To start with, at the time of Isaiah, Egypt was fading in power. It was still the "superpower" of the time, but it was beginning to fade. After Isaiah, Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome were each the superpowers of their time.
Some of the descriptors of Egypt have never applied to Egypt, but do apply to the US.
From https://isaiah.1hwy.com/ in the discussion about Isaiah 19:
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Why the association of Egypt with America? In Chapter 18 Isaiah describes "a far-distant land," "that sendeth forth ambassadors by the sea, even in vessels of bulrushes upon the waters, saying, Go, ye swift messengers" to scattered Israel. The tribe of Joseph, divided into two under his sons Ephraim and Manasseh, exhibited Egyptian culture-including the spoken and written language-long after the twelve tribes settled in the promised land. Their scriptures were written in Egyptian, on brass plates. The Nephites, descendants of Joseph who had migrated to the American continent and received it as their land of inheritance, wrote their scriptures in reformed Egyptian. |
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I am intrigued by Isaiah 19. Once I embraced the idea that "Egypt" is a metaphor for the modern United States, suddenly the first part of the chapter takes on special meaning. At first, verse 2 especially appears to be talking about the US Civil War. However, when looked at along with other modern prophecies, this is probably more about the very last days. This is especially true when you look at verse 4, where the US is told that it will be ruled by a "cruel lord" and a "fierce king." I think this is probably the "Assyrian King," who most people discuss as the "Antichrist" of Revelation. (I don't really believe in the commonly accepted idea of an Antichrist, but that is a different topic). There are differences between the Assyrian King and the common idea of the Antichrist. The Assyrian King is probably the "little horn" from Daniel. So, what do you think? |
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The destruction of the "heart" and "spirit" of the people so that Egypt then turns to idols, charmers, and wizards could be destruction of church leadership? Or the symbols we take as church leadership? |
I did a little research on lds.org, and found the original article. Â It is Bruce R. McConkie, "Ten Keys to Understanding Isaiah," Ensign, Oct. 1973, 78. Â It is worth reading.
For example:
[quote]If our eternal salvation depends upon our ability to understand the writings of Isaiah as fully and truly as Nephi understood them - and who shall say such is not the case - how shall we fare in that great day when with Nephi we shall stand before the pleasing bar of Him who said: "Great are the words of Isaiah"? ( 3 Ne. 23:1. )[/quote]
NightHawk
Seeing that Nephi took the time to write the words of Isaiah let's me know several things:
1. The words of Isaiah are so important that they needed to be repeated
2. Isaiah may not have been planned for our present day Bible?
3. It is an automatic correct translation of those chapters since the Book of Mormon was translated by revelation
4. There are many hidden things that are in Isaiah's writings that the Lord wants us to know about and in effect, wants us to know about from the Old Testament.
One quick key to understanding Isaiah can be found in 1 Nephi 19:23
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"...but that I might more fully persuade them to believe in the Lord their Redeemer I did read unto them that which was written by the prophet Isaiah; for I did liken all scriptures unto us, that it might be for our profit and learning" |
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