What similar themes are found in Revelation regarding God's judgment and human response? A Scroll Written on Both Sides: Echoes from Ezekiel to Revelation • Ezekiel 2:10: “Then He unrolled it before me, and it was written on the front and back; and written on it were lamentations, mourning, and woe.” • Revelation 5:1 mirrors this scene: “Then I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides, sealed with seven seals.” • Both scrolls come directly from God, both are packed with judgment, and both are meant to be proclaimed, not hidden. Lamentation, Mourning, and Woe: Shared Vocabulary of Judgment • Ezekiel’s triple phrase (“lamentations, mourning, and woe”) finds its New-Testament echo in Revelation’s triple “woe, woe, woe” to the earth-dwellers (Revelation 8:13; 9:12; 11:14). • Babylon’s downfall is met with the lament, “Woe, woe, O great city” (Revelation 18:10, 16, 19). • The repeated wording underlines a consistent divine pattern: sin breeds sorrow and God’s verdict is never trivial. Sealed Judgments Unfolded: From Seven Seals to Seven Trumpets and Bowls 1. Seven Seals (Revelation 6): global upheavals—war, famine, death—release the contents of the scroll, echoing the weight of Ezekiel’s lament. 2. Seven Trumpets (Revelation 8–11): intensified plagues—blood, darkness, demonic hordes—parallel the escalating warnings Ezekiel delivered to a stiff-necked nation. 3. Seven Bowls (Revelation 16): final, unrestrained wrath—boils, rivers of blood, Armageddon—show that God’s patience has an end, just as Jerusalem eventually fell exactly as Ezekiel foretold. • Each series grows in severity, mirroring the progression from warning to full execution in Ezekiel 4–7. Human Hearts on Display: Repentance Deferred or Received? • After the sixth trumpet: “The rest of mankind… did not repent” (Revelation 9:20-21). • After the fourth and fifth bowls: “They did not repent and give Him glory” (Revelation 16:9-11). • Ezekiel confronted the same stubbornness: “Son of man, I am sending you to a rebellious house” (Ezekiel 2:3-5). • Yet both books highlight a remnant who respond: – Revelation’s countless multitude “washed their robes and made them white” (Revelation 7:14). – Ezekiel’s hearers can still “turn from their wicked ways and live” (Ezekiel 18:23, 32). The Worshiping Remnant: Faithfulness Amid Wrath • 144,000 sealed servants (Revelation 7:3-8). • Two witnesses prophesying (Revelation 11:3-7). • Martyrs under the altar crying, “How long?” (Revelation 6:9-11). • Their perseverance mirrors Ezekiel lying on his side, speaking only when God opened his mouth, modeling obedience for a faithful minority (Ezekiel 3:24-27). Take and Eat the Scroll: Internalizing God’s Word • Ezekiel 3:1-3: “Son of man, eat what you find; eat this scroll… So I ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth.” • Revelation 10:9-10: “Take it and eat it. It will be bitter in your stomach, but sweet as honey in your mouth.” • Sweet because God’s Word is true; bitter because judgment is grievous. The messenger must swallow both realities to speak with authenticity. Living in Light of Certain Judgment • Scripture’s consistency—from Ezekiel’s scroll to Revelation’s—assures that God keeps every promise of justice. • While many harden their hearts, the invitation to repent and worship remains open until the final seal is broken. • The charge is clear: internalize the Word, stay faithful, and let the certainty of coming judgment fuel bold witness and holy living today. |
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