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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, and the bright and morning-star. (WBS)

Jesus calls Himself the bright and morning star in Revelation 22:16, what is the reasonable explanation for the seeming discrepancy in Holy Scripture the infallible Word of God, where it appears in the Latin Vulgate that the devil 'Lucifer' is also being called such in Isa 14:12-14:

King James Bible 12How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! 13For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.

It appears that the Bible calls both Jesus and the devil by 'morningstar' How do scholars reasonably understand and explain this?

Here is a link to a list of all the places the terms morningstar, daystar, Lucifer, etc. appear in scripture.

http://biblehub.com/concordance/m/morning-star.htm

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    Rev 22:16: ὁ ἀστὴρ ὁ λαμπρὸς ὁ πρωϊνός; Is. 14:12 (LXX): ὁ ἑωσφόρος ὁ πρωὶ ἀνατέλλων (Just a bit of supplemental info for those interested. The wording is very different. I’m not intending to criticize the question, though you’d be better off here avoiding assertions about biblical infallibility in questions I think. It's pretty clear that the author of Revelation was familiar with the text of Isaiah, so you don't really need to invoke infallibility to have a question.)
    – Susan
    Commented Mar 13, 2015 at 0:08
  • See also this explanation regarding the referent of Isaiah 14:12.
    – Susan
    Commented Mar 13, 2015 at 0:24
  • I don't see why the same symbol couldn't be used to illustrate a good and a bad thing in different contexts - it actually happens in other parts of the Bible. For instance, wind is used as a symbol for the Holy-Spirit, but also to illustrate false doctrines... The thing is, these are resources to help visualize, not that the symbol actually is what it is illustrating...
    – Leonardo Alves Machado
    Commented Nov 1, 2021 at 13:43

6 Answers 6

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The morning star is the planet Venus, thought to be so beautiful that pagans associated it with the goddess Venus. It is natural that in Revelation 22:16 Jesus compares himself to the most admired star in the universe.

Scholars say that Isaiah chapter 14 refers to the king of Babylon, who laid the nations low (Isaiah 14:12). Isaiah talks of the king's pomp and splendour, how he had ruled the nations in anger, and his fate after his overthrow by the king of Persia. He had compared himself to the Morning Star and was thus derisorily called 'Lucifer' (lucem ferre, which mean 'light-bearer', a name for the dawn appearance of the planet Venus) and had thought that he would ascend into heaven and sit among the stars, but was now himself persecuted (Isaiah 14:18-19). They say this text was misunderstood by early Christians, who assumed that it referred to Satan being cast down from heaven.

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  • This clears it up, 'lucifer' latin, is actually a title, not a proper name, and came to be associated with Satan because the Isaiah passage, although speaking of the Babylonian king, seemed to also parallel passages about Satan in Eden, from Isaiah and other places, ie. Genesis, where Satan was in the garden of God and walked in the fire, himself covered with precious stones, he was called the 'annointed cherub', etc. meaning angel. Satan was an angel, a fallen one.
    – Hello
    Commented Mar 14, 2015 at 14:25
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How do you equate "son of the morning" to "bright morning star"? They are not the same thing. Actually, Lucifer in Isaiah 14:12 is more translatable to the word "Daystar," which he is called in at least four translations. Is a "day" star the same as a "morning" star? Look at 2 Peter 1:19 where Jesus is also the morning star. For me, it's a prophetic picture of new beginnings, new mercies and hope – the love of God; the Bride/the Church. Venus is a "wandering" star and is also called "The Shepherd's Star" because of this. Jesus calls himself the Good Shepherd and we are His sheep. He leaves the 99 to find the one lost sheep. Venus as the morning star represents Jesus • 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.” • 2 Peter 1:19 – And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts A DAY STAR is one that seeks to be seen at praised at all times, even outshining the sun/Son. That's my perspective anyway.

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    Commented Nov 1, 2021 at 13:08
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King James Bible 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!

The term Lucifer is not found anywhere in the Hebrew scripture.

Young's Literal Translation

How hast thou fallen from the heavens, O shining one, son of the dawn! Thou hast been cut down to earth, O weakener of nations.

O Morning Star,
הֵילֵ֣ל (hê·lêl)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 1966: The morning-star

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We must remember, the English bible's NT was translated from Greek, and most (if not all) the NT books were originally translated from Hebrew to Greek. At the time the bible was translated to English, there were no Hebrew manuscripts found yet.

Currently (2024) there have been four Hebrew manuscripts of Revelation found. In these original Hebrew manuscripts, "the bright and morning star" was NOT in verse 16.

The following are transcripts from Youtube documentary, Hebrew New Testament Manuscripts Update 2022... Here is the video transcript pertaining to 'morning star'. The section which discusses Rev. 22:16 begins at location 1:16:42.

Let's have a look at another important difference. This is in Revelation chapter 22, where Yeshua supposedly claimed that he is the 'Morning Star.' Let's read this in Hebrew. Revelation 22:16:

"Ani, Yeshua, Shalachti Mal'achai" - I Yeshua sent my messengers, "LeHar'ot La'edah" - to show the assembly, "Wa'Ani Shoresh MiMishpechot Dawid" - Even I, am the root of the families of David.

It doesn't say here, that Yeshua claimed to be the 'Morning Star'. And this solves a huge contradiction, because in most English Bibles, Satan and Yeshua are both called the 'Morning Star'. Satan in Isaiah chapter 14:12, and Yeshua in Revelation chapter 22.

The link to the Youtube video documentary is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fp2qQIHmqdY.

Other NT Hebrew manuscripts found are discussed further on their website: https://www.hebrewgospels.com/revelation

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    – Jason_
    Commented Nov 2 at 2:24
  • @Harht4YHWH, Jason's comment is so helpful. Please give such technical answers about Biblical manuscripts and translations that can be proven. "... and most (if not all) the NT books were originally translated from Hebrew to Greek ..." is an inaccurate statement from you without scientific acceptance among the majority of Bible translators and Biblical archeologists.
    – Rob Callicotte
    Commented Nov 2 at 12:35
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Peter also eludes to the arising of the "Day Star" in 2nd Peter 1 I have personally always interpreted this to be the light of the truth of Jesus Christ which can easily be seen not only within the darkness of the sin, But also shines so brightly that it can be easily seen even in the light of day as a visible testimony to us the believer. Greg Stewart

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It was customary when a King deposed another King and his kingdom, that along with the kingdom, he acquired that king's title as well.

Therefore, if the King of Salem defeated the King of Loramar, he would be known as the King of Salem and Loramar.

Thus, when Satan as the Bright and MorningStar was defeated and cast down, Jesus acquired the title/name Satan had been known by.

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    Commented Oct 2, 2023 at 2:34

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