“The word of Yahweh came again unto me [Ezekiel], saying, Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord El; Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God: Behold, thou art wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that they can hide from thee: With thy wisdom and with thine understanding thou hast gotten thee riches, and hast gotten gold and silver into thy treasures: By thy great wisdom and by thy traffic hast thou increased thy riches, and thine heart is lifted up because of thy riches” (Ezekiel 28:1-5).

The desire to be a god unto himself - this is the eternal struggle between following Yahweh's perfect Laws or man's inferior reproduction of them, self-worship or simply apostasy ("falling away"). Ezekiel tells us that the adversary has much wisdom even being wiser than Daniel the interpreter of mysterious dreams. This is only natural as he's later referred to as "the anointed cherub that covers" or protector of the very mercy seat overshadowing the Law of God itself (Exodus 25:17-22). The prince of Tyre loved money (I Timothy 6:10).

Jesus teaches; “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:19-21). Obviously, the ancient prince of Tyre acted contradictory to the teachings of the eternal Christ by using his wisdom to increase riches to himself through sea trade and usury.

In these passages the prince of Tyre symbolizes Satan, not only does Revelation 13:18 confirm that the beast's own number is 666 but also that it's a human number. Since the garden of Yahweh man has stood in opposition to God mainly due to the subtlety of "that old serpent" (Revelation 12:9) who beguiled Eve (or “seduced wholly” Strong's #G1818) bringing forth wicked Cain in the process (II Corinthians 11:3). Biblically, Eve is considered the mother of all living (Genesis 3:20), this includes both righteous and wicked seeds.

(Terrible of The Nations:)

“Therefore thus saith the Lord El; Because thou hast set thine heart as the heart of God; Behold, therefore I will bring strangers upon thee, the terrible of the nations: and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of thy wisdom, and they shall defile thy brightness. They shall bring thee down to the pit, and thou shalt die the deaths of them that are slain in the midst of the seas. Wilt thou yet say before him that slayeth thee, I am God? but thou shalt be a man, and no God, in the hand of him that slayeth thee. Thou shalt die the deaths of the uncircumcised by the hand of strangers: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord El” (Ezekiel 28:6-10).

Consider that the word perdition means “to perish” (Strong's #H7845) or simply death thus Satan is sentenced to die by name as the son of perdition, this is because “The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death” (I Corinthians 15:26). It is death that is mortal man's adversary and it is yet another face of Satan because Christ offers His bride eternal life. In knowing this it becomes much easier to understand why the adversary is "brought down to the pit" or grave (Strong's #H7845) being banished alongside the heathen.

Tyre itself is situated on the shore of the Mediterranean and is a seaport city of trade (Isaiah 23:8) catering to many different nations and at this time foreigners to Israel (I Kings 9:26-28). Like many rulers today, the prince of Tyre used other races as "pawns" in order to gain his gold and silver but this is also his own undoing as they eventually turn on him. There's a great lesson here; as darkness sat upon the face of the deep waters in the very beginning (Genesis 1:2), Satan dies in the sea or “lake of fire” in the end (Revelation 19:20).

One should also notice that it's Yahweh Himself that sends the strangers against "the false rock" Tyre because he'd rather play "god" himself. Because he achieves an almost "godlike" status, part of Tyre's punishment is that he “shalt be a man, and no God” meaning he practically becomes one. Compare this dreary account to the Assyrian “cedar tree” from the garden of Eden, it's practically identical in most regards, even down to dying at the hand of the terrible of the nations (Ezekiel 31:1-18). A private study comparing the two is beneficial.

(The Garden of God:)

“Moreover the word of Yahweh came unto me, saying, 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. 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” (Ezekiel 28:11-13).

Interesting of note from these verses is the fact that Satan had "tabrets and pipes" indwelled within his deity at creation. Through Cain's seed eventually comes Jubal, who is considered to be “the father of all such as handle the harp and organ” (Genesis 4:21). As the world contains both children of God and children of the devil (I John 3:10), it stands to reason that individually these parties have their own music as there are certainly songs that both honor and dishonor God. Only by testing the spirits can a Christian be certain (I John 4:1).

The point that must not be missed in these passages is that Yahweh shows Ezekiel this king of Tyre “hast been in Eden the garden of God” and was also “full of wisdom, and perfect in [his] beauty.” Lucifer's knowledge of Yahweh's Law is certainly unparalleled as he was once the protector of it and it's for this cause that he was initially created perfect, or "the full pattern." He is adorned with nine jewels all of which are found in the high priest’s breastplate (Exodus 28:17-20) yet strangely they're all disordered with the third row missing.

Still, in the next few passages Tyre (or Satanel) loses favor with Yahweh and is driven away from the mountain of God by another angel, stripped of the very light emitting from these same nine "stones of fire." Just like Lucifer who fell directly from heaven (Isaiah 14:12), it becomes rather hard to dismiss the reality of fallen angels (or literal adversaries) when both scripture and prophecy directly refer to such creatures as cherubim or Yahweh tells Ezekiel they've “been in Eden the garden of God.” This final part holds the title of this study:

(Anointed Cherub That Covereth:)

“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. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. 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” (Ezekiel 28:14-16).

Most likely seated directly across from Michael on the very mercy seat of God (Exodus 25:17-22), Satan was once “the anointed cherub that covers with overshadowing [wings].” Yahweh casts this angel from His presence at Sinai and another guardian cherub drives him from the “midst of the stones of fire” meaning the aforementioned jewels. This sense of "brightness" is also found in the very name of Lucifer which means “light-bearer” (Strong's #H1966). Ironically, this also makes Satan an inferior “father of lights” (James 1:17).

Jesus teaches us to pray in the Lord's Prayer; “lead us not into temptation” (Matthew 6:13) meaning there's a tempter that isn't our flesh else man is praying to himself in the place of God. James also taught; “Every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed” (James 1:13-14) yet these verses say that man is drawn away "through" his own flesh or lust and charmed, not that man has become his own tempter. The lawlessness, greed and violence that exists in the land is proof enough that the iniquitous tares exist today.

In these passages and others we can see a foreshadowing of "the beast" who is to attribute to himself divine rights at the end of the earth age (Daniel 7:8-28). Satan seemingly has the ability to work his evil genius through human rulers that give him or his children the honors due only to God, such is the case of the king of Babylon (Isaiah 14:12-15). A look around the planet today shows a world out of balance and full of suffering and temptation - Israelite Christians should do all they can to separate themselves from man's Babylonian system.

(Intention:)

One of the most popular sermons on the Covenant People's Ministry website is Samhain: Green Man of Death. Ironically, many have attempted to dismiss that anti-Halloween discourse by stating my facts were somehow skewed in which lowercase pagan "god" was which. The reality is that anything not of God is against God so therefore anything contrary to Christ or His eternal Word is downright evil. “Ye that love Yahweh, hate evil” (Psalm 97:10) don't hate yourself nor the flesh that Yahweh has given you. That is: unless it's evil itself.

The enemies of God would love nothing more than to be exalted as "God's chosen people" and for God's true covenant bride to believe that they're somehow their own worst adversary or Satan personified. Either made flesh or spiritualized away, the Bible teaches; “Abstain from all appearance of evil” (I Thessalonians 5:22) so Satan represents all things that are wicked and against Yahweh. Who really blames Satan for their own actions of being tempted by the flesh? Nobody serves another "god" for simply acknowledging depravity has a father.

Paul writes; “Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents” (I Corinthians 10:9) when discussing the children of Israel being purged in the plains of Edom (Numbers 21:4-6). The negative influence of strange doctrine can often come from our surroundings or associations. These so-called new "no-devil doctrines" are essentially saying the same thing as those who literally believe in Satan De facto, but it's undoubtedly a debate that will continue until the Kingdom age. I say so be it. Amen.