,, 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.“
Rev. 4: 6-7
,, Thou shalt also make a laver [of] brass, and his foot [also of] brass, to wash [withal]: and thou shalt put it between the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar, and thou shalt put water therein. For Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet thereat: When they go into the tabernacle of the congregation, they shall wash with water, that they die not; or when they come near to the altar to minister, to burn offering made by fire unto the LORDSo they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they die not: and it shall be a statute for ever to them, [even] to him and to his seed throughout their generations. "
Exodus 30: 18-21
When they later built the temple of Solomon, they had something similar again, and it was used for washing the feet as in the Tent, but they called it the sea.
,, And he made a molten sea, ten cubits from the one brim to the other: [it was] round all about, and his height [was] five cubits: and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about. And under the brim of it round about [there were] knops compassing it, ten in a cubit, compassing the sea round about: the knops [were] cast in two rows, when it was cast. It stood upon twelve oxen, three looking toward the north, and three looking toward the west, and three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east: and the sea [was set] above upon them, and all their hinder parts [were] inward. And it [was] an hand breadth thick, and the brim thereof was wrought like the brim of a cup, with flowers of lilies: it contained two thousand baths. And he made ten bases of brass; four cubits [was] the length of one base, and four cubits the breadth thereof, and three cubits the height of it.”
1 Kings 7: 23-27
Washing the feet symbolically represented daily cleansing from the sins of those who were washed with the blood of Christ, so whoever is born again should not be born again, but only confess his sins, "wash his feet". When someone became a priest, he symbolically bathed and later it was only necessary to wash the feet. About this Jesus said:
,, He that is washed needeth not save to wash [his] feet, but is clean every whit:.... "
John 13:10
The feet symbolically speak of our spiritual walking by faith, and since we sin many times, it is necessary to confess our sins, and then "Christ washes our feet" and this will happen until we are in Heaven.
,, My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins:... "
1 John. 2: 1-2
And in Heaven, John saw, "And before the throne was a sea of glass, like crystal." and we will no longer have the problem of sin. The goal for the Church of the Lord Jesus is:
,, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.”
Eph.5: 27
"and in the middle of the throne and around the throne are four animals, full of eyes in front and behind." These four animals are translated by Carnic and some other modern translations from "four living beings". There are three things in common for these living beings: they are constantly around God's throne. they are full of eyes and have six wings.
"And in the middle of the throne and around the throne are four living beings," reads Carnic's translation. Last time we saw what twenty-four and the number seven represent, and here we come across the number four. Number seven is the number of perfection, three is the number of trinity and number four is the number of our country. Here we see that it says "four living beings" which does not mean that there are only four of them but they are in the context of the previous one we have described. We have seen that twenty-four elders are representatives of the Church probably a large number of other "living beings" whose number is not known because it is not published in the Bible. If we study the first chapter of the Book of Ezekiel and the sixth chapter of the prophet Isaiah, it can be concluded that these "living beings" have the characteristics of Cherubim and Seraphim.
According to what we have in the Bible, there are four ranks in the angelic world, namely: Seraphim, Cherubim, Archangels and Angels. and the rule of God. They, by the order of God, rule over the earth, people, animals, but also over the created universe.
These living beings are described as "full of eyes in front and behind" but also "full of eyes inside". are ready at any moment to carry out every instruction of God exactly anywhere because they see accurately and precisely what is logical because God's standards are far above human and these "living beings" dwell in the immediate presence of God because they have this ability to fulfill perfect God's standards. These eyes in front, behind and inside mean that God knows the past, the future and the present. David writes about this:
,, Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether. Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it. Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?”
Ps.139: 3-7
We can also see these eyes in the context of the verses from the Epistle to the Hebrews.
,, Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things [are] naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.”
Hebrews 4:13
And the third common feature is that they have six wings, "And each of the four animals had six wings around" or "And each of the four living beings had six wings around". We have a record of these wings in the prophet Isaiah where Isaiah gives information on this subject.
,, Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.”
Isa.6: 2
Isaiah tells us that these are Seraphim who show great respect for God and the fact that they too are not able to see the Glory of God. Even angels did not see God as Spirit, but God appeared to them and appeared to people.
,, And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.”
1 Tim.3: 16
So basically no one has seen God even the angels because the Bible says:
,, No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared [him].”
John 1:18
but both men and angels saw God in the person of Jesus Christ while he was on earth. At the same time, Jesus was in the arms of the Father because He and the Father are one. In a conversation with Jesus, Philip said the following:
,, Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. "
John 14: 8
and Jesus answers him
"... he that hath seen me hath seen the Father;..."
John 14: 9
Seraphim with two wings slaughter the face and with two "slaughter their feet" which represents great humility and waiting for action with great respect. So out of six wings only two are used for flying action and four are used to express immeasurable worship of God.
Although they use only two wings for action, these "living beings" have an incredible speed for action because the prophet Ezekiel writes:
,, And the living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning.”
Ezekiel 1:14
These were common traits, and now let's see how they differ ... And the first animal was like a lion, and the second animal was like a calf, and the third animal had a face like a man, and the fourth animal was like an eagle when it flew. "
Four different images are now described here, first: like a lion in front of a beast, like a calf in front of domestic animals, in front of people like a man and in front of birds like an eagle.
Each of these "living beings" is an allegorical depiction and they depict the fourfold ministry of the Lord Jesus from birth to death on the cross.
The lion is the king of beasts and he symbolizes infinite power and the evangelist Matthew describes Jesus Christ as King and the Old Testament writers promised that the king would come while John the Baptist said that the kingdom was near. to come but then as a Lion from the tribe of Judah.
,, And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.”
Rev.5: 5
"Like a calf" is a symbol of tame, dumb animals that signify tireless suffering and firmness, and in the Old Testament it was often used for sacrifice.
In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus is described as a Servant, there is not even a genealogy, but that is not important for a servant. It is important for a servant to suffer and work, and we have seen that the calf was used for sacrifice, so we can say that this character "represents Christ 's work, suffering and sacrifice in the end.
Evangelist Luke wrote his Gospel to the Greeks who liked to idolize people, so they had many of Hercules. And it is to them that Luke writes the Gospel in which Jesus is presented "as a man" or Jesus is the Son of Man who is far above their Hercules. to tell them, "if you want to imitate someone, here is the Son of Man, so imitate Him" because only He can help you.
"... that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners;..."
1 Tim.1: 15
So far we have had a description of earthly creatures and now "like an eagle" is a representative of birds flying in the sky and he represents the speed, sovereignty and supremacy of God.
The evangelist John described Jesus thus, He is God equal to the Father and the Holy Spirit, He is the beginning and the end. He simply flew like an eagle's wings from eternity through the present to a future that has no end.
In the Gospel of John, the genealogy of Jesus does not begin with Adam but with eternity
,, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
John 1: 1
and John after the end of the Gospel writes Revelation that leads us to a future that has no end and that is why only Jesus can say
,, I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.”
Rev.22: 13