Ramesses II, thought by some to be the Pharaoh of the Exodus
Many Christians realize that Noah and the flood make up a picture and type of the end-times. Jesus plainly speaks of this in Matthew 24:37 saying: “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.” It is almost incomprehensible, but the world was destroyed with Noah and his family still in it. They were safe from the destruction because God was protecting them and the ark was sealed without and within.
What some may not realize is that the plagues and Passover of Exodus make up another biblical type of the end-days. There are many spiritual symbols used in these accounts to illustrate earth’s end. Once more God’s people were protected from the dreadful plagues that fell upon Egypt. They were kept and delivered miraculously.
The Book of Revelation makes several clear references to the Passover/Exodus account. Let us look at the most obvious ones.
REVIEWING THE PASSOVER/EXODUS HIGH POINTS (OR LOW POINTS)
We observe in Exodus that the people of God were living in a situation of terrible oppression and slavery. At that time there was a systematic program of government-sponsored genocide. With this system in place and operating, the people of Israel were soon to be destroyed. It was becoming impossible to live under the Egyptian system. Of course we will see a similar situation for God’s people in the last days.
God heard their bitter cries and prayers and began a program of deliverance for them. He sent Moses and Aaron to their aid. He then began to plague Egypt with awesome signs and wonders, unlike any that had ever been before. With these plagues, God began to remove the basic necessities of life from the people of Egypt. It is clear that these awesome acts were in themselves judgments on Egypt’s many false gods (Exo. 12:12). It will be the same in the last days as those worshipping false gods, particularly those worshipping antichrist, will be judged.
In Egypt there were plenty of gods in the pantheon. There were many more gods than plagues but some of the plagues seem specifically suited to certain gods. Just to mention a few, the plague of blood on the Nile River was a clear judgment on the Nile god known as Hapi (Hap or Hep). This god was connected with fertility, food and water. Then there was the plague of frogs that was undoubtedly a judgment on the god Heket (Heqet, hekit). Heket actually had the head of a frog and was treated as a god of fertility. * The plagues on the cattle of Egypt were a barely disguised judgment on the whole cult of the Apis (or Hapis) bull, which was extremely popular in Egypt from very early times.
It was probably from this bull worship that Israel got the idea of the golden calf. Most surely the plague of darkness was designed to bring judgment on the god Ra (Rê and later Amun–Re). This was the sun god who was also worshipped from antiquity.
It should be noted that beginning with the plague of flies the people of Israel, who were living in the land of Goshen, were exempt from these disasters. God says concerning this: “I will make a distinction between my people and your people” (Exo. 8:23). From that plague onward the Children of Israel were untouched by the pestilence. During the last plague, when all the firstborn sons of Egypt were struck down in one night, the firstborn of Israel were spared.
Israel had been instructed to place upon the door posts of their houses the blood of the Passover lamb. They were instructed to remain inside while the disaster passed them by. We note that although the people of Israel were in Egypt, they were not of Egypt, so to speak. They were miraculously sheltered from danger by God. With the very same plagues the people of Egypt were judged and destroyed.
With the last plague the children of Israel were delivered out of Egypt completely and set on their journey to the Promised Land. Now let us turn to the Book of Revelation and compare it with the Exodus account.
HOW REVELATION CORRESPONDS TO EXODUS
It is important for us to note that in the last day God’s people will be sealed in their foreheads in order that they may be protected from the many plagues (Rev. 7:3). The symbolism here indicates a protection in the mind of God’s people. In other places of Revelation we see the name of God and his Messiah written on the foreheads of God’s victorious ones (Rev. 14:1). This is certainly a reference to the mind and to thinking.
In Revelation 8:7, we see that blood is once again the first plague just as it was in Egypt (Exo. 7:17-24). This awful plague will now affect one-third of the earth. We find that the blood is mixed with hail and fire. We see both hail and fire in the seventh Egyptian plague of Exodus 9:13-35.
But God is not through with the last-day plague of blood. In Revelation 8:8-9, as the second plague is introduced we read: “The second angel sounded his trumpet, and something like a huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea turned into blood, a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.” The plague of blood is not just in the Nile or in Egypt but has become a worldwide scourge.
In Revelation 16:3-4, the plague continues as the whole sea becomes blood like that of a dead man, with all sea creatures dying in the process. Verse 4 of this same chapter tells us that even the springs of water are turned to blood. Revelation 16:6 tells us the reason for this awful plague of blood: “for they have shed the blood of your saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink as they deserve.’”
In addition to the plagues of blood we see some other connections between Revelation and Exodus. Revelation 16:2 tells us of loathsome sores afflicting those who had received the mark of the Beast. In 16:11, we see them cursing God because of their sores. This corresponds very well to the sixth plague of Egypt (Exo. 9:9-11) where festering boils broke out on Pharaoh, the people and even upon the animals of Egypt. We remember that beginning in Exodus 8:23, with the plague of flies, God made a difference between his people and the people of Egypt. We see the same pattern in Revelation as God seals his servants from the plagues.
In Revelation 8:12, we note that a third of the sun, moon and stars will be darkened on the last day. A third of both the day and the night will be without light. This compares to the plague of great darkness that fell upon Egypt for three days (Exo. 10:21-23).
We see a similar thing in Revelation 16:10, as the throne of the Beast is plunged into darkness and as a result they curse God. Some of the prophets of Israel spoke of this great darkness of the last days (cf. Joel 2:2; Amos 5:18). Just as there was no darkness in the land of Goshen where the Hebrew children were located, God’s people of the last day will have light. In Isaiah 60:2, God’s saints are promised: “See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you.” Just as God once judged the idols of Egypt, his wrath is now displayed on the Beast and those who worship him.
In Revelation 9:3 ff. we see a plague of locust/scorpion like creatures released from the Abyss. The purpose was to torment those without the seal of God upon their foreheads. This is reminiscent of Exodus 10:1-20, where the plague of locusts covered the ground of Egypt until it was black. Of course, there were no locusts in Goshen where God’s people lived.
WHAT CONCLUSIONS CAN WE DRAW FOR THE END-DAYS?
We need not be nervous about the end times. God will always take care of his own. We see many scriptures throughout the Bible that illustrate this truth.
Proverbs 3:25-26 states: “Have no fear of sudden disaster or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked, for the LORD will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being snared.” In Proverbs 2:7-8 we read: “He holds victory in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones.”
In Psalm 46:2-3, the Psalmist advises: ” Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.” There are many other wonderful Psalms of protection such as Psalm 27:1-3, 5 and 91:1-16. Indeed, the Book of Psalms may become the hymnal for last-day saints.
In many other scriptures God vows to protect his own. Psalm 33:18-19 states: “But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine.” We remember how the prophet Elijah was miraculously delivered from famine for three-and-one-half-years (1 Ki. 17: 1-16). This was a period of time very similar to that of the Great Tribulation.
Indeed, we see that “The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them” (Psa. 34:7). The sun will not harm them by day or the moon by night (Psa. 121:6). Joel the prophet in speaking about the day of the Lord says: “But the Lord will be a refuge for his people, a stronghold for the people of Israel” (Joel 3:16b).
In 2 Peter 2:9, the apostle assures us that: “the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment, while continuing their punishment.”
This seal of God in the forehead of the righteous obviously does not keep God’s saints from martyrdom, should God choose this course. It is rather designed to keep them from giving up or denying their Lord under the awful pressures of the end-times. It is a form of spiritual protection. In Romans 8:35, Paul asks: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?” Paul answers his question in Romans 8:38-39: “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
-Jim Gerrish
Publication date, 2009
*Eschatology Today: http://www.eschatologytoday.net/natesc.php
Note on Passover and the End Times by Asher Intrater, Jerusalem, Apr 7 2009.
“The rabbis also have a saying that ‘the last redemption will be like the first redemption.’ By this they mean that the coming of Messiah in the end times will be similar to the story of the Exodus from Egypt.
In Revelation: the Passover Key, Dan Juster describes many parallels between the book of Revelation and the book of Exodus. The two witnesses (Revelation 11) are parallel to Moses and Aaron. Pharaoh is parallel to the Antichrist. The plagues in the Tribulation are parallel to the plagues of the Exodus.
Israel remained in Egypt in the land of Goshen during the Ten Plagues. The Lord protected them. By that protection God demonstrated His holiness and power as a witness to the Egyptians. So will it be in the Tribulation. We will stand protected by God’s grace as a witness of the truth of the gospel to the whole world. There will be ‘light in Goshen’ (Exodus 8:23) in the midst of the darkness of this world. ”