Jehovah’s Witnesses preach and teach that Satan is the ruler of the world—and that he is. That is what Jesus called him—the ruler of the world. Paul referred to the Devil as the god of this system. This is a fundamental, biblical truth.
However, just because Satan has temporarily been given dominion over the world does not in any way mean that Jehovah has abdicated his sovereignty. On the contrary.
There are many instances in the Bible’s historical record where God intervened in human affairs to advance his purpose. The ten plagues upon Egypt and the destruction of Pharaoh and his army come to mind foremost.
On other occasions, God simply used the nations’ military forces to bring punishment. When doing so, though, Jehovah always announced his intentions well beforehand, using his prophets. Babylon was used by God most prominently as his punishing agent not only against the stiff-necked Jews but also against many nations around the world. Then God judged Babylon and had it overthrown in one night by a man named Cyrus, whom Jehovah called by name in Isaiah 200 years before his birth.
One of the nations Babylon torched was actually a city-kingdom, the city of Tyre. Because the main part of Tyre was actually an island just off the Phoenician coast, Nebuchadnezzar went to great lengths to lay siege to it. It took the Chaldeans 13 years to finally raze Tyre. Apparently, though, all of Tyre’s vast storehouse of gold and silver was removed from the island before it fell, which is why Jehovah noted that because Nebuchadnezzar received no reward for the 13-year siege, God would give Egypt to the king of Babylon as payment.
Concerning the siege of Tyre, through Ezekiel, Jehovah spoke to the king of Tyre as though he were Satan the Devil. This is very strange, but the language is unmistakable. Here is what God said to the Tyrian king: “You were the model of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God. You were adorned with every precious stone—Ruby, topaz, and jasper; chrysolite, onyx, and jade; sapphire, turquoise, and emerald; and their settings and mountings were made of gold. They were prepared on the day you were created. I assigned you as the anointed covering cherub. You were on the holy mountain of God, and you walked about among fiery stones. You were faultless in your ways from the day you were created until unrighteousness was found in you.” — Ezekiel 28:11-15
Jesus not only revealed that the Devil is the ruler of the world, but he also explained that the wicked one is the father of lies. The original lie is what the serpent told Eve—“You positively will not die.” The anointed covering cherub of Eden was faultless before God until the day he pretended to be a serpent in Eden.
But thinking Bible researchers ought to ponder why the king of Tyre is portrayed as Satan the Devil. Are not all the rulers of the world, both ancient and modern, merely replaceable pawns in Satan’s system? Again, why single out the king of Tyre? The question is all the more pertinent since, in prophecy, the king of Tyre experiences a sudden fiery downfall, not the grinding 13-year siege that the Chaldeans waged. Clearly, the city of Tyre and its satanic king/god picture something much larger than the ancient city on the east end of the Mediterranean Sea. But what?
In Jehovah Has Become King, evidence is presented that Tyre foreshadows London and its world empire. London is the throne of Satan. Furthermore, London’s downfall is coupled with Egypt’s overthrow. Together, Trye and Egypt represent the modern Anglo-American dual-world power that is destined to experience a catastrophic crash, symbolized in Revelation as a mortal blow inflicted upon the head of the seven-headed beast.
Even the Watchtower is aware of the fact that the ouster of Satan and his angels coincides with the death blow inflicted upon the beast. The prophecy in Ezekiel confirms this: “Your heart became haughty because of your beauty. You corrupted your wisdom because of your own glorious splendor. I will throw you down to the earth. I will make you a spectacle before kings. Because of your great guilt and your dishonest trading, you have profaned your sanctuaries. I will cause a fire to break out in your midst, and it will consume you. I will reduce you to ashes on the earth before all those looking at you. All who knew you among the peoples will stare at you in amazement. Your end will be sudden and terrible, and you will cease to exist for all time.” — Ezekiel 28:17-19
The British monarchy views itself as a god. According to their haughtiness, they are a higher form of life. All other humans are a lesser species of animal. So, the downfall of the ruling empire will come as a shock to the world.
It should be apparent that what is pictured in Ezekiel has not occurred. It is little wonder that the Watchtower offers no explanation of the passage above, even though it plainly speaks of Satan being thrown down to the earth.
The sudden and terrible crash of the Anglo empire will mark the ouster of Satan and his angels from heaven and the beginning of the short period of time allotted for the Devil after his downfall.
