What parallels exist between Ezekiel 26:20 and Revelation's depiction of final judgment? The texts side by side “then I will bring you down with those who descend to the Pit, to the people of old. I will make you dwell in the earth below, in the ruins of the ancients, with those who go down to the Pit, so that you will not return or take your place in the land of the living; then I will set glory in the land of the living.” • Revelation 20:11-15 (BSB, summary): The dead stand before the great white throne; books are opened; anyone not found in the Book of Life is thrown into the lake of fire—“the second death.” Shared imagery: descent, finality, and exclusion • Descent to the Pit / lake of fire – Both scenes speak of a downward movement: “bring you down…to the Pit” (Ezekiel 26:20); “death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:14). – The Pit and the lake each signify a place of divine confinement (cf. Revelation 9:1-2; 20:1-3). • Company of the condemned – Ezekiel joins Tyre with “the people of old” already in the Pit. – Revelation pictures “the dead, great and small” (20:12) gathered for judgment, then united in the lake of fire with the beast, false prophet, and devil (20:10, 15). • Irreversible exclusion from “the land of the living” – Ezekiel: “so that you will not return or take your place in the land of the living.” – Revelation: “the lake of fire is the second death” (20:14)—no possibility of return (cf. 21:8). Echoes of covenant justice • Divine response to pride and violence – Tyre’s arrogance (Ezekiel 26:2-3) meets the Pit. – Humanity’s rebellion meets the throne (Revelation 20:11-12). – Both passages affirm Leviticus 26:18, 28—persistent sin invites escalating judgment. Contrast: glory for the faithful • “I will set glory in the land of the living” (Ezekiel 26:20b) – Judgment of Tyre clears the stage for Israel’s hope (cf. Ezekiel 37:26-28). – Revelation mirrors this with the New Jerusalem descending after final judgment (21:1-3). – Parallel flow: removal of the wicked ➜ unveiling of glory (Isaiah 60:19-21; Malachi 4:1-2). Key theological parallels • Finality: No second chance after judgment (Hebrews 9:27; Revelation 22:11). • Separation: Righteous preserved in “land of the living” / New Jerusalem; wicked consigned to Pit / lake (Psalm 1:5-6; Revelation 21:27). • Vindication: God’s holiness displayed through both punishment and restoration (Ezekiel 36:23; Revelation 15:4). Take-home reflections • God’s judgments, whether on an ancient city or at history’s end, are certain and thorough. • Exile to the Pit or lake is not merely physical destruction; it is permanent severance from God’s life-giving presence. • The same passages that speak of doom also promise glory for those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book (Revelation 21:24-27; cf. Ezekiel 48:35). |
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