FOUR STRANGE CREATURES!

THE "FOUR BEASTS" OF REVELATION FOUR

Revelation 4:6-11 - 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, Who was, and is, and is to come.  And when those beasts give glory and honor and thanks to Him that sat on the throne, Who lives forever and ever, the four and twenty elders fall down before Him Who sat on the throne, and worship Him that lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power:  for You have created all things, and for Your pleasure they are and were created.

 "Four beasts" are also mentioned in Revelation 5:6, 8, 14; 8:14; 6:1, 6; 7:11; 14:3; 15:7; and 19:4.   In each, the definite article is used (THE four beasts), indicating one of two things:  there is only one such group consisting of "four beasts," or that the text is speaking of a specific group unique to Revelation.  In other words, the "four beasts" introduced in chapter four are the same "four beasts" referred to in seven of the eighteen chapters to follow.  All of them speak of what the "the four beasts" are saying or what they are doing;  

There are two other books of the Bible which refer to four beasts:  Daniel (Ch. 7) and Ezekiel (Ch. 1, 10).  While some Bible teachers declare that these passages all refer to the same "four beasts" (Example - Brother Michael Jacob of Word of God International Ministries), most, while seeing similarities, note they are different.  In Daniel 7:17, we read that the "four beasts" are four earthly kings.  The "four beasts" having four wings each, found in Ezekiel 1:4-12 are declared to be Cherubim in Ezekiel 10:1-22.  Isaiah would identify those referred to in Revelation as follows:

Isaiah 6:1-3 - 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 Seraphim:  each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.  And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts:  the whole earth is full of His glory.

I CANNOT EXPLAIN THE FOLLOWING SIMILARITIES.

Ezekiel describes his "four beasts" as Cherubim having:  "the face of a man"; "the face of  a lion"; "the face of an ox"; and "the face of an eagle" (v. 10).

Daniel describes his "four beasts" as earthly kings:  "like a lion" (7:4); "like a bear" (7:5); "like a leopard" (7:6); and "like a great beast with iron teeth" (7:7).  Daniel repeatedly refers to the four empires of Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome.

John, in Revelation, describes the "four beasts" as Seraphim:  "like a lion"; "like an ox"; "having the face of a man"; and "like a flying eagle" (4:7).

And to confuse matters even more, many students of the Bible identify the four Gospels as follows:

Matthew presents the Messiah of Israel, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah; Mark presents Jesus as the suffering Servant; Luke presents the Lord as the Son of man; and John presents Jesus as the Word of God (as God).  

What these all have in common, and how they differ, at least in my case, will have to wait until I can sit at the Lord's feet, and ask the One Who gave Himself to pay for the sin of the world!

GOD'S WORD IS SIMPLE ENOUGH TO PRODUCE FAITH IN A CHILD,

AND COMPLEX ENOUGH TO PRODUCE HUMILITY IN HONEST ADULTS!