635. To round out this section, the following mystery will be disclosed. Seven chapters of the Book of Revelation, in describing the end of the church of today, use similar language as Exodus uses to describe the devastation of Egypt. In both cases there are similar plagues, each of which has as its spiritual meaning some falsity that brought on this devastation even to the point of death. Therefore the church that is being destroyed today is called Egypt, understood spiritually (Revelation 11:8).

The plagues in Egypt were as follows. The water was turned into blood, causing the death of every fish, and the river stank (Exodus 7). Similar statements are made in Revelation 8:8; 16:3. Blood means divine truth that has been falsified; see Revelation Unveiled 379, 404, 681, 687, 688. The fish that then died mean truths in our earthly self (Revelation Unveiled 290, 405).

Frogs came up on the land of Egypt (Exodus 8). There is also a mention of frogs in Revelation 16:13. Frogs mean reasonings born of a desire to falsify truths; see Revelation Unveiled 702.

Painful sores came upon the people and animals in Egypt (Exodus 9). A similar thing occurs in Revelation 16:2. Sores mean inner evils and falsities that destroy the good qualities and true teachings of the church; see Revelation Unveiled 678.

Hail and fire fell on Egypt (Exodus 9). Something similar occurs in Revelation 8:7; 16:21. Hail means hellish falsity; see Revelation Unveiled 399, 714.

Locusts came up over Egypt (Exodus 10). A similar thing occurs in Revelation 9:1-11. Locusts mean falsities on the lowest level; see Revelation Unveiled 424, 430.

Thick darkness came upon Egypt (Exodus 10). A similar thing occurs in Revelation 8:12. Darkness means falsities that arise from ignorance, or from false religious beliefs, or from evils in our lives; see Revelation Unveiled 110, 413, 695.

Eventually, the Egyptians perished in the Reed Sea (Exodus 14). In the Book of Revelation, though, the dragon and the false prophet perish in a lake of fire and sulfur (Revelation 19:20; 20:10). Both of these - the Reed Sea and the lake of fire and sulfur - mean hell.

The reason why similar things are said of Egypt and of the church whose close and end are described in the Book of Revelation is that Egypt means a church that at its outset was outstanding. This is why Egypt, before the devastation of its church, is compared to the Garden of Eden and the garden of Jehovah (Genesis 13:10; Ezekiel 31:8). It is also called the cornerstone of the tribes, and a child of the wise and of the ancient monarchs (Isaiah 19:11, 13). For more on Egypt in its original state and in its state of devastation, see Revelation Unveiled 503.