Son of man, prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Howl ye, Woe worth the day!
Ezekiel 30:2 opens a prophecy of woe against Egypt that calls for howling and mourning over its coming day of judgment, when judgment falls on the land and its rulers and Egypt's power and supremacy are broken. It announces the approaching day of the Lord as near, a cloudy day and the time of the heathen, marked by grief, distress, wailing and destruction for rebellious people. That destruction will be universal and utter, falling on the heathen with all other unrighteous inhabitants of the earth, showing the day to be one of distress and not an age of mercy or salvation. The prophecy foretold that Egypt would be invaded and subdued by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, with its pride brought down and the nation made the very basest of the kingdoms so it would never rise again, which has been literally fulfilled and remains evident. The same cry of woe is a warning against the return of coercive spiritual authority in the professed church and the coming Sunday law, whose day will be grievous because it enforces religious observance and places human authority over conscience.
Judgment Against Egypt
Ezekiel 30:2 stands in the section of correction, denunciation, and reproof, among the prophecies against foreign nations. More particularly it belongs to the prophecies against Egypt in chapters 29 to 32, within the wider survey in chapters 25 to 31 in which Ammon, Moab, Tyre, and Egypt pass under prophetic vision. In that setting the verse calls for mourning over the coming day of judgment.
The verse opens a prophecy of woe against Egypt, commanding a howl because its day of judgment is coming. It declares a day of woe for the land and its rulers, when judgment falls upon Egypt and its power and supremacy are broken. It announces the certain fate to come upon Pharaoh and his host.
In its setting Egypt was one of the greatest of kingdoms and at one time the greatest empire on earth. It had been a former oppressor of God's people and stood as the symbol of black infidelity. Through the kingdoms on all sides of Israel, God pleaded with Israel for twenty-two years to turn to Him, using them to show how He deals with nations. So the woe sounds over the day when God brings down Egypt's pride, dries up her rivers, abolishes her idols, and brings the nation low and abases it so that it will never rise again among the nations.
Day of the Lord
The command to howl announces the approaching day of the Lord as near, and marks it as a day of grief and woe, of distress and wailing and mourning. It is not a call to rejoicing but to lamentation over what is coming.
With the next verse it is described as a cloudy day and as the time of the heathen or nations. In that sense it is a time of judgment and destruction appointed for rebellious people among the heathen.
That destruction to come will be universal and utter, including the heathen together with all other unrighteous inhabitants of the earth. For this reason the day is one of distress, not an age of mercy or salvation.
Fulfilled and Applied Warning
The prophecy foretold ruin upon Egypt, opening with a call to howl because its day of judgment was coming when judgment would fall on Pharaoh and his host. Egypt would be invaded and subdued by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and would fall under foreign rule, with her rivers dried up and her idols abolished. God would bring down Egypt's pride, bringing the nation low and abasing it so that it would become the very basest of the kingdoms and never rise again among the nations. Every such prediction has been literally fulfilled, and that fulfilment remains evident today in Egypt's abased condition after having been at that time one of the greatest kingdoms and at one time the greatest empire on earth.
The same prophecy concerning Egypt is applied to England taking complete control of Egypt, with Turkish sovereignty there passing away. The cry of woe is applied to the return of coercive spiritual authority in the professed church, when federated churches use united authority to impose their will. That course brings back the conditions of the Dark Ages and the Papacy, and this renewed papal system is the image of the beast.
The cry of woe is applied to the coming Sunday law, whose day will be grievous because it enforces religious observance. Such a law places human authority over conscience, a prerogative belonging to God. The cry of woe over a day of calamity is applied to the renewed move toward Sunday legislation in the United States as a return to the religious coercion of the Dark Ages, while few people are concerned.
Ezekiel 30:2 opens a prophecy of woe against Egypt that calls for howling and mourning over its coming day of judgment, when judgment falls on the land and its rulers and Egypt's power and supremacy are broken. It announces the approaching day of the Lord as near, a cloudy day and the time of the heathen, marked by grief, distress, wailing and destruction for rebellious people. That destruction will be universal and utter, falling on the heathen with all other unrighteous inhabitants of the earth, showing the day to be one of distress and not an age of mercy or salvation. The prophecy foretold that Egypt would be invaded and subdued by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, with its pride brought down and the nation made the very basest of the kingdoms so it would never rise again, which has been literally fulfilled and remains evident. The same cry of woe is a warning against the return of coercive spiritual authority in the professed church and the coming Sunday law, whose day will be grievous because it enforces religious observance and places human authority over conscience.
Judgment Against Egypt
Ezekiel 30:2 stands in the section of correction, denunciation, and reproof, among the prophecies against foreign nations. More particularly it belongs to the prophecies against Egypt in chapters 29 to 32, within the wider survey in chapters 25 to 31 in which Ammon, Moab, Tyre, and Egypt pass under prophetic vision. In that setting the verse calls for mourning over the coming day of judgment.
The verse opens a prophecy of woe against Egypt, commanding a howl because its day of judgment is coming. It declares a day of woe for the land and its rulers, when judgment falls upon Egypt and its power and supremacy are broken. It announces the certain fate to come upon Pharaoh and his host.
In its setting Egypt was one of the greatest of kingdoms and at one time the greatest empire on earth. It had been a former oppressor of God's people and stood as the symbol of black infidelity. Through the kingdoms on all sides of Israel, God pleaded with Israel for twenty-two years to turn to Him, using them to show how He deals with nations. So the woe sounds over the day when God brings down Egypt's pride, dries up her rivers, abolishes her idols, and brings the nation low and abases it so that it will never rise again among the nations.
Day of the Lord
The command to howl announces the approaching day of the Lord as near, and marks it as a day of grief and woe, of distress and wailing and mourning. It is not a call to rejoicing but to lamentation over what is coming.
With the next verse it is described as a cloudy day and as the time of the heathen or nations. In that sense it is a time of judgment and destruction appointed for rebellious people among the heathen.
That destruction to come will be universal and utter, including the heathen together with all other unrighteous inhabitants of the earth. For this reason the day is one of distress, not an age of mercy or salvation.
Fulfilled and Applied Warning
The prophecy foretold ruin upon Egypt, opening with a call to howl because its day of judgment was coming when judgment would fall on Pharaoh and his host. Egypt would be invaded and subdued by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and would fall under foreign rule, with her rivers dried up and her idols abolished. God would bring down Egypt's pride, bringing the nation low and abasing it so that it would become the very basest of the kingdoms and never rise again among the nations. Every such prediction has been literally fulfilled, and that fulfilment remains evident today in Egypt's abased condition after having been at that time one of the greatest kingdoms and at one time the greatest empire on earth.
The same prophecy concerning Egypt is applied to England taking complete control of Egypt, with Turkish sovereignty there passing away. The cry of woe is applied to the return of coercive spiritual authority in the professed church, when federated churches use united authority to impose their will. That course brings back the conditions of the Dark Ages and the Papacy, and this renewed papal system is the image of the beast.
The cry of woe is applied to the coming Sunday law, whose day will be grievous because it enforces religious observance. Such a law places human authority over conscience, a prerogative belonging to God. The cry of woe over a day of calamity is applied to the renewed move toward Sunday legislation in the United States as a return to the religious coercion of the Dark Ages, while few people are concerned.