When we study scriptures like the book of Isaiah, many people will just say, I don't want to hear that. That doesn't have anything to do with me. The Bible plainly teaches the apostle Paul writing to Timothy, all scripture is God breathed. It's given to be a means of making your life on this wicked earth more than worthwhile, but real. When we begin to study the book of Ezekiel, you need to remember that he is a captive in the land of Babylon. He is not like Daniel who is also at the same time a captive in the land of Babylon. Daniel has become the prime minister of the country as God is using him. But Ezekiel is down with the people who are working in the fields, producing the food for the fat cats of Babylon. It reminds me, if you would allow me to give you this illustration, I thank God for when I was growing up, what we looked forward to would be the very first time we'd go out in the field, we'd pull radishes and get them ready to go to market. And then be strawberries and beans. Finally, thank God for the peaches we'd get to pick. You know who's doing that now? The illegal aliens. Those are the people who are, when you go to your supermarket and you look at all of the products, I want you to know that You know, we have graduated from the, most of us from the sweating and the down and out. Most of us are very, very comparatively well off. And so when we look at Ezekiel, he's speaking to people and they are wondering why if we're God's earthly chosen people, here's what they're wondering. Here's what the devil is putting in their mind. Why are we down here sweating and working like animals to feed the Babylonians? And then there's that group of people who are the merchants of the earth, the people of Tyre and Sidon, and they're prospering. And look where we are, we're captives. So when we read this, remember those things as we study the Word of God. We'll begin with the 27th chapter of Ezekiel, and we'll start with just 35 and 36 before we launch into the 28th chapter. 27, 35, and 36, and then launch into the 38th chapter. This is the living word of God. And all the inhabitants of the isles, these were the people who were scattered all over the Mediterranean area and the government people, the leaders, the high ups, the one who was even incarnated by Satan, the king of Tyre, would go around colonizing these little areas so these people could be their slaves and worship their gods rather than the true and living gods. The Jews were not missionaries like they were supposed to be. So God put them in captivity and the missionaries were the missionaries of the devil from place to place. All the inhabitants of the isles shall be astonished at thee and their king shall be so afraid they shall be troubled in their countenance. Just remember when you think that God is not taking care of sin that is not forgiven. You just know that the day is coming when he's going to hit. And when he does, it's gonna astonish those who did not believe that he was really God. He is God. He is God in every way. It's gonna be astonishing to some people when they find out what you and I can know tonight with joy and peace. The merchants. Now here, it's not talking about someone who has an honest business. These were the people who control the economy of the world that was known that time, the Mediterranean area. And they abuse people, they rob people. They use their economic power to keep people in subjection and slavery. The merchants among the people shall hiss at thee. Ssss. Ssss. What's he saying there? These people who have misused their other fellow human beings and made them into some kind of slaves so that they might be able to control them, one day they'll be hissed at like the serpent. Thou shalt be a terror. The word terror here means that you'll feel like you're having a massive heart attack. and never shall be anymore. Aren't you glad tonight that what you are is eternal? It's going to last forever in the presence of God. Now we move into the 28th chapter. The word of the Lord, Yahweh. the great promise keeper, the one who exists eternally. The word of the Lord came again to me, coming to Ezekiel, saying, ooh, if God's saying it, I wanna hear, what did he say? Son of man, now this is a big responsibility. Of course, Jesus had that title, but there is also that title for you. because the idea of this term son of man means you represent God to all mankind. You need for them to see that there's, what is there about you that is different? What is there about you? Why do you get out, as Brother Phil has made so clear, not into the dark and come to church when you could be comfortable in your own house, enjoying some human intelligence that's being spit out all over the world? I don't care about what they have to say because they don't know what they're talking about anyway. It's all written out for them and they get up there and say it. And the next time they'll say whatever else is written out for them. They don't think that things up themselves. They're thought up by people who are filled with the spirit of the devil. I'm talking about the media. They're a bunch of liars. Son of man. Say to the Prince of Tyrus. Now here, listen carefully. The Prince of Tyrus here is a human ruler who is ruling the economy of the world at this time. And Satan is actually living inside of him and directing him in how to control people. The Jews thought they were captives. in Babylon, but actually compared to the people who were under the king of Tyrus, who was filled with satanic power, they were living in heaven. And thus saith the Lord God, because thine heart is lifted up talking about the man who Satan had filled, who was running the economy of the world at that time. Because thy heart is lifted up and thou has said, I am a God. The word for God here is just the two English letters, E-L-L, and it means I am the strongest. I have great strength. I am the one who has all of the strength that is in the universe. I am God. I sit in the seat of God. I'm your judge. You'll do what I say when I say it, and if I say it, you will accept it because you I am your judge. Tonight, you have a choice of who will be your judge. Right now, while you're on this earth, my judge and your judge is at the right hand of God, Jesus, our great high priest. Otherwise, you are like the demonic ones who occupy human bodies. And they say, you are in the midst of the sea, yet you are really just Adam, you're dust. That's all you are. I created you. You are created. You are not a creator. And all of us are created. But once we accept Jesus, we're new creatures. Admit it, no matter how things may appear and how people might look at you and think of you. Your spirit is filled with Jesus Christ, the man of God. Yet thou art a man and not a God, though thou set thy heart as the heart of God. In deep inside of you, you have convinced yourself that you are God. You're the one who makes the decisions. There is not some great sovereign power, omnipotent, all powerful, all knowing and so on. Behold, verse three, Behold, you think, and I'm putting that in there because it is the context. Behold, you think you are wiser than Daniel. Now remember that Ezekiel was in captivity down in the agricultural area of Babylon and Daniel hadn't become the prime minister of Babylon because of his ability to interpret the dreams of the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar. He said, Behold, thou art wiser than Daniel. You think you're even wiser than the man of God, who God has made prime minister of the captivity of Israel. There is no secret that thou can't hide from thee. You think that there's nothing that you don't know. You're able to look into the hearts of people and you're able to see them and to judge them and spread your ugly venom about who you say they are. Verse 4, this wisdom, this thy wisdom, and with thine understanding thou hast gotten thee riches. You've made a lot of money off of people. You've used slavery of people you have colonized all over the Mediterranean area and you have become very wealthy in human terms. Thou has gotten gold and silver in thy treasure. by thy great wisdom, because you have allowed Satan to give you his wisdom. You see, there's wisdom from God, and there's wisdom from Satan. And here, the king of Tyre is actually Satan in the flesh. Thou has to, thy great wisdom and thy great traffic, and the word traffic, you're trading, your ships go all over the Mediterranean area, taking merchandise, you're rich. You know, I was noticing in the news where they had found a ship that had sunk. And this ship had sunk so deep that you could not just dive down to it because there's a certain depth of the ocean water when the nitrogen gets to where it can cause to become poison to you. But that ship 50 feet long, there were hundreds of these ships that sailed around the Mediterranean area and trade and they made a few people very wealthy. And you got wisdom from thy traffic, that is from your trade, that thou has increased thy riches and thine heart is lifted up because of thy riches. This morning I made the statement that one of the definitions is in the 11 o'clock service. One of the definitions in the Hebrew language of glory is to invest. You see, we invest in something. Invest in God. Invest in the gospel. Invest in the good things that will last forever. Eternity. And the word glory. We say glory to God in the highest. Are you willing to invest in the eternal? Are you going to invest in that which will pass away? Therefore, thus saith the Lord God, because thy has set thy heart as the heart of God. This is any human being who decides that they'll give their life to Satan and they'll allow Satan to enter them and they will allow Satan to direct them. And for a while, Satan is so sneaky, he'll let them prosper for a while. Let them have everything that they've ever dreamed of and then, bam, it's all over. Behold, and he's writing this to these people who are in captivity in Babylon saying, why are you so jealous and why are you looking at these people that you look up to and want to be like when they're nothing but slaves of the devil? You're the captives of God, even though you're in Babylon. Therefore, I will bring strangers upon thee. the terrible of the nations, and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of thy wisdom, and they shall defile thy brightness. You see, Tyre was a city that was built out as an island, out from what we would know now today as Lebanon. And because of where it was located on this beautiful rock island, it had never been captured. until Alexander the Great came on the scene. And when he did, he spent a long time and a lot of labor building a way, a highway, we'll call it, a bridge out to Tyre. And he, Alexander the Great, destroyed the city of Tyre And if you were to go there today, all it is is a little fishing village with a few poor fishermen. It was destroyed just like God said it would be. And they shall bring thee down to the pit and thou shalt die the death of them that are slain in the midst of the seas. Wilt thou yet say before him that slayeth thee? I'm God, will you say you're God then? When the reality of who you have been and who you have not been and how you have mocked God, will you say I'm God then? But thou shalt be a man, you're nothing but Adam, you're dust and no God. In the hand of him that slayeth thee, Thou shall die the death of the uncircumcised. That would mean, according to Jewish thinking, you would miss out on the promise of Abraham, the covenant. And the covenant has now developed into the covenant of grace. When Jesus came and died on the cross and arose again, and you are now circumcised in your heart, and all that has been cut away, that is of no value. For I have spoken it, saith the Lord. Moreover, even more, the word of the Lord came to me saying, son of man, Ezekiel, speak to the children of Israel in captivity. Take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus. You should be weeping for him. You should not be wanting to be like him. You should be wanting to feel great sorrow for him because he has nothing that will ever be of any value eternally. and saying to him, now we see that Ezekiel is transferring this king of Tyre over to who he really is. He is Satan in the flesh, and now he's gonna reveal him as Satan himself. Servant of man, take up a lamentation against the king of Tyre and say to him, thus saith the Lord God, Thou sealeth up the sum. You have reached the end of your rope. Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. That's how you saw yourself. Thou has been in Eden, the garden of God. Only Adam and Eve and Satan were in the garden of Eden. Now he has said, here's who we're really dealing with. We're dealing with the serpent that Eve dealt with. Now just a minute, real carefully. Satan does not have hoofs and horns and look ugly. He was the most beautiful angel that God ever created. And when he comes to you to He comes to you as an angel of light. And I want to tell you, when he came to Eve there in the garden, he wasn't a snake hanging out of a tree that had apples on it. He was the most beautiful creature that Eve had ever seen. And he totally took control of her body, soul, and spirit. Thou hast been in Eden, the garden of God. Every precious stone was thy covering, and it names all of these very precious jewels. He must have been so beautiful in the day thou was created. You were the anointed cherub. You were the highest angel I created, Almighty God said. and I have set thee so. Thou was on the holy mountain of God. Thou hast walked up and down among the midst of the stones of fire, the altar of almighty God, where Jesus would be sacrificed. Thou was perfect, or you thought you were complete. in thy ways from the day thou was created until iniquity was found in thee. And today, I want you to know that until you have accepted Jesus Christ as your personal and eternal savior, that's what God sees in a human being. When that blood is applied by faith and you accept Jesus as your righteousness, you become the beauty that Satan could have never had. And for all eternity, you're gonna get, may I just use these simple words, prettier and prettier. sweeter and sweeter, holy and holy. I'm looking forward to that, aren't you? I'm looking forward to Jesus one day sending his angels. If I happen to live till the rapture should come and not come, and I should just go into heaven and angels take me to the pearly gates. What a joy it'll be to look into eternity and see forever what I have yearned for in this little time here on earth. Let us stand and sing. And when I'm saying this, I'm saying give glory to God. We're investing in eternity. I spoke about 25 minutes. Do you have any idea how long you have to study to concentrate that scripture? And yet I am so weak in preaching compared to what could be. So pray for me because you know the good thing about life, I'm heading toward the last round up and I don't want to miss anything when I get over there because I haven't got long to go and it doesn't matter. I just want God to show me Maybe I can hear a few of the words, not all of them that Paul heard.