Satan’s Veil of Deception
Note: This page is part of the study on the word “veil.” Go to that study.
Does Satan have or impose a veil over the understanding of others?
“Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.” (Eze 28:14)
In this look at Ezekiel 28:14, I am presenting something speculative and want to be clear about that. It might stimulate some further thought or investigation.
“And thou shalt make a vail of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen of cunning work: with cherubims shall it be made: And thou shalt hang up the vail under the taches, that thou mayest bring in thither within the vail the ark of the testimony: and the vail shall divide unto you between the holy place and the most holy.” (Exo 26:31,33)
I wonder if the last part of verse 31:
“of cunning work: with cherubims shall it be made”
could mean something like this:
“with cunning work, the cherubim made a veil”
Someone more familiar with Hebrew should look into this. Note that “cherubim” is the plural of “cherub.” (In Hebrew, the “-im” suffix is the equivalent of using an “s” in English.”) Satan is a cherub:
“Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.” (Eze 28:14)
“Anointed” = H4473 “mimshach” a different word than is commonly used for anointed:
Annointed
H4473 ממשׁח mimshach [mim-shakh’]
from H4886, in the sense of expansion; n m;
AV-anointed 1; 1
1) anointed, expansion
1a) meaning uncertain
From Jeff Benner’s https://www.ancient-hebrew.org:
 |
The Mem has a “m” sound and is a picture of a water. This letter can also mean the flowing water of man and animals, the blood. Blood is passed from one generation to another and can therefore mean “from.” When this letter is prefixed to the word erets the word me’erets is formed meaning “from a land.” |
As above, could the word “anointed” with a mem prefix mean “from an anointed one”? “From” as in “separated from” the anointed one – the Messiah?
It is apparent that, when Ezekiel wrote, Satan was no longer in his role as a cherub covering the ark in the most holy place in heaven. Therefore, the use of the word “art” in Ezekiel 28:14 is rather curious. Note that it is a supplied word, yet the verse, even without it, gives the meaning that Satan is the cherub that covers. If the word “the” (in “the anointed cherub”) is in the original Hebrew (I am not able to determine this) it suggests he is the one and only anointed cherub as opposed to “an anointed cherub” – one of two or more. Since the ark had two covering cherubs, he only ever was (when in connection with the ark) “a covering cherub” – one of two. For Ezekiel to call him “the covering cherub” especially in the present tense, suggests that, at that point, he is the only cherub who is covering. Could it be that he is the only cherub who is presently covering in the sense that he is not in his original role covering to guard/honor the ark but now in the role of covering to obscure the ark and its true meaning. The Hebrew word translated as “covereth” in the KJV does have a range of meanings.
Covereth
H5526 סכך cakak [saw-kak’] or שׂכך sakak (Ex 33:22) [saw-kak’
a primitive root; v;
AV-cover 15, covering 2, defence 1, defendest 1, hedge in 1, join together 1, set 1, shut up 1; 23
1) (Qal) to hedge, fence about, shut in
2) to block, overshadow, screen, stop the approach, shut off, cover
Satan’s Veil of Lies
Certainly, Satan did not erect the veil described in the sanctuary but he absolutely has done all he can to put up a veil of lies to obstruct or confuse our understanding of God’s word. It is interesting that the veil was the only part of the sanctuary that God Himself destroyed. Note also that there were cherubim not only on the veil between the holy and the most holy places but on the other walls as well (Exo 26:1).
Return to the study of the word veil.
