In the midst of this proverb that Israel would take up against the king of Babylon, is an account of the fall of Lucifer. This account is almost like a lament. It was Lucifer who controlled the king of Babylon and the king of Tyrus. The account of the fall of the king of Tyrus can be found in Ezekiel 28:12-19. Today we will look at the passages both in Isaiah chapter fourteen and Ezekiel chapter twenty-eight.
The lament In Isaiah 14 begins, “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!” Satan was once known as Lucifer, son of the morning. Ezekiel 28:13 shows that he was an angel of light and music, “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.” Lucifer was a special creation of God – an angel covered in precious stones that glistened in the light. In him was God’s workmanship of tabrets and pipes. How beautiful he was and how lovely he sounded!
From the passage in Ezekiel chapter twenty-eight, we also see that Lucifer was God’s specially anointed angel. “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.” (Ezekiel 28:14)
In the beginning, Lucifer served God well but then something happened, “Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.” (Ezekiel 28:15) What happened? What caused Lucifer to commit iniquity? He became full of pride because of his beauty and position, “Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness.” (Ezekiel 28:17a) Once he was lifted up with pride, Lucifer became self-confident and rebellious. He thought that he could take the place of God. Look at Isaiah 14:13,14, “13) For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: 14) I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.”
The once anointed cherub and angel of light, son of the morning, would not keep his position long. Consider these verses: “Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.” (Isaiah 14:15) “I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.” (Ezekiel 28:17b) We see the fulfillment of this in Revelation 12:3,4, 9, “3) And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. 4) And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth… 9) And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” When he is cast down, Satan will bring a third of the angels with him. These are all fallen angels. He will briefly terrorize the earth until he leads the kings he has deceived into making war with the Lamb, who will overcome them because He is Lord of lords and King of kings. Eventually, Satan will be bound for a thousand years. After that, he will be loosed for a little season until finally, “the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.” (Revelation 20:10)
We see that the beast and the false prophet will also be in the lake of fire. Earlier in Isaiah chapter fourteen, we saw that the king of Babylon would be brought down to hell. The king of Tyrus will also be brought down and destroyed in the sight of those that behold him. The king of Babylon, the king of Tyrus, the anti-Christ, the false prophet – all these men allow Satan to control them and serve Satan with their lives. They enjoy riches and honor and pomp and power. All those great things they enjoy will be gone in a moment, and they will go to spend eternity with the master whom they served.
Let us make sure that today we follow Jesus and that we serve no other master. Serving Satan may bring riches and pleasure and all that we want in life, but it will do us no good in the end. Sin will certainly pay its wages, and it will pay them well. Do we want the wages of sin, which is death; or the gift of God, which is eternal life? Let us choose wisely today. “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)