The Four Living Creatures in the Book of Revelation

[Revelation 4:7-8] “The first living creature was like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature had a face like a man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle. 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!'”

The identity of the “four living creatures” in Revelation is not explicitly stated, but they are likely angels representing all of creation. The figures of the “lion, ox, man, and flying eagle” may represent the noblest, strongest, most intelligent, and swiftest of creatures, respectively. Around 300 AD, Jewish rabbis believed: “The most powerful among birds is the eagle, among domesticated animals is the ox, among wild beasts is the lion, and man is supreme over all” (Midrash Shemot Rabbah 23:1). Others believe that the “lion, ox, man, and flying eagle” are symbolic of Christ: the lion symbolizes the King of the kingdom in the Gospel of Matthew, the ox symbolizes the servant of God in the Gospel of Mark, the man symbolizes the fully human Son of Man in the Gospel of Luke, and the eagle symbolizes the Son of God in the Gospel of John.

These four living creatures are different from the four living creatures seen by the prophet Ezekiel. Ezekiel’s creatures all “had human form” (Ezekiel 1:5), while these have distinct forms. Ezekiel’s creatures each had “four faces” (Ezekiel 1:6), while these four have only one face. Ezekiel’s creatures each had “four wings” (Ezekiel 1:6), whereas these have “six wings” like the seraphim in Isaiah (Isaiah 6:2). Ezekiel’s creatures had “their four rims full of eyes” (Ezekiel 1:18), while these creatures are “full of eyes all around and within,” which may symbolize their wisdom, alertness, and all-seeing nature.

The praise of the four living creatures in Revelation is similar to that of the seraphim in Isaiah (Isaiah 6:3). In Hebrew, the superlative is expressed by repeating a word twice, but “Holy, holy, holy” is a repetition three times to express the highest superlative of all. The original text is in the form of a song. When we, like the early church, face persecution from the world and the turmoil of false teachings, we must remember that the four living creatures in heaven are still praising God “without ceasing day and night” and, in doing so, are assuring us “without ceasing day and night” that our holy, eternal, and almighty God will surely preserve the church and give it victory over all sin, enemies, and circumstances!