Home  Politics + Religion The city of modern Tyre--is it doomed?
|
|
The city of modern Tyre--is it doomed? |
|
|
|
|
Written by Terry Dashner
|
As I write this document (July 2006), the Lebanese city of Tyre is being blasted by Israeli bombs because the city--allegedly--is a Hezbollah strong hold.
If Israel is allowed to continue its fight against Hezbollah (which it has every right to do), Tyre could be destroyed. Has the city ever been destroyed? Yes. Are you familiar with its history?
Ezekiel (chapters 26, 27, and 28) prophesied against the city and its king thousands of years ago. Let me give you a brief on the city's history.
The city of Tyre is one of the oldest cities in the world. It was founded in 2750 B.C. by Phoenician sailors as a port city. * The city was surrounded by a great wall to protect its inhabitants and its beautiful structures. Some of the ancient structures in Tyre include a Crusader Cathedral, a Roman Hippodrome that seated twenty thousand people, and a Phoenician Cemetery, which is the first of its kind found in Lebanon. Another significant structure of Tyre was the Roman-built aqueduct which provided the city with its water. * Because Tyre was such a beautiful and wealthy city, it was desired by other empires. The history of the city has a dark side that was plagued by war throughout its history. The first of these battles started in the sixth century B.C. when Nebuchadnezzar, the King of Babylon tried to conquer the city. He tried for thirteen years but Tyre stood up to his attempts. It is unknown if the mainland city was conquered with the residents taking refugee on the island or not. * The second attempt came three hundred years later when Alexander the Great tried to take the city in the war between the Greeks and the Persians. He confined the city to the island for seven months. Because he could not reach the city, he built a bridge with the remains of the mainland city to reach the island. When he reached it he broke through the wall and in his rage he killed or sold the residents into slavery. The city changed hands again in 634 A.D. when the Islamic armies seized it. The last time the city was attacked was by the Crusaders. The city held up strong behind its wall until 1124 when they finally fell. The city was under different rule until after World War I when it was taken into present day Lebanon. (http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/archaeology/sites/middle_east/tyre.html). [For a brief time-line of Tyre see: http://phoenicia.org/phoeniciatimeline.html]
Jesus visited Tyre during his day, and the Apostle Paul in his time walked its streets. In Ezekiel 26: 3-6 we read, "therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against you, O Tyre, and I will bring many nations against you, like the sea casting up its waves. They will destroy the walls of Tyre and pull down her towers; I will scrape away her rubble and make her a bare rock. Out in the sea she will become a place to spread fishnets, for I have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord. She will become plunder for the nations, and her settlements on the mainland will be ravaged by the sword. Then they will know that I am the Lord." (NIV)
At the time these words were spoken by the prophet Ezekiel, the city of Tyre had not yet been taken by Alexander the Great. It stood impregnable in the Mediterranean Sea and had never been fully destroyed. I'm sure Ezekiel's skeptics heard his words and laughed just like people today laugh at Bible prophecy. Keep in mind, though, God will have the last laugh. What Alexander the Great did to conquer Tyre is build a half-mile-long causeway to reach it. This is unimaginable even by modern engineering techniques; however when God says a city is going to be destroyed, it has no defenses against its conquerors.
Israel will prevail against the Hezbollah strong holds in Lebanon not because she is a superpower in the world. Israel will prevail against her enemies because God has said that He will give her the land promised to her, and all her enemies who attempt to deny her this right will crumble to oblivion. Keep the faith. Stay the course. Jesus is coming soon because he said he would come again.
Pastor T.
About the Author
www.ffcba.org
|
|
