Ezekiel, Chapter 30, Verse 13
13 Thus says the Lord GOD: I will destroy idols,
and put an end to images in Memphis. There will never again be a prince over
the land of Egypt. Instead, I will spread fear
throughout the land of Egypt.
Ancient Egypt was a
magnificent civilization, until it suddenly vanished in the sixth century B.C. according
to Brad McDonald.
In chapters 29 and 30 of Ezekiel, we read of God sending
the Prophet Ezekiel to deliver a crucial message to Egypt. “Set thy face
against Pharaoh king of Egypt,” God instructs Ezekiel, “and prophesy against him, and against all Egypt” (Ezekiel
29:2). The biblical record shows that Ezekiel was dispatched to Egypt in the early sixth century, and that he delivered his message
to Pharaoh Apries (Hophra in Hebrew), the fourth king of the 26th
dynasty of Egypt. Egypt was a powerful, influential civilization. In fact,
Egypt’s presence was so impressive, Apries, thought himself king of the world,
as powerful as God Himself. Pharaoh Apries considered the Nile River, the
source of Egypt’s material greatness, to be his own creation, and he declared
himself the god of the Nile. Drunk on arrogance, Apries had lost sight of Egypt’s
history with God and the Israelites. So God dispatched Ezekiel to warn Apries
of where his egotism was leading and to tell him that God would expose and
destroy him, and that in Egypt’s devastation the world would learn the ultimate
source of Egypt’s power. In verse 3, God tells Ezekiel: “Speak, and say, Thus
saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great
dragon that lieth in the midst of his rivers, which hath said, My river is mine
own, and I have made it for myself.” God was going to show Pharaoh Apries
exactly who created the Nile and gave Egypt all its power. In verse 4, God
tells the pharaoh, “I will put hooks in thy jaws, and I will cause the fish of
thy rivers to stick unto thy scales, and I will bring thee up out of the midst
of thy rivers, and all the fish of thy rivers shall stick unto thy scales.” God
said He would expose Pharaoh Apries as a fraud—much like He had exposed the
gods of Egypt during the 10 plagues nearly a thousand years earlier! God continues His warning in verses 8-10: “Therefore
thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will bring a sword upon thee, and cut off
man and beast out of thee. And the land of Egypt shall be desolate and waste;
and they shall know that I am the Lord: because he hath said, The river is
mine, and I have made it. Behold, therefore I am against thee, and against thy
rivers, and I will make the land of Egypt utterly waste and desolate, from the
tower of Syene even unto the border of Ethiopia.” In verse 19, Ezekiel even reveals to Apries that he
would be attacked by the armies of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. In
scripture after scripture of chapters 29 and 30, God warns the pharaoh that
Egypt’s destruction at the hands of the Babylonians and Persians would be so
disastrous that it would never fully recover! Then, in verse 15, God
makes a prophecy that would change Egypt forever. Regarding Egypt’s future
after the destruction, He says explicitly: “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.” God
couldn’t have been clearer: He promised that after the sixth century B.C. Egypt would never again be a major ruling
power!
St. Stanislaus[2]
I shall content myself with relating
the history of St. Stanislaus, Bishop of Cracow, Poland, who restored to life a
man who had been dead for three years, attended by such singular circumstances,
and in so public a manner, that the thing is beyond the severest criticism....
This incident was known by countless persons and by all the court of King
Boleslaus II (reigned 1058-1080) St. Stanislaus, bought from a man named Piotr
[Peter] an estate situated on the banks of the Vistula in the territory of
Lublin for the use of his church at Cracow. The Prelate gave the full price of
it to the seller. This was done in the presence of witnesses, and with the
solemnities required in that country, but without written deeds, for written
accounts of transactions of this kind were seldom made in Poland at that time.
They contented themselves with having witnesses. Stanislaus took possession of
this estate, and his church enjoyed it peaceably for about three years. In the
interim, Piotr, who had sold it, happened to die. The King of Poland,
Boleslaus, had conceived an implacable hatred against the holy Bishop because
he had frequently reproved him for his excesses. Therefore, seeking to cause
him trouble, the King excited the three sons of Piotr, his heirs, against their
father and told them to claim the estate which their father had sold, on the pretense
that it had not been paid for. He promised to support their demand, and to
cause the estate to be restored to them. Thus these three men had the Bishop
cited to appear before the King, who was then at Solec, occupied in rendering
justice under some tents in the country, according to the ancient custom of the
land, in the general assembly of the nation. The Bishop was cited before the
King, and maintained that he had bought and paid for the estate in question.
The day was beginning to close, and the Bishop ran great risk of being
condemned by the King and his counselors. Suddenly, as if inspired by the Holy
Spirit, the Bishop promised the King to bring before him in three days Piotr,
the deceased man who had sold it to him. The condition was accepted mockingly,
as a thing impossible to be executed. The holy Bishop retired to his Church a
distance away, where he prayed and fasted
with his household for three days. On the third day, he went in his
pontifical robes, accompanied by his clergy and a multitude of people, ordered
the gravestone to be raised, and made them dig until they found the corpse of
the defunct, all fleshless and corrupted. Then St. Stanislaus commanded him to
come forth and bear witness to the truth before the King's tribunal. The Bishop
touched the bones with his crosier and they filled out with flesh. The dead
Piotr rose; they covered him with a cloak. The Saint took him by the hand and
led him alive to the feet of the King. No one had the boldness to interrogate
him. But Piotr himself spoke out freely, and declared that he had in good faith
sold the estate to the Prelate and that he had received the value of it. After
stating this, he severely reprimanded his sons, who had so maliciously accused
the holy Bishop. Stanislaus asked Piotr if he wished to remain alive to do
penance. Pierre thanked him, and said he would not expose himself anew to the
danger of sinning. Stanislaus re-conducted him to his tomb, where he again fell
asleep in the Lord. It may be supposed that such a scene had numerous
witnesses, and that all Poland was quickly informed of it. The King was only
the more irritated against the Saint. Sometime after [on May 8, 1079], he
killed the Bishop with his own hands as he was coming from the altar in Wawel
Castle outside the walls of Cracow. He then ordered that the Prelate’s body be
hacked into 72 pieces so that they might never be collected together to be paid
the honor due to them as the body of a martyr for the truth and for pastoral
liberty. St. Stanislaus was canonized in 1253 by Pope Innocent IV. He is the
patron of Poland and of the city and Diocese of Cracow, and is invoked in
battle.
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