The Book of Revelation – Introduction – Part Two
Revelation – A Book of Visions
Introduction – Part Two
Old Testament Imagery: Moses and the Exodus
Read: The book of Exodus and then the book of Revelation
The book of Revelation is often misunderstood as a roadmap to the end of the world, but it is far more than that—it is a carefully crafted tapestry of images, symbols, and echoes drawn from the entire story of Scripture, especially the Old Testament. To understand Revelation, we must recognize that John visions draw from the Biblical worldview common to John and his people. John and his congregation were immersed in the language of the prophets, the poetry of the psalms, and the epic movements of God’s saving work in Israel’s history. John’s vision is not new in content—but it is radically new in how it re-tells the old story, bringing it to fulfillment in Jesus Christ.
To understand Revelation, we don’t need news headlines—we need old Scriptures. The prophets give us the grammar to read Revelation rightly. They show us a God who judges evil, who comforts the faithful, and who will not rest until His kingdom comes on earth as it is in heaven.
One of the richest threads running through the book of Revelation is its deep use of imagery from the story of Moses and the Exodus. This isn’t accidental—John intentionally casts the story of Jesus and the church in the shape of Israel’s foundational salvation story. Just as Moses led God’s people out of slavery in Egypt, through judgment and wilderness, toward a promised land, Revelation tells of a greater deliverance: one that rescues God’s people from the grip of evil and ushers them into a new heaven and new earth.
The plagues of Egypt echo loudly in Revelation’s sequences of seals, trumpets, and bowls. Water turns to blood (Rev. 8:8; Ex. 7:20). Darkness falls on the land (Rev. 16:10; Ex. 10:22). Frogs, sores, hail, locusts, and death move through both texts in unmistakable parallel. But Revelation’s use of these plagues isn’t just to mirror the past—it’s to show that, once again, God is confronting a Pharaoh-like empire. Just as God defeated the gods of Egypt to liberate His people, Revelation reveals God’s power triumphing over the demonic systems of Rome (and all oppressive empires), calling His people into a greater freedom.
Central to both stories is the Lamb. In Exodus, it is the lamb’s blood that shields the Israelites on the night of judgment. In Revelation, the Lamb is not just a symbol of protection but of victory. Revelation 5 presents the Lamb who was slain as the only one worthy to open the scroll—the only one worthy to interpret history and bring it to its true end. The Lamb’s victory redefines power: not by force, but by sacrificial love.
There’s also a kind of new “Song of Moses” in Revelation 15. As God’s people stand victorious by the sea of glass, they sing a song that echoes Exodus 15—the hymn sung after the crossing of the Red Sea. But now, the song is not just about the defeat of Pharaoh. It’s about the triumph of God in Christ:
“Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, King of the nations”(Rev. 15:3).
Revelation uses the imagery of Moses and Exodus to tell us this: the story isn’t over. The same God who delivered Israel is still at work. The church is a pilgrim people, called to come out of bondage, to walk through trial and testing, and to trust that the Lamb leads us to a promised kingdom where God will dwell with His people forever. Revelation isn’t a departure from the Old Testament—it’s the fulfillment of it, retelling the Exodus in light of the cross and resurrection.
🔎 Discussion Questions for “Revelation: A Book of Visions – Part Two”
📖 Understanding the Text
- How does seeing Revelation as a retelling of the Exodus story change how you read it?
Does it feel more familiar, more grounded, or more hopeful? - What are some of the specific parallels between the plagues in Exodus and the judgments in Revelation?
What do these parallels teach us about how God responds to oppression and injustice? - In both Exodus and Revelation, God confronts empire.
What do you think are today’s “Pharaohs”—the systems or powers that enslave or oppress?
🐑 The Lamb and the Nature of Victory
- How does Revelation redefine what it means to be powerful or victorious?
Why is it significant that a Lamb who was slain is the one who opens the scroll and judges the world? - In what ways does the image of the Lamb challenge our culture’s understanding of strength and success?
How might it challenge our own assumptions?
🎶 Songs of Deliverance
- Why do you think Revelation includes songs—like the “new Song of Moses” in Revelation 15?
What does it say about how God’s people respond to deliverance? - What’s a time in your life when you’ve felt like you were standing “on the other side of the sea”?
In what ways have you seen God’s power or faithfulness in your own story of deliverance?
🌍 Living as a Pilgrim People
- If the Church today is like Israel in the wilderness—between deliverance and the promised land—how should we live?
What does it mean for us to be pilgrims rather than settlers? - Revelation calls the Church to “come out” of Babylon (Rev. 18:4), just like Israel left Egypt.
What are some ways we might need to come out of cultural captivity today?
🧭 Personal Reflection
- Where in your life do you need to trust that God is making a way, even when you can’t see it?
Like the Red Sea crossing, what does it mean to step forward in faith when the path isn’t clear? - How does the image of the Lamb leading us to a promised kingdom give you hope?
What would it look like to live as if that future is already shaping your present?