JUDGMENT AGAINST THE PRINCE OF TYRE After prophesying against Tyre (Chapter 26), and taking up a lamentation over it (Chapter 27), He moved to proclaim against its prince, then to take up a lamentation over its king; He probably meant the whole royal family. Finally came a proclamation against Sidon, having been closely connected to Tyre. 1- A proclamation against the prince of Tyre 1-10. 2- A lamentation for the Prince of Tyre 11-19. 3- A proclamation against Sidon 20-25. 1- A PROCLAMATION AGAINST THE PRINCE OF TYRE St. Jerome believes that the word ‘Tyre’ means a tribulation1; That is why what came concerning the prince (or the king) of Tyre, refers to Satan, being the one who drives men to tribulations and temptations. Many Church Fathers believe that what came in this chapter describes the fall of Satan from his angelic rank. This description came conforming to what came in (Isaiah 14:12) concerning Lucifer. It is to be noticed in this chapter that the prince or the king of Tyre, has been described as the good, even the perfect creation of God; because Satan was not created evil; but is God’s good creation, that has fallen because of pride by its own free will. He was described as such: “You were the seal of perfection, Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God. Every precious stone was your covering....; Prepared for you on the day of your creation. You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you. You were on the holy mountain of God. You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. You were perfect in your ways from the day of you were created, till iniquity was found in you” (Ez 28:12-15). Satan was one of the greatest heavenly ranks - that of the cherubim, bearers of the divine throne; the fiery divine chariot! He has been the seal of perfection, as he was a bearer of the throne; Full of wisdom, as he was filled with eyes; Perfect in beauty, as he reflected God’s splendor on him; Every precious stone was his covering, as God spared him nothing. He shaded with his wings over the holy mountain of God; Wherever he went, he proclaimed the presence of God who sanctifies everything. He walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones, a sign of the fiery divine presence. He was created flawless; perfect in all his ways. It is obvious that the talk here does not apply to men, the most perfect of God’s creation on earth, nor on any heavenly rank, but to the greatest and most exalted of those ranks... Tertullian says: [If we go back to the prophecy of Ezekiel, we find that that angel was created perfect, but got corrupted by choice. In the person of the king of Tyre, it was said of Satan: “You were the seal of perfection etc.” It is obvious that this description (Ez 11-16) concerns the rebellion of the angel, and not the king of Tyre. As, there is nobody among human beings, who was born in the Paradise of God - not even 1 PL 25:240. 5 Adam himself, who was moved to it; nor who was a cherub to be put on the holy mountain of God; namely, on the highest of heavens, except him, about whom the Lord testified that he fell like lightening from there (Luke 10:18) 1.] Origen speaks about Satan and his angels as good creation that sinned by its own free will, saying: [Those who claim that Satan is not a creation of God are wrong; As Satan, he is not God’s creation; but the being himself (as a creature), is God’s creation. That is like saying that a killer is not God’s creation. But he, as a man, he is God’s creation2.] And St. Cyril of Jerusalem says: [The devil was not committed to sin; as though he had a natural tendency toward sin; or else the cause of sin would also reflect on his Creator Himself. He was a good creation, and by his own free will, he became Satan; He received the name through his work. He was an Archangel; but came to be called a devil because of his slandering. From being a good servant of God, but became a devil indeed; as ‘devil’ means ‘adversary.’ This God, he has become rightly named Satan; for “Satan” is interpreted the adversary. And this is not my teaching, but that of the inspired prophet Ezekiel; who took up a lamentation for him saying: “You were the seal of perfection;... perfect in beauty;... born in Eden, the Paradise of God;” then says: “You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was found in you.” He says: “Till iniquities were found in you.” Iniquities did not come to him from outside, but he brought them on himself. Then he instantly referred to the cause, saying: “Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty. You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor; I cast you to the ground” (Ez 28:17). This conforms to the saying of the Lord in the gospel: “I saw Satan fall like lightening from heaven” (Luke 10:18)3.] Taking up a lamentation for Satan, he proclaims the gifts of God given to him, and the possibilities he received the day he was created. As much as he is given, much he would be asked to give; and as much as he enjoyed of great exaltation, his fall would be as great. The most important of the divine gifts given to him are: a- The gift of wisdom: “Behold, you are wiser than Daniel! There is no secret that can be hidden from you” (Ez 28:3). He granted him wisdom, to be wiser than Daniel; to whom God revealed the king’s secrets, his personal dreams, and their interpretation, to support him in his sojourn. It is as though God, in His dealings with Satan before his fall, has revealed to him many secrets; saying to him: “There is no secret that can be hidden from you.” He dealt with him as a trusted friend; and hid no secret from him. Saying to him: “You were the seal of perfection; full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty, ” (Ez 28:12). He made him the most perfect and most beautiful of His heavenly creation; not in outer appearance but in wisdom. Yet, as he fell into pride, he fell from that height down to the abyss! Man as well, the most perfect of God’s creation on earth. God adorned him, not by the beauty of the body, but by what is greater: the beauty of wisdom; creating him “in His image, and according to His likeness” (Gen 1:26). He intended him to be a master, to have authority on all the earthly creation, by the spirit of divine wisdom. Yet, as pride degraded the angel to Satan; it likewise degraded man to his corrupt carnal nature; that led him to behave far lower than animal, even the wildest of them. 1 Tert. Adv. Marc. 2:10. 2 In Job. tome 2.c7. 3 Cat Hom 2:5. 6 b- Dwelling in Eden, the garden of God (Ez 28:13): The word ‘Eden’ means “joy;” as though, after setting him in the divine joy, enjoying the divine presence; even sharing with the rest of the cherubim, in bearing the divine throne; he came to an inner endless torture. So was man; God set him in Eden the Garden of God to work and rejoice; but through his pride, he lost his true Paradise; and deprived himself of God the Source of joy. That is why, in order to mend our nature, we were committed to be planted anew in God, to become as though in the eternal Paradise. That is why St. Cyril of Jerusalem says to those seeking Baptism: [Soon, Paradise will be opened to everyone of you1]; as they enter into union with God in Christ Jesus, the True Paradise. c- The gift of work: The Lord Christ says: “My Father has been working until now; and I have been working” (John 5:17). It is one of God’s attributes, that He is incessantly working; He granted it to His rational creation. But Satan worked, yet not for the glory of his Creator, but on his own account; his work turned, not for his edification, but for his destruction. “With your wisdom and your understanding, you have gained riches for yourself, and gathered gold and silver into your treasuries. By your great wisdom in trade, you have increased your riches” (Ez 28:4, 5). God rejoices to see the treasuries of His creation always full of every precious riches. Yet what made Him sad, is that: “Your heart is lifted up because of your riches” (Ez 28:5). Riches are grace and blessing; but lifting up the heart would corrupt that of the rich man, to think of himself as god: “Because you have set your heart as the heart of a god. Behold, therefore, I will bring strangers against you, the most terrible of nations; and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom, and defile your splendor. They shall throw you down into the pit; and you shall die the death of the slain in the midst of the sea” (Ez 28:6-8). Whatever befalls him is not because of his wisdom, his beauty, or his riches; but because of the pride of his heart; thinking of himself as god, he became deprived of his wisdom, beauty, and riches; and even of life itself. The fathers spoke much about the importance of work, and the blesses of riches, proclaiming that it is pride that corrupts the work and the riches. St. Clement of Alexandria wrote a book on this subject, under the title “Who is the rich man that is saved?” saying: [We are not to throw riches away; that which could benefit our brothers... Man should not scatter his riches, but should rather destroy his inner lusts, that oppose the right use of riches. By being good and virtuous, man can use his riches properly. So we should understand the Lord’s command to “Go, sell whatever you have...” (Mark 10:21); It is forsaking and selling the lusts of our souls2.] d- “Every precious stone was your covering” (Ez 28:13). These, according to the Septuagint version, are the same twelve precious stones that were put on the breastplate of the high priest; and those adorning the wall of the heavenly Jerusalem (Rev 21:19, 20). They refer to the divine virtues and the talents with which God adorns the soul, to bring it into His sanctuaries, beautiful and shining. That is why God comforts His striving Church, saying to her: “‘O you afflicted one, tossed with tempest, and not comforted. Behold, I will lay your stones with colorful gems; and lay your foundations with sapphires. I will make your pinnacles of rubies, your gates of crystal, and all your walls of precious stones... This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their 1 PG 33:357A. .70- 2 للمؤلف :آباء مدرسة الإسكندریة ، 1980 ، ص 68 7 righteousness is from Me,’ says the Lord” (Is 54:11-17). God adorns His rational creation with talents and virtues. But if it falls into pride, that will be a cause of judgment upon it. e- The fiery nature: “You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you. You were on the holy mountain of God” (Ez 28:14). He set him with a fiery nature, a blazing cherub; and established him in the sanctuaries; so he became with no excuse. God granted us the possibilities of the new nature; and established us in Him “the holy Mountain.” Thus we became without excuse before Him. f- “You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones” (Ez 28:16). If he, being a cherub, walked in the midst of the cherubim and the seraphim, the blazing fires, he should have stayed like them, a holy fire, and should not have fallen from among them. The cherubim judge Satan; having been one of them, before he falls! And the apostles as well, will judge the twelve tribes of Israel; for they had been Jews, and accepted faith; but the Jews rejected faith in Christ, the Source of the sanctification and salvation of humanity! 2- A LAMENTATION FOR THE KING OF TYRE Pride makes the created - in his own eyes - a god: “Because your heart is lifted up, and you say ‘I am a god’” (Ez 28:2). That is why you bring him down, to die a horrible death: “‘You shall die the death of the uncircumcised by the hand of aliens; for I have spoken,’ Thus says the Lord” (Ez 28:10). The Phoenicians used to practice circumcision1; and considered him who dies uncircumcised as despised and disgraced! Thus pride would not only kill him, but will bring him into great disgrace! As to the issue of killing, according to the Septuagint version, it came: “Therefore I cast you as a profane thing, out of the mountain of God” (Ez 28:16). St. Jerome clarifies to us that the mountain of God out of which the king of Tyre was cast; saying: [The mountain of God is riches in His blessings. This is the mountain that Ezekiel mentioned, on which the king of Tyre was punished2.] The ‘mountain’ refers to the presence of the Savior who incarnated. As in Him the divine nature has indeed dwelt. Indeed, there is no other way, in which the Holy Spirit found His dwelling, instantly and permanently, except in the Savior. And as St. John the Baptist says: “He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him; This is He...’” (John 1:33). “The Lord will dwell in it forever” (Ps 69:16); in the body that He took from the blessed Mary3. Through this holy mountain, Satan was wounded; In it he did not have a place. Through the Lord Christ, Satan was cast away from humanity. 3- A PROCLAMATION AGAINST SIDON We have previously spoken of Sidon, as ‘the land of fishing.’ It joined Tyre in mocking Judah concerning its captivity; and became “a pricking brier and a painful thorn for the house of Israel” (Ez 28:24); that is why “the Lord will send pestilence upon her” (Ez 28:23), to become a painful thorn to her. Finally, God made it clear that He does all that to gather the house of Israel from the people among whom they are scattered, to be hallowed in them; to fulfill them, and grant them peace! That is God’s persistent longing, to see humanity returning to find 1 Herodotus 2:104. 2 On Ps. hom 7. 3 On Ps. hom 7. 8 comfort in Him, to be fulfilled, and filled with peace, as His holy bride. 9 AN INSPIRATION FROM THE BOOK OF E ZEKIEL 28 A LESSON FROM SATAN! Satan became a lesson to me! You created him among the cherubim, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty! Knows much of Your divine mysteries! But through pride, he fell from heaven to the abyss! You created me as the most awesome of Your creation on earth. You granted me mind, wisdom, and beauty! Grant me the spirit of humility, to be attached to You; And to enjoy the splendor of Your beauty on me! You set him in heaven to rejoice for Your presence; But through his arrogance, he fell down into eternal suffering! You set me in the Garden of Eden to work and praise! When will You lift me up to Your Paradise, to enjoy the eternal glory?! God gave him riches; yet his heart was lifted up because of his riches! You did not leave me in need for any of Your riches! When will I acquire You, O my treasure and my riches?! You are my love! You are my praise! You are my joy, and the happiness of my heart! You are my fulfillment and my riches! With You, I need nothing! You adorned him with every precious stone; But through his rebellion he came to be deprived of everything beautiful and precious! You adorned me with talents as precious stones; Kindle in me Your talents, as a valuable inheritance! You created him a fiery cherub. You let him dwell in the sanctuaries. But through his will, he collapsed to dwell in everlasting fire that will never be quenched! You renewed me by Your fiery Spirit; To carry me up to the throne of Your glory; to an unapproachable light! When will I be like a cherub, and a servant of light! I am looking forward to Your advent, O the true Light!
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