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In a number of passages, we are given information about Satan’s character and position, but most of that information is describing him after his fall. In only two passages does the Bible talk about Lucifer before his fall: Isaiah 14:12–15 and Ezekiel 28:11–19.

The passage in Isaiah 14 describes what went on in Lucifer’s heart as he was choosing to rebel against God, so even though it is describing Lucifer before his fall, it is in fact a description of his heart at the moment of his fall, describing for us the moment he chose, in his heart, to rebel against God.

The passage in Ezekiel 28, however, gives us some clear and detailed information about Lucifer before his fall, information about his original nature and character, describing him from the moment he was created and going on to describe his sin and his ultimate end, yet to come.

Ezekiel 28

Ezekiel 28 is divided into two clear sections. Ezekiel 28:1–10 is a prophecy against the prince of Tyre. Tyre was a great capital of the ancient world, and this prince of Tyre is its human ruler. This passage clearly tells us the prince of Tyre is a man, for we are told:

And you say, ‘I am a god,

I sit in the seat of gods,

In the midst of the seas,’

Yet you are a man, and not a god. (Ezek 28:1–2 NKJV)

The passage continues to prophesy his destruction. The second section is Ezekiel 28:11–19, and it is here we find the description of Lucifer before his fall.

A Lamentation

Unlike the opening section of Ezekiel 28, which is clearly a prophecy, this second section is something different, for here God instructs Ezekiel as follows:

The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, take up a lament concerning the king of Tyre and say to him: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says.’” (Ezek 28:11 NIV)

God instructs Ezekiel to take up a lament concerning the king of Tyre. This is not a prophecy per se, but rather, at its heart, it is a lamentation of God over the king of Tyre. A lament is a song of weeping, a song of sorrow, so when God instructs Ezekiel to take up this lament over the king of Tyre, it is in fact God weeping over the king of Tyre.

The King of Tyre

Who is the king of Tyre? In the first section of Ezekiel 28, the prophecy is about a man, and that man is called the prince of Tyre. However, even though in the prophecy he is described as the prince of Tyre, that man was the earthly, or human, ruler of Tyre—in the eyes of the world, that man was the king of Tyre. So why then, in the second section of Ezekiel 28, does God take up a lament over the king of Tyre? If the earthly, or human, ruler of Tyre is called the prince of Tyre, then who is this king of Tyre?

As Ezekiel 28:11–19 continues, we see very clearly this king of Tyre is not a human being; rather, this king of Tyre is the real power behind the human ruler of Tyre. In fact, we are clearly told this king of Tyre is an angelic being who had set his power base over the city of Tyre. As the real power behind the earthly ruler of Tyre, this angelic being is called the king of Tyre. This king of Tyre is Satan.

Satan’s Throne

The Bible tells us Satan sets up his throne at various places around the earth, moving it to various cities around the world. As a creature of time and space, Satan, just like you and I, can only be in one place at one time. He is not everywhere, for he is not God—he is a created creature. We are told the following in Revelation 2: “I know where you live—where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, not even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city—where Satan lives” (Rev 2:13 NIV).

In this passage in Revelation 2, the apostle John is told to send a letter to the church in Pergamum, a city of the ancient world, being instructed by Jesus on what to write to the church in Pergamum. One of the things Jesus tells John to write is that they live in the city where Satan has his throne. This is the same situation as the one described in Ezekiel 28:11. Although by the time of Revelation 2:13, Satan had moved his throne to Pergamum, in the time of Ezekiel 28, Satan had his throne in Tyre, and so in Ezekiel 28 he is described as the king of Tyre, the real power behind the human ruler of Tyre. As a result, when God tells Ezekiel to take up a lament over the king of Tyre, he is instructing him to take up a song of weeping, a song of sorrow, over Satan.

Here is the passage from Ezekiel 28:11–19 in its entirety, giving us a very clear and detailed description of Lucifer before his fall:

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:

“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;

I established you;

You were on the holy mountain of God;

You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones.

You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created,

Till iniquity was found in you.

By the abundance of your trading

You became filled with violence within,

And you sinned;

Therefore I cast you as a profane thing

Out of the mountain of God;

And I destroyed you, O covering cherub,

From the midst of the fiery stones.

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,

I laid you before kings,

That they might gaze at you.

You defiled your sanctuaries

By the multitude of your iniquities,

By the iniquity of your trading;

Therefore I brought fire from your midst;

It devoured you,

And I turned you to ashes upon the earth

In the sight of all who saw you.

All who knew you among the peoples are astonished at you;

You have become a horror,

And shall be no more forever.”’ (NKJV)

The King of Tyre is an Angelic Being

As the passage begins, God describes the being he is lamenting, telling us in verse 13 that this being was created: “prepared for you on the day you were created” (Ezek 28:13).

Apart from Adam and Eve, human beings are not created, they are born, yet this being is described as being created. As a result, we know the being God is addressing here is not a human being; rather, this is an angelic being, for Psalm 148, when talking about the angels, tells us: “Praise him, all his angels . . . for he commanded and they were created.” (Ps 148:2, 5 NKJV) The king of Tyre is both a created and an angelic being.

The Anointed Cherub

As the passage continues, the rank and position of this angelic being is clearly described: “You were the anointed cherub who covers” (Ezek 28:14). Here we are told this angelic being, the king of Tyre, is a Cherub. The Cherubim (cherubim is the plural of cherub) are the greatest and most powerful angelic rank, with the closest association to God and to his throne. As a Cherub, this king of Tyre was an angelic being of the highest rank.

However, we are told not only was this king of Tyre a Cherub, but also he was the anointed cherub. This tells us not only was the king of Tyre of the highest and most powerful angelic rank, but even among the highest and most powerful angelic rank he was anointed above all of them, which means he was both set apart from them and was exalted above all the other cherubim. Since the Cherubim are the greatest and highest angelic rank, and since this king of Tyre was the anointed cherub, we know without a doubt this being was the greatest of the Cherubim, and therefore the greatest of God’s created angels, the greatest of the created heavenly beings. This is Lucifer, later called Satan. As the passage continues, we learn about Lucifer’s nature, his position, his role before God, and also, to some extent, what happened in the course of his rebellion.

Lucifer’s Perfection

Ezekiel 28:2 tells us Lucifer was the “seal of perfection,” that he was “full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.” Lucifer was created absolutely perfect, utterly holy, magnificent. The term “seal of perfection” implies God created Lucifer as the very pinnacle of the entire angelic host, that he was God’s greatest heavenly creature. When Lucifer is described as “full of wisdom,” this tells us he, more than any other angelic being, would have known and understood God’s goodness, his holiness, his love. When he is described as “perfect in beauty” this means not only was he the greatest and most powerful of the angelic beings by rank and position, but even physically he was breathtaking to behold. Furthermore, we are told: “You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created” (Ezek 28:15).

Not only was Lucifer perfect in beauty and full of wisdom, but, from the day that he was created, he was also perfect in all his ways. This means Lucifer, from the day he was created, was utterly and completely holy, good, and righteous, completely without sin—he was perfect in his nature.

From these verses we see God created Lucifer as his greatest angelic being, making him the greatest in rank and position above the entire angelic host. Lucifer was also filled with a deep wisdom, which allowed him to know and understand God better than any other angelic being, and he was made so physically beautiful he could only be described as the pinnacle of perfection. He was God’s special, exalted, heavenly prince, his greatest heavenly creation, completely and perfectly holy, righteous, and good.

Representative of All Angels

One other very important thing we learn from this passage about Lucifer is that not only was Lucifer God’s greatest heavenly creature, but he was also the representative of the entire angelic host before God, and he was also God’s representative to the entire angelic host—he would speak to God on behalf of the entire angelic host, and he would speak to the entire angelic host on behalf of God. This is an exceedingly exalted position. How can we know this from the passage in Ezekiel 28? We can understand it from the following verse:

Every precious stone was your covering:

The sardius, topaz, and diamond,

Beryl, onyx, and jasper,

Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. (Ezek 28:13)

How, from this verse, can we conclude Lucifer was the representative of the entire angelic host before God, and also God’s representative to the entire angelic host? This is an important truth to understand, and we can understand it as follows.

In Israel, the role of the high priest was to represent all twelve tribes of Israel before God, and, by extension, to represent God to all of Israel. The high priest, as well as all of the priesthood of Israel, came from the tribe of Levi, the tribe of Moses and Aaron, with Aaron, Moses’ brother, being the first high priest. The Bible gives us many specific details on what was involved in the original institution of the high priest, including a detailed description of how the robes of the high priest were to be made. These were the robes the high priest would wear when he would go into the presence of God to represent all the people of Israel, and offer sacrifice for the sins of the people. This is described in Exodus 28:15–21:

You shall make the breastplate of judgment. Artistically woven according to the workmanship of the ephod you shall make it: of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen, you shall make it. It shall be doubled into a square: a span shall be its length, and a span shall be its width. And you shall put settings of stones in it, four rows of stones: The first row shall be a sardius, a topaz, and an emerald; this shall be the first row; the second row shall be a turquoise, a sapphire, and a diamond; the third row, a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; and the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. They shall be set in gold settings. And the stones shall have the names of the sons of Israel, twelve according to their names, like the engravings of a signet, each one with its own name; they shall be according to the twelve tribes.” (NKJV)

We are told in this passage that the high priest was to wear a breastplate as part of his priestly garment, and we are given the exact measurements of the breastplate that is to be made for the high priest. We are also told that, upon the breastplate the high priest was to wear when he entered into the presence of God, it was to contain settings of twelve precious stones, four rows of three stones. The precious stones are listed as sardius, topaz, emerald; turquoise, sapphire, diamond; jacinth, agate, amethyst; beryl, onyx and jasper. We are also told these twelve stones represented the twelve tribes of Israel.

This very clearly tells us the reason the high priest was to wear those twelve stones upon himself as he entered into the presence of God was to signify that he, as high priest, was representing all Israel—all twelve tribes—before God. This is exactly parallel to the description of Lucifer in Ezekiel 28. Further, in Ezekiel 28:13, we are told:

Every precious stone was your covering:

The sardius, topaz, and diamond,

Beryl, onyx, and jasper,

Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold.

Where Aaron’s high priest breastplate was adorned with twelve stones, we see that this “anointed Cherub’s” covering was set with nine stones, all of which were also in gold settings, as were the stones on Aaron’s breastplate. This means Lucifer, the anointed cherub, wore these nine precious stones upon himself, for they were his covering, which further denotes he was wearing the stones as part of some sort of covering garment.

What is the significance of the nine stones upon Lucifer’s covering? We know the twelve stones on Aaron’s breastplate represented the twelve tribes of Israel, one stone for each tribe. Why are there only nine stones on this anointed Cherub’s covering? It is because, just as the twelve stones upon Aaron’s robe represented the twelve tribes of Israel, so the nine stones upon Lucifer’s covering represented the nine ranks of angels.

Also, we see that nine of the twelve stones on Aaron’s breastplate are the same stones as the nine stones on the anointed Cherub’s covering—sardius, topaz, diamond, beryl, onyx, jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and emerald. This is because the nine stones of the anointed Cherub’s covering serve the same purpose as the twelve stones on the high priest’s breastplate—just as the twelve stones being worn by the high priest upon his robe signify he is representing all twelve tribes of Israel before God, likewise the nine stones on the anointed Cherub’s covering signify this anointed Cherub is representing all of the nine angelic ranks before God. This anointed Cherub is the representative of all the angelic ranks before God. Likewise, just as the high priest of Israel also represented God to the twelve tribes of Israel, so did the anointed cherub, Lucifer, represent God to all the angelic ranks.

As a result, we know from Ezekiel 28:13 that before his fall, this anointed Cherub, Lucifer, was not only God’s greatest created heavenly being, but he was also in the position of representing all of the angels before God and representing God to all of the angels. Not only was that a position of highest exaltation, but it was also a position of highest creaturely authority and of the utmost trust. All of the other angelic beings would look to Lucifer, who was God’s representative to them, to speak God’s truth and God’s will to them—they trusted him.

Everything about Lucifer’s rank, power, position, wisdom and beauty was given to him by his creator, by God, and God specifically affirms this when he tells us the following: “I established you” (Ezek 28:14). Lucifer was established by God.

The Holy Mountain of God

As part of his exalted heavenly position, Lucifer is also described as follows:

You were on the holy mountain of God;

You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones.” (Ezek 28:14)

The phrase “holy mountain of God” refers to the same mount as described in Isaiah 14:13:

I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly. (Isa 14:13 NIV)

This verse, Isaiah 14:13, is from the same Isaiah 14:12–15 passage which is a description of what was going on in Lucifer’s heart as he was determining to rebel against God. In Isaiah 14:13, one of the things Lucifer desires is to sit enthroned on the “mount of assembly.” This Mount of Assembly is the same “holy mountain of God” referred to in Ezekiel 28:14. The Mount of Assembly is in heaven, and it is the physical place in heaven upon which God had set his throne—God sits enthroned on the Mount of Assembly. The Mount of Assembly also seems to be the same place described in Job: “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them.” (Job 1:6; also Job 2:1 NKJV)

The sons of God are described as coming to “present themselves before the LORD.” This “presenting” or assembling themselves before the LORD, before his throne, is almost certainly the same Mount of Assembly referred to in Isaiah 14:13, which would also be the same as the “holy mountain of God” referred to in Ezekiel 28:14. It seems the reason this holy mountain of God, upon which God sits enthroned, is called the Mount of Assembly is because it was there, before God’s throne upon the holy mountain, that the entire angelic host would come to present themselves, or to assemble, before God.

When Ezekiel 28:14 describes the anointed Cherub, Lucifer, as being on the holy mountain of God, this means he was positioned by the very throne of God, upon the top of God’s holy mountain, upon the Mount of Assembly, before which the entire angelic host would gather and assemble. Again, this speaks to the exaltingly high position which Lucifer held in heaven.

The Fiery Stones

In Ezekiel, there is also a reference to the “fiery stones”:

You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. (Ezek 28:14)

These fiery stones described here are described in the context of the anointed Cherub being on the holy mountain of God. This strongly suggests these fiery stones were also on the holy mountain of God, very likely right before God’s throne. The Bible does not tell us the nature of these fiery stones, but they seem to be connected with the very presence of God and his throne. The passage in Exodus 24:10 may have a similar meaning:

And saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement made of lapis lazuli, as bright blue as the sky. (NIV)

In the Exodus 24:10 passage, the seventy elders of Israel went up and they saw God, and when they saw him, they saw a pavement before him made of the precious stone lapis lazuli. This connects walking upon a precious stone pathway with the very presence of God.

When we are told Lucifer was on the holy mountain of God and walked among the stones of fire, it suggests these stones of fire could be similar to the lapis lazuli pavement the elders of Israel saw when they saw God—a pavement of precious stone before God’s very presence. This suggests the stones of fire, in whose midst Lucifer walked upon in God’s holy mountain, were likewise set before God’s very presence. As a result, this is another description of the exceedingly exalted position of the anointed Cherub, Lucifer.

Why a Lament?

It is important to remember this entire passage of Ezekiel 28:11–19 is specifically called a “lament” (Ezek 28:12), a song of weeping, a song of God’s sorrow over this anointed Cherub. Why does God weep over the anointed Cherub? The reason for this weeping starts to unfold in Ezekiel 28:15, “You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was found in you.”

This greatest and highest of God’s creatures, his special “heavenly prince,” his most beautiful and wisest creation, his seal of perfection, the one who was perfect in holiness and godliness, who was the representative of all the angels before God, sinned. Further, in that sin, he incited, and then led, a rebellion against God, which led to the fall of the angels. This was the origin of sin in the universe. God weeps over the fall of his highest creature.