Wednesday, October 17, 2012

The Sign of Jonah in the Plagues: Exodus and Revelation



 
Brenda and I presented a teaching last Monday night at El Shaddai Ministries as a part of the Torah Treasures series.  Did you know that there is a direct connection between the plagues brought against Egypt in the Exodus and the plagues foretold in Revelation?  Did you know that both of these sets of plagues involve the Sign of Jonah?

In Yeshua’s rebuke of the Pharisees in Matthew 12, He tells them that the only sigh they will receive is the Sign of Jonah.

Matthew 12:39-40 NKJV 39 But He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 "For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

The sign of Jonah involves the number three, which signifies divine completion, a certain death situation and a miraculous deliverance.

Each of the ten plagues that God brought against Egypt challenged one of Egypt’s gods with the final plague completing that judgment.

Exodus 12:12 12 'For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD. (NKJV)

The number ten signifies the perfection of divine order. It signals that a whole cycle is complete; that a deed has been accomplished in its entirety. At the end of the tenth plague, God completed His judgment against the gods of Egypt and accomplished the redemption of His people.

In the prelude to Yeshua’s second coming, God will send seven trumpet judgments on all the earth. Seven is the number of spiritual completion.

The end of a cycle is happening in the end times; and the number seven and the seven plagues tell us it is the time of spiritual completion. The six trumpets bring plagues similar to the first nine plagues on Egypt. They start with four plagues on creation itself with each plague killing one third of that aspect of creation.

Revelation 8:7-12 NKJV 7 The first angel sounded: And hail and fire followed, mingled with blood, and they were thrown to the earth. And a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up. 8 Then the second angel sounded: And something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood. 9 And a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed. 10 Then the third angel sounded: And a great star fell from heaven, burning like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. 11 The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters became wormwood, and many men died from the water, because it was made bitter. 12 Then the fourth angel sounded: And a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them were darkened. A third of the day did not shine, and likewise the night.

Four is the number of creation and so we have four plagues against all creation. The last two plagues are specifically on the people. Two is the number of differentiation. Here God differentiates between those who are His and those who are not.

Then God releases the four angels who were bound at the Euphrates River expressly for this “hour, day, month and year” to execute the last plague. Once again, we see the number four, twice, indicating that this judgment is against all creation. God gives them authority to destroy one third of mankind with an army of 200 million horsemen. This last plague is itself divided up into three means of death—three plagues in one.

Revelation 9:17-18 NKJV 17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision: those who sat on them had breastplates of fiery red, hyacinth blue, and sulfur yellow; and the heads of the horses were like the heads of lions; and out of their mouths came fire, smoke, and brimstone. 18 By these three (plagues) a third of mankind was killed--by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone which came out of their mouths.

But still the people loved darkness more than light and refuse to repent. Even at the end of the sixth trumpet judgment, they choose to cling to their man-made gods.

Revelation 9:20-21 NKJV 20 But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk. 21 And they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.

These are just a few of the amazing connections between the plagues in Exodus and those in Revelation.  You can watch the entire video of the study as well as download the study notes at this link:


Shalom and be blessed
Dan & Brenda Cathcart

Visit our web site at www.moedministries.com

For information on the meaning of numbers in scripture see E.W. Bullinger “Numbers in Scripture” available in the public domain.

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