so, where did the idea of a fallen angel being the devil become a popular belief?

I know it stems from Isaiah reference to the fall of the king of Babylon, but where in history did that turn into an angel who became the devil?

Isaiah 14:12-14
How thou art fallen, Lucifer, son of the morning....
Ezekiel 28:14-5
You are the anointed cherub that covers...

Okay, who assigned these passages to an angel?

Ezekiel
11 The word of the Lord came to me: 12 "Son of man, take up a lament concerning the king of Tyre and say to him: 'This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

UTExan said:

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Isaiah 14:12-14
How thou art fallen, Lucifer, son of the morning....

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Have you read the entire chapter? Including verse 4 where it explicitly refers to "the king of Babylon"?

Taking that Isaiah verse to mean anything but morning star, not a proper name, and as referring the King of Babylon is one of the more absurd common biblical "interpretations", I use that word loosely, as it really has no basis at all that I can see.

It started with Tertullian cherry-picking a few of the verses in Isaiah and having those speak with the devil's voice, I really don't know what he was thinking.

commando2004 said:

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UTExan said:

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Isaiah 14:12-14
How thou art fallen, Lucifer, son of the morning....

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Have you read the entire chapter? Including verse 4 where it explicitly refers to "the king of Babylon"?

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Yes. Recall in Daniel that the angel had to get past the prince of Persia, a demonic entity with a territorial jurisdiction. In Revelation we read about a church where "Satan has his throne" (Pergamum). So it does not bother me that God uses human prophets to announce the downfall of evil entities in geographical areas. Does Satan have a geographical area where he has a special interest? I think possibly so. The Levant and Turkey have been in constant warfare since the time of Abraham.
Edit to say that the Prince of Persia may have been not a demon, which many consider to be the spirits of offspring of fallen angels and human women as expressed in Genesis 6, but rather one of the subordinate fallen angel entities of Satan himself.

bmks270 said:

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Okay, who assigned these passages to an angel?

Ezekiel
11 The word of the Lord came to me: 12 "Son of man, take up a lament concerning the king of Tyre and say to him: 'This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

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Doing more study on this last night I found that the city of Tyre actually had a temple to a Phoenician god, Melqart, similar to or perhaps the same as Hercules.

Melqart translates literally to "King of the City". In Ezekiel, god gives a message to "the ruler of Tyre" with language that says the "ruler" is a mere human mortal.

But then that message ends and god has a message for "the King of Tyre" which uses language more fitting to a deity, equating the "king" of Tyre to a being that is higher than man.

It appears that in Tyre there was temple dedicated to Melqart. Based on this, I think this passage is a specific reference to the Phoenician god Melqart.

Quote:

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Melqart (also Melkarth or Melicarthus) was an important Phoenician god and patron deity of the city of Tyre.
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While Baal, El, and Baalat were important deities at other Phoenician cities, Melqart was considered the head of the pantheon at Tyre. Indeed, his very name means 'king of the city'
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The god [Melqart] had a long-lasting temple dedicated in his name at Tyre, built during the reign of Hiram in the 10th century BCE.
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Melqart's temple was famously visited by Herodotus in the 5th century BCE who described its impressive entrance as having two columns, one of gold and one of emerald (Bk. 2:44). The Greek historian goes on to say that Melqart had a tomb inside, supporting the theory that, involved as he was in the founding mythology of the city, perhaps Melqart was based on a historical person. Other classical authors say that Melqart's tomb was in southern Spain. Alexander the Great wished to make a sacrifice at the temple's altar in the 4th century BCE but the priests refused this right to a foreigner, even a very powerful one.

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https://www.ancient.eu/Melqart/

The new testament has some thoughts on the matter as well;
https://www.stthomas.edu/theology/encounteringislam/dialogues/angelsandsatan/

Quote:

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Christian theology explains Satan as a fallen angel. Jesus is reported as saying in Luke: "I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightening" (Luke 10:18). The account in Revelations 12, concerning the battle of Michael and his angels with the dragon and his angels, has been taken in Christian tradition as the story of Satan's fall from heaven. (Angels, therefore, are thought by Christians to be capable of freely choosing for or against God.) Satan points to the existence of a personal force for evil which is older and greater than humanity. But it is important to understand that Satan has no power over human beings unless they allow it, by for example consenting to radical evil, engaging in Satanic rites, etc.

The evil angels which are said by Jesus to accompany Satan are mysterious. Perhaps they are the demons which are frequently mentioned in the New Testament and which are driven out at the command of Jesus. All the accounts of his ministry in the synoptic gospels emphasize exorcisms (casting out of demons) as a principle element of his work (see for example Mark 1:21-28). Jesus himself speaks of this: "But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you" (Matthew 1:28). Jesus in fact passed on the authority over demons to his disciples"Then Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness" (Matthew 10:1). Thus it has been and is the teaching of Christians that demons can be driven out by the power of Jesus Christ. Catholic dioceses normally have a priest who specializes in performing exorcisms, though this is not now commonly done.

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There's a great podcast called Understanding Sin and Evil by Miryam Brand. She's Jewish and specifically looks at Second Temple myths, scripture, and apocrypha. She dives deep into the Watchers, Mastema, Belial, and the evil inclination among other things.

It was very common around the Second Temple period to say that the gods of other nations were demons, fallen angels, or evil spirits. Each spirit or group of spirits had some sort of power or dominion over a nation or geographic area. God Himself was obviously superior to all of these, but they were powerful enought to cause problems for the Jews if God was not with them.

Within Judaism, there are many who believe in fallen angels including Satan.