Was Satan really called Lucifer in the premortal world? If so, wouldn’t it be a bit strange to call a devil who tempts us to do evil “light bringer?” When, and why, did we start associating Satan with Lucifer?
Is Lucifer the same as Satan?
I was completely the Lucifer Satan train, and from what I've seen from looking online and going through other Christian religions, it's very, very common and deeply ingrained in our Christian world to just accept that Lucifer is Satan.
But I just learned recently from a wonderful energy healer, intuitive friend of mine, Cheryl Compton, that that's actually not really the case! And I want to share that with you, because our understanding of scriptures is dependent upon our understanding of the language and the words and the meaning behind the stories that were used to write the scriptures.
(Note: there are many that put forth the same argument that Lucifer is not the same as Satan. Check here, here, and here.)
How often is the word Lucifer in the Bible?
If you look at the Bible, if you look at the Book of Mormon, the Pearl of Great Price and the Doctrine and Covenants, the word Lucifer only shows up twice. And it only actually shows up in the King James version of the Bible. It's not even in the other translations of the Bible. And there's one place in the doctrine and covenants where it shows up.
In the doctrine and covenants, Joseph Smith talks about Lucifer being fallen, the sun of the morning. From looking through the Joseph Smith papers, it doesn't look like Joseph Smith had intentionally put effort into trying to understand the meaning and the naming of Lucifer. It's more likely that he probably just accepted that name based on the King James version of the Bible. And why would he not? We've all done the same thing in Christianity, but there's a lot that tells us that that's not actually really the case.
Where the word 'lucifer' came from
Lucifer is actually a Latin translation of a Hebrew word, helel.
The King James version of the Bible, is the only version of the Bible that has that translation for helel. Helel actually only appears once in the Old Testament.
As the Bible was translated into Latin back in 405 AD by Jerome, he came across the word helel and decided to translate it as Lucifer into Latin, which potentially could be a little odd, because, as I understand, had a pretty good understanding of the Hebrew language.
Helel is a word that means "morning star" or "shining one". It was also used to refer to the morning star Venus, which is seen in the night sky. So it was kind of an interesting choice for him.
Lucifer from the Latin comes from lux, meaning "light", and ferre, meaning "to bring" or "to bear". So therefore we get the common interpretation from the Latin of Lucifer as light bearer or bearer of light, and this word appears in Isaiah 14:12, "How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations!"
BibleHub showing different translations of the Latin word 'lucifer'
Lucifer referred to the Babylonian King
The standard understanding from biblical scholars, (which I am not, by the way), is that it was used to refer to the king of Babylon and to his upcoming downfall that was prophesied because he was leading the people astray and they were worshiping idols and false gods, Venus being one of the gods that was being worshiped.
So Isaiah was using this word, morning star or shining one, to give false acclaim to the king of Babylon in calling him this as a false way of acknowledging his greatness and prophesying of his eventual downfall.
Lucifer becomes the common name for Satan
Then, we get the translation of the King James version of the Bible in 1611, and for some strange reason, instead of Lucifer being translated back to the original Hebrew, it was kept in the King James version.
Before this we have Dante's Inferno in 1320, which also used Lucifer as the proper name for Satan.
After the King James version of the Bible, Milton's Paradise Lost in 1667, also used Lucifer for the name of Satan.
So not only was it kept in the most recent or this translation of the King James version of the Bible, but it was made popular through Dante's Inferno and Milton's Paradise Lost. Both of those are popular works today as well.
So this story of Lucifer being fallen. a morning star, a son of the morning. being fallen and becoming Satan, really came to us through a translation of the Bible and then went out through popular cultural stories. And that's the story that we have continued with.
"Lucifer" was translated differently in other places
There are other places where the same word Lucifer was kept, but it wasn't translated as Lucifer.
Job 11:17 ...when you think you are consumed, you'll rise as the morning (lucifer).
Job 38:32 Do you know the laws of heaven? Or can you establish their rule on the earth? Can you lift up your face to the constellations (lucifer)?
2 Peter 1:19 And we have the prophetic word more firmly established. You do well to pay attention to it as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star (lucifer) rises in your hearts.
So this word Lucifer, was translated back to its original intent being the shining one, or the morning star or the dawn in all of these other cases except for that one verse in Isaiah.
We've got this story that has continued to come forth throughout the years that doesn't have a biblical background or basis for it.
Is "Lucifer" used in the Book of Mormon or Pearl of Great Price?
Even if we look at the Pearl of Great Price, this is Moses 4: "And I, the Lord God, spake unto Moses, saying: That Satan, whom thou has commanded in the name of mine Only Begotten, is the same which was from the beginning, and he came before me, saying - Behold, here am I, send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor. Wherefore because that Satan rebelled against me and sought to destroy the agency of man. Which I the Lord God had given him and also that I should give unto him mine own power, by the power of mine Only Begotten I caused that he should be cast down. And he became Satan, ye, even the devil, the father of all lies, to deceive and to blind men and to lead them captive at his will, even as many as would not harken unto my voice.
We don't have Lucifer in that verse.
Even in the Book of Mormon in 2 Nephi 2:17: "And I, Lehi, according to the things which I have read, must needs suppose that an angel of God, according to that which is written, had fallen from heaven. Wherefore he became a devil, having sought that which was evil before God."
All we really know is that there is a being, Satan, who was in the beginning (Moses 4).
And we know that he was interested in seeking for power for himself, and so God cast him down. But we don't know what his name actually was before that, or even if there was a different name associated to him.
Let me know how helpful you think it is to understand this. I would be curious to know why or if it matters to you.
Again, like I said, I think it's important to understand the interpretation of our scriptures, where they come from and what they really mean, because it can help give us a more correct understanding of them and what they mean.
I am grateful to know that we have the scriptures, we have different interpretations and different translations, and we have additional scriptures that also help confirm that there was Satan in the beginning and he was cast down.
I am grateful for the gospel and I hope that you are spending time in the gospel as well, and that it brings peace and joy to your hearts, and I look forward to seeing you next time.
