Almost like an identity crisis

Genesis 4: [4] And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.

"Babylon represents confusion and the religious political corruption that comes from rejection of God's Word.

"In Bible prophecy you'll find places connected and almost used at times interchangeably. Egypt representing the world system in satanic captivity, Babylon representing the religious confusion and corruption of Baal worship and Assyria the political pride and corruption that comes as a result of that captivity and religious confusion.

"The beginning of idolatry began with Nimrod and the reason Babylon and Assyria are connected in Scripture, and Egypt is linked with them, is because of that connection in Genesis at the Tower of Babel.

"I use an illustration in Ezekiel 31: [2] Son of man, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, and to his multitude; Whom art thou like in thy greatness?

[3] Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon with fair branches, and with a shadowing shroud, and of an high stature; and his top was among the thick boughs.

"Who's he talking about? Pharoah king of Egypt or the Assyrian? You see how he puts them interchangeably?

Isaiah 52:4: [4] For thus saith the Lord GOD, My people went down aforetime into Egypt to sojourn there; and the Assyrian oppressed them without cause.

"Wait a minute, if you're in Egypt and Pharoah is the head of Egypt, how come he's called the Assyrian? You remember in Exodus it says a pharoah came up that did not know Joseph? That's this one. What's going on there is a spiritual thing behind the scenes.

"If literally an Assyrian had come and taken over the throne of Egypt, but there's more than just the literal issue there . . . These guys are all linked because the link goes back to Babylon, the Tower of Babel and the spiritual corruption that began back there.

"That spiritual corruption comes through the Old Testament and Egypt, Assyria and Babylon all work all through back here.

Ezekiel 31:8: [8] The cedars in the garden of God could not hide him: the fir trees were not like his boughs, and the chestnut trees were not like his branches; nor any tree in the garden of God was like unto him in his beauty.

"Verse 18: [18] To whom art thou thus like in glory and in greatness among the trees of Eden? yet shalt thou be brought down with the trees of Eden unto the nether parts of the earth: thou shalt lie in the midst of the uncircumcised with them that be slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, saith the Lord GOD.

"It's almost like an identity crisis. Is it Pharoah or is it the Assyrian? This guy was in Eden the garden of God, and if you look at verses 12-14, along in there, you'll see he's going to be in Armageddon. So he's back there in the beginning and he's going to be over there in the end.

"What you're doing when you look at these cities and leaders, you're really looking prophetically at what's going to culminate over at the Second Advent. The historical stuff back there is really just dress rehearsal for the real thing that's coming at the end."