Fulfilled Prophecy: City Of Tyre

ARTICLE INDEX     

THIS HAS BEEN CLIPPED FROM JOSH McDOWELL'S "A READY DEFENSE":

1. Tyre (E/274-80)

Ezekiel 26 (592-570 B.C.)

Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I am against you, O Tyre, and I will bring up many nations against you, as the sea brings up its waves. "And they will destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers; and I will scrape her debris from her and make her a bare rock"(verses 3,4 ).

For thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I will bring upon Tyre from the north Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses, chariots, cavalry, and a great army. He will slay your daughters on the mainland with the sword; and he will make siege walls against you, cast up a mound against you, and raise up a large shield against you (verses 7,8 ).

"Also they will make a spoil of your riches and a prey of your merchandise, break down your walls and destroy your pleasant houses, and throw your stones and your timbers and your debris into the water (verse 12 ).

"And I will make you a bare rock; you will be a place for the spreading of nets. You will be built no more, for I the LORD have spoken, "declares the Lord GOD (verse 14 ).

"I shall bring terrors on you, and you will be no more; though you will be sought, you will never be found again,"declares the Lord GOD (verse 21 ).

Predictions

1. Nebuchadnezzar will destroy the mainland city of Tyre (26:8 ).

2. Many nations will come against Tyre (26:3 ).

3. She will be made a bare rock; flat like the top of a rock (26:4 ).

4. Fishermen will spread nets over the site (26:5 ).

5. The debris will be thrown into the water (26:12 ).

6. She will never be rebuilt (26:14 ).

7. She will never be found again (26:21 ).

NEBUCHADNEZZAR

Nevuchadnezzar laid siege to mainland Tyre three years after the prophecy. The Encylopedia Britannica says: "After a 13-year siege (585-573 B.C.) by Nebuchadnezzar II, Tyre made terms and acknowledged Babylonians suzerainty." 43/xxii 452

When Nebuchadnezzar broke the gates down, he found the city almost empty. The majority of the people had moved by ship to an island about one-half mile off the coast and fortified a city there. The mainland city was destroyed in 573 (prediction #1), but the city of Tyre on the island remained a powerful city for several hundred years.

ALEXANDER THE GREAT

The next incident was with Alexander the Great.

"In his war on the Persians," writes the Encyclopaedia Britannica, "Alezander III, after defeating Darius III at the Battle of Issus (333), marched southward toward Egypt, calling upon the Phoenician cities to open their gates, as it was part of his general plan to deny their use to the Persian fleet. The citizens of Tyre refused to do so, and Alexander laid siege to the city, Possessing no fleet, he demolished old Tyre, on the mainland, and with the debris built a mole 200 ft. (60m.) wide acriss the straits separating the old and new towns, erecting towers and war engines at the farther end. 43/xxii 452 (Prediction #5).

The Tyrians countered here with a full-scale raid on the whole operation, which was very successful; they made use of fireships to start the towers burning and then swarmed over the mole after the Greeks were routed. General destruction of the mole was made to as great an extent as the raiding party was capable. Arrian progressed to the sea struggle. Alexander realized he needed ships. He began pressuring and mustering conquered subjects to make ships available for this operation. Alexander's navy grew from cities and areas as follows: Sidon, Aradus, Byblus (these contributed about 80 sails), 10 from Rhodes, 3 from Soli and Mallos, 10 from Lycia, a big one from Macedon, and 120 from Cyprus. (Prediction #2.)

With this now superior naval force at Alexander's disposal, the conquest of Tyre through completion of the land bridge was simply a question of time. How long would this take? Darius III, Alexander's Persian enemy, was not standing idle at this time, but finally the causeway was completed, the walls were battered down, and mop-up operations began.

"The causeway still remains," writes Philip Myers, "uniting the rock with the mainland. When at last the city was taken after a siege of seven months, eight thousand of the inhabitants were slain and thirty thousand sold into slavery." 99/153

Philip Myers made an interesting observation here; he is a secular historian (not a theologian), and this is found in a history textbook:

Alexander the Great...reduced [Tyre] to runs (332 B.C.). She recovered in a measure from this blow, but never regained the place she had previously held in the world. The larger part of the site of the once great city is now bare as the top of a rock [prediction #3]-a place where the fisherman that still frequent the spot spread their nets to dry. 99/55 (Prediction #4.)

John C. Beck keeps the history of the island city of Tyre in the proper perspective:

The history of Tyre does not stop after the conquest of Alexander. Men continue to rebuild her and armies continue to besiege her walls until finally, after sixteen hundred years, she falls never to be rebuilt again. 21/41

Citings:

21. Beck, John Clark, Jr. The Fall of Tyre According to Ezekiel's Prophecy. Unpublished master's thesis, Dallas Theological Seminary, 1971.

43. Encyclopedia Britannica. 1970.

99. Myers, Philip Van Ness. General History for Colleges and High Schools. Boston: Ginn and Company, 1889.

McDowell, Josh. The Best of Josh McDowell : a ready defense/compiled by Bill Wilson. San Bernardino, CA : Here's Life Publishers, 1990.