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Are you prepared to meet God? If today were the last day of your life, would you be concerned about where you were going and about standing before a Holy God? A hugely false impression of God has been sold to the world, as depicted by the smiley-face bumper sticker that reads, “God loves you.” Many are unconcerned, thinking that God will simply overlook their unrepented of and unforsaken sins. That concept is as far from truth as light is from darkness. II Timothy 2:19:
Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.
I Corinthians 6:9-11:
9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.
God’s loving kindness is found in His only begotten son Christ Jesus, who was obedient unto the Father, even unto death. God’s love is demonstrated in His forgiveness of repented of and forsaken sins through the atoning blood of Christ, but all of us must be advised that God does not tolerate unforsaken sin. If you have yet to put on the mind of Christ and forsake sin, click on to “Further With Jesus” for the atonement and the absolute best day of your life. NOW FOR TODAY’S SUBJECT.
GOD SAID, Isaiah 14:9-17:
9 Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.
10 All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us?
11 Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee.
12 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!
13 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:
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
16 They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;
17 That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?
GodSaidManSaid received the following e-mail from Daryle:
I’m writing with a question about the reference in Isaiah that is often used to describe Satan. I had heard it many times before and it seemed like a good description, especially since it specifically said ’Lucifer,’ which I thought to be Satan’s name. However, while attending Bible College we looked at that passage in my Biblical interpretation class and when read in the context that it is written, it very clearly is about the King of Babylon, not Satan. Even the name ’Lucifer’ means ’day-star’ and is the name of Venus which can be seen in the day as it rises but disappears in the light of the sun as it gets closer. This is the only reference to the name ’Lucifer’ as well. I looked at my New King James Version study Bible to see what it had to say about it and it says that the verse is attributed to Satan because of Luke 10:18, but that the verse itself does not imply that it talks about Satan. I looked at Luke 10:18 and it certainly says nothing in support of Isaiah 14:12 being about Satan. I was just wondering if you folks know of a better reason why that verse was attributed to Satan?
Now THE RECORD. After careful consideration of the passage in Isaiah concerning Lucifer, it will be obvious that it is referring to the King of Babylon and also to Lucifer who is the spirit of Babylon.
The root of Babylon is the rebellious Satan and his minions, originally led by the wicked Nimrod, a son of perdition. Nimrod, according to the antiquities, was converted by his followers after his death to the status of the sun god, the leader of all false gods, whose birthday is December 25th. He was the founder of Babel (Genesis 10:8-10). This Babel, of course, is where the rebellious purposed to build a tower that would reach unto heaven. They had no intention of going out to populate the whole earth as God had commanded. Instead, they thought to build a city and the tower of Babel so that they would not “be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth,” (Genesis 11:1-4). At this juncture, God confounded their language so that they could no longer understand one another and scattered them abroad according to their languages.
Babel was the city of confusion. From this name, we get the term “babbling.” This was Satan’s geographical center on Earth. His rebellious spirit was the hallmark of Babel. The city of Babel becomes known as the city of Babylon, and the spirit of its wickedness stretches unto the end of this world. Revelation 17:3-6:
3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
4 And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:
5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
6 And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.
Revelation 18:1-5:
1 And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.
2 And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.
3 For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.
4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
5 For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.
Babylon is known as the Mother of Harlots, for out of her emanates spiritual confusion and adultery—the spirit that chooses to be joined unto rebellious Satan, rather than unto the spirit of obedience in Christ Jesus. She is the Mother of Harlots! The spirit that drives Babylon and her king is the spirit of Satan.
Backtracking the Mother of Harlots, we arrive in Babylon at the time of the great prophet Daniel who had been taken captive by King Nebuchadnezzar and carried to Babylon where he was required to serve. During his tenure in Babylon, the Babylonian Empire was defeated and overrun by the Medes and the Persians (Daniel 5:18-31). According to history, a group of Babylon’s idolatrous priests escaped to the city of Pergamos where they practiced their sorcery. So then, the root of Satan’s Babel takes up residence in Pergamos. Jesus speaks of Pergamos in Revelation 2:12-13:
12 And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges;
13 I know thy works and where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth.
The central false deity of Pergamos was the sun-divinity, Nimrod, worshipped under the form of Asklepios Soter, which means “the man-instructing serpent and savior.” It is also known as man’s healer. We see this same spirit in the beginning of man’s fall. Satan takes on the form of the serpent in the Garden of Eden. This “man-instructing serpent” converses with our great-grandmother in Genesis 3:1-6:
1 Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
Satan’s instruction concerning the deadly forbidden tree, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, was to go ahead and eat, and that they would not die but would be as gods, knowing good and evil. Note that Satan promises them that they would be like gods which is his desire: “I will be like the Most High.” According to The Bible and Archaeology, quoting from the book The Two Babylons, “...Pergamos itself became part and parcel of the Roman Empire, when Attalus III, the last of its kings, at his death, left by will all his dominions to the Roman people in 133 B.C.” [End of quote]
The progression and the oneness of the spirit of Satan and Lucifer is seen in the following series of events:
∙ Eden
∙ Babel
∙ Babylon
∙ Pergamos
∙ Roman Empire
∙ Mother of Harlots
∙ Son of Perdition
These are all one and the same spirit. The Word of God teaches that there are many antichrists, but the ultimate one is yet to come.
The Word of God speaks of the second coming of Jesus Christ and the son of perdition in II Thessalonians 2:3-4:
3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
Note this Satanic spirit, this spirit of Lucifer which wants to be like God, dwells in the man of sin, the son of perdition. He will show himself to the world as God. In Satan’s effort to be like God, he even attempts to duplicate the “God the Father and Son” relationship with himself and his son, the son of perdition.
Lucifer’s estranged kinship to God (and thus the name Lucifer) will become obvious as we continue. God is light (I John 1:5), and Jesus Christ is the true light (John 1:9). God is the Father of lights (James 1:17). Jesus Christ said, “I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star, (Revelation 22:16).” Jesus Christ outshines the sun (Isaiah 24:23, Acts 26:13, and Revelation 1:16). At the great battle of Armageddon, Jesus Christ will destroy His enemies with the brightness of His coming (II Thessalonians 2:8).
God is called the Father of lights (John 1:17). Keep this in mind as we continue. God has many sons. Luke 3:38 reads:
Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God.
Genesis 6 speaks of the wayward sons of God who took to wife the daughters of men. Job, on two occasions, refers to the assembly of the sons of God. Jesus Christ, on the other hand, is the only begotten son of God (John 3:16), child of the Holy Ghost, and born of a woman. He was with the Father before the world, and by him God created the universe (Hebrews 1:2). It is through Christ that God performs the miracle of Colossians 1:12-13:
12 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:
13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
Jesus said in Revelation 2:26-28:
26 And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:
27 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.
28 And I will give him the morning star.
Daniel 12:3 prophesies of the righteous:
And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.
Through the blood of Christ we are translated into the kingdom of light, and we become the sons (and daughters) of God.
Lucifer was once part of the kingdom of light, but one day evil was found in him. Lucifer, in Isaiah 14:12, is called “son of the morning.” In Job 38:4-7, God speaks to Brother Job:
4 Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.
5 Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?
6 Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof;
7 When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
The morning stars, of course, are plural. Jesus Christ is differentiated from the rest as the bright and morning star who outshines the sun. It must be noted again that God created all things by Christ Jesus. Colossians 1:15-17:
15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
Lucifer was a morning star, but evil was found in him. Jesus speaks prophetically of Lucifer’s demise in Luke 10:18:
And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.
Revelation 12:3-9 speaks of a war in heaven which took place after the resurrection of King Jesus:
3 And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.
4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.
5 And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.
6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.
7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
9 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.
Noah Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language defines “Lucifer” as “1. The planet Venus, so-called from its brightness; 2. Satan.” [End of quote]
Strong’s Hebrew dictionary defines “Lucifer:” “to be to shine; hence to make a show, to boast; and thus to be (clamorously) foolish; to race; causet, to celebrate; also to stultify: — (make) boast (self), celebrate, commend, (deal, make) fool (—ish—ly), etc., etc.” [End of quote] The word “stultify,” by the way, means “1. To make foolish; to make one a fool; 2. In law, to allege or prove to be insane, for avoiding some act.” [End of quote]
The spirit of Satan and Lucifer are surely defined here.
Also take note that Isaiah 14:12 reads in part, “...How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer!” The King of Babylon was never in heaven, but Lucifer was. And again, Jesus said, “I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.” Satan and Lucifer are the same spirit.
Just as all good attributes are of God’s spirit, all bad attributes are sourced in Satan’s spirit of rebellion. Lucifer epitomizes that spirit in Isaiah, chapter 14, and that spirit dwelt in the King of Babylon who was a son of perdition. But remember, they “that walk in pride he (God) is able to abase, (Daniel 4:37).”
GOD SAID, Isaiah 14:9-17:
9 Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.
10 All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us?
11 Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee.
12 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!
13 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:
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
16 They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;
17 That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?
The e-mailer said, “Is Lucifer really Satan?”
Now you have THE RECORD.
References:
King James Bible
Hislop, A., The Two Babylons, Chick Publications
Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible
The Bible and Archaeology, The Book of Revelation, www.ucgstp.org
Webster, N., American Dictionary of the English Language, 1828
