Revelation 20-22 and Ezekiel 37-48
Over the past several posts, we have seen that in Revelation 20-22 John has used five main images or apocalyptic elements that are rich with meaning. To recap the images, they are first the binding of Satan reminiscent of 1 Enoch 10 and other Jewish writings in 20:1-3. Second, we have the resurrection of Christians, God’s New Covenant people in 20:4a. Third, there is a reign of Christ and Christians for a thousand years that parallels the temporary reign of Messiah in 4 Ezra 7, found in 20:4b-6. Fourth, John tells us of God’s judgment of Gog and Magog in an image similar to that of Ezekiel 39 that we found in 20:7-15. Finally, John tells us of the New Jerusalem in words similar to those of Isaiah 65, as we saw in 21:1-22:5. All of this leaves us with a question: Why did John draw from Jewish writings and tradition to present these particular images in this particular sequence? Maybe an even better question would be: Why did God show John these things in the way He did?
Earlier in Revelation we saw that parts of the Apocalypse were patterned after the Exodus story (Rev. 8:2-11:19 and Rev. 15-16). Now, in John’s final vision, we have another pattern, and it might just be that the Ezekiel parallel will give us the key to understanding what John is trying to communicate in Rev. 20-22.
Ezekiel’s Story
Ezekiel lived during the time of Israel’s Babylonian Exile, a time of great despair for the Jewish people. Their capital city of Jerusalem had been destroyed along with the temple. Many of them had been killed, their crops and homes were in ruins, and most had been taken prisoner and marched off to Babylon. They had been warned about this, for such was their idolatry and general wickedness, God had turned his back on them as they refused repeated calls to repent and return to His ways (cf. Jer. 9:11, 13-16). In the depths of their despair, God spoke to the people in captivity through the prophet Ezekiel…
Speaking to the people through Ezekiel, God promises that Israel as a nation will not be “dead” forever. Picturing the nation as a valley of dry bones, God shows that He will bring the nation back to life in their homeland with a whole new start (Ez. 37:1-14). Thus, Ezekiel 37 begins the section with the “resurrection” of Israel after its “death” in captivity. As the chapter continues, God promises to rejoin the divided kingdom as two pieces of a stick rejoined, and that they would be led by an “anointed” (messiah) from the line of David as king (37:15-28). The promise continues as God tells His people that He will protect them from “Gog” king of “Magog” which becomes a symbol for the enemies of the Jewish people and that He will judge Gog and Magog (their enemies) and save His people.
Ezekiel continues through chapters 40-48 with a related and detailed vision of the restored Jerusalem, telling the people that their temple will be rebuilt and that God will once again dwell with his people there. There are detailed descriptions of the city, its gates and courts, the temple and its rooms, and the worship there of God. The prophecy ends with God giving a new name to the city in 48:35:
THE LORD IS THERE
Against this background, the parallel between Revelation 20-22 and Ezekiel 37-48 is hard to miss. Here are the main elements side by side…
| Ezekiel 37-48 | Revelation 20-22 |
| God’s people are suffering under Babylonian oppression | God’s covenant people, the church, are suffering under oppression of Satan and his allies, the 2 beasts and “Babylon. (Rev. 12-19; 14:8; 16:19; 17:5; 18:2, 10, 21) |
| John sees a temporary binding of Satan before the final judgment (Rev. 20:1-3) | |
| In the “dry bones” vision, there is a “resurrection” of the people after the “death” of captivity (Ez. 37:1-14) | John sees a “resurrection” of Christians, the “new Israel” after their deaths at the hands of “Babylon” (Rev. 20:4a) |
| Ezekiel has a vision of a new Davidic king ruling over Israel (Ez. 37:15-28) | John sees a new Davidic king ruling over the “new Israel”, the church (Rev. 20:4b-6) |
| Ezekiel sees God’s victory and judgment of Gog, king of Magog, representing the enemies of God and His people. (Ez. 38-39) | John sees God’s victory and judgment of Gog and Magog, representing all of the enemies of God and the “new Israel”, the church (Rev. 20:7-15) |
| Ezekiel sees the rebuilding of Jerusalem with a new temple where God will dwell with His people (Ez. 40-48) | John sees a “New Jerusalem” which is a temple where God dwells with His covenant people, the church or “new Israel” (Rev. 21:1-22:5) |
Next time, we’ll draw some conclusions from all of this; see you then!
Life Project Blog 
It isn’t surprising that John would use similar descriptive language under inspiration because he is writing to those who will have had some exposure to the Prophets even as Gentiles.
The essential message remains constant and John draws to together the role of the resurrected Jesus and the apocalypse. I look forward to reading the conclusions as we too are very familiar with the three accounts including Joel. This is partly the bible being used to tie the loose ends and get everyone ready for the challenging time ahead.
Very true!