Ezekiel 28:11-19 gives us a fascinating description of the Devil in the time before the creation of the world. This created being, perfect in beauty and covered with every precious stone, walked among the fiery stones in Eden, the garden of God in the spiritual realm. There is no mention of fiery stones in the Genesis account.
This being was one of the anointed cherubs. In my opinion he was one of the four that currently guard the throne of God. That means that originally there were five guardian cherubs, which explains a few things.
Five is a number associated with the Devil. The five-sided pentagram is frequently found in Devil worship. Please see the five rebellious statements of the Devil in Isaiah 14:13-14. In the Revelation, the fifth Seal is about the martyrs who lost their lives because of the Devil. (Revelation 6:9) In the fifth Trumpet demonic locusts could only attack men without the seal of God. (Revelation 9:4) The fifth Bowl of Wrath was poured on the throne of the demonic beast. (Revelation 16:10)
In the Bible, five is the number of grace, and the Grace of God is clearly demonstrated by the Lord allowing this rebel to continue in his disobedience.
Because of his beauty and pride, the Devil, or Satan the accuser, rebelled against the Most High God. He took one-third of the created spiritual beings with him. We are shown this in the Revelation 12:4, where the great red dragon drew a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. In Scripture, stars are very frequently types or symbols of angels. If there is any doubt as to the identity of the dragon, the Revelation makes it very clear:
“And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world.” – Revelation 12:9The “second witness” to the Devil taking one-third of the heavenly beings with him when he rebelled is found literally in the stars. While Adam was given the privilege of naming the animals, God, the Creator of the heavens, named the stars (Psalms 147:4, Isaiah 40:26). One of the constellations of stars is Hydra, the snake. Encompassing 102 degrees, Hydra encircles almost one-third of the stars. This is not astrology, which is the Devil’s counterfeit of the Lord’s creation. Please click HERE for the “Story in the Stars.”
We have no way of knowing how many spiritual beings the Lord created to serve Him, perhaps billions. But the Lord had a plan. Including the many, many infants and innocent children lost to “childhood diseases,” there have been an estimated 40 billion souls saved over the millennia. So the Lord has replaced the servants that He lost to the Devil. He has replaced them, in my opinion, with Believers! And we are more than servants. We are friends of the Lord Jesus. (John 15:15)
The Lord, who knows the end from the beginning, knew that the Devil would rebel, and many angels would follow him. I believe God planned for Believers to replace the rebels. Praise His name for His plan! If you are a Believer, praise Him for including you in His plan!