Will Smith to Portray a King of the South

Will Smith may play a past King of the South. Here is a commentary by LCG’s Wyatt Ciesielka:

The last Pharaoh?

You will soon become familiar with Tirhakah. He was a mighty Egyptian pharaoh – a historic King of the South embroiled in incessant war with a historic King of the North. Tirhakah will again become famous largely because Will Smith (of “Men in Black”, “Ali” and “Hitch” fame) intends to star in a movie “of epic proportions” about him. But students of prophecy should be interested in Tirhakah for other reasons.

Tirhakah was the celebrated last Pharaoh of the 25th Egyptian dynasty – the Ethiopian dynasty, ruling circa 689 to 664bc. Because his glory was unsurpassed by subsequent pharaohs, Tirhakah is inaccurately called “The Last Pharaoh.” However, Tantamani, and the famous Cleopatra were pharaohs after him. And, scripture predicts a final pharaoh immediately before Christ’s return.

The Bible in 2 Kings 19:9 and Isaiah 37:9 record that it was Tirhakah who unsuccessfully attempted to repel the Assyrian hosts threatening King Hezekiah. But, his story should be of interest to students of the Bible, because the Egypt of Tirhakah’s past holds clues to Egypt’s and the Middle East’s future.

Around 740bc Tirhakah’s father; Piye, invaded Egypt. At the time of Piye’s invasion, Egypt had fragmented into eleven feuding states governed by rulers of Libyan descent. This was the time of the Twenty-Second Egyptian Dynasty (circa 945-730bc). Piye conquered and unified Egypt. His son, Tirhakah, ascended to a unified and powerful throne – rivaled only by the mighty Assyrian empire.

Initially, Tirhakah repelled numerous invasions by Assyria’s King Esarhaddon. However, by 671bc the Assyrians overwhelmed Tirhakah’s forces, and Egypt was pillaged. Eventually, the Assyrians drove Tirhakah out of Lower Egypt, and his kingdom collapsed in 667bc.

After Assyrian King Esarhaddon’s death, Tirhakah returned to Egypt and routed the Assyrians. However, his victory was short-lived. Esarhaddon’s son, Assurbanipal, promptly set out from Nineveh and devastated Tirhakah’s armies. Tirhakah would flee all the way to his homeland of Nubia, where he remained until he died. He was buried under a 150-foot-high pyramid in Nuri, located in modern-day Sudan.

What is the significance for modern times?

While Tirhakah is inaccurately called “The Last Pharaoh,” scripture foretells a future pharaoh over Egypt… Scripture also foretells a future king who will rule over the consolidated peoples of Egypt, Ethiopia, Sudan and the rest of the Middle East. Read more

A leader of that region will rise up. Both biblical and certain Islamic prophecies expect this to happen.

For some related information, please see the following:

Is There A Future King of the South? Some no longer believe there needs to be. Might Egypt, Islam, Iran, Arabs, or Ethiopia be involved? What does the Bible say?
The Arab World In the Bible, History, and Prophecy The Bible discusses the origins of the Arab world and discusses the Middle East in prophecy. What is ahead for the Middle East and those who follow Islam?