Egypt is once again headline news in another round of unrest and violence. President Morsi, the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood who has been in office just a year, has been deposed and a new government is being formed by the military. The Muslim Brotherhood is vowing to continue protests.
Biblical Egypt is first mentioned when Abraham, then called Abram, went there in time of famine (Gen. 12:10). Abraham must have been quite far south at the time since the capitol of Egypt was then in Memphis, which is a bit south of modern Cairo and likely west of the Nile River.
The land covenant God made with Abraham went from the northern border of Egypt, known as the River of Egypt, in the present Rapha area up to the Euphrates River (Gen. 12:18). Abraham fathered Ishmael by Hagar, who was an Egyptian. She took a wife for Ishmael out of Egypt (Gen. 21:21).
In Genesis 38-50, we find the story of Joseph and the children of Israel in Egypt. Joseph was the favored son of his father, Jacob. His jealous brothers sold him to some Ishmaelites (Gen. 37:28), who sold him to an Egyptian officer, Potiphar, who made Joseph manager of his entire household. Potiphar’s wife tried to seduce Joseph and then falsely accused him of seducing her when Joseph refused her advances.
Joseph was sent to prison where it was eventually discovered that he could interpret dreams. His jail term ended when he interpreted the dream of Pharaoh that indicated seven years of plenty and then seven years of famine. Joseph proposed a plan to prepare for the famine, and Pharaoh was so impressed that he appointed Joseph as second in command over all the land.
During the famine, Jacob sent his remaining sons down to Egypt, and Joseph provided the family with food. After forgiveness and a family reunion, Jacob’s entire family moved down to Egypt at Pharaoh’s invitation, and thus began the story of the Israelites in Egypt.
The Israelites’ exodus from Egypt is covered in Exodus 1-14. Eventually, a new Pharaoh who did not know Joseph became ruler, and the Israelites numbered so many that Pharaoh feared an uprising. He made them slaves in terrible bondage, but their numbers still increased, and Pharaoh instructed midwives to kill newborn boys. To prevent the death of her son, Moses’ mother hid him in a basket on the riverbank, but he was found by Pharaoh’s daughter and adopted into the royal household.
The 10 horrendous plagues sent by God to show His power to Pharaoh ended with the slaying of all firstborn children in Egypt. The Israelites were spared by shedding a perfect lamb’s blood and applying it on the doorway and eating its flesh. This was the Passover when God’s destroying angel passed over them. The Israelites left Egypt in the miraculous Exodus.
The Jews were not gone from Egypt forever, though. Jeroboam fled from Solomon to Egypt (I Kings 11:40). Despite God’s specific warning not to, some Jews at the time of the Babylonian captivity took refuge in Egypt with tragic consequences (Jeremiah 42-46). History records that Jews taken captive when Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans in AD 70 were sold back into Egypt.
There is a positive side to the Jews in Egypt. It was there that Joseph and Mary fled from Bethlehem with the young child Jesus to avoid King Herod’s wrath (Matt. 2:13–19). They lived in Egypt for about two years and returned to Nazareth after Herod’s death. Matthew states that this was in fulfillment of Hosea 11:1, “... and out of Egypt I called My son.”
I believe God has a remarkable plan for Egypt in the end times because it gave refuge to Jacob’s family and the young Christ child and also because it was the first Arab nation to recognize the state of Israel. However, that blessing will eventually come only after horrendous judgments. Two significant sections in the Bible outline future troubles for Egypt in the end times.
In Isaiah 19:2, the Lord says, “I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians, city against city and kingdom against kingdom.” I can’t say that the commotion in Egypt is direct fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy, but it surely comes close.
Verse 4 says, “And the Egyptians I will give into the hand of a cruel master, and a fierce king will rule over them.” In verse 11, we read that the rulers’ advice is totally erroneous or, literally, stupid. Verses 5–9 speak of horrendous judgments upon the Nile River. The Nile dries up, the vegetation along the banks is badly damaged, fishermen are terribly upset, and the textile industry is tragically damaged.
There are some other incredible chapters that refer to Egypt in the end times. Ezekiel 29-32 is an astounding prophecy of God’s judgment on Egypt including marine creatures in the Nile being thrown into open fields to decompose, the land becoming utterly waste and desolate, and Egyptians scattered to finally return after 40 years.
Is there anything in our day that would correspond to the fulfillment of these prophecies? In a word, yes! It has to do with the Aswan Dam and huge Lake Nasser that was created behind it. Unfortunately, the Aswan Dam has all but wrecked Egypt. Space does not allow a full description, but present conditions of the dam and lake are such that they could cause the scenario of decimated agriculture. Ezekiel 30:8 says that the Lord will set “a fire in Egypt”. If that fire is a nuclear attack on the Aswan Dam, a flood of radioactive waters would surge through the Nile Valley and surrounding countries making the land uninhabitable, perhaps for 40 years.
There is good news for Egypt, however. Following the dire prophecies in the first part of Isaiah 19 are verses that outline a sweeping and glorious national revival to come. Verses 16–25 forecast something never yet seen—Israel, Egypt and Assyria (modern Syria and parts of Turkey and Iraq) will worship together and be a blessing!
“…for they will cry to the Lord because of the oppressors, and He will send them a Savior and a Mighty one, and He will deliver them. Then the Lord will be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians will know the Lord in that day, and will make sacrifice and offering; yes they will make a vow to the Lord and perform it … In that day Israel will be one of three with Egypt and Assyria—a blessing in the midst of the land, whom the Lord of hosts shall bless saying, ‘Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance’” (Isaiah 19:20b-21, 24, 26).
Arabs and Jews will worship Jehovah together, and the worship will be centered in Israel. It sounds like the Millennium when Christ reigns in Jerusalem.
If developments in Egypt over the last couple of years are even a small part of the end-time forecasts of Isaiah and Ezekiel, then we are truly rushing closer to the return of Jesus Christ for His redeemed Church since the most dramatic prophecies are likely to be fulfilled in the subsequent Tribulation and beyond.
If you do not know Christ as Savior and are unprepared for His return pray the sinner’s prayer, “God be merciful to me the sinner” (Luke 18:13). Invite Jesus Christ into your heart in simple faith. Romans 10:13 promises that “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” It is high time to seek the Lord Jesus Christ and, having found Him, to serve Him.
