Revelation: Four Living Creatures

Revelation: Justification by Faith

Four Living Creatures

Revelation 4:6: And before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal. And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind.
Verse 7: The first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight.
Verse 8: And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say: “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!”

In the temple, we find four creatures. All of these share a common song, wings, and eyes.
They are full of eyes, in front and behind—or in other translations, inside and out.
With so many eyes, such a creature must be able to see from every perspective.
They stand around the throne of God, which naturally reminds us of God’s eyes that see everything and are present everywhere. God sees all things from every conceivable viewpoint.
Then we also see the six wings.
Isaiah had a similar vision of the throne of God and tells us:

Isaiah 6:1: In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple.
Verse 2: Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.
Verse 3: And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”

With two wings they flew, and with the other four they covered themselves in reverence for the God who sits on the throne. Even the seraphim cover their faces before God, though they are holy and without sin. They know that God is holy and exalted. He is unique—something an angel can never be.
And these seraphim are not focused in their song on themselves, but entirely on the holiness of God. Three times they cry holy, and they emphasize that He is Almighty and Self-Existent.
How much more, then, should sinful people have a right view of themselves before God?
Isaiah himself gives us a good example:

Isaiah 6:5: And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”

The doxology, or praise of God in heaven, should be reflected in our own churches.
The focus must be on the holiness of God, His almighty power, and His eternal life—with a great sense of His glory and our own smallness.
The creatures also seem to be a reference to the army of Israel, which was divided into four camps with their own banners. Jewish tradition tells us that the lion, ox (or calf), eagle, and man were used for their banners.
We find the four camps in Numbers 2.
In the south was the camp of Reuben, whose name literally means, “See, a son.”
Judah, who is compared to a lion in Jacob’s blessings in Genesis, was in the east.
In the west was Ephraim, who is compared to an ox in Moses’ blessing in Deuteronomy 33.
And in the north was Dan, who must be likened to an eagle. The swiftness of the serpent that strikes in Genesis 49, which Dan is compared to, might refer to this.
So the four living creatures stand as representatives of these four camps around the throne of God.
In Numbers 2, where this division of Israel is made, the emphasis is placed on the idea that this is an army being organized into camps.
Here, then, God is portrayed as the Lord of Hosts—someone with a great army. He has dominion over every realm, whether that realm reminds us of a lion, eagle, ox, or man. A wild animal, a bird, cattle, or that which was made in the image of God.
He has all the angels under His command. And all these elements are, moreover, found in God Himself. In Him we find the strong lion, the king of beasts. In Him we find the all-seeing eye and speed of the eagle. In Him we find the strength—but also the humility—of an ox. And in Him we find the intelligence of man.
But all these creatures are merely a shadow of Him.