Ezekiel Chapter 28, Part 1

Proclamation against the King of Tyre

VERSE 1 and 2 “The word of the Lord came to me again, saying,  “Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Because your heart is lifted up, And you say, ‘I am a god, I sit in the seat of gods, In the midst of the seas,’ Yet you are a man, and not a god, Though you set your heart as the heart of a god.”

Some are under the impression that the “prince of Tyre” is Satan and in a typical sense he is, that is in that he is the controlling element behind the seen, the great architect of the Antichrist, Papacy whose head is the pope. However upon a little further study it will be seen that there is a distinction made between the “King of Tyre” and the “prince of Tyre”.

“This verse nevertheless still sounds like Isaiah 14:13, 14, which does refer to Satan.

“For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’”

What is the distinction? Ezekiel 28 is showing that the spirit of Papacy is the spirit of Satan himself; his spirit is reflected in HIS system. Satan and Papacy have the same ambitions.

However there are a number of reasons why the “prince of Tyrus” is Papacy, the man of sin, and not Satan:

1. The nations will destroy the “prince” (Verses 7 and 9).

2. The “prince” is described as a “man” (Verse 2).

“I am a god; I sit in the seat of gods (plural)…”

3. The “prince” sits in the seat of God (compare 2 Thess. 2:3-4).

“Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away (the rebellion or apostasy) comes first, and the man of sin (the Antichrist) is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God (the Church), showing himself that he is God.”

4. Papacy is Satan’s “seat” (compare Rev. 2:13).

“I know that you live in the city (Mystic Babylon the Great) where Satan has his throne (his “seat” of power and influence, the Papacy), yet you have remained loyal to me. You refused to deny me even when Antipas, my faithful witness, was martyred among you there in Satan’s city.” (New Living Translation)

The prince of Tyrus sits “in the midst of the seas.” Rev 17:1 states that the “great whore” sits on “many waters.” In both instances, the “waters” refer to peoples. In the Book of Ezekiel, Papacy is represented as the city of Tyre and the prince of Tyre. In the Book of Revelation, Papacy is addressed as a woman, a beast, and the city of Babylon.

Let us take a quick look at Ferraris’ Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Dictionary and see how Papacy itself once viewed the Pope.

“The Pope is of such dignity and highness that he is not simply a man but, as it were, God, and the vicar (representative) of God….Hence the pope is crowned with a triple crown, as king of heaven, of earth and of hell. Nay, the pope’s excellence and power are not only about heavenly, terrestrial and infernal things, but he is also above angels, and is their superior; so that if it were possible that angels could err from the faith, or entertain sentiments contrary thereto, they could be judged and excommunicated by the pope…

 He is of such great dignity and power that he occupies one and the same tribunal with Christ; so that whatsoever the pope does seems to proceed from the mouth of God….The pope is, as it were, God on earth, the only prince of the faithful of Christ, the greatest king of all kings possessing the plenitude of power; to whom the government of the earthly and heavenly kingdom is entrusted.”

Here we can easily see that it is the office of the Pope who is referred to in symbol as the Prince of Tyre, for no one else of mankind makes this claim for themselves, even as we read from the Catholic dictionary.

NOTE: we refer NOT to individual Catholics, nor to the popes themselves, it is the great antichrist system itself devised by the Adversary that we speak out against as an apostasy and fraud (counterfeit), so too the “office” of the pope. Many mistakenly assume we are against Catholics and that is not true, nor are we against Protestants. What we are against is the great system of error, Mystic Babylon the Great, the Adversaries masterwork which has kept many of the Lord’s true children in bondage and servitude for centuries.

“…Yet you are a man, and not a god, though you set your heart as the heart of a god.”

Thou art a man — Thou art man made, man ordained and not of God, not divinely ordained even though thou set thine heart (fix the desire) to pose before the people as divinely ordained.

VERSE 3 “Behold, you are wiser than Daniel! There is no secret that can be hidden from you!”

“Behold, you are wiser than Daniel!” that is you think you are wiser than Daniel. You supposed that through divine inspiration, the confessional, and the universal clergy spy system, there is nothing in heaven or earth which you don’t know?

It is a well-known fact that Papacy has an international, a worldwide, spy network with representatives throughout the so-called Christian world. The United States restored diplomatic relations with the Vatican in the 1980s. One particular reason for the restoration was to obtain information that even the CIA does not have access to.

“There is no secret that they can hide from thee [Papacy].” Just as Daniel, the number two person in the Babylonian Empire, the interpreter of dreams, was wiser than the other wise men and no secret troubled him, so Papacy, the international underground system, has “no secret” because of its many informers (Dan. 4:9). Papacy however is not wiser than Daniel in true wisdom that is that wisdom which comes from above.

VERSE 4 and 5 “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, and your heart is lifted up because of your riches.”

Tyre, a seaport city, had a mercantile fleet that brought riches. Papacy, too, has great riches. Just as it is with a human being who acquires great wealth, so it is with the papal system. With the riches comes a feeling of power, influence, and pride. Examples of Papacy’s “treasures” are manuscripts, paintings, sculptures, icons, architecture, and jewels. Many have donated personal fortunes to the system, adding to its wealth. Although the Vatican has little ground, its power is enormous.

“With your wisdom and your understanding you have gained riches for yourself”, or better stated, “With your (perverted) wisdom and understanding (of evil, deceit, and deceptive practices) you have acquired great riches for yourself.”

“Your heart is lifted up because of your riches”, that is through the good salesmanship of your worthless merchandise (teachings, doctrines) you have heaped up wealth (Rev. 3:17) and have become proud because of material wealth, doctrines and membership.

VERSE 6 “Therefore thus says the Lord God: “Because you have set your heart as the heart of a god.”

Once again this verse sounds like Satan, who aspired to mount the sides of the north so he could be like God (Isa. 14:13, 14). The characteristics of Satan can clearly be seen in the papal system.

Because thou hast set thyself up in pride to be the Vice-gerent of God, and assumed all the titles of His appointed King.

VERSE 7 “Behold, therefore, I will bring strangers against you, the most terrible of the nations; and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom, and defile your splendor.”

“In the near future, following the hour of power, God will bring “the most terrible of the nations” against Papacy, that is, a communistic, atheistic element (Gog from the land of Magog). This reference to the Babylonians in the past with literal Tyre is a reference in the future to a non-Christian, foreign element. The destruction will be literal; the Vatican will be sacked and destroyed just before Jacob’s Trouble. God will then put hooks in the jaws of Gog, turning the forces back from destroying Europe to go down against Israel (Ezek. 38:4). In other words, Russia will invade Europe and despoil the Vatican. Then, through certain circumstances, the attention of Gog will be turned backward to Israel.”

VERSE 8 “They shall throw you down into the Pit, and you shall die the death of the slain In the midst of the seas.”

This verse reminds us once again of Mystic Babylon’s end as spoken in Rev 18:21 of which Tyre is a type:

“Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone (the world’s largest and oldest grinder of “food” for Christendom) and threw it into the sea (into the anarchist masses), saying, “Thus with violence the great city Babylon shall be thrown down, and shall not be found anymore (having descended into the pit, dishonored oblivion and death).” Compare with Ezek 26:20

Not only will the apostate church meet its end in the pit, but so likewise the great architect of this most baneful and deceitful system, Satan himself is to meet this same end,  “… you shall be brought down to Sheol (Hell, the grave), to the lowest depths of the Pit.” Isa 14:15

VERSE 9 “Will you still say before him who slays you, ‘I am a god’? But you shall be a man, and not a god, in the hand of him who slays you.”

“Wilt thou yet say before him that slays thee, I am God? When thou art in the enemies’ hands, and just going to be put to death, wilt thou then confidently assert thy deity, and to his face tell him that thou art God? Surely thy courage and thy confidence, thy blasphemy and impiety, will leave thee then; a bitter sarcasm this! and so the pope of Rome, the antichristian beast, when taken, and just going to be cast into the lake of fire along with the false prophet, will not have the impudence to style himself God, or to call himself Christ’s vicar on earth: but thou shalt be a man, and no god, in the hand of him that slays thee; that is, thou shalt appear to be a poor, weak, frail, mortal, trembling, dying man, when got into the hand of the enemy, and he is just going to put an end to thy life; where will be then thy boasted deity?” (Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible)

The pope claims to represent God. When the pope is slain and the Vatican is completely destroyed, as well as all the other churches, it will appear as if God has failed in protecting His (supposed) representative Church. All will see then that they are man-made institutions and not ordained of God.

VERSE 10 “You shall die the death of the uncircumcised by the hand of aliens; for I have spoken,” says the Lord God.’ ”

“You shall die the death of the uncircumcised” that is as a godless heathen, wicked, unclean.

“Babylon, Christendom, has had a long probation of power, and has had many opportunities both to learn and to practice righteousness…and by her authority the true embryo kingdom of heaven (composed only of the saints, whose names are written in heaven) has suffered violence. She has hated them and persecuted them…they were hated without a cause;…and she and her daughters, still blind, are ready still to persecute…all who are loyal to God…” D51, 52

Thus the doom of Babylon, Christendom will be sudden, violent and complete is thus forcibly stated: “Thus, with violence, shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.”

“Therefore her plagues will come in one day [suddenly]—death and mourning and famine. And she will be utterly burned with fire [symbolic fire — destructive calamities], for strong is the Lord God who judges her.” Rev 18:8

 We will continue with verse 11 in our next post.