Revelation is a book of the Bible that intrigues many people but also confuses many people. Part of that confusion arises because it utilizes images and ideas found in other parts of the Bible that may not be familiar. Therefore, it is wise to have read through other books of the Bible before digging into Revelation. The book of Daniel may be the most important one (as discussed in this post), but the book of Ezekiel ranks as a close second. I’ll try to highlight some of the most significant places where images from Ezekiel appear in Revelation and how that helps us understand Revelation better.
The Throne Room Scene in Revelation 4
The scene of Revelation 4 has many connections to what happens in Daniel 7 when Daniel sees the “Ancient of Days” and one “like a son of man”: a vision of a throne in heaven that God sits upon, fires, books, etc. There are also elements that draw upon Ezekiel’s vision of the glory of God that he receives in Babylon in Ezekiel 1-2. For example, there is also a rainbow there (see Ezekiel 1:28) and the prophet sees things like crystals, stones, and fire. Two items stand out in particular that I want to note.
First, John sees four “living creatures” that are like a lion, an ox, a human, and an eagle; each of these have six wings and are singing praises (Revelation 4:6-8). These creatures seem bizarre at first glance but these do not seem as odd or random in light of Ezekiel 1, where the prophet sees four living creatures that each have four faces that resemble a human, a lion, an ox, and an eagle. There are slight differences in that Ezekiel says each has these four faces and has four wings while there is a single face and six wings in Revelation, but the resemblance between them is undeniable; these are cherubim who protect and proclaim the holiness of God. The slight differences might also be intentional to show how difficult they are to describe and the symbolic nature of them (the description in Revelation may also seek to connect them to Isaiah 6). These beings seem to represent the whole created order, which is meant to praise God.
Another key element of this vision that hearkens back to Ezekiel is the presence of a scroll in Revelation 5. Ezekiel 2 describes a seal with writing on the front and back that he eats, showing that he will proclaim to the people God’s Word. This scroll also appears in Revelation 5 (but now sealed until opened by Jesus) and in Revelation 10 John is given this scroll and told to eat it like Ezekiel. The message on the scroll in both is one that proclaims judgment to come but also invites people to respond and believe. A further connection between these scrolls is that Ezekiel’s message speaks about sword, famine, and plague coming, with those elements also appearing as the seals of the scroll in Revelation 5, which are then broken in Revelation 6 (seen in the arrival of the “4 Horsemen of the Apocaypse”….which alludes to another book of the Old Testament I’ll discuss in a future post).
These elements point to the way that John is continuing the same message as the earlier prophets, but now in light how Jesus has fulfilled the promise to rescue and redeem people.
The Sealing of the Saints
Another element in Revelation that makes more sense when you have read Ezekiel is the discussion of people being sealed by God, which protects them from the harm that comes upon the world (Revelation 7:1-8). This same thing happens in Ezekiel 9, when an angel puts a mark on those who are faithful to God to protect them. This discussion of sealing with a mark also stands in contrast to what is noted later in Revelation 13, when those who worship the Beast are given his “mark”; one is either marked by the Lamb or the Beast. God will keep a people who are faithful to Him – who are not just a few but ultimately “a vast multitude” (Revelation 7:9). This may not be physical protection, as many suffered at the fall of Babylon and many saints will continue to suffer harm in this world until the end, but God will ultimately protect and preserve them from ultimate harm.
The Pictures and Promise of Judgment in Revelation 18-19
The message of Ezekiel also stands in the background of discussions of judgment found in Revelation. The words describing and celebrating the fall of Babylon in Revelation 18 can strike us as odd, but they recall words of woe found in the prophets that proclaim the destruction of nations. While other prophets (e.g., Jeremiah) describe the fall of Babylon, Ezekiel does not. However, Ezekiel describes in great detail the fall of Tyre and focuses upon much of its commercial activity; language from that proclamation influences the words about Babylon in Revelation 18. This shows us that the Babylon described in Revelation is not a literal Babylon but stands as a symbol that represents various godless kingdoms that oppose God’s people; they may have different names but ultimately reflect the same tendencies.
In addition, Revelation 20 speaks about a final attack by Satan upon God in which he will deceive the nation to gather for battle, connecting this activity to Gog and Magog (21:8). Those names aren’t common in the Bible. In fact, they only appear in Ezekiel 38-39, describing a prince (Gog) and place (Magog) from a few centuries before Ezekiel lived. The final battle described in Revelation is not new information but connects back to what the prophets had said earlier. The description of the battle is wrapped up in names and terms from previous times, showing once again their symbolic nature and also the way that the future is a repetition and continuation of past patterns of evil. Language from that final battle in Ezekiel 38-39 also appears in the discussion of the battle in Revelation 19, showing that these two chapters (Revelation 19 and 20) are likely referring to the same battle.
The Temple (or Lack Thereof) and River of Life
A major difference between the end of Ezekiel and the end of Revelation is their descriptions of the temple: Ezekiel 40-48 described a temple while Revelation 21-22 says that there is no temple. Both descriptions come after the defeat of evil and the battle of Gog and Magog. Both descriptions note a river of life (Ezekiel 47:1-12; Revelation 22:1-5) and the city in which God dwells (see Ezekiel 48:35; Revelation 21:3). There are also many other details that overlap between these visions, such as measuring the temple and the decor.
These connections and differences seem important. The lack of a temple in Revelation means that the image of the temple used by Ezekiel was not literal as much as pointing forward to a future hope that recalls the past but also exceeds it. Or maybe even better: the vision of the temple that Ezekiel saw was only a glimmer into a truth hard to grasp in that our final hope is being in the presence of God. Ezekiel’s vision included sacrifices being made, as people of his time would not yet understand the powerful truth that when the Messiah came, sacrifices would no longer be needed as He would be the final sacrifice (as noted in the book of Hebrews). If you will, the vision of Revelation interprets the vision of Ezekiel in accordance with other truths revealed over time in Scripture, presenting the vision of our ultimate hope in language that people of Ezekiel’s time could not comprehend but that we now can in light of the whole framework of Scripture.
Thus, knowing the background of other parts of the Bible – especially Ezekiel – helps us not only understand some of the strange elements that we read in the book of Revelation, but also the powerful realities to which it points and which help us to remain faithful witnesses as we wait for their final fulfillment.
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Unless otherwise noted, all Bible translations are from the Christian Standard Bible (CSB), Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers.
