Libya in Bible History and Prophecy

Libya has roared into our daily news. It is an ancient country with past historic significance and present trouble, and it is a Bible country of substantial and tragic prophetic importance.

Libya is located on the northern Mediterranean coast of Africa. It is bordered by Egypt, Sudan, Chad, Nigeria, Algeria and Tunisia. The term “Libya” once designated the third continent of Africa west of the Nile River, the other two being Europe and Asia. It stretched from the sea to the hinterlands in the south.

Its name derived from an Egyptian designation of “Levu,” which morphed into “Libya.” Reaching back as far as the two thousand years before Christ, it was settled by people loosely known as Berbers, apparently of Indo-European origin from southwest Asia. The Berbers never sought nationhood but choose identity in tribalism and individual clans. As a result, Libya has been a historic geographic, economic and political football bouncing between Greece, Rome and most recently ruled by a wretched dictator, Muammar Khadafi.

By the second century AD, Libya was mostly Christian from early evangelism. This happy state changed dramatically changed in 647 when 40,000 Arabs wrenched it away from the Byzantine control and transformed it into Muslim control. It most famous city is its capitol, Tripoli, popularized by the Marine Hymn: “From the halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli….” This refers to the U.S. Navy subduing the Muslim Barbary Pirates who practiced pillage and mayhem in the Mediterranean for centuries. In 1794, the young United States of America refused to pay protection tribute, established its first national navy and stopped the carnage. (This Tripoli is not to be confused with a city by the same name in northern Lebanon.)

In the New Testament, Libya is most noted as the home of a bearer of Christ’s cross, converts at Pentecost and effective missionaries.

When Christ stumbled beneath the cross on His way to Calvary, a man from Libya was pressed into service. Matthew 27:32 says, “And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross.” Cyrene is close to Tripoli in Libya.

The account of Pentecost says, “And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born? Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs – we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.” (Acts 2:8-11) This indicates a strong dedicated Jewish presence in faraway Libya who had come to observe Passover.

Evidently the persecution following Stephen’s death took some of the converts from Pentecost to Antioch in Syria. “But some of them were men from Cyprus and Cyrene, who, when they had come to Antioch, spoke to the Hellenists, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord.” (Acts 11:20-21)

Out of this came a spiritual church that became the first organized foreign missions effort of New Testament times. “Now in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’ Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away.” (Acts 13:1-3)

So Libya became largely Christian, far from what it is today—a Muslim hotbed of strife and revolt. Some of the “rebels” are admittedly al Qaeda trainees, and the U.S. and NATO have gotten themselves into a dangerous posture of unsolvable problems.

But what of the future? Libya will join other Islamic nations in the brutal attack on Israel prophesied in Ezekiel 38:5. Evidently, it will also fall in step with Antichrist in his subtle campaign to control Israel as Daniel 11:43 states: “He shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; also the Libyans and Ethiopians shall follow at his heels.” This apparently ends in catastrophe as Ezek. 30:5 says of Egypt and her western neighbor, “Ethiopia, Libya, Lydia, all the mingled people, Chub, and the men of the lands who are allied, shall fall with them by the sword.”

The great hope of this hour is that Gospel outreach—now largely through Internet, radio and TV—will reach the millions of distraught people in Muslim lands and that they will find redemption in Jesus Christ, their only hope for time and eternity. According to prominent author Joel Rosenberg, millions are turning to Christ in the Muslim world, but precious little response is being recorded in Libya. Let’s pray that this changes and many more “Simons from Cyrene” will gladly bear Jesus’ cross in converted discipleship. Libyans did so in the past. Let’s pray that they do it again.

Dave Virkler