Repetition in Prophecy: The Plagues From Exodus
The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.
Ecclesiastes 1:9 KJV
Introduction
Exodus probably seems like a weird place to start talking about prophecy—especially with everything going on in the world right now. However, Exodus is the place one of God’s first prophecies came to pass and there’s a lot of symbolism and Spiritual types that are established in this book.
Types
I really wish I’d done a better job of staying on my Literary Devices in the Bible series because literary devices are crucial to understanding the text. Nonetheless, even if that season had gone the way I envisioned, I’m sure there would be new people tuning in who missed it. So I’ll just try to make mention of things as we go along. Today, I think it’s important to understand “types.” You may have heard a pastor say some thing like “Adam was a type of Christ.” Throughout the text God reveals information by showing us the same thing over and over. If you look at certain people or events in the Bible, you will notice the same patterns.[1] When you start recognizing these patterns the Bible really starts to get interesting and deeper meanings start to appear.
Moses is a Type of Christ
This is only a glimpse of similarities between Moses and Messiah. For more please see the references below.[3][4]
| ⚕️Moses | 👑 Messiah | |
|---|---|---|
| Survives the mass killing of male babies | Pharaoh orders the death of all Israelite males at birth (Exodus 1:15-2:10) | Herod has all the male children under 2 killed (Matthew 2:16-18) |
| Born in the time of prophecy | 400 years prophecy given to Abraham in Genesis told that it was time for Israel to be delivered from Egypt | 70 weeks prophecy in Daniel foretells when the Messiah is to be born |
| Gives up luxury for God’s people | Moses was essentially a prince of Egypt, but he rejected that identity to deliver Israel from oppression | Messiah is the Son of God, and was living in perfection, but lowered Himself to humanity to endure pain and temptation so that He could save us. |
| Adopted | Moses is adopted by Pharaoh’s daughter (Exodus 2) | Messiah is adopted by Joseph (Luke 1-2) |
| Seclusion from the world | Moses spends 40 years in Midian before he begins his mission (Exodus 3) | Messiah spends 40 days in the wilderness before starting His ministry (Matthew 4) |
| Miracles | Moses turns his staff into a serpent and then shows power over leprosy—giving his hand leprosy then healing it (Exodus 4) | Messiah performs many miracles, His first are to overcome the serpent and heal the people (Matthew 4); we also see him heal a leper (Matthew 8) |
| Intercedes for Israel | Moses intercedes on Israels behalf when talking to God (Exodus 32) | Messiah intercedes for us (John 17) |
| Judges | People came to Moses for judgment (Exodus 18:13) | Messiah is the judge (Revelation 20) |
| It takes 2 attempts to reach the Promised Land | Moses dies without entering the Promised Land and the original generation that left Egypt never make it in to the Promised Land due to their lack of faith. It is the second generation (led by Joshua) that make it to the Promised Land | Messiah is crucified the first time He comes because the people doubt Him. Upon resurrection, He hands His ministry over to the disciples and promises to come back to lead us to the eternal Promised Land. |
The Plagues vs. End Time Signs
| 🔟 The Signs Given in Exodus | 📜 The 7 Seals | 🎺 The Seven Trumpets | 🧪 The 7 Vials | 💬 Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A new king in Egypt[2] oppresses Israel | Horsemen cause wars (revelation 6:1-4) | The beast and the dragon oppress God’s people (Revelation 12-13); Wars and rumors of wars (Matthew 24:6-8); Persecution of believers (Matthew 24:9-10) | ||
| 🟩 Hand turns colors | 🟩 Sign of Son of Man in Heaven; coming in the clouds (Matthew 24:30) | |||
| 🟩 Staff into snake (Exodus 7:8-12) | 🟩 Antichrist will counterfeit miracles to deceive people (Revelation 13); False prophets (Matthew 24:11;23-27) | |||
| 🟨 Water turned to blood (Exodus 7:14-24) | Sea becomes blood (Revelation 7:8-9); Another plague on the waters (Revelation 7:10-11) | Water to blood (Revelation 16:3-4); Drought (Revelation 16:12) | ||
| 🟨 Frogs (Exodus 8:1-15) | Spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the unholy trio (Revelation 16:13) | |||
| 🟨 Lice (Exodus 8:16-19) | ||||
| 🟥 Flies (Exodus 8:20-24) | ||||
| 🟥 Plague on the livestock (Exodus 9:1-7) | ||||
| 🟧 Boils (Exodus 9:8-12) | Sores (Revelation 16:2) | |||
| 🟥 Hail (Exodus 9:13-27) | Black horse causes famine (Revelation 6:5-6) | Hail & fire (Revelation 7:7) | Scorched with fire + hail (Revelation 16:8-9, 21) | |
| 🟧 Locusts (Exodus 10:1-20) | Black horse causes famine (Revelation 6:5-6) | 🟥 Locusts (Revelation 8:3) | ||
| 🟥 Darkness (Exodus 10:21-29) | Signs in the sky and a darkened sun (Revelation 6:12-17) | Darkness and signs in the sky (Revelation 7:12); Darkness from the smoke of the pit (Revelation 8:2) | Darkness (Revelation 16:10) | Days shortened (Matthew 24:22); sun darkened signs in the sky (Matthew 24:29) |
| 🟥 Death of the firstborn (Exodus 3; 11-12) | Martyrs (Revelation 6:9-11) |
🟨 affects God’s people as well as the wicked
🟥 only affects the wicked
🟧 could be for both or only for the wicked
🟩 identifying God’s chosen person
Note that God’s people are sealed after the 6th seal in Revelation, so they are protected during the calamities that come after it.
References and Footnotes
- “Types in the Bible”. Bible.org. February 2, 2009; visited September 2023
- Some believe the transition of kings in Exodus coincides with a transfer of power from the Hyksos to the Egyptians. See my post Exodus 1: A New King for more.
- Dr. Joseph R. Nally, Jr., D.D., M.Div., “Q&A: Moses, a Type of Christ?”. Third Millennium Ministries; visited September 2023
- “In What Ways Was Moses Like Jesus?”. GotQuestions.org; visited September 2023
Exodus, Moses, Needs Link Updates, Plagues, Podcast, Season 6
Leave a comment?
How are you feeling today?
Click the emotion you're feeling to see an inspiring bible verse.
