Revelation(4v6B): The Four Living Creatures around God's Throne

THE BOOK OF
REVELATION

(Rev.4:6B)

The Four Living Creatures around God's Throne

Rev.4:6 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. 7 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. 8 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.

I'm not going to even begin to try and understand or make sense of these four living creatures. It is not the primary context of this study. As far as Rev.4 and Ezek.1 goes, all I'll say is that the four Cherubim surrounding God's throne are four angelic beings of the highest order and rank. As part of their privileged functions, they are associated with the worship and praise of God., they are attendants of the Deity, and they are the bearers of God's Throne (Psalms 80:1; 99:1; 1 Samuel 4:4, and elsewhere...). 

As for their appearance, I'll leave you to formulate your own imagery after reading Rev.4 and Ezek.1. The fact that they are covered with eyes is intriguing and the mention of how they move in all directions with wheels in wheels has always been a very cryptic puzzle for me. I will have to wait and see what Ezekiel was trying to express when I get to heaven and visit the very throne room of God for myself. 

Additional content I can share regarding these four living creatures is that they are a four-fold representation of the perfection of God's character, values, and Word.

With regards to the four faces on the four creatures, we see a recurring theme in scripture, represented in the Patriarchs, in Israel, and in the gospels.

At different points in history, we see a dominant face. With the patriarchs, it was the eagle, or fatherhood. With Moses, we see it shift to the face of the ox or priesthood. Then, with David, it shifts again to the lion or kingship. Then, somewhere around Elijah, we shift to the man or the prophetic.

In the book of Numbers, chapter two, we can glimpse into the ensigns of the four camps of Israel* as they trekked through the wilderness, encircling the tabernacle which was always between them at camp.

When the Jews camped in the wilderness after leaving Egypt, they were instructed to set up in 4 sub-camps, one for each point of the compass with the tabernacle in the center. The first was called the Camp of Judah and included Issachar and Zebulon. Members of those 3 tribes would look for the ensign of Judah, a flag with a large lion embroidered on it, to locate their campground. It was always due east of the tabernacle. The second camp was called Ephraim and included Manasseh and Benjamin and was positioned opposite to the west. Ephraim’s flag depicted the figure of an ox. The third camp was headed by Reuben and included Simeon and Gad. Reuben’s flag showed the face of a man. They were located south of the tabernacle. The fourth camp was that of Dan with Asher and Naphtali included and was located on the North. Dan’s flag pictured a large eagle.

Lastly, the four gospels appear to have the same attributes of these four faces which line up as follows.

The gospel of Matthew carries the theme of the face of the Lion. The Lion stands for kingship. The gospel of Mark has the theme of a servant or a labourer. This would be the Ox, as the face on the left side of the living creature. The gospel of Luke has the theme of the face of a man. This face is on the right side of the living creatures, seen by Ezekiel. The gospel of John carries the theme of the Eagle, which stands for "divinity." Most of the book of John centers on showing the divinity of Jesus.

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*According to rabbinical tradition, the standard of Judah bore the figure of a lion, that of Reuben the likeness of a man or of a man’s head, that of Ephraim the figure of anox, and that of Dan the figure of an eagle; so that the four living creatures united in the cherubic forms described by Ezekiel were represented upon these four standards. Jewish tradition says the "four standards" under which Israel encamped in the wilderness, to the east, Judah, to the north, Dan, to the west, Ephraim, to the south, Reuben, were respectively a lion, an eagle, an ox, and a man, while in the midst was the tabernacle containing the Shekinah symbol of the Divine Presence.