Who was Lucifer?

Who was Lucifer?

by JOSHUA TILGHMAN on AUGUST 6, 2012

Who was Lucifer? Many people think that Lucifer is the original name for Satan, or the devil, an evil being opposed to God. But this is just not true. In fact, Lucifer is not an external being, and the entire concept of Satan in the Western world is inaccurate. Lucifer, Satan, and the devil represent something much more important than an external celestial being that is the archenemy of God and mankind. This blog post will discuss what Lucifer and Satan really mean and how they relate to us. Since the Bible is a book that explains you, the holy temple, the esoteric truth about Lucifer can help you to realize more about your soul and purpose on this earth than any literal rendition of the scriptures about Satan ever could.

It is best to start with the term Lucifer because when I show you that how the connection between Lucifer and the Western concept of Satan came to be, you will have the foundational knowledge to understand why mainstream religion has become the epitome of spiritual stagnation instead of a vehicle for lasting and effectual spiritual transformation.

Many people might be surprised to learn that Lucifer is only used once in the entire Bible.

“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!” (Isaiah 14:12).

So how did the idea of Lucifer being the original name of Satan get started? During the 2nd and 3rdcenturies AD the scriptures slowly begin to lose their esoteric significance in favor of a more literal interpretation by some of the early church fathers. The deal was sealed when Eusebius, a church historian, tied the New Testament to the Old Testament via literal history. Suddenly, a well-known scripture from the Gospel of Luke—when interpreted literally— became responsible for the masses believing Lucifer of The Old Testament was the archenemy of God and mankind. Jesus states:

“…I beheld Satan as lightning falling from heaven” (Luke 10:18).

It is easy to see that the Biblical author of Luke relates this scripture to Isaiah 14:12. The imagery is the same. It would also seem that Jesus is referring to Satan as Lucifer. It is true that these authors are relating Lucifer and Satan, but not as a literal external being. If Jesus were really referring to Satan and Lucifer as an external being, then we have a big problem for two reasons: first, Revelations chapter 12 makes it clear that Satan is in heaven (not fallen from it) as the “dragon”; and secondly because many scriptures in the Bible refer to Jesus under the same title and meaning of Lucifer.

Lucifer means the morning star. Jesus is also referred to as the bright and morning star (Rev. 22:16). In 2 Peter 1:19, Christ is also known as the “day star” which carries the same equivalence.

So what’s going on here? Are Jesus and Satan the same? All this will become clear providing the explanation below:

Heaven is a state of being in your mind (For more on this see my article entitled Where is Heaven?). The war in heaven has to do with the war of angels and demons in your head as thoughts and manifestations of mind. In the Old Testament, thoughts and manifestations of the mind were known as the different nations and tribes that the Israelites had to eradicate in order to obtain the Promised Land. In essence, the Promised Land is symbolic of enlightenment. Perhaps now you understand why God told the Israelites to kill every man, woman, and child in the camp of their enemies. If this were literal, could we really call God merciful? Of course not! Every man, woman, and child in the enemy camp symbolized ego-driven thoughts of the mind.

When trying to attain enlightenment, or Christ consciousness, it is important to eradicate (not grasp onto) any thoughts and manifestations of the mind. That’s why God was so adamant about slaying every last person in the enemy camp. If one thought goes unchecked, it blossoms into many more.

So what’s this got to do with Lucifer and Satan? Simple.  Both terms represent the ego!

Think back to the verse of Isaiah 14:12. Lucifer is compared to the prideful King of Babylon. Why does this scripture also say that Lucifer is responsible for “weakening the nations?” The ego has always been responsible for this. Just as ancient kings destroyed nations so has the ego. Think of Hitler and Stalin.

We can also relate Lucifer to another famous Biblical character: Adam! That’s why Lucifer is explained as being “cut to the ground,” and “kicked out of heaven.” Just as Lucifer was kicked from heaven, so too, was Adam expelled from Paradise (heaven as a state of being). If you have already read my article on Adam and Eve: The Story of Human Consciousness, then you understand that Adam represents the conscious mind (which is ego-driven) and Eve represents the subconscious. When Adam was kicked out of the Garden, the act is symbolic of the fracturing of our minds into an ego-driven reality. This creates duality and the physical plane.

So if all this is the case, we still have another question to address:

1) Why is Lucifer and Jesus compared with light?

The answer becomes obvious when you understand that Christ and Satan are terms that describe something “within” you, not outside of you. When you understand the scripture literally by interpreting the characters and events in Bible as historical, literal events, you will inevitably come up with contradictions. For example, we have already discussed how the Israelites killing innocent babies and women would not represent the acts of a merciful God. Therefore, this act is symbolic of a person who is on a spiritual journey to the Promised Land and must extinguish thoughts and manifestation of the mind keeping them from enlightenment. But at the same time that the ego brings hardship, it is also a light bearer.  Why? Because the ego has the potential to be transformed into the light! The “fall” from Paradise and subsequent manifestation of an ego-driven reality were necessary. Without the “fall,” we would never have the opportunity to spiritually mature. In fact, this is how we become a Christ and a true son of God.

Remember, God is a father of lights (James 1:17). Each one of us represents little lights (seeds of potential) for awakening Christ consciousness within us. The first Adam (of Genesis) is a physical being, the second Adam is a spiritual being (the Christ), which has to be manifested “within” you. This is the main message of the New Testament. It is the born-again experience and resurrection!

In this way, Christ and Satan are one in the same, and both are the potential inside of you, in the kingdom of your mind!

In order to become the Christ, you have to work through the potential of the ego. Then you symbolically crucify it by going deep “within.” That’s why you are here on the physical plane in the first place. The ego becomes an opportunity then.

In closing, Lucifer and Satan are your ego. Faith, prayer, and meditation help you to crucify your ego (with all its manifested thoughts) to realize the true you within.

How does this Knowledge Help You?

Most people live an ego-driven life. The mind is constantly manifesting ego-driven thoughts. The key is to learn not to identify your true self with those thoughts. Thoughts come and go, just like the ego begins at birth and goes at death. That’s also why Satan is described as masquerading as the light, because most people think their ego is the real them, their true light. But becoming an observer of your thoughts for awhile without judging them, you began to understand how insane the mind can be. Go meditate for a few moments by trying to concentrate on one thing. If you’ve never tried it, you’ll soon learn that the mind is its own driver; thoughts pop into and out of it all the time with neither rhyme nor reason to them.

Most people have not taken the time to realize this. They are so identified with their thoughts that they inherently believe that that is who they are. Because of this, they are consciously unaware of their connection to the potential Christ within them. Their true spiritual potential is never nurtured and they live and die as an ego-driven individual.

The key to all this is meditating. As Romans 2:29 states:

“But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart (mind)…” A spiritual Jew meditates, and he is circumcised because he cuts off the identification with his true self from his thoughts. This is the esoteric understand of circumcision! That’s also why Satan masquerades as the light, because most people think their ego is the real them, their true light.