In | Ezekiel and Revelation 20-22

The parallels between Ezekiel and Revelation are especially important as the final chapters of the Bible come to a close. Throughout his book, Ezekiel describes how God restores those who have been scattered and secures and resettles them in the land.  Without walls, fortifications or armies to protect them, the settlers in Ezekiel’s audience would be vulnerable to strong and swift raids from armies like those belonging to Gog or Magog to the northwest. Because of this vulnerability, the restoration of the people will require divine protection. It will also require the divine blessing of a future temple immune to impure worship, which would offer life and healing to the nations. 

These same features are used by the author of Revelation to communicate a similar message at the end of the New Testament. 

Revelation, like Ezekiel, describes divine restoration, but with key modifications. In Revelation 19–22, the martyrs are restored to reign as priests alongside Christ the Davidic king. These saints will face the armies of Gog and Magog as they become tempting targets for Satan. Divine protection will ensure that a new Jerusalem can be established, this time without a temple. The entire city becomes the house of God and nothing impure is able to enter it. The city’s river will flow from the throne of God to give life and healing to the nations, in fulfillment of Ezekiel’s vision. 

Source: Mark J. Boda and J. Gordon McConville, Dictionary of the Old Testament Prophets, 2012, p. 655.