Our intention in these messages is to see the visions in the book of Ezekiel. Our goal is not to research this book or to expound it but to see the visions of God’s glorious life contained in it. Therefore, instead of considering Ezekiel verse by verse or even chapter by chapter, we will endeavor to release the crucial points concerning life in this book.
The Bible reveals that a mysterious story is unfolding in the universe—a story involving God and man. In this story God enters into man to be man’s life, causing man to have His nature and His glorious image. Ultimately, in the divine nature God and man will be built together to be the place of God’s rest. As a result of this building, God and man will have a complete union. This is the mysterious life story between God and man.
Although the entire Bible tells this mysterious story of God and man, two books are concerned with this story in a particular way. These books are Ezekiel and Revelation. Both books speak of God being life to man, of the Spirit of life, of the flow of the water of life, and of God’s people, who have His glorious likeness, becoming His dwelling place. Both books end with a vision of Jerusalem, and both books show us that God’s people are built together to become not only God’s dwelling place for His rest but also His corporate counterpart for His satisfaction.
The books of Ezekiel and Revelation go together in parallel. If we would understand Ezekiel, we need Revelation, and if we would see something in the book of Revelation, we need to understand the things revealed in Ezekiel. Thus, it is helpful to take these books together. If we read Ezekiel and Revelation together, we will see that in many respects they are quite similar. The main points in these two books are nearly the same.
The first similarity is that both books start with visions. Both Ezekiel and John saw visions, and the visions seen by them are mainly related to life. The Bible speaks to us about life. In the books of Ezekiel and Revelation, we have not only the term life but also visions portraying what life is and how life works within us and among us. In both books we have not just a description of life but also visions showing us the matter of life.
In the entire Bible the books that speak most clearly concerning God flowing out as life are Ezekiel and Revelation. Ezekiel and Revelation both show us the flow of the living water. Ezekiel 47:1 speaks of the river that flows out of the habitation of God. Verse 9 says, “Every thing shall live whither the river cometh,” and verse 12 says, “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.” In Revelation 22:1 and 2 we see the river of water of life proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. “He showed me a river of water of life, bright as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb in the middle of its street. And on this side and on that side of the river was the tree of life, producing twelve fruits, yielding its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.” In both Ezekiel and Revelation, therefore, we have a river flowing out of God with the life supply.
The main thing that Ezekiel and Revelation have in common is that both books give us a vision of Jerusalem. Ezekiel ends with the vision of Jerusalem, and so does Revelation. These two books, which end with a vision of Jerusalem, tell us that God’s intention is to come into us as life that we may have His nature and image so that, in His nature with His image, we who have Him as our life may be built up together as the holy city to be God’s dwelling place for eternity. This is the central message of both Ezekiel and Revelation. Therefore, the message of the book of Ezekiel is the same as that of the book of Revelation.