This will be an unusual issue of “Minutes With Messiah.” I am preparing to teach a class on the Revelation. Because the Revelation is unique in the New Testament, its style and language must be viewed in the light of the Old Testament equivalents, the prophets. An essential part of that analysis is a comparison of the specific phrases and figures used by those older prophets. That has resulted in this rather extensive table. On the left are passages from the various prophets. On the right are equivalent or contrasting passages from the Revelation. This may not be as easy a read as some of my articles. It is more intended as a reference than bedtime reading.
(Continued after table.)
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Prophets |
Revelation |
“I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire.” (Dan 7:9 ) |
“His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire.” (Rev 1:14) |
“Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.” (Isa 44:6) |
“I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending the first and the last.” (Rev 1:11, 17; 2:8; 22:13) |
“For I know their works and their thoughts: it shall come, that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my glory.” (Isa 66:18) |
“I know your works.” (Rev 2:2, 9, 13, 19; 3:1, 8, 15) |
“And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the LORD shall name.” (Isa 62:2) |
“He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.” (Rev 2:17) “and I will write upon him my new name.” (Rev 3:12) |
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“And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment.” (Zech 3:4) |
“I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.” (Rev 3:18) |
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“And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof.” (Zech 4:2) |
“And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God. And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.” (Rev 4:5) |
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“And the likeness of the firmament upon the heads of the living creature was as the colour of the terrible crystal, stretched forth over their heads above.” (Ezek 1:22) |
“And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind.” (Rev 4:6) “Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal.” (Rev 21:11) |
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“As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle. Thus were their faces: and their wings were stretched upward; two wings of every one were joined one to another, and two covered their bodies.” (Ezek 1:10-11) |
“And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle. And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.” (Rev 4:7-8) |
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“Thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him.” (Dan 7:10) |
“And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands.” (Rev 5:11) |
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“And I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came four chariots out from between two mountains; and the mountains were mountains of brass. In the first chariot were red horses; and in the second chariot black horses; And in the third chariot white horses; and in the fourth chariot grisled and bay horses.” (Zech 6:1-3) |
“And I saw, and behold a white horse…And there went out another horse that was red….And I beheld, and lo a black horse…And I looked, and behold a pale horse.” (Rev 6:2, 4, 5, 8) |
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“And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree.” (Isa 34:4) |
“And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.” (Rev 6:14) |
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“and they shall say to the mountains, Cover us; and to the hills, Fall on us.” (Hos 10:8) |
“And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb.” (Rev 6:15-16) |
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“For the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?” (Joel 2:11) |
“For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?” (Rev 6:17) |
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“And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest.” (Ezek 37:3) |
“And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest.” (Rev 7:14) |
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“Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark.” (Ezek 9:6) |
“And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.” (Rev 9:4) |
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“They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks: Neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk every one in his path: and when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded. They shall run to and fro in the city; they shall run upon the wall, they shall climb up upon the houses; they shall enter in at the windows like a thief.” (Joel 2:7-9) |
“And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men. And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle. And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months.” (Rev 9:7-10) |
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“Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou
findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of |
“And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey. And I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.” (Rev 10:9-10) |
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“Then answered I, and said unto him, What are these two olive trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof? And I answered again, and said unto him, What be these two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves? And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord. Then said he, These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth.” (Zech 4:11-14) |
“And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.” (Rev 11:3-4) |
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“That it shall be for a time, times, and an half.” (Dan 7:25; 12:7) |
“A time, and times, and half a time.” (Rev 12:14) “a thousand two hundred and threescore days.” (three and a half years) (Rev 11:3;12:6) “three days and an half.” (Rev 11:9,11) |
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“And the LORD said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.” (Ezek 9:4) |
“And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the |
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“After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it [was] diverse from all the beasts that [were] before it; and it had ten horns. I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn [were] eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.” (Dan 7:7-8) |
“And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.” (Rev 12:3) |
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“And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another. The first [was] like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it. And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and [it had] three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh. After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it.” (Dan 7:3-6) |
“And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as [the feet] of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.” (Rev 13:1-2) |
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“And I will tread down the people in mine anger, and make them drunk in my fury, and I will bring down their strength to the earth.” (Isa 63:6) |
“wrath” (Rev 14:8, 10, 19; 15:1, 7; 16:1, 19; 18:3; 19:15) |
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“the judgment was set, and the books were opened.” (Dan 7:10) |
“And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.” (Rev 20:12) |
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“And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal.: (Ezek 38:1-3) |
“And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.” (Rev 20:8) |
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“For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.” (Isa 65:17) |
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“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.” (Rev 21:1) |
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“He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it. “ (Isa 25:8) “The voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying.” (Isa 65:19) |
“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.” (Rev 21:4) |
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“Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise.” (Isa 60:18) |
“There shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” (Rev 21:4) |
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“The former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare.” (Isa 42:9) |
“The former things are passed away.” (Rev 21:4) |
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“And he brought me thither, and, behold, there was a man, whose appearance was like the appearance of brass, with a line of flax in his hand, and a measuring reed; and he stood in the gate.” (Ezek 40:3) |
“And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof.” (Rev 21:15) |
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“O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires. And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones.” (Isaiah 54: 11 – 12) |
“And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass. And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald; The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst. And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.” (Rev 21:18-21) |
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“The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the LORD shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory. Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the LORD shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended. Thy people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land for ever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified.” (Isaiah 60: 19 – 21) |
“And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it.” (Rev 21:23-24) “And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.” (Rev 22:5) |
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“Therefore thy gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night; that men may bring unto thee the forces of the Gentiles, and that their kings may be brought.” (Isa 60:11) |
“And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it.” (Rev 21:25-26) |
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“And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.” (Isa 35:8) |
“And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.” (Rev 21:27) |
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“And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine.” (Ezek 47:12) |
“And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.” (Rev 22:1-2) |
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“But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.” (Dan 12:4) |
“And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.” (Rev 22:10) |
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“Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean.” (Isa 52:1) |
“Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.” (Rev 22:14-15) |
I suspect there are other passages that I have missed. If you have cared to read this far you may notice some distinct similarities. In one case (Dan 12:4/Rev 22:10) it is an exact opposite, pointing up the idea that the Revelation was to be fulfilled soon after it was written rather than many years hence. Some of the comparisons may be exact (having the same interpretation), while others may only be similar. Two important things must be remembered. The prophets did not always understand what they were writing, so it is understandable that we may not come to a full understanding of the Revelation. The second is that where symbols correspond, there is probably a shared understanding of the interpretation, but we may not always know how they viewed the symbols and so may not have as full an understanding as they. What we can understand is the basic message: “In Christ, we shall overcome.”