The King of Tyre: revisted

[B-A-C]

Ezekiel 28 is often called a parallel prophecy. Meaning it is talking about more than one thing or more than one person.

Apparently there really was a country called Tyre, and apparently it really had a king over it.
But this passage isn't only about the King of Tyre. It's also about someone else, we get plenty of clues here.

Ezek 28:2; "Son of man, say to the leader of Tyre, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Because your heart is lifted up And you have 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 God, Although you make your heart like the heart of God—
Ezek 28:3; Behold, you are wiser than Daniel; There is no secret that is a match for you.
Ezek 28:4; "By your wisdom and understanding You have acquired riches for yourself And have acquired gold and silver for your treasuries.
Ezek 28:5; "By your great wisdom, by your trade You have increased your riches And your heart is lifted up because of your riches—
Ezek 28:6; Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, 'Because you have made your heart Like the heart of God,
Ezek 28:7; Therefore, behold, I will bring strangers upon you, The most ruthless of the nations. And they will draw their swords Against the beauty of your wisdom And defile your splendor.
Ezek 28:8; 'They will bring you down to the pit, And you will die the death of those who are slain In the heart of the seas.
Ezek 28:9; 'Will you still say, "I am a god," In the presence of your slayer, Though you are a man and not God, In the hands of those who wound you?
Ezek 28:10; 'You will die the death of the uncircumcised By the hand of strangers, For I have spoken!' declares the Lord GOD!"'"

These first 10 verses here, seem to be about a man who wants to exalt himself above God. In verse 2 and verse 9, this person says "I am a god".
It says this person was wiser than Daniel. A pretty wise man in the Bible. But the language changes slightly in the few verses.

Ezek 28:12; "Son of man, take up a lamentation over the king of Tyre and say to him, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "You had the seal of perfection, Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
Ezek 28:13; "You were in Eden, the garden of God; Every precious stone was your covering: The ruby, the topaz and the diamond; The beryl, the onyx and the jasper; The lapis lazuli, the turquoise and the emerald; And the gold, the workmanship of your settings and sockets, Was in you. On the day that you were created They were prepared.
Ezek 28:14; "You were the anointed cherub who covers, And I placed you there. You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked in the midst of the stones of fire.
Ezek 28:15; "You were blameless in your ways From the day you were created Until unrighteousness was found in you.
Ezek 28:16; "By the abundance of your trade You were internally filled with violence, And you sinned; Therefore I have cast you as profane From the mountain of God. And I have destroyed you, O covering cherub, From the midst of the stones of fire.
Ezek 28:17; "Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; You corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor. I cast you to the ground; I put you before kings, That they may see you.
Ezek 28:18; "By the multitude of your iniquities, In the unrighteousness of your trade You profaned your sanctuaries. Therefore I have brought fire from the midst of you; It has consumed you, And I have turned you to ashes on the earth In the eyes of all who see you.
Ezek 28:19; "All who know you among the peoples Are appalled at you; You have become terrified And you will cease to be forever."'"

Now we are talking about an angel. Verses 14 and 16 call this person a "cherub" (angel). It says he was on the holy mountain of God (presumably heaven).
But he was cast out. He was cast to the ground (presumably Earth). It also says in verse 13 that this person was in the garden of Eden.

If you do a google search, you will likely find Tyre in two ways. (A city in Lebanon) but also an ancient Phoenician port. Historians say Tyre was a
major world city around 1000-BC to 800-BC. Some articles actually mention a king named Abibaal.

It's very unlikely this king was the cherub in the garden of Eden. He would have been thousands of years old. (although some people in Genesis lived to be
over 900 years old). But although some angels can appear in the likeness of men, they aren't actually men. It says this person was actually in heaven
and then cast out. In fact it says they were "blameless in your ways" in verse 15.

This is most likely a passage about Satan. This is where we find out a little about where he came from. He was once in heaven.
We know he was also in the garden of Eden. We also know Satan was cast out of heaven at some point (although it appears he can still visit
from time to time). But it also says he was created. Verse 13 says "on the day you were created". So Satan in a created being, not a god.
He didn't always exist. But originally he was a good angel in heaven, who "was blameless, until unrighteous was found in you".

Jesus says he saw Satan cast out of heaven. ( Luke 10:18; )

But it seems that Satan wanted to make himself God and sit on the throne of heaven. It seems he was/is very wise and beautiful.
(although rebelling against God wasn't the wisest choice). Some people say Satan was one of the arch-angels. But I don't see this in the Bible.

(archangel only appears in 1 Thes 4:16; and Jude 1:9; )

... to be continued.

 

[B-A-C]

Isaiah 14 is also about a king. The king of Babylon. But this is also considered a parallel prophecy about Satan.

Isa 14:4; that you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon, and say, "How the oppressor has ceased, And how fury has ceased!
Isa 14:5; "The LORD has broken the staff of the wicked, The scepter of rulers
Isa 14:6; Which used to strike the peoples in fury with unceasing strokes, Which subdued the nations in anger with unrestrained persecution.
Isa 14:7; "The whole earth is at rest and is quiet; They break forth into shouts of joy.
Isa 14:8; "Even the cypress trees rejoice over you, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying, 'Since you were laid low, no tree cutter comes up against us.'
Isa 14:9; "Sheol from beneath is excited over you to meet you when you come; It arouses for you the spirits of the dead, all the leaders of the earth; It raises all the kings of the nations from their thrones.
Isa 14:10; "They will all respond and say to you, 'Even you have been made weak as we, You have become like us.
Isa 14:11; 'Your pomp and the music of your harps Have been brought down to Sheol; Maggots are spread out as your bed beneath you And worms are your covering.'
Isa 14:12; "How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, You who have weakened the nations!
Isa 14:13; "But you said in your heart, 'I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, And I will sit on the mount of assembly In the recesses of the north.
Isa 14:14; 'I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.'
Isa 14:15; "Nevertheless you will be thrust down to Sheol, To the recesses of the pit.
Isa 14:16; "Those who see you will gaze at you, They will ponder over you, saying, 'Is this the man who made the earth tremble, Who shook kingdoms,
Isa 14:17; Who made the world like a wilderness And overthrew its cities, Who did not allow his prisoners to go home?'

Verse 12 in particular is telling. This person has fallen from heaven. He called "star of the morning". This is where the King James Bible
calls him Lucifer.

[KJV] Isa 14:12; How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

It's the only place the title Lucifer appears in the Bible. But like the king of Tyre, he wanted to make himself above God. (verses 13 and 14)
and like the king of Tyre, he was cast down to Earth. Verse 15 says he will put into the recess of the pit. Revelation 20:2-3; also says
Satan will be in a pit for a thousand years.

Verses 16 and 17 talk about Christ's victory over Satan. One day people will look at him and say "this is the guy we used to be afraid of"?
It says he didn't allow his prisoners to go home. (verse 17). But Jesus set them free in Eph 4:8;.

...to be continued.

 

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Rev 12:4; And his tail *swept away a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child.

The verse is usually taken as a third of the angels sided with Satan.

Rev 12:7; And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels waged war,
Rev 12:8; and they were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven.
Rev 12:9; And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

Apparently there was a war in heaven. A war against Satan and the fallen angels that went with him.
But Satan was defeated and he and his angels were cast out of heaven.

Some of Satan's angels (perhaps all?) are imprisoned waiting for judgement. A very large motorcycle group in the US is named from this verse.
They are called "Hell's Angels".

Jude 1:6; And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day,
Jude 1:7; just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.

... to be continued.

 

[B-A-C]

Eventually Satan will be cast into the Lake of Fire, but it hasn't happened yet.

Rev 20:10; And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

In the meantime, he is still roaming around.
2 Tim 4:17; But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that through me the proclamation might be fully accomplished, and that all the Gentiles might hear; and I was rescued out of the lion's mouth.
1 Pet 5:8; Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

He is still called the "god of this world" ( 2 Cor 4:4; )and the "prince of the power of the air" ( Eph 2:2; )

... to be continued.

 

[B-A-C]

I mentioned earlier Jesus saw Satan cast out of heaven.

Luke 10:18; And He said to them, "I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning.

But it appears Satan can "visit" God from time to time. The way Job puts it, they even have casual conversation.

Job 1:6; Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them.
Job 1:7; The LORD said to Satan, "From where do you come?" Then Satan answered the LORD and said, "From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it."

Job 2:1; Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the LORD.
Job 2:2; The LORD said to Satan, "Where have you come from?" Then Satan answered the LORD and said, "From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it."

...to be continued.