Study in the Epistle of Jude # 76: Verse 14

by Chris McCann

EBible Fellowship (http://www.ebiblefellowship.com)

Welcome to the Electronic Bible Fellowship’s Bible study. We have been going through the book of Jude, and from time to time, we have had to take some detours in order to understand why God is making a reference to certain individuals. For instance, we looked at Cain and his life as God gave us information about Cain in the Bible. We looked at Balaam; we looked at Korah; and now currently, we have started to look at Enoch. We have found that Enoch was very unusual because he did not die, but rather was translated. God took him at the age of 365 years, which is the same number as the number of days in a year—365. This has led us to the conclusion that Enoch and his life span were pointing to the acceptable year of the Lord.

We have seen that God has three feasts that He is intending to fulfill within this acceptable year, and this acceptable year stretches for about two thousand years of New Testament history. God has already fulfilled spiritually the feast of Passover; He has already fulfilled spiritually the feast of Pentecost; and now finally, He is fulfilling the final feast of Ingathering.

As we looked at this feast of Ingathering, we saw that there is another feast, the feast of Tabernacles, which is held at exactly the same time; it is in conjunction with the feast of Ingathering. They both are in the seventh month and in the fifteenth day of the month. Therefore, we have been taking a look at the spiritual meaning of the feast of Tabernacles. We have seen in Leviticus 23, as God gave information to institute this feast, that it was a feast of remembrance of the time when Israel came out of Egypt.

We ended up seeing that Egypt is a picture, spiritually, of the corporate church during the Great Tribulation. We saw this very clearly—there is no question about it. The charge of spiritualizing cannot even be applied. I suppose that someone could still say, “You are spiritualizing by saying that;” but really, their accusation would not be against me or against any believer who would say that Egypt spiritually represents the church, but the accusation would be directed against God Himself. It is God, as He wrote the Bible, who said in Revelation 11:8 regarding the death of the two witnesses, “Their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt.”

God has assigned a spiritual meaning for the corporate church of the Great Tribulation. One is Sodom, and I think that we have looked at that earlier when in the Epistle of Jude, Sodom and Gomorrah were mentioned (Jude 1:7). We did go back to Genesis 19 and look at that somewhat, but now we are looking at Egypt. This is the spiritual designation that God has given the corporate church, the apostate church, the unfaithful church of our day. Why? It is because Egypt is a place of spiritual bondage. That is what it represents; it is the house of bondage (Exodus 13:3). The house of God has been changed into the house of bondage during our present day. It is become Egypt, the place of slavery, where there is no freedom; there is no salvation, in other words.

Now how does the feast of Tabernacles relate to this information? How does the feast of Tabernacles fit in with the feast of Ingathering, which we know comes in the end of the year? It is a feast that is observed at the end of time, at the end of the world. What about Tabernacles? Since Tabernacles is held together with the feast of Ingathering, it also is an end-time feast; it also must be observed during that time of the Great Tribulation that we are in.

How is that possible? Do we go out and make booths? Do we build tabernacles and dwell in them for seven days? How do we observe the feast of Tabernacles spiritually? The feast of Tabernacles is a feast that commemorates the coming out of Egypt. It is a feast in which the Israelites were to remember that they were in the house of bondage but that God delivered them with a mighty hand and brought them out of Egypt. How did God bring them out of Egypt? He sent plagues upon the Egyptians, more and more severe, until finally Pharaoh relented and let the Israelites go.

When we turn to the book of Revelation, we read about God’s judgment on the church. That is undeniable as you read Revelation; again and again, that is what is in view in many of its chapters. It is a book dealing with the Day of the Lord, the Day of the Lord’s wrath, and the time of the Great Tribulation that is right before the end of the world. Furthermore, it discusses the very end itself, Judgment Day, and the eternity that will be ushered in. Yet without question, it is speaking in many places in the book of Revelation of God’s furious wrath being poured out upon the corporate church. Revelation 16 is one such chapter. Is it not incredible and absolutely astounding when we turn to Revelation 16 and other places and we read things like we read in verses 1-4, which say:

And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth. 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. And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea. And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood.

Let me stop here, because this judgment that God is bringing upon the church is one of the more familiar judgments of God. Revelation 16:3-4 describes it as a vial poured out upon the sea, wherein the sea becomes as the blood of a dead man; every living soul died in the sea and all the rivers and fountains of waters became blood. God is speaking of the loosing of Satan, of the removal of the Gospel, and of the loss of salvation. He pictures it in Revelation 16 by a judgment wherein an angel pours out his vial. We are not going to get into whether this is an angelic being or a believer—that is for another time. We just see that an angel pours out his vial upon the waters and the waters turn to blood. Now let us ask ourselves this question: what does that sound like? Have I not read that before? Have I not read something very similar to that in the Bible? Yes, we have. In Exodus 7:19-22, we read:

And the LORD spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and stretch out thine hand upon the waters of Egypt, upon their streams, upon their rivers, and upon their ponds, and upon all their pools of water, that they may become blood; and that there may be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood, and in vessels of stone. And Moses and Aaron did so, as the LORD commanded; and he lifted up the rod, and smote the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants; and all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood. And the fish that was in the river died; and the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink of the water of the river; and there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt. And the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments: and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, neither did he hearken unto them; as the LORD had said.

Here we have a parallel account of a judgment of God in which the waters are turned to blood, and it was upon Egypt. Let us think about this. God says in Revelation 11 that at the end of the corporate church, when the testimony of the two witnesses is finished and Satan is loosed, the two witnesses who were ministering in the corporate church throughout the New Testament period are slain. Their dead bodies are lying in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt. The corporate church is now under the rule of Satan, who has taken his seat as the man of sin. He is the abomination of desolation standing in the holy place (Matthew 24:15). He has brought that great city and transformed it into Egypt, the house of bondage, and it has become a place of spiritual captivity to sin and to Satan. Satan sits upon the throne; he sits lifted up on high showing himself that he is God. He is the man of sin that 2 Thessalonians 2 speaks of. In other words, he has become Pharaoh over Egypt.

Now Satan has always ruled over the world, and Egypt pictured the world. Satan is the god of this world. The Bible says, however, that he was not able to rule completely in the churches. He could rule over the unsaved in the churches, but there was always the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, in the midst of the church that would hold him back, and that would continue to bless the church and keep it faithful. Therefore, the church would accomplish its purpose and its mission of saving souls around the world time and time again, and Satan would be frustrated.

However now, he is loosed out of the bottomless pit. Now he is able to go to and fro in the church and overcome the saints. He is victorious at last over the church; the church now fully becomes Egypt, as much as the world where he had ruled. Now Satan rules over the churches and congregations of the world, and they are in spiritual bondage; it is the house of bondage.

Yet at the same time, God begins to plague the church. He begins to send His judgments upon the churches and congregations. As we saw in the first few verses of Revelation 16, the seven angels go forth with seven vials full of the wrath of God, and they are pouring them out upon the institution of the church, upon the seat of the beast; that is where Satan is reigning. They are pouring out the judgments of God, and the first judgment is that the water turns to blood.

We are not going to get into the spiritual meaning of each of these judgments, but in this case, the water has to do with the Gospel waters—those pure waters, the rivers of living water that Christ spoke of (John 7:38). When those waters come, sinners can be healed of their sins and forgiven. It is a spiritual fountain that flows forth from the throne of God. The messengers of the Gospel located in the churches during the Church Age would carry this message. The true believers, the two witnesses, would bring this message to the world; God would bless it, and individuals would become saved.

Now that the water is blood, it is nothing but a message of judgment. There is no blessing of God upon any church ministry anywhere; it is all turned to blood. All the water of Egypt is turned to blood. The Egyptians loathe to drink of the water of the river; they cannot stand to drink of this water. It is just as the church’s gospel has been changed into blood in church after church across the face of the earth in our day; it is the judgment of God upon that church. No one is going to be blessed by drinking of those spiritual waters coming forth from any church. Therefore, we read in Revelation 16:3:

…and every living soul died in the sea.

Once the waters are turned to blood, those in the churches are dying. They are dying and perishing because there is no water. In Exodus 7, it was the fish that died. The fish represent men—you can read about that numerous times in the Bible. Jesus said to the Apostles, “I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19). Now the waters of Egypt are turned to blood and the fish die—what is the spiritual meaning of that? It is pointing to our day, to the time of the Great Tribulation. It is pointing to the judgment of God upon the churches and congregations of the world.

Why is God judging the church? Let us ask, “Why was it that God judged Egypt? What was the constant refrain of Moses and Aaron as they would go before Pharaoh? What were they continually saying to Pharaoh on God’s behalf? What were they continually bringing to Pharaoh’s attention?” It was a commandment of God; it was the very words of God. In Exodus 7:16, we read what Moses and Aaron were constantly saying to Pharaoh on God’s stead. It says:

And thou shalt say unto him, The LORD God of the Hebrews hath sent me unto thee, saying, Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness: and, behold, hitherto thou wouldest not hear.

God wanted His people to come out of Egypt, and He brought this to the attention of Pharaoh—”Let My people go.” Yet Pharaoh would not; he hardened his heart and he would not let the people go. Therefore, God brought down a plague upon Pharaoh—the plague of the water turning to blood—yet Pharaoh hardened his heart still and would not let the people go.

How does this relate to our day? Let us remember what God is commanding at this present time. At this time, God has issued forth a command to all believers, to every true child of God. We find this command in Revelation 18:4, which says:

And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.

God is plaguing the church and He is commanding His people simultaneously, “Come out of her, My people.” Then it is as though He is waiting for a response.

By the way, as God is issuing forth this command to His people to come out of Babylon, which is another spiritual designation for the apostate church of our day just as Egypt is, He is likewise commanding the one who is ruling over the congregations and who has taken his seat in the temple—Satan himself. God is raining down judgments upon the church, and with each judgment, it is as though He is saying to Satan, “Let My people go.” Yet, Satan will not let them go. Instead, he stirs up his emissaries all the more.

Who are the emissaries? They are ministers of righteousness, 2 Corinthians 11 tells us. They are preachers of the Gospel. What are they preaching at this time when the knowledge of the truth of the Word of God is being revealed and the Scriptures are being opened up as never before? At this time, God is verifying His Word with many scriptural proofs. Scripture is confirming with Scripture and it is testifying to the truth that the Church Age is over and that it is high time for the people of God to come out of the church. What are the pastors within the churches and congregations preaching about at this time? They are spending a great deal of time convincing their congregation to stay put. “Do not leave,” they say. “Do not listen to those men whom we call heretics. Do not listen to this idea that the Church Age is over. God is still here; He is still in the midst.” With their sermons, they are convincing their congregation. They can not convince all of them—there are some who are coming out—but they are convincing many to stay.

It is just as with the tale of the bricks. It is the taskmasters who are ruling over the Israelites who were in Egypt. As Moses and Aaron came with the information that it was time to leave Egypt, did the Israelites pack up and go? No; as this news came to Pharaoh, he decreed that they should bring forth bricks without straw, that they should make their bricks without straw (Exodus 5:7). Their bondage became even crueler and harder, and the taskmasters ruled over them even more roughly than before.

That is the case in the church today. The pastors are not feeding the flock as they ought. If they were feeding the flock, they would be declaring the truth of God’s Word and they would be caring for the sheep and getting them out of the churches; but instead, they are feeding themselves of the flock. God speaks of these pastors in Ezekiel 34:4, where He says:

The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them.

That word “cruelty” is the same word that we find in Exodus, I believe, when we read that they ruled over them with “rigor” (Exodus 1:13). Speaking of the taskmasters who were set over the Israelites, this is the situation in the church today. God would bring a judgment upon Egypt, and Moses would go before Pharaoh and speak the words of God saying, “Let My people go.” Pharaoh’s heart would be hardened; he would be hardened and he would not let the people go, and God would rain down another plague.

Let us turn back to Revelation 16:8-10, where we read:

And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire. And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory. 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,

Here we see the judgment upon the church once again; there is a plague of darkness. Let us go back to Exodus 10 and compare this with what we read there in verses 21-23, which say:

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

Once again, the spiritual meaning of this darkness is the removal of the light of the Gospel. The light of the world is the Lord Jesus Christ (John 8:12); if there is darkness that overcomes the church, if there is a thick darkness that might be felt that comes upon the spiritual Egypt, which is the corporate body, then this indicates that Christ is not present. The Lord Jesus Christ is not there; He is not in the midst of the church whatsoever.

God is confirming to us with this language in the book of Revelation, which is following closely, almost exactly, the same type of judgments that came upon Egypt, that the church is Egypt. His command is the same in our day as it was during the time of the exodus. To us it is, “Come out of her, My people.” At the same time, it is a command to Satan, “Let My people go.” Yet we know that Satan will not let the people go; no, not yet.

In our next study, Lord willing, we will look a little further at some of the judgments that are raining down upon the corporate church.