Egypt's cruel leader and Revelation's prophecy on slavery

Isaiah 19 forecasts that a cruel leader and a harsh master will rule Egypt, even while Egyptians are at each other's throats in a civil rebellion. That sounds like what is happening now. It is hard to tell if the prophecy means the same man or two different men. It is in Isaiah 19:4

"and I will give over the Egyptians
into the hand of a hard master,
and a fierce king will rule over them,
declares the Lord God of hosts."

We already know that the newly elected President of Egypt, Mohammad Morsi declared himself above all constitutional rule, effectively becoming a Pharaoh. This woke up all those watchmen who were on the lookout for developments in Egypt. "is he the cruel master'? they wondered. I wondered too. It could mean the antichrist, or it could mean a harsh man who will rule until the antichrist comes.

In addition to that prophecy moving into the spotlight, another one has been on my mind for a long time. It is in Revelation 18. When the LORD destroys the worldwide economic system, the merchants stand by and weep and moan for all the cargoes that are no more. One of those cargoes they weep over, lamenting the loss of such prized items in a wealthy trade, is slaves.

“The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her because no one buys their cargoes any more— 12cargoes of gold, silver, precious stones and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet cloth; every sort of citron wood, and articles of every kind made of ivory, costly wood, bronze, iron and marble; 13cargoes of cinnamon and spice, of incense, myrrh and frankincense, of wine and olive oil, of fine flour and wheat; cattle and sheep; horses and carriages; and bodies and souls of men. (Revelation 18:11-13)

They cry because they can't buy and sell men any more.

I wrote about this prophecy before, and I was mocked for suggesting that such an uncivil thing as slavery could revive. I was told that Britain and the US got rid of slavery a long time ago, and that most other nations don't trade in slaves any more either.

It isn't true that slavery doesn't exist. It does. It just doesn't exist in countries we think of or in a way that we remember as being similar to the black slave trade in the US in the 1800s. Ever heard of child trafficking? Debtor-servants, concubines, carpet slaves, cane cutters? Slavery exists.

Anyway, according to Anti-Slavery International, the world's oldest human rights organization, there are currently over 20 million people in bondage.

It seems that Egypt pops up in the news-AGAIN. This time the issue is slavery. The shariah-constitution the Muslim Brotherhood is writing in this draft has dropped the ban on slavery. Read this from Jihad Watch via the AP--

Egypt: New constitution denies freedom of speech and equality of rights for women, omits ban on slavery
"CAIRO (AP) -- An Islamist-dominated panel is voting on Egypt's draft constitution, the country's first charter after the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak. The draft largely reflects the conservative vision of the Islamists, with articles that rights activists, liberals and Christians fear will lead to restrictions on the rights of women and minorities and civil liberties in general. Omissions of certain articles, such as bans on slavery or promises to adhere to international rights treaties, were equally worrying to critics of the new draft, who pulled out from the panel before the vote."

This is big. A nation in the spotlight that is brazen enough to outright omit a ban on slavery when drafting the new constitution while everyone is watching is brazen indeed. The Washington Examiner asks, "Will Egypt embrace the dark side?" NPR asks, "Is Morsi morphing into the authoritarian he opposed?" and I think according to what the bible shows is ahead for Egypt, the answer to both questions is ... yes.