THE ANCIENT EGYPTIAN PLAGUES

Exodus 10: 3-15:

3 - And Moses and Aaron came in unto Pharaoh, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, How long wilt thou refuse to humble thyself before me? let my people go, that they may serve me.

4 - Else, if thou refuse to let my people go, behold, to morrow will I bring the locusts into thy coast:

5 - And they shall cover the face of the earth, that one cannot be able to see the earth: and they shall eat the residue of that which is escaped, which remaineth unto you from the hail, and shall eat every tree which groweth for you out of the field:

6 - And they shall fill thy houses, and the houses of all thy servants, and the houses of all the Egyptians; which neither thy fathers, nor thy fathers' fathers have seen, since the day that they were upon the earth unto this day. And he turned himself, and went out from Pharaoh.

7 - And Pharaoh's servants said unto him, How long shall this man be a snare unto us? let the men go, that they may serve the LORD their God: knowest thou not yet that Egypt is destroyed?

8 - And Moses and Aaron were brought again unto Pharaoh: and he said unto them, Go, serve the LORD your God: but who are they that shall go?

9 - And Moses said, We will go with our young and with our old, with our sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our herds will we go; for we must hold a feast unto the LORD.

10 - And he said unto them, Let the LORD be so with you, as I will let you go, and your little ones: look to it; for evil is before you.

11 - Not so: go now ye that are men, and serve the LORD; for that ye did desire. And they were driven out from Pharaoh's presence.

12 - ¶And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come up upon the land of Egypt, and eat every herb of the land, even all that the hail hath left.

13 - And Moses stretched forth his rod over the land of Egypt, and the LORD brought an east wind upon the land all that day, and all that night; and when it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts.

14 - And the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt, and rested in all the coasts of Egypt: very grievous were they; before them there were no such locusts as they, neither after them shall be such.

15 - For they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and they did eat every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left: and there remained not any green thing in the trees, or in the herbs of the field, through all the land of Egypt.

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Exodus 10:5 -

“And they shall cover the face of the earth, that one cannot be able to see the earth: and they shall eat the residue of that which is escaped, which remaineth unto you from the hail, and shall eat every tree which groweth for you out of the field:”

GLOBAL PLAGUES!

They shall cover the face of the earth, that one cannot be able to see the earth! What are the spiritual implications of this? It is total darkness or deception brought on by these spiritual locusts. Verse five tells us that the locusts will eat the residue of that which is escaped. These terms are most important to become familiar with. The word “residue” has a distinct meaning in Scripture as well as the term “that which is escaped”. These locusts are not merely eating up a residue or remnant or something remaining. No, they are eating the whole or the total of THE REMNANT and “that which is escaped!”

THE REMNANT

In the above verse of Exodus 10:5 the word residue is also translated as remnant. Although the Hebrew and Greek words for remnant vary, yet both Old and New Testaments indicate that God’s elect are often depicted as “The Remnant.” Some examples are as follows:

Isaiah 37:31 - And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward:

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.

Joel 2:32 - And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.

Micah 4:7 - And I will make her that halted a remnant, and her that was cast far off a strong nation: and the LORD shall reign over them in mount Zion from henceforth, even for ever.

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.

Zephaniah 3:13 - The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth: for they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid.

Romans 9:27 - Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved:

Romans 11:5 - Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.

Revelation 12:17 - And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

In trying to understand Exodus 10:5

“…and they shall eat the residue of that which is escaped…” we know that some translations replace residue with remnant or rest…the locusts will eat the residue (remnant or rest) of that which is escaped. There may be two ways of looking at this from a biblical point of view. We can say that these locusts shall eat the remainder (residue, rest, remnant, remaining, etc.) of that which is escaped. However, Scripture indicates that this end-time plague will be total and complete (covering the whole earth), and so we should not believe that perhaps only a remnant or residue of God’s true Word will be eaten or silenced. Another way of interpreting this verse can be to understand the fact that remnant or residue has in view all of God’s elect as does the phrase “that which is escaped. Thinking in these terms, we may interpret this verse as saying that the locusts shall eat the residue (the Word of God) of that which is escaped (Christ’s true church). This is saying in both breaths- the residue AND that which is escaped shall be eaten by the plague of spiritual locusts.

THAT WHICH IS ESCAPED

Ezekiel 24:27 -

In that day shall thy mouth be opened to him which is escaped, and thou shalt speak, and be no more dumb: and thou shalt be a sign unto them; and they shall know that I am the LORD.

The above verse is total and complete Salvation-through-Christ language. The Old Testament often speaks of “that day” in relation to the Cross of Christ, the atonement of Christ, the crucifixion of Christ, the resurrection of Christ and all events that confirmed Christ’s eternal covenant with man. This covenant began the Gospel Age when eternal salvation rained down on earth as the dew of heaven. Christ’s elect - all those who are eternally saved from both Old and New Testament Eras - are typified in Scripture as THOSE WHO HAVE ESCAPED. This is due to the truth in that God has rescued His own from the clutches of Satan and eternal doom. We have escaped through Christ the Saviour!

Psalms 71:2 -

Deliver me in thy righteousness, and cause me to escape: incline thine ear unto me, and save me.

Psalms 124:7 -

Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: the snare is broken, and we are escaped.

Ecclesiastes 7:26 -

And I find more bitter than death the woman, whose heart is snares and nets, and her hands as bands: whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be taken by her.

Isaiah 4:2 -

¶In that day shall the branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel.

Isaiah 10:20 -

¶And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again stay upon him that smote them; but shall stay upon the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.

Isaiah 37:31 -

And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward:

Isaiah 45:20 -

¶Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nations: they have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god that cannot save.

Jeremiah 44:28 - Yet a small number that escape the sword shall return out of the land of Egypt into the land of Judah, and all the remnant of Judah, that are gone into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, shall know whose words shall stand, mine, or theirs.

Ezekiel 7:16-

¶But they that escape of them shall escape, and shall be on the mountains like doves of the valleys, all of them mourning, every one for his iniquity.

[The true heart of a Christian.]

Let us once more look at the verse we are examining:

Exodus 10:5 -

The end-time locusts have one objective, and that is to destroy or silence THAT WHICH IS ESCAPED. In other words they are set to silence the true Word of God which can only be proclaimed from God’s true REMNANT.

EAT

Repeating a section of Exodus 10:5 we saw that these locusts shall - “…eat the residue of that which is escaped.”

The word eat as used in this reference is translated from Strong’s Hebrew # 398 as eat, eaten, devour, consume, feed, and meat. Let us look at a few references that use these words in reference to the silencing of the Gospel:

Psalm 27:2 -

When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat [# 398] up my flesh, they stumbled and fell.

[The above verse perhaps shows that the tares can actually look and appear as those they are saved. The phrase “They come upon me to eat up my flesh” can be taken two ways: First we may assume, as this verse implies, that the enemies of Christ spiritually eat up His flesh IN A BAD WAY …spiritually they do devour the words of Christ. Secondly we have to remember that Christ states in John 6:53 - “…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.” In order to be saved, one MUST eat the flesh of Christ, i.e. devour and surrender to His Words. In the above Psalm 27:2 the wicked come upon Christ to eat up His flesh BUT they stumble and fall. We know from many passages throughout Scripture that the wicked appear Christ-like; they are disguised as angels of light of which Christ says to let both wheat and tares grow together until Judgment Day (Matthew 13:3).

Psalm 41:9 -

Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat [#398] of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me.

[The above verse is in reference to Judas Iscariot who betrayed Christ. What more proof do we need that the enemies of Christ will feast right along with the true believers as they parade as Christians?]

Joel 1:19-20 -

1 - O LORD, to thee will I cry: for the fire hath devoured [same word as eat; #398] the pastures of the wilderness, and the flame hath burned all the trees of the field.

20 - The beasts of the field cry also unto thee: for the rivers of waters are dried up, and the fire hath devoured [same word as eat; #398] the pastures of the wilderness.

[When we read that the fire has devoured the pastures we know that it is the same language or has the same meaning as if we would read “the locusts have eaten, devoured, and consumed the green trees.” It also means likewise, in that the waters, rivers, and fountains of the earth have been made bitter. All of this implies that Christ’s Words - the Words of Faith - have been eaten away; i.e. altered, twisted, distorted, tainted, changed, misrepresented, misused and so on. The Word of God has been SILENCED or spiritually KILLED. A statement such as this should never be made without adding the beautiful fact that Christ’s Words can NEVER be altered in the hearts of His Elect; it in only in the earth and within the darkened hearts of unregenerate man that true Gospel will not penetrate after God has sealed His elect.

Psalm 53:4 -

Have the workers of iniquity no knowledge? who eat [# 398 - same word as eat in our study of Exodus] up my people as they eat bread: they have not called upon God.

Isaiah 1:7,9 -

7 - Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour [Same word as eat; #398 of our study] it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.

9 - Except the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah.

We see from the above verses that this literal destruction concerning Judah and Jerusalem may well have a host of spiritual consequences for us today. This reference, as well as many more like it, have much more to say to the world today than merely speaking of the apostasy and destruction of Old Testament Israel. It is highly probably that all of these references throughout Scripture are speaking and warning of its grand spiritual fulfillment, which is to come upon the world and upon the corporate Israel of God (the earthly church) at the last days. As destruction came upon physical Israel in its day, so too will destruction come upon spiritual Israel in the last days. Like it or not, Old Testament Israel was God’s teaching tool for New Testament spiritual Israel today. Please see Chapter Thirteen of this study entitled “God’s spiritual Israel”.

TODAY’S NATIONAL ISRAEL National Israel today seems to be the rebirth of Old Testament Israel, no doubt. It has its believers in Christ, just as all the other nations of the earth do. However, God seems to be working with national Israel today unlike what He is doing with other nations of the earth. Because the true Church of God is declared to be the “Israel of God,” it doesn’t give us the right to proclaim that God is finished with Old Testament Israel (today’s national Israel). It seems that God is using it as some sort of indicator or gauge for us, showing us that His return is at the doors (Matthew 24:23-33). Additionally, we see that much prophesy pertaining to Old Testament Israel was fulfilled in those days. We also learn from these passages that there is a spiritual fulfillment lingering within many of these prophesies. BUT will there be additional physical fulfillments involving today’s national Israel to some of these Old Testament prophesies? It would seem unwise to rule out this possibility. We may, in these last days, witness both spiritual and the final physical fulfillments of many verses pertaining to national Israel.

Food for thought: It seems that today’s physical Israel could well be a mirror reflecting the spiritual condition of the church: as goes Israel, so goes the church. Israel today is surrounded by her enemies. Today’s church is likewise surrounded by her foes in a way unlike anything in the past. The world is closing in on the true church of Christ, much like it is closing in on national Israel. Once a seemingly true and lasting peace comes to national Israel, rest assured that a seemingly true and spiritual peace will rise within the religions of the world to muster in global unity. This global church will reign supreme over all man-made religions of the world to include God’s one and only religion called The Word of Christ.

Galatians 6:15-16 -

15 - For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.

16 And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.

Continuing on, we are examining some words that are translated differently from the Hebrew word used in Exodus 10:5 as eat.

Ezekiel 19:12 - But she was plucked up in fury, she was cast down to the ground, and the east wind dried up her fruit: her strong rods were broken and withered; the fire consumed [Hebrew #398 - same word as eat].

[Ezekiel 19:10-14 is another one of those sections in Scripture that seem to be teaching not only the demise of Old Testament Israel, but in doing so it speaks of the future demise of the New Testament corporate church. This section seems to parallel Revelation chapter eighteen.]

Psalm 53:4 - Have the workers of iniquity no knowledge? who eat [# 398] up my people as they eat bread: they have not called upon God.

Isaiah 5:24 - Therefore as the fire devoureth [# 398 EAT] the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the LORD of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.

Once more let us look to yet another Old Testament passage that foretells not only Israel’s demise, but shows this to be fulfilled in the apostate end-time church as well.

Hosea 9:1-4 - ¶Rejoice not, O Israel, for joy, as other people: for thou hast gone a whoring from thy God, thou hast loved a reward upon every cornfloor.

[Perhaps a reference to those even within the church, who worship this world for what they can receive from it.]

2 - The floor and the winepress shall not feed them, and the new wine shall fail in her. [This seems to be an entity in view here represented by “HER.” The global confessing corporate church would seem to be in view. God demands that we come to Him with a broken and contrite heart. To have one foot in the world and the other in the church will not result in salvation. God’s winepress will not feed them nor will the Gospel of the New Wine, that is Christ’s New Covenant…NEITHER will this save them…”the new wine shall fail in her,” i.e. the apostate church.]

3 - They shall not dwell in the LORD'S land; but Ephraim shall return to Egypt, and they shall eat [# 398 - as in our Exodus study] unclean things in Assyria.

[A reference to those of Israel who committed idolatry in the land of Egypt. For today, it must pertain to the congregations who falter and eat (feed upon) unclean things (doctrines) within the world.]

4 - They shall not offer wine offerings to the LORD, neither shall they be pleasing unto him: their sacrifices shall be unto them as the bread of mourners; all that eat [# 398] thereof shall be polluted: for their bread for their soul shall not come into the house of the LORD.

[We have further language depicting the apostate condition of the end-time church. The historic account of course is the apostasy of ancient Israel. ]

God’s descriptions are metaphoric in nature and exhibited beautifully. The enemies of God who try and distort or destroy His Word are equated throughout Scripture as worms, locusts, fire and so forth; anything that destroys the greenery of the earth.

THESE PLAGUES: NEVER AGAIN!

The Seventh Plague:

Exodus 9:24 - So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation.

The Eighth Plague:

Exodus 10:6 - And they shall fill thy houses, and the houses of all thy servants, and the houses of all the Egyptians; which neither thy fathers, nor thy fathers' fathers have seen, since the day that they were upon the earth unto this day. And he turned himself, and went out from Pharaoh.

Exodus 10:14 - And the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt, and rested in all the coasts of Egypt: very grievous were they; before them there were no such locusts as they, neither after them shall be such.

These verses are teaching what Joel 2:2 and others teach; that this particular period of time will be the absolute worse man can imagine. It goes precisely along with what Christ taught concerning the Great Tribulation in 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 seems that this time could only be realized by the true Christian; one who has spiritual eyes and ears to discern the time. They are the ones who will mourn for all of the abominations that are found in the midst of the global church.

Ezekiel 9:4 - And the LORD said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.

These are the true believers spoken of in the above verse, who have the mark of God in their foreheads. Revelation 14:1 - And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads.

Clearly unbelievers will not be mourning, sighing, nor crying for what they see developing within the church. Contrary wise, those who even have a hint of what is happening will rejoice to see the true Word of God silenced in the world. The following verse shows that when the Gospel is silenced (spiritually killed) the world will rejoice in unison:

Revelation 11:10 - And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.

EAST WIND

Exodus 9:13-15 -

In Proverbs chapter thirty-one, beginning at verse ten we read of the virtuous woman. This is not merely describing the role of Christian women as some suppose, for far more than that is in view as we compare Scripture with Scripture. In examining this virtuous woman we should understand that many of her characteristics are spiritual in nature. She indeed appears to be a grand representation of the church of Christ. Verse fourteen speaks of her as being like the merchants’ ships bringing her food from afar.

Proverbs 31:14 - She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar.

Many times throughout Scripture we read of the church being described in allegorical terms as a ship or ships. As far back as Genesis we see that God spared a remnant during the flood and placed those He saved upon His Ark (a ship), being a figure of all who are eternally saved in Christ. In Acts chapter twenty-seven we read of the ship that the Apostle Paul is in and how it too is representative of Christ’s church. Acts 27:31 - Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, Except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved.

Again in Ezekiel we read: “The ships of Tarshish did sing of thee in thy market: and thou wast replenished, and made very glorious in the midst of the seas,” (Ezekiel 27:25). Many more passages can be found to support this truth in that God uses the phrase “ships of Tarshish” in reflecting or referring in a metaphoric way to His church.

Isaiah 60:9 - ¶Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, unto the name of the LORD thy God, and to the Holy One of Israel, because he hath glorified thee.

What does this have to do with the east wind bringing locusts in our study? Carefully consider the following passage:

Psalms 48:1 - 7

1 - ¶<<A Song and Psalm for the sons of Korah.>> Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness.

2 - Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King.

3 - God is known in her palaces for a refuge.

4 - For, lo, the kings were assembled, they passed by together.

5 - They saw it, and so they marvelled; they were troubled, and hasted away.

6 - Fear took hold upon them there, and pain, as of a woman in travail.

7 - Thou breakest the ships of Tarshish with an east wind.

Among these ships of Tarshish - these global New Testament congregations - are the tares of the church. God’s commandments to these ships are that they are to distribute their wares. Scripture surely does not speak of literal merchandising other than using it to portray a great spiritual truth. This truth is that the ships of Tarshish carry God’s merchandise of salvation! Yes, they are depictions of global congregations bringing the Word of Christ to a New Testament world. When we read the above passages of Psalm 48: 1-7, we see imbedded within these ships are those who doubt its cargo. We dare not add words or notions to God’s completed Word. However, it would seem that God is showing or revealing many within the ships or ships of Tarshish to be those who doubt, who are troubled with every word of the Gospel, and/or who are perplexed. These would seem to be tares, but not all. Many will be troubled at the Gospel; many will flee from it while others will fear God’s Word. But at the end the Psalmist declares the God will break the ships of Tarshish with an EAST WIND.

This then brings us back to our study of the eighth plague where God smote the herbs and the trees of Egypt with an east wind of locusts. The following are passages that use this term east wind:

Genesis 41:6 - And, behold, seven thin ears and blasted with the east wind sprung up after them.

Genesis 41:23 - And, behold, seven ears, withered, thin, and blasted with the east wind, sprung up after them:

Genesis 41:27 - And the seven thin and ill favoured kine that came up after them are seven years; and the seven empty ears blasted with the east wind shall be seven years of famine.

Job 15:1-2 -

2 - Should a wise man utter vain knowledge, and fill his belly with the east wind?

3 - Should he reason with unprofitable talk? or with speeches wherewith he can do no good?

[The above is a wonderful example of EAST WIND depicting vain words! The locusts that come forth from the EAST WIND…are they not vain and empty words that carry no salvation? Yes, of course they are. Their WORDS are precisely what eat up the herbs and trees of the field.]

It is important that we look at every angle of what Scripture deems as the East Wind. In so doing, we want to read the entire twenty-three verses of Job chapter twenty-seven; keeping in mind this text is describing the multitudes of humanity who remain under God’s curse.

Job 27:1-23 -

1 - ¶Moreover Job continued his parable, and said,

2 - As God liveth, who hath taken away my judgment; and the Almighty, who hath vexed my soul;

3 - All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils;

4 - My lips shall not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit.

5 - God forbid that I should justify you: till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me.

6 - My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go: my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live.

7 - ¶Let mine enemy be as the wicked, and he that riseth up against me as the unrighteous.

8 - For what is the hope of the hypocrite, though he hath gained, when God taketh away his soul?

9 - Will God hear his cry when trouble cometh upon him?

10 - Will he delight himself in the Almighty? will he always call upon God?

11 - ¶I will teach you by the hand of God: that which is with the Almighty will I not conceal.

12 - Behold, all ye yourselves have seen it; why then are ye thus altogether vain?

13 - This is the portion of a wicked man with God, and the heritage of oppressors, which they shall receive of the Almighty.

14 - If his children be multiplied, it is for the sword: and his offspring shall not be satisfied with bread.

15 - Those that remain of him shall be buried in death: and his widows shall not weep.

16 - Though he heap up silver as the dust, and prepare raiment as the clay;

17 - He may prepare it, but the just shall put it on, and the innocent shall divide the silver.

18 - He buildeth his house as a moth, and as a booth that the keeper maketh.

19 - The rich man shall lie down, but he shall not be gathered: he openeth his eyes, and he is not.

20 - Terrors take hold on him as waters, a tempest stealeth him away in the night.

21 - The east wind carrieth him away, and he departeth: and as a storm hurleth him out of his place.

22 - For God shall cast upon him, and not spare: he would fain flee out of his hand.

23 - Men shall clap their hands at him, and shall hiss him out of his place.

All those who remain under God’s eternal curse are viewed as being carried away by the east wind. It is God’s judgment here that is typified by the east wind. In the historical occurrence an east wind usually carried blasting heat that could seriously dry out the crops along with the potential of carrying locusts. Let us look at one passage that seems to have a slightly different view:

Exodus 14:21 - ¶And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.

Although it may appear in the above verse that the east wind has a different spiritual meaning than in the previous verses we cited, we must remember that this grand event is the parting of the Red Sea. There is no question that God performed a miracle here and the parting of this sea cannot be explained away as some unknown phenomena associated somehow with the law of physics. Many have tried their best to introduce some logical explanation for God’s handy work here, but all they are doing is ignorantly grasping at straws. God miraculously brought the Children of Israel out of Egypt - their land of bondage - and into the Promise Land. In order to get to the Promise Land Israel had to cross the Red Sea. There are many references in Scripture that depict the sea as the world of the wicked. The end-time beast arises from the sea in Revelation chapter thirteen for example. There are others as well.

Isaiah 57:20 -

But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt.

Israel of old could not have crossed this Red Sea had God not cleared a way in the physical realm by parting the sea and leading the House of Israel through the Red Sea and into the Promise Land. Could the children of Israel have found their way without the guidance of God? Of course not and that is the lesson for us today. The Israel of God (God’s true elect; His Bride) cannot come out of spiritual bondage unless Christ brings us out. We cannot simply say (nor would we want to) “I’ve decided to leave for the Promise Land.” John 6:44 declares (among many other passages): “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.” Knowing this first, we see the Old Testament picture of God’s salvation work throughout so much of these ancient and historical parables. The sea not only symbolizes wickedness, but it in turn symbolizes the darkness of hell itself. The end-time beast that arises up out of the sea is the kingdom of Satan as he is loosed from his prison for a little season, once more depicting the sea as hell.

How did God help the children of Israel enter into the physical Promise Land? He did it by guiding them with a cloud during the day and with a light at night. He also acted as a bridge in which he provided a way that Israel may bypass the sudden death of the Red Sea. No man can enter the Kingdom of Heaven without first going through eternity in hell; an impossible task for humanity but not for God. Christ (God incarnate) was the only one worthy of this. Yes, Christ descended into hell on our behalf.

Ephesians 4:9 - (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?

Ephesians 4:10 - He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)

The atonement of Christ, as he paid for the sins of all who would come into salvation, that is the whole spiritual House of Israel, can be seen in these literal historic parables. The parting of the Red Sea seems to clearly picture the parting of eternal hell for the whole eternal Bride of Christ - the whole House of Israel.

This EAST WIND that God used in parting the Red Sea was a judgment upon Egypt. As Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, God cause the sea to go back by a strong east wind, Exodus 14:21. After the children of Israel were safely on the other side, Moses once again stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the waters came back and covered all of the Egyptian armies. Moses surely was a type of Jesus Christ as he portrayed the truth in saving his people from the depths of hell that they may enter into His eternal bliss, prefigured by the literal and ancient promise land of Canaan. Egypt was subject to the depths of the Red Sea, brought on by the east wind in which Moses held back for the Hebrews.

An additional verse showing the east wind as judgment:

Hosea 13:15 - Though he be fruitful among his brethren, an east wind shall come, the wind of the LORD shall come up from the wilderness, and his spring shall become dry, and his fountain shall be dried up: he shall spoil the treasure of all pleasant vessels.

Old Testament Israel or “Palestine” is the recipient of the attack from the Chaldeans back in 590 B.C. Not only is this prophesied in Scripture here in Habakkuk, but we can see how God has imbedded much symbolism in this event in foretelling the then future invasion of the Gospel. It is important to note that many invaders of Israel in Old Testament days typified the unsaved world as they invade the Gospel during the last days.

Habakkuk 1:5-9 -

5 - ¶Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvellously: for I will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be told you.

6 - For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land, to possess the dwellingplaces that are not theirs.

7 - They are terrible and dreadful: their judgment and their dignity shall proceed of themselves.

8 - Their horses also are swifter than the leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves: and their horsemen shall spread themselves, and their horsemen shall come from far; they shall fly as the eagle that hasteth to eat.

9 - They shall come all for violence: their faces shall sup up as the east wind, and they shall gather the captivity as the sand.

The word violence here is also translated as: injustice, unrighteous, oppressor, damage, cruel, false, wrong, and violent. These false prophets, represented by the Old Testament Chaldeans, are marching into Israel, verse six. The higher level of interpretation seems to be that they are ultimately marching into spiritual Israel, which is the global church. They are invading for the purpose of overtaking and overthrowing. In today’s world the intrusion of the masses of false and erroneous teachers and doctrines are spiritually fulfilling these passages as we see in this and many other references of Scripture. Notice especially in verse nine that this army appears as the EAST WIND. The eighth plague of Exodus envisions the enemies of God as coming out of the East Wind.

LOCUST ATTACK: HERBS, FRUIT OF THE TREES, AND ALL GREEN THINGS

Exodus 10:14-15 -

Recalling in the seventh plague that the hail destroyed all the herbs and trees of the field (Exodus 9:25). Here in the eighth plague we see that it is once more the herbs and the green trees that are destroyed. They are destroyed by locusts brought on by an east wind.

There is only one way to interpret Scripture, and this is by allowing Scripture to define itself. In Revelation 9:4 God commands Satan and his hosts not to hurt the grass, trees, or any green thing. The word hurt in many cases carries the meaning of the Second Death; that is to be spiritually condemned to outer darkness. God calls for the locusts to hurt ONLY those who do not have the seal of God in their foreheads. In the eighth plague of Exodus chapter ten God commands the locusts to eat the herbs, trees and all green things. These are the true followers of Jesus Christ, the true church represented by the terms or synonyms green, grass, and trees.

Why does God use GREEN to symbolize the believers? Green represents life, both in a spiritual and a literal sense. The same testimony can be said of Old Testament Ephraim as is said of everyone who has truly been made a “new creature in Christ” - Hosea 14:8 - “Ephraim shall say, what have I to do any more with idols? I have heard him, and observed him: I am like a green fir tree. From me is thy fruit found.”

God refers to those of His household as a green olive tree, fair and of goodly fruit.” Jeremiah 11:16. A similar statement is found in Psalm 52:8 - “But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God: I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever.”

We will once more quote from Exodus 10:15 dealing with the ancient Egyptian plague of locusts.

“For they [the locusts] covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and they did eat every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left; and there remained not any green thing in the trees, or in the herbs of the fields, through all the land of Egypt.”

What a terrible picture that is presented here. We are warned and commanded throughout Scripture that when we see this abomination that is making the church desolate (scripturally called “The Abomination of Desolation,” we are to flee [Matthew 24:16] or “come out of her my people,” [Revelation 18:4]). Daniel 9:27, in referring to this time, declares that Satan will make the church desolate by the overspreading of abominations. This will continue, as Daniel states: until “…the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.” Yes, God is warning man, even back in the Old Testament Book of Daniel, that there is coming a time in which Satan would be allowed to deceive all unbelievers within the corporate church (including the world), even desecrating the true church itself, for a given time. The gates of hell shall not prevail against the establishment and completeness of Christ’s true Church. Nevertheless, the true doctrines of salvation through Christ will be hushed, chocked off, and silenced to such a high degree that the true vine of God will have been stripped away by these locusts. The grass, green things, and trees (characterized by true believes) will have been eaten up as Joel chapter one tells us.

In the Exodus chapter ten allegory of the Great Tribulation, we find that the locusts have eaten all the herbs of the field; they have eaten all the fruit of the trees, and all the green things. Let us first look at the biblical definition of herb. It comes from the Hebrew word “eh’-seb” and means: to glisten or to be green; as the grass or any tender shoot. This word is translated seventeen times in the Old Testament as herb and sixteen times it is translated as grass. We see then that herbs do indeed correlate to green things, and fruit of the trees all set forth and designate a picture of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In the physical sense, green, grass, herbs, and fruit represent life. If they are withered, they no longer have life. Likewise, one spiritually has life eternal through the Gospel of Christ. He then has true life and produces spiritual fruit. If Christ’s Gospel is cut off, His Word withers as the literal grass, herbs, and trees. It is then impossible to bring forth fruit. Such will be the case, or so it seems, during the Great Tribulation.

“And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees; therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the first,” Matthew 3:10.

Matthew 7:15-17, 20 -

15 - Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

16 - Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

17 - Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

20 - Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

In the Book of Jude we also read of these false prophets. In verse twelve we read:

“Those are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead , plucked up by the roots.”

The above passage in Jude is stating that these false prophets are twice dead. To be twice dead is in reference to the second death; to be spiritually consigned to hell.

Romans 6:22 - But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.

Romans 7:4 - Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.

The reason God commands these locusts of Revelation chapter nine not to hurt any green thing, nor the grass of the earth, nor any tree is because these are all terms or synonyms used in reference to the true Christian. The true believers cannot be deceived (hurt) by these locusts, HOWEVER their words can and will be silenced. The following are randomly chosen verses to further substantiate the claim that the Bible does indeed associate the followers of Christ with trees, grass, and green things:

Jeremiah 17:7-8-

7 - Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.

8 - For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.

Isaiah 61:1-3 -

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;

2 - To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;

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.

Isaiah 55:12 -

12 - For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

Ezekiel 47:12 -

12 - And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine.

As God smites Egypt with the plague of locust, we can see that this is yet another angle with which to view the unfolding of spiritual truth at the end of time.

END OF STUDY