Morning Stars

I had a good friend ask me about last night's post dealing with Lucifer's rebellion in the Divine Council, so I'm going to do a follow-up to yesterday's post, regarding the difference between stars and morning stars. Frankly, I'm not sure I know. But this is a great question, and it's even better because it caused me to do some research on the topic.

I learned some new words in translation, especially in Greek. Elder Bruce R McConkie said the main difference is that "morning stars" are preeminent. They are those chosen and foreordained--the noble and great ones.

The Isaiah verse dealing with stars was: "I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God" (Isaiah 14: 13). The Hebrew word for stars is kowkab. It means "of Messiah, brothers, numerous progeny, and the personification of God's omniscience." I hadn't looked up this word before, so I immediately noticed how close it is to the Abraham account. "And he said unto me: Kokob, which is star. And he said unto me: Olea, which is the moon. And he said unto me: Kokaubeam, which signifies stars, or all the great lights, which were in the firmament of heaven" (Abraham 3: 13). One of the problems with Hebrew translations is that the language is not written with vowels. So whether you use the root in Strong's Exhaustive Bible Concordance, or the root in Abraham, you're going to end up with the word kkb. 

The word refers to a familial council, and is a symbol for Christ. The same Hebrew word appears when the Lord compares Abraham's seed to the stars of heaven (Genesis 22: 17), so you get the idea of numerous progeny. The root of the word deals with the concept of something blazing, so it brings to mind the vision Joseph Smith had of celestial glory as he describes "the blazing throne of God" (D&C 137: 3).

The same Hebrew word appears in prophecy in Numbers: "There shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel" (Numbers 24: 17). Of course, this is a prophecy about Christ. But Lucifer, as a "son of the morning" would also have been one of those "morning stars." It's not certain if he was ever one who "sang for joy" over the prospect of coming to earth. In D&C 76 he is described as "an angel of God who was in authority in the presence of God," and the heavens wept over him. 

In the New Testament it get more ambiguous. Peter said, "We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts" (2 Peter 1: 19). I was blown away by this Greek word. It is phosphoros, just like the element phosphorus. It means "light giving, light bringing, the planet Venus, the morning star and day star, and is a metaphor for Christ.

But when you look up "phosphorus" in Wikipedia you get this definition:

"The first form of elemental phosphorus to be produced (white phosphorus, in 1669) emits a faint glow when exposed to oxygen – hence the name, taken from Greek mythology, Φωσφόρος meaning "light-bearer" (Latin Lucifer), referring to the "Morning Star", the planet Venus (or Mercury). The term "phosphorescence", meaning glow after illumination . . ."

Yes, and in the Isaiah text when it refers to Lucifer, the word means "light bearer." So is it the "light bearer" or the "Light of the World?" In Revelation 22: 16, Jesus calls Himself "the bright and morning star." However, when you look at the commentaries on these words, where Jesus is the "Light of the World," Lucifer is more of a showy, flashy light to get attention and to distract. The idea of a "morning star" might be to get a jump ahead of the other stars to exalt himself above them, just as he states in Isaiah.

I'll go with the idea that this term of a "morning star" or "day star" primarily refers to Jesus, and Lucifer has once again counterfeited and usurped authority, just as he did with the symbol of the serpent, who represents Christ in Numbers 21, and represents Lucifer in the Garden of Eden.

We shouldn't be surprised.