Ezekiel 28 and Isaiah 14
Introduction
It’s always good strategy to know your enemy. Paul said: “We are not unaware of his schemes” (2 Corinthians 2:11, 14, he “masquerades as an angel of light”). We do not want to be unaware of Satan’s plots and maneuvers.
On the other hand, we want to avoid an unhealthy preoccupation with the devil. We should neither disregard Satan nor take him for granted.
Scholars point to two Old Testament passages, suggesting the story of Satan’s creation and fall. In Ezekiel 28, we find indications of Satan’s original glorious state as an angel of God, while Isaiah 14 focuses on Satan’s rebellious fall.
Both of these passages have direct application to earthly rulers other than Satan: Ezekiel is writing a “lament concerning the king of Tyre,” while Isaiah introduces his words as a “taunt against the king of Babylon.” But the allusions to Satan in each one are strong.
Here’s a good way of looking at these passages: They point both to the earthly kings mentioned and to Satan, much in the same way that the messianic passages point to both the Davidic kings of Israel and to Christ. They find their fulfillment on more than one level. –Jeremiah, Angels, 204.
Thesis: Satan fell from his original state as an angel when he rebelled against God.
Satan was an angel of God, Ezekiel 28:12-15.
A. Guardian cherub
B. Perfect in form and intellect
C. Placed in the Garden of Eden
Satan rebelled against God, Isaiah 14:12-15.
A. Satan wanted God’s place.
- “I will ascend to heaven.”
- “I will raise my throne above the stars (angels) of God.”
B. Satan wanted God’s position.
- “I will sit on the mount of assembly in the recesses of the north.”
- “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds [usurp the glory of God].”
C. Satan wanted God’s likeness.
- “I will make myself like the Most High” (Satan wanted to be the possessor of heaven and earth).
- 1 Timothy 3:6 calls Satan’s sin pride, and may be characterized as counterfeiting God (like the Most High).
Satan is an enemy against God: “pride made an angel into a devil.”
A. Recognize Satan’s weapon of pride, especially in churches.
B. Remember God’s Preeminence: Satan will not get away with it forever.
Satan has angelic servants–demons.
A. James 2:19–Demons are rational spiritual beings, not diseases or mental illness. They possess attributes of personality and believe in God.
B. Where did they come from? Satan could not have created them because only God is the Creator. These demons are fallen angels who joined Satan’s rebellion.
- 2 Peter 2:4–“God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment.”
- Jude 6–“the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home.”
- Revelation 12:3-4–John saw “an enormous red dragon” whose tail “swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth.” The dragon is identified as Satan later in the chapter. And stars frequently represent angels.
Satan will be punished by God, Ezekiel 28:16-10
A. Satan’s position in God’s government is terminated, though he still has access to heaven, Job 1:6.
B. Satan’s punishment will be in three stages:
- in the middle of the Tribulation, he will be cast from heaven and restricted to earth, Revelation 12:7-13;
- at the beginning of the Millennial Kingdom, he will be cast into the Abyss for one thousand years, and will be paroled for a short time at the end of the Millennial Kingdom; and
- finally, he will be cast into the Lake of Fire and Brimstone forever, Revelation 20:10.