Revelation4:8

I treat this entry a little differently than the rest because it seems to merit a change. The Lion may be the king of beasts, but when it comes to men, the Bible is the source of the idea that “all men are created equal.” Rich men are not any better than poor men. In God’s eyes all are on the same level. In this case, unlike the animals mentioned, he is just another man, not a man of greater honor than other men. He is not a man in authority over other men; he is just a man.

Indeed, it is a man and not a woman that represents us in this quartet of living beings. I do not have room to get into this topic deeply in this context; suffice it to say the following: The use of a male as the representative of mankind is based on the fact that God made Adam the captain of the team; He also gifted the man with abilities and strengths designed to protect the women and children around him, while he designed and gifted the woman for a role of nurturing and supporting. This does not make women less valuable, it simply means we have different roles. Even in the trinity there are different roles, but all three of them are equally God.

While the others represent a wide variety of animals, there is only one type of man. Race, skin color, and language differences do not make us different kinds of humans.

This statement would have reminded the readers of the instances in the Old Testament where angels with six wings are mentioned (e.g. Isaiah’s vision in Is 6). It was consistent that they would use two wings to cover their face, two wings to cover their feet and two wings to fly. Even though the text of Revelation does not specifically mention how they used their three sets of wings, the reader would already know, based on those Old Testament texts.

This combination of wings showed a completeness of their humility and obedience. The covering of the face indicated complete humility, to the point where they would not even show their faces in the presence of God. Recall that the face demonstrates the qualities or attributes that are deep inside a person. These living beings realized first of all that the very best qualities they possessed were not worthy of being displayed at all in the presence of Almighty God, so they kept those qualities (their faces) hidden.

Allow me to use a weak example here, but one which, by its simplicity, may communicate my point. I play the guitar. So do all of my brothers, my son, and several other relatives in the family. My guitar playing is not great, but it is not bad either. However, I have one brother that excels in the guitar to the point where I will not play the guitar in his presence if I can avoid it. He is that far above and beyond me. My guitar playing would probably make him cringe. If we multiply that feeling by about a trillion times, that is how the living beings felt before God. They hid their faces knowing that everything within them was totally inadequate to be exposed or displayed in the presence of the God whose qualities are totally perfect.

This also indicated that they realized where those good qualities came from. They recognized they were completely dependent on God for all the qualities they displayed. They would not take any credit for themselves; all the credit goes to God our Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer.

With two wings they cover their feet. This meant that their actions and movements are not worthy of being displayed. This is similar to the covering of the face except here the emphasis is on action rather than inner qualities. Of course we know that our actions are guided by what is inside us, so there is much overlap between the two. There is also the element of total obedience conveyed by the feet for the feet are the agents we use to carry out an order. Thus, whatever God wanted them to do they did. However, even though they had proven themselves faithful, they could not demand recognition for their obedience. They covered their feet because they knew that their actions did not merit the eyes of God being focused on them.

With the remaining two wings they flew. An angel’s ability to fly was a picture for ancient Jews of swiftness in carrying out a command. They understood that angels did not question their orders but fulfilled them quickly, aided by their ability to fly. These four representatives of all living things were described in a way that highlighted their readiness to always obey God fully and swiftly.

Even though the text uses the number six, don’t think of this as six separate wings, but rather as three pairs of wings, thus showing completeness.

Scholars disagree as to whether this refers to the underside of the wings, or “within” their own spirits. Some think only the wings had eyes, which were on the top side and the underside. A literal translation of the last part of the phrase is “within,” not “underneath.” A participle is used to tell us they had six wings, while a main verb is used to tell us they had eyes all around and within. From that I deduce that the main purpose is not to describe the wings; they are a side note; being covered with eyes is given the greater importance. Therefore “within” is used here to describe the position of the eyes (indicating knowledge in general), not to describe the position of the eyes in conjunction with the wings.

If the eyes were inside these creatures, how did John see them? It was a vision that showed him many supernatural things, so this too was possible.

Either form of interpreting the use of the word “within” gives us the idea that they had knowledge of things usually hidden. Nothing was hidden from their sight, not their own spiritual condition, nor that of others. It is possible through symbolism to communicate that they have knowledge of all that is located on the inside of others, not just what is inside themselves.

Why is such knowledge important? As representatives of the various types of living beings they are standing in for the rest of their group. The representatives of the animals worship God fervently because all creation waits in expectation of the full-fledged salvation that God is providing. The representative of mankind worships God because He is worthy of all our praise, and because all wise humans have chosen to follow God. The fact that some humans choose not to follow God does not change His worthiness. These representatives know their constituents and know that we are created to give God glory. Seeing down inside someone in this case means that they see our purpose.