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Fulfilled Prophecy – Week 1

Prepared and Presented by Titus Prevatt, Youth Group Student Leader

Apologetic Spotlight Week 1 -Titus Prevatt

Good evening lads and lassies, now before the timer starts I’d like to give a brief explanation of what our brand new apologetics spotlight series is for the next several weeks. First of all, for those of you who may not know what this is, the apologetics spotlight is a five-minute segment we do every week. During this segment we answer tough questions and teach about defending faith in Christ. In this new series specifically, we will be going over fulfilled prophecy that also has archeological evidence for the Bible, isn’t that exciting?! This week we’ll be talking about the destruction of Tyre. Oh, and don’t forget to absolutely scream the word “stop” at me if that timer hits zero. Let’s get into the spotlight right now!

So why should we care about the destruction of some old city? Well, archeology provides some great support for the Bible. Although archeology probably shouldn’t be our number one reason for believing the Bible to be true, it still provides some incredible reassurance knowing that the Bible has stood firm again and again to the tests of time. But what exactly does this “Tyre” have to do with the Bible? Let us take a look.

A prophet named Ezekiel prophesied the destruction of Tyre in about 587 BC. Let us examine that prophecy right now.

Ezekiel 26:1-12, “In the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, because Tyre said concerning Jerusalem, ‘Aha, the gate of the peoples is broken; it has swung open to me. I shall be replenished, now that she is laid waste,’ therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, O Tyre, and will bring up many nations against you, as the sea brings up its waves. They shall destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers, and I will scrape her soil from her and make her a bare rock. She shall be in the midst of the sea a place for the spreading of nets, for I have spoken, declares the Lord God. And she shall become plunder for the nations, and her daughters on the mainland shall be killed by the sword. Then they will know that I am the Lord. ‘For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will bring against Tyre from the north Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses and chariots, and with horsemen and a host of many soldiers. He will kill with the sword your daughters on the mainland. He will set up a siege wall against you and throw up a mound against you, and raise a roof of shields against you. He will direct the shock of his battering rams against your walls, and with his axes he will break down your towers. His horses will be so many that their dust will cover you. Your walls will shake at the noise of the horsemen and wagons and chariots, when he enters your gates as men enter a city that has been breached. With the hoofs of his horses he will trample all your streets. He will kill your people with the sword, and your mighty pillars will fall to the ground. They will plunder your riches and loot your merchandise. They will break down your walls and destroy your pleasant houses. Your stones and timber and soil they will cast into the midst of the waters.’”

*I can print you out a sheet that has the prophecy on it. For the sake of time, I would not read the verse. The summary will suffice for the spotlight.

What a prophecy! The prophecy can be summed up into these three points:

• God said that he is against the land of Tyre and God is going to bring many nations against this city.
• They shall destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers, and I will scrape her soil from her and make her a bare rock.
• God told Ezekiel to say, “They will plunder your riches and loot your merchandise. They will break down your walls and destroy your pleasant houses. Your stones and timber and soil they will cast into the midst of the waters.”

These main points were fulfilled later after Ezekiel had already died. Regarding the first one where many nations would go against the city, Babylon started a 13-year attack on Tyre, but Ezekiel was still alive during this time. However, the attacks continued. In the year 332 BC, Alexander the Great conquered Tyre. That’s over 200 years later! To this day, the mainland of Tyre is not inhabited, which fulfills the second part of the prophecy how God will scrape the soil from Tyre and make her a bare rock.

The last prophecy here was fulfilled by Alexander the Great as well. The prophecy says “The stones and timber and soil of Tyre will be cast into the waters” well, Alexander the Great in historical documents wrote that he built a causeway to the island of Tyre out of stones, timber, and dust of the old city. In other words, Alexander destroyed the city then made a road in the water with the bricks and wood from the city he just destroyed. Isn’t that crazy? The Bible predicted the absolute annihilation of Tyre over 200 years in advance, and was correct about every detail! The Bible really is reliable after all isn’t it?

So the next time someone says “The Bible has absolutely zero evidence supporting it.” You can always bring up this story, or one of the many prophecies that were fulfilled. In the upcoming weeks we will be talking about other sites from the Bible that you can literally go and visit, just like Tyre! I hope this was encouraging for you, I hope you have a nice day in Christ.