Lucifer

Lions following on the hunt | Patterned wall from the city of Babylon, constructed in 575 BC Artifact of Iraq saved by Pergamon Museum in Berlin

It is commonly believed that Lucifer is another name for “the devil”. In a publication of the “Bible and Watch Tower Society” (“Let God be True,” page 47) we read: “The Devil was not always the Devil. There was time when he enjoyed a high position in God’s family. He was a spirit son of God whose name was Lucifer. Contrary to the opinion of some, he was not an ugly creature with horns and tail, but he was beautiful. The Bible describes him in Ezekiel 28:12-13, “Thou sealest up the sun, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty, thou hast been in Eden the garden of God, every precious stone was thy covering”. In keeping with his being a son of God, he was given a position of great trust and responsibility; that of overlord of humankind. The designated term for this office was, as stated in the Bible at Ezekiel 28:14: “the anointed cherub that covereth.”

Is this a correct understanding of the Scriptures? It will not be difficult to show it is otherwise.

The reference to Lucifer is in Isaiah 14:12. The name appears in no other part of the Bible, and the prophecy of Isaiah dates to some 3,500 years after the creation. This means that if the reference in Isaiah is to the time of creation, then thirty-three centuries passed by before the revelation of what really happened was made!

Not a “Fallen Angel”

However, not only is the reference in Isaiah to the times of the prophet and subsequently, but also, if we read the early chapters of Genesis, there is not the slightest inference or suggestion of the existence of “fallen angels”. The account in Genesis is entirely self-contained. It records the usage of a serpent with the power of speech as the medium of test and trial of the man and woman who had been made.

A simple command was given them; this was sufficient as a basis of trial. They failed the command and reaped the consequences. In the words of the apostle, “By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin …” (Romans 5:12).

In all this there was no need whatever for the interference of any super-human monster of power, certainly not of any “fallen angel”. It is in Milton’s “Paradise Lost” where such an idea will be found. It is not any teaching of God’s inspired word.

To what then does Lucifer refer? The context is perfectly clear. The prophet addresses (ver. 4) the king of Babylon, and speaks of the time when his oppressive subjection of God’s people was to cease: “In the day that the Lord shall give thee rest from thy sorrow and from thy fear, and from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve, that thou shalt take up this proverb AGAINST THE KING OF BABYLON.”

A Great King’s Downfall

Then, in figurative language, is the fall of Babylon described. The “whole earth is at rest.” The “trees rejoice”; the kings of nations, already in the grave, rise to welcome the Babylonian monarch; he is like a star that falls. The great king had aspired to world dominion; he sought, as it were, Divine equality (how like the later power described by Paul in 2 Thes. 2 – the latter day Babylonian, Papal, power). Verses 4 to 15 vividly describe the rise and fall of the king and nation of Babylon, and in the end the prophet asks, “Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms?” (ver.16)

The word Lucifer is not a translation of the Hebrew at all. The marginal rendering of the word is “day star”. The revised version substitutes this for the word Lucifer. The figure is this of a star – “the bright morning star.” “Lucifer” is the Latin name for the star “Venus”. The word in the latin means, “lightbearer” and it is recorded that “The church fathers attached the name to Satan – and thus the word has come to be used to denote the fallen archangel” (Everyman’s Encyclopaedia).

Personification

The assumption regarding Lucifer is, of course, based on the belief in the personality of “the Devil” and “Satan”. The Bible uses personification – and this is very different from attributing actual personality.

In conclusion, does Ezekiel refer to the “Devil” in a former state of “beauty”? Again, a reading of the context will show that the prophet makes no such reference. Ezekiel 28 refers solely to the ancient city of Tyre and to its decline and fall.

The truth will never be learned by taking passages out of their context and making them apply to circumstances of imagination. The truth as to the “Devil” and “Satan” is not difficult to discern and articles in these Booklets will seek to show true Bible teaching on what is an important doctrine, the right understanding of which is essential for salvation.

Above: Silver Shekels from ancient Tyre

An Ambassador in Chains

Can we not think of Paul smiling somewhat whimsically as he dictated the words, “an ambassador in chains” ? An ambassador was sacrosanct. He should not be imprisoned but sent back to the power he represented. Nero did not recognise Christ or His ambassadors. But the embassage was to all, rulers and ruled, and imprisonment did not restrain Paul from discharging his mission. He spoke boldly to those who visited him; he sent letters to those far away. And his work, in God’s arranging, has been imperishable.

Bro John Carter

Bro S Jeacock (United Kingdom)