In Ezekiel 28 we have two persons before us. In verses 1-10 we have a description of the PRINCE OF TYRE and judgment pronounced against him; and in verses 11-19 we have the KING OF TYRE brought into view and God’s judgment upon him. We believe the PRINCE OF TYRE is a “literal man” who ruled over the city of Tyre, but the KING OF TYRE is a “spiritual being” who controlled the heart of the prince, and thus we shall see that the “character of both rulers” is the same.

Let’s read Ezekiel 28:1-5: “The word of the LORD came again to me, saying, Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyre, Thus says the Lord GOD: Because your heart is lifted up, and you say, ‘I am a  god, I sit in the seat of gods, in the midst of the seas,’ Yet you are a man, and not a god, though you set your heart as the heart of a god (Behold, you are wiser than Daniel! There is no secret that can be hidden from you! With your wisdom and your understanding you have gained riches for yourself, and gathered gold and silver into your treasures; by your great wisdom in trade you have increased your riches, and your heart is lifted up because of your riches)” (NKJV). Again, we believe the person before us is a mere man who reigned over Tyre, yet he was so lifted up with pride that he thought he was a god. He was so taken up with his wisdom that he considered himself “wiser than Daniel,” the great prophet of God! His claim to Deity reminds us of the coming Antichrist, for in 2nd Thessalonians 2:4 we read of him, “Who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God” (NKJV).

Because of the prince’s pride and claim to Deity, God announces his doom in verses 6-9, “Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Because you have set your heart as the heart of a god, Behold, therefore, I will bring strangers against you, the most terrible of nations; and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom, and defile your splendor. They shall throw you down into the Pit, and you shall die the death of the slain in the midst of the seas. Will you still say before him who slays you, I am a god? But you shall be a man, and not a god, in the hand of him who slays you.”  This was fulfilled when the Babylonian armies destroyed Tyre and its arrogant ruler who dared to defy God.

I would encourage you to read verses 11-19 where the KING OF TYRE is described. As you read this description you will see that these words could never be said of a mere man. Listen to what God Himself says of him in verses 12-15a, “You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering…You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you…You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created.” Here is a created spirit-being that was perfect in wisdom and beauty that was anointed and established by God. Who was this perfect creature? We believe this was Lucifer, who later became the Devil. Let’s read all of verse 15, “You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, TILL INIQUITY WAS FOUND IN YOU.” In time “iniquity was found in Lucifer” and he became filled with pride, as we see in verse 17, “Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor.” If you read Isaiah 14:12-14 you will learn that Lucifer’s pride led him to rebel against God, with a desire to dethrone Him and sit as God on His throne. It says in verses 13-14, “I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God…I will be like the most High.” At that point he became Satan, the arch-enemy of God and man, the one who now rules in the kingdoms of men. Is it any wonder then that the PRINCE OF TYRE, who was but a puppet of Satan, was lifted up with the same pride and with the same desire to be sit on his throne as God?”  (199.3)  (DO)