Last Sunday, we covered the first 3 plagues. Today, we will cover the rest, 4th to 10th plagues. The 1st plague turned the water of River Nile into blood and is a solemn reminder of the wages of sin & how its corruption reached all the way to the very source of life. The 2nd plague is frogs. In Revelation we see unclean spirits coming out of the mouths of the dragon, the beast & the false prophet described as frogs. They are the spirits of devils in the end time, and the influences, doctrines, beliefs & philosophies of the beast that appears in the end time (Revelation 13). These unclean spirits come from the mouth of the beast.

In Genesis, out of the mouth of the serpent came wrong teachings, the wrong truth, or what seemed like the truth. That is why they are called false prophets. Prophets are supposed to speak the truth from the Word of God. So the serpent gave the word that contained his soul, his mind and his spirit. And mankind, Adam & Eve received that word, and their ACTIONS = OBEDIENCE (hearing word and following is obedience). OBEDIENCE is the fulfilment of the word, but which word and whose words did they fulfil and obey? Last week we talked about obeying the Word of God, which is FAITH. Adam & Eve instead of having faith in God’s Word, followed the words of the serpent because it attracted their greed & fleshly desires. As a result, because they received the words & thoughts of the serpent, they rejected the Word of God, which is the spirit of God, and the breath of life. And ever since, all mankind, every person who was born after in that bloodline & lineage is stained with sin. The wages of sin is death.

The 3rd plague was gnats, like lice or mosquitoes. These come from the dust – ‘aphar’, which refers to beings or humankind who do not have the spirit of God, the breath of life. Up to the 2nd plague, the sorcerers and magicians of Egypt were able to mimic or imitate but from the 3rd plague, they could not, recognising the power of God (Exodus 8:19).

The 4th plague was flies, and from here God distinguishes the Israelites living in the land of Goshen where these plagues do not affect them. The plagues were judgements of God upon the gods of Egypt, proving to the Egyptians and the Israelites that the Egyptian gods were not gods. Made by human beings to worship and follow, these gods were in fact nothing, and useless.

Plagues & Egyptian Gods Judged

1. Blood

Hapi – spirit of the Nile
Osiris – Nile is his bloodstream

2. Frogs
Hapi – spirit of the Nile
Heqt – frog goddess

Hapi was judged also because frogs came out of the Nile & both gods were related to fertility. The issuing forth of the frog made manifest the character of the Devil’s works – uncleanness

3. Gnats
Seb – earth god

4. Flies (Exodus 8:20-32)
Uatchit – fly god

The Hebrew word signifies, literally, “mixture”, being akin to the term “mixed multitude” in Exodus 12:38. Apparently these “swarms” were made up of not only flies, but a variety of insects, which “devoured them, the Hebrew signifying “ate up” (Psalm 78:45). This plague was, therefore, worse than the plague of lice. The lice annoyed, but the “divers sorts of flies” preyed upon their flesh.
When the Israelites came out of Egypt, a mixed multitude came out among them, who caused grumblings and complaining; always reminding the Israelites how it was in Egypt, how good the food was.

It is there a mixed multitude among us, and in our hearts? For from our hearts come this rotting smell that spreads forth when we open our mouths to grumble & complain. Flies lay their eggs on dung & other decaying things which become maggots & grow into flies.
Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; Who can understand it?
Human heart is originally the throne of God and temple of God, but when man rejected God’s Word and invited the beast (Satan) to take the throne, it became a gathering place for demons and evil spirits.
And becomes a heart that is decaying with sin. When we cannot get rid of sin, it is like not being able to get rid of our waste inside us, which causes decay and eventual harm to our bodies. Likewise, when sin is not taken away through repentance, that sin will decay and kill us. And from the decaying sin comes the flies, evil spirits, evil thoughts and words that will cause the whole environment and even the people around us to be affected.

5. Pestilence (Exodus 9:1-7)
Hathor & Amon – gods associated with bulls & cows

The Egyptians worshipped their animals, herds and cattle, as gods too. At the same time, they were means of their livelihood. Without these animals, they could not labour in the fields.
The destruction of all the “horses, asses, camels, oxen and sheep” of the Egyptians tells us that God will not accept the labours of the unregenerate—“the plowing of the wicked is sin” (Prov. 21:4).
In the end, the judgement will be upon the labour of the wicked and the means of making their earnings.
We see the effect of this worship on the Israelites, when at Mt Sinai, they made a golden calf. Romans 1:21-23 says that we are created in the image of God, but there are those professing to be wise, became fools & exchanged the image of God with the image of the beast. Revelation 16:2 warns of the judgement upon those who have the mark of the beast & who follow & worship his image (Romans 6:12-14).

6. Boils (Exodus 9:8-12)
Sekhmet – goddess of protection from epidemics
Serapis & Imhotep – gods of healing

Boils was the 1st plague to directly affect the people of Egypt. Before this plague, it affected only nature, the animals and food. Exodus 9:8-9 refers to the furnace used to sacrifice animals & even people, and the soot was used by priests to offer to their god Typhon to stop plagues. Here, God tells Aaron & Moses to do the same thing, to cause the more serious plague of boils, diseases that cause blistering throughout the body.

7. Hail (Exodus 9:13-35)
Nut – Egyptian sky goddess
Isis – agricultural goddess
Seth – agricultural god

In Revelation, we see hail coming down several times (Revelation 8:7) Revelation 16:21 describes the hail weighing 1 talent, about 50 kg. Imagine the speed of these 50 kg hail falling like rain upon people. Would there be a trace left of anyone hit by them?
This plague almost changes the heart of the Pharaoh, but he changed back again & hardened his heart again. The plague affected everything – people, animals, crops in the field, and destroyed houses & buildings.

8. Locusts (Exodus 10:1-20)
Seraphia – god who protects from locusts

Locusts is like the combination of all the plagues that have happened so far. Once the swarm of locusts passed by, there is nothing left. Everything is destroyed, the ego system, economy, farming & lives of the people. And we see this happening today, in different parts of the world.
Locusts also appears in Revelation 9:1-12. They come out of the abyss with the power and sting of the scorpion, but were ordered not to hurt the grass of the earth, not the green things, nor the trees, but only men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. They were not permitted to kill them but to sting & torment them for five months. These people would rather die but they cannot die. It is a taste of hell on this earth. The locusts have a king over them who is the angel of the abyss. His name in Hebrew is Abaddon & in Greek is Apollyon.

9. Darkness (Exodus 10:21-29)
Ra – sun god

During those times, the Egyptians feared chaos & darkness the most. In Genesis 1:2, formless is chaos. Through creation, God puts everything in order. Judgement is the reverse work, it is the undoing of God’s work of order, creation & redemption. So those who are not ‘good’ in the eyes of God are being destroyed. God puts them back to chaos, disorder & darkness. This is what we see happening in Egypt.
Likewise, in the end time, judgement is undoing God’s protection, undoing God’s work of redemption for the wicked ones. In other words, God is taking away their protection, and once removed, Satan will mercilessly attack. May we instead have that ‘kopher’, that covering of pitch God commanded Noah to cover ‘kaphar’ both inside and outside of the ark. That pitch represents the blood that comes from Jesus Christ, the tree of life. May we be covered with the atoning blood of Jesus Christ, the blood of redemption! This is the only way for us to be protected.
Jesus said, I am the Light, while I am in this world, you have light, and it is day. There will come a night-time when you will not be able to work (John 9:4-5; 1:4-5). In John 6:27-29, Jesus reveals that this WORK we need to do is BELIEVING IN HIM, so that we can be assured of salvation, and our entrance into the kingdom of heaven. John 12:35-36; 1 Thessalonians 5:4-6 says that we are no longer in darkness, so not let darkness overtake and affect us. Ephesians 4:18 warns us not to be ‘alienated from the life of God through ignorance because of the blindness of heart’. Let us take this warning seriously! Jesus is the ONLY source of light and of life (Acts 26:18).
On the cross (Matthew 27:45), Jesus went down into darkness to save us who are in darkness. Remember the locusts come out of the abyss (tehum in Hebrew), and darkness comes out of the abyss? May this darkness not affect us! In Goshen, the Israelites had light, bright light, and the darkness did not affect them.
This plague of darkness was so complete that the Egyptians had to feel their way through. It was like they became blind, spiritual blind and ignorant, so they just could not see the truth of God’s Word. This darkness comes upon those who reject & ignore the Word of God. After this plague was given to them, even if they had wanted to see, wanted to open their eyes, and even if they had wanted to understand, it was too late. That is why for us, we need to GRAB HOLD OF ANY OPPORTUNITY that is given to us.
This plague was especially terrifying to the Egyptians because one of their greatest gods was the sun god Ra. Through this plague, God is telling them that their god Ra cannot give light. In Revelation, the sun, moon & stars will lose their light.
Who is your sun, your source of light today? In Revelation 22, in new Jerusalem, in the new heaven & earth, there is no need for the sun, moon or the stars, because the light comes from Jesus. The light that God created on the first day, that light is constantly there, brighter than the sun.

10. Death of the firstborns of Egypt (Exodus 11)
Something unique about the last plague is that God did not use Aaron or Moses or their staffs, God did it Himself. This plague is the climax, the final blow upon Egypt and reveals & foreshadows the cross of Jesus and His atonement & salvation work.

At the same time, God is restoring His firstborns, His children, taken away when Satan deceived His son Adam. And God is restoring His sons, the Israelites (Exodus 4:22) by striking the firstborns of Satan. Pharaoh represents Satan (Exodus 11:4-5). Romans 8:19-23 – may we become these spiritual sons of God that whole creation is eagerly waiting for?

CONCLUSION

After the Israelites entered in the land of Canaan, God gave blessings and curses. There are similarities to the plagues that were given to Egypt. So, we can see that these plagues are not only limited to the Egyptians. And who will receive these curses?

The blessings will be given to those who keep the Word of God and remain as people & children of God, but the curses will be given to those who reject the Word of God. It is the same from the Garden of Eden all the way until today. And will continue into Revelation. Those who keep the Word of God & remain as children of God will be blessed. Those who reject the Word of God & become children of the devil will receive the same of kind plagues & judgement.

Deuteronomy 28:1-14 covers the blessings and verses 15-45 covers the curses. The comparison of the curses in Deuteronomy with the plagues are listed in the chart below:

May the Word of God be fulfilled in us! OBEDIENCE is the Word of creation, the Word of redemption, the Word of life taking place and working within our lives and being fulfilled. And when that happens, God saw and it was good – that is being fulfilled. May that take place in our lives! And that will turn us into children of God, sons of God.

But if the Word of God comes in and is rejected, because of other words, other teachings, doctrines, thoughts & greed that fill up our hearts & take over the throne of God in our hearts, then these judgements, these curses, these plagues will come upon us.

The chart below shows where these plagues appear in Revelation:

This chart shows a parallel – the seven trumpets & the seven bowls are covering the same area. The 1st trumpet & the 1st bowl cover judgement on the earth; the 2nd trumpet & 2nd bowl cover the sea; the 3rd trumpet & bowl cover waters, rivers & springs; the 4th trumpet & bowl cover the sun, moon & stars; the 5th trumpet & bowl cover the source of the devil, Satan & the evil spirits, the abyss & the throne of the beast; the 6th trumpet & bowl cover the river Euphrates; the 7th trumpet & bowl is the completion. The difference between the trumpets & bowls is the trumpets will only harm 1/3 of the earth, the sea and so on. The intensity, the completeness of the judgement is different. The bowls will complete the judgement.

However, what is common is these are being poured out upon those who do not have the seal of God & the seal of the Holy Spirit, but upon those who have the mark of the beast.

In Revelation 5 we see a book, the bible sealed with 7 seals. In Revelation 6, we see 6 seals being broken & each time these seals are broken, something happens, some kind of phenomenon takes place. When the 1st seal is broken, a man on a white horse appears, seemingly in the image of the second coming Lord Jesus, but he is actually the false prophet, the anti-Christ. The 2nd seal shows a man on a red horse depicting wars; the 3rd seal has a man on a black horse representing famine; the 4th shows a man on an ashen horse representing death.

What do you think? Are these seals already taking place in our time? Or do these plagues exist in the future, and we are still waiting for them to happen – wars, famine, pestilence, death? Or is it just because they are not affecting some of us directly that we are not thinking about them? Jesus said that there will be wars, nations will rise against nations, pestilence and death, but it is not the end. And if these plagues that we talked about are apparent in our lives and in this world then, as saints & people of God, what is our next step?

When the 7th seal is broken, it starts into the 7 trumpets, so we can say that the 7 trumpets are contained within the 7th seal. But right before the 7 trumpets start, in Revelation 8:1-5 we see silence for a short time of 30 minutes, half an hour. It is symbolic to emphasise the shortness of the time. This is also the time when the prayers of the saints are being offered up to God. In this short time of silence and peace, is a short time of opportunity. It is a time when we make our choice – what do we as believers of God need to do? If we are living in these times – what is next for us? May we be alert & awake & may we truly be prepared through prayer, through receiving the Word & the hidden manna from Jesus Christ. And let us make sure we are saved, that we are in the spiritual land of Goshen, which is Jesus Christ. Let us come into Jesus Christ, into this Word, so that we will be protected, and be distinguished & set apart.

AMEN