“And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.” (2 Cor. 11:14)
As far as I can recollect, there is no reference to this occurring anywhere in the Scriptures, Satan entered into the serpent in the garden of Eden, we have the account of his actions in heaven in Isaiah 14:12-14 and his subsequent fall, he contended with Michael concerning the body of Moses, and he tried to tempt the Lord Jesus in the wilderness. Our Lord apparently spoke directly to him when looking at Peter when He said, “Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.” (Matt. 16:23) But I can recall no place where he transformed himself into an angel of light.
It does not take much research to find those who fell with him becoming ministers of righteousness (2 Cor. 11:15) in the Word of God, they are nearly every false prophet spoken of, at least in part and influence, and that has not ceased even unto this day. It is mentioned that Satan himself entered into Judas Iscariot, but I do not believe that counts as an angel of light.
The antichrist, when he first appears on the scene, will be a man, nothing more, but as all men can be, he will be enticed by the wiles of the devil, and will be the leader of the entire world, but only for three and a half years, then he will receive a mortal wound. Here, in my opinion, is where Satan will enter into his body, and as he desired to do with the body of Moses, he will animate it, or re-animate that living tissue if you will, and attempt to complete his desires upon all mankind.
Nearly everywhere in the Scriptures when an angel of God has appeared before men in a visage that we can see, the words “Fear not” are how they begin to reveal their message. They take on a form, if you will, that is in some way frightening to human beings, yet not perhaps in a malevolent way. Satan will do the opposite, and perhaps in the past has done so, he will appear as non-threatening, but he is the epitome of a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
I believe that is why so many images of Satan and those fallen angels over the centuries has been portrayed as evil incarnate, as terrifying and demonic, for those artists were attempting to show the inner workings, if you will, of their intent, when in fact though when they do enter onto the stage of mankind, they are covered in sheep’s clothing, kind, caring, compassionate, offering those they meet and in fact all of mankind a better way, and always with subtle intentions of evil designs.
If you want to imagine a minister of Satan at work on this planet, it would be wise for you to envision a kindly old gentleman, a young lady that seems modest, a man with a silver tongue, able to speak words of wonder and enticement, not a frightening horned demonic figure, for that is not how they appear to us.
Subtle deceit does not intend to frighten, but to entice.
Perhaps this is what the Scriptures mean when we are told that Satan can transform himself into an angel of light, not a physical manifestation of his natural form, but in his intent of evil upon mankind, seemingly compassionate while waiting to strike the death blow.
I cannot say if the words in this short, poorly written letter are Spiritually discerning of the subject matter offered here or not, but they are logical, they make sense. In either case, always recall 2 Corinthians 2:11 when contemplating this topic, “Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.” You must be on your guard at all times, you must keep the armor of God on continuously, our adversary is the most dangerous being ever created by the Lord God, he does not rest, he does not stop in his endeavors, and he is single focused upon his path.
That angel of light is not who you think he is, nor is that “minister of righteousness” always sent by God.
