And from there, the Spirit of God, we love you, and in Jesus' name we pray, amen.
Amen. All right, well, we're there in Ezekiel chapter number 27. And if you remember from last
week, we started in Ezekiel 26, and we were looking at a prophecy of Tyre.
Ezekiel 26, 27, and 28 are actually all about Tyre. And honestly, these three chapters are
extremely interesting chapters. I'm not going to say they're the most interesting chapters
in Ezekiel, because Ezekiel has some pretty interesting chapters, but they're very
interesting. If you remember last week, in chapter 26, we saw that prediction or that prophecy
of Alexander the Great, and we spent a lot of time kind of developing that and talking about that.
In this chapter, what we find is we continue with the description of the destruction of Tyre,
and then in chapter 28, we actually learn about, it's all about the devil, about Satan. It's one
of the few chapters in scripture that's devoted to Satan, and we're going to get into that next
week, of course. But if you look at verse one, it says this, the word of the Lord came unto me,
saying, now thou son of man, take up a lamentation. Now, a lamentation is a passionate expression of
grief, and that's really what this chapter is. It's a lamentation, because in chapter 26,
we learned about the destruction of Tyre. And if you remember, we learned about how there were
several prophecies that nations were going to come like the waves of the sea, one after another,
and we saw how that was fulfilled in history, and we saw how Nebuchadnezzar was going to
kill people in the land. There was going to be daughters who were slain on the land,
but then there would be another nation that would come and actually cross the sea to the island,
and we saw the specific prophecy there of Alexander the Great, how he actually built a
bridge and how that's detailed in Ezekiel 26. If you missed that, I'd encourage you to go back
and listen to that. In this chapter, what we have is we have the destruction of Tyre as a picture
of end times Babylon, and this chapter actually parallels end times Babylon very, very well,
and we're going to spend some time just kind of developing that and learning about end times,
so if you're interested in learning about end times and Babylon, this is a sermon for you.
There are actually seven parallels between the destruction of Tyre and the destruction
of end times Babylon. I'm going to give those to you, but before I do that, I want to just
real quickly, as quickly as we can, I want to go through and give you a quick outline of the
chapter in regards to its primary context, because it does parallel and picture end times Babylon,
but it is about Tyre. There really was a nation called Tyre that was destroyed, and I want to
explain that to you. Now, if you remember from last week, we learned about how Tyre
was a city state that was divided into two sections. They had a land area, and then they
also had, which was called Old Tyre, then they had an island that was also part of the city,
and that's what we learned about. Nebuchadnezzar took the land section, but he was not able to
take the island. It wasn't until Alexander the Great was able to actually build a causeway and
take the island, and we talked about that last week. Because they were on an island and their
primary skill was to be able to have ships and have a navy and things like that. In this passage,
when God talks about the destruction of Tyre, he pictures it as a beautiful merchant ship that is
shipwrecked. Actually, Ezekiel 27 is one of the most, is often referred to as one of the most
poetic parts of scripture in regards to how Ezekiel developed this destruction. He's talking
about something very ugly, the destruction of a nation, but he does it in a very poetic way.
Let me just give you that outline real quick, and then we're going to jump into the pictures
of end times Babylon in this chapter. But I want you to notice, if you're taking notes,
I encourage you to take notes on the back of your course of the week. You've got a place to write
down things. What we see in this chapter is we see, number one, Tyre is described as a beautiful
ship. Because of the fact that they were mariners, they were merchant men, the nation entirely is
described as a beautiful merchant ship. Notice verse three, and say unto Tyrus, O thou that art
situate, that word means situated or fixed in a place. Notice, O thou that are situated at the
entry of the sea. So why are they situated at the entry of the sea? Because of the fact that
they're an island. Which art a merchant of the people for many isles, thus saith the Lord God,
O Tyrus. Notice what he says, thou has said, I am a perfect beauty. The word perfect means
complete. They are completely beautiful is what they're saying. There's nothing lacking. They've
got everything they need. Verse four, thy borders are in the midst of the sea. Again,
why are their borders in the midst of the sea? Because they're an island. But God is going to
describe them, and Ezekiel is going to describe them as a beautiful ship. In the same way that
their island was in the midst of the sea, he's going to describe them as a ship that's out in
the midst of the sea. He says, verse four, thy borders are in the midst of the seas. Thy builders
have perfected thy beauty. So he starts describing them as a ship that's built. He said,
your builders have perfected thee as beauty. Verse five, they have made all thy ship boards
a fir tree of cedar. They have taken cedars from Lebanon to make a mast for thee. What's a mast?
A mast is a tall upright post that's carrying a sail. Notice verse six, of the oaks of Vation,
they have made thine oars. What's an oar? An oar is a pole with a flat blade used to row or to steer
a ship. Notice he says, of the oaks of Vation, they have made thine oars. The company of the
Asherites have made thy benches, talking about where people sit on this ship, of ivory brought
out of the isles of Chittim. Notice verse seven, fine linen with broidered work from Egypt was
that which thou spreadest forth to be thy sail. So again, we already had the mast, but now he's
talking about the sail. And you see how he's describing them as this beautiful ship, blue and
purple from the isles of Elisha was that which covered thee. The inhabitants of Zidane and Arved
were thy mariners, talking about their sailors, thy wise men of Tyrus that were in thee were thy
pilots, talking about the person that operates the controls of this craft. The ancients of Gebal
and the wise men thereof were in thy caulkers, this is someone who cocks or waterproofs
the seams of the boat. All the ships of the sea with their mariners were in thee to occupy
the merchandise. Notice verse 10, they of Persia and of blood and of thought were in thine army,
thy men of war, they hang their shield and helmets in thee. And this was a common practice during
ancient times where militaries would have ships and they would put the shields of the soldiers
on the sides of the ship so that they didn't have to actually have them in where the people were
just to save some time. And God is describing them, Ezekiel's describing them as this beautiful
ship and he's using terminology that they would understand. He says, in thee they set forth thy
comeliness, the word comel means pleasing in appearance or attractive. So he's talking about,
this is an attractive ship, it's a beautiful ship. Look at verse 11, the men of Arved with
thine army were upon thy wall round about and the Gamadims were in thy towers, they hang their
shields upon thy walls round about, they have made thy beauty perfect. So in verses 3 through 11,
he describes them as this beautiful ship. He talks about the fact that they were built as a ship,
that they brought this exquisite wood to build the frame of it, to put the mast. He talks about
all these things and then he talks about how this ship was used. He refers to it in verses 3 through
11 as a beautiful ship and then in verses 12 through 25, and I'm going through this quickly
just because I want to make sure you get this outline, but in verses 12 through 25, he describes
this beautiful ship as a merchant of the world. Notice verse 12, he says, Tarshish was thy merchant
by reason of the multitude of the kings of riches with silver, iron, tin, and lead. Notice the words,
they traded in thy fair. So there's an emphasis here in verses 3 through 11, the emphasis was on
their beauty. In verses 12 through 25, the emphasis is on the fact that they trade or that they are
involved in mercantile, that they are a merchant ship. Notice verse 13, Javan, Tubal, and Meshach,
they were thy merchants. Notice the words, they traded the persons of men and vessels of brass
in thy markets. Notice verse 14, they of the house of Torgamah traded in thy fairs with horses and
horsemen and mules. The men of Dedan were thy merchants. Many isles were the merchandise of
thine hand. They brought thee for a present horn of ivory and ebony. Notice verse 16,
Syria was thy merchant. So notice he's going through a list of other customers, Syria,
Dedan, Torgamah, Javan, Tubal. He's describing just nations and cities of their time. He says in
verse 16, Syria was thy merchant by reason of the multitude of the wares of thy making. They occupied
in thy fairs with emeralds, purple, embroidered work, and fine linen, and coral, and agate, Judah,
and the land of Israel. They were thy merchants. They traded in thy markets, wheat, and meneth,
and peinak, and honey, and oil, and balm. Look at verse 18, Damascus was thy merchant in the multitude
of the wares of thy making for the multitude of all riches, and wine, and hellbond, and white,
and wool. Notice verse 19, Dan also and Javan going to and fro occupied thy fairs. Bright iron,
Cassia, and Calamus were in thy markets. And again, he's just emphasizing the fact that
Tyre was the merchant of the world because of where they were located, where they were situated
as an island. All of the ships of the world traveled through there and this was the marketplace
of the world. And their ships would take merchandise throughout the world. And he's
describing them as this beautiful merchant ship. Notice verse 21, Dedan was thy merchant in
precious clothes of chariots. Excuse me, that was verse 20. Verse 21, Arabia and all the princes
of Kedar, they occupied with thee in lambs, and rams, and goats. Notice, in these were thy
merchants. Verse 22, the merchants of Sheba and Rhema, they were thy merchants. Verse 23,
Haran, and Cana, and Eden, the merchants of Sheba. Notice the last part of verse 23,
thy merchant. Look at verse 24, these were thy merchants in all sorts of things.
Look at the last part of verse 24, he says, among thy merchandise. Look at verse 25,
the ships of Tarshish did sing to thee in thy markets. And again, emphasizing over and over
and over again, the fact that this was not only, that Tyre was not only a beautiful ship,
but it was a busy ship, it was a successful ship, it was a merchant ship, and it was a merchant
to the world. Now in verses 26 and 28, and then also 32 through 34, Ezekiel describes this
beautiful merchant ship as being shipwrecked. Notice verse 26, thy rowers have brought thee
into great waters, the east wind, and I don't have time to develop that, we'll have to do that
study another time, but whenever you see that east wind, you'll find that phrase throughout
scripture a lot, you should pay attention to that. He says, the east wind hath broken thee
in the midst of the sea. He said, you were like a beautiful merchant ship traveling around,
but then the east wind came and has broken thee in the midst of the sea. Thy riches and thy fairies,
thy merchandise, thy mariners and thy pilots, thy calkers and the occupiers of thy merchandise,
and all of thy men of war that are in thee, and in all thy company which is in the midst of thee,
shall fall into the midst of the sea. He's describing a shipwreck here, he's describing
the fact that this boat's going to get broken, and then everyone who's in it is going to fall
into the midst of the sea in the day of thy ruin. Look at verse 28, the suburbs shall shake at the
sound of the cry of thy pilots. He's saying, people are going to hear you from their houses
crying as you're drowning in the midst of the sea. And then he says this in verses 29 through 31,
he talks about the fact that the merchants of the world are going to mourn for this beautiful
merchant shipwreck. Look at verse 29, and all that handle the ore, the mariners and all the pilots
of the sea shall come down from their ships, they shall stand upon the land, and shall cause
their voice to be heard against thee, and shall cry bitterly, and shall cast up dust upon their
heads. They shall wallow themselves in ashes, and they shall make themselves utterly bald for thee,
and gird them with sacklock, and they shall weep for thee with bitterness of heart and bitter
wailing, and in their wailing they shall take up lamentation for thee and lament over thee.
So I want you to understand the primary application of this chapter. What is it?
It is Ezekiel bringing this poetic story of lamentation of the destruction of Tyre,
and he describes it as a beautiful ship in verses 3 through 11,
as a very successful merchant ship in verses 12 through 25, but it gets shipwrecked by God in
verses 26 through 28, also verses 32 and 34. If you notice there in verse 32, at the end of the
verse it says, what city is like Tyrus? Like the destroyed in the midst of the sea. Look at verse
34, in the time when thou shalt be broken by the seas, in the depths of the water thy merchandise
and all thy company in the midst of thee shall fall. And then in verses 29 and 31, he talks about
the fact that the merchants are wailing, and they're crying, and they're bitter as a result
of the sea. So that's the outline of this chapter. I wanted to just go through that quickly and make
sure you got that and understood that. What I want you to notice, and what we're going to do
for the rest of our time tonight, is I want to go through and show you some parallels between
Tyre and end times Babylon. Now, if you're familiar with end times prophecy, and keep your
place there in Ezekiel 27, that's our text for tonight, go with me to the book of Revelation,
Revelation chapter 18. We're going to be going back and forth a lot between Ezekiel and Revelation,
so keep your place in Revelation so that we can get there quickly.
But if you remember, there's a man coming, his name is the Antichrist, and he's going to unite
the world under a one-world government, and he's going to unite the world under a one-world
religion. And I'm not preaching about the Antichrist tonight, I don't have time to develop
all of that. If you remember, though, the prophecy of the Antichrist, he's often referred to as the
beast. Daniel referred to him as a beast, and the book of Revelation refers to him as a beast,
and the beast has to do with the governments that he's going to lead, the governments he's going to
come from, and the government he's going to set up. Well, if you remember Revelation, we're told
that a woman right at the beast. Well, that woman is Babylon, and what Babylon is, it is the world
power, the world power at the time of the events of the end times, and Babylon is going to be
working alongside with the Antichrist to bring in this one-world government. There has always been
a Babylon or a nation with the spirit of Babylon on the earth. And again, I don't have time to
develop this. There's lots of sermons you can listen to on our website and our YouTube page,
and I can direct you to some of those if you're interested. But if you remember,
like in Daniel, he talked about the fact that there's these different nations, and they were all
having this spirit of Babylon, the spirit of uniting the world. And of course, at Daniel's
time, you had the actual nation of Babylon with Nebuchadnezzar. Then you had the Medo-Persian
Empire. Then you had the Greek Empire. Then you had the Roman Empire. These were all empires that
conquered the world, and these were all a continuation. If you study in Revelation,
they're one continuation of the other, of the other, of the other. The Bible tells us at the end,
there's going to be a Babylon that is the world power. And again, I don't have time to develop
this, and I wish I could, but I believe that the end times Babylon is going to be the United States
of America. And if you're interested in learning more about that, we've got documentaries in the
back called Babylon USA that kind of explains what the Bible teaches about that. I also did a
three-part series a few years ago called America and Bible Prophecy, where we went through and
explained and taught all that, so you can find that on our website as well. When we're talking
about end times Babylon, I believe we're talking about the USA. If you don't believe that, that's
fine. But there is a nation that's going to work alongside with the Antichrist to bring in this
one world government, this one world religion. That Babylon is going to be destroyed by God.
And here in Ezekiel 27, we find seven parallels between the destruction of Tyre and the destruction
of Babylon. So let me give this to you as quickly as we can tonight. I'm going to give you seven
parallels as to how Tyre pictures the end times Babylon, and we can learn about end times Babylon
as well. Number one, Tyre, like end times Babylon, was a merchant to the world. I mean,
we just got done reading the verses, right? They were the merchants of the world. They were the
merchant for Tarshish. They were the merchant for Javan. They were the merchant for Tubal.
They were the merchant for Meshech. They were the merchant for the house of Torgama. They were the
merchant for the men of Dedan. They were the merchant for Syria, for Judah, for Minot, for
Panak, for Damascus, for Dan, for Dedan, for Arabia. I mean, we get this list for Haran,
for Cana, for Eden. They were the merchants to Sheba and Asher and Kilmach. We get this entire
list of the people, the customers that Tyre had. And we also get a list of the merchandise that
they had. Notice verse 12, Ezekiel 27 verse 12. I'm not going to read the whole thing,
but just notice the words if you can find them. In verse 12, we're told the merchandise that
they had. It says, Tarshish was thy merchant by reason of the multitude of all kinds of riches
with, notice, silver, iron, tin, lead. In verse 13, it talks about the persons of men, meaning
slaves. They were trading slaves and the vessels of brass. In verse 14, it talks about the fact
that they were trading horses and horsemen and meals. In verse 15, at the end of the verse,
it talks about the fact that they are bringing horns of ivory and ebony. In verse 16, it says
the multitude of the wares. It says the emeralds, the purple, the broided work, the fine linen,
the coral, the agate. In verse 17, it talks about the wheat, the honey, the oil, the balm. In verse
18, it talks about the wares of thy making. It talks about the wine. It talks about the white
wool. In verse 19, it talks about the bright iron, cassia and calamus. In verse 20, it talks
about the clothes for chariots. In verse 21, it talks about the lambs and the rams and the goats.
In verse 22, it talks about all spices and with all precious stones and gold. In verse 24,
it says this, these were thy merchants in all sorts of things, in blue clothes, in broidered
work, and in chest of rich apparel, bound with cords and made of cedar among thy merchants. So
when Tyre is destroyed, we're given this whole list of all the nations they were selling to
and a list of all of the things they were selling to. Well, here's what's interesting.
When you go to Revelation, go to Revelation chapter 18, we find the destruction of Babylon.
Notice Revelation chapter 18 and look at verse 1 just to get a little bit of the context.
Revelation chapter 18 and verse 1, it says this, and after these things, I saw another angel come
down from heaven, having great power, and the earth was lightened with his glory. And he cried
mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen. All right, this is end times
Babylon. It's a nation, the term Babylon is just given to all of them. All of these one-world
governments are given the name Babylon, but this is the one at the time of the Antichrist and this
specifically is after it's destroyed. Babylon the great is fallen and has become the habitation of
devils and the hold of every foul spirit and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.
But I want you to notice verse 11. Skip down to verse 11 because in Revelation 18, Babylon's
destroyed. But notice what we have in verse 11. And the merchants of the earth shall weep and
mourn over her, for no man buyeth their merchandise anymore. Because Babylon's destroyed, verse 12,
the merchandise of gold and silver and precious stones and pearls and a fine linen and purple
and silk and scarlet and thine wood and all manner of vessel of ivory and all manner of
vessel of most precious wood and of brass and iron and marble and cinnamon and odors and ointment
and frankincense and wine and oil and fine flour and wheat and beasts and sheep and horses and
chariots and slaves and souls of men and the fruits, verse 14, of thy soul lusted after
are departed from thee and all things which were dainty and good are departed from thee
and thou shalt find them no more at all. Here's what we learned about Tyre. It was the merchant
of the world. We get this whole list of all the merchandise that they were selling and they were
buying. But what do we learn about Babylon? We get a similar list. Why? Because Babylon,
end times Babylon, is going to be the consumer of the world. It's going to be the merchant of the
world. All the ships are going to come here. They're going to sell. All the ships are going
to go out of there. This is one reason we believe it's the United States of America because nobody
buys like the United States of America buys. I mean, you got ships coming from all over the
world to sell us their trash, right? Sell us their garbage and we just happily buy it up.
If you go around your house and start picking random things up and turning those things around,
most of it is going to say made in China, made in Taiwan, made in Mexico, made in all over the
world. Why? Because we are the merchant of the world. So the first parallel we see between Tyre
and Babylon is we get this list of all of their merchandise. They're very covetous nations. They're
nations that are all about merchandise and what they have and what they've bought and what they
own. So we see that Tyre, like end times Babylon, was a merchant to the world. Let me give you a
second parallel. Go back to Ezekiel 27. Keep your place there in Revelation 18. But let me say this.
Here's the second parallel. Tyre, like end times Babylon, made the kings and merchants rich.
So you say, well, I thought Tyre was just selling. No, they were buying and selling.
Their trade made the kings of the earth rich. Notice Ezekiel 27 verse 33.
When thy wares went forth out of the seas, thou fillest many people. Notice verse 33.
Thou didst enrich the kings of the earth with the multitude of thy riches and of thy merchandise.
So see, Tyre was selling all this merchandise to all the world, but they were making the kings
and the merchant men rich. Here's what's interesting. Babylon, same thing. Go to
Revelation 18. Look at verse number three. Revelation 18 and verse three.
Remember, Revelation 18 is the destruction of Babylon. It says,
For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. The her there
is referring to end times Babylon. And, notice, the kings of the earth have committed fornication
with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.
So in Ezekiel 27, 33, we're told thou didst enrich the kings of the earth with the multitude of thy
riches and of thy merchandise. In Revelation 18, 33, we're told the kings of the earth have
committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance
of her delicacies. So what are the parallels between these two nations? Well, number one,
Tyre, like end times Babylon, was a merchant of the world. Number two, Tyre, like end times Babylon,
was making the kings of the earth and the merchants of the earth rich. And you know what?
The United States of America is making rich people richer and merchants richer, and that's
why we've got all the Bill Gates and all the Warren Buffets and the Rockefellers and the
Carnegies or whatever, all these people. Why? Because, look, because the United States of
America is making the merchants of the earth rich and making politicians rich and making the kings
of the earth rich. Let me give you a third parallel. Go back to Ezekiel 18. Here's a third
parallel. Tyre, like end times Babylon, was empowered by Satan. Now, here's what's interesting,
and I don't want to spend a lot of time on this because I told you to go to Ezekiel 27,
but actually I need to go to Ezekiel 28, the next chapter. And we're going to spend all of next
week studying Ezekiel 28, so I don't want to get too much into it, but I want you to just
understand something because remember Ezekiel 26, 27, and 28, they're all about Tyre, right? Well,
in Ezekiel 28, we are told who is actually running Tyre or Tyrus. Notice what it says,
verse 12. Son of man, take up a lamentation. This is Ezekiel 28, verse 12. Take up a lamentation
upon the king of Tyrus, right? So we're talking about the leader of Tyrus and say unto him,
Thus saith the Lord God, thou sealest up the sum full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
Verse 13, thou, now who's the thou then? It's the king of Tyrus, right? It's the guy who's
charged and charged and running Tyrus. Thou has been in Eden, the garden of God. You say,
wait a minute, was the king of Tyrus in the garden of Eden? And again, we're going to get into this
next week, but there's a section in this chapter where he's talking about the physical king of
Tyrus, and then he transitions and he begins to talk about Satan, but he calls him the king of
Tyrus. When he's talking about the physical guy, he calls him the prince of Tyrus. You say, well,
why does he call Satan the king of Tyrus? The Bible says, for we wrestle not against flesh and
blood, but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world,
against spiritual wickedness in high places. You say, why would God call Satan the king of Tyrus?
Here's why, because it is Satan and his devils who are running these governments.
Look, this is why you need to not be naive and get all excited about some politician. Oh,
Donald Trump's going to save the world and George Bush is going to do this or whatever.
Hey, let me tell you something. If they're leading Babylon, they're probably not good,
all right? They're put there by Satan. You say, who's actually running the show at Tyrus? It's
Satan. The king of Tyrus, he says, thou has been in Eden, the garden of God. Let me ask you this,
who's in the garden of Eden? You ever read Genesis 1, 2, 3? Look, there's only three characters in
the garden of Eden, Adam, Eve, and the serpent. So unless it's Adam and Eve, okay, he says,
thou has been in Eden, the garden of God. Every precious stone was thy cut ring. The Sardis,
topaz, the diamond, the barrow, the odex, the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, the carbuncle,
the gold, the workmanship of thy taverns and of thy pipe was prepared in the day that that was
created. Verse 14, thou art the anointed cherub. Okay, so it's not Adam and Eve. Satan was an
angelic being. Lucifer was an angelic being. He rebelled against God. And God says, you,
king of Tyrus, were in Eden, and you are the anointed cherub. Why does God say that in Ezekiel
28? Here's why he says that, because Tyrus, who was the merchant of the world, who was making
the kings and the merchants of the earth rich, was actually being run by Satan. Go to Revelation 13.
Here's what's interesting about Babylon, USA. End times Babylon. It's being run by Satan.
Now, you know that already, but let's look at it in Scripture. Revelation 13 and verse 1. You
don't have to look around very hard to find out who's running the show around here.
Revelation 13, 1 says this, and I stood upon the sand of the sea and saw a beast. Revelation 13,
1. Remember, the beast is the antichrist. Now, the antichrist is the man as the mouth of a lion,
and you can run the cross references back to Daniel, and he's talking about the similar
nations there. Notice what it says at the end of verse 2. And the dragon. Now, who's the dragon?
It's the serpent. It's Satan. The Bible's very clear about that. You can study that out later.
And the dragon gave him. Gave who? The antichrist his power and his sea and great authority. So,
according to Revelation 13, who is giving the antichrist his power? It is the dragon. It's Satan.
And they worship the dragon, which gave power unto the beast. Now, remember, the woman right
at the beast. Babylon is working with the beast. You say, why? Because it's really Satan who's
running the show. Well, who's running the show down at Tyre or at Tyrus? Who was actually the
king that was running it spiritually? Well, it was Satan. And these are two things that these nations
have in common. Go back to Ezekiel 27. We're looking at parallels between Tyre and end times
Babylon. One is that they are the merchants of the world. One is that they make the kings and
the merchants of the earth rich. One is that they're both empowered by Satan. Here's number
four. Tyre, like end times Babylon, glorified herself. Notice verse 3. Ezekiel 27 and verse
number 3. And say unto Tyrus, O thou that are situated at the entry of the sea, which art a
merchant of the people for many isles, thus saith the Lord God, O Tyrus, thou hast said,
notice what Tyrus said, thou hast said, I am of perfect beauty. So, Tyrus was saying of herself,
I am of perfect beauty. She was glorifying herself, bringing glory to herself. Go to
Revelation 18. Look at verse 7. Remember, Revelation 18 is the destruction of Babylon.
Notice what Revelation tells us about Babylon. Revelation 18 says,
how much she hath glorified herself. Babylon is known for glorifying herself. Well, Tyrus was
known by going around and saying that I am of perfect beauty. You say, well, here's what end
times Babylon was going around doing. It'd go around and get around a bunch of foreigners and
it started yelling, USA, USA, right? Just glorifying herself. Look, America is constantly just
glorifying itself. We're constantly talking and bragging about how great things are. And I'm
thankful for everything that we have around here. But look, this is a nation that is filled with
pride. This is a nation that is filled with materialism, with merchandise. This is a nation
that is filled with the influence of Satan. It is a nation that's going to be used by the Antichrist
to bring the one world government, the one world religion. And both of these locations are
glorifying themselves. Tyrus saying, I am of perfect beauty. Babylon is saying how much she
have, the Bible says about her, how much she have glorified herself. Now go to Revelation 19.
You're there in Revelation 18. Let me show you something in Revelation 19.
So I'm giving you these parallels, right? There's seven of them. What are they? Number one,
Tyrus, like end times Babylon, was a merchant of the world. Number two, Tyrus, like end times
Babylon, made the kings of the earth rich. Number three, Tyrus, like end times Babylon,
was empowered by Satan. Number four, Tyrus, like end times Babylon, glorified herself.
Number five, I want you to notice what kind of kicks off the destruction of Babylon. What is it
that basically causes Babylon to be destroyed? Now I don't have time to get into all of the details
about how that happens. I believe it's the Antichrist who actually destroys Babylon.
But the Antichrist does it and these events are kind of set up or they're set off because
of the coming of a king. Are you there in Revelation 19? Look at verse number 11.
Revelation 19 and verse 11, notice what the Bible says. And I saw heaven open and behold a white
horse. And he that sat upon him was called faithful and true. And in righteousness he
does judge and make war. Now this is of course the Lord Jesus Christ. He's coming down on a
white horse and it gives us all the description of all the things he's going to do. Skip down to
verse number 16. And he have on his vesture and on his thigh a name written. So what is the name
of the Lord Jesus Christ when he comes down on the white horse in end times? Notice, King of Kings
and Lord of Lords. Now you've probably heard that before, right? We often refer to Jesus. He's a
king. He's not just a king. He's the King of Kings. He's the Lord. He's not just the Lord.
He's the Lord of Lords, all right? He's the King of Kings. He's the Lord of Lords. End times Babylon
gets destroyed in conjunction with or as a result of or in the same process of the King of Kings
and Lord of Lords coming down to earth. And he's going to be victorious over the Antichrist and
Babylon will be destroyed. Here's what's interesting. Go back to Ezekiel 26.
Now we're in Ezekiel 27 right now and I spent the whole week last week preaching out of Ezekiel 26.
There was one thing in Ezekiel 26 that I purposely just bypassed and I didn't spend any time talking
about it last week because I wanted to talk about it this week. And last week we had enough to talk
about when we were learning about the different prophecies and about Alexander the Great and all
that. Here's what's interesting in Ezekiel 26 which maybe you caught this last week or maybe
you didn't. I don't know. Look at verse 7. When Tyre gets destroyed, it's as a result of a king
coming. But notice how the king is described. Ezekiel 26 verse 7. For thus saith the Lord God,
behold I will bring upon Tyre Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. Notice how he's referred to
a king of kings from the north with horses and with chariots and with horsemen and companies and
much people. When Tyre is destroyed, it is destroyed because remember who is Nebuchadnezzar
coming to destroy? He's coming to destroy Judah. He's coming to destroy Israel. But while he's
there because remember we've been learning about this through Ezekiel. While he's destroying Judah,
Tyre is saying, aha, great, I'm glad that Judah has been destroyed. So then God says, oh really?
Well while I'm here, I'll get Nebuchadnezzar to turn his attention on you and I'll go ahead and
destroy you too. Well when Nebuchadnezzar comes and destroys Tyre, he's referred to as a king
of kings. Well when end times Babylon is destroyed, it's destroyed as a result as the king of kings
and lord of lords coming down to the earth. Here's what's really interesting about Nebuchadnezzar
being called king of kings. Here Nebuchadnezzar is playing a type. He is picturing the Lord Jesus
Christ. Notice he's not only called a king of kings, but he's called from the north, right?
So because where is Babylon in comparison to Tyre, he's coming from the north south. So he's referred
to as a king of kings coming from the north. Go to Psalm 75. If you open your Bible just right in
the center, you'll more than likely fall in the book of Psalms, Psalm 75. I want you to notice
what the Bible, where does the Bible tell us that our king of kings and lord of lords, where does he
reside? Psalm 75, look at verse 6. Psalm 75, open up your Bible just right in the center, you'll
fall in Psalm. Psalm 75 verse 6. Notice what the Bible says. For promotion cometh neither from the
east nor from the west nor from the south, all right? So here we're talking about the fact that
kings get promoted, the fact that kings are able to take on authority. He says that promotion,
it doesn't come from the east, it doesn't come from the west, it doesn't come from the south.
Where does it come from? Verse 7. But God is the judge. He putteth down one and setteth up another.
So he says, look, when a king is promoted, it's because God, it's because God put one down, it's
because God put one up, it says God is the judge, he put it down one and seteth up another. So look,
if promotion doesn't come from the east, doesn't come from the west, doesn't come from the south,
but it comes from God, then where's God? He's in the north. And of course that's referring to the
fact that God didn't have it. He's talking about the fact that he's up. But Nebuchadnezzar is
referred to as the king of kings from the north. And he comes to destroy Tyre, which pictures
Babylon, who comes and gets destroyed when the king of kings and lord of lords comes from the
north. Go back to Ezekiel 27. Let me give you a sixth one. We're learning about the parallels
between Tyre and end times Babylon. Here's number six. Tyre, like end times Babylon,
is mourned by the merchants of the world. Notice verse 29. Ezekiel 27, verse 29. And all that
handle the ore, the mariners, and all the pilots of the sea. So now we're not talking about Tyre
as the beautiful ship, but we're talking about all the other merchants, all the other mariners,
all the other pilots of the sea. Shall come down from their ships, they shall stand upon the land,
and shall cause their voice to be heard against thee, and shall cry bitterly, and shall cast up
dust upon their heads. They shall wallow themselves in ashes, then they shall make themselves utterly
bald for thee, and gird them with sackcloth, and they shall weep for thee with bitterness of heart
and bitter wailing, and in their wailing they shall take up a lamentation for thee and lament
over thee. So when this ship, when Tyre, this beautiful merchant ship, when it goes down,
when it's shipwrecked, the Bible tells us that all the other merchants, they start crying. I mean,
they're really weeping. They cry bitterly. They make themselves bald. They take sackcloth. They
weep bitterly, bitter wailing, lamentations. These are the words that are being used.
Go back to Revelation 18. What happens when Babylon is destroyed? Babylon the Great has
fallen, has fallen, right? Revelation 18, look at verse 9. Revelation chapter 18 and verse 9.
And the kings of the earth who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her,
notice what the kings of the earth do when Babylon, end times Babylon's destroyed,
shall bewail her and lament for her when they shall see the smoke of her burning,
standing afar off for fear of her torment, saying, alas, alas, that great city, Babylon,
that mighty city, for in one hour is thy judgment come, and the merchants of the earth shall weep
and mourn over her. Why are they weeping and mourning? Are they weeping because they love her?
Are they weeping because their hearts are broken over the fact that so many people
have been destroyed? No. Here's why they're weeping and mourning. For no man buys their
merchandise anymore. The Chinese are like, who's going to buy our crap? I mean, they're like,
who's going to spy? We got all these boats filled with stuff from Taiwan, and now Babylon's been
destroyed. Who's going to buy our garbage? And they're weeping, they're wailing over the fact
that Babylon is destroyed. But you know what? When Tyre, the merchant of the world was destroyed,
the merchants did the same thing. They wept, they wailed. So like, oh man, there goes our business.
Oh man, there goes our way of life. Look at verse 18, excuse me, 15. Revelation 18, verse 15.
The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear
of her torment, weeping and wailing. Look at verse 17. For in one hour, so great riches has come to
naught, and every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by the
sea, stood afar off and cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, what city is like
unto this great city? Let me give you one more. Go back to Ezekiel chapter 27.
We're talking about the parallels, right? What are they? Tyre, like ant-times Babylon,
was a merchant to the world. Tyre, like ant-times Babylon, made the kings and the merchants of the
earth rich. Tyre, like ant-times Babylon, was empowered by Satan. Tyre, like ant-times Babylon,
glorified herself. Tyre, like ant-times Babylon, was destroyed by the coming of a king of kings.
Tyre, like ant-times Babylon, was mourned by the merchants of the earth. Here's the last one,
number seven. Tyre, like ant-times Babylon, will never be restored. Are you there in Ezekiel 27?
Look at verse 36. Well, look at verse 35, just to get a little bit of the context.
All the inhabitants of the isle shall be astonished at thee, and their kings shall be
sore afraid. They shall be troubled in their countenance. The merchants among the people
shall hiss at thee. Thou shalt be a terror, and never shall be any more. God said,
when I destroy Tyre, you are never going... Have you heard much from Tyre lately?
Have you heard about any news coming out from Tyre? We realize that that location is there,
but all we know about Tyre is from the word of God, or ruins that are excavated, and
historians going back. But we don't hear about Tyre anymore. Why? Because God said,
when I destroy Tyre, it shall... He said, never shall be any more. He said,
it's never going to be any more. Well, here's what's interesting. Babylon is the exact same
way. Go to Revelation 18. Revelation chapter 18. Look at verse 21. Revelation chapter 18,
in verse number 21. Revelation 18, 21 says, and a mighty angel took up a stone,
like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus, with violence,
shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.
So it's really interesting. As you go through and you look at these parallels,
you see that Tyre was used as a picture of end times Babylon, and how God is going to
destroy end times Babylon. And you say, wait, Pastor, that's really interesting.
I got a lot of good notes there. What can we learn from that? Let me just give you
one quick application. We'll be done. Quit worrying so much.
I mean, God not only knows exactly what He's going to do and how He's going to end
this world and bring all of the madness and wickedness, not only does God know what He's
going to do, He knows it so well that He can write it in a book called the Book of Revelation,
but then He also knows it so well that He's even practicing it. He's playing it out.
He's destroying Tyrus, and He's like, yeah, this is going to be just like Babylon. I need a king
of kings. He needs to come from the north. Perfect. Go destroy it. He's practicing it.
He's playing it out. Here's what I'm telling you. We as Christians, man, we worry so much
about everything. I mean, jobs and finances and this and that, and the microwave's going to kill
you, and McDonald's is going to kill you. And look, I'm not saying you should eat at McDonald's.
Here's what I'm saying. God is in control. God knows what He's doing. He can orchestrate
whatever. Look, at the end of the day, we win. The God who created this universe
has controlled everything that's going to happen to the point where He even plays it out with a
little island you've never heard of called Tyrus. So you know what? Just quit worrying.
Well, what are we going to do? Donald Trump doesn't get elected next time, and then maybe
Hillary Clinton. What are we going to do? You know what? Promotion cometh neither from the east,
nor from the west, nor from the south, but God is judge. He put it down one and set up another.
Look, everything that happens in this world, it's filtered through God. I'm not a Calvinist.
I'm not saying God does it all, but it's filtered through God. Nothing catches God by surprise,
so quit worrying so much and realize that we are on the winning side. That's what I heard
tonight. I want to pray. Heavenly Father, Lord, we love you. Thank you for this great study,
Lord, a real interesting study of Tyrus and how it parallels end times Babylon. And what
it really shows us, Lord, is just how much in control you are. How when you give a prophecy
and you tell us that something's going to go down in a certain way, you can make that happen.
And you can make it happen whenever and wherever you want. You can even just do a dress rehearsal
with a little aisle at all times. We love you and we stand
amazed at you. We stand in awe of you and of your power. Lord, I pray that you help us to
just trust you, not only with our salvation, but in every area of our lives. In the matchless
name of Christ, we pray. Amen.