The Devil (part 2): Lucifer

Often Satan and Lucifer are names for the “devil” that are often used interchangeably. Although there are similar qualities attached to each name, followers of these beings insist there are differences.  The differences seem to stem from the origins of the beliefs in each entity.  The term “satan” is not actually a name, it is a description.  Satan was an adversary, a prosecutor, one who questions both God and man.  He only became seen as evil when he challenged Jesus in the desert after the baptism of Jesus.  Lucifer had no such adversarial role.  The name derives from the Latin Lucifer "morning star," the noun use of the adjective, literally,  means "light-bringing," from lux (genitive lucis) "light", "light, brightness" compounded to  ferre "to carry, bear." Mythologists point out that Lucifer was associated with Greek astrology, the planet Venus appeared in the morning and to the ancients it was known as Phosphorus in Greek and Lucifer in Latin.  In order to understand this connection properly, one must realize that the darkest point of the night is just before dawn. When the planet Venus rises before the Sun, it is the brightest light in the sky at the darkest time of the day making, Venus or Lucifer, the Prince of Darkness. What does the Prince of Darkness say to us? He says the light or enlightenment is coming – to wake up and to sleep no more. The world of darkness took on a fearsome image in the Christian Scriptures.

While some argue that Lucifer appears in the Hebrew Bible with the word, helel, meaning brightness.  Lucifer clearly appears in the Old Testament only once, in Isaiah 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!” 

However, the story of Lucifer being a “fallen angel” is found in the  “Apocrypha”, meaning a set of hidden books that were not given the authority of the Bible, Vita 12-17. Summarily, it reads;

"Before his fall from heaven, Lucifer was a high and exalted angel. He was described as mild and happy. It is said that his forehead was high and broad, a sign of his intelligence. His form was perfect and his presence was noble and majestic. A light surrounded him and made him brighter and more beautiful than all the other angels. But Lucifer was jealous of Jesus Christ, who was one with God before Lucifer was created. Lucifer knew that no matter how intelligent or respected he was, God would always choose Jesus Christ over him. As much as he tried, Lucifer could not accept this. However, he did not make his feelings known. When all the other angels bowed to Christ, Lucifer followed, even though his heart was not pure. God held a meeting with Jesus to discuss his plans for creation. Lucifer was not allowed to attend the meeting. He wasn’t allowed to know God’s plans for the future. This troubled Lucifer, as he thought he was a favorite in heaven. He wanted to be just as important as God himself but couldn’t see how he could reach such a level of power. Lucifer rose up against God and challenged His sovereignty.  God declared that such rebellion was unforgivable and that Lucifer and his following angels would no longer remain in heaven. There was war in heaven but God, his Son and their loyal angels won the battle. Lucifer and his army were banished from heaven forever and all was peaceful in heaven once again. The remaining angels mourned the loss of their brothers and sisters but knew that they needed to be punished for their rebellion.  The idea of Michael leading the expulsion from Heaven first occurs in Revelation 12:7; “Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back”.

Because of his heavenly background, Lucifer has been depicted as a beastly and grotesque angel.  Art Historians have pointed to an evolution of how Lucifer is portrayed.  In the earlier depictions, hailing from the 1500s and 1600s, this intrigue with horror is projected onto an image of a bestial, inhuman demon. But as the centuries go on, artists started rendering the personification of evil as, actually, one of us. The argument goes that bits and pieces from ancient religions got synthesized: The cloven feet from Pan, the horns from the gods of various cults in the near east. In the 15th and 16th century, these solidified into this personification of evil, seen as the great enemy of Christ, the Church, and mankind; a horned, bestial, furry figure. In later centuries, depictions of Satan in art evolved from a wretched beast to a more human figure. However, the image of Satan as a red, winged, horned figure persists in today’s popular imagination, contemporary artists have bestowed the devil with the most human likenesses to date. 

Over the centuries, popular theology has blended Satan, Lucifer, and Mephistopholes (in Göethe) into a confusing being called “the devil”.  He is a figure that is easy to  hate, especially with his gruesome form and opposition to Jesus Christ.