There is this prayer the Pope has called for in which all his clergy must sing a song in mass called Exultet. It is sung in Latin and its English translation is the following:
“Flaming Lucifer finds Mankind. I say: Oh Lucifer who will never be defeated. Christ is your son who came back from hell, shed his peaceful light and is alive and reigns in the world without end.”
Instantly you think this refers to Satan when mentioning Lucifer. It is not quite that simple. The Catholics have an argument that it is not Satan to whom they are singing. The argument goes:
“The Latin word, Lucifer, does not equate to Satan, and it never has. It is a word that was used by St. Jerome, when he translated the Hebrew into the Old Testament, and was a translation for Morning Star, which is Venus. It also means phosphorus and light bearer. No matter how many times these uneducated religious morons claim that Isaiah 14:12 means Lucifer is a fallen angel. It has never meant that.” ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IgdzyMNfjw)
Another piece on this says:
“The term “Lucifer” was taken by the King James Version translators from Jerome’s Latin Vulgate (383-405 A.D.) edition of the Bible. The Hebrew word is ‘Heylel’ which suggests the idea of “shining,” or “bearing light.” Jerome assumed the word was the name of the morning star, hence, he rendered it by the Latin title “Lucifer…
The fact is, however, there is absolutely no evidence whatever that Isaiah 14 contains any reference to Satan.
Please note the following:
- It would be strange indeed that the Holy Spirit should designate the ruler of the realm of spiritual darkness (cf. Ephesians 6:12) as “lightbearer.”
- The context clearly identifies the narrative as a “parable against the king of Babylon” (14:4). The death of that oppressive character is vividly described. He descends into Sheol where the inmates of that realm taunt, saying, “Is this the man that made the earth to tremble?” (14:16).
This cannot be an allusion to the devil since:
- worms eat his body (v. 11), yet Satan has no body;
- the subject of the account is called a “man” (v. 16), but the Tempter is a spirit being;
- he is to be buried in shame (vv. 19, 20)—a circumstance which is not applicable to the devil (cf. Revelation 20:10).
In the Old Testament, the demise of corrupt national powers is frequently represented under the imagery of falling heavenly luminaries (cf. Isaiah 13:10; Ezekiel 32:7), hence, quite appropriately in this context the Babylonian monarch is described as a fallen star (cf. ASV).
There is, therefore, no reference to Satan in this context.” (https://www.christiancourier.com/articles/158-who-is-lucifer)
There are problems with this view although the translations clearly are confusing. I will point out the problems with this view the Catholics use to defend the words in this song.
In Latin the words for Lucifer mean luminous beast and the followers of Lucifer are called Luciferians, or Jesuits. This is the order from which the Pope comes, so we can understand why he mandated this song to be sung by all his priests. Most people who sing this song in the Catholic Church do not even know they are invoking the name of Lucifer since it is in another language in which they are singing. I dare say, many in the Catholic Church would not sing it if they knew this.
Luminous beast can easily be construed to be Satan since in the book of Revelation we are told about the beast who is the Antichrist who gained his power from the dragon (Satan). Satan is mentioned in 2 Corinthians 11: 14 as being transformed into an angel of light. Lucifer means shining light and Satan transforms himself into an angel of light. In other words, Satan deceives people into following him and his agents such as the Antichrist. Just because Lucifer means shining light does not mean it is God’s light.
The argument is made that Isaiah 14: 12 is talking about the king of Babylon. Yes, it is a prophecy directed at an earthly king of Babylon, but there is more meaning to this prophecy than what certain Catholics want you to believe. They have to force themselves to ignore the deeper meaning of the prophecy. Isaiah’s prophecies are not just for his time but for our time, also. In addition, in the book of Ezekiel we have the prophecy about Satan in chapter 28:12-16, but he is called the king of Tyrus. It is not unusual for God to refer to Satan as a king of some country while at the same time delivering a prophecy about an earthly king.
Isaiah 14: 12 says, “How are you fallen from heaven, Oh Lucifer, son of the morning! How are you cut down to the ground, which did weaken the nations.” When did this Babylonian king weaken the nations? Babylon at this time was a vassal state to the Assyrians. Both were of the same race, but Babylon was an oppressed state under Assyrian domination at the time this prophecy was written. Babylon would arise around 100 years later as a power.
Clearly the references to this king as making the earth to tremble cannot be talking about this particular Babylonian king. God is talking about spiritual things here and not an actual person. Any references to the Devil’s end as described in the book of Revelation are simply not relevant to what is stated in the book of Isaiah. In fact Isaiah 14: 20 says: “You shall not be joined with them in burial.” This could easily coincide with Satan who cannot be buried but will eventually be cast directly into the Lake of Fire as described in the book of Revelation.
You have to understand that the prophecies of Isaiah have to be decoded, and it takes the Holy Spirit to decode these prophecies and uncover layer after layer of deeper meanings to any passage, especially prophetic passages. To go with one single idea that the king of Babylon is all to whom this prophecy refers is closing oneself off from the Holy Spirit to guide one into deeper truths.
The argument is made that Lucifer is translated by St. Jerome at other times in the Bible and means morning star in all of them. The King James Version though only uses Lucifer here once in the Bible as we saw in Isaiah. Notice, that it says, “Lucifer, son of the morning;” rather than son of the morning star. If one believes the Bible is inerrant then maybe we can take notice that this is the only time Lucifer is used in the Bible, and the Holy Spirit is the one that orchestrated this for a good reason.
This passage did not say son of the morning star and thus, son of the morning does not have to mean we are talking about the same thing. In fact, what this verse says to me is that Lucifer was there at the beginning with God. Who was with God before man was created? The answer is Lucifer, the angel from heaven. Satan was described by Jesus as: “I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.” (Luke 10: 18) Again, Isaiah 14: 12 says, “How are you fallen from heaven, Oh Lucifer?” It sure does sound like we are talking about Satan here when mentioning Lucifer.
The biggest weakness to their argument though is that the Exultet says: “Oh Lucifer who will never be defeated. Christ is your son who came back from hell.” Christ is the son of God and not the son of Lucifer. The reference clearly is claiming God and Lucifer are one and the same or that Jesus is not the son of God. We just read in the book of Isaiah God’s curse on Lucifer. God cannot be Lucifer since he would not be cursing himself nor equating himself with evil. This song clearly is not a song that comes from the Holy Spirit but rather comes from Satan. Satan transforms himself as an angel of light, and the Catholic Church is so caught up in ritual that it cannot see the obvious.