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A Place To Spread FishnetsFulfilled Old Testament Prophecy Concerning the Ancient City of Tyreby Jeff Estep
What Ezekiel 26 says, (NIV):Verses 3-8- "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. For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: From the north I am going to bring against Tyre Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses and chariots, with horsemen and a great army. He will ravage your settlements on the mainland with the sword; he will set up siege works against you, build a ramp up to your walls and raise his shields against you." Verses 12-14- "They will plunder your wealth and loot your merchandise; they will break down your walls and demolish your fine houses and throw your stones, timber and rubble into the sea. I will put an end to your noisy songs, and the music of your harps will be heard no more. I will make you a bare rock, and you will become a place to spread fishnets. You will never be rebuilt, for I the Lord have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord. What was predicted:In the 26th chapter of his book, Ezekiel prophecies against the city of Tyre. Among the predictions that Ezekiel makes concerning Tyre are:
What happened to fulfill the prophecy:Only years after this prediction was made, Nebuchadnezzar did indeed come against Tyre. However, Nebbie was surprised to find the city all but abandoned. Most of the inhabitants had moved to an island offshore, where a new city of Tyre was founded. The mainland city, with no defenders, was easily destroyed by the Babylonians. (2) Thus, the first prediction is fulfilled. A few hundred years later, Alexander the Great laid siege to island Tyre, but since Alexander did not have a strong navy, he knew he couldn't attack them from the sea, because the city was well walled. So Alexander tore down what was left of the original, mainland city, took the stones from the ruins, threw them into the sea, and created a causeway (or bridge) to the island. (1) When the causeway was completed, the Greeks tore down the island's city walls, and gained victory over the Tyrians. Historian Philip Myers notes that 8,000 Tyrians were killed and another 30,000 sold into slavery. (3) After Alexander, Tyre was again defeated by Antigonus, in 314 B.C., and by the Moslems during the Crusades. (2) Truly, many nations have come against Tyre, and the ancient city is now a distant memory. Philip Myers writes, "The larger part of the site of the once great city is now bare as the top of a rock- a place where the fishermen that still frequent the spot spread their nets to dry." (3) If you go to the site of ancient Tyre today, you are likely to see fishermen's nets drying on the ruins of the city. Although there is today a fishing village known as Tyre, that city is located down the coast from the original site. (2) After Tyre's destruction by the Moslems, the city was never rebuilt, fulfilling Ezekiel's prophecy. Every one of the prophecies concerning Tyre have been specifically fulfilled through history. The odds of Ezekiel's predictions coming true by accident have been estimated at 1 in 75,000,000. (4) Fulfilled prophecies give credibility to the Bible, and so we can conclude that there is a God who is active in human history!
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