Contrary to an accepted tenet of faith, we saw previously that the cherub in Ezekiel 28 was referring to a man rather than to Satan. Verse 2 makes this point clear with, “thou art a MAN.” The prophet was not addressing the devil, but a MAN.

Due to his riches of silver and gold, that which men lust after, he ascended by the winds of pride, and set his heart as the heart of God; but he was then taken down:

“By your wisdom and understanding you have acquired riches for yourself and have acquired gold and silver for your treasuries. By your great wisdom, by your trade you have increased your riches and your heart is lifted up because of your riches—therefore thus says the Lord God...I will bring strangers upon you, the most ruthless of the nations. And they will draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom and defile your splendor. They will bring you down to the pit, and you will die the death of those who are slain in the heart of the seas. Will you still say, ‘I am a god,’ in the presence of your slayer, though you are a MAN and not God...?" Ezekiel 28:4-9.

Verse 13 says that "THOU HAST BEEN IN EDEN, THE GARDEN OF GOD." Due to tradition, it has been assumed this is speaking of Satan; but there is no reason to suppose such a thing. For instance, it was the man that was placed in the Garden (Genesis 2:8, & 15), while the serpent was the most subtle beast of the field (Genesis 3:1). Again, it is speaking of a man. Let us notice another place where it is recorded that a man, along with other men, was in the garden. Ezekiel 31 tells us of a man who is a glorious tree, one who is above all the other trees:

"...Whom art thou like in thy greatness...the water made him great, the Deep set him up on high...Therefore his height was exalted above all the trees of the field...All the fowls of heaven made their nests in his boughs, and under his branches did all the beasts of the field bring forth their young, and under his shadow dwelt all great nations...no tree in the garden of God was like unto him in his beauty. I have made him fair by the multitude of his branches: so that all the trees of Eden, that were in the garden of God, envied him. To whom art thou thus like in glory and in greatness among the trees of Eden: yet shalt thou be brought down with the trees of Eden unto the nether parts of the earth: thou shalt lie in the midst of the uncircumcised with them that be slain by the sword. This is PHARAOH and all his multitude, that is, this is ADAM and all his multitude saith the Lord God." (Italicized supplied) Ezekiel 31:2,5,6,8,9,18.

It is clear that this speaks of a man, Pharaoh the king of Egypt, and he is compared to another man, his pattern, Adam, king of Eden. In like manner, Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28 are admonitions and prophecies that are directed to kings, which in the spiritual sense can relate to Adam who was once in the garden of God but fell from it when he attempted to ascend apart from God.

We can speculate and presume a lot of things about Adam and his obscure past, who the other trees in the garden represent, when he actually went forth to subdue the world. However, one point we want to make is that the precious stones by which he was covered speaks of a man, not a spirit. Precious stones, gems, jewels are for the purpose of adorning people and not spirits. Satan has never had a body with which to radiate and manifest any glory. The way he is revealed is through human bodies, as it was when he entered Judas at the last supper (John 13:27). That spirit can take over a man's soul and body, or move through a many membered body of people, such as with the Pharisees; but he has never had a personified body of his own. Therefore, we maintain that the one who was covered by precious stones in Ezekiel 28:13 must be a man and not a spirit called Satan.

And again, who could have been the one that was covered with God's precious jewels of glory, displaying arrays of light into the world, as lucifers, if you please, as he radiated the beauty each stone possessed? Not Satan, dear ones, not in a million years. The answer is obvious. It was the only one who could have had such a ministry. The one who was the emissary of God’s glory. ADAM! He failed, of course, to bring that light to all creation; but praise God, the last Adam, Jesus as the Word of God will never return unto Him void. He is the true LIGHT-BRINGER of God, who coming into the world LIGHTS EVERY MAN (John 1:9), for He is THE FIRST BORN and MORNING STAR TO ALL CREATION.

Indeed, He is the true SON OF THE MORNING who will never fail to accomplish what He was sent to do. If He does not achieve God's purpose to the full end, He would not be much better than the first Adam. However, I am persuaded after the last enemy, death, is destroyed, He will return to His Father with that which He was sent to save.

I Will Cast Thee to the Ground

“Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth...” Ezekiel 28:14. “Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.” Ezekiel 28:17.

These verses have been two of the most influential statements of the entire Bible when it comes to the belief that Satan was once an archangel in heaven. Perhaps, the reason is due to the wide spread teaching that a cherub is an angel, a messenger of God, even though there is not one shred of evidence to support it. When viewed through traditional, rose colored glasses, it may appear that a few scriptures support the supposition; but they don't. When we remove our preconceived ideas and look at them objectively, everything takes on an entirely different shape and hue.

Cherubim are not angels—they are the exact opposite. The purpose of cherubim has been to conceal those things which pertain to God, not to reveal them. Angels, you see, are messengers, and messengers are sent from God to reveal things, while cherubim conceal and protect them, as they did at the Garden when Adam and Eve were cast out. Ezekiel 28:14 makes this clear: “Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth.” It does not say: “Thou art the anointed cherub that revealeth.”

The word, cherub, speaks much more of a quality in man than a spirit entity outside of him. Although we know some things about the cherubim, I must confess, we do not have all the answers to their mysteries; but I am confident that Satan has never been one. No doubts were left when Jesus said in John 8:44 that he was a murderer from the beginning—not a cherub, but a murderer!

Cherub is used in the scriptures in reference to keeping the way of life. It was designed to keep the unregenerated man of corruption from going back to the Tree of Life. He could eventually come to and eat of it, but only by the prescribed way, the prescribed way of Jesus Christ.

The first time cherubim are mentioned is in Genesis 3:24, in reference to guarding, or keeping, the way: "So He drove out the man; and He placed at the east of the garden of Eden cherubim to KEEP the way of the tree of life." Again, not to reveal the Tree but to keep it, to conceal it. East speaks of the soulish, natural, selfish part of man. The word KEEP is translated from the Hebrew word shamar which means "TO HEDGE ABOUT, i.e. guard or PROTECT." )Strong's Exhaustive Concordance(. In Ezekiel 28:14 the word covereth implies this also. It means "to entwine as a screen, to fence in, to cover over, TO PROTECT." )Strong's(. We also see this illustrated in the tabernacle.

The walls of the two inner sanctuaries, the holy place and the holy of holies, had cherubim sown into them, the veil covering the entrance to the holy of holies had cherubim sown into it, and the mercy seat had two cherubim over it also. The way back to the heart center of the garden of God )the tree of life/the ark of the covenant( was very well protected from the first man who was driven out of the Garden, or cast down to the ground, down to the carnal realm of existence.

The only way back into the paradise of God would be in and through Jesus Christ. He is all the doors of the tabernacle, the sacrifice, the water of the laver for cleansing one's life, the anointing oil before entering the holy place, the oil of His Spirit in the lamp stand, the flame from the lamps, the showbread of His body, the transforming fire in the incense altar, the governing rod of Aaron that budded, the manna, and the holy laws of God. None of these, brethren, and we repeat, none of these, can be partaken of except through Jesus Christ who is the Captain of our Salvation. The Author and Finisher of our faith is the one, and the only one, who can lead us each step of the way.

Everything we read and know about the cherubim speaks of something in man himself which keeps him from the pleasures of God until his journey is found in and through Jesus Christ. But nowhere, do we find that it even remotely hints Satan was ever a cherub. Therefore, we see Ezekiel 28:14 is speaking of a man rather than Satan.

"...THOU WAST UPON THE HOLY MOUNTAIN OF GOD..." )Verse 14b(. Mountains in scripture are symbolic of kingdoms, whether that of God or man. In this case, we see the kingdom as being God's over which He gave Adam dominion. However, when he was no longer worthy to rule, after he had placed himself under the ruling influence of the serpent of the field, he was removed from that holy Kingdom of God, the Garden of Eden. His dominion of life which would have brought the Garden to all creation was changed to death. Rather than the river of life flowing from its base came the river of death )Jordan( to all mankind )for more on this mountain of life, Mt. Hermon, and death, Jordan, see Pub. #58, free upon request(.

"...THOU HAST WALKED UP AND DOWN IN THE MIDST OF THE STONES OF FIRE." )Verse 14c(. Walking UP and DOWN, especially in the Hebrew, speaks of two dimensions of life -- heavenly and earthly. Before one can walk circumspectly in the earth and make a godly impact therein, he must first walk up, and then he can walk down. We see this in Jacob's dream and the ladder reaching into heaven with the LORD standing over it, and with His angels ascending and descending on it. )Genesis 28:12-13(.

The first walk is high and lifted )up(. The second is low, a position of humility. It is in the earth )down(. Every Son of God must walk not only up, but also down before deliverance is seen in the world. There is no other way for humanity to be born into the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom must drop down with Heaven's Descenders. The City from above must descend into the earth before salvation for all begins to be known. And please know, this is neither a natural city called Jerusalem, nor is it the natural heavens, such as the sky or outer space.

At one time, Adam, the king of the earth, had everything as he ruled among the stones of fire; but because of submitting to the temptation of I will become, and this was independent from God, he was cast down from the heavenly realm, and lost it all. He became a lowly creature of sweat and tears and death. He was cast down, and he remained down, never again to walk upward, as least, not until Jesus made the Way.

"THOU WAST PERFECT IN THY WAYS FROM THE DAY THAT THOU WAST CREATED, TILL INIQUITY WAS FOUND IN THEE." Ezekiel 28:15. It was Adam, not Satan, who was perfect in all facets of his life. This lasted until he was found to be cunning, subtle, crafty, like the serpent who had beguiled the woman. And I say this because of the single meaning of the two Hebrew words naked and subtle. The word naked in Genesis 2:25 and subtle in Genesis 3:1 are the same Hebrew word. “And they were both naked )aruwm(, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed." And "Now the serpent was more subtle )aruwm( than any beast of the field...." The Hebrew word aruwm is used for both naked and subtle. )E.W. Bullinger's notes in the Companion Bible(.

Of course, they had no idea such a crafty thing lay dormant within their hearts. Notwithstanding, it was there, and in the darkness of their cunning character, they both said, "I am God, I will ascend." Afterwards, and in shame, they attempted to cover their naked subtlety by sowing fig leaves together, which is with us to this day. Man has covered his cunning carnality with grand church buildings, tall steeples, stained glass windows, creeds, doctrines, dogmas, tenets, ordinances, ceremonies, rituals, robes, clerical collars, miters, programs, laws and bylaws, you name it and they have it and have done it. Man has sown religious façades together to cover their religious nakedness; but all these holy looking things are nothing but fig leaves that will eventually dry up, crumble to nothing, and be blown away by the holy wind and heated breath of God's Spirit.

"BY THE MULTITUDE OF THY MERCHANDISE they have filled the midst of thee with violence )unjust gain, Heb.(, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire." Ezekiel 28:16. We can see this is typical of man. There are no other creatures that merchandise. The multitude of their unjust gain makes ruthless, selfish, demanding, proud, self-serving, arrogant men in sheep's clothing. They have erred greatly. These are the ones that are bound with chains of darkness, those who left their first estate of Jude 1:6, and God sent them strong delusion to believe a lie." 2 Thessalonians 2:11.

They are much like he who "...opened not the house of his prisoners" in Isaiah 14:17. They seem to go out of their way to teach lies that will keep people from being free. Many are charlatans to say the least. I have tried to keep an open mind and look at them as rebellious brothers who will be corrected by our Father, but the more I meditate upon it the more I believe a sizable number of these men are of their father the devil, as Jesus so firmly identified the religious Pharisees of that day. And please know, brethren, I do not speak of those who have laid down their lives for those they minister to, or those who have been unknowingly deceived. But to those who know better and will not do right, as well as those who are willingly ignorant.

Clearly, this verse is not speaking of Satan who would be cast out of the mountain of God. But it was the king of Tyre, or Tyrus, and as spiritually a type, the king of the world, Adam.

"THOU HAST DEFILED THY SANCTUARIES by the multitude of thine iniquities... therefore will I bring fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee." Ezekiel 28:18. God has created in man three distinct sanctuaries for the purpose of cohabitation—SPIRIT, SOUL, and BODY, and they are typified in the Tabernacle and the Temple. They are the holy of holies, the holy place and the outer court. Adam defiled these sanctuaries when he submitted to the temptations of the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. Satan, however, was never created with any sanctuaries; therefore, with him, there were none to defile. Man alone has been set apart and blessed with such honors of being a holy sanctuary for God's habitation. Jesus said, "...He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you." John 14:17.

When God's habitation, His house, was defiled, He promised a burning, cleansing, transforming fire in its midst, that is, in the midst of Adam. He will not live in a defiled house full of man's carnal dust and debris. We see a beautiful type to this purifying fire in the sacrificial altar of the outer court and also the altar of incense. The latter was usually in the second sanctuary, but once a year it was figuratively taken into the holy of holies when the incense was burned before the Ark of the Covenant.

Hebrews 9:3-4 states that it was in the room: "Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place, which had the golden altar of incense and the gold-covered Ark of the Covenant..." NIV. The KJV says it was the golden censer; but the Greek word, is thumiastērion, and the majority of the other translations, including Strong's Exhaustive Concordance, render it as the golden altar of incense.

On the Day of Atonement, the high priest carried live coals from the golden altar, along with incense, into the holy of holies )Leviticus 16:12(. Thus, on that day, once a year, the fire pan, in which the coals were transported, became an extension of the altar. In that sense, it might be said that the altar belonged to the most holy place.

The writer of Hebrews 9:3-4 was not speaking of the physical location of the altar of incense, but was emphasizing its spiritual connection with the most holy place of the tabernacle.

Notwithstanding, the point to be made is that each realm of man has its season for purification, to be salted with fire. These same fires of Christ's presence within the heart of man's bosom will purge, destroy, and consume every faction of carnality that might be in him. John the Baptist said it very well when he said of Jesus—"He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: Whose fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly purge His floor...He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." Matthew 3:11-12. Jesus also said, "Everyone shall be salted with fire." Mark 9:49. After this fire of brimstone has left nothing but ashes, man will lament, but only for a season, for God will be faithful, as He promised to Israel, and "...give unto them beauty for ashes." Isaiah 61:3.

"All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and NEVER SHALT THOU BE ANY MORE." Ezekiel 28:19. If the latter part of this verse, "...and never shalt thou be any more," is referring to Satan, then there must be something done about some traditional tenets. Namely, that Satan will either be the caretaker over hell throughout eternity, or he will be burning there throughout eternity. Either way, he would be eternally alive and very much in existence according to this unsupported, yet accepted belief. However, verse 19 tells the reader that something is to NEVER BE ANY MORE. That which we see as never being any more after the fire has been applied is the first Adam along with his flammable carnally. His rebellious nature that says, “I Will.” Even the desire, the avenue to sin, will have been removed and destroyed to never be traveled again. That crooked broadway will be no more. The Psalmist wrote of this: "...The way of the ungodly will perish." Psalm 1:6.

As for the matter of the famed Lucifer rebellion, it was never a war that Satan waged against God eons prior to Adam and Eve. It speaks of Man's rebellion! It stemmed from man being tempted by Satan; but Satan was never called Lucifer. Moreover, the only war in heaven Satan has ever known has been in the heavens of man. It is a war that is going on right now in the lives and minds of godly men and women everywhere, and will continue until it can be declared from the heavens, “Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.” Revelation 12:10. It will be then that the dragon and his angels are cast down. The battles will be over, and the war won!

With this understanding, let our pure minds be riveted with the bold truth that the Latin word, Lucifer, meaning shining one, is not referring to Satan at all. Let us know that it is first descriptive of the king of Babylon, and then of Adam. Therefore, knowing this, we should refrain from giving credit and glory to the very one who deserves it the least, which is the dust-eating serpent. We should never honor him by saying he was ever a shining angel of light. For he has always been the waster, the destroyer, the prince of darkness, a liar and murderer from his beginning.

Man, however, is the one who has been all the things of which Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28 speak. Adam/Lucifer, was the resident of Eden, the beautiful one, the prince of God, even the shining cherub among the stones of fire. He was in Eden, the Garden of God, in Paradise, in Heaven, ruling from the Mountain of God. He was among the Stones of fire and shining with the glory of his Creator. Even so, it was in a pale light, for he was only a model of the finished product. But we see JESUS the true SHINING ONE! He is coming forth with the awesome splendor of all those things and more, and of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end!

Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28 speak of two men, the king of Babylon and the king of Tyrus. These two areas of scripture are not referring to Satan, but to specific men. In the spiritual sense, each king could be typified as Adam; for he fits all the criteria listed. He was in the height of glory until iniquity was found in him when he said in his heart, "I am god, and I will ascend!"

To conclude, in Part 1 of this series we saw that for the most part, men were called angels, Paul was called an angel, Gabriel was a man of war, and the Law was given to us by angels, primarily Moses.

In Part 2, it was made clear that the angels in Jude that left their first estate were men, ministers with a message of life who were one in Christ but left and went back to ministering the law. And religious legalism became the chains of darkness by which they would be held until the judgment of the great day.

We saw in Part 3 a lot about Satan; namely, who or what he really is, and that although he could masquerade as an angel of light, he at no time had ever been such a creature. We also saw that Satan is not a fallen angel. Satan is an entity with a dirty job. Satan does not have a rival kingdom. Satan is a servant and is not in competition with God. Satan simply has a job that he was conscripted to do, just like every other angel )messenger( whether flesh or spirit. Angels have no freewill. They do as God has called them.

In Part 4, we covered some comprehensive points of Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28. We saw that Lucifer )a light bearer( speaks of the king of Babylon, and is called a MAN, and spiritually can represent Adam. It was made clear that there is no connection between Lucifer and Satan; and we noticed in Ezekiel that the anointed cherub was the king of Tyrus, and each characteristic listed was indicative of a man rather Satan.

And in this study, Part 5, the thought has been built upon. We pray that the previous joint effort of Chuck Weller and myself in Parts 1 - 4, and Part 5 being mine alone, of "Mystery of the Angels" has been a genuine blessing to you all, and that the joy of our Lord's life is yours today and always...

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