Chapter VIII: Part 8

Thy rowers have brought thee into great waters: the east wind hath
broken thee in the midst of the seas. Thy riches, and thy fairs,
thy merchandise, thy mariners, and thy pilots, thy calkers, and the
occupiers of thy merchandise, and all 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 seas in the day of thy ruin. The suburbs
shall shake at the sound of the cry of thy pilots. And all that
handle the oar, 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 the ashes: And 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,
saying. What city is like Tyrus, like the destroyed in the midst of
the sea? When thy wares went forth out of the seas, thou filledst
many people; thou didst enrich the kings of the earth with the
multitude of thy riches and of thy merchandise. In the time when
thou shalt be broken by the seas in the depths of the waters thy
merchandise and all thy company in the midst of thee shall fail. All
the inhabitants of the isles 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 shalt be any more (verses 26-30).

The description of Tyrus as a ship as given in the first part of this chapter is here maintained. Tyrus is to be shipwrecked. The east wind is Nebuchadnezzar, who came against the proud city to accomplish part of her ruin; and Alexander the Great, as we saw in our previous study, completed the work. A comparison with Revelation xviii will bring out the striking correspondency. When finally Babylon the great falls, that coming religious-commercial world-system, with Rome as a center, her fall and desolation, will surely be greater than the fall of Tyrus. For this all is rapidly preparing.

THE PRINCE OF TYRUS.

Chapter xxviii.

The greater part of this chapter is also devoted to Tyrus. This concluding prophecy about Tyrus is the most interesting. It concerns the proud ruler of that city, who is called Prince and also King. But this ruler as Prince and King is typical of another and more sinister being as we learn from this chapter. Tyrus with its earthly glory, wealth and pride, as pointed out in the previous expositions, is the type of the glory of the world, the commercial glory and all connected with it, and clearly foreshadows the final great commercial world-system, Babylon the Great. Inasmuch then as Tyrus foreshadows this, its proud and wicked King is typical of the prince of this world, the one who fell by pride and who is the ruler and god of this age. As the prince of this world he showed to the Lord Jesus Christ all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, and offered all to the Lord. This sinister being and his coming masterpiece, the Antichrist, who is to rule during the end of this age on the earth, are foreshadowed in a striking way in the ruler of Tyrus.

I. The Prince of Tyrus, his Pride and his Doom.

The word of the Lord came again unto me, saying: Son of man, say
unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord God; Because thine
heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a god, I sit in the set
of God, in the midst of the seas, yet thou art a man, and not God,
though thou set thine heart as the heart of God: Behold thou art
wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that they can hide from thee.
With thy wisdom and with thine understanding thou hast gotten thee
riches, and hast gotten gold and silver into thy treasures. By thy
great wisdom and by thy traffic thou hast increased thy riches, and
thine heart is lifted up because of thy riches. Therefore thus saith
the Lord God; Because thou hast set thine heart as the heart of God;
Behold therefore, I will bring strangers upon thee, the terrible of
the nations, and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of
thy wisdom, and they shall defile thy brightness. They shall bring
thee down to the pit, and thou shalt die the deaths of them that are
slain in the midst of the seas. Wilt thou yet say before him that
slayeth thee, I am God? but thou shalt be a man and no god, in the
hand of him that slayeth thee. Thou shalt die the deaths of the
uncircumcised by the hand of strangers; for I have spoken it, saith
the Lord God (verses 1-10.)

The Prince of Tyrus who ruled in the days of Ezekiel was, according to the Jewish historian Josephus, Ithobalus, called in the Phoenecian annals Ithobaal II. The description of this character tells us that he was the consummation of the pride and wealth of Tyrus; the awful pride of that city was headed up in him. His heart was so lifted up that he claimed to be a god and that he occupied the seat of God. He also boasted of wisdom greater than the wisdom of Daniel, the captive in Babylon. By his cunning and wisdom, as well as by traffic, he had heaped up riches, and because of these riches he became still more lifted up. Like the prosperous and wealthy king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, who gloried in his achievements by saying, "Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the Kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honor of my majesty" (Dan. iv:30), the Prince of Tyrus boasted in arrogant pride. Through the prophet, his doom is announced. The Lord God reckons with him, "because thou hast set thine heart as the heart of God." He would bring nations against him and his city, and "they shall bring thee down to the pit, and thou shall die the deaths of them that are slain in the heart of the seas." Instead of having endless being as a god he would die a sudden and violent death. He should die the death of the uncircumcised, typifying vile and wicked men who are far away from God; dying deaths, which means a physical death and that which follows the wicked after death, an eternal separation from God, with conscious punishment.

The language used in describing the Prince of Tyrus is used elsewhere in the Word of God to describe another one, who is yet to come. We mean the personal Antichrist, the man of sin. The marks of this coming one, Satan's great counterfeit and masterpiece, are always pride, self-exaltation. Daniel describes him in the following words: "And the King shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvelous things against the God of gods"[18] (Dan. xi:36). In the New Testament the coming Antichrist is pictured as follows: "Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God" (2 Thess. ii:4). Comparing these statements with what is said of the Prince of Tyrus we see at once the similarity. The political head of the final form of the times of the Gentiles, the ten Kingdom Empires, the Roman Empire revived, is described in very much the same way. The man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake the Kingdoms (Isaiah xiv:16) said in his heart, "I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God ... I will be like the Most High" (Is. xiv:13-14). Here is the same characteristic, a God-defying pride. This has led many expositors to call both of these persons, the wicked actors during the end of the age, the Antichrist. But the one is the head of the Roman Empire, the Prince that shall come; the other is the Antichrist, the beast out of the earth (Rev. xiii:11). Both work together under Satan's control and are energized by Satan, therefore they manifest the same characteristics. It is evident that the ruler of Tyrus as Prince foreshadows the coming Antichrist, and we have to see next the significance that the ruler of Tyrus is addressed as King and the one who stands behind him.

[18] It is well to state here that Daniel mentions Antichrist but once in his prophecies, in chapter xi:36, etc. The little horn in Dan. vii is the head of the revived Roman Empire; the little horn in Dan. viii was Antiochus Epiphanus, the type of the King of the North who will invade the pleasant land, Palestine, during the time of the great tribulation.

II. The Lamentations over the King of Tyrus.

Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, take
up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus
saith the Lord God; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and
perfect in beauty. Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every
precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the
diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the
emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets
and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast
created. Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set
thee so; thou was upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up
and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in
thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was
found in thee. By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled
the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I
will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will
destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of
fire. Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast
corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee
to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold
thee. Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine
iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring
forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I
will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them
that behold thee. All they that know thee among the people shall be
astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be
any more (verses 11-19).

The Prince and the King are identical, and not different persons as some say. But what is said now of the ruler of Tyrus as king could never be said of a mere human being. Hardly any of the descriptions given in these verses can be applied to the heathen King of Tyrus. The description fits another being, the person who was originally the greatest and most beautiful creature of God, but has become a fallen creature and the enemy of God. In one word, it is Satan in his original greatness and in his fall who is revealed in connection with the King of Tyrus. Satan was the power behind the throne of the Tyrian King, as Satan is still the god of this age who controls the kingdoms of the world. Inasmuch, then, as Tyrus is a type of the commercial glory of the world, its wealth and pride, foreshadowing the final great world-city or world-system, Babylon, the ruler of Tyrus, spoken of as Prince, foreshadows the Antichrist, while as King, Satan himself stands behind him as the domineering power. The descriptions given of Satan as an unfallen being, show that he was originally a marvelous being, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. From Jude's epistle we learn that even Michael still recognized in him the grandeur of his unfallen past and did not bring a railing accusation against him (Jude verses 8-10). He was in Eden, the garden of God, and every precious stone was his covering. It is a description of Satan's original place and of his great beauty. Furthermore, he was the anointed cherub that covereth; the Lord had set him to be this. As the anointed, divinely chosen cherub he held an exalted position in connection with the government of the throne of God.[19] Everything shows that this majestic creature possessed a place of great dignity, being "upon the holy mountain of God," walking up and down in the midst of the stones of fire, he was ever present and moving about in the fiery glory of a holy and righteous God. "Thou was perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created till unrighteousness was found in thee." Surely the first part of this verse could never apply to the King of Tyrus nor to any other human; it is a picture of the unfallen glorious creature of God. But unrighteousness was found in him. He sinned, and as a result divine sentence is pronounced upon him. Yet this sentence in verse 16 is not yet executed. He is not yet cast out in the fullest sense, nor bruised completely, nor is he in the lake of fire. All this is future. God in His all-wise purpose delays the complete execution of this judgment. But the day will come when he, who walked once in the presence of the glory of God, in the midst of the stones of fire, will be cast into the lake of fire, his eternal abode. What was his sin? "Thy heart was lifted up because of thy beauty; thou has corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness." He became puffed up, lifted up with pride (1 Tim. iii:6) on account of his own beauty and brightness. There can be no question, but the person so closely linked with the King of Tyrus is Satan. The passage contains one of the most interesting revelations we have in the Bible on the person and dignity of that fallen being. Verses 18 and 19 show that the King is in view and the fate of his city Tyrus: "I have turned thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee."

[19] For a detailed and excellent exposition of this passage see the book on "Satan," by F. C. Jennings, pp. 43-48.

III. A Prophecy Concerning Zidon.

Again the word of the Lord came unto me saying: Son of man, set thy
face against Zidon, and prophesy against it. And say, Thus saith the
Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Zidon; and I will be
glorified in the midst of thee: and they shall know that I am the
Lord, when I shall have executed judgments in her, and shall be
sanctified in her. For I will send into her pestilence, and blood
into her streets; and the wounded shall be judged in the midst of
her by the sword upon her on every side; and they shall know that I
am the Lord. And there shall be no more a pricking brier unto the
house of Israel, nor any grieving thorn of all that are round about
them, that despiseth them; and they shall know that I am the Lord
God. Thus saith the Lord God; When I shall have gathered the house
of Israel from the people among whom they are scattered, and shall
be sanctified in them in the sight of the heathen, then shall they
dwell in their land that I have given to my servant Jacob. And they
shall dwell safely therein, and shall build houses, and plant
vineyards; yea, they shall dwell with confidence, when I have
executed judgments upon all those that despise them round about
them; and they shall know that I am the Lord (verses 20-26).

Zidon (or Sidon) was situated twenty miles north of Tyrus. Like Tyrus she was built offshore on island rocks. For many years Zidon was even more prominent and prosperous than Tyrus. She was burnt after a revolt against Artaxerxes Ochus, 351 B. C., but later rebuilt. See its mention in the New Testament in Mark iii:8, vii:24. Jehovah announces that He would execute judgments in Zidon and thus be glorified and sanctified in her. When a holy God deals in judgments with sin, with individuals and nations, He maintains thereby His holy character. He is light in whom there is no darkness at all and a consuming fire. It has been said that there is no special transgression mentioned why Zidon should be judged. No doubt she was as proud as her sister city Tyrus. But verse 24 tells us the reason; she was a pricking brier to the house of Israel. She sinned against her neighbor, the people of God, and for that judgment came on her. And so can present-day nations not escape judgment for their sins against the Jews. The last two verses are a prophecy relating to Israel's restoration. Needless to say up to this time their restoration has not taken place. The time is given when it will come, when the Lord executes judgment upon the nations. When our Lord comes again these judgments will fall. And how near all this must be when we behold nations filling full the measure of their wickedness and the Jews as a suffering people with faces turned towards their homeland.

PROPHECIES CONCERNING EGYPT.

Chapter xxix.

The predictions about Tyrus and Zidon are followed by the prophecies against Egypt. These prophecies are of even greater interest than those preceding. First Pharaoh and Egypt are addressed; the coming judgment and the desolation of the land is announced. A restoration after forty years is promised when the captivity of Egypt is to be brought again; but the former glory will be departed and Egypt's decline, to be the basest of the kingdoms, is predicted. The King of Babylon is announced as the conqueror of Egypt (chapter xxix). In chapter xxx the destruction of Egypt, her people and her allies, is vividly described; at the close of this chapter the defeat of Pharaoh by Nebuchadnezzar is predicted. In chapter xxxi the King of Egypt is described as a mighty cedar; its fall is foretold as well as the effect of Pharaoh's fall among the nations. Chapter xxxii contains a lamentation over the King of Egypt. In the second half of this chapter, the concluding section of these prophecies against Egypt, we find a solemn dirge over the doomed people. The unseen regions are unveiled and those who enjoyed earthly honors and glory are seen in the place of dishonor, misery and shame.

I. The Prediction of Egypt's Desolation.

In the tenth year, in the tenth month, in the twelfth day of the
month, the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, set
thy face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him,
and against all Egypt: Speak, and say, Thus saith the Lord God;
Behold, I am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon
that lieth in the midst of his rivers, which hath said, My river is
mine own, and I have made it for myself. But I will put hooks in thy
jaws, and I will cause the fish of thy rivers to stick unto thy
scales, and I will bring thee up out of the midst of thy rivers, and
all the fish of thy rivers shall stick unto thy scales. And I will
leave thee thrown into the wilderness, thee and all the fish of thy
rivers: thou shalt fall upon the open fields; thou shalt not be
brought together, nor gathered: I have given thee for meat to the
beasts of the field and to the fowls of the heaven. And all the
inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the Lord, because they
have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel. When they took
hold of thee by thy hand, thou didst break, and rend all their
shoulder: and when they leaned upon thee, thou brakest, and madest
all their loins to be at a stand. Therefore thus saith the Lord God;
Behold, I will bring a sword upon thee, and cut off man and beast
out of thee. And the land of Egypt shall be desolate and waste; and
they shall know that I am the Lord: because he hath said, The river
is mine, and I have made it. Behold, therefore I am against thee,
and against thy rivers, and I will make the land of Egypt utterly
waste and desolate, from the tower of Syene even unto the border of
Ethiopia. No foot of man shall pass through it, nor foot of beast
shall pass through it, neither shall it be inhabited forty years.
And I will make the land of Egypt desolate in the midst of the
countries that are desolate, and her cities among the cities that
are laid waste shall be desolate forty years: and I will scatter the
Egyptians among the nations, and will disperse them through the
countries (verses 1-12).

The King of Egypt addressed in this prophecy was Pharaoh-Hophra, called in Greek, Apries. He was the grandson of Pharaoh-Necho who defeated King Josiah at Meggido (2 Chronicles xxxv:20-27). King Zedekiah of Judah expected help and relief from Pharaoh-Hophra, when Jerusalem was besieged. The Egyptian army under Hophra advanced through Phoenicia and forced the Chaldeans to raise the siege of Jerusalem (Jer. xxxvii:5-7). But the relief was only temporary, for the Egyptian army had to retire. The prophet Jeremiah announced also the doom of Hophra, associating it with Zedekiah's doom: "Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will give Pharaoh-Hophra, King of Egypt, into the hands of his enemies, and into the hand of them that seek his life; as I gave Zedekiah, King of Judah, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, his enemy, and that sought his life" (Jer. xliv:30).

Here he is called "the great dragon that lieth in the midst of his rivers." He boasts, "My river is mine own and I have made it for myself." The river Nile, with its different branches is meant. Pharaoh is compared to a sea monster, which probably means the crocodile, worshipped by the Egyptians; it was symbolical of power and pride.[20] But the word "dragon" also reminds us of Satan who is called twelve times in the Book of Revelation the dragon. As we learned from the previous chapter, behind the King of Tyrus stood Satan as master of the great city, and the same being, the dragon, controlled also Pharaoh-Hophra and the land of Egypt. The dragon was worshipped by many ancient nations and is still today the emblem of the Chinese Empire. And the same ungodly self-exaltation which characterized Tyrus and its king, which led to its overthrow and judgment, was shared by the King of Egypt. Proud and blasphemous were his words that he had made the river for himself; he defied God and refused to own his power. Therefore, his judgment is announced which would not alone strike him but all the other inhabitants of the land and all who looked to Egypt for help. "I will leave thee thrown into the wilderness, thee and all the fish of thy rivers (the people of the land); thou shalt fall upon the open field; thou shalt not be brought together nor gathered. I have given thee for meat to the beasts of the field and to the fowls of the heaven." It is a striking allegory. In verses 6 and 7 Israel's sin is mentioned when the people of God turned to this wicked land for help, the land where their forefathers had groaned and suffered such cruelty. Isaiah had solemnly warned against such an alliance (Isaiah xxx:6-7; xxxi:3) and so had Jeremiah (Jer. ii:36; xxxvii:7). Interesting it is to find that the same illustration of disaster for Israel by trusting in Egypt had been used by the Assyrian officer in addressing Hezekiah: "Now, behold, thou trustest upon the staff of this bruised reed, upon Egypt, on which, if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it; so is Pharaoh, King of Egypt, unto all that trust on him" (2 Kings xviii:21). And so it was. Egypt gave no help to Israel and only wounded them grievously as a staff which breaks under the weight of him who leaneth upon it--breaks and pierces the hand. Whenever God's people turn to Egypt (the type of the world) for help and form ungodly alliances they do so to their own hurt and shame.

[20] The crocodile was often used on Egyptian seal-rings as well as on Roman coins, which pictured Egypt as a monster crocodile.

Then follows the explanation of the allegory and, once more, the reason of the coming desolation of Egypt is stated, because the proud King had said, "The river is mine, and I have made it." The entire land of Egypt was to be wasted from one end to the other. It was to become desolate and for the period of forty years it was not to be inhabited. "And I will make the land of Egypt desolate in the midst of the countries that are desolate, and her cities among the cities that are laid waste shall be desolate forty years, and I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and will disperse them through the countries" (verse 12).

But have these predictions been fulfilled? Did Egypt pass through a period of forty years' desolation and did a restoration take place after the forty years? Critics claim that these predictions were never literally fulfilled and that Nebuchadnezzar did not invade Egypt during the reign of Hophra. They point to the historical evidence that Amasis followed Hophra as King of Egypt, and under his reign Egypt was in a very flourishing condition. The historian, Herodotus, gives this information and it is fully confirmed by Egyptian records on monuments. But did the prophet Ezekiel predict that Egypt should be invaded by Nebuchadnezzar during the reign of Pharaoh-Hophra? He predicts that Nebuchadnezzar should conquer Egypt, but the critics have made a serious blunder by overlooking the date of the prophecy in which Nebuchadnezzar's invasion is announced. The chapter under our consideration begins with a definite date. It was in the tenth year when he received the message concerning Hophra; but it was seventeen years later when Nebuchadnezzar's invasion was predicted, in the twenty-seventh year (verse 17). Hophra's doom and the desolation of Egypt was first announced, but the fulfillment came years later. Ezekiel does not state that Hophra should be slain by Nebuchadnezzar, nor does Jeremiah predict this (Jeremiah xliv:30). Hophra was dethroned by Amasis and later slain.

II. Egypt's Restoration and Future as a Kingdom.

Yet thus saith the Lord God; At the end of forty years will I gather
the Egyptians from the people whither they were scattered: and I
will bring again the captivity of Egypt, and will cause them to
return into the land of Pathros, into the land of their habitation;
and they shall be there a base kingdom. It shall be the basest of
the kingdoms, neither shall it exalt itself any more above the
nations: for I will diminish them, that they shall no more rule over
the nations. And it shall be no more the confidence of the house of
Israel, which bringeth their iniquity to remembrance, when they
shall look after them: but they shall know that I am the Lord God
(verses 13-16).

The future of Egypt after its desolation of forty years is revealed in this paragraph. Nebuchadnezzar's conquest of Egypt follows in the next paragraph. The forty years of desolation, during which the Egyptians were dispersed in different countries are difficult to locate historically. Some apply them altogether to the future. B. W. Newton, in his "Babylon and Egypt," claims that all this will be accomplished in the future. We quote his words: "It will be fearfully smitten; and for forty years after the Millennium has commenced, it will be utterly desolate. No foot of man shall pass through it, nor foot of beast shall pass through it, neither shall it be inhabited forty years (Ezekiel xxix:11). But, finally, it shall be revived, and together with Israel and Assyria shall receive that wondrous blessing which the concluding verses of the nineteenth of Isaiah describe."[21] That Egypt will have a future of blessing no careful student of the prophetic Word will deny. Isaiah xix shows its future history, both in judgment and in blessing. Yet the prediction of Ezekiel that Egypt after the forty years of desolation should be the basest of all kingdoms and shall have no more rule, but be in a diminished condition, excludes the application of this prophecy to the coming Millennium. Egypt had such a period of forty years' devastation, though the exact history of it may not be known to us. Prophecy is not learned by historical events, but history is revealed in prophecy. We believe prophecies, not because history has measured up to them, but we believe them because they are the inerrant Word of God. After Egypt's sorrowful forty years' experience and dispersion, this proud country went into a steady decline, and the Word of God was literally fulfilled when it became the basest of kingdoms, so that Israel put confidence no longer in Egypt. After Nebuchadnezzar's raid, Egypt declined and sank lower still under the Persians and the Ptolemies, until she became the granary of Rome. And this degradation has continued throughout the centuries of this age so that Egypt is literally the basest of the kingdoms.[22] That she will play her part in the future at the close of our age we learn from Daniel's prophecy (Dan. xi:36-45). Egypt will rise into prominence ere long in connection with the present day world conflict.

[21] Babylon and Egypt, page 192.

[22] _Wonders of Prophecy_, by J. Urquhart, gives valuable evidence on the literal fulfillment of Ezekiel's prophecy.

III. The Conquest of Nebuchadnezzar.

And it came to pass in the seven and twentieth year, in the first
month, in the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came unto
me, saying, Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon caused his
army to serve a great service against Tyrus: every head was made
bald and every shoulder was peeled: yet he had no wages, nor his
army, for Tyrus, for the service that he had served against it.
Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will give the land of
Egypt unto Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and he shall take her
multitude, and take her spoil, and take her prey; and it shall be
the wages for his army. I have given him the land of Egypt for his
labor wherewith he served against it, because they wrought for me,
saith the Lord God. In that day will I cause the horn of the house
of Israel to bud forth, and I will give thee the opening of the
mouth in the midst of them; and they shall know that I am the Lord
(verses 17-21).

As already stated, this prophecy is dated seventeen years after the general prediction of Egypt's judgment. That Nebuchadnezzar invaded Egypt after he came against Tyrus is mentioned by Josephus the Jewish historian and also by an Assyrian inscription which gives the record of this campaign as having taken place in the thirty-seventh year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar.[23] Nothing is said of desolation and captivity in this later prophecy concerning Egypt's conquest. Critics claim that Ezekiel had made a mistake in his former prediction. We quote from the New Century Bible: "Ezekiel evidently saw that his former prophecy was mistaken, and he now expected the defeat, though not necessarily the utter destruction, of Egypt. The difference in detail is noticeable between these verses and the prophecy on Egypt seventeen years earlier." But Ezekiel was not mistaken. There was no need of repeating the predicted desolation of Egypt; Nebuchadnezzar executed the work of judgment. He suffered, evidently, disappointment in the siege of Tyrus, the immense wealth of that city he could not touch. And, as he did not get wages from Tyrus, nor for his great army, the Lord, whose instrument in judgment the King of Babylon was, gave him Egypt. Here Nebuchadnezzar found great spoil and vast treasures, which, according to divine appointment, were the wages for his army. When this took place, there came an unrecorded revival in Israel and the prophet gave his message in the midst of them.

[23] Nebuchadnezzar's name is given by Ezekiel as Nebuchadrezzar. Both spellings were in vogue. Ezekiel spells the name with "r" and Jeremiah uses both spellings throughout his book.

EGYPT'S FUTURE DESOLATION.

Chapter xxx.

The destruction of Egypt and her allies is now revealed to the prophet. It is a remarkable prophecy for the predictions concerning the humiliation and desolation of Egypt, the once powerful nation of culture, have found a most interesting fulfillment. The leading cities of Egypt are mentioned, which have long ago been wasted and their magnificent temples have crumbled into dust. In the second half of this chapter the King of Babylon as the executioner of the decrees of God is seen. The sword of judgment was put into Nebuchadnezzar's hand by God, so that he might stretch it out upon the land of Egypt.

I. The Desolation of Egypt and her Allies.

The word of the Lord came again unto me saying: Son of man prophesy
and say, Thus saith the Lord God; Howl ye, alas for the day! For the
day is near, even the day of the Lord is near, a cloudy day; it
shall be the time of the heathen. And the sword shall come upon
Egypt, and great pain shall be in Ethiopia, when the slain shall
fall in Egypt, and they shall take away her multitude, and her
foundations shall be broken down. Ethiopia, and Libya, and Lydia,
and all the mingled people, and Chub, and the men of the land that
is in league, shall fall with them by the sword. Thus saith the
Lord; They also that uphold Egypt shall fall; and the pride of her
power shall come down: from the tower of Syene shall they fall in it
by the sword, saith the Lord God. And they shall be desolate in the
midst of the countries that are desolate, and her cities shall be in
the midst of the cities that are wasted. And they shall know that I
am the Lord, when I have set a fire in Egypt, and when all her
helpers shall be destroyed. In that day shall messengers go forth
from me in ships to make the careless Ethiopians afraid, and great
pain shall come upon them, as in the day of Egypt: for, lo, it
cometh. Thus saith the Lord God: I will also make the multitude of
Egypt to cease by the hand of Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon. He
and his people with him, the terrible of the nations, shall be
brought to destroy the land: and they shall draw their swords
against Egypt, and fill the land with the slain. And I will make the
rivers dry, and sell the land into the hand of the wicked; and I
will make the land waste, and all that is therein, by the hand of
strangers: I the Lord have spoken it (verses 1-13).

The prophet's first utterance is concerning the day. "Howl ye! Alas for the day! For the day is near,[24] even the day of the Lord is near, a cloudy day; it shall be the time of the Gentiles." What day is this? Other prophets mention the day of Jehovah as a day of judgment and wrath when the Lord will deal in His righteousness with the nations of the earth. See Isaiah ii; xiii:6, 9; Joel i:15; ii:1, 11; iii:14; Amos v:18, 20; Obad. 15; Zeph. i:7, 14; Zech. xiv:1, etc. This day in its final meaning is the day on which the Lord Jesus Christ will be visibly revealed from heaven. It is mentioned in the New Testament in 1 Thess. v:2; 2 Thess. ii:2 (where "day of Christ" should be rendered "day of the Lord") and 2 Peter iii:10. This day will bring "man's day" to a close and usher in a new age, when righteousness shall reign as grace reigns now. This day of coming judgment of all nations is seen also here in a prophetic perspective. All previous judgments of nations as announced by God's prophets, nations which sinned against Israel the chosen people, foreshadow _the_ one great day, when the times of the Gentiles end in the revealed manner (Dan. ii:34; vii:10-14). What came upon Egypt in the past through divine judgment will happen to the Gentile nations in the future at the close of our age, "when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ" (2 Thess. i:7-8). Ever since the times of the Gentiles began with Nebuchadnezzar the divinely appointed head (Jeremiah xxvii:4-8) this day of the Lord has been drawing near, till now with the stupendous present day events, we can see this day rapidly approaching.

[24] This may also be rendered "the day draweth near, even the day of the Lord draweth near."

The sword was to fall upon Egypt as well as upon Ethiopia, Libya and Lydia (Hebrew: Phut and Lud, see xxvii:10), and all others who were in league with them. Her foundations were to be broken down and the pride of her power shall come down. All this has come to pass and for many centuries the once powerful and proud Egypt has thus been broken down. From Migdol to Syene (not from the tower of Syene) were they to fall by the sword of the Lord. Verse 7 shows the wide sweep of the judgment, covering the surrounding countries. "And they shall be desolate in the midst of the countries that are desolate, and her cities shall be in the midst of the cities that are wasted." Their desolation was to be a desolation in the midst of desolations. It has come literally true. The surrounding countries shared the desolation of the land itself. She has been rightly called "the land of ruins," a vast burial place of the art, architecture and glory of the past, and her present towns (except Alexandria which cannot be reckoned among the ancient cities, as it was unknown to the Pharaohs) are, as it were, dwellings among the tombs.

Another remarkable prophecy is found in verse 12: "And I will make the rivers dry, and sell the land into the hand of the wicked, and all that is therein, by the hand of strangers. I the Lord have spoken it." Isaiah also predicted, "The waters shall fail from the sea and the river shall be wasted and become dry" (Isaiah xix:5). The rivers are evidently the many arms of the Nile forming the Delta. This is the case today, and has been so in past centuries, and the arms of the Nile, instead of flowing in their original courses have become ill-smelling pools and marshes. And so was the land sold into the hand of the wicked. Untold sufferings, slavery, outrages of many kinds has been the record of Egypt in its past history.

II. The Destruction of the Cities.

Thus saith the Lord God: I will also destroy the idols, and I will
cause their images to cease out of Noph; and there shall be no more
a prince of the land of Egypt; and I will put a fear in the land of
Egypt. And I will make Pathros desolate, and will set fire in Zoan,
and will execute judgments in No. And I will pour my fury upon Sin,
the strength of Egypt; and I will cut off the multitude of No. And I
will set fire in Egypt: Sin shall have great pain, and No shall be
rent asunder, and Noph shall have distresses daily. The young men of
Aven and of Phi-beseth shall fall by the sword; and these cities
shall go into captivity. At Tehaphnehes also the day shall be
darkened, when I shall break there the yokes of Egypt: and the pomp
of her strength shall cease in her: as for her, a cloud shall cover
her, and her daughters shall go into captivity. Thus will I execute
judgments in Egypt; and they shall know that I am the Lord (verses
13-19).

Their idols and images were to be destroyed so as to reveal their nothingness. So it was many centuries before when Israel was in the house of bondage and the power of God in judgment exposed the things which the Egyptians worshipped. Noph, which is mentioned in verse 13, is Memphis. Memphis was the prominent seat of the worship of Ptah and Apis. It was the great temple city, founded by Menes. What has become of this marvellous city with its magnificent temple structures and carved, colossal images and idols?

Abd-ul-Latif, an Arab traveller, who visited it in the thirteenth century, says: "Its ruins still offer to the eyes of the spectator a collection of wonderful works which confound the intellect, and to describe which the most eloquent man would labor in vain. The longer we look upon the scene, the higher rises the admiration it inspires; and every new glance that we cast upon the ruins reveals a new charm. Scarcely have they awakened a distinct idea in the soul of the spectator, than a still more admirable idea suggests itself; and just as you believe you have gained complete knowledge of them, at that very moment the conviction forces itself on the mind, that what you think you know is still very far from the truth."

But even the magnificent ruins, the mute witnesses of a past glory, are gone. The very site of Noph (Memphis) is now a matter of dispute. Only a few immense carved stones remain in the desert sand. Temples, idols and images are forever gone. The prophet Ezekiel knew undoubtedly of the far-famed city, its influence and power in the religious life of Egypt. How could he announce such utter ruin for that city unless the Lord had revealed it to him and put His own words into his mouth? What a great evidence prophecy is that the Bible is the Word of God! "No," mentioned three times in verses 14-16, is Thebes, the ancient capital of Egypt, called by the Greeks "Diospolis," the City of Jupiter. "No" is also mentioned by Nahum (iii:8). Her ruins bear witness of a past, indescribable splendor. The great Temple of Carnac was there. An authority saith: "The ruins of the temple of Carnac is the largest and most splendid ruin of which, perhaps, either ancient or modern times can boast. All here is sublime, all majestic. With pain one tears oneself from Thebes. Her monuments fix the traveller's eyes and fill his mind with vast ideas. Beholding colossal figures and stately obelisks which seem to surpass human powers." What a city No, Thebes the capital, must have been! The Lord alone could foretell that it should be rent asunder. The ruins bear witness that God's message was faithfully delivered by Ezekiel. And so was fulfilled, "There shall be no more a prince out of the land of Egypt." No native prince has had complete rule over the land. The other places mentioned are Sin, which is Pelusium, now completely buried in the sand. Aven is Heliopolis, the center of the worship of Ba, the god of the sun. Pi-beseth is Bubastis, where the sacred cats were mummied, likewise a desolation now. Tehaphnehes or Daphnis also passed through the judgment. What a remarkable fulfillment of what the Lord announced through His servant Ezekiel! May we here be reminded in our solemn times that the same omniscient Lord, who knows the end from the beginning, has spoken concerning this age, now closing in its predicted apostasy. Nations today steeped in bloodshed; nations filled with covetousness and hatred; an apostate professing Christendom and the indifferent masses have written over against them the judgment-wrath of the coming King. And He who fulfilled the words spoken through Ezekiel will also fulfill every other prediction uttered by His Holy prophets and apostles.

III. The Work of Nebuchadnezzar.

And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first month, in the
seventh day of the month, that the word of the Lord came unto me,
saying, Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt;
and, lo, it shall not be bound up to be healed, to put a roller to
bind it, to make it strong to hold the sword. Therefore thus saith
the Lord God: Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and will
break his arms, the strong, and that which was broken; and I will
cause the sword to fall out of his hand. And I will scatter the
Egyptians among the nations, and will disperse them through the
countries. And I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon,
and put my sword in his hand; but I will break Pharaoh's arms, and
he shall groan before him with the groanings of a deadly-wounded
man. But I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and the
arms of Pharaoh shall fall down; and they shall know that I am the
Lord, when I shall put my sword into the hand of the king of
Babylon, and he shall stretch it out upon the land of Egypt. And I
will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them
among the countries; and they shall know that I am the Lord (verses
20-26).

The arm of Pharaoh, King of Egypt was to be broken completely. No bandage would suffice to make it strong again to hold the sword. It was a break beyond remedy. Jeremiah had received a similar message. "Go up into Gilead, and take balm, O virgin, the daughter of Egypt, in vain shalt thou use many medicines, for thou shalt not be cured" (Jere. xlvi:11). And Jeremiah also announced that Nebuchadnezzar should be used in carrying out the overthrow of Egypt. "The word that the Lord spake to Jeremiah the prophet, how Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, should come and smite the land of Egypt. Declare ye in Egypt, and publish in Migdol, and publish in Noph and in Tehaphnehes, say ye, Stand fast and prepare thee, for the sword shall devour round about thee" (Jere. xlvi:13-17). Nebuchadnezzar wielded the sword of the Lord. "And they shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall put my sword into the hand of the King of Babylon, and he shall stretch it out upon the land of Egypt." The sovereign God had not only used the King of Babylon to execute His judgments upon Jerusalem, but He had also given other lands into his hands and made him the head of the times of the Gentiles, typified in his great dream-image by the head of gold. "And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the King of Babylon my servant; and the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him. And all nations shall serve him and his son and his son's son, until the very time of his land come, and then many nations and great Kings shall serve themselves of him" (Jere. xxvii:5-7). The times of the Gentiles are still in force, and when they end Egypt will pass through another judgment to receive afterward the blessings promised through the prophet Isaiah (Is. xix:18-25).

PHARAOH'S GREATNESS AND HIS OVERTHROW.

Chapter xxxi.

Two more chapters speak of the downfall and judgment of Egypt. First, the fall of Pharaoh is described in a parable and then follows the lamentations, a funeral dirge over Pharaoh. The message of the thirty-first chapter has three well defined parts. The King of Egypt, like the Assyrian of the past, is pictured as a great cedar in Lebanon. Then the fall of the tree is shown, and finally the shaking of the nations on account of his fall.

II. The Greatness and Glory of the King of Egypt.

And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the third month, in the
first day of the month, that the word of the Lord came unto me,
saying, Son of man, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, and to his
multitude; Whom art thou like in thy greatness? Behold, the Assyrian
was a cedar in Lebanon with fair branches, and with a shadowing
shroud, and of an high stature; and his top was among the thick
boughs. The waters made him great, the deep set him up on high with
her rivers running round about his plants, and sent out her little
rivers unto all the trees of the field. Therefore his height was
exalted above all the trees of the field, and his boughs were
multiplied, and his branches became long because of the multitude of
waters, when he shot forth. All the fowls of heaven made their
nests in his boughs, and under his branches did all the beasts of
the field bring forth their young, and under his shadow dwelt all
great nations. Thus was he fair in his greatness, in the length of
his branches: for his root was by great waters. The cedars in the
garden of God could not hide him: the fir trees were not like his
boughs, and the chestnut trees were not like his branches; nor any
tree in the garden of God was like unto him in his beauty. I have
made him fair by the multitude of his branches: so that all the
trees of Eden, that were in the garden of God, envied him (verses
1-9).

The Lord commands the prophet to ask a question of Pharaoh and his multitude: "Whom art thou like in thy greatness?" Then the divine questioner answers and reveals the greatness and glory of Pharaoh. He uses the Assyrian in his past greatness to describe Pharaoh's greatness and glory. Some have applied the prophecy entirely to the Assyrian, as if Ezekiel spoke concerning this northern power altogether. But this is incorrect, for the Assyrian power was then no longer in existence, and the last verse of this chapter shows that Pharaoh is meant. "This Pharaoh and his multitude, saith the Lord God" (verse 18). The description of the Assyrian is given to show that Pharaoh, King of Egypt, is in greatness like the Assyrian who had been dealt with in judgment by Jehovah. The Assyrian, once so powerful and proud, is used as a solemn warning, that the King of Egypt would not be spared, but suffer the same fate. The Cedar in Lebanon is a picture of the greatness of the Assyrian and Pharaoh; its height and wide-spreading branches; its superior place among all the trees are used to symbolize both of them. The Cedar is a most majestic tree, often reaching a great height; the branches are thick and long, spreading out horizontally from the enormous trunk. The Cedar is also employed as a type of the righteous and of Israel. "The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree; he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon" (Psalm xcii:12). "His branches shall spread ... and his smell like Lebanon" (Hos. xiv:6). But here the cedar means human grandeur and national greatness, full of arrogant pride and therefore doomed to be abased. Isaiah in his sublime prophecy on the coming day of the Lord uses thus the cedars of Lebanon: "For the day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low. And upon all the cedars of Lebanon that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan" (Isa. ii:12-13).