GOD vs. gods

I am loving the opportunity to preach through the book of Exodus. I have been asked to post these messages, as some would prefer reading it here than listening to it at www.gbcwestlake.org This study has strengthened my faith, as I continue to learn about the one and only true God; and His dominace over all other "pretend" gods.


GOD vs. gods
Exodus 8:20-9:12

Please turn in your Bible to the second book of the Bible: Exodus, and find chapter 8. Exodus 8.

With 56 wins and 5 losses in a career, Muhammad Ali was known and is still known as the greatest professional boxer of all time. 3 of those losses came at the very end of his 20 year boxing career. His nicknames included: “The Greatest”, “The Champ” and “The Louisville lip”. I can even remember as a kid, not liking boxing; and yet I liked Muhammad Ali, and begged my parents for boxing gloves so I could beat up on my little brother and pretend to be “The Champ.”

He was known for his talking almost as much as for his boxing. Before his first title fight against Sonny Liston, he called him "the big ugly bear" (among other things), declared that he would "float like a butterfly and sting like a bee," saying "Your hands can't hit what your eyes can't see." For the next 20 years, Ali was greater than any other when it came to boxing; and celebrated as such. No matter how good another boxer was, Ali seemed to tower over him. And in the couple instances when Ali did lose, it didn’t take him long to regain the heavyweight championship and be known as The Greatest once again.

This morning, we are going to see how a King and his gods seemed to be greater than all others. This King had God’s people in bondage and had them under his control. Any stories of God’s power were quickly squashed by reminding people that the great nation of Egypt had the so-called people of God under their control for over 400 years. Who was The Champ now? Who was the Greatest?

Like with any other athlete or human being that was once great, there comes a time for the fall from glory and greatness. Although human history will still revere Ali as the greatest boxer of all time, his dominance that lasted for 20 years did come to an end. His parkinson’s disease has slowed him and made it more difficult to be seen as the man of power from the past. His past racial battles, religious dogma and battles with the law revealed a heart that was dedicated to himself more than any other; and that this boxer was revered as a god, chose to follow a god that was not the God who created all things, the God of Israel, the God of all Christians today. Even as a religious man, he lived for himself. Married 4 times to different women, with many adulterous relationships on the side, He was not dedicated to God’s way, but to his own.
So, although Ali towered in comparison to any other boxer and may be seen that way for years to come, he has been revealed to be just a man, weakened over time in physical power; and in the end, at the same place that every human being will be: accountable to the one and only true God, whose incredible power is recorded for us here, in the book of Exodus. He is the God that makes all other gods, whether human, made of gold, wood or metal, to be nothing in His presence.

For 430 years, God’s chosen people, Israel, had been slaves in Egypt. But God decided it was time to bring them out of bondage and lead them to the promised land, which was a part of special promises He gave to Abraham, who was the first of the nation of Israel; and to his son Isaac and to his son Jacob.

God called an 80 year old man, who had been wandering in the desert region of Midian as a shepherd, to be the guy to lead His people out of bondage. Through providing support through Aaron, Moses’ brother, and through miracles, God demonstrated that it would be the power He provided that would bring His people out, not the ability of Moses. God wanted everyone to know who He was, that He was the LORD, the promise keeping God who desires a special relationship with His people.

Since the king of Egypt, known as Pharaoh, did not want to let God’s people go, God decided to bring 10 plagues of judgment on Egypt and its people. We covered the first 3 a few weeks ago; and the main question that was answered was this:: Who has the power: God’s servants or Pharaoh’s servants? We found out, that even though the servants of Pharaoh seemed to have just as much or more power than God’s servants, in the end it was evident the real power was with God and His servants.

This morning, we move into the next cycle of plagues, numbers 4-6. A key question that can be asked is this: Who has the protection: God’s people (the people of Israel) or Pharaoh’s people (the people of Egypt)? The way we are going to find out the answer to that, is to see how the God of Israel fairs against the gods of Egypt. But, instead of fighting face to face, since the gods of Egypt were not real, God uses plagues to show that the gods of Egypt are no match for the one and only true God.

In his book: Be Delivered, Warren Wiersbe reviews how the first 3 plagues were victories for God against the gods of Egypt. In Plague 1, water was turned to blood.This was a judgment on the Nile River itself, which was treated like a god, and on Hapi, the god of the Nile, and Isis, the goddess of the Nile.
In Plague 2, which was the frogs, the goddess of resurrection, fertility and childbirth that had the head of a frog, Heqet was shown to be powerless. Plus, in Egypt, the frog was a fertility symbol. In fact, it was during this plague, that Moses told Pharaoh that the frogs would be taken away for this purpose:

Exodus 8:10 – “…so that you may know that there is no one like the LORD our God.”

And in plague 3, there were the gnats. The fact that the desert dust became gnats was judgment against Set, the Egyptian god of the desert. Jehovah was so great that He could give life to insignificant dust and use that life to punish the people who revered Set. This brings us up to date, and to plague number 4.

Plague 4 (8:20-32)

Exodus 8:20,21 – “Then the LORD said to Moses, Rise up early in the morning and present yourself to Pharaoh, as he goes out to the water, and say to him, Thus says the LORD, Let my people go, that they may serve me. Or else, if you will not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies on you and your servants and your people, and into your houses. And the houses of the Egyptians shall be filled with swarms of flies, and also the ground on which they stand.”

A couple of weeks ago, I explained that the first 9 of these 10 plagues are presented to us in 3 cycles of 3. God chose to have Moses record them this way, so that we would learn, not only from the facts of what took place, but from how God chose to communicate them to us and have them recorded.

In the first plague of each cycle, the LORD (remember this is the name of God: Jehovah, who was known for keeping His promises and desiring a close, special relationship with His people)…the LORD told Moses to go to Pharaoh in the morning; and with that, each cycle begins. The LORD, once again, instructed Moses to confront Pharaoh by the Nile River, a very significant site for Pharaoh, Moses and the plagues so far. And also, with the first plagues of each cycle, there is…

The Warning: If you do not let MY PEOPLE go, to serve me, I will…

Over and over again, God, through Moses and Aaron, says to Pharaoh, release My people from bondage so that they can serve Me, that is, worship Me. These were Jehovah’s people and that special relationship He talked about was to include their corporate worship of Him, where He wanted them to be. So, in 3 of the first 4 plagues, there is this warning: let My people go, or else.

But, in this cycle of plagues, we have some comments made by God there were not made in the first 3. Although it was evident that these plagues were on Egypt and not Israel, He now makes it clear as to why:

Exodus 8:22,23 – “But on that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, where my people dwell, so that no swarms of flies shall be there, that you may know that I am the LORD in the midst of the earth. Thus I will put a division between my people and your people. Tomorrow this sign shall happen.”

The Distinction: I will plague YOUR PEOPLE but not MY PEOPLE

God is making it very clear here: I am going to deliver and protect the people I have chosen. But you and your people, who have opposed me, I will judge with these plagues. God makes a distinction here between His people and Pharaoh’s people, the people of Israel and the people of Egypt, the people of the many and various gods; and the people of the one and only true God.

And God gives the major reason for why He is making this distinction. Here is the purpose (v.22):
· So that you will know who I am (The LORD)

That is a constant theme throughout these plagues. God wanted His own people to know Him, and His enemies to know exactly who He was as well. In fact, the very things that God does in these plagues directly oppose and defeat the gods that Pharaoh and all of Egypt worship, instead of Him. God is making a very strong statement about Himself as He brings these plagues of judgment, only on Egypt and its possessions.

Exodus 8:24 – “And the LORD did so. There came great swarms of flies into the house of Pharaoh and into his servants’ houses. Throughout all the land of Egypt the land was ruined by the swarms of flies.”

The Plague: Flies
Literally, the “great swarms of flies” here is “a heavy or oppressive swarm”. It could be interpreted flies or seen as a variety of insects. They came into Pharaoh’s house, his servants’ houses and all throughout the land of Egypt, it was just swarming with these flies. And there weren’t enough fly swatters available to care for them. This was not just an inconvenient accident; but this was a purposeful plague intended to judge the people of Egypt. These were most likely the biting types of flies that were not just irritating because they were all over the place, but painful as well.

The Statement: “I am God and Beelzebub, the god of flies, is not!”
I use the word statement and put this statement in quotes because God doesn’t say this out loud here. He says it, emphatically, through His actions. Some think this was a direct strike against Re, a main Egyptian god; or even their god Uatchit. Regardless, God demonstrated that He was in power, and no other god, that was represented by a fly or insect, was greater than He.

This brought a response from the king of Egypt:
Exodus 8:25-27 – “Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said, Go, sacrifice to your God within the land. But Moses said, It would not be right to do so, for the offerings we shall sacrifice to the LORD our God are an abomination to the Egyptians. It we sacrifice offerings abominable to the Egyptians before their eyes, will they not stone us? We must go three days’ journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the LORD our God as he tells us.”

The Response:
· Pharaoh tried a compromise: worship your God right where you are

Pharaoh tried to get out of this mess through compromise, still trying to accomplish his goals. He suggested they go and worship to their God, but stay within the boundaries of the land where they were right then. But Moses immediately responded that it was not good enough. In fact, the bull or cow, that the Israelites would be sacrificing, were specifically sacred to the Egyptian people and there would be riots that resulted. Instead, they needed to do exactly what God had called them to do. As Moses said: Our God is the LORD and we will do what He says.

Exodus 8:28-30 – “So Pharaoh said, I will let you go to sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only you must not go very far away. Plead for me. Then Moses said, Behold, I am going out from you and I will plead with the LORD that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people, tomorrow. Only let not Pharaoh cheat again by not letting the people go to sacrifice to the LORD. So Moses went out form Pharaoh and prayed to the LORD”

· Pharaoh said they could take a short journey away, but God needed to stop the plague

Pharaoh continued his bargaining and tried what had worked before: he promised to let them go, if the LORD stopped the plague right away; and he pleaded with them to not go very far. So, Moses goes out from Pharaoh’s presence, warning him like you might a child: now, don’t cheat again as you did before and not really let God’s people go. I can just see Pharaoh giving him a nod and weak “ok” (thumbs up) as Moses left to plead with God to stop the plague. Moses was praying that this all was about to be over…no such luck.

Exodus 8:31,32 – “So Moses went out from Pharaoh and prayed to the LORD. And the LORD did as Moses asked, and removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; not one remained. But Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also, and did not let the people go.

God was not fooled by this, but this was all a part of His plan. Moses prayed, He stopped the plague, even to the point, where verse 31 states: “not one (fly) remained”. BUT, the final response in this plague revealed the true heart of the King:

· Pharaoh continued to harden his heart and went back on his promise

No, we shouldn’t be surprised by this anymore; but it should still be amazing to us, that this man would have this hard of heart. A hard heart, as we defined it a few weeks ago, is unresponsive to the truth; and usually revolves around power and control. Pharaoh was the epitome of that! He promised to let the people go, but once the flies had disappeared, so did his promise!

SO WHAT?
· God makes Himself known as a promise keeper- trust in His Word

The purpose for this plague was so that people would know He was the LORD: the promise keeping God. He said He would protect His people and only bring these plagues on the people of Egypt and that is exactly what happened. He had promised that Pharaoh would harden his heart; and he did. God promised to send the plague; and it was no empty threat.

· God’s enemies are deceitful – don’t believe their lies

The King of Egypt here, Pharaoh, represents all enemies of God, as well as His arch enemy, Satan. The enemy of God will say anything to make it easier on Himself; and when it is more comfortable, he “forgets” about his promises. As it relates to Satan, the Bible tells us that He is the Father of Lies; and that He spends His time trying to deceive as many people as possible. The best way to be prepared for this is to know God and His Word, so that you can discern when someone is trying to deceive you. And, of course, we need to make sure that we are not being deceitful in our lives, living as His enemy.

Ok – if you are a cat lover, you may want to close your ears for a couple minutes! Haddon Robinson tells this story in his book: “What Jesus said about successful living.” A man in New York City met and married a wife who had a cat. Actually the cat had her. She loved the cat. She stroked it, combed its fur, fed it, and pampered it. The man detested the cat. He was allergic to cat hair; he hated the smell of the litter box; he couldn’t stand the scratching on the furniture; and he couldn’t get a good night’s sleep because the cat kept jumping on the bed. When his wife was out of town for the weekend, he put the cat in a bag with some rocks, dumped it in the Hudson River, and uttered a joyful good-bye to the cat. When his wife returned and could not find her cat, she was overwhelmed with grief.

Her husband said, look Honey, I know how much that cat meant to you. I’m going to put an ad in the paper and give a reward of five hundred dollars to anyone who finds the cat. No cat showed up, so a few days later he said, honey, you mean ore to me than anything else on earth. If that cat is precious to you, it is precious to me. I’ll tell you what I’ll do. I’ll buy another ad and raise the ante. We’ll increase the reward to one thousand dollars.

A friend saw the ad and exclaimed, you must be nuts; there isn’t a cat on earth that is worth a thousand dollars. The man replied, Well, when you know what I know, you can afford to be generous. Don’t hate me cat lovers! Here is a man that desires comfort over true sacrificial love; and gets rid of the cat. Not only that, he takes the position of power that it is his right to it, and to cover it up. So, he makes promises he has no intention of keeping and uses deception to make himself look good.

So did Pharaoh, King of Egypt. This was about power, even though he should have figured it out by now – he was overmatched. In order to bring himself comfort, which in this case, meant getting rid of the current plague, he deceived Moses and seemingly, God as well. In his mind, he still had the power, the control, and could manipulate things as he desired. That had always been his experience.

Perhaps if he could just get rid of this plague through deception, empty promises, then maybe the plagues would be over, the luck of Moses would run out, his magicians power or the power of the gods would return and make everything his again. But, as with all deceivers, and even with Satan Himself, the end will bring out the truth, and in the end, God will judge the deceivers and reveal that it is He who is really in control.

Plague 5 (9:1-7)

Exodus 9:1-3 – “Then the LORD said to Moses, Go in to Pharaoh and say to him, Thus says the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me. For if you refuse to let them go and still hold them, behold, the hand of the LORD will fall with a very severe plague upon your livestock that are in the field, the horses, the donkeys, the camels, the herds, and the flocks.”

The warning: If you do not let MY PEOPLE go, to serve Me…

· I am the God of the Jews (v.2)

He did not mean by this that He was only their God; but that these were His chosen people; and in distinction to the people of Egypt, it is the people of Israel, the Jews, who were worshippers of Him, while the Egyptian people and leaders worshipped a varied assortment of dead gods.

Exodus 9:4 – “But the LORD will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, so that nothing of all that belongs to the people of Israel shall die.”

The Distinction: I will kill Egypt’s livestock but protect Israel’s livestock.
Here was another way God was going to make a distinction between His people and Pharaoh’s. And this is the first time, it will include death; but it won’t be the last.

· The hand of the LORD will fall…
In plague 3, the end of the first cycle of plagues, the Egyptian magicians noted: This is the finger of God. Here, Moses predicts that God’s hand will fall on Egypt and bring about this plague. God is personally involved, even to the extent of demonstrating human like qualities in carrying out His judgment.

Exodus 9:5,6 – “And the LORD set a time, saying, Tomorrow the LORD will do this thing in the land. And the next day the LORD did this thing. All the livestock of the Egyptians died, but not one of the livestock of the people of Israel died.”

The Plague: The livestock of Egypt died
Just as the LORD had said, all the livestock of Egypt that were in the field, died; but not one of the domesticated animals of Israel. They were protected. Whether this plague was brought by God through disease because of the dead frogs and swarms of flies carrying germs, or God just killed the animals, the result was the same. The livestock of Egypt that were in the field – all dead…the livestock where Israel was – all alive. Coincidence? Not a chance! And once again, this was a clear message as to which God was real and which one had the power. It is as though God were making:

The Statement: I am God, and Apis, the sacred bull or Hathor, the goddess of love, beauty and joy, depicted as a woman with the head of a cow..they are not!

Exodus 9:7 – “And Pharaoh sent, and behold, not one of the livestock of Israel was dead. But the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people go.”

The Response:
· Pharaoh checked to see if God was telling the truth
God had said that it would only be those animals in Egypt that would die, and none in Israel. But, Pharaoh had to see for himself if this was true. He found out that everything happened just as God said it would. Once he saw it was true, guess what?

· Pharaoh hardened his heart again
Pharaoh was a king that didn’t let the facts get in the way. He had seen God bring 5 plagues on He and His people and the animals of Egypt. He checked it out for himself to make sure that what God said about Israel being protected was true. And yet, his heart was still hard, unresponsive to the truth.

In Martha Ostenso’s Dictionary of Humorous Quotations, she wrote: “Edith lived in a little world bounded on the north, south, east, and west by Edith.” That could have said of Pharaoh. Pharaoh lived in a little world bounded on the north, south, east and west by Pharaoh. This was all about Pharaoh. He didn’t care who had protection or not – God’s people or his people. He cared about himself and his power. He questioned God at every turn, even when it was clear who was really in control.

In his book: Spiritual Leadership, J. Oswald Sanders writes: “Egotism is one of the repulsive manifestations of pride. It is the practice of thinking and speaking much of oneself, the habit of magnifying one’s attainments or importance. It leads one to consider everything in its relation to himself rather than in relation to God and the welfare of his people.”

SO WHAT?
· God is interested in His people worshipping Him
This is not just for the people of Israel back in Egypt. This is something God has always been interested in; and it is something every believer is to pursue. God talked about His people serving Him, worshipping Him. He talked about being the God of the Hebrews, the Jews. When we come into the New Testament, we find out that He is the God of all who believe; and that we become His children when we trust in Christ:

John 1:12 – “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”

Speaking to all Christians, the Bible says:
I Peter 2:9 – “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

· The enemies of God question Him
Pharaoh questioned whether God was telling the truth and checked to see if what God said had come true. This is indicative of the enemies of God. They don’t believe what God has said in His Word – they don’t trust Him. From the very beginning of the human race, Satan Himself has been questioning God and trying to get any other humans to question the validity of God’s promises and claims as well. Be careful not to make yourself like an enemy of God by questioning His Word yourself.
Plague 6 (9:8-12)

Exodus 9:8– “And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, Take handfuls of soot from the kiln, and let Moses throw them in the air in the sight of Pharaoh.”

The Warning: NONE
The 3rd plague in this cycle is just like the 3rd plague in the first cycle. There was a warning for the first 2 plagues of the cycle, but none for this third. There comes a time when God stops giving warnings, and the judgment just comes without one.

Exodus 9:9 – “It shall become fine dust over all the land of Egypt, and become boils breaking out in sores on man and beast throughout all the land of Egypt.”

The Distinction: The boils would be on the people and animals of Egypt
As with the first 2 plagues in this cycle, it is clear that the plague is for Egypt only; which means the people and animals of Israel are once again protected.

Exodus 9:10 – “So they took soot from the kiln and stood before Pharaoh. And Moses threw it in the air, and it became boils breaking out in sores on man and beast.”

The Plague: Boils

You might wonder how boils, this 6th plague could break out on the animals of Egypt if they had none left after plague 5, right? Well, back in verse 3, it tells us that the plague of livestock dying would be for those animals that were in the fields. Apparently, there were also animals in some type of shelter; and these would be the animals that received part of this plague of boils. Out of the kiln, the furnace, the soot is thrown into the air, and incredible pain comes on the Egyptians.

Charles Swindoll, in his book on Moses, wrote: “The Hebrew language describes these boils as “inflamed eruptions, breaking forth into [puss filled blisters on the skin …Think of the anguish such sores would cause behind your knee, where your body bends at the joints, or under the arms, at the elbows, around the waist, on the ankles and feet. You wouldn’t be able to walk, or sleep, or even sit down and relax. Perhaps, like Job, you’d find yourself huddled on some ash heap, scraping yourself with a shard of pottery. The pain would be intolerable. And remember, these boils came unannounced…”

As it relates to the gods that were shown to be inept in this plague:The Bible knowledge Commentary says: “The Egyptians, fearfully aware of epidemics, worshiped Sekhmet, a lion-headed goddess with alleged power over disease; Sunu, the pestilence god; and Isis, goddess of healing. Yet these deities could not deliver the people and animals from their torments.”

The Statement: I am God, and Sekhmet, Sunu and Isis are not!
There were even more gods that they may have looked to for help that we haven’t even mentioned. But, it doesn’t matter. Each time, God demonstrated, through the plagues, that it was He was bringing the judgment; and none of these gods could do anything about it. And yet, this is where Pharaoh and the people of Egypt put their trust!

Exodus 9:11 – “And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils came upon the magicians and upon all the Egyptians.”

The Response:
· Egypt’s magicians were not exempt and could do nothing about it

Egypt’s magicians should have had total access to the power that all of their gods provided; and yet they were also suffering with the boils to the point that they could not even face off with Moses. They and their gods had no power, could not duplicate the plague, and certainly could not get rid of the boils!

Exodus 9:12 – “But the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he did not listen to them, as the LORD had spoken to Moses.”

· God hardened Pharaoh’s heart and he did not listen
We can easily struggle with this “God hardened Pharaoh’s heart” phrase. I spent some extra time on it in the message on March 29th entitled: Act of God. You can listen to that online or get the CD if you would like to hear more about this phrase and what it means. Some of you purchased the Life Change personal Bible study book for Exodus; and I want to read you something from there that helps a little with this: how can the Bible tell us that Pharaoh hardened his heart but it also tells us that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart?

“Europeans and Americans are raised with a system of thought that originated in ancient Greece. This system stresses logic – the kind mathematicians use to deduce axioms in geometry, and the kind Sherlock Holmes made famous for solving crimes. Greek logic insists that opposites contradict each other and cannot both be true.

By contrast, Hebrews believed that opposites are often both true. In the Bible we find Jesus, the apostles, and the prophets often holding apparently conflicting ideas in tension. A prime example is divine sovereignty versus human responsibility. This is a logical contradiction for Greek-minded people, but for the Hebrew mind it is a profound paradox to be held together. ‘Both…and’, not ‘either/or’, is often the biblical viewpoint.”

SO WHAT?
· God’s judgment is eventually on His enemies
His enemies would be anyone that does not believe everything He has said; and those who have not been willing to give their lives to Jesus Christ. You can be His enemy, even though you believe there is a God and you are a religious person. It is all about whether or not you have made the personal decision to follow Jesus.

Yes it is true that God disciplines even His own children. Yes it is additionally true that sometime the enemies of God seem to prosper while the people of God suffer and die. It does happen. Things don’t always go according to our plan. But, an important thing to keep in mind, is that, in the end, it is the enemies of God that receive the judgment, not God’s people.

And in this case, it is most important to point out that when our human experience is over, there will be final judgments. Those judgments are not based on who was more moral; but according to whom placed their faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone for their salvation. The Bible says:

John 3:18 – “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”

There is a condemnation, already, on those who do not believe. That condemnation results in final separation from God and eternal suffering:

Revelation 20:15 – “And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”

Those who truly believe are not condemned, even though we continually fail. The Bible says that those who have believed have life with God for eternity:

John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

If you are confused by this at all; or want to make sure that you have eternal life waiting for you, with God, after death, just let us know; and we would love to talk with you.

· God’s enemies are no match for the power of the one and only true God

We see it in this story, when God brings these plagues and the gods they worshipped could do nothing about it. No matter how powerful the world seems to be and the gods that they worship (even self); the truth is that there is only one true God. He has the power and control; even though He chooses, for now, to allow Satan and the rest of His enemies to seem like the one in control.

His plan is being carried out. The timing, from His perspective, is just right. And just as with the magicians and gods of Egypt, there will come a time when it is evident to all that the true God is the only one to be worshipped. The Bible tells us that any day Jesus could return to the clouds, to receive His people to Himself:

I Thessalonians 4:16,17 – “For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them it he clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.”

The Bible also says that those who do not believe will be left behind to face 7 terrible years of Tribulation – a time that will be incredibly worse than the 10 plagues! And when it is all over, even those who had always opposed God, will have to admit that God was right all along. And even though they never chose to worship Him while alive, they will have no choice as they face their final judgment:

Philippians 2:10,11 – “So that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Let me encourage you to learn a lesson from the story of these plagues in Egypt. Choose now to be one who will believe in God’s Word and follow Him wholeheartedly. What is God asking you to do in response to this message today?