Now in verses 16 and 17, we see our fifth prophetic detail, which is really a description of how the Egyptians will not only be in fear of Israel, but they’ll be in fear of the God of Israel. This is where we sort of turn a corner, because yet future we’re told the Egyptians will shudder with fear at God’s uplifted hand against them. In other words, they’re going to recognize the handprint of God all over that which is happening to the Egyptians there in Egypt, and it will result in their becoming terrified because of Israel and the God of Israel.

And that’s a good thing, because that’s going to serve as a catalyst for what we see in our sixth prophetic detail, which is when, in the end, the Egyptians will cry out to the Lord! To the God of Israel, and be saved. This is utterly amazing! And it’s this last part of the prophecy that brings me, as an Arab, born to an Egyptian father, much hope for the Egyptian people.

Please pray for the Egyptian people! God has a plan for the Egyptian people. The Lord is going to make Himself known to the Egyptian people in a saving way. And we’re told at the end of this prophecy, that Egypt will come to a saving knowledge of the God of Israel.

Now stay with me because this is where the hint of a timeline sort of comes into focus. Now it’s very likely that this glorious end of this prophecy will find its ultimate fulfillment during the Millennium. And it does speak to the amazing grace of God.

Listen for just a moment: I want to read, if you don’t mind, this part of the prophecy from verses 18 on through 25. You’ll see why, here, in a minute.

In that day -- there it is again: love that verse 18! -- five cities in Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the LORD Almighty. One of them will be called the City of Destruction.

Verse 19: In that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the heart of Egypt, and a monument to the LORD at its border. It will be a sign -- verse 20 -- and witness to the LORD Almighty in the land of Egypt. When they cry out to the LORD because of their oppressors, He will send them a savior and defender, and he will rescue them. So the LORD will make Himself known to the Egyptians, and in that day they will acknowledge the LORD. They will worship with sacrifices and grain offerings; they will make vows to the LORD and keep them. The LORD will strike Egypt with a plague -- verse 22 -- He will strike them and heal them. They will turn to the LORD, and He will respond to their pleas and heal them.

Verse 23: In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. Unthinkable! The Assyrians will go to Egypt and the Egyptians to Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship together. In that day -- verse 24 -- Israel will be the third, along with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing on the Earth. Listen to verse 25: The LORD Almighty will bless them, saying, “Blessed be Egypt My people,” **draws in a breath** What? I thought Israel was “My people.” No: listen! “ Blessed be Egypt My people, Assyria My handiwork, and Israel My inheritance.”

Look at the delineation here. I love what F.B. Meyer, of this, says: “Who, standing amid the terrors of the plagues, could ever have supposed that Egypt would be addressed as ‘My people’? Who could have thought that Assyria, the tyrant persecutor, would ever be called ‘the work of My hands’? Yet these” -- listen: I love this -- “are the trophies and triumphs of divine grace.”

The trophies and triumphs of divine grace: it’s not about how bad they were -- especially the Assyrians! Do you know what the Assyrians did to the Israelites? See, it’s not about how bad the Assyrians were, or even the Egyptians are: it’s all about how good God is. And it’s all of grace. This is the grace of God!

Listen to Charles Spurgeon; he writes in The Fruits of Grace and lists nine characteristics of God’s grace as it relates to this Isaiah 19 prophecy about Egypt’s salvation in the end.

I’m going somewhere with this, so hang on.

Number 1: God’s grace often comes to the very worst of men.

**holds up one arm** Can I get an Amen on that? **looks out at the congregation**Yeah. You’re a little slow to agree. That’s okay; see me after.

2: God’s grace sends a Savior.

Number 3: God’s grace changes men’s language.

Number 4: God’s grace sets men on holy service.

Number 5: God’s grace teaches men to pray.

Number 6: God’s grace instructs men.

Number 7: Grace makes even trouble a blessing to a man.

And number 8: God’s grace changes the relations of men to each other.

That’s what we’re going to be talking about here in Romans in a moment.

And number 9, lastly: God’s grace makes men to be blessed, and to be a blessing to others.

It’s at this juncture, on God’s grace, that I’ll bring today’s Prophecy Update to a close. And here’s why:

I want to share with you something that the Lord has really ministered to my heart in a powerful way as it relates to the prophet Jeremiah. This has been over the last couple of weeks. Even having some time away on the mainland, I just was sort of stunned by this contrast between this prophet Jeremiah and the prophet Isaiah.

I don’t know if you’ve ever done a study of Jeremiah, but it’s probably one of the most depressing books you’ll ever read. I mean, here’s a -- Jeremiah would have never been asked to speak at any conferences. **congregation laughs** He didn’t have one conversion: not one person responded to his message and came to salvation. They in fact rejected him. And it’s brutal. He’s called “the Weeping Prophet,” and for good reason.

It’s kind of interesting, because-- Even the contrast with Jeremiah and Jonah, which is maybe another topic for another time, but have you ever thought about that? Here’s the Reluctant Prophet and the Weeping Prophet. Now let’s just kind of contrast that.

You think anybody’s going to invite Jonah to speak at their conference? Excuse me, but did he not like -- because of his message, and the response to his message?

And it wasn’t even really a message; it wasn’t even a Gospel message. It wasn’t “You need to repent to be saved” -- no! “You’re toast, man! Forty days! You’re going to burn!” **cackles briefly** He didn’t even offer them any hope. And yet they all ... got saved! **marvelling**

And what’s his response after Nineveh gets saved? He’s angry at God. “How could You save them?”

So you’ve got Jonah: multitudes of people get saved. And then you’ve got Jeremiah: not even one! Not even one! He couldn’t even get somebody to just raise their hand to kind of get the things going.

And contrast the two. Well, contrast Jeremiah and Isaiah and it’s really sobering to me, I guess -- for lack of a better word -- how that nobody believed Jeremiah and the prophesying about a coming future judgment. They excoriated him, they ridiculed him, they rejected him.

And the reason I bring this up is that it seems to be an apt description of our world today, does it not? How that the world today does not believe that judgment is coming. If they did, I believe they would be like the Ninevites and repent. If they really believed that this is what’s coming -- and it’s coming! It is coming!

Now here’s the question. And this is really for anyone who does not know Jesus Christ or is unsure about their saving relationship with Jesus Christ as their Savior.

Here’s the question: are you going to accept Bible prophecy, the prophesying of what’s coming, like in Isaiah? Or are you going to reject Bible prophecy, like in Jeremiah?

So does that mean then that proportionate to my belief in this coming judgment will be my response to these prophecies?

Absolutely. Absolutely. See, just by way of an illustration -- I’m sorry in advance for this illustration, but it -- it’s the best one I’ve got, and if you have a better one, just please let me know afterwards and I’ll be happy to incorporate it.

Let’s just say, for purpose of discussion, that I stood before you this morning and I said to you that there’s a bomb in the kitchen. (Now you know why I could maybe use a better illustration than an Arab-using-bomb illustration.) But let’s just say, just for purpose of discussion, that’s there’s a bomb in the kitchen and I -- that’s the message. I said, “There’s a bomb in the kitchen!”

And then I just kept on going on, doing what I’m doing, as if **spreads his hands out to either side** nothing’s really going to happen. Would you believe that there’s really a bomb in the kitchen?” Probably not.

What if, on the other side of the table, I said to you, “There’s a bomb in the kitchen,” and then I proceeded -- **with a hand over his heart** -- because I’m such a Godly pastor and selfless -- making sure that you get out safely, before saving my own bacon. I hope that’s what I do. But let’s just say for purpose of illustration that’s what I do. Would you believe me then? That that’s really what’s going to happen?

Well, you see where I’m going with this. So too is this true with the prophecies that we have. And sadly, those on the receiving end of Jeremiah’s prophecy rejected it, rejected him, rejected God. They didn’t believe. Why? Everything keeps going on as it has.

And conversely, we have before us a prophesy that is very explicit and specific in its details here in Isaiah 19. What’s your response to it? Do you think it’s going to happen?

Well, I would submit to you that it’s already happening. It’s already happening, exactly like Isaiah said it would.

And by the way, there’s a shelf-life here, is there not? Think about this! We saw the first few verses already begin to come to pass. And then the Nile River part of the prophecy -- begin to come to pass. The cruel rule -- begin to come to pass.

And if we see the end of the prophecy ultimately find its fulfillment in the Millennium, and before the Millennium has to be the seven-year Tribulation, and before the seven-year Tribulation has to be the Rapture, how close are we? How close --

What more do you need to see in order to believe it will happen?

And Jesus said it will come at a time that we expect not.

Would you pray with me?

O Lord, thank You for Your Word. Thank You for this prophecy here in Your Word.

Lord, we can only now ask You that the Holy Spirit would be given His rightful place to begin the process of ministering this to our hearts. For those of us who know You and are walking with You and are ready for You, that Lord this would just light that fire in our hearts, and create that urgency in our lives.

But Lord, for those who don’t know You, that this would be that which they would see as the prophecy beginning to come to pass. That they would realize You’ve told us what would happen long before it would happen, so that when it would begin to happen, we would believe.

Lord, thank You. In Jesus’s Name, amen.

And here's the video for those who prefer video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=UUkz3m787ygph7Uvjxzngl-g&feature=player_detailpage&v=027zDOS-Poo

And a link to the video discussion thread:
http://pub48.bravenet.com/forum/static/show.php?usernum=4086901292&frmid=13&msgid=1100054&cmd=show

And Pastor JD's sermon notes (otherwise known as the short version) from Calvary Chapel Kaneohe:
http://www.calvarychapelkaneohe.com/index.php?view=sermon&id=10858%3Aprophecy-update-2013-07-14&option=com_sermonspeaker&Itemid=136

At the link above, you can also find a downloadable audio file (at the bottom of the page on the left).

Thanks so much for transcribing!

Thank you for transcribing Perian. I very much appreciate your work.

This sermon was particularly interesting to me as I was reading Dr. Fruchtenbaum some months back on understanding Isaiah 19, and he too, discussed Egypt in the Millenial kingdom. As always, I'm always left in awe at God's word revealed and being fulfilled.

We serve an awesome God! God bless you Perian.