51Babel
Chemah
…Venomous
2
‘El ‘Any | My God
Who do Yah Think You’re Fooling?
Paul Simon’s, Loves Me Like a Rock, seems appropriate at this juncture. It begins: “When I was a little boy and the devil would call my name, I’d say, ‘Now who do, who do you think you’re foolin’?’” The answer, at least by all appearances, is almost everyone.
From dazzling shows of derring-do over the skies of Babylon to tortuous displays of BDSM, from twenty ways to kill a Jew to sadistic portrayals of pedophilia, from the degrading and dehumanizing of Jewish women to boiling them alive, and from destroying Tyre never to be seen again to boasting of her prowess, we have seen and heard it all. And yet, we press on wondering what lies around the next bend.
Looking deeply into a dark mirror of shattered glass, Satan weaves a picture of himself into the tale of Tyre, albeit with an incomplete, run-on sentence…
And it is a word (wa hayah dabar) of This Is Not Him (#^^#!) to me to say (‘el ‘any la ‘amar), (Yachezq’el / Ezekiel 28:1) son of Adam (ben ‘adam), you must say (‘amar) to the government leader (la nagyd) of Tyre (Tsor – Rock, now spelled without the Wah), thus said (koh ‘amar) my Lord and Master (‘adony), This Is Not Him (#^^#!):
Because (ya’an) your self-assessment and personal perceptions, your ambitions and intent (leb ‘atah – your heart), have been high and mighty, exalted and arrogant 52(gabah – he was a self-aggrandizing moral failure improperly elevating his status above the most high (qal perfect third-person masculine singular)), and you have said (wa ‘amar), a god, myself (‘el ‘any), I reside, sitting enthroned with gods (mowshab ‘elohym), dwelling (yashab) in the heart of the seas (ba leb yamym), and yet you are a mortal man (wa ‘atah ‘adam) and not a god (wa lo’ ‘el), and you offer (wa nathan) your judgment and ambitions (leb ‘atah) like (ka) the judgment and ambitions (leb) of gods (‘elohym). (Yachezq’el / Ezekiel 28:2)
Having begun his declaration with ya’an | because, the Lord’s assessment requires a result to convey a complete thought. But that’s the rub – Satan does not want there to be a consequence. His only issue with the Tyrian leader is that he is a lowly mortal striving to be God rather than a more distinguished, and already elevated, spirit such as himself.
While it is odd that the Lord of Babel spells the city’s name differently throughout his assault on it, it is also worth noting that every reference to Tyre up to this point has been via ‘ath | you feminine. Tsowr is a proper noun and thus without gender and its basis, tsuwr | rock, is masculine. However now, when describing himself, Tyre is addressed as ‘atah | you masculine singular.
It is also peculiar that the Lord doesn’t know the name of Ithoba’al III, the Tyrian king during Nebuchadnezzar’s attempted siege. Making this particularly weird, the Lord of Babel will wax poetic over Ithoba’al as we proceed throughout this chapter. And proudly sporting a moniker which means “With the Lord,” his name is actually perfect in this regard.
Two centuries previous to this date, circa 870 BCE, we were introduced to Ithoba’al’s forefather from Tyre’s more grounded twin, Sidon…
53“And it came to be, as if a trivial thing (qa hayah ha qalal) for him [Melek ‘Ach‘ab | King Ahab of Israel], to walk in the misguided and mistaken ways (halak huw’ ba chata’h) of Jeroboam (Yarab’am – Contentious People), son of Nebat (Nabat – to have noticed). So, he took a wife (wa laqach ‘ishah), Jezebel (‘Iyzebel – I Am Exalted), the daughter (bath) of Ethbaal (‘Ethba’al – With the Lord), king (melek) of the Sidonians (Tsiydoniy). And so, he went (wa halak) and served (‘abad) the Lord (‘eth ha Ba’al), speaking for and worshiping him (wa chawah la huw’). (Melekym / 1 Kings 16:31)
Ahab was a menace to society. Even worse, Jezebel was a religious whore. But the most diabolical import from Sidon was Ba’al | the Lord – better known as Satan.
In the history of Tyre and Sidon presented by the Phoenician author, Menander of Ephesus, in Against Apion, it was reported that the previous king, Phelles, “was slain by Ithoba’al, the priest of Astarte.” And that he “reigned 32 years, living 68 years, before being succeeded by his son, Ba’al-Eser II.” Having had a father who was a murderous, power-seeking priest, certainly explains lovely Jezebel’s religious ways.
Leb, typically translated as “heart,” read differently to the original audience than it does today. We tend to view it as an emotional term while it represented the seat of judgment back in the day. Therefore, leb ‘atah is indicative of the personal perceptions and self-assessment of the Lord and Master of the city. It conveys his motivations and intent.
Gabah brings us to the heart of the matter. Written in the qal perfect third-person masculine singular, we are dealing with a particular individual who would be perceived as overly grand for a while. He would be high and mighty, exalted and praised. Therefore, this stand-in for Satan is being lauded as a self-aggrandizing individual 54intent on elevating his status above the Most High. To gabah is to hold too high an impression of oneself and to attempt to elevate one’s status in spatial dimensions. The root cause of this gabah is arrogance, self-exaltation, and pride. In a word, we are witnessing Satan’s essential essence.
However, rather than being frustrated by this desire to be elevated above man and God, appreciate that this is Satan’s purpose. He serves as the religious alternative to the relationship Yahowah is offering. He is playing a role consistent with his design, filtering out those who would prefer to remain in Egypt and Babylon.
Satan’s adversarial role is proof that Yahowah does not want to save everyone, nor even the majority of the people, but only the few who value knowing Him while responding in the manner He has prescribed.
In the Gan ‘Eden, Satan provided the alternative to joyously living with Yahowah. He played his role by deliberately misappropriating and misconstruing Yahowah’s instructions, telling Chawah that she could join him and become like God through the knowledge of good and bad. She bit, ‘Adam joined her, and nothing has changed over the course of the ensuing 6,000 years. The majority still prefer to believe the Lord rather than trust Yah.
As stated moments ago, within certain parameters, Satan had no issue with someone’s desire to become more like God because it is what he, himself, strove to achieve. In particular, based upon the tactics he deployed in the Garden, he wasn’t concerned that the woman wanted to be a goddess because she could serve at his side. But when a mortal man, as the leader of the people, made this choice, it was perceived to be problematic because he would become a competitor of sorts, stealing some of Satan’s limelight.
55Moreover, the Adversary has been playing a twisted and psychotic game with humans from the beginning. He wants to Lord over and use mankind to foil God, and that ambition is best served when he gets men and women to worship him as if he were God. For that to occur, he must both court humanity by promising heaven while threatening those who do not capitulate with hell.
If you will recall, the child representing Jewish women in the 16th chapter was praised before she was abused. Then, ever the crazymaker, Tyre was obliterated before being acclaimed. This is a primary control mechanism deployed by narcissists and psychopaths and is frequently deployed to establish religious control. It will emerge here again as a prevalent theme in Ezekiel 28.
It has become evident that the Lord of Babel has limited interest in lording over Jews, preferring instead to kill them. After all, with Yahowah’s prophets swept aside and incriminated, Gentiles become much easier to fool. And in this regard, since Yahuwdym are tied to the Land, Gentiles are of the Sea. This is the reason behind the constant reference to Tyrians being in the heart of the sea.
Throughout human history, the leaders of empires and institutions have either presented themselves as gods or as their god’s authorized agent. It is even true today with kings, queens, royalty, and popes. They align the judgment and ambitions of their gods such that they model their own. Paul’s Jesus and Muhammad’s Allah are prime examples of gods reflecting human characteristics.
At this point, we come to one of the strangest portrayals found within the Christian and Jewish Bible…
Behold (hineh), wiser are you and more learned (chakam ‘atah – more knowledgeable and intelligent are you) than Danel (min Dan’el). Nothing is precluded or hidden from you because there is nothing you cannot 56achieve and no rival or equal to you (kol satam lo’ ‘amam ‘atah). (Yachezq’el / Ezekiel 28:3)
For the first time separated from the trinity of righteous superheroes, Dan’el | Danel now stands apart from Noach | Noah and ‘Iyowb | Job. He is evidently the only smart one of the bunch.
If you recall, in the Corpus Tablettes Alphabetiques, dating to 1350 BCE and found in Ras Shamra, Syria, the text presents Danel as a “righteous ruler” who “adjudicates on behalf of widows and orphans.” The first of three extant tablets depicts Danel going to the temple of Ba’al for six days to pray for a son, which Ba’al | the Lord asks ‘El, the god of the Canaanites, to provide. This Danel is the only illustrious person of this age whose name is known to history and is, therefore, the Danel to whom Satan is comparing himself.
The mythical Danel and King Ithoba’al were not contemporaries, separated as they would be by seven centuries. Further, with a name like Ithoba’al | With the Lord, he could not have been very bright. And at the time, his city was being besieged by the Babylonians, an assault that he could not thwart. It would take the imagination of his son, King Ba’al, to turn Nebuchadnezzar away.
Even for God, things are hidden, albeit by design. No man has access to the great mysteries of creation, life, time, and space. The more we learn, the more we recognize that we do not know.
As for rivals, the king of Tyre wasn’t even the baddest boy on his block. Sidon was considerably bigger as was Damascus; and Nebuchadnezzar, who was vastly more powerful, was on his doorstep. But such is the nature of Satan’s personal overestimation of himself. He perceives himself as the smartest of all creation, without a rival.
57Continuing to project himself onto the nameless king, the Lord of Babel proclaims…
With your wisdom and capabilities, your expertise and dexterity (chakmah ‘atah), and with your intelligence and understanding (wa ba tabuwnah ‘atah – your logic, reasoning, and insights), you have made (‘asah) yourself strong and wealthy (la ‘atah chayil – yourself capable and powerful).
And you have done the work to gain (wa ‘asah) gold and silver (zahab wa keseph) in your treasuries (‘owtsar ‘atah – your storerooms). (Yachezq’el / Ezekiel 28:4)
On the contrary, Tyre was nearly bankrupt. In the midst of a thirteen-year siege, there was no way to profit, and yet, the defenders had to be paid and the people fed, which was a collective drain on the treasury. Further, as historians survey the innovators of the day, Tyre is seldom mentioned. This is, therefore, how Satan perceived himself and cannot be describing the embargoed city’s leadership.
By your great skill and capacity to understand (ba rob chakmah ‘atah) in your merchandise (ba rakulah ‘atah – trafficking, used only in Ezekiel), you have increased (rabah).
Your strength, wealth, ability, and troops (chayil ‘atah), your self-assessment and personal perceptions, your ambitions and intent (leb ‘atah – your heart), have been high and mighty, exalted and arrogant (gabah – he was a self-aggrandizing moral failure improperly elevating his status above the most high) with your strength, wealth, ability, and troops (ba chayil ‘atah). (Yachezq’el / Ezekiel 28:5)
Once again, this is delusional. It is far more likely that Satan is projecting his personal assessment of himself upon a king about whom almost nothing is known.
58But all is not well in Tyre or with the Lord. No matter how glorious he may perceive himself, or how beautifully he is adorned as the god of religion, it is only a matter of time before he loses his splendor.
Therefore (la ken), thus says (koh ‘amar) my Lord and Master (‘adony), This Is Not Him (#^^#!), because (ya’an) you offer (nathan) your judgment and ambitions (leb ‘eth ‘atah) like (ka) the judgment and ambitions (leb) of gods (‘elohym), (Yachezq’el / Ezekiel 28:6) therefore (la ken), behold (hineh), I will bring (‘any bow’) upon you (‘al ‘atah) illegitimate and unauthorized (zar – strange, foreign, and alien), ruthless, cruel, and fierce (‘aryts – terrorizing tyrants) of the gentile nations (gowym – non-Yisra’elites, people from different races and places).
And they will draw their swords (wa ryq chereb hem) upon the beauty (yophy) of your wisdom and understanding (chamah ‘atah) and they will defile and dishonor (wa chalal) your splendor and glory (yipha’ah ‘atah). (Yachezq’el / Ezekiel 28:7)
While there is no indication that Ithoba’al thought that he was a god, we know that this is how Satan perceives himself. But he just doesn’t have the intellect to pull it off. The reference to zar | unauthorized and illegitimate strangers applies only to those who invade Yisra’el because of their special status with God and His gift of their land to them. The Babylonians were no more or less foreign than the other scores of invaders past and future. And though they were ruthless, the Greeks and Romans would treat Tyre and Judea far worse.
Further, chalal | defile would not apply to the gentile king. He did not have a relationship with Yahowah, and so there was nothing to corrupt from God’s perspective. This is simply Satan trying to act as if he were God but making a mess of it.
59And of course, the Babylonians did not draw their swords against Tyre. They were not even close enough to shoot arrows in their direction. And the Babylonians would have had to have breached the walls and killed the Tyrians for this to occur…
To the pit (la ha shachath – to the slime, toward the dungeon, and off to the grave) they will descend (yarad – they will be lowered and brought down) for you (‘atah). And you will have died (muwth) the death (mamowth) of the slain and profaned (chalal – of the dead and defiled) in the heart of the seas (ba leb yamym). (Yachezq’el / Ezekiel 28:8)
I think that the author may have intended to say: “to the pit, you will descend,” but he wrote, “they will descend for you.” Similarly confused, he has them going to the grave before they die. Moreover, he chose two too many words for death. And one is not likely to find a grave at sea.
Will you say (ha ‘amar), exclaiming (‘amar), gods (‘elohym) for me (‘any) to the presence (la paneh) of those killing you (harag ‘atah)?
And you (wa ‘atah), a man (‘adam), and not a god (wa lo’ ‘el), in the hands (ba yad) of those slaying and profaning (chalal – piercing and defiling) you (‘atah). (Yachezq’el / Ezekiel 28:9)
While poorly written, this distinction is important. From Satan’s perspective, it is appropriate for a spirit to act like a god, but it is not acceptable for mortal men to do so. As we have witnessed in the Lord’s abuse of ‘Ezekiel,’ his degradation of women, and his justifications for exterminating Jews, the Devil believes humans are worthless. They are toys in his sandbox. This view permeates Ezekiel, with the Lord screeching from every page: “No matter how obvious or numerous the lies, no matter how sadistic the threats, and no matter how 60impoverished the testimony, the faithful will devour my words as if Divine.”
The subtlety here is that men prove that they are not gods when they kill one another. And by contrast, since spirits are immortal, Satan’s claim of deification is superior.
Also, since the Devil isn’t the most rational being, there are logical fallacies in the prior statement. He is guilty of making a claim without evidence, of projecting his flaws onto man, making an ad hominem argument, and then of creating a straw man. And then there is the issue of hearsay, the absence of a witness, no opportunity for the accused to respond to the charge, and revisionist history.
What follows is true, but also irrelevant pursuant to King Ithoba’al | With the Lord. He would not have been a recipient of the Towrah or an invitee into the Covenant, making circumcision immaterial. Further, apart from shepherding Yisra’el, kings, like priests, are automatically disqualified, having failed to have met the prerequisite of the Beryth.
The death (maweth) of the uncircumcised (‘arel), you will die (muwth) by the hand (ba yad) of illegitimate and unauthorized foreigners (zar), for I, myself, have spoken (ky ‘any dabar), declaration (na’um – message, written as a noun) of my Lord and Master (‘adony), This Is Not Him (#^^#!). (Yachezq’el / Ezekiel 28:10)
Tyrians were Phoenicians, kissing cousins to the Greeks. Enamored with their bodies, and their genitalia, they viewed circumcision as a disfiguring mutilation. This was Paul’s problem with his Greek audience, and the reason he offered a New Covenant without circumcision.
So here is the truth according to the Towrah. There are five conditions which must be known, understood, and accepted for Covenant membership. These include: 1) 61walking away from Babel, disassociating from religion and politics, 2) walking to Yahowah to be perfected by attending His Miqra’ey | Invitations to be Called Out and Meet, 3) trusting and relying upon Yahowah, 4) closely examining and carefully considering the Covenant’s terms and conditions, and 5) circumcising our sons and all males as a sign of the Covenant.
The Beryth | Covenant Family and supportive Miqra’ey | Invitations to be Called Out and Meet provide the lone path to Yahowah, to Heaven, and to salvation. And since all of this is presented and affirmed in the Towrah, observing it is essential.
Since circumcision is required for men to participate in the Covenant, a man who dies uncircumcised is automatically precluded from entering Heaven. However, since there are four other requirements, one of which necessitates accepting Yahowah’s seven annual Invitations, none of which the king met, even if he had been circumcised, the fate of his soul would not have changed. However, since Satan has cast the lauded version of the king in his image, he must remain outside of the Covenant and thus be uncircumcised.
The Lord of Babel is deliberately blurring the line between Greeks and Jews so that he can speak of Greeks as if they had replaced the Jews he had sought to kill. This is the germ which would grow into Replacement Theology.
One of the reasons that I dispensed with the idea of using quotation marks to differentiate between speakers is because there is only one voice. The repetitive inclusion of “it is a word to me to say,” “thus says my Lord, TINH,” and “son of human,” creates the false impression that one individual is talking to another when it is obviously not true. It is being done so that the Lord of Babel appears more like the God he is impersonating.
62And yet, what is the point of ordering a slave in Babylon to sing a funeral dirge to an uncircumcised king a thousand miles distant other than to lament what Satan believes should have happened instead? Since the Lord of Babel had been on a roll extolling and then condemning him, why not just continue the ruse? The story is simple and direct: it is such a shame that someone so magnificent has to be put out of commission.
However, rather than singing it himself, the Lord must have a Jew do the honors, attesting that he was the “seal of perfection”…
And it is a word (wa hayah dabar) to me to say (‘el ‘any la ‘amar) of This Is Not Him (#^^#!), (Yachezq’el / Ezekiel 28:11) son of ‘Adam (ben ‘adam), it is imperative that you raise (nasa’) a funeral dirge and offer a lament (qynah) over the king of Tyre (‘al melek Tsor) and have said to him (wa ‘amar la huw’), thus said (koh ‘amar) my Lord and Master (‘adony), This Is Not Him (#^^#!):
You (‘atah – singular masculine) are the seal, the signature and stamp, the very model (chatham – the exemplar and pattern, the representation and manifestation) of the ideal paradigm, a paragon of perfect proportions, properly designed for the way things should actually be (thaknyth – made right and proven), filled and abounding (male’) in wisdom and intellect, aptitude and dexterity (chakmah – erudition and enlightenment), entirely perfect (wa kalyl), beautiful in appearance and highly desirable (yophy – exceedingly handsome). (Yachezq’el / Ezekiel 28:12)
Apart from naming the king, Hylel ben Shachar, Satan could not have made this any more obvious. The lament is for him. The paradigm of evil perceives that he is the epitome of perfection. He is the model against which all others are measured and fall short by comparison. None are wiser or more beautiful than the Lord. He is dexterous, 63having been all gods to all people, including the idol of those who don’t believe in gods. His wisdom fills the most revered books, from Ezekiel and Enoch, to the Talmud and New Testament. The Quran, Das Kapital, and Mein Kampf serve as testimony to his aptitude.
There is no informed or rational way to attribute any of this to a meaningless king presiding over a rock during a siege, especially since he is only known to history by his name. While I am the first to testify to the fact that this is Satan’s autobiography, I am not the first to recognize that the king of Tyre was a mirror reflecting Satan’s image.
The first to earn that distinction was renowned Christian apologist and church father, Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus (c. 155-220 CE). Writing from Carthage in the early 3rd century CE, and to his shame, Tertullian was the inventor of the Trinity. Also disappointing, even though he discerned the connection between Ezekiel 28, Satan and Hell, he failed to disavow the rest of Ezekiel.
In Against Marcion, Tertullian, while getting everything else wrong, realized that “the prophet depicted such cherub within primordial perfection, which was terminated by sin and consequent exile from the mountain of God such that the king represented Satan, who was an angel in the garden in Genesis 3.” This translation is provided by Abner Chou in What Happened in the Garden: The Reality and Ramifications of the Creation and Fall of Man.
How different the world might have been if the father of Christian theology had denounced Ezekiel as Satan’s playbook and kept these words from stirring up Christian anti-Semitism against Jews throughout the millennia. Good judgment and accountability remain rare commodities among the religious.
64Should you have questioned my conclusions, Satan, speaks in second person to identify himself as the culprit. There were only four individuals in Gan ‘Eden | The Garden of Joy, making the list exceedingly small.
In Eden (ba ‘Eden – with Joy), the Garden (Gan) of God (‘elohym – mighty ones, plural), you actually were for a limited time (hayah – you had genuinely been for a brief moment (qal perfect)).
For anyone who may have doubted that “the exemplar of the ideal paradigm of perfect proportions, properly designed for the way things should actually be, who was abounding beyond compare in wisdom and intellect, aptitude and dexterity, entirely perfect and beautiful” was anything other than a mirror reflecting the way Satan perceives himself, you may want to reconsider that position.
Since one would have to be stark raving mad to form a parallel between the King-of-the-Rock and Yahowah, we are left with only three other candidates. By their choices, responses, and ensuing judgment, we can eliminate ‘Adam and Chawah, from consideration, leaving us with the serpent.
And so now I wonder, how much bling does a snake require before it is worshiped as the Lord God of religion?
Every precious stone (kol ‘eben yaqar – all highly valued and esteemed, glorious and influential rock) adorns and beautifies you (masekah ‘atah): ruby (‘odem), topaz (pitdah), and diamond (yahalom), aquamarine (tarshysh), onyx (shoham), and jasper (wa yashapheh), sapphire (saphyr), emerald (nophek), and carbuncle (bareqeth). Your settings (toph ‘atah) and your mountings (wa neqeb ‘atah) are crafted in gold (wa zahab mala’kah).
65With you (ba ‘atah) in the day (ba yowm) of the creation of you (bara’ ‘atah), they were fashioned and formed (kuwn – they were made ready, prepared, and appointed). (Yachezq’el / Ezekiel 28:13)
We have our answer – nine, which is one beyond eternity, two past perfection, and three in addition to man. And let it be known, these jewels were fashioned and formed, then appointed for this purpose on the day our adorned serpent was conceived. Isn’t he the special one?
You are the Cherub – the spiritual being (‘atah Karuwb) – questioning the anointed and appointed (mimshach – ?, used only in Ezekiel as an inventive compound of my – to question and mashach – to anoint) as the cover and guardian (sakak).
I had offered you and placed you (nathan ‘atah – I had produced and surrendered you, giving and appointing you) upon the holy mountain of God (ba har qodesh ‘elohym – more literally: within the set-apart mount of gods).
You had been in the midst (hayah ba tawek) of the stones of fire (‘eben ‘esh), having walked independently (halak – having moved without any outside influence (hitpael perfect second-person masculine singular)). (Yachezq’el / Ezekiel 28:14)
Satan is claiming that he was senior among the Cherubim tasked with protecting the Garden of Eden. Then, he is saying that he was the sacrifice, having been offered and surrendered on Mount Moriah – therefore robbing Dowd of his sacrifice while justifying the myth of the Christian Jesus. He wants us to believe that he was also there on Choreb as fire emerged from the summit as the Towrah was revealed, replacing Moseh. And it was there that he walked independently and of his own accord, apart from all influences, including God’s.
66Karuwbym | Cherubim are the most important among Yahowah’s Heavenly Host of mal’ak | spiritual messengers and implements. I say this because they are presented in three places: guarding Eden, protecting the Ark of the Covenant, and overseeing the Tabernacle and the Temple. This is where our relationship with God began, where it is restored, and where we live with Him in His Home. Nothing is more important, which is why Karuwbym are depicted in these places. And they are always plural, except here in Ezekiel.
Should you be curious, their presence before the throne of God in Heaven is invalid because it comes only from Ezekiel. The reference in Yasha’yah / Isaiah 6 is to saraphym | fiery beings, not Karuwbym | Cherubim. There is no merit to having these defenders of our life, means to restoration, and our home with God on Earth also available in Heaven, because there, no one needs defending.
When we began our denunciation of Ezekiel along with the pronouncement that the Lord of Babel was Satan, there was naturally some early trepidation. Repudiating a presumed prophet who is considered genuine by Judaism, Christianity, and Islam is about as bold as it gets. So, when Satan admits that he is the Lord, and proves that I was correct in my assessments, it is reassuring.
Humans are neither created nor perfect. Our ways are flawed and often objectionable.
Perfect and unblemished (tamym – entirely without defect, blameless, innocent, and complexly unobjectionable) were you (‘atah) in your ways (ba derek ‘atah) from the day of the creation of you (min yowm bara’ ‘atah) until (‘ad) deviance and injustice (‘evel – evil) was discovered (matsa’ – was allowed to possess and overcome after having been uncovered) in you (ba ‘atah). (Yachezq’el / Ezekiel 28:15)
67We as parents see our newborns as wonderful, albeit fragile, while beautiful, too, but we know that they are not perfect. And even those who are born healthy soon reveal the proclivities and imperfections which make life interesting.
As we mature and set out on our own, our ways typically depart from Yahowah’s in countless ways. It is only when one in a million accepts Yahowah’s provisions and returns, that he or she is perfected, with their way becoming ever more like His way.
One does not have to look very far or long to see the injustice among leaders. While men and women can be good or bad, those who seek power are the worst among us.
This is Satan saying that he was perfect, just doing his job, when one little indiscretion led to having been unfairly condemned. He would be cast out of the Garden and thrown off of the mountain.
The death and resurrection of Tyre, its condemnation and laudation, followed by the deification of its King and Cherub as the exemplar of perfection, is an allegory for Satan’s life, including his rise, fall, and anticipated return after he has been incarcerated. This is likely what inspired the author of the Book of Revelation to predict Satan’s liberation from Hell in Revelation 20:7. And while it is what the Lord of Babel desires, it will not occur.
While under a long siege, there would have been no trade in Tyre. But many would have done deals with the Devil.
In the abundance (ba rob) of you exchanging one thing for another, going about making your trades (rakulah), your core was filled (male’ tawek ‘atah) with violent destruction, terror, and maiming (chamas – 68cruelty and injustice) and you sinned by missing the way by leading others astray (chata’).
And so, I am dishonoring you and treating you with contempt (wa chalal ‘atah) from the mountain of God (min har ‘elohym). I will expel and destroy you (wa ‘abad ‘atah – I will force you out such that it will be as if you never existed (piel imperfect first-person singular and third-person masculine perfect)), Cherub | Spiritual Being (Karuwb – supernatural winged lifeform), overshadowing guardian (sakak – shielding and protecting cover facilitating growth), from the midst of the blazing rocks (min tawek ‘eben ‘esh). (Yachezq’el / Ezekiel 28:16)
At this time, the Tyrians were victims, not perpetrators of violent destruction. The Lord’s Babylonian forces were trying to starve and then plunder them. So, the Adversary has inverted reality. As we have discovered with the 25 ways to kill a Jew, the Lord is a serial killer who has become the great purveyor of war.
The Tyrians and their cherub king could not have been led astray so as to miss the way without first having been given the Towrah and then misappropriating and misconstruing its message. Since there is every indication this did not occur, that the Tyrians were just gowym being gowym, Satan is indicting himself.
But he is doing so cleverly, pretending that he is God, the one dishonoring the Cherub who led Chawah astray in the Garden rather than protecting her. Since the story was dutifully recorded in the Towrah, there is no denying that it occurred, so the only option available to the Adversary is to invert the roles – which is also his life’s ambition.
The story of religion is role reversal, which is better known as Replacement Theology. It isn’t just about a gentile church replacing Jews and Israel, or Jesus replacing Dowd, or even of a New Testament replacing the Towrah, because it is also about Satan replacing Yahowah as God.
69If Satan spoke honestly of serving as one of the guardians of the Garden of Eden, then an interesting picture is emerging. He would have witnessed Yahowah engaging with ‘Adam, loving a man we now know Satan views as an inferior lifeform. That is why his messenger is called ‘son of Adam,’ and why the Devil requires Ezekiel to address him as my Lord and Master, Yahowah, while bossing him around and abusing him, forcing him to submit to BDSM throughout the early chapters of Ezekiel. He serves as the revisionist Adam that the Lord can boss around and who is used as a stooge to present Satan as God.
Having also witnessed ‘Adam’s ability to engage in a loving relationship and conceive life with Chawah, both of which were beyond him, we are able to see why the Adversary is so possessive of women and hostile toward them. This explains the abrupt transition from coveting the woman to condemning her, from fawning over her nakedness and vulnerability to justifying men raping her, from claiming to be the father of her children to burning them alive that we witnessed in the 16th and 23rd chapters of Ezekiel.
With a self-image as he has projected himself on the cherub / king of Tyre, and perceiving himself as the most beautiful and brilliant of creation, indeed, perfect, Satan grew envious. Without the capacity to love or the benefit of freewill, he did not understand why God prioritized and cherished His relationship with what he perceived to be an inferior being.
If Satan was actually among the Karuwbym protecting the Garden, then he would have heard Yahowah’s towrah | instructions to ‘Adam, such that he is the one who missed the way and led others astray when he deliberately misappropriated and misconstrued God’s towrah | guidance.
70Should this be true, and I suspect it is, then Satan did not slither into the Garden as a snake. He was already there, he was known, and he was beautiful. He wanted Chawah to direct her devotion toward him, away from ‘Adam. He would separate them before misleading them. He has used religion to achieve this same result over the millennia.
Satan would have appeared as Ezekiel’s mirror reflects: “the exemplar of the ideal paradigm of perfect proportions, properly designed for the way things should actually be, who was abounding beyond compare in wisdom and intellect, aptitude and dexterity, entirely perfect and beautiful.” And so, the child being abused in Ezekiel 16 appears to be Chawah. Ezekiel is ‘Adam. This is reimagining ‘Eden.
The dazzling portrait of the Lord over Babylon is what Chawah likely saw soaring in the sky above Eden. And so, Satan is now projecting Tyre as Eden and its rock as both Mount Choreb and the Temple Mount. And he is committed to destroying everything these three essential places represent as if they were all swallowed by the sea and lost forevermore.
No ‘Eden, no relationship with God. No Choreb, no knowledge of God. No Mowryah, no reconciliation with God.
Satan had been beautiful once upon a time, but the one indiscretion in which he led Chawah astray condemned him to the lowly existence of a snake. It is why he speaks of his serpentine venom and his lingering animosity for the judgment imposed upon him.
Ezekiel is Satan’s story from beginning to end as the Lord of Babel perceives it. Therefore, when read from the proper perspective, it is the most valuable piece of trash ever written. Ezekiel not only explains the religious degradation of men and women, especially Jews, but it also serves as the inspiration for the Christian New Testament, 71the Talmud and Zohar, as well as the Quran. Truth is inverted, lies prevail, replacements are made, and the Devil becomes the Lord God.
It is so obvious in Ezekiel, Enoch, and Daniel, in the Talmud, New Testament, Quran, and Zohar, with a sea of lies inundating the truth, that there is no denying that Satan was correct in his assessment of humankind. For the most part, men and women are not worth Yahowah’s attention and devotion. They prefer the Adversary to God and lies to truth, by a factor of a million or more to one. No matter how obvious Satan has made it that this story is about him, humankind remains oblivious. Ezekiel is the purveyor of lies, the voice of the Lord, and yet, his rubbish is placed alongside the Prophets.
Playing God while continuing to speak of himself in second person, we read…
Your judgment, inclinations, and personal assessment (leb ‘atah – your heart and thinking) were towering, haughty beyond reason, and exalted above the most high (gabah – with an overly glorified self-image) with your beautiful appearance, desirability, and brilliance (yophy ‘atah).
You blemished and corrupted (shachath – you slimed up and incarcerated) your wisdom, your intelligence, capabilities, and dexterity (chakman ‘atah) over your shining splendor and glorious brilliance (‘al yipha’ah ‘atah – your gleaming rays of beaming light).
Onto the Land and over the Earth (‘al ‘erets), I have cast you (shalak ‘atah). Unto the presence (la paneh) of kings (melek), I have given you to control or possess (nathan ‘atah – I have placed and appointed you) to view the sight and spectacle of you while sharing perceptions with you (la ra’awah ba ‘atah – ?, while used only this once in Ezekiel, ra’ahwah appears to be based 72upon ra’ah – to see or perceive). (Yachezq’el / Ezekiel 28:17)
One of Satan’s many lies was to begin this episode by addressing the leader of Tyre and praising him as if he were Divine. Another is when he pretended to be God when chastising the Cherub. He cannot even tell his own story without multiple replacements and twists and turns along the way.
It is obviously Satan whose inclinations and personal assessment are exalted above the most high. He perceived himself over and above God – smarter than God because his assessment of humankind was more realistic.
From Satan’s perspective, he was not simply cast out of the Garden and of Heaven to grovel in the dirt. He was given a promotion and placed over the Earth, even given dominion over the Land of Israel. The planet would serve as his personal domain. And once there, his diminished power and intellect would still be more than sufficient to dazzle world leaders. They would be his prey and then partners.
To prevail, however, Satan cannot be the Adversary. He must shirk that title and come to be perceived as God. Therefore, he is now roleplaying and condemning his true nature as if he were God. It is the most effective way to achieve that result, killing two birds with one stone.
From the abundance (min rob) of your perversions and distortions (‘awon ‘atah) in the dishonesty and injustice (‘awel) of your trafficking and trade (rakulah ‘atah), you have profaned and defiled (chalal) your sanctuaries and shrines (miqdash ‘atah) so (wa) I brought out (yatsa’) fire from your midst (‘esh min tawek ‘atah).
It consumed you, devouring you (hy’ ‘akal ‘atah). And so (wa), I gave you over (wa nathan ‘atah) to ashes 73(la ‘epher) on the Earth (‘al ha ‘erets) in the sight (la ‘ayn) of all (kol) seeing you (ra’ah ‘atah). (Yachezq’el / Ezekiel 28:18)
Some twenty-two years ago, I was struggling to understand in the Quran how Allah could be Satan and yet condemn Satan. Then a friend showed me a copy of the final revelation afforded Freemasons, wherein Satan sheds the Adversary moniker to become God. After rereading Yasha’yah 14, and then considering what is written, that is what is occurring here. Satan must obliterate all association with the Adversary title to be perceived as God. Therefore, disguised by other titles and names, such as Lord, G-d, and Allah, even Jesus Christ, ha Satan attacks the one thing that can hold him back. It is a particularly effective tactic because, by denouncing the Adversary, Satan disassociates himself from that title and comes off sounding as the religious perceive God.
The Chereb portrayed as perfect when presenting how Satan perceives himself is then condemned as hideous when it is time for the Lord to ascend from Adversary to God. It is a clever trick, one that has fooled Christians, Muslims, and Jews for centuries.
However, cleverness does not make Satan bright. While ‘awon | perversions and distortions was well chosen for the cherub, it does not fit the king. And while rakulah | trafficking and trade fit the notion of a king, it is senseless when applied to a cherub. Also, while Satan has sponsored a billion religious sanctuaries and shrines, neither he nor the king profaned them. Further, there is no rational connection between perverting trade and defiling sanctuaries.
It is not possible to bring fire from the midst of a cherub or man. And while fire can devour a man, that was not the fate of the Tyrian king. Further, fire cannot consume a spiritual being. Likewise, a man can be reduced 74to ashes, but not a cherub. And making matters worse, no one witnessed the conflagration, much less everyone.
With the Lord’s allegory coming apart at the seams, Satan seems to be tripping over his tongue. He was better at building himself up than tearing himself down. Who knew?
The Adversary must go, but parting is such sweet sorrow…
All who knew you (kol yada’ ‘atah) among the peoples and nations (ha ‘amym) were devastated, feeling deserted and abandoned (shamem – they felt ravaged and were depleted, lifeless and fearful in their consternation) over you (‘al ‘atah).
What has happened is terrorizing and distressful, having been a dreadful and troublesome calamity (ballahah hayah).
And you are not you forevermore (wa ‘ayn ‘atah ‘ad ‘owlam). (Yachezq’el / Ezekiel 28:19)
It is true in a way. Those who refer to their god as ‘my Lord,’ and who are possessed by the adversarial spirit of Babel, come to a point in life where he abandons them, and they feel deserted. This sentiment is clearly reflected in Paul’s sense of abandonment as he admits to being isolated and alone in his last letter to Timothy. Muhammad expressed it as well when dying a miserable death. Having thought that he would live forever, he was anguished after being poisoned by a woman he had raped and enslaved after killing her husband and children. He called his illness a curse of the Devil.
The demise of the cherub is untrue, indeed, impossible, but it is essential to Satan’s scheme. While troublesome and dreadful from his perspective, the Adversary must fall for the new god to rise.
75Wa ‘ayn ‘atah ‘ad ‘owlam is literally rendered as “and not you until eternity.” Hylel ben Shachar would be unknown as ha Satan until it is too late for most people to benefit from that realization. When eternity begins with Yahowah’s return, he will be incarcerated in She’owl as ha Satan forevermore.
And so now you know why these things were conveyed in the exceedingly strange 28th chapter of Ezekiel. It is Satan’s autobiography and playbook.
Having accomplished his purpose, ha Satan | the Adversary, posing as the Lord God, returns to his formulaic and verbose babel as he assails Tyre’s sister, Sidon…
And it is a word (wa hayah dabar) of This Is Not Him (#^^#!) to me to say (‘el ‘any la ‘amar), (Yachezq’el / Ezekiel 28:20) son of Adam (ben ‘adam), it is imperative that you set your face (sym paneh ‘atah – you must place your presence (qal imperative second-person masculine singular)) toward Sidon (Tsydown) and act like a prophet (wa naba’) over her (‘al hy’), (Yachezq’el / Ezekiel 28:21) and have said (wa ‘amar), thus said (koh ‘amar) my Lord and Master (‘adony), This Is Not Him (#^^#!), behold (hineh), I am over you (‘any ‘al ‘ath), Sidon (Tsydown).
So, I have done the honors to be glorified (kabed – I glorified myself so that I would be honored (nifal perfect first-person singular)) in your midst (ba tawek ‘ath). And they will have known and acknowledged (wa yada’ – they will have actually recognized (qal perfect third-person masculine plural)) that I am (ky ‘any) This Is Not Him (#^^#!) in acting (ba ‘asah – with doing) as me in her (‘any ba hy’) punishment (shephet – judgment which leads to inflicting pain and suffering) and I sanctified myself to be holy (wa qadash – I dedicated myself to being consecrated and sacred (nifal perfect first-person singular)) in her (ba hy’). (Yachezq’el / Ezekiel 28:22)
76Having finished with Tyre, it was time to show off in Sidon. Only one problem – it did not exist at the time. The defenders of Sidon torched the city rather than surrender it to those who were trying to subjugate them. There would have been no one around to see the ‘son of Adam’s’ face or watch the Lord strut his stuff. And perhaps, that is one of the many reasons why there was no point in time when the inhabitants of Sidon knew or acknowledged TINH.
Evidently itching to bring out the plague and sword he coveted using against Jews, they are repurposed against Sidon…
So, I have arranged for her to suffer the effect by sending (wa shalach – I had dispatched (piel perfect)) into her (ba hy’) pestilence and plague, a pandemic disease causing widespread death (deber – an epidemic of deadly words) and blood into her streets (wa dam ba chuwts hy’).
Then the slain who are pierced and profaned (wa chalal) will have fallen (naphal) in her midst (ba tawek hy’) by the sword (ba chereb) upon her (‘al hy’) from every side (min sabyb – from all around, encircling).
And they will have known and acknowledged (wa yada’ – they will have actually recognized (qal perfect third-person masculine plural)) that, indeed, I am (ky ‘any) This Is Not Him (#^^#!). (Yachezq’el / Ezekiel 28:23)
Nothing screams This Is Not Him louder or more clearly than mass murder. Methinks the Lord is in a rut.
Ah, but it’s okay because it was for a good cause. The Jews the Lord has killed every way from Sunday are no longer going to be pricked by them.
Then it will no longer be (wa lo’ hayah ‘owd) for the House of Israel (la beyth Yisra’el) the thorn of a brier (silown – a prickly plant; from salah – an insignificant 77irritant to be rejected, tossed aside, and made light of) to painfully annoy and malignantly debilitate (ma’ar – to destructively break, eliciting a negative response (hifil participle masculine singular)) or a thornbush (qowts – a sharp, splinter-like spine) to inflict physical pain and mental anguish (ka’ab) from all of their surroundings (min kol sabyb hem), the ones who maliciously malign and despise them (ha shawt ‘eth hem – who have shown contempt for them).
And they will have known and acknowledged (wa yada’ – they will have actually recognized (qal perfect third-person masculine plural)) that, indeed, I am (ky ‘any), my Lord and Master (‘adony), This Is Not Him (#^^#!). (Yachezq’el / Ezekiel 28:24)
If only he had rid the world of pricks, it would have been a better place. Unfortunately, however, the Lord is rather fond of deploying them, having been the thorn in Paul’s side. Satan would possess his apostle to control him.
As the voice of reality, I must acknowledge that Sidon was no longer an irritant to Israel because Yisra’el no longer existed. And, from this time forward, there has been no acknowledgment of TINH or Yahowah in Sidon or Israel. And that is a thorn in Satan’s side.
Also, the previous statement is one of many times where we have seen ‘adony inappropriately inserted into the dialog. In this case, TINH is acknowledging that he is ‘adony | my Lord. Someone has identity issues.
Thus said (koh ‘amar) my Lord and Master, the one who owns and controls me (‘adony), This Is Not Him (#^^#!), in assembling for me (ba qabats – by obtaining for me) the House of Israel (‘eth beyth Yisra’el) from the peoples (min ha ‘amym – out of the nations) where they were scattered (puwts) in them (ba hem) and I will have sanctified myself to be holy (wa qadash – I will have dedicated myself to being consecrated and sacred (nifal 78perfect first-person singular)) in them (ba hem) for the eyes of non-Israelites (la ‘ayn ha gowym – in the sight of the gentiles).
Then they will have settled and inhabited (wa yashab) on their soil (‘al ‘adamah hem) which I gave (‘asher nathan) to my servant (la ‘ebed), to Jacob (la Ya’aqob – My Footsteps, I grab the heel, commonly transliterated Jacob; from y – I and ‘aqab – to receive the reward and suffer the consequences of circumventing or overreaching, digging in one’s heels). (Yachezq’el / Ezekiel 28:25)
To his credit, Satan has done an exceptional job of gathering the House of Israel for himself. And as a surprise to many, he had an on-off relationship with Jacob – who is among the most troubled and conflicted souls in God’s story.
There is a subtlety here, however, that I do not want anyone to miss. The Lord’s sanctification and quest to be perceived as holy are the same in Sidon as it is forecast to be in Israel, such that there is no distinction between them. And that is why this stunt is being played out for the gowym | gentiles to see. This is because it will be the non-Israelites who will settle in and inhabit, or should we say, occupy, the Israeli soil previously given to the mercurial Jacob.
Having scribed yashab | dwell in the perfect conjugation, it would be for a limited time, and that is inconsistent with what God intends. Further proving my point, the subject of yashab was conveyed as masculine plural when Yisra’el and Ya’aqob are masculine singular and only gowym among the options is masculine plural.
And they will have dwelt for a limited time (wa yashab – the gowym will have settled for a while, inhabiting for a finite period (qal perfect third-person masculine plural)) upon her (‘al hy’), unsuspecting and naïve, indefensible and vulnerable (la betach – anxiously 79overly confident in their beliefs and perceptions). And they will have built houses (wa banah beyth – for a limited time the gowym will have constructed dwellings (qal perfect third-person masculine plural)) and for a finite time they will have planted (wa nata’) vineyards (keremym).
And they will have dwelt for a limited time (wa yashab – the gowym will have settled for a while, inhabiting for a finite period (qal perfect third-person masculine plural)), unsuspecting and naïve, indefensible and vulnerable (la betach – anxiously overly confident in their beliefs and perceptions) in doing (ba ‘asah) for me (‘any) painful punishments which inflict suffering (shephet) with all (ba kol) the ones who maliciously malign and despise them (ha shawt ‘eth hem – who have shown contempt for them) from their surroundings (min sabyb hem – out of their vicinity).
And they will have known and acknowledged (wa yada’ – for a limited time, they will have actually recognized (qal perfect third-person masculine plural)) that, indeed, I am (ky ‘any) This Is Not Him (#^^#!), their god (‘elohym hem – the gods of the gowym). (Yachezq’el / Ezekiel 28:26)
It would not have taken a prophet to predict that the gowym would be settling in the land to farm it. The Babylonians deliberately left a smattering of Jews along with their taskmasters to assure that this was accomplished.
While Satan has been constrained in time so that he cannot alter past or future events to his liking, he can read about the future in the Prophets as we have been doing. Therefore, he would have known that gentiles would move into the land Jews were forced to leave after the final Roman siege of Jerusalem. And he would have known, as do we, that their tenure would be tenuous and temporal. And as devotees of his favorite religion – Islam – Allah’s 80little helpers as Fakestinians would be betach | unsuspecting and naïve, overconfident in their indefensible position. They have even come to acknowledge that TINH is their god.
The 28th chapter of Ezekiel was worth the price of admission. The entire book is brought into focus by it. Satan has removed the veil and is staring us in the face, daring us to stand up in opposition to him.
