At the end of last Friday’s article I mentioned that I planned to spend last weekend examining some Bible prophecy passages relating Libya, Egypt, and other places in the Mideast to see if there is anything interesting that relates to what is going on now or what might happen in the future…
I did spend last weekend and much of this week examining various passages in the Bible concerning Libya, Egypt, and other places in the Mideast. I still need to spend more time studying these passages, but I want to share with you the specific passages I’m focused on and explain why I’m focused on them.
Ezekiel 30:1-9
Ezekiel 30:1-9 has caught my attention because the passage mentions Egypt, Libya, and other Middle East countries being attacked:
- Eze 30:1 The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,
- Eze 30:2 Son of man, prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Howl ye, Woe worth the day!
- Eze 30:3 For the day is near, even the day of the LORD is near, a cloudy day; it shall be the time of the heathen.
- Eze 30:4 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.
- Eze 30:5 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.
- Eze 30:6 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.
- Eze 30:7 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.
- Eze 30:8 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.
- Eze 30:9 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.
Verse 3 says “the day is near, even the day of the LORD is near”. At first glance, the verse suggests these countries will be attacked before the Day of the Lord begins. Finding how soon these countries are attacked before the Day of the Lord begins could shed light into what happens in the Middle East and Northern Africa between now and the time these countries are attacked.
Verse 5 names some countries that also are attacked besides Egypt. Identifying all the countries that are attacked may shed light into the political relationships that may arise in the Mideast and Northern Africa between now and the time these countries are attacked.
Daniel 11:40-45
Daniel 11:40-45 is seen by many as a passage that describes much of the Antichrist’s conquest. Verse 41 suggests that many countries will be overthrown during the Antichrist’s conquest while verse 43 gives the specific name of a few countries that the Antichrist will deal with.
- Dan 11:40 And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.
- Dan 11:41 He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.
- Dan 11:42 He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape.
- Dan 11:43 But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.
- Dan 11:44 But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.
- Dan 11:45 And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.
Coincidentally, the countries mentioned in verse 43 are also mentioned in Ezekiel 30:5. Furthermore, verse 43 suggests that Egypt’s wealth is no longer under their control which is something also suggested in Ezekiel 30:4 (multitude in 30:4 can be translated to mean "wealth").
- This suggests that Ezekiel 30:1-9 may be related to Daniel 11:40-45 in some way. A potential connection between Daniel 11:40-45 and Ezekiel 30:1-9 may help give us a better idea of when the events of Ezekiel 30:1-9 take place (assuming the timeframe when the events of Daniel 11:40-45 is known with certainty)…
Jeremiah 46:1-12
Jeremiah 46:1-12 begins as a prophecy against Pharaohnecho's army. However, the phrase “day of the Lord” appears in verse 10, which is a phrase generally seen in End Times prophecy. Verse 9 is also interesting because it mentions the names of Egypt’s allies, which are the same names that appear in Ezekiel 30:5.
- Jer 46:1 The word of the LORD which came to Jeremiah the prophet against the Gentiles;
- Jer 46:2 Against Egypt, against the army of Pharaohnecho king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates in Carchemish, which Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon smote in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah.
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- Jer 46:9 Come up, ye horses; and rage, ye chariots; and let the mighty men come forth; the Ethiopians and the Libyans, that handle the shield; and the Lydians, that handle and bend the bow.
- Jer 46:10 For this is the day of the Lord GOD of hosts, a day of vengeance, that he may avenge him of his adversaries: and the sword shall devour, and it shall be satiate and made drunk with their blood: for the Lord GOD of hosts hath a sacrifice in the north country by the river Euphrates.
- Jer 46:11 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.
- Jer 46:12 The nations have heard of thy shame, and thy cry hath filled the land: for the mighty man hath stumbled against the mighty, and they are fallen both together.
Many prophecy writers do not account for Jeremiah 46:1-12 because the passage appears to be a prophecy against a past ruler at first glance. However, the passage arguably deserves some consideration as a passage that potentially may have some future implications since the term “day of the Lord” appearances in verse 10.
Ezekiel 32
Ezekiel 32 is another chapter against the Pharaoh of Egypt. The Lord mentions in verses 7-8 that He will extinguish Egypt at a time when the stars are darkened, the sun is covered, the moon won’t give light, etc.
- Eze 32:2 Son of man, take up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say unto him, Thou art like a young lion of the nations, and thou art as a whale in the seas: and thou camest forth with thy rivers, and troubledst the waters with thy feet, and fouledst their rivers.
- Eze 32:3 Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will therefore spread out my net over thee with a company of many people; and they shall bring thee up in my net.
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- Eze 32:7 And when I shall put thee out, I will cover the heaven, and make the stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light.
- Eze 32:8 All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over thee, and set darkness upon thy land, saith the Lord GOD.
- Eze 32:9 I will also vex the hearts of many people, when I shall bring thy destruction among the nations, into the countries which thou hast not known.
- Eze 32:10 Yea, I will make many people amazed at thee, and their kings shall be horribly afraid for thee, when I shall brandish my sword before them; and they shall tremble at every moment, every man for his own life, in the day of thy fall.
The imagery of Verses 7-8 remind me of passages like Joel 2:10 which describe future events.
- Joe 2:10 The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining:
Ezekiel 32:17-32 describes several nations that Egypt will join in the pit after it is defeated. Two of the nations listed in this passage are Meshech and Tubal:
- Eze 32:17 It came to pass also in the twelfth year, in the fifteenth day of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
- Eze 32:18 Son of man, wail for the multitude of Egypt, and cast them down, even her, and the daughters of the famous nations, unto the nether parts of the earth, with them that go down into the pit.
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- Eze 32:26 There is Meshech, Tubal, and all her multitude: her graves are round about him: all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword, though they caused their terror in the land of the living.
- Eze 32:27 And they shall not lie with the mighty that are fallen of the uncircumcised, which are gone down to hell with their weapons of war: and they have laid their swords under their heads, but their iniquities shall be upon their bones, though they were the terror of the mighty in the land of the living.
- Eze 32:28 Yea, thou shalt be broken in the midst of the uncircumcised, and shalt lie with them that are slain with the sword.
The main challenge with Ezekiel 32 is to figure out whether the prophecies of this chapter have been fulfilled or whether these prophecies will be fulfilled in the future. If these prophecies have not been fulfilled the challenge is to then figure out how they fit with the other passages mentioned above…
Other Chapters/Passages
I’m also looking at the following chapters/passages to get a sense of how all the passages mentioned above may or may not fit together:
- Daniel 11:36-39
- Isaiah 19
- Ezekiel 38
- Psalms 83
- Joel 1, Joel 2, and Joel 3
- Jeremiah 25:15-38
- Zephaniah 2
I plan to study these chapters and passages more this weekend…
- Feel free to share any thoughts you may have on how these chapters and passages may or may not be related. I’m currently looking at a variety of opinions about these chapters and passages…
If I find anything interesting that relates to what is going on now or what might happen in the future I’ll let you know.
