Ezekiel 28 and the tradition

The biggest problem with many controversial issues is the rationale. If one finds a statement directly in the Bible, then one can justifiably say, “Behold, here it is!” However, if this does not succeed, then one must have the courage to say that this is not in the Bible. The so-called Fall of Satan is about such a situation. First of all, eisegesis is done (it is projected into) before one does an exegesis (interpretation). What emerges is – to say the least – of a dubious nature, because there are no clear statements. However, this is necessary for a doctrine to be justified.

The doctrine of the Fall of Satan is an important pillar of so-called orthodoxy. Many Christians do not doubt it. How could they? It is even preached about. People still hold on to the fall of Satan as if it were a biblical truth. It seems to be a characteristic of traditional faith that one uncritically reads into it what is not to be found in the Bible.

One lives with a contradiction here. On the one hand, all things are said to be of God (Rom 11:36) and He effects all things according to the counsel of His will (Eph 1:11). On the other hand, however, an angel accidentally slips out of His hand (the fall of Satan), which then affects the entire creation. Oops!

This is the area of tension that we are dealing with here.

Ezekiel 28 in its own context

Ezekiel has already dealt with this prince of Tyre and his city for several chapters.

• In Ezekiel 26 there is an assessment of Tyre, the city, and a warning about the coming destruction by Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. “A dry place for nets it shall become in the midst of the sea [Tyre was on an island off the coast, perhaps only a peninsula], for I have spoken, says the LORD, and it shall become a prey to the nations” (Ezek 26:5; Ezek 26:14).
• In Ezekiel 27 the destruction of the city has taken place. “Who is like Tyre, like the destroyed[28] in the midst of the sea!” (Ezek 27:32). “Now you are broken, gone from the seas into the depths of the water, and your barter goods and all your array in your midst have sunk.” (Ezek 27:34)
• Ezekiel 28 is no longer about the city, but about the prince of Tyre. He is the administrator and was responsible for the lot of the city. It was his arrogance that brought about the destruction. In this chapter, it was explained that he would die. “Into the pit they will let you go down, and you will die the death of a slain man in the heart of the seas. Will you then, in the face of your murderers, also say, “God am I!” while you are only a man and not God, in the hand of those who pierce you? The death of uncircumcised thou shalt die by the hand of strangers; for I have spoken, saith the LORD.” (Ezek 28:8-10).

So Ezekiel 28 does not stand as a single story, but is part of a larger account.

Jerusalem and Tyre

Already it became clear that this story of the Prince of Tyre does not stand in a vacuum. The previous chapters point to a historical context and various things said of Tyre are also said of the prince of Tyre. The arrogance of the city corresponds to the arrogance of the prince:

“Tyrus, you say, I am of perfect beauty!”
Ezek 27:3

“Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, Thus says the Lord GOD: Because your heart is lifted high, and you say, “God am I, the dwelling place of the gods do I inhabit in the heart of the seas!” when you are but a man and not God; but you lift up your heart as though it were God’s heart.””
Ezek 28:1-2

So it’s hard to detach chapter 28 from the previous chapters. Moreover, these speeches about Tyre do not come out of nowhere, but they are answer to their scorn about Jerusalem:

“Son of man, because Tyre says about Jerusalem, “Haha! Broken is the gate of the nations; it falleth unto me; I am filled, it is desolate!” Therefore, thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will unto thee, O Tyre. And I will bring up many nations against you, as the sea brings up its waves. And they shall destroy the walls of Tyre, and break down the towers thereof; and I will sweep away the earth thereof from it, and will make it a bare rock.”
Ezek 26:2-4

Thus, these chapters are in a larger context. Moreover, not only is Tyre referred to, but there are also threatening speeches against, for example, Ammon (Ezek 25:1-7), Moab and Zeir (Ezek 25:8-11), Edom (Ezek 25:12-14), and the Philistines (Ezek 25:15-17).

Is the prince of Tyre Satan?

No, the prince of Tyre is not Satan. Why not? It is nowhere in the text. This observation is fundamental. As a rule, studies on the subject already assume that a) Satan is a fallen angel, and b) this chapter speaks of his case. However, if you read the text with an open mind, you will not find anything written about Satan. We have already looked at the context and seen that there is a city called Tyre and now the prince of this city is addressed.

The prince of Tyre is a man

“Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, Thus says the LORD, Because your heart is lifted high, and you say, “God am I, the abode of the gods do I inhabit in the heart of the seas!” while you are but a man and not God.””
Ezek 28:2

“Then, in the face of your murderers, will you also say, “God am I!” when you are only a man and not God.”
Ezek 28:9

These clear indications cannot be ignored.

The Lament over the King of Tyre

A detailed description from God’s point of view follows in the rest of the chapter. This description is used for the idea of a “fall of Satan”. Is this appropriate or a misuse of the text?

“Son of man, raise a lamentation against the king of Tyre and say to him, Thus says the Lord GOD: You were the perfect seal, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty, you were in Eden, the garden of God; of precious stones of every kind was your covering: carnelian, topaz and jasper, turquoise, onyx and nephrite, sapphire, ruby and emerald; and work in gold were your earrings and your pearls on you; on the day you were created they were prepared. You were a cherub shielding with outstretched wings, and I had made you so; you were on God’s holy mountain, in the midst of fiery stones you walked. You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created until injustice was found in you. By the multitude of your commerce you filled your inward parts with violence and sinned. And I cast you out from the mountain of God and drove you to destruction, you shielding cherub, from the midst of the fiery stones. Your heart wanted to soar high because of your beauty; you nullified your wisdom for the sake of your splendor. I have thrown you to the ground, I have given you away before kings, so that they may see their delight in you. By the multitude of your sins, in the dishonesty of your dealings, you have profaned your sanctuaries. Therefore I have caused a fire to go out from among you, and it has consumed you, and I have reduced you to ashes on the earth in the sight of all who see you. All who know you among the nations are astonished at you; you have become a terror and are gone forever!”
Ezek 28:12-19

Supposedly it should be said here that the king of Tyre mentioned here is someone else than the just before mentioned prince of Tyre. The king of Tyre was “actually” an angel, a cherub. As a rule, people think that this is a kind of spiritual reality, that the imagery for the king of Tyre is a reality of Satan’s origin. How is that now? Can this separation be made?

It is usually correctly recognized that this is about a visual language. The whole story is firmly embedded in historical reality, which has already been written about for two chapters. It concerns the “king of Tyre” (Ezek 28:12) and it speaks of “the multitude of your trade” (Ezek 28:16). These notes outline exactly what is already meant throughout chapters 26-28. Ezekiel 28 is not about two people, but about the same ruler of Tyre. So the passage between verses 12 and 16 is the figurative language, speaking of the rise of this prince and his city.

“I have thrown you to the ground, I have given you up before kings, that they may see their delight in you.” (Ezek 28:17) points to conquest by other nations. Likewise it sounds in the last verses: “By the multitude of your sins, in the dishonesty of your dealings, you have profaned your sanctuaries. Therefore I have caused a fire to go out from the midst of you, and it has consumed you, and I have reduced you to ashes on the earth in the sight of all who see you. All who know you among the nations are amazed at you; you have become a terror and are gone forever!” (Ezek 28:18-19).

The story is not left anywhere. There is no sudden change to a Satan. Still it is about this prince who ruled over the city of Tyre. Only when you don’t recognize imagery does a discrepancy arise.

Visual language

The doctrine of the fall of Satan, should it be mentioned and justified here, creates a direct problem with the actual text of the chapter. The context then no longer makes sense. The discrepancy thus created can never be resolved. But if one sees the description as a visual language, the discrepancy dissolves. However, this only succeeds if we let the text speak for itself and do not blindly take everything “literally”. Because, even if we leave the figurative language and interpret everything “literally”, there is no reference to Satan.

So how is the visual language to be understood? Ezekiel speaks here in God’s place and describes the rise and fall of this prince. Today, the IPO and the huge profits might have been reported. That would be appropriate for our time, where money has risen to become the all-dominant god. In the time of Ezekiel, things were still different. What images could be used for this at the moment of Ezekiel? While there was wealth, it was tied to religion. One refers to almost superhuman wealth and success.

How does one conclude that Ezekiel 28 nevertheless speaks of Satan? Well, first one assumes that here the talk is about a fall of Satan and subsequently one tries to read that out. In the process, the pictorial descriptions are interpreted in such a way that they “cannot possibly” apply to a human being. Then comes the conclusion: “So this chapter speaks of the fall of Satan”. However, this is circular reasoning. You cannot first presuppose something to find it there afterwards. That’s not how Bible study works. We can only take from the Bible what is actually written.

Visual language is never (!) the subject. Visual language merely explains the subject. The idea that flowery descriptions cannot apply to a person is a false judgment. Here, visual language is tacitly declared to be reportage. But that is something completely different. Moreover, much of this imagery is not accurate.

1. Satan is not prince of the small coastal city of Tyre, but rather he is “god of this eon” (1 Cor. 4:4) and all the kingdoms of the world are at his disposal (Matt. 4:8-10).
2. “You were in Eden, the garden of God” (Ezek 28:13) refers to the wealth of the city, described a chapter earlier thus, “Tyre, you say, ‘I am of perfect beauty!’ Your territory is in the heart of the seas; your builders have made your beauty perfect” (Ezek 27:3-4). No wonder that now the palace of the king is compared with Eden, the garden of God.
3. “On the day You were created” (Ezek 28:13) refers in context to the rise of the king in this magnificent setting.
4. “You were a … cherub” (Ezek 28:14) speaks of a luminous ascent and high position. An application to Satan is not permitted by the context alone – and this is an important observation. The high position was given to the prince by God. The visual language fits. In the translation of Martin Buber and Franz Rosenzweig a possible other translation is mentioned: “With the stretched out shielding cherub I put you together, on the mountain of God’s sanctification you were”. (Ezek 28:14). This other reading is based on the Hebrew text before the Masoretic vocalization. According to this, the prince was not a cherub himself, but he was “joined” by a cherub. Cherubim have such functions because they serve under God’s throne. This means that in heaven it was determined about this prince and everything he had in earthly position would not have been possible without God’s promise and work (cf. Rom 13:1).
5. “Perfect were you in your ways from the day you were created until injustice was found in you.” (Ezek 28:15). The creation is the setting as a prince. There is no indication that this verse does not refer to the prince of Tyre. Obviously, the man started out well (perfect you were in your ways). But then another side comes out, “until injustice was found in you.” This cannot apply to Satan. John says of the Adversary, “The same was a slayer of men from the beginning, and stood not in the truth because there is no truth in him” (John 8:44). While it is possible for a human being to be “found wrong with you” one day and be “perfect” until then, this makes no sense in relation to Satan. Other people who were “perfect”: Noah (Gen 9:6), David (Ps 18:23).
6. The further course of history shows how God humbles this prince on earth. There is no comparison with Satan.

No image of the fall of Satan

It may now be clear that this is not about an alleged fall of Satan. It’s all about the Prince of Tyre. This exciting story can teach us a lot, about pride, about God’s rule and about how man thinks but God directs. However, the story says nothing about the origin of sin.

Incidentally, anyone who thinks that the origin of sin must be sought from Satan is thinking too briefly. Who, then, made it possible for Satan to sin? Was this not God Himself? Also, was it not God who planted the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? Understanding about this world and about God’s action does not improve if we blame Satan for sin. Rather, this gives rise to new questions that always point in only one direction: Everything is of God (1Cor 8:6) and everything is also through Him and to Him (Rom 11:36). This is precisely where the confidence and hope for this world lies.