Revelation 12:7-11
7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
9 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.
10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.
11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
In the above verse we understand that there was a war in heaven before the foundation of the earth where Michael the Arch Angel and his angels fought against the dragon and his angels. Michael and his angels prevailed in this war in heaven against the dragon and his angels. The great dragon and his angels were cast out of heaven. We learn that the dragon is also known as that old serpent, the Devil, and Satan. We learn that Satan and his angels were cast out of heaven into the earth. Satan is also known in this verse as the accuser of our brethren. These brethren who were accused by Satan were to eventually overcome Satan by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimonies and they loved not their lives unto the death. So who was this Satan or the Devil?
Isaiah 14:12-17
12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
13 For 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:
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to
hell, to the sides of the pit.
16 They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;
17 That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?
Here we learn that he who had fallen from heaven by being cast out was also known as Lucifer, a son of the morning. He sought to exalt himself above God but eventually will find that he is brought down to hell to the sides of the pit. They who eventually behold will see him as a man and ask if this is the man who made the earth to tremble and did shake kingdoms. Lucifer, once held a high position as a son of the morning in the premortal world of spirits. Lucifer rebelled against the Father and Jesus and engaged in a war in heaven. Lucifer was one of the spirit children of God who sought to overthrow the kingdom of the Father and set up his own kingdom.
Moses 4:1-4
1 And I, the Lord God, spake unto Moses, saying: That Satan, whom thou hast commanded in the name of mine Only Begotten, is the same which was from the beginning, and he came before me, saying—Behold, here am I, send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor.
2 But, behold, my Beloved Son, which was my Beloved and Chosen from the beginning, said unto me—
Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever.
3 Wherefore, because that Satan rebelled against me, and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord God, had given him, and also, that I should give unto him mine own power; by the power of mine Only Begotten, I caused that he should be cast down;
4 And he became Satan, yea, even the devil, the father of all lies, to deceive and to blind men, and to lead them captive at his will, even as many as would not hearken unto my voice.
Here we learn that Lucifer sought to be the Son of God and would do it if God the Father would give him his honor and power. Lucifer also came up with a plan to take away the free agency of mankind and to use coercion to implement the plan of salvation. But God the Father rejected the plan of Lucifer and chose his first born son in the spirit to be the savior of the world. Lucifer was angry because he was not chosen to be God's only begotten in the flesh and that God rejected his plan of coercion. Lucifer then set out to convince all the rest of the spirit children of God the Father to reject the Father's plan and choose his plan. This is what the war in heaven was all about. When the Father saw that Lucifer came out in open rebellion against the Father, the Father caused Lucifer to be cast out of heaven and changed his name from Lucifer (which means, "Shining One", or "Lightbearer") to Satan and Perdition. Lucifer was quite successful in convincing many of sons and daughters of God to follow after him. He eventually got 1/3 of all the hosts of heaven to follow after him. Those who followed after him were his angels. While those who chose Christ and fought against Lucifer were Michael and his angels. They are they who were allowed to come to this earth and receive bodies of flesh and bones and could overcome Satan by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimonies and would experience death. Satan and his followers were denied the opportunity to come to this earth and receive bodies of flesh and bones. They will never take part in the resurrection of the dead but live eternally as spirit beings.
What Lucifer didn't fully comprehend was that you cannot truly become a good being without free will. God the Father even allowed free will in the premortal world of spirits and thus Lucifer was allowed to rebel against God and to turn 1/3 of the hosts of heaven against Him. Free will is critical to the progression of the children of God. It is essential that mankind be allowed to choose in and themselves what manner of being they were to become. Only through free will can one truly become a good being.
Doctrine and Covenants 76:25–29
25 And this we saw also, and bear record, that an angel of God who was in authority in the presence of God, who rebelled against the Only Begotten Son whom the Father loved and who was in the bosom of the Father, was thrust down from the presence of God and the Son,
26 And was called Perdition, for the heavens wept over him—he was Lucifer, a son of the morning.
27 And we beheld, and lo, he is fallen! is fallen, even a son of the morning!
28 And while we were yet in the Spirit, the Lord commanded us that we should write the vision; for we beheld Satan, that old serpent, even the devil, who rebelled against God, and sought to take the kingdom of our God and his Christ—
29 Wherefore, he maketh war with the saints of God, and encompasseth them round about.
