I recall a meaningful definition of Biblical prohpesy as "history written before it happened"  given by the popular British pop singer Cliff Richard in the great Movie "His Land" as he and Cliff Barrow were treading on the Holy Land in Israel. The destruction of Tyre is indeed also an example of history written before it happened. Ezekiel 26:1-14 says:

 1 In the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me: 2 "Son of man, because Tyre has said of Jerusalem, 'Aha! The gate to the nations is broken, and its doors have swung open to me; now that she lies in ruins I will prosper,' 3 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. 4 They will destroy the walls of Tyre and pull down her towers; I will scrape away her rubble and make her a bare rock. 5 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, 6 and her settlements on the mainland will be ravaged by the sword. Then they will know that I am the LORD.

 7 "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. 8 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. 9 He will direct the blows of his battering rams against your walls and demolish your towers with his weapons. 10 His horses will be so many that they will cover you with dust. Your walls will tremble at the noise of the war horses, wagons and chariots when he enters your gates as men enter a city whose walls have been broken through. 11 The hoofs of his horses will trample all your streets; he will kill your people with the sword, and your strong pillars will fall to the ground. 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. 13 I will put an end to your noisy songs, and the music of your harps will be heard no more. 14 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.

The prophet Ezekiel was exiled to Babylon in 597 B.C. The prophecy was obtained from God in the eleventh year after exile i.e. 586 B.C. Babylon besieged Tyre during 585 to 573 B.C. and the coastal city of Tyre was ruined. However, during this long battle, many Tyrians had enough time to escape to the nearby island about one half mile away from the coast with much of their valuables. Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon had to stop for they did not have the resources and know-how to seize the island which was well guarded by the fleet of Tyrians.

Laster, in 332 B.C., Alexander the Great attacked the island city with an excellent strategy. The Greeks scraped all the remaing dust, stones, timber and rubble, and dumped it into the sea to build a half mile long causeway leading to the island. Perhaps, this was the very first sea-reclamation project in the world. Consequently, the island city Tyre was conquered fulfilling the prophecy. Tyre became a fishing village, a place to spread fishing nets for centuries. In 1291 A.D., the Saracens destroyed what was left in the fourth century B.C. As of today, the ancient Tyre was not rebuilt fulfilling the prophecy. From this historical fact, we see that the Bible is indeed the words of God which is full of authority, trustworthy and true.  Let us study the words by God with a reverent heart. As the Lord says in John 17:17:

Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.

Eze 28:1-2

 1 The word of the LORD came to me: 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.

On studying Eze 28, I understand that the ruler of Tyre became very rich and his pride causing him to view himself very highly, even as high as a god and lost sight of the fact that he was a mere mortal. He attributed his success in trade and abundance to his own wisdom and understanding. In fact, he fell into the trap of the ruler of the world, Satan who is operating in the world like a lion seeking for opportunities to devour people. As 1Pe5:8 says:

 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

 As a matter of fact, this is not something new in the world. Right at the begiining of humanity in the garden of Eden, the devil lied to Eve, saying (Gen 1:4-5):

"You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman.  "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

Unfortunately, Eve listened to Satan's lie and led Adam disobeying God's command leading the downfall of the whole humanity.

If you study Eze28:11-19, God seems to announce judement to a spiritual being, namely Satan while the judement was directed to the king of Tyre:

12 "Son of man, take up a lament concerning the king of Tyre and say to him: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says:
       " 'You were the model of perfection,
       full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.

 13 You were in Eden,
       the garden of God;
       every precious stone adorned you:
       ruby, topaz and emerald,
       chrysolite, onyx and jasper,
       sapphire, [a] turquoise and beryl. [b]
       Your settings and mountings [c] were made of gold;
       on the day you were created they were prepared.

 14 You were anointed as a guardian cherub,
       for so I ordained you.
       You were on the holy mount of God;
       you walked among the fiery stones.

I think this judgement was announced both to the king and people of Tyre and Satan who was actually operating in behind when king and people of Tyre succumbed to the devil's temptation.

Similarly, when we studied Isa 14:12-15, judgement was announced to the king of Babylon:

Isa 14:12-15

12 How you have fallen from heaven,
       O morning star, son of the dawn!
       You have been cast down to the earth,
       you who once laid low the nations!

 13 You said in your heart,
       "I will ascend to heaven;
       I will raise my throne
       above the stars of God;
       I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly,
       on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. [c]

 14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;
       I will make myself like the Most High."

 15 But you are brought down to the grave,
       to the depths of the pit.

How should we face this spiritual battle? Jam4:7 lays out the winning strategy that we should submit ourself to God rather than Satan:

 7Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Eph6:10-17 also indicates the fact that there is spiritual dark force in operation, and the only way we may stand is through the power of God and His provision:

10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Let us give thanks to God who saves us from sins and give us a new life. Let's stand firm with the help of the Lord and live a life that pleases Him and be witness to people of the world who are still living under the bondage of the devel. As Eph5:8 says:

8For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 9(for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) 10and find out what pleases the Lord.

 Tyre was a prosperous and magnificient city. If we studied Ezekiel 27 (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=eze27&version=31), we know that Tyre was strategically located at the gateway of sea and a center of trade in ancient time. Tyre was a city filled with abundance of goods, skilled sailers, craftmen, builders, merchants, and protected with a strong military force. The prosperity and its magnificience could still be reflected by its archological remains (see http://www.middleeast.com/tyre.htm).

  However, at the later part of Ezekiel 27, we see the "shipwreck" of the city anounced by God through the prophet Ezekiel:

27 Your wealth, merchandise and wares,
       your mariners, seamen and shipwrights,
       your merchants and all your soldiers,
       and everyone else on board
       will sink into the heart of the sea
       on the day of your shipwreck.

  What happened? Were the magnificience and prosperity of the city the cause of its downfall? In a way, these good attributes could become the stumbling block of its downfall. As a matter of fact, we can see a hint of its downfall by studying the beginning verses of the prophecy (Ezekiel 27 3b):

" 'You say, O Tyre,
       "I am perfect in beauty."

   Do you see the symtom of its downfall, namely, Pride? The city (its kings and people), see itself perfect in beauty. This leads me to recall an antithetical teaching in the sermons on the mount delivered by the Lord (Matthew 5:3):

3"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
      for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 
 

Let's continue with next chapter and see a bit more.

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