As Hosni Mubarak limped into the mists of history last Friday, President Obama, in a speech marking the dawn of a new country, recalled Egypt’s “pivotal role in human history.”

To be sure, Egypt does feature prominently in human history. Most history textbooks open with a description of ancient Egypt, a towering civilization that for more than a millennium sat at the vanguard of mankind’s intellectual, political and cultural advancement. Each year, millions flock to Egypt to marvel at the pyramids jutting from Egypt’s dunes, at the mummies of ancient pharaohs, and at Egypt’s mountain of ancient artifacts—all remnants of a once great and influential civilization.

But when you think on it, one of the most striking features of Egyptian history is its precipitous fall from history.

What happened to the people that constructed the mightiest buildings on Earth, that breached new frontiers in science, mathematics and art, that once dominated the civilized world? Egypt today is inhabited and ruled by Arabs; before that it was the British, before that the Muslims; before that the Romans and before that the Greeks. Over the past 2,500 years, Egypt has featured intermittently in human history, but always under the direction of a foreign nation or empire. What happened to ancient Egypt, to the unique and independent civilization established by the pharaohs, the nation that at one time reigned supreme over mankind?

That Egypt has clearly vanished. Don’t you wonder why?

Historians generally agree that ancient Egypt’s fall from global power and prominence occurred in the sixth century b.c. Its initial demise began early that century when it tangled with the Babylonian armies of King Nebuchadnezzar. Within half a century, Egypt was being attacked by the Persians—the inheritors of the Babylonian Empire—and had fallen completely. When Pharaoh Psamatik iii died after battling the Persians in the battle of Pelusium in 525 b.c., wrote George Rawlinson, “thus perished … the last of the long line of pharaohs, which commencing with Menes … had ruled Egypt, as a great independent monarchy, for not less than 20 centuries” (History of Ancient Egypt).

Despite periodic insurrections by native Egyptians, ancient Egyptian civilization never fully recovered from the Persian invasion. Tides of foreigners began to settle in Egypt: Seafaring Greeks sailed in from the Aegean, Jews came from Jerusalem and Syrians from the northern Levant. Within a couple of centuries, Egypt was a cauldron of races. In the fourth century, when Persia’s grip on Egypt slipped, native Egyptians, lacking leadership and organization, were unable to reclaim the throne. The baton of Egyptian leadership passed from Persia to Greece, first to Alexander the Great, then Ptolemy and the Ptolemaic Dynasty. In the first century b.c., Egypt fell under the control of the Romans, where it remained until the early seventh century, at which point it became dominated by Muslims. In the 19th century, control of Egypt transferred from the Ottomans to Britain. In the early 20th, Britain turned it over to the Arabs.

Amazingly, Egypt never fully recovered from the Babylonian and Persian invasions of the sixth century b.c. It never again existed as an independent, world-ruling power!

The key to understanding events in Egypt in the sixth century b.c.—and to understanding Egypt’s disastrous fall from global prominence—is found in the book of Ezekiel.

In chapters 29 and 30 we read of God sending the Prophet Ezekiel to deliver a crucial message to Egypt. “Set thy face against Pharaoh king of Egypt,” God tells him, “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 in the 26th dynasty of Egypt.

Under the rule of Apries, Egypt was a powerful and influential civilization. In fact, Egypt’s towering presence was so impressive, Apries, like his forefathers, considered himself the king of the world and as powerful as God Himself. Verses 3-4 explain that Apries considered the Nile River, the source of Egypt’s material greatness, as his creation, and that he had declared himself the god of the Nile.

Ezekiel was sent to warn Apries of where his arrogance was leading, 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 19, Ezekiel reveals to Apries that he would be attacked by the armies of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. In scripture after scripture in chapters 29 and 30, God warns the pharaoh that the destruction of Egypt at the hands of the Babylonians and Persians would be so disastrous that Egypt would never fully recover!

Among all the scriptures in these chapters, two in particular are critical to understanding Egyptian history. The first is Ezekiel 29:15, which says that although Egypt would eventually recover from the destruction in the sixth century b.c., it would forever remain “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 more clear: After the sixth century b.c., Egypt would never again be a major ruling power!

The second scripture is Ezekiel 30:13. Here, God says that although Egypt would recover from the destruction inflicted by the Babylonians and the Persians, “there shall be no more a prince of the land of Egypt ….” This, as Bible commentaries explain and historical records confirm, is an explicit prophecy that after its destruction in the sixth century b.c., Egypt would never again be governed by a native prince!

Take a moment and think on these stunning prophecies.

For nearly 2,000 years prior to the sixth century b.c., Egypt was not only a regional force, but a pulsating civilization. Culturally and intellectually, ancient Egyptian mathematicians, scientists and astronomers were on the cutting edge of development; agriculturally, ancient Egypt exported grains throughout the Middle East and the Mediterranean; the ancient Egyptians constructed edifices that 4,000 years later still dazzle engineers. Politically, Egypt’s ruling class was the most enduring and impressive monarchy in the world.

Then, all of a sudden in the sixth century, Egypt vanished as a world power—and never reclaimed its position! Why? Because as we discover in Ezekiel 29 and 30, God said that after the sixth century b.c., Egypt would remain the “basest of kingdoms,” a nation still alive, yet one incapable of “exalt[ing] itself any more above the nations.” Today, each of these prophecies has been fulfilled, and we have 2,500 years of recorded history to prove it.

President Obama is right, Egypt has played a pivotal role in human history—as a living testament to the existence of God!

For more information on the origins of Egypt, and the eye-opening prophecies in Ezekiel that explain Egyptian history, subscribe to our hard-copy magazine the Philadelphia Trumpet.