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Why Does “Morning Star” Refer To Both Jesus & Satan? – Live Q&A for September 5, 2024

Why Does “Morning Star” Refer to Both Jesus and Lucifer?

This week, Pastor David’s lead question comes from a user named “Find the Truth Answer” who asks: Why Does “Morning Star” refer to both Jesus AND Lucifer?

This question deals with two main passages, one referring to Lucifer and one referring to Jesus.

Here’s the “Lucifer” passage:

Isaiah 14:12 (NKJV)

How you are fallen from heaven,
O Lucifer, son of the morning!

Here’s the “Jesus” passage:

Revelation 22:16 (NKJV)

I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.

Let’s speak briefly first about the passage that speaks of Jesus, Revelation 22:16.

Bright and Morning Star: This is another Messianic title from the Old Testament (Numbers 24:17) and the New Testament (Revelation 2:28). Just as the Morning Star (generally held to be the planet Venus) shines and welcomes the new day, so does Jesus.

Now, the passage that refers to Lucifer – Numbers 14:12:

Isaiah 14:12 (NKJV)

How you are fallen from heaven,
O Lucifer, son of the morning!

How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning: Here, the prophet identified the king of Babylon as Lucifer, son of the morning. Some debate if Lucifer is a name or a title; the word means light bearer or bright one, referring to a brightly shining object in the heavens. So, we get some other translations:

Isaiah 14:12 (NLT)

How you are fallen from heaven,
O shining star, son of the morning!

Isaiah 14:12 (LSB)

How you have fallen from heaven,

O star of the morning, son of the dawn!

Isaiah 14:12 (ESV)

How you are fallen from heaven,
O Day Star, son of Dawn!

Son of the morning: This is a title of glory, beauty, and honor, which fit Lucifer well before his fall. The morning is glorious, and in Hebrew thinking, the son of “x” is characterized by “x.” So, before his fall, Lucifer was characterized by the glory of the morning.

So, the specific title “Morning Star” isn’t used of the power behind the king of Babylon here in Isaiah 14, but the idea or concept is used.

Jesus Himself is called the Bright and Morning Star (Revelation 22:16). Satan, though a created being, had some of these glorious qualities in himself. No wonder that Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14), deceiving many with his apparent glory, beauty, and goodness.

In Isaiah 14:12, whether “Lucifer” is a title or a name makes little difference; this once brightly shining king of Babylon is now fallen from heaven.

Spurgeon on Satan as the Morning Star:

“In Isaiah, where we read of ‘Lucifer, son of the morning,’ it is the name of the fallen one, the chief of the apostate angels, who was once a glorious creature. But now, like the morning star that has lost its light and brightness, he is a fallen angel, and his glory has vanished.”

Spurgeon on the contrast between Jesus and Satan:

“Both the Savior and Satan are called the morning star; yet the contrast between them is vast. The one is the bearer of light and life; the other, the harbinger of darkness and death. The morning star of Satan has set in eternal night, while the morning star of Jesus shines forever with the light of salvation.”

In the prophetic habit of speaking to both a near and a distant fulfillment, the prophet will sometimes speak more to the near or more to the distant. Here is a good example of Isaiah speaking more to the distant, ultimate fulfillment. It is true that the king of literal Babylon shined brightly among the men of his day and fell as hard and as completely as if a man were to fall from heaven. But there was a far more brightly shining being who inhabited heaven and fell even more dramatically – the king of spiritual Babylon, Satan.

Revelation 22:16

I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.

I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you: With these solemn words, Jesus authenticates the entire book. Much of the Book of Revelation is either fantastic or seems too good to be true, but it is all true.
“Thus the very God of all inspiration, and of all inspired men, reiterates and affirms the highest authority for all that is herein written. Either, then, this Book is nothing but a base and blasphemous forgery, unworthy of the slightest respect of men, and specially unworthy of a place in the Sacred Canon; or it is one of the most directly inspired and authoritative writings ever given.” (Seiss)
To testify to you these things in the churches: The Book of Revelation is written to the churches. This book is not a private affair, knowable only by an elite – it is for all believers. It’s also worth noting that this is the first reference to the church since the letters to the seven churches in Revelation 2-3.
The Root and offspring of David: This is a precious Messianic title (Isaiah 11:1). It shows that Jesus is both the Creator of King David and His descendent. Jesus spoke to this same idea in Matthew 22:41-46.
Bright and Morning Star: This is another Messianic title from the Old Testament (Numbers 24:17) and the New Testament (Revelation 2:28). Just as the Morning Star (generally held to be the planet Venus) shines and welcomes the new day, so does Jesus.

Numbers 24:17
“I see Him, but not now;
I behold Him, but not near;
A Star shall come out of Jacob;
A Scepter shall rise out of Israel,
And batter the brow of Moab,
And destroy all the sons of tumult.

A Star shall come out of Jacob; a Scepter shall rise out of Israel: Speaking again by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, this strange and unlikely prophet of Yahweh described One glorious (like a Star) and with the authority to rule (pictured by a Scepter).
Previously Balaam prophesied of the beauty, strength, and blessedness of Israel; now God uses him to speak of the culmination of all Israel’s beauty, strength, and blessedness – the Messiah, Jesus Christ. Israel’s ultimate blessedness comes from Jesus, their Messiah.
Early Jewish writers understood this as a reference to the Messiah. “The Dead Sea scrolls (c. 1st century BC) take the star and the sceptre as the messiahs of Aaron and Israel, i.e. the priestly and kingly messiahs. Rabbi Akiba, hailing the leader of the second Jewish revolt (AD 132–135) as the messiah, called him Bar-Kocheba, i.e. Son of the star.” (Wenham)

iii. Early Christian writers understood this as a reference to the Messiah. Justin Martyr (First Apology, chapter 32) and Athanasius the Great (On the Incarnation of the Word, section 33) both saw this Star as a reference to Jesus Christ.

Martin Luther had a hard time seeing this as a messianic prophecy because Balaam was such an unworthy prophet of such a glorious message. Yet, “The truth of the Scripture could never be dependent on the worthiness of the writer or the personal piety of the speaker. Else we would have gradations in inspiration and shadings in trustworthiness. I say this reverently but strongly; the words of Balaam the pagan mantic, when he was speaking under the control of the Holy Spirit of God were as sure as the words of the Savior Jesus in a red-letter edition of the NT.” (Allen)
“A blind man may bear a torch in his hand, whereby others may receive benefit, though himself receive none; so here.” (Trapp)
“The New Testament does not cite the prophecies of Balaam explicitly, but there are probable allusions to it in Luke 1:78; Revelation 2:26-28, 22:16 and, of course, Christ’s birth was announced by a star (Matthew 2:1-10).” (Wenham)

Numbers 24:17: a Star (kokab, H3556)

Isaiah 14:12: Lucifer (helel, H1966) son of the morning (ben sahar, H1121, H7837)

Revelation 22:16: Bright and Morning Star (lampros kai orthrinos aster, G2986, G2532, G3720, G792)

Charles Spurgeon has discussed the concept of the “Morning Star” in relation to both Jesus and Satan in his writings and sermons. Here are some relevant quotes from Spurgeon on this topic:

On Jesus as the Morning Star:

“The Morning Star is Christ. In the Eastern sky, the morning star heralds the approach of the sun, and thus Christ comes to us as the herald of a brighter day. He is the light that makes all things bright. He is the glory of the morning and the bright and morning star.”

On Satan as the Morning Star:

On the contrast between Jesus and Satan:

These quotes reflect Spurgeon’s focus on the contrasting roles and meanings of the “Morning Star” when applied to Christ and Satan. They emphasize the profound difference in their respective natures and missions.

Can you make the “confess and repent” prayer for your family/friend? I’ve heard this is based on James 5:16. Is this correct?

My wife is attending a discipleship class of one pastor from my old church. Recently, she mentioned one of the pastor’s teachings that makes me uncomfortable. He said that you can make the “confess and repent” prayer for your family or friend. They say this is based on James 5:16 – “Confess your trespasses one to another and pray for one another that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” Is this correct?

I don’t find any biblical evidence at all for the idea that we can confess and repent on behalf of another person. The idea of doing that for a family member or a friend has biblical precedent. It’s not my faith which brings another person to salvation. They need to trust in, rely on, and cling to the person and work of Jesus Christ for themselves, particularly the work that He did on the cross and in His resurrection. There is no confession or repentance or faith on behalf of another person.

This idea of salvation by proxy is not what’s being communicated in James 5:16. Yes, we should confess our trespasses and sins to one another. The confession of sin within the community of Christians is a neglected doctrine. It does have some possible danger and excess, but I think it’s a neglected doctrine among God’s people today. So yes, confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another that you may be healed. Absolutely, yes.

I think the idea there in James 5:16 is of some kind of small group of believers. One person is doing the confessing and the repenting, and the other people pray for them. And this brings God’s healing, God’s forgiveness, and sometimes even physical healing as well.

The idea of confession and repentance by proxy is a strange idea. I don’t think it’s biblical. It has the potential to do a lot of damage. This can get you off into very weird doctrinal areas, such as what is believed by some of the Church of Latter-Day Saints, whom we popularly call the Mormons, such as baptism for the dead, and other things.

No, there’s no salvation by proxy. Here’s God’s message to every individual human being: you must be born again. You must be born again. God has to deal in your own personal life. You can’t do a ceremony on behalf of your child, your parent, your brother, your sister, your friend, or your next-door neighbor. In order to be born again, each person must put their faith in Jesus Christ, that whosoever believes on Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

In 2 John, it talks about not feeding unbelievers or offering them hospitality. How do we reconcile this with the teaching of Jesus that we should love our enemies?

2 John 1:7-11 – For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. Look to yourselves, that we do not lose those things we worked for, but that we may receive a full reward. Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him; for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds.

I think this is pretty simple. Considering the context of the biblical world, John is speaking about supporting such people. Receiving someone like this into your home would be like asking them to come and stay in your area for a while, in order to pass this bad teaching onto a lot of people, while you provide them with food and housing. What John was basically saying was, “Do not support these people in their ministry at all, in their supposed ministry.”

Now, it would be wrong for you to hate a Muslim, or a Mormon, or the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Absolutely wrong. You need to love them. It’s okay to do good for them, to be kind to them, and to not express hatred towards them. But what you should not do is support their work in any way. We should make a distinction between showing kindness and supporting their erroneous work. Find ways to show kindness that do not include supporting the work in any way whatsoever.

What does it mean to pray in the Spirit?

Great question. There are many people who have thought that praying in the Spirit means to pray with the gift of tongues. Friends, I think that there is so much misunderstanding in both the Pentecostal world, and the Cessationist world about the what the gift of tongues is and what it’s to be used for. I would totally agree that the gift of tongues is a language; I don’t dispute that at all. People who want to emphasize that the gift of tongue is a language just get it wrong in thinking it’s a language to be used for the purpose of communication with other human beings. No, the Bible says very clearly in 1 Corinthians 14:2 – For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries.

Therefore, if a person is praying with the legitimate gift of tongues, that is one way they can pray in the Spirit. But I would say some charismatics or Pentecostals get mixed up when they think that’s the only way a person can pray in the Spirit.

I would say that prayer in the Spirit can include the legitimate exercise of the gift of tongues, but it would also include any prayer that is led by the Holy Spirit. There are circumstances in which we can pray in conscious dependence on the leading and guiding of the Holy Spirit. Romans 8:26 gives us real reason to believe that the Spirit is helping us as we pray. This can be exercised through the gift of tongues, or it can be exercised just as the Holy Spirit works in and through a person. We can ask the Holy Spirit for His help and assistance. Friends, He’s the Advocate. He’s the Helper. He’s the paraklesis, the One who comes alongside us to help, and we can ask Him to help us to pray.

Any kind of Spirit-led prayer can be prayer in the Spirit. But I’ll give you one more. Romans 8:26 also talks about the Spirit working in our prayers with groans that cannot even be uttered. There is even an aspect of inarticulate groaning before God that can be an expression of Spirit-led prayer.

Romans 8:26 – Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

So, my definition of prayer in the Spirit is actually fairly broad. I would include the legitimate use of the gift of tongues, but I would also include Spirit-led prayer and even groanings that cannot be uttered, which are led and guided by the work of the Holy Spirit, as He works in and through them to bring forth that message.

Why would God allow Satan to come and go into heaven (such as when he approaches God about Job)?

Why would God allow Satan to come and go into heaven (such as when he approaches God about Job)? That’s a bit confusing that God would let this happen. What can we make of this?

Ephesians 3:10 – …to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places.

In my estimation, the Bible does not give us a clear, direct, or specific answer to the question of why God allowed Satan to have access to heaven. Therefore, any answer will include some speculation.

God ultimately does it for His own glory. According to Ephesians 3:10, in God’s eternal plan of the ages, God is using the church to teach and declare His wisdom to angelic beings, to principalities and powers in the heavenly places. I think that includes both God’s faithful angels and also fallen angels, referring to Satan and other demonic beings. So, it seems that for the purpose of God’s glory and the declaration of His wisdom to angelic beings, both faithful and fallen, God allows Satan and his angels access to heaven.

Now, it will not always be that way. There is debate among biblical students as to when and how these things happen in God’s great plan of the ages. In my estimation, this event has yet to happen: God will cast Satan and all of his angels out of heaven so they can never return. But in God’s great plan of the ages, that has not happened yet. Right now, Satan has at least some access to God in heaven, because the Bible says that he accuses the brethren day and night before God.

Ultimately, God is using these things for His own glory and to teach angelic beings. God is working in and through His people in order to use them to teach the universe a lesson, as is mentioned in Ephesians 1 and Ephesians 3. These things will happen so that, through the church, He will declare His wisdom to the principalities and powers in heavenly places, which is a biblical reference to angelic beings.

I don’t think I have a great answer for you other than to say it fits God’s purpose, and it is for God’s glory, so that all the universe would see this unbelievable display of His wisdom, His greatness, and His power, even those who have been against God.

What is a biblical approach to deal with psychological issues and mental disorders, opposed to secular means or medicine?

I would say that if a person believes that they (or a loved one or friend) have psychological issues or mental disorders, one thing they should do is get a very thorough medical checkup. They should speak with a medical doctor, hopefully one that they trust. I thank the Lord from my physician, who is a wonderful, godly man that I can trust, and who is part of our church at Calvary Chapel Santa Barbara. He knows his medicine, but he also loves the Lord and believes God’s word. Now, I know that not everybody has that, but especially if you have someone like that whom you can trust, that’s a great place to start. I’m not advocating the approach of simply throwing drugs or pharmaceuticals or prescriptions at every issue. Oftentimes for these cases, such medicines are overprescribed. Yet a place to begin is just by getting a good physical exam to see if there are biological factors at play which should be addressed beyond the realm of mental health.

I think that if people can deal with experts in the field who truly do love the Lord and believe in the promises of God’s word, it’s wise to deal with doctors like that as much as possible. There is a danger in secular approaches to psychology and mental health which completely leave God out of the equation. Some may even treat religion, faith, and the spiritual life with hostility and suspicion as evidence of psychological derangement, instead of part of a well-rounded person’s life.

Great care needs to be exercised in choosing a wise and godly practitioner. I would advise against meeting with a practitioner who views the things of God with hostility or suspicion.