Is there any reason you can see to apply this scripture to anyone other than the king of Babylon?
Well, the author is applying the language to the king of Babylon, but the language itself draws on Canaanite myth, in a manner similar to Ezekiel 28 which relates another humiliation story (this time, of the king of Tyre). Both stories utilize traditional mythic elements; in the case of the story in Isaiah: (1) the Rephaim shades of the underworld stirred to greet the new arrival (Isaiah 14:9-11), (2) the name Helel ben-Shahar, evoking the god Shahar of Canaanite myth (who represents the planet Venus with his brother Dusk) in v. 12, (3) the reference to the "stars of El" in v. 13, (4) the reference to the "mount of assembly", i.e. the divine council, in the same verse, (5) the reference to Mount Zaphon, (6) the reference to Elyon in v. 14.
The mythic identity of Helel, the son of Shahar however is hard to pin down. Mark Smith recognizes that the text is really a confused jumble of motifs applying to various different gods, applied to one individual. One attractive suggestion is that Athtar lies behind the passage, because there is a myth about Athtar (who once represented Venus along with his wife Athtart = Ishtar) and how he was humiliated after trying to build his palace in place of Baal after Baal died (i.e. in Zaphon, on top of the thunderclouds), but who was demoted when Baal returned from the dead. Another suggestion that has been made is the god Elil, the Canaanite version of the Sumerian god Enlil, who was replaced by Baal in the history of the cult. Neither suggestion is entirely satisfactory, as John Day suggests.
As for 2 Peter, the usage is similar to Revelation....Perhaps there is a connection with the Greek god Phospheros, maybe not....I would have to check my sources....
