Yet thus saith the Lord God; At the end of forty years will I gather
the Egyptians from the people whither they were scattered: and I
will bring again the captivity of Egypt, and will cause them to
return into the land of Pathros, into the land of their habitation;
and they shall be there a base kingdom. It shall be the basest of
the kingdoms, neither shall it exalt itself any more above the
nations: for I will diminish them, that they shall no more rule over
the nations. And it shall be no more the confidence of the house of
Israel, which bringeth their iniquity to remembrance, when they
shall look after them: but they shall know that I am the Lord God
(verses 13-16).
The future of Egypt after its desolation of forty years is revealed in
this paragraph. Nebuchadnezzar's conquest of Egypt follows in the next
paragraph. The forty years of desolation, during which the Egyptians
were dispersed in different countries are difficult to locate
historically. Some apply them altogether to the future. B. W. Newton, in
his "Babylon and Egypt," claims that all this will be accomplished in
the future. We quote his words: "It will be fearfully smitten; and for
forty years after the Millennium has commenced, it will be utterly
desolate. No foot of man shall pass through it, nor foot of beast shall
pass through it, neither shall it be inhabited forty years (Ezekiel
xxix:11). But, finally, it shall be revived, and together with Israel
and Assyria shall receive that wondrous blessing which the concluding
verses of the nineteenth of Isaiah describe."[21] That Egypt will have a
future of blessing no careful student of the prophetic Word will deny.
Isaiah xix shows its future history, both in judgment and in blessing.
Yet the prediction of Ezekiel that Egypt after the forty years of
desolation should be the basest of all kingdoms and shall have no more
rule, but be in a diminished condition, excludes the application of this
prophecy to the coming Millennium. Egypt had such a period of forty
years' devastation, though the exact history of it may not be known to
us. Prophecy is not learned by historical events, but history is
revealed in prophecy. We believe prophecies, not because history has
measured up to them, but we believe them because they are the inerrant
Word of God. After Egypt's sorrowful forty years' experience and
dispersion, this proud country went into a steady decline, and the Word
of God was literally fulfilled when it became the basest of kingdoms, so
that Israel put confidence no longer in Egypt. After Nebuchadnezzar's
raid, Egypt declined and sank lower still under the Persians and the
Ptolemies, until she became the granary of Rome. And this degradation
has continued throughout the centuries of this age so that Egypt is
literally the basest of the kingdoms.[22] That she will play her part in
the future at the close of our age we learn from Daniel's prophecy (Dan.
xi:36-45). Egypt will rise into prominence ere long in connection with
the present day world conflict.
[21] Babylon and Egypt, page 192.
[22] _Wonders of Prophecy_, by J. Urquhart, gives valuable evidence on
the literal fulfillment of Ezekiel's prophecy.