What's your sign?

Evangelist             Lion                       Ox                   Eagle

We have been looking at the fourth chapter of the book of Revelation.  It is important to know that the church members to whom it was written were aware of Old Testament Scriptures, as well as Jewish traditions.  So a lot of the mysterious images and references that seem arcane to us are actually symbols that the first century Christians were familiar with.  As time went on, early Church leaders expanded on the symbolism, and created visual images, artistic representations of the symbols, and attached new meanings to them.  These artistic renderings can be found in early Bible manuscripts and Psalters, probably included in order to help the illiterate parishioners follow the sermons and memorize Bible stories.

With this in mind, let's move on.  So far we have seen John describing a vision; a voice beckoning him to come up and look around; a magnificent throne unlike any seen on earth; the image of God Himself sitting on the throne; colors and lights almost indescribable in human terms; twenty-four elders seated in a circle around the Throne of God, dressed in white with gold crowns on their head, each seated on a lesser throne; and thunder and lightning coming from the Throne of God, as if He were trying to get John's attention.

Also 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.  (Revelation 4:6)

 This Sea of Glass is described further in Revelation 15:2: "And I saw what looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and over the number of his name."

There are two different interpretations or allusions to Old Testament Scriptures that are at play here, and John may have used the term intentionally having a double meaning, because both references are beautiful, believable, and Biblical.

Expanse
A woman I work with asked me last week to explain the term "expanse" used in Genesis 1:6-8: "And God said, Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water.  So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it.  And it was so.  God called the expanse Sky.  And there was evening and there was morning, the second day."  I explained to her my limited understanding (since I do not read Hebrew), was that the term referred to the space between the oceans and the clouds.  But that limited explanation really does not do the word justice, for it would describe only a colorless void, like air--unseen by human eyes.

Then I saw Ezekiel 1:22 use the same word in a different context: "Spread out above the heads of the living creatures was what looked like an expanse, sparkling like ice, and awesome."  Certainly this "expanse" was something noticeable, more visible than air but still transparent, for its purpose was to separate the creatures from the Glory of the Lord.  An even more striking description is found in Exodus 24, when Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu and seventy elders of Israel were invited into God's presence on the mountain.  "They saw the God of Israel.  Under his feet was something like a pavement made of sapphire, clear as the sky itself."  The most talented special effects producers in Hollywood could not re-create the vision of where God was standing (much less the vision of God Himself).  The pavement that He stood upon was made of clear, blue sapphire paving bricks, that either reflected the sky or were transparent so you could see the sky right through them.

The purpose of the sea of glass, clear as crystal, may have been to separate the elders and the four living creatures from God.  The word "holy" literally means "separate; set apart".  Later, we will see that the four living creatures never stop saying, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come."  God is not just holy, nor is he holier; he is holiest, the most holy (thus the three-fold repetition of the word.)

Basin of the Heavenly Temple
A second interpretation, no less valid, would be the basin of water in the heavenly temple.  The basin in the Jewish Temple here on earth was called the Sea.  This enormous reservoir of water corresponded to the bronze basin made for the Tabernacle (see Exodus 30:17-21).  Its water was used by priests for ritual cleansing.

• 1 Kings 7:23-25 "He made the Sea of cast metal, circular in shape, measuring ten cubits from rim to rim and five cubits high.  It took a line of thirty cubits to measure around it.  Below the rim, gourds encircled it--ten to a cubit.  The gourds were cast in two rows in one piece with the Sea.  The Sea stood on twelve bulls: three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east.  The Sea rested on top of them, and their hindquarters were toward the center."
• 2 Kings 16:17 "King Ahaz took away the side panels and removed the basins from the movable stands.  He removed the Sea from the bronze bulls that supported it and set it on a stone base."
• Jeremiah 27:19, 22 "For this is what the Lord Almighty says about the pillars, the Sea, the movable stands and the other furnishings that are left in this city...They will be taken to Babylon and there they will remain until the day I come for them, declares the Lord.  Then I will bring them back and restore them to this place.

So when God gave instructions to Moses about building the Tabernacle and its furnishings, maybe He was using heaven as a blueprint. Other features of the Temple in Heaven are: the lamps (Revelation 4:5), the altar (Revelation 6:9), the altar of incense (Revelation 8:3, and the Ark of the Covenant (Revelation 11:19).  Or maybe God will furnish his heavenly temple in the same way that the earthly temple was furnished, so that humans might sense some familiarity with it. When Solomon built the Temple in Jerusalem, he used the same blueprint, but this time in a more permanent structure.  Yet as Jeremiah warned, even the stone Temple was not impervious to thieves and marauders.  The difference in the heavenly temple is that no one can tear it down or take its furnishings.  

So we see that the descriptions given by John so far are of tangible things, things that we can visualize.  He then moves from a description of the place to a description of the inhabitants of heaven.  In addition to God on his throne, and the twenty-four elders, John describes four living creatures.  Verse 7 says, "The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was a flying eagle."  This vision mirrors what Ezekiel saw: "And in the fire was what looked like four living creatures.  In appearance their form was that of a man.  Their faces looked like this: Each of the four had the face of a man, and on the right side each had the face of a lion, and on the left the face of an ox; each also had the face of an eagle."

The number four stands for completeness--see the four directions in Genesis 13:14 and the four quarters of the earth in Isaiah 11:12.  The living creatures, called Cherubim in Ezekiel 10, are throne attendants.  Here, they contribute to the whole complex scenario that symbolically represents God's creation.  The four beasts were often depicted in the paintings and sculptures of the Middle Ages, but in this later use they represented the Four Gospels.

• Matthew the Evangelist, the author of the first gospel account is symbolized by a winged man, or angel. Matthew's gospel starts with Jesus' genealogy from Abraham; it represents Jesus' Incarnation, and so Christ's human nature. This signifies that Christians should use their reason for salvation.
• Mark the Evangelist, the author of the second gospel account is symbolized by a winged lion – a figure of courage and monarchy. Mark has John the Baptist preaching "like a lion roaring" at the beginning of his Gospel. It also represents Jesus' Resurrection(because lions were believed to sleep with open eyes, a comparison with Christ in the tomb), and Christ as king. This signifies that Christians should be courageous on the path of salvation.
• Luke the Evangelist, the author of the third gospel account (and the Acts of the Apostles) is symbolized by a winged ox or bull – a figure of sacrifice, service and strength. Luke's account begins with the duties of Zacharias in the temple; it represents Jesus' sacrifice in His Passion and Crucifixion, as well as Christ being High priest (this also represents Mary's obedience). The ox signifies that Christians should be prepared to sacrifice themselves in following Christ.
• John the Evangelist, the author of the fourth gospel account is symbolized by an eagle – a figure of the sky, and believed to be able to look straight into the sun. John starts with an eternal overview of Jesus the Logos and goes on to describe many things with a "higher" level than the other three (synoptic) gospels; it represents Jesus'Ascension, and Christ's divine nature. This represents that Christians should look on eternity without flinching as they journey towards their goal of union with God.

In this series, the four creatures are lined up in a sort of descending order of creation: man first--God's appointed ruler in the earth; a lion second--the most ferocious of wild animals known in Israel and Mesopotamia, and reputedly the strongest of such beasts; an ox third--the most powerful of domesticated animals; and an eagle last--the mightiest of the birds of the air.  

But there might be a different order.  If you look at Numbers chapter 2, the Lord gives specific instructions of how the Israelites are to form their encampment: the Tabernacle as to be in the center, surrounded on four sides by the clans of the tribe of Levi.  The remaining tribes are divided into four groups of three (twelve in total, as the sons of Joseph were given their own places among the tribes.)  The groups are always listed in a specific order: Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun on the east side; Reuben, Simeon, and Gad on the south side; Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin on the west side; and Dan, Asher and Naphtali on the north side.  Numbers 2:2 says that each tribe had its own banner, and each triad of tribes had its standard.  Jewish tradition suggests that the tribal banners corresponded in color to the 12 stones in the breastpiece of the high priest (see Exodus 28:15-21, where it lists the same stones as are found in the description of the foundation of the heavenly wall in Revelation 21).  Tradition also holds that the standard of Judah had the figure of a lion; the standard of Reuben had the figure of a man; that of Ephraim had the figure of an ox; and that of Dan the figure of an eagle.  

So in this configuration, the lion comes first.  The early church leaders may have known this, as Mark's gospel was written before Matthew's; it was just re-ordered in the Bible.  Why does the lion come first? In Revelation 5:5, Jesus is called "The Lion of Judah".  Jesus is supreme--he existed before man was created, and he laid down his life for man.  Man is second in the prescribed order, because he is sinful and fallen; yet because of Jesus, Man is redeemed.  The ox served as a sacrifice in the Old Testament, a way of bringing God and man together.  Yet in the New Testament, the Spirit of God is described like a dove, a winged creature.  So shall man rise up on the wings of eagles, to touch the hand of God.

Are you counted among the redeemed?  You might stand with Judah, under the standard of the Lion, the king of heaven.  Are you separated from God by a great expanse, a pavement that you can see through but not penetrate? Then you might stand with Reuben, under the banner of a man.  Reuben was first born, but lost his birthright to Judah because of sin.  We also have lost our fellowship with the Father because of our sin.  Are you trying to work your way to salvation, or do you think that you will be accepted by God because of your sacrifice? Then you might stand with Ephraim under the banner of the ox.  Do you want to fly to heaven and commune with God on eagle's wings? Then you might stand with Dan under the banner of the eagle.

What is your spiritual sign?  God knows--the description of the living creatures being covered with eyes, in front and in back, symbolizes God's all-seeing nature.  You cannot escape His watchful eye.