Lucifer llyh הילל
We can infer from
scripture that the light within the Light Bearer faded
after the judgment, but that may not have been the case. However,
support for the narrative’s dark interpretation is found in the spelling
of his name; for by etymology, “Lucifer” can be read as “the
h
weeping,
the howling lly.”
By that standard, the name speaks of remorse,
but not because of guilt; for the angel was not accursed.
Lucifer was given
a way of escape; for he would die, and he would also live
after the manner of men, sharing their joys, sorrows, expectations and
disappointments. Numerous scriptural precepts argue that he would also
share in man’s promise; among them, the many scriptures assuring us that
HaShem’s mercy is without end.
When faced with judgment bringing loss, some souls are distressed; and they become despondent because of lowered energies. Not liking what an ordeal shows them of themselves, they lapse into depression and become haunted by fleeting impressions of consequences that may not actually arise. Human instincts are peremptory, and reversals often trigger downward spirals fueled by regret. When their spirits are over-matched, men look for dalliance. What they might do differently is of no great concern, so long as the diversion affords a moment of respite.
With depression, even hitting bottom brings no lasting relief; for victims are smothered by paranoid perceptions. What had been perceived as a worst possible outcome becomes the platform for deeper dives as depression wears on. Imploding under the pressures of anxiety, depressed individuals can panic at the edge of calamity, becoming preoccupied with minute details of their danger to shield themselves from its peril. In frantic hope of relief by this or by that incidental influence, they cling to sanity by repeatedly tabulating the data points of their dismay, as in a fog.
If they survive
and their lives move on, they’re left stranded with poor footing in
sandy marshes, whimpering in the depths of their souls because they’re
marooned and alone. In despair, they tuck their minds into shallow
thoughts, as into a shell, burying their potentials in idleness; and
because reality is so difficult, they steel themselves with
the resolve to just get by, living a parody of real life.
Because they face dead ends at every turn in every context, they engage in all manner of twisted, tunnel-visioned reasoning, hoping to discover a hidden door that just might let them achieve that stop-gap goal of escape. To their dismay, nothing they try works; and unable to find a way out, they wallow within the whiplash tyranny of guilt for falling short, and they do fall short; for they have yet to discover that regret is not repentance.
A record of Lucifer’s reaction to the judgment against him isn’t given, but his fall was great, indeed. He had been perfect in everything—spectacular! approved! He had satisfied all required of him until that single detail surfaced and judgment came; but the stain of iniquity, if stain it was, could not have been the result of a flaw intrinsic to his character. He had been positioned and approved as the covering cherub. The sacred light of hla had been his to bear unto all in heaven and upon earth. He had enjoyed knowledge of perfection by every consideration in all his ways; and now, it was gone!
The mystery of iniquity had been unknown to him until it was discovered within him; and when it was discovered, his fall was imperative and immediate because, as bearer of God’s light, he had compelling influence over everything and every being in all realms. Oversight was among his duties, and he therefore could infect everything gathered beneath his wings as covering cherub. Every being in heaven or on earth would be exposed to iniquity because he had fallen short of the perfection that had been his.
He would have understood that, if iniquity had been his shortcoming. On that point scripture is vague, and the reader’s bias accuses or excuses. Scripture does not report a clear accusation; and like a sheep before the shearer, Lucifer opened not his mouth.
Lucifer was perfect until he was not. Are we to understand, then, that the favored angel made some kind of mistake? Had he secretly harbored a core wickedness that had festered within him until it came to a head, drawing God’s attention and reaction? Had he rebelled? Was rebellion even possible, considering that the father had affirmed his faultless performance in all his ways until the instant iniquity had appeared?
If Lucifer had hidden a measure of iniquity from the father for a short time, it wouldn’t speak well of la; for even after its discovery, Lucifer was praised for perfection in all his ways. Had he served with masterful duplicity? Or, if HaShem had not been fooled, was the father’s blanket praise of the Light Bearer’s perfection just an overblown maxim, a way of patting the unfortunate fellow on the back before showing him the door? I think not. If that were so, it would paint hla with a very black brush.
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