Chapter 42 On Faith and Death

In Western religions, Babylon is always an unavoidable hurdle. The prophet Isaiah once prophesied to Babylon, saying: "Babylon has always been the glory of the nations and the beauty of the Chaldeans. It will be like Sodom and Gomorrah, which was overthrown by God. It will never be inhabited. From generation to generation no one has lived there; the Arabs have not pitched their tents there, nor the shepherds have made their flocks lie there. Only the beasts of the wilderness lie there; roaring beasts have filled their houses; ostriches live there; There the goats will dance. The wolves will howl in her palaces; the wild dogs will howl in her splendid temples; Babylon's time will come, and her days will not be long."

Obviously, this is a prophecy of Babylon's downfall. Babylon, more than 2,000 years ago, was at its most prosperous time. No one would believe that such a prosperous country would be destroyed just by relying on a prophet's prediction.However, what people thought was the most unlikely scenario has been miraculously fulfilled in reality. How did the ancient civilization of Babylon die? According to historical records, the Assyrians who lived north of Babylon were very powerful.In the 8th century BC, Assyria became a huge military empire.Babylon was conquered by it, and Syria, Phoenicia, Palestine, Asia Minor, and Egypt were successively included in its territory.Except for Greece and Italy, almost all the Mediterranean coast is occupied by it.The capital of Assyria was called Nineveh, where many magnificent palaces were built.

In 612 BC, the Chaldeans living in Babylon united with the Medes in the east to attack Adar.They charged into Nineveh armed with bloody spears and shields.The entire population of the city was massacred, even children.The last king of Assyria, Simsari Hikon, was burned to ashes along with his palace.Since then, this huge empire has disappeared from the ground together with its capital. And among all the speculations about the cause of Babylon's final demise, the insider must play the most fundamental role.It is said that the phenomenon of adultery among the people of Babylon at that time was very serious, and the social atmosphere was deteriorating day by day. This huge ancient civilization eventually declined due to its own depravity.

In other words, people eventually give up their beliefs, which leads to moral decline.The incredible thing is that the "God" mentioned in the "Bible" actually predicted this in advance, and uttered the terrible prophecy of destruction through the mouth of the prophet. Similar to the prophecy about the fall of Babylon, in a prophecy more than 2,500 years ago, God said through the mouth of the prophet Ezekiel: "So says the Lord God, I will be against you, O Tire...they will destroy Tire. its walls, and tear down its towers; and I will scrape away its dust, and I will make it a rock of light. It will be a place for drying nets in the midst of the sea." "Throw your stones, your wood, and your dust into the waters. . . . It shall not be built again, for this is what the Sovereign Lord says."

Tire was originally a famous city in ancient times, and the people who lived there were originally Phoenicians.The Phoenicians had achievements beyond ordinary people in navigation, business and exploration.The city wall of Tire was built very strong, because its location on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea occupies an important military position, so the Phoenicians have a strong sense of self-defense. When it was strong, and all the Phoenicians believed that the city of Tire would also exist forever, God saw the heinous crimes of Tire, so he prophesied through the prophet Ezekiel to punish them.As soon as this prophecy spread from the mouth of the prophet, Babylon sent troops to besiege Tire in 587 BC.After 13 years of fighting between the two countries, the Babylonian army finally entered the city of Tire.

But the king of Tire had already moved his treasure to an island in advance, and the Babylonian army didn't get anything of value after entering the city. They were full of resentment and completely demolished the city.So far, the "destroy its walls" part of the prophet's prophecy has been fully fulfilled. However, the desolate scene in the city and the prophecy that it will no longer be built have not yet been fulfilled.Moreover, no one thinks that this prophecy is likely to be realized again.After all, who would pay attention to the ruins of a deserted city, and even destroy it so violently that it cannot be regenerated, what the invading army did not do?

The ruins of Tire have stood tall for 240 years. At this time, the reputation of King Alexander began to rise.The city of Tire, which had been destroyed before, re-established its own city on the island, but unfortunately, they were once again targeted by Alexander.When Alexander came to the city, the Tyrians refused to surrender. They thought that the city was built on a small island and the enemy would not be able to cross the rapids to attack the city.This is the best natural moat. But Alexander had already given the order to attack the city.He threw the "wood", "soil" and "stone" in the destroyed old city into the sea, and built a road about 200 feet wide to the island. Luocheng launched an attack.In this way, the words mentioned in the prophecy that the stones and logs will be thrown into the sea will be fulfilled.

And the prophecy mentioned in the last paragraph, "make it a rock of pure light...a place for drying nets...cannot be built again" seems to have not been fulfilled yet.After several years, the soil that Alexander threw into the pond when he was building the road was washed away by the rain, and soon the rocky ground appeared. Later, the fishermen on the beach began to dry their fishing nets there. Since then, this place has finally become only a place for fishers to rest and work, and it is no longer a magnificent city. The destruction of the two cities was accurately predicted in the Bible.This seems to be a story about belief and death, but whether this kind of story will be staged today and in the future, people will never get the answer until the final moment.