Introduction and Ezekiel 28:

A part of the traditional Gap theorist interpretation is the idea that Satan’s Fall occurred during this time. Many, in fact, make this idea the foundation for their belief. The passage most Gap theorists use for Satan’s Fall is Ezekiel 28:11-19. This passage is known to be difficult to interpret; however, for the sake of the argument, let’s assume the Gap theorist’s interpretation (that is, Ezekiel 28:11–19 speaks about the fall of the King of Tyre and then likens his fall to the fall of Satan and Satan’s power at work in the human king). 

 

If it is true that Ezekiel 28:11-19 refers to Satan’s Fall, then there should be some hints in the passages that show when this happened. Ezekiel 28:13-17:

 

“Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. 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. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.”

Ezekiel 28:13-17 KJV

 

Hints of when Satan fell:

 

• In the initial verses, 13–15, Satan was still in his perfect state in the Garden of Eden. In fact, Job 38:4–7 reveals that the angelic beings were rejoicing when God was laying the foundation of the earth before the creation of the Garden of Eden. In his former state, Satan was celebrating with God’s initial act of creating the earth, as recorded in Genesis 1:2.

 

• Genesis 2:7–9 indicates that God planted the Garden of Eden only after Adam was created on the sixth day of Creation Week, and both creation and the Garden of Eden were still very good at the end of the sixth day (Genesis 1:31). So a plain reading of Ezekiel 28:13–19 requires Satan’s fall to occur, at the earliest, after the sixth day of creation.

 

• In order to get around this, Gap theorists propose a “mineral garden” found in verse 13. Then this garden was destroyed and rebuilt in Genesis 2:7-9. However, this is more eisegesis. One should remember that this passage is not fully about Satan but to the King of Tyre as well. Therefore, the minerals described in verse 13 likely refer to the extent of the King of Tyre’s wealth (and perhaps Satan’s as well).

 

• Finally, if Satan’s Fall occurred prior to the finishing of creation, and there was death and destruction during this time, then this contradicts God’s statement about His creation in Genesis 1:31:

 

“And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.”

Genesis 1:31 KJV