Christian Churches of God No. 36 The Fall of Egypt The Prophecy of Pharaoh's Broken Arms

Phase 1 – Part 2

We are now able to see the significant battles that are being waged in the Host over a continual period. The war we face is not a physical battle, but is rather against principalities and powers that are in rebellion to the will of God. The wars are detailed for us in Bible prophecy and we have a responsibility as stewards of the Mysteries of God to understand and expound those mysteries. As previously explained this prophecy was chosen as the central framework precisely because it is held up as failed prophecy and precisely because it is not understood by mankind. The framework could as easily have been Revelation or Daniel or Isaiah using all of the others to explain the sequence. The fact of the matter is that they are all interrelated and point to the Kingdom of God. That Kingdom will be established on this planet in power and glory. It is however, necessary to warn the world of the process. As explained in the paper The Warning of the Last Days (No. 44) God does nothing before He warns those concerned through His servants. This prophecy was given in a sequence over 2,000 years ago. It is being fulfilled on a continuing basis. Nothing will stop that.

Ezekiel 32:1-8 In the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me: ² "Son of man, raise a lamentation over Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say to him: "You consider yourself a lion among the nations, but you are like a dragon in the seas; you burst forth in your rivers, trouble the waters with your feet, and foul their rivers. ³ Thus says the Lord GOD: I will throw my net over you with a host of many peoples; and I will haul you up in my dragnet. ⁴ And I will cast you on the ground, on the open field I will fling you, and will cause all the birds of the air to settle on you, and I will gorge the beasts of the whole earth with you. ⁵ I will strew your flesh upon the mountains, and fill the valleys with your carcass. ⁶ I will drench the land even to the mountains with your flowing blood; and the watercourses will be full of you. ⁷ When I blot you out, I will cover the heavens, and make their stars dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give its light. ⁸ All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over you, and put darkness upon your land, says the Lord GOD. (RSV)

In this text we are given the same sequence as that for the last days. Christ says much the same thing in Matthew 24:29-31.

Matthew 24:29-31 "Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken; ³⁰ then will appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory; ³¹ and he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. (RSV)
The expression from one end of heaven to the other is not to be taken to infer some heavenly rapture. The text refers to the four corners of the earth. They will be gathered to Zion.
Luke 21:24-27 states that Christ will come in a cloud in power and great glory after the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. The people will be led into captivity from Jerusalem, and it will be trodden down by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled:

Luke 21:24-27 they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led captive among all nations; and Jerusalem will be trodden down by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. ²⁵ "And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and upon the earth distress of nations in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, ²⁶ men fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ²⁷ And then they will see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. (RSV)

The texts here reflect the sense of Revelation 5:12-13.

Revelation 5:12-13 saying with a loud voice, "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!" ¹³ And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all therein, saying, "To him who sits upon the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might for ever and ever!" (RSV)

Also Isaiah 13:10 says:

Isaiah 13:10 For the stars of the heavens and their constellations will not give their light; the sun will be dark at its rising and the moon will not shed its light. (RSV)

God is specifically detailing the day of the Lord here. The build up to the prophecy in Isaiah 14 is thus for the end of the age and Messianic. Isaiah 14 has direct application to Ezekiel 28. The sequence in Ezekiel 29 to 32 relates to the period between the times of the Gentiles and the days of the Watchmen in Ezekiel 33. These chapter groupings are not without significance. The periods of these prophecies are the same periods dealt with in Daniel 2 which shows beyond question that the sequence commences with Nebuchadnezzar but ends with the destruction of the ten king system of the empire of iron and clay in the last days, thus beginning the millennial reign of Messiah.
Also Joel 2:10 states of the day of the Lord at this end time:

Joel 2:10 The earth quakes before them, the heavens tremble. The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining. (RSV)

Also Zephaniah 1:15 states:

Zephaniah 1:15 A day of wrath is that day, a day of distress and anguish, a day of ruin and devastation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness, (RSV)

Daniel 7:13-14 reflects Luke 21:27.

Daniel 7:13-14 I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. ¹⁴ And to him was given dominion and glory and kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed. (RSV)

Ezekiel 32:9 continues ­­­­- concerning Egypt.

Ezekiel 32:9-16 "I will trouble the hearts of many peoples, when I carry you captive among the nations, into the countries which you have not known. ¹⁰ I will make many peoples appalled at you, and their kings shall shudder because of you, when I brandish my sword before them; they shall tremble every moment, every one for his own life, on the day of your downfall. ¹¹ For thus says the Lord GOD: The sword of the king of Babylon shall come upon you. ¹² I will cause your multitude to fall by the swords of mighty ones, all of them most terrible among the nations. "They shall bring to nought the pride of Egypt, and all its multitude shall perish. ¹³ I will destroy all its beasts from beside many waters; and no foot of man shall trouble them any more, nor shall the hoofs of beasts trouble them. ¹⁴ Then I will make their waters clear, and cause their rivers to run like oil, says the Lord GOD. ¹⁵ When I make the land of Egypt desolate and when the land is stripped of all that fills it, when I smite all who dwell in it, then they will know that I am the LORD. ¹⁶ This is a lamentation which shall be chanted; the daughters of the nations shall chant it; over Egypt, and over all her multitude, shall they chant it, says the Lord God. (RSV)

The reference at verse 14 to making the waters clear and their rivers run like oil refers again to the Holy Spirit using the analogy of the pouring out of the oil into the lamps of the elect. Here it is to the nations after the restoration and the Spirit is poured out on mankind.
We are looking at the nations, the Gentiles chanting over the demise of the Egyptian system. This is thus not an ordinary captivity or an ordinary destruction.
The Lord delivers the second judgment in Ezekiel 32:17, which details the nations involved in the destruction. The nations are mentioned in this prophecy, which was actually given before the first half of the chapter and had been arranged in the later order, perhaps because it seemed that was more logical an arrangement. However, the extended time-frame involved is disguised further by this arrangement.

Ezekiel 32:17-23 In the twelfth year, in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me: ¹⁸ "Son of man, wail over the multitude of Egypt, and send them down, her and the daughters of majestic nations, to the nether world, to those who have gone down to the Pit: ¹⁹ `Whom do you surpass in beauty? Go down, and be laid with the uncircumcised.' <sup>20</sup> They shall fall amid those who are slain by the sword, and with her shall lie all her multitudes. <sup>21</sup> The mighty chiefs shall speak of them, with their helpers, out of the midst of Sheol: `They have come down, they lie still, the uncircumcised, slain by the sword.' ²² "Assyria is there, and all her company, their graves round about her, all of them slain, fallen by the sword; ²³ whose graves are set in the uttermost parts of the Pit, and her company is round about her grave; all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who spread terror in the land of the living. (RSV)

Here the prophecy commences to include other nations not part of the early groupings. Elam went into Egypt also when the Medes and Persians had conquered Egypt. This conquest was the second phase or the other arm of the conquest. This occurred in 525 BCE under Cambyses. In 550 BCE Cyrus of Persia (The Lord's anointed, Isa. 45:1) defeated the Medes and became paramount king of Iran (hence Persia). In 546 BCE he defeated Croesus and took Lydia. He annexed Babylonia in 539 BCE and established the supremacy of the Persian Empire in the East. In 525 BCE Cyrus' son Cambyses succeeded him and invaded Egypt. Thus the second arm of the first prophecy was fulfilled.
Ezekiel 32:24 continues.

Ezekiel 32:24-25 "Elam is there, and all her multitude about her grave; all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who went down uncircumcised into the nether world, who spread terror in the land of the living, and they bear their shame with those who go down to the Pit. ²⁵ They have made her a bed among the slain with all her multitude, their graves round about her, all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword; for terror of them was spread in the land of the living, and they bear their shame with those who go down to the Pit; they are placed among the slain. (RSV)

The question arises as to why Elam is distinguished in the prophecy and made to stand distinct when the nation formed only part of the Medo-Persian Empire. Elam was the oldest of the kingdoms and had not been annexed to the Assyrian empire. With the demise of the Assyrians, Elam fell prey to the Persians under Prince Sispis, or Teispes of the Achæmenidæ, who placed himself on the throne at Shushan (Historian's History of the World, Vol. 1, p. 437). Thus Cambyses inherited the throne of the Elamites.
The answer as to why Elam is distinguished in the prophecy is, more probably, that it has dual application and refers to an extended order of peoples outside of the Medo-Persians or Iranians proper, as there is some question as to the extent of the Elamites.
The Median hordes were undisciplined and no match for the Assyrians. Cyaxares the Mede remodelled the army based on the Assyrian. The Medians then invaded and besieged Nineveh. The siege of Nineveh was forced to be abandoned by the invasion of Media by the Scyths from the north. Thus a second siege had to be made from 609 BCE. The Median army under Cyaxares besieged Nineveh with the aid of the Babylonians (according to Berosus the Chaldean). The Babylonian king's son Nebuchaddrezzar (or Nebuchadnezzar) had married the daughter of the king of the Medes. Thus the Medes were the major force in the destruction of the Assyrians and not the Persians, who were not involved in this siege and indeed told Herodotus nothing of it.
With the fall of Assyria, the dominion of the north and the countries of Asia Minor as far as the Halys passed to the Medes. All other provinces of the Assyrians as far as the Mediterranean Sea, including Asshur, Harran and Carchemish fell to Babylonia (Historian's History of the World, ibid., p. 444).
Thus the Babylonians themselves were the inheritors of the Assyrian and the Greeks referred to them as Assyrians (ibid., p. 445).
The semitic empire of the Assyrian Babylonians could only be propped up by the force of the power of Nebuchadnezzar and his successors were inadequate for this task. They could neither prevent the spread of the Medes nor the Persians. With the Persian conquest of the Elamites and under the genius of Cyrus who had been selected and named by God, an empire was founded which embraced the four ancient empires – the Median, the Elamite, the Assyrio-Babylonian, and the Egyptian. Thus the sceptre of western Asia passed to the Aryans (ibid.).
At this point the prophecies found in Nahum (see esp. Nah. 3:19) and Zephaniah 2:13-15 were completed in their first application. These prophecies have a latter day application.
It is also worthy of note that the prophecies of Nahum regarding the fall of Assyria were seen, by the first century Jewish community, as involving Ephraim and Manasseh in the last days. Manasseh was held to be referred to as Amon (Nah. 3:8a) with the rivers being or referring to its great men. Manasseh was to go into captivity (from Nah. 3:10) before the wicked of Ephraim (Nah. 3:11a). Their men would die by the sword (see Vermes, The Dead Sea Scrolls in English, pp. 232-234).
The prophecy in Ezekiel appears to break down here as the next text involves nations, which were not remotely on the scene during the period of the first two forty-year periods. The next group is that of Meshech and Tubal. This nation group did not occupy Egypt in the invasions from 605-525 BCE, and had no part in Egypt until the 20th century.
Ezekiel 32:26-28 "Meshech and Tubal are there, and all their multitude, their graves round about them, all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword; for they spread terror in the land of the living. ²⁷ And they do not lie with the fallen mighty men of old who went down to Sheol with their weapons of war, whose swords were laid under their heads, and whose shields are upon their bones; for the terror of the mighty men was in the land of the living. ²⁸ So you shall be broken and lie among the uncircumcised, with those who are slain by the sword. (RSV)
This sequence of nations is a later grouping. The failure of the text as a completed prophecy has led some biblical scholars, in the face of the claims of the sceptics, to rationalise the text away by attempting to explain the nations referred to as being subsidiary groups allied to the ancient nations. The concept that this prophecy is pivotal and ongoing is far too uncomfortable for most Bible students.
The text reads that they do not lie with the fallen mighty men of old. Thus we are dealing with a later aspect of the prophecy. The concept of not lying with the mighty men of old clearly has the implication that they went to the pit in two stages. We are also dealing with a distinction between the types of warfare involved. The mighty men of old went down to Sheol with their weapons whereas this seems not to be the case in these later groupings.
The assertion that the mighty men of old refers to the Nephilim or the giants of Genesis 6:4 does not solve the problem, but rather compounds it and opens up the argument to the application of the offspring of the fallen Host being separated in the process of the resurrections. Isaiah 26:13-14 in fact denies the resurrection to the Rephaim or Nephilim. Rephaim was in fact interpreted as deceased or dead.

Isaiah 26:13-14 O Lord our God, other Lords beside Thee have had dominion over us: but by thee only will we make mention of thy name. ¹⁴ They are dead, they shall not live; they are deceased, they shall not rise: therefore hast Thou visited and destroyed them, and made all their memory to perish (KJV).

See the papers The Nephilim (No. 154) and The Resurrection of the Dead (No. 143).
Isaiah 27 goes on to discuss the slaying of Leviathan in the day of the Lord. This Leviathan, the piercing and crooked serpent, the dragon that is in the sea shall be slain or bound as in Revelation 20:4. Then shall Israel take root throughout the world. In that day the Lord will beat off or harvest as one would olives, the Children of Israel from the channel of the River, or the Tigris-Euphrates, to the stream of Egypt.
Isaiah 27:13 says:

Isaiah 27:13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the great trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come which were ready to perish which were in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the Lord in the holy mount at Jerusalem.

Isaiah 28 then goes on to talk of the crushing of the pride of the drunkards of Ephraim. Thus the end days involve war in Ephraim. The prophecy is clearly interrelated to that of Ezekiel and the destruction of Egypt. Moreover, the last days are indisputably involved and developed.
The nations that are involved in the fall of Egypt and seem to be distinguished from the earlier groupings involve, as we have seen, Meshech and Tubal. Meshech and Tubal were the sons of Japeth (Gen. 10:2). They were identified with the Gomerite peoples of the steppes now known as the Russians. Included in this group of Gomerites was the Ashkenazi who formed the later Khazar Jewish kingdom. The song of ascents spoke of the problems with these people in Psalm 120:5. Ezekiel 38:2 identifies Gog and Magog as chief princes of Meshech and Tubal yet Magog was their brother from Genesis 10:2. We are thus dealing with a nation that absorbed the Magogites as their chief tribe.
These groups extended into Asia Minor as did the Elamites. The next group of people to be listed are the Edomites.
Ezekiel 32:29 "Edom is there, her kings and all her princes, who for all their might are laid with those who are slain by the sword; they lie with the uncircumcised, with those who go down to the Pit. (RSV)
The Edomites did not go into Egypt and the only national groups that could be said to have become involved with this group were that of the Ottoman Turks. The time-frame is thus well into the last days.
The next group to be dealt with confirms this view. This group is comprised of the princes of the north.

Ezekiel 32:30-32 "The princes of the north are there, all of them, and all the Sido'nians, who have gone down in shame with the slain, for all the terror which they caused by their might; they lie uncircumcised with those who are slain by the sword, and bear their shame with those who go down to the Pit. ³¹ "When Pharaoh sees them, he will comfort himself for all his multitude, Pharaoh and all his army, slain by the sword, says the Lord GOD. ³² For he spread terror in the land of the living; therefore he shall be laid among the uncircumcised, with those who are slain by the sword, Pharaoh and all his multitude, says the Lord GOD." (RSV)

The group here is a composite army comprised of the princes of the north and also the Sidonians. The princes of the north are not simply an aggregation of the northern kingdoms of the Medo-Persians.
This section deals with a much wider and later basis. The fact that the prophecy deals with a group listed after those of Meshech and Tubal in the later times as we see above, which is after the complete demise of the early empires, indicates the relocated powers of their systems. Thus the power of the European system is combined with the remnant of the Phoenician system, which was based on or descended from Tyre and Sidon. In 1000 BCE these systems and the Israelite alliance traded with the Americas. We know that they imported tobacco and cocaine into the Middle East (cf. recent research on mummies in Germany and Britain ca. 2000).
The Phoenician systems were in the last great aggregation based from Carthage and their power was broken in the Mediterranean by the Punic wars. There is little doubt, however, that the Carthaginians had spread west into the Atlantic and had been mining Britain and trading with Ireland for centuries. According to Edwards (Christian England, Vol. 1, p. 20), Carthage understood the spread of Christianity to be beyond Rome to those areas. Tertullian of Carthage in Against the Jews boasts that:

'parts of Britain inaccessible to the Romans were indeed conquered by Christ'.

We are thus dealing with a spread of the Sidonians, which is extended to and joined with the Princes of the North. The extent of the Sidonians also takes in the original areas, from Sidon extending throughout the Lebanon, which takes place in the wars of the end.
The fact of the involvement of these national groups in their entirety for example of Meshech and Tubal rule out any minor mercenary activity with the Babylonians and Medo-Persians in the first phase of eighty years. Coupled with the other incomplete aspects it can only be concluded that this is a failed prophecy and Scripture has been broken or it has the wide ranging application over the period of the Gentiles as has been identified from Daniel and the other prophets.
The next task is to identify the phases because that process will establish the sequence of the wars of the last days.
Phase 2 – Part 1

The fall of Egypt figured as a major factor in the Book of Ezekiel following on from the fall of the Anointed Covering Cherub in Ezekiel 28. In the section on Phase 1 we saw that there was a distinct sequence of events and that there were a number of aspects of the prophecy, which could not have been fulfilled in the time-frame traditionally allocated to the prophecy. The prophecy from this factor has been held up to be a failed prophecy and hence evidence of the erroneous nature of Scripture. However, Christ said that Scripture cannot be broken (Jn. 10:35). The prophecy must therefore have an extended time-frame.

Identifying the time-frame

Assuming that there was a break in the prophecy, such conclusion being, as we have seen, inescapable; what is the key? The answer lies in the orientation around the Babylonians. Nebuchadnezzar defeated the Egyptians at the battle of Carchemish in 605 BCE. This forms the pivotal point of the texts of the prophecy and therefore must be examined. Nebuchadnezzar was also noted to be removed and his kingdom bound as a stump for the period of seven times from Daniel 4:8-37.

Daniel 4:8-37 At last Daniel came in before me -- he who was named Belteshaz'zar after the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods -- and I told him the dream, saying, ⁹ "O Belteshaz'zar, chief of the magicians, because I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you and that no mystery is difficult for you, here is the dream which I saw; tell me its interpretation. ¹⁰ The visions of my head as I lay in bed were these: I saw, and behold, a tree in the midst of the earth; and its height was great. ¹¹ The tree grew and became strong, and its top reached to heaven, and it was visible to the end of the whole earth. ¹² Its leaves were fair and its fruit abundant, and in it was food for all. The beasts of the field found shade under it, and the birds of the air dwelt in its branches, and all flesh was fed from it. ¹³ "I saw in the visions of my head as I lay in bed, and behold, a watcher, a holy one, came down from heaven. ¹⁴ He cried aloud and said thus, `Hew down the tree and cut off its branches, strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit; let the beasts flee from under it and the birds from its branches. <sup>15</sup> But leave the stump of its roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze, amid the tender grass of the field. Let him be wet with the dew of heaven; let his lot be with the beasts in the grass of the earth; <sup>16</sup> let his mind be changed from a man's, and let a beast's mind be given to him; and let seven times pass over him. <sup>17</sup> The sentence is by the decree of the watchers, the decision by the word of the holy ones, to the end that the living may know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men, and gives it to whom he will, and sets over it the lowliest of men.' <sup>18</sup> This dream I, King Nebuchadnez'zar, saw. And you, O Belteshaz'zar, declare the interpretation, because all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known to me the interpretation, but you are able, for the spirit of the holy gods is in you." <sup>19</sup> Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshaz'zar, was dismayed for a moment, and his thoughts alarmed him. The king said, "Belteshaz'zar, let not the dream or the interpretation alarm you." Belteshaz'zar answered, "My lord, may the dream be for those who hate you and its interpretation for your enemies! <sup>20</sup> The tree you saw, which grew and became strong, so that its top reached to heaven, and it was visible to the end of the whole earth; <sup>21</sup> whose leaves were fair and its fruit abundant, and in which was food for all; under which beasts of the field found shade, and in whose branches the birds of the air dwelt -- <sup>22</sup> it is you, O king, who have grown and become strong. Your greatness has grown and reaches to heaven, and your dominion to the ends of the earth. <sup>23</sup> And whereas the king saw a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying, `Hew down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump of its roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze, in the tender grass of the field; and let him be wet with the dew of heaven; and let his lot be with the beasts of the field, till seven times pass over him'; ²⁴ this is the interpretation, O king: It is a decree of the Most High, which has come upon my lord the king, ²⁵ that you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field; you shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and you shall be wet with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over you, till you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men, and gives it to whom he will. ²⁶ And as it was commanded to leave the stump of the roots of the tree, your kingdom shall be sure for you from the time that you know that Heaven rules. ²⁷ Therefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable to you; break off your sins by practicing righteousness, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed, that there may perhaps be a lengthening of your tranquillity." ²⁸ All this came upon King Nebuchadnez'zar. ²⁹ At the end of twelve months he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, ³⁰ and the king said, "Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?" ³¹ While the words were still in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, "O King Nebuchadnez'zar, to you it is spoken: The kingdom has departed from you, ³² and you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field; and you shall be made to eat grass like an ox; and seven times shall pass over you, until you have learned that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will." ³³ Immediately the word was fulfilled upon Nebuchadnez'zar. He was driven from among men, and ate grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair grew as long as eagles' feathers, and his nails were like birds' claws. ³⁴ At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnez'zar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives for ever; for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation; ³⁵ all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing; and he does according to his will in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, "What doest thou?" ³⁶ At the same time my reason returned to me; and for the glory of my kingdom, my majesty and splendor returned to me. My counselors and my lords sought me, and I was established in my kingdom, and still more greatness was added to me. ³⁷ Now I, Nebuchadnez'zar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven; for all his works are right and his ways are just; and those who walk in pride he is able to abase. (RSV)
This period appears to be seven years. However, the term times is used for years and has a prophetic significance. A time is usually a period of 360 years based on the lunar calendar. The period in question is not simply seven years. As we see above the period involves some 2,520 years from 605 BCE. Thus we are looking at the calendar year 1914-16 to complete this section of the term and begin again the sequence of events, which complete the prophecy concerning the subjugation of Egypt by the Semites and the Aryans symbolised by the Babylonians, Assyrians and the Medo-Persians. The use of the date of 1914 by the Jehovah’s Witnesses appears to be a misapplication of the key aspects of the texts and the seven times prophecy of Daniel. The understanding of the interrelationship with Ezekiel is not apparent from some of the comments attributed to them.
What, if anything, happened in 1914 to Egypt? The answer is that it was occupied by the armies of the British Commonwealth under Allenby. More importantly that period commenced the great wars of the last days. The period has specific demarcation points and shifts of power by prophetic direction.
The shifts of power could not occur until the times were reached. Hence the wars had the results they did so that prophecy and Scripture would not be broken. However, the results of those wars were used in such a way as to prepare the planet for the maximum impact when the prophetic times had been fulfilled. Let us look at some of the sequence from 1914.
On 28 June Archduke Ferdinand of Austria was assassinated in Sarajevo with Austria-Hungary declaring war on Serbia on 28 July 1914. On 1 August 1914 Germany declared war on Russia and France and invaded Belgium. On 4 August 1914 Britain declared war on Germany invoking Belgian neutrality as a reason.
On 5 August 1914 Austria declared war on Russia. Russia, Britain and France declared war on Turkey.
On 26-28 August 1914 Germany inflicted a great defeat on the Russians at the battle of Tannenburg. The Germans also invaded France and their advance on Paris was halted at the battle of the Marne. Britain entered France and the Battle of Ypres was fought over October-November 1914. This began trench warfare on the western front. Thus we are looking at a major pivotal point in the history of warfare and of the world in 1914 as was the period leading up to the battle of Carchemish in 605 BCE some 2,520 years or seven times previously.
Another factor, which was to enter world affairs although seemingly minor, was that the Bank of England was authorised to issue paper money in excess of the statutory limit. This act introduced the process of financial instability, which will reach its full consequence in the financial indebtedness and servitude of the English-speaking peoples. The consequences of Deuteronomy 28 (see the paper The Blessings and the Curses (No. 75)) will only then be seen.
World War I developed the concepts and methods of modern war. These were not like the mighty men of old who go down to the Pit with their swords and their shields. A short summation of the history will be enlightening.

· 18 February 1915. In retaliation for the naval blockade of Germany by Britain, Germany retaliated with a submarine blockade of Britain.

· 22 April - 25 May 1915. The second Battle of Ypres saw poison gas used by the Germans for the first time.
Warfare was about to undergo its major modification from this war. Just as the American Civil War was the commencement of modern warfare with the use of automatic and breech loading weapons, so too was World War I the testing ground for weapons of even greater horror and mass destruction. The development of the weapons will be evident as we progress.
Also the formation of national groupings and alliances was born. The central Semitic nations were reorganised, not the least of which was Israel. The Israelite-Aryan wars had begun again.

· 25 April 1915. Allied forces land on the Gallipoli Peninsula but fail to gain control of the Dardanelle Straits. ANZAC is born.

· Italy joined the war on the allied side.

· Britain formed a coalition government under Asquith.

· The British-French offensive failed.

· On 6 September 1915 Bulgaria joined the central powers.

· 21 February to 16 December 1916. The Battle of Verdun saw the German offensive on the western front with appalling losses on both sides.

· 20 March 1916. The secret Anglo-French or Sykes-Picot agreement was struck on the partition of the Turkish Empire, which up until the war had included Palestine. Egypt was part of that empirical system.

· 24 April 1916 saw the Easter rising in Ireland marking the change of power within the British Isles itself.

· 31 May to 1 June 1916. The Battle of Jutland, the only major naval battle between British and German fleets saw British losses exceed German losses.

· The Russian Brusilov Offensive failed.

· 1 July 1916. The Battle of the Somme saw the first use of tanks by Britain. There were more than a million casualties.

· 27 August 1916. Romania and Portugal joined the war against Germany.

· The USA, perhaps advantaged by the war, purchased the Virgin Is. It landed troops in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic and stayed until 1924.

· February 1917 sees the revolution in Russia and the abdication of Tsar Nicholas.

· 11 March 1917. The British captured Baghdad from Turkey.

The Ghuz Turks, named for the line of the Seljuks, had been in Baghdad from the 12th century and had defeated the western Byzantine forces at the Battle of Myrio-cephalum in 1176. This put an end to the revival of the Byzantines commenced from the defeat of the Seljuks of Rum in the first crusade at Nicæa and Dorylæum. This victory had allowed the crusaders to march through to Syria and take Edessa and Antioch in 1098 and Jerusalem in 1099.
The determination of the outcome of this phase was commenced in 1917.

· 6 April 1917. The USA declared war on Germany.

· 31 July to 10 November 1917. The gains of the Battle of Passchendale, the major British offensive, were offset by the German counter offensive.

· 24 October 1917. The Battle of Caporetto saw the heavy Italian defeat.

· The October Revolution saw the Bolsheviks overthrow the provisional government. Lenin became the chief commissar and Trotsky the Commissar for Foreign Affairs.

· The victories of the British Commonwealth in the Middle East saw Palestine regained for Israel. The well of the oath, Beersheba, had been taken by Australian Light Horse in the last great mounted charge of the English-speaking people. From this the Balfour Declaration (1st) was made supporting the Jewish State in Palestine.

· 9 December 1917. British Commonwealth forces captured Jerusalem. The city was again in Israelite hands after 1,847 years.
This was the key factor and high point of the war from a prophetic point of view. The remainder of the war is focused in the following key points.

· 3 March 1918. The treaty of Brest-Litovsk between Russia and Germany saw Russia withdraw from the war.

· 15 July to 2 August 1918 saw the last major German offensive fail in the Battle of the Marne.

· 16 July 1918 saw the execution of ex-Tsar Nicholas II and family.

· 18 July 1918 saw the Allied offensive begin. Germany was forced into retreat.

· The Italians won the victory of Vittoria Veneto and Austria-Hungary surrendered.

· 9 November 1918 saw the revolution in Germany and the abdication of Wilhelm II. The Republic was declared.

· 11 November 1918. Germany agreed to the Armistice and World War I ended.

· The Civil war in Ireland began.

· Lenin concentrated the power of the Bolshevik government and the civil war lasted until 1920.

These matters illustrate how this pivotal point in history involved the nations mentioned in the prophecy and many more. The obvious point from the list is that we are looking at a new system of warfare develop which differed from all previous systems. More particularly this sequence in the last days was to initiate the establishment of the wars of the end and the establishment of the Kingdom of God.
The sequence is recapitulated as follows

· 750 BCE. Nubia consolidated in Egypt under Nubian domination.

· 732 BCE. Assyrians under Tiglath Pileser III annex Damascus and make Israel and Judah tributary states.

· 729 BCE. Tiglath Pileser annexes Babylon.

· 724-721 BCE. Shalmaneser V annexes Israel. His successor Sargon II deports the ten tribes. This deportation was beyond the Araxes into the steppes.

· 710 BCE. The Cimmerians invade devastating Urartu and Phrygia. Sargon was killed fighting the Cimmerians in 705 BCE and was succeeded by Sennacherib.

· 696 BCE. The Assyrians sack Tarsus.

· 687 BCE. The throne of Lydia in western Anatolia is usurped by Gyges.

Assyria is now poised to conquer Egypt and become the supreme empire of western Asia.

· 669-663 BCE. The Assyrians invade Egypt and establish Egypt's subordination.

· Egypt's arm is thus broken in the preliminary sense.

· 605 BCE. Nebuchadnezzar defeats Necho, who had gone to assist Assyria, at the battle of Carchemish. Egypt's army is pursued to the borders of Egypt but Nebuchadnezzar does not enter it or the kingdom of Judah (2Kgs. 24:7). The time scale of the seven times begins.

· The Egyptians managed to reconquer Gaza after the battle of 601 BCE and because of this their influence increased at Jerusalem despite the warnings of Jeremiah.

· In 599 BCE Nebuchadnezzar conquered the Arabs to the east of Syria and Palestine.

· In 598 BCE he set out to besiege Jerusalem and conquered it on 15-16 March 597 BCE.

· He again laid siege to and destroyed Jerusalem in 586 BCE.

· c. 567 BCE. Egypt attempted to re-establish its position and its Pharaoh Amasis, the successor to Hophra was engaged by Nebuchadnezzar in his thirty-seventh year (567 BCE).

· 525 BCE Cambyses invades Egypt and breaks its other arm.

The end of the first phase saw the transfer of power from the Semites to the Aryans represented by the Medo-Persians. The two groups were consolidations of power, which became shifts in control. Egypt was subjugated by both groups. The end of the period of consolidation of the two forty-year time spans was in 525 BCE with the invasion of Cambyses. The seven times cycle applied to this terminal date leaves the year 1995 as the end of Phase 2. In 1995 we should see the major realignments of power groups come to finality. From 1995/6 the empire of the last days should be in place pursuant to political, financial and social upheaval, which results in a series of military conflicts leading up to the return of Messiah. The end days will not be a series of quiet observations. Nor indeed has the human dating system from the erroneous date of the birth of Christ anything to do with the time-frame of the end sequence. God works according to Jubilees not according to man-made dates. Thus the year 2000 has no significance other than its place in the seven-year or Sabbath cycles. [The second millennium from the birth of Christ must logically be from 1996 or earlier seeing that Christ could not have been born later than 4 BCE (given Herod’s known death in 4 BCE). Thus he must have been born 5 BCE or earlier. Look at the paper the Significance of the Year 2000 (No. 286).]

(See also the paper Christ's Age at Baptism and the Duration of his Ministry (No. 19).)

The end sequence was set into place by a number of preliminary activities. These are as follows.
The first activity we should understand is the formation of the beast power and the destruction of the religious whore of Revelation.
The persecution of the time, times and half a time or the 1,260 years occurred from the establishment of the religious system under the Holy Roman Empire. This occurred in 590 CE with the declarations of Pope Gregory the First. The period ended in 1850 with the Italian Republic and the destruction of the power of the Roman Church within the papal-states and the formation of the Republic. This was made possible from a series of preliminary events. The preliminary wars of Europe, which break the whore of Revelation, were from the French Revolution. The first sequence of the beast turning on the whore is seen to occur from Revelation 17:16.

Revelation 17:1-18 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, "Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who is seated upon many waters, ² with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and with the wine of whose fornication the dwellers on earth have become drunk." ³ And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns. ⁴ The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and bedecked with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her fornication; ⁵ and on her forehead was written a name of mystery: "Babylon the great, mother of harlots and of earth's abominations." ⁶ And I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. When I saw her I marveled greatly. ⁷ But the angel said to me, "Why marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman, and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns that carries her. ⁸ The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is to ascend from the bottomless pit and go to perdition; and the dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, will marvel to behold the beast, because it was and is not and is to come. ⁹ This calls for a mind with wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated; ¹⁰ they are also seven kings, five of whom have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come, and when he comes he must remain only a little while. ¹¹ As for the beast that was and is not, it is an eighth but it belongs to the seven, and it goes to perdition. ¹² And the ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received royal power, but they are to receive authority as kings for one hour, together with the beast. ¹³ These are of one mind and give over their power and authority to the beast; ¹⁴ they will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful." ¹⁵ And he said to me, "The waters that you saw, where the harlot is seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues. ¹⁶ And the ten horns that you saw, they and the beast will hate the harlot; they will make her desolate and naked, and devour her flesh and burn her up with fire, ¹⁷ for God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by being of one mind and giving over their royal power to the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled. ¹⁸ And the woman that you saw is the great city which has dominion over the kings of the earth." (RSV)

The whoredom of the woman was with the kings of the earth and the power systems of the world were mixed with what purported to be Christianity. The nations of the seven heads and ten horns are reflected in Daniel. The sequence of the system is set up from Daniel 2:31-45.

Daniel 2:31-45 "You saw, O king, and behold, a great image. This image, mighty and of exceeding brightness, stood before you, and its appearance was frightening. ³² The head of this image was of fine gold, its breast and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, ³³ its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. ³⁴ As you looked, a stone was cut out by no human hand, and it smote the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces; ³⁵ then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, all together were broken in pieces, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. ³⁶ "This was the dream; now we will tell the king its interpretation. ³⁷ You, O king, the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the might, and the glory, ³⁸ and into whose hand he has given, wherever they dwell, the sons of men, the beasts of the field, and the birds of the air, making you rule over them all -- you are the head of gold. ³⁹ After you shall arise another kingdom inferior to you, and yet a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. ⁴⁰ And there shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron, because iron breaks to pieces and shatters all things; and like iron which crushes, it shall break and crush all these. ⁴¹ And as you saw the feet and toes partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom; but some of the firmness of iron shall be in it, just as you saw iron mixed with the miry clay. ⁴² And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle. ⁴³ As you saw the iron mixed with miry clay, so they will mix with one another in marriage, but they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay. ⁴⁴ And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, nor shall its sovereignty be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand for ever; ⁴⁵ just as you saw that a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. A great God has made known to the king what shall be hereafter. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure." (RSV)

The dream was certain and the interpretation was sure. In other words the matter would be made to come to fruition and the understanding was correct. The end result was to be the coming of the Messiah. Thus the dream covered the entire period until the establishment of the millennial Kingdom under Jesus Christ. This has not yet occurred. The prophecy is still ongoing. Nebuchadnezzar is fundamental to this prophecy as he is to the others. In other words the prophecies are interrelated.
The story of Daniel 3 relates to the idolatry set up under the false religious system. This chapter shows the elect what is expected of them. Daniel 4 deals with the time span of the prophecies and the times of the last days.
Daniel 5 deals with the judgment of the system from the writing on the wall.

Daniel 5:1-31 King Belshaz'zar made a great feast for a thousand of his lords, and drank wine in front of the thousand. ² Belshaz'zar, when he tasted the wine, commanded that the vessels of gold and of silver which Nebuchadnez'zar his father had taken out of the temple in Jerusalem be brought, that the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them. ³ Then they brought in the golden and silver vessels which had been taken out of the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem; and the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them. ⁴ They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone. ⁵ Immediately the fingers of a man's hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace, opposite the lampstand; and the king saw the hand as it wrote. ⁶ Then the king's color changed, and his thoughts alarmed him; his limbs gave way, and his knees knocked together. ⁷ The king cried aloud to bring in the enchanters, the Chalde'ans, and the astrologers. The king said to the wise men of Babylon, "Whoever reads this writing, and shows me its interpretation, shall be clothed with purple, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom." ⁸ Then all the king's wise men came in, but they could not read the writing or make known to the king the interpretation. ⁹ Then King Belshaz'zar was greatly alarmed, and his color changed; and his lords were perplexed. ¹⁰ The queen, because of the words of the king and his lords, came into the banqueting hall; and the queen said, "O king, live for ever! Let not your thoughts alarm you or your color change. ¹¹ There is in your kingdom a man in whom is the spirit of the holy gods. In the days of your father light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, were found in him, and King Nebuchadnez'zar, your father, made him chief of the magicians, enchanters, Chalde'ans, and astrologers, ¹² because an excellent spirit, knowledge, and understanding to interpret dreams, explain riddles, and solve problems were found in this Daniel, whom the king named Belteshaz'zar. Now let Daniel be called, and he will show the interpretation." ¹³ Then Daniel was brought in before the king. The king said to Daniel, "You are that Daniel, one of the exiles of Judah, whom the king my father brought from Judah. ¹⁴ I have heard of you that the spirit of the holy gods is in you, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in you. ¹⁵ Now the wise men, the enchanters, have been brought in before me to read this writing and make known to me its interpretation; but they could not show the interpretation of the matter. ¹⁶ But I have heard that you can give interpretations and solve problems. Now if you can read the writing and make known to me its interpretation, you shall be clothed with purple, and have a chain of gold about your neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom. ¹⁷ Then Daniel answered before the king, "Let your gifts be for yourself, and give your rewards to another; nevertheless I will read the writing to the king and make known to him the interpretation. ¹⁸ O king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnez'zar your father kingship and greatness and glory and majesty; ¹⁹ and because of the greatness that he gave him, all peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him; whom he would he slew, and whom he would he kept alive; whom he would he raised up, and whom he would he put down. ²⁰ But when his heart was lifted up and his spirit was hardened so that he dealt proudly, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and his glory was taken from him; ²¹ he was driven from among men, and his mind was made like that of a beast, and his dwelling was with the wild asses; he was fed grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, until he knew that the Most High God rules the kingdom of men, and sets over it whom he will. ²² And you his son, Belshaz'zar, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this, ²³ but you have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven; and the vessels of his house have been brought in before you, and you and your lords, your wives, and your concubines have drunk wine from them; and you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or know, but the God in whose hand is your breath, and whose are all your ways, you have not honored. ²⁴ "Then from his presence the hand was sent, and this writing was inscribed. ²⁵ And this is the writing that was inscribed: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, and PARSIN. ²⁶ This is the interpretation of the matter: MENE, God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end; ²⁷ TEKEL, you have been weighed in the balances and found wanting; ²⁸ PERES, your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians." ²⁹ Then Belshaz'zar commanded, and Daniel was clothed with purple, a chain of gold was put about his neck, and proclamation was made concerning him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom. ³⁰ That very night Belshaz'zar the Chalde'an king was slain. 31 And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old. (RSV)
The system set up under the Babylonians used the artefacts of the Temple of God for profane purposes. The whore is referred to as Babylon because the whore uses what is holy for profane purposes. The end of the system is tied up with the writing on the wall and the pronouncement of the vision.
The writing was MENE MENE TEKEL uPHARSIN. The word MENE means numbered. The repetition of the words implies duplication in the numbering. There has been no adequate explanation of the repetition other than as Epizeuxis for great emphasis. The replication more probably has prophetic significance for the time-frame involved. The word TEKEL means to weigh being derived from the word shekel. uPHARSIN is the Chaldean term which is a combination of two words. The u means and; PHARSIN is derived from PARAS meaning to break. Hence the term was interpreted as meaning being divided and given to the Medes and Persians. This is however an addition of the prophecy to Belshazzar. The breaking referred to may be cross-referenced to Daniel 2 and the breaking of the statue by the stone uncut by human hands, which is Messiah. The empires themselves were destroyed in the end by Messiah, after the allocated time-frames.
The system that God had set up through the Holy Spirit is explained in Daniel 6. The excellence of the spirit and its effect on Daniel is seen from Daniel 6:1-3.

Daniel 6:1-3 It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom a hundred and twenty satraps, to be throughout the whole kingdom; ² and over them three presidents, of whom Daniel was one, to whom these satraps should give account, so that the king might suffer no loss. ³ Then this Daniel became distinguished above all the other presidents and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom. (RSV)

The destiny of the elect is seen from verse 3. The fallen Host set about through humanity to destroy the elect.
Daniel 6:4-5 Then the presidents and the satraps sought to find a ground for complaint against Daniel with regard to the kingdom; but they could find no ground for complaint or any fault, because he was faithful, and no error or fault was found in him. ⁵ Then these men said, "We shall not find any ground for complaint against this Daniel unless we find it in connection with the law of his God." (RSV)
The area to be attacked was in the nature of worship of the elect and the fact that the system of worship set up under the world’s system was to be such that the elect would be at constant odds with the system and thus in continual conflict with the authority of the world. They would thus be persecuted and killed.
The explanation of the nations involved was given in Daniel chapters 7 and 8. The time-frame in relation to the temple and the dispersion was given in Daniel 8 (see the paper The Sign of Jonah and the History of the Reconstruction of the Temple (No. 13)).
The wars of the end are explained in the struggles of the wars of the kings of the North and the South in Daniel 11 (see the papers WWIII Part II: The Whore and the Beast (No . 299B) and 2012 and the Antichrist (No. 299D)). Daniel 12 shows the end times and the revelation of the last days. The end is accompanied by the scattering of the power of the Holy people.
The wars are related to the wars within the angelic Host. The nation of the Persians and then the Grecians are shown to be sequential from Daniel 10.
Daniel 12:1-13 "At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time; but at that time your people shall be delivered, every one whose name shall be found written in the book. ² And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. ³ And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever. ⁴ But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, until the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase." ⁵ Then I Daniel looked, and behold, two others stood, one on this bank of the stream and one on that bank of the stream. ⁶ And I said to the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the stream, "How long shall it be till the end of these wonders?" ⁷ The man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the stream, raised his right hand and his left hand toward heaven; and I heard him swear by him who lives for ever that it would be for a time, two times, and half a time; and that when the shattering of the power of the holy people comes to an end all these things would be accomplished. ⁸ I heard, but I did not understand. Then I said, "O my lord, what shall be the issue of these things?" ⁹ He said, "Go your way, Daniel, for the words are shut up and sealed until the time of the end. ¹⁰ Many shall purify themselves, and make themselves white, and be refined; but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand; but those who are wise shall understand. ¹¹ And from the time that the continual burnt offering is taken away, and the abomination that makes desolate is set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. ¹² Blessed is he who waits and comes to the thousand three hundred and thirty-five days. ¹³ But go your way till the end; and you shall rest, and shall stand in your allotted place at the end of the days." (RSV)
The prophecy of the 1,290 days and the 1,335 days will be dealt with separately. What we are concerned with here is the establishment of the time-frame of the seven-times, which commenced again in 1914-16. We will see what significance this has for 1995/6 in the following section.