“Before the throne there was a sea of glass, like crystal. And in the midst of the throne, and around the throne, were four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back.” Revelation 4:6.

“And in the midst of the throne, and around the throne, were four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back.” Revelation 4:6b.

Having covered verse 6a in the last study, we will now pickup verse 6b here. With words like, in the midst, before, and around the throne it gets difficult to picture this area.

It is possible that what is before us is a dais or some other form of raised platform where the throne is placed and all of these, midst, around and before descriptions are upon this dais, with the possibility that the crystal sea (Revelation 4:6a in opening quote) is actually before the dais.

This should not be too far off-base since thrones are on a dais, and churches, lecture halls and courtrooms all have some sort of raised platform or stage.

The “four living creatures” in some King James versions of the Bible are, unfortunately, called beasts, due to a poor translation of the word. If you have this translation, read living creatures instead of beasts.

These creatures are not animals and as beings, they are undoubtedly far above humans in intellect, and they are ancient in age, they deserve our respect.

These four are “full of eyes front and back”, though this is likely a metaphor and these eyes may not be literal physical eyes. Nevertheless they are very real; God does not waste His breath. This will be covered in more depth in verse 8.

“The first living creature was like a lion, the second living creature like a calf, the third living creature had a face like a man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle.” Revelation 4:7.

One of the most exciting aspects of Bible study is finding internal evidence that it is truly a supernatural book which is God breathed.

“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17.

These little things are useful for the faith of the Christian but they will not sway the unbeliever, who will just call it coincidence. The following is one of those “coincidences”.

The order in which the books of the New Testament are placed is not the order in which they were written.

For instance either the book of James or Galatians was written first followed by first and second Thessalonians, and then the gospel of Mark. Of the twenty-seven books, the gospel of John was written fifth from the last.

The question arises, if men laid out the New Testament in the order it is in, was it just thrown together however they thought it should be, or did God have any say in the order of the books?

The first four books of the New Testament are Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Once again, these are not in the order in which they were written.

These are the four gospels, four views of Christ, Matthew portrays Him as a king, Mark treats Him as a servant, Luke shows Him as a man, and John shows Him as God.

Symbolically the king is represented as a lion, the servant is represented as a calf or ox, the man is, well, a man, and God is represented as an eagle.

These living creatures in some manner represent God with Christ on the throne. God the Father having the appearance of a jasper stone and Jesus is seen as the blood red sardius.

“Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne. And He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance…” Revelation 4:2-3a.

Jesus said of His relationship to His Father:

“I and My Father are one [one essence].” John 10:30.

“But this Man [Jesus], after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God…” Hebrews 10:12.

The living creatures not only have the features that represent Christ on earth, but they are introduced in the same order that He is in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The king is a lion, the servant is a calf, the man is seen as a man, and the eagle is symbolic of God.

Here is another look at the verse that introduces these living creatures.

“The first living creature was like a lion, the second living creature like a calf, the third living creature had a face like a man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle.” Revelation 4:7.

The genealogies in the gospels bear these interpretations out to some degree too.

In Matthew the Lord’s genealogy is taken from Abraham to Jesus to establish His kingly line, “the Lion of the tribe of Judah” Revelation 5:5.

In Mark, no lineage for Christ is given, no one cares what the lineage of a servant is, they are needed only to plow the land or look after the animals.

The book of Luke traces Jesus’ lineage back to Adam, showing that He is the Son of Man:

“…for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Luke 19:10.

“Hereafter the Son of Man will sit on the right hand of the power of God.” Luke 22:69.

In the book of John He is shown as God, so it simply states:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.” John 1:1-2.

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14.

“Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? This is He who came by water [at His baptism Mark 1:9-11] and blood [at His crucifixion Luke 23:20-55] – Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth. For there are three who bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one.” 1 John 5:5-8.

Jesus’ ministry began at His baptism and ended with His crucifixion. The crucifixion is recorded in all for Gospels.

As God, Jesus Christ the Word is eternal, without beginning or end. There is no lineage for an eternal Being.

Revelation 4:6b-7 taken from godisrevealed.com posted on 10-22-16, updated on 6-5-22.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version, copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission, all rights reserved.