I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
All Commentaries on Isaiah 14:14 Go To Isaiah 14
Ambrose of Milan
AD 397
When the Lord Jesus redeemed the human race through his obedience, he reformed justice. The serpent, however, introduced sin through his disobedience, a sin which we are now able to identify as pride, the author of which is the devil, whom the prophet portrayed as saying, “I will seat my throne above the clouds and I will be like the Most High.” Yet he who was so wicked that he would not honor the Lord our God taught his disciples to be even worse. Thus, whereas the devil exalted himself to the degree that he desired to be similar and equal to the Most High, his disciple is signified by the apostle who would become so indignant as to judge himself already similar and equal to God. For it is written, “The man of iniquity and the son of perdition will be revealed, who opposes and extols himself above everything which is called god.” He presumes that he is equal to the teacher, or, in this case, even superior. The Lord said to his disciples, “You will do greater things than these,” to indicate that whereas the serpent acquired more for himself than he gave to others, Christ would give his disciples more to accomplish than even he had done on earth, for he wanted to triumph in his disciples and to deceive the prince of the world.
