Egypt, and in particular Pharaoh king of Egypt, was singled out by God for acts of terror. Ezekiel was told, “Son of man, wail for the multitude of Egypt, and cast them down, even her, for the daughters of the famous nations, unto the nether parts of the earth, with them that go down to the pit” (Ezekiel 32:18). The casting down of Egypt into Sheol or the grave was symbolic of separation from God. Egypt was among several other nations that were to be segregated due to their behavior. Ezekiel declared, “Asshur is there and all her company: his graves are about him: all of them slain, fallen by the sword: whose graves are set in the sides of the pit, and her company is round about her grave: all of them slain, fallen by the sword, which caused terror in the land of the living” (Ezekiel 32:22-23).

The scene that Ezekiel depicted was one in which a segment of the population was gathered together in order to view the fall of Egypt. Each of the spectators was distinguished as having caused terror in the land of the living. It could be said that this collection of terrorists was Satan’s army, but in reality, they were just “uncircumcised,” meaning not dedicated to God. It is likely this assembly was meant to be a prelude to Satan’s final defeat when he will be cast into the bottomless pit. John said in Revelation 20:1-3, “And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.”

The terror that was caused by Egypt and the other nations listed in Ezekiel chapter 32 was probably related to both physical and spiritual warfare. The basic translation of the Hebrew word for terror, chittiyth (khit – teeth) is fear (2851), but a more comprehensive interpretation reveals a link to mental processes such as confusion and shame (2865). The outcome of the situation described by Ezekiel was an apparent turning of the tables in which the terrorists became victims of their own terror. Ezekiel proclaimed, “Pharaoh shall see them, and shall be comforted over all his multitude, even Pharaoh and all his army slain by the sword, saith the Lord GOD. For I have caused my terror in the land of the living: and he shall be laid in the midst of the uncircumcised with them that are slain with the sword, even Pharaoh and all his multitude, saith the Lord GOD” (Ezekiel 32:31-32).