Ezekiel 26 through 28 deals with the city of Tyre. Strong's Concordance records #6865 in the Hebrew dictionary. The word; "Tsor, tsowr; a rock; tsor has a root meaning (tsur) ##6697, prime root, to cramp, i.e., to confine, (application of word, a refuge, a mighty (God) one, sharp, stone, strength, Tyre."

So when we are discussing Tyrus, we are talking about a rock, or a fortress. It is written in Psalm 89:26 that, "Thou art my Father, my God, and the Rock of my salvation." In Matthew 16:15 Jesus asked Simon Peter; "But whom [who] say ye that I am?" And Simon Peter answered Jesus, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God." Matthew 16:16

Peter's revelation that "Jesus Christ is the Son of the Living God, can only come from the Father;" it is explained in Matthew 16:17. Then Jesus made the statement; "And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." Matthew 16:18.

Many Christians have thought that Peter was the "Rock" that Christ built His church on. However, "A Rock immovable [in situ, in the Greek]:" It is the Messiah. That is the subject, in the Greek, and Peter pointed out that "Jesus Christ is the Son of the Living God." In this question Jesus was asking Peter who Peter thought Jesus was. The understanding by Peter was that Jesus Christ is "the Son of the Living God", this is the Rock, and not the Apostle.

Isaiah 28:16 tells us that Jesus Christ was to become the "foundation stone". Psalm 118:22 foretold that this "foundation stone" [Christ] would be rejected. So we see that our hope and salvation lies in Jesus Christ, who is the "foundation stone", the True Rock.

In Ezekiel 26 we will discover another rock [Tyrus] which is a city on the coast of Lebanon. Satan is also used in the Scriptures as a rock, only he is the "false rock". The city of Tyrus then is used as Satan's stronghold. This is a type of what will befall the world in the end times, in a prophetic sense. This chapter will also reveal in an historical aspect, what will happen to Satan's People, the "Kenites", in this end generation.

Ezekiel 27 will show us Satan's system explained in terms as a "ship of commerce". We will see both the weak and the strong points of that system, and what we should guard against.

Ezekiel 26:1 "And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first day of the month, that the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,"

Ezekiel is the only book dated from King Jehoiachin, and at this writing in the year 478 B.C.. The king had a three month reign, before he was taken captive by king Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. This writing of Ezekiel's was written eleven years later.

Ezekiel 26:2 "Son of man, because that Tyrus hath said against Jerusalem, 'Aha', she is broken that was the gates of the people: she is turned unto me: I shall be replenished, now she is laid waste:' "

Why would the city of Tyrus be rejoicing over the fall of Jerusalem? It is because the center of trade and influence would now be turned form Jerusalem to Tyrus. "She is turned" means "The tide of her traffic is turned;" and will now come through Tyrus.

Though God gave king Nebuchadnezzar orders [Daniel 4] to conquer both Jerusalem and Tyrus [see also Isaiah 23:1-16], In an agreement with Jehonadab, Nebuchadnezzar let Tyrus go. Thus we see Jerusalem is destroyed and Tyrus has profited from that destruction. So Tyrus now becomes the center of commercialism and trade.

Ezekiel 26:3 "Therefore thus saith the Lord God; 'Behold, I am against thee, O Tyrus, and will cause many nations to come up against thee, as the sea causeth his waves to come up."

Tyrus was a rock island which was well fortified, and easy to defend. It had two harbors; the one on the sea side was called the "port of Egyptian", and the one on the land side, the "port of Zidon." We know that it was never conquered by the Babylonians, but history reveals that it was the Grecians, under "Alexander the Great" that destroyed the city of Tyrus.

Ezekiel 26:4 "And they shall destroy the walls of Tyrus, and break down her towers: I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her like the top of a rock."

When Alexander the Great came to Tyrus, his army destroyed the land part of the city; then took all the debris, and stripped the city bear to make a road into the sea to the island. His troops leveled the island, and the Greek historians record that they "swept the rock bare to make the passage way to the island.

Ezekiel 26:5 "It shall be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord God: and it shall become a spoil to the nations."

Even to this day, men spread their nets and fish on the rocks of Tyrus.

Ezekiel 26:6 "And her daughters which are in the field shall be slain by the sword; and they shall know that I am the Lord. "

Thousands of the inhabitants of Tyrus were sold into slavery. The residents of Tyrus were "Kenites", the offspring of Satan, through "Cain". See Strong's Hebrew Dictionary, #7014; "Quyn, Kah'-yin, Kajin, the name of the first child, also a place, oriental tribe: Cain, Kenite." As we continue our study through the next two chapters, this relationship between Satan, and the Kenites becomes clearer.

Why did this happen to Tyrus? God said; "that they should know that I am Lord." There were about thirty thousand women [daughters] in Tyrus, and the neighboring towns, and they all were sold into slavery by the Greeks. God's Word came to pass exactly as Ezekiel prophesied.

Ezekiel 26:7 "For thus saith the Lord God; 'Behold, I will bring upon Tyrus Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, a king of kings, from the north, with horses, and with chariots, and with horsemen, and companies, and much people."

Keep in mind that though this is prophecy to Ezekiel, we see through Josephus , and other historians, that it took place just as God said it would. Though it is history, it is also prophecy to the end generation, as a type of what is to come in these latter days.

Tyrus became a smooth flat rock from the bustling sea coast town of trade and commerce. In these latter days, in a spiritual sense, the world will become little more then a flat rock, swept clean, when Satan, the king of Tyrus, arrives as the Antichrist.

Though King Nebuchadnezzar came against Tyrus, and did much damage, Babylon did not conquer the city of Tyrus.

Ezekiel 26:8 "He shall slay with the sword thy daughters in the field: and he shall make a fort against thee, and cast a mount against thee, and lift up the buckler against thee."

The Babylonians did destroy Zidon, and many other cities along the coast line, However they fell shot of taking Tyrus. As we saw earlier, it was the Greeks who brought Tyrus down and swept Tyrus clean.

Ezekiel 26:9 "And he shall set engines of war against thy walls, and with his axes he shall break down thy towers."

That is exactly how the Greeks overcame Tyrus; they broke down the walls and towers, and built a land bridge to the island.

Ezekiel 29:10 "By reason of the abundance of his horses their dust shall cover thee: thy walls shall shake at the noise of the horsemen, and of the wheels, and of the chariots, when he shall enter into thy gates, as men enter into a city wherein is made a breach."

King Nebuchadnezzar is a type of the King of kings that will come with a great army in the end times. The New Testament describes the world wide systems, political and religious, as Babylon. When the army of Satan arrives in this final generation, the completeness of destruction [deception of the truth] will be just as total as Tyrus was destroyed, when it was turned into a clean flat rock.

Ezekiel 26:11 "With the hoofs of his horses shall he tread down all thy streets: he shall slay thy people by the sword, and thy strong garrisons shall go down to the ground."

It will be, in a prophetic sense, to this end generation. These daughters of Tyrus are all those who will go whoring after the false Christ, [the Antichrist], and were found "with child" in the spiritual sense. When our Lord Jesus Christ returns at the seventh trumpet, their destruction will be as those of the daughters of Tyrus.

Ezekiel 26:12 "And they shall make a spoil of thy riches, and make a prey of thy merchandise: and they shall break down thy walls, and destroy thy pleasant houses: and they shall lay thy stones and thy timber and thy dust in the midst of the water."

Just as God destroyed the city of Tyrus so that it would never be rebuilt; so also will God destroy "the king of Tyrus" [Satan] and his fortress of the latter days. When our Lord returns, He will sweep clean all the deceptions, and the false religious orders, as well as the Antichrist. The destructive battle of the latter days will be at "Megiddo", where all of the Antichrist's crowd will be gathered for the slaughter. "Megiddo" means "the gathering place" in the Hebrew text, and this final battle is "the battle of Armageddon."

When will this take place?

When the Antichrist [Satan], the king of Tyrus, stands in the holy place in Jerusalem, and claims himself to be God. This is called the "abomination of desolation" in Daniel 9:27. Then shall Jesus Christ come to earth with His sword, and when Christ's feet touch Mount Zion, the battle will begin. We will see the similarities between Tyrus and Armageddon here, for both destructions will be total.

Ezekiel 26:13 "And I will cause the noise of thy songs to cease; and the sound of thy harps shall be no more heard."

This is similar to what is to happen, as recorded in Revelation 18:22. The whole world is so involved, and taken in by the fall of Babylon [in Revelation] that they are weeping over the loss of it's commerce, craft, and pleasures. That Babylon is the one world system of today, and very shortly this system will move from the political form, to its religious system. When this takes place, Satan, the Antichrist will rule as it's king.

The song of the mourning over the loss of Tyrus is going to be similar to the mourning over the loss of the Antichrist, the Babylon of the end times.

Ezekiel 26:14"And I will make thee like the top of a rock: thou shalt be a place to spread nets upon; thou shalt be built no more: for I the Lord have spoken it, saith the Lord God. "

Tyrus has been destroyed, and it will never be rebuilt, exactly as Ezekiel prophesied.

Ezekiel 26:15 "Thus saith the Lord God to Tyrus; 'Shall not the isles shake at the sound of thy fall, when the wounded cry, when the slaughter is made in the midst of thee?"

The fall of Tyrus was heard around the ancient world, as Alexander the Great, and his Grecian army sold them into slavery.

Ezekiel 26:16 "Then all the princes of the sea shall come down from their thrones, and lay away their robes, and put off their broidered garments: they shall clothe themselves with trembling; they shall sit upon the ground, and shall tremble at every moment, and astonished at thee."

There will be many that will be astonished at Christ's return, when all the "synagogues of Satan" [churches], and all the riches, commerce, and every part of that filthy religious order will be torn down, and will be no more. Just as the "Kenite" world of old came to a close with the fall of Tyrus, so also will the "Kenite" world of these end times end at the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Ezekiel 26:17 "And they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and say to thee, 'How art thou destroyed, that wast inhabited of seafaring men, the renowned city, which wast strong in the sea, she and her inhabitants, which cause their terror to be on all that haunt it!' "

The entire world grew so dependent on Tyrus that they just could not understand how one so strong could be destroyed. This is exactly how it will be when the Antichrist falls, and the sad songs will be the same. Though Tyrus ruled the seas, God empowered Alexander the Great with the strength to bring her down.

These "Kenites" [Phoenicians] roamed the world in the fifth century B.C., very much the same way they do today. They buy low, and sell high. They have no regard for their fellow man, as they tread through life in their world of theft, deceit, and lies. They will start wars, destroy nations, and murder many, and all for the sake of their profits.

Their day of judgment with God is coming shortly, just as it did in the mid-400s B.C.. There will be many tears shed by the world over Tyrus.

Ezekiel 26:18 "Now shall the isles tremble in the day of thy fall; yea, the isles that are in the sea shall be troubled at thy departure."

Ezekiel 26:19 "For thus saith the Lord God; 'When I shall make thee a desolate city, like the cities that are not inhabited; when I shall bring up the deep upon thee, and great waters shall cover thee;"

When Tyrus fell, all the coastal cities around the world felt it. When Satan, the Antichrist falls, All the people of the entire earth will know it, and fear. When this comes to pass, then all evil rudiments are destroyed; and you shall know it.

Ezekiel 26:20 "When I shall bring thee down with them that descend into the pit, with the people of old time, and shall set thee in the low parts of the earth, in places desolate of old, with them that go down to the pit, that thou be not inhabited; and I shall set glory in the land of the living;

Do you get it now? God is not only talking about ancient Tyrus, but the Tyrus of the end days. "I shall bring thee down with them that descend into the pit." this refers to Satan being cast into the pit at the sound of the seventh trumpet. God is warning you and I today that what happened to Tyrus applies to this end generation.

God is saying, if you follow into the deception and commerce, and become part of it, "I shall bring thee [you] down with them." We not only stay away from their economic and political system, but also their religious system being set up now.

When you follow the "rapture doctrine", you are leaving yourself wide open to deception and the damnation of your soul, For through it, you will be led to accept the first Christ as the Messiah, and then you will have taken the "Mark of the Beast". This 20th verse makes you and I part of this 26th chapter, and also makes it part of our lives.

"The people of old time", refers to that "world [age] that was". That is the first earth age, when Satan caused one third of all angelic souls to fall. We see in Jude 6 that they are to be held until the end.

This "low parts of the earth, and desolate of old," are the very places the fallen cursed angels are held. God is telling you and I that if we chose the way of Tyrus, we will be sent to where they are, and what happens to them, will also be our outcome.

"In the land of the Living" is used eight times in the scriptures. In each case it refers to a condition of life, in contrast with "sheol", which is the condition of death. See Isaiah 38:11, and Psalm 27:13.

Ezekiel 26:21 "I will make thee a terror, and thou shalt be no more: though thou be sought for, yet shalt thou never be found again, saith the Lord God."

Just as the historical remnant of Tyrus does not exist, our Lord is telling us that if we follow the Antichrist, the king of Tyrus, and his system, during the end times; the same will become of us. When these souls are destroyed, there will not even be a memory of them in the minds of those they loved. God will eliminate our sins also, by blotting them out, when we believe on His Son, and repent of our sins.

If you have a destiny and a purpose for the Lord, you will be there in the "land of the living". That land is an eternal place, and we will live in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

No, it is not difficult to become a "son of the living God", and joint heirs with Christ. All we have to do is confess our sinfulness to God, and know, and ask for the shed blood of Christ to cover all our sins. Praise God, that is why God sent His only begotten Son into the world; not to condemn you, but to draw you to Him. We can have all of God's promises when we ask it in Jesus name.

Then we live to worship, honor, and praise Him in all that we have, say and do.