Isaiah 14:12
12 How art thou fallen [naphal] from heaven [shamayim], O
Lucifer [heylel], son [ben] of the morning [shachar] [yalal]! how art thou cut down [gada`] to the ground ['erets],
which didst weaken [chalash] the nations [gowy]!KJV-Interlinear
12 "How you have fallen from
heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the
earth, You who have weakened the nations! NASB
The context of this
chapter is Babylon.
Beginning with Babel, a
high tower whose objective was to reach the heights and equality, bringing man
to an equal level with God, proving man’s ability and ingenuity as equal to or
better than that of God.
Then we had the city of
Babylon. The city that withstood through the ages, accumulating wealth and
beauty and design and saw itself as being self-directed and the best of the
best in all that was in the world.
Then came the empire.
Amassing vast chunks of real estate stretching from North Africa to India, and
presuming that it occupied and was ruler of the entire world. Which of course
we know is not true, as there is far greater territory that exists beyond its
borders. But from Babylon’s point of view, it ruled everything.
Babylon today does not
exist. It fell from the heights of its existence a long time ago.
And in our context, the
occupants of Babylon, its rulers, it’s celebrities, it’s elite, who presumed
greatness among and within themselves, are likewise gone, their destination
being the land of the dead in the underworld called Hades.
Our context is also one
which occurs in the last days of man’s rule of the world. The Old Testament
refers on numerous occasions to the end times or the final days of history
wherein the evil of the world destroys the world, and God rescues his people
just in time, and begins his kingdom here on earth.
Now we have a little
bit of background behind Babylon. Was it its own origin? Did it cause itself?
And the answer of
course is no.
Something or someone
fell from heaven, and it was not the tower nor the city nor the empire.
Babylon, represents an
attitude and a system of belief that totally rejects God. And here is named the
source of that attitude and belief system that originally rejected God, and
eventually resulted in this symbolism that is called Babylon.
The word for Lucifer, ‘heylel,’
is a reference to a morning star, or a day star, in the sense of its
brightness. It means to shine, to make a show, to boast, and therefore to be
foolish, to celebrate by means of raving.
Back in ancient times,
the Babylonian kings were often times compared to a morning star, which was
Venus. But this reference to a morning star is singular, and though it refers
to a king, it has nothing to do with any of the earthly Babylonian kings. None
of them were ever in, nor originated from, heaven, subsequently none of them
could have fallen from heaven.
Lucifer is called a day
star, or morning star, who is the son of the morning. The word for morning here
refers to dawn, early light, and is a reference to the beginning, or a
beginning.
To be cut down, as in
the chopping down a tree, and in this case a great tree, refers to the fall or
the destruction of that tree. Babel fell, Babylon, both city and empire, fell,
and likewise the one for whom all of this describes, himself fell. And when one
falls from heaven, that falling is a reference to a disgrace, then that fall is
from grace, namely from God’s grace.
The ground is in contrast
to heaven, and therefore refers to planet earth, or to a lower position as far
as status is concerned, and range of ability or activity.
To weaken means to
prostrate, to overthrow, to decay, to waste away.
The nations, is a
reference to a foreign nation, a heathen nation, a people. It also refers to a
troop of animals or a flight of locusts. Nations, also refers to the back of
people as in the burdens placed on them.
And all of these things refer to godlessness and the burdens that
accompany that state.
In the next verse we
will see that Lucifer is capable of thought and therefore is a person who was
thoroughly familiar with God, such that he wanted to replace God.
Only one individual has
existed continually throughout history with the objective of being equal to or
better than God, who has deceived the nations of the world, beginning with Adam
and Eve, and continuing through the various empire building attempts, and will
continue to exist as an individual until the final times of human history. And
that person of course is Satan or the devil himself.
In the book of
Revelation, Jesus Christ is called the bright morning star within the context
of promise and life and all that is good.
Here we have
individual, since the early dawn of time, who did not create himself but was
the son of, therefore, created by someone else. And of course we know Jesus
Christ creates all life, therefore Jesus Christ created Lucifer, who at the
time was a bright star in his early beginnings, but he fell from grace, which
was of his own doing and arrogance.
All of the descriptive
phrases relating to Babylon came from the origin of Satan who was caught up in
his own pomp and beauty, and of course lost track and lost sight of the
realities that were present around him.
At some point in
eternity past, God created the angelic realm. The Bible tells us that they were
a happy and contented lot. Then God had a second creation, which was the
universe. And all of these angels including Lucifer, were witness to and saw
that creation before their very eyes.
Then somewhere along
the line, Lucifer lost track of everything, and decided that he was or could
be, as good as or better than God.
Lucifer was created. He
did not cause his own existence. Lucifer saw the universe come into being. He
did not create the universe. And as far as we know, by then Lucifer hadn’t
created or done anything himself, which makes him delusional with respect to
his own ability.
And in other studies we
already know that he was tried in a court of law, as it existed in heaven way
back then, and was found guilty, and instead of repenting as did two thirds of
all of the angels, he has held fast to his stubborn attitude throughout all of
these ages.
One might think that he
is a fool of fools for being so stubborn in the face of overwhelming proofs of
God’s grace and superiority. But then, people have in front of their eyes
throughout their lives, overwhelming proofs of God, and Christ, through
doctrine, and yet people stubbornly reject the truth.
