Day 251: Ezekiel 28-30

(The previous post covered prophecies against countries surrounding Israel. The majority of the prophecies concerned Tyre. Tyre was a city perfect in beauty, full of music, and participating in much traffic. However, because of Tyre's pride, she was humbled and made ugly. Ezekiel 27 provided the context for the next chapter. This next chapter continued this context and then moved to insight into how Lucifer became Satan.)

Ezekiel 28
¹ The word of Jehovah came again unto me, saying,

(The prophecy concerning Tyre continued…)

² Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyre, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Because thy 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 man, and not God, though thou didst set thy heart as the heart of God;-

(According to Josephus, the actual identity of the Prince of Tyre was Ithobalus II. The Prince of Tyre was prideful. His heart was not set upon God. He exalted himself as a god. He was a picture of the Antichrist.)

³ behold, thou art wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that is hidden from thee;

(The Prince of Tyre was not actually wiser than Daniel. Daniel was spiritually wise. Ithobalus II was wise in his own eyes according to the ways of the world, which led to...)

⁴ by thy wisdom and by thine understanding thou hast gotten thee riches, and hast gotten gold and silver into thy treasures;

(The Prince of Tyre received his riches in his own strength, by his wisdom and his understanding.)

⁵ by thy great wisdom and by thy traffic hast thou increased thy riches, and thy heart is lifted up because of thy riches;-
⁶ therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Because thou hast set thy heart as the heart of God,
⁷ therefore, behold, 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.
⁸ They shall bring thee down to the pit; and thou shalt die the death of them that are slain, in the heart of the seas.

(Because of the prince's pride, God would bring strangers upon him who would bring him down to the pit (judgment/humility). Babylon would be the stranger that God used to judge him. Notice, the "brightness" of the prince of Tyre was mentioned. Lucifer meant "light-bearer.")

⁹ Wilt thou yet say before him that slayeth thee, I am God? but thou art man, and not God, in the hand of him that woundeth thee.
¹⁰ Thou shalt die the death of the uncircumcised by the hand of strangers: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord Jehovah.

(These verses served as a transition between what was spoken about Tyre (and the actual Prince of Tyre: Ithabalus II) and Lucifer/Satan. Notice, the Prince of Tyre was being guided by Satan just as the Antichrist will be led by Satan. This would make the one influencing the "Prince of Tyre" the "King of Tyre.")

(Verses 11-19: literally spoke of Satan, whom Ezekiel referred to as the "king of Tyre.")

¹¹ Moreover the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
¹² Son of man, take up a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.

(Lucifer was full of wisdom and perfect in beauty, just like Ithabalus II and Tyre.)

¹³ Thou wast in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, the 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 in thee; in the day that thou wast created they were prepared.

(Lucifer was in Eden "the garden of God." Satan was created, he was not God. The tabrets and pipes referred to musical instruments (percussion and wind). Lucifer could make music from his body. In Ezekiel 26:13 we saw Tyre was a city of music that would become silent.)

¹⁴ Thou wast the anointed cherub that covereth: and I set thee, so that thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.

(Lucifer was the anointed cherub (an angelic being flanking God's throne) that God set there. This verse implied Lucifer was the angel most familiar with God, he understood the power of God's grace.)

¹⁵ Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till unrighteousness was found in thee.

(Lucifer was perfect until unrighteousness was found in him. God created Lucifer without sin. In Genesis 4, Cain made a choice to allow sin into himself. Likewise, sin was crouching at the door waiting for Lucifer to give it an opportunity to enter him. How did sin gain entrance into Lucifer?)

¹⁶ By the abundance of thy traffic they filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore have I cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God; and I have destroyed thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.

(Like Tyre, Lucifer got in pride because of the "abundance of thy traffic." Lucifer's many interactions with angels of a lesser position caused Lucifer to be prideful. When Lucifer looked to God, he was humbled. When he looked to everyone else, he saw himself as better, which allowed sin to gain access to Lucifer's heart and he became Satan.

Isaiah 14 presented the five "I Will's" that Lucifer stated to God which caused God to cast Lucifer out of his place and position as a cherub.)

¹⁷ Thy heart was lifted up because of thy beauty; thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I have cast thee to the ground; I have laid thee before kings, that they may behold thee.

(Lucifer was (and Satan is) prideful because of the beauty in which God created him. Notice, the corruption of his wisdom came by his brightness. Again, all of these attributes were also attributed to Tyre and the prince of Tyre.)

¹⁸ By the multitude of thine iniquities, in the unrighteousness of thy traffic, thou hast profaned thy sanctuaries; therefore have I brought forth a fire from the midst of thee; it hath devoured thee, and I have turned thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.

(Again, the traffic of Lucifer (and Tyre) was mentioned.)

¹⁹ All they that know thee among the peoples shall be astonished at thee: thou art become a terror, and thou shalt nevermore have any being.

(The entire earth will witness Satan being sent to the lake of fire.)

²⁰ And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,

(Verses 21-24: prophecy that God commanded Ezekiel to speak against Sidon.)

²¹ Son of man, set thy face toward Sidon, and prophesy against it,

(Sidon, like Tyre, was a Phoenicain city on the Mediterranean coast.)

²² and say, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I am against thee, O Sidon; and I will be glorified in the midst of thee; and they shall know that I am Jehovah, when I shall have executed judgments in her, and shall be sanctified in her.
²³ For I will send pestilence into her, and blood into her streets; and the wounded shall fall in the midst of her, with the sword upon her on every side; and they shall know that I am Jehovah.
²⁴ And there shall be no more a pricking brier unto the house of Israel, nor a hurting thorn of any that are round about them, that did despite unto them; and they shall know that I am the Lord Jehovah.

(Verses 25-26: the restoration of Israel.)

²⁵ Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: When I shall have gathered the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, and shall be sanctified in them in the sight of the nations, then shall they dwell in their own land which I gave to my servant Jacob.
²⁶ And they shall dwell securely therein; yea, they shall build houses, and plant vineyards, and shall dwell securely, when I have executed judgments upon all those that do them despite round about them; and they shall know that I am Jehovah their God.

(Along with Isaiah 14, Ezekiel 28 gave us insight into how and why Lucifer became Satan.)




Ezekiel 29
¹ In the tenth year, in the tenth month, in the twelfth day of the month, the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
² Son of man, set thy face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him, and against all Egypt;

(This prophecy was given in the tenth year of the captivity. It was about six months before Jerusalem was destroyed. God commanded Ezekiel to prophesy against the Pharaoh of Egypt.)

³ speak, and say, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great monster that lieth in the midst of his rivers, that hath said, My river is mine own, and I have made it for myself.

(This Pharaoh was Hophra (also known as "Apries"). He was the man that Zedekiah relied on for protection against Nebuchadnezzar. This Pharaoh was in pride like the king of Tyre. He credited himself for making the river: the Nile.)

⁴ And I will put hooks in thy jaws, and I will cause the fish of thy rivers to stick unto thy scales; and I will bring thee up out of the midst of thy rivers, with all the fish of thy rivers which stick unto thy scales.
⁵ And I will cast thee forth into the wilderness, thee and all the fish of thy rivers: thou shalt fall upon the open field; thou shalt not be brought together, nor gathered; I have given thee for food to the beasts of the earth and to the birds of the heavens.
⁶ And all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am Jehovah, because they have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel.

(The cause of judgment was that Egypt was a "staff of reed" to Israel. This meant that Israel put their trust in Egypt and not God.)

⁷ When they took hold of thee by thy hand, thou didst break, and didst rend all their shoulders; and when they leaned upon thee, thou brakest, and madest all their loins to be at a stand.

(When Israel put their trust in Egypt, Egypt was destructive towards them.)

⁸ Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I will bring a sword upon thee, and will cut off from thee man and beast.
⁹ And the land of Egypt shall be a desolation and a waste; and they shall know that I am Jehovah. Because he hath said, The river is mine, and I have made it;

(Egypt would be desolate because they took credit for creating the river.)

¹⁰ therefore, behold, I am against thee, and against thy rivers, and I will make the land of Egypt an utter waste and desolation, from the tower of Seveneh even unto the border of Ethiopia.
¹¹ No foot of man shall pass through it, nor foot of beast shall pass through it, neither shall it be inhabited forty years.

(These forty years were literal years. They were part of the seventy year period when Israel would be in Babylonian captivity. Nebuchadnezzar did not conquer the Egyptians until a number of years after the fall of Jerusalem.)

¹² And I will make the land of Egypt a desolation in the midst of the countries that are desolate; and her cities among the cities that are laid waste shall be a desolation forty years; and I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and will disperse them through the countries.
¹³ For thus saith the Lord Jehovah: At the end of forty years will I gather the Egyptians from the peoples whither they were scattered;
¹⁴ and I will bring back the captivity of Egypt, and will cause them to return into the land of Pathros, into the land of their birth; and they shall be there a base kingdom.
¹⁵ It shall be the basest of the kingdoms; neither shall it any more lift itself up above the nations: and I will diminish them, that they shall no more rule over the nations.

(After the forty years, Egypt would be regathered back to their homeland but never to be a world power again.)

¹⁶ And it shall be no more the confidence of the house of Israel, bringing iniquity to remembrance, when they turn to look after them: and they shall know that I am the Lord Jehovah.

(Israel would not trust in Egypt again. Since that time, Israel has not trusted in Egypt.)

¹⁷ And it came to pass in the seven and twentieth year, in the first month, in the first day of the month, the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
¹⁸ Son of man, Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon caused his army to serve a great service against Tyre: every head was made bald, and every shoulder was worn; yet had he no wages, nor his army, from Tyre, for the service that he had served against it.
¹⁹ Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I will give the land of Egypt unto Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon; and he shall carry off her multitude, and take her spoil, and take her prey; and it shall be the wages for his army.

(God would give Egypt into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar.)

²⁰ I have given him the land of Egypt as his recompense for which he served, because they wrought for me, saith the Lord Jehovah.
²¹ In that day will I cause a horn to bud forth unto the house of Israel, and I will give thee the opening of the mouth in the midst of them; and they shall know that I am Jehovah.

(The next chapter began with unfulfilled prophecies about the end of the Tribulation, then transitioned to judgments on the nations during Ezekiel's time.)




Ezekiel 30
¹ The word of Jehovah came again unto me, saying,
² Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Wail ye, Alas for the day!
³ For the day is near, even the day of Jehovah is near; it shall be a day of clouds, a time of the nations.

(This "day of Jehovah" referred to the second coming of Christ at the end of the Tribulation and the beginning of Christ's Millennial reign.)

⁴ And a sword shall come upon Egypt, and anguish shall be in Ethiopia, when the slain shall fall in Egypt; and they shall take away her multitude, and her foundations shall be broken down.

(Egypt will be overthrown by the Antichrist during the conquest of the ten kingdoms inside the Roman Empire territory during the first 3 1/2 years of Daniel’s 70th week: Daniel 9:24-27.)

⁵ Ethiopia, and Put, and Lud, and all the mingled people, and Cub, and the children of the land that is in league, shall fall with them by the sword.

(Ethiopia and the other countries listed here will follow the footsteps of the Antichrist: Daniel 11:40-45.)

⁶ Thus saith Jehovah: They also that uphold Egypt shall fall; and the pride of her power shall come down: from the tower of Seveneh shall they fall in it by the sword, saith the Lord Jehovah.
⁷ And they shall be desolate in the midst of the countries that are desolate; and her cities shall be in the midst of the cities that are wasted.
⁸ And they shall know that I am Jehovah, when I have set a fire in Egypt, and all her helpers are destroyed.
⁹ In that day shall messengers go forth from before me in ships to make the careless Ethiopians afraid; and there shall be anguish upon them, as in the day of Egypt; for, lo, it cometh.

(Next, verse 10 transitioned to immediate destruction of Egypt by Babylon…)

¹⁰ Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: I will also make the multitude of Egypt to cease, by the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon.
¹¹ He and his people with him, the terrible of the nations, shall be brought in to destroy the land; and they shall draw their swords against Egypt, and fill the land with the slain.
¹² And I will make the rivers dry, and will sell the land into the hand of evil men; and I will make the land desolate, and all that is therein, by the hand of strangers: I, Jehovah, have spoken it.
¹³ Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: I will also destroy the idols, and I will cause the images to cease from Memphis; and there shall be no more a prince from the land of Egypt: and I will put a fear in the land of Egypt.
¹⁴ And I will make Pathros desolate, and will set a fire in Zoan, and will execute judgments upon No.

(Pathros was in upper Egypt along with No (or Thebes) being the capital. Zoan was a chief city in lower Egypt.)

¹⁵ And I will pour my wrath upon Sin, the stronghold of Egypt; and I will cut off the multitude of No.

(Sin was in the northeast of Egypt. God would afflict the whole nation of Egypt.)

¹⁶ And I will set a fire in Egypt: Sin shall be in great anguish, and No shall be broken up; and Memphis shall have adversaries in the day-time.
¹⁷ The young men of Aven and of Pibeseth shall fall by the sword; and these cities shall go into captivity.
¹⁸ At Tehaphnehes also the day shall withdraw itself, when I shall break there the yokes of Egypt, and the pride of her power shall cease in her: as for her, a cloud shall cover her, and her daughters shall go into captivity.
¹⁹ Thus will I execute judgments upon Egypt; and they shall know that I am Jehovah.

(The Egyptians would know that Jehovah was God after they saw His judgments executed on them and their land.)

²⁰ And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first month, in the seventh day of the month, that the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,

(This word came about three months before Jerusalem fell, and about sixteen years before Nebuchadnezzar invaded Egypt.)

²¹ Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and, lo, it hath not been bound up, to apply healing medicines, to put a bandage to bind it, that it be strong to hold the sword.
²² Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and will break his arms, the strong arm, and that which was broken; and I will cause the sword to fall out of his hand.
²³ And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and will disperse them through the countries.

(The Egyptians would be scattered across many nations.)

²⁴ And I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and put my sword in his hand: but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he shall groan before him with the groanings of a deadly wounded man.

(Babylon would be strengthened and Egypt would be weakened.)

²⁵ And I will hold up the arms of the king of Babylon; and the arms of Pharaoh shall fall down; and they shall know that I am Jehovah, when I shall put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall stretch it out upon the land of Egypt.
²⁶ And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them through the countries; and they shall know that I am Jehovah.

(Again, the reason why God brought judgment was for these nations to know Jehovah was God.)

(This post covered how and why Lucifer became Satan, along with prophecies against Egypt.)

Day 252