Revelation 4:6-11

6Also before the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal.

In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. 7The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. 8Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come." 9Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, 10the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne, and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say:

11"You are worthy, our Lord and God,

to receive glory and honor and power,

for you created all things,

and by your will they were created

and have their being."



Dig Deeper

When I was a young Christian I did what a lot of young Christians, and unfortunately, some older Christians do as well. I went to worship services saying that it was about worshipping God, but in reality, my attitude deep down was that it was more about me. I didn't necessarily realize it, but that's what I was doing. If the singing was enthusiastic and to my liking, then I would get excited about the worship. If I didn't like the songs, then I would be sure that the worship was not good that day. The same held true for the sermons and other aspects of the service. If they met my particular needs and encouraged me then I felt that I had a good worship service, but I could become quite critical if they did not. I had, however, missed something very important. Worship services never were and never will be about me and what I like or dislike. They are about praising and bringing glory to God and Him alone.


As John describes the worship service that he is being allowed to observe in heaven, there is no mistaking who is at the center of the service. The worship and praise is completely and unabashedly aimed at glorifying God. That is, after all, what true heavenly worship is all about, and as it is the call of Christians to do God's will on earth as it is done in heaven (Matt. 6:10), then we must constantly remind ourselves of passages like this one and pattern the heart of our worship after the type that John describes here.


4:6- 8 - Before the throne, John sees what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal. This is another area which overlaps with Ezekiel's vision of the throne area, with one difference. John is standing in the heavenly court looking down on the "sea" of glass (this was represented in the earthly Temple by the Laver: Ex. 30:17-21; 1 Kings 7:23-26). Ezekiel, on the other hand, was standing at the bottom of the glory cloud, looking up through the "sea" which Ezekiel described as "sparkling like ice" (Ezek. 1:22, 26).


John then describes four living creatures that were covered with eyes, in front and in back. (Compare John's vision with the four cherubim (a type of angel) in Ezekiel 1 and 10, as well as the six-winged seraphim in Isaiah 6:1-4). The idea of four creatures corresponds to the biblical imagery of the altar-shaped earth. In keeping with this symbolic concept, the Scriptures describe the four corners of the earth, the four winds, four directions, the four rivers of Eden, etc. John describes the four living creatures in the form of a lion, an ox, a man, and an eagle. These four creatures correspond with the Zodiac signs, with one minor exception. The eagle is often substituted in the Bible for the scorpion. This was either because of the ancient association between the scorpion and the serpent, or as some have argued, because the scorpion appeared more like an eagle in the sky in the days of Abraham. The faces of the cherubim in both Ezekiel and Revelation are the middle signs in the four quarters of the Zodiac: the lion is Leo; the bull is Taurus; the man is Aquarius, and the eagle (as already discussed) is Scorpio. We should not be nervous here and assume that any mention of the Zodiac is of the occult, although it has often been perverted to be used by the occult. The constellations were created by God and have been specifically arranged by God. For example, the arrangement of the twelve tribes of Israel around the Tabernacle (Num. 2) apparently corresponded to the order of the Zodiac. Like the cherubim, four of the tribes represented the middle signs of each quarter: Judah was the lion; Reuben was the man; Ephraim was the bull; and Dan was the eagle.


Next, John describes the worship of the creatures which each had six wings. Attention is given to the six wings which ties them into the seraphim of Isaiah (Is. 6:1-4). The chief duty and purpose of these creatures is to praise God. They speak non-stop: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come. The focus of the worship service on the "Lord's Day" is simply on God. It is not to feed or encourage the needs of the creatures but to give honor and glory to God.


4:9-11 - John makes an important observation for us. The praise and worship does not stop with the living creatures. The twenty-four elders, which represent the royal and priestly church, join in the worship. The elders fall down before the throne and lay their crowns down while worshipping. In so doing, they acknowledge that their dominion (symbolized by the crowns) comes from the One who is seated on the throne and not from anything they have accomplished on their own.


The elders praise God, the Creator of all things. He created all things by His will or as the King James Version words it, "for thy pleasure." God did not need to create, He did so by choice. This is one of the areas where a proper understanding of the doctrine of the Trinity becomes important. If God were not a Trinity, and He is love as John wrote (1 John 4:16), then He would need to have created in order to love. This is not the case, however, because God is a Trinity of three persons, united in divine love for eternity. His desire to create comes from His wish to share that love with other creatures. It is vital to understand that God created us by His will, for His pleasure, and that is the only reason that we have our being.



Devotional Thought

Have you ever contemplated on the fact that God created you for His pleasure? He created you so that He could share His love with you. How are you pleasing God this week? Think of specific ways that you can please God, receive His love, and give love back to Him.