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Although the most well known explanation for the four cups is that they represent the four expressions of redemption, another explanation offered by the sages in JT Pesachim 82b is that they repres...
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#1: Initial revision
Although the most well known explanation for the four cups is that they represent the four expressions of redemption, another explanation offered by the sages in [JT Pesachim 82b](https://www.sefaria.org/Jerusalem_Talmud_Pesachim.68b.21?lang=bi) is that they represent the cups of punishment Hashem will give the nations to drink in the Messianic future. According to the [commentary Be'er Miryam](https://www.hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=11124&st=&pgnum=40&hilite=), the drops we remove from the cup then depict the allotment of Hashem's punishment on the nations. The ten plagues are just one instance of this. Although the blood, fire, and smoke in Yoel are not the plagues of Egypt, they nonetheless represent an outpouring of Hashem's wrath on the nations in the Messianic future, and thus are also depicted by the same symbolism.