Was Lucifer the Worship leader in Heaven before his epic fall?

 Prophecy Against the Prince of Tyre 

The idea that Lucifer was the worship leader in heaven comes from Ezekiel 28. It reads, The word of the Lord came to me; “Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, Thus says the Lord God, Because your heart is proud, and you have said, ‘I am a god, I sit in the seat of 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 wiser than Daniel; no secret is hidden from you; by your wisdom and your understanding you have made wealth for yourself, and have gathered gold and silver into your treasuries; by your great wisdom in your trade you have increased your wealth, and your heart has become proud in your wealth. 

Therefore, thus says the Lord God; because you make your heart like the heart of a god, therefore, behold I will bring foreigners upon you, the most ruthless of the nations; and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom and defile your splendor. They shall thrust you down into the pit, and you shall die the death of the slain in the heart of the seas.  

Will you still say, ‘I am a god; in the presence of those who kill you, and though you are but a man, and no god, 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 God” (Ezekiel 28:1-10). 

A Lament over the King of Tyre 

Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me, “Son of man, raise a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and say to him, thus says the Lord God: “You were the signet of perfection, full of wisdom and beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God. Every precious stone was your covering, sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, emerald, and carbuncle; and crafted in gold were your settings and your engravings (NIV). On the day that you were created and 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. You were blameless in all your ways from the day you were created, till 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, O 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 trade you profaned your sanctuaries; so I brought fire out from your midst; it consumed you, and I turned you to the 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 come to a dreadful end and shall be no more forever” (Ezekiel 28:11-19). 

First Ezekiel prophecies against the ruler of Tyre. Tyre was an ancient city on the Mediterranean coast.  

 

Ezekiel then prophecies against the king of Tyre; but the description of the king of Tyre is strange. Why? For example, the prophet says that he was in Eden, the garden of God (vs. 13). The only people that were ever in Eden was God, Adam and Eve and the serpent who we know is the devil. So, who is Ezekiel talking about? He is talking about-who is this king of Tyre? He is not a human king. The king of Tyre was the evil influence behind the prince of Tyre. That is who Ezekiel is prophesying against. Notice the king of Tyre is called the anointed cherub. A cherub is a high ranking angelic being in this case Lucifer whose name means shining one, son of the morning. God designed him with perfect wisdom and beauty. He was adorned with beautiful sparkling jewels (vs. 13). Of course, we knew he fell due to his sin (vs. 15).  

Why many believe Lucifer was the “heavenly choir director” before his fall is because of verse 13 that says, “the workmanship of your tabrets (tambourines) and of your pipes was prepared in thee in the day that you were created (KJV).” From these descriptions, Lucifer was a shining, bedazzled walking musical instrument – a magnificent angelic being. But do these descriptions mean he was heaven’s minister of music? I doubt it. Ezekiel described him as the anointed cherub that covers - perhaps a guardian of the throne of God (vs. 14). 

 

Keeping this in context Ezekiel is clearly telling us that the prince of Tyre was influenced by Satan. God by the Holy Spirit prophesied through Ezekiel to reveal the root cause of the prince of Tyre’s wickedness. Ezekiel was not describing the anointed cherub in detail just to reveal that he was a worship leader in heaven. The description of the anointed cherub was for the reader to be made aware that God made him perfect, but he chose to rebel, so God had to judge and reject him for his sin of treachery. 

The prince of Tyre regarded himself as a god – the sin of pride. The Lord told him that he was not a god, but a man – that he would die by the hand of strangers (vs.10).  

God also told the king of Tyre (Satan) that he would also face the judgment of death due to his pride (vs.19). 

The scholars tell us that we are to exegete1 the text of the Bible and not eisegete.2 

1 – Exegete means to interpret the text by the text 

2- Eisegete is when one misinterprets the biblical text. They add a foreign meaning to the text 

Do we deserve a second chance with God?

 

We often hear people saying they have turned their life around – they deserve a second chance. I am a firm believer in what I call “natural redemption” - meaning if someone who has done wrong is contrite and turns their life around, they deserve a new lease on life. In other words, we as human beings need to forgive one another. It is important for the reader to understand that just because you forgive someone does not mean you begin to automatically trust that person again. Trust is very fragile. It takes years to develop, but it only takes one mistake for your trust in someone or someone’s trust in you to disappear. So, forgiveness and trust are not the same. Forgiveness means you no longer hold the offender responsible for the sins they have committed against you. You let the offender go free. They have been absolved of all guilt – a wonderful thing. Trust is in investment you have placed in someone. It is like money in the bank. If your bank helps you grow your investment with them, you will continue the business relationship. If the bank violates your trust, then you will withdraw your money, end the relationship, and place your money (I.e., Trust) somewhere else. Trust in human beings always involves risk. Why? Because you often do not know the character of the people you are dealing with. That takes time – and hopefully your trust in them will grow. 

 

Do we as sinful, rebellious human beings deserve second chances with God Almighty? No. As harsh and unfair as this may be to hear, the moment we commit our first morally known sin, we deserve hell. This awareness comes early in life. The reason man feels he deserves chances with God is because most men will declare his own goodness (Proverbs 20:6). Also, most people believe God is a God of love only. They choose to ignore the fact God is also a God of justice and wrath. The problem(s) with man is he terribly underestimates the depth of his own wickedness along with being abysmally ignorant of the sublime heights of God’s holiness. The two realities are mutually exclusive.  

Because God is a lover of sinful man, and abundant in compassion and mercy, He has provided the only way to that second chance with Him. It is through the Lord Jesus Christ that we can begin an everlasting relationship with the Almighty. We do not deserve this benefit. It is extended to man through grace. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God (italics added for emphasis) not of works lest any man should boast.”  

Grace is unmerited favor from God to man. The faith that we exercise to believe is also a gift from God. It is essential that we acknowledge our powerlessness as humankind, and the love and power of God. We contribute nothing to our salvation positively. Our sins are what necessitated God the Father to send Jesus in the first place. He did all the work. We are eternal beneficiaries when we believe. 

I need to make clear how this works. We come to God filthy – meaning there is nothing appealing about us that God would desire. The prophet Isaiah said this regarding Israel during their apostasy, “Come now, and let us reason together says the Lord. Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool” (Isaiah 1:18). 

 

Translation, God said to Israel, “come, let us sit down and talk. I want to clean you up. You’re defiled because of your sins-let me wash you clean.” This is exactly what God desires to do for everyone. That is real love. The Lord is offering forgiveness of sins. Something we could never earn, and something we definitely do not deserve.  

Sin is a debt, a debt owed to God. God has to be paid in full for that debt. God the Father is our cosmic creditor. Mankind is the universal debtor. When Jesus suffered and was dying in agony He said, “It is finished” (John 19:30). The Greek word for finished is teleo which means to bring to end, to accomplish, to fulfil. The verb is in the perfect tense. What this means is what Jesus accomplished in His atoning work on the cross then has continuing results in the present. A similar word is Tetelestai. Its an accounting term which means paid in full.

Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross for mankind’s sins paid in full the sin debt we owed to God. This act satisfied God’s wrath and justice legally against our sins. But, in order for us to benefit from what Christ did, we must repent of our sins, trust in Christ’s atoning work in order to be forgiven. To reject the love of God through Christ’s death is a slap in the face of God the Father and the Son. What one is saying is that they despise the fact that Jesus’ atonement is sufficient for them. To reject Christ is eternal suicide! One has cut themselves off from everlasting life. Jesus likened someone as a thief and a robber who attempts to get to God through any other means except through Him (John 10:1). If you die in your sins, you will never be forgiven. You will have to pay the price for your own sins forever in the lake of fire (Revelation 20:15). 

Jesus dying for the sins of the world is not an instant get-out-of-hell-free-card. A person does not automatically go to heaven because they die. God commands that all men everywhere repent of sins today. Only then will you be granted this blessed second chance.