Isaiah Chapter 23 "The Burden of Tyre; Former, Latter." This Bible Study is written by Roger Christopherson, and it's transcription/ location is provided by http://www.theseason.org The burden of Tyre, just like in Isaiah 22, is not a warning to Tyre, but an oracle. Again the oracle is a divinely inspired answer or revelation of something; an authoritative and respected utterance by a person of great wisdom. This wisdom was from the past and written to us living in the final generation to let us know what our future would bring. Most of this prophecy is directed to the generation that would be living in the period of time relating to the "parable of the fig tree". We happen to be living in that generation, and this is why it is important to pinpoint our knowledge from our Father's Word, to understand those things that are coming to pass from prophecy to give us peace of mind. Isaiah 23:1 "The Burden of Tyre. Howl, ye ships of Tarshish; for it is laid waste, so that there is no house, no entering in: for the land of Chittim it is revealed to them." This is the statement or oracle to Tyre. It is written to the people of merchandising and trade, and "Chittim" or Cyprus was originally used by these people of Tyre. In the in-depth spiritual meaning, the word "Chittim" was used for "bruisers", as is used in the book of Daniel. These bruisers are in reference that goes all the way back to Genesis 3:15, and identifies the seed of the serpent [Satan] who are the Kenites, and the Seed of the woman [Eve], who is Christ. Daniel 11:30 "For the ships of Chittim shall come against him: therefore he shall be grieved, and return, and have indignation against the holy covenant: so shall he do; he shall even return, and have intelligence with them that forsake the holy covenant." Genesis 3:15 "And I [God] will put enmity between thee [Satan] and the woman [Eve], and between thy seed [the Kenites] and her Seed [Jesus Christ]; It [Christ] shall bruise thy [Satan's] head, and thou [Satan] shalt bruise His [Christ's] heel." Eve's seed is our Lord Jesus Christ, while Satan's seed are the children, to the last generation, that are called "Kenites". These offspring of Satan were born from the sexual union between Eve and Satan [The serpent and the tree of good and evil], from the Garden of Eden. God is telling us that He will put trouble between Eve's children [through Adam and Seth],and Satan's offspring through his son Cain, which are called Kenites. It is these Kenites that are the "bruisers". It will be difficult for any Christian to mature in the Word of God until they understand what happened in the Garden of Eden, and why it took place. Strong's Hebrew Dictionary, # 7014; "Qayin, kah'-yin; Kajin, the name of the first child, also of a place in Pal., and of an Oriental tribe, Cain, Kenite." Then in # 7017; "Qiyniy, (I Chronicles 2:55), kee-nee; from 7914; a Kenite or member of the tribe of Kajin: Kenite." So God is telling these Kenites, these of Tyre and of the Ships of Chittim that they are going to be destroyed. Tyre is a little rock island in the Mediterranean Sea, located just off the Lebanon coast of today. Today it is a bare rock; God said that He was going to make it bare, and when the Greek army, with Alexander the Great, came through Tyre, his army built a land bridge out of the houses and materials of the land side of the city and Zidon, and wiped the seaport from the face of the earth. What the Greeks left behind was a flat bare rock. At one time, back before the they fell, they were considered the world bank, the center of the world trade and commerce. All the grain vessels from Egypt and Europe went through Tyre on the way to whom ever made the purchase. These Kenites were the merchants to the world, they owned the ships, and financed the product that were delivered by them. They were also call the "Ships of Tarshish". "Tyre" in the Hebrew tongue means "rock". The king of Tyrus was Satan himself, and these merchants then are the Kenites, the offspring of Cain through that union between Satan and Eve way back in the Garden of Eden. These Kenites were well settled in their position, and controlled Tyre, and the shipping. Friend, God was not to happy about the Kenites, and what they did then, and He is not happy also as to what is happening today. However, God is using these Kenites to perform a service to fulfill what is written in His Word even in our generation. These Kenites are used as a point of correction for those Christians that are just not sharp enough to study to know His Word. We will study this chapter on three levels, and you pick out the level that feels comfortable with you. Isaiah 23:2 "Be still, ye inhabitants of the isle; thou whom the merchants of Zidon, that pass over the sea, have replenished" God is saying, be silent you inhabitants of Tyre. While Tyre was built in the sea, Zidon was on the coast very close to it. The Greeks used the materials from Zidon to build that land bridge to Tyre, and both were destroyed. Tyre was thought to be a safe island, with a good port, guarded by its jetties. Its position both geographically, and financially made it the captial of commerce. Isaiah 23:3 "And by great water the seed of Sihor, the harvest of the river, is her revenue; and she is a mart of nations." "Sihor" means "dark or muddy" in the Hebrew, and this river is in reference to the Nile river of Egypt. The seed that was in abundance in Egypt and the over abundance of flood waters of the Nile produced the grain that could feed the world. All that grain was shipped in the "Ships of Chittim", and financed at Tyre. The "harvest of the river" is the grain of the Nile, and this grain produced the revenue that made the Kenites the bankers of the world. This is the forming of a new dynasty way back hundreds of years before Christ; it is the dynasty of the "economy", and this dynasty made the Kenites the supermarket to the world. Though Tyre was destroyed, and the island rock wiped clean, this hasn't changed at all to our generation. When the island was destroyed the merchants simply shipped through other ports. However in our generation there is a point of correction that will come, and it will come from God. If you start to understand what happened in and to Tyre, you can understand what is going on today within our nation, and the nations around the world. These Kenites use their same game and same method of their operations today. They never change, for their mind is the mind of their father Cain. Isaiah 23:4 "Be thou ashamed, O Zidon: for the sea hath spoken, even the strength of the sea, saying "I travail not, nor bring forth children, neither do I nourish up young men, nor bring up virgins." Zidon is the place that sold the supplies to Tyre and gave support to what ever they needed. However this verse is after Tyre has fallen, for there was no more commerce that flows through her ports, nor family life on the island of Tyre. The people have left and the rock island is swept clean. It was God that caused her to be destroyed. Lets go back to Daniel 11:2, 3 for an historical study. Daniel 11:2 "And now will I shew thee the truth. Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia: and the forth shall be far richer then they all: and by the strength through his riches he shall stir up all against the realm of Grecia." This is the prophecy that Daniel had a vision of is now being explained to Daniel. Babylon has fallen and Persia was rich and ruling at this time. It was the actions of the Medo-Persians that stirred up the Greeks to form their powerful army. Daniel 11:3 "And a mighty king shall stand up, that shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will." This great king of Grecia was "Alexander the Great", and because of the attack on Greece and Macedonia, the Grecian army never stopped until they had conquered the known world, all the way to India. God raised the Grecian army, and they are the ones that tore Tyre apart. Alexander the Great was the son of King Philip II of Macedonia, who was brought up under a tutor named Aristotle, The same philosopher that has set the standards of education to this day. The Greeks religion was Hellenism, and to the Hellenist there was only "sophi and Logos", or "wisdom and logic". This is "reason by common sense". This is the frame of mind that the Greeks brought to their world empire, and it infiltrated into many other religions. So it was these Greeks that destroyed the island of Tyre, and their place of business. The Kenites were not eliminated by this Grecian act, because they merely changed their base of operation, and there will be a lesson to this as we will see later. Isaiah 23:5 "As at the report concerning Egypt, so shall they be sorely pained at the report of Tyre." God is saying, just as Egypt was corrected and lost here power and wealth, so also will these Kenites. God is going to hit her in the pocketbook where it hurts; and if you happen to be the supermarket to the world, controlling the world bank, that is where you will feel it the most. Isaiah 23:6 "Pass ye over to Tarshish; howl, ye inhabitants of the isle." When the Kenites left Tyre, they shipped their business dealings over to the Southern part of Spain, that is the area known as "Tarshish". These Kenites lost their base of operations, along with their cozy nest on the rock island. Now these same people are going to be known by a new address, They are now the "people of Tarshish", not Tyre. Same people only a different address. The "ships of Chittim" and the ships of Tarshish" are one in the same. There was a period of time that it took for them to re-establish themselves, and then they came back just as strong as before. When they were run out of Spain by the Catholics, they moved to Belgium and Holland, and today their strong hold is in New York City. These Kenites are the same people that infiltrated into the ranks of the house of Judah, and took over the duties of the scribes [I Chronicles 2:55], and the Levitical priest as recorded in Ezra 8:15. I Chronicles 2:55 "And the families of the scribes which dwelt at Jabez [Jerusalem]; the Tirathites, the Shimeathites, and Suchathites. These are the Kenites that came of Hemath, the father of the house of Rechab." Kenites are the sons of Cain, and called the Nethinims or foreigners that lived with Judah. They are not Israelites, but took over the duties of the Israelite Levitical priest. These are the same foreigners that caused the death of Jesus Christ, and were called Jews, because of their living in that land of Judah. Ezra 8:15 "And I [Ezra] gathered them together to the river that runneth to Ahava; and there abode we in tents three days: and I viewed the People, and the priests, and found there none of the sons of Levi." Do you understand that the world trade centers and the international monetary system are set up to create world ports of supply again. They are re-establishing shipping points around the globe. These Kenites, world bankers and traders are stripping our nation of industry and jobs and sending them to Mexico to cover their losses there, and now because of huge losses in Mexico they are reporting that the world economy is being touched. We are told to prepare ourselves for financial emergencies in the future. We don't talk anymore about the economy of the nation, but the economy of world trade. What is coming into being is a world monetary system that will bring the people of our nation to the same earning power and level to that of the third world nations. They are creating a one world system through this hidden dynasty of economics. Isaiah 23:7 "Is this your joyous city, whose antiquity is of ancient days: her own feet shall carry her afar off to sojourn." God is asking the Kenites through the prophet Isaiah, was that your joyous city? God is promising these Kenites that from their ancient days, it is He that is going to carry her afar off, to establish them in other lands and with other people. The starting of this chapter addresses Satan's little ones, those Kenites that lived on that rock island, remember that the Kenites, Cain's offspring were not to the ones to raise crops, so the matter of the soil did not matter to them and their livelihood. God placed that curse on Cain and his family, the Kenites in Genesis 4:10 - 12. Genesis 4:110 "And He said, "What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto Me from the ground." Genesis 4:11 "And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand;" Genesis 4:12 "When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; and fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth." Stop and look at the attitude of these international Kenite bankers, and traders; they have no bonding any nation, and there is no boundary and borders to them. Their purpose is to bring into being a one world government. They don't grow the product, but manipulate the pricing and conditions were they take it from the farmer through their financing, and ship and sell it on the world market. The Kenites can't farm and grow crops because God has placed a curse upon them, so they must be merchants. This is how God has made a provision for their ability to live. This has nothing to do with honest merchant men and women, but is directed to the those Kenites that disrespect the borders and well beings of nations. Isaiah 23:8 "Who hath taken this counsel against Tyre, the crowning city, whose merchants are princes, whose traffickers are the honourable of the earth?" This should not be a difficult question for us now, for it is God that placed the curse on Cain and his sons, the Kenites, and it is our Heavenly Father that we are to lean on and turn to in time of need. The "crowning city" is the city that sets up and tares down royalty and national leaders. The leaders of these rich Kenite international bankers are treated as kings in all the nations of the world, for they traffick in what ever seems right to them. They set the laws and agreements that suits them and their merchandising and trade, and they own the people that set the standards of what is respectable and what is not. These Kenites, so called Jews are not of our Heavenly Father but of the earth. Their "morning star" is the fake morning star who is Satan. The problem we have today is that most Christians are so ignorant of His Word that they don't know the difference. Many Christians today even say that these Kenites are "God's chosen people"; claiming them to be Israel, when they are not. These traffickers are honorable amongst the earth, and those that live for the flesh and by the desires of the flesh. King makers are those that are so wealthy that they can control the setting up of kings, and the bringing them down. It is going on today, as the United Nations, and their Kenite controllers bring nations into wars, and make nations unstable, and collapse through their manipulation of trade agreements, monetary policy and control of the press. Their "ships of Tarshish" are still sailing the high seas, and doing what they have always done, only today they are sailing under different flags. The ownership though is the same. Isaiah 23:9 "The Lord of hosts hath purposed it to stain the pride of all glory, and to bring into contempt all the honourable of the earth." God is allowing these Kenites to run around the earth and rip off the people of all nations, for the purpose of staining man's glory. God allows it to happen not to His glory, but if man likes to glory in himself, God will turn these Kenites over on them to bring them down a peg or two. If a person comes to think of himself as being someone great, and gives no glory to God, God will allow these Kenites to bring peoples contempt upon them. When you start to think of yourself more highly then you ought to, then look out. Paul spoke of the in Romans 12:3. Romans 12:3 "For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more hightly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith." The Kenites have their hidden dynasties, and they set up their own kings behind the scenes, and even though their royalties are not reported, God has a way of letting us know that He is still in control even of them. So God is saying here that whatever the earth honors is what I remove away, and whatever that honor is, it is not what those that serve God will honor. Isaiah 23:10 "Pass through thy land as a river, O daughter of Tarshish: there is no more strength." We have seen wild rivers running out of their banks sweep away entire towns and things that are in its way. This verse is saying that these daughters of Tarshish, the Kenites are going to have their strength and hidden powers taken from them. In the Hebrew it reads, "He took their girdle away from them." Isaiah 23:11 "He stretched out his hand over the sea, He shook the kingdoms: the Lord hath given a commandment against the merchant city, to destroy the strong holds thereof." He stretched His hand over the peoples of the earth and shook their king makers. Scratch the word "city", the action is against these merchants that have their strong holds over the kingdoms. Historically this is exactly what happened when Tyre was taken. Is also happened when Spain [Tarshish] was taken, and it will happen again when the monetary systems, and the new world order collapses to bring in the new religious order of the Antichrist. What has happened is a type of what will happen in our generation. Are you set for this fall, are you familiar with God's prophecies on these matters. This is why we are to free ourselves of the financial systems the world. When we pay attention to current events of today, it becomes very obvious what is taking place today. Isaiah 23:12 "And He said, "Thou shalt no more rejoice, O thou oppressed virgin, daughter of Zidon: arise, pass over to Chittem; there also shalt thou have no rest." " God is telling these people of Zidon to leave the attachments of Tyre, and stop being their suppliers, or you are going to be burned by them. Go over to Chittim, go over to Cypress and deal with them there. Isaiah is giving these people of Zidon a prophetic warning that the Greeks are coming, and Tyre will be finished. God did scatter the Kenites and He dispersed them around the world. He placed a penalty upon them, which was a matter of time; and from that time on the Kenites diversified into other things, and not just grain. Isaiah 23:13 "Behold the land of the Chaldeans; this people was not, till the Assyrian founded it for them that dwell in the wilderness: they set up the towers thereof, they raised up the palaces thereof; and He brought it to ruin." God is telling these Kenites to stop and take a look at Chaldeans, the Babylonians. When Babylon was established and grew into a city, the Assyrians thought it was nothing but a wilderness. Babylon started out an outpost of Assyria against the Persians, and the Assyrians built the cities and towers of strength in Babylon, and then one of the generals of Assyria took Babylon for his own. Nebuchadnezzar became a servant of God, to be used of God, and brought down the Assyrians. However when Babylon turned their back on the God, and violated the holy vessels of God, in one night Babylon ceased to exist, and Cyrus of Persia took it over. That is history, both classical and Biblical. However in the days of Isaiah, it was prophecy, something that would not happen for hundreds of years. God is telling Tyre then, if you think you are so large and strong, take a look at what happened to Assyria and Babylon that were many times larger then you. Isaiah 23:14 "Howl, ye ships of Tarshish: for your strength is laid waste." Remember that the ships of Tarshish became named after Tyre had fallen and the Kenites moved to Spain [Tarshish] for their base of operation. Their former city of Tyre was laid waste, and became nothing but a flat dusty rock, of use to no one. Isaiah 23:15 "And it shall come to pass in that day, that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king: after the end of seventy years shall Tyre sing as an harlot." Here is the penalty that God is placing upon Tyre. The life span of man is seventy years, and this is the reason for the mentioning of one king. In the Hebrew text "one king" is "ehad", a compound of unity, not as the translators write "yahid" a single one. It is looking at a dynasty and not at a single person. God is telling us that it would take seventy years for the Kenites to understand what had happened, and change the method of operation. At the end of the seventy years of their development of this dynasty, she would sing as a harlot. By using the term "harlot" shows that the Kenites started to deal in souls and not just merchandise. Isaiah 23:16 "Take an harp, go about the city, thou harlot that hast been forgotten; make sweet melody, sing many songs, that thou mayest be remembered." Once these Kenites have established themselves, their goods, their methods of merchandising the souls of men, they will go about the city with their music, and draw people in with their advertising. This will cause the people to by their goods, to remember their stores and the goods that they have to sell. Now lets see if we can recognize what is about to happen to Tyre, to these Kenites. Isaiah 23:17 "And it shall come to pass after the end of seventy years, that the Lord will visit Tyre, and she shall turn to her hire, and shall commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth." God is telling us through Isaiah that these same people of Tyre, that moved to Tarshish, and other ports will ultimately reach to the other ends of the earth. This one world system that has grown into a hidden dynasty will set up their manufacturing plants, their banks and set up their ports around the globe to where every nation on the face of the earth will commit fornication with them. Spiritual fornication is to lean on and rely not on God for their protection, but upon that one world system controlled by their hidden dynasties of Economics, Education, Religion and Politics. In our generation this system is called "the new world order", and it is controlled by the United Nations and its many agencies. This system is in place, and all the laws and charters that establish it as the controlling force is now a fact. When a nation goes to war, it carries the United Nation flag; when food is given that the American and Canadian taxpayers paid for the food, the Kenites give it out in the UN trucks, with their markings on the items. When a law of the sea, the environment, or space is enforced they look to the international laws of the United Nations, and try to drag it into their bias World courts. Friend, not only is the world blind to what is going on, but so are the Christians that are blind to His Word. Seventy years ago people simply would not believe that such a thing could happen, and today has become a way of life. The ideas of a global society is more common to school children today then nationalism, and our constitution. Names of organizations of that one world government are more common then our own federal agencies, the Red Cross, the IMF [world bank], the UN forces, the Word Court which is given the rule over the Bosnian and Serb situation, and so on. You are standing waist deep in their crap, only you don't know what to call it. They told you it is good, so we are to believe them. Are you starting to get the picture? Though this happened before to that tiny nation on the island rock called Tyre, and it has happened many times before, God is telling us that it would happen over again until it became so developed and diversified that it would reach in every corner and nation of the world. Have you wondered where your jobs are going, or why the national debt is so far beyond reality? Some hidden forces are in control, and they are playing the role of a harlot and our people are buying that harlot. God is warning you friend, and this is a prophecy that is going on right before our eyes, don't you think it is time to wake up a bit? Sure the International Monetary Fund [IMF] looks out for all the people of the world, but are you starting to understand where those band of Kenites are getting that fund? Sure the IRS collects all the taxes for the Government, but have you noticed who they give their collections to? Not the Federal government, but to the private corporations that own them, the Federal Reserve System. I hope we have a little better understanding of who these Kenites are, these sons of Cain that are not of our brother Judah, nor have they ever been. At the end of the 1980's our president forgave a huge debt of billions of dollars that Egypt owed the United States, without the congress' permission; and the whole idea of NAFTA was to bail out the international bankers with their bad debts made with Mexico. This funneling of good money after bad is in the trillions of dollars, and it has been going on behind closed doors for years. The hidden dynasties are having their bad gambling debts of business and loans covered on the backs of our national destruction, and our grandchildren. Friend, when they control the world monetary system, it is nothing more that taking a dollar our to your right pocket and putting it into your left, and recording it to another's debt. It is nothing more then a false set of books, to make someone think they owe you, when in fact it wasn't their money in the first place. There is nothing new under the sun, as this was what happened centuries ago, and it will be also what brings in the new world order to completion, before God brings it down. God says that it is He that sets up kings and nations, and it is He that brings them down. Notice the part "she shall turn to her hire", for these Kenites and their system recognize none of the limits set by God, and it thinks of itself as common to all the world. It has become nothing but a prostitute of souls, by their honoring only what the earth enjoys. Men and women sell their souls to take part in that system. Stop and think on this matter, and pay attention what mankind will do for a part in that system, and to be recognized by it. Isaiah 23:18 "And her merchandise and her hire shall be holiness to the Lord: it shall not be treasured nor laid up; for her merchandise shall be for them that dwell before the Lord, to eat sufficiently, and for durable clothing." The fornication of souls can even be in their commitment to the traditions of men, and the doctrines that have come to the surface that go against God's Word. Tyre and Tarshish have dropped her ancient identity and names, but do you recognize her today? This has come to pass and it does cover all the earth. God has kept His Word. Understand what the subject is here; it is the merchandise of these Kenites and their hidden dynasties. God is telling you that He has allowed them to exist to provide for the jobs, the food that we put on the table, and the clothes that we put on our backs. Though they think they are doing one thing, God allows what they do to supply the means for His children to exist in comfort and well being. Their merchandising is for this age of the flesh, which will be over very shortly, and to provide the means for His children while we live in this flesh. Upon the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ "the unholy will become holy", because the bad and unholy will all be washed away. This chapter flows right into the Isaiah 24, so don't lose the thoughts of this chapter.
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