Second study — verses 11-19
THE POWER BEHIND THE ANTICHRIST
“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. 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,” Ezekiel 28:12-13.
I believe that the ‘prince’ referred to in verses 1-10 is a different personage from the ‘king’ mentioned in this second section of the chapter.
There are as many theories as to who is referred to here, as there are Bible Commentators!
I suggest that the ‘prince’ was the earthly, human leader and ruler of Tyrus BUT the ‘king’ was a personage much greater and more powerful than the ‘prince’.
In this matter I give my opinion, but I stand ever ready to be corrected.
THE KING OF TYRE IS THE DEVIL.
1. I believe the ‘king of Tyrus’ to be the devil!
He is the ‘power’ behind the ‘prince of Tyrus’, whose name was, I believe, ‘Ethbaal’. In him was to be found all the wicked and blasphemous ambitions that will reach their fulness in the final Antichrist.
If the ‘prince of Tyrus’ is indeed a foreshadowing of the future Antichrist — as I believe he is — the ‘king of Tyrus’ is a picture of the ‘higher power’ behind the future Antichrist, Satan!
Description
Much of the description given us by the Lord of the person of the ‘king of Tyrus’, goes far beyond that of the limits of a mere mortal. The verses 12-19 may, I believe, only be applied to the devil.
Note some of these things said of the ‘king of Tyrus’.
1. “Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.” Hebraists tell us that that may be translated: “Thou art the one sealing the sum of perfection.” That which is sealed is complete. Such was the devil’s wisdom before his fall. This cannot be said of any mortal.
2. “Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God.” That cannot be said now or in the days of Ezekiel, of any man. But it could be said of the devil.
3. “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.” We sometimes forget that the devil was once amongst the highest of the angels, if not the highest of them.
I believe that in Isaiah chapter 14, there is a ‘history’ of the devil’s fall into rebellion and the fate he will suffer.
The prophet uses the devil’s descent as a mirrored image of the fate of the king of Babylon.
“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! 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: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?” (Verses 12-17).
The wicked ambition of the devil is to “be like the most High” and he still pursues this goal, and that through his ‘vassals’, the last of which will be the final Antichrist.
The devil in Holy Scriptures
Paul called the devil, “the god of this world,” 2 Corinthians 4:4.
He is the ‘ruler’ of ungodly men, directing the affairs of wicked men. Paul goes on to say that he “hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.”
His dark dominion is referred to by Christ as “his kingdom,” Matthew 12: 26. Furthermore, his ‘offspring’ are referred to by the Saviour in Matthew 13:38 as, “the children of the wicked one.”
So the devil has a kingdom and it is inhabited by his ‘children’ and to them he is ‘god’!
Beyond our understanding
There are powers possessed by the devil, of which we really have little understanding. However, I must emphasise that he can only exercise his powers under the sovereign restraint and limitation of God.
Please remember that, in his third and final temptation of the Lord Jesus, it is recorded that: “Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; and saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve,” Matthew 4:8-10.
Not said!
I believe what the Lord Jesus did not say is important. In response to the devil’s promise — “All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me” — the Lord Jesus did NOT say, ‘Satan, you don’t have the power to bestow kingdoms’.
That is important to note!
Pilate
When Pilate said to the Lord Jesus: “Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee?” The Saviour corrected him! “Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above,” John 19:10-11. But He did not say that to the devil, for he has had powers granted to him by the Lord.
But again I stress, he exercises his power under the restraining power of God!
There is evidence of this given us many times. The Saviour on many occasions “cast out devils” and they were unable to resist Him! On the occasion of the casting out of the devils from the man of Gadara, please remember what happened.
“And they arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, which is over against Galilee. And when he went forth to land, there met him out of the city a certain man, which had devils long time, and ware no clothes, neither abode in any house, but in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most high? I beseech thee, torment me not. (For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For oftentimes it had caught him: and he was kept bound with chains and in fetters; and he brake the bands, and was driven of the devil into the wilderness.) And Jesus asked him, saying, What is thy name? And he said, Legion: because many devils were entered into him. And they besought him that he would not command them to go out into the deep. And there was there an herd of many swine feeding on the mountain: and they besought him that he would suffer them to enter into them. And he suffered them. Then went the devils out of the man, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the lake, and were choked,” Luke 8:26-33.
Please note what I underlined for it shows the subservience of devils to the Lord!
2. The devil will be the power behind the future Antichrist.
“And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority,” Revelation 13:1-2.
Who the ‘dragon’ is, is revealed to us in Revelation 20.
“And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,” verses 1-2.
So the power and authority that the Antichrist will exercise over kings and nations is given him by the devil. The Antichrist will do what the Saviour refused to do, “fall down and worship” the devil, Matthew 4:9. The Antichrist’s reward for so honouring the devil is power and authority.
Limit
However, it is of short duration! “And all the world wondered after the beast. And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months,” Revelation 3-5.
“Forty and two months”, or three and a half years or twelve hundred and sixty days — this period is referred to in many places in the prophetic Scriptures. It is the period beginning with the casting away the cloak of outward rectitude and equity by the Antichrist and his appearing as he really is. He is a combination of a ‘leopard, a bear and a lion’ (Revelation 13:1). That is the moment that “the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, (will) stand in the holy place,” Matthew 24:15. Then will begin the great tribulation, even as the Saviour indicates in Matthew 24.
“Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be,” verses 16-21.
The great tribulation is that period referred to in Revelation 12:12. “Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.” Being “cast unto the earth”, the devil immediately attacks the Jewish believing remnant found in Israel in the final days of this age.
“And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child. And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent. And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth. And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ,” Revelation 12:13-17.
Blessed memory
I recall that during one of the many late night discussions I had with my brother-in-law, the late Dr John Douglas in his car, how he pointed out some verses in the Old Testament related to these events.
“Let mine outcasts dwell with thee, Moab; be thou a covert to them from the face of the spoiler: for the extortioner is at an end, the spoiler ceaseth, the oppressors are consumed out of the land. And in mercy shall the throne be established: and he shall sit upon it in truth in the tabernacle of David, judging, and seeking judgment, and hasting righteousness,” Isaiah 16:4-5.
You can see that this request for shelter for the Lord’s “outcasts”, made to Moab, will come just as the end of the “spoiler” and “the oppressors” is approaching and the merciful reign of Christ upon the throne of David is about to begin. These are the events referred to in Revelation 12.
Present day Jordan is an unlikely refuge for Jews, but the Lord will always make a place of safety for His beloved people!
3. God’s purpose in the ‘great tribulation’ is the very opposite of the devil’s! The destruction of the people of Israel is what the Antichrist and his allies are moved by the devil to attempt. The Psalmist Asaph was moved to prophesy of that day.
“«A Song or Psalm of Asaph.» Keep not thou silence, O God: hold not thy peace, and be not still, O God. For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult: and they that hate thee have lifted up the head. They have taken crafty counsel against thy people, and consulted against thy hidden ones. They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance. For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee: the tabernacles of Edom, and the Ishmaelites; of Moab, and the Hagarenes; Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; the Philistines with the inhabitants of Tyre; Assur also is joined with them: they have holpen the children of Lot. Selah,” Psalm 83:1-8.
The purpose of God, however, is the reverse.
“Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it. For it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no more serve themselves of him: but they shall serve the LORD their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them. Therefore fear thou not, O my servant Jacob, saith the LORD; neither be dismayed, O Israel: for, lo, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be in rest, and be quiet, and none shall make him afraid. For I am with thee, saith the LORD, to save thee: though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet will I not make a full end of thee: but I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished. For thus saith the LORD, Thy bruise is incurable, and thy wound is grievous. There is none to plead thy cause, that thou mayest be bound up: thou hast no healing medicines. All thy lovers have forgotten thee; they seek thee not; for I have wounded thee with the wound of an enemy, with the chastisement of a cruel one, for the multitude of thine iniquity; because thy sins were increased. Why criest thou for thine affliction? thy sorrow is incurable for the multitude of thine iniquity: because thy sins were increased, I have done these things unto thee. Therefore all they that devour thee shall be devoured; and all thine adversaries, every one of them, shall go into captivity; and they that spoil thee shall be a spoil, and all that prey upon thee will I give for a prey. For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the LORD; because they called thee an Outcast, saying, This is Zion, whom no man seeketh after. Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will bring again the captivity of Jacob’s tents, and have mercy on his dwellingplaces; and the city shall be builded upon her own heap, and the palace shall remain after the manner thereof. And out of them shall proceed thanksgiving and the voice of them that make merry: and I will multiply them, and they shall not be few; I will also glorify them, and they shall not be small. Their children also shall be as aforetime, and their congregation shall be established before me, and I will punish all that oppress them. And their nobles shall be of themselves, and their governor shall proceed from the midst of them; and I will cause him to draw near, and he shall approach unto me: for who is this that engaged his heart to approach unto me? saith the LORD. And ye shall be my people, and I will be your God,” Jeremiah 30:7-22.
I quote this portion at length for it is so relevant to the events of this day!
Please take note!
Let all those who side with Gaza and the demands of the terrorists of Hamas, including our present prime minister and his government, read these words and see just where the campaign in support of the enemies of Israel will end!
As is said of the “king of Tyrus”, so it will be with the Antichrist and his allies.
God has said that: “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,” Ezekiel 28:18.
Jeremiah, some seven years earlier, in 595BC, spoke of the future doom of Babylon and its king.
“The word that the LORD spake against Babylon and against the land of the Chaldeans by Jeremiah the prophet. Declare ye among the nations, and publish, and set up a standard; publish, and conceal not: say, Babylon is taken, Bel is confounded, Merodach is broken in pieces; her idols are confounded, her images are broken in pieces. For out of the north there cometh up a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate, and none shall dwell therein: they shall remove, they shall depart, both man and beast. In those days, and in that time, saith the LORD, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together, going and weeping: they shall go, and seek the LORD their God. They shall ask the way to Zion with their faces thitherward, saying, Come, and let us join ourselves to the LORD in a perpetual covenant that shall not be forgotten. . . . For, lo, I will raise and cause to come up against Babylon an assembly of great nations from the north country: and they shall set themselves in array against her; from thence she shall be taken: their arrows shall be as of a mighty expert man; none shall return in vain. And Chaldea shall be a spoil: all that spoil her shall be satisfied, saith the LORD. . . . As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour cities thereof, saith the LORD; so shall no man abide there, neither shall any son of man dwell therein,” Jeremiah 50:1-5, 9-10, 40.
Thus the time of Babylon’s destruction is also the time of Israel recovery and redemption!
Repeated
These truths are repeated in Revelation 18.
“And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies,” verses 1-3.
The confrontation between Antichrist and the returning Lord Jesus, leads to his eternal damnation and is recorded for us in Revelation chapter 19.
“And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh,” verses 19-21.
Thus will end the long and cruel campaign of the devil to usurp the throne of God through the evil men he raised up, persecute the saints of God and silence their gospel witness and his unceasing efforts to destroy Israel!
We echo David’s words: “Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered: let them also that hate him flee before him. As smoke is driven away, so drive them away: as wax melteth before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God. But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God: yea, let them exceedingly rejoice. Sing unto God, sing praises to his name: extol him that rideth upon the heavens by his name JAH, and rejoice before him,” Psalm 68:1-4.
Amen and Amen!
Rev Ivan Foster (Rtd)
Wednesday 1st October 2025