EZEKIEL LESSON 32


     We will begin this lesson in Ezekiel 30:1 "The word of the LORD
came again unto me, saying,"

     Every time we see this statement, it means there has been a break
from the previous prophecy, and a new prophecy begins.

     Ezekiel 30:2 "Son of man, prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord
GOD; Howl ye, Woe worth the day!"

     Woe is speaking to the wicked. Woe is expressing grief. One of
the best examples of a woe is in Revelation 8:13 "And I beheld, and
heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud
voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the
other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to
sound!"  "Woe" is speaking a judgement of God upon man.

     Ezekiel 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."

     The "day of the LORD" is speaking of a day of divine judgement
from God. The day of chastisement from God is always a cloudy day. It
seems, the sun will never shine again. God has judged His precious
Israel, now it is the time to judge the heathen. The day of the LORD
is a day when the power of Almighty God over the affairs of man is
evident.  We may see in this indefinite time frame, a near fulfillment
and, also, a revelation of some far future happening, as well.

     Ezekiel 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."

     We do know, that Nebuchadnezzar came against Egypt shortly after
this was spoken. It was, however, not a total destruction as much of
this speaks of. The attack was a limited attack. There was a battle,
and Egypt did suffer loss from Nebuchadnezzar. They were spoiled of
their wealth. Some did die by the sword, but I believe this is
speaking, also, of a coming day, when this great calamity will take
over Egypt. We must remember in this, that Egypt is a type of the
world.  It is a type of the lost heathen world. The heathen world will
not always be able to stand against God. God will tear down its
foundation. Egypt is the personification of evil.

     Ezekiel 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."

     Could this be speaking of that battle that occurs much later in
history, when all the worldly people are caught up in battle? I
believe this speaks of a world alliance against the people of God.

     Ezekiel 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."

     "Syene" means rather to be written. It, also, means seven. The
number seven speaks of spiritual completeness. When the fulness of
time comes, the world power will be totally destroyed. There is a
physical sword, and there is a spiritual sword {Word of God}. We must
look at these Scriptures for a later fulfillment, because the attack
that Nebuchadnezzar brings on Egypt, really did not go very far into
Egypt. The Nebuchadnezzar of this lesson, could be speaking of any
evil ruler from that area who reminds us of Nebuchadnezzar. It could
even be Sadam Hussein.

     Ezekiel 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."

     This speaks of complete judgement of God on the evil in this
land, and all others. This is speaking of widespread desolation at the
hand of God. This type of desolation is taking place in much of the
world today. Christianity has suffered greatly in the African nations,
because of the Muslim religion.

     Ezekiel 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."

     When the LORD moves, everyone will know it. This could very well
be speaking of the fire of God sweeping through these lands in an act
of converting the people to Christianity. The worldliness will be
gone. Everyone will know this is God.

     Ezekiel 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."

     This speaks of carelessness in general, and in carelessness of
Ethiopia in specific. When they hear of what has happened to Egypt,
they will fear greatly. Could these messengers, possibly, be
missionaries that God sent to Ethiopia?

     Ezekiel 30:10 "Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will also make the
multitude of Egypt to cease by the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of
Babylon."

     The divine judgement is of God. He will use whoever He wants to
carry that judgement out. In the near future, when Ezekiel prophesied
this, there was an invasion by Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. Egypt was
punished for their sins. There were not, however, a multitude killed
in that war. This, then, is speaking of another time in the future,
when a type of Nebuchadnezzar will come against the world, or Egypt.

     Ezekiel 30:11 "He and his people with him, the terrible of the
nations, shall be brought to destroy the land: and they shall draw
their swords against Egypt, and fill the land with the slain."

     Again, there was a partial fulfillment of this in the very near
future, but this type of complete devastation is yet to come. This is
an end time prophecy.

     Ezekiel 30:12 "And I will make the rivers dry, and sell the land
into the hand of the wicked: and I will make the land waste, and all
that is therein, by the hand of strangers: I the LORD have spoken
[it]."

     We are not told when this will come to pass, just that it will.
The way we know for sure that it will, is because God has spoken it.
This type of overwhelming judgement from God would bring terror to the
heart of all the world.

     Ezekiel 30:13 "Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will also destroy the
idols, and I will cause [their] images to cease out of Noph; and there
shall be no more a prince of the land of Egypt: and I will put a fear
in the land of Egypt."

     Even to this day, there is a "prince" in Egypt. There is even
unto this day, idol worship in Egypt. Noph is the Hebrew name of the
city Memphis, which was the capital of lower Egypt. There was an
attack on this area of Egypt by Nebuchadnezzar, and these things did
happen in this area. These verses have two prophesies, however.

     Ezekiel 30:14 "And I will make Pathros desolate, and will set
fire in Zoan, and will execute judgments in No."

     Pathros is where the Jews had settled, when they ran from Israel.
This area was attacked by Nebuchadnezzar, and was destroyed. Zoan is
the same sight as Avaris and Tanis. It was during the reign of
Alexander the great, that Zoan was destroyed. No was a very large city
with 100 gates. The most prominent false worship here was of false god
Ammon.

     Ezekiel 30:15 "And I will pour my fury upon Sin, the strength of
Egypt; and I will cut off the multitude of No."

     Sin was a city in Egypt. Its Greek name is Pelusium. It was the
strength of Egypt, because it was a fort that invading armies must
defeat, before coming into Egypt. Some times, the invading army would
be turned back at this point. No fort is strong enough to hold back
the judgement of God.

     Ezekiel 30:16 "And I will set fire in Egypt: Sin shall have great
pain, and No shall be rent asunder, and Noph [shall have] distresses
daily.'

     It appears, that most of the sieges took quite a long time. Each
day, there would be a new terror.

     Ezekiel 30:17 "The young men of Aven and of Pi-beseth shall fall
by the sword: and these [cities] shall go into captivity."

     The word "Aven" means nothingness. It was an idol city. They
worshipped the sun. Pi-beseth was the house of the goddess Bast.  They
worshipped the false goddess Dianna. We can easily see why these two
should perish.

     Ezekiel 30:18 "At Tehaphnehes also the day shall be darkened,
when I shall break there the yokes of Egypt: and the pomp of her
strength shall cease in her: as for her, a cloud shall cover her, and
her daughters shall go into captivity."

     The king of Babylon does take this city. This same thing is
mentioned in the writings of Jeremiah in the 43rd chapter verses 8
through 10.

     Ezekiel 30:19 "Thus will I execute judgments in Egypt: and they
shall know that I [am] the LORD."

     Just as God had proved to the Egyptians, in the time of Moses who
He is, He proves it, again, here.

     Ezekiel 30:20  "And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the
first [month], in the seventh [day] of the month, [that] the word of
the LORD came unto me, saying,"

     We see a new prophecy beginning here.

     Ezekiel 30:21 Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king
of Egypt; and, lo, it shall not be bound up to be healed, to put a
roller to bind it, to make it strong to hold the sword.

     The arm of Pharaoh shows his power. This is just saying, he has
lost his power to protect his own people. That power will not come
back. This, in the spiritual, could be the fact that Jesus defeated
Satan on the cross, and he will never regain power.

     Ezekiel 30:22 "Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I [am]
against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and will break his arms, the strong,
and that which was broken; and I will cause the sword to fall out of
his hand."

     He will be rendered helpless to fight back. It is God who has
broken his arms of strength.

     Ezekiel 30:23 "And I will scatter the Egyptians among the
nations, and will disperse them through the countries."

     It is God who raises one nation, and brings another down. It is
God that allowed Satan to have some power over the earth. It was God
the Son who defeated Satan on the cross. This scattering, here, is
like the scattering of Israel.

     Ezekiel 30:24 "And I will strengthen the arms of the king of
Babylon, and put my sword in his hand: but I will break Pharaoh's
arms, and he shall groan before him with the groanings of a deadly
wounded [man]."

     The most important thing to realize in this, would be that God
strengthens whom He will, and He weakens whom He will. It is God's
creation to do with as He wishes. God has struck the Pharaoh of Egypt
{world} helpless.

     Ezekiel 30:25 "But I will strengthen the arms of the king of
Babylon, and the arms of Pharaoh shall fall down; and they shall know
that I [am] the LORD, when I shall put my sword into the hand of the
king of Babylon, and he shall stretch it out upon the land of Egypt."

     This power, or this sword, does not belong to the king of
Babylon.  The sword belongs to God. The king of Babylon is following
God's directions. This judgement is from God.

     Ezekiel 30:26 "And I will scatter the Egyptians among the
nations, and disperse them among the countries; and they shall know
that I [am] the LORD."

     The Egyptians had been actually fighting against God. This speaks
of God dispersing them, so they will know that He is the LORD. His
prophecy will be fulfilled, whether for then or now, because He is the
LORD.

     I would like to state one more time that a prophet is not limited
to speaking of the near future with his prophecies. He speaks the
message God gives him. God does not think of time in the same way you
and I do. A thousand years is but a short time to him, sometimes He
calls it a day. II Peter 3:8 "But, beloved, be not ignorant of this
one thing, that one day [is] with the Lord as a thousand years, and a
thousand years as one day." Some of these prophecies have never been
fulfilled, so we know that they are for the future. It is not our
position to question any Scripture. We know that every Word in the
Bible is true. We may not know exactly when it will happen, but we
know it will happen.















                         Ezekiel 32 Questions


1.  What, in verse 2, is Ezekiel told to do?
2.  Who is woe speaking to?
3.  "Woe" is expressing _______.
4.  Where do we read, in Revelation, about woe, woe, woe?
5.  Woe is speaking of ___________ of God upon man.
6.  What is "day of the LORD" speaking of?
7.  The day of ____________ from God is always a cloudy day.
8.  What is the time frame of this prophecy?
9.  Who came against Egypt, shortly after Ezekiel spoke this?
10. What time does the author believe this is speaking of?
11. We must remember Egypt is a type of the __________.
12. Egypt is the personification of _______.
13. Could verse 5 be speaking of a much later time?
14. What does "Syene" mean?
15. What does the number seven symbolize?
16. What is the Spiritual Sword?
17. Verse 7 speaks of widespread desolation at the hand of ______.
18. Christianity has suffered greatly in the African nations, because
    of the _________ religion.
19. Could the messengers of verse 9 be missionaries?
20. How do we know for sure, that all these prophesies will be
    fulfilled?
21. What is another name for Noph?
22. When was Zoan destroyed?
23. How many gates did No have?
24. Sin was a city in __________.
25. Why was it the strength of Egypt?
26. ____ fort is able to hold back the judgement of God.
27. What does the word "Aven" mean?
28. What false god was worshipped here?
29. What had God done to Pharaoh to make him helpless?
30. What is the meaning of this?
31. Who defeated Satan?
32. Who does the power of the sword really belong to?
33. Who were the Egyptians actually fighting against?
34. Quote 2 Peter chapter 3 verse 8.
35. We know all of God's prophecies through His prophets come true,
    what do we not know?