Ezekiel 28 is not about Satan: An Examination of a Faulty Interpretation by Tradition Part 2

Ezekiel 28 is not about Satan: An Examination of a Faulty Interpretation by Tradition Part 2

Tradition states that Satan was thrown out of heaven into Eden. Once he was in Eden, Satan tempted Adam and Eve. However, the text says that this individual was in Eden BEFORE he has sinned. Once his sin was found out, he was excommunicated. Also, consider that Eden was on earth, not in heaven (Genesis. 2:8-14 describes Eden’s boundaries). Therefore, this individual was expelled out of Eden, not Heaven. If anything this individual relates more to a type of Adam, not Satan.

 

When you compare Ezekiel 27:3, 28:12; 27:16, 17 with 28:13; 27:33, 28:16, we can see that the text is about the Prince-King of Tyre. Prince and King are used interchangeably in scripture. An example can be found in 1 Samuel 9:16; 10:1 with King Saul. This is not talking about the literal Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve. Also, the sin is about getting rich/trading silver and gold, not leading an angelic rebellion in Heaven. What is Satan’s purpose of acquiring silver and gold?

·         Ezekiel 27:3 3 and say to Tyre, who dwells at the entrances to the sea, merchant of the peoples to many coastlands, thus says the Lord God: “O Tyre, you have said, ‘I am perfect in beauty.’

 

·         Ezekiel 28:12 12 “Son of man, raise a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and say to him, Thus says the Lord God: “You were the signet of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.

 

·         Ezekiel 27:16 16 Syria did business with you because of your abundant goods; they exchanged for your wares emeralds, purple, embroidered work, fine linen, coral, and ruby.

 

·         Ezekiel 27:17 17 Judah and the land of Israel traded with you; they exchanged for your merchandise wheat of Minnith, meal, honey, oil, and balm.

 

·         Ezekiel 28:13 13 You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, emerald, and carbuncle; and crafted in gold were your settings and your engravings. On the day that you were created they were prepared.

NOTE: Created can also be translated as established or appointed.

 

·         Ezekiel 27:33 33 When your wares came from the seas, you satisfied many peoples; with your abundant wealth and merchandise you enriched the kings of the earth.

 

·         Ezekiel 28:16 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.

 

The Prince-King of Tyre cannot be Satan because Satan cannot be killed or “die the death of the uncircumcised.” Satan is a spirit.

·         Ezekiel 28:9-10 9 Will you still say, ‘I am a god,’ in the presence of those who kill you, though you are but a man, and no god, in the hands of those who slay you?10 You shall die the death of the uncircumcised by the hand of foreigners; for I have spoken, declares the Lord God.”

 

·         Luke 20:35-36 35 but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage, 36 for they cannot die anymore, because they are equal to angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.

 

Similarly to Isaiah 14, Ezekiel 28 goes through a series of prophetic judgments of various nations. In addition, Isaiah 14 describes a human leader just like Ezekiel 28 and 31 describes a human leader. God permitted to use these human leaders to achieve success and then let their pride get in the way. Their pride led to blasphemy, which in turn God punished each of them and their respective nations.

In Ezekiel 28:15, “You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, till unrighteousness was found in you” is not support for Satan. In fact, the same phrase is used for Noah, Abraham, Job, and David.

 

·         Genesis 6:9 9 These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God.

 

 

·         Genesis 17:1 17 When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless,

 

·         Job 1:1 1 There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil.

 

 

·         Psalm 18:23,25 23 I was blameless before him, and I kept myself from my guilt…. 25 With the merciful you show yourself merciful; with the blameless man you show yourself blameless;

 

“You were in Eden”, is a figurative description of fleeting luxury and its current geographical location (See Ezekiel 27:23; 31:8, 9; Isaiah 51:3; Genesis 13:10). Just like the Prince-King of Tyre was in Eden, Pharaoh/Assyria is described as a large tree in Eden envied by the other trees in Ezekiel 31(conquered nations by Assyria); perhaps, Pharaoh claimed to be the Tree of Knowledge. The Tree of knowledge was a stumbling block to Eve (relates to Israel) with its seductive fruit (idolatry/riches/power).

 

·         Ezekiel 31:2-3, 2 “Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his multitude: “Whom are you like in your greatness? 3 Behold, Assyria was a cedar in Lebanon, with beautiful branches and forest shade, and of towering height, its top among the clouds….

 

·         Ezekiel 31:8-9 8 The cedars in the garden of God could not rival it, nor the fir trees equal its boughs; neither were the plane trees like its branches; no tree in the garden of God was its equal in beauty.9 I made it beautiful in the mass of its branches, and all the trees of Eden envied it, that were in the garden of God.

 

·         Ezekiel 31:16, 18 16 I made the nations quake at the sound of its fall, when I cast it down to Sheol with those who go down to the pit. And all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, were comforted in the world below…… 18 “Whom are you thus like in glory and in greatness among the trees of Eden? You shall be brought down with the trees of Eden to the world below. You shall lie among the uncircumcised, with those who are slain by the sword. “This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, declares the Lord God.”

 

In Ezekiel 28:3, we see that the Prince-King of Tyre claimed to be smarter than Daniel. However, this isn’t a super-human intelligence in order to support the Satan theory. This can refer to sneakiness/craftiness as well. See Luke 16:8.

 

·         Ezekiel 28:3 3 you are indeed wiser than Daniel; no secret is hidden from you;

 

·         Luke 16:8 8 The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light.

 

Tyre was blessed by God due to the long-term partnership between David, Solomon, and Hiram (See 2 Samuel 5:11; 1 Kings 5:1, 6, 7, 10, 12, 17, 18).

·         2 Samuel 5:11 11 And Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, also carpenters and masons who built David a house.

 

·         1 Kings 5:1 5  Now Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon when he heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father, for Hiram always loved David.

 

·         1 Kings 5:6-7 6 Now therefore command that cedars of Lebanon be cut for me. And my servants will join your servants, and I will pay you for your servants such wages as you set, for you know that there is no one among us who knows how to cut timber like the Sidonians.”…..7 As soon as Hiram heard the words of Solomon, he rejoiced greatly and said, “Blessed be the Lord this day, who has given to David a wise son to be over this great people.”

 

 

·         1 Kings 5:10,12 10 So Hiram supplied Solomon with all the timber of cedar and cypress that he desired…. 12 And the Lord gave Solomon wisdom, as he promised him. And there was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a treaty.

 

·         1 Kings 5:17,18 17 At the king's command they quarried out great, costly stones in order to lay the foundation of the house with dressed stones…..18 So Solomon's builders and Hiram's builders and the men of Gebal did the cutting and prepared the timber and the stone to build the house.

 

·         1 Kings 9:10-13 10 At the end of twenty years, in which Solomon had built the two houses, the house of the Lord and the king's house, 11 and Hiram king of Tyre had supplied Solomon with cedar and cypress timber and gold, as much as he desired, King Solomon gave to Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee. 12 But when Hiram came from Tyre to see the cities that Solomon had given him, they did not please him. 13 Therefore he said, “What kind of cities are these that you have given me, my brother?” So they are called the land of Cabul to this day.

 

·         1 Kings 9:28 28 And they went to Ophir and brought from there gold, 420 talents, and they brought it to King Solomon.

 

·         1 Kings 10:22 22 For the king had a fleet of ships of Tarshish at sea with the fleet of Hiram. Once every three years the fleet of ships of Tarshish used to come bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks

 

In Ezekiel 28, we see the Prince-King of Tyre wearing what appears to be a breastplate similar to the high priest or a figurative descriptive covering of favor. See Isaiah 62:3 and Zechariah 9:16. As mentioned earlier, God blessed Hiram due to his relationship with David and Solomon. He was “covered” by the high priest. God blesses whoever supports Israel and curses whoever hurts Israel.

 

·         Ezekiel 28:13-14 13 You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, emerald, and carbuncle; and crafted in gold were your settings and your engravings. On the day that you were created they were prepared. 14 You were an anointed guardian cherub. I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God; in the midst of the stones of fire you walked. NOTE: The translation for this passage has been highly debated. However, the Septuagint provides some support for the rest of Ezekiel.

 

     There a few possible ways to interpret this passage:

 

1.     You were anointed as a Privileged King (over Israel) among the Cherubs (other Gentile Kings). You walked in the presence of my throne/the floors of Heaven….. You are banished, O Guardian Cherub (Privileged King)

 

2.     You were anointed as a Guardian Cherub (over Israel).You walked in the presence of my throne/the floors of Heaven….. You are banished, O Guardian Cherub.

 

3.     I appointed a guardian cherub to cover you (friendship with Israel-Adam imagery). You walked in the presence of my throne/the floors of Heaven….. You are banished by the Guardian Cherub (Adam imagery).

 

 

  

·         Exodus 39:10-14 10 And they set in it four rows of stones. A row of sardius, topaz, and carbuncle was the first row; 11 and the second row, an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond; 12 and the third row, a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; 13 and the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. They were enclosed in settings of gold filigree. 14 There were twelve stones with their names according to the names of the sons of Israel. They were like signets, each engraved with its name, for the twelve tribes.

 

·         Genesis 12:3 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

 

·         Genesis 39:5 5 From the time that he made him overseer in his house and over all that he had, the Lord blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had, in house and field

 

The Fall of the Prince-King of Tyre is using imagery from Adam’s fall from Paradise. The Prince-King of Tyre is being compared to Adam. In verse 17, we see that Prince-King of Tyre is brought back to the ground just like Adam returns to the earth (Ezekiel 28:17) 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). Unfortunately, this passage is interpreted as Satan being excommunicated out of Eden or Heaven. However, a careful examination will show that the individual resembles more “Adam” qualities. The Septuagint version of this passage rendered differently, which in turn gives further support for the Adamic imagery. The Holy Mountain is not Heaven, but the Kingdom of God-Zion. It is figurative for God’s favor and protection. Once the leader of Tyre habitually sinned, the Lord removed that Cherub/Cover of protection from him and his city. He was excommunicated from God’s favorable presence. See below for support. 

The Fiery Stones can refer to the reflection of the High Priest’s Breastplate gem stones when it is near the Shekinah Glory. A second interpretation possibility can be The Ten Commandments (Fire is sometimes used interchangeably with thunder-also they are written on stone tablets). Third, it can be the fiery coals described in Isaiah 6:6, or the Cherubim themselves. Lastly, which I think is the best explanation is the floor of Heaven, since Eden is Heaven on Earth before the Fall. See Exodus 24:10 and Revelation 15:2.

·         Isaiah 6:6 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar.

 

·         Ezekiel 1:13 13 As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, like the appearance of torches moving to and fro among the living creatures. And the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning.

 

 

·         Ezekiel 10:2, 6-7 2 And he said to the man clothed in linen, “Go in among the whirling wheels underneath the cherubim. Fill your hands with burning coals from between the cherubim, and scatter them over the city.” And he went in before my eyes. 6 And when he commanded the man clothed in linen, “Take fire from between the whirling wheels, from between the cherubim,” he went in and stood beside a wheel. 7 And a cherub stretched out his hand from between the cherubim to the fire that was between the cherubim, and took some of it and put it into the hands of the man clothed in linen, who took it and went out.

 

After Hiram died, other rulers succeeded him and relations with Israel turned sour. Pride took control of the rulers. They started to deify themselves due to their elaborate riches. Tyre started to gloat over Israel’s captivity by Babylon. The leaders saw it as opportunity to boast, loot, and plunder Israel in this vulnerable state. The rulers felt untouchable since the city was strategically sitting on a rock island. This made invasions almost impossible. Nevertheless, God would bring judgment to Tyre for betraying Israel. Tyre’s trading partners would turn against them in Ezekiel 27:35-36.

 

Our final question is now “Who is the Prince-King of Tyre?” The answer can be found in 1 Kings 16:30-31. According to historical records, King Ethbaal III was considered the leader for both the Tyrians and the Sidonians. His name means “with Baal.” This tells the reader immediately where his heart lied at. He is also the son of Ethbaal who is the Father of Jezebal who later marries Ahab. Both Ahab and Jezebel lead the Northern Kingdom and were responsible for State-sponsored idolatry. It wouldn't be surprising if his son followed in his father's footsteps.

 

1 Kings 16:30-31 30 And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord, more than all who were before him. 31 And as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, he took for his wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal and worshiped him.