28:1 The word of the Lord came to me:
Jehovah spoke to Ezekiel once again. This was not Ezekiel’s opinion or his human speculation.
28:2 “Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: “ ‘Your heart is proud and you said, “I am a god; I sit in the seat of gods, in the heart of the seas”— yet you are a man and not a god, though you think you are godlike.
Jehovah called Ezekiel a “son of man,” meaning that he came from Adam. Adam was born from the dust of the ground. Man’s ways were much lower than God’s ways. Jesus was both God and man, so He could have called Himself “the Son of God,” but He mostly used the title “Son of Man.” Jesus possesses infinite power and infinite humility. The believer is full of power through the Scriptures, but he must be humble in his knowledge, application, and power.
Tyre was a Phoenician city which sat on the coast of Israel. It was a Mediterranean seaport city and beach. It was a twin sister city to Sidon. The Phoenicians controlled the trade of the Mediterranean Sea until the time of Rome. Rome finally defeated them at Carthage and took over both the Mediterranean Sea trade and the Silk Road trade.
The prince of Tyre was actually the King of Tyre. The King of Tyre at this time was Ethbaal III, who ruled from 591–590 B.C. to 573–572 B.C. He is called by this title, because he received his power and authority from Satan himself. Satan would be referred to later in this chapter as the true “King of Tyre.”
It is important to note that Satan is metaphorically “the god of this age.” He offered all of the kingdoms to Jesus, but Jesus turned him down. Jesus did not dispute his authority. Jesus took this authority away from Satan at the cross. Jesus took away the keys of death from Satan. Jesus is currently sitting at the right hand of the throne of God to take possession of the earth. When God the Father says “go,” then Jesus will began to exercise His Millennial Kingdom rule. He will purge evil out of the world and lock Satan in the Abyss for 1,000 literal years. He will establish His Millennial Kingdom on earth.
King Ethbaal III claimed that he was actually a god-king on earth. Many pharaohs, caesars, and kings of the past claimed to be divine. This kind of false declaration is a prideful and arrogant claim for any human being to make.
28:3 Look, you are wiser than Daniel; no secret is hidden from you.
Daniel was a prophet for God. He was a prime minister to both Babylon and Persia. God told Daniel the future of all of history. During the Times of the Gentiles, Israel was to be ruled by Babylon, Media-Persia, Greece, Rome, and eventually by the Antichrist. King Ethbaal III knew of Daniel and claimed to be wiser than Daniel. Daniel received his wisdom directly from God. King Ethbaal III received his wisdom directly from Satan (although Satan's wisdom was the wisdom of the world).
28:4 By your wisdom and understanding you have gained wealth for yourself; you have amassed gold and silver in your treasuries.
The Tyre shipping industry had accumulated much wealth from all of the nations of the world. Tyre also spread political and religious ideas throughout the world. King Hiram of Tyre was once favorable to King David and King Solomon. The Phoenician ships may have spread the glory of Israel to the known world. This may have been how and why all of the kings of the world traveled to Israel to see Solomon’s kingdom.
28:5 By your great skill in trade you have increased your wealth, and your heart is proud because of your wealth.
The shipping industry of Tyre produced much wealth, which produced much pride. The satanic world system teaches that "he with the most toys wins", but this type of crass materialism is a curse which brings down individuals and nations.
28:6 “ ‘Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: Because you think you are godlike,
King Ethbaal III thought that he was a god, so Jehovah would judge him.
28:7 I am about to bring foreigners against you, the most terrifying of nations. They will draw their swords against the grandeur made by your wisdom, and they will defile your splendor.
The foreigners were the Babylonians. They were a ruthless nation who had already taken Judah into captivity. The Babylonians would defeat King Ethbaal III and show the world that he was no god at all.
28:8 They will bring you down to the pit, and you will die violently in the heart of the seas.
King Nebuchadnezzar’s navy would defeat the Tyre navy in 573-572 B.C. Ethbaal III was removed from his throne by King Nebuchadnezzar. King Baal II was put in his place. Ethbaal III would die in a violent way, proving to the people of Tyre that he was no god.
28:9 Will you still say, “I am a god,” before the one who kills you—though you are a man and not a god— when you are in the power of those who wound you?
When King Nebuchadnezzar captures King Ethbaal III, then Ethbaal would no longer claim to be a god.
28:10 You will die the death of the uncircumcised by the hand of foreigners; for I have spoken, declares the sovereign Lord.’ ”
The Phoenicians did practice circumcision. To “die the death of the uncircumcised” meant to die in shame (1 Sam. 17:26, 36). This king who claimed to be a god would suffer a terrible, violent, and shameful death. This type of violent death would prove that this king was not a god.
28:11 The word of the Lord came to me:
These words were the Word of God. It was not Ezekiel’s personal opinion.
28:12 “Son of man, sing a lament for the king of Tyre, and say to him, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: “ ‘You were the sealer of perfection, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.
Ezekiel was a “son of man,” because man was created from the dust of the ground. God’s ways are higher than man’s ways.
A lament is a funeral song. When a person died, his mourners composed and sang funeral songs at his funeral. Ezekiel was commanded to sing a funeral song for the King of Tyre, because he was about to fall.
The King of Tyre was Satan. On the day in which God created Satan, he was created as the wisest and most beautiful of all of God’s creatures.
28:13 You were in Eden, the garden of God. Every precious stone was your covering, the ruby, topaz, and emerald, the chrysolite, onyx, and jasper, the sapphire, turquoise, and beryl; your settings and mounts were made of gold. On the day you were created they were prepared.
The Garden of Eden was destroyed at the flood. No one was able to enter the Garden of Eden after Adam and Eve were kicked out. Therefore, this king cannot be human. Satan was in the Garden of Eden.
The Hebrew word for “covering” is מְסֻכַת (miscat), meaning canopy. A canopy of rubies, emeralds, sapphire, jasper, and other precious stones were covering Satan. Nine of these precious stones were used in the breastplate of the High Priest of Israel. The position of the breast stones on the breastplate of the High Priest were very similar to the chronological order mentioned on Satan’s canopy, except two stones were missing. These precious stones placed on Satan’s canopy may indicate that he possessed priestly duties in the heavens before his fall.
It is also important to note that the light from the Shechinah Glory or the light from the sun would have shined off of these precious stones, making Satan look like a beautiful reflection of God’s glory. Satan was not a fearsome and ugly looking individual as many ignorant theologians have proposed. He was the most beautiful of all of God’s creation. The myth of Satan’s ugliness comes from the Greek ideas of the mythological god Pan. Pan was half-goat and half-human. There is a lot of Greek philosophy and superstition which has seeped into the modern church.
Notice that this cherubim was “created” and not born, so this cannot be a human king.
28:14 I placed you there with an anointed guardian cherub; you were on the holy mountain of God; you walked about amidst fiery stones.
Satan has been and will be active in six different abodes during his existence. During Satan’s first abode, he was an anointed cherub who guarded God’s throne. His second abode was the mineral Garden of Eden before man’s fall. His third abode is presently the heavens and the earth. During his fourth abode of the Great Tribulation, he will be confined to the earth. His fifth abode during the Millennial Kingdom will be the Abyss. His sixth and final abode will be the Lake of Fire.
The Hebrew word for “anointed” is מִמְשַׁח (mimschach), meaning Messiah or the anointed one. Of the three cherubim who carried the throne of God, Satan was anointed. This means that Satan was in a position of authority over the other two cherubim. In his position as arch cherubim, he was able to walk on the holy mountain of God. Mountains were usually a symbol of a kingdom. Satan could have been the arch cherubim who possessed authority over a kingdom of angels.
Satan walked among the fiery stones. These fiery stones could have been the stones which covered the earth before his fall.
28:15 You were blameless in your behavior from the day you were created, until sin was discovered in you.
Satan was sinless on the day of his creation. This is the second time that the text mentioned that Satan was a created being. The sin of Satan was Satan’s fault, and not the fault of God. One day, Satan became proud of his position. This first thought of pride became the catalyst for all of history, causing sin to begin destroying everything in its path. Sin causes human beings created in the image of God to reject Christ, worship demons, and believe that everything evolved from nothing.
28:16 In the abundance of your trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned; so I defiled you and banished you from the mountain of God— the guardian cherub expelled you from the midst of the stones of fire.
The human Prince of Tyre developed pride in the wealth which he derived from his shipping industry. The angelic King of Tyre developed pride from his place of authority. According to Isaiah 14, Satan began to think that he “was like God.”
The trade of Satan was that he convinced one third of the angels to follow him in a rebellion against God. This trade erupted in violence, as it began an angelic conflict which will remain until Satan and his demons are kicked out of heaven during the middle of the Great Tribulation. When Satan lied to the angels about God, he became “the father of lies.”
The Hebrew word for “sin” is חָטָא (chatah), meaning to miss the mark. Satan missed the mark of his high calling. Therefore, Satan became the first sinner in the angelic realm. Satan’s sin preceded Eve’s sin.
Satan was banished from his first abode, which was the mountain of God. This meant that he was no longer the cherub who protected the throne of God.
Satan was removed from his second abode, which was his position in the stones of fire. The stones of fire was the original mineral Garden of Eden which existed between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2.
After Adam and Eve fell, Satan took over man’s authority of the earth. This became his third abode. He currently remains as “the prince of this world” (Jn. 12:3) and “the god of this age” (2 Cor. 4:4).
28:17 Your heart was proud because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom on account of your splendor. I threw you down to the ground; I placed you before kings, that they might see you.
Satan’s beauty did not make him humble, but prideful. Satan’s pride corrupted his wisdom. He began to use his great wisdom for sinful purposes. Satan knows Bible prophecy better than any created being, but his wisdom has been corrupted. Satan has so much pride, that he thinks that he can defeat God. He thinks that he can stop biblical prophecies from taking place. Sin will turn the wisest creature in the world into an evil and insane genius who hates God.
The punishment was that God threw Satan out of his first two abodes. Satan is now on the ground of this earth. He still has heavenly access, but he will lose this abode during the middle of the Great Tribulation. If this verse is a prophetic perfect, then this is a prophecy of Satan losing his third abode during the Great Tribulation.
During the Millennial Kingdom, Satan will be thrown into the Abyss for 1,000 years. This will be his fifth abode. During his sixth abode, Satan will be sharing the Lake of Fire with the evil kings who at one time followed him.
28:18 By the multitude of your iniquities, through the sinfulness of your trade, you desecrated your sanctuaries. So I drew fire out from within you; it consumed you, and I turned you to ashes on the earth before the eyes of all who saw you.
Satan committed multiple iniquities. In his trade, he went from angel to angel, corrupting one third of them. Satan was the highest order of created beings. He was responsible for the worship in heaven. However, he desecrated the heavenly sanctuaries. This is why Hebrews 9:23‑26 states that the heavenly sanctuaries themselves needed to be cleansed by the blood of Christ. This is why Christ had to take His blood into Heaven after His resurrection. This is why Mary Magdalene could not touch the Lord Jesus Christ after His resurrection. Only after the Lord Jesus Christ had cleansed the heavenly Tabernacle, was He to be touched.
28:19 All who know you among the peoples are shocked at you; you have become terrified and will be no more.’ ”
The fallen angels thought that Satan would lead them to victory over God. When their leader is cast into the Lake of Fire, then they will be terrified, because the same thing will happen to them. Satan will exist no more in the heavens and the earth, because he will spend eternity in the Lake of Fire.
Satan is evil and powerful, but he can be overcome through spiritual warfare. Believers possess the Holy Spirit inside of their human bodies, meaning that God exists in the human body of every believer. By the study of bible doctrine and the confession of sins, believers can temporarily possess the mind of Christ. Knowledge and application of Bible doctrine from the entire counsel of the Word of God is the only way to defeat Satan. As 1 John 4:4 states, “greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.”
At some time in the future, God is going to get rid of Satan. Believers need to pray for that day to come.
28:20 The word of the Lord came to me:
Notice that this is the Word of the Lord. This was not Ezekiel’s human speculation or opinion.
28:21 “Son of man, turn toward Sidon and prophesy against it.
Ezekiel was the son of man, because Adam was made from the dust of the ground. Ezekiel was a human descendant of Adam and Eve. He was not a created angel or demon, such as Satan.
Sidon was the sister city of Tyre. Both were Phoenician seaport cities who controlled global trading. They were about fifteen miles apart on the Mediterranean Sea. Both of these cities possessed more light than the other Gentile nations, because they were next door neighbors to Israel.
28:22 Say, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: “ ‘Look, I am against you, Sidon, and I will magnify myself in your midst. Then they will know that I am the Lord when I execute judgments on her and reveal my sovereign power in her.
Like Tyre, Sidon will be judged by God.
28:23 I will send a plague into the city and bloodshed into its streets; the slain will fall within it, by the sword that attacks it from every side. Then they will know that I am the Lord.
Notice that God said that there would be blood in the streets of Sidon. This is exactly what happened during the history of Sidon.
28:24 “ ‘No longer will Israel suffer from the sharp briers or painful thorns of all who surround and scorn them. Then they will know that I am the sovereign Lord.
During the Millennial Kingdom, the Gentiles surrounding Israel will no longer be painful thorns to the Chosen People.
28:25 “ ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: When I regather the house of Israel from the peoples where they are dispersed, I will reveal my sovereign power over them in the sight of the nations, and they will live in their land that I gave to my servant Jacob.
Notice that God is doing the speaking. This is not Ezekiel’s human opinion or speculation. God said that He will return Israel to her land “from all peoples where they are dispersed.” God will do this in the sight “of all nations.” They will live “in their land that I gave my servant Jacob.” This is a worldwide gathering where all nations will see the regathering of Israel from all peoples. This prophecy of Israel being gathered from all nations in the sight of all nations has never happened. Therefore, it must be a future event, or God is a liar.
Any pastor or church denomination who disagrees with this statement by God Himself is elevating his human viewpoint above the inspired, inerrant, and infallible Word of God. This includes Catholics, Anglicans, Orthodox, Presbyterians, Lutherans, Methodists, most Baptists, and all of the cults and isms. According to this promise, God is not finished with Israel. The Apostles Paul said that, “all Israel will be saved.”
Jehovah is the covenant-keeping-promise-keeping God. He is sovereign over all things. God will gather Israel from all of the nations of the world. Satan cannot stop Him. Neither can the United Nations, the Arabs, or the liberals. The Amillennialists and the Post-millennialists cannot stop him.
Most denominational churches attempt to spiritualize passages like these away and replace these promises with promises for the church. This is bad theology. This type of hermeneutics is taking away from the Scriptures and replacing the inspired, inerrant, and infallible Word of God with human speculation. These passages must be studied literally. God means what He says. God is not like man. God keeps His promises. God will return Israel back to her land, even if most denominational pastors teach that God is wrong and they are right. Most believers attend heretical churches, because they are ignorant of Scripture.
28:26 They will live securely in it; they will build houses and plant vineyards. They will live securely when I execute my judgments on all those who scorn them and surround them. Then they will know that I am the Lord their God.’ ”
During the Millennial Kingdom, Israel will live securely in her land. She will build houses in the land. She will plant vineyards in the land. The Arabs who live around Israel are now scorning Israel. However, God will judge these nations who scorn Israel. When God judges these nations, then they will all know the identity and character of the one true God. The unbelieving Gentiles will know God by His curses upon them. Believing Israel will know God by His blessings upon them.