ISAIAH 19

1 The burden of Egypt. Behold, Yahweh rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it.

2 And I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians: and they shall fight every one against his brother, and every one against his neighbour; city against city, and kingdom against kingdom.

3 And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst thereof; and I will destroy the counsel thereof: and they shall seek to the idols, and to the charmers, and to them that have familiar spirits, and to the wizards.

4 And the Egyptians will I give over into the hand of a cruel lord; and a fierce king shall rule over them, saith Yahweh, Yahweh hosts.

In this invasion of Egypt then in the hands of Gog, the king of the north, who hath power over its gold, and silver, and precious things (Dan. xi. 43) the troops of Sinai would have to march round the head of the gulf of Suez, or to pass over the sea, or through it.

The last alternative seems to be the course to be adopted at some epoch of the enterprise; which will probably be on return from the conquest of Egypt, in the march to Zion. "I will bring again from the depths of the sea," saith the Spirit in Psa. lxviii. 22. And these words were written in Jerusalem, implying that they were coming Zionwards.

In Psa. lxvi, after announcing the universal subjection of the nations, the reader is invited to the contemplation of the means by which the conquest is effected:

"Come and see the doings of Elohim, terrible of deed towards the sons of men. He turned the sea to dry land; they passed through the river on foot: there did we rejoice in him."

And Isaiah says:

"Yahweh shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river (Euphrates) and shall smite it into seven streams, and cause to go over in shoes ... like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt" 

(xi. 15,16).

And yet again in ch. l. 9, Isaiah, by the inspiration of the Spirit saith in relation to Israel's future redemption,

"Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of Yahweh; awake as in the ancient days, in the generations of old. Art thou not the same that cut in pieces Rahab (Egypt) and wounded the dragon? Art thou not the same that dried the sea, the waters of the great deep; that made the depths of the sea a way for the ransomed to pass over?"

These were the awakenings of ancient days; and by the prophet's petition, which was the word of the Spirit, the dividing of the sea and the river in a future exodus is indirectly foretold.

"Therefore the redeemed of Yahweh shall return, and come with singing unto Zion (not from Egypt to Sinai, as of old); and everlasting joy (simchath olahm, joy of the future age) shall be upon their head."

The Rainbowed Angel being constituted of individuals who are all "like Jesus," who descended to Sinai, and in the days of his flesh even, walked upon the sea; showing thereby that He, and therefore they, are untrammeled by the natural laws: it will be unnecessary and superfluous to divide the sea on their account.

Eureka 10.6.

5 And the waters shall fail from the sea, and the river shall be wasted and dried up.

21 And Yahweh shall be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians shall know Yahweh in that day, and shall do sacrifice and oblation; yea, they shall vow a vow unto Yahweh, and perform it.

22 And Yahweh shall smite Egypt: he shall smite and heal it: and they shall return even to Yahweh, and he shall be intreated of them, and shall heal them.

20 And it shall be for a sign and for a witness unto Yahweh of hosts in the land of Egypt: for they shall cry unto Yahweh because of the oppressors, and he shall send them a saviour, and a great one, and he shall deliver them.

A consideration of the whole context shows that it is the Egyptians who are spoken of. The chapter, as the opening verse tells us, deals with "the burden of Egypt." Egypt, at the time of the prophet Isaiah, was in the plenitude of its glory and a frequent ally of corrupt Israel.

Isaiah here foretells the fall of Egypt's glory by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, and then opens out an indefinite vista of Egyptian degradation which has come to pass, having already lasted nearly 2,000 years. But there comes a time in connection with the return of Israel's prosperity (see verse 25), when the Egyptians, in the hands of cruel oppressors, cry unto the Lord, and are saved by Him.

What is this but the latter-day conquest of Egypt by the King of the North, spoken of by Dan. 11:43? Yahweh "sends a great one who shall deliver them." This is the deliverer of Israel also who destroys the power of Gog, emancipates Egypt from his grasp, and re-establishes the fallen tabernacle of David in peace and righteousness.

"Yahweh shall be known in Egypt, and the Egyptians shall know the Lord in that day, and shall do sacrifice and oblation."

The Christadelphian, July 1873

23 In that day shall there be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians shall serve with the Assyrians.

At the end of the forty years' sojourn in the people's wilderness, Elijah conducts the tribes to the borders of the land. I say Elijah does it; because Jesus says,

"Elijah truly shall first come, and restore all things."

This is not to be lost sight of in the interpretation. He will figure very conspicuously in

"the restitution of all the things of which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets."

Moses, Elijah, and Jesus are the three whose work consummates the purposes of Yahweh, which ultimate in blessing all nations in Abraham and his seed. It would seem that the tribes march from the south, towards the Red Sea, and from the west, north, and east, to the Euphrates flood; from which two points they form a junction in the intermediate wilderness. They are to be gathered from Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, Cush, Elam, Shinar, Hamath, and the regions of the Western Sea. These lie at all points of the compass with respect to Palestine.

Having to congregate from such opposite directions, they will, no doubt, move towards the wilderness in armies, fighting their way through the countries, and coalescing as occasion may serve, until they arrive at their destination. My reasons for concluding that they will approach the wilderness from the Red Sea and flood of the Euphrates, are, first, because it is written,

"Yahweh shall make a gathering of his fruit from the flood of the river (shibbo-leth han-nahhar) to the stream of Egypt; and ye shall be gleaned up one by one, O ye sons of Israel. And it shall come to pass in that day the Great Trumpet (the proclamation spoken of before) shall be blown, and those shall come who were perishing in the land of Assyria, and who were dispersed in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the Lord on the Holy Mount at Jerusalem."

Here are a gathering and a gleaning, so that no stragglers may be left behind. Now, between these two extremities, there is to be a highway from Assyria, beyond the Euphrates, styled, "the river," into Egypt, beyond the Red Sea, even to the Nile; and the proof of this contains my second reason. The passage is very variously rendered by Lowth, Boothroyd, and the common version. It is necessary where the doctors differ for disciples to try and help themselves.

The English Bible would lead one to infer that the Red Sea and the seven-mouthed Nile were to be divided, while Lowth and Boothroyd would intimate that neither were; but on looking into the text carefully, I am satisfied that both are to be affected, as described in the following literal rendering:

"And Yahweh shall dry them up-the tongue of the sea of Egypt; and He shall shake to and fro His hand over the river by violence of His wind, and He shall cause to smite it in seven streams, and make to pass through in shoes."

From this and the former text, I understand that the flood of the Euphrates, that is, below where the Tigris falls into it, will be made fordable, and the Gulf of Suez entirely destroyed, so as to facilitate the passage of Israel from Pathros, Cush, and Egypt into the wilderness, to meet their brethren from "beyond the flood." This accords with what follows

-"And there shall be a highway for the remnant of Yahweh's people who shall be left from Assyria; like as it was to Israel in the day that He came up out of the land of Egypt."

Mystery of the covenant of the holy land

The future state of Eden

24 In that day shall Israel [Yisroel] be the third with Egypt [Mitzrayim] and with Assyria, even a blessing [brocha] in the midst of the land [ha'aretz] (of Eden):

These testimonies reveal a future state in regard to Eden, of which its primitive garden is a beautiful and appropriate representation. Once the seat of a paradise on a small scale, it is destined to be transformed from its desolation into "the Paradise of God."

The country of the four rivers, even to the west from sea to sea, is predetermined to shine forth as "the glory of all lands." Paradise hath no other locality. ...as far as man is concerned, the Paradise of God will be by Him planted in Eden according to "the promise."

... it will be established in the Lord's land, that is, in Eden. Hence, the promise, interpreted into plain English, is -- "To the believer that overcomes the world (1 John 5:4), will I, the Lord, who am the Life, give glory, honour, and immortality, when I come to stand on the Mount of Olives (Zech. 14:4), and to re-establish the kingdom and throne of David, as in the days of old" (Amos 9:11).

Elpis Israel 1.2.

25 Whom Yahweh of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance [Baruch Ami Mitzrayim, Ma'aseh Yadai Assyria, and Yisroel Mine nachalah].

Paradise

But a time is coming when the anti-christian, mohommedan, and pagan, nations of the world, will all become the people of God...

And again it is written of Christ, "He shalt come down like rain upon the mown grass; as showers that water the earth. In His days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth. He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth.

They (the Arabs) that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before Him; and His enemies shall lick the dust; the kings of Tarshish, and of the isles, shall bring presents; the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts. Yea, all kings shall fall down before Him: ALL NATIONS SHALL SERVE HIM. His name shall endure for ever; His name shall be continued as long as the sun; and men shall be blessed in Him: all nations shall call Him blessed" (Psalm 72:6-11,17).

According to this testimony it is proved that the nations, or families, of the earth will become the people of God, as well as Israel, who will have the pre-eminence among them as the inheritance of the Lord; and so Israel and the nations will constitute a kingdom and empire, which will then compose "the world," and be blessed in Him and Abraham; whose subjects will reciprocate the benefits bestowed upon them, and serve their God-like rulers with heart felt loyalty, and blessings upon His name for ever.

But when we contemplate the nations now in Satan, and Israel scattered to the four winds, and compare their present condition with what is to be when they all serve Christ and are blessed in Him and Abraham, we perceive the womb of futurity to be pregnant of a mighty change; and one, too, which cannot be effected by mild and persuasive measures.

The time for persuasives has passed away. The nations turn a deaf ear to everything which is not in harmony with their lusts. Hence, coercion can alone bring them to wait for the Divine law. For this reason it is testified of Christ -- "He shall break in pieces the oppressor," and "will execute vengeance in anger and fury upon the heathen, such as they have not heard. And the nations shall see and be confounded at their (Israel's) might: they shall lay their hand upon their mouth, their ears shall be deaf. They shall lick the dust like a serpent, they shall move out of their holes like worms of the earth: they shall be afraid of the Lord, Israel's God, and shall fear because of Thee!"

This testimony shows the nations will be reduced to abject submission, even the most powerful among them. Their courage and means of resistance will have departed; for by the sword of the Lord and of Israel they will have been subdued. At this crisis, however, they will find a Deliverer in Him who hath overcome them (Rev. 17:14;19:11-21). "Look unto Me," saith He, "and be ye saved all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is none else. I have sworn by Myself," to Abraham, "the word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, that unto Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear, saying, surely in the Lord have I righteousness and strength: even to Him shall men come" (Isaiah 45:22, 23).

If we turn to this oath of subjection and future blessing, we shall see what is meant by every knee bowing to the Lord. "By Myself have I sworn," saith the Lord, "for because thou, Abraham, hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea-shore; and thy Seed (Christ) shall possess the gate of His enemies; and in thy Seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed My voice" (Gen. 22:16-18).

The nations being prepared by coercion, the formula of political adoption is promulgated to them. This is contained in the law which goes forth from Zion. The details of this law are not all specified. In the general, it establishes the power of the Lord, then becomes "a great mountain filling the whole earth" (Dan. 2:35), above all other powers; and constitutes the newly erected Temple in Jerusalem "the house of prayer for all nations" (Isaiah 56:7).

This law gives the kingdom to the daughter of Jerusalem which is Zion; where the Lord reigns over them henceforth for ever (Mic 4:7, 8). The nations accept the law which saves them from extermination. This is evinced by the effects which follow its promulgation.

They all flow to Jerusalem as the centre of the world, and fountain of all blessings; for "My springs," saith the Lord, "are in thee."

They go thither for instruction in the ways of the Lord, and return to walk in His paths, to live at peace among themselves, to abandon the study of war, and to devote themselves to agriculture commerce, and the arts (Isaiah 2:2-4) This is the millennial future state.

Abraham and Jesus are, then, the greatest personages upon the earth; the former being the spiritual father of Jesus and the saints, and the political father of a multitude of nations, over whom Christ and His brethren rule until "the end" (1 Cor. 15:24).

Such is "the world" of which Abraham and his Seed are the heirs.

Elpis Israel 2.2.