return of Christ

Sooner or later, sin has consequences. A holy God will judge the unrepentant. This is true for individuals and nations.

When God’s people live in an evil society, will they suffer the same punishment as the unrighteous? That would contradict divine justice, wouldn’t it? The Lord has to get them out of the way before He visits judgment on the wicked. This is the principle behind the doctrine of the Rapture. As we discussed last week, the Rapture is the return of Christ to take Christians out of the world before God’s judgment comes.

We explored two Old Testament illustrations of this principle. Before the Flood, God instructed Noah to build an ark to save the life of his family. And before angels destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, they led Lot and his family away. So the pattern holds: God removes the righteous, then He judges.

But Scripture contains another pattern: God protects His own in the midst of judgment.

We find this laid out in the book of Exodus.

To force Pharaoh to liberate the enslaved Israelites, God used Moses and Aaron to visit Egypt with ten plagues (Exodus 7:14-11:10). The Bible clarifies that each plague fell on “the land of Egypt.” Since the Israelites were stuck there, they must have endured those trials, too.

For example, the first plague consisted of turning the water of the Nile to blood (Exodus 7:14-24). Anyone, Jewish or Egyptian, drawing from the river would have consumed sullied water. So it looks like God’s people suffered the ill effects of His wrath along with the Egyptians.

But the descriptions of six plagues reveal something different. It starts with the fourth plague.

1. Flies

“If you do not let my people go, I will send swarms of flies on you and your officials, on your people and into your houses. The houses of the Egyptians will be full of flies; even the ground will be covered with them. ²²But on that day I will deal differently with the land of Goshen, where my people live; no swarms of flies will be there, so that you will know that I, the LORD, am in this land. ²³I will make a distinction between my people and your people. This sign will occur tomorrow.” – Exodus 8:21-23

God promised to isolate the region of the Israelites from the plague of flies. By this action, the Lord would prove to the Egyptians that He was “in this land.” They couldn’t presume God was weak, distant, or fake. And the Israelites would learn how much He cares for them.

2. Livestock

“‘But the LORD will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and that of Egypt, so that no animal belonging to the Israelites will die.’ ⁵The LORD set a time and said, ‘Tomorrow the LORD will do this in the land.’ 6And the next day the LORD did it: All the livestock of the Egyptians died, but not one animal belonging to the Israelites died. ⁷Pharaoh investigated and found that not even one of the animals of the Israelites had died. Yet his heart was unyielding and he would not let the people go.” – Exodus 9:4-7

None of the cattle belonging to the Israelites died. In the midst of judgment, God spared the property of His people.

3. Boils

The sixth plague consisted of boils on people and animals.

“Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, ‘Take handfuls of soot from a furnace and have Moses toss it into the air in the presence of Pharaoh. ⁹It will become fine dust over the whole land of Egypt, and festering boils will break out on people and animals throughout the land.’ ¹⁰So they took soot from a furnace and stood before Pharaoh. Moses tossed it into the air, and festering boils broke out on people and animals. ¹¹The magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils that were on them and on all the Egyptians. ¹²But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart and he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said to Moses.” – Exodus 9:8-12

The Egyptians and their magicians suffered the outbreak of boils. But the Israelites go unmentioned. Did God shield them? If so, we’re seeing a pattern develop.

4. Hail

The seventh plague consisted of a hailstorm which tore up the crops of the country. But God gave the Egyptians an opportunity to protect their goods. In other words, they could repent and believe the message of Moses. They faced ruin only if they scorned the warning.

“‘Give an order now to bring your livestock and everything you have in the field to a place of shelter, because the hail will fall on every person and animal that has not been brought in and is still out in the field, and they will die.’ ²⁰Those officials of Pharaoh who feared the word of the LORD hurried to bring their slaves and their livestock inside. ²¹But those who ignored the word of the LORD left their slaves and livestock in the field . . . ²⁵Throughout Egypt hail struck everything in the fields–both people and animals; it beat down everything growing in the fields and stripped every tree. ²⁶The only place it did not hail was the land of Goshen, where the Israelites were.” – Exodus 9:19-21, 25-26

Those who took to heart the word of the Lord preserved themselves. Those who didn’t, didn’t. But the Israelites encountered no hail at all. None! Again, God exempted His people from His judgment.

5. Darkness

The ninth plague brought darkness across Egypt. Yet again, Israel escaped judgment.

“Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that darkness spreads over Egypt–darkness that can be felt.’ ²²So Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and total darkness covered all Egypt for three days. ²³No one could see anyone else or move about for three days. Yet all the Israelites had light in the places where they lived.” – Exodus 10:21-23

Solar eclipses frightened ancient peoples, so imagine how the Egyptians reacted to three days of darkness! And compound that with their observation that the Israelites were fine!

6. Death of the Firstborn

The final plague was the death of the firstborn. 

“So Moses said, ‘This is what the LORD says: “About midnight I will go throughout Egypt. ⁵Every firstborn son in Egypt will die, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh, who sits on the throne, to the firstborn son of the female slave, who is at her hand mill, and all the firstborn of the cattle as well. ⁶There will be loud wailing throughout Egypt–worse than there has ever been or ever will be again. ⁷But among the Israelites not a dog will bark at any person or animal.” Then you will know that the LORD makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.’” – Exodus 11:4-7

This was too much for Pharaoh and he allowed the Israelites to leave. (Of course, he changed his mind and sent his army after them, but that didn’t work out too well!) The death of the firstborn was the culmination of the destruction of a nation.

By contrast, the death and resurrection of Jesus, God’s Firstborn Son, creates a new people.

“John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, ⁵and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, ⁶and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father–to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.” – Revelation 1:4-6

Conclusion

The accounts of the Flood and Sodom and Gomorrah illustrate a pre-Tribulation Rapture. God gets His people to safety before raining (see what I did there?) judgment on the world. By contrast, the Exodus portrays a post-Tribulation Rapture. God protects His people in the midst of judgment.

So will we Christians go through the Tribulation or not? We’ll delve into this next week, but regardless of our theological position, the way before us is clear. We should trust in and serve the Lord Jesus with all the years and energy we have. That’s the best way to be ready for the Rapture!