First, let's look at the "problem" passages in a few different major translations:
Revelation 22:16
NET: (More on the NET translation at http://www.bible.org)
“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star!”
NIV:
"I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches, I am the Root and Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star."
KJV:
I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.
NASB:
“ I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”
ASV:
I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things for the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright, the morning star.
ESV:
“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”
1599 Geneva Bible:
"I Jesus have sent min Angel, to testify unto you these things in the Churches: I am the root and and the generation of David, and the bright morning star."
Isaiah 14:12
NET:
Look how you have fallen from the sky,
O shining one, son of the dawn!
You have been cut down to the ground,
O conqueror of the nations!
NIV:
How you have fallen from heaven,
O morning star, son of the dawn!
You have been cast down to the earth,
you who once laid low the nations!
KJV:
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!
ASV:
How art thou fallen from heaven, O day- star, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, that didst lay low the nations!
ESV:
“How you are fallen from heaven,
O Day Star, son of Dawn!
How you are cut down to the ground,
you who laid the nations low!
NASB:
“How you have fallen from heaven,
O star of the morning, son of the dawn!
You have been cut down to the earth,
You who have weakened the nations!
1599 Geneva Bible:
"How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning? and cut down to the ground, which didst cast lots upon the nations?"
Let's make some surface observations:
Jesus is referred to as the "morning star" in Revelation in ALL of the translations we've looked at. Satan is only called the "morning star" in Isaiah in one translation (and "star of the morning" in one other.) In the rest, he is called, "Day Star", "son of the morning" (in two), and "shining one" in another.
Well, that's interesting. Why the differences? First, we have to acknowledge that the Bible is the true, inerrent, inspired Word of God. (Non-Christians doubt this, but we don't hold this as true to begin with, why are we even having this discussion.)
So, if the Bible is without error, why the differences? As I'm sure everyone here knows, the sections of the Bible we're looking at were written in Greek and Hebrew. When something is translated by two different people, we'll get two different translations, and especially so if the translations were done in different centuries, as English (and all languages) change over time.
I don't know about you, but I don't know Greek or Hebrew (sadly). So, what can we do.
Well, for one, I like the NET (New English Translation) because it has over 60,000 translators notes. For most Bibles, we can't ask the translators why they chose one word over another.
Another option is, when we read a "problem" passage like this one, we can read from several different translations to see how different people translate it. (and learn something from just a quick surface read, as we did above.)
Let's see what the translators of the NET Bible have to say:
Revelation 22:16 notes from the NET Bible:
"On this expression BDAG 892 s.v. πρωϊνός states, "early, belonging to the morning ὁ ἀστὴρ ὁ πρ. the morning star, Venus"
Well, not so helpful in this case. Let's check the notes for Isaiah 14:12:
"The Hebrew text has הילל בןשׁחר (helel ben-shakhar, "Helel son of Shachar"), which is probably a name for the morning star (Venus) or the crescent moon. See HALOT 245 s.v. הילל ."
That's a little better. Comparing the notes, we see that the Greek in Revelation has the word for "Venus", or "The morning star" (as Venus is still called today.)
The section in Isaiah has a Hebrew term that means "Helel son of Shachar". and apparently there is some debate as to what, exactly, that Hebrew term means. Well, that would explain why that term is translated differently right there. So then, why does the NET Bible use the term "Shining one" here? Well, they tell us:
"What is the background for the imagery in vv. 12-15? This whole section (vv. 4b-21) is directed to the king of Babylon, who is clearly depicted as a human ruler. Other kings of the earth address him in vv. 9ff., he is called "the man" in v. 16, and, according to vv. 19-20, he possesses a physical body. Nevertheless the language of vv. 12-15 has led some to see a dual referent in the taunt song. These verses, which appear to be spoken by other pagan kings to a pagan king (cf. vv. 9-11), contain several titles and motifs that resemble those of Canaanite mythology, including references to Helel son of Shachar, the stars of El, the mountain of assembly, the recesses of Zaphon, and the divine title Most High. Apparently these verses allude to a mythological story about a minor god (Helel son of Shachar) who tried to take over Zaphon, the mountain of the gods. His attempted coup failed and he was hurled down to the underworld. The king of Babylon is taunted for having similar unrealized delusions of grandeur. Some Christians have seen an allusion to the fall of Satan here, but this seems contextually unwarranted"
Cool! I didn't know that. Reading the rest of the chapter, we see that Isaiah has been (and continues) talking about the Babylonian conquest of Israel, and he prophesies about the coming fall of Babylon. So, the interpretation that the verse isn't actually talking about Satan, but the Babylonian king makes sense. Remember also that the Jews that this was written to would have understood the metaphor from pagan mythology (they kept having problems with idol worship, which makes Isaiah's choice of metaphor rather ironic too.)
I want to pause for a moment here and harp about context. Context is important when reading anything, and especially so when reading the Bible. We might read this verse, and think it means one thing, but we associate it with the previous verses, and the previous chapters, and the later chapter, we might come away with a whole other meaning.
So, we have one possible solution. Is it the right one? Maybe. How can we be sure? Well, we can check more translations, and more footnotes to see if they agree with each other. (If we're really dedicated, we can learn Greek and Hebrew, and we would have spotted the different words used right away...)
Let's check some notes form other study Bibles:
In the Notes for the NASB for our passage in Isaiah, they point out: "Heb Helel; i.e. shining one". The other translations we've looked at don't have notes (or they have Strong's numbers, which just point us to other verses that uses the same English words.)
From "The Defender's Study Bible" (KJV Translation):
Notes on Isaiah 14:12:
"O Lucifer. "Lucifer" means "shining one" and is rendered "day-star" in some translations. This is the only time it occurs in the Bible, but clearly seems intended as a name for Satan and has been so used throughout history. Many New Age and pantheistic cults have adopted Lucifer as their "god.""
Notes on Revelation 22:16:
"morning star. Satan had aspired to be "Lucifer, son of the morning" (Isaiah 14:12), where "Lucifer" can also be translated "Day-Star" (Hebrew haylel), the bright star of the dawning. Here, however, Satan has been forever banished to the lake of fire. Christ proclaims that He alone is "the bright morning star." At the end of his Revelation, the Lord is reminding all readers that He, not Satan, is the harbinger of eternal light and life. The great conflict of the ages between Satan and Christ, the old serpent and the promised Seed of the woman, will soon be over. Christ is the true Day-Star, Son of the Morning."
From the 1599 Geneva Bible Notes:
Notes on Isaiah 14:12:
"Thou that thoughtest thyself most glorious, and as it were placed in the heaven: for the morning star that goeth before the sun, is called Lucifer, to whom Nebuchadneaar is compared."
Notes on Revelation 22:16:
"The second place of confirmation, as I said, is the speech of Christ, ratifying the vocation of S. John, and the authority of his calling and testimony, both from the condition of his own person being God and man, in whom all the promises of God are Yea and Amen, 2 Cor. 1:20: and also from the tesitification of other persons by the acclamation of the holy Ghost, who here as it were an honorable assistant of the marriage of the church as the spouse and of every of the godly as members: and finally from the thing present, that of their own knowledge and accord they are called forth unto the participation of the good things of God, verse 17"
(Okay, some notes are more helpful than others.....)
What other resources do we have that we can use to learn more? How about commentaries? I'll admit I don't have a full set, but concise commentaries are available for free from a variety of sources.
Let's see if Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary, or Jamieson, Faucet and Brown have anything to say...
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary doesn't have an entry for our specific passage, but it does point out that verses 1-23 are about the destruction of Babylon and the death of it's proud monarch, thus supporting what we've learned from the notes in the Net Bible.
Jamieson, Faucet and Brown says:
"Isa 14:12 - 15 . THE JEWS ADDRESS HIM AGAIN AS A FALLEN ONCE-BRIGHT STAR. The language is so framed as to apply to the Babylonian king primarily, and at the same time to shadow forth through him, the great final enemy, the man of sin, Antichrist, of Daniel, St. Paul, and St. John; he alone shall fulfil exhaustively all the lineaments here given. 12. Lucifer--"day star." A title truly belonging to Christ ( Re 22:16 ), "the bright and morning star," and therefore hereafter to be assumed by Antichrist. GESENIUS, however, renders the Hebrew here as in Eze 21:12; Zec 11:2 , "howl." weaken--"prostrate"; as in Ex 17:13 , "discomfit.""
Hmm, interesting. This commentator acknowledges that the section is talking about the Babylonian king, but also sees that Isaiah is telling us that it's about Satan too, in this case, that Satan is attempting to usurp Christ's rightful title of "Morning Star", referencing the section in Revelation as evidence.
Other resources:
I have a book called "Demolishing Supposed Bible Contradictions, Vol 1" ... unfortunately it doesn't cover this particular one.
Further general information on Bible "Contradictions":
www.answersingenesis.org/articles/2008/09/29/contradictions-introductionwww.answersingenesis.org/articles/nab2/isnt-bible-full-of-contradictions(Many more at that same site.)
Conclusion:
Through Bible Study, we've found two possible explanations for this supposed contradiction, and better yet, both of these explanations can be true at the same time without contradicting each other!
I want to leave you with a quote from the "New Answers Book 2" Chapter 27:
"Some years ago, I was participating in an Internet forum discussion on this topic. Another participant kept insisting that the Bible couldn’t be true because it contradicts itself. Eventually, I challenged him to post two or three contradictions, and I would answer them for him. He posted over 40 alleged contradictions. I spent four hours researching each one of those points and then posted a reply to every single one. Within 30 seconds, he had replied that my answers were nonsense. Obviously, he had not read my answers. He was not interested in the answers. He already had an a priori commitment to believing the Bible was false and full of contradictions. It is instructive to note that after a quick Google search, I discovered that his list of supposed Bible contradictions had been copied and pasted directly from a website.
This anecdote shows that, for many people, the belief that the Bible contains contradictions and inaccuracies is an excuse for not believing. Many such people have not actually read the Bible for themselves. Still fewer have analyzed any of the alleged contradictions. It has been my experience that, after a little research, all the alleged contradictions and inaccuracies are explainable.
If you, the reader, are prepared to look at these answers with an open mind, then you will discover that the excuse of supposed inaccuracies does not hold water. If, however, you have already convinced yourself that such an old book as the Bible just has to contain errors, then you may as well skip this chapter. Like my Internet forum opponent, nothing (apart from the work of the Holy Spirit) is going to convince you that the Bible is 100 percent reliable—especially not the facts!"
