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Sunday school from May 26h, 2024
All right, let's pray we'll get started Lord Jesus again as we open up your word.
We ask that the Holy Spirit help us to rightly understand what is revealed there so that we may properly believe properly
confess and do All according to your holy word we ask in Jesus name.
Amen.
There's questions.
Our wireless microphone is not working.
Okay.
All right.
So questions today.
We have a we have a portable mic to do that because we're having technical problems.
Got it.
Okay last week in the book of ezekiel. We were looking at Chapter 27 and the lament for tyre
and you'll note That there's an interesting theme here that repeats itself in the book of revelation and
it's worth noting.
Especially as we start getting into the next chapter as it relates to the the lamentation against the
prince of tyre.
So if you remember in chapter 27, it said oh tyre you have said I am perfect in
beauty.
And uh, and and your borders are in the heart of the seas your builders make perfect your beauty.
They made all of your planks of fir trees and sineer and they took a cedar from lebanon to make a mast for you.
Of oaks of bashan they made your oars.
And talking about all of the different things in which through their commerce they have made themselves
Beautiful and rich and this is the problem.
And when we kind of think about how the world thinks the world puts a
huge premium on.
Well, let's start with youth.
Okay, by the way that goes away really quickly.
Um, I don't know what happened.
Yesterday I was 18.
And I had washboard abs and I you know was a swimmer and then I woke up this morning and look what happened.
Um, but.
The uh, but the world puts a lot of premium on youth on wealth.
On power and you're going to note that the way the world operates when it comes to sizing
people up.
You want to you?
How can you tell that somebody's really arrived?
Well, they can they they can wear Louis Vuitton.
Right.
It it's the weirdest thing.
It's like I and I think those bags are ugly.
Why would somebody want to pay thousands and thousands of dollars for a louis bag?
Yeah, what.
Status that's right.
And and wasn't there it was is that I don't know if they're still around but there was a there was.
People were wearing shirts that said supreme on it.
Okay, I think it cost all of five dollars to make that shirt.
And how much were they paying for those stupid supreme shirts, right?
And so you'll note that over and again the way the world thinks in terms of wealth opulence power things like
this.
Entire as we were reading last last week.
They're they're into this mindset like deep.
And god there is therefore is speaking against them.
But I would remind you there's a similar theme to this in the book of revelation regarding babylon, right?
Remember in the book of revelation babylon is the bad guy.
Babylon is the kingdom that is working against the kingdom of christ.
So listen again to the theme from revelation 18.
After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven having great authority.
And the earth was made bright with his glory and he called out with a mighty voice fallen.
Fallen is babylon the great.
She has become a dwelling place for demons a haunt for every unclean spirit a haunt for every unclean
bird a haunt for every unclean and detestable beast for all nations have drunk
the wine of the passion of her sexual Immorality and the kings of the earth have committed immorality
with her and the merchants of the earth have grown rich from the power of her
luxurious living.
Uh, you're starting to see the theme right?
There's there's a Over here.
Then I heard another voice from heaven saying out of her my people lest you take part in her sins.
Lest you share in her plagues for her sins are heaped high as the heaven and god has remembered her
iniquities.
Pay her back as she herself has paid back others and pay repay her double for her deeds.
Mix a double portion for her in the cup that she mixed as she glorified herself and lived in
luxury.
So give her like a like measure of torment and mourning since in her heart.
She says I sit as queen.
I am no widow and mourning I shall never see.
For this reason her plagues will come in a single day and death and mourning and famine and she will be
burned up with fire.
For mighty is the lord god who has judged her and so you'll note then that babylon
this this this babylon the great that's fallen this is symbolic of the of
the satanic.
World.
System and the way it thinks and the way it operates and its hatred.
Towards and malice towards the one true god and the saints of christ.
That's the idea here.
So we're seeing in the book of revelations similar themes.
I would say that these are good parallel themes that we're seeing as god is speaking these oracles through
ezekiel.
Against nations that aren't even believers in yahweh and god still is speaking judgment
against them.
Which then leads to chapter 28.
In chapter 28, we're going to hear this prophecy against the prince of tyre.
And this is where we're we'll continue.
So the word of yahweh came to me Son of man say to the prince of tyre thus
says the lord.
Yahweh.
Because your heart is proud.
And you have said I am a god.
I sit in the seats of the gods in the heart of the seas.
Yet you are but a man and you are no god.
Though you make your heart like the heart of a god you are indeed wiser than daniel.
No secret is hidden from you and you're going to note something here.
Here in ezekiel.
We have a reference to daniel one of the exiles in babylon author of scripture.
And you're going to note here that god is speaking to the prince of tyre not saying that he literally
is Wiser than daniel and that no secret is hidden from the king of tyre.
He's saying that tongue in cheek.
Oh, yeah, you're wiser than daniel.
Uh -huh.
That's that's the tone that's going on here.
Which then leads to you're going to note then how god is talking remember in scripture.
First.
First principle in understanding the doctrine of the trinity are the clear passages of scripture like isaiah 43
10 You are my witnesses declares yahweh my servants whom I have chosen so that you may know and
believe me before me.
No, god was formed nor will there be any after me, right?
So the beginning of the doctrine of the trinity is the firm belief that there is only one god.
And so here when you see men calling themselves god you'll note that god oftentimes.
Will.
Respond to their delusional claims to deity with mocking.
And with um ridicule.
Because they are no gods.
Prime example of that by the way is a very misunderstood Psalm in the in the in the
old testament.
I think it's psalm 82.
Let me see.
I'm doing this from memory here.
Let's see here.
No, let's see here.
Um.
Hang on a second here.
Um, I just look for a word Old testament council and
I want old testament.
Hold on a second here.
It is it's psalm 82.
How did I miss it?
All right psalm 82.
Listen to this psalm.
This one's quoted by um.
This one's quoted by mormons to try to prove that there are multiple gods.
So here's what it says.
God Has taken his place In the divine council in the midst of the
gods he holds judgment.
Right, and so the mormon sits there and goes see.
See.
There's multiple gods.
And you sit there and go.
No, that's not how this works.
Isaiah 43 10 says before me No god was formed nor will there be any after me.
What's going on here?
Well, let's keep reading.
So god has now taken his seat among the deities, right?
And he and he chimes in, you know, I don't know if he was given the floor properly.
Maybe he wasn't following robert's rules of order correctly.
But either way he takes he takes the uh, the speaker's position.
How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked?
Give justice to the weak and to the fatherless.
Maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.
Rescue the weak and the needy.
Deliver them from the hand of the wicked.
Well, I gotta ask a question.
What kind of deities?
Don't care for the weak or the fatherless.
Don't take up the cause of the afflicted and the destitute.
What kind of deities are there that don't rescue the weak and the needy?
Sounds like lame deities to me.
What's the point of having a god if your god doesn't even care about its creation, right?
So he continues they have neither knowledge nor understanding.
They walk about in darkness.
All the foundations of the earth are shaken here.
God is talking about these so -called gods.
I said you are god's sons of the most high.
All of you nevertheless like men you shall die.
And you will fall like any what?
Prince.
Arise, oh god judge the earth for you shall inherit all the nations.
So psalm 82 is similar to what we're reading in ezekiel.
And that is this is a psalm written written by the holy spirit through the psalmist asaph.
And god has taken on a mocking tone of those who claim to be gods on
earth.
So if you guys remember when you took Western civilization back in junior high was it sixth seventh
grade, you know when you had to learn about the fertile crescent.
Some of you homeschoolers.
I hope you're learning about the fertile crescent, right?
And so you learned about mesopotamia the land between the rivers and stuff like this.
What was that what was the most common feature of all of the monarchs all of the kings
of that period in human history.
They all thought that they were little deities on earth.
Oh, man, josh says I thought you were going to say inbreeding.
No that that that was clearly present in the in in in egyptian.
In the egyptian family line for sure.
Okay, but all of that being said in fact.
They didn't none of their in in the in egypt at the time of toot and common and all those folks.
They they're they're the royal family didn't have any branches.
It was just two trunks, you know, it was.
Yeah, it was like weird.
But all that being said the common theme of all of these Ancient monarchies is that they all of these
deities all these monarchs claim to be gods on earth.
And that's a problem.
Okay, because you know, um any of these deities around today.
Not not a single one.
I was was it nero who you know, who went up on his balcony, you know at sunrise and he
Raised his hands to dictate to the sun for it to come up.
It's been coming up ever since he's been gone, you know.
Yeah, and long before he got there, too I think he was just engaging in deception and that's the kind of the point.
So you'll note that god here in psalm 82 is condemning those Who so foolishly
claim and think that they are deities on earth?
But I would note.
Have you noticed that many of our celebrities?
Are treated as if they are little deities on earth.
Is that terrifying?
Just really think about it.
Okay, and what exactly are we rewarding these people with so much wealth and power and and
and worship that they receive.
What have they done exactly?
They play pretend that's right.
I'm not a real doctor, but I pretend to be one on television.
You're the best doctor ever.
But he's not a doctor.
So you get the idea we human beings are kind of prone to this kind of mindset.
So here God in the opening part of ezekiel 28 Is
speaking against the king of tyre with that same mocking?
Irony kind of thing going on here god.
You'll note that god does not give professional courtesy to anybody claiming to be a deity.
He gives zero courtesy to them.
Yep.
So because your heart is proud and you have said I am a god I sit in the seat of the gods in the heart
of the seas.
Yet you are but a man and no god.
Though you make your heart like the heart of a god you are indeed.
You are indeed wiser than daniel no secrets hidden from you.
That that's that's kind of the attitude there, right.
By your wisdom and your understanding you've made wealth for yourself and have gathered gold and silver into your treasuries
by your great wisdom.
And in your trade you've increased your wealth and your heart has become proud in your wealth.
Who does that sound like?
No, it sounds like satan.
Therefore thus says the lord. Yahweh because you make your heart like the heart of a god.
Therefore I will bring foreigners upon you the most most ruthless of the nations.
And they shall draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom and they will defile your splendor.
Some kind of god you are i'm going to show i'm going to show everybody.
You are powerless.
They shall thrust you down into the pit.
You shall die.
The death of the slain in the heart of the seas.
Will you say I am a god in the presence of those who kill you?
You can't kill me.
I'm a god.
Watch us, okay.
Though you are but a man and no god and in the hands of those who slay you you shall die.
The death of the uncircumcised by the hand of foreigners for I have spoken declares the lord.
The real one true god you'll note that um.
One of the things i've noticed in scripture is that when god finally acts in judgment oftentimes he chooses
judgment.
That legitimately is ironic to the the the particular sin that the person or the
nation That he's judging are known for.
Okay, you think you're a god well you're gonna die just like a prince, okay.
Now here comes one of the more interesting passages and note we're already.
We're already dealing with some of the same themes from the book of revelation.
And in talking about the pride of the prince of tyre I've already made the claim.
This sounds a lot like satan.
And listen to this, okay in scripture we get very little and I I mean just a scat
amount of information regarding the backstory regarding satan.
What we do know is that satan was an angel.
We don't know exactly what type and cherubim and seraphim aren't exactly.
The way to make proper distinctions along these lines, okay, because He was because of the
seraphim in the throne room of god and because satan is referred to as the serpent and as the dragon.
Some theologians have postulated that that maybe he's he was one of the seraphim.
And then you're going to read in this text that he was a cherub.
Is there a difference between the two?
I don't know.
Okay, here's the thing that we get just a little bit of the backstory.
So the backstory Is is is actually quite quite fascinating and a lot of people don't weigh this
part.
So we would pull this together with like isaiah 14.
And try to get a little bit of the backstory of satan.
And so listen to this.
Moreover the word of yahweh came to me son of man raise a lamentation over the king of tyre.
And I want you to say to him thus says the lord.
You were the signet of perfection full of wisdom.
And perfect in beauty.
You were in eden the garden of god.
Every precious stone was your covering sardius topaz and diamond barrel onyx and
jasper sapphire emerald and carbuncle.
And crafted in gold were your settings and your engravings.
Wait a second.
Who who is this oracle against again?
How old is the king of tyre?
He was there in eden.
I don't remember him being on the manifest for noah's ark.
So you're going to note here something this is one of the things that we see is interesting in scripture in the prophets.
Is that god will be addressing? one person.
But in reality, he's addressing satan who's behind that person.
Or satan who is exemplifying what that person stands for?
Okay, if you take a look at like ezekiel not ezekiel, but isaiah 14, let me find this passage real quick.
Isaiah 14.
Okay, it's from babylon.
Let's see here shale.
All right, let's see here.
Is it 14 or is it 18?
I'm getting old.
I can't remember these things anymore.
Okay, I.
What is it with text.
I will Make.
Let's go here.
Here we go.
I just got to go to is isaiah second samuel first second first kings.
I will make.
Okay therefore I will make.
There it is.
It was a 14.
How don't I miss it?
I second time in a row.
I've done that.
Getting old.
Getting old stinks.
I can hide my own easter eggs.
Okay, dude, hold on since you're late, ah.
Here it is.
So in this oracle in isaiah.
Against.
Okay, so the lord has given the rest.
Okay, so this kind of taunts against babylon is what this says.
So listen to this text how you are fallen from heaven.
Oh day star son of the dawn.
How you are cut down to the ground you who laid low the nations?
You said in your heart.
I will ascend to heaven above the stars of god.
I will set my throne on high.
I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north.
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds.
I will make myself like the most high.
But you are brought down to shale to the far reaches of the pit.
Those who who those who see will stare at you and ponder over.
Is this not the man who made the earth tremble and shook the kingdoms who made the world like a desert and overthrew its cities?
This you'll note this passage when you read you you read this this is like god is talking
to a human.
Monarch.
But he's describing the heart of satan.
And how do we know this is the heart of satan?
There's christ in in the wilderness being tempted by the devil for 40 days and 40 nights and the final temptation
Is is that he shows christ all the kingdoms of the earth and says all these I will give to you if you will bow Down and you will
worship me.
Talk about a sick puppy.
I mean just.
You want to know how absolutely delusionally maniacally twisted satan is.
He is the original narcissist.
Self -love to the point where he wants his own god.
To bow down and worship him.
So this idea then in isaiah 14 you see that same that same theme.
Of how satan in his heart says I will ascend I will make myself like the most high I I I me
me me.
All that kind of stuff, right?
And here's the most terrifying bit is that we can all relate to that.
Every one of us we want to be the center of attention.
Don't believe me you think back to your childhood, right?
You wanted everyone to pay attention to you.
You wanted to interrupt conversations with search yourself.
You wanted people to see how smart you were how talented you were how we we all do this, right?
People nowadays they they judge your worth as a human being based upon how many followers you have on
instagram and snapchat.
So no again here this this theme.
So are we talking about the king of tyra?
Are we talking about satan here?
Yeah, right exactly that's kind of the problem.
Okay, so you were in eden in the garden of god.
Every precious stone was your covering sardis topaz diamond barrel.
You got the idea on the day you were created.
They were prepared.
You were an anointed guardian cherub.
I placed you you were on the holy mountain of god in the midst of the stones
of fire.
You walked and you're hitting sitting going.
Where are the stones of fire?
Okay, we're talking about geography.
We've never heard of before, right?
You were blameless in all of your ways from the day you were created until unrighteousness was
found in you.
In the abundance of your trade you were filled with violence in your midst and you sinned.
So I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of god.
And I destroyed you oh guardian cherub from the midst of the stones of fire.
Your heart was proud because of your beauty.
You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor.
I cast you to the ground.
I exposed you before kings to feast their eyes on you.
By the multitude of your iniquities in the unrighteousness of your trades you profaned your sanctuaries.
So I brought fire out from your midst and it consumed you and I turned you to ashes.
Turned to ashes on the earth in the sight of all who saw you.
All who know you among the peoples are appalled at you.
You have you have come to a dreadful end and shall be no more forever.
Again, who are we talking about here?
So this this is one of those features that you see in scripture.
I think the term is this is like a proleptic prophecy.
It clearly has one thing in mind, but it has more than that one thing.
Right and so so here we get some of the backstory of satan.
His origin story doesn't sound like a good one.
He he got high on his own beauty.
And as a result of it He became the first narcissist and god because he became
arrogant and proud.
That's if you want to if you really want to talk about what's the original sin?
Since sin did not come into god's creation until that occurred.
That is the original sin.
And so when he comes into the garden of eden and he tempts our first parents now, that's the original sin for
humanity.
What does he try to convince them of?
What's what's the sales pitch to eve?
God knows that on the day you will eat of it.
You will be like god.
We went for it.
And that's the problem.
Is it any wonder that christ condemns the unbelieving world as being the children of the devil?
Desiring to do his will.
There is no truth in the narcissist.
And each and every one of us our sinful nature.
Our old adam is an old.
Well.
Practiced narcissist.
Looking out for me myself and I.
But the fulfillment of the second table of laws.
Love your neighbor as yourself.
Which.
Requires us to have an outward focus now if you want to know kind of the rest of the origin.
Well the rest of the story again, there's not much in scripture.
You know always fascinates me when somebody writes a book and they've got a whole book on demonology.
I'm sitting there going.
How do you do that?
Oh, well, we we conducted some exorcisms and we interrogated demons and you thought you were getting the
truth from them.
It's like what.
You're gonna note that in the grand scheme of scripture Satan
truly is a foe.
And he is he is absolutely waging war against the saints, but god has given us so little of his
backstory That it's just enough to know the guy that satan is like the worst thing
ever and that's pretty much it.
So listen, so listen to this next part of the details so we know that he wanted to be like
God he was created beautiful was was decked out.
Beautifully was totally perfect.
Then his he fell in love with his own beauty the original narcissist.
But there's a little bit more to it.
God cast him out of heaven as as Out of the mountain of god as a profane thing, but listen to what it
says.
In revelation 12 a great sign appeared in heaven a woman clothed with the sun and the moon under her feet.
This is not the virgin mary by the way.
This is a depiction of the old testament church.
And I know people don't like to use the word church in relation to believers of the old testament, but it works.
Okay, rome is wrong.
This is not this is not the virgin mary.
And under her feet and on her head was a crown with 12 stars.
She was pregnant was crying out in pains of Birth pains and agony.
And giving birth another sign appeared in heaven behold a great Red dragon with seven heads and ten hordes and on his
head were seven diadems.
And his tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth.
What is that referring to?
So as best as we can kind of figure it out that satan In retaliation
against god judging him for his narcissistic
profanity.
Convinced a third of the angels to join him in rebellion against god.
So.
When you kind of put the pieces together.
And look at where we're at.
And how we got here and what's really going on, you know I think of the last hymn that we sung right.
The last hymn that we sung.
My favorite line in there is and and then the end of all the war, right?
Well, when did the war begin?
It began before the garden of eden.
And the and and satan was the one who initiated the war.
It was a full -on rebellion against god with the hopes of unseating god and
replacing him with.
Satan.
That's the idea a third of the angels of heaven went for they're the ones who are the demons.
And so humanity has been brought into the war as enemy combatants of god by our fall into sin.
And and listening to the temptation of the devil who said you will be like god
so we've all been participants in the war.
As christians we've been participants on the wrong side.
As well as the right side.
But each of us were born on the wrong side under the dominion of darkness, this is enemy occupied territory if you
would.
And so as a result of that we we got it.
We got to keep an eye on really what's going on here when the scripture is describing these things.
You'll note that satan's not stupid.
And he's been watching us a lot longer than we than what the information we have about him.
He he tempts us so easily.
It's ridiculous.
He could play us like a stratavarius.
So, yeah, you don't take him for granted but at the same time don't give him too much credit because Prayer
gets rid of him.
Resisting him from in the faith causes him to flee so, you know.
For for as terrible as a dragon as he is.
And as maniacal as he is god continues to protect us.
And and has tells us to stand strong in the faith and he resists the devil and he'll flee from you.
You know, I I like luther's way of doing it when the devil just comes wrong long flatulence will get rid
of him, you know, so I'm beginning to think luther had bowel problems going back to his time in the
monastery, but that's a whole other issue.
Taco bell monastery luther talks a lot about his bowels.
I just i'm just and he's really weird when you read his writings.
So, okay.
I unfortunately have to leave on that note.
All right, lord willing we'll see you guys next week.