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Was Lucifer a Musician? (Part 2)

Oct24

Yesterday, I detailed the warning prophecy given by the prophet Ezekiel in chapter 28 of his book. If you did not get a chance to read this post, please do so before reading the rest of Part 2! It is important for continuity.

As I mentioned, Ezekiel 28:11-19, often attributed to a description of Lucifer, was actually a lamentation directed towards the King of Tyre, inhabited by the Israelite tribe of Asher. Wondering if there was actually any correlation between this prophecy and this description of Lucifer we have referred to for centuries, I went online and found the following written in the 1700’s by Jonathan Edwards, the fiery revivalist preacher and pioneer of the Reformed Church, as well as a major figure in the First Great Awakening. He writes the following of this passage: “Satan, or Lucifer, or Beelzebub, being the archangel…conceived rebellion against the Almighty and drew away a vast company of the heavenly hosts with him….This angel, before his fall, was the chief of all the angels, of greatest natural capacity, strength, and wisdom, and highest in honour and dignity, the brightest of all those stars of heaven, as is signified by what is said of him, under that type of him, the king of Babylon (Isaiah 14:12), ‘How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!’ This signifies his outshining all the other stars, as the morning star outshines the rest. It is yet more manifest from what is said of the king of Tyrus (Tyre), as a type of the devil, in Ezekiel 28:12-19….It is exceeding manifest that the king of Tyrus is here spoken of as a type of the devil, or the prince of the angels or cherubim that fell. Because he is here expressly called an angel or cherub, once and again, Ezekiel 28:14, 16…and is spoken of as a fallen cherub. He is spoken of as having been in heaven under three different names; Eden (the Garden of God or Paradise of God) – v. 13; the Holy Mountain of God – v. 14, 16; and the Sanctuary – v. 18.

“He is spoken of as in his first estate, or the state wherein he was created, to be perfectly free from sin, but afterwards falling by sin (v. 15)….The iniquity by which he fell was pride….He is represented as being cast out of heaven, and cast down to the earth for his sin. (v. 16, 17)”

So, I am convinced that this portion of Ezekiel is not only  directed against Tyre, but also depicts in a sort of allegorical way, a picture of Lucifer, whom we also know as Satan. The name Lucifer literally means “morning star” in Latin, or “light-bearing“. No wonder Jesus actually saw him fall from Heaven as lightning!

In Ezekiel 28:13 we not only read of the ten precious stones that covered him, but of the workmanship of his timbrels and pipes. Isaiah 14:11 says, “Your pomp is brought down to Sheol (or the grave), and the sound of your stringed instruments….” (NKJV)

These verses list instruments from all three of the musical families: The timbrels (or tambourines) are a part of the percussion family; the pipes are indicative of woodwinds, brass and flutes; stringed instruments (also translated harps) include the violin family, guitars and pianos. It seems to me that Lucifer could have actually been a musical instrument!! Not only could he play an instrument, but the Word speaks of the workmanship of his timbrels and pipes; then it mentions the sound of your stringed instruments.

Wow! Does this send chills down your spine? Is it any wonder that Lucifer (Satan) controls the music of the world and is called the “prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience….” (Eph. 2:2, NKJV)? It is fairly obvious when one observes the music being lewdly performed on the stage, TV, and on the airwaves that the majority of the latest “hot” trends derive themselves from the basest of desires, ultimately having roots in Satan’s musical kingdom. Most of the popular hip-hop, rock and rap groups claim some sort of allegiance to the darker side, including the occult, profanity, disrespect for authority, indulgence in sexual appetites and promiscuity and complete and utter abandonment of God and His principles. Who else could be behind this music but Lucifer, the brightest of the archangels and chief of the musicians and worship leaders in Heaven? He hates God and all He represents so much so that after he was cast out of His presence, he determined to spend his remaining days deceiving people, especially musicians, into making music that is as anti-God as possible.  And he is pretty good at his job!

Does he try to influence Christian musicians and worship leaders, as well? The answer, unfortunately, is yes, if they allow him to gain access to their minds and talents. Petty jealousy and vying for authority, the exact same things that got Satan thrown out of Heaven, run rampant among church musicians and worship leaders today just as they did when Satan and one-third of the angels were cast out of Heaven thousands of years ago. If musicians who love God give into the work of the Enemy, they also can fall prey to his deceptive voice speaking things such as, “Why aren’t you in charge of the music around here?”; “Why is that person up there playing and not you? You’re more talented than they are!”; “Who does he think he is, coming in here and ruining your starring role on stage?”;  “Show her who’s in charge around here…don’t let her up here to perform!”  Sound comical?  Sadly, often times these ideas often dominate church music programs.  They also hinder the work the Holy Spirit desires to perform through worship.

Competition, envy and jealousy have no place in a church, not in the pastor’s role, nor in the music minister or worship leader’s, nor in the musicians who regularly lead worship. These are things we must guard against, even while realizing who our Enemy is, a disgruntled musician named Lucifer, who has made it his lifelong task to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10) and often tries his best to do it through music! Let’s take authority over any spirits of strife, jealousy, envy or competition in the music and worship department and let the Holy Spirit move in freedom and power to change lives and transform hearts!

Was Lucifer a Musician? (Part 1)

Oct23

Did I get your attention with the title? Thought I might! Through the years I’ve read and heard from childhood the stories of how Satan used to be an archangel in Heaven, became jealous and wanted to usurp God’s position, not being satisfied to be “just an angel”. Eventually he was cast out of Heaven by God.  Jesus speaks of this event in Luke 10:18, to his disciples: “And he said to them, ‘I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.’” (ESV) So we know in essence that this is the short version of what happened to Lucifer, or Satan, commonly referred to simply as “the devil”.

I decided to dig a bit deeper and see if I could find out in more detail who this creature really was and what happened to anger the Father so much that he actually threw him out of Heaven!

I went to the very familiar account in Ezekiel 28 often attributed to Satan. Verses 12b, – 14a state, “You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering: The sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes was prepared for you on the day you were created. You were the anointed cherub who covers….” Verse 15 says, “You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was found in you.” Verse 17 adds, “Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty. You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor; I cast you to the ground….” (NKJV)

I was always taught that this is a Biblical account of how the extremely beautiful angel, Lucifer, gave into pride, jealousy and sin, resulting in his expulsion from Heaven, taking one-third of the angels with him, known as demons, harassing and creating havoc in the lives of people who allow them in, those who are unaware of their position in Christ and the protection afforded them through His blood! I still entirely believe this!

But, what surprised me as I was doing research for this article, was “the rest of the story”!  Ezekiel 26 – 28 actually contains the Word of the Lord prophesied by Ezekiel against Tyre, a beautiful city located near Nazareth, the crown jewel of the Mediterranean, largely occupied by the descendants of the Israelite tribe of Asher! As we know by reading the historical accounts in I & II Samuel and I & II Kings, Israel and Judah had divided centuries before, had been in and out of war with each other, had separate kings and kingdoms, and, in short, had disobeyed God in most matters.  The majority of their kings were wicked; only a handful did what was right in the sight of God, serving Him and leading their kingdoms in His ways;  even most of these retained “the high places” (or altars to idols) probably because they were afraid of the repercussions if they destroyed them!  It sounds a lot like today…most things allowed to go on in our country and even in our churches remain because of fear!  Very few are brave enough to serve God entirely and speak out against sin, following the path of righteousness laid out in His Word!  I really don’t think things have changed much from thousands of years ago.  Human nature is still the same!

Given this background (I will get back to the story of Lucifer; please bear with me!)….God put upon the heart of the prophet Ezekiel to prophesy evil against many tribes and countries.  If you are interested, just begin reading a few chapters back and you’ll see that he went down the line against many kingdoms, pronouncing severe judgments against them if they would not repent!  Prophets are not very popular people, needless to say!  In Chapters 26 and 27, Ezekiel starts his lamentation against Tyre.  In verses 11 and 12 of Chapter 28, we read, Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Son of man, take up a lamentation for the king of Tyre, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord God:’” (NKJV)  Then follow the verses previously mentioned, usually attributed to Satan.

So, I began to wonder about this place called Tyre, and looked it up in Halley’s Bible Handbook. Here is what it says:  “Tyre, located 60 miles northwest of Nazareth, was a double city, one part on an island, the other on the mainland in a fertile and welll-watered plain at the western foot of the Lebanon mountain range. A city of incomparable beauty, it was the great maritime power of the ancient world at its zenith, with colonies on the north and west coasts of Africa, Spain and Britain, controlling the commerce of the Mediterranean, with the wares of all nations passing through its port; a city renowned for its splendor and fabulous wealth.  With its subjugation by Nebuchadnezzar it ceased to be an independent power.  It was later subdued by the Persians; and again by Alexander the Great (332 B.C.).  It never recovered its former glory, and has for centuries been a “bare rock” where fishermen “spread their nets”, thus fulfilling Ezekiel’s prophecy (Ezek.  26:5 & 6).”

 The Catholic Encyclopedia continues this horrific tale of woe, stating that Tyre (known as the Mistress of the Mediterranean) was captured by Alexander the Great in 332 B.C., after a seven month siege.  6,000 defenders were beheaded; 2,000 were crucified; and more than 30,000 women, children and servants were sold into slavery.  In 1291, Tyre was finally captured by the Mussulmans (Turkish and Persian Muslims) and completely destroyed.  It was never fully restored and remains a very small community to neighboring Beirut, Lebanon to this day.  Its glory days, sadly, were behind it!  Could this happen to a “super-power” nation today that has forgotten God and His commandments?  I believe it could.

Tomorrow, in Part 2, I am going to explore the connection to Ezekiel’s warning prophecy to the King of Tyre (which unfortunately came to pass in entirety because the wicked did not repent), and Lucifer, the “angel of light” who, it appears, was a musical instrument, as well.