#1166 Ezekiel 28 Part 4 A Narcissist's Mirror

 

You were blameless in your ways

from the day you were created,

till unrighteousness was found in you.

16 In the abundance of your trade

you were filled with violence in your midst, and you sinned;

so I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God,

and I destroyed you, O guardian cherub,

from the midst of the stones of fire.

17 Your heart was proud because of your beauty;

you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor.

I cast you to the ground;

I exposed you before kings,

to feast their eyes on you.

18 By the multitude of your iniquities,

in the unrighteousness of your trade

you profaned your sanctuaries;

so I brought fire out from your midst;

it consumed you,

and I turned you to ashes on the earth

in the sight of all who saw you.

19 All who know you among the peoples

are appalled at you;

you have come to a dreadful end

and shall be no more forever.” Ezekiel 28: 15-19 ESV

Ezekiel 28: Cast Out 

…9I am the gate. If anyone enters through Me, he will be saved. He will come in and go out and find pasture. 10The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life, and have it in all its fullness. 11I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.… John 10: 9-11

16 In the abundance of your trade - The earthly king of Tyre was a wicked man just like the Babylonian king addressed in Isaiah 14, both had big empires and traded with lots of other kingdoms, but the real power behind them was Satan. We are commanded in scripture to love the Lord our God with all our hearts, to lean not on our our own understanding, but in all our ways acknowledge Him. We are commanded to love our neighbor as our self, but pride is at enmity with reason, and it seeks to dethrone God and smash His image in our neighbor. The earthly kings dealt not only in goods but in people, and what God said was of little concern to them, they openly rebelled with unjust weights and immorality. Their reasoning was twisted, and the voice they followed was the one that wanted to steal what belongs to God, His glory, and to rob Him of His sovereignty. Satan moved from there to kill humanity, and those that follow him are also quick to shed blood. From his fall to this very day, he has tried to destroy God's purpose in redemption. 

This connection between Tyre and Satan shows that the devil can be in business just as much as in armies and war. “Tyre’s strength and influence were commercial rather than military, and it is interesting and suggestive that in this connection we find the most graphic and illuminating portrayal of Satan to be found in the whole Bible.” (Morgan)

…8Be sober-minded and alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9Resist him, standing firm in your faith and in the knowledge that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering. 10And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore you, secure you, strengthen you, and establish you.… 1 Peter 5: 8-10

You were filled with violence in your midst, and you sinned - What was the violence? Iniquity was found in him, we are told in verse 15, and it is the sin of pride, which we can see from the 5 I's of Isaiah 14. "You said in your heart", that is where it originated from, not from God, but from Satan's own mind, and a place off limits to us, but not to God. He knows where sin originates from because nothing is veiled to Him, not even your thoughts which give birth to sin. Note, remember, God did not apologize to Adam for making Eve, nor does He apologize for making women beautiful or attractive, yet He holds men accountable for their sin. It starts in your heart, and that is where the battle is either fought or lost, for good or evil. 

27You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ 28But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. Matthew 5: 27-28

13 You said in your heart,

‘I will ascend to heaven;

above the stars of God

I will set my throne on high;

I will sit on the mount of assembly

in the far reaches of the north;

14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;

I will make myself like the Most High.’ Isaiah 14: 13-14

Isaiah 14

The commentator from Enduring Word puts together an interesting thought with Satan's violence towards mankind:

This violence against humanity is perhaps explained by the idea that Satan rejected God’s plan to create an order of beings made in His image (Genesis 1:26), who would be beneath the angels in dignity (Hebrews 2:6-7a; 2 Peter 2:11), yet would be served by angels in the present (Hebrews 1:14; 2:7-8; Psalm 91:11-12) and would one day be lifted in honor and status above the angels (1 Corinthians 6:3; 1 John 3:2). Satan wanted to be the highest among all creatures, equal to God in glory and honor, and the plan to create man would eventually put men above angels. He was apparently able to persuade one-third of the angelic beings to join him in his rebellion (Revelation 12:3-4, 7, and 9).

ii. If this is the case, it explains well Satan’s present strategy against man: to obscure the image of God in man through encouraging sin and rebellion, to cause man to serve him, and to prevent the ultimate glorification of man. - E Word

When he says, "above the stars of God", this speaks of the angels, and he no longer sees himself as in a position where God placed him, to bring and reflect God's glory back to God. It is no longer enough for him to be a leader in worship, but he wants to be the object of worship from the other angels. Humans, who are made a little lower than the angels, are not to worship angels, and neither should angels. 

…9Then the angel told me to write, “Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.” 10So I fell at his feet to worship him. But he told me, “Do not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who rely on the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” 11Then I saw heaven standing open, and there before me was a white horse. And its rider is called Faithful and True. With righteousness He judges and wages war.… Revelation 19: 9-11

8I am the LORD; that is My name! I will not yield My glory to another or My praise to idols. Isaiah 42:8

I will set my throne...I will sit on the mount of assembly - Here is the violence, an uprising, and we are not unfamiliar with this in history. There have been military coups, violent rioting, even satanically referred to as "peaceful protest", all when someone wants power. Now, there are times when men have stood against evil, and have used violence to defend themselves against others, but this is against good, against logic and reason; Satan is trying to take the throne of God. It is insanity to entertain such, for there is nothing like God, none to take His place, for through Him everything was made. The creaturely always looks up to the Creator.

I will ascend above the heights of the clouds - I think and believe, as many commentators, that this reference to the clouds is not the clouds that we see in our atmosphere, but the Shekinah glory. He would rise above God's glory in this reprobate phantasy, so that his glory would exceed the glory of the Most High. As the last I states, "I will make myself like the Most High", a title reserved to God alone. 

…16and the glory of the LORD settled on Mount Sinai. For six days the cloud covered it, and on the seventh day the LORD called to Moses from within the cloud. 17And the sight of the glory of the LORD was like a consuming fire on the mountaintop in the eyes of the Israelites. 18Moses entered the cloud as he went up on the mountain, and he remained on the mountain forty days and forty nights.… Exodus 24: 16-18

So I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God - This is the highest that anyone has ever fallen from, the place of the covering angel, facing the glory of God on His throne, a place of great honor, and it all happened very rapidly. 

17The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in Your name.” 18So He told them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19Behold, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy. Nothing will harm you.… Luke 10: 17-19

17 Your heart was proud because of your beauty - Now we get a little closer look at the steps. He was made beautiful, but He was also made intelligent and rational. This is a difficult concept for our depraved world, for we worship beauty rather than the Creator of the beauty, and we think that's a good thing. I know I wanted to look differently for a long time, it seemed that those with exceptional looks had a notably greater advantage in this world. Now my motives for it were not pure, for they seemed to need very little game, girls just came to them. People picked them for jobs even when they weren't as experienced. In fact, there was a whole line of jobs that were built around this particular talent they had, of being pretty. There were beauty products so other people could look like them, hair implants, breast augmentation, and then as the demands of beauty changed, well then their was butt augmentation and even Groucho Marks style eye brows, still haven't figured that one out. Satan jumped a step, saying, because I look like this, I deserve to be worshiped, rather than saying, I look like this because God made me, so if you find me beautiful, well then the credit belongs to Him, and you know what, that would have made Lucifer even more beautiful than his outward appearance, because it would have been the perfection of reason and his assignment. The prince of Tyre and Babylon obtain this worship through wealth, and some use the massive intellects that God gave them to do the same. Our world is obsessed with billionaires, super models, rock stars, divas and the like, but they are all walking a very short plank. Beauty fades, money doesn't come with you after you die, and it is only as good as you spend it here. Quit justifying vain thoughts, fight it.

You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor - You knew better, but you deceived your own self for the sake of pride, for self worship that then violently hungered for the worship of others, desiring their corruption as well. 

Let me put it to you simply. God is not responsible for evil; His creatures are. God is not responsible for evil; His creatures are. Everything, listen to this carefully, that God created was very what? Good. Everything. This is affirmed throughout the Scripture. In Habakkuk chapter 1, “God is of purer eyes than to approve evil or behold evil. He cannot look on wickedness.” Habakkuk chapter 1 verse 13. First Corinthians 14:33 says, “God is not the author of confusion.” Confusion is a product of sin. First John 1:5 says, “God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.” James 1:13 says, “God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempts He any man.” First John 2:16 says, “All that is in the world,” all evil categorically, “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life is not of the Father.” Psalm 5:4, “You are not of God who has pleasure in wickedness, neither will evil dwell with you,” Psalm 5:4. In fact, on a positive note, Isaiah 6, the antiphonal cry of the angels was that God was holy, holy, holy.

You see a glimpse of that, of course, when Jesus came into the world, God in human flesh. He was holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners. God is not evil. God does not do evil. He cannot be tempted to do evil. He never tempts anybody else to do evil. God is not responsible for evil. The source of evil, the source of sin is outside God. When God created angels and God created humans, He gave them intelligence, He gave them reason, and He gave them choice. - J Mac

I exposed you before kings - Satan will not always remain behind the scenes, but his works will one day be exposed. He was defeated at the cross, and one day everyone will acknowledge this fact when every knee is bowed and they will confess that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Satan will be far more like the human prince of Tyre than the God he tried to usurp. The other kings and traders thought Tyre was forever because of it's position in the sea, it's greatness in commerce, wealth that could buy armies and people, yet this world's system comes to an end. These passages are very helpful in dealing with the eschatology of later books from Daniel all the way to Revelation. Some think, and I am of the mind, that the relationship between Satan and the king of Babylon mentioned in Isaiah 14 points to the antichrist of Revelation. The pattern is the same, he is the ruler of this world, and that will come to an end. It is also interesting that the anti Christ will publicly display his defeat of the two witnesses in the end, but like the king of Tyre, his defeat will also go on public display.

He was exposed to contempt and disgrace, and trampled upon by his neighbours: "I will cast thee to the ground (v. 17), will cast thee among the pavement-stones, from the midst of the precious stones, and will lay thee a rueful spectacle before kings, that they may behold thee and take warning by thee not to be proud and oppressive." - Matthew Henry

…10And those who dwell on the earth will gloat over them, and will celebrate and send one another gifts, because these two prophets had tormented them. 11But after the three and a half days, the breath of life from God entered the two witnesses, and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell upon those who saw them. 12And the witnesses heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Come up here.” And they went up to heaven in a cloud as their enemies watched them.… Revelation 11: 10-12

And I turned you to ashes on the earth in the sight of all who saw you - 

And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. 9 And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them, 10 and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. Revelation 20: 7-10

This was true of literal Tyre, and already fulfilled. “Instead of being an object of adoration thou shalt be a subject of horror, and at last be destroyed with thy city, so that nothing but thy name shall remain. It was entirely burnt by Alexander the Great, as it had been before by Nebuchadnezzar.” (Clarke) It will also one day be true of Satan, the power and influence behind Tyre.