Lucifer: The Morning Star, Bringer of Light
Isaiah, Ch. 14:4-16
12: How art though 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,
The meaning of Lucifer is "day star". Biblical scholars have
personified
this state of being as seen in verse 12; thus,
corrupting the true meaning of
Lucifer and connecting it with Satan.
Isaiah 14 is not about a fallen angel;
instead, it's about a fallen
Babylonian king (Helal, son of Shahar, which can
best be translated
as "Day Star, or Son of the Dawn"), who during his
lifetime had
persecuted the Israelites:
4: That though shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon,
In Hebrew, this passage reads: "Heleyl, ben Shachar" which can
be
literally translated "shining one, son of dawn." Isaiah is using
this
metaphor for a bright light, to illustrate the apparent power of
the
Babylonian king, which then faded.
In the Septuagint, a 3rd century BC translation of the Hebrew
scriptures
into Greek, it is translated as "heosphoros" which also
means Venus as a
morning star.
In Roman astronomy, Lucifer was the name given to the morning star
(the
star we now know by another Roman name, Venus). The morning star
appears in
the heavens just before dawn, heralding the rising sun.
The name derives from
the Latin term lucem ferre, bringer/bearer of
light.
In the fourth century, St. Jerome made a literal translation of
the
Hebraic metaphor "Day star, son of the Dawn" to "Lucifer". In
doing
so, (perhaps unintentionally: in the Latin in Jerome's
time,
"lucifer" actually meant Venus as a morning star) Jerome
translation
personified the metaphor into an angelic being. Over the
centuries, a
metamorphosis of the idea of Lucifer as being Satan took
place. Also, Lucifer
wasn't equated with Satan until after Jerome,
proving his misguiding
translation unintentional.
This may cause confusion among Christians who also perceive Christ
as
being the bright and morning star in:
Revelation 22:16:
I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these
things in the
churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the
bright
and morning star.
Luke 10:18: I beheld Satan as lightening fall from heaven.
The passage found in Luke has no significant relation to Satan as
being a
bright star. Instead, it depicts him being humbled.
As Elaine Pagels explains the concept of Satan has evolved over the
years
and the early Bible writers didn't believe in or teach such a
doctrine:
"The irony for those who believe that "Lucifer" refers to Satan is that the
same title ('morning star' or 'light-bearer') is used to refer to Jesus, in 2
Peter 1:19, where the Greek text has exactly the same term: 'phos-phoros'
'light-bearer.' This is also the term used
for Jesus in Revelation 22:16."
2 Peter 1:19:
We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do
well that
ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until
the
day of dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts
Interpretations of the above passage: God's Word Sure, take heed,
God's
Word a Light, Spiritual Darkness, Spiritual Dawn, Morning
star,
Enlightenment.
Also, Revelation 2:28, Christ says:
And I will give him the morning star.
Interpretation:
Christ's Gifts, Radiancy, Spiritual Light.
The author of The Polytheism Of The Bible And The Mystery Of Lucifer,
F.T.
DeAngelis, comments:
"It seems minor, but - the actual term used in the Greek
Septuagint
version of Isaiah 14:12 (given that there is no ONE way of
accurately
transliterating) is Eo(u)s phoros, morning star/dawn, god of
light.
Eos or Eous phoros [not Heos or phos phorus (as some
Christian
sources shows)] - although there is a Greek term and
English:
phosphoro(u)s. The actual name, "Lucifer," goes back to the
Greeks,
before the Romans.
Socrates and Plato talk about this "god of light"; surprisingly, not
in
the context of Eos (god of Dawn), but -- as a morning star --
juxtaposed with
the sun (Helios) and Hermes. This information can be
found in Plato's Timaeus
(38e) and in Edith Hamilton's Mythology."
On a lighter note, Arthur Clarke, in his fictional book 2061
correctly
uses the word "Lucifer". He uses it as a name for a new sun
in the solar
system which is correct since the new sun is a
second 'morning star' of
original 'light-bearing' substance--not some
evil being of religious
mythology.
David Grinspoon comments on the historical aspects of the word:
"The origin of the Judeo-Christian Devil as an angel fallen from
heaven
into the depths of hell is mirrored in the descent of Venus
from shining
morning star to the darkness below. This underworld
demon, still feared today
by people in many parts of the world, is
also called Lucifer, which was
originally a Latin name for Venus as a
morning star." (Venus Revealed p. 17)
As far as older uses of the name prior to the Greek/Romans: The
ancient
Persian Prince of Darkness was known as Ahriman. The
Babylonians had a
lightening god (Zu) who fell as a fiery flying
serpent. Also there was an
Egyptian serpent god, Sata, (father of
Lightening and who likewise fell to
earth). It seems that the name
has gone through some changes to suit the
native tongue, but the idea
remains the same - an entity that was struck to
earth.
As a Luciferian, I do not believe that Lucifer was cast out of heaven
and
became Satan. These are two distinct entities. I do not believe
in "Satan",
but I do believe in the Satanic Consciousness. I believe
that Satan exists
now because "we" (people) put him there (in the
Astral Planes). Over the
millennia, this mental construct has grown
powerful because people give it
power; hence, people become possessed
because they believe in possession.
Luciferianism is a State of Being with a focus to illumine
our
surroundings and enlighten those around us. To Aspire and
Become
Aspired Beings! It is the innermost circle that surrounds
the
Universum Power. Christians recognize this as the first
Triad
surrounding the central core of the Trinity.
Written By: Vicutus Sekhemu