The Shrine

There are a lot of theories that various entities within the bible are equal to Satan (such as the fallen guardian Lucifer), but one thing I have noticed is that no where in the bible does it state that these entities are equal to Satan. Nowhere does it state that Lucifer and Satan are the same being. Is there, perhaps, something that I am missing, or is this mostly just a commonly accepted idea that may not actually be intended by the original story?

Well the term Satan is from the Hebrew word for adversary, which I'm sure you knew.

As for whether Satan is meant to be Lucifer in the Bible, I can't tell you for sure. It's not something I've personally studied in any great detail. Lucifer is only possibly mentioned in Scripture once in Isaiah 14 (as son of the dawn or lightbringer) though that is up for interpretation whereas Satan is mentioned many times. And there is never a defacto statement that one is the same as the other.

I'd chalk the common belief that Lucifer is always equal to Satan to tradition. You bring up a good point however that it's important to understand what is actually written as opposed to what is always taught.

Lucifer and Satan are technically seperate entities who have become blended due to cross-religious confusion.

Here's the dealio:

Satan is an angel, a very important angel at that (one of the Seraphs, I think). He lives with God and is quite loyal to his maker--hard line loyal, in fact, believing that god and his angels are perfect and that humanity does not deserve to exist as it does.

So, throughout the Bible, Satan seeks to try and prove that humanity is no good, that they have no true loyalty to God, etc etc, and that way, God will purge them all in another great flood and then there will be cake for everyone. Except for us. Because we're dead.

So, Satan is the "advesary" of mankind, but he is not the devil. That's the interesting things--Jews don't believe in Hell, right? There's not exactly a specific afterlife for the Jews, so that means there is not a Hell either. So, Satan's role is a bit more interesting, because he's technically on God's side--he's like the other voice in God's ear, telling him that we are all scum and need to be purged.

Lucifer, on teh other hand, has almost NO Biblical base. He's not portrayed as the devil or anything in any specific biblical texts, and is, in fact, a purely Christian figure, concocted by the Church at some point during the Dark Ages and built larger and larger ever sense. He's based quite a bit on many Pagan gods and images, in order to demonize and villainize them.

Since Christians have an actual "Hell" that is seperate from both Earth and Heaven, Lucifer is said to be king of Hell, and his name is, in Christian termonology, synonomous with Satan, as their roles are ultimately the same--try and lead humanity down a path of sin and temptation and away from God. It's just the small details that really differ.

So, the important parts to take home are: Satan is an angel, and is an actual Biblical character. Lucifer is a fallen angel, is a heavily Christian-based entity, and is the caretaker of hell. I.E. the devil.

Satan is NOT the Devil.