Story of Lucifer – His Origin
To find the origin of Lucifer, we turn to
the Old Testament. In the Hebrew, the name Lucifer is translated
from the Hebrew word "helel," which means brightness. This
designation, referring to Lucifer, is the rendering of the
"morning star" or "star of the morning" or "bright star" which is
presented in Isaiah. "How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star,
son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the
nations low! You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven;
I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit on the
mount of assembly on the heights of Zaphon; I will ascend to the
tops of the clouds, I will make myself like the Most High’"
(Isaiah 14:12-14, NIV).
The context of this passage is a referral to the king of Babylon as
presented in his pride, splendor and fall. However, it is to the
power behind the evil Babylonian king that this is actually
addressed. No mortal king would claim that his throne was above
that of God or that he was like the Most High. The power behind the
evil Babylonian king is Lucifer, Son of the Morning.
Story of Lucifer – His History
Lucifer is just another name for Satan, who as head of the
evil world-system is the real, though invisible, power behind the
successive rulers of Tyre, Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome, and all
of those evil rulers that we have seen come and go in the history
of the world. This passage goes beyond human history and marks the
beginning of sin in the universe and the very fall of Satan in the
pristine, sinless spheres before the creation of man.
We also see this same motif in Ezekial: "Moreover the word of the
LORD came to me: Mortal, raise a lamentation over the king of Tyre,
and say to him, Thus says the Lord GOD: You were the signet of
perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden,
the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering,
carnelian, chrysolite, and moonstone, beryl, onyx, and jasper,
sapphire, turquoise, and emerald; and worked in gold were your
settings and your engravings. On the day that you were created they
were prepared. With an anointed cherub as guardian I placed you;
you were on the holy mountain of God; you walked among the stones
of fire. You were blameless in your ways from the day that you were
created, until iniquity was found in you. In the abundance of your
trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned; so I cast you
as a profane thing from the mountain of God, and the guardian
cherub drove you out from among the stones of fire. Your heart was
proud because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the
sake of your splendor. I cast you to the ground; I exposed you
before kings, to feast their eyes on you. By the multitude of your
iniquities, in the unrighteousness of your trade, you profaned your
sanctuaries. So I brought out fire from within you; it consumed
you, and I turned you to ashes on the earth in the sight of all who
saw you. All who know you among the peoples are appalled at you;
you have come to a dreadful end and shall be no more forever"
(Ezekiel 28:11-19, NIV).
This passage seems to be addressed to the "king of Tyre." In
reality, it goes beyond the king to the one who is behind the evil
king of Tyre. This passage also has near and far prophecy about
Lucifer/Satan because although his final end is already sure, it
has not happened yet and it occurs after the final judgment. In
both the Isaiah passage and the Ezekiel passage, the representation
is not of Lucifer/Satan as confined to his own person but his
working in and the consummating of his plans through earthly kings
and rulers who take to themselves divine honors and who, whether
they actually know this or not, rule in the spirit and under the
aims of Satan. "For our struggle is not against enemies of blood
and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against
the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual
forces of evil in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12, NIV). Satan
is the principality behind the powers of this corrupt world
system.
Notice the statement that is given in the passage in Ezekiel, "the
anointed cherub." These statements could never apply to a human
king but, they do apply to Lucifer/Satan who is behind the human
king. This angel is the highest creature the LORD ever created. The
LORD says of him, "You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom,
and perfect in beauty." Satan was the wisest creature God ever
created. No other angel, no other being was created with the
intelligence that God gave to this creature. God says that this
creation is "perfect in beauty." Apart from the Holy Trinity;
Father, Son and Holy Spirit, this creature is today the highest
being.
In verse Ezekiel 28:14 it says, "You were the anointed Cherub."
This tells us we are not talking about a human king. The word
cherub is singular for cherubim. The cherubim are symbolic of God's
Holy presence and His unapproachable majesty. These cherubim occupy
a unique position. The "anointed cherub who covers" is the picture
given to us in the Garden of Eden after Adam and Eve had been sent
out and God had placed cherubim to guard the way of the tree of
life. Also, when Moses made the mercy seat and placed it into the
tabernacle's Holy of Holies, God's glory came and dwelt between the
cherubim. They "covered" the mercy seat with their wings. So we now
see that Satan was a cherub and his position was to guard the very
throne of God. His position was that of protecting the holiness of
God. Satan had the highest of all positions, a position which he
despised and lost. We have here in Ezekiel a picture of the highest
of God's creatures, perfect in wisdom, beautiful beyond
description, a musician and on top of all that, he was given this
high, exalted position. But, this creation, with all of these
wonderful attributes also had a free will. One day, God says to
this marvelous creature, "Iniquity was found in you."
Story of Lucifer – His Status
What kind of iniquity was found of him? In the book of Ezekiel, God
has let us stand with Him at the very beginning, to see the origin
and the creation of Satan. But, why does God say this? What is this
iniquity? We must look back to Isaiah 14:12, which tells us of
Lucifer/Satan's choice. "I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my
throne above the stars of God; I will sit on the mount of assembly
on the heights of Zaphon; I will ascend to the tops of the clouds,
I will make myself like the Most High." Did you notice in this
passage all of the "I wills. " He said he would exalt his throne
above the stars of God. The word "stars" here does not refer to
what we see in the night sky. It refers to the angels of God. In
other words, "I will take over heaven, I will be God." That is
Lucifer/Satan's sin and that is the iniquity that was found in him.
He does not want to be God's servant. He does not want to do what
he was created to do. He wants to be served and there are millions
who have chosen to do just that; serve him. They have listened to
his lies and chosen to follow him. Eve believed the lie that she
would be like God. The reason Lucifer/Satan tempted her with that
was because it is the very thing that he wants -- to be God.
