Lucifer

Lucifer is a Latin word meaning "light-bearer" (from lux, lucis, "light", and ferre, "to bear, bring"), a Roman astrological term for the "Morning Star", the planet Venus. The word Lucifer was the direct translation of the Greek eosphoros ("dawn-bearer"; cf. Greek phosphoros, "light-bearer") used by Jerome in the Vulgate, having mythologically the same meaning as Prometheus who brought fire to humanity. In that passage, Isaiah 14:12, it referred to one of the popular honorific titles of a Babylonian king; however, later interpretations of the text, and the influence of embellishments in works such as Dante's The Divine Comedy and Milton's Paradise Lost, led to the common idea in Christian mythology and folklore that Lucifer was a poetic appellation of Satan.

In modern and late Medieval Christian thought, Lucifer is usually a fallen angel commonly associated with Satan, the embodiment of evil and enemy of God. Lucifer is generally considered, based on the influence of Christian literature and legend, to have been a prominent archangel in heaven (although some contexts say he was a cherub or a seraph), prior to having been motivated by pride to lead a revolution against God. When the angel failed, Lucifer was cast out of heaven, along with a third of the heavenly host, and came to reside in the world.

Roman poetic appellation

Lucifer is a poetic name for the "morning star", a close translation of the Greek eosphoros, the "dawn-bringer", which appears in the Odyssey and in Hesiod's Theogony.

A classic Roman use of "Lucifer" appears in Virgil's Georgics (III, 324-5):

Luciferi primo cum sidere frigida rura

carpamus, dum mane novum, dum gramina canent"

"Let us hasten, when first the Morning Star appears,

To the cool pastures, while the day is new, while the grass is dewy"

And similarly, in Ovid's Metamorphoses:

"Aurora, watchful in the reddening dawn, threw wide her crimson doors and rose-filled halls; the Stars took flight, in marshalled order set by Lucifer, who left his station last."

A more effusive poet, like Statius, can expand this trope into a brief but profuse allegory, though still this is a poetical personification of the Light-Bearer, not a mythology:

Origins in Isaiah

In the Vulgate, an early-5th-century translation of the Bible into Latin by Jerome, Lucifer occurs in Isaiah 14:12-14 as a translation of the Greek word heosphorus ("dawn-bearer"), an epithet of Venus. The original Hebrew text of this verse was הילל בן שחר (heilel ben-schahar), meaning "Helel son of Shahar." Helel was a Babylonian / Canaanite god who was the son of another Babylonian / Canaanite god named Shahar.

Helel was the god of the morning star and his father was Shahar, god of the dawn. Some translations of Isaiah 14:12 "How art thou fallen from heaven, O day-star, son of the morning!" American Standard Version translating Hebrew Helel as "day-star" and the Hebrew word ben as "son" and the Hebrew word shahar as "morning." Others translate it as "Lucifer, son of the morning" 21st Century King James.

In Isaiah, this title is specifically used, in a prophetic vision, to reference the king of Babylon's pride and to illustrate his eventual fate by referencing mythological accounts of the planet Venus:

14:4 You will recite this parable about the king of Babylonia: How has the oppressor come to an end, the arrogance been ended?

14:10 They will all proclaim and say to you, "You also have been stricken as we were; you are compared to us.

14:11 Brought down to the nether-world were your pride and the tumult of your stringed instruments; maggots are spread out under you, and worms are your covers.

14:12 How have you fallen from the heavens, O glowing morning star; been cut down to the ground O conqueror of nations?

(Isaiah, Artscroll Tanakh)

The Jewish Encyclopedia reports that "it is obvious that the prophet in attributing to the Babylonian king boastful pride, followed by a fall, borrowed the idea from a popular legend connected with the morning star".^[1]

In modern Jewish theology, Helel in Isaiah 14 is not equated with the Jewish concept of HaSatan (the adversary). Instead, the prophet is speaking of the fall of Babylon and along with it the fall of her false gods Helel and Shahar. There is satan which is a Hebrew word meaning "adversary" and in the Tanakh one will find many instances of the word used to describe human and angelic adversaries to man.

Later Jewish tradition, influenced by Babylonian mythology acquired during the Babylonian captivity, elaborated on the fall of the angels under the leadership of Samhazai ("the heaven-seizer") and Azael (Enoch, book vi.6f). Another legend, in the midrash, represents the repentant Samhazai suspended star-like between heaven and earth instead of being hurled down to Sheol.

It is noteworthy that the Tanakh does not at any point actually mention the rebellion and fall of Satan by name. The name Satan itself merely means "enemy", apparently more of a title. A passage in Ezekiel 28 contains a lament over an "anointed cherub" who was in the "holy mountain of God". The passage goes on to describe this being's expulsion from the "mount of God." In the literal sense, this passage refers to the King of Tyre. However, ancient Christian commentators would frequently interpret Scripture allegorically and anagogically, as well as literally, and it was common for them to extend the meaning of this passage beyond the literal sense, and see an allegory of the fall of Satan in it.

The Helel-Lucifer (i.e. Venus) myth was later transferred to Satan, as evidenced by the first-century pseudepigraphical text Vita Adae et Evae (12), where the Adversary gives Adam an account of his early career,^[2] and the Slavonic Book of Enoch (xxix. 4, xxxi. 4), where Satan-Sataniel (Sataniel/Satanel "The Keeper of Hell") (Samael?) is also described as a former archangel. Because he contrived "to make his throne higher than the clouds over the earth and resemble 'My power' on high", Satan-Sataniel was hurled down, with his hosts of angels, to fly in the air continually above the abyss.

Christian tradition

Christian tradition of a literal fall from heaven drew upon the Homeric tradition, familiar to many.

"the whole day long I was carried headlong, and at sunset I fell in Lemnos, and but little life was in me" Iliad

Homer's description of the parallel supernatural fall relates the fall of Hephaestus from Olympus in the Iliad I:591ff; the fall of the Titans was similarly described by Hesiod. Through popular epitomes these traditions were drawn upon by Christian authors embellishing the fall of Lucifer.

Jerome, with the Septuagint close at hand and a general familiarity with the pagan poetic traditions, translated Heylel as Lucifer. This may also have been done as a pointed jab at a bishop named Lucifer, a contemporary of Jerome who argued to forgive those condemned of the Arian heresy.^{[citation needed]} Much of Christian tradition also draws on interpretations of Revelation 12:9 ("He was thrown down, that ancient serpent"; see also 12:4 and 12:7) in equating the ancient serpent with the serpent in the Garden of Eden and the fallen star, Lucifer, with Satan. Accordingly, Tertullian (Contra Marrionem, v. 11, 17), Origen (Ezekiel Opera, iii. 356), and others, identify Lucifer with Satan.

In the fully-developed Christian tradition, Jerome's Vulgate translation of Isaiah 14:12 has made Lucifer the name of the principal fallen angel, who must lament the loss of his original glory as the morning star. This image at last defines the character of Satan, where the Church Fathers had maintained that lucifer was not the proper name of the Devil, and that it referred rather to the state from which he had fallen; St. Jerome gave it Biblical authority when he transformed it into Satan's proper name.

Identification with Satan

Many modern Christians have followed tradition and equated Lucifer with Satan, or the Devil. A parallel description of Lucifer's fall is found in Ezekiel chapter 28 "A Prophecy Against the King of Tyre", which contains a lament over an "anointed cherub" who was in the "holy mountain of God". He is described as "perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee." The passage goes on to describe this being's expulsion from the "mount of God", apparently because his "heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness." Afterwards the passage describes the eventual fate of this corrupted cherub: "therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee. All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more."

In addition to Isaiah, Ezekiel, Job (in which Satan appears but his origin and purpose are not stated), and various Old Testament scriptures referring to occult powers such as witchcraft, more theological details about fallen angels can be found in the Pseudepigrapha, which are generally not considered canon.

De-identification with Satan

Many modern Christians no longer accept this tradition, however, assigning the story of Lucifer to Christian mythology^{[citation needed]}. It is noted that the Old Testament itself does not actually contain a literal account of the rebellion and fall of Satan. Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28 are directly concerned with the temporal rulers of Babylon and Tyre, rather than a supernatural being; allegorical readings of these and other passages were typical of medieval scholarship but are usually not considered legitimate in modern critical scholarship. Revelation 12, meanwhile, is taken as a reference to Christ's triumph over Satan at his crucifixion rather than a description of a pre-historic event. Christians who reject the Lucifer myth generally believe that the origin of evil (theodicy) is unexplained in Scripture.

Liberal Christian scholarship often denies the existence of a literal personal being called "Satan" altogether, rendering the Lucifer myth irrelevant. It is argued that the name Satan itself (Hebrew: שָׂטָן) merely means "adversary" or "accuser", which may be a personification.

Other instances of the Morning Star in the New Testament

In the Vulgate, the word lucifer is used elsewhere: it describes the Morning Star (the planet Venus), the "light of the morning" (Job 11:17); the constellations (Job 38:32) and "the aurora" (Psalms 109:3). In the New Testament, Jesus Christ (in II Peter 1:19) is associated with the "morning star" (phosphoros).

Not all references in the New Testament to the morning star refer to phosphoros, however; in Revelation:

Rev 2:28 And I will give him the morning star (aster proinos).

Rev 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 (aster orthrinos).

In the Eastern Empire, where Greek was the language, "morning star" (heosphorus) retained these earlier connotations. When Liutprand, bishop of Cremona, attended the Byzantine Emperor Nicephorus II in 968, he reported to his master Otto I the greeting sung to the emperor arriving in Hagia Sophia:

"Behold the morning star approaches, Eos rises; he reflects in his glances the rays of the sun— he the pale death of the Saracens, Nicephorus the ruler." [1]

The four crown princes of Hell

Lucifer has been acknowledged by the Satanic Bible as one of the Four Crown Princes of Hell, particularly that of the East. Lord of the Air, Lucifer has been named "Bringer of light, The morning star, Intellectualism, Enlightenment."

Freemasonry and Luciferianism

Freemasons have been accused by various Christian organisations of worshipping Lucifer, despite the fact that Freemasonry does not consider itself religion, and has members from many religions including Christianity. This theory originates in a hoax perpetrated by Léo Taxil, who had himself been expelled from Freemasonry within months of joining. According to the hoax, leading Freemason Albert Pike had addressed "the 23 Supreme Confederated Councils of the world", instructing them that Lucifer was God, and was in opposition to the evil god Adonai. Taxil also promoted a book by Diana Vaughan (actually written by him) that purported to reveal a highly secret ruling body called the Palladium which controlled the organisation and had a Satanic agenda. As described by Freemasonry Disclosed in 1897:

With frightening cynicism the miserable person we shall not name here [Taxil] declared before an assembly especially convened for him that for twelve years he had prepared and carried out to the end the most sacrilegious of hoaxes. We have always been careful to publish special articles concerning Palladism and Diana Vaughan. We are now giving in this issue a complete list of these articles, which can now be considered as not having existed.^[3]

Despite the fraud having been revealed for over a century, Pike's spurious address and other details of the hoax continue to be quoted by anti-masonic groups.^[4]

Arthur Edward Waite wrote an exposé of this hoax, titled Devil-Worship in France. Waite produces evidence that this was what today we would call a tabloid story, replete with logical and factual inconsistencies.

New Age beliefs

In The Urantia Book, published in 1955, Lucifer is a brilliant spirit personality, a "son of God" who at one time ruled this constellation of 607 inhabited planets. He fell into an iniquitous rebellion against the ordained universe governmental regime in a denial of God's existence saying he was God. "There was war in Heaven" but, according to The Urantia Book, the story has become convoluted over time.

Lucifer recruited Satan, another brilliant being of the same order, to represent his cause to the universe authorities on earth. The then planetary prince of earth, Caligastia - one and the same as "the devil", believed Lucifer's cause and subsequently aligned himself, along with 37 other planetary princes in the system, with the rebels. They all attempted to take their entire populations of their planets under the assertion of a false doctrine, a "Declaration of Liberty" which would have driven them to darkness, evil, sin and iniquity.

When Jesus of Nazareth went up to Mount Hermon for the "temptation", it was really to settle this iniquitous rebellion for the triumph of the entire system. "Said Jesus of Caligastia: "Now is the judgment of this world; now shall the prince of this world be cast down." Subsequently, Lucifer, Satan, Caligastia and all the personalities who followed them, figuratively "fell from Heaven". They were actually and literally all "dethroned and shorn of their governing powers" by the appropriate universe authorities and most have been replaced. Subsequent to their efforts to corrupt Jesus while incarnated in the flesh on earth, any and all sympathy for them or their cause, outside the worlds of sin and rebellion, has ceased.

See: Paper 53 - The Lucifer Rebellion and Paper 54 - Problems of the Lucifer Rebellion.

Astronomical significance

Because the planet Venus (Lucifer) is an inferior planet, meaning that its orbit lies between the orbit of the Earth and the Sun, it can never rise high in the sky at night as seen from Earth. It can be seen in the eastern morning sky for an hour or so before the Sun rises, and in the western evening sky for an hour or so after the Sun sets, but never during the dark of midnight.

Venus (Lucifer) is the brightest object in the sky after the Sun and the Moon. As bright and as brilliant as it is, ancient people couldn't understand why they couldn't see it at midnight like the outer planets, or during midday, like the Sun and Moon. Some believe they invented myths about Lucifer being cast out from Heaven to explain this. Lucifer was supposed to shine so bright because it wanted to take over the thrones or status of Saturn and Jupiter, both of which were considered most important by the worshippers of planetary deities at the time.

In Romanian mythology, Lucifer (Romanian: Luceafăr) means the planet Venus and some other stars. It is also linked with Hyperion, a figure who animates bad spirits (but is not the Devil himself).

Cultural references

"Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heav'n." —Paradise Lost, Book I, 263

Lucifer is a key protagonist in John Milton's (1667) Protestant epic, Paradise Lost. Milton presents Lucifer almost sympathetically, an ambitious and prideful angel who defies God and wages war on heaven, only to be defeated and cast down. Lucifer must then employ his rhetorical ability to organize hell; he is aided by Mammon and Beelzebub. Later, Lucifer enters the Garden of Eden, where he successfully tempts Eve, wife of Adam, to eat fruit from the Tree of knowledge of good and evil.

Lucifer naturally makes appearances in fiction offering a suggestion of esoterica.

This list may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please help improve this list. It may be poorly defined, unverified or indiscriminate. (talk, help, how to edit) This article has been tagged since February 2007.

Literature

• Lucifer is a book written by Michael Cordy
• Luceafarul (the Evening Star) is a poem by the Romanian poet Mihai Eminescu
• Lucifer, by Joost van den Vondel
• Lucifer is referred to as "Memnoch" in Memnoch the Devil by Anne Rice
• Lucifer is identified as the King of the White gods in Miguel Serrano's Nos (1980)
• Lucifer became the name of Jupiter after its transformation into Earth's second sun in Arthur C. Clarke's Space Odyssey series (1968-1997)
• Lucifer is the protagonist of Glen Duncan's I, Lucifer, in which he is offered a shot at redemption by God, and must live a mortal life free of sin.
• Lucifer is the protagonist of Lucifer, the graphic novel series by Mike Carey
• Lucifer is the main character in Waywalkers and Timekeepers, the novels by Catherine Webb, under the name of Sam Linnfer
• Lucifer is a main character in Black Jewels, a book by Anne Bishop
• Lucifer is a main character in Imre Madách (The Tragedy of Man), a Hungarian dramatic poem
• Lucifer is a character in Midnight Nation, a graphic novel by J. Michael Straczynski
• Lucifer is a character in la Révolte des anges by Anatole France
• Lucifer is a character in The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe
• Lucifer is a character in To Reign in Hell, a fantasy novel by Steven Brust
• Lucifer is a character in The Sandman graphic novels by Neil Gaiman
• Lucifer is a character in Von Bek a series by Michael Moorcock
• Lucifer is a character in Angel Sanctuary, a manga by Kaori Yuki about a boy who is the reincarnation of one of his fellow fallen angels
• Lucifer is a character in In His Likeness, a webcomic
• The fall of Lucifer is a central element of the universe portrayed in His Dark Materials a trilogy by Philip Pullman
• Lucifer is a character in The Modern Edda, a web comic.

Film and TV

• Lucifer is portrayed by Peter Stormare in the 2005 movie Constantine
• Lucifer is played by and is the subject of a 1972 film by Kenneth Anger entitled Lucifer Rising.
• Lucifer was played by Viggo Mortensen (to Christopher Walken's Archangel Gabriel) in the (1995) film The Prophecy, as well as by Robert De Niro in Angel Heart (1987)
• Lucifer is played by Al Pacino in the movie The Devil's Advocate, with Keanu Reeves as a lawyer who finds out he is the Devil's son.
• Lucifer is a demon that possesses the title character in the movie The Exorcism Of Emily Rose
• Lucifer is a defaced character but a mentioned and prominent figure in the movie Dogma
• Lucifer is the household cat in the movie Cinderella
• Lucifer is played by Rodney Dangerfield in the movie Little Nicky
• Lucifer is played by Will Ferrell in a Saturday Night Live sketch

Music

• The Iron Maiden song "Moonchild" from the album Seventh Son of a Seventh Son at one point says 'be the mother of a birth strangled babe, be the devils own, Lucifer's my name.' Another song from the same album, "The Prophecy", contains the lyrics 'Now Lucifer smiles, hell awaits.' The "Lord of Light" from the 2006 album A Matter of Life and Death has the following lyrics: 'Spiral path leads through the maze down into the fiery underworld below. Fire breathing lead the way, Lucifer was just an angel led astray.'
• "Lucifer Rising" is the 2nd track from the Inkubus Sukkubus 2001 studio album Supernature.
• On Black Sabbath's "N.I.B." the following lyrics are used 'Look into my eyes, you will see who I am, My name is Lucifer, please take my hand.' The song is about the Devil falling in love. Additional songs from the album Headless Cross contain references, including the songs "Call of the Wild" ('Many spirits are lost forever, but one survives/To call the tune of Lucifer,' and "Blackmoon" ('I'm standing on the dark side of time, reaching for the power in her hand/She's wielding an unholy light and calls from Lucifer's land').
• "Lucifer" is the first track on the Mercyful Fate's 1996 Album Into the Unknown.
• Lucifer is the first-person "narrator" in The Rolling Stones' song "Sympathy for the Devil."
• Lucifer is used in "Lucifer Sam", from the Pink Floyd's album The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. Lucifer Sam is a Siamese cat who belongs to a witch named Jennifer Gentle, as described in the songs lyrics by Syd Barrett.
• The 13th section of Jethro Tull's A Passion Play is subtitled Flight From Lucifer and its first lyric-line is 'Flee the icy Lucifer / Oh he's an awful fellow!'
• Lucifer is used as a metaphor for alcoholism in the song "Prince of Darkness" by Megadeth. The following lyrics are used 'Prince of darkness, the devilish serpent, the dreaded Lucifer.'
• "Father Lucifer" is a song by Tori Amos.
• Lucifer was a rock band in Baltimore during the 1970s and '80's.
• "Lucifer" is a song by Jay-Z produced by Kanye West.
• "Lucifer's Angel" is the name of song composed by Rasmus in their album Hide from the Sun.
• Lucifer is mentioned several times in "Stars" by Inspector Javert from Les Misérables.
• Lucifer is mentioned in the chorus of Tenacious D's "Tribute."
• W.A.S.P - Song title: "Sleeping in the fire. Lucifer's magic."
• The symphonic black metal band Cradle of Filth devoted an entire album to John Milton's 1667 Protestant epic, Paradise Lost (Damnation and a Day), which tells the story of creation and mankind's progression through Lucifer's eyes.
• "Lucifer" is a the 1st song (instrumental) of The Alan Parsons Project album Eve.
• "Lucifer, son of the morning" is referenced in the first line of Max Romeo's song "I Chase the Devil."
• Arcane Rain Fell, a concept album by the Swedish doom metal band Draconian, is centered around the theme of Lucifer's fall from heaven. As is their demo The Closed Eyes of Paradise.
• "Lucifer Over London" is a song produced by Rotting Christ.
• "Lucifer Over London" is a song written and performed by Current 93.
• "If I make the pearly gates, do my best to make a drawing of God, and Lucifer, a boy and girl, an angel kissing on a sinner" in The Trapeze Swinger by Iron & Wine.
• "Lucifermotorcade" is a song written by Strung Out.
• Iced Earth mentions Lucifer in their 16 minute song "Dante's Inferno", the 8th track on the band's album Burnt Offerings. The song is based on The Inferno portion of Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy. Lucifer is introduced at 14:37 as the "Angel of Light".

Video games

• Lucifer is a vital character in the roleplaying series Shin Megami Tensei, and its related spin-offs. In the series, Lucifer is portrayed as a multi-faceted, almost noble enemy of YHWH (God). His human alias is Louis Cypher.
• Lucifer is mentioned as being the former ruler of the Netherealm before he was overthrown by Quan Chi and Shinnok in the Mortal Kombat series.
• The Lucifer is a Shivan capital ship, from the game Descent: FreeSpace.
• Lucifer is the basis for the character Horus in the fictional universe of Warhammer 40,000. His story is much the same as Horus' (including his fall from grace, or in Horus' case, fall to Chaos), but Horus slew Sanguinius, while Lucifer was cast down by Michael.
• Lucifer is the name of a playable character in the Warcraft III custom map DotA Allstars.
• Lucifer, changed to Luther in North America, is the final boss of Star Ocean: Till the End of Time.
• In Soul Calibur III, the name Lucifer cannot be given to a custom made character.
• In Painkiller. The objective of the player is to kill Lucifer and his four leading generals.
• Lucifer appears in a small RPG called Demikids for the GBA as the king of the demon world. Despite his common use, this world depicts a high class modern civilized society, and Lucifer is benevolent and on the side of the good guys trying to save reality instead of the common use of him as a monster. He the second highest level of demon in the game, only usable after clearing the game.

Notes

1. ^ Jewish Encyclopedia: Lucifer; also Fall of Angels
2. ^ Vita Adae et Evae: Text from R.H. Charles, The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament
3. ^ Freemasonry Disclosed April 1897
4. ^ Leo Taxil: The tale of the Pope and the Pornographer. Retrieved on 14 September, 2006.

Wikipedia information about Lucifer This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Lucifer". It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer). Help contribute to Americola and edit this article.