Lucifer

Biblical Text

The word "Lucifer" comes from Isaiah 14. Isaiah 14:4 introduces the passage as a proverb taken up "against the king of Babylon." Verse 12 is rendered in the New Korean Revised Version as "How art thou fallen from heaven, O gyemyeongseong [morning star], son of the morning," while the Revised New Korean Standard Version uses saebyeokbyeol ("daystar"). In verses 13–14 this figure declares, "I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God," and "I will be like the most High," yet in the end he is brought down to Sheol (the place of the dead). Korean Bibles, including the New Korean Revised Version, do not use the word "Lucifer" in this passage.

Origin of the Word

The Hebrew original is helel ben shachar. Helel is generally thought to derive from a root meaning "to shine," and shachar means "dawn." The phrase is therefore commonly understood to refer to the morning star that shines brightly at daybreak, namely the planet Venus. The Latin Vulgate translated the term as lucifer, meaning "light-bringer," which was the ordinary Latin noun for the morning star at the time. The Vulgate used the same word for the "day star" in 2 Peter 1:19. Later, when the King James Version rendered the word in Isaiah 14:12 as the proper noun "Lucifer," it became established as a name in the English-speaking world.

In the Bible as a Whole

The name "Lucifer" does not appear in the New Testament. However, Luke 10:18, "I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven," and Revelation 12:9, "And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan," are often read together with Isaiah 14. At the same time, in Revelation 22:16 Jesus calls himself "the bright and morning star." The image of the morning star, then, is not always used negatively in Scripture.

Interpretations and Points of Debate

• The fall of Satan: Some early church fathers, including Origen, read this passage as describing the fall of Satan from heaven because of his pride. This interpretation spread widely through the Middle Ages. Its proponents also cite expressions from the lament over the king of Tyre in Ezekiel 28:12–19, such as "Eden the garden of God" and "the anointed cherub that covereth."
• Historical interpretation: In his commentary on Isaiah, John Calvin held that applying this passage to Satan rests on a misunderstanding of the context, and he read it as referring to the king of Babylon. Many commentators today likewise understand the passage primarily as a taunt song mocking the pride and downfall of a pagan king.
• Dual application: A mediating view holds that while the text speaks of the king of Babylon, it also sheds light on the spiritual forces behind his pride.

The stories that he was the chief of the angels charged with leading praise, or that he led a third of the angels of heaven in rebellion, do not appear directly in the biblical text. Such accounts either derive from interpretations that read Ezekiel 28 together with Revelation 12:4 and similar passages, or were added and transmitted through later literature. John Milton's Paradise Lost is known to have popularized these images.

In the Korean Church

In Korean church preaching and Bible study, "Lucifer" is commonly used as the name of Satan before his fall and is frequently cited to illustrate how pride leads to a fall. Some sermons and training programs for praise and worship ministry also present the story that Lucifer was originally an angel in charge of praise. As noted above, however, this is an explanation drawn from interpretation rather than a statement of the text itself.