Satan’s Origin and Fall
by Douglas Hamp
We are told of Satan’s fall from heaven in Ezekiel chapter 28 and Isaiah chapter 14. There are several important clues in the texts that tie together the two passages, as can be seen in the table below. Satan is referred to as the King of Tyre (note that the beginning of the Ezekiel 28 refers to a prince of Tyre). In Isaiah he is refered to as the King of Babylon (for example, in Daniel chapter 10 an angel was detained by the Prince of Persia and the kings of Persia, a reference to demonic beings, which we will discuss in chapter seventeen). In reality he is the ruler of this entire world.
Son of man, take up a lamentation for the king of Tyre, and say to him, “Thus says the Lord GOD: “You were the seal of perfection, Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; Every precious stone was your covering: The sardius, topaz, and diamond, Beryl, onyx, and jasper, Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes Was prepared for you on the day you were created. “You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, Till iniquity was found in you. By the abundance of your trading You became filled with violence within, And you sinned; Therefore I cast you as a profane thing out of the mountain of God; And I destroyed you [abedkha אַבֶּדְךָ֙], O covering cherub, From the midst of the fiery stones. Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor; I cast you to the ground, I laid you before kings, that they might gaze at you. You defiled your sanctuaries By the multitude of your iniquities, By the iniquity of your trading; Therefore I brought fire from your midst; It devoured you, And I turned you to ashes upon the earth In the sight of all who saw you. All who knew you among the peoples are astonished at you; You have become a horror, And shall be no more forever,”‘ (Ezekiel 28:12-19 emphasis mine)
You will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon: “How the oppressor has ceased, the insolent fury ceased! The Lord has broken the staff of the wicked, the scepter of rulers, that struck the peoples in wrath with unceasing blows, that ruled the nations in anger with unrelenting persecution. The whole earth is at rest and quiet; they break forth into singing. The cypresses rejoice at you, the cedars of Lebanon, saying, ‘Since you were laid low, no woodcutter comes up against us.’ Sheol beneath is stirred up to meet you when you come; it rouses the shades [Rephaim] to greet you, all who were leaders of the earth; it raises from their thrones all who were kings of the nations. Your pomp is brought down to Sheol, the sound of your harps; maggots are laid as a bed beneath you, and worms are your covers. “How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star [heilel הֵילֵ֣ל], son of Dawn [ben shakhar בֶּן־שָׁ֑חַר]! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! 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; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit, (Isaiah 14:4-15 ESV emphasis mine).
The table below summarizes the similarities between the two passages:
Table Comparing The Descriptions of Satan as The King of Tyre and the King of Babylon
For the rest of the article go HERE.
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