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"THE NILE DRAGON SHALL HE SLAY".
"Then with His great, grim,
sweeping sword, shall The Eternal punish on that day the Snake in its flight,
the Snake in its coils, and the Nile Dragon shall He slay."
(Isaiah 27:1 Moffatt).
This "dragon" will
not be given attention by Almighty God with a fishhook, or with a rope, for it
is not a literal creature. (Job 41:1). It is a symbolic description of a
powerful malevolent evil spirit about to be punished by The Eternal God Jehovah
with the "sweeping sword" of His Judgement. This punishment is
described in Revelation 20:1 3 and 20:10. The
"Nile Dragon"
is a symbolic description of satan and his evil works made manifest in several
demonically inspired false gods worshipped by the inhabitants of ancient Egypt
and their descendants today. All such worshippers will be punished by Jehovah in
the manner described in Isaiah 19:1-15 (NEB):
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(1) |
"I
will set Egyptian against Egyptian, and they shall fight one against another, neighbour against neighbour, city against city and kingdom against
kingdom." (19:2). |
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(2) |
"Egypt's
spirit shall sink within her, and I will throw her counsels into confusion. They may resort to idols and oracle-mongers, to ghosts and [evil] spirits" (19:3), but: |
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(3) |
Egypt
will be handed over to "a hard master, and a cruel king shall rule over
them. This is the very word of the Lord, the Lord
of Hosts." (19:4). |
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(4) |
The
waters of the Nile shall drain away, the river shall be parched and run dry;
its channels shall stink... and all that is sown along the Nile shall dry up...
The fishermen shall groan and lament, all who cast their hooks into the Nile and
those who spread nets on the water shall lose heart."
(19:5 8). |
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(5) |
As
for the "princes" and "chieftains" of Egypt, they
will lead Egypt astray, for Jehovah will infuse into them "a spirit that
warps their judgement". (19:14). |
OF THOSE "LOST IN ASSYRIA" AND
"DISPERSED IN EGYPT". (27:13 NEB).
"In that day"
when Jehovah will "beat off the fruit" (27:12) (the harvests)
"from the streams of the Euphrates to the Torrent of Egypt", those of
the spiritual "land" of "Jacob" currently lost in "Assyria" and
dispersed in "Egypt" will be "gleaned" one by one
and will worship Jehovah in "Jerusalem". (27:12,13 NEB).
Calamities sent by Jehovah will
expose self-destructive spirit rebellion that leads to the worship of
demonically inspired false gods. (27:9 Moffatt). By such manifestations
of His power, Jehovah will prove to the inhabitants of each nation who
really is The One Living and True God. He is the Hidden
One, who has used certain prophets as His spokesmen, and who forms the spirit of
all those exercising faith in Him through His Son The Christ toward their spirit
sanctification. For what purpose? That we may inherit everlasting incorruptible
heavenly life rather than continue suffering needlessly in the flesh until
death. For The Christ said: "It is the Spirit that is life giving; the
flesh is of no use at all. The sayings that I have spoken to you are Spirit and
are life." (John 6:63).
16/3/87.
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