Saturday, October 18, 2014
Ezekiel 28:14
Saturday, October 18, 2014 |
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.
For further study - Ezekiel 28:13-19
In our extended reading, verses 13-19, we have a passage of punishment against the angel "Lucifer", who God created and positioned as an "anointed cherub", verse 14. Lucifer was the one who the Lord placed over all that He had created.
This is information that will help us to understand the "fall of Lucifer" and his punishment as the "adversary", the Devil, that old serpent, Satan.
There are several things to notice in our reading. Lucifer was in the Garden of Eden and he was there after his creation which took place on the first day of creation, right after Jesus created the "heavens" and before He created the "earth", Genesis 1:1, Job 38:4 and 7 and Ezekiel 28:13-14.
Notice the synonymous terms in this passage, the "Garden of Eden" and the "Holy Mountain of God". These two phrases refer to the same location.
It was in the Garden of Eden that Lucifer revealed the iniquity in his being and allowed "pride" to bring this most prominent of all "created angels" to a place where the Lord would cast him out of the Holy Mountain of God, verse 16.
We know, by the text, that Lucifer was beautiful. Possibly the most beautiful creature created by Jesus, verse 17. The "beauty" of Lucifer is a key factor in the downfall of this angelic "superstar". A parallel passage that deals with the downfall of Lucifer is Isaiah 14:12-15.
In this prophetic passage from Isaiah we see that the "pride" of Lucifer, this most beautiful of all creatures, was what made manifest the sin within. In this passage Lucifer used the phrase, "I will". Lucifer would exercise his "free will" to his own detriment, his downfall.
Revelation 12:3-4 gives us the understanding that when Lucifer rebelled against the Lord, one-third of all angels created also rebelled and were cast out of the "third heaven" and into the "first heaven" above us, where the sun and clouds are located, Ephesians 6:12.
The study of "angels" is very significant in the study of Bible prophecy. As was the case at the first coming of Christ, so also will be the case in His Second Coming. Angels, both good and bad angels, play a key role in the events of the last days. (See my CD audio series on "Angels".)
The practical aspect of this devotion is that we must know the enemy, Satan, and also what brought about his downfall, from his position of prominence. It was "pride" that brought Satan down. We must run from "pride", and to the Lord.
PRAYER THOT: Help me Lord to flee from pride as I serve You, realizing that every good and great thing comes from You and You alone.