- Nov 25, 2017
- 4,861
- 1,022
- Country
- United States
- Faith
- Christian
- Marital Status
- Private
God at times in His Word uses metaphor and allegory when speaking of one thing while pointing to another. We often do the same in our daily speech. In Ezekiel 28, God mentions the prince and king of Tyrus (means 'rock'), but He is actually pointing to Satan. This is only one place in His Word that He does this. Isaiah 14 is another clear example. Isaiah 30:31-33 is yet another, using the "Assyrian" to point to Satan to whom Tophet (metaphor for the "lake of fire") has been prepared of old since God ended Satan's original rebellion against Him.
Ezek 28:12-19
12 Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, "Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.
13 Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.
If our Heavenly Father were really speaking of the flesh king of Tyrus, then why would He mention him being in His Garden of Eden when the king of Tyrus never was there? Even in verse 12 with, "Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty" God is giving us a clue that He just might be talking about some other lofty individual than the simple king of Tyre.
Those stones are the stones of the priest's breastplate. Here God is using them as an example of this person being spiritually exalted like one of His priests, a servant of God. That definitely leaves out the king of Tyre, since the kings of Tyre followed pagan idols and Baal, not our Heavenly Father. These are the second major pointers that God is speaking of someone else while only mentioning the king of Tyrus.
The first pointers that God is speaking of someone else other than the prince and king of Tyrus is earlier in the chapter, with the idea of exalting himself as God. The very first one that tried to do that was Satan when he first rebelled in the time of old. So it's impossible to omit Satan from that kind of description earlier in this Ezekiel 28 chapter. That kind of description, i.e., of Satan declaring that he himself is God, is also found in Isaiah 14 where God uses Satan's own words to mock him.
14 Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.
A "cherub" (or cherubim, plural), is a Heavenly being. They are first mentioned in Genesis 3 when God set them up to guard the way to the tree of life. They are next mentioned in Exodus 25 when God told the Israelites to make the Ark of the Covenant, and render two cherubim of gold on the lid of it fastened to the Mercy Seat. That is the idea here of "covereth", for the cherubim's outstretched wings were to cover the Mercy Seat. It points to their job being to guard God's Throne represented by the Mercy Seat on top of the Ark of the Covenant.
So. How would that apply to the prince and king of Tyrus? Clearly, it does not. Nor does this one having been "upon the holy mountain of God" and "walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire" point to the rulers of Tyre which worshiped idols. These descriptions God is giving are defining one who was at one time a very, very close servant of His, even who once guarded His Throne in Heaven as a cherub. Who could miss this description being about a Heavenly being, and not about a flesh born man? It's very difficult to miss.
15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.
16 By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.
As per Revelation 12:7 forward, God is actually going to cast Satan and his angels out of Heaven at the end of this world. This casting out was about Satan's original fall from Heaven when he rebelled against God in coveting God's Throne for himself. God had originally created Satan "perfect in thy ways", which has been God's description here of him until this verse 15 when iniquity was found in him. This means the devil was originally a perfect servant of God before he rebelled.
17 Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.
18 Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.
19 All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more.
KJV
These 17-19 verses reveal Satan's destruction upon the earth in the future "lake of fire". As of yet, no flesh man, not even the prince or king of Tyrus, have been judged and sentenced to perish in the future "lake of fire". That is yet another way to know that God is actually speaking this about Satan, using the prince and king of Tyrus as types.
Ezek 28:12-19
12 Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, "Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.
13 Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.
If our Heavenly Father were really speaking of the flesh king of Tyrus, then why would He mention him being in His Garden of Eden when the king of Tyrus never was there? Even in verse 12 with, "Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty" God is giving us a clue that He just might be talking about some other lofty individual than the simple king of Tyre.
Those stones are the stones of the priest's breastplate. Here God is using them as an example of this person being spiritually exalted like one of His priests, a servant of God. That definitely leaves out the king of Tyre, since the kings of Tyre followed pagan idols and Baal, not our Heavenly Father. These are the second major pointers that God is speaking of someone else while only mentioning the king of Tyrus.
The first pointers that God is speaking of someone else other than the prince and king of Tyrus is earlier in the chapter, with the idea of exalting himself as God. The very first one that tried to do that was Satan when he first rebelled in the time of old. So it's impossible to omit Satan from that kind of description earlier in this Ezekiel 28 chapter. That kind of description, i.e., of Satan declaring that he himself is God, is also found in Isaiah 14 where God uses Satan's own words to mock him.
14 Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.
A "cherub" (or cherubim, plural), is a Heavenly being. They are first mentioned in Genesis 3 when God set them up to guard the way to the tree of life. They are next mentioned in Exodus 25 when God told the Israelites to make the Ark of the Covenant, and render two cherubim of gold on the lid of it fastened to the Mercy Seat. That is the idea here of "covereth", for the cherubim's outstretched wings were to cover the Mercy Seat. It points to their job being to guard God's Throne represented by the Mercy Seat on top of the Ark of the Covenant.
So. How would that apply to the prince and king of Tyrus? Clearly, it does not. Nor does this one having been "upon the holy mountain of God" and "walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire" point to the rulers of Tyre which worshiped idols. These descriptions God is giving are defining one who was at one time a very, very close servant of His, even who once guarded His Throne in Heaven as a cherub. Who could miss this description being about a Heavenly being, and not about a flesh born man? It's very difficult to miss.
15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.
16 By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.
As per Revelation 12:7 forward, God is actually going to cast Satan and his angels out of Heaven at the end of this world. This casting out was about Satan's original fall from Heaven when he rebelled against God in coveting God's Throne for himself. God had originally created Satan "perfect in thy ways", which has been God's description here of him until this verse 15 when iniquity was found in him. This means the devil was originally a perfect servant of God before he rebelled.
17 Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.
18 Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.
19 All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more.
KJV
These 17-19 verses reveal Satan's destruction upon the earth in the future "lake of fire". As of yet, no flesh man, not even the prince or king of Tyrus, have been judged and sentenced to perish in the future "lake of fire". That is yet another way to know that God is actually speaking this about Satan, using the prince and king of Tyrus as types.
Last edited: