Israel's Remnant Taunts Babylon
Isa 14:12 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!
How art thou... The original fall of Lucifer (Isa. 14:12-14), as well as his final casting down to hell itself (Isa. 14:15), which is the end of all rebels against God, is the subject of this passage.
Six Proofs Satan Is the Subject of Isa. 14:12-15
1. Lucifer is the name of Satan, as is agreed by Bible scholars (Isa. 14:12). Lucifer (Hebrew: heylel, means brightness; morning star. From halal, to shine.
2. Satan is the only one in Scripture referred to as having actually fallen from heaven (Isa. 14:12; Luke 10:18), and the only personal ruler that is yet to be cast out of heaven with fallen angels (Rev. 12:7-12). This identifies him as Lucifer of this passage.
3. Satan is the only person other than Christ and angels who is called a morning star (Isa. 14:12). Angels are so-called in Job 38:7, and Christ is called the bright and morning star in Rev. 22:16; so whoever Lucifer is he could not be a mere man but a heavenly being.
4. Lucifer actually ascended to heaven in an effort to exalt his throne above the stars of God and become like the Most High. This no earthly man could do, for he would have no access to heaven apart from God (Isa. 14:13-14).
5. This whole passage has no literal meaning if interpreted in connection with a man, but in the light of other plain passages about the fall of Satan it clearly refers to him (Isa. 14:12-15; Eze. 28:11-17; Mat. 25:41; Luke 10:18; Eph. 6:10-18; Rev. 12:7-12).
6. This is another example of the law of double reference—two persons, one natural and the other supernatural—being involved in the same passage, as when Christ said to Peter, "Get thee behind Me, Satan" (Mat. 16:23), and the Lord said, "I will put enmity between thee and the woman" (Gen. 3:15). In this chapter we have the earthly king of Babylon addressed (Isa. 14:4-11, 14:16-20) and the invisible king of Babylon also referred to in Isa. 14:12-15.
How...
אֵיךּ
’eyk, אֵיכָה
’eykah, אֵיכָכָה
’eykakah
I. An interrogative adverb meaning How? How! It is translated this way uniformly, but its connotation can be slightly different according to context. It can hint or connote doubt (Gen. 44:8); reproach (Jdg. 16:15); mourning (2Sam. 1:19); assertiveness (Jer. 3:19).
II. An interrogative adverb asking How? How! It is translated uniformly but connotes different shades of meaning. It connotes what? (2Kgs. 6:15). It functions rhetorically (Deut. 1:12). It further expresses mourning, reproach, where (Isa. 1:21; Jer. 8:8). It functions in some cases as a technical literary word introducing a dirge (Isa. 1:21).
III. This interrogative adverb means, "How?" It is found twice in the Old Testament. It indicates a psychological impossibility (Est. 8:6; Song 5:3).
art thou fallen...
נָפַל
napal
A verb meaning to fall, to lie, to prostrate oneself, to overthrow. This common Hebrew verb carries many possible variations in meaning, much like the English verb to fall. For instance, it can be used literally of someone or something falling down (Gen. 14:10; 1Sam. 4:18; 17:49; 2Kgs. 6:5); or into a pit (Exo. 21:33; Deut. 22:4). It is employed for inanimate objects like walls, towers, trees, and hailstones (1Kgs. 20:30; Ecc. 11:3). It is used idiomatically for a violent death, especially in battle (Jdg. 5:27; 1Sam. 4:10; Amos 7:17); and for the overthrow of a city (Jer. 51:8). The word also describes those who fall prostrate before God or those in authority (Gen. 50:18; 2Chr. 20:18). With the preposition ‛al, meaning upon, it carries the meaning to attack (literally, to fall upon) (Job 1:19); to desert (to fall away) (2Kgs. 25:11; Jer. 21:9); to be overcome by sleep or emotion (to fall into) (Gen. 4:5; 15:12; Jos. 2:9; 1Sam. 17:32; Neh. 6:16). It is used to express the idea of being bedridden or debilitated (Exo. 21:18); to be overtaken (lit., to fall into the hands of) (Jdg. 15:18; Lam. 1:7); and to be born (Isa. 26:18). In its causative usage, it also takes the meaning to cast lots (Neh. 10:34,35; Isa. 34:17).
fallen from heaven... Nine Facts about Lucifer
1. He was cast out of heaven (Isa. 14:12; Luke 10:18). If he fell from heaven, he must have been cast out; and if cast out, he must have ascended to heaven in the first place to be cast out. There was some reason for him going there and not staying there after he got there. It must have been a forced and physical casting out, a departure because of superior power and forces.
2. He was cut down (Hebrew: gada‛ to fell a tree; destroy anything; cut down; cut off; cut asunder) to the ground (Isa. 14:12; Luke 10:18). This was the reason he did not remain in heaven. He was forcibly intercepted in his invasion of heaven, and was defeated and cast down as a tree being felled by the woodsman (Isa. 9:10; 15:2; 22:25; 45:2). He was cut down to the ground; he found himself back on the earth he ascended from and which he ruled before his fall and invasion of heaven.
3. He had already weakened the nations (Isa. 14:12; Eze. 28:11-17). This means that before his invasion of heaven he had weakened the nations of earth over whom he had ruled since the creation of the earth and its inhabitants. It was in a period before Adam’s time.
Seven Proofs that Lucifer Ruled People:
(1) They are called nations here. Hebrew: gowy, translated Gentiles, nation, nations, people, and heathen hundreds of times, and never translated angels. The nations he ruled over and weakened then, must have been made up of men.
(2) God told Adam to replenish the earth, not replenish heaven or some other planet (Gen. 1:28). He told Noah to do the same thing 1656 years later (Gen. 9:1). According to this, it is as reasonable to believe that the earth was plenished before Adam’s time as it is to accept that it was plenished before Noah’s. Furthermore, the command to replenish it meant to do so with their own kind—men. This indicates the kind of inhabitants which the earth had in the first place. Adam and his race can only reproduce their own kind (Gen. 1:11; 6:20).
(3) Jeremiah confirms the fact that men, not angels, inhabited the earth before Adam, for in his description of the chaotic earth he says there was no man. In the time before Adam and chaos, men lived in cities and in fruitful places on earth like men of today, so they must have eaten food and been mortal as we are today. See Jer. 4:23-26.
(4) Ezekiel also confirms the fact that they were people (Hebrew: gowy, as in point 1, above), and were ruled by kings. Both terms are used in Eze. 28:11-19.
(5) Peter indicates that the pre-Adamites were mortal beings, for they could be drowned. "The world (Greek: kosmos, social order) that then was (before Adam’s day), being overflowed with water, perished: but the heavens and the earth, which are now (since the six days’ work of Genesis 1:3-2:25) ... are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men ... (we) look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness" (see 2Pet. 3:5-13).
(6) Moses confirms this further by revealing the fact of the flood which caused the pre-Adamites to be drowned (Gen. 1:2).
(7) No statement regarding angels or spirit beings of any kind living on the earth can be found in Scripture. Angels of Satan are spoken of as stars of heaven, indicating that they were originally created to be God’s subjects in heaven and not Lucifer’s on earth (Rev. 12:1-12).
The only statement in Scripture that causes some to stumble over the idea of pre-Adamites being men is 1Cor. 15:45 where it speaks of the first man Adam; but this could be understood by realizing that he was created the first of this present race of men. It should never be taken to mean that he was the first being who ever lived on the earth, for others, even nations made up of men—mortal beings capable of being drowned in a flood—operated in a social system before Adam and the flood of Lucifer’s time.
4. "I will ascend into heaven" (Isa. 14:13). This is one of the things Lucifer said in his heart when planning to overthrow God in heaven. According to Col. 1:15-18, thrones, dominions, principalities, and powers, visible and invisible, were created in heaven and in earth, which shows the establishment of kingdoms in many places in the heavens, on other planets, besides the earth. Lucifer was given dominion of the earth and worked deceitfully to get other angelic rulers to follow him in his war against God. Not only did Lucifer’s own earthly, mortal subjects rebel, but over one-third of God’s angels, for there are that many still with Satan to be finally cast down to earth in the future tribulation (Rev. 12:1-12). The place of mobilization was the earth. How long they rebelled before the actual break with God is not known.
5. "I will exalt my throne above the stars of God" (Isa. 14:13). This statement not only proves that Lucifer’s plan was to invade heaven, dethrone God, and become the supreme ruler of all creations, but it shows that he already was a ruler. If he had a throne he had a kingdom and he himself was a king; he had subjects to rule over and there must have been a location for the kingdom. Who were his subjects? The pre-Adamite men of point 3, above; and his kingdom was located on the earth, as seen in point 7, below.
6. "I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north" (Isa. 14:13). Lucifer was not satisfied to sit on his own throne, but wanted to sit also on God’s throne to be worshiped as the Supreme Sovereign of all creations. This gives the location or direction of heaven—north of the earth—and reveals the fact that there is a congregation of saints or holy beings who gather to worship God. In Psm. 75:6-7 it speaks of promotion coming, not from the east, west, or south, but from the Lord; so, according to this also, the Lord and heaven are in the north.
7. "I will ascend above the heights of the clouds" (Isa. 14:14). This settles the matter regarding the location of Lucifer’s kingdom before Adam’s time.
Three Things Locate It:
(1) It had to be under the planet heaven, or Lucifer could not have determined in his heart to ascend into heaven (Isa. 14:13).
(2) It had to be under the stars of God or he could not have determined to exalt his throne above them (Isa. 14:13).
It had to be under the clouds that surround the earth or he could not have determined to ascend above them (Isa. 14:14). Though a kingdom could be located many places under heaven and under the stars, it could not be under the clouds of earth without being on earth. This should convince us that Lucifer had an earthly kingdom, not a heavenly one, and that his subjects were earthly, not heavenly. Furthermore, since angels and other spirit beings are not constituted like the beings created to live on the earth, we must conclude that they were not the earthly subjects of Lucifer’s kingdom. The fact that angels of Satan are now confined to the heavenlies surrounding the earth is proof that they no longer are fit to reside in heaven; and the fact that they will be confined eternally in a hell beneath the earth (Mat. 25:41) proves that they sinned in connection with the earth and Lucifer’s program of invading heaven
from the earth.
8. "I will be like the Most High" (Isa. 14:14). This was the central idea around which revolved all the sinful and rebellious activities of Lucifer. It is a noble trait to desire to be like God; but to transgress the laws of God and become devoted to a life of self-gratification at the expense of the highest good of all—this is the greatest of all crimes among free moral agents. Lucifer wanted to become like God at the expense of God and everyone else; this was extreme sinfulness against God and nature. It was by this appeal to be like God that Eve was deceived (Gen. 3:5). Christ came to imitate God among men, and to set an example of true God-likeness, that of being like God in consecration to the good of all—not for the good of self-gratification. Thus he repeatedly declared the true nature of consecration and godliness.
9. "Thou shalt be brought down to hell." This will be the final doom of Satan and all who follow him (Isa. 14:15; Mat. 25:21; Rev. 20:10).
from heaven...
שָׁמַיִם
šamayim
A masculine noun meaning sky, heaven, abode, firmament, air, stars. Although the word is plural or dual in form, it can be translated into English as singular or plural depending on the context. The word describes everything God made besides the earth: God made the heavens of the universe (Gen. 1:1; 14:19); the firmament or expanse which He created around the earth was named sky or heaven as well (Gen. 1:8). He stretched out the heavens (Isa. 40:22); creating them (Isa. 42:5; 45:18).
The heavens that humans observe with their senses are indicated by this word. The stars are part of the heavens (Gen. 15:5) and are personified in some cases (Jdg. 5:20); the sun and the moon, along with the stars, make up a major part of the hosts of heaven (Deut. 4:19). Unfortunately, these things were worshiped as gods by even the Israelites (Jer. 8:2). The heavens became a source of knowing the future and life in general, for scanners of the heavens and astrologers searched the heavens for signs (Isa. 47:13). A favorite pagan deity was the Queen of Heaven whom the people worshiped (Jer. 7:18; 44:17). God created waters above and below the heavens (Gen. 1:8-9). The clouds are a feature of the sky (Gen. 8:2; Jdg. 5:4; 1Kgs. 18:45; Job 26:13). The word indicates the total inhabited earth when it speaks of from under heaven, as when the Amalekites were to be destroyed from under heaven (Gen. 6:17; Exo. 17:14). The teacher of Ecclesiastes spoke of examining everything under heaven, i.e., everything done in the world in which humans live (Ecc. 1:13; 2:3; 3:1); birds and other fowl fly in the sky (Gen. 1:20). In God's new world, there will be a new heaven and a new earth (Isa. 65:17; 66:22).
The invisible heavens are the abode of God. Heaven is the Lord's throne, the earth is the resting place of His feet-a beautiful metaphor of God's sovereignty over the universe (Isa. 66:1). He extends the heavens as the tent roof of the universe (Isa. 40:22); He dwells in heaven (1Kgs. 8:30, 8:32); yet He is not contained in even the heaven of heavens, the most exclusive part of the heavens (1Kgs. 8:27).
Heaven describes the place from which God operates: He calls to people from heaven (Gen. 21:17; 22:11). The Ten Commandments were spoken from heaven (Exo. 20:22; Neh. 9:13). He sent down manna from heaven for His people in the desert (Exo. 16:4). He is not merely a dweller in heaven, but He is the God of heaven (Gen. 24:3; 2Chr. 36:23; Ezra 1:2). The heavens grow old and pass away, but God is eternal (Job 14:12; Isa. 13:10; 65:17). Satan aspired to usurp God's reign in heaven and was cast out (Isa. 14:12-13). Elijah the prophet, because he faithfully followed the Lord, was taken up into heaven in a whirlwind (2Kgs. 2:1, 2:11).
O Lucifer...
הֵילֵל
heylel
A masculine noun meaning morning star, Lucifer. The word refers to the king of Babylon figuratively as the morning star (Lucifer, shining one, is from the Latin Vulgate's translation meaning shining one) (Isa.14:12).
son...
בֵּן
ben
A noun meaning son that occurs almost five thousand times in the Old Testament. Although the most basic meaning and general translation is son, the direct male offspring of human parents (Gen. 4:25; 27:32; Isa. 49:15), it is more generally a relational term because of its variety of applications. This word can express an adopted child (Exo. 2:10); children in general, male and female (Gen. 3:16; 21:7; Exo. 21:5); descendants, such as grandsons (Jos. 22:24-25, 22:27; 2Kgs. 10:30); relative age (Gen. 5:32; 17:12; Prov. 7:7; Song 2:3); the male offspring of animals (Lev. 22:28; Deut. 22:6-7; 1Sam. 6:7, 6:10); a member of a guild, order, or class (1Kgs. 20:35; 1Chr. 9:30; Ezra 4:1); a person with a certain quality or characteristic (1Sam. 14:52; 2Sam. 3:34; 2Kgs. 14:14). It may also have a gentilic sense and designate a person from a certain place (Gen. 17:12; Psm. 149:2; Eze. 23:15, 23:17).
of the morning...
שַׁחַר
šahar
A masculine noun indicating morning, dawn, rising up. It is used of the coming of daylight, as the morning (dawn) came up (Gen. 19:15; 32:24,25, 32:26,27). ‛ālāh, to go, to come up is used with this noun to indicate the rising or coming of dawn. The phrase be‛ap̱‛appê-šāḥar means at the breaking of dawn, literally, rays or blinking of dawn (Job 3:9). Psm. 22:1 [1] refers to a song entitled "Hind of the Dawn." The phrase "like the dawn" is used in a simile to refer to a bride or bridegroom's beauty (Song 6:10). God is the ultimate source and cause of the dawn (Amos 4:13).
how art thou cut down...
גָּדַע
gāḏa‛
A verb meaning to cut down, cut off, cut in pieces; be cut down. It describes cutting off a hand or arm in the sense of cutting one's family line or one's strength (1Sam. 2:31; Lam. 2:3). It is further used figuratively to describe the cutting off or shattering of two staffs representing Israel or Judah (Zec. 11:10, 11:14). It describes the cutting down of pagan idols or objects of worship called Asherim (Deu. 7:5; Eze. 6:6) and depicts the cutting down of the morning star, Lucifer, symbolic for the king of Babylon (Isa. 14:12). The horns or strength of the wicked are cut off (Psm. 75:10,11).
to the ground...
אֶרֶץ
’eres
A noun meaning the earth, land. It is used almost 2,500 times in the Old Testament. It refers to the whole earth under God's dominion (Gen. 1:1; 14:19; Exo. 9:29; Psm. 102:25,26; Prov. 8:31; Mic. 4:13). Since the earth was God's possession, He promised to give the land of Canaan to Abraham's descendants (Gen. 12:7; 15:7). The Promised Land was very important to Abraham's descendants and to the nation of Israel that possessed the land (Jos. 1:2, 1:4). Israel's identity was tied to the land because it signified the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham. If the Israelites were disobedient, however, they would be cursed by losing the land (Lev. 26:32-34, 26:36, 26:38-39; Deu. 28:63-64; Jer. 7:7).
which didst weaken... Lucifer had already weakened the nations over whom he ruled before his actual invasion of heaven. His method was slander and turning them away from God in the heart; after that it was easy to lead them into open rebellion (Eze. 28:11-19).
עַל
‛al
A preposition meaning upon, over, against, by, to, for. The various nuances of this preposition are wide-ranging, and the context determines its exact meaning and usage. Here are some basics: on, upon (Gen. 1:11, 1:26; Exo. 20:12; 2Sam. 4:7); in front of (Gen. 18:8; Exo. 27:21); to, unto plus mî, "to whom" (Jer. 6:10); with zô’t or ken following, it means because of, therefore with respect to, concerning (Gen. 20:3; Ruth 4:7); as or according to (Psm. 110:4); besides or over against (Exo. 20:3); to come on (one's) heart, means to come to mind, to think of (Jer. 3:16); to add to, in addition to yāsap̱ ‛al (Gen. 28:9; 31:50; Deut. 19:9); it has the sense of with, met with (Exo. 3:18). Other phrases include: ke‛al-ḵōl, according to all (Isa. 63:7); from upon, upon, e.g., a camel (Gen. 2:5; 19:24; 24:64); ‛al-belî, that . . . not (Gen. 31:20); ‛al-’ašer, because (Exo. 32:35). It is used to indicate God's provincial care, His hand on ‛al someone (Neh. 2:8); and to indicate a burden on someone (Exo. 5:8; 21:22; Job 7:20; Psm. 42:6; Isa. 1:14). It indicates the thing one speaks about or is concerned with when used with verbs of speaking, hearing (Jdg. 9:3; Jer. 16:3). It has the sense of eminence or exaltation, above (Deut. 26:19; Psm. 57:5,6, 57:11,12). It indicates what one exercises authority over (Isa. 22:15). It is used in the idiom, to fall asleep, sleep falls on someone (Gen. 2:21; 15:12); and of the activity of the mind setting on ‛al something (2Sam. 14:1; Jer. 22:17; Mal. 3:13). It is used of an army attacking against ‛al a foe (Gen. 34:25; Deut. 19:11; Amos 7:9).
חָלַשׁ
halaš
A verb meaning to lie prostrate, to cause one to lie prostrate. It means to weaken or overwhelm one's enemy in battle (Exo. 17:13). It takes on the sense of to disappear, lying prostrate, dead, or totally weakened (Job 14:10) when referring to an individual. The star of morning, the king of Babylon, was known as one who weakened, incapacitated the other nations of the world (Isa. 14:12).
the nations...
גּוֹי
gôy, גּוֹיִם
gôyim, הַגּוֹיִם
haggôyim
A masculine noun meaning nation, people, Gentiles, country. The word is used to indicate a nation or nations in various contexts and settings: it especially indicates the offspring of Abraham that God made into a nation (Gen. 12:2) and thereby set the stage for Israel's appearance in history as a nation (Gen. 18:18; Psm. 106:5). Israel was to be a holy nation (Exo. 19:6). Even the descendants of Abraham that did not come from the seed of Isaac would develop into nations (Gen. 21:13). God can create a nation, even a holy nation like Israel, through the descendants of the person whom He chooses, as He nearly does in the case of Moses when Israel rebels (Exo. 32:10). Edom refers to Israel and Judah as two separate nations (Eze. 35:10), but God planned for them to be united forever into one nation (Eze. 37:22). Then they would become the head of the nations (Deu_28:12). In this overall literary, theological, and historical context, it is clear that Israel would share common ancestors, and would have a sufficient increase in numbers to be considered a nation. It would have a common place of habitation and a common origin, not only in flesh and blood, but in their religious heritage. It would share a common history, culture, society, religious worship, and purposes for the present and the future.
This noun is used to mean nations other than Israel as well; pagan, Gentile, or heathen nations (Exo. 9:24; 34:10; Eze. 5:6-8), for all the earth and all the nations belong to God (cf. Exo. 19:5). Israel was to keep herself from the false religions, unclean practices, and views of these nations (Ezra 6:21). In the plural, the noun may indicate the generic humankind (Isa. 42:6). In a few instances, the word refers to a group of people rather than to a nation (2Kgs. 6:18; Psm. 43:1; Isa. 26:2), although the exact translation is difficult in these cases.
The word is used in a figurative sense to refer to animals or insects, such as in Joel 1:6 where it depicts locusts.
The arrogance and fate of the tyrant.
In his military might this great king had laid low the nations, including Phoenicia, Philistia, Egypt, Moab, Edom, Cilicia, much of Judah, and northern Arabia. But he would fall like a morning star. The brilliance of a star in the early dawn suddenly vanishes when the sun rises. Sennacherib, because of his great power, thought himself godlike, but now by startling contrast he would be in the grave. In the ancient Near East, kings had supreme power; many were deified by their subjects. The people taunting this tyrant pictured him ascribing godlike characteristics to himself.
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