no benefit, so if anyone has any information, please do post.

Neither can I. The dictionary’s the dictionary, and the forum is the forum.

 

[John_Lazarus]

Here is my understanding.

Satan (from a Hebrew word meaning “adversary”) is the name we give to the fallen angel who “rules” (for want of a better term) over Hell. There may be other devils (fallen angels), but Satan is “the” Devil. He appeared in the garden of Eden and tempted Adam and Eve, made life difficult for Job, tempted Jesus in the desert, etc etc.

Lucifer (Latin, “light-bearer”) as applied to Satan comes from the book of Daniel, and some hold the passage in question to be actually addressed directly to Nebuchadnezzar, and obliquely to Satan. In the Vulgate, the word *lucifer * is applied also to Jesus (as a bringer of light) but in a different context. There was a bishop Lucifer back in the days of the early church, and I believe in one of the eastern churches he is venerated as a saint.

So there’s the Devil – a.k.a. Satan – a fallen angel whom we reject with “all his works and pomps”, who is in charge of a bunch of other devils, or demons, or evil/unclean spirits, or fallen angels.

Now as for all this crown prince of hell business – this sounds like a lot of medieval demonology which tried to describe some sort of infernal hierarchy, matching seven devils with the seven cardinal sins, deciding that Hell had nine circles*, figuring which devil originally came from which choir of angels (was Satan originally a cherub or a seraph?), yadda yadda yadda.

Basically, The Devil = Satan, he’s bad news, avoid him. “Lucifer” may be an oblique reference to him. But they are not three “separate” individual angels. I do not believe there is any real support either in the Bible, Tradition, or any Church teachings.

My recommendation is to avoid demonology (and angelology, while you’re at it).

*And since one of those circles is supposed to be a frozen wasteland, it means that a snowball’s chance in hell is actually 1 in 9, or a little over 11%.

 

[pianistclare]

Here is my understanding.

Satan (from a Hebrew word meaning “adversary”) is the name we give to the fallen angel who “rules” (for want of a better term) over Hell. There may be other devils (fallen angels), but Satan is “the” Devil. He appeared in the garden of Eden and tempted Adam and Eve, made life difficult for Job, tempted Jesus in the desert, etc etc.

Lucifer (Latin, “light-bearer”) as applied to Satan comes from the book of Daniel, and some hold the passage in question to be actually addressed directly to Nebuchadnezzar, and obliquely to Satan. In the Vulgate, the word *lucifer * is applied also to Jesus (as a bringer of light) but in a different context. There was a bishop Lucifer back in the days of the early church, and I believe in one of the eastern churches he is venerated as a saint.

So there’s the Devil – a.k.a. Satan – a fallen angel whom we reject with “all his works and pomps”, who is in charge of a bunch of other devils, or demons, or evil/unclean spirits, or fallen angels.

Now as for all this crown prince of hell business – this sounds like a lot of medieval demonology which tried to describe some sort of infernal hierarchy, matching seven devils with the seven cardinal sins, deciding that Hell had nine circles*, figuring which devil originally came from which choir of angels (was Satan originally a cherub or a seraph?), yadda yadda yadda.

Basically, The Devil = Satan, he’s bad news, avoid him. “Lucifer” may be an oblique reference to him. But they are not three “separate” individual angels. I do not believe there is any real support either in the Bible, Tradition, or any Church teachings.

My recommendation is to avoid demonology (and angelology, while you’re at it).

*And since one of those circles is supposed to be a frozen wasteland, it means that a snowball’s chance in hell is actually 1 in 9, or a little over 11%.

Yup, all those terms refer to the same one. Just different languages. He’s also referred to as the Lord of the Flies.
Which puts THAT book into perspective eh?

 

[ClearWater]

I understood them to be the same entity.

 

[Hope_Philomena]

Lucifer is also the mean cat from Disney’s Cinderella

 

[LoganBice]

Here is my understanding.

Satan (from a Hebrew word meaning “adversary”) is the name we give to the fallen angel who “rules” (for want of a better term) over Hell. There may be other devils (fallen angels), but Satan is “the” Devil. He appeared in the garden of Eden and tempted Adam and Eve, made life difficult for Job, tempted Jesus in the desert, etc etc.

Lucifer (Latin, “light-bearer”) as applied to Satan comes from the book of Daniel, and some hold the passage in question to be actually addressed directly to Nebuchadnezzar, and obliquely to Satan. In the Vulgate, the word *lucifer * is applied also to Jesus (as a bringer of light) but in a different context. There was a bishop Lucifer back in the days of the early church, and I believe in one of the eastern churches he is venerated as a saint.

So there’s the Devil – a.k.a. Satan – a fallen angel whom we reject with “all his works and pomps”, who is in charge of a bunch of other devils, or demons, or evil/unclean spirits, or fallen angels.

Now as for all this crown prince of hell business – this sounds like a lot of medieval demonology which tried to describe some sort of infernal hierarchy, matching seven devils with the seven cardinal sins, deciding that Hell had nine circles*, figuring which devil originally came from which choir of angels (was Satan originally a cherub or a seraph?), yadda yadda yadda.

Basically, The Devil = Satan, he’s bad news, avoid him. “Lucifer” may be an oblique reference to him. But they are not three “separate” individual angels. I do not believe there is any real support either in the Bible, Tradition, or any Church teachings.

My recommendation is to avoid demonology (and angelology, while you’re at it).

*And since one of those circles is supposed to be a frozen wasteland, it means that a snowball’s chance in hell is actually 1 in 9, or a little over 11%.

Thanks for the answer. I was just confused because of other fourms here but this helps clear it up. I guess all we really need to know is “the devil is bad mmmkay” as Mr. Macky would say from South Park . I’m not interested in demonology I was just confused because iv seen many different viewpoints about the fall and who is who.

 

[glendab]

Hello Lazarus.

Here is my understanding.

Satan (from a Hebrew word meaning “adversary”) is the name we give to the fallen angel who “rules” (for want of a better term) over Hell. There may be other devils (fallen angels), but Satan is “the” Devil. He appeared in the garden of Eden and tempted Adam and Eve, made life difficult for Job, tempted Jesus in the desert, etc etc.

Lucifer (Latin, “light-bearer”) as applied to Satan comes from the book of Daniel, and some hold the passage in question to be actually addressed directly to Nebuchadnezzar, and obliquely to Satan. In the Vulgate, the word *lucifer * is applied also to Jesus (as a bringer of light) but in a different context. There was a bishop Lucifer back in the days of the early church, and I believe in one of the eastern churches he is venerated as a saint.

So there’s the Devil – a.k.a. Satan – a fallen angel whom we reject with “all his works and pomps”, who is in charge of a bunch of other devils, or demons, or evil/unclean spirits, or fallen angels.

Now as for all this crown prince of hell business – this sounds like a lot of medieval demonology which tried to describe some sort of infernal hierarchy, matching seven devils with the seven cardinal sins, deciding that Hell had nine circles*, figuring which devil originally came from which choir of angels (was Satan originally a cherub or a seraph?), yadda yadda yadda.

Basically, The Devil = Satan, he’s bad news, avoid him. “Lucifer” may be an oblique reference to him. But they are not three “separate” individual angels. I do not believe there is any real support either in the Bible, Tradition, or any Church teachings.

My recommendation is to avoid demonology (and angelology, while you’re at it).

*And since one of those circles is supposed to be a frozen wasteland, it means that a snowball’s chance in hell is actually 1 in 9, or a little over 11%.

The devil loves ignorance, especially ignorance of him. Some of the information in this thread so far is accurate, some not. Lucifer is one of the known names of a devil, which is a fallen angel. All fallen angels are devils. Their fall from grace is a permanent thing. It happened once and is irrevocable so we call them devils to distinguish them from angels. The name Satan is used in specific places in Scripture to refer to a particular demon. Both the name and the thing it depicts are real, yet in context, it may be referring to a plain ole devil. This is contextual specifics unique to each passage. The name Lucifer is also found in the Bible and refers to a specific devil. The accounts we have of his fall and the rebellion of the 1/3 of the angels who became devils is true. It is not to be avoided as you recommend. Not at all. The best way to protect oneself from devils is to find out what the Church really knows and teaches about them. She also has things you can do to protect yourself from them like using Holy Water, frequenting the Sacraments, and such. This is good stuff to know. Myths and legends and ignorance only increase the likelihood that a person or persons could fall under demonic influence. Since some heretics have relegated all things demonic to the shrinks for wholesale “exorcism” via medication and therapy and the office of Exorcist nearly eliminated, the practical knowledge of demonics that could be found in every Catholic home has been lost and has been replaced with myth and garbage that leaves folks vulnerable.

Oh well. I’ve said enough. Thanks for tolerating my many words.

Glenda