The Book of Revelation contains approximately 400-500 references or allusions to the Old Testament. This last book of the New Testament (and the Bible) contains citations or allusions to 28 of the 39 books of the Old Testament. Revelation contains more references to the Old Testament than any other book in the New Testament. Some Old Testament citations speak of the same thing as the Revelation passage it references. However, sometimes Revelation borrows a phrase, motif, or word from others to develop a new area or compare two events with similar circumstances.
John, the Revelator, draws on many books in the Old Testament, including the Pentateuch, Judges, Proverbs, Psalms, Song of Solomon, and Job. He frequently references Daniel and echoes the prophecies of Isaiah, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Joel, and Zechariah. The terminology for the visions in revelation is often drawn from similar Old Testament visions. Although there is no direct quotation from the Old Testament in the book of Revelation, it is apparent that John alludes to the OT in about two-thirds of the 404 verses in Revelation.
This article will examine some of Revelation’s more important (IMO) Old Testament references and allusions. Regarding which Old Testament Bible (Septuagint or proto-Masoretic) John was referencing, I agree with the author of this article (Bible Errors – Jesus Christ and Apostles did not use the Septuagint (google.com)) in this matter. We will quote both the Revelation and the O.T. passages, so if you don’t like reading scripture, you probably won’t like this article.
Revelation 1:7: “Behold, he comes with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him.”
Zechariah 12:10-14: “And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn. In that day there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning at Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.”
Daniel 7:13: “I was watching in the night visions, And behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven!”
Comment: These passages (and prophecies) in Revelation and Zechariah refer to the same future event, the Second Coming of Christ to the earth. The prophecy in Daniel 7 is most likely referring to the time right before Jesus Christ is anointed by God the Father before He begins His millennial reign on Earth.
Revelation 1:8: “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, says the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.” Jesus repeats this in verse 11, saying, “I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last.” Also, in Rev. 1:17, Jesus says, “Fear not, I am the first and the last.”
Isaiah 41:14: “Who has performed and done it, Calling the generations from the beginning? I, the Lord, am the first; And with the last I am He.”
Comment: These verses refer to Jesus Christ, the second Person of Elohim (God). Jesus repeats these words in Revelation 22:12. “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.”
Revelation 1:12-15: “And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead.”
Daniel 7:13, 10:5-6, 9: “I was watching in the night visions, And behold, One like the Son of Man…. I lifted my eyes and looked, and behold, a certain man clothed in linen, whose waist was girded with gold of Uphaz! His body was like beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like torches of fire, his arms and feet like burnished bronze in color, and the sound of his words like the voice of a multitude…. And while I heard the sound of his words I was in a deep sleep on my face, with my face to the ground.”
Comment: These descriptions of Jesus, the Son of man, sound almost identical. Notice that both John and Daniel were extremely frightened of this vision of the glorified Jesus, as they fell to the ground as dead.
Revelation 1:16: “And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.”
Isaiah 49:2: “And He has made My mouth like a sharp sword.”
Comment: This sword (or the spoken words of God) that proceeds out of the mouth of Christ is also mentioned in Revelation 2:12, 16; 19:15, 21.
Revelation 2:7: “He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says unto the churches; To him that overcomes will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.” The tree of life is also mentioned in Revelation 22:2 and 22:14. Depending on which translation you use, it is also found in Revelation 22:19 (Critical text versions). More on these verses later.
Genesis 2:9: “And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.” The tree of life is also mentioned again in Genesis 3:22 and 3:24. A tree of life is mentioned 4 times in Proverbs (3:18, 11:30, 13:12, 15:4). These verses are euphemisms for having eternal life. They are “a tree of life” and not “the tree of life.”
Comment: The tree of life in Genesis consists of two words in Hebrew. They are עֵ֥ץ הַֽחַיִּֽים. The transliteration is ‘êṣ, (tree) and ha-ḥay-yîm (life or lives). There is no definite article, ‘the’ or ‘ha’ (in Hebrew) before the word ‘tree’ (‘es’). However, there is a definite article before the word ‘life.’ So it would actually read “tree of the life” or “tree of the lives” as ’ha-hay-yim’ is a masculine plural noun. We will examine this again as we progress into our study of Revelation (the tree of life in chapter 22).
Revelation 2:17: “He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says unto the churches; To him that overcomes 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 knows saving he that receives it.”
Isaiah 62:2: “And the Gentiles shall see your righteousness, and all kings your glory: and you shall be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord shall name.”
Comments: Christians of all ages will receive a new name in Jesus’ kingdom. The Messianic Jews will be called by a new name as well.
Revelation 2:18: “And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass.”
Daniel 10:6: “His body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in color to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude.”
Comment: John and Daniel both had visions of the Son of God, Jesus Christ, and the descriptions are very similar.
Revelation 2:23: “And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searches the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.”
Psalm 26:2, 28:4: “Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; try my reins and my heart…. Give them according to their deeds, and according to the wickedness of their endeavors: give them after the work of their hands; render to them their desert.” Similar wording is also found in Jeremiah 11:20 and 17:10.
Comments: “Reigns and hearts’ is an Interesting word/s choice for John. He was very familiar with the Hebrew Tanakh.
Revelation 2:27: “And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.”
Psalm 2:7-9: “I will declare the decree: the Lord has said unto me, You are my Son; this day have I begotten you. Ask of me, and I shall give you the heathen for your inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron; you shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”
Comments: Jesus is both the Son of man and Son of God. In Revelation 1:13 and 14:14, He is the Son of man, and in Revelation 2:18, He is the Son of God. He will rule the nations with a rod of iron in His kingdom on Earth.
Revelation 3:5: “He that overcomes, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.”
Ecclesiastes 9:8, Exodus 32:33: “Let thy garments be always white; and let your head lack no ointment…. And the Lord said unto Moses, Whosoever has sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.”
Comment: The book John and Yahweh (in Exodus) refer to is the Book of Life. The Book of Life is mentioned seven times in Revelation (KJV).
Revelation 3:7: “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things say he that is holy, he that is true, he that has the key of David, he that opens, and no man shuts; and shuts, and no man opens.”
Isaiah 22:22: “And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.”
Comments: Jesus Christ is the true Steward of the house of David, the Jewish people.
Revelation 3:12: “Him that overcomes will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.”
Ezekiel 48:35: “And the name of the city from that day shall be, The Lord Is There (Yahweh Shammah).”
Comments: The heavenly Jerusalem that comes down from heaven will be called the New Jerusalem. The earthly Jerusalem will be called Yahweh Shammah.
Revelation 4:1: “After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew you things which must be hereafter.”
Ezekiel 1:1: “Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river of Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.”
Comments: Both John and Ezekiel had visions of heaven, as the heavens were opened to their eyes.
Revelation 4:3-4: “And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.”
Ezekiel 1:26-28: “And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it. And I saw as the color of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about. As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spoke.”
Comments: John, Ezekiel, and Daniel had visions of heaven and the LORD, in which He gave them messages to give to the Jews. Some were near future, and others were distant future prophecies.
Revelation 4:6-8: “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. 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.”
Ezekiel 1:5-6,10, 18: “Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man. And every one had four faces, and every one had four wings…. 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…. As for their rings, they were so high that they were dreadful; and their rings were full of eyes round about them four.”
Comments: Both John and Ezekiel saw the Cherubim in their visions. Ezekiel saw them again in another vision, as recorded in Chapter 10.
Revelation 5:1: “And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals.”
Daniel 12:4: “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.”
Comments: Daniel was told to seal his book of prophetic future events, as recorded in Daniel 11 and 12. The events described in these two chapters were to occur from the rise of the kingdom of Greece, starting with Alexander the Great until Antiochus IV Epiphanes. In Daniel 11:36, the prophecy progresses to the time of the end with the introduction of the future Antichrist. Daniel is comparing the two tyrants as they both commit an abomination of desolation in the Jewish temple. Daniel 12 describes the last 3.5 years of Daniel’s 70th-week prophecy (Daniel 9:24-27). On the other hand, the book or scroll that John sees is to be unsealed as soon as there can be found one worthy to open it. Of course, that someone is the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. This prophetic book contains the future events of Daniel’s 70th week (known as the Tribulation by modern Bible scholars).
Revelation 5:5: “And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.”
Isaiah 11:1: “And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots. And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.”
Comments: Jesse descended from the family of Judah. He was David’s father. Before Joseph’s death, he gave this prophecy regarding Judah’s descendants: “Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father’s children shall bow down before thee. Judah is a lion’s whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh comes; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.”
Revelation 5:11: “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.”
Daniel 7:10: “A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.”
Comments: John borrowed this euphemism for an innumerable number from Daniel.
Revelation 6:8: “And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.”
Jeremiah 15:2-3: “And it shall come to pass, if they say unto you, Where shall we go forth? then you shall tell them, Thus says the Lord; Such as are for death, to death; and such as are for the sword, to the sword; and such as are for the famine, to the famine; and such as are for the captivity, to the captivity. And I will appoint over them four kinds, says the Lord: the sword to slay, and the dogs to tear, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the earth, to devour and destroy.” See also similar passages in Jeremiah 24:10 and Ezekiel 14:21.
Comments: Solomon once said, “The thing that has been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9). The judgment or plagues that God sent upon the Jews in Jeremiah and Ezekiel’s day are the same type that God will send during the first half of the Tribulation (fourth seal judgment).
Revelation 6:12: “And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood.”
Isaiah 13:10, 13: “For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine…. Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the Lord of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.”
Comments: The day of His fierce anger is the day of the Lord or Jacob’s Trouble. John and Isaiah are two witnesses to the same prophecy, which will occur at the end of the age.
Revelation 6:13-14: “And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.”
Isaiah 34:4: “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.”
Comments: Both books have the same wording for the same future event, the Day of the Lord.
Revelation 6:17: “For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?”
Nahum 1:6: “Who can stand before his indignation? And who can abide in the fierceness of his anger? his fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by him.”
Psalm 76:7: “You, even you, are to be feared: and who may stand in your sight when once you are angry?”
Comments: Everybody agrees you don’t want to be around God when He is angry. “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31).
Revelation 7:3: “Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.”
Ezekiel 9:4-6: “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.”
Comments: Just as the LORD set a mark (a seal) on the righteous Jews in Ezekiel’s day (before the Babylonian invasion), so will He do with the 144,000 righteous Jews during the Day of the Lord. See The Harbinger of Revelation 7 (rev310.net).
Revelation 7:16: “They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.”
Isaiah 49:10: “They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun smite them: for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall he guide them.”
Comments: Remarkable choice of words. The LORD takes care of those who love Him.
Revelation 8:3-4: “And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand.”
Psalm 141:1-2: “Jehovah, I have called upon you; make haste unto me: Give ear unto my voice, when I call unto you. Let my prayer be set forth as incense before you; The lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.”
Comments: For worship, God prefers prayer over incense and sacrifices.
Revelation 8:7-8: “The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up. And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood; And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.”
Exodus 9:23-24: “And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven: and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground; and the Lord rained hail upon the land of Egypt. So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation.”
Exodus 7:19, 21: “And the Lord spoke unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Take your rod, and stretch out your hand upon the waters of Egypt, upon their streams, upon their rivers, and upon their ponds, and upon all their pools of water, that they may become blood; and that there may be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood, and in vessels of stone…. And the fish that was in the river died; and the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink of the water of the river; and there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt.”
Comments: The first Trumpet judgment of the Tribulation time is reminiscent of the seventh plague of Egypt, and the second Trumpet judgment is reminiscent of the first plague of Egypt. Of course, the scope of devastation is much greater in the Tribulation than in Moses’ day.
Revelation 8:12: “And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.”
Exodus 10:21-23: “Then the Lord said to Moses, Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, darkness which may even be felt. So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was thick darkness in all the land of Egypt for three days. They did not see one another; nor did anyone rise from his place for three days. But all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.”
Comments: The fourth Trumpet judgment is reminiscent of the ninth plague of Egypt. Notice the use of the number three (and one-third) which is used throughout the Book of Revelation, as are 7 and 12.
Revelation 9:1, 3, 8-9: “And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit…. And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power…. 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.”
Joel 2:1-2, 4-5: “Blow the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord comes, for it is nigh at hand: A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations…. The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run. Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devours the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array.”
Comments: Joel’s description of “the day of the Lord” sounds similar to John’s description of the fifth Trumpet judgment.
Revelation 10:9-11: “Take and eat it; and it will make your stomach bitter, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth. Then I took the little book out of the angel’s hand and ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth. But when I had eaten it, my stomach became bitter. And he said to me, You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings.”
Ezekiel 3:1-3: “Moreover He said to me, Son of man, eat what you find; eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel. So I opened my mouth, and He caused me to eat that scroll. And He said to me, Son of man, feed your belly, and fill your stomach with this scroll that I give you. So I ate, and it was in my mouth like honey in sweetness.”
Comments: Ezekiel was given the unpleasant task of prophesying the impending doom of Jerusalem and Judah by the hands of the Babylonians. Between the 6th and 7th Trumpet judgments, we have the heavenly scene where a mighty angel gives John a little book. Like Ezekiel, John is given a prophecy about the tribulation of the Jewish people. Only this tribulation will be during the end times. After eating the little book of “lamentations, mourning, and woe,” John prophesies about the last 3.5 years of the Tribulation.
Revelation 11:3-4: “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.”
Zechariah 4:2-3: “And said unto me, What do you see? 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: And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof.”
Comments: Deuteronomy 19:23 says, “At the mouth of two witnesses, or the mouth of three witnesses, shall a matter be established.” This is especially true of the word of God, as we have the Old and New Testaments. Some say the two witnesses of Revelation 11 are Moses and Elijah, representing the law and the prophets.
Revelation 11:15: “And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.”
Exodus 15:18: “The Lord shall reign for ever and ever.”
Daniel 2:44; 7:14: “And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever…. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.”
Comments: The Kingdom of God (the LORD Jesus Christ) on Earth will last a thousand years. This is known as the Millennial Kingdom. It will not end when a thousand years are finished, but the environment will change. Beyond the Millennium is the Eternal Kingdom, which the Bible hardly mentions. In our next installment, we will look at the second half of Revelation, including chapters 21 and 22. Some Bible teachers believe these two chapters describe the Millennium Kingdom, while others the Eternal Kingdom.
Randy Nettles