In the plain reading of Isaiah 14:12 in the KJV and NKJV, we are informed about how it was “Lucifer” who was fallen from heaven. Where the Hebrew term Helel ben Shahar translates as “morning star” or “day star” “son of Dawn” as a shining celestial body from heaven (the sky) in view just before the morning sunrise. The Latin translation, by which the KJV etymological translation originates, means lux / luc- (light) and -fer (bearing). So, many would surmise that Luc-fer is the literal presence of the planet Venus in the morning sky. Conversely, where the name “Lucifer” is rendered in the King James Version as the “star” of the morning. An object other than the sun observable in the dawn sky that bears light. As such the name Lucifer per se is not attached to Satan, the Evil one, to refer to an individual identity.
Some view Isaiah 14:1-23 as the fall of Satan from reference passages Luke 10:18 and Revelation 12:8-10. Where it is concluded that Jesus uses Isaiah 14:12 to describe Satan’s fall. While numerous others share the view that the theologically parallel passage of Ezekiel 28:1-19 correlates to Satan’s rebellion, the prophetic context is in reference to the Prince of Tyre and his evil behavior. As it is argued that the surface reference context is a prophetic taunt or mockery against the kings of Babylon (Isaiah 14:1-23) and Tyre (Ezekiel 28:1-19), some hold a view that both pericopes point back to the ancient account of the divine rebellion. Specifically, where both in meaning are simultaneously and synergistically true as a shadow of the divine revelation given within Scripture. Quite a number of scholars, teachers, pastors, and students believe that Isaiah 14:12-15, Ezekiel 28:1-19, & Genesis 3 all draw from the same theological and divinely inspired literary well.
On the surface, by the plain reading of the Isaiah text, the “morning star, son of Dawn” is in figurative reference to a hypothetical god that echoes back to the ancient Near East view of a deity. Isaiah writes in the form of mockery that the king of Babylon is a pagan god in the pantheon who some would view as a “shining one.” As if this king held a god’s stature, the prophetic taunt in Isaiah is written to express the king’s epic absurdity. It is written as a comparison without truthful credibility or any weight whatsoever to punctuate the text’s meaning. In an ancient Near East context, a “shining one” in the heavens was recognized as a minor god. This “morning star” term was a pagan reference to a subordinate deity in rebellion against the Most-High in the pagan pantheon of false gods.
In the broader context and support of Isaiah 13:1 – 14:23, Babylon was the first among about a dozen surrounding nations subject to judgment and destruction. Beginning with Israel and Judah, empire after empire would fall by the word of Yahweh and the indignant proclamations of His prophet Isaiah. Along with their gods appointed over them, the people of many nationalities were given to certain and inevitable destruction. Having a theological meta-narrative that is unmistakable, chief among them were their kings, officials, and the Evil one who would continue to oppose and seduce humanity. To draw masses of people into idolatry, injustice, and meaningless religious rituals to profane and defile the imago-Dei and Yahweh’s purpose for His people and the nations.
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