THE ANCIENT EGYPTIAN PLAGUES
(What Do They Mean for Us Today?)
PART SEVEN
THE SEVENTH
PLAGUE UPON
Exodus 9: 15-26:
15 For now I will stretch out my hand, that I
may smite thee and thy people with pestilence; and thou shalt be cut
off from the earth.
16
And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in
thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.
17
As yet exaltest thou thyself against my people, that thou wilt not let
them go?
18
Behold, to morrow about this time I will cause it to rain a very
grievous hail, such as hath not been in
19
Send therefore now, and gather thy cattle, and all that thou hast in the field;
for upon every man and beast which shall be found in the field, and
shall not be brought home, the hail shall come down upon them, and they
shall die.
20 He
that feared the word of the LORD among the servants of Pharaoh made his
servants and his cattle flee into the houses:
21
And he that regarded not the word of the LORD left his servants and his
cattle in the field.
22
¶And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch forth thine hand toward heaven,
that there may be hail in all the
23 And
Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven: and the LORD sent thunder and
hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground; and the LORD
rained hail upon the
24
So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous,
such as there was none like it in all the
25
And the hail smote throughout all the
26 Only
in the
______________________________
NON-REPENTANCE
God continues to
strike
Revelation 9:20 - And the rest of the men which were
not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their
hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and
brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk:
The above verse is
prophesying of the end-time plagues upon the earth, yet doesn’t it sound as
though God is speaking of the ancient Egyptian plagues? These Old Testament plagues should not be isolated from God’s New
Testament teachings. The Egyptian
plagues strongly suggests God’s final wrath of plagues upon the world. Do not forget that the so-called “end times”
or “last days” actually began at the onset of the New Testament Church
Age.
1 Corinthians 10:11 - Now all these things happened unto them
for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends
of the world are come.
The Apostle Paul,
in the above verse, makes it perfectly clear that the early church was living
near the time of the end of the world.
We also see this truth brought out in Hebrews 1:1-2:
1 God, who at sundry times and in divers
manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
2
Hath in these last days
spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom
also he made the worlds;
The scriptures tell
us that the Son of God will appear in the last days, as the above verse
indicates. We read once more - 1 Peter
1:19-20 - that the Christ would be manifested in the last times.
1 Peter 1:19-20 -
19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of
a lamb without blemish and without spot:
20
Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was
manifest in these last times for
you,
John the Baptist
forewarned of this event - the manifestation of the Christ - by shouting “the
kingdom of heaven is at hand!” The
end-time apocalyptic events just may not be confined to a few years at the
absolute end. The entire period of the
church age is indeed scripturally tagged as the last times, last
days, or even the ends of the world.
As we study the plagues of ancient
THE
COMMENCEMENT OF THE SEVENTH PLAGUE
Scripture details
the beginning of this seventh plague as Moses stands before Pharaoh in Exodus 9:15 -
15 For now I will stretch out my hand, that I
may smite thee and thy people with pestilence; and thou shalt be cut
off from the earth.
SMITE
God’s chosen
language is always of the utmost importance when studying His word. We see in verse 15 four words of action that
describe God’s intentions: smite, pestilence and cut off. We begin with the word smite. It is
translated as many other words throughout scripture, such as punish, murder,
kill, slay, smote, strike, wounded, stricken,
beat, slaughter and so forth.
The word smite is best described as carrying the meaning of death or to
kill. Even the word wounded, as
it is associated with smite (5221 Strong’s Hebrew) carries the connotation of
death rather than wounded or injured.
PESTILENCE
God, through His
servant Moses, will smite
Pharaoh and all of the inhabitants of
The first mention
of pestilence in Scripture is in Exodus
5:3.
Exodus 5:1-3 -
1 And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and
told Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD God of
2 And
Pharaoh said, Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let
3 ¶And
they said, The God of the Hebrews hath met with us: let us go, we pray thee,
three days' journey into the desert, and sacrifice unto the LORD our God; lest
he fall upon us with pestilence, or with the sword.
God did not punish
We saw in an
earlier study of the 5th plague upon
Exodus 9:3 -
Behold, the hand of
the LORD is upon thy cattle which is in the field, upon the horses, upon the
asses, upon the camels, upon the oxen, and upon the sheep: there shall be a
very grievous murrain.
The Hebrew word for
murrain is also translated as pestilence (1698 Strong’s Hebrew). It is the exact Hebrew word that God uses in
describing the Egyptian plagues, whether they are termed murrain or pestilence,
they are the plagues of the Lord. God is
bringing swift action upon
Ezekiel 38:22 -
And I will plead
against him with pestilence
[1698 Strong’s Hebrew] and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his
bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and
great hailstones, fire, and brimstone.
Ezekiel 33:27 -
Say thou thus unto
them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; As I live, surely they that are in the wastes
shall fall by the sword, and him that is in the open field will I give to the
beasts to be devoured, and they that be in the forts and in the caves shall die
of the pestilence [1698
Strong’s Hebrew].
Hosea 13:14 -
I will ransom them
from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be
thy plagues; O grave, I will
be thy destruction: repentance shall be hid from mine eyes.
In the above verse,
Hosea 13:14, we read a beautiful account of how Christ will ransom them from
the power of the grave. In other words, God is explaining how He Himself -
in the manifestation of Christ, will rescue His people from eternal damnation,
that is to say…from the power of the grave.
God continues in this verse by stating “I will be thy plagues.” For those who love His Word - The Christ -
Father, Son and Holy Ghost…God promises to be our plague for us!
Understand this
amazing grace that God is offering! He,
the Almighty, will become our pestilence
for us!
2 Corinthians 5:21 - For he hath made him to be sin
for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in
him.
Christ, in atoning
for our damnable sins, actually lowered and degraded Himself to the extent that
He become sin for us, that we might have eternal life! Our sins, originating at the fall of man, are
actually looked upon by God as being filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6), plagues and
pestilences. We might see them as our
inherited sins. Keep in mind that the
spiritual deception at the end of time will brandish great spiritual plagues
that will serve to further deceive those who are outside of Christ.
As we look for the
word pestilence in the New Testament we find that it is mentioned only
twice, In Matthew 24 and Luke 21. There
we find it’s meaning (3061 Strong’s Greek) to pertain to a literal plague
and/or figuratively a pest.
Matthew 24:7 - For nation shall rise against
nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in
divers places.
Luke 21:11 - And great earthquakes shall be in divers
places, and famines, and pestilences;
and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
Mathew and Luke’s
accounts both have the end of the age in view, which we may also refer to as the
Beginning of Sorrows (Matthew 24:8).
There is little doubt that these end-time plagues, both spiritual and
literal, were foretold in the account of the ten plagues upon ancient
CUT OFF
Exodus 9:15 -
For now I will stretch out my hand, that I may smite thee and thy people
with pestilence; and thou shalt be cut off from the earth.
God’s Word is His
own dictionary and as we study Scripture more and more we should realize that
God’s terms are not always what we think they may be in our own language. As Moses stretched out his hand and smote the
people of the land with pestilences, we read in the same verse what the results
were destined to be. “And thou shalt
be cut off from the earth. What does
it mean to be cut off from the earth?
The Hebrew (Strong’s 3582) carries the meaning of destroy; to conceal,
hide, cut down (off) or to make desolate. Consider
the following references:
1 Kings 13:34 - And this thing became sin unto the house
of Jeroboam, even to cut it off (3582 Strong’s Hebrew), and to destroy
it from off the face of the earth.
To destroy it from
off the face of the earth! Isn’t this
language similar to that of the 7th plague in Exodus 9:15? “… that I may smite thee and thy people with pestilence;
and thou shalt be cut off from the earth.” Yes it is!
Psalms 83:4 - They have said, Come, and let us cut them off (3582 Strong’s Hebrew) from being a nation;
that the name of
We see that in
certain instances in Scripture the phrase “cut off” means to be no more. Let us look at yet another reference to being
cut off.
Zechariah 11:16 - For, lo, I will raise up a shepherd
in the land, which shall not visit those that be cut off, neither shall seek the young one, nor heal that
that is broken, nor feed that that standeth still: but he shall eat the flesh
of the fat, and tear their claws in pieces.
In the above
context the phrase cut off is clearly in reference to being unsaved. The
text deals solely with the foolish shepherd (verse 15) and these are his
fruits: one that does not visit those that be cut off; one that does not
heal that which is broken; one that does not feed that which
stands still, but rather the foolish shepherd eats the flesh of the fat and
tears their claws in pieces. All of this
is highly spiritual language describing the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus
Christ. To heal that which is broken is
a phrase alluding to one being eternally saved. Recall in the book of Isaiah
61:1 that Christ is prophesied as coming to bind up the brokenhearted.
Isaiah 61:1 - ¶The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon
me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek;
he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to
the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
Yes, Christ came to
preach His good news of salvation - good tidings. He came to bind up the brokenhearted -
save a remnant for Himself. God
manifested Himself in Christ in order to proclaim liberty to the captives
- to free a people who are captive of Satan and destined for eternal
darkness. Christ came to open the
prison of them that are bound - to be the door to heaven to those who are
bound in the spiritual prison of darkness.
To be cut off
from the land of
At this time many
may be wondering why we haven’t mentioned one of the more prominent verses in
Scripture - Isaiah 53:8 - that speaks of Christ being cut off from the
land of the living. The term cut off
that we are examining in Exodus is a different Hebrew word than that of Isaiah
53, nonetheless its meaning is virtually the same.
Isaiah 53:8 - He was taken from prison and from
judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression
of my people was he stricken.
Christ, in His
atonement, demonstrates that He was not merely cut off from the land of the
living - in other words physically died - but He was also cut off eternally
from the grace of God! How can this
be? Christ suffered the eternal wrath of
God for every soul that would eventually become eternally saved. 2
Corinthians 5:21 says He was made sin for us who knew no sin! This then seems to be the ultimate meaning for
the term cut off. To be cut off
from the earth, as the Egyptians were in our study, seems to indicate a
spiritual cutting off as well and Christ’s atonement seems to confirm this
meaning as well. Christ is the one and
only true God who is able to return from the darkest pits of hell itself…and on
or behalf, if we fully trust in Him.
A VERY
GRIEVOUS HAIL
God smites
Exodus 9:18 - Behold, to morrow about this time I
will cause it to rain a very grievous
hail, such as hath not been in Egypt since the foundation thereof
even until now.
Does this language
not sound or resemble that of Matthew 24:21?
Matthew 24:21 - For then shall be Great Tribulation, such
as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
It appears very
likely that God is paralleling not only this particular verse to the Great
Tribulation but the entire events of the Egyptian plagues to the events of the
final years, months, and days of the earth’s existence.
RAIN: A VERY
GREVOUS HAIL
When we read the
word rain, we naturally envision a rain shower or storm. Consider the following reference for a better
idea of what this rain was really like:
Genesis 19:24 - ¶Then the LORD rained upon
This word rained
is the exact Hebrew word that is used here in the seventh plague of our study. It is 4305 in the Hebrew of Strong’s Exhaustive
Concordance and has been examined from other Bible references as well.
Let us look at
another sample of this word rain:
Ezekiel 38:22 - And I will plead against him with
pestilence and with blood; and I will rain
[Strong’s Hebrew 4305] upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people
that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and
brimstone.
Notice carefully in
the above verse that you see the word rain used twice. The second usage comes from a different
Hebrew word (1653) which means rain or shower as in later rain - a gentle
substance. The former rain can actually
be defined as to cause.
Looking to the
seventh of the ancient plagues upon
HAIL CAN HAVE
A SPIRITUAL MEANING
We have come to the plague of hail.
We will be quoting from a section of our study of the fifth plague beginning
here and concluding the excerpt on page nine.
QUOTING
FROM THE STUDY OF THE FIFTH PLAGUE:
God’s fifth plague upon the
“For nation shall rise against
nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences,
and earthquakes, in divers places,” (Matthew 24:7).
“And great earthquakes shall be in
divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights
and great signs shall there be from heaven,” (Luke 21:11).
“And I saw another sign in heaven,
great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues;
for in them is filled up the wrath of God.”
(Revelation 15:1)
“And men were scorched with great
heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues:
and they repented not to give him glory,” (Revelation 16:9)
“And there fell upon men a great
hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men
blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail;
for the plague thereof was exceeding great,” (Revelation 16:21)
IMPORTANT: It is common to read the above verse and
interpret it literally. After all, how else can we understand it? Great hail
falling to earth, each stone about the weight of a talent or one-hundred
pounds! As to whether this verse will unveil a double fulfillment, both literal
and spiritual, remains to be seen. However, there is much to consider when we
look at its probable spiritual fulfillment.
Discovery of Ezekiel 13:11
The first eleven verses of Ezekiel
chapter thirteen are fascinating and give us a GIANT clue to end-time
fulfillment of Scripture. In the first ten verses of this chapter God is
scolding the prophets of
God, in Ezekiel 13:1-10,
is scolding the prophets of
A- They are foolish prophets who follow their
own spirit and have seen nothing!
B- Israel’s prophets are like foxes in the
deserts.
C- They have seen vanity and lying divination!
D-
They say the Lord saith when the Lord has NOT sent them.
E- They have made others to hope that they
would confirm the word - Ezekiel 13:6.
F- “Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD;
Because ye have spoken vanity, and seen lies, therefore, behold, I am against
you, saith the Lord GOD,” Ezekiel 13:8.
G- God says that He is against these prophets
and they shall NOT be in the assembly of His people, neither shall they
be written in the writing of the House of
Of course these statements refer to
common biblical doctrine. “They shall not enter into the assembly of My people”
more than likely refers to their not inheriting eternal salvation. They are not
a part of God’s Elect - His eternally saved or God’s eternal congregation. The
same holds true when we read that these prophets will not be written in the
writing of the House of Israel. In others words their names are NOT written in
the Lamb’s Book of Life, Revelation 3:5 and others. Again,
“neither shall they enter into the
H- In verse ten of Ezekiel chapter thirteen
God says that these false prophets have SEDUCED His people by declaring peace
when there is no peace. This is what we hear so often in the polluted
congregations of today. This “peace” has nothing at all in common with world peace.
The peace that is spoken of here is the peace and safety of being eternally
saved.
“And the peace of God,
which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through
Christ Jesus,” Philippians 4:7.
By becoming saved, one is no longer
at war with God. The false prophets are declaring to their congregations that
they are all at peace. They are declaring peace - PEACE! But God says there is
no peace. Why is there no peace? Because the majority of the world remains dead
in their sins and trespasses. These pastors are lying to you when they tell you
all is well with your soul - “smile, God loves you!” If you are not truly
saved, you have no inner Godly peace and all is not well with your soul. You
have been seduced and God HATES all workers of iniquity, (Psalm 5:5).
Startling Discovery
Now we come to a startling
discovery in Ezekiel chapter thirteen. God is addressing ALL who teach false
doctrines; those pastors, ministers, elders, deacons, laymen and just plain
everyday people who teach anything other than God’s one and sacred Holy Word.
Those who add their own books, theories or ideas to God’s Divine Word and teach
them as part of God’s Word. Everywhere we go we find these types of teachings,
do we not? Those who declare your salvation simply because you decided to
become baptized. Those who insist that you cannot be saved unless you join
their particular congregation. On and on and on the list goes. How then does
God perceive these types of self-appointed Bible teachers? Let us read from Ezekiel
13:10-11:
[10] “Because, even because they have seduced my
people, saying, Peace; and there was no peace; and one built up a wall, and,
lo, others daubed it with untempered morter:
[Untempered
morter is a figure of a weak foundation and symbolizes one’s false spiritual
foundation which is foreign to the solid foundation of Christ and His Word.]
[11] “Say unto them which daub it with
untempered morter, that it shall fall: there shall be an overflowing shower;
and ye,
O great hailstones,
shall fall; and a stormy wind shall rend it.”
These false prophets of
END OF FIFTH PLAGUE QUOTE
HAIL UPON THE FIELD
Exodus
9:19 - Send therefore
now, and gather thy cattle, and all that thou hast in the field; for upon every
man and beast which shall be found in the field,
and shall not be brought home, the hail shall come down upon them, and they
shall die.
Every man and beast
which shall be left in the field, that is to say all who shall not be
brought home shall die as a result of this hail. This is highly spiritual language that God is
using, even though this event literally unfolded word for word in the days of
Moses, it is still used today for our admonition.
1 Corinthians 10:11 - Now all these things happened unto
them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends
of the world are come.
Admonition can be
defined in the Greek as warning
(3559). Exodus 9:19 is showing us the
result of this plague of hail. Those in the field who are not brought home to
shelter have no chance of surviving the hail.
Read the following verse carefully:
Exodus 9:20 - He that
feared the word of the LORD among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and
his cattle flee into the houses:
Those
Egyptians who feared God’s Word made their servants flee for safety among their
houses. This true historic parable
contains glorious language hinting of the safety and refuge we have in
Christ! What is this field that we read
of? Yes, many of the citizens of
Matthew 13:38 - The field is the world; the good
seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the
wicked one;
Some
may argue this is just an isolated verse and we can’t apply this meaning to
every usage of the word field throughout Scripture. That is probably correct, however God Himself
made the statement and wherever the usage of the word can be applied to the
world, it is certainly good enough for us - we need look no further. Let us consider another reference:
Matthew 13:44 - ¶Again,
the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for
joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.
This
is another spiritual parable that Christ is speaking and notice that this
parable is spoken immediately following the parable of the tares of the
field. The treasure is of course the
precious Gospel of Salvation and indeed it is hidden from unsaved man. Where does unregenerate man dwell? Humanity dwells right here on earth of which
Christ calls - The Field. Not every instance is the word field meant
to take on the spiritual definition of world, but again…only as it
implies. When a person becomes saved
they, for joy, sell all that they have.
Again we are dealing with spiritual meanings in many of these
passages. The early disciples sold all
that they had in order to follow Christ.
This was the literal requirement for them during the days of Christ. Even today, it is not wrong to sell all that
you have, however, the true
meaning behind that seems to be that one will forfeit the pleasures of this
life and sins thereof in order to follow Christ. One will deny himself (Luke 9:23) for the
sake of the cross. The parable of the man who found the treasure in the field
represents all of Christ’s elect. They
do not literally buy a particular field since the gospel is found throughout
the field of the world. Once we become
saved, in a sense we can say that we have purchased the field, simply because
believers have overcome the world.
John 16:33 - These
things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye
shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
Since
Christ has overcome the world, we as believers in Him have also overcome the
world.
1 John 4:4 - ¶Ye are of
God, little children, and have overcome
them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
Yes,
those who are a part of Christ’s true bride have indeed found this great
treasure in the field, and for joy we sell all that we have in order to
purchase this Gospel laden field. But
can we really refer to being saved in spiritual terms as having purchased
it? Of course we can, as God declares
for us:
Isaiah 55:1 - ¶Ho, every
one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and
without price.
Returning to the
seventh plague in Exodus 9:19 we see God warning the Egyptians to gather
in their cattle and all that they have in the field, for every man and beast
which is not brought home, but remains in the field shall die from the
hail. The words cattle and beast can be
shown in Scripture to symbolize man.
Ecclesiastes 3:18 - I said in mine heart concerning the
estate of the sons of men,
that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves
are beasts.
Joel 1:18 - How do the beasts groan! the herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have no pasture; yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate.
The above section
of Joel is depicting the Great Tribulation and the end of the age known as the
Day of the Lord. Verse 15 states: Alas for the day! for the day of the
LORD is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come.
That explains why -
in verse 18 - that the beasts groan, the cattle are perplexed and the flocks of
sheep are made desolate. Of course! It is the time Christ spoke of - the time of Great
Tribulation. This time will be the
silencing of the Gospel when no or little salvation will be offered! Literal beasts of the field are dumb animals
and therefore have no way of groaning over this. Cattle are also beasts and dumb animals who
will be unable to show perplexed emotions.
Yes, the flocks of the sheep will be made desolate because they have no
pastures. All of this is highly
symbolical language describing the peoples of the earth (beasts of the field
and herds of cattle); finding no or little Gospel (green pastures). For further
confirmation, a lengthy study is required.
BACK TO THE 7TH
PLAGUE
Exodus 9:19 - Send therefore now, and gather thy
cattle, and all that thou hast in the field; for upon every man and beast which
shall be found in the field, and shall not be brought home, the hail shall come
down upon them, and they shall die.
The above verse in
Exodus is a Gospel call in highly metaphoric language; one which was prophesied
hundreds of years before the Messiah was manifested on earth. Moses relays God’s words to the Egyptians,
who are a spiritual picture of the world in general - humanity bound in sins
and trespasses. Simply put, Moses tells
them to get all of the animals and servants out of the field and into their houses if they want to be spared
from this plague of grievous hail. There
huts or houses may or may not have held up under the tremendous pounding of the
literal hail. The main picture that
comes to light here is the fact that the word house in the New Testament
carries a very spiritual meaning.
Matthew 7:24-25 -
Therefore whosoever
heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise
man, which built his house
upon a rock:
25 And the
rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that
house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
Matthew 10:6 - But go rather to the lost sheep
of the house of
All of God’s elect,
Old Testament and New Testament believers, are a part of God’s heavenly temple,
the true spiritual house of
Psalms 95:1 - ¶O come, let us sing unto the LORD:
let us make a joyful noise to the rock
of our salvation.
Psalms 94:22 - But the LORD is my defence; and my God is the rock of my refuge.
Psalms 89:26 - He shall cry unto me, Thou art my
father, my God, and the rock of my
salvation.
Psalms 62:7 - In God is my salvation and my glory:
the rock of my strength, and
my refuge, is in God.
2 Samuel 22:47 - The LORD liveth; and blessed be my
rock; and exalted be the God of the rock
of my salvation.
Deuteronomy 32:15 - ¶But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked:
thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness; then
he forsook God which made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation.
1 Peter 2:7-8 -Unto you therefore which believe he is
precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders
disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner,
8 And a stone
of stumbling, and a rock of offence,
even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they
were appointed.
THE EGYPTIANS
WARNED: FLEE TO THEIR HOUSES OR DIE!
We should be able
to see the beautiful spiritual portrait that is set up in these verses
pertaining to the seventh ancient plague upon
Matthew 24:24 - For there shall arise false Christs,
and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if
it were possible, they shall deceive the
very elect.
In pondering the
heavenly meaning to the historical occurrence of the seventh plague, we think
it to be astonishing that God would reveal the nature of the last days in such
a long-ago event. God’s Word is high
above us and we thank Him for every nugget of spiritual truth. The Egyptians who believed God’s Word were
spared from the deadly results of the hail.
This hail may be both literal and spiritual in the days of the Great
Tribulation. Hailstones seem to depict false prophets as they come to deceive the
words of Christ. Those who are
saved or who earnestly desire salvation will flee to their houses of refuge
from the hail. They flee to their
spiritual house of Christ, whose foundation is the sure rock of
salvation.
EXODUS 9: 22 & 24
22
¶And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch forth thine hand toward heaven,
that there may be hail in all the
25
And the hail smote throughout all the
Not only were the
Egyptians in the field destroyed by this hail, but the beasts and cattle also along
with all the herbs of the
field and every tree.
HERBS OF
SCRIPTURE
In Genesis chapter
two we read of God’s Garden of Eden.
This garden existed precisely as the account indicates and yet we see
God’s beautiful allegorical language in this very literal interpretation. In the midst of the
Romans 5:14 - Nevertheless death reigned from Adam
to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's
transgression, who is the figure
of him that was to come.
1 Corinthians 15:45-45 -
And so it is
written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was
made a quickening spirit.
46 Howbeit
that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward
that which is spiritual.
47 The first
man is of the earth, earthy: the second
man is the Lord from heaven.
48 As is the
earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are
they also that are heavenly.
49 And as we
have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the
heavenly.
Along with Adam
being a figure of Christ, Eve, His Bride, was also a figure of Christ’s eternal
Church. Notice what else God mentions
within the Garden of Eden:
Genesis 2:5-6 -
And every plant
of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God
had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the
ground.
6 But there
went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.
The herbs of the
field no doubt represent those who are feeding upon the Gospel waters of
salvation. There was a river that went
out of
The point to be
made is the fact that herbs of the field can be portraying those who
hunger and thirst after God’s Word. The
definition of herb (Strong’s 6212) means glisten,
grass, to be green.
The following
reference is another passage revealing how God depicts those who would be
feeding upon His Word. This verse may
well have the Great Tribulation in view:
Isaiah 37:27 - Therefore their inhabitants were of
small power, they were dismayed and confounded: they were as the grass of
the field, and as the green herb, as the grass on the housetops,
and as corn blasted before it
be grown up.
Isaiah 37:27
possibly reveals the cutting off of the Gospel of Salvation at the end of
time. Those who are eternally saved are seen
throughout Scripture as symbolically being green
in nature, representing not only life but eternal life. Green is the result of God’s eternal Word
sprouting forth eternal life to all who are converted in Christ. God’s river of life has watered these herbs
and created new creatures in Christ; therefore being marked as green or born
again. The nature of the final
years, months, and days upon this earth is that Great Tribulation will
abound. Multitudes may not even have the
spiritual insight to realize what is occurring; nonetheless God’s river of life
- God’s Good News of Eternal Salvation - will at some point be cut off from the
earth - thus…Great Tribulation.
As we look at the
herbs of the field in our study of the seventh plague upon
Proverbs 19:12 - ¶The king's wrath is as the roaring
of a lion; but his favour is as dew upon the grass [6212 Strong’s Hebrew]. God’s Gospel that feeds His elect is as the
dew that waters the grass.
Jeremiah 14:6 - And the wild asses did stand in the
high places, they snuffed up the wind like dragons; their eyes did fail,
because there was no grass.
Can we suppose that
God Almighty has a need to tell us about ancient donkeys standing idle on
hilltops because there was no grass to graze upon? When we compare Scripture with Scripture we
realize the grand spiritual picture that God is revealing. The above donkeys (wild asses) might well be
those who are unsaved, yet found in among the congregations of Christ. They probably represent the tares within the
churches. They don’t stand on hilltops,
rather they stand in the high places. We
need to realize that high places in Scripture usually point to false
doctrines; those that are exalted high above Christ’s Words. Within these high places, might we expect to
see God’s Word thrive? Of course not,
the Holy Spirit is absent as the above verse indicates - there was no grass. Green grass can certainly represent, and
does represent Christ’s Gospel and/or those true believers who receive it. Green herbs might also represent the same.
In our study, the
ancient plague of hail destroyed all of the herbs or of the field. God’s true believers can NEVER be spiritually destroyed. However, those who parade as believers will certainly
end up outside of Christ.
NOTE -As we study these accounts of green grass or herbs being
destroyed, we need to consider and realize that the Gospel of Christ can never
to destroyed, yet it will be - in a sense - destroyed temporarily or silenced during the Great Tribulation. Because of this fact, Scripture is saturated
with accounts, both in the Old and New Testaments, which depict the Gospel, the
green grass, waters, etc. being attacked at the time of the end when Satan is
once more loosed for a little season during the Great Tribulation.
Micah 5:7 - ¶And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people as a dew from the LORD, as the showers upon the grass, that tarrieth not for man,
nor waiteth for the sons of men.
Again we have
further confirmation that dew from the Lord or showers upon the grass are both
allegorical terms depicting Christ’s Words - the Bible. God’s true Church upon earth is just a remnant
compared to the totality of mankind. We
are spiritual
Jeremiah 23:3 - And I will gather the remnant of my flock out
of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their
folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase.
NEW TESTAMENT
GREEN
The seventh plague
upon
Revelation 8:7 - ¶The first angel sounded, and there
followed hail and fire
mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part
of trees was burnt up, and
all green grass was burnt up.
Without going into
another lengthy study, suffice it to say that the term third part represents God’s people and possibly in places
may stand for Christ’s outward church inhabited by both wheat and tares - the
worldly congregations purporting to represent Christ.
Revelation 8:7 is
not teaching that one third of the earth’s green grass and trees will be burnt
up during the Great Tribulation.
Contrary wise, at the end of time the entire earth will melt with
fervent heat (2 Peter 3:10,12). So how might we understand a third part of
trees and green grass being burnt up? We
understand with prayer and studying God’s Word.
Scripture shows us that this third part of green grass and trees are
representative of Christ’s Gospel. Yes
then, this precious Word of Life will be smitten at the time of the end. Let us look to another New Testament passage
that assures us that all believers in Christ will not be spiritually harmed
during this time of Great Tribulation.
Revelation 9:4 - 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.
The above word hurt
(91 Strong’s Greek) carries the meaning of eternal damnation. Compare it to the following verse:
Revelation 2:11 - He that hath an ear, let him hear
what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.
In Revelation 9:4
God is showing us that Satan’s spiritual army (average looking law abiding
citizens of the word) will not
be allowed to deceive God’s true elect, i.e. the grass of the earth, nor
any green thing, nor any tree.
NOTE: Our study of the seventh
plague upon ancient
TREES OF THE
FIELD
Exodus 9:25 - And the hail smote throughout all
the land of Egypt all that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail
smote every herb of the field, and brake every tree of the field.
The word break carries the meaning of destruction. The great hail seems to allude to false
doctrines and false teachers destroying or temporarily silencing God’s
Word. Those who are yet in the field
(unsaved of the world) will be broken eternally, that is to say inherit eternal
darkness. Moses was God’s servant to
speak to Pharaoh. That grand and entire
event was played out to accomplish one thing - that Pharaoh might release the
children of
Isaiah 61:3 - To appoint unto them that mourn in
Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the
garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness,
the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.
Ezekiel 17:24 - And all the trees of the field shall know that I the LORD have
brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green
tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish: I the LORD have spoken and have
done it.
Joel 1:12 - The vine is dried up, and the fig
tree languisheth; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree,
even all the trees of the field, are withered: because joy is withered away
from the sons of men.
Joel 1:19 - O LORD, to thee will I cry: for the
fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and the flame hath burned
all the trees of the field.
Exodus 9:26 - Only in the
Where on this earth
will we find a place that is safe from the deceptions of Satan’s final attack during
the days of the Great Tribulation? Do we
look for an exceptionally faithful congregation to put our trust in? Will this safety be offered to literal
Revelation 6:15-17
15
- And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the
chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid
themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
16
And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from
the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
17
For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to
stand?
The final attack by
Satan’s messengers will be spiritual up until a certain point, at which time
God will begin to literally destroy this earth.
These birth pangs more than likely will begin years prior to the last
day. The above verse would seem to be emphasizing the physical calamities of
the last days rather then the spiritual overtaking of the Gospel. The point is those who are in the field of the world and yet unsaved
will seek their refuge in the rocks of the mountains and in the dens of the
earth. They will call upon the mountains
and rocks to hide them from the face of God and His wrath. These may well be symbols of false
congregations and churches that unbelievers will call upon for their spiritual
safety. Other than God’s
Exodus 8:22 - And I will sever in that day the land of Goshen, in which my
people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there; to the end thou
mayest know that I am the LORD in the midst of the earth. END OF STUDY