The Angelic Rebellion

Grudem defines demons writing, 'Demons are evil angels who sinned against God and who now continually work evil in the world.'

In Genesis 1:31 we read that God saw everything that he had made and it was very good. Yet by Genesis 3 we see the serpent tempting Eve to sin. This would imply that somewhere between the events of 1:31 and 3 something good turned evil. There must have been a rebellion in the angelic world. This rebellion had its root in pride, Jude writes that they refused to accept their assigned place, who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their home . . . (Jude 6). It may be that Isaiah 14:12-15 has a reference to the fall of Satan, the prince of demons. If so it pictures Satan acting in pride and attempting to be equal to God in status and authority.

Satan is the personal name of the head of the demons. This is a Hebrew work meaning 'adversary'. He is also referred to a 'the devil' ('slanderer'), 'the serpent', 'Beelzebul', 'the ruler of this world', 'the prince of the power of the air' or 'the evil one'.