When things are going well, it’s hard to imagine them ever coming to an end. And for the last 75 years, the United States has been pretty much on top. Our economy has been the envy of the world, setting the pace in innovation as well as productivity. Our military is simply unrivalled, and we are capable of projecting power anywhere around the globe. And our political systems have provided the foundation for our peace and prosperity for the last 150 years, with our tradition of freedom setting an example for many other nations.

But we are by no means the first people to command such wealth and power. The British, with their Royal Navy, ruled the waves and kept the peace from the defeat of Napoleon to the outbreak of World War I. In the 1500’s, Charles V ruled much of Europe and most of the Americas, extracting the silver and gold of the Aztecs and Incas to fund his war machine. And who could forget the mighty empires that preceded him – the Ottomans, the Mongols, the Franks, the Romans? Perhaps greatest of all was Alexander, whose Greeks swept aside the Persian Empire with ease.

Yes, at the time Ezekiel wrote, Tyre was wealthy, dominating much of the world’s trade (27:12-25, 28:4-5). Tyre’s navy was powerful, staffed by mercenaries from all over the world (27:10-11). Located as they were on an island just off the coast of what is now called Lebanon, they felt they were invincible, too important to the stability of the world’s economy to be destroyed.

But Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians weakened the city by a nineteen year siege (26:7-11), eventually forcing Tyre to pay him tribute (26:12). The city was conquered by the Persians, and again by Alexander, who tore down the part of the city on the mainland and constructed a causeway to gain access to the seemingly impregnable island. The city fell after only 7 months. The causeway is still there.

No, both history and Scripture make it clear that no human empire lasts forever. Only King Jesus’ reign will never end. Maybe we Americans should think about that.

Ezekiel 26:1-14 (NASB)

Now it came about in the eleventh year, on the first of the month, that the word of the LORD came to me saying,
2 “Son of man, because Tyre has said concerning Jerusalem, ‘Aha, the gateway of the peoples is broken; it has opened to me. I shall be filled, now that she is laid waste,’
3 therefore, thus says the Lord God, ‘Behold, I am against you, O Tyre, and I will bring up many nations against you, as the sea brings up its waves.
4 ‘And they will destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers; and I will scrape her debris from her and make her a bare rock.
5 ‘She will be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea, for I have spoken,’ declares the Lord God, ‘and she will become spoil for the nations.
6 ‘Also her daughters who are on the mainland will be slain by the sword, and they will know that I am the LORD.'”
7 For thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I will bring upon Tyre from the north Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses, chariots, cavalry, and a great army.
8 “He will slay your daughters on the mainland with the sword; and he will make siege walls against you, cast up a mound against you, and raise up a large shield against you.
9 “And the blow of his battering rams he will direct against your walls, and with his axes he will break down your towers.
10 “Because of the multitude of his horses, the dust raised by them will cover you; your walls will shake at the noise of cavalry and wagons and chariots, when he enters your gates as men enter a city that is breached.
11 “With the hoofs of his horses he will trample all your streets. He will slay your people with the sword; and your strong pillars will come down to the ground.
12 “Also they will make a spoil of your riches and a prey of your merchandise, break down your walls and destroy your pleasant houses, and throw your stones and your timbers and your debris into the water.
13 “So I will silence the sound of your songs, and the sound of your harps will be heard no more.
14 “And I will make you a bare rock; you will be a place for the spreading of nets. You will be built no more, for I the LORD have spoken,” declares the Lord God.