REVELATION 4: PART TWO Rev. 4:1 After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter. 2 And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. 3 And he that sat was to look upon like jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald. 4 And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold. 5 And out of the throne preceded lightnings, thunderings, and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God. 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. 9 And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever, This is a study on the beasts in the book of Revelation. There are two Greek words used in ,b>the book of Revelation translated beast: zoon & herion. There are seven verses using zoon in reference to the beasts in heaven around the throne of God. 37. Verses using herion to describe the beast coming out of the bottomless pit. Herion is translated a dangerous and wild animal or a venomous wild beast. Zoon translated from Greek to English as beast, gives zoon a negative and confusing definition. The word actually means “living creature or a living thing.” This is no ordinary living creature. This creature is able to utter praises; it opens seals and gives understanding. Therefore, we may conclude that this beast has a divine nature and characteristics. We may further conclude that its dwelling place is with God. Moreover, since we have already shown in Part I, everything John saw in this portion of scripture all pertained to God. God’s person, character and attributes manifested in different forms. We may conclude that the four beasts represent another aspect of God. For example, the throne is not an actual throne but represents the Authority of God; God is sitting because on the seventh day he rested. Then John sees the jasper and the sardine and compares this with he who is sitting on the throne. These are not gems but represent God’s essence. The rainbow appears revealing his covenant, promises and words to his people. The wisdom of God symbolized in the form of twenty-four elder sits on thrones and wear golden crowns facing “he who sits” on the throne. This wisdom comes from God and is pure and easily entreated. The elders bow and fall down because wisdom comes from God and is always subject to God. The four and twenty elders are the personification of the wisdom of God. Then there is the lightening and thunder from the throne and the burning which is the seven spirits of God. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that the beast or the living creatures are symbolic of the characteristics, abilities and divine attributes of the living God. In Isaiah 6:2-32 he described the beasts as seraphim's. Above it stood the seraphim's: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. 3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. Also, Ezek 1:10 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. The lion is the supreme among all beasts; the ox is a beast of burden; the eagle soars supreme and reaches the highest heavens; who is like unto the son of man? 11 Thus were their faces: and their wings were stretched upward; two wings of every one were joined one to another, and two covered their bodies. The four wings with eyes have to do with what was and is, but the sixth set of wings points to that, which is yet to come. Their eyes are full eyes before and behind and see all things pertaining to salvation. The Old Testament prophets could only appear into salvation but they were not partakers of the salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. Jesus had to come first as the door and the one who opens the door into that which is to come. Ps.11:4 The LORD is in his holy temple, the Lord's throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men. The four faces of the beast is a direct reference to the work of salvation that Jesus accomplished and recorded in the four Gospel. The four beasts cry Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord. Just as emeralds or precious stones give off a glow expressing its essences so do the beasts express their essences If stones could speak they would say how beautiful are the things of God. We know that the firmament showeth his handiwork but the heavens declare the glory of God. “Day unto to uttereth speech…for there is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.” When we speak, we declare our life even as God declares his life and righteousness unto us. How else would we hear? The voice of the living creatures is the verbal expressions of God almighty through the work of the cross. Matt.5:48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father, which is in heaven is perfect. Lev. 20:26 And ye shall be holy unto me: for I the Lord, I am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be mine. Ps. 3:4 I cried unto the LORD with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill. Selah Rev.13:2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. Rev.13:11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. Rev. 13:18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six. Note that the counter part is not really a beast but is a man with the beastly nature. A wild animal with a venomous and dangerous capacity for evil is the true nature of man. There are two types of beasts; there is a domesticated beast used for the service of man. There is beast that is wild and dangerous. In the bible beast can mean an actual animal or crawling thing. When we go a little deeper, we discover that beast can represent a certain nation or a certain person. Thus, the word beast is a symbol to bring forth a more powerful meaning in the bible. This meaning can show and take on the character of the one described as a beast. In the bible, our Lord is a lamb, an ox, a lion these are beasts used to demonstrate his character. Satan is described as a dragon, beast and a serpent. This helps us to visualize their nature and character In Dan.7:23 Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces. The beast represents a fierce nation with a horrible nature. In this scripture, the word beast helps to symbolize and strengthen symbolically the sadistic nature of a nation. We first see the word beast in the book of Genisis...Gen 3:1 Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field… He is in the form of a serpent with intelligence and able to speak. Animals or beasts do not usually speak. This serpent allows us to understand the type of nature confronting Eve. The beast in the Garden of Eden has human characteristics for it is able to speak with understanding and brings forth an argument in a logical pattern. We realize this in no ordinary beast but embody and symbolize all that can be disobedient to God. This beast though a serpent stood upright and spoke in a manner that was able to convince Eve that he spoke truth. Later God curses the beast to crawl on the dust of the earth symbolizing his realm would be the earth and his resting place the bottomless pit. Acts 28:4 And when the barbarians saw the venomous beast hang on his hand, they said among themselves, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffereth not to live. 5 And he shook off the beast into the fire, and felt no harm. This is the same Greek word herion. This act of Paul is like a glimpse into the future or a prophecy of victory over the beast. Here we see the future unfold before our eyes. Paul, a man, conquers the beast by shaking it into the fire of God. The many membered body of Christ, the perfect man, sits in heavenly places translated by the power of God into the Kingdom of his dear Son. We have become new creatures, living creatures, which exhibit and demonstrate the true nature of the Lord. We have become the Lion, the ox, the eagle and our face is the face of the man called Jesus. Great is the mystery of godliness. The victory is ever before us as we cry, “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord” and fall before him declaring his “Glory”. the voice Readers may direct questions and comments to: hiswinepress@live.com return Seeds of Light: