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14) I will ascend above the tops of the clouds I will make myself like the Most High. 13) You said in your heart, 'I will ascend to heaven I will raise my throne above the stars of God I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain.' 12b)You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! Many English translations have stopped using "Lucifer" in this verse in favor of literally translating the Hebrew as "morning star." This verse is the only place in the Bible where the word "Lucifer" has been substituted for Satan as a name. Satan’s name, then, became Helel in Hebrew, Lucifer in Latin, and Morning Star in English. The translators of the King James Bible used Jerome’s translation, and Lucifer became a part of the English language. When Jerome translated the Bible into Latin he used the term "Lucifer," which meant Venus, to translate "morning star." Jerome’s translation made "morning star" a proper name and the name of Satan. For the church, Satan (or the devil) was understood to be a fallen angel and the personification of evil. How, then, did a Latin name get substituted for the words "morning star"? Since the time of Jesus the early church developed a new understanding of the war between good and evil that differed from Old Testament Jewish concepts. Instead of "morning star" some translations have "Lucifer," even though Lucifer is not a Hebrew name that would have been written in a Hebrew manuscript. 12a) How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn. While verses 4-11 and 16-23 clearly refer to the King of Babylon, some believe verses 12-15 have a double reference to the fall of the Babylonian king and the fall of Satan. Isaiah 14:3-4 foretells the end of the Babylonian captivity and describes Israel mocking the King of Babylon after his fall. Part 2: Bible Verses That Have Double Meanings However, many but not all Christians see a double reference in these verses and believe they describe both the ancient kings and the fall of Satan. Jewish interpretation of these verses state that in Isaiah the verses are about the King of Babylon, while in Ezekiel the verses are about the prophecy against the King of Tyre. Other Biblical scholars find Satan’s fall described in Isaiah 14:12-14 and Ezekiel 28:12-18. No wonder John Calvin felt compelled to write that many "grumble that Scripture does not in numerous passages set forth systematically and clearly the fall of the devils…." Still, in the "Institutes of the Christian Religion," Calvin writes that the Bible reveals all we need to know about the fall of angels, and that "we should be content with this concise information." For many Christians the verse is one of the few that speaks directly about the fall of Satan. Part 1: Bible Verses That Refer Directly to Satan’s Fallġ Timothy 3:6 indicates that pride caused Satan’s downfall. In Revelation 12, when Satan is hurled down during the war in heaven, the chapter is not retelling the story of Satan being original cast out of heaven-the chapter is retelling his final exclusion. When Jesus said, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven" in Luke 10:18, he was referring to how Satan had been defeated when Jesus sent out 72 disciples on a successful mission. In this column, divided into two parts, I will discuss only the initial fall of Satan. It is similar to our expression "falling from grace." Falling from heaven, then, means to lose one’s role or power. Instead, the term "falling from heaven" is a Near Eastern way of saying that someone has suffered defeat, and it was also used in ancient non-biblical literature to describe the fall of gods from power. "Falling from heaven" does not refer to geography such as going from heaven to hell Satan still had access to God’s throne in heaven (Job 1:6, 12 2:1,7). Some readers expressed dissenting views, saying that Lucifer had been misinterpreted, and he is really one of God’s beloved angels.Īlthough Satan appears frequently in the Scriptures, the Bible does not tell us a great deal about the fall of Satan and his angels. In response to last month’s column, many Beliefnet members sent comments and questions about Satan’s sin, asking how and why he was cast out of heaven.