I
have to admit that, with the unusual nature of the description of these
creatures, I had to wonder how God would connect them with things he had
already made very clear. However, the fog around my cold has begun to clear,
and this morning’s journey in the word proved to be very encouraging.
The
first time the Bible mentions “living
creatures” is in the very first chapter. Genesis 1 describes how God
created the living creatures, and how this included animals of the sea, land
and air.[2] The question is: can we make a connection between the living
creatures as first introduced to us in the account of creation, and the living
creatures of Revelation?
My first
thought about this is that, God’s “invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature,
have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the
things that have been made.”[3] What we see in Revelation 4 are four living creatures declaring the
glory of God as the creation has been doing since the beginning. Perhaps that
is the purpose of the picture.
Another
question then arises: What encouragement would the persecuted church receive
from picturing four living creatures around the throne, each living creature
looking like a man, a lion, an ox, and an eagle?
What
comes to mind is the value of contrasts. During seasons of persecution, and
even in smaller times when it simply seems to a believer like everyone is
against him or her, the message of the opposition is that the majority are
right, the most scary are right, the most important are right, and so one ought
to adjust his or her beliefs to match the status quo.
On the other
hand, the message of the living creatures is that God is right. The message of
creation is that God is right. The more deeply scientists dig into the makeup
of material life, the more intricate expressions of creation are waiting for
them, building the perception of God’s “eternal power and divine nature”. The more scientists magnify their
capacity to see what is “out there”, the more “the heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his
handiwork.”[4]
Since I enjoy
wondering about such things long before I come to conclusions on any of them, I
cannot say for sure if the four living creatures are a metaphorical reminder of
how “every creature in heaven and on
earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them,” are “saying,
‘To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory
and might forever and ever!’”[5]
However, the observation that the twenty-four elders seem to represent the whole
priesthood of all believers supports the idea that the four living creatures
represent “every creature in heaven and
on earth and under the earth and in the sea”.
It is safe for
the persecuted church to let the four living creatures remind them of the way
that all creation gives glory, honor and praise to the one who sits on the
throne, and to the Lamb, who together created all things for their glory. While
evolutionists mock the creationist beliefs of the church, the creation itself
sings the praises of its Creator, and groans for the day when “the creation itself will
be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory
of the children of God.”[6]
From my heart,
Monte
© 2013 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517,
Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8 ~ in2freedom@gmail.com
Unless otherwise noted,
Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English
Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good
News Publishers.)
[1]
“6 …And around the throne, on each side
of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: 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. 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!’” (Revelation 4)
[2]
“20 And God said, ‘Let the waters swarm
with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the
expanse of the heavens.’ 21 So God created the great sea creatures and every
living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their
kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
…24 And God said, ‘Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to
their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to
their kinds.’ And it was so.” (Genesis 1)
[3]
Romans 1:20
[4]
Psalm 19:1
[5]
Revelation 5:13
[6]
Romans 8:21
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