Lucifer

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For other uses, see Lucifer (disambiguation).

Satan, who in Milton's Paradise Lost is also called Lucifer,^[1] on his way to bring about the downfall of Adam. Gustave Doré's illustration for Paradise Lost, Book III, lines 739-742 by John Milton.

Lucifer is a Latin word (from the words lucem ferre), literally meaning "light-bearer", which in that language is used as a name for the dawn appearance of the planet Venus, heralding daylight. Use of the word in this sense is uncommon in English, in which "Day Star" or "Morning Star" are more common expressions.
In English, "Lucifer" generally refers to the Devil, although the name is not applied to him in the New Testament. The use of the name "Lucifer" in reference to a fallen angel stems from an interpretation of Isaiah 14:3–20, a passage that speaks of a particular Babylonian King, to whom it gives a title that refers to what in English is called the Day Star or Morning Star (in Latin, lucifer),^[2] as fallen or destined to fall from the heavens or sky.^[3] In 2 Peter 1:19 and elsewhere, the same Latin word lucifer is used to refer to the Morning Star, with no relation to the devil. However, in post-New Testament times the Latin word Lucifer has often been used as a name for the devil, both in religious writing and in fiction, especially when referring to him before he fell from Heaven.

Contents [show] 1 Satan as Lucifer 1.1 The Lucifer story 1.2 The Morning Star in Isaiah 14:12 1.3 Islamic point of view 1.4 Other readings 1.5 Latter-Day Saints point of view 2 Use of the word "lucifer" in the Bible 3 Astronomical significance 4 "Lucifer" as Latin name for the Morning Star 5 The Taxil Hoax: Lucifer's alleged connection with Freemasonry 6 Occult beliefs 7 Gallery 8 See also 9 References 10 Further reading 11 External links

[edit] Satan as Lucifer

[edit] The Lucifer story

A myth^[4] of the fall of angels, associated with the Morning Star, was transferred to Satan, as seen in the Life of Adam and Eve and the Second Book of Enoch,^[5] which the Jewish Encyclopedia attributes to the first pre-Christian century:^[6] in these Satan-Sataniel (sometimes identified with Samael) is described as having been one of the archangels. Because he contrived "to make his throne higher than the clouds over the earth and resemble 'My power' on high", Satan-Sataniel was hurled down, with his hosts of angels, and since then, he has been flying in the air continually above the abyss.^[4]

Gustave Doré's illustration for Milton's Paradise Lost, Book IV, lines 1013–1015: Satan (alias Lucifer) yielding before Raphael

Early Christian writers continued this identification of "Lucifer" with Satan. Tertullian ("Contra Marcionem," v. 11, 17), Origen (Homilies on Ezekiel 13), and others, identify Lucifer with Satan, who also is represented as being "cast down from heaven" (Revelation 12:7–10; cf. Luke 10:18).^[4]
However, some contemporary exorcists and theologians such as Father José Antonio Fortea and Father Amorth in their experience and based on Biblical interpretations, assert that Lucifer and Satan are different beings.^[7]
In the New Testament the Adversary has many names, but "Lucifer" is not among them. He is called "Satan" (Matt. 4:10; Mark 1:13, 4:15; Luke 10:18), "devil" (Matt. 4:1), "adversary" (1. Peter 5:8, ἀντίδικος; 1. Tim. 5:14, ἀντικείμενος), "enemy" (Matt. 13:39), "accuser" (Rev. 12:10), "old serpent" (Rev. 20:2), "great dragon" (Rev. 12:9), Beelzebub (Matt. 10:25, 12:24), and Belial (comp. Samael). In Luke 10:18, John 12:31, 2. Cor. 6:16, and Rev. 12:9 the fall of Satan is mentioned. The devil is regarded as the author of all evil (Luke 10:19; Acts 5:3; 2. Cor. 11:3; Ephes. 2:2), who beguiled Eve (2. Cor. 11:3; Rev. 12:9). Because of Satan, death came into this world, being ever the tempter (1. Cor. 7:5; 1. Thess. 3:5; 1. Peter 5:8), even as he tempted Jesus (Matt. 4). The Christian demonology and belief in the devil dominated subsequent periods.^[8] However, though the New Testament includes the conception that Satan fell from heaven "as lightning" (Luke 10:18; Rev. 12:7-10),^[9] it nowhere applies the name Lucifer to him.
The Jewish Encyclopedia states that in the apocalyptic literature, the conception of fallen angels is widespread. Throughout antiquity stars were commonly regarded as living celestial beings (Job 38:7).^[9] Indications of this belief in fallen angels, behind which probably lies the symbolizing of an astronomical phenomenon, the shooting stars, are found in Isaiah 14:12.

[edit] The Morning Star in Isaiah 14:12

The Book of Isaiah has the following passage:

When the Lord has given you rest from your pain and turmoil and the hard service with which you were made to serve, you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon: How the oppressor has ceased! How his insolence has ceased! … 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 congregation on the heights of Zaphon; I will ascend to the tops of the clouds, I will make myself like the Most High." But you are brought down to Sheol, to the depths of the Pit. Those who see you will stare at you, and ponder over you: "Is this the man who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms, who made the world like a desert and overthrew its cities, who would not let his prisoners go home?^[10]

The passage refers to the king of Babylon, a man who seemed all-powerful, but who has been brought down to the abode of the dead ("Sheol"). Isaiah promises that the Israelites will be freed and will then be able to use in a taunting song against their oppressor the image of the Morning Star, which rises at dawn as the brightest of the stars, outshining Jupiter and Saturn, but lasting only until the sun appears. This image was used in an old popular Canaanite story that the Morning Star tried to rise high above the clouds and establish himself on the mountain where the gods assembled, in the far north, but was cast down into the underworld.^[4][11]
The phrase "O Day Star, son of Dawn" in the New Revised Standard Version translation given above corresponds to the Hebrew phrase "הילל בן־שׁחר" (Helel Ben-Shachar) in verse 12, meaning "morning star, son of dawn". As the Latin poets personified the Morning Star and the Dawn (Aurora), as well as the Sun and the Moon and other heavenly bodies, so in Canaanite mythology Morning Star and Dawn were pictured as two deities, the former being the son of the latter.^[12]
In the Latin Vulgate, Jerome translated "הילל בן־שׁחר" (morning star, son of dawn) as "lucifer qui mane oriebaris" (morning star that used to rise early).^[13] Already, as early as the Christian writers Tertullian and Origen,^[11] the whole passage had come to be applied to Satan. Satan began to be referred to as "Lucifer" (Morning Star), and finally the word "Lucifer" was treated as a proper name. The use of the word "Lucifer" in the 1611 King James Version instead of a word such as "Daystar" ensured its continued popularity among English speakers.
Most modern English versions (including the NIV, NRSV, NASB, NJB and ESV) render the Hebrew word as "day star", "morning star" or something similar, and never as "Lucifer", a word that in English is now very rarely used in the sense of the original word in Hebrew (Morning Star), though in Latin "Lucifer" was a literal translation.
A passage quite similar to that in Isaiah is found in Ezekiel 28:1–19, which is expressly directed against the king of Tyre, a city on an island that had grown rich by trade, factors alluded to in the text.^[14] In Christian tradition, it too has been applied to Lucifer, because of some of the expressions contained in it.^[15] But, since it does not contain the image of the Morning Star, discussion of it belongs rather to the article on Satan than to that on Lucifer.

Lucifer (Le génie du mal) by Guillaume Geefs (Cathedral of St. Paul, Liège, Belgium)

The same holds for the Christian depiction of Satan in other books of the Old Testament as, for instance, in the Book of Job, where Satan, who has been wandering the Earth, has a discussion with God and makes a deal with him to test Job.
The Tyndale Bible Dictionary states that there are many who believe the expression "Lucifer" and the surrounding context in Isaiah 14 refer to Satan: they believe the similarities among Isaiah 14:12, Luke 10:18, and Revelation 12:7–10 warrant this conclusion. But it points out that the context of the Isaiah passage is about the accomplished defeat of the king of Babylon, while the New Testament passages speak of Satan.^[11]

[edit] Islamic point of view

According to the Qur'an, Iblis (the Arabic name used) disobeyed an order from Allah to bow to Adam and as a result was forced out of heaven and given respite until the day of judgement from further punishment.
When Allah commanded all of the angels to bow down before Adam (the first Human), Iblis, full of hubris and jealousy, refused to obey Allah's command (he could do so because, as a jinn, he had free will), seeing Adam as being inferior in creation due to his being created from clay as compared to him (created of fire).^[16]

"It is We Who created you and gave you shape; then We bade the angels prostrate to Adam, and they prostrate; not so Iblis (Lucifer); He refused to be of those who prostrate."

(Allah) said: "What prevented thee from prostrating when I commanded thee?" He said: "I am better than he: Thou didst create me from fire, and him from clay."

Qur'an 7:11–12

It was after this that the title of "Shaitan" was given, which can be roughly translated as "Mischievous" or "Devil". Shaitan then claims that if the punishment for his act of disobedience is to be delayed until the Day of Judgment, that he will divert many of Adam's own descendants from the straight path during his period of respite.^[17] Allah accepts the claims of Iblis and guarantees recompense to Iblis and his followers in the form of Hellfire. To test mankind and jinn alike, Allah allowed Iblis to roam the Earth to attempt to convert others away from his path.^[18] He was sent to Earth along with Adam and Eve, after eventually luring them into eating the fruit from the forbidden tree.^[19]

[edit] Other readings

Joseph Campbell (1972: pp. 148–149) illustrates an unorthodox Islamic reading of Lucifer's fall from Heaven, which champions Lucifer's eclipsing love for God:

One of the most amazing images of love that I know is in Persian – a mystical Persian representation as Satan as the most loyal lover of God. You will have heard the old legend of how, when God created the angels, he commanded them to pay worship to no one but himself; but then, creating man, he commanded them to bow in reverence to this most noble of his works, and Lucifer refused – because, we are told, of his pride. However, according to this Muslim reading of his case, it was rather because he loved and adored God so deeply and intensely that he could not bring himself to bow before anything else, and because he refused to bow down to something inferior to him (since he was made of fire, and man from clay). And it was for that that he was flung into Hell, condemned to exist there for eternity, apart from his love.

This interpretation of the satanic rebellion described in the Quran is seen by some Sufi teachers such as Mansur Al-Hallaj (in his 'Tawasin') as a predestined scenario in which Iblis-Shaitan plays the role of tragic and jealous lover who, unable to perceive the Divine Image in Adam and capable only of seeing the exterior, disobeyed the divine mandate to bow down. His refusal (according to the Tawasin) was due to a misconceived idea of God's uniqueness and because of his refusal to abandon himself to God in love. Hallaj criticized the staleness of Iblis' adoration. Excerpts from Sufi texts expounding this interpretation have been included along with many other viewpoints on Shaitan (by no means all of them apologetic) in an important anthology of Sufi texts edited by Dr. Javad Nurbakhsh, head of the Nimatullahi Sufi Order.^[20]
The Sufi teacher Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan taught that 'Luciferian Light' is Light that has become dislocated from the Divine Source and is thus associated with the seductive false light of the lower ego, which lures humankind into self-centered delusion.^[21] Here Lucifer represents what the Sufis term the 'Nafs', the ego.

[edit] Latter-Day Saints point of view

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, or the "Mormon" Church, holds some unique beliefs in regards to Lucifer, or Satan: "Satan, also called the adversary or the devil, is the enemy of righteousness and those who seek to follow God." In the same publication, the following statements are made:

"He is the spirit son of God who was once an angel "in authority in the presence of God (Doctrine and Covenants 76:25, Isaiah 14:25, Doctrine and Covenants 76: 26-27) But in the premortal Council in Heaven, Lucifer, as Satan was then called, rebelled against Heavenly Father and the plan of salvation. In this rebellion against God, Satan "sought to destroy the agency of man" (Moses 4:3). He said: "I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor" (Moses 4:1) Satan persuaded "a third part of the hosts of heaven" to turn away from the Father (Doctrine and Covenants 29:36). As a result of this rebellion, Satan and his followers were cut off from God's presence and denied the blessing of receiving a physical body (Revelations 12:9). Heavenly Father allows Satan and Satan's followers to tempt us as part of our experience in mortality (2 Nephi 2:11-14, Doctrine and Covenants 29:36). Because Satan "seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself" (2 Nephi 2:27) he and his followers try to lead us away from righteousness."

– True to the Faith, A Gospel Reference, "Satan," page 154, Updated July 2004, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

[edit] Use of the word "lucifer" in the Bible

The Vulgate (Latin) version of the Christian Bible used the word "lucifer" (with lower-case initial) twice to refer to the Morning Star: once in 2 Peter 1:19 to translate the Greek word Φωσφόρος (phōsphoros), a word, from φῶς (phōs) meaning "light" and φέρω (pherō̄) meaning "to carry", that has the same meaning of Light-Bringer that the Latin word has, and once in Isaiah 14:12 to translate the Hebrew word הילל (Hêlēl).^[22] In the latter passage the title of "Morning Star" is given to the tyrannous Babylonian king, who the prophet says is destined to fall. This passage was later applied to the prince of the demons, and so the name "Lucifer" came to be used outside the Bible for the devil, and was popularized in works such as Dante Alighieri's Inferno and John Milton's Paradise Lost, but for English speakers the greatest influence has been its use in the King James Version of Isa 14:12 to translate the Hebrew word הילל, which more modern English versions render as "Morning Star" or "Day Star". A similar passage in Ezekiel 28:11–19 regarding the "king of Tyre" was also applied to the devil, contributing to the traditional picture of the fallen angel.
The Vulgate translation uses "lucifer" (Morning Star) twice to translate words in the Book of Job that meant something different: once to represent the word "בקר"^[23] (which instead means "morning") in Job 11:17, and once for the word "מזרות" (usually taken to mean "the constellations") in Job 38:32. The same Latin word appears also in the Vulgate version of Psalms 110:3, where the original has "שׁחר" (dawn, the same word as in Isaiah 14:12).
The Vulgate did not use the Latin word lucifer to represent the two references to the Morning Star in the Book of Revelation . In both cases the original Greek text uses a circumlocution instead of the single word "φωσφόρος", and a corresponding circumlocution is used in the Latin. Thus "stella matutina" is used for "ὁ ἀστὴρ ὁ πρωϊνός" in Revelation 2:28, which promises the Morning Star to those who persevere, and for "ὁ ἀστὴρ ὁ πρωϊνός" (or, according to some manuscripts, "ὁ ἀστὴρ ὁ ὀρθρινός") in Revelation 22:16, where Jesus calls himself "the bright morning star".
The English word "Lucifer" is used in none of these places (other than Isaiah 14:12), where the Latin translation uses the Latin word "lucifer" (i.e., morning star).
Outside the Bible, the Roman Rite liturgy's Exultet chant in praise of the paschal candle refers to Christ as the Morning Star (in Latin, lucifer, with lower-case initial):

May the Morning Star which never sets find this flame still burning: Christ, that Morning Star, who came back from the dead, and shed his peaceful light on all mankind, your Son, who lives and reigns for ever and ever.

Flammas eius lucifer matutinus inveniat: ille, inquam, lucifer, qui nescit occasum, Christus Filius tuus qui, regressus ab inferis, humano generi serenus illuxit, et vivit et regnat in saecula saeculorum.

[edit] Astronomical significance

Because the planet Venus is an inferior planet, meaning that its orbit lies between the orbit of the Earth and the Sun, it can never rise high in the sky at night as seen from Earth. It can be seen in the eastern morning sky for an hour or so before the Sun rises, and in the western evening sky for an hour or so after the Sun sets, but never during the dark of midnight.
It is the brightest object in the sky after the Sun and the Moon. As bright and as brilliant as it is, ancient people did not understand why they could not see it at midnight like the outer planets, or during midday, like the Sun and Moon. It outshines the planets Saturn and Jupiter, which do last all night, but it soon disappears. Canaanite mythology has a story of an unsuccessful attempt by Athtar, the Morning Star pictured as a god, to take over the throne of Baal.^[24][25]

A 2nd-century sculpture of the moon goddess Selene accompanied by Hesperus and Phosphorus: the corresponding Latin names are Luna, Vesper and Lucifer.

[edit] "Lucifer" as Latin name for the Morning Star

In Latin, the word "Lucifer", meaning "Light-Bringer" (from lux, lucis, "light", and ferre, "to bear, bring"), is a name used for the Morning Star (the planet Venus in its dawn appearances).^[26] The word is used in its astronomical sense both in prose^[27] and poetry,^[28] but most poets personify the star in a mythological context.^[29]

[edit] The Taxil Hoax: Lucifer's alleged connection with Freemasonry

Léo Taxil (1854–1907) claimed that Freemasonry is associated with worshipping Lucifer. In what is known as the Taxil hoax, he claimed that supposedly leading Freemason Albert Pike had addressed "The 23 Supreme Confederated Councils of the world" (an invention of Taxil), instructing them that Lucifer was God, and was in opposition to the evil god Adonai. Apologists of Freemasonry contend that, when Albert Pike and other Masonic scholars spoke about the "Luciferian path," or the "energies of Lucifer," they were referring to the Morning Star, the light bearer,^[30] the search for light; the very antithesis of dark, satanic evil. Taxil promoted a book by Diana Vaughan (actually written by himself, as he later confessed publicly)^[31] that purported to reveal a highly secret ruling body called the Palladium, which controlled the organization and had a Satanic agenda. As described by Freemasonry Disclosed in 1897:

With frightening cynicism, the miserable person we shall not name here [Taxil] declared before an assembly especially convened for him that for twelve years he had prepared and carried out to the end the most sacrilegious of hoaxes. We have always been careful to publish special articles concerning Palladism and Diana Vaughan. We are now giving in this issue a complete list of these articles, which can now be considered as not having existed.^[32]

Taxil's work and Pike's address continue to be quoted by anti-masonic groups.^[33]
In Devil-Worship in France, Arthur Edward Waite compared Taxil's work to what today we would call a tabloid story, replete with logical and factual inconsistencies.
See also "Lucifer and Satan" at the Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon website.

[edit] Occult beliefs

The Sigil of Lucifer ("Seal of Satan") a magical sigil^[34] used occasionally as an emblem by Satanists

In the modern occultism of Dolores North (alias Madeline Montalban) (died 1982)^[35] Lucifer's identification as the Morning Star (Venus) equates him with Lumiel, whom she regarded as the Archangel of Light, and among Satanists he is seen as the "Torch of Baphomet" and Azazel.
In the Satanic Bible of 1969, Lucifer is acknowledged as one of the Four Crown Princes of Hell, particularly that of the East. Lord of the Air, Lucifer has been named "Bringer of Light, the Morning Star, Intellectualism, Enlightenment."
Author Michael W. Ford^[36] has written on Lucifer as a "mask" of the Adversary, a motivator and illuminating force of the mind and subconscious.^[37]

[edit] Gallery

Lucifer, by Alessandro Vellutello (1534), for Dante's Inferno, canto 34	Lucifer, by William Blake, for Dante's Inferno, canto 34	cover of 1887 edition of Mario Rapisardi's poem Lucifero	Lucifer before the Lord, by Mihály Zichy (19th century)
Lucifer, the Fallen Angel, by James Donahue	Mayor Hall and Lucifer, by an unknown artist (1870)	The planet Venus, either as the Morning Star (in Latin, Lucifer) or as the Evening Star (in Latin, Hesperus)

[edit] See also

• Christianity
• Devil
• Earendel
• Eosphoros
• Iblis
• Luceafăr
• Lucifer in popular culture
• Luciferianism
• War in Heaven

[edit] References

1. ^ Milton's poem uses the name "Lucifer" only three times, as against 72 mentions of "Satan". The name used in this context is "Satan".
2. ^ The word in the original text in Hebrew is הֵילֵל (transliteration: helel; definition: a shining one – Strong's Hebrew Numbers, 1966).
3. ^ The word in the original text is Hebrew שָׁמַ֫יִם (transliteration: shamayim; definition: heaven, sky – Strong's Hebrew Numbers, 8064).
4. ^ ^{a b c d} Jewish Encyclopedia: article Lucifer
5. ^ Verses 29:4, 31:4 of the longer recension manuscript R
6. ^ "The Lucifer myth was transferred to Satan in the pre-Christian century, as may be learned from Vita Adæ et Evæ (12) and Slavonic Enoch (xxix. 4, xxxi. 4)" – article Lucifer
7. ^ Jose [Fortea] Cucurull, Summa Daemoniaca 2004. (ISBN 84-933788-2-8)
8. ^ Jewish Encyclopedia: article Satan
9. ^ ^{a b} Jewish Encyclopedia: article Fall Of Angels
10. ^ Isaiah 14:3–4, 14:12–17
11. ^ ^{a b c} Tyndale Bible Dictionary (Carol Stream, Illinois 2001 ISBN 978-1-4143-1945-2), article Lucifer (p. 829)
12. ^ "Verses 12–15 seem to be based on a Phoenician model. At all events, they display several points of contact with the Ras-Shamra poems: Daystar and Dawn were two divinities; the "mount of Assembly" was where the gods used to meet, like Mount Olympus in Greek mythology. The Fathers identified the fall of the Morning Star (Vulgate, Lucifer) with that of the prince of the demons" (note in the New Jerusalem Bible).
13. ^ The Septuagint Greek translation of the phrase uses the same interpretation of "son of dawn": ὁ ἑωσφόρος ὁ πρωὶ ἀνατέλλων.
14. ^ Your heart is proud and you have said, "I am a god; I sit in the seat of the gods, in the heart of the seas" … By your great wisdom in trade you have increased your wealth, and your heart has become proud in your wealth (verses 2 and 5)
15. ^ 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 (verses 14–16).
16. ^ ^{[Qur'an 17:61]}; ^{[Qur'an 2:34]}
17. ^ ^{[Qur'an 17:62]}
18. ^ ^{[Qur'an 17:63–64]}
19. ^ ^{[Qur'an 7:20–22]}
20. ^ Nurbakhsh, Javad. The Great Satan 'Eblis'. KNP, 1999. ISBN 0933546238.
21. ^ Universel.net
22. ^ In the Greek translation of this passage the word used is Ἑωσφόρος – from ἔως, meaning dawn – which literally means Dawn-Bringer.
23. ^ Hebrew text
24. ^ John Day, Yahweh and the gods and goddesses of Canaan (Continuum International Publishing Group, 2002 ISBN 0826468306, 9780826468307), pp. 172–173
25. ^ Gregory A. Boyd, God at War: The Bible & Spiritual Conflict (InterVarsity Press, 1997 ISBN 0830818855, 9780830818853), pp. 159–160
26. ^ Lewis and Short
27. ^ Cicero wrote: Stella Veneris, quae Φωσφόρος Graece, Latine dicitur Lucifer, cum antegreditur solem, cum subsequitur autem Hesperos (The star of Venus, called Φωσφόρος in Greek and Lucifer in Latin when it precedes, Hesperos when it follows the sun – De Natura Deorum 2, 20, 53.
    Pliny the Elder: Sidus appellatum Veneris … ante matutinum exoriens Luciferi nomen accipit … contra ab occasu refulgens nuncupatur Vesper (The star called Venus … when it rises in the morning is given the name Lucifer … but when it shines at sunset it is called Vesper) Natural History 2, 36
28. ^ Virgil wrote:
    Luciferi primo cum sidere frigida rura
    carpamus, dum mane novum, dum gramina canent
    (Let us hasten, when first the Morning Star appears, to the cool pastures, while the day is new, while the grass is dewy) Georgics 3:324–325.
29. ^ Ovid wrote:
    … vigil nitido patefecit ab ortu purpureas Aurora fores et plena rosarum atria: diffugiunt stellae, quarum agmina cogit Lucifer et caeli statione novissimus exit
    (Aurora, awake in the glowing east, opens wide her bright doors, and her rose-filled courts. The stars, whose ranks are shepherded by Lucifer the morning star, vanish, and he, last of all, leaves his station in the sky – Metamorphoses 2.114–115; A. S. Kline's Version
    And Lucan:
    Lucifer a Casia prospexit rupe diemque misit in Aegypton primo quoque sole calentem
    (The morning-star looked forth from Mount Casius and sent the daylight over Egypt, where even sunrise is hot) Lucan, Pharsalia, 10:434–435; English translation by J.D.Duff (Loeb Classical Library) And Statius:
    Et iam Mygdoniis elata cubilibus alto impulerat caelo gelidas Aurora tenebras, rorantes excussa comas multumque sequenti sole rubens; illi roseus per nubila seras aduertit flammas alienumque aethera tardo Lucifer exit equo, donec pater igneus orbem impleat atque ipsi radios uetet esse sorori
    (And now Aurora rising from her Mygdonian couch had driven the cold darkness on from high in the heavens, shaking out her dewy hair, her face blushing red at the pursuing sun – from him roseate Lucifer averts his fires lingering in the clouds and with reluctant horse leaves the heavens no longer his, until the blazing father make full his orb and forbid even his sister her beams) Statius, Thebaid 2, 134–150; Translated by A. L. Ritchie and J. B. Hall in collaboration with M. J. Edwards
30. ^ "Lucifer, the Son of the Morning! Is it he who bears the Light, and with its splendors intolerable blinds feeble, sensual, or selfish Souls? Doubt it not!" (Albert Pike, Morals and Dogma, p. 321). Much has been made of this quote (Masonic information: Lucifer).
31. ^ Leo Taxil's confession
32. ^ Freemasonry Disclosed April 1897
33. ^ "Leo Taxil: The tale of the Pope and the Pornographer". http://www.masonicinfo.com/taxil.htm. Retrieved 14 September 2006. 
34. ^ Alternative Religions
35. ^ Madeline Montalban and the Order of the Morning Star
36. ^ Luciferwitchcraft.com
37. ^ The Bible of the Adversary "Adversarial Doctrine" page 8 – Bible of the Adversary, Succubus Productions 2007).

[edit] Further reading

• Campbell, Joseph (1972). Myths To Live By. A Condor Book: Souvenir Press (Educational & Academic) Ltd. ISBN 0-285-64731-8

[edit] External links

"Lucifer" in the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia.

• Jewish Encyclopedia: Lucifer

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucifer"

Categories: Abrahamic mythology | Biblical phrases | Christian terms | Angels in Christianity | Demons in Christianity | Fallen angels | Archangels | Hell | Individual angels | Latin religious phrases | Luciferianism | Satan | Satanism

The worshipped creature

 

The dragon, the Beast, and Lucifer, worshipped creatures

Romans 1:24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: 25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. 26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: 27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet.

Isaiah 14:11 Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee. 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; 17That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners? 18 All the kings of the nations, even all of them, lie in glory, every one in his own house. 19 But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcase trodden under feet. 20 Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial, because thou hast destroyed thy land, and slain thy people: the seed of evildoers shall never be renowned.

The Archangel Michael: The dragon, the beast, and the false prophet

Satan Lucifer, King of Babylon

George H.W. Bush

Dragon, a symbol of covetousness

The symbol of covetousness, an abysmal devourer

H8577  ,  , (The second form used in Ezekiel 29:3); intensive from the same as H8565; a marine or land monster, that is, sea serpent or jackal:—dragon, sea-monster, serpent, whale.

H8565 , , , From an unused root probably meaning to elongate; a monster (as preternaturally formed), that is, a sea serpent (or other huge marine animal); also a jackal (or other hideous land animal):—dragon, whale. Compare H8577.

Revelation 12 ²And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. ³And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. ⁴And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born. ⁵And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne. ⁶And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days. ⁷And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, ⁸And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. ⁹And 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. ¹⁰And 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.

The Dragon Pharaoh

Pharaoh, coveter of rivers

Ezekiel 32 ¹And it came to pass in the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, in the first day of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, ²Son of man, take up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say unto him, Thou art like a young lion of the nations, and thou art as a whale in the seas: and thou camest forth with thy rivers, and troubledst the waters with thy feet, and fouledst their rivers. ³Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will therefore spread out my net over thee with a company of many people; and they shall bring thee up in my net.

Ezekiel 29 ¹In the tenth year, in the tenth month, in the twelfth day of the month, the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, ²Son of man, set thy face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him, and against all Egypt: ³Speak, and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that lieth in the midst of his rivers, which hath said, My river is mine own, and I have made it for myself. ⁴But I will put hooks in thy jaws, and I will cause the fish of thy rivers to stick unto thy scales, and I will bring thee up out of the midst of thy rivers, and all the fish of thy rivers shall stick unto thy scales. ⁵And I will leave thee thrown into the wilderness, thee and all the fish of thy rivers: thou shalt fall upon the open fields; thou shalt not be brought together, nor gathered: I have given thee for meat to the beasts of the field and to the fowls of the heaven. ⁶And all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the LORD, because they have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel. ⁷When they took hold of thee by thy hand, thou didst break, and rend all their shoulder: and when they leaned upon thee, thou brakest, and madest all their loins to be at a stand.

⁸Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will bring a sword upon thee, and cut off man and beast out of thee. ⁹And the land of Egypt shall be desolate and waste; and they shall know that I am the LORD: because he hath said, The river is mine, and I have made it. ¹⁰Behold, therefore I am against thee, and against thy rivers, and I will make the land of Egypt utterly waste and desolate, from the tower of Syene even unto the border of Ethiopia.

The Dragon Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon

Jeremiah 51 ³³For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; The daughter of Babylon is like a threshingfloor, it is time to thresh her: yet a little while, and the time of her harvest shall come. ³⁴Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon hath devoured me, he hath crushed me, he hath made me an empty vessel, he hath swallowed me up like a dragon, he hath filled his belly with my delicates, he hath cast me out. ³⁵The violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon, shall the inhabitant of Zion say; and my blood upon the inhabitants of Chaldea, shall Jerusalem say.

Daniel 4 ²⁴This is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the most High, which is come upon my lord the king: ²⁵That they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and they shall wet thee with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over thee, till thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. ²⁶And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the tree roots; thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee, after that thou shalt have known that the heavens do rule. ²⁷Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by showing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity.

²⁸All this came upon the king Nebuchadnezzar. ²⁹At the end of twelve months he walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon. ³⁰The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty? ³¹While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee.
³²And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.
³³The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles' feathers, and his nails like birds' claws. ³⁴And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation: ³⁵And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou? ³⁶At the same time my reason returned unto me; and for the glory of my kingdom, mine honour and brightness returned unto me; and my counsellors and my lords sought unto me; and I was established in my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added unto me. ³⁷Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase.

Lucifer, King of Babylon

Lucifer, son of the morning's exaltation in God's place, Son of the morning, versus The Firstborn, Judgment, the Word as the Preeminent Standard

Job 1:6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them

Isaiah 14 ¹For the LORD will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land: and the strangers shall be joined with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob. ²And the people shall take them, and bring them to their place: and the house of Israel shall possess them in the land of the LORD for servants and handmaids: and they shall take them captives, whose captives they were; and they shall rule over their oppressors. ³And it shall come to pass 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,

⁴That thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased! ⁵The LORD hath broken the staff of the wicked, and the sceptre of the rulers. ⁶He who smote the people in wrath with a continual stroke, he that ruled the nations in anger, is persecuted, and none hindereth. ⁷The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: they break forth into singing. ⁸Yea, the fir trees rejoice at thee, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying, Since thou art laid down, no feller is come up against us. ⁹Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations. ¹⁰All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us? ¹¹Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee. ¹²How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! ¹³For 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: ¹⁴I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. ¹⁵Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. ¹⁶They 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; ¹⁷That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners? ¹⁸All the kings of the nations, even all of them, lie in glory, every one in his own house. ¹⁹But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcase trodden under feet. ²⁰Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial, because thou hast destroyed thy land, and slain thy people: the seed of evildoers shall never be renowned. ²¹Prepare slaughter for his children for the iniquity of their fathers; that they do not rise, nor possess the land, nor fill the face of the world with cities. ²²For I will rise up against them, saith the LORD of hosts, and cut off from Babylon the name, and remnant, and son, and nephew, saith the LORD. ²³I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the LORD of hosts.

²⁴The LORD of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand:.

Dragon- a symbol of covetousness, Nebuchadnezzer and Belshazzar

Dragon, a symbol of covetousness

Dragon (whale)The symbol of covetousness, an abysmal devourer

H8577  ,  , (The second form used in Ezekiel 29:3); intensive from the same as H8565; a marine or land monster, that is, sea serpent or jackal:—dragon, sea-monster, serpent, whale.

H8565 , , , From an unused root probably meaning to elongate; a monster (as preternaturally formed), that is, a sea serpent (or other huge marine animal); also a jackal (or other hideous land animal):—dragon, whale. Compare H8577.

Revelation 12 ²And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. ³And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. ⁴And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born. ⁵And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne. ⁶And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days. ⁷And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, ⁸And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. ⁹And 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. ¹⁰And 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.

The Biblical dragon pharaoh

Ezek 29:3 Speak, and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that lieth in the midst of his rivers, which hath said, My river is mine own, and I have made it for myself.

The Dragon Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, and Bel( shazzar ) 

Jeremiah 51 ³³For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; The daughter of Babylon is like a threshingfloor, it is time to thresh her: yet a little while, and the time of her harvest shall come. ³⁴Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon hath devoured me, he hath crushed me, he hath made me an empty vessel, he hath swallowed me up like a dragon, he hath filled his belly with my delicates, he hath cast me out. ³⁵The violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon, shall the inhabitant of Zion say; and my blood upon the inhabitants of Chaldea, shall Jerusalem say. 
44 And I will punish Bel in Babylon, and I will bring forth out of his mouth that which he hath swallowed up:and the nations shall not flow together any more unto him: yea, the wall of Babylon shall fall.    

Daniel 4 ²⁴This is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the most High, which is come upon my lord the king: ²⁵That they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and they shall wet thee with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over thee, till thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. ²⁶And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the tree roots; thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee, after that thou shalt have known that the heavens do rule. ²⁷Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by showing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity.

²⁸All this came upon the king Nebuchadnezzar. ²⁹At the end of twelve months he walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon. ³⁰The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty? ³¹While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee.
³²And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.
³³The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles' feathers, and his nails like birds' claws. ³⁴And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation: ³⁵And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou? ³⁶At the same time my reason returned unto me; and for the glory of my kingdom, mine honour and brightness returned unto me; and my counsellors and my lords sought unto me; and I was established in my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added unto me. ³⁷Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase.