HKB
The New Testament version is as follows:
"There was a war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon fought, and his angels, and prevailed not, neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world, he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him."[386:1]
The cause of the revolt, it is said, was that Satan, who was then an angel, desired to be as great as God. The writer of Isaiah, xiv. 13, 14, is supposed to refer to it when he says:
"Thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation in the sides of the North; I will ascend before the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High."
The Catholic theory of the fall of the angels is as follows:
"In the beginning, before the creation of heaven and earth, God made the angels, free intelligences, and free wills, out of his love He made them, that they might be eternally happy. And that their happiness might be complete, he gave them the perfection of a created nature, that is, he gave them freedom. But happiness is only attained by the free will agreeing in its freedom to accord with the will of God. Some of the angels by an act of free will obeyed the will of God, and in such obedience found perfect happiness. Other angels, by an act of free will, rebelled against the will of God, and in such disobedience found misery."[386:2]
They were driven out of heaven, after having a combat with the obedient angels, and cast into hell. The writer of second Peter alludes to it in saying that God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down into hell.[386:3]
The writer of Jude also alludes to it in saying:
"The angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day."[386:4]
According to the Talmudists, Satan, whose proper name is Sammael, was one of the Seraphim of heaven, with six wings.
"He was not driven out of heaven until after he had led Adam and Eve into sin; then Sammael and his host were precipitated out of the place of bliss, with God's curse to weigh them down. In the struggle between Michael and Sammael, the falling Seraph caught the wings of Michael, and tried to drag him down with him, but God saved him, when Michael derived his name,--the Rescued."[386:5]
Sammael was formerly chief among the angels of God, and now he is prince among devils. His name is derived from Simme, which means, to blind and deceive. He stands on the left side of men. He goes by various names; such as "The Old Serpent," "The Unclean Spirit," "Satan," "Leviathan," and sometimes also "Asael."[387:1]
According to Hindoo mythology, there is a legion of evil spirits called Rakshasas, who are governed by a prince named Ravana. These Rakshasas are continually aiming to do injury to mankind, and are the same who fought desperate battles with Indra, and his Spirits of Light. They would have taken his paradise by storm, and subverted the whole order of the universe, if Brahma had not sent Vishnou to circumvent their plans.
In the Aitareya-brahmana (Hindoo) written, according to Prof. Monier Williams, seven or eight centuries B. C., we have the following legend: