Question: "How, why, and when did Satan fall from heaven?"
Answer: Satan’s fall from heaven is described in
Isaiah 14:12-14 and
Ezekiel 28:12-18.
While these two passages are referring specifically to the king of
Babylon and the king of Tyre, they also reference the spiritual power
that was behind those kings - Satan. These passages describe why Satan
fell, but they do not specifically say when the fall occurred. What we
do know is this: the angels were created before the earth (
Job 38:4-7). Satan fell before he tempted Adam and Eve in the Garden (
Genesis 3:1-14).
Satan’s fall, therefore, must have occurred somewhere after the time
the angels were created and before he tempted Adam and Eve in the
Garden of Eden. Whether Satan’s fall occurred a few minutes, hours, or
days before he tempted Adam and Eve in the garden, Scripture does not
specifically say.
The book of Job tells us that, for a time at least, Satan still had
access to heaven and to the throne of God. “One day the angels came to
present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them. The
LORD said to Satan, ’Where have you come from?’ Satan answered the
LORD, ‘From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it’" (
Job 1:6-7).
Apparently at that time, Satan was still moving freely between heaven
and earth, speaking to God directly and answering for his activities.
At what point God discontinued this access is unknown.
Why did Satan fall from Heaven? Satan fell because of pride. He desired
to be God, not to be a servant of God. Notice the many "I will..."
statements in
Isaiah 14:12-15.
Ezekiel 28:12-15describes Satan as an exceedingly beautiful angel. Satan was likely the
highest of all angels, the most beautiful of all of God's creations,
but he was not content in his position. Instead, Satan desired to be
God, to essentially "kick God off His throne" and take over the rule of
the universe. Satan wanted to be God, and interestingly enough, that is
what Satan tempted Adam and Eve with in the Garden of Eden (
Genesis 3:1-5).
How did Satan fall from Heaven? Actually, a fall is not an accurate
description. It would be far more accurate to say that God cast Satan
out of Heaven (
Isaiah 14:15;
Ezekiel 28:16-17).
src:http://www.gotquestions.org/Satan-fall.html