Could you explain why in Isaiah 14:12, Lucifer is called “son of the morning?” I find this to be confusing when considering Christ is referred to as the “bright and morning star” in Revelation 22:16.
Let’s read 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.” I encourage you to read the entire chapter. The words are in reference to the king of Babylon, yet a greater application is made to Lucifer, as one who sought to overthrow the Lord, yet was cast down. Although this is the only occurrence of the word Lucifer in the scriptures, the word does mean ‘morning star’.
A more thorough description of Lucifer’s existence and fall is found in Ezekiel 28:12-17 which says, “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.” Although this portion was addressed to the King of Tyre, it is easily seen that this has a greater application in reference to Lucifer. The king of Tyre was never in the garden of God, or Eden. The king was never upon the holy mountain of god, and so on. This portion is clearly speaking of Lucifer and can be compared to Isaiah 14:12-15. Notice that Lucifer was perfect when he was created. His beauty and his brightness are mentioned, also. He was the anointed cherub which indicates authority. However, he fell and lost his position in Heaven, and one day he will be cast into Hell as we read in 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.”
Not only is Lucifer called a morning star; the expression, “morning stars” seems to reference angels in general as we see in Job 38:6-7 where it says, “Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof; When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?”
Numbers 24:17 speaks of King David as a star. It says, “I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth.” While this speaks of David, it does have a deeper, prophetic application. It speaks of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Lord Jesus is also referred to as a star in 2 Peter 1:19 which says, “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 star arise in your hearts.”
Then we read of the Lord Jesus in Revelation 2:26-28, “And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father. And I will give him the morning star.”
In Revelation 22:16, the Lord is not only called a morning star, but a bright and morning star. It says, “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.”
The idea of a “bright morning star” is a star that outshines all the others. Lucifer, as perhaps the most beautiful creation of God, probably the most powerful of all the angels, was a morning star. Jesus, as God incarnate, the Lord of the universe, is the bright and morning star. Jesus is the most holy and powerful light in the entire universe. So, while both Jesus and Lucifer can be described as morning stars, in no sense is this equating Jesus and Lucifer. Lucifer was a created being. His light only existed to the extent that God created it. Only Jesus’ light is self-existent. Lucifer may have been a morning star, but he was only a poor imitation of the one true bright morning star, Jesus Christ, the light of the world as we read in John 9:5, “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”