The four beasts

Shalom,

In the recent weeks we read in Revelation 6 that at the opening of the first 4 seals there was always an animal that said something after The Lamb of God had opened a seal. Did you wonder who these animals were while reading?

This week I want to take you to these four animals and where we can find in the book of Revelation. In Revelation Chapter 4 we read that John sees these four animals for the first time, which he will see again when The Lamb opens the first four seals. John clearly stated at the opening of these seals that he sees a first, second, third and a fourth animal. He recognizes them because he had seen them earlier in his vision. We read:

• 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.

Revelation 4, 6-8

Then we read the following in Revelation Chapter 6 and very easily make the connection in what John saw. We read:

The first animal, looked like a lion

• And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.

Revelation 6: 1

The second animal looked like a calf

• And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see.

Revelation 6: 3

The third animal had the face like a man

• And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.

Revelation 6: 5

The fourth animal looked like a flying eagle

• And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.

Revelation 6: 7

Six wings

In Greek (the language in which John wrote) we read Zōa, and that means 'an animal, living being'. John describes that these animals each have six wings. Let's see if we find living creatures with six wings elsewhere in the Bible. We read:

• In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.

Isaiah 6:1, 2

The Hebrew word written here for seraphims is śə·rā·p̄îm, and that means majestic beings with 6 wings, human hands or voices in the service of God. That's how Isaiah describes the living beings he saw. Isaiah saw these 'seraphims' (living creatures) with six wings. Isaiah saw that these living creatures stood 'above' Him. John saw the living beings 'in and around' the throne. Isaiah does not write about the faces of the living beings he saw. In Isaiah's writing does not state what the faces of these living creatures looked like. While John clearly describes four different types of faces that of a lion, a calf, a man and a flying eagle. We do not know whether it is the same living beings. That's why I let this rest. We also read something similar in Ezekiel. We read:

• 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 (calf) on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle.

Ezekiel 1:5, 6,10

Similarities and differences

Ezekiel sees living beings with four wings. This in contrary to the living beings that Isaiah and John saw, the living beings of which have six wings. Ezekiel writes about the same faces that John sees, namely, of a human, lion, calf and an eagle. Only Ezekiel sees that every living creature has four faces. Both in the visions that John, Isaiah and Ezekiel see, we notice a number of similarities as well as differences.

What and who are these particularly looking living things? We cannot find clear evidence about this in the Bible. If the Lord Jesus wanted us to know who they are exactly, He would have made this clear to us. For the curious among us I go through a number of options.

The first possibility

In the first possibility, the 4 animals could represent the characteristics of God. The lion radiates majesty and strength. The calf reflects the the characteristics of a servant that God's sacrificing nature reflects, thinking about what Jesus said he was not coming to rule but to serve. We read this in Matthew 20:28:

• Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

The face of a man would show the intelligence and autonomy of God. And the flying eagle the independence and ruling role of God. The problem with this first possibility is that you have to read between the lines to arrive to this conculsion.

The second possibility

The second possibility is that these 4 animals represent the 4 gospels. De lion represents the gospel of Matthew, which was written to the Jews as their King, the Lion from the tribe of Judah. The calf represents the gospel of Mark, in which Jesus does the will of the Father as a Servant. The man represents the gospel of Luke that was written for humanity in general and shows Jesus as a Son of man. The flying eagle represents the gospel of John, who revealed Jesus as God. This second possibility sounds very plausible in the ears. The only question is what God's motivation is to want to display all 4 gospels through the 4 animals.

The third possibility

The third possibility is that the animals represent the 12 tribes of Israel. Before Israel entered the promised land, they set up their tent camps in a similar way such as the arrangement of the 4 animals. In Numeri 2 we read that the east side was set up by Judah, Issashar and Zebulon. Judah's symbol was a lion. The south side were Ruben, Simeon and Gad, under Ruben's symbol of a man. Ephraim, Manasse and Benjamin were on the west side, with the calf as a symbol of the Ephraïm tribe. The north side was set up by Dan, Aser and Naftali, with the eagle as the symbol of the tribe of Dan. This seems like a logical explanation, to the back you find out that the symbols of the tribes do not occur in the Bible, but originated from tradition. It is not described where and when this tradition has its origin.

The fourth possibility

The fourth possibility is that the 4 animals are special living beings. We read that these 4 living beings serve and worship the Lord. This possibility fits exactly what we know about the angels of God and what their purpose is: that is to serve and worship God. When we look at the task of the angels of the Lord in the Bible, and we also look at the context that we mentioned earlier in Ezekiel 10:20 and Isaiah 6: 2-3, this sounds the most logical possibility. These living beings are there to highy exalt the Lord and to worship Him ánd to serve Him at all times. Revelation 4: 6 writes that these animals, these 4 living creatures, said day and night without resting:

• Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was, who is, and who comes!

What possibility we choose on our own as the most plausible is everyone for themselves. Very soon we will see these special animals, these 4 living beings together with our Lord Jesus in heaven and we will most likely sing together with them:

• Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was, who is, and who comes!

Revelation 4: 8

• Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of the army; The whole earth is full of its glory!

Isaiah 6: 1

We will sing divine new songs in worship for him for all eternity when we are together with the Lord. Heavenly songs of worship for our Lord Jesus! Ohw ... what am I looking forward to!

Awaiting His Return,

Natasja