Revelation 1:7 Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of Him. Even so. Amen.
Artisans express their concern about potentially losing the Dead Sea. Their solution to draw attention to the cause, pose nude while painted in white as a reminder of Lot’s wife being turned to a pillar of salt.
Zechariah 14 says the Dead Sea is going no where. Eventually, the Dead Sea will come to life and flourish.
Scientists and researchers investigate a COVID 19 patient’s claim of a pending religious RAPTURE event. Scientists suggest COVID tricks the brain and impedes cognition.
China continues to talk about the reunification of Taiwan to the motherland as it tests its version of a hypersonic missile.
Lebanon is on the brink of another civil war. Hezbollah indicates its forces are larger than the current Lebanese Army. It has been a rough week in Lebanon with loss of electricity, chaos, and economic inflation.
Saudi Arabia and Iran appear to be willing to discuss the idea of normalizing relations. These two nations are in constant conflict and competition throughout the Middle East. Ezekiel 38 states Sheba and Dedan (modern day Saudi Arabia) will protest a future invasion of Israel from Russia, Iran, and others but ultimately do nothing.
The volcano on La Palma in the Canary Islands continues to erupt. Earthquakes are getting stronger and deeper. Concerns are this is not close to ending. Tsunami discussions are slowly increasing in frequency.
There are many examples in Scripture where God addresses individual nations. The prophet warn Russia, Turkey, Iran and others in Ezekiel 38-39. Damascus, Syria has a destructive date with destiny in Isaiah 17, Amos 1, and Jeremiah 49. Ancient Nineveh or modern-day Mosul, Iraq is warned in Nahum. Amos 1 warns modern day Lebanon. The Gaza Strip is informed of judgment in Ezekiel 25. Prophecy against Iran is noted in Jeremiah 49. And the list goes on and on and on…
The focus here is the destiny of the nation Egypt. A significant prophecy regarding the future of Egypt is located in Isaiah 19. Like every other nation, Egypt is predestined in their journey through history. God knows the collective choices they will make. God knows literally and figuratively where their road leads. The prophet Isaiah lays out the course of Egypt prior to the coming of the Messiah.
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Isaiah 19:1 The oracle concerning Egypt. Behold, the
LORD is riding on a swift cloud and is about to come to Egypt; the idols of
Egypt will tremble at His presence, and the heart of the Egyptians will melt
within them.
The first observation is that the LORD directly intervenes. God is the one pressing these events. The Hebrew word for “oracle” is massa’. Simply stated, it means a burden or load. This same word, massa’, was also the name of Ishmael’s son (Genesis 25:14). Ishmael’s name means burden. Ishmael’s mother Hagar is Egyptian (Genesis 16:1). Prophetically speaking, Hagar’s offspring were destined to carry a burden.
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The LORD is coming quickly on a swift cloud. The Hebrew word
for “cloud” is `ab. What is not
stated in the translation is the type of cloud. It is a dark, thick cloud. The
introduction states this is going to be swift, quick, and ominous. It reminds
me of a supercell thunderstorm you can see rolling in on the plains.
Isaiah 19:2 “So I will incite Egyptians against
Egyptians; and they will each fight against his brother and each against his
neighbor, city against city and kingdom against kingdom…”
This is how God is
going to bring the nation of Egypt together and return them to the LORD or
Yahweh. God is going to bring about circumstances that will knit them as a
unified country and be His people.
The first thing to happen is an Egyptian civil war. God says
He will “incite” or cakak in the
Hebrew. This word is also translated as “cover” per Strong’s Concordance. This
is the same term used repeatedly in reference to the angels’ wings of the Ark
of the Covenant. Their wings “covered” or cakak
the Ark.
Exodus 25:20 The
cherubim shall have their wings spread upward, covering the mercy seat
with their wings and facing one another; the faces of the cherubim are to be
turned toward the mercy seat.
See also: Exodus
37:9, 1 Kings 8:7, 1 Chronicles 28:18b.
Figuratively, cakak
can be seen as protection, hedge in, or join together.
Will the people choose to fight each other? Yes, the Egyptian people will opt to fight against one another throughout the country. But Egypt will be watched and protected by Yahweh or the LORD. The idea is to intensively, purposely weave together the Egyptians against each other repeatedly.
God is in control regardless of our actions. He can overcome our repeated bad decisions.
Isaiah 9:20-21 They slice off what is on the right hand but still are hungry, and they eat what is on the left hand but they are not satisfied; each of them eats the flesh of his own arm. Manasseh devours Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh, and together they are against Judah. In spite of all this, His anger does not turn away and His hand is still stretched out.
Scholars debate whether verse 20 is figurative or literal language in regards to the topic of cannibalism. The point (whether figurative or literal) being made is that people are hungry and food is scarce.
The Hebrew word for eat is ‘akal. It is the verb used for the consumption of humans. The context of the verse is humans.
There are other verses in the Bible where cannibalism is discussed and it is literally humans eating other humans. In some cases, it is a judgment proclaimed by God. In other cases, people are acting independently out of hunger.
Leviticus 26:29 is a series of judgments being proclaimed by God for disobedience to His commandments. ‘Further, you will eat the flesh of your sons and the flesh of your daughters you will eat.
In 2 Kings 6:28-29 hunger and famine were in Samaria due to military conquest. And the king said to her, “What is the matter with you?” And she answered, “This woman said to me, ‘Give your son that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow, so we boiled my son and ate him; and I said to her on the next day, ‘Give your son, that we may eat him’; but she has hidden her son.”
Draw your own conclusions, literal or figurative cannibalism.
Ephraim and Manasseh were members of the northern kingdom. They were fighting against each other. There was civil war in the northern kingdom. But they did manage to get together to fight Judah. Judah is the region in the south of Israel. It is the southern kingdom. There was civil war throughout all of Israel.
The phrase His anger does not turn away and His hand is still stretched out is noted for the third time in Isaiah 9. The third judgment has been completed. Israel still has one more remaining judgment before completion.
