Calvary Road Baptist Church
“A Survey Of Satanic & Demonic Warfare In Ezekiel”
Ezekiel
It is among the most challenging tasks I have ever undertaken to stir the minds and hearts of believers in Jesus Christ concerning Satan and his demons’ warfare against God, the people of God, and the plan and purpose of God. So ingrained is our lifelong habit of relating to everything in terms of our five senses, what can be seen, felt, smelled, tasted, and heard, that though we claim to believe the Bible, though we frequently think we believe God’s Word, even the best of us only rarely reflects a reliance on God’s Word by our behavior.
Take, for example, a child of God who is suddenly overcome by suspicion. Something he observes alarms him. Presuming he has better judgment of such matters than anyone he knows (which reflects his pride), he immediately begins to conclude the motives and ends behind what actions he has observed.
Scott Adams, the Dilbert cartoonist, and social influencer, describes this tendency, as the Left so often exhibits it, as mind reading. You just know what they are thinking and what their motivations are.
With never a passing notion of God’s principles for establishing truth in the mouths of two or three witnesses, or the Apostle Paul’s repudiation of the tendency to pass judgments on the motives and actions of others, or any consideration of how the doctrines of demons or the seduction of evil spirits might influence him, because he is not a student of God’s Word he motors on, blissfully ignorant of his spiritual immaturity and utter lack of real discernment. What damage he can therefore do to those in his orbit.
Another example relates to those with whom you disagree or disagree with you. Again, not being a student of God’s Word (not really), such a person becomes easily angered. He imagines that those who disagree with him are necessarily wrong and against him. Understand, anger in itself is not sinful, as Ephesians 4.26 reveals:
“Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath.”
However, do not be so naive as to ignore the real possibility of supernatural nudges occurring to those prone to wild swings of emotion, particularly anger. Notice the warnings about those prone to outbursts of anger found in the Bible:
Proverbs 14.17:
“He that is soon angry dealeth foolishly: and a man of wicked devices is hated.”
Proverbs 21.19:
“It is better to dwell in the wilderness, than with a contentious and an angry woman.”
Proverbs 22.24:
“Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go.”
Proverbs 29.22:
“An angry man stirreth up strife, and a furious man aboundeth in transgression.”
Titus 1.7:
“For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre.”
While anger is not sinful in itself, a person can be so vulnerable when angry that all sorts of consequences increase in likelihood, those who are wise are directed to steer clear, and a short-fused man is disqualified from the Gospel ministry.
These are two of many examples I could cite to show our vulnerability to supernatural influences, typically without any awareness of how susceptible we are. We are engaged in nonstop spiritual conflict, and we must always be mindful of our vulnerability when we are not of a humble mind and meek spirit. That said, those who are teachable can easily be shown in the Old Testament book of Ezekiel, the plain evidence of Satan and the demon’s war against God, His people, His purpose, and His divine plan.
In this message, I will focus on four main concerns, an outline of the book of Ezekiel, the kinds of supernatural beings referred to in the book of Ezekiel, a review of the New Covenant in Ezekiel, and an astonishing prophetical/biographical sketch of Lucifer, known to us as the Devil and as Satan.
First, AN OUTLINE OF THE BOOK OF EZEKIEL
The outline of this book of the Old Testament is taken from the most excellent commentary of Ezekiel written by a great Old Testament scholar named Charles Lee Feinberg, who taught at Talbot School of Theology with Dr. Timothy Lin and Dr. J. Vernon Magee. Feinberg’s book is titled THE PROPHECY OF EZEKIEL: The Glory of the Lord:[1]
OUTLINE OF THE BOOK
The book is commonly divided into two parts: chapters 1-24 and 25-48. The first portion treats the moral condition of Israel under the reigns of Jehoiachin and Zedekiah, the last kings of Judah. Some commentators divide at 33:21 because of the importance of the destruction of the temple. Before that point the prophecies center on judgment; afterward, on promises and consolations. A threefold division of the book is possible: (1) chapters 1-24, prophecies before the destruction of Jerusalem with emphasis on the sin of Jerusalem and Samaria; (2) chapters 25-32, prophecies during Jerusalem’s fall; and (3) chapters 33-48, prophecies after Jerusalem’s fall. Others divide the book into four parts: (1) chapters 1-24, prophecies relating to Israel exhorting them to repentance before the fall of Jerusalem; (2) chapters 25-32, prophecies against seven nations surrounding Israel; (3) chapters 33-39, Israel’s spiritual condition and promises of future blessing; and (4) chapters 40-48, an extended portrayal of millennial conditions and glory. For the purposes of this study the following outline is used:
I. Prophecies of Jerusalem’s Destruction (chaps. 1-24)
- The call of the prophet (1:1-3:21)
- Prophecies of the fall of the nation (3:22-7:27)
- The pollution of the temple (8:1-11:25)
- The certainty and causes of the nation’s doom (12:1-19:14)
- Additional prophecies of Israel’s judgment (20:1-24:27)
II. Prophecies Against the Nations (chaps. 25-32)
- Ammon, Moab, Edom and the Philistines (25:1-17)
- Tyre (26:1-28:19)
- Sidon (28:20-26)
- Egypt (29:1-32:32)
III. Prophecies of Israel’s Blessing (chaps. 33-39)
- The ministry of the prophet (33:1-33)
- The Davidic Shepherd (34:1-31)
- The rebirth of the nation (35:1-36:38)
- The resurrection of united Israel (37:1-28)
- Judgment on Gog and Magog (38:1-39:29)
IV. The Millennial Temple and Sacrifices (chaps. 40-48)
- Architectural features of the temple ( 40:1-43:27)
- Priestly features of the temple (44:1-46:24)
- The division of the land among the tribes (47:1-48:35)
GOD Is SOVEREIGN
From the first to the last chapter of Ezekiel one supreme thought runs throughout, that of the sovereignty and glory of the Lord God. He is sovereign in Israel and in the affairs of the nations of the world though the loud and boisterous claims of men seem to have drowned out this truth. In His sovereign will God has purposed that we should glorify Him in life and witness to the ends of the earth. Was there ever an hour more weighed with terror and yet more opportunity than is ours? Hours of opportunity do not tarry for the convenience of man. What we do must be done quickly.
Next, SUPERNATURAL CREATURES MENTIONED IN EZEKIEL
First, there are creatures (about a dozen verses in number) that are only identified as living things but are clearly supernatural, as indicated by their descriptions of having four faces (a man’s, a lion’s, an ox’s, and an eagle’s), four wings, and “their appearance was like burning coals of fire.”[2]
Next, there are cherubims.[3] These creatures seem different from those previously referred to, in that they have two faces rather than four,[4] and wheels are associated with them,[5] though one commentator suggests some cherubim have four faces.[6] I will pass over Lucifer for now, returning to him later.
What about the function of the cherubim and the seraphim that are mentioned in Isaiah? They protect the sanctity of God’s presence.[7] Also worth noting at this point are indications of hierarchy. “Many scholars have pointed out that there is a discernible hierarchy within” the groups of supernatural beings, possibly “three tiers.”[8]
I mention this to suggest to you that although I have mentioned no fallen angels other than Lucifer in passing, the existence of a hierarchy among the holy angels suggests a similar hierarchy persists even among fallen angels, for three considerations: First, because no evidence exists supporting the notion that among the rebellious angels, there were sinful spirits from only one of the tiers of might and authority. As will be seen, Lucifer was created a more noble creature than any other celestial being, suggesting a tier. Additionally, reference will be seen in the book of Daniel to the princes of Persia and Grecia, obviously occupying a higher tier among the sinful spirits.[9] Third, no one questions the higher than other angels rankings of Gabriel and Michael among the holy angels in service to God. Therefore, such an ordering would seem reasonable among the sinful angels.
Third, THE NEW COVENANT
What does the New Covenant have to do with Satan and demonic activity? Nothing, directly. Indirectly, however, the depravity of the human race is such that our spiritual deadness as a race leaves unregenerate souls so profoundly enslaved to sin and so vulnerable to spiritual manipulation that a correct understanding of the New Covenant explains how the new birth of sinners is possible.
To refresh your memory, God’s covenant with Noah never to flood the entire world again is an unconditional covenant affecting the human race and our entire planet.[10] Subsequent covenants established by God with Abraham and his progeny are the Abrahamic Covenant, the Palestinian Covenant, the Davidic Covenant, and the New Covenant.
The Mosaic Covenant established the features of the Law of Moses economy with the people of Israel following their exodus from Egypt at the hand of Moses. It is a conditional covenant, with obedience being the precondition for blessing. The unconditional covenants require no such obedience for fulfillment but are wholly reliant on the faithfulness of God to keep His word.
The Abrahamic Covenant was first introduced in Genesis 12.1-3, and provided for a future theocratic kingdom, with the Palestinian Covenant expanding on the Abraham Covenant is a provision for a land, the David Covenant providing for an heir of David to be the ruler of the kingdom, and the New Covenant providing the citizenry of the Theocratic Kingdom.
Most fully disclosed in Jeremiah 31.31-34, the New Covenant is so named because it is after the Mosaic Covenant and is revealed somewhat less fully by the prophet Ezekiel.[11] But how does the New Covenant relate to us, since it was a covenant God promised Israel?
During this Church Age in which we live, the New Covenant impacts us at the point of regeneration.
Read John 1.12-13 with me:
12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
Now read John 3.1-10:
1 There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:
2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.
3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?
5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
9 Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?
10 Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?
Verse 10, and the Lord’s challenge to Nicodemus that being born again relates to Old Testament truth he had supposedly mastered, firmly establishes the personal consequence of the New Covenant in an individual’s life experience. Have you been born again? You are a beneficiary of the New Covenant.
How does it come to be that Gentiles can be born again if this is a consequence of a promise God made to Israel? Read Romans chapter 11, and take note of the election of grace and the grafting of the wild olive tree (Gentiles) to the good live tree (spiritual Israel).
The regeneration of the spiritually dead and depraved, whether Jew or Gentile, has to result from God’s plan in fulfillment of God’s purpose through Christ. It is all of grace. No wonder Paul wrote Romans 11.33:
“O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!”
Finally, THE BIOGRAPHY OF LUCIFER
Ezekiel 28.1-19:
1 The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God:
3 Behold, thou art wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that they can hide from thee:
4 With thy wisdom and with thine understanding thou hast gotten thee riches, and hast gotten gold and silver into thy treasures:
5 By thy great wisdom and by thy traffick hast thou increased thy riches, and thine heart is lifted up because of thy riches:
6 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast set thine heart as the heart of God;
7 Behold, therefore I will bring strangers upon thee, the terrible of the nations: and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of thy wisdom, and they shall defile thy brightness.
8 They shall bring thee down to the pit, and thou shalt die the deaths of them that are slain in the midst of the seas.
9 Wilt thou yet say before him that slayeth thee, I am God? but thou shalt be a man, and no God, in the hand of him that slayeth thee.
10 Thou shalt die the deaths of the uncircumcised by the hand of strangers: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
11 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
12 Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.
13 Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.
14 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.
15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.
16 By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, 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.
17 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.
18 Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a 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.
19 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.
This is a very challenging passage of Scripture, but I am persuaded that in his comments about the King of Tyre, the prophet Ezekiel produces an inspired account of the personality and career of the supernatural being behind the human ruler, known to us as Lucifer.
I will not attempt to unpack this passage. Still, I will limit my observations to some of the reasons I am persuaded much can be learned about the arch enemy of God and His people: Verses 1-10 clearly describe the King of Tyrus in his claim to be divine, which was so often the case with rulers of that era, including the Roman emperors. In verse 12, Ezekiel’s prophecy begins to morph into an exposure of the personality behind the throne since “full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty” might have been the King of Tyrus’ claim. Still, it accurately describes Lucifer’s original condition when God created him. Who was in Eden, the garden of God, verse 13? Lucifer, the Devil, Satan, did not personally approach Eve. The serpent spoke to her to question God and tempt her to sin. However, that does not mean Lucifer was not also present to direct his evil serpent in the temptation of Eve. “The anointed cherub that covereth,” verse 14. “Upon the holy mountain of God.” Verse 15 seems to me to be the clincher:
“Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.”
In verses 13 and 15, notice references to the subject’s creation. But only Adam and Eve were created human beings, their progeny being procreated. Angels, on the other hand, were each directly created by God. Verse 16, “I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub,” does not seem to me to be compatible with any human being. But it fits with what I think the Bible teaches about Lucifer.
Some predictive prophecies are very challenging to interpret, including this one. But I am persuaded this is a biography of the career of God’s first creature, Lucifer, who led the rebellion against Him.
Is this persuasive to some that we have an implacable foe, who stood in the presence of God with Gabriel and Michael, but then sinned? More powerful than we are and far more intelligent, he is a dangerous foe who can only be thwarted by the wisdom and power of God.
It must have been heartbreaking for Ezekiel to endure the Babylonian captivity and to serve God as a prophet in exile, far from his homeland. But he was named Ezekiel, meaning “God is strong” or “God strengthens.”
Assuredly, God strengthened him and gave him numerous visions I have not taken the time to mention. We have focused on evidence of Satanic and demonic activity in the book. As there is a hierarchy of holy angels, so there is almost certainly a hierarchy of foul spirits. And their success in the spiritual collapse of the Jewish people was total. So, God must institute the New Covenant mentioned in Jeremiah and Ezekiel, which we have seen applied in the New Testament with the conversion of the lost.
If God did not do this thing to promise and begin to fulfill this unconditional covenant, no one could be saved from their sins, owing to our race’s deadness and depravity. And those of us who have come to Christ, who have benefited from the New Covenant application of Christ’s saving work for His own? We have been saved from our sins, given new hearts, and infused with life to engage in spiritual conflict until the occasion of our homegoing.
__________
[1] Charles L. Feinberg, The Prophecy Of Ezekiel, (Chicago: Moody Press, 1969), pages 14-15.
[2] Ezekiel 1.5, 13, 14, 15, 19, 20, 21, 22; 3.13; 10.15, 17, 20
[3] Ezekiel 10.1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20; 11.22; 41.18, 20, 25
[4] Ezekiel 41.18
[5] Ezekiel 10.9
[6] Michael S. Heiser, Angels: What The Bible Really Says About God’s Heavenly Host, (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2018), page 25.
[7] Ibid, page 6.
[8] Ibid., page 15.
[9] Daniel 10.20
[10] Genesis 9.8-17
[11] Ezekiel 16.60-63; 34.25-27; 36.27; 37.21-28
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