And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, …I will give him the morning star. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. —Revelation 2:26, 28 & 29
The Morning Star is a prized position of reward, that the Lord of All Graces has to bestow, and one which the overcoming disciple surely desires. What it is, exactly, will be the subject of this writing.
The Morning Star is mentioned in the Scriptures, by name, in the prophet Isaiah, when he wrote against the king of Babylon, seeing in him a representative of Satan, because of Satan’s influence over (or association with) him (Is 14:12-15). The principle set forth so often in Scripture, namely, that evil world-rulers are under satanic control (Dan 10:13, 20), is demonstrated here when the identities of the king of Babylon and Satan are viewed as one. Also, the prophet Ezekiel applies the same principle when prophesying against the king of Tyre: Ezekiel ch 28. In Isaiah, the name “Lucifer” comes to us from the Latin Vulgate; the Hebrew Hêylêl means “shining one.” The Strong’s concordance #H1966 defines the word Hêylêl as “morning star;” some have “day star.”
In Isaiah’s prophecy, both the king of Babylon and Satan are likened to the morning star (Venus) that remains in the sky after sunrise but is extinguished by the sun’s light before it (the sun) reaches its zenith. So, it was true with Satan (Lucifer) at the coming of the Son of God. (The prophets foresaw the coming of Messiah as the rising sun. Malachi wrote of the “Sun of righteousness” arising with healing in His wings (Mal 4:2); in Isaiah 60:1, 19, God and His glory are likened to the sun; Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist sang, “Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring (Grk, anatolē,—sun rising) from on high hath visited us, 79 To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace” (Luke 1:78-79).
As far as Lucifer was concerned, he, as the morning star, was the light of the night which attempted to remain in the face of the approaching day, but could not stand before the true light of Heaven. Perhaps, unknown to all but the Holy Spirit, at the time of the prophets, the morning star was the planet Venus, and, therefore, not a true light at all. Such bodies that boast of glory, which is not their own, must fade away before the burning face of true illumination.
The Word of God speaks further of “morning stars” (as of plural) in Job 38:7. Many suppose these heavenly beings to be the one-third part of the Angels who Lucifer drew with him in his rebellion (Rev 12:4). This would seem to be correct, in that Lucifer, the morning star is also called “the anointed cherub that covereth” (Ezek 28:14), who, himself, sat on a throne (Isa 14:13) over the pre-adamic earth (Ezek 28:13); and, as an archangel, held a position of authority over those angelic creatures under his command. It, therefore, is logical to assume that it was those angels called “morning stars” (Job 38:7), who joined him in his insurrection. Having, thus, participated in the failed coup, they along with their leader, Lucifer, lost their favored morning star rank. The vacated office/position of Morning Star was reclaimed by Christ through his work on the cross. The apostle, John, referenced this victory when he wrote, “And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness did not extinguish (or, overtake) it.” (John 1:5 Grk, JLH)
Referring to His messianic ministry, Jesus said, “I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven” (Luke 10:18). The false light which dared to invade the day (physically: the morning star, namely, the planet Venus), Lucifer, whose pride brought him face-to-face with the Sun of Righteousness (Isa 14:13), has, himself, been extinguished; his throne and dominion taken away and given to the Son of God. Therefore, Jesus could say with a voice of triumph, in the epilogue to the Apocalypse, “I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and offspring of David, AND THE BRIGHT AND MORNING STAR” (Rev 22:16). This saying of Christ’s is the fulfillment of the seer’s words, “I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth. 18 And Edom shall be a possession, Seir also shall be a possession for his enemies; and Israel shall do valiantly. 19 Out of Jacob shall come he that shall have dominion, and shall destroy him that remaineth of the city” (Num 24:17-19).
The “Star out of Jacob” seen by Balaam was to be a ruler. His “sceptre” (symbol of dominion and kingdom) will come out of Israel (Jacob). There is absolutely no doubt the seer of Pathor foresaw the selfsame event prophesied about by Daniel approximately 916 years later when that prophet wrote, “I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. 14 And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed” (Dan 7:13-14).
In short, Jesus had received the “Morning Star” dominion, over the earth and its inhabitants, from Lucifer, by the right of conquest (through the cross); and now promises to share that position with all those who are “overcoming”: “And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, …I will give him the morning star.”
“He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.”
The position of Morning Star, vacated by Lucifer when he fell, has lawfully been placed upon Christ and is His to bestow upon the overcomers. The Spirit speaks, here, “To him that overcometh,” tōi nikōnti, literally, “to the one overcoming.” The verb is present tense, therefore, it shows continued action, — not finished, but an ongoing work: i.e. goes on overcoming.” The image is that of the believer being victorious. The idea is one of a Christian who holds fast his faith against the forces of temptation and persecution, even unto death. This challenge to overcome (lit. continue to overcome) is given to each of the Seven Churches of Revelation (see, here, vv11, 17, 26; 3:5, 12, 21), and is summed up in the words of the Almighty, in 21:7, “He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.” So, then we see that the Morning Star position is given to believers even while they live in this life and continue to overcome.
The glory that belongs to the rank of the Morning Stars is demonstrated in the book of Job. Here, in the most ancient of biblical Scriptures (Job was written at some point between the time of Noah and Abraham), the Morning Stars (plural) are recorded as participating in celebratory song at the creation of the earth:
“Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding. Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it? Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the cornerstone thereof; When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?” —Job 38:4-7
The Morning Stars were, of course, Angels; but a certain category of Angels. Notice that the Morning Stars sang and the sons of God shouted. All angelic beings are sons of God, which would, of course, include the Morning Stars. But, here, Job makes a distinction. We see, from Isaiah 14:12, that the ArchAngel we know as Lucifer had the position of the chief Morning Star. Also, it is from the prophet Isaiah that we find the name “Lucifer”: the only time his name is mentioned in all of Holy Scripture (Isa 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 name, Lucifer, comes into our Bible from the Latin Vulgate; the Hebrew name is Hêylêl, which means “Shining One.” The Strong’s concordance #H1966 defines the word Hêylêl as “morning star;” others would translate: “day star.” Also, interestingly, Hêylêl is from the Hebrew root hêlal (St’s #H1984) which means: to give a clear sound, or to sing praise. Further, from Ezekiel 28:13 we are told that his spirit body had musical instruments built into it upon his creation (“the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.”). From this biblical information, we are brought to the conclusion the as the covering Cherub (Ezek 28:14) and the one closest to the throne of the Almighty, one of Lucifer’s functions was to lead the worshippers of God in music and song. It would have been THE Morning Star (Hêylêl, Lucifer — the shining one) leading the Morning Stars in song. We might say, with accuracy, that Lucifer was the choir director of Heaven and the Morning Stars (plural) were his choir.
When Lucifer was expelled from Heaven the Bible says in colorful language: “his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth:” (Rev 12:4). The Bible references this “third-part” of Heaven’s hosts as “his” (Lucifer’s) “angels.” This “third-part” would have been those who served at his command, i.e. the Morning Stars. This being true, then, we are made to see how Heaven lost its worshippers in music, both instrumental and vocal. The angelic hosts of Heaven do not sing!
But, you might say to me, “What about the angelic heavenly hosts that sang at the birth of Christ?”
We should read that passage again: “And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying” (not singing), “‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.’” —Luke 2:13-14
The truth is, since the expulsion of Lucifer and his angels from Heaven, Heaven has been without musical worship — except for His church!
I say, “Except for His church,” because Heaven has received a considerable number of redeemed souls already. The Bible lets its readers know that these redeemed souls are, indeed, worshipping in music and song. Revelation 5:8-10 says, “And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. 9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; 10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.” (Also see, Revelation 14:3 & 15:3.) In addition to the saints who are in Heaven worshipping in song, there are the saints who remain on the earth who are always worshipping with music: both instrumental and vocal. Because of the interaction between the earthly and heavenly realms, the music of the worshippers on earth embraces the participation of both the angelic and the redeemed hosts of Heaven. This communion between the earthly and heavenly realms is proclaimed in no uncertain terms in Hebrews 12:22-23; in this text, Christians are informed that when we gather in corporate worship, we “are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, 23 To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect.”
A final word must be spoken concerning Lucifer: the purpose of his creation and the functionality of his spirit body. He was the covering cherub (Ezek 28:14-16): the very highest order of created being. It is understood that his major function was to lead the heavenly hosts in worship to Yahweh, given that he was created with instruments of music built into his spirit body (Ezek 28:13). This brings us to a consideration of this Anointed Cherub’s name. We have it as “Lucifer,” (“shining one”), which comes into English from the Latin. However, the Hebrew has Hêylêl, Morning (Day) Star (St’s #H1966). Hêylêl is from hêlal, meaning: pure sound, or sing praise ((St’s #H1984). In the Almighty’s universe, there is an intrinsic connection between light and sound. Though the intricacies of this phenomenon are beyond my pay grade to explain, some of the facts are: both light and sound are energies, both are transmitted in waves (light waves and sound waves), both have properties of wavelength, frequency, and amplitude. When light is imploded in on itself the light wave is transformed into a straight line and becomes sound. This connection between light and sound was, biblically, present in God’s act of creation, but especially in His creation of Lucifer. Hêylêl, Lucifer’s name in Hebrew, means “light” and has as its root “hêlal,” which means “pure sound”; especially as that sound is employed in songs of praise. From this intrinsic connection between light and sound, it should be clear to worshippers of God that the purer the light of truth, the purer the sound of worship. We maintain that this is everywhere demonstrated wherever people worship God in music, both instrumental and vocal. Music opens doors. Godly music opens doors to God. But in that Lucifer has become Satan, and in his fall from Heaven he has become distorted from his former beauty and perfection, so too has his music. Where the knowledge of God is corrupted, the music of the worshipper is dissonant and brings unrest instead of peace; this is true because it is inspired by the fallen one. The “doors” opened by such music do not lead to good ends. Reflect on the music of those religions that do not worship the One true God.
(I might mention, parenthetically: Music that is inspirited by Satan to promote rebellion, immoral sexual activity, and illicit drug use should never be brought into the worship of the Creator God. It opens doors to the spirit world which are not good. Godly lyrics will not sanctify unholy sounds produced by the dark light. Jesus said, “If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!” [Mat 6:23].)
No one needs to convince us of the importance of music, both vocal and instrumental, in our worship services. The church would be rather lifeless, without music. But, have we ever thought about Heaven. Our worship services are important to Heaven. Angels are present in the worship service of believers in “an innumerable company.” Music, then, is not only important to us but angels as well. Why? Because the rank of the Morning Stars that was held by Lucifer and his angels has been transferred to the Church. Oh, it will be perfected in the New Heaven and the New Earth, but even now, we are all Heaven has as to the music of worship.
So, then, beloved, we could not possibly overstate the importance of music in worship to Jesus Christ. The Church which is on earth and in Heaven holds the Morning Star position in God’s hierarchy, whose function is to worship the God of the universe in music — both instrumental and vocal. We should never come half stepping in that office. We have been given the esteemed rank once held by the former Shining One and his choir.
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
Amen
Apostolically Speaking,
☩☩ Jerry L Hayes
