SAY GOODBYE TO LEBANON
Ezekiel 26:1-6, “And it came to pass in the eleventh year (of Ezekiel’s captivity in Babylon, 589 BCE), on the first day of the month, that the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, 2“Son of man, because Tyre has said against Jerusalem, ‘Aha! She is broken who was the gateway of the peoples; now she is turned over to me; I shall be filled; she is laid waste.’ 3“Therefore thus says Sovereign Yahweh: ‘Behold, I am against you, O Tyre (Lebanon, Hezbollah terrorists), and will cause many nations to come up against you, as the sea causes its waves to come up. 4And they shall destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers; I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her like the top of a rock. 5It shall be a place for spreading nets in the midst of the sea, for I have spoken,’ says Sovereign Yahweh; ‘it shall become plunder for the nations. 6Also her daughter (Hezbollah filled) villages which are in the fields shall be slain by the sword. Then they shall know that I am Yahweh.’”
Friends, that was a fascinating time in the history of Israel. King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had just begun a siege on Jerusalem on Dec. 21, 590 BCE, just little over three months before Ezekiel received this message from Yahweh. Apparently, the City of Tyre, north of Jerusalem, along the Mediterranean coast, had begun laughing at and mocking Jerusalem, thinking they were going to be able to take advantage of Israel now that Babylon was besieging Jerusalem. Why would they be so arrogant as to boast against Jerusalem like that? Well, King Nebuchadnezzar was then currently involved in a siege against the City of Tyre!! The Tyrian siege had begun 10 years earlier in 599 BCE and lasted until 586 BCE, when Nebuchadnezzar withdrew from Tyre without totally conquering it. That is why they were feeling a little cocky, great Babylon could not conquer them!
So now, you must read all of Ezekiel 26, 27 and 28, Yahweh says He is going to destroy Tyre! Their walls were about 150 feet tall! When Ezekiel prophesied, Tyre was still prospering in her pride, though later Persia and Greece both broke her down to humility, for a season. But, Tyre is still a major city in Lebanon, now known as Sur. So, was Ezekiel speaking to ancient Tyre, or to modern 21st century Tyre, or Sur, Lebanon? Ezekiel 26:13-14, “I will put an end to the sound of your songs, and the sound of your harps shall be heard no more. 14I will make you like the top of a rock; you shall be a place for spreading nets, and you shall never be rebuilt, for I Yahweh have spoken,’ says the Sovereign Yahweh.” Babylon did not even enter Tyre, let alone destroy her so as never to be rebuilt. Verse 15, “Thus says Sovereign Yahweh to Tyre: ‘Will the coastlands not shake at the sound of your fall, when the wounded cry, when slaughter is made in the midst of you?” We know Yahweh is not a liar, so when will this happen? Verses 19-21, “For thus says Sovereign Yahweh: ‘When I make you a desolate city, like cities that are not inhabited, when I bring the deep upon you, and great waters cover you (uh, think tsunami), 20then I will bring you down with those who descend into the Pit, to the people of old, and I will make you dwell in the lowest part of the earth, in places desolate from antiquity, with those who go down to the Pit, so that you may never be inhabited; and I shall establish glory in the land of the living. 21I will make you a terror (hello, Hezbollah now controls Lebanon, since toppling her government), and you shall be no more; though you are sought for, you will never be found again,’ says Sovereign Yahweh.”
Well, this is not what I expected to hear from Yahweh. I was thinking maybe this next war between Israel and Hezbollah would bring down Tyre, but it looks like it may be brought low by a tsunami, maybe as the result of an earthquake in the Mediterranean region. I mean, just this morning I read in The Trumpet Weekly email article for April 21, 2011, that Hezbollah has accumulated at least 40,000 weapons, spread over 1,000 facilities, since the last fight with Israel in 2006. Maybe this next war will be stopped by an earthquake and/or tsunami?!? Tyre has been a major seaport and center of trade for millennia. She has been beat down by the likes of the Medo-Persian and Greek empires, but she has always come back to prominence. But Yahweh said in 589 BCE that she was going away by way of the deep. Yahweh just gave us this Scripture passage this morning, so expect an earthquake and tsunami soon in the Mediterranean and Middle East area. I will attempt to get this to a news source in the Middle East, so then can warn Lebanon and Tyre in particular. The whole world is shaking, maybe Tyre is next on the list for catastrophe.
In Ezekiel 27:2, Yahweh tells Ezekiel to take up a lamentation for Tyre. Then in Ezekiel 27:27 we read, “Your riches, wares, and merchandise, your mariners and pilots, your caulkers and merchandisers, all your men of war who are in you (Hezbollah), and the entire company which is in your midst, will fall into the midst of the seas on the day of your ruin.” Friends, time is running out on Tyre, Lebanon!! Cry unto Yahweh for their salvation. Verses 32, 34, 36, “In their wailing for you they will take up a lamentation, and lament for you: ‘What city is like Tyre, destroyed in the midst of the sea?’. . . 34But you are broken by the seas in the depths of the waters;
Your merchandise and the entire company will fall in your midst. . .36The merchants among the peoples will hiss at you; you will become a horror, and be no more forever.” Ezekiel 28:5 shows why this calamity will come upon Tyre, “By your great wisdom in trade you have increased your riches, and your heart is lifted up because of your riches.” We know pride comes before a fall, but Yahweh, the whole city? Have mercy Yahweh! Tyrians, you may think you are the gods of international trade, but watch out, the aliens are about to kill you! Verse 10 of chapter 28, “You shall die the death of the uncircumcised by the hand of aliens; for I have spoken,” says Sovereign Yahweh.” These aliens could be anyone from the Iranian Hezbollah, to the Lydians from Turkey, to Russian invaders, or by the hand of circumcised Jews from Israel. Wow, war and tsunami on the same day, that’s a plate full. In verses 11-19, Yahweh equates the leader of Tyre with Satan himself. In verses 20-23 of chapter 28, Yahweh blasts the city of Sidon, Lebanon. Their judgments appear to be disease and war in the streets. Goodbye, Lebanon.
Israel is reassured again in verses 24-26, “And there shall no longer be a pricking brier or a painful thorn for the house of Israel from among all who are around them, who despise them. Then they shall know that I am Sovereign Yahweh.” 25‘Thus says Sovereign Yahweh: “When I have gathered the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, and am hallowed in them in the sight of the Gentiles, then they will dwell in their own land which I gave to My servant Jacob. 26And they will dwell safely there, build houses, and plant vineyards; yes, they will dwell securely, when I execute judgments on all those around them who despise them. Then they shall know that I am Yahweh their Mighty One.”’” Anyone who denies that Israel is the rightful owner of most of the Middle East is an ignorant fool. Ignorant of Yahweh’s Word and foolish to think that Yahweh is not going to press His rights to His Land in the Middle East. Lebanon, your time is about up. Israel, you must wake up to the truth that Yahweh is trying to get you to turn to your Messiah, Yeshua HaMashiach. Israel, Yahweh gave you two time conditions: 1 – When you were regathered to your land. 2 – When you hallow Yahweh in the sight of the Gentiles. You’ve met time condition one. It’s time to meet time condition two by repenting of your sin of rejecting your Messiah and turn NOW to Yeshua. He is your Messiah, He is your Savior. Forget Christianity and all other religions. They are lost in religious hypocrisy. Dear Israel, it is NOW time for you to lead the world once more into the throne room of Almighty Yahweh. Please don’t wait until Yeshua returns to earth, for that may prove to be a little painful. Repent today and turn to Him with your whole hearts.
Gene Benjamin II
April 23, 2011 CE
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