TABLE
OF CONTENTS |
Part I
Who Are the Seven Spirits?
Seven Spirits and Seven Stars
The Golden Candlestick
"After This"
The Twenty-Four Elders
Seven Torches of Fire
|
Part III
"Glory and Honor to Him"
"Twenty-Four Elders Fall Down"
"Who Is Worthy?"
A Lamb as Though Slain
The Lamb Takes the Scroll |
Part II
Four Living Creatures:
Lion
Ox
Man
Eagle
Each of Them Six Wings
"For My Name's Sake"
Seraphims
|
Part IV
The Seven Spirits of God
Seven Spirits—Messages—Angels
What Are the Seven Spirits?
Seven Promises of the Spirit |
Part II
"Four Beasts
[Living Creatures]"
"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."
Revelation
4:7
Four Living Creatures
|
These four "beasts" or "living
creatures" represent the four attributes of God—perfect justice, perfect power,
perfect love and perfect wisdom.
Lion = Justice
|
|
The lion is the king of beasts. We
notice that David sat upon the throne of the Lord. Justice and judgment are the habitation
of God’s throne. David was of the tribe of Judah.
Our Lord was David’s root and branch. Hence, we read that it was
"The Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the
book, and to loose the seven seals thereof," Revelation 5:5. No one was found worthy
to open the book until this "Lion of the tribe of Judah" appeared. He was worthy.
He was just and could meet the requirements of justice.
In the real world, the "lion" helps keep the balance of
nature. Man originally was to accomplish this task. But because of sin, he lost his
dominion and control over animals. Hence the need of carnivores. Without them we would be
overrun with rabbits and squirrels and deer and countless other creatures who multiply
rapidly. The lion serves as the ultimate predator who serves to keep a kind of just
balance in nature until man again takes dominion of earth.
Ox
= Power
|
|
The second "Beast" or "Living Creature"
is like a powerful ox. The ox served back then as tractors do now. They were the
source of power in plowing or pulling carts. The molten sea or laver of the temple was
placed on twelve cast oxen, three oxen holding up each side with their heads facing
outward. (See 2 Chronicles 4:3,4.) Here the water of truth was upheld by
the power of
"twelve oxen."
"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 on the left
side; they four also had the face of an eagle."
Ezekiel 1:10
We notice a strange
difference in Ezekiel 10:14: "And
every one had four faces: the first face was the face of
a cherub, and the second face
was the face of a man, and the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an
eagle." Notice the ox is not mentioned. It is spoken of as a cherub.
What is a cherub? Possibly it is an ox. Ezekiel 10:22
seems to confirm this: "And the likeness of their faces was the same faces
which I saw by the river of Chebar, their appearances and themselves: they went every one
straight forward." This is a reference to Ezekiel 1:10 where Ezekiel saw the
vision by the river Chebar. (See Ezekiel 1:1.)
The cherubim of the Tabernacle may have been, in fact, oxen with wings.
Oxen have horns and horns are symbolic of power. Remember the horns of the altar, or the
power of the altar.
Face
of a Man
= Love |
|
Here the divine quality of love is seen. Man was
created in the "image of God." As God is love, so man was to be love. He will be
love when he returns to the family of God.
Flying
Eagle
= Wisdom |
 |
The eagle is noted for its far-seeing vision. They
tell us the eagle can see a mouse from a mile high. We believe the flying eagle is used to
illustrate the fact that if you want to see far you need to be up high. The eagle perched
in a tree would not have the far-seeing vision, as one flying high. The landscape
would obscure its vision. So this far-seeing quality of an eagle would illustrate
God’s wisdom which plans for eternity without the possibility of failure.
"Four Beasts [Living
Creatures] Had
Each of Them Six Wings"
"And the four beasts
[living creatures] 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
4:8
The "four beasts" [living creatures] have six wings. Wings
go in pairs. You never saw a bird fly with one wing. Two
wings are necessary for flight.
The expression, "WAS and IS and IS TO COME"
seems to imply these three pairs of wings operated in the past, are operating in the
present, and will be operating in the future. The wings are full of eyes, far-seeing
wisdom, to insure that God’s purpose and glory are fully served in all time,
eternity, past and present and future.
It reminds us of God’s awesome power and omniscience. There is
nothing unknown or anything God is not equal to. God’s "two wings" through
all time maintain the sovereignty of God. They protect His subjects and carry forth His
plan with unerring purpose.
Four Living Creatures
|
These four "beasts" [living creatures]
never cease to sing: "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty."
The Alexandrine MS says "Holy" three times. Most MSS say "Holy"
nine times. The Living Creatures constantly affirm God’s completeness in these four
Holy Attributes of justice, wisdom, love and power. While the word "holy" means
complete, we understand the completeness referenced to be in these four attributes.
Isaiah 48:9-11
"For my name’s sake will I defer mine anger, and for my praise
will I refrain for thee, that I cut thee not off.
"Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in
the furnace of affliction.
"For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it: for how should
my name be polluted? And I will not give my glory unto another."
Here God speaks of how He restrains His anger, not for Jacob’s
sake, but for His own sake and glory. That was the very reason for which Moses entreated
God, so that the nations might not say that God led His people out of
Egypt but could not bring them into the Promised Land. God’s glory would have been
impugned. God rightly accepted Moses’ appeal. Here He says the same thing through
Isaiah. He cannot give His glory to another.
In the world, executives who seem always on hand to take credit for
all that goes well, never seem to be able to take responsibility for the wrong. In
Watergate, Nixon tried to play innocent until he could not talk his way out of his guilt.
Nixon’s subordinates went to jail while Nixon was pardoned. He tried to escape his
responsibility.
The same was true with Irangate. Reagan and Bush claimed they were out
of the loop. All these things mysteriously happened without their knowledge or consent,
even though they were totally in charge. The subordinates were chastised, but Reagan and
Bush claimed no responsibility.
Well, dear friends, that could never happen in God’s Kingdom. His
own attributes hold God Himself responsible for maintaining perfect justice, love, wisdom
and power. God could never place the blame on His subordinates.
|
God assumes full responsibility for His universe. He cannot give his glory to another.
He Himself was always responsible, is responsible and will ever be
responsible for all things in His everlasting dominion.
|
 |
This does not mean God cannot delegate power and
authority to others, mainly to His beloved Son. It does mean, however, that no matter how
much authority and power He delegates to others, He will always bear the responsibility
for all things in His infinite universe. God’s four attributes will accept no
scapegoats. God can never be less than totally responsible for His everlasting dominion.
Isaiah 6:1, 2
"In the year that King Uzziah died I saw also the Lord (probably
Jesus is referred to, see THE ATONEMENT BETWEEN GOD AND MAN,
Vol. 5,
p. 47
)
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."
Seraphim of Isaiah 6
|
We notice again the pairing of wings. In this picture the
wings seem to serve another purpose. Two wings cover the Lord’s face. His face is
hidden from men. Just as when Jehovah would lift up his countenance upon Israel, it
symbolized his favor and blessing.
When he turned his face away from them it was usually their period of
punishment. When the LORD JESUS covers his face from men, they cannot see his countenance
and his favor is turned away from them.
With "twain he covered his feet." The feet of Jesus are
his body members which make contact with the world. Isaiah says regarding these feet:
"How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth
good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth
salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth."
Isaiah 52:7
It is the feet of the Christ at this end of the age who are engaged
in such glorious work. These poor feet are beautiful to God and to the risen Christ, but
the world holds them in contempt, even as they did the Master. The feet members should be
beautiful in our eyes, as we see them with painstaking efforts trying to walk in the
footsteps of the Master and bearing witness to the glorious plan of the ages.
"With twain he did fly." Two wings carry
forth the mission of Christ. We believe these two wings are closely identified with the
Words of the Old and New Testaments. Our Lord moves irresistibly forward in carrying out
the Holy Word. Not a jot or tittle fails of fulfillment. Heaven and earth could pass
away more
easily than for any part of God’s Word to fail. God has placed the carrying forth of
His plan in the hands of His beloved Son.
