Welcome back to All About the Rapture. Today, we are going to look at another Old Testament story that teaches us about the rapture: the story of Israel’s exodus from Egypt. The Exodus is the best symbolic example of the Tribulation Period and the rapture that we have in the Bible. It shows God’s people living in an ungodly land, persecuted by the ungodly, and then God dealing with the ungodly by pouring out a number of plagues upon them before finally removing His people and utterly destroying the wicked. It’s the format of the end times, and, by studying it, we learn a lot about the Tribulation Period and the rapture.
When looking at the Exodus and comparing it to the end times, you must keep in mind that it teaches us by using broad symbolism. That means that you have to look at the big picture in order to see the truths that the story shows. I’m sure you’re already familiar with this type of symbolism. A well-known Christian example is the Old Testament story of Joseph and how it symbolizes and foretells the story of Jesus. In it, we have Joseph, betrayed by his brothers and sent away into slavery. But in being sent away, he was actually preparing a path for them, a path that would lead to their salvation. It took many years, but he was finally reunited with them, and he revealed himself to be not only the brother they had betrayed all those years ago, but their savior as he saved them from a severe famine and certain death.
In Jesus’ story, Jesus was betrayed by His brothers the Jews and crucified. But in dying, he was actually preparing a path for them and creating a place of life and salvation for them in God. And, at some point in the future, He will come again and reveal Himself to them as not only the One they betrayed and sent away (crucified), but as their Savior.
That’s the type of symbolism we’re looking at with the story of the Exodus and with the future events of the Tribulation Period and the rapture. It is broad, big-picture symbolism. If you look at the stories of Joseph and Jesus under a microscope and try to compare them, you will find so many differences that you will end up confusing yourself and missing the point. And it’s the same with the end times and the Exodus. If you examine them under a microscope, you will find so many differences and discrepancies that you will confuse yourself and miss the point. In order to understand the symbolism, you have to take a big step back look at the overall big picture. Only then will you see the truths of what these stories are showing us. So, let’s look at the story of the Exodus and see what it is telling us about the end times and the rapture.
The story of the Exodus is found in the book of Exodus, chapters 1-14. In it, we find that the Israelites were being oppressed by a harsh, ungodly regime. They had become slaves in the land of Egypt and were crying out to God to deliver them. God heard their cries, but before he delivered them, he dealt with Egypt by sending many plagues upon them. The plagues were sent in order to show His power over the Pharaoh and his false gods, to show that there is no God stronger than the God of the Jews. And though the plagues were sent upon Egypt, and the Israelites lived in Egypt, God was able to keep the plagues from harming them. He was able to distinguish between the Egyptians and the Israelites and keep His people safe.
Once God was finished dealing with Egypt and showing them His power, He was finally ready to rescue His people and remove them from Egypt. Their rescue was a two-step process. First, God sent the most devastating plague yet and killed the firstborn of all the Egyptians. In response to this, and with a great cry, Pharaoh at long last allowed Moses and the Israelites to leave. So, the Israelites took their belongings – including items that the Israelites had recently asked for and received from their Egyptian neighbors, such as gold, silver, jewels, and an assortment of other valuables – that God had told them to have prepared because their departure would be hasty, and they left, following Moses as he led them out of Egypt and into the wilderness.
After a short amount of time passed, God hardened Pharaoh’s heart once again, and Pharaoh changed his mind. He decided that he wasn’t going to allow the Israelites to leave, so he gathered his army and chased into the wilderness to capture them and bring them back. At this point, the Israelites saw that Pharaoh and his army were in pursuit, and they were terrified because they were blocked in by the Red Sea and had nowhere to go to escape the fast-approaching army.
Now for the second step of their rescue: God then told Moses to stand by the Sea, raise his staff, and stretch his hand out over the waters, and as he stretched out his hand, the waters would part and create a path for the Israelites so that they could escape. As Moses obeyed and stretched out his hand, God parted the Sea, and the Israelites safely crossed to the other side. As Pharaoh and the Egyptian army came to the Sea, it was still parted, so they, too, attempted to cross. But, as they were halfway through, God released the waters and the Sea came crashing back together, thus destroying the Pharaoh and his entire army.
That’s the story of the Exodus. Now, let’s look at what it teaches us about the end times and the rapture. In the previous entries in this website, I have gone into great detail explaining exactly why the pre-Tribulation rapture belief is wrong. The Bible never says that we disappear. The Bible never says that we are going to leave the planet and spend the Tribulation Period in heaven. In John 4:1-4, Jesus did not mean that someday we are literally going to live in mansions in heaven. Revelation 4:2 does not represent the rapture. Once you realize that the pre-Tribulation rapture belief is wrong, that it is based on a complete misinterpretation of Scripture, it then frees you to accept the obvious, which is that Matthew 24:29-31 and 1 Thessalonians 4:14-17 are talking about the same event. Matthew 24 shows the Second Coming. It describes Jesus appearing in the sky, coming on the clouds of heaven, and with the sound of a trumpet, His people are gathered together. 1 Thessalonians 4:14-17 shows the rapture. It shows Jesus descending from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, the trumpet of God, and His people being gathered together to meet Him in the air. These passages are describing the same event. They show us unequivocally that the rapture happens at the Second Coming. Once you realize that, everything else falls into place. It means that we will be here for the Tribulation Period. We will be here when the anti-Christ is in power. We will be here when God pours out His judgment upon the anti-Christ and his kingdom. And that we will be removed immediately before Jesus destroys the anti-Christ and his kingdom, which happens at the end of the Tribulation Period.
And when you look at that format, you realize that you have seen it somewhere before: it is the story of the Exodus. In the Exodus, God’s people lived in Egypt during the reign of the Pharaoh. They remained in Egypt as God poured out His judgments upon Egypt. And though His people lived in Egypt as God poured out His judgments, God was able to distinguish between the Egyptians and His own people, and His judgments didn’t touch His people. And after all His judgments had been poured out, God removed His people from Egypt and then immediately destroyed the Pharaoh and Egypt.
We even have additional symbolism that confirms that this story is foreshadowing the end times. One: In the Exodus, God tells the Israelites to pack their bags, make their unleavened bread, and be prepared to leave. Throughout the New Testament, Jesus and Paul continually admonish us to be prepared, to not let the Day of the Lord come upon us like a thief in the night. Two: In the Exodus, the Israelites’ departure was preceded by a shout, by the collective cry of the Egyptians mourning the loss of their firstborn. At the rapture, our departure will be preceded by Jesus’ shout of victory as He returns to claim us as His own. Three: In the Exodus, the Israelites left Egypt carrying gold, silver, jewels, and other valuables that God had told them to request from the Egyptians in anticipation of their departure. Those valuables represent the physical and spiritual treasures that we will receive from God as every aspect of our being is transformed at the rapture as we receive our inheritance and are reunited with God and Jesus.
As you can see, the story of the Exodus is the story of the end times. It is prophetic, it is symbolic, and it is in all respects pointing us to and teaching us about the end times. It shows us that Christians will be here during the Tribulation period and as God sends His judgments upon the anti-Christ and his kingdom. It shows that He will remove us only after He finishes dealing with the anti-Christ, and that immediately after He removes us, He will destroy the anti-Christ and his kingdom. The story of the Exodus symbolizes and foretells a post-Tribulation rapture.
On a final note, some Christians cannot bring themselves to believe that we will be here for the Tribulation Period because they do not believe that God will pour out His wrath on His own people. And that is true. God will not pour out His wrath on His own people. But the story of the Exodus shows us that God is able to distinguish between His own people and those who are against Him. In the Exodus, God poured out His wrath on the Egyptians, but He left His own people unharmed. And that is the way it will be during the Tribulation Period. When the time comes for God to pour out His wrath, the judgment will be focused upon the anti-Christ and his kingdom. When you read the book of Revelation, especially chapters 14-16, you see that the vials of God’s wrath are directed at the anti-Christ and his kingdom. And that is completely in line with what the story of the Exodus shows: God is able to distinguish between people and He will keep His own people safe.
That’s all for today. Thanks for reading! See you next time.
Julie J
All About The Rapture 