Those who have studied the Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ will be aware that it is strongly linked to the Old Testament. It contains a rich collection of quotations and allusions to the Law and the Prophets. One such example is the Beast from the Sea in Revelation 13: he is made up of body parts from a lion, a bear, and a leopard, and on his head are 10 horns; this is clearly a reference to the four beasts found in Daniel 7.

Today I would like us to consider links between Revelation and Exodus, specifically the Two Witnesses (Rev. 11) and the Trumpet and Bowl Judgements (Rev. 8-16), which express the Wrath of God during the Day of the Lord (Joel 2:28-32).

Rev. 11:8 compares Jerusalem of the end times to Sodom and Egypt. What are these two places famous for? Corruption followed by judgement. Sodom was guilty of gross sexual immorality and mistreatment of guests, and the Lord judged her by destroying her with a rain of fire from heaven. The account of this can be found in Genesis 18-19 and commentary on it in Jude 1:7. As for Egypt, she is mentioned many times in Scripture; there are prophecies concerning her, including one that mentions Christ coming into Egypt when He returns. But the account that concerns us is found in Exodus. In Exodus the Egyptians reduce their Israelite guests to slavery, and when the Israelites multiply according to the commandment and blessing of God, the Egyptians murder their firstborn. The cry of the Israelites comes up before God, and He sends Moses their deliverer, a type of Christ, by whose hand God sends judgement upon the Egyptians and delivers His people Israel from slavery. This theme is recapitulated in Revelation, where the Lord pours out judgement on the enemy (Satan, the Beast and his kingdom) and rescues His people Israel and resurrects the dead.

Rev. 11:5-6 says of the Two Witnesses, “And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed. These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.” Now I’m not arguing that these men must be Moses and Elijah (although according to the power of God they could be), but the reader will note that these men do things that Moses and Elijah did. Regarding Moses, the power to turn “waters…to blood” (v. 6) can be found at Exodus 7:20: “And Moses and Aaron did so, as the Lord commanded; and he lifted up the rod, and smote the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants; and all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood.” The Witnesses are also said to be able “to smite the earth with all plagues”. Well, what are the most famous plagues of history? The 10 Plagues of Egypt.

Regarding the Trumpet and Bowl Judgements, if we set them side by side, we can see just how similar they are to the 10 Plagues of Egypt; but whereas those affected only Egypt, the Trumpets and Bowls will be global.

Rev. 8:4 “And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand.” What are the prayers of the saints? “And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?” (Rev. 6:10)

Exod. 3:7-8 “And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; and I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians”

Rev. 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.”

Exod. 9:22-24 “And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch forth thine hand toward heaven, that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, upon man, and upon beast, and upon every herb of the field, throughout the land of Egypt. 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 land of Egypt. 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.”

Rev. 8:8-9 “And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood; And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.”

Exod. 7:17-18 “Thus saith the Lord, In this thou shalt know that I am the Lord: behold, I will smite with the rod that is in mine hand upon the waters which are in the river, and they shall be turned to blood.And the fish that is in the river shall die, and the river shall stink; and the Egyptians shall lothe to drink of the water of the river.”

Rev. 8:10-11 “And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters;And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.”

Exod. 7:24 “And all the Egyptians digged round about the river for water to drink; for they could not drink of the water of the river.”

Rev. 8:12 “And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.”

Exod. 10:21-23 “And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt. And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven; and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days: They saw not one another, neither rose any from his place for three days: but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.”

Rev. 9:1-6 “And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. 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. And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man. And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.”

Exod. 10:13-15 “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.And the locust 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.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.”

Note that there is a reversal between these two plagues: in Exodus the locusts eat the grass and leaves and crops and leave the Egyptians alone; in Revelation they leave the green things and torture the earth dwellers.

 

Note that the KJV translates the Greek word phiale as “vial”, but modern translations use the word “bowl”, hence Vial Judgements or Bowl Judgements – the two are interchangeable.

Rev. 16:2 “And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image.”

Exod. 9:9-11 “And it shall become small dust in all the land of Egypt, and shall be a boil breaking forth with blains upon man, and upon beast, throughout all the land of Egypt. And they took ashes of the furnace, and stood before Pharaoh; and Moses sprinkled it up toward heaven; and it became a boil breaking forth with blains upon man, and upon beast. And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils; for the boil was upon the magicians, and upon all the Egyptians.”

Rev. 16:3-6 “And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea. And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood. And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.”

Exod. 7:20-21, 24 “And Moses and Aaron did so, as the Lord commanded; and he lifted up the rod, and smote the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants; and all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood. And the fish that was in the river died; and the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink of the water of the river; and there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt…And all the Egyptians digged round about the river for water to drink; for they could not drink of the water of the river.“

Rev. 16:10-11 “And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain, and blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.”

Exod. 10:21-23 “And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt. And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven; and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days: They saw not one another, neither rose any from his place for three days: but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.”

The reader will note a progression of intensity from the Trumpets to the Bowls: while the Trumpets can hardly be considered bearable, the Bowls are much worse. Also of note is the fact that the earth dwellers refuse to repent in the face of God’s Trumpet and Bowl Judgements. Sound familiar? Exod. 7:22, “and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, neither did he hearken unto them; as the Lord had said.”

So what are we to take away from this? Certainty: just as literal, supernatural judgement befell Egypt during the days of Moses, so literal, supernatural judgement will befall the earth during the days of the Beast. Therefore, seek the LORD while He yet may be found; all who call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.