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#4.
The Anointed Cherub.
(Concluded).
pp. 130 - 133
Satan's doom.
"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 . . . . . . . I will cast thee to the earth,
I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee. Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries
by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffic, 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. All they that know thee shall be
astonished at thee, thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more" (Ezek. 28:
16-19).
Let us record the steps in the punishment of this fallen cherub:--
1. /
I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God.
\
I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.
2. /
I will cast thee to the earth.
\
I will lay thee before kings.
3. /
I will bring forth a fire from the midst of thee and it shall devour thee.
\
I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth.
4. /
Thou shalt be a terror.
\
Never shalt thou be any more.
The first movement deprives the anointed cherub of his glory and office. The second
casts him to the earth as a spectacle to kings. The third sees him reduced to ashes by the
fire brought from the midst of himself. The fourth speaks of the effect of his destruction
upon others.
Deprivation and destruction.
The first item in Satan's punishment is that of being cast out as profane from the
mountain of God. This is entirely in harmony with the principle given in I Cor. 3: 17:--
"If any man defile (or destroy) the temple of God, him shall God destroy (or defile)."
The second feature is destruction, which in this connection is much the same as
profaning. As the anointed cherub he was "destroyed from the midst of the stones of
fire", by being cast out as profane. Between these two statements that deal with the
reduction of the anointed cherub and the remaining statement concerning his doom come
further statements concerning the causes of his fall. The remainder of the record of
punishment is future:--
"I will cast thee to the earth" (Ezek. 28: 17).
"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" (Rev. 12: 9).
"I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee" (Ezek. 28: 17).