I don’t like Revelation because there are many monsters,” a friend recently told me. “Why is God’s throne surrounded by monsters?”
Monsters? I thought to myself. I never saw Revelation that way. Why did she have that impression?
The existence of mythical creatures and legendary beasts has always been a part of the fantastic stories told by different cultures. The latest television series and Hollywood movies are full of mythical monsters extracted from the imagination of writers, most of whom were inspired by the stories from these ancient cultures.
God illustrates His prophetic message with symbols or language familiar to those He is addressing, particularly in the books of Daniel and Revelation, where the descriptions of beasts and monsters mainly appear. But do monsters really surround God’s throne?
Revelation 4:1-8:1 describes activities in the heavenly sanctuary before the throne of God, with all the agents of good involved in the salvation of humanity. Between these agents of good we find those described as “the four living creatures.”
This scene is not to be confused with the one found from Revelation 11:18 to Revelation 14:20, which also begins with a description of the sanctuary activities but identifies completely different beings. The beings described are two of the three signs. The first one, a woman clothed with the sun, is introduced in Revelation 12:1, 2, and the second one, a seven-headed dragon, is introduced in Revelation 12:3, 4. After these two signs interact, the agents of evil arrive as terrible symbolic beasts that are against God and cause the ruin of humanity.
While the beasts in Revelation 11-14 are described as the enemies of God, the “four living creatures” are seen surrounding His throne (Rev. 4:6-8). They are God’s allies, and a deeper look reveals that they are not monsters at all. In some old translations the word “beast” is used to describe these beings, but in the original Greek they are called “living creatures.” This means they do not have the terrible appearance that the word “beast” implies. That term is reserved for the agents of evil in Revelation 13 and 14, who are not privileged to stand by the Father’s throne.
The four living creatures, though unusual in appearance, should not be viewed as monstrous or ugly. The apostle John found that he could not adequately describe these majestic new creatures, the likes of which he had never seen before. His vocabulary was limited by human intelligence, and even if he understood the language of heaven, it would still be incomprehensible to his readers.
In order to communicate, John relied on metaphors, resulting in the abundance of the phrase “like a” in his descriptions. It was not John’s intention to create fear through the mention of these creatures—he wanted only to describe other beings that serve God and His creation. These beings make us more aware of the diversity of creatures created by God.
The portrait of these four living creatures is interesting, but their purpose is more important. A brief search in Revelation will reveal more about what they do.
| Revelation 4:7 | Revelation 6 (Seals) | Revelation 8 (Trumpets) | Revelation 12 (Signs) | Revelation 15:7 |
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And the first one was like a lion | Verse 1 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four living creatures saying, Come and see. | And one of the four living creatures gave unto the seven angels . . . | ||
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and the second living creature [was] like a calf | Verse 3 And when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature, saying, “Come.” | |||
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and the third living creature had a face as a man | Verse 5 And when the third seal was opened, I heard the third living creature, saying, “Come.” | |||
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and the fourth living creature [was] like a flying eagle | Verse 7 And when he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature, saying, “Come.” | Verse 13 As I watched, I heard a flying eagle in midair call out in a loud voice: “Woe! Woe! Woe . . .” | Verse 14 And two wings of the large eagle were given to the woman, so that she would fly to the wilderness to her place to be fed there [for] a time, times, and half of a time, from before the face of the serpent. |
The meaning of these four living creatures has been an object of great discussion. Some people suggest that the first creature symbolizes the redeemed church and the last one represents all the animated creation that surrounds the throne, praising the Almighty. Others argue that these creatures are the same as those described in Ezekiel 1, with some minor differences.
1 The latter argument holds more weight, as John and Ezekiel use similar features to describe the creatures they saw.2
The group expression “four living creatures” appears in many chapters of Revelation,
3 but these creatures are also recorded acting individually. The table shows the individual references to each creature and the names they receive in other parts of Revelation. I have translated from the original Greek text to highlight details not always perceived in some English translations.
This first living creature is like a lion and has a voice like thunder (Rev. 6:1). This creature takes part in the opening of the first seal (verse 1). Although the creature is classified as “one of” the living creatures, instead of “the first” creature, it is easy to see that it is the first in the sequence. The same expression is used to describe the angel that gives bowls filled with the wrath of God to the seven angels (Rev. 15:7).
This creature begins two sequences: (1) the description of the events in the scene of the seals that set off the judgment of God; and (2) the initiation of the execution of judgment in the scene of the bowls of the wrath of God.
The second and third living creatures only appear in the opening of the second and third seals. There are no other likenesses that describe these creatures in the rest of the book of Revelation.
The fourth “living creature” is described as a “flying eagle” (Rev. 4:7). It is mentioned fourth in order of appearance, and it announces the opening of the fourth seal (Rev. 6:7). In the scene of the trumpets, it appears before the sound of the last three trumpets, and it is identified as an eagle instead of by its numerical placement (Rev. 8:13). The expression in the original Greek is the same used to describe this creature in Revelation 4:7.
Because of the variety of interpretations in Greek manuscripts, English Bibles have different translations of Revelation 8:13. For this reason it was not possible to identify the fourth living creature as an eagle in previous translations because later manuscripts say “an angel flying” instead of “an eagle flying.” The latest versions of the Bible better reflect the translation that corresponds with earlier manuscripts. This reference to a flying eagle in Revelation 8:13 allows us to relate this creature with the fourth living creature of Revelation 4:7.
It is interesting that John mentions the fourth living creature in a more formal manner, using its appearance instead of its number. In the vision God emphasizes the appearance of this living creature to differentiate it from the other creatures. Why? One good reason is that the eagle is one of the natural enemies of the serpent.
The eagle is a gift from God. The woman receives two wings of the great eagle. God gave the woman the powerful service of the fourth living creature in order to help the remnant protect the Word of God. This reference is to the fourth living creature, not God. Some believe it refers to God and relate the passage to Exodus 19:4. But it seems more like a creature created by God—such as the fourth living creature—that serves God in the plan of salvation.
The living creatures surrounding the throne of God are agents of good directly involved in divine government. They are not monsters or beasts, but living creatures created by God who cooperate with Him in His plan for the saving of humanity.
The four living creatures are near God’s throne and act as messengers in the fight between good and evil. They are responsible for warning humanity about the dreadful events that will take place, and in some cases they even go so far as to guard us from danger.
The fourth living creature appears in the three scenes of Revelation (the seals, the trumpets, and the signs), all of which have a close connection to terrible events. They are moments of extreme persecution against God’s faithful people. From the last scene in which the fourth creature appears (Rev. 12:14) we can deduce that its duties extend beyond announcing or describing events. It protects the faithful during moments of great persecution.
Revelation shows that God uses every possible resource at His disposal in His quest to rescue humanity. He Himself takes part through His Son and through the Holy Spirit, but He also involves many other special beings created by Him to play an active role in the redemption of His earthly children. The four living creatures should therefore never be seen as monsters, because they are symbols of God’s undying love and devotion toward humanity.
