Now, concerning the killing of the Egyptian firstborn, who was the death angel? We know from Jewish religious resources cited in previous link above that the Jews still believe to this day that the death angel was Satan. They believed it then. They believe it now. They are absolutely correct. Their only mistake is that they believe Satan was God's personal assassin fulfilling God's will rather than God's fiercest enemy opposing God's will.
We now know Satan steals, kills, and destroys, and that he has the power of death according to Hebrews 2:14-15, not God. So if God didn't kill the firstborn, what DID God do in all this? Simple. He saved the Israelites from the death angel. By instructing the Israelites to apply blood over all their doorstep as act of FAITH, God was now enabled to fully hedge them about with complete protection. God always longs to give His full hedge of protection to all men, including the Egyptians, but men harden, reject and refuse to receive it. This quenches the Lord's access to protect, instead allowing Satan access to attack.
I have always wondered why people think that the Lord is the one who SICS the devil on us whenever we displease God. No, we are the ones who SIC the devil on ourselves. Jesus is trying to save us from our self-SICCING (or self-seeking, excuse the pun). Jesus comes daily extending to us a gold-engraved invitation to experience the limitless life of God. Some receive that invitation gladly. Others spit at it and turn away immediately into Satan's waiting arms.
Poor Moses thought in Exodus 5:3 that God would actually punish Israel "with pestilence and sword" if they didn't immediately go into the desert and sacrifice to Him (see Exodus 3:18, where the Lord originally threatened no such thing). While it's certainly true that our failure to worship God does open us up to greater Satanic attacks, the culprit is our own neglect and not the vindictiveness of God to ever SIC Satan on us. "How shall we escape, if we neglect so great a salvation?" Hebrew 2:3.
To reject God's call is to enter Satan's domain. God doesn't unleash Satanic attacks toward us to show us who is boss. Instead, by us continuing to harden our hearts toward God, we turn ourselves over more and more to the power of the prince of darkness. God speaks only words of life, deliverance and blessing. If we harden our heart to spit at those words with our neglect and unbelief, then we have opened wide our gates to invite all kinds of demonic attack. When we ignore God, we empower Satan and diminish God's hedge around us. Repentance reestablishes and strengthens that hedge.
One last question needs to be addressed. The Red Sea crossing-- who parted the waves and who caused them to fall on and kill the Egyptians? Well, the parting is easy. God parted the waters to save the Israelites from the pursuing Egyptian army bent on killing them by the sword. That was Moses in the light cycle saving others in the pure power of God. But the falling waters is another matter.
Did you know that the Lord caused the Egyptians to get stuck in the mud as they were chasing the Israelites through the parted waters? Did you know that the Lord actually made all the Egyptian chariot wheels to fall off? Did you know that the Egyptians had actually decided to give up and started to flee back to their own shore? Exodus 14:24-25. Moses, in his own nature, lacked the divine patience and indefatigable mercy to keep his staff raised so that the Egyptians could retreat.
Jesus' patience is perfect. He offers divine protection without having to kill anybody. The Egyptians had given up and were returning home. There was no need to kill them to save Israel at this point. Do you think for a moment Jesus would have lowered His hand and commanded the waters to kill the Egyptians? No! He would have allowed the Egyptians to return home alive.
But what did Moses do in his dark cycle? He listened to wrath, to Satan, to revenge. Moses was the one who commanded the waters to fall and kill the Egyptian enemies-- not God, not Jesus, not Holy Spirit love that blesses and forgives enemies. People tried to kill, stone, and shove Jesus off a cliff at various points of His life. He NEVER harmed anybody. He just passed through their midst supernaturally. Anytime our enemies are harmed by us rather than blessed and forgiven, then rest assured the STROBE LIGHT EFFECT is responsible.
Apply THE BRACKET method demonstrated above and we can eliminate the STROBE LIGHT EFFECT. Our image of God will be forever purified and elevated. It will be so much easier to love Jesus with a sincere and unfeigned love, one not based on fear, threat, manipulation or intimidation. Remember, it is just not the Old Testament "characters" written about who suffer from the STROBE LIGHT EFFECT. It is also the Old Testament writers themselves, and even on occasion the New Testament characters and writers. Not nearly as much for sure, but still, from time to time, some slight STROBING will occur in the New Testament. We just need to be aware of this phenomenon and know how to quickly use THE BRACKET to rightly divide Scripture with the revealed nature of Jesus. It always comes down to Jesus. If our Spirit-enlightened conscience can't see Jesus doing horrible things described in Scripture, then we mustn't see the Father doing it either. If we have seen Jesus, we have seen the Father. Satan is the source of all destructive evil, not Jesus, never Jesus.
