Exodus 12:12 ... against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD..

God Battles The False Gods of Egypt

Now God begins open warfare against the gods of Egypt. These of course weren’t gods at all they were at best demons and mostly they were all just one deception upon another deception by the great deceiver himself, Satan the Father of Lies. And so God brings on the battle and his weapons of mass destruction are terrible, unstoppable plagues, each plague would be a new battlefront against the false gods of Egypt.

Water to Blood

Exodus 7:19 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.

Hapi was the "spirit of the Nile" and its "dynamic essence." Hapi was the god of the annual Nile inundation. Epithets for Hapi describe him as being the "lord of the fishes and birds and marshes."

One of the greatest gods of Egypt was Osiris, the god of the underworld; the Egyptians believed the Nile was his bloodstream. (Isn’t that ironic?)

During this first plague, the Egyptians would have to wonder where was Tauret, the hippopotamus goddess of the river. Where was Nu, the god of life that resided in the Nile?

Frogs

Exodus 8:2 And if thou refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with frogs: 8:3 And the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly, which shall go up and come into thine house, and into thy bedchamber, and upon thy bed, and into the house of thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thine ovens, and into thy kneadingtroughs: 8:4 And the frogs shall come up both on thee, and upon thy people, and upon all thy servants.

The frog was considered the theophany of the goddess Heqt, the wife of the creator of the world and the goddess of birth. Heqt was always shown with the head and body of a frog. Amulets and scarabs worn by Egyptian women to protect them during childbirth would often bear the image of Heqt for protection. Heqt was believed to assist women in childbirth

Lice (Gnats, Fleas, Sand Fleas)

Exodus 8:16 And the LORD said unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch out thy rod, and smite the dust of the land, that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt.

The word "lice" is rendered as "sand flies" or "fleas" in some translations. The Hebrew word kinnim comes from a root word meaning "to dig"; it is probable that the insect in question would dig under the skin or come from the ground.

This plague would have been an embarrassment to Geb, the great god of the earth. Egyptians gave offerings to Geb for the bounty of the soil -- yet it was from "the dust of the soil" that this plague originated.

Swarms Flies (Beetles)

Exodus 8:21 Else, if thou wilt not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies upon thee, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thy houses: and the houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground whereon they are.

Notice the word “of flies” is in italics in the KJV, the Hebrew simply says "swarms" -- the phrase "of flies" was added by the translators.

It is very likely that the "swarms" in this passage were swarms of the scarab beetle. The scarab was actually a dung beetle -- an insect that feeds on the dung in the fields. The plague of swarms of scarabs, with mandibles that could saw through wood, was destructive and worse than termites!

Deification of the scarab beetle is still seen in Egypt today. Amon-Ra, the creator and king of the gods, had the head of a beetle. "Ra, the Sole Creator was visible to the people of Egypt as the disc of the sun, but they knew him in many other forms. He could appear as a crowned man, a falcon or a man with a falcon's head and, as the scarab beetle pushes a round ball of dung in front of it, the Egyptians pictured Ra as a scarab pushing the sun across the sky." (Geraldine Harris, Gods Pharaohs from Egyptian Mythology, p. 24).

Livestock Diseased

Exodus 9:3 Behold, the hand of the LORD is upon thy cattle which is in the field, upon the horses, upon the asses, upon the camels, upon the oxen, and upon the sheep: there shall be a very grievous murrain.

The Egyptians worshiped many animals, and many animal-headed deities. The god Apis was represented as a bull, and had been worshipped in Egypt since around 3,000 B.C. The Apis bull was the living image of the god Ptah. He was also associated with Ra, from whom he borrowed the disk he wore between his horns.

Hathor was the cow-headed goddess of the desert. "The cow was the living symbol of Isis-Hathor, represented sometimes as a cow, at others as a woman with a cow's head, at others as a horned woman." (How and Wells, Commentary on Herodotus, p. 185).

The goddess Hathor was the symbolic mother of Pharaoh, and the king of Egypt was referred to as "the son of Hathor."

In addition to the gods already mentioned, this plague would have been a direct insult to Khnum, the ram-god, and to Bast, the cat goddess of love.

Boils

   Exodus 9:8 And the LORD said unto Moses and unto Aaron, take to you handfuls of ashes of the furnace, and let Moses sprinkle it toward the heaven in the sight of Pharaoh. 9:9 And it shall become small dust in all the land of Egypt, and shall be a boil breaking forth with blains upon man, and upon beast, throughout all the land of Egypt.

This plague was probably skin anthrax, a black abscess that develops into a pustule. This plague was accompanied by painful boils that affected the knees, legs, and soles of the feet (cf. Deut. 28:35). This explains why Pharaoh's "magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils were on the magicians and on all the Egyptians" (Exo. 9:11).

This medical malady was an affront to Imhotep, the god of medicine. Imhotep who had been an actual physician, architect and chief adviser of King Zoser (ca. 3150 B.C.). He did so much for Egyptian medicine that later generations worshiped him as a god of knowledge, author of their sciences and their arts - (Will Durant, The Story of Civilization, Volume One, p. 147).

This plague would have also been an affront to Serapis, the deity in charge of healing, and to Thoth, the ibis-headed god of intelligence and medical learning.

Thunder, Lightning and Hail

Exodus 9:18 Behold, tomorrow about this time I will cause it to rain a very grievous hail, such as hath not been in Egypt since the foundation thereof even until now.

Since this plague originated from the sky, it would have been an insult to Nut, the sky goddess. "Her most general appearance, however, is that of a woman resting on hands and feet, her body forming an arch, thus representing the sky. Her limbs typified the four pillars on which the sky was supposed to rest. She was supposed originally to be reclining on Geb, the earth, when Shu raised her from this position." (Lewis Spence, Ancient Egyptian Myths and Legends, p. 173).

Nut was also considered by the Egyptians to be the mother of five other gods: Osiris, Hathor, Set, Isis, and Nephthys.

During this plague, you have to wonder: Where was Shu, the wind god? Where was Horus, the hawk-headed sky god of Upper Egypt?

Isis and Seth supposedly protected the crops, but the burned fields testified of their impotence.

Locusts

Exodus 10:4 Else, if thou refuse to let my people go, behold, to morrow will I bring the locusts into thy coast: 10:5 And they shall cover the face of the earth, that one cannot be able to see the earth: and they shall eat the residue of that which is escaped, which remaineth unto you from the hail, and shall eat every tree which groweth for you out of the field

Where were Nepri, the god of grain, Ermutet, the goddess of childbirth and crops, Thermuthis, the goddess of fertility and the harvest was speechless or Seth, another god of crops?

Darkness

Exodus 10:21 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. 10:22 And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven; and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days

This plague of darkness was an insult to Egypt's religion and entire culture. The sun god Amon-Ra was considered one of the greatest blessings in all of the land of Egypt.

Amon and Ra were originally two separate deities. Ra was a sun god whose cult was centered at the city of Heliopolis, and is usually represented in art with a man's body and a falcon's head surmounted by a solar disk. Ra was believed to sail across the sky in a boat each day and under the world at night.

In Egyptian mythology Horus was the god of light who personified the life-giving power of the Sun. He was usually represented as a falcon-headed man wearing a sun disk as a crown. The reigning kings of Egypt were believed to be incarnations of the god Horus.

Once again, the gods of Egypt were silent. Where was Ptah, the chief god of Memphis, and the one who created the moon, the sun and the earth? Where was Tem, the god of the sunset? Where was Shu, the god of sunlight and air?

Death of the Firstborn

Exodus 11:4 And Moses said, Thus saith the LORD, About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt: 11:5 And all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the first born of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill; and all the firstborn of beasts.

Exodus 12:12 12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD.

This plague was directed against Pharaoh the supreme, living god and a final blow to "all of the gods of Egypt" (Exo. 12:12) and would show the total inability of the gods of Egypt to protect their subjects. In the face of unparalleled tragedy, "all of the gods of Egypt" were silent. Where was Meskhenet, the goddess who presided at the birth of children? Where was Hathor, one of the seven deities who attended the birth of children? Where was Min, the god of procreation? Where was Isis, the goddess of fertility? Where was Selket, the guardian of life? Where was Renenutet, the cobra-goddess whose task was to be the guardian of Pharaoh and his family?

Transition: Today there is still a battle raging between the gods of this world and the true God of Creation and Revelation.

God Still battles the god of this World

In this post-modern, neo-pagan age in which we live. Satan is still deceiving and still seeking worship, both overtly and covertly. Just this month of May 2023, in Boston, the Temple of Satan held a Satan Convention, a SatanCon. Over 800 people attended this is up from 300 last year. The Satanist say their worship is really about free-thinking and being a champion of independence and personal expression. They are big contributors to abortions, homosexuality and of course destroying the design of God as male and female by advocating transsexual rights.

Satan in the Shadows Now that is very much in your face and overt, but Satan has never worked on just one front. His covert, secret operations are much more effective. Though philosophies like humanism, relativism, nihilism or lifestyles like hedonism, Satan has made man believe that they can be their own god, just as he told Eve in the Garden, “thou shalt not surely die but shall be as God.”

And today our society is filled with created beings who think they are their own creators. People who can just imagine themselves into a new gender, a new life, or a new truth. Reality does not matter, we are told we can create our own reality. We can be our own god. But in truth the only god they are worshiping is Lucifer, the original “make your own truth” created being.

God’s Battle Plan Today. And yes, still in this day and age God is still battling the god of this world. Though it would seem that mankind deserves to suffer the consequences of falling at the feet of the Father of Lies, yet God has not left man to his own folly and sin. He is still destroying the works of Satan.

Today, it is not with plagues and wonders as it was in Moses time but with a much more powerful attack, the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Though the plagues seem powerful they were not supposed to win the heart of the Egyptians but to show God’s power over the false gods of the Egyptians. They accomplished that which God willed for them. Today the Gospel has a different purpose, it is intended to win the battle over the gods of this world, not by showing them as ineffective and weak but by changing the hearts and minds of those who deceived by their lies.

Paul says in Romans 1:16-17 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

As Moses was given the Rod to show the Egyptians the power of God, we have been given the Gospel to show the world the love of God.

John 3:16-17 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

And just as Moses was commanded by God to go to Egypt and free His people, we are commanded by Jesus, God the son to take the Gospel and to Mark 16:15 Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

Moses’ task of freeing the Hebrews may have seemed impossible but by the power of God it was “Mission Accomplished.” Our command to preach the Gospel to all the world, seems even more impossible but God has will supply the power, the gifts and the means so that one day in the halls of heaven, we also will hear, “Mission Accomplished”