“I have come to rescue them from the power for the Egyptians and to bring them from that land to a good land with plenty of room for everyone.” (Exodus 3:8a)

“Tell the Israelites, 'I am Yahweh. I will bring you out from under the oppression of the Egyptians, and I will free you from slavery. I will rescue you with my powerful arm and with mighty acts of judgment. Then I will make you my people, and I will be your Elohim. You will know that I am Yahweh your Elohim, who brought you out from under the forced labor of the Egyptians. I will bring you to the land I solemnly swore to give Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I will give it to you as your own possession. I am Yahweh.'” (Exodus 6:6-8)

Yahweh brought the people out from under oppression and freed them by power and acts of judgment. In Exodus 7-11, God poured out a series of plagues on all the people. There seems to be several things these plagues are addressing:

• Making Yahweh known to unbelievers. [1]
  In Exodus 5:2 when Moses and Aaron spoke on behalf of the Lord to let His people go, Pharaoh replied, “Who is Yahweh? Why should I obey him and let Israel go? I don't know Yahweh, and I won't let Israel go.”
  
  In Exodus 9:14-16 the Lord tells Moses to say to Pharaoh, “Now I will send plagues that will afflict you personally as well as your officials and people. This is how you will know that there is no one like me anywhere on earth. By now I could have used my power to kill you and your people with a plague that would have wiped you off the earth. But I have spared you for this reason. I want to show you my power and make my name famous through the earth.”
  
  
  In pouring out His judgments, the people came to know God is a righteous God with the ability to deliver His people. While many did not repent and turn to God, they could no longer deny His existence or power. 
   
  Besides making His name known to the Egyptians and Pharoah, leading His people lovingly out of captivity and into freedom made His name known to all the nations.
  
  Moses and the Israelites sing in Exodus 15:13-16, “Lovingly you will lead the people you have saved. Powerfully, you will guide them to your holy dwelling. People will hear of it and tremble. The people of Philistia will be in anguish. The tribal leaders of Edom will be terrified. The powerful men of Moab will tremble. The people of Canaan will be deathly afraid. Terror and dread will fall on them. Because of the power of your arm, they will be petrified until your people pass by, O Yahweh, until the people you purchased pass by.”
  
  
• That Yahweh's people would know His power and divine protection.
  God protected His people right in the midst of the pouring out of the plagues. While they experienced stronger oppression in Egypt during the plagues, they came out from all of it unscathed. God differentiated between His people and those who were not his people. In the last plague, where death went through the land to take the firstborn of each family, each Israelite family was protected by the blood of an innocent lamb. 
  
  
  The Israelites were to celebrate passover for all years to come as a reminder that they were brought out of bondage by the might hand of God. (Exodus 13:9)
  
  
  “You are faithful” sings in the background.
  
  
• Addressing the inability of the gods of the world to deliver.
  
  
  Many articles note that each of the plagues addressed a god that Egypt worshiped and demonstrated that it held no power to deliver the people. In addition, the Pharaoh who was often seen as a god was unable to deliver his people.
  
  One article writes, “For over a thousand years the Egyptian pharaohs were worshiped as gods by their people. The inability of the Pharaoh and the pantheon of Egyptian gods to protect the people from the plagues of the Israelite God revealed that Egypt's gods were false gods, possessing no power, and the Egyptian Pharaoh made a false boast in claiming to be a god himself. In addition to freeing Israel from bondage in Egypt, it was Yahweh's intention to bring judgment on the Egyptians and on the false gods they worshiped, as the narrative will state prior to the final plague: That night, I shall pass over the land of Egypt and strike down all the first-born in Egypt, man and beast alike, and shall execute justice on all the gods of Egypt, I Yahweh (Ex 12:12). The plagues were a shocking demonstration to the Egyptians that the God of the Israelites was in control and not their god-king nor the other gods they worshiped.” [2]
  
  
  Over and over, God makes known He hates idol worship and sends his curses on those who worship other gods (see Deuteronomy 28:14-68). In Deuteronomy 4:15-20, he tells his people, “So be very careful that you don't become corrupt and make your own carved idols. Don't make statues that represent men or women, any animal on earth, any creature with wings that flies, any creature that crawls on the ground, or any fish in thew water. Don't let yourselves be tempted to worship and serve what you see in the sky -the sun, the moon, the stars, or anything else. Yahweh your Elohim has given them to all people everywhere. But you are the people Yahweh brought out of Egypt, the iron smelter, in order to make you his own people as you still are today.”
  
  
• Setting His people free from captivity. 
  
  God is more than capable of delivering His people from captivity in the world. In Exodus 6:1 God tells Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh. I will show him my power, and he will let my people go. I will show him my power, and he will throw them out of the country.”
  
  While at first Pharaoh hardened his heart, eventually he acknowledged God and God's will for His people to have freedom. He called Moses and Aaron and told them, “You and the Israelites must leave my people at once. God, worship Yahweh as you asked. Take your flocks and herds, too, as you asked. Just go! And bless me, too!”
  
  “In Your freedom I will live” sings in the background.
  
  God led His people out of captivity and into freedom through the Red Sea by his miraculous power that was unmistakable and made the nations tremble.  
  
  Moses and the Israelites sang in Exodus 15:13,17, “Lovingly, you will lead the people you have saved. Powerfully, you will guide them to your holy dwelling...You will bring them and plant them on your own mountain, the place where you live, O Yahweh, the holy place that you built with your own hands, O Adonay. Yahweh will rule as king forever and ever.”

Each plague was a divine judgment sent by God. The The Wikipedia notes, “The Exodus plagues are divine judgments, a series of curses like those in Deuteronomy 28:15-68, which mention many of the same afflictions; they are even closer to the curses in the Holiness Code, Leviticus 26, since like the Holiness Code they leave room for repentance.” [3]

Another time where there are plagues poured out is in the end-times. Throughout Revelation, as the seals are opened, the trumpets are sounded, and the bowls of God's wrath are poured, plagues are being released and poured out as part of the end-time tribulation.

The book of Revelation starts by the Lord addressing the seven churches. The Lord reveals Himself clearly as the one who divinely sustains and upholds His churches. Then He proceeds to address each one of His churches individually, revealing Himself to them, encouraging them, reproving them, and calling them into holiness and wholehearted pursuit of Him.

After this, John sees God on His throne in heaven ruling and reigning. It becomes evident in this vision that the Lamb of God is the only one who is worthy to open the seals on the scroll that release the end time activities.

As the seals are broken, first victory, then war, death and famine are released. In the opening the fourth seal, a pale horse was sent out with Death as its rider. Hell followed him and “they were given power over one-fourth of the earth to kill people using wars, famines, plagues, and the wild animals.” (Rev. 6:8)

The plagues are released in seemingly greater and greater measure. One article notes that the seals involve 1/4 of the earth in disaster, the trumpets 1/3 of the earth, and the plagues involve the whole earth. This article writes, “The Seals, Trumpets and Plagues each end in the Second Coming of Christ. Therefore, they are progressive: they denote that everything is getting worse.”

Commentary are mixed on whether the seals, trumpets and bowls are simultaneous with each other or in order. God stands outside of time so the order of events in the vision does not necessarily designate sequential timing.   However, it appears from the order in Revelation that first the seals are opened, then the 7^th seal begins the seven trumpets and the seventh trumpet begins the seven bowls of wrath.

As the sixth seal is opened, it becomes evident to all people that the time of judgment has come. Revelation 6:15-17 says, “Then the kings of the earth, the important people, the generals, the rich, the powerful, and all the slaves and free people hid themselves in caves and among the rocks in the mountains. They said to the mountains and rocks, 'Fall on us, and hide us from the face of the one who sits on the throne and from the anger of the lamb, because the frightening day of their anger has come, and who is able to endure it?'”

Before any plagues cause harm, all those who served God were sealed on their foreheads. It represents protection that is upon them that what was to come did not cause 'harm' to them. This is similar to in Egypt where the plagues did not harm the Israelites the same as the Egyptians.

And then John saw a vision of those coming out of tribulation and terrible suffering wearing white robes that had been washed clean by the blood of the Lamb. They were continually in front of the throne of God worshiping Him and giving Him praise.

After this, at the opening of the seventh seal, John goes into the sounding of the seven trumpets. When the seventh seal is open, seventh trumpet is sounded and seventh bowl released, there is in all three cases lightning, noise, thunder, earthquake, and in the last two, heavy hail indicating God's wrath poured out. (See Psalm 18:7-19 for an example of God bringing His wrath in saving David)

The sounding of the trumpets tells us of the coming of the Lord (Joel 2:1-2), ushering in His presence (as in the festivals of celebration). It was also sounded when enemies were coming against God's people, bringing the Lord's protection of the Israelites and judgment against the enemy (Num. 10:9)

“One day we will all see the beauty in the mystery as God says all the captives free with a kiss” sings in the background.

The trumpet blast also gives warning of the approach of impending judgment, providing people an opportunity to repent. Amos 3:6 says, “Is a trumpet blown in a city, and the people are not afraid? Does disaster come to a city, unless the LORD has done it?”

Ezekiel proclaims in verses 33:2-5, “Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man of their coasts, and set him for their watchman: If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people; Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul.”

Whenever the 'trumpet of warning' has sounded about impending disaster and the people have fasted, repented and sought God, He has relented and shifted their circumstances such as with Ninevah when Jonah warned them of impending judgment (Jonah 3:4).

Besides telling the Israelites of the coming of the Lord, bringing judgment against Israel's enemies, warning people and giving them opportunity to repent, the trumpet also is used to gather the children of Israel.

Isaiah 27:1,12-13 says, “In that day the Lord with His severe sword, great and strong, will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan that twisted serpent; and He will slay the reptile that is in the sea [night of His judgment].... And it shall come to pass in that day that the Lord will thresh, from the channel of the River to the Brook of Egypt; And you will be gathered one by one, O you children of Israel. So it shall be in that day; The great trumpet will be blown; They will come, who are about to perish in the land of Assyria, and they who are outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the Lord in the holy mount at Jerusalem [daylight of His salvation following judgment].”

Paul speaks about the seventh trumpet in call in 1 Corinthians 15:52, “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the [sound of the] last trumpet call. For a trumpet will sound, and the dead [in Christ] will be raised imperishable (free and immune from decay), and we shall be changed (transformed).”

In Revelation 10:7 an angel says, “'There will be no more delay. In the days when the seventh angel is ready to blow his trumpet, the mystery of God will be completed, as he had made this Good News known to his servants, the prophets.”

One article writes about the trumpets, 

“In Revelation we have seven trumpets blown consecutively, not all together. And when the seventh trumpet blows, in chapter 11, we see the inner door into the Most Holy of Heaven opened and we see the ark, while the 24 elders declare that the time of judgment has come.

It seems very likely that the blowing of the seven trumpets in Revelation correspond to the blowing of trumpets at the seven New Moon (or New Month) festivals in the Old Testament. Each new moon trumpet blowing was understood as a day of judgment in miniature, which warned people to prepare for the final judgment ushered in by the Feast of Trumpets. When the seventh trumpet blew, it was to announce the Day of Atonement was at hand.

In like manner, the trumpets in Revelation each have a warning function. When the seventh trumpet is sounded (Rev. 11:18) the judgment is announced and the ark of the covenant is seen.” [4]

The sounding of the trumpets in revelation clearly bring judgment and plagues upon the earth. After the fourth trumpet an eagle flying overhead (representing judgment), proclaims, “Catastrophe, catastrophe, catastrophe for those living on earth, because of the remaining trumpet blasts which the three angels are about to blow.

These three woes or catastrophe's are released with the blowing of the last three trumpets. The purpose, just as it was in Egypt, was to call people to repentance and make God known among them.

Revelation 9:20-21 says, The people who survived these plagues still did not turn to me and change the way they were thinking and acting. If they had, they would have stopped worshiping demons and idols made of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood, which cannot see, hear, or walk. They did not turn away from committing murder, practicing witchcraft, sinning sexually, or stealing.”

As the seventh trumpet is sounded, an angel declares that God's judgment brings the end to Babylon (which represents the world system). It was the world system ruled by Satan which opposes God's rule that God's anger and wrath were against.

The angel proclaims in Revelation 14:8, “Fallen! Babylon the Great has fallen! She has made all the nations drink the wine of her passionate sexual sins.”

Then John has a vision of the earth being harvested. He sees the Lord in a white cloud coming down from heaven and an angel comes down and declares. “Swing your sickle, and gather the harvest. The time has come to gather it, because the harvest on the earth is overripe.” The one who sat on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the harvesting was completed.” (Rev. 14:15-16).


John also then sees seven angels who pour out the last seven plagues upon the earth. As these plagues are being poured out, there are those proclaiming, “Yes, Lord God Almighty, judgments are true and fair.” Even in the midst of this, there were those who cursed the name of God and would not change the way they act or give Him glory. They refused to repent (Rev. 16:9).
The good news that comes with these plagues is that they are being poured out in preparation for the coming of the Lord. My Bible commentary notes about the book of Revelation: “We have absolutely nothing to fear, because Jesus is on our side. He 'loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood (1:5). He is knocking at our heart's door, waiting for us to invite him in (3:20). He is like a slaughtered lamb (5:5-6) and a gentle shepherd ( 7:17). He offers protection and nourishment, and he wipes away tears (7:16-17). He abolished death, grief, crying, and pain (21:4). He is coming soon to reward those who are suffering now (22:12).” [5]

“Our Father, help us see your goodness, your kingdom here among us, coming even now” sings.


As the seventh bowl of God's wrath is poured out, God remembers to give Babylon the Great cup of wine from his fierce anger (Rev 16:19). The result of the plagues is that Babylon the Great falls. The world system and ways of doing things comes to an end.

The destruction of Babylon the Great has similarities to Sodom and Gomorrah where the city was utterly destroyed while righteous Lot was called out it. Revelation 18:4-5 says, I heard another voice from heaven saying, 'Come out of Babylon, my people, so that you do not participate in her sins and suffer from any of her plagues. Her sins are piled as high as heaven, and God has remembered her crimes.”

After the destruction, a large crowd in heaven proclaims, “Hallelujah! Salvation, glory, and power belong to our God. His judgments are true and fair. He has condemned the notorious prostitute who corrupted the world with her sexual sins. He has taken revenge on her for the blood of his servants.' A second time they say, 'Hallelujah! The smoke goes up from her forever and ever.”


The result of the plagues was not destruction of the righteous, but they come out of captivity to the world systems unscathed. His people had been made ready for their wedding, having the privilege of wearing dazzling, pure linen (Rev.19:7-8). Just as God's wrath was directed towards the Egyptians system of slavery, God's wrath was poured out not upon his people but the world system of Babylon that enslaves people. His judgment is true and fair.

Behind the system Great Babylon, just as it was with the system of slavery in Egypt, was Satan himself. Pharaoh and his men who are a shadow of Satan as they kept refusing to let His people go and coming for them to enslave them. Even after the people in the land of Egypt repented and sent his people out with great favor and gifts, Pharaoh just kept coming.


Ultimately Pharaoh's hard heartedness that, while acknowledging God, refused to let go of His people, resulted in his destruction. In the same way, Satan and his powers, principalities, spirits, his angels, and those that refuse to accept unconditional love and choose to follow Satan to his end destruction are ultimately destroyed in the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:14-15)


And just as God had specific purposes for His plagues in Egypt, the same purposes are evident in the plagues of Revelation:

• Making Yahweh known to unbelievers (Rev. 6:15-17, Joel 3:14)
• That Yahweh's people would know His power and divine protection (Rev. 7:1-17, 12:10-12; 14:1-4).
• Addressing the inability of the gods of the world to deliver (Babylon the Great, Rev. 17:18)
• Setting His people free from captivity of the world system of the time (Rev. 18:4-5)
• Inviting His people into the battle against sin and evil (Rev. 19:11-21)

The plagues poured out upon Egypt destroyed the world system of the time that held His people captive. At the same time, His judgments brought people to a place of decision about who God was.

Joel says about the day of the Lord, “There are many, many people in the valley of decision. The day of Yahweh is near the valley of decision. The sun and the moon will turn dark. The stars will no longer shine. Yahweh will roar from Zion, and his voice will thunder from Jerusalem. The sky and the earth will shake. Yahweh will be a Machseh for his people. He will be a stronghold for the people of Israel.” (Joel 3:14-16)

And just as it was in Egypt where God was leading His people out of captivity to be their God and so that they were free to worship Him on His holy mountain, the Lord leads His people out of Babylon / the world system to be their God and so they may worship Him on His holy mountain.

Joel 3:17-18 goes on to say, “You will know that I am Yahweh your Elohim. I live on my holy mountain, Zion. Jerusalem will be holy. Foreigners will never invade it again. On that day new wine will cover the mountains. Milk will flow on the hills. Water will flow from Yahweh's temple. It will water the valley of Shittim.”

Revelation 21:3-4, “I heard a loud voice from the throne say, 'God lives with humans! God will make his home with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There won't be any more death. There won't be any grief, crying, or pain, because the first things have disappeared.”

Then the angels take John away to a large, high mountain where he can see the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven. It's gates are made of pearls and the streets of gold. It's gates will never close and it doesn't need sun or moon to give it light because of the glory of God. (Rev. 21:9-27)

“I see the King of Glory, coming on the clouds with fire, the whole earth shakes” sings.

Hosanna in the highest! We long and wait for your coming Lord.

1. Wikipedia. Plagues of Egypt. Located at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plagues_of_Egypt Last Accessed: 10/22/12
   
   
2. M. Hunt. Agape Bible Study. The Pentateuch Part II: Exodus. 2009. Located at : http://www.agapebiblestudy.com/exodus/exodus_lesson_5.htm Last Accessed: 10/22/12.
   
   
3. Day, Lorraine, M.D. 7 Seals, 7 Trumpets, 7 Plagues: Overview of eachand how they Inter-relate, one to another. Located at: http://www.goodnewsaboutgod.com/studies/spiritual/revelations/7seals_7trumpets_7plagues.htm Last Accessed: 10/22/12.
   
   
4. Adventists Biblical Truths. Revelation's Seven Trumpets: The Judgment is Sure. Located at: http://dedication.www3.50megs.com/rev_trumpets.html. Last Accessed: 10/22/12.
   
   
5. Spangler, Ann. The Names of God Bible. God's Word Translation. Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, MI. 2001.