Introduction: Recently, I was speaking with a lady who is dying of
cancer. Because she has little time to live, I anxiously explained
the plan of salvation to her. While I spoke, she fingered the cross
hanging from her neck and responded, “I know, I know.” Her reaction
was that this was old news, rather than good news. As I progressed
to explain about the conflict between good and evil, she told me she
did not believe Satan exists. At once I knew she did not fully
understand the gospel. Our study this week and this quarter reveals
the conflict, the drama, between good and evil. Only with the
background of evil can we most clearly see the picture of God’s love
for us. Let’s dive in!
- The Origin of Evil
- Read Ezekiel 28:11-12. Let’s get the cast of characters
straight here. Who is the source of this message? (God.) - Who is the “son of man?” (Here it refers to Ezekiel.
You find that God almost always addresses Ezekiel in
this way.) - What is Tyre? (If you look at Ezekiel
chapters 26 and
27 you will find dread warnings about the future of
the Kingdom of Tyre. This prosperous trading kingdom
on the sea, we read, will be destroyed by
Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon. The destruction of
this prominent and prosperous kingdom will be so
complete that it will shock its neighbors. Chapter 28
starts with a discussion of the King of Tyre.) - If you did not know about the coming
destruction of
Tyre, would you like to be the King? (This says he
was a gifted fellow: smart, handsome – perfect!) - Read Ezekiel 28:13-14. What else does this tell us about
the King of Tyre? (He was in Eden. He had gold and gem
ornaments on the day he was created (not born). He was a
guardian angel on the holy mount of God. He walked among
the fiery stones.) - Are “fiery” stones people who have bad tempers? What
do you think “fiery” means? (Revelation has a picture
of heaven’s soldiers in which they wear armor which
is “fiery red, dark blue, and yellow as sulfur.”
( Revelation 9:17)) - What, then, are “stones?” (Stone is a
very
interesting word in the Bible. Jesus is referred to
as a Stone in Romans 9:33 (among many other places).
Jesus is called the “tested stone” and “cornerstone”
in Isaiah 28:16. We are told we are like “living
stones” in 1 Peter 2:4-5.)
- Now that you have considered the use of the word
“fiery” and “stones” in the Bible, put them together
and tell me your understanding of “fiery stones?”
(Stones are those individuals who make up the kingdom
of God, with Jesus being the Cornerstone. Fiery seems
to denote heaven. Therefore, I conclude this is a
picture of the citizens of heaven.) - Does this mean the King of Tyre walked
among the
inhabitants of heaven? - Does this description in Ezekiel
28:13-14 sound like
a man? (It could not be a man. How could this fellow
be in Eden? How could he be “created” as opposed to
born? (Note, however, the Bible uses the word
“created” broadly sometimes – for example, Isaiah
43:1) How could he be in heaven (“holy mount”)
walking among its inhabitants? How could he be an
angel? - What do you conclude from this then? Who is
being described in Ezekiel 28:13-14? (Our lesson
(Sunday) says this is a reference to Lucifer
(Satan). Most of the commentaries that I
consulted (9 of them)thought Ezekiel was
speaking of the actual King of Tyre (Ithobal
II)and suggested these statements where
figurative. A couple of the commentaries noted
that some believed this was Satan.) - Let’s read on to better test these conflicting theories.
Read Ezekiel 28:15-18. What other characteristics do we
learn about the King of Tyre? (That he was perfect. That
he was expelled from heaven. That he was thrown to earth.) - Now which interpretation do you think is right? Who
is being described here? (I think it is clear that we
are not discussing a man any longer. The
commentaries I consulted that thought this was the
King of Tyre seemed strained in their attempt to tie
this to a specific person.) - Read Revelation 12:7-9. Does this square with the picture
we have been able to glean from Ezekiel? (Yes, not only
does it say that Satan was in heaven, it also (like
Ezekiel 28:16) talks about violence and war in heaven, and
it speaks of the Devil losing and being thrown to earth.) - Where did evil and Satan originate? (In
heaven!)
- Why would Ezekiel start writing about the King of Tyre and
end up talking about Satan? How does that make any sense?
(The King of Tyre had the same sin of pride. Ezekiel slips
into discussing the original source of the sin of pride.) - The Origin of Salvation
- Read John 1:1-4. Tell me what you learn about “the Word”
in these verses? (He existed from “the beginning,” He was
“with God,” more than that He “was God.” He created “all
things” and He possessed light.) - Where did the Word live? (Heaven.)
- Who is this remarkable “Word?”
- Read John 1:14-15. Does this cast more light on the
identity of the “Word?” - When verse 15 tells us that “John testifies”
concerning the Word, is the author of this gospel
writing about himself? (No. He is referring to the
testimony of John the Baptist about Jesus. See John
1:26-30. Jesus is the Word!) - Good versus Evil
- We have identified these descriptions of Jesus and Satan
and briefly looked at their backgrounds. Let’s compare
them now. Compare Ezekiel 28:13-14 with John 1:1. - Did Jesus and Satan “grow up” in the same
neighborhood? (It is not accurate to say Jesus “grew
up,” but they obviously lived together and knew each
other in heaven.) - Were Jesus and Satan in Eden together?
(Yes) - Read Hebrews 7:25-26. Who is being described here as our
High Priest? (Jesus) Compare Hebrews 7:26 with Ezekiel
28:14-15. Were Jesus and Satan both blameless? (Yes,
according to these texts.) - Compare John 1:14 with Ezekiel 28:16-17.
Where did Jesus
and Satan end up? (Jesus, like Satan, ended up on earth.) - Tell me the different way in which they came to
earth? (Jesus volunteered to come here to save us.
Satan got thrown here against his will as a result of
losing a violent war!) - Have you ever seen a family where one kid is well behaved
and the other child is a hellion? What do you think the
parents of those children ask themselves? (Why? If we
raised them the same, why did one go bad and the other did
not?) - Jesus is God, and Satan is not. However,
Satan seems to
have held a very high position in heaven ( Ezekiel 28:14 –
“guardian cherub.”) He no doubt had fellowship with Satan
in heaven. What went wrong? What caused evil to arise out
of perfection ( Ezekiel 28:15 – “blameless”)? - We find out answer by looking again at Ezekiel
28:15-17(Pride!) - Will good looks make you crazy? (All
the ugly people
cheer! Verse 17 tells us that Satan’s splendor
“corrupted” his wisdom. Beauty can be a trap.) - What do you understand from these
verses happened in
heaven because of Satan’s pride? (His fall started
with pride because of his beauty and position (v.17).
This lead to violence (v.16) until God had to
forcibly expel him from heaven (v.17).) - Are you proud? How serious a sin is
pride?
- How does your church treat those who have the sin of
pride? How is it treated compared to, say, sexual
sins? - Read John 1:10-12. What does this suggest about Jesus’
pride? (He did not have any. He was willing to humble
himself by not only becoming a man, but an unrecognized,
and generally unwanted man!) - Read Philippians 2:5-8. Compare Jesus
attitude to Satan’s
attitude? - Compare the goal of Jesus’ life with the goal of
Satan’s life? (Satan was focused on himself and his
beauty and power. Jesus was focused on helping
others.) - How do your life goals fit into this
comparison? Are
your goals more like those of Jesus or more like
those of Satan? - The Results
- Read Genesis 3:2-5. What was Satan’s work after he was
hurled down to earth? (Lying to us.) - Is that a continuing work for Satan? (Read John
8:44.) - After Satan lies to us and causes us to sin, what does he
do? (Read Revelation 12:9-10. This accords with the
picture in Zechariah 3:1-2 which shows that Satan has an
ongoing work of accusing us before God!) - What is Jesus doing in contrast? (Read
Hebrews 6:19-20. It
is instructive to read Hebrews chapters 5-8. However we
get a snapshot of what Jesus is doing for us in Hebrews
6:19-20. While Satan is accusing us, Jesus is interceding
for us as our great High Priest!) - So, as they say in the movie “Ghostbusters,” Who are
you going to call?” - Who do you want to emulate in your
life? - Read Ezekiel 28:18. What is the end of Satan?
- Friend, Jesus and Satan started out in
the same place.
Satan lived a life of pride and selfishness. He continues
to lead a life of lies and accusations. Jesus, on the
other hand lived a life of self-sacrifice and continues to
work for us as our High Priest in heaven. Which will you
choose to follow? - Next Week: The Betrayers – Peter and Judas.
