Before Salvation – Ezekiel 28:11-19 11-16; Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 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. 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. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore 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. 17-19: Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, 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 traffick; 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 among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more. Until I started a deeper research into this passage, i.e. “what saith the commentators”, I didn’t realize how many different theories there were, even among fundamental, evangelical scholars. I’m reminded again of the story about the old southern preacher who said, “It’s amazing how much light the Bible sheds on those commentaries.” We will continue to follow the pattern we have always followed, i.e. “what saith the Scripture”. It is almost universally understood that this passage is directed at Lucifer (Satan’s name before his fall) referring to his fall. The description of Lucifer is obviously a pre-fall picture, a partial reason for his pride. The description of Eden may or may not be a description of Genesis 2:8, or a description of an Eden in eternity past depending on how literal or figurative you interpret the language. That, in turn, depends on how you look at the so-called “gap theory”. By the way, despite the rhetoric over Justice Scalia’s recent interview with New York Magazine - and unfortunately a number of self appointed theologians - Satan is alive and well today. The devil is actively using the media, and these false teachers who are hiding under the umbrella of Christianity - and even our government - to blind the eyes of unbelievers, convincing them that Lucifer, the devil, is only a carryover from a primitive and “less enlightened” age. Ah, but Satan is alive and well in our society, even more so than in more primitive societies. “In whom the god of this world 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.” (2 Corinthians 4:4) If your eyes are blinded to the reality that the devil is alive, well, and active - right here in the US - I fear for you. “And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” (2 Thessalonians 2:11-12) His strength and influence will continue to increase - in accordance to Bible prophecy - until Christ returns. Then those adamant unbelievers, especially those who slander and “put down” Christianity, will find themselves in eternal torment in hell. I suspect there will be more intense torment for those professing Christians who just add fuel to the damnable lie that there is no hell and no devil, or at least that the devil is bound now.. DON’T YOU BE ONE OF THEM! For any of my readers, especially those born after 1960 or 1970, the “gap theory” posits that Lucifer fell between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2. Before Ken Ham came on the scene, that was pretty much the understanding of fundamentalist theologians, including respected theologians such as DeHaan, Chafer, Bancroft. Evens, Strong, and Pink. If you are familiar with classic poetry, that is the picture in Milton’s “Paradise Lost”. Scofield, Morris, and Ham are opposed to the “gap theory”. But one thing we know: Lucifer fell before Genesis 3:1. I, for one, am too busy preaching the gospel to the victims of Satan’s fall, and subsequent deception of Adam and Eve, to argue about the timing of his fall. If the timing of Lucifer’s fall were as important as some of our “self appointed theological debaters” try to make it, i.e. almost more important than the gospel itself, surely God would have told us. The point is: Lucifer fell and introduced sin to man. We will see this develop as this series progresses. There are, however, aspects of Lucifer’s fall that we must understand, aspects that are vital to our salvation. EVERY ONE OF THOSE ASPECTS IS ALSO SEEN IN DEPRAVED MANKIND, and to a certain extent popping up in the attitudes of Christians, that is Christians who are not fully committed to Our Lord Jesus Christ, and influenced by humanism. We need to look back to a parallel passage in Isaiah for a more detailed look into Lucifer’s fall though we will not take time here to exegete it. Isaiah 14: 12-14: “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.” Pride: How well Solomon says, “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.” (Proverbs 16:18) “For thou hast said in thine heart, I will…” Verse 17 of our text exposes Satan’s pride. “Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty.” Proud of his beauty and proud of his position, Lucifer was not satisfied to be God’s crowning creation. He craved the authority and glory that belongs to God alone. Notice the 5 “I will” statements of Lucifer! I have noticed that in too many counseling situations the issue centers on an un-admitted desire to be the final authority, the one who knows best - and it is usually the woman - which is part of the curse on the woman. (Genesis 3:16) The construction of Genesis 3:16, “…and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee”, is the same as Genesis 4:7, “…sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him”, and might better be translated “and thy (the woman’s), or sin’s, desire is to rule over you.” You see, when Eve yielded to Satan in the garden, she became like Satan, and passed that same nature on to her daughters, which is all the more reason that you need to be “born again” (John 3:3), and by that way alone regain that nature you were supposed to have from creation. Many an individual has been spiritually debilitated, and some even destroyed, by their pride. Many a ministry has been destroyed by pride in its leadership, thinking their wisdom exceeded the simple wisdom of faith for which the Bible calls, and thinking themselves immune from the dangers of playing on the border of sin. Oh, they could find excuses and justifications galore, blinded by the “successes” (?) of their ministry, but like Jim and Tammy Baker, in the end, found their ministry - and their testimony - destroyed. This is a good place to insert 1 Timothy 3:6: “…lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil.” Rebellion: All sin is rebellion, but sin’s primary expression is disobedience, which is rebellion. Hear Samuel’s words to King Saul! “Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams…rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.” (1 Samuel 15:22-23) Hear Peter’s words, reference to unbelief! “…if any obey not the word…” (1 Peter 3:1) Obey and believe are the same word. To disobey means that you don’t believe.” To believe Christ is to obey Christ! The gospel invitation is not the pleading of an overwrought evangelist. It is the command of God! To not believe is insubordination to the “King of kings and Lord of lords” (1 Timothy 6:15) Fixed estate: Notice the hint of similarity of the angel’s first estate and Adam’s first estate. “Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.” (Ezekiel 28:15) We cannot be dogmatic about it, but it appears that angels, who were created holy, had a period, however brief, of innocence and free will as Adam had in the garden. But “free will” requires a test. Lucifer exercised his will to rebel, and 1/3 of the angels chose to follow him. That choice fixed their estate from then on, just as Adam’s choice in Eden fixed his estate and nature from then on. Hopefully we will see more about that in a later message. The angel’s sin was beyond redemption because each angel, like snowflakes, is a separate creation. They could not procreate so they could not pass on their nature. They were not ”a species”. But Adam and Eve were created to procreate, and like all other earthly creations, they would reproduce “after their own kind”. That allowed Christ to purchase redemption for a race, if you please, i.e. the human race. When Adam fell, he became depraved! Reproducing “after his image” (Genesis 5:3), please note, “after his image”, not the image of God. He plunged his progeny into depravity. Free will is no longer the question because the will is slave to the nature. Just as the galley slaves in the Roman ships (see Ben Hur) were slaves to the ship, unable to get free, and bound to go down with the ship unless some outside power freed them, man is slave to his depraved nature, doomed to “go down with the ship” as it were, unless some outside power frees them. Therefore, man is in absolute need of a Savior! Lord willing, this series of messages will present that Savior. Ravi Zacharias’ tells of a play he attended with one of his contacts while ministering in (I think) Cambodia in the years immediately before the Viet Nam war. In short, while it was not intended to, it pictures the plight of depraved man in the midst of his ethical and religious attempts to escape hell and gain heaven. There was a poor peasant who loved a beautiful girl, and she loved him. But the prince desired the girl, not because he loved her, but for her beauty. Using his princely power, he stole the girl. The peasant complained to the king, who upon hearing both the prince’s story and the peasant’s story, of course, said that the peasant was lying, and that he would have the peasant killed. A monk entered the scene and told the king that he had a “truth serum”. He would give both the prince and the peasant the serum and let them each have 5 minutes alone with the girl. To prevent any physical contact, he would have them each carry one end of a long pole with a barrel between them. When they came back, the monk would be able to tell which one was telling the truth. The prince held his end up higher, shifting the weight more onto the girl. As they walked, he told her that if she didn’t tell the king that she loved him he would the peasant killed. The peasant made sure that he lowered his end of the pole so that he got most of the weight. The girl assured him that she loved him, but only said that she loved the prince because the prince would have the peasant, whom she loved, killed if she didn’t. Unbeknown to any of them, the monk had hidden a small boy in the barrel who was recording both conversations. He reported to the monk, who then reported to the king, that the prince was lying, and the girl really loved the peasant. In our western society, after the pattern of Hans Christian Anderson stories, and most “Christian fiction” stories today, this would have settled the issue, and the peasant and the girl would have lived happily ever after. But those eastern plays don’t end that way. The king said that they were all lying, and had the peasant, the girl, the monk, and the little boy killed. After the play, Ravi asked his host, “What was missing in that play?” His host, who wasn’t a Christian, replied, “A savior.” THAT IS THE CONDITION WE FIND ADAM AND EVE IN, NOW THAT THEY HAVE BOUGHT THE DEVIL’S LIE - AND THAT IS THE CONDITION YOU AND I ARE IN UNLESS WE BELIEVE THE BIBLE’S CLAIM ON OUR LOST SOULS! WE NEED A SAVIOR. Ah, but I’ve read the book. There is a Savior! As it was with that peasant and the girl, no amount of our effort can suffice to deliver us from the sure penalty of sin. “…the soul that sinneth, it shall die.” (Ezekiel 18:4) Scripture is not speaking of physical death there, although physical death is part of the result of sin. Hebrews 9:27, “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” clarifies that issue. What Ezekiel 18:4 is referring to is “the judgment”, the “second death” of Revelation 20:14: “And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.” We are living in a period of time now when many are worried and afraid of what the future holds, given the increase of “natural catastrophes”, the moral-ethical state of society, and the political state of the world and our nation. We make no prophetic statement in regard to those events. But be sure of this, dear reader; the worst that the increase of “natural catastrophes”, the moral-ethical state of society, and the political state of the world and our nation can throw at us can never compare with the eternal horrors of the second death. Jesus describes it as a place of torment - and a place from which there is no escape - in Luke 16:19-31. “…for I am tormented in this flame… there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot… neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.” (vv 24 and 26) He also describes it as eternal. “…Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.” (Mark 9:44, 46, 48, three times for emphasis.) The passage in Luke 16 also indicates that those there will remember - remember life on earth. While they are undergoing the torment described as “flame”, they will also face the torment of remembering the messages from the Word of God, remembering the pleading call of the evangelists, remember this message - knowing that they were given time to repent. THE “COULD HAVE, SHOULD HAVE, BUT DIDN’T” SYNDROME WILL HAUNT THEM - OR YOU - FOR ETERNITY. Do I dare suggest that there will be hotter flame for those who ridicule the gospel message, and write it off as the ranting of religious extremists? YES - and especially for so-called Christian preachers who know both the gospel message - and the gospel responsibility - but dilute and otherwise pollute the gospel! “And that servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.” (Luke 12:47-48) The Bible makes it perfectly clear who will or will not experience “the second death”. “And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:15, emphasis added) Oh, flee to Jesus now! Pray that “sinner’s prayer”, “God be merciful to me a sinner”! Many of my Calvinist brethren refuse to use that “sinner’s prayer” because it is too often abused - BUT JESUS CHRIST WOULD NOT HAVE GIVEN IT TO US IF HE DID NOT INTEND FOR IT TO BE USED! It must be taken in context, in the manner that the publican in the parable used it. “And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.” (Luke 18:13) A) “standing afar off” - recognizing his unworthy condition to come to Christ. B) “would not lift up his eyes” - humility. C) “smote upon his breast” - repentance. D) “be merciful to me “ – admission of his unworthiness yet need for mercy. Oh but we can’t leave it here. To do so would leave you teetering on the question, “Am I worthy of God’s mercy”. The only right answer to that question would be a resounding “NO”! We can’t take the time to preach on that verse now. Maybe, by God’s grace, and by God’s permission, we can preach on it after the first of the year, but this series, “From Eternity to the Cross”, will most likely take until after the first of the year. Those of you who are already recipients of God’s rich mercy, I hope will rejoice - and pray for these messages. But this much we must insert here. It is doubtful that the publican in the parable knew Exodus 33:19, “…and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy”, but he surely knew he was not worthy of God’s mercy, so he begged God for mercy. MERCY IS ALWAYS FOR THOSE WHO ARE NOT WORTHY; ELSE IT WOULD NOT BE MERCY! Mercy is shown by - and at - the sovereign grace of God! You cannot bargain for it. You must come like that publican, humbly confessing your need of mercy - not depending on having turned over a new leaf; not depending on a correct doctrine. You must come with heart conviction of the description in Ephesians 2:1, “And you…who were dead in trespasses and sins”, and totally depending of verse 4, “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,” (emphasis added) Begging God for His mercy is not “salvation by works”. It is the natural response of a heart, brought by God” grace, to that dreadful conviction of sin! Begging for mercy does not make anyone any more worthy of mercy than if he had not begged. It is just - finally - his admission that he is surrendering - throwing down his defenses - and that he needs mercy! Our churches, even our pulpits, today are too full of people who have made a treaty with God but not surrendered to God. You can believe in your need of mercy from now to doom’s day, and still stand before the Great White Throne (Revelation 20:11-15) and be asked, “If you believed it, as you claim you do, why didn’t you sue for that mercy?” Many of our readers will sue, at the drop of a hat, for something they thing is their due, but take the saving grace of God for granted. Oh, you will sue for it at that Great White Throne, but it will be too late. Dear reader, can you – will you come that way? Will you, honestly and prayerfully, stop taking God’s saving grace for granted, and sue for God’s saving grace? This writer is ready and desirous to pray with you. Like Spurgeon, after the message his study door was open. Call me on the phone, send me an email, write me a letter, or if you are within driving distance come knock on my door. Make sure your name is written in “The Lamb’s Book of Life”! Pastor Ray 271 Gray Rd., Ithaca, NY 14850-8761 607-272-6240 / 607-351-6666 cinfused@gmail
Posted on: Tue, 22 Oct 2013 14:31:36 +0000
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