This is part 3 of a 6-part series from T. Getterman concerning the role of Israel in the end times.  Part 4 will be published tomorrow, May 29th at 6pm CST.

Dr. Mike Harmon
Director, BVM

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Isaiah 19

A Prophecy About Egypt

 ¹ An oracle concerning Egypt:

See, the LORD rides on a swift cloud and is coming to Egypt. The idols of Egypt tremble before him, and the hearts of the Egyptians melt within them. ² “I will stir up Egyptian against Egyptian— brother will fight against brother, neighbor against neighbor, city against city, kingdom against kingdom. ³ The Egyptians will lose heart, and I will bring their plans to nothing; they will consult the idols and the spirits of the dead, the mediums and the spiritists. ⁴ I will hand the Egyptians over to the power of a cruel master, and a fierce king will rule over them,” declares the Lord, the LORD Almighty. ⁵ The waters of the river will dry up, and the riverbed will be parched and dry. ⁶ The canals will stink; the streams of Egypt will dwindle and dry up. The reeds and rushes will wither, ⁷ also the plants along the Nile, at the mouth of the river. Every sown field along the Nile will become parched, will blow away and be no more. ⁸ The fishermen will groan and lament, all who cast hooks into the Nile; those who throw nets on the water will pine away. ⁹ Those who work with combed flax will despair, the weavers of fine linen will lose hope. ¹⁰ The workers in cloth will be dejected, and all the wage earners will be sick at heart. ¹¹ The officials of Zoan are nothing but fools; the wise counselors of Pharaoh give senseless advice. How can you say to Pharaoh, “I am one of the wise men, a disciple of the ancient kings”? ¹² Where are your wise men now? Let them show you and make known  what the LORD Almighty has planned against Egypt. ¹³ The officials of Zoan have become fools, the leaders of Memphis^[a] are deceived; the cornerstones of her peoples have led Egypt astray. ¹⁴ The LORD has poured into them a spirit of dizziness; they make Egypt stagger in all that she does, as a drunkard staggers around in his vomit. ¹⁵ There is nothing Egypt can do— head or tail, palm branch or reed.

 ¹⁶ In that day the Egyptians will be like women. They will shudder with fear at the uplifted hand that the LORD Almighty raises against them. ¹⁷ And the land of Judah will bring terror to the Egyptians; everyone to whom Judah is mentioned will be terrified, because of what the LORD Almighty is planning against them.

Since these verses were written in the 700’s BC, “the land of Judah” has not brought “terror to the Egyptians”, and“everyone to whom Judah is mentioned” has not been terrified.  I believe that this prophecy will be fulfilled in the Psalm 83 Battle.  It will not take place in the Ezekiel 38-39 Battle, as Egypt is not a participant.  It will not take place during the Tribulation because Judah will not be a terror to anyone at that time.  It will not take place during the Millennial Kingdom because, as Isaiah 2:4 and Micah 4:3 say, “They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.” Nations will not do battle during that time.  The prophecy about the land of Judah being a terror to the Egyptians can only take place during the Psalm 83 Battle.

As I discussed previously, it is my belief that the Psalm 83 Battle will be followed by the Ezekiel 38-39 Battle, and then by the Tribulation.  Isaiah 19:4 says, “‘I will hand the Egyptians over to the power of a cruel master, and a fierce king will rule over them,’ declares the Lord, the LORD Almighty.”  I feel very strongly that “cruel master” and “fierce king” are references to the Antichrist, who will reign during the Tribulation.  At that time, the Egyptians will no longer worship Allah.  They will worship the Antichrist.

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Another reference that I believe is to the Psalm 83 Battle is in the Book of Zephaniah.  When prophecies were written, they often had a near-term fulfillment as well as a long-term fulfillment.  They could also refer to multiple time periods within a single verse or consecutive verses.  Keep that in mind as you look at these verses out of Zephaniah, which was written in the late 600’s BC and not long before the conquest of Judah by Babylon.

Zephaniah 2:8-11      “I have heard the insults of Moab and the taunts of the Ammonites, who insulted My people and made threats against their land.  Therefore, as surely as I live,” declares the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel,“surely Moab will become like Sodom, the Ammonites like Gomorrah – a place of weeds and salt pits, a wasteland forever.  The remnant of My people will plunder them; the survivors of My nation will inherit their land.”  This is what they will get in return for their pride, for insulting and mocking the people of the LORD Almighty.  The LORD will be awesome to them when He destroys all the gods of the land.  The nations on every shore will worship Him, every one in its own land. 

When God says that “Moab will become like Sodom, the Ammonites like Gomorrah – a place of weeds and salt pits, a wasteland forever”, there is no doubt that this is talking about the total destruction of Moab and Ammon.  It hasn’t happened yet.  I believe that this is most likely a reference to when Jesus returns.

The next verse is “The remnant of My people will plunder them; the survivors of My nation will inherit their land.” This hasn’t happened yet either.  Since this was written, the Jewish people have not owned or controlled ancient Moab and Ammon, which are in present-day Jordan.  I think this verse is specifically talking about the Psalm 83 Battle in which Israel will be overwhelmingly successful against present-day Jordan.  At that point, they will “plunder them” and “inherit their land”.  If these areas were totally destroyed, there would be nothing left to plunder and inherit.

Look at the verse which says “The LORD will be awesome to them when He destroys all the gods of the land.” Ancient Moab worshiped Chemosh and ancient Ammon worshiped Molech, who was also known as Moloch.  These were the same false gods which can be traced back to the Tower of Babel.  Today, the people in that area worship Allah.  All of these false gods will be destroyed, but it hasn’t happened yet.  I think that it will take place near the end of the Tribulation when Babylon is destroyed.  All of the false gods originated at the Tower of Babel, which was in ancient Babylon and is in present-day Iraq.

The next verse is “The nations on every shore will worship Him, every one in its own land.”  The nations’ worshiping of Jesus will definitely be fulfilled in the Millennial Kingdom.