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The Destruction of Tyre by Alec Field.

(Ezek 26:14 NIV) 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.

This verse is at the end of quite a remarkable passage of the Bible. Ezekiel 26:1-14 contains at least six prophesies regarding Tyre that have been fulfilled. These predictions are the following:

1. Nebuchadnezzar would attack Tyre (v. 7-11)
2. The city would be destroyed (v. 8-12)
3. The rocks would be scraped into the sea (v. 4)
4. Many nations would fight against the city (v. 3)
5. Fisherman would spread their nets on the city (v. 5, 14)
6. It would never be rebuilt (v. 14)

When Ezekiel prophesied against this city it was the most prosperous port city in the area. If Ezekiel had looked at Tyre in his day and made these predictions in human wisdom, there would had been only the slightest of chances of them all coming true (some estimates are around one in 75,000,000).

The city of Tyre consisted of a mainland metropolis and a small Island that stood about half a mile offshore.

The prophecy mentioned in Ez. 26:14 found its fulfilment regarding mainland Tyre under Nebuchadnezzar. Three years after Ezekiel's Prophecy Nebuchadnezzar moved in and besieged the ancient city of Tyre. He attacked the mainland city and held it besieged for about thirteen years. He then marched into the city to find it nearly deserted. The Tyrians had abandoned the mainland and fortified themselves on the Island of Tyre. The mainland was over-run and defeated, and it was thrown down and left in ruins. The Island continued to be a mighty power in the Mediterranean until many years later.

Insular Tyre recovered partly, after seventy years (Is. 23:17,18), but again suffered under Alexander, then under Antigonus, and finally under the Saracens at the beginning of the fourteenth century A.D.

Alexander the Great besieged the island of Tyre during his war on the Persians. Alexander III after defeating Darius moved on towards Egypt. He called upon the former cities of the Persians to open their gates and let him in, hoping to prevent the cities being used by the Persian fleets. Tyre refused to do so and so Alexander became so angry that one city held out against him that he laid siege to it. But having no fleet of ships and not being able to get to them would have caused him some considerable problems, so he destroyed the remains of mainland Tyre and threw the remains into the sea to build a causeway to the Island. The causeway was 60ft wide and half a mile long and at the end he cast siege engines and towers. Alexander realised he needed ships to take the city and he started mustering a huge fleet from his conquered subjects: Sidon, Aradus, Byblus, Rhodes, Soli, Mallos & Macedon and Cyprus. The massive fleet ensured the destruction of Tyre was just a matter of time.

Though Tyre recovered from this she never rose to that splendid position again. But she still stood.

Antigonius was one of the successors of Alexander the great and a great leader. He won many battles and among them was another siege of Tyre.

Later, During the Crusades in 690 A.D. the city was taken by the Muslims and this caused the Crusaders to fight for it. When the inhabitants heard the Sultan had sent soldiers to capture it they opened their doors to let them in. They believed they were protected by a truce but they beheld their population massacred and the Muslims fury extended even to the stones they destroyed.

LeStrange quotes that the city was in ruins right until then, in 1321 A.D. and even to this day the ruins of Tyre can be seen.

Nothing but a small fishing village remains and the fishermen spread their nets their to dry or to fix. The once great city of Tyre is gone. Old Tyre was never rebuilt after its destruction by Nebuchadnezzar; and there are now no traces left to mark its site. Now its harbours are choked with sand, precluding all hope of future restoration. "Not one entire house is left, and only a few fishermen take shelter in the vaults" (Maundrell). The new city, when visited by Maundrell, Bruce, and other travellers, was literally "a place for fishers to dry their nets on".

Now Tyre "cannot be found" or rather that which was the ancient city is no longer there. Instead, on the island of Tyre you will find a small fishing village that bears the name Súr.

The Prophecies of God fulfilled are these

1. Nebuchadnezzer would attack he attacked three years after Ezekiel's

This was predicted in 590 b.C. Nebuchadnezzar laid siege to Tyre four years after the prophecy was made. After a 13 year siege (586-573 b.C.). The mainland city was destroyed in 573 b.C. as foretold, but the island city of Tyre still remained.

2. The city would be destroyed

It cannot be found today. Old Tyre is gone and we can only find evidence of it by digging down.

3. The rocks would be scraped into the sea

Alexander did this in 333 b.C. against the Island of Tyre. When island Tyre refused to submit to Alexander, he demolished the old city on the mainland. With the debris of the old city, he scraped it off the ground like you scrape dust off a rock, pushing it into the water. He thus built a causeway out to the island of Tyre, where he laid siege to it, conquered it, and destroyed the island city in 332 BC. The causeway still remains and old Tyre is as flat as a rock. This prediction was given 258 years before its fulfilment.

4. Many nations would fight against the city

A succession of invaders came to attack Tyre over many years, such as Nebuchadnezzar, Alexander, Moslems, and Crusaders. Look also at the list of those that supplied ships in Alexander's siege.

5. Fisherman would spread their nets on the city

Now it is a fishing village and fishermen today dry their nets on the rocks of old mainland Tyre.

6. It would never be rebuilt

Not at least to it's former glory. The fishing village can barely count. Old Tyre has been bare as a rock for 2500 years as God said, even though 10 million gallons of fresh water supply the site daily with enough water for a city. The city has not been rebuilt even today.

Other articles on Tyre

On the Tyre Prophecy of Ezekiel J. P. Holding

The Destruction Of Tyre by Alexander the Great by David Padfield

Destruction of Tyre: A detailed look at Ezekiel 26:1-21 and some objections that skeptics have

Tyre in Revelation:

by R A Taylor

The destruction of Tyre is alluded to several times in the destruction of Babylon in Rev 18. There is a striking resemblance with Ezek 26 - 28. If Babylon represents the World system, then Tyre is an example of her eventual destruction.

A comparison of Ezek 26 - 28 with Rev 18.

1. Compare:

Ezek 27:31 They will shave their heads because of you and will put on sackcloth. They will weep over you with anguish of soul and with bitter mourning.

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(Rev 18:19) They will throw dust on their heads, and with weeping and mourning cry out: "'Woe! Woe, O great city, where all who had ships on the sea became rich through her wealth! In one hour she has been brought to ruin!

2. Compare:

(Ezek 26:13) I will put an end to your noisy songs, and the music of your harps will be heard no more.

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(Rev 18:22) The music of harpists and musicians, flute players and trumpeters, will never be heard in you again. No workman of any trade will ever be found in you again. The sound of a millstone will never be heard in you again.

3. Compare:

(Ezek 26:16-18) Then all the princes of the coast will step down from their thrones and lay aside their robes and take off their embroidered garments. Clothed with terror, they will sit on the ground, trembling every moment, appalled at you. {17} Then they will take up a lament concerning you and say to you: "'How you are destroyed, O city of renown, peopled by men of the sea! You were a power on the seas, you and your citizens; you put your terror on all who lived there. {18} Now the coastlands tremble on the day of your fall; the islands in the sea are terrified at your collapse.'

with

(Rev 18:9-10) "When the kings of the earth who committed adultery with her and shared her luxury see the smoke of her burning, they will weep and mourn over her. {10} Terrified at her torment, they will stand far off and cry: "'Woe! Woe, O great city, O Babylon, city of power! In one hour your doom has come!'

4 Compare:

(Ezek 26:12) 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.

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(Rev 18:21) Then a mighty angel picked up a boulder the size of a large millstone and threw it into the sea, and said: "With such violence the great city of Babylon will be thrown down, never to be found again.

5 Compare

The list of goods in (Ezek 27:12-24)

(Ezek 27:12-24 NIV) "'Tarshish did business with you because of your great wealth of goods; they exchanged silver, iron, tin and lead for your merchandise. {13} "'Greece, Tubal and Meshech traded with you; they exchanged slaves and articles of bronze for your wares. {14} "'Men of Beth Togarmah exchanged work horses, war horses and mules for your merchandise. {15} "'The men of Rhodes traded with you, and many coastlands were your customers; they paid you with ivory tusks and ebony. {16} "'Aram did business with you because of your many products; they exchanged turquoise, purple fabric, embroidered work, fine linen, coral and rubies for your merchandise. {17} "'Judah and Israel traded with you; they exchanged wheat from Minnith and confections, honey, oil and balm for your wares. {18} "'Damascus, because of your many products and great wealth of goods, did business with you in wine from Helbon and wool from Zahar. {19} "'Danites and Greeks from Uzal bought your merchandise; they exchanged wrought iron, cassia and calamus for your wares. {20} "'Dedan traded in saddle blankets with you. {21} "'Arabia and all the princes of Kedar were your customers; they did business with you in lambs, rams and goats. {22} "'The merchants of Sheba and Raamah traded with you; for your merchandise they exchanged the finest of all kinds of spices and precious stones, and gold. {23} "'Haran, Canneh and Eden and merchants of Sheba, Asshur and Kilmad traded with you. {24} In your marketplace they traded with you beautiful garments, blue fabric, embroidered work and multicolored rugs with cords twisted and tightly knotted.

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The list of goods in (Rev 18:11-13)

(Rev 18:12-13 NIV) cargoes of gold, silver, precious stones and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet cloth; every sort of citron wood, and articles of every kind made of ivory, costly wood, bronze, iron and marble; {13} cargoes of cinnamon and spice, of incense, myrrh and frankincense, of wine and olive oil, of fine flour and wheat; cattle and sheep; horses and carriages; and bodies and souls of men.

6. Compare:

(Ezek 27:3) Say to Tyre, situated at the gateway to the sea, merchant of peoples on many coasts, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: "'You say, O Tyre, "I am perfect in beauty."

(Ezek 28:2) "Son of man, say to the ruler of Tyre, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: "'In the pride of your heart you say, "I am a god; I sit on the throne of a god in the heart of the seas." But you are a man and not a god, though you think you are as wise as a god.

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Rev 18:7 Give her as much torture and grief as the glory and luxury she gave herself. In her heart she boasts, 'I sit as queen; I am not a widow, and I will never mourn.'