Is there a similarity between the Ten Plagues of Egypt and the 21 Judgements of Revelation?

The Ten Plagues of Egypt and the 21 Judgements of Revelation?

Is there a similarity to the Ten Plagues of Egypt mentioned in the Book of Exodus all those thousands of years ago in the times of Moses and the future calamities and Prophecy mentioned in the Book of Revelation.

Is there something to be learned from the Ten Plagues of Egypt and their possible similarities to the Book of Revelation and the 21 Judgements of The Seals, The Trumpets and The Vials? Do the judgements of God change over time in line with changes in different civilisations, or is it a case that times change but God's judgements remain the same, but just demonstrate a slight variation to an already tried and trusted theme?

Something I think about a lot, maybe others do as well.......... hence this article.

The Ten Plagues of Egypt mentioned in Exodus
God gave Pharaoh ten chances to allow the children of Israel to leave Egypt so they could worship their God freely and come out of slavery. The Pharaoh of Egypt and his people were subjected to the Ten Plagues which affected all in Egypt as he would not release the ill treated children of Israel from their bond with Egypt.

According to the Book of Exodus, God hardened Pharaoh's heart so he would be strong enough to persist in his unwillingness to release the people, so that it would serve as a benchmark from which other people would discuss for generations to come. The Pharaoh gave in after the tenth plague, which was the triggering the Exodus of the release of the Hebrew people and their Exodus, hence the name of that particular Book in the Bible.

The Ten Plagues of Egypt are listed below and also the possible parallel verses in the Book of Revelation that either tie up moderately or precisely

1. Water into blood: Ex. 7:14–24. Parallel Rev 8:8-9 Rev 11;6  Rev 16:3-6

2. Frogs: Ex. 7:25–8:15. Parallel Rev16:13-14 But not mentioned as a judgement

3. Lice: Ex. 8:16–19. No real mention in Revelation apart from a possibility in Rev 6:8 as "The Beasts"

4. Flies: Ex. 8:20–32. Possible Parallel Revelation 6:8 "The Beasts"

5. Diseased Livestock (Animal Pestilence:) Exodus 9:3-4   Rev 6:8
6. Boils: Ex. 9:8–12. Parallel Rev 16:2

7. Thunderstorm of hail : Ex. 9:13–35. Parallel Revelation 8:7

8. Locusts: Ex. 10:1–20. Parallel Rev 9:3-4

9. Darkness for three days Ex. 10:21–29. Parallel Rev 8:12 Rev 16:10

10. Death of firstborn sons: Ex. 11:1–12:3. Parallel  Rev 19:19-21

Exodus and Revelation Bible Quotes comparison

Exodus 7:17-18 Rivers to Blood Parallel Revelation 8:8-9

Exodus 7:17-18
17. 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.

18. 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.

Revelation 8:8-9
8. 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;

9. 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.

Frogs: Exodus 8:6. Parallel Revelation 16:12-14
Exodus 8:6 And Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt; and the frogs came up, and covered the land of Egypt.

Revelation 16:12-14
 12. And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.

13. And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.

14. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.

Lice: Exodus 8:16-17.  Parallel No direct mention to Lice in Revelation but see Revelation 6:8

Exodus 8:16-17
16. And the LORD said unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch out thy rod, and smite the dust of the land, that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt.

17. And they did so; for Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod, and smote the dust of the earth, and it became lice in man, and in beast; all the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt.

Possibly Revelation 6:8
8. And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.

Flies: Exodus 8:21-22 Parallel Rev 6:8 "The Beasts"

Exodus 8:21-22
21. Else, if thou wilt not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies upon thee, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thy houses: and the houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground whereon they are.

22. And I will sever in that day the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there; to the end thou mayest know that I am the LORD in the midst of the earth.

Revelation 6:8
8. And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.


Pestilence on Cattle Exodus 9:3-4.  Parallel remotely Rev 6:8

Exodus 9:3-4
3. Behold, the hand of the LORD is upon thy cattle which is in the field, upon the horses, upon the asses, upon the camels, upon the oxen, and upon the sheep: there shall be a very grievous murrain.

4. And the LORD shall sever between the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt: and there shall nothing die of all that is the children's of Israel.

Revelation 6:8

And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.

Boils Exodus 9:8-9. Parallels Rev 16:2 Grievous Sore

Exodus 9:8-9
8. And the LORD said unto Moses and unto Aaron, Take to you handfuls of ashes of the furnace, and let Moses sprinkle it toward the heaven in the sight of Pharaoh.

9. 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.



Revelation 16:2
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.

Hail: Exodus 9:23-26. Parallel Revelation 8:7

Exodus 9:23-26
23. 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.

24. 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.

25. 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.

26. Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, was there no hail.

Revelation 8:7
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.


Locusts: Exodus 10:13-15. Parallels Rev 9:3-4

Exodus 10:13-15
13. 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.

14. And the locusts 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.

15. 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.

Revelation 9:3-4
3. 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.

4. 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.

Darkness: Exodus 10:21-23 Parallel  Rev 8:12 & 16:10

Exodus 10:21-23
21. 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.

22. And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven; and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days:

23. 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.

Revelation 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.

Revelation 16:10

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,

SUMMARY

The Book of Revelation contains 21 judgements and some but not all bear more than a passing resemblance to one of the ten plagues mentioned in Exodus 7-11. This is surely no coincidence.

It has been noted throughout the Bible that four judgements keep recurring and that is The Beasts, The Sword, Pestilence and Famine. The Fourth Horseman of the Apocalypse mentioned in Revelation 6 as the Fourth Seal of Revelation contains all four of these Judgements in some shape or form, again this is no coincidence.

The last plague The Torah describes God as actually passing through Egypt to kill all firstborn children and cattle, but passing over the houses which have the sign of lambs' blood on the doorpost and leaving them unaffected, hence the Jewish festival of Passover. A similar situation exists in Revelation but this time the distinguishing mark is in and on the person and not externally on a building.

Revelation 9:4
They were commanded not to harm the grass of the earth, or any green thing, or any tree, but only those men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads.

This distinction was made throughout the ten plagues of Egypt where Moses and The Children of Israel remained unaffected by any one of the ten plagues. In Revelation a similar distinction is made but this time it will be Christians who will be unaffected either by being ruptured out before the tribulation and being present during some of it and being unaffected.

The Locusts in Exodus were real live locusts that destroyed every green thing, but the locusts mentioned in Revelation sound completely different where they are told not to touch vegetation but to seek those with the mark of the beast. They also sound like either helicopters or drones?

The similarities between Exodus and Revelation are not 100% but they are compelling enough to see that there are similarities there that cannot be ignored or denied.

Why is this? It's because the source is constant. It's just another illustrator that times change but God does not change and neither do his judgements, they seem to have an uncanny similarity throughout the Old Testament and seem to repeat themselves in the last book of the New Testament the Book of Revelation but with some updated  new additions with a few twists and turns thrown into the mix to keep people on their toes but the source will never be in denial.

Military Drones and Revelation 9 Prophecy?

A closer look at the emerging Military Drones and Revelation 9 Prophecy in the Book of Revelation. Technology is making huge advances in these modern times and we are becoming increasingly reliant on technology in our lives as a result. Technology always has and always will be prevalent in the military and a lot of the technology makes itself seen in civilian society, some years after their first release in the military. This article will be specifically focusing on Drone Technology and its possible relation to Prophecy fulfillment especially in the Book of Revelation.

The latest development is Drone Technology, which is being adopted by Amazon in the commercial arena and is available on the streets now, but the military are also starting to employ drone technology for warfare especially the US. Other nations are not far behind and China is reportedly also showing significant interest.



Here´s a sample quote from a recent Wired Magazine article on how this new Drone Technology in the US Military is and will manifest itself in the future.

"In the past, small numbers of extremely expensive manned aircraft were the norm, but, in the next few years, large numbers of cheap, expendable drones will be deployed in real-world situations. The US Navy's Low-Cost UAV Swarming Technology (LOCUST) programme is fusing unmanned aircraft into a swarm, and will demonstrate 30 drones flying together somewhere over the ocean"

Via Wired

This looks to be the future of air warfare at least, the cost benefits are staggering and these Drones will have the ability to be aware of the other Drones in a swarm and harmonise with their movements. So how do these drones work in a battle scenario?

"It has a mission that it has to carry out, and it is self-reconfiguring so that if one drone gets taken out, the others autonomously change their behaviour to complete the mission." Any aircraft, manned or unmanned, can be brought down by a single missile, but a swarm can take multiple hits and keep going. Being able to absorb this type of damage makes the drone swarm hard to stop, especially when defences are geared towards shooting down single planes. Designing a system in which drones are aware of each others' movements is a big breakthrough"

via Wired

Drones at present can be remotely controlled from vast distances and therefore the loss of human life is reduced. They can fly relatively undetected and can prove difficult to target and destroy with conventional missile systems designed for much larger aircraft and helicopters. Even a large quantity of drones cost a fraction of a typical military aircraft"

According to Wired

"individual drones will position themselves autonomously, flying in formation without being told explicitly where to go".

The whole objective behind this military move is the cost effectiveness or relative throwaway nature of Drone technology.

" This is why "low cost" is part of the name -- the drones must be cheap enough to be expendable. "Reaching the point where an entire swarm of UAVs costs less than a single missile is the general objective," Mastroianni says. The goal seems realistic enough when you consider that the US Navy's Harpoon anti-ship missiles cost around $1.2 million (£770,000) each."

Full Article at Wired

Which brings us onto Bible Prophecy especially the Book of Revelation. There is a strong coincidental reference in Chapter 9 strangely enough to "Locusts" but upon reading the Bible verses in this Chapter it becomes immediately apparent that these are no ordinary Locusts.

Revelation 9:1-11
1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.
7. And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men.
8. And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.
9. And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle.
10. And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months.
11. And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.

The above verse was written by St John the Divine on the Island of Patmos and forms part of the Book of Revelation which is a horrific vision of future events. What was St John Divine seeing and also hearing here? Was it a symbolic form of Locusts, or was he just describing something that he didn't really understand, but tried his best in describing something that was happening 2000 years in the future.

These locusts as mentioned in Verse 4 were quite specific on what their mission was. They do not show the same animal behaviour as normal locusts. These are instructed to uncharacteristically touch NO vegetation which is what normal locusts would do. Instead they are to attack only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads. They were also instructed not to kill, but just to torment for 5 months, to the extent that these people will want to seek to take their own life, but they are unable to do so.

The sound they make or the sound made by their wings "was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle". Many before the Drone technology surfaced said that what St John was seeing and hearing were military helicopters but the image of a Drone or a vast number of them seems to fit the description in Revelation 9 much more accurately and would make a similar sound as mentioned in Chapter 9 in Revelation.

According to Popular Science these new Military Drones demonstrate that

“They are a collective organism, sharing one distributed brain for decision-making and adapting to each other like swarms in nature,”

according to Strategic Capabilities Office Director William Roper, before emphasising that there was a human in the loop.

The human in the loop seems to be the key words here, as the Locusts that are mentioned in Revelation 9 do not show the same animal type behaviour as normal Locusts but show almost human like behaviour in their ability to select their target and also avoid vegetation which would ordinarily be their natural target.

Locusts are mentioned a few times in the Bible in Leviticus and Joel and also in Psalms:

Proverbs 30:27 - The locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands;

Firstly it is Proverbs 30 that demonstrates that these Locusts are not your regular Locusts. Proverbs clearly states that the Locusts have no king. But the Locusts mentioned in Revelation 9:11 clearly DO have a King

Revelation 9:11
And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.

Secondly it is in Exodus where the Ten Plagues are unleashed on Pharaoh and all of Egypt especially the plague of locusts which demonstrates what locusts normally do and how they behave as demonstrated in Exodus 10.

Exodus 10:15 - 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.

You could say that the Locusts in Revelation 9 demonstrate the exact opposite behaviour of the plague of Locusts in Exodus 10. The Locusts in Exodus 10 were concerned with vegetation. The Locusts in Revelation 9 will be concerned with people. Watch this video below of a Drone attack simulation and listen to the sound they make at the end. Is this the sound that St John the Divine was describing in Revelation 9?


Perdix Swarm Demo Oct. 2016 by PopSci

Taking things a step further, even more recent developments have shown the surfacing of a new technology called Nano Drone Technology or MAV's. These are micro versions of the military drones and can be the size of a butterfly. Their intended use is more geared for surveillance purposes due to their small size and can stay in one location for days or even weeks via self powering options such as solar power.

Further information on this emerging field of technology via this video called Air Force Bugbot Nano Drone Technology


Conclusions:
Many modern day developments are fulfilling Bible Prophecy as we speak but this technological breakthrough really does have all the hallmarks of Revelation Chapter 9 written all over it. These drones can fly in formation like birds and can be as destructive as locusts.

The locusts that St John describes in Revelation are not the same Locusts mentioned in Exodus, these are far more sophisticated in nature and demonstrate an almost human quality which is exactly the same as these Drones, as they are remotely but human controlled. Revelation 9 is a strange one at best, but only time will tell whether the Locusts mentioned in Revelation 9 are symbolic, actual or the emerging military drone technology that is being developed right now in these modern times right under our very eyes?

Chapter 9 Book of Revelation KJV

Chapter 9 Book of Revelation KJV. The fifth angel and the opening of the bottomless pit and the plague of locusts that come to hurt man without the mark on their foreheads. The sixth angel releases the four angels in the Euphrates to a slay a quarter of men.

fifth angel, sixth angel, euphrates, bottomless pit, locusts, abaddon, apollyon, golden alter, four horns, god, four angels, river euphrates, horsemen, lions, brimstone, fire, smoke, plagues,

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.
7. And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men.
8. And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.
9. And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle.
10. And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months.
11. And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.
12. One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.
13. And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,
14. Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.
15. And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.
16. And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them.
17. And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.
18. By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.
19. For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt.
20. And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk:
21. Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.