THE ANCIENT EGYPTIAN PLAGUES
(What Do They Mean for Us Today?)
THE PLAGUES OF EGYPT
Part Four of a Series
In Parts I through 3 of our study of Exodus we saw that God sent a series of plagues unto Egypt, the first turning the streams, ponds, rivers, and pools of water into blood, followed by the plague of frogs and third, the plague of lice. We now come to the fourth plague.
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Fourth Plague
Exodus 8:20-21-
[20] - “And the LORD said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh; lo, he cometh forth to the water; and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Let my people go, that they may serve me.”
[21] - “Else, if thou wilt not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies upon thee, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thy houses: and the houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground whereon they are.”
Exodus 8:20 introduces the fourth plague upon Egypt. Notice the last statement in verse 20, a demand that God makes which tells the age old story of good verses evil - “. . . let my people go, that they may serve me.” This command was directed at Pharaoh, King of Egypt, but in the ultimate sense it is directed against Lucifer and his fallen angels, who inhabit the netherworld of the abyss. Their desire is to keep Earth’s multitudes bound up in their sins and trespasses against a righteous and just Creator. It is Satan himself who has the masses of humanity in his grip, prefigured merely by an Egyptian pharaoh.
The fourth plague that God brings upon the land of Egypt is a “swarm of flies.” Notice that the word “flies” is italicized in the King James. The statement actually reads “. . . and the houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms, and also the ground whereon they are.”
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Fourth Plague: Swarms
“Detour To Judges”
The swarm is everywhere in Egypt; upon pharaoh, upon his servants and upon all the people of Egypt. Verse 21 goes on to say that this swarm invades pharaoh’s house and the houses of the Egyptians. Not only are the swarms upon the people of Egypt, but they are in their houses as well! What does this mean?
We first see that the Hebrew word that is translated as “swarm” or “swarms” is used only in our study here in Exodus chapter eight.
Swarm:
(H6157)
ערב
‛?â?rô?b
aw-robe'
From H6148; a mosquito (from its swarming): - divers sorts or flies, swarm.)
This word is used in place of “flies” as well. It is important to note that the word swarm or swarms is found nowhere else in Scripture except in Exodus chapter eight and once in Judges 14:8.
“And after a time he returned to take her, and he turned aside to see the carcase of the lion: and, behold, there was a swarm of bees and honey in the carcase of the lion.” (Judges 14:8)
Even though the English word “swarm” is used here, nevertheless it is NOT the same Hebrew word that is translated as swarm or swarms in Exodus chapter eight. This particular rendering of “swarm” is defined as follows:
(H5712
עדה
‛?ê?dâ?h
ay-daw'
Feminine of H5707 in the original sense of fixture; a stated assemblage (specifically a concourse, or generally a family or crowd): - assembly, company, congregation, multitude, people, swarm. Compare H5713.)
Though it is a different Hebrew word, the translators still had reason to translate it as “swarm.” Let us take a closer look as what precisely is being taught here.
Judges 14:8 -
“And after a time he returned to take her, and he turned aside to see the carcase of the lion: and, behold, there was a swarm of bees and honey in the carcase of the lion.”
In this account, we will not attempt to an in-depth study on Samson as he went down to Timnath to see the Philistine woman. The main phrase we want to look at is “. . . behold, there was a swarm of bees and honey in the carcase of the lion.” In all of Scripture we only see the word “swarm or swarms” used in the account of the plague upon Egypt and then here in Judges chapter fourteen. Let us find out what God has to say about bees and how they are to be understood in Scripture.
BEES -
Other than here in Judges 14:8, the word “bees” is used in only two other passages in Scripture, they are Dueteronomy 1:44 and Psalm 118:12.
Deut. 1:43-44 -
[43] - “So I spake unto you; and ye would not hear, but rebelled against the commandment of the LORD, and went presumptuously up into the hill.”
[44] - “And the Amorites, which dwelt in that mountain, came out against you, and chased you, as bees do, and destroyed you in Seir, even unto Hormah.”
In this verse, the bees clearly represent God’s judgment for disobedience and rebellion. God commanded Israel, saying not to go up into the hill of the Ammorites because God was not among them (verse 44). They disobeyed and went anyway. Therefore God sent the army of the Ammorites upon them and they overtook them . . . as a swarm of bees! Clearly bees are symbolic for God’s enemies in this occurrence.
The next passage where we find bees is in Psalm 118:12.
Psalm 118:8-12 -
[8] - “It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.”
[9] - “It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.”
[10] - “All nations compassed me about: but in the name of the LORD will I destroy them.”
[11] - “They compassed me about; yea, they compassed me about: but in the name of the LORD I will destroy them.” [12] - “They compassed me about like bees; they are quenched as the fire of thorns: for in the name of the LORD I will destroy them.”
As you can see in Psalm 118, bees are again signifying the enemies of God. As we return to our detour of Judges 14:8 we find Samson wanting to go down to Timnath to take him a bride from among the Philistines. His mother and father were against the idea, saying why go to the land of the uncircumcised to search for a wife when you should be looking for one right here in your own land of Israel. At that time the Philistines had dominion over the land of Israel, nevertheless the Israelites were not to marry outside of their faith. In today’s world, this rule still holds true for the believer. It is not saying not to mingle with unbelievers, but we are not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers (2 Corinthians 6:14). Samson poses a riddle in Judges chapter fourteen, which we will not discuss. However, when Samson went home and returned to Timnath some time later, he saw the lion that he had killed earlier. By this time there was a - “swarm of bees and honey in the carcase of the lion.”
CARCASE -
It is the opinion of this study that the bees once more are symbolic of the enemies of God, thus the word swarm. Why was honey and a swarm of bees found within the carcase of this lion? Why does God use a Lion in this instance and further, why is the lion killed and the bees and honey found within its carcase?
Matthew 24:28 -
“For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.”
Many times the word “carcase” is used in alluding to God’s judgment and hell itself. Eagles are an unclean bird in Old Testament and to be unclean in those days represented, in many instances, the ultimate fulfillment of being unsaved and partaking of the Second Death - outer darkness. The eagles are gathered at the carcase because there is nothing there of spiritual significance for them.
Isaiah 14:19 -
“But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcase trodden under feet.”
Isaiah seems to be speaking of Satan in his final doom at the end of time. He wanted to be like the most high (Isaiah 14:4), but in the final analysis he goes down to the pit as all do who are unsaved at their death.
As we have stated, “carcase” many times has God’s final judgment in view, even though it may appear to be the aftermath of a physical battle field, yet it is man’s final death, the Second Death - the spiritual death - that seems to be in view in these passages. For example:
Hebrews 3:17 -
“But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness?”
Isaiah 66:24 -
“And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.”
Jeremiah 19:7 -
“And I will make void the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem in this place; and I will cause them to fall by the sword before their enemies, and by the hands of them that seek their lives: and their carcases will I give to be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of the earth.”
Isaiah 34:3 -
“Their slain also shall be cast out, and their stink shall come up out of their carcases, and the mountains shall be melted with their blood.”
Those who are slain by God’s Word (sword) will be cast out and into outer darkness as carcases - where the eagles are gathered. Not very pretty language to the common person but nonetheless it is God’s unchanging Word, whether we care to believe it or not, it is the way things really are. Who has the spiritual eyes and ears to receive this truth? God commands us to study His Word. “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17)
THE LION -
What is honey doing in the carcase of the lion along with bees? Of course we realize that bees make the honey, but God uses them in metaphoric terms. Let us first look at the word “lion.”
In Scripture, the world “lion” is used to represent the Christ, and it is also used to depict Satan.
Rev. 5:5 -
“And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.”
(This is one of many titles given to Christ: The Lion of the Tribe of Juda.)
Proverbs 19:12 -
“The king's wrath is as the roaring of a lion; but his favour is as dew upon the grass.”
(Another reference to the Christ.)
Proverbs 20:2 -
“The fear of a king is as the roaring of a lion: whoso provoketh him to anger sinneth against his own soul.”
Hosea 11:10 -
“They shall walk after the LORD: he shall roar like a lion: when he shall roar, then the children shall tremble from the west.” (Believers don’t usually roar as lions, however as we proclaim the Gospel of Christ, it is indeed as a “roar of a lion,” not our outward roar, but the roar from God’s Word, which is Christ (John 1:14), who is The Lion of the Tribe of Juda.)
1 Peter 5:8 -
“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:”
(Here we see that Satan is pictured also as a lion. NOTE: Satan is depicted in Scripture as “a” lion, while Christ is said to be “the” Lion.)
We can site many more verses that speak of Christ as the lion or as Satan as a lion. When we read judges chapter fourteen we wonder what is represented by the lion, whose carcase is opened and filled with a swarm of bees and honey.
BEES AND HONEY -
Even while bees and honey are a natural combination and a common occurrence on this earth, they are not necessarily portrayed that way in Scripture. What did we find when we looked into the passages of Scripture that spoke of bees? We found that they were plagues or judgments of God upon the unsaved and rebellious people of both Israel and the world. God depicted His enemies as bees.
There is one more place in Scripture where this word “bee” is used. It is the singular and not the plural, but is the same Hebrew word that was used in our three references. It is found in Isaiah 7:18 -
“And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.”
Once more we see that the word “bee” is used in a negative way. That is to say it is used in reference to the enemies of God, just as the other three plural references are used. It is symbolized as a tool of God’s divine jusgment. God uses an earthly picture of “blood” to symbolize His judgment upon the corporate church at the end of time. He also uses literal blood to judge the land of Egyptian in it’s historic and physical judgment. God uses the lice, the frogs and the bees in like fashion, it would appear.
HONEY -
There is an abundance of references throughout Scripture that speak of Christ and His Word as “honey.” We will only list a few passages, but keep in mind that God uses earthly synonyms in depicting many aspects of His Gospel - the Gospel of Jesus Christ. “Honey” is one of many synonyms used to describe the wonders of God’s salvation plan.
In the following passages we have a prophecy of the birth of the Messiah - the Christ:
Isaiah 7:10-15:
[10] - “Moreover the LORD spake again unto Ahaz, saying,”
[11] - “Ask thee a sign of the LORD thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above.”
[12] - “But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the LORD.”
[13] - “And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David; Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also?”
[14] - “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”
[15] - “Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good.”
Christ did not have a literal diet of butter and honey. These are highly spiritual synonyms depicting God’s Holy and Infallible Word. When verse 15 states that “butter and honey shall He EAT,” we must harmize it with the rest of Scripture. In God’s spiritual terms, the word “eat” usually means to fill your soul with God’s Word, the Bible.
John 6:53 -
“Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.”
John 6:49-51 -
[49] - Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.
[50] - This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.
[51] - I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”
CONCLUSION TO JUDGES 14:8 -
The physical plagues in the land of Egypt seem most certainly to typify the spiritual plagues upon the corporate church at the end of time. The true Gospel of Jesus Christ can never be destroyed nor changed; God’s word is the same yesterday, today and forever, Hebrews 13:8 tells us. The corporate global church of Jesus Christ is merely an earthly representation of Christ’s true church. It is this corporate, outer shell or outer court of God’s true Temple that can and will most definitely be destroyed by Satan at the end of the Church Age. It will not be destroyed in any physical manner, but it will be overran and destroyed in a spiritual manner. Satan, at the time of the Abomination of Desolation, will enter into the global church and cunningly change the true Gospel of Jesus Christ to a gospel that brings only spiritual death and damnation to it’s masses of followers. This is what God warns us of in the plagues of Egypt. Christ also warns us in Matthew 24:24 that this end-time counterfeit church will appear so much like the true Church of Christ that if it were possible, God’s very elect would be deceived by it! Thank God He promises He will never lose any of His chosen. Thus, it is no wonder we read this mysterious verse in Revelation 10:8-11:
[8] - “And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth.”
[9] - “And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.”
[10] - “And I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.”
[11] - “And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.”
It would appear to be the counterfeit end-time church that this verse warns of. Without a true spiritual discernment of the Scriptures, anyone who spiritually tastes of the counterfeit church will be DECEIVED into thinking it is the true Church of Jesus Christ - it will spiritually appear to be SWEET LIKE HONEY! In other words, it will appear to be a genuine church of Christ. But, we must follow through. What is the end result of this sweet appearing and sweet tasting church of the last days? After one has swallowed the sweet honey and digested it into his belly, it suddenly becomes BITTER! In other words after one partakes of this false but sweet appearing gospel (in his belly), that is in his inward spiritual being, the false gospel will have poisioned him! It is not the true sweet honey of Christ’s Gospel, it is this damnable, false, and BITTER gospel that sends the masses into outer darkness.
Rev. 16:3-4 -
[3] - “And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea.”
[4] - “And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became BLOOD.” [caps not included in King James].
The word “blood” here means bitter or poison. The gospel that is fed into the world by the masses within the counterfeit corporate church may “appear” like the true Church of Christ to those who either do not know Christ or are still asleep in their faith, but Christ says to “COME OUT OF HER MY PEOPLE,” Revelation 18:4. It’s taste is as the taste of the true Gospel honey (a synonym for God’s true Word), but its end is truly bitter and poisonous.
Let us read the parable of Judges 14:8 once more:
Judges 14:8 -
“And after a time he returned to take her, and he turned aside to see the carcase of the lion: and, behold, there was a swarm of bees and honey in the carcase of the lion.”
This appears to be a spiritual metaphor, allegory, or parable of what God’s temple will become just prior to the Second Coming of Christ to destroy the heavens and the earth and to create a new earth and a new heaven wherein will dwell the righteousness of all God’s elect. Until that time, as short as it may be, we as believers are left with the carcase of Christ’s church (The Lion of the tribe of Judah). We are left with a lion’s carcase. Remember, it is the Abomination of Desolation! Satan has been loosed to desecrate God’s earthly representation on earth - the corporate and global church of Christ.
Did not Christ say to let the wheat and the tares grow together until Judgment Day, at which time Christ would send forth His reapers? They will gather in first the tares, and bind them in bundles and burn them, (symbolic language). Next, Christ gathers in the wheat into His barn.
We see here, very plainly, that Christ will let both the unbelievers and the true believers grow together until He returns. Therefore, even at this late hour in Earth’s history, we still expect to find believers in among the unbelievers in the corporate church. But God warns all believers to LEAVE!
The believes (wheat) and the unbelievers (tares) are together in the “carcase” (meaning: dead and judged outer court) of the church. The honey and the bees nonetheless remain in the carcase of the lion. We know that the bees symbolize a great spiritual plague within the end-time church. The honey may only symbolize the Christ-like “appearance” of this counterfeit church. It is full of bees, which in other parts of Scripture are pictured as plagues from God or enemies of God.
NOTE: This interpretation of Judges 14:8 is the expressed opinion of this study only, and is not meant in any way to imply that this is precisely what God is saying.
It would seem that this interpretation harmanizes with what God teaches concerning the end-time church throughout Scripture. The conclusions were arrived at through the study of Scripture, as we obey God and compare Scripture with Scripture to find truth.
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RETURNING BACK TO THE 4TH PLAGUE OF EXODUS
“Else, if thou wilt not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies upon thee, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thy houses: and the houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground whereon they are.” (Exodus 8:21)
As with beds and bedchambers in the third palgue, we saw that they might well represent one’s inner parts or inner soul, the target of Satan’s end-time attack. Along with beds and bedchambers, “houses” in the study of the fourth plague might also signify this same truth. It is a general term and there are many different words translated from the same Hebrew word as “houses.” Some are as follows: household, households, home, within, prison, temple, places, inward, place, family, dungeon, contain, court, daughter, door, family, governor, great, hangings, homeborn, inside, palace, tablets, web, and without.
We do find both Old and New Testaments using the word “house” with spiritual meaning. For example:
Psalm 127:1 -
“A Song of degrees for Solomon.
Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.”
Proverbs 7:27 -
“Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death.”
Proverbs 12:7 -
“The wicked are overthrown, and are not: but the house of the righteous shall stand.”
Isaiah 14:17 -
“That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?”
Mark 13:35 -
“Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning:”
Luke 18:14 -
“I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”
John 2:16 -
“And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise.”
Hebrews 11:7 -
“By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.”
1 Peter 2:5 -
“Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.”
We see then these plagues not only being a physical burden to the households and “houses” of Egypt, it can well signify a future time when one’s inner house is attacked. That time is as a solid thread that runs through Scripture. It will occur, and is most likely occurring at this very hour.
THE GROUND OF EGYPT: FULL OF FLIES
“. . . and the houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground whereon they are.” (Exodus 8:21)
What do we make of this “gound” that is also full of swarms? Of course we can imagine how horrible it might have been for the people of Egypt, back during the days of these literal plagues. That, however, does not begin to describe the spiritual horror that these plagues are meant to bring! Yes, the land must have been full of these swarms.
To get right to the point, we see in both the New and Old Testaments that the word “land” seems to be used interchangeably to represent not only a specific land, but it can also carry the meaning of another country, nation, or even world and earth. In addition to being used as a literal phrase, it can also be used in parabolic terms to portray the spiritual “land of Israel,” or even salvation.
Luke 4:25 -
“But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land;”
The word “land” here in Luke is also translated “ground” as well, as it is in the Old Testament Hebrew. It is also rendered at world, earthly, country, and earth. So why is it we suggest it may spiritually be understood in a different way? In certain instances only, for example:
Mark 4:20 -
“And these are they which are sown on good ground (same word as land); such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.”
The good ground or land signifies those who hear the Word of God. Luke 8:15 - “But that on the good ground [land, world, etc.] are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.”
John 21:11 -
“Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land [same Greek word as ground] full of great fishes, and hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken.”
When Exodus 8:21 states that the houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, it means to be filled or fulfilled or accomplished. This word “full” carries a wide application, as Strong’s Hebrew declares:
H4390
מלא מלא
mâ?lê?' mâ?lâ?'
maw-lay', maw-law'
A primitive root, to fill or (intransitively) be full of, in a wide application (literally and figuratively): - accomplish, confirm, + consecrate, be at an end, be expired, be fenced, fill, fulfil, (be, become, X draw, give in, go) fully (-ly, -ly set, tale), [over-] flow, fulness, furnish, gather (selves, together), presume, replenish, satisfy, set, space, take a [hand-] full, + have wholly.
“. . . and the houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground whereon they are.” (Exodus 8:21)
The fact that the word ground is also translated as land, world, earth and nations might well tell us that the fulfillment of these ancient plagues will no doubt be on a global basis. Even though we saw that the word “flies” was not in the original Hebrew text, we still know that is was a swarm of some type of insect. That is the nature of the end-time plagues that are coming upon the church and thus the earth at a horrific pace.
Whether it is a swarm of bees, lice, flies, it makes no difference, since God is using these types of locust to picture, portray, or to symbolize the false prophets, teachers, ministers, etc. in the last days. They will increasingly sow false doctrines within the corporate church of Jesus Christ worldwide!
Rev. 9:1-4 -
[1] - “And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.”
[2] - “And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.”
[3] - “And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.”
[4] - “And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.”
NOTE: Watch for the manuscript “The Fifty Trumpet Judgment” to be released on this site soon, Lord willing. It examines Revelation chapter nine verse by verse.
The ten plagues of Exodus indeed speaks to us today, and especially today, since the world appears, as never before, to be at the very end of this present age.
End of Study