The Roman Catholic Church teaches that an archangel named Lucifer, jealous of God’s power, organised a rebellion in heaven: that Lucifer and his angelic supporters were defeated by the archangel Michael and his heavenly host: that Lucifer and his helpers were thrust out of heaven: that Lucifer was transformed into Satan, and his associates into demons.
Jehovah’s Witnesses, Seventh Day Adventists, Mormons, and Herbert W. Armstrong’s World Wide Church of God, also preach this doctrinal fable. These four sects have a large growth factor, which means that more and more people are being enmeshed in error.
The truth is that verses 12-14 of Isaiah 14 have been lifted out of context and their meaning has been wrested to support this spurious teaching. The word “Lucifer” meaning light-bringing morning star (Venus) occurs only once in Scripture, namely in Isa. 14:12-14,
“How art thou fallen from heaven, 0 Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations. For thou has said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God, I will be like the most High”.
This quotation makes no mention of the terms “devil”, “Satan”, or “fallen angel”. These are unsupported inferences and reveal how simple it is to isolate a Scriptural passage and apply a special meaning to satisfy one’s own preconceived idea.
After reading chapters 13 and 14 of Isaiah, it becomes clear that he was writing about Babylon and its king, Belshazzar, who was inordinately proud of his kingdom and its capital, Babylon. Isaiah dubbed him “Lucifer” in satire and related what was to happen to him and to Babylon.
Isa. 13:19 refers to Babylon as “the glory of kingdoms”. When Belshazzar, noted for his splendour and arrogance, was murdered and Babylon captured by the Persian army under Cyrus in 538 B.C., the glory of Babylon departed for ever, as God had determined it should.
No evidence exists that chapters 13 and 14 of Isaiah support the false doctrine that Lucifer was a fallen angel. To the contrary, Isaiah 14: 16 says “Is this man that made the earth to tremble: that did shake kingdoms?” Isaiah would not describe an archangel as a man — he was writing about Belshazzar. Another reason for refuting the claim that Lucifer was a fallen angel, cast down from heaven for his disobedience, is that angels cannot sin and are immortal. 1st John 3:9 states “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin… ” and Luke 20:36 “Neither can they (the children of the resurrection) die any more, for they are equal unto the angels”.
It is true that Peter 2:4 and Jude 6 refer to “angels that sinned” and “angels which kept not their first estate”, but they were writing of an event which occurred when the children of Israel were in the wilderness. Numbers, chapter 16 relates that 250 princes led by Korah, Dathan and Abiram rebelled against the leadership of Moses and Aaron. The awful fate of these rebels, together with “all that appertained to them” is detailed in Numbers 16:32-35.
The Greek word “aggelos” means messenger or agent, human or divine, as well as angel. Korah, Dathan and Abiram had been allotted certain duties in the tabernacle and were therefore God’s agents. Numbers 16:9
The reference in Revelation 12:7 to “war in heaven” is symbolic, not literal, as will be realised by reading Revelation 12:1-2, which tells of a woman about to give birth to a child in heaven. Heaven has a Scriptural symbolism, meaning governments and rulers.
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