Who was the Serpent? I. what jesus christ said about satan
When we read the story of the fall of Adam and Eve in the third chapter of the book of Genesis, we come across the "serpent". What was this creature? Was it really a snake? Some believe that, since animals cannot speak, the biblical story of the fall of mankind is just an allegory, in which each character is a certain spiritual symbol.
So, what is this mysterious person who hides under the mask of a snake? Who is this mysterious "someone" who can not only speak to Eve in a human language, but also push her to disobey the Great God?
Let's use the golden rule of interpreting Scripture, which is, "The Bible interprets the Bible." So, let's turn to the Word of God in order to find out what it has to say on this issue. In other words, let's find out what else the Bible says about this snake?
I. WHAT DID JESUS CHRIST SAY ABOUT SATAN?
One day, addressing the Pharisees who were trying to kill Him, Jesus said: Your father is the devil; and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning and did not stand in the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks his own, for he is a liar and the father of lies» ( John 8:44).
What is Jesus talking about here? What past events, during which the devil was lying and plotting to kill, are Jesus referring to in this verse?
In our opinion, the temptation of Eve fits this description quite well. Moreover, these events fully correspond to the expression of Jesus “from the beginning”, since the history of the fall of man is the first record of events after his creation. The serpent lied to Eve, telling her "no, you won't die." This was the first lie recorded in Scripture. And the title "father of lies" perfectly describes the person caught in the world's first lie.
As we know, because of the lie of the Serpent, not only Adam and Eve suffered, but all of humanity. Death entered the world through the first sin and now reigns in all people. The title "murderer" that Jesus bestowed on Satan is the best fit for the person who tempted Eve at the beginning of the ages.
Thus, we see that the description of Satan given by Jesus Christ in the Gospel of John 8:44, is an accurate description of the hard work done by the Serpent in the Garden of Eden. Moreover, there is no case in ancient history that fits this description of the devil better than the story of Eve being tempted by the Serpent recorded in Genesis 3.
A closer relationship between Satan (or the devil) and the Serpent of Genesis can be seen in Revelation 12:9 « And the great dragon was cast down, ancient serpent called the devil and satan who deceives the whole world is thrown down to the earth, and his angels are thrown down with him» and in Revelation 20:2 « He took the dragon ancient serpent, who is the devil and satan and bound him for a thousand years».
The word "Satan" means "adversary" or "enemy": firstly, in relation to God, and, secondly, in relation to man. The term "devil" means "slanderer" or "accuser": Satan slanders God against man, and man against God.
II. SO WHO WAS THE serpent?
Does all this mean that the serpent described in Genesis 3 was Satan?
The Bible says that " Satan himself takes the form of an angel of light» ( 2 Corinthians 11:14). Satan loves to disguise himself as an angel of light. But in this case, it seems to us, the situation is somewhat different, because we are talking about Zm e e.
We do not think that the word "serpent" was just a symbolic description of Satan. Nor do we believe that Satan turned into a snake. We believe that the serpent (snake) was an instrument in the hands of Satan. I see…
- …from reptile descriptions given in Genesis 3:1 (« The serpent was smarter all the animals of the field that the Lord God created»),
- …and from curses with which God cursed the serpent in Genesis 3:14 (« Cursed are you before all cattle and before all the beasts of the field; You you will walk on your belly, And you will eat dust all the days of your life»).
The Bible also tells that before Judas Iscariot left the room in which the Last Supper was held and went to betray Jesus, Satan entered him: “ Jesus answered: the one to whom I, having dipped a piece of bread, will give. And, having dipped a piece, he gave it to Judas Simonov Iscariot. And after this piece satan got in
» ( John 13:26-27).
Similarly, demons, under certain conditions, can enter the bodies of people and animals. Recall, for example, the story when Jesus cast out a legion of demons from a man. What happened to them after that? They entered a herd of pigs grazing nearby, which then threw themselves off a cliff into the sea and drowned ( Mark 5:1-13).
This once again confirms the correctness of our suspicions that Satan took possession of the body of the serpent and used it to carry out his vicious plan - the seduction of Eve.
Also, consider the fact that the snake(s) is a symbol of evil and Satan. This is also a no-brainer. The roots of this symbolism go back centuries - to the story of the temptation of Eve by the serpent in the Garden of Eden. This encounter between Eve and the Serpent is as plausible as the story of the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness.
Now, after we figured out that the serpent was Satan's tool, another question arises: can Satan really speak aloud?
III. CAN SATAN SPEAK?
When Satan tempted Jesus, he did it with words. Jesus Christ also answered him in ordinary human language. This dialogue is recorded in two Gospels ( Matthew 4:1-11 And Luke 4:1-13). Although we know the whole conversation, the Bible does not tell us what Satan looked like during the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness.
Satan is a real person. It is known that once his appearance to Martin Luther was so real that he threw an inkwell at him.
Returning to the history of the fall of mankind, I would like to quote the words of the Christian writer Oswald Sanders, who said: “Let me draw a line between the serpent and the donkey of Balaam: the talking donkey was a divine miracle, while the talking Serpent was a satanic miracle.”
IV. WHERE DID SATAN COME FROM?
God chose not to tell us too many details about the origin and fall of Satan. We know the following from the Bible:
1. Satan was God's beautiful angel - cherub:
Ezekiel 28:13-15 « You were in Eden, in the garden of God; your clothes were adorned with all kinds of precious stones; ruby, topaz and diamond, chrysolite, onyx, jasper, sapphire, carbuncle and emerald and gold, all skillfully planted in your nests and strung on you, was prepared on the day of your creation. You were the anointed cherub to overshadow, and I set you there; you were on the holy mountain of God, walking among fiery stones. You perfect in your ways from the day you were created, until iniquity was found in you».
2. Satan is the head of the fallen angels called demons and unclean spirits.
Matthew 25:41 « Then he will also say to those on the left side, Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels
»; Revelation 12:9 « And the great dragon was cast down, the ancient serpent, called the devil and Satan who deceives the whole world is cast down to the earth, and his angels are cast down with him
».
2 Peter 2:4 « God angels who have sinned did not spare, but, having bound with the bonds of hellish darkness, betrayed to observe the court for punishment».
3. Satan is the enemy of God and man:
Job 1:6-12 And Job 2:1-6 describes Satan's desire to destroy Job.
1 Peter 5:8 « Be sober, stay awake, because your adversary the devil walks around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.».
4. Satan's fall was due to his pride:
Ezekiel 28:15-17 « You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, until iniquity was found in you. From the vastness of your trade your inner being is filled with untruth, And you have sinned; and I cast you down unclean, from the mountain of God, he expelled you, overshadowing cherub, from the midst of fiery stones. From your beauty your heart is lifted up from your vanity you have destroyed your wisdom; therefore I will cast you to the ground, before kings I will put you to shame». 1 Timothy 3:2,6 « But the bishop must be...not a convert, lest puffed up and didn't fall condemnation with the devil
».
5. Most likely, the fall of Satan and the fallen angels happened ...
- After six days of creation . After all, everything that the Lord God created was beautiful: Genesis 1:31 « And God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning: the sixth day».
- Before the fall of man described in Genesis 3.
6. The role of Satan in our world.
Some mistakenly think that Satan is the "ruler of Hell." Such an understanding of the role and personality of Satan is erroneous, unbiblical.
- Jesus calls Satan "the prince of this world":
John 12:31 « Now is the judgment of this world; now prince of this world will be driven out», John 14:30 « It's been a little while for me to talk to you; because it goes prince of this world and in Me has nothing», John 16:11 « …prince of this world convicted». - The Bible also calls Satan "the god of this world":
2 Corinthians 4:3-4 « And if our gospel is closed, it is closed to those who are perishing, to unbelievers who have god of this world blinded minds». - The Bible also refers to Satan as "the prince of the power of the air":
Ephesians 2:2 « …according to the course of this world, according to the will of the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience…» - The Bible says he roams the earth and plots:
Job 2:2 « And the Lord said to Satan: Where did you come from? And Satan answered the Lord and said, I walked the earth and went around it »; 1 Peter 5:8 « Your adversary the devil walks like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour ». Ephesians 6:11 « Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the machinations of the devil ". Satan knows that he is already condemned to eternal death, but he wants to drag as many human souls with him to Hell as possible.
V. WHY DID GOD CREATE SATAN?
Question #1: Why did God create Satan?
Answer: First, God did not create Satan. Just like God didn't create Adam as a sinful man. The Lord created a beautiful angel - "overshadowing cherub", as the Bible describes him in the book of the prophet Ezekiel 28:13-17. Satan was an angel of light until pride, which is iniquity, was born in his heart. This was the beginning of his downfall. Now it is an angel of darkness or an unclean spirit.
Question #2: If the Lord God knew that Satan would tempt man, and Adam and Eve would sin, then why didn't He intervene in the course of events and change them for the better?
Answer: The fact is that God gave Adam (and in his person - to all mankind) free will and the right to choose. God never violates His laws, and never violates the free will of man. He only provides the right to choose and advises what is better to choose. In this case, the person has chosen sin and is now reaping the fruits of his choice.
We can also draw some more conclusions based on what we know about sin and the fall of man:
1. God allowed sin to enter the world even though he knew, (1) what will be the essence and nature of sin, (2) what consequences of sin await His creation, and (3) what He will have to do in order to rid the world of sin.
2. God planned to eradicate sin once and for all.
God had His own reasons for allowing sin into the world, but He is going to eradicate it once and for all.
3. God has planned and prepared for people salvation from sin given to us through the death and blood of Jesus Christ:
Hebrews 9:14 « The blood of Christ, who by the Holy Spirit offered Himself blameless to God, cleanse our conscience from dead works, to serve the living and true God»;
1 Peter 1:18-21 « ... Not with perishable silver or gold you are redeemed from the vain life, betrayed to you from the fathers, but precious blood of Christ like a blameless and pure Lamb, who was predestined before the foundation of the world, but who appeared in the last times for you, who through Him believed in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that you may have faith and hope in God»;
1 John 1:7 « ... but if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son, cleanses us from all sin»).
1 John 4:8-10 « God is love. God's love for us was revealed in the fact that God sent His Only Begotten Son into the world so that we would receive life through him. This is love, that we did not love God, but He loved us and sent His Son into atonement for our sins
».
4. God has planned completely destroy the works of the devil(1 John 3:8 « Whoever commits sin is from the devil, because the devil sinned first. For this, the Son of God appeared to destroy the works of the devil") And proclaim Your righteousness and justice through the Great and Last Judgment and the punishment of the wicked: Acts 17:31 « He appointed a day on which rightly judge the world by the Man whom He predestined, having given proof to all, having raised Him from the dead».
5. God planned to send Satan to the Lake of Fire (Hell), which He has prepared for the devil and fallen angels:
Matthew 25:41 « Then he will also say to those on the left side, Depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels
»;
Revelation 20:10 « …A devil who deceived them, thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever».
6. All who rebelled against God and did not accept the gift of salvation will also condemned And thrown into the Lake of Fire:
John 3:18 « He who believes in Him is not judged, but the unbeliever already convicted, because did not believe in the name of the only begotten Son of God»,
Revelation 20:11-15 « And I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and the books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged according to what was written in the books, according to their deeds. Then the sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and hell gave up the dead that were in them; and every one was judged according to his works. And death and hell are cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. AND who was not written in the book of life, that one was thrown into the lake of fire
».
Prophet Ezekiel and his book.
Personality of the prophet Ezekiel.
"Ezekiel" in translation means "God will strengthen, betray strength."
Ezekiel was a Jerusalem priest, the son of Buzios, and in his homeland belonged to the urban aristocracy. Fell into Babylonian captivity with Jeconiah and the first batch of 10,000 Israelites around 597 B.C. In Babylon, he lived in the town of Tel Aviv (not far from the Babylonian city of Nippur) by the river Khovar (Kebaru), which, in fact, was not a river, but a canal. According to legend, Jewish settlers dug it up by order of Nebuchadnezzar and used it for irrigation, directing water from the Euphrates River along it.
In captivity, he was not constrained: he had a wife (she was a great consolation to him, but she died in the 9th year of captivity - about 587. God forbade him to mourn her - 24:16-23), had his own house (3:24) , received the Jewish leaders there and conveyed to them the will of God (8:1) [Mickiewicz V. Bibliology]. Also, Jews gathered in his house to talk about faith and listen to his speeches.
About 593, in the 5th year of captivity, Ezekiel was called to the prophetic ministry (1:2), apparently at the age of 30 (Num. 4:30).
In his book, Ezekiel indicates the exact dates of the events, considering the beginning of his captivity as the starting point. The last date in the book is 571 (29:17), after which, apparently, he soon died. Nothing more is known from the book about the life of the prophet.
Tradition (transmitted by St. Epiphanius of Cyprus) says that Ezekiel was a miracle worker: he delivered the settlers of Tel Aviv from the angry Chaldeans, transferring them like dry land through Khovar. And also saved from hunger. Tradition has preserved the name of the hometown of the prophet - Sarir. In his youth (testimony of St. Gregory the Theologian) Ezekiel was the servant of Jeremiah, and in Chaldea he was the teacher of Pythagoras (St. Clement of Alexandria. Stromata, 1, 304). Tradition also describes the death of the prophet: he was killed by the prince of his people for denunciation of idolatry, buried in the tomb of Shem and Arfaxad on the banks of the Euphrates near Baghdad [A.P. Lopukhin].
Unlike many other prophets, Ezekiel's ministry from beginning to end took place outside the Holy Land.
Ezekiel was a divinely inspired interpreter of the Babylonian captivity, its meaning in the system of Divine Providence for Israel. Most likely, he immediately wrote (rather than spoke) most of his prophecies for distribution to the people (2:9). Only occasionally does the prophet speak (24:6; 8:1; 14:1). But in general "his tongue was tied to the larynx and he was mute" (3:27). Much more often resorted to symbolic actions.
A call to service.
God calls Ezekiel in the 5th year of the captivity, about 592 B.C. The last date given in the book is 571 (29:17). That. The time of the prophet's ministry is about 22 years.
The calling of Ezekiel is described in chapters 1-3. Here we see an incredibly complex description of what he saw on the river Chebar, namely a vision of the likeness of the Glory of God. After the vision, the Lord calls Ezekiel to serve and says: “I am sending you to the sons of Israel, to a disobedient people ... with a hardened face and a hard heart ...” (2:3-5). A hand stretches out to him, holding a scroll, which unfolds before him and on which is written: "weeping, and groaning, and sorrow." The Prophet is commanded to eat this scroll, and he ate it, and it was "sweet as honey" in his mouth. And again the Lord addresses the prophet: “Get up and go to the house of Israel, and speak to them in My words; for you are not sent to the nations with inarticulate speech and with an incomprehensible tongue, but to the house of Israel ... and the house of Israel will not want to listen to you ... do not be afraid of them and do not be afraid before their face, for they are a rebellious house ”(3: 4-9).
After the prophet spends seven days in amazement, the Lord says that he is henceforth the watchman of the house of Israel, which he will speak and reprove. If he convicts the wicked of sins, and he does not turn away from his sins and perishes, then the prophet is pure from his blood. But if he does not speak the words of the Lord to him, and he perishes, then his blood is on the prophet, the iniquity of the sinner will turn on him. The Lord makes the fate of the prophet dependent on the fate of those people to whom he is sent, and says that the fulfillment of what he is entrusted with is beyond his power, but to speak and prophesy, i.e. to risk his life, he must, without even having any hope of being heard [Jer. Gennady Egorov. Holy Scripture of the Old Testament].
Purpose of service.
Defining the main goal of the ministry of the prophet Ezekiel, it is necessary to designate two periods of this ministry, because in each of them the goal changed. The first period - before the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple: the captives considered themselves innocent, did not realize the reasons for such a heavy punishment for them, hoped for an early end to suffering. Here Ezekiel rises up against ethereal hopes, predicts the destruction of Jerusalem, shows that the Jews themselves are to blame for their troubles.
After the fall of the city and the Temple, Ezekiel tries to console his fellow tribesmen who have fallen in spirit, preaching the near end of captivity, the future renewal of Jerusalem and the Temple, where then the Lord Himself will be.
Ezekiel was a "sign" for Israel (24:24) both in words and deeds, and even in personal trials (like Hosea, Isaiah, Jeremiah). But above all, he is a visionary. Although only four visions are described in the book, they occupy a significant place (ch.1-3, ch.8-11, ch.37, ch.40-48).
The origin of the book of the prophet Ezekiel.
The book was born, apparently, the entire period of the ministry of the prophet Ezekiel: during his life he “recorded” (24:2), but finally collected it no earlier than the 27th year of captivity (29:17 is the latest date of the book).
Jewish tradition says that the great synagogue collected and published the book.
Wise Sirach refers to Ezekiel (49:10-11 - Ezek. 13:13, 18:21, 33:14, 38:22).
The book itself contains evidence of Ezekiel's authorship: a first-person narration, a language with signs of Aramaic influence and Jews in captivity (in historical reviews of the language of biblical writers, special features are attributed to the period of Babylonian captivity, which are also present in the writings of Jeremiah, Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, and also in Ezekiel), the content corresponding to the modern prophet of the era.
Features of the book.
1) One of the most important features of the book - its symbolism and description of unusual visions - is visible already from the first lines: chapter 1 is written in an apocalyptic style. Ezekiel is considered the founder of the Jewish apocalyptic.
Apocalypse is a kind of prophecy, which has the following features [priest. Lev Shikhlyarov]:
Special language: symbols, hyperbole, fantastic images;
Writing at moments of greatest suffering, catastrophes, persecution of faith, when the present is so bleak that all the aspirations of people turn to the distant future and even to the end of time (eschatology of chapters 37-48).
The transmission of the atmosphere of expectation of the speedy end of history, the judgment of God over the peoples and the visible accession of Yahweh "on earth and in heaven."
There is an opinion that apocalyptic allegories were invented for the sake of encryption from the "outside".
The book of the prophet Ezekiel anticipates the so-called. apocalyptic literature of a later time (Dan., Rev.), replete with mysterious symbols, peculiar speeches (33:32), contemplation of the mysteries of the Lord in a state of "rapture", parables (20:49), symbolic actions that Ezekiel performed more often than all other prophets (4:1-5:4, 12:1-7, 21:19-23, 37:15).
2) The priestly coloring of the book: love for the Temple, worship and rituals (Ch. 8 and 40-44).
3) Seal of Babylonian origin:
The language abounds in Aramaic, reveals the decline of the Hebrew language, which is reminiscent of the fact that Ezekiel lived in a foreign country;
There is a controversial opinion that Ezekiel's cherubim appear under the influence of the Assyro-Babylonian winged lions and oxen.
4) Sublime syllable (Ezekiel is even called the "Jewish Shakespeare").
Symbolism of speeches and actions.
The prophet Ezekiel widely and not partially, not fragmentarily uses symbols, he brings the symbolic image to the end and reveals the most perfect knowledge of what is symbolized and symbolizes. For example, knowledge of Tire and shipbuilding (ch.27), architectural design (40:5-ch.43), the last war and a description of the military field with the bones of the fallen (ch.39).
Sometimes its symbols are supernatural and revealed by God (chap. 1), so you need to be very careful in their understanding, you can not understand the book of the prophet Ezekiel literally. According to the testimony of bl. Jerome and Origen, among the Jews it was forbidden to read the book of Ezekiel before reaching the age of 30.
For its mystery and symbolism, Christian interpreters called it "an ocean or labyrinth of God's mysteries" (Blessed Jerome).
Ezekiel is “the most amazing and highest of the prophets, the contemplator and interpreter of the great mysteries and visions” (St. Gregory the Theologian).
Blzh. Theodoret called the book of this prophet "the depth of prophecy."
Among the researchers of the apologetic direction there is a point of view according to which Ezekiel deliberately introduces symbolism in order to oppose it to the Assyro-Babylonian symbolism that surrounded the Jews in captivity. Orthodox interpreters do not agree with this, arguing that the symbols and images of Ezekiel, bearing a biblical character, are written in the Old Testament language, are explained from the Old Testament, and not with the help of pagan symbols.
And such a love of the prophet for symbols, manifested both in style and in speech, is most likely due to the specifics of his listeners, who did not want to listen. Therefore, Ezekiel does not stop at any images that are unpleasant to hear, just to distract listeners from vice, just to frighten the lawless, just to get through (ch.4, ch.16, ch.23).
The canonical merit of the book.
The canonicity of the book of the prophet Ezekiel is evidenced by:
Wise Sirach, mentioning Ezekiel among other sacred Old Testament writers (Sir.49:10-11 = Ezek.1:4,13:13, 18:21,33:14);
New Testament: often refers to Ezekiel, in particular the Apocalypse (ch.18-21 - Ezek.27:38; 39; 47 and 48 ch.);
In further Christian conciliar and patristic reckonings, the book of the prophet Ezekiel takes its place in the canon of the Holy Books;
The Jewish canon also recognizes the book of Ezekiel.
Interpretations.
Origen: only 14 homilies have survived (not translated into Russian), the rest of his works on the interpretation of Ezekiel have been lost;
Rev. Ephraim the Syrian interpreted the book (but not the whole) in a literal-historical sense;
Blzh. Theodoret interpreted, but also not the whole book, and his work has not been translated into Russian;
Blzh. Jerome interpreted the whole book historically and tropologically;
St. Gregory the Dialogist wrote a mysteriously prophetic interpretation of chapters 1-3 and 46-47.
In Russian theological literature:
Article by F.Pavlovsky-Mikhailovsky. The life and work of the holy prophet Ezekiel (1878);
Archim. Theodora. Holy Prophet Ezekiel. (1884);
Exegetical monographs for the first chapter:
Skaballanovich (1904) and A. Rozhdestvensky (1895).
Composition.
A) Four parts [Victor Melnik. Orthodox Ossetia]:
1) prophecy about the judgment over Jerusalem (ch.1-24);
2) the prophecy about the seven pagan nations (ch.25-32);
3) prophecies written after the fall of Jerusalem in 587 (ch.33-39);
4) the prophecy about the new Jerusalem (ch.40-48), written in the 70s of the 6th century.
B) Three parts [by P.A. Jungerov]:
1) 1-24 chapters: 1-3 chapters - calling and 4-24 - speeches delivered before the fall of Jerusalem in order to show the legitimacy and inevitability of death;
2) 25-32 chapters: speeches on foreign nations after the fall of Jerusalem, delivered in different years of Ezekiel's life;
3)33-48 chapters: speeches and visions about the Jewish people after the fall of Jerusalem in order to comfort the Jews with the promise of future theocratic gifts and blessings.
IN) Five parts [Jer. Gennady Egorov]:
1) Calling (Ch. 1-3);
2) Rebuking the Jews and predicting the fall of Jerusalem (4-24);
3) Prophecies about other nations (25-32);
4) The promise of return from captivity, the gift of the New Testament (33-39);
5) Vision of a new arrangement of the Holy Land, Jerusalem and the Temple (40-48).
G) Researcher E. Young, in addition to dividing into parts, made a detailed analysis of the content of the chapters of each part, which can be very useful when studying the book:
1) Prophecies uttered before the fall of Jerusalem (1:1-24:27):
1:1-3:21 - introduction - vision of the glory of the Lord in the 5th year of the captivity, about 592 BC;
3:22-27 - the second vision of the Lord's Glory;
4:1-7:27 - a symbolic image of the destruction of Jerusalem: a siege (4:1-3), punishment for sins (4:4-8), the symbolism of food as a consequence of the siege, what awaits the city and what is its fault (5: 5-17), additional prophecies about punishment (ch.6-7);
8:1-8 - inspired transfer to Jerusalem and contemplation of its death;
9:1-11 - punishment of Jerusalem;
12:1-14:23 - The Lord leaves the city for unbelief and following false prophets;
15:1-17:24 - the inevitability and necessity of punishment;
-18:1-32 - God's love for sinners;
19:1-14 - lamentation for the princes of Israel;
2) Prophecies against foreign nations (25:1-32:32):
Ammonites (25:1-7);
Moabites (25:8-11);
Edomlians (25:12-14);
Philistines (25:15-17);
The inhabitants of Tyre (26:1-28:19);
The inhabitants of Sidon (28:20-26);
Egyptians (29:1-32:32);
3) Restoration prophecies uttered after the capture of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar (33:1-48:35):
33:1-22 - about the New Testament, about God's love for sinners; as well as official instruction on the prophetic mission;
34:1-31 - the time will come when the people will recognize the Lord and a true prophet will appear among them;
35:1-15 - desolation of Edom;
36:1-38 - the revival of the Israelite people;
37:1-28 - about the prophet's vision of a field of bones as a symbol of the resurrection of Israel and the world;
38:1-39:29 - the prophecy about Gog and Magog.
Chapters 37-39 are a single whole: after chapter 37, the question arises, can anyone break the connection of the Jews with God? The answer can be found in chapters 38 and 39: there will be such enemies, but the Lord will not leave the Jews, for with them there is an eternal covenant, and God will destroy enemies. Those. these chapters should be a consolation to the people.
38:8 describes the time of the appearance of enemies (as well as 38:16) (cf. Acts 2:17, Heb. 1:1-2, 1 Pet. 1:20, 1 John 2:18, Jude 18). That is, when the last days come and Israel is established in their land (38:8), the promised Messiah will appear, and the Tabernacle of God will be among the people (48:35), when the incarnated Son of God will bring peace at the cost of the Cross, then the enemy will appear, who will try to destroy those for whom he died. But God will help you win.
The prophet Ezekiel speaks in the Old Testament language, using appropriate images: after the promised redemption, he writes about the enemy through a symbolic description of the great union that absorbed the forces of evil, playing on the contemporary union of states that sought to destroy the people of God (led by Gog). This union has become a symbol of those who will oppose the Lord and His redeemed.
The symbol depicting the defeat of these enemies: Israel will burn the weapons of the enemies for seven years and bury their dead for seven months.
The peoples united against Israel are interpreted ambiguously: perhaps Ezekiel has in mind Gagaia (or Carchemis), speaking of the head of the conspiracy, deriving the names “Gog” and “Magog” from this name. Perhaps these are the Moskhi and Tibaren peoples. Or maybe - Ethiopia, Libya, Homer (or Cimmerians), Fogarm (present-day Armenia).
Most likely, the prophet does not describe any historical event here, but simply means to comfort the people of God, implying that God is much stronger than the most powerful enemy.
40:1-48:35 - vision of the Church of God on earth, symbolically represented by the picture of the temple.
The prophet was not only to rebuke, but also to console. Therefore, it reminds of the coming salvation. And being a priest, he uses the symbolism of priestly service, describing in detail the structure of the temple and worship.
This passage, as well as the entire book of the prophet Ezekiel, is not to be taken literally (otherwise, let's say, from chapter 48 it can be deduced that the temple must be outside Jerusalem).
The climax here at the end is in the words "The Lord is there." These words express the essence of the time when God will be worshiped in truth.
The prophet does not say a word about an earthly temple in this place, about an earthly high priest: worship will be in spirit and in truth.
That. the messianic age is here described, when the Lord will dwell in the midst of his people. This place in the book of the prophet is a sermon about Christ.
1) Vision of the Glory of the Lord and a call to service (1-3);
2) 13 accusatory speeches against the Jews and symbolic actions depicting the fall of Jerusalem (4-24);
3) Accusatory speeches against the pagans: the neighbors of the Jews (25), Tyre (26-28, and in 28:13-19 the king of Tyre is presented as the personification of the devil (cf. Isa. 14:5-20);
4) Prophecy about Egypt (29-32);
5) New duties of Ezekiel after the fall of Jerusalem as a consolation and reinforcement (33);
6) The Lord is the Shepherd of reborn Israel (34);
7) On the punishment of Idumea;
8) About the revival of Israel (36);
9) The revival of dry bones as a type of the rebirth of Israel and the general Resurrection (37);
10) Apocalyptic prophecies about the enemies of the Church, about the extermination of the hordes of Gog (38-39, cf. Rev. 20:7);
11) About the new eternal Kingdom of God and the new temple (40-48; Rev. 21);
12) The prophecies of the last 14 chapters - about the end times - have common features with the mysterious visions of Daniel and the Apocalypse, they have not yet been fulfilled, therefore these places should be interpreted with extreme caution.
Some visions, prophecies, symbolic actions.
Vision of the Likeness of the Glory of God :
This was the first vision of the prophet Ezekiel. Immediately after that, God calls him to the ministry. Described in the initial section of the book (Ch. 1-3). The vision of the likeness of the Glory of God and the vision of the renewed Holy Land (in the final part of the book of the prophet) are extremely difficult to interpret.
Here is how Bishop Sergius (Sokolov) happened to see the prophet Ezekiel:
“The Prophet saw a large threatening cloud moving from the north, there was an extraordinary radiance around it, inside it was “like the light of a flame from the middle of the fire” and in it there was a likeness of four animals with four faces and four wings and hands for each animal, with one head . The face of each was like a human (in front), a lion's (on the right side), the face of a calf (on the left side) and an eagle (on the opposite side in relation to the human face) ”[Jer. Gennady Egorov. Holy Scripture of the Old Testament].
The prophet Ezekiel contemplates God Himself on the throne (1:26-28). Moreover, unlike similar visions of Isaiah (Ch. 6) and Micah (the son of Iemblai - 1 Kings 22:19), the vision of the prophet Ezekiel is striking in its grandiosity and symbolism.
As for the interpretation of this mysterious vision, after which the prophet Ezekiel “was amazed for seven days” (3:15), as already mentioned above, one must be extremely careful here and be guided by the teachings of the Church. So, according to the tradition of the fathers and teachers of the Church, under the four faces of animals and the eyes of unearthly chariots facing the four cardinal points, it is customary to understand the omniscience and power of God, who rules the world through His servants - Angels. And also the four faces are the four Evangelists.
The vault of heaven and the firmament is the firmament of heaven, which God created on the second creative day to separate the heavenly and earthly waters (Gen. 1:6). The throne of God was above or outside this firmament. The rainbow is a symbol of God's Covenant with all mankind, not only with the Jews (Gen. 9:12).
The meaning of the vision in relation to the contemporaries of the prophet is to encourage, for the vision made it possible to realize the greatness and omnipotence of God, which is not limited by limits. This was to remind the captives that in the land of resettlement they are under His authority and therefore must remain faithful to Him, not lose hope for salvation, keeping themselves clean from pagan wickedness. [Jer. Gennady Egorov].
The Church also sees a messianic meaning in this passage, according to which “he who sits on the throne” is the Son of God, the chariot is the Mother of God, which in church hymns is called “the chariot of the Smart Sun”, “Fiery chariot”.
After the vision, the Lord calls Ezekiel to serve. A hand stretches out to him, holding a scroll, which is unfolded before him and on which is written: "weeping, and groaning, and woe" (2:10). The prophet receives a command to eat this scroll, and he ate it and it was “sweet as honey” in his mouth, despite the fact that such terrible words were written on this scroll.
M.N. Skaballanovich notes that in the book of the prophet Ezekiel there is a lot of material for biblical theology:
In particular, chapter one provides important information on 
Christian angelology. The scientist claims that no one has said so much about cherubim;
The prophet Ezekiel, like no one before him, speaks about God, revealing Him from the side of His “holiness”, transcendence. In the prophet Isaiah, God draws the heart to Himself, gives joyful hope. In the prophet Ezekiel, God makes human thought numb before Himself, but there is something sweet in this sacred horror. Ezekiel is also the first to make such a precise distinction between what in God is accessible to human understanding and what is not even named: chapter 1 describes God, and in 2:1 it says that the prophet saw only a vision of “the likeness of the glory of the Lord”;
The prophet Ezekiel contemplates "the radiance around God" (1:28). Skaballanovich says that only from this vision of Ezekiel is it possible to talk about God as Light;
God makes Himself known, first of all, as a voice, a sound that is not defined by anything or anyone. The divine noise (“the voice from the firmament” 1:25) is different from the noise of the appearance of the cherubim.
Philosophical and historical significance of chapter 1 of the book of the prophet Ezekiel: highlighting the Babylonian captivity as a lofty turning point in Old Testament history, which, along with the loss of paradise, the granting of the Sinai legislation and the end of the visible world, causes the appearance of God on earth, and differs from other manifestations of God in that here He is accompanied by cherubim.
A vision of the iniquity of Jerusalem. The Second Vision of the Glory of God :
The peculiarity of the book is that the prophet lives 
constantly in Babylon, but the action takes place regularly in Jerusalem. At the beginning of this vision, he says that the hand of the Lord took him by the hair and carried him to Jerusalem (Ezek. 8:3). There again appears to him a likeness of the glory of God. And so, he sees what is happening in the temple. He sees through a hole in the wall of the temple that various animals are depicted in hidden places in the temple, which were worshiped in Egypt and Assyria, he sees that there they are burned by the elders of the house of Israel, known to him. Then he sees how, after sunrise, these elders turn their backs to the altar of God and worship the sun. He sees that women are sitting at the gates of the house of the Lord and perform ritual lamentation for the Canaanite god Tammuz. The prophet sees that everything is rotten from top to bottom. Then seven angels, six of which hold weapons in their hands, and the seventh has inscriptions, go around the city: first, the one with inscriptions marks with the letter “tav” on his forehead (i.e., a sign similar to the Cross) those who mourn about the abominations that are happening. After that, the remaining six angels, having weapons in their hands, pass through the city and exterminate all those who do not have this cross-like sign on their faces.
Then the prophet again sees the manifestation of the Glory of God: as the prophet contemplates the idolaters and wicked leaders of the people, he sees how the Glory of God moves away from its usual place where it was supposed to stay, between the Cherubim in the Holy of Holies. He departs first to the threshold of the temple (9:3), where he stops for a short time, then departs from the threshold of the temple to the eastern gate (10:19) and from the midst of the city rises to the Mount of Olives, to the east of the city (11:23). Thus, the temple and Jerusalem are deprived of the Glory of God. Here is a prediction of the gospel events, that which will precede the establishment of the New Testament (Luke 13:34-35; Matt. 23:37). This is also the fulfillment of the Lord's warning given to Solomon and the people at the consecration of the temple (2 Chron. 7), as well as the warning of chapter 28 of Deuteronomy.
Those. the details of what will happen have already been given a long time ago, and when Ezekiel prophesies, he not only proclaims something new, he recalls, sometimes literally repeating what was already said to Moses [Jer. Gennady Egorov].
Symbolic actions .
In addition to the word, the prophet Ezekiel widely used preaching by deed in his ministry. Thanks to this, his behavior bordered on foolishness, but it was a forced measure, applied by him at the command of God, when it was impossible to get through to the people in any other way. His task was to convey the sad news about the coming long siege of Jerusalem and some of its details:
The prophecy about the death of Jerusalem: Ezekiel puts a brick in the middle of the village (ch. 4) and sets up a siege against it according to all the rules, with the construction of fortifications, a rampart, and wall-beating machines. Then God tells him to lie first for 390 days on one side (as a sign of bearing the iniquities of the house of Israel) and 40 days on the other - for the iniquities of the house of Judah. God determines for him the measure of bread and water for these days as a foreshadowing of the measure of food in besieged Jerusalem (4:9-17).
God tells the prophet to “run the razor of the barbers over the head and over the beard, then take the scales and divide the hair into parts. A third part to burn with fire in the middle of the city ... a third honor to cut with a knife in its vicinity, a third part to scatter to the wind ... ”(5: 1-2). This was done as a sign of what is to come to the inhabitants of Jerusalem: “a third part of you will die of a plague and perish from a city in your midst, a third part will fall by the sword in your neighborhood, and a third part I will scatter to all the winds and draw a sword after them” (5:12).
Again the prophet hears the will of God: "go and lock yourself at home" (3:22), as a sign of the imminent siege of Jerusalem.
He breaks a hole in the wall of his house in front of everyone and takes out things - “this is a portent for the leader in Jerusalem and for the whole house of Israel ... they will go into captivity ...” (12: 1-16).
parables.
1) Accusatory:
Jerusalem is compared to the vine (Jn. 15:6), which is good for nothing, it can only be burned after harvest, because it is of no value (ch. 15);
Chapter 16: Jerusalem is likened to a harlot whom the Lord found abandoned as a child, “washed her with water, anointed her with oil, clothed and shod ... adorned ... But she relied on her beauty and began to fornicate ... and the Lord will judge her with the court of adulterers ... and betray her bloody rage and jealousy…”;
Chapter 23: Samaria and Jerusalem are presented as two harlot sisters.
2) Prophetic (17:22-24): the parable of the cedar, on top of which is King Jeconiah, Christ will come from his descendants. And “exalted” is Mount Golgotha (blessed Theodoret).
Prophecies spoken after the fall of Jerusalem .
After the fall of Jerusalem, the prophet Ezekiel changed the direction of his preaching. Even at his call, the Lord gave him a scroll to eat, on which bitter words were written, but which turned out to be sweet in taste (3:1-3). So in the death of Jerusalem, the prophet, after 573, tried to show his people sweetness: after 573, Ezekiel speaks of the prospects for the future, that God did not forever reject the Jews, that he would gather them and console them with many blessings. Here are some prophecies from this period:
-Prophecy about God the Shepherd and the New Testament:
In view of the fact that the Old Testament priesthood, called to be shepherds of the people of God, forgot about its mission (“you did not strengthen the weak, and you did not heal the sick sheep, and you did not bandage the wounded ... but ruled them with violence and cruelty. And they scattered without a shepherd ... " 34:4-5) thus says the Lord God: “I myself will search for my sheep and search them ... I will gather them from the countries and bring them into their land, and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel ... in a good pasture ... and I will give them rest ... I will find the sheep and bring back the stolen sheep…” (34:11-16). Those. through the prophet Ezekiel, God reveals Himself in the new form of God - the Savior who forgives sins. The image of the Shepherd was to make a special impression on the people of God. The fact is that the sheep in the East are an object of love and care (John 10:1-18), therefore, comparing Jews with sheep, and declaring Himself their Shepherd (34:12), the Lord makes them understand how much He loved them and how God's relationship with His people is now changing: God the Shepherd is no longer the Old Testament, but something new.
“And I will make a covenant of peace with them (34:25); ... and I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be cleansed from all your filthiness ... and I will give you a new heart, and I will give you a new spirit; And I will take the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh, I will put My Spirit within you...and you will walk in My commandments, and you will keep My statutes and do...and you will be My people, and I will be your God...” (36:25) -28).
Here, according to researchers, the prophet foreshadows the gift of the New Testament, the result of which should be a change in man: the law will become the inner content of life, the Holy Spirit will dwell in a person as in a temple [Jer. Gennady].
In the context of chapter 34 of the book of Ezekiel, John 10 sounds in a new way: the leaders of Israel lost their functions of intermediaries, the sheep were no longer subject to them. Therefore, only spiritual blindness prevented the hearers of Christ from understanding His preaching [Jer. Gennady Egorov].
But there remained among those listening to the prophet who did not want to believe in the promises. Ezekiel's vision of the mystery of rebirth (chapter 37) was the answer to this little faith. This chapter is understood in the theological literature ambiguously. From a historical perspective, one can see here a prophecy that the people will return to their land, and from a prophetic perspective, an image of the future Resurrection. Chapter 37:3,9-10,12-14 is parimiia, and unique: it is read at matins (usually parimias are not allowed at matins) of Great Saturday after the great doxology.
great battle.
In chapters 38-39, the prophet Ezekiel first introduced the theme of the eschatological battle into the Holy Scriptures: at the end of time there will be a great battle between the faithful and the enemies of the Kingdom of God (Rev. 19:19). In addition to the figurative meaning (i.e., such a battle really should take place), there is also a lesson here, the main idea of which was well formulated by the Evangelist Matthew: “The kingdom of heaven is taken by force, and those who use force rapture it” (11:12).
The prophet, most likely, borrows the names of the enemies from the legends about the warlike kings of the north: Gog - the Median king Giges, Rosh - the king of Urartu Rusa, Meshech and Tubal - the tribes of the Caucasus and Northern Mesopotamia. All of them represent a threat from distant lands.
Vision of the New Jerusalem (chapters 40-48).
This prophecy dates from the year 573 (40:1). In the twenty-fifth year after our migration (40:1), the Spirit of God carried Ezekiel to Jerusalem "and set him on a very high mountain" (40:2). This mountain actually did not exist in Jerusalem; there the highest goal of creation will be realized, there God will dwell with people. All the details given in the final part of the book have a hidden meaning.
From a historical perspective, these chapters were of great practical use: in the words of Jer. Gennady Egorov, the above descriptions served as a kind of instruction for those who returned from captivity in the construction of a new church and the resumption of worship. Ezekiel was a priest and remembered the old Temple.
But still, there is a much deeper hidden meaning here than just instructions for builders. This is a description of the Kingdom of God. It speaks of both Christ (43:10) and the return of the Glory of the Lord to the temple (43:2-4). The Revelation of John the Theologian borrows a lot from the text of Ezekiel, which means that both sacred writers spoke about the same thing (for example, Rev. 4:3-4).
The new temple has more slender forms, which testifies to the harmony of the City of the Future: the outer wall is an ideal square (42:15-20) - the emblem of harmony and completeness, the cross on the four cardinal points means the universal significance of the House of God and the City.
The resurrected Old Testament Church meets the Glory of Yahweh coming from the east, from where the exiles were to return. God forgives people and dwells with them again - this is a prototype of the Gospel Epiphany, but distant, because the Glory is still hidden from the eyes of people.
Service in the Temple is a reverent evidence that God is close, He - the consuming Fire - resides in the heart of the City.
Equitable distribution of plots of land means moral principles that should underlie the earthly life of mankind (48:15-29). Equal shares will be received by "gerim" (aliens) - converted pagans (47:22).
The "prince" is deprived of the right to own all the land, his power is now limited.
The prophet Ezekiel is considered the "father of Judaism", the organizer of the Old Testament community. But the City of God is something more, living water (47:1-9) is the mystical and eschatological plan of Ezekiel's teaching: not only the dispensation of the world in justice, but also a description of Heavenly Jerusalem (Rev. 21:16).
The waters of the Dead Sea are stripped of their destructive power (47:8) in commemoration of the Spirit's conquering power over imperfect nature and evil in the human race.
The dispensation of the New Testament land is also accompanied by a clear liturgical rule (the same in the Apocalypse: the elders, the throne, the service). This speaks of the exceptional importance of worship in the new heavenly reality, which is the consonant worship and glorification of God.
MEDITATION ON THE BIBLE
Nadezhda Kalitina
2002 Russia
The fallen angel is the most common Christian version, which is passed from mouth to mouth, or rather, into the ears of those who listen, namely those who listen, and not those who read, because there is nowhere to read about this in Holy Scripture, that is, in the Bible.
Let's remember her. It has such content. God created a beautiful angel of light who was given great power from God. The angel was proud of his greatness and wanted to be equal to God. For his audacity, he was cast down by God from heaven to earth, as if into exile. As punishment. Where it now harms the creation of God, that is, people.
Question. On what basis is this assertion based?
Christian teachers answer: on the basis of the Bible.
And they cite two texts from the Holy Scriptures in support of this:
1). - Isaiah 14:1-17
2). - Ezekiel 28:11-19.
In Christianity, faith in the Scriptures is often replaced by
1) Faith in Scripture
2) faith in human explanations of this Scripture.
And, if someone expresses doubts about “concepts” (second point), then in Christianity they are immediately accused of not believing the Bible. It's not fair.
I propose to discuss the version. I draw your attention - the version, not Scripture.
Firstly, in this version, I am outraged by the idea that God from heaven cast down His unworthy angel to the EARTH! To the ground! Still don't understand why I'm angry? Yes, because the earth was created (based on Scripture) for the glory of God. This great creation of His was created for joy, for admiration, for self-realization, finally (Genesis 1:1-31), and it cannot be a place of punishment simply because there is the most precious creature for God (according to Scripture) - MAN is the image and likeness of God the Creator (Gen. 1:26-31).
Now let's think about angels. What are these beings? The generally accepted concept is this - a servant of God, a messenger of God.
Someone will object?
In the Bible we meet such texts, where it is said that God sends his angels in order to announce(Gen. 16:9), save(Gen. 16:7), save, redeem, exterminate, punish, exterminate(2 Kings 19:35; 1 Chr. 21:12, 27.30); 2 Chronicles 32:21).
Each angel has his own task, and the one who is sent to save cannot kill in any way, and the one who is sent to kill cannot save in any way.
Found out that the angel himself Not chooses a task for himself, but does what he is assigned to. To reason with an angel on the topic: do you want to be an angel of light or an angel of darkness, the right is not given. Because there is already just an angel of light and just an angel of darkness. And all these angels are in complete submission to God, because God is the master of both light and darkness (Genesis 1:4).
Now let's turn to Scripture and remember the texts from the book of the prophet Isaiah 14:1-17 and the prophet Ezekiel 28:11-19.
Please do not rely on your previous knowledge and your experience and your memory, but open again and read these texts carefully. READ! And, if possible, without prejudice.
Read in the Bible. Because it makes no sense to rewrite them.
In the book of the prophet Isaiah, pay attention to the words:
“You (Jacob) will sing a song of victory on king of Babylon and you will say…” (Is. 14:1-17).
The words that follow are addressed man - the king of Babylon and not just words, but a song of victory. What does it mean? And this means that in songs it is customary to use poetic turns of speech in order, thus, to enhance the meaning of what was said. For example, the psalmist David in his psalms says: “... He bowed the heavens and came down, and darkness was under His feet. And he sat on the cherubim and flew and flew on the wings of the wind ... ”(Ps. 17:10-21)
When we read this, we do not take the words of the psalm literally, we understand the figurativeness of these words (after all, David is a poet!), that is, the Lord did not tilt the heavens in the literal sense, but these words show that the Lord delves into earthly affairs.
Just like David, the prophet Isaiah, speaking about the life of the king of Babylon, uses words that very clearly emphasize his previously high position among the nations, and then his destruction to complete annihilation.
In the book of the prophet Ezekiel, it is similar: “Son of man, weep for king of Tyre and tell him…” (Ezek. 28:11-19).
The appeal goes to a specific man - King of Tyre. The prophet, like the poet, uses figurative, poetic expressions in his speech, with which he first describes the greatness, and then the fall of the king of Tyre.
We made sure that the speeches of the prophets are addressed to a person, and there is no need to substitute words. These texts have nothing to do with Satan.
I propose to consider the texts of Holy Scripture where, in fact, Satan is mentioned.
To begin with, let's remember that the book "Genesis" is a book that tells us about what, how and when was created in the beginning.
In this book we do not meet never the words satan or devil. Why?
It seems that people who received the revelation, which are all five books of Moses, did not receive from God the slightest hint that there is, besides the Almighty, another beginning to something that already exists. This means that the beginning of evil is the Lord, and not anyone else.
We confirm this conclusion with the following reasoning.
“And out of the ground the Lord God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food, and the tree of life in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (Gen. 2:9).
Note that it was the Lord who planted the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. That's what Scripture tells us. Let us think over what was said to us and see that even before a person sinned, evil, as it were, already existed on earth. Only then evil was not yet active, because it was contained only in word "the tree of the knowledge of good and evil " .
Question - How did evil come into action?
Answer - After a person has been aware of the consequences of eating the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil:
“… do not eat from him; for on the day you eat of it, you will die the death” (Gen. 2:17);
and following,
"... on the day you eat them, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like gods, knowing good and evil." (Gen3:5),
Human MYSELF decided the question is whether evil be at rest or in action.
Since a person did not clearly know what evil is and what death is, because in the texts of Scripture we do not find confirmation that death has already happened, he was not afraid of such a prospect as: "... you must die ...".
The man had no idea how it was to "die." He saw beautiful fruits in front of him, which attracted him both in appearance and aroma. Moreover, a person received more information about these fruits: they carry new knowledge, new power. “…you will be like gods knowing good and evil…” (Gen.3:5).
The mysterious always beckons. Man strove to know that unknown to him, with the help of which he becomes equal to God! I took it and ate it.
By this action he showed God your desire to know what is evil and what is death, and also let God to bring evil from a state of rest into an active state - to proclaim a curse on the earth.
“…cursed is the earth because of you…” (Gen. 3:17).
The curse is evil! (can you dispute this?)
And the first one to do this was God.
“And the Lord God said, Behold, Adam has become like one of us, knowing good and evil…” (Genesis 3:22).
Then a man forgot that he himself is the cause of the development of evil on earth, and started looking for a replacement.
Satan! Man placed all the blame on him for the ugliness that is happening on earth, which he himself creates.
A person does not want to be responsible for his actions, he wants to have nothing to do with it, so he declared Satan the culprit in all the evil that has already happened and is still happening on earth.
Like, all this was conceived and made by a certain Satan, and the demand is from him, and I, a man, are just a victim of his tricks.
With all this, a person is not ashamed to ask God the question: “Why do You allow evil?”, thus blaming God as well.
And throughout his entire existence on earth, a person always has a culprit, either God or Satan, but not himself.
However, the question of Satan is still open. Let's look in the Scriptures for stories about him.
The word "Satan" is used only three times in the Old Testament.
For the first time we meet this word in the book of 1 Chronicles.
"And Satan rose up against Israel, and he excited David to number the Israelites..." (1 Chr. 21:1).
The books of Chronicles repeat the description of some of the stories that have already been described in the books of Kings. The above text corresponds to the parallel text in 2 Kings, which says: “... the wrath of the Lord again kindled against the Israelites, and he stirred up David in them to say, Go, number Israel and Judah ...” (2 Samuel 24:1).
So, in one case, the action of the Lord is referred to, which is called anger. And this is not a person separate from the Lord, but a manifestation of God's ability to be angry. The action of God - anger - excites David to say: "...go and number Israel and Judah..." . (2 Samuel 24:1).
In a parallel text (1 Chronicles 21:1), describing to us the same event, the action of the Lord (the wrath of the Lord was kindled... ) is attributed to Satan (Satan has risen…).
Let's compare and think. So who is it: God or Satan?
We can assume that the people who wrote the books of Kings knew only one God, who can send both a good spirit and an evil one. For example, the following texts support this assumption:
“…the spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from God stirred him up…” (1 Samuel 16:14-15), or,
"...an evil spirit from the Lord attacked Saul, and he was mad in his house..." (1 Samuel 18:10).
The next text in the Bible that mentions Satan is the book of Job.
« And there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord; Satan also came among them” (Job 1:6).
Here Satan is presented to us as one among many other sons of God, their names are not called. Satan has the right to walk the earth and inspect it. And it is important for God to talk to him about Job.
“Here is a man, and there is no other like him on earth,” the Lord says, turning to Satan and asking: “What do you say?” Satan suggests that it is not in vain that Job is good and faithful to God. But it is worth depriving him of his well-being, health and respect of others, as Job becomes angry and forgets about his God-fearing. "Will he bless you?" Satan says to God. God accepts Satan's advice and challenge and allows Satan to touch all of Job's well-being.
“Only do not stretch out your hand on him,” the Lord said. (Job 1:6-22; 2:1-10).
Satan only does what he is allowed to do.
Obviously, he is limited in his actions. His works depend on the permission of God. Therefore, there is no question of an enemy to God in the person of Satan, for an enemy is one who has the freedom to be at enmity. Satan same as shown in this example , dependent from God and subordinate To him.
Job, a man not only God-fearing, but also reflecting on the meaning of life. He learned to love God and understand His!
Job does not even allow the thought that all these troubles came to him from some other master, and not from the Most High God. He completely recognizes the single authority of the One God, who sends both something good and something evil. Job does not speak like us, for example, such words as: “Oh, what a terrible Satan. He wants to destroy me, but I know his plans.
Here is what Job says:
"... Really, we will accept the good from the Lord, but we will not accept the evil?" (Job 2:10).
And Job's claims are NOT against Satan, but against God. Job in everything that happens to him sees only the actions of God and only God: “…this is my desire that the Almighty answer me…” (31:35 ), says Job to his friends.
The third place where Satan is mentioned in the Old Testament - the book of the prophet Zechariah : “And he showed me Jesus the great Priest standing before the Angel of the Lord and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. And the Lord said to Satan: May the Lord forbid you Satan, may the Lord forbid you, who has chosen Jerusalem! (Zech. 3:1-2).
This text of Scripture shows Satan's right to resist. This is his occupation - to counteract. And also shows the power over him: "...may the Lord forbid you ...".
We note again that Satan dependent and dependent the highest authority, which is with God the Most High, because only the Lord forbids, allows and permits.
Three books of Holy Scripture related to the Old Testament speak of the activities of Satan. From what was said in them, its functional purpose becomes clear: to contradict and counteract, but not to God, but by the will and permission of Almighty God.
Let's turn now to the New Testament.
In the New Testament, the word Satan is mentioned many times, as well as the evil one, the devil, and so on. All these words imply a person who, as it were, is an enemy to God.
"... get away from Me, Satan ..." (Mat. 16:23), - says Jesus, when the apostle Peter took pity on Him and invited Him to think about Himself.
Peter's words contain a temptation for Jesus to reveal Jesus' determination to do the will of the Lord. Jesus rejects the offer to pity Himself. He thinks only of what is God's, striving to accomplish it, even to the detriment of his own life.
If we trace other places from the New Testament where Satan is mentioned, we can see that his will, again, is not free, but executive. Let's not analyze each one. It is enough to remember the prayer that Jesus taught to pray. There are the words:
“... and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one; for yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen" (Matt. 6:13).
The words in the prayer are addressed to the Lord God the Most High. It is God who can lead into temptation, God can stumble the righteous. God speaks frankly about this through the prophet Ezekiel (3:20), and can deliver both from temptation and from the evil one (that is, from Satan).
Let's look at another event that the three evangelists describe Matthew 4:1; Mark 1:10-12; Luke 4:1. They say that when Jesus was baptized in the Jordan, the Holy Spirit descended on him like a dove and “immediately after Spirit leads him into the wilderness . “And He was there in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by Satan…”
Let's pay attention: who leads Jesus to be tempted by the devil?
That's right - Spirit. The word “Spirit” is written with a capital letter, therefore, one must think that this is the Holy Spirit, that is, God.
And now let's remember the words of God about Himself, expressed through his prophets.
· “I am the first Lord, and in the last I am the same” (Is. 41:4)
· “I: before me there was no God, and after me there will be no” (Is.43:10)
· “I am the Lord, and there is no Savior besides Me” (Is. 43:11).
· “I create a destroyer to destroy…” (Isaiah 54:16).
Thanks to such revelations, we understand that the decision and fulfillment of this decision - to save or destroy - comes only from the Lord God, and not from Satan.
We can do it conclusion.
Satan is the personified power of God, with a specific, specific function.
Whoever wants to understand will understand!
And be sure to CHECK.
Life of the Prophet Ezekiel
The holy prophet Ie-ze-ki-il lived in the VI century before the birth of Christ. Born in the city-ro-de Sa-ri-re, pro-is-ho-dil from co-le-na Le-vi-i-na, was a priest-no-one and son sacred wu-zia. In the second attack on Jeru-sa-lim wa-vi-lon-go king Na-woo-ho-do-no-so-ra, at the age of 25 Ie-ze-ki-il was from-ve-den in Wa-vi-lon together with Tsar Ie-ho-ni-her II and many others-mi Jude-i-mi .
In captivity, the prophet Ie-ze-ki-il lived near the river Ho-var. There, in the 30th year of his life, in the vi-de-nii, he would have opened something of the future of the Jew-ro-on-ro-yes and everything -lo-ve-che-stva. The prophet-rock saw a si-i-u-o-o-la-ko, in the middle of someone-ro-go there was a flame, and in it - a ta-in-stven-noe do-be-move-my spirit-ko-les-ni-tsy and four-you-rekh-winged animals, having each four-you-re faces: che-lo-ve-ka, lion, calf and eagle. Before their faces-tsa-mi on-ho-di-lis-le-sa, mustache-yang-ny eyes. Above the co-forest-ni-tsey rose, as it were, a crystal-steel vault, and above the arch-house - to-be pre-sto-la, as it were, from super-ka-yu-shche th sap-fi-ra. On this pre-hundred-le si-i-yu-shche "before-beating Che-lo-ve-ka", and around Him ra-du-ha ().
According to the interpretation of the fathers of the Church, pre-light-loe "before-beating Che-lo-ve-ka", sitting on sap-fi-ro-vom pre-hundred-le, it was a pro-about-ra-zom of the incarnation of the Son of God from the Pre-holy De-you Mary, who appeared Pre-hundred -scrap God-zhi-im; che-you-re-animals-here-about-ra-zo-you-wa-whether che-you-rekh evan-ge-listov, co-le-sa with many eyes - cha -sti light with all on-ro-yes-mi lands. At the same time, the holy prophet, out of fear, fell to the ground, but the voice of God ordered him to get up and then announced that the Lord -la-et him on the pro-po-because to the na-ro-du from-ra-il-sko-mu. From this time on, the pro-ro-che-service of Ie-ze-ki-i-la. Prophet Ie-ze-ki-il voz-ve-steel na-ro-du from ra-il-sko-mu, na-ho-div-she-mu-sya in captivity-well va-vi-lon -skom, about the pre-hundred-yav-shih is-py-ta-ni-yah in on-ka-for-for-for-wandering-de-niya in ve-re and step-no-thing from Is-tin-no-God. The prophet-rock proclaimed the same way and the steps of better times for his captive compatriots, foretelling the shaft of their return from the va-vi-lon-th captivity and the re-stand-new-le-nie of the Jeru-sa-lim-th temple.
Especially ben-but important are two-me-on-tel-nyh vi-de-niya pro-ro-ka - about the temple of the Lord-under-him, full of glory-you, and about dry bones in the field, to whom the Spirit of God gave new life. Wi-de-nie about the temple was a mystical pro-form-ra-zom liberation-of-god-de-niya of the birth of a man-lo-ve-che-go-go from ra- you are an enemy and the organization of the Church-vi Christ-hundred-howl through the is-ku-pi-tel-ny feat of the Son of God, in-car-tiv-she- go-sya from Pre-holy De-you Mary, name-well-e-my pro-ro-com "bra-ta-mi for-tvo-ren-ny-mi", someone-ry -mi passed only One Lord God (). Vi-de-nie about dry bones on the field - pro-im-time of all-general resurrection of the dead and new eternal life is -bought by the death of the Cross of the Lord by the Lord Jesus Christ ().
The holy prophet Ie-ze-ki-il had from the Lord the gift of a miracle-to-your-re-niya. He, like the prophet Mo-and-sei, mo-lit-howl to God once-de-lil the waters of the Ho-va-ra river, and the Jews went to another be-reg, from-be-zhav pre-sle-to-va-niya hal-de-ev. During the famine, the pro-rok was-pro-strength with God, smartly eating food for the naked.
For ob-li-che-nie in the ido-lo-clone-stvo of one-but-the-th jew-re-sky-prince of the holy Ie-ze-ki-i-la pre-yes -whether Kaz-no: tied to wild-kim-yum, he was torn to pieces. Bless-go-che-sti-the Jews have gathered the ra-ter-zan-noe body of the pro-ro-ka and in a ho-ro-no-whether it is on the Maur field, in the moustache Pal-ni-tse Si-ma and Ar-fak-sa-da, pra-ro-di-te-lei Av-ra-ama, not a-le-ko from Bag-da-da. Pro-ro-che-stva Ie-ze-ki-i-la for-pi-sa-ny in a book named after him and included in the Bible.
See also: "" in from-lo-same-nii svt. Di-mit-ria Rostov-sko-go.
The New Testament worldview needs to be inoculated from time to time with the Old Testament. We need to learn the Jewish intense feeling of God.
If Isaiah was more concerned about the fate of the people (what to do with them? When will they return? How will it be?), then Ezekiel's focus is more on the temple. He is a priest in exile. He worries how did it happen that the temple perished. What will happen next? And therefore his prophecies are somewhat unusual in comparison with other prophets. He is the first in the Old Testament begins the apocalypse genre. Apocalypse in Greek means revelation. The entire Bible is Revelation. But specifically, the methods of prophecy or a certain kind of prophetic book are called apocalypses.
How is an apocalypse different from ordinary prophecy? The apocalypse is a prophecy that appears in the hour of suffering. This is connected, as a rule, with martyrdom for the faith, with the suffering of a person experiencing misfortune. On the basis of the misfortune that has taken place in fantastic forms, the prophet tries to discern and proclaim the ways of God. The accomplished suffering becomes for him the source material for seeing what will happen next. But this vision he clothes into fantastic shapes.
Ezekiel saw frightening creatures, the mysteries of God. The features of Divine manifestations are expressed in the image of four creatures: a lion, a calf, an eagle and a man.
In the prophecies, Ezekiel is called the son of man. These are not yet messianic names, it simply means "son of man" in translation.
“And while He was speaking to me, a spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and I heard him speaking to me. And He said to me, “Son of man! I am sending you to the children of Israel, to the disobedient people who rebelled against me; they and their fathers are traitors before me to this very day. And these sons with hardened faces and hard hearts- to them I send you, and you will say to them: thus says the Lord God! Will they listen or will they not, for they are a rebellious house; but let them know that there was a prophet among them. But you, son of man, do not be afraid of them, and do not be afraid of their words, if they thistles and thorns they will be for you, and you will live with scorpions - do not be afraid of their words and do not be afraid of their face, for they are a rebellious house; and speak my words to them, whether they will listen or not, for they are stubborn. But you, son of man, listen to what I will say to you: do not be stubborn like this rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you." And I saw, and behold, a hand was stretched out to me, and behold, in it was a scroll of a book. And He unfolded it before me, and behold, the scroll was written inside and out, and it was written on it: lach, and groan, and grief". And finally, by the command of God, Ezekiel this list, on which was written: Crying, and groaning, and grief", ate. This is one of the symbolic, prophetic actions. Passing God's Revelation and all historical destiny through oneself, through one's insides, through one's heart."...and I ate, and it was sweet as honey in my mouth." This theme will then be exactly repeated in the Apocalypse of John the Theologian.
What's the matter here? He eats bitter, weeps in grief, but sweet on his lips. Here it is about the truth of God brings sweetness, but the inside suffers. A man, along with his people, goes through trials but he has this knowledge, he has communed with God and through suffering comes to God. This is a very important symbol: both bitter and sweet prophecy."The house of Israel will not want to listen to Me, because the whole house of Israel is hard-headed and hard-hearted." I skip the words of rebuke, because they are similar to all other cases.
Sometimes there are chapters that talk about the future collapse of Jerusalem, and there is a chapter that tells about the disappearance of the temple that has already happened. Once, even before the Babylonian captivity, the prophet, as a sign that Jerusalem would soon be destroyed, lay on his left side for three hundred and ninety days, then the same on his right. This symbolic gesture meant that Israel is lazy, defeated and lying, does not want to go, does not want to stand.
In the tenth chapter, Ezekiel tells that he once saw how the glory of the Lord moved and left the temple of Jerusalem.“And the glory of the Lord departed from the threshold of the house and stood over the Cherubim. And the Cherubim lifted up their wings, and rose before my eyes from the earth; when they left, the wheels were beside them; And they stood at the entrance to the eastern gate of the house of the Lord, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them.” And they went to the side that was before the face of the world.
In the twelfth chapter, Ezekiel tells the Jews the cause of the fall of Jerusalem. Usually the prophets loved compare Jerusalem with an unfaithful wife, with a harlot, Ezekiel does exactly the same. In the sixteenth chapter, he gives Israel another biting name - he calls it foundling.
God in the mind of Ezekiel acts as an impartial judge.
The Apocalypse of the New Testament is a Christian book in spirit, but in letter it can reflect the Old Testament motifs that we have to interpret in a Christian motif. The book of the Apocalypse is very difficult.
Apocalypse for a long time did not want to be included in the Old Testament. It may confuse the reader because not everything conforms to Christian doctrine in form, although everything conforms in spirit. In terms of form, everything is not clear, because it is a whole prophetic genre. As a matter of fact " vengeance of the saints».
What's happened vengeance of the saints? This is not revenge in our view, not revenge or malice. In this case, speaking of vengeance, we cannot but remember the words when the Lord says, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay." But at the same time, this is the concept of God's final reward, the idea that the Lord was crucified for us. And therefore this vengeance turns out to be not revenge in the human sense of the word, but some last just result. God's vengeance is not our vengeance, it is no longer vengeance at all, but something completely different.
Vengeance is balance. Striving for everything to be true. Revenge means to return the truth to restore the violated balance, to restore the violated truth of God. But the holy martyrs pray for both the lost and the sinners. The Lord Himself, ascending the cross, prayed for the forgiveness of His crucifiers. Therefore, the words about the fury of the saints are simply an Old Testament form.
Ezekiel talks a lot about the fact that the old temple is no longer suitable for serving God, that the glory of the Lord comes out of it. In the last chapters, he begins to talk about the construction of a new temple, to which later, according to his prophecy, the glory of the Lord will return.
By the way, this place was a prophecy about the Mother of God. The Lord passed through her.
The reason for the destruction of the temple is clearly indicated - it does not contain the glory of the Lord. God is no longer in it. However, the hour will come - and He will return, the glory of God will return to Jerusalem.
There is a model of a temple in God's heaven. It consists of the holy of holies and the sanctuary, where eternal worship takes place.
The main idea is that the temple in Israel will be restored, because in heaven it always exists. The most important thing is the heavenly Jerusalem. Ezekiel, in a sense, approaches precisely the Gospel idea that there is a temple not made by hands from wounds, that is, from the Body of Christ. The temple that is destroyed and on the third day is rebuilt. God is always present in the heavenly temple.
Ezekiel is the first in the Bible to talk about the possibility of the resurrection. This idea did not excite Israel before.
It was not until the fifth century that faith in the resurrection took root in Israel, let alone resurrection in a newly transfigured body. Many scholars are inclined to believe that this doctrine of resurrection and retribution after the grave was incorporated into the Israelite Bible precisely after the Babylonian captivity.
The Old Testament, not transfigured by the prophets, is pure Torah.
Augustine's doctrine of predestination was of great importance in Calvinism. It was believed that the fate of a person is predetermined either to eternal death or to eternal salvation. There are clear criteria. If you are successful on earth, it means that you are predestined by God to eternal life, He helps you. If you are so lost on earth, this is a sign of your rejection.
This thought awakened the desire of a person to prove to himself and others that he was predestined by God for a better fate. To do this, you need to work harder, earn more. It is necessary to strive for well-being on earth, for it is evidence that you are blessed.
In the Old Testament, one cannot deceive someone or one cannot be merciless, one cannot not forgive one's slave, not let him go, and so on. This applies to peers. Therefore, there was a very clear religious doctrine, not so much national as religious.
The apostle Paul says, "Rejoice always." Adding: "Pray without ceasing." But is it possible to understand the phrase of the Apostle Paul "always rejoice" in such a way that from now on let's all dance and sing? The Apostle Paul uttered this phrase, being in rather difficult conditions.
Jesus Christ suffered because it is impossible to pass this way otherwise. Another thing is that His victory over suffering did everything, but it did not abolish suffering as a form of our existence in this fallen environment.
As long as we live within the world, as long as we are immersed in our passions, we do not feel it so strongly. But as soon as we take the first steps towards God, we begin to feel the resistance of the environment. The world seems to want to keep us. Peace, I repeat once again, not in the earthly, but in the aesthetic sense of the word. And we are starting to feel it. The more we take steps towards God, the more we begin to feel the resistance of the world. It is more difficult to break out to God for that person who was in the clutches of the devil. There is resistance, there is a terrible struggle. From this came the thirst for Holy Rus'. An incomprehensible, unattainable ideal. The man found solace in the future of his people.
If a person suffers, he gains God more deeply. Why did they talk about God-bearing Rus'. Russia without Heaven is worth nothing.
There will never be life on one suffering. And there will be no faith on suffering alone. After all, suffering strives for faith, finds consolation - and already ceases to be suffering. Despite the universal moments of suffering, the Christian nevertheless suffered his faith, and is already suffering not in this sense, but figuratively. A true Christian does not suffer so much as sympathize. The Lord said: bear each other's burdens, so fulfill the law of Christ.
