Question:
Was the cherub of Ezekiel 28 the likeness of Lucifer, or in any way related to the devil?
Answer:
No, the cherub does not represent the devil, a monster, spirit, demon or fallen angel. The cherub represents the unfaithful servants of God who could have received God’s high honors and blessings for faithfulness, but who instead proved disloyal and thus made themselves subject to God’s judgment.
The passage in question is as such:“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 you were created, Till iniquity was found in you” (Ezek. 28:14-15).
Let us look closely at the context of the chapter. Verses 1 and 2 read: “The word of the Lord came to me again, saying, ‘Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, “Thus says the Lord God…”’ ” The word of the Lord was being directed to “the prince of Tyre,” in its immediate significance. And for a longer-range application, we find that the meaning of the word ‘Tyre’ is, ‘an adversary, an enemy reserved for the day of judgment and vengeance.’ The prince of Tyre, in a spiritual sense, includes all those who prove unfaithful, those who become enemies of God, whom God will bring to judgment to “‘convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.’ These are grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts; and they mouth great swelling words, flattering people to gain advantage” (Jude 15-16).
Ezekiel says further: “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.”
Verse 12 contains more of the message: “Thus says the Lord God; ‘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.’ ” The persons represented here had been in Eden, the vineyard or garden of the Lord, where all of God’s servants labor during their day of salvation. As servants of God, they had been heir to God’s richest blessings, even life for evermore; but they did not choose to submit themselves to the rule of God. The position of these persons is the same as that of the Galatian brethren, to whom Paul wrote many years later: “You ran well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth?” (Gal. 5:7).
What will be the result of their disobedience? “Therefore I brought fire from your midst; It devoured you, And I turned you to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all who saw you” (Ezek. 28:18). “Fire,” representing God’s judgments, shall “devour” them, and “shall be no more forever” (v. 19).