From Farrell Till:
Walid and Lim have tried to defend Ezekiel's prophecy against Tyre, but have not been able to explain why the prophecy can be considered fulfilled when Tyre still exists. Ezekiel plainly predicted that Tyre would be destroyed,become a bare rock and a place for spreading nets, and would be built no more FOREVER (26:14,21; 27:36; 28:19).
One way to show the silliness of claiming biblical prophecy fulfillment is to take the prophecies that both Ezekiel and Isaiah made against Tyre and point out how that they differed in a way that made it impossible to fulfill both of them. We have already seen enough in our discussions of Ezekiel's prophecy to know that he predicted that it would be destroyed and never rebuilt. In fact, Walid and LIM have both argued that this is exactly what happened. The evidence clearly doesn't support them, but nevertheless this is what they claim.
As Ezekiel did, Isaiah uttered prophecies of destruction against the nations around Israel, and one of those prophecies was against Tyre. In 23:1, he said, "The burden of Tyre. Howl you ships of Tarshish; for it is laid
waste, so that there is no house, no entering in: from the land of Kittim it is revealed to them." The prophecy continues in typical fashion through the chapter, predicting waste and devastation, and beginning in verse 13, Isaiah clearly indicated that the destruction of Tyre would be only temporary, not permanent:
>13 Look at the land of the Chaldeans! This is the people; it was not
Assyria. They destined Tyre for wild animals. They erected their siege
towers, they tore down her palaces, they made her a ruin.
>14 Wail, O ships of Tarshish, for your fortress is destroyed.
>15 From that day Tyre will be forgotten for SEVENTY YEARS, the lifetime of
one king. At the end of SEVENTY YEARS, it will happen to Tyre as in the song
about the prostitute:
>16 Take a harp, go about the city, you forgotten prostitute! Make sweet
melody, sing many songs, that you may be remembered.
>17 AT THE END OF SEVENTY YEARS, Yahweh will visit Tyre, and she will
return to her trade, and will prostitute herself with all the kingdoms of
the world on the face of the earth.
>18 Her merchandise and her wages will be dedicated to Yahweh; her profits
will not be stored or hoarded, but her merchandise will supply abundant food
and fine clothing for those who live in the presence of Yahweh.
So we see that Isaiah had a very different opinion of Tyre's destiny. He said that it would be destroyed and forgotten 70 years but at the end of the
70 years, Yahweh would visit Tyre and it would be restored. Obviously, one could make a much better case for the fulfillment of this prophecy than for Ezekiel's. Nevertheless, Isaiah's prophecy against Tyre poses a serious problem for biblical inerrantists. They must explain why Isaiah predicted only a temporary destruction of Tyre, whereas Ezekiel predicted an
everlasting destruction.
Walid and Lim have tried to defend Ezekiel's prophecy against Tyre, but have not been able to explain why the prophecy can be considered fulfilled when Tyre still exists. Ezekiel plainly predicted that Tyre would be destroyed,become a bare rock and a place for spreading nets, and would be built no more FOREVER (26:14,21; 27:36; 28:19).
One way to show the silliness of claiming biblical prophecy fulfillment is to take the prophecies that both Ezekiel and Isaiah made against Tyre and point out how that they differed in a way that made it impossible to fulfill both of them. We have already seen enough in our discussions of Ezekiel's prophecy to know that he predicted that it would be destroyed and never rebuilt. In fact, Walid and LIM have both argued that this is exactly what happened. The evidence clearly doesn't support them, but nevertheless this is what they claim.
As Ezekiel did, Isaiah uttered prophecies of destruction against the nations around Israel, and one of those prophecies was against Tyre. In 23:1, he said, "The burden of Tyre. Howl you ships of Tarshish; for it is laid
waste, so that there is no house, no entering in: from the land of Kittim it is revealed to them." The prophecy continues in typical fashion through the chapter, predicting waste and devastation, and beginning in verse 13, Isaiah clearly indicated that the destruction of Tyre would be only temporary, not permanent:
>13 Look at the land of the Chaldeans! This is the people; it was not
Assyria. They destined Tyre for wild animals. They erected their siege
towers, they tore down her palaces, they made her a ruin.
>14 Wail, O ships of Tarshish, for your fortress is destroyed.
>15 From that day Tyre will be forgotten for SEVENTY YEARS, the lifetime of
one king. At the end of SEVENTY YEARS, it will happen to Tyre as in the song
about the prostitute:
>16 Take a harp, go about the city, you forgotten prostitute! Make sweet
melody, sing many songs, that you may be remembered.
>17 AT THE END OF SEVENTY YEARS, Yahweh will visit Tyre, and she will
return to her trade, and will prostitute herself with all the kingdoms of
the world on the face of the earth.
>18 Her merchandise and her wages will be dedicated to Yahweh; her profits
will not be stored or hoarded, but her merchandise will supply abundant food
and fine clothing for those who live in the presence of Yahweh.
So we see that Isaiah had a very different opinion of Tyre's destiny. He said that it would be destroyed and forgotten 70 years but at the end of the
70 years, Yahweh would visit Tyre and it would be restored. Obviously, one could make a much better case for the fulfillment of this prophecy than for Ezekiel's. Nevertheless, Isaiah's prophecy against Tyre poses a serious problem for biblical inerrantists. They must explain why Isaiah predicted only a temporary destruction of Tyre, whereas Ezekiel predicted an
everlasting destruction.
