Read Isaiah 13—18
How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the
dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid
low the nations!
Isaiah 14:12
Jeremiah had prophesied that the Babylonian captivity would last for
only seventy years. So, the capture of Babylon by Darius the Mede
would be good news to the Jews; for it would mean the end of their
exile and bondage.
The picture in Isaiah 14 is that of a mighty monarch whose pride
brought him to destruction. This is what happened to Belshazzar
when Darius captured Babylon in 539 BC. Isaiah described the king’s
arrival in sheol, the world of the dead, where the king’s wealth, glory,
and power vanished. Death is the great leveler; there are no kings in
the world of the dead. Lucifer (Isa. 14:12 KJV) is Latin for “morning
star” and suggests that this king’s glory did not last very long. The
morning star is soon swallowed up by the light of the sun.
The name Lucifer also indicates that Satan tries to imitate Jesus
Christ, who is “the bright and morning star” (Rev. 22:16 KJV). “I will
be like the most High” (Isa. 14:14 KJV) reveals his basic strategy, for
he is an imitator. Like the king of Babylon was, Satan will one day be
humiliated and defeated.
Something to Ponder
In what ways do some people today sinfully strive to “be like the most
High”?