“Lucifer” or “Morning Star” in Isaiah 14:12?

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from Chick.com

Question: Should the Bible say “Lucifer” or “morning star” in Isaiah 14:12? And does it refer to Satan?

Answer: The King James Bible is correct. Although “Lucifer” is the Latin version of the name, the passage is talking about Satan, not a mere Babylonian king.

Light-Bearer or Morning Star?Throughout the world, if you ask people who “Heyleel” (hey-LEYL) is, most will not know what to answer. But if you ask them, “Who is Lucifer?” you will very likely get the correct answer. People know who Lucifer is. Ask the Luciferians, who worship Lucifer as a being of light. Ask the Satanists, who call their master Lucifer. No one is in doubt as to who Lucifer is.

What if you ask them, “Who is the morning star?” or “Who is the day star?” Most will know it’s Jesus. Look at these scriptures:

2 PETER 1:19: “WE HAVE ALSO A MORE SURE WORD OF PROPHECY; WHEREUNTO YE DO WELL THAT YE TAKE HEED, AS UNTO A LIGHT THAT SHINETH IN A DARK PLACE, UNTIL THE DAY DAWN, AND THE DAY STARARISE IN YOUR HEARTS:”REVELATION 22:16: “I JESUS HAVE SENT MINE ANGEL TO TESTIFY UNTO YOU THESE THINGS IN THE CHURCHES. I AM THE ROOT AND THE OFFSPRING OF DAVID, AND THE BRIGHT AND MORNING STAR.”

Any translation that says “day star” or “morning star” or “star of the morning” in Isaiah 14:12, like most modern perversions, is bringing confusion. And God is not the author of confusion (1 Corinthians 14:33). Many people reading the modern perversions end up asking, “If Lucifer is the morning star and Jesus is the morning star, then is Lucifer Jesus?” The modern translations are simply not clear!

That is not all. The term translated “Lucifer” does NOT at all mean “morning star” or “star of the morning.” That would be two totally different Hebrew words. The word means “light-bearer.” In Greek it’s “heosphoros,” “light-bearer.” In Latin it’s translated “Lucifer,” light-bearer. Whether you say “heylel,” “heosphoros” or “lucifer,” the meaning is the same: “light-bearer.” But only Lucifer communicates who we are talking about in English.

And not only English uses the term. Look at these ancient translations of the Word. They also use some form of “Lucifer.”

Spanish	Reina-Valera (1557 through 1909)	Lucero
Czech	Kralika (1613)	lucifere
Romanian	Cornilescu (to present)	Luceafar

Going Deeper: the Example of EzekielThere is evidence that God is speaking through his prophet to someone other than the king, even though it starts out to that person. Ezekiel 28 is an excellent example. It begins by talking about a human being ruling as king of Tyrus (Tyre). Then the scene shifts and the devil behind the leader starts to take focus:

First God addresses the king, called the “prince of Tyrus”:

EZEKIEL 28:1-2: “THE WORD OF THE LORD CAME AGAIN UNTO ME, SAYING, SON OF MAN, SAY UNTO THE PRINCE OF TYRUS, THUS SAITH THE LORD GOD; BECAUSE THINE HEART IS LIFTED UP, AND THOU HAST SAID, I AM A GOD, I SIT IN THE SEAT OF GOD, IN THE MIDST OF THE SEAS; YET THOU ART A MAN, AND NOT GOD, THOUGH THOU SET THINE HEART AS THE HEART OF GOD”

Then to the devil behind the prince, called the “king of Tyrus” (note the more specific references that have nothing to do with the location or time of Tyre):

EZEKIEL 28:11-17:“MOREOVER THE WORD OF THE LORD CAME UNTO ME, SAYING, SON OF MAN, TAKE UP A LAMENTATION UPON THE KING OF TYRUS, AND SAY UNTO HIM, THUS SAITH THE LORD GOD; THOU SEALEST UP THE SUM, FULL OF WISDOM, AND PERFECT IN BEAUTY. THOU HAST BEEN IN EDEN THE GARDEN OF GOD; EVERY PRECIOUS STONE WAS THY COVERING, THE SARDIUS, TOPAZ, AND THE DIAMOND, THE BERYL, THE ONYX, AND THE JASPER, THE SAPPHIRE, THE EMERALD, AND THE CARBUNCLE, AND GOLD: THE WORKMANSHIP OF THY TABRETS AND OF THY PIPES WAS PREPARED IN THEE IN THE DAY THAT THOU WAST CREATED. THOU ART THE ANOINTED CHERUB THAT COVERETH; AND I HAVE SET THEE SO: THOU WAST UPON THE HOLY MOUNTAIN OF GOD; THOU HAST WALKED UP AND DOWN IN THE MIDST OF THE STONES OF FIRE. THOU WAST PERFECT IN THY WAYS FROM THE DAY THAT THOU WAST CREATED, TILL INIQUITY WAS FOUND IN THEE. BY THE MULTITUDE OF THY MERCHANDISE THEY HAVE FILLED THE MIDST OF THEE WITH VIOLENCE, AND THOU HAST SINNED: THEREFORE I WILL CAST THEE AS PROFANE OUT OF THE MOUNTAIN OF GOD: AND I WILL DESTROY THEE, O COVERING CHERUB, FROM THE MIDST OF THE STONES OF FIRE. THINE HEART WAS LIFTED UP BECAUSE OF THY BEAUTY, THOU HAST CORRUPTED THY WISDOM BY REASON OF THY BRIGHTNESS: I WILL CAST THEE TO THE GROUND, I WILL LAY THEE BEFORE KINGS, THAT THEY MAY BEHOLD THEE.”

There was no one in Tyre that was in Eden or the mountain of God. No one there was a cherub (a type of angel). No one there was “created.” This is Satan, Lucifer, the serpent, the dragon, the devil. (And I’m sure he recognizes those names for him by now!)

Satan/Lucifer/the serpent/the dragon was a cherub, an angel. He was created, since angels were created, not born. Humans were born after Adam and Eve, not created. He was in the garden of God, Eden. He was the “covering cherub.” He was “bright” as an angel of light (see also 2 Corinthians 11:14)

Now let’s look back at Isaiah 14. Isaiah also begins talking to the physical king of Babylon, then afterward to the spirit behind him.

It starts out to the king:

ISAIAH 14:4-8: “…THOU SHALT TAKE UP THIS PROVERB AGAINST THE KING OF BABYLON, AND SAY, HOW HATH THE OPPRESSOR CEASED! THE GOLDEN CITY CEASED! THE LORD HATH BROKEN THE STAFF OF THE WICKED, AND THE SCEPTRE OF THE RULERS. HE WHO SMOTE THE PEOPLE IN WRATH WITH A CONTINUAL STROKE, HE THAT RULED THE NATIONS IN ANGER, IS PERSECUTED, AND NONE HINDERETH. THE WHOLE EARTH IS AT REST, AND IS QUIET: THEY BREAK FORTH INTO SINGING. YEA, THE FIR TREES REJOICE AT THEE, AND THE CEDARS OF LEBANON, SAYING, SINCE THOU ART LAID DOWN, NO FELLER IS COME UP AGAINST US”

Then it changes in tone:

ISAIAH 14:12-15: “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! 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: I WILL ASCEND ABOVE THE HEIGHTS OF THE CLOUDS; I WILL BE LIKE THE MOST HIGH. YET THOU SHALT BE BROUGHT DOWN TO HELL, TO THE SIDES OF THE PIT.”

The scriptures tell us who this is. Jesus said:

LUKE 10:18-20: “AND HE SAID UNTO THEM, I BEHELD SATAN AS LIGHTNING FALL FROM HEAVEN. BEHOLD, I GIVE UNTO YOU POWER TO TREAD ON SERPENTS AND SCORPIONS, AND OVER ALL THE POWER OF THE ENEMY: AND NOTHING SHALL BY ANY MEANS HURT YOU. NOTWITHSTANDING IN THIS REJOICE NOT, THAT THE SPIRITS ARE SUBJECT UNTO YOU; BUT RATHER REJOICE, BECAUSE YOUR NAMES ARE WRITTEN IN HEAVEN.”

Revelation also leaves no doubt as to who fell from heaven:

REVELATION 12:7-12: “AND THERE WAS WAR IN HEAVEN: MICHAEL AND HIS ANGELS FOUGHT AGAINST THE DRAGON; AND THE DRAGON FOUGHT AND HIS ANGELS, AND PREVAILED NOT; NEITHER WAS THEIR PLACE FOUND ANY MORE IN HEAVEN. AND 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. AND 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. AND THEY OVERCAME HIM BY THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB, AND BY THE WORD OF THEIR TESTIMONY; AND THEY LOVED NOT THEIR LIVES UNTO THE DEATH. THEREFORE REJOICE, YE HEAVENS, AND YE THAT DWELL IN THEM. WOE TO THE INHABITERS OF THE EARTH AND OF THE SEA! FOR THE DEVIL IS COME DOWN UNTO YOU, HAVING GREAT WRATH, BECAUSE HE KNOWETH THAT HE HATH BUT A SHORT TIME.”

So we know that the only ones in the Bible that fell from heaven are the Devil and his angels. These are the ones for whom “everlasting fire,” the lake of fire, was made:

MATTHEW 25:41: “THEN SHALL HE SAY ALSO UNTO THEM ON THE LEFT HAND, DEPART FROM ME, YE CURSED, INTO EVERLASTING FIRE, PREPARED FOR THE DEVIL AND HIS ANGELS:”REVELATION 20:10: “AND THE DEVIL THAT DECEIVED THEM WAS CAST INTO THE LAKE OF FIRE AND BRIMSTONE, WHERE THE BEAST AND THE FALSE PROPHET ARE, AND SHALL BE TORMENTED DAY AND NIGHT FOR EVER AND EVER.”

The King James Bible is right, however we view it. Even if we pretend the scripture is only talking to the earthly king, it still is clearly talking about Satan, the Devil, known world over as Lucifer.

May God bless you as you read and trust the translation of His preserved words in English, the King James Bible.

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Everyone desires the joy of the LORD, right? Yes, yet only those who are willing to devour His Word – to get it into their hearts and keep it flowing into their hearts, will experience that great joy of the LORD which is our strength! In context, the joy of the LORD is the strength of those who read it, hear it, embrace it, adhere to it, and keep it flowing into their mind and heart daily! (Nehemiah 8:8, 10)

“So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly (directly), and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading. … 10 Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” Nehemiah 8:8, 10

After they had feasted on God’s Word, the elders of Israel said to them: You are now full of the Word. Now “Go your way”, that is, go home and be blessed to “send portions” of the bounty of the LORD you’ve been filled with today to overflowing. “Freely ye have received, freely give.” (Matthew 10:8) Let your cup run over and bless others! Let your light shine into others, may your cup run over onto others, to bless them with the bountiful blessings of the LORD you have received.

We have to eat the fat and drink the sweet of the Word of God to be filled with the joy of the LORD which is our strength!

“Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts.” Jeremiah 15:16

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“There is treasure to be desired and oil in the dwelling of the wise.” Proverbs 21:20

Holy Father, we ask You in the name of Jesus to make us happy in Jesus as You’ve forgiven and freed us from our sin and so of all people on Your earth, only Your people can be truly happy in Thee dear LORD. Please bless each of Your beloved saints to be anointed for the death and burial of the self life and raised up in Your blessed resurrection grace and joy. In Jesus’ name let it be dear LORD.

“These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.” John 15:11

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Abandoning Our Own Sin, Our Own Way, for God and His Better Way!

To “rend your heart” is a biblical phrase meaning to tear open your heart in radical sincerity, true humility, and genuine repentance.

The phrase comes from Joel 2:13 in the Bible: “Rend your heart and not your garments and return to the Lord your God.”

One source notes the following:

“Context and Deeper Meaning:

Cultural Background: In ancient times, the Jewish people would tear (rend) their clothes as a public, highly visible display of grief or repentance.
The Spiritual Message: God is warning that outward rituals (like ripping clothing) are meaningless if the heart remains unchanged. Rending your heart implies breaking through your pride, letting go of excuses, and being completely vulnerable and authentic before God.
The Reward: The verse goes on to say that God is “gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love.” Tearing open your heart allows you to experience His forgiveness and restore your relationship with Him.”

To see an example of rending one’s physical garment in representation of rending their heart, see Acts 14:11-18.

Where is the LORD Looking?

“But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7

“Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: 13 and rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil. 14Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him; even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the Lord your God” Joel 2:12-14

“What a gracious invitation is contained in these words. How tenderly the Lord reasons with his people. And what an encouraging assurance it folds up with. Reader! do not fail to observe that this call of the Lord, the accompanying grace to incline the heart to the observance of it is implied. It is most blessed ever to remember that when the Lord thus comes forth in his endearing invitations, he is secretly inclining the heart to accept them. Grace must first enter the heart, or there will be no inclination to obey.” Robert Hawker

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A Fresh Start with God Always Begins with Humility and True Repentance

“Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.” Acts 3:19

Concerning rending our hearts before the LORD, one source notes:

The classic Bible passage on this concept is Joel 2:13, where God commands: “Rend your heart and not your garments”. In ancient biblical culture, tearing (or “rending”) one’s physical clothing was a customary, visible display of extreme grief, despair, or repentance. Through the prophet Joel, God is essentially telling His people: Stop doing the empty, outward religious ritual of tearing your clothes to show everyone how sorry you are. Instead, let me see true, inward brokenness over your sins.

Examples of Rending Physical Garments

In the Bible, the physical act of tearing clothes was used as a dramatic expression of deep emotion in several well-known narratives:

Joseph’s Brothers (Genesis 37:29, 34): When Reuben realized Joseph was not in the pit, and later when the brothers brought Joseph’s blood-stained coat to Jacob, they tore their clothes in grief and despair.
Job (Job 1:20): After hearing that he had lost all his wealth and his children, Job stood up and tore his robe as an outward sign of his overwhelming sorrow.
King David (2 Samuel 1:11-12): When David received news of the deaths of King Saul and Jonathan, he and his men tore their clothes to mourn.
The High Priest (Matthew 26:65): In a dramatic display of hypocritical outrage, the high priest tore his own garments when Jesus declared He was the Son of God, falsely accusing Him of blasphemy.

The Spiritual Meaning of “Rending the Heart”

The concept of “rending the heart” contrasts an outward show with inward reality.

Genuine Repentance: Tearing your heart means being vulnerable, acknowledging your brokenness, and deeply repenting of sin before God.
Prioritizing Relationships over Rituals: God desires a sincere heart—true sorrow and a desire to change—more than he desires traditional religious pageantry or dramatic, public displays of grief.
The Promise of Forgiveness: In Joel 2:13, the command to rend the heart is immediately followed by the promise of grace: “Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love”.

God sees beyond our external habits and religious actions, requiring instead a humble, contrite heart to fully experience His mercy.”

God’s Mercy

“Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: 13 And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil. 14 Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him; even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the LORD your God?” Joel 2:12-14

In God’s Word, where we see men who tear open their garments…. This holds the illustration of rending our hearts before the LORD.

Don’t render outward tearing, no, rather, tear open your inner man, your heart—be honest, sincere, exposed, and vulnerable to the LORD whom you trust.

Let’s attempt to get at, to ascertain what God is commanding of His beloved people to do in this “rend your heart” passage.

“Joel 2:13: Rend your heart—Let it not be merely a rending of your garments, but let your hearts be truly contrite. Merely external worship and hypocritical pretensions will only increase the evil, and cause God to meet you with heavier judgments.

For he is gracious—Good and benevolent in his own nature.

Merciful—Pitying and forgiving, as the effect of goodness and benevolence.

Slow to anger —He is not easily provoked to punish, because he is gracious and merciful.

Of great kindness—Exuberant goodness to all them that return to him.

And repenteth him of the evil—Is ever ready to change his purpose to destroy, when he finds the culprit willing to be saved. See the notes on Exo_34:6, Exo_34:7.” Adam Clarke

“Joel 2:12-14: III. DIVINE APPEAL TO JUDAH TO REPENT (2:12-14)
Even now, the LORD calls the people to repentance. It is not too late to return to Him. But it must be more than outward ritual. Their turning was to be with all their heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.” Believer’s Bible Commentary

To rend our hearts is the consistent message, mandate of God to His people of all ages and eras.

“The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.” Psalms 34:18

“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.” Psalms 51:17

In Joel 2 the LORD reminds those who are backslidden that He “is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil. 14 Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him; even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the LORD your God? …”

They must meet His stated conditions to receive His blessings ….

He promises that He will forgive them as they…..

“Joel 2:12-27: THE AVERTING OF JUDGMENT
To rend the garment is easy, but a broken and contrite heart can be imparted only by the grace of the Holy Spirit. The love of God should bring us to repentance. He takes no pleasure in our miseries and if men repent and turn from their sin they find an immediate and loving welcome to the Father’s heart and home. Joel had called for the trumpet to announce war; he now directs the trumpet blast to summon the people, from the highest to the lowest, to plead for help. Prayer and true repentance and faith bring an immediate answer. As the husband yearns over his erring but repentant wife, and is indignant with those who have maltreated her, so will Jehovah remove from us, when we turn to Him, those who have cruelly oppressed us.
The great things Jehovah did against Egypt and Babylon are an earnest of what He will do again. The earth (and all the creation of God) … have good reason to rejoice in what awaits them. God promises not only to forgive sin, but to make us happy and well provided as if the locust and cankerworm had never settled upon our lives.” FB Meyer

Religious hypocrites, counterfeits, emphasize the outward to cover their inner darkness, rebellion.

“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. 24 Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. 25 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Matthew 23:23-25

“He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.” Mark 7:6

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Real, actual assurance only comes from possessing authentic salvation – which begins with humility and true repentance, an original Gospel essential (Matthew 3:2; 4:17; Luke 13:3; 24:47; Acts 2:38; 3:19; 20:21, etc.). Heretical calvinists and eternal security frauds rob people of true assurance which ONLY comes from having a faith that works, is obedient to Christ. Read 1 John chapter 3 and embrace what the LORD is saying. Here’s a taste – “My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. 19 And hereby we know that we are of the […]

The Importance of Pureness of Heart [podcast]

“He that loveth pureness of heart, for the grace of his lips the king shall be his friend.” Proverbs 22:11 With pureness of heart, our words shall issue forth with grace and seasoning and be more readily received by those who hear. “Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.” Colossians 4:6 David’s Prayer “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.” Psalms 19:14 “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they […]