Good evening and welcome to EBible Fellowship's Bible study in the Book of Revelation. Tonight is study #8 of Revelation, chapter 8, and we are going to be reading Revelation 8:6-7:
And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound. 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.
The seven angels (or messengers) are beginning to sound. They had “prepared themselves to sound” by obeying God’s command to go into all the world with the Gospel, which finally resulted in the salvation of all the “firstfruits,” all of God’s elect that would be saved during the church age. Also, at the time of the Great Tribulation, God was going to open up His Word and after the 2,300 first “evening mornings,” He would pour out the “latter rain.” This also required the messengers, or true believers, to bring the Gospel to the world because the last three trumpets (five, six and seven), which are also identified with “three woes,” deal with Judgment Day, which occurred on May 21, 2011, and all these days thereafter. And Judgment Day could not take place unless the people of God, again, “prepared themselves to sound.” They had to first carry the message of the Gospel to all the world so God could complete His salvation plan outside the churches. So that is in view with both the salvation of the “firstfruits” and with the salvation of the “great multitude” during the last 17 years of the Great Tribulation period.
But now the preparation is finished and it is time to for judgment to begin and it is time for the first messenger to sound, and he does sound, “and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood.” Now the language here that talks of judgment to come (as it was cast upon the earth) directs us to the Book of Exodus, because this same kind of language is found when we read of God bringing the plagues upon Egypt: we read of hail and fire and blood. We do not read of hail and fire mingled with blood (where all are combined), but we do read of plagues of hail and fire and a separate plague of blood that came upon Egypt. Actually, I do not think we find anywhere else in the Bible where it says that “hail and fire” are mingled with “blood,” so this is unique, but it still, nonetheless, is directing us to Exodus 9:18-26:
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. 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. He that feared the word of JEHOVAH among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his cattle flee into the houses: And he that regarded not the word of JEHOVAH left his servants and his cattle in the field. And JEHOVAH 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 JEHOVAH sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground; and JEHOVAH 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. 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. Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, was there no hail.
Here we find God bringing a severe judgment upon Egypt – hail that is a destroying hail and it is mingled with fire. It was “a very grievous hail,” such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation; and that statement reminds us of what God says about 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.
With the sounding of the messenger in Revelation 8:7, it is signaling the beginning of the Great Tribulation period, as the Great Tribulation was a time of judgment upon the churches and congregations of the world, so God speaks of that time as unparalleled. Likewise, with the plague that God brought upon Egypt, as they had never seen such an awful plague of hail, with fire mingled with the hail. This was terrible and it was greatly destructive to their trees and cattle, and so forth, and God is relating it to His judgment.
When we read about the plagues that came upon Egypt, we wonder if God is describing these plagues in relationship to Judgment Day on the world or are these plagues that came upon Egypt describing the judgment that came upon the churches during the time of Great Tribulation? We wonder that because, just saw in Revelation 8, that it is describing God’s wrath beginning on the churches and the sounding of the first angel pointed us back to that plague which came upon Egypt: “The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood.”
Also, notice Revelation 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.
Now, again, this is something God did to Egypt. He turned their water to blood, so we can go back to the Book of Exodus and we can find tie-ins to this language concerning the judgment on the churches, but, also, if we go to Revelation 16, where it is discussing the seven last vials of the wrath of God that are being poured out upon the world, and we find it says in Revelation 16:3:
And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea. And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood.
You see, there was a plague of blood that God is speaking of, but this is judgment upon the world and not just upon the churches. It also says in Revelation 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.
That reminds us of the plague of darkness that came upon Egypt. Remember, after each of the plagues the Egyptians, headed up by Pharaoh, refused to repent and they would not submit to the will of God in letting His people go. It is the same with the plagues in Revelation 16 and we read that they “repented not of their deeds.”
So, what are we to make of this? How are we to understand the judgment on Egypt in relationship to the judgment on the churches or judgment on the world? The answer is that it can picture both. For instance, we know that God uses Egypt as a type and picture of the world; that is why He speaks of Egypt as “the house of bondage.” When the Jews were delivered and the Israelites were freed, it is a picture of God saving His elect from the kingdom of darkness, the kingdom of Satan. He is bringing them out of spiritual bondage to sin, to Satan and to this world.
But, also, the Bible can use Egypt as a type and figure of the churches. In Revelation, chapter 11, we read of the “two witnesses” and it says in Revelation 11:7:
And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.
Now this would be pointing to the end of the church age, as God’s Word has finished its testimony in the churches and congregations. Then the Great Tribulation began and judgment began at the house of God and this means that Satan has been loosed; he is the beast that comes up out of the bottomless pit and overcomes the “two witnesses,” the witnesses of the Word of God within the churches.
Then it says in Revelation 11:8:
And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.
So we have confirmation in two ways: first of all, the dead bodies of the two witnesses are lying in the streets and we know that this is referring to the witness of the Word of God within the congregations; and, secondly, it says they are lying “in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified;” and our Lord was crucified outside of Jerusalem, which identifies spiritually with the New Testament churches and congregations up until the time of the end. Then God gave them up and abandoned the churches and He came out of the midst and, immediately, the faithful city became a harlot and Satan began to rule. It was just as Pharaoh, a great type of Satan, ruled in Egypt. The church was cast into spiritual darkness and the churches became a “house of bondage” for all those that remained within. They are in spiritual darkness and there is no salvation taking place there at all.
There is a very interesting verse back in Deuteronomy 28, which vividly describes what happened on May 21, 1988, when God began to judge the churches. In the first few verses God speaks of the blessing of obedience, then from verse 15 to the end, He speaks of the “curse” that comes upon those that are disobedient or rebellious children; this would speak of those that identify with him – the corporate body – but were never saved. God says in Deuteronomy 28:68:
And JEHOVAH shall bring thee into Egypt again with ships, by the way whereof I spake unto thee, Thou shalt see it no more again: and there ye shall be sold unto your enemies for bondmen and bondwomen, and no man shall buy you.
What a frightful verse this is! First of all, ask the question: Has this verse ever been fulfilled, literally? The answer is, “No, of course not.” After all, this is saying that JEHOVAH is going to bring Israel again “into Egypt again with ships.” They will be sold to their enemies and no man will buy them, or redeem them. We know that this has never taken place. There is nothing in the Bible that comes anywhere close to a literal fulfillment of this verse. There is no one that can point to any place in the Bible and say, “Well, here is where God loaded those called by His name in ships and had them transported back to Egypt and had them unloaded as slaves and returned to their bondage.” You will not find that anywhere in the Bible. But, once we understand that the Bible is a parable (Christ spoke in parables and God hides truth everywhere in the Scriptures) and that Israel is a “type and a picture” of the New Testament churches and congregations, then it makes perfect sense. It makes terrible sense because it is just an ugly thing that God is saying, but we understand it perfectly. It reminds us of those verses in which God says, “In the latter days, ye shall consider it perfectly.” And a verse like this certainly could not have been understood before our time.
Here, we find that “JEHOVAH shall bring thee into Egypt again with ships.” Egypt would represent the kingdom of Satan and the kingdom of darkness, and it would be a return to bondage, spiritually. It will be accomplished. “Your return, churches and congregations and you professed Christians, will be accomplished by ships.” God likens the New Testament churches and congregations to “ships,” as we know from the account in Acts 27. That ship that was shipwrecked is picturing the churches at the end – it is destroyed and all of the passengers make it safely to land, which typifies God’s people coming out of the destroyed churches.
Remember, God spoke in 1st Timothy of two men that had made “faith shipwreck,” and that is a very important statement. It is letting us know, speaking of the churches and congregations, the way that the pastors, the elders and the deacons are leading the ship with the “little helm;” and then the Epistle of James tells us that the “tongue is a little member” and God relates it to the helm of a ship that steers the vessel.
So the teachers and the theologians and the seminary professors have set the course for their churches and denominations: “Oh, we will get you to heaven. We will find ultimate deliverance for you. Come and get on board. Sail with us!” And they set sail and all the corporate churches today in all the world – Catholic and Protestant, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Episcopalian, Independent and house churches – are sailing to “Egypt.” Not only are they sailing to it, but they have “arrived” at the city where the “two witnesses” were killed; and that great city, spiritually, is called “Sodom and Egypt.” They have returned to Egypt and they have brought themselves back into bondage and they have brought their wives and their children and their friends (if they have directed their friends back to the churches) back into bondage. And, there, God says, they will be sold unto their enemies for bondmen and bondwomen. They are slaves of Satan and of sin. Now, of course, at this time we can thank God that Satan has been put down and Christ is ruling with a rod of iron over the churches and the world, but He is still bringing judgment upon them.
And, finally, it says (and this is the worst of all statements): “No man shall buy them.” Obviously, the “man” is referring to Jesus. Remember, we are “bought with a price.” We are not our own. We have been bought with the price of the blood of Jesus Christ. He gave his life to buy us and to redeem us. But those in the churches that did not hearken to God’s command to “come out,” but remained, have ended up “in Egypt,” and, there, God has no plan to redeem them. Even during the 23 years of the Great Tribulation, within the churches, God was not redeeming anyone within the congregations – within “Egypt” itself. You needed to come out of the churches in order to, perhaps, experience the grace of God, but now God is not redeeming anyone anywhere.
But, here, we do see how God likens the churches to Egypt. Nothing else but the churches would fit and be understandable, spiritually. It cannot be literal – it must be spiritual, in Deuteronomy 28:68. Nothing else would fit except a corporate church that has returned, in their rebelliousness, to “Egypt.”
Let us go back to Revelation, chapter 8, and we will look at the second part of the verse in Revelation 8:7.
…and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
Here, God begins, for the first time, to speak of the “third part.” He will make reference to the “third part” eleven times in chapter 8 and two times in chapter 9, totaling 13 times. The “third part” will represent those within the corporate church.
We will spend some time looking at this. It is interesting and it does have information for us today, when we look at what the Bible has to say about the “third part.” We will see how it is that God identifies the church as the “third part.”