Adult Sunday School - Part 11 - Let my people go

Adult Sunday School - Part 11 - Let my people go - by P.K.Odendaal - August 2012 

Now that we have learnt what a type is and how one story is mapped to another, we can look at Exodus and Revelation, in which Exodus is mapped to Revelation. Both have the central theme of releasing God's people from bondage into bliss.

To understand this story we must start with what belongs to whom.

God has made the earth and it belonged to Him, but He decided to give dominion over it, without any strings attached, to Adam and Eve, to dress and to keep: Gen 1:26  And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

However, Satan also wanted the earth and found a way to swindle them out of their inheritance, by delusion and lies. So now it belongs to Satan. This is confirmed by Satan in the temptation of Christ: Mat 4:8  Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; v:9  And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.

So now, all that is on earth belongs to Satan by default. However, we may claim deliverance from this tyranny in the name of God, because we still have our own free will, which Satan could not annex, and we can choose what we want. So we may be squatters (sorry for my degenerative word - Gods' word puts it more softy) on earth whilst we serve God - and we must labour for a living - on God's instruction to Adam. The fact that we are squatters on earth is confirmed in this scripture : Heb 11:13  These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. However, it is not as simple as I have stated it.

And this is exactly what God found when the children of Israel called unto Him to deliver them from the domination of Pharaoh - a nation in bondage and slavery: Exo 3:7  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; v:8  And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey;

However, Pharaoh did not want to let God's people go. He wanted to keep them in bondage and slavery. The instruction from God that we should work for our daily bread, was exploited by the kings of this world to bring us into slavery - even today. And thus you find Israel then, and us now, in bondage and slavery, although Israel, and we now, do not believe it. Joh 8:33  They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?

This was not God's purpose for us. He wants us to be free, and therefore he has set two occasions where we would be freed from this slavery. Firstly, Israel would be freed from Pharaoh and Egypt, and secondly, we will be freed from Satan and this world.

God had to send ten plagues to Egypt to persuade Pharaoh to let His people go. And this is precise what Revelation is all about. God will be sending ten plagues (seven trumpets and three woes) onto the earth to persuade Satan to let God's people go - so that they may be raptured from this earth.

We thus expect that there will be some agreement or correlation between these two sets of plagues - those in Exodus and those in Revelation, but the timing of the two events are four thousand years apart, and God cannot use the same plagues, although in principle they are the same - but locusts are not real locusts in Revelation, but aeroplanes. God could not use aeroplanes in Pharaoh's time, as he will be using in Revelations as so aptly described by John here (not having seen one in real life) : Rev 9:7  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. v:8  And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. v: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. v:10  And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months.

There is another interesting facet to the plagues in Revelation, and that is the revenge of God on the kings of this earth, Satan and men of sin, in that a series containing six is used over and over again, an added complication which was not present in the plagues of Egypt. Although I have postulated seven trumpets and three woes above, the truth is much more complex. God sends seven seals, but only six seals are opened before the seventh seal's trumpets start. The seven trumpets sound, but only six are heard before the seven thunders sound, and only six thunders are heard before the seven woes start .. and so on. It is much more complicated because of its discrete and probably disjointed progression, due to the incorrect sequencing of the book of Revelation during later compilation. Some of these visions are also sealed as God told Daniel : Dan 12:4  But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.

There is a misconception that God will reuse the earth to establish His thousand year kingdom, but that is based on an incorrect reading of the scripture. Firstly, it is inconceivable that God would establish his kingdom on an earth which belongs to Satan. God will not take from Satan which was rightly swindled. Scripture says there will be a new heaven (sun and stars) and a new earth. The sky can only change by going to a new planet, so to speak. It also says the new planet will have no seas, whilst the earth have seas - and what a mess this earth will be in after all these vials of wrath of God have been poured on the earth. It is also doubtful whether God would establish His kingdom on an earth which has been stained with the blood of the martyrs and innocent people: Psa 106:38 And shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan: and the land was polluted with blood.

The way God will release His people from this earth will be by a rapture after the great tribulation and the last trumpet : 1 Co 15:52  In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. and 1Th 4:16  For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: v:17  Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.