Revelation Chapter 4
VERSE 8 continued, “The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!”
As taken from The Keys of Revelation.
Wings are used in Scripture to denote the Word of God. For example, “He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler” (Psa. 91:4). Separately, the feathers may represent some of the more individual promises, or other singularly outstanding component parts or doctrines of the Bible. Collectively, the feathers comprise the Word of God as contained in both the Old and the New Testaments (the two wings).
The Mosaic Law permitted the use of a fowl as a sacrificial offering upon the altar and in the sealing of a covenant. Such practice often involved the laying open of the chest cavity; that is, the fracture of the bird, after it was slain, along the line or length of its backbone. However, the complete severance of the bird and, consequently, its wings—the “dividing” asunder into two separate parts or halves—was prohibited.
Hence the power of the symbolism was preserved, emphasizing (a) the inseparability of both the Old and the New Testaments, neither of which, when properly viewed, is designed to be whole or complete by itself; and (b) the close relationship that exists between the two parts (the two wings), as recorded in Ezek 1:9, 11—
“Their wings…joined [Hebrew chabar, i.e., were paired as a couple] one to another.”
In harmony with this thought, the wings are consistently referred to in Scripture in the plural sense, always being mentioned in pairs. The tenderness of this union is noted:
“The wings…touched [Hebrew nashaq, i.e., kissed] one another” (Ezek. 3:13).
The function of the six wings in verse 8 is best explained by the apparent parallelism of Isaiah 6:2—
“With two [one pair or two wings] he [the seraph] covered his face, and with two [one pair or two wings] he covered his feet, and with two [one pair or two wings] he did fly,” totaling three pairs or six wings.
Two lessons may be drawn: (1) The principles of the divine government and the divine character are represented by the face, and (2) God’s overruling providence—both His movement and His authority—in the affairs of earth is represented by the feet. The face and the feet are covered or hidden to the world (1 Cor. 2:9, 14), yet revealed to the Lord’s saints (1 Cor. 2:10, 16) by the same Word of God (the wings).
A third lesson is that the divine attributes (the seraphim or living ones) always act (fly) in harmony and cooperation with the wings.
Furthermore, verse 8 reveals that the wings “are full of eyes all round and within” (Revised Standard Version). The point is that even the nominally believing world recognizes the Bible as the most outstanding book of all ages; that is, the enlightened public can perceive externally the wisdom contained in Holy Writ, which is (“full of eyes [intelligence] all round [about on the outside]).” On the other hand, the child of God is additionally enabled to see, shrouded internally (“full of eyes…within”), the mysteries of the Kingdom (Matt. 13:11).
The four creatures or living ones “rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.” Not only does He that keeps Israel neither slumber nor sleep, but the principles of His government have ever been (in the past), are (in the present), and forever will be (in the future) ceaselessly active in the planning and/or execution of the works of Him that ever lives (Psa. 121:4).
Contrary to logical assumption, the text does not specifically state that the repeated utterance of the righteous acts of Jehovah proceeded forth from the mouth of each of the four creatures. Rather, the sound was produced by the WINGS, which acted as a loudspeaker, broadcasting forth the praise due His holy name. This detail of information is supplied in Ezek 1:24; 10:5 (compare Isaiah 6:3), where the wings are said to generate a most awesome and majestic sound, duplicating and simulating the commandments and the instructions of the Creator Himself. The realization that the wings function as an agency to transmit information pertaining to God leads to a more refined interpretation of the substantive matter in verse 8; namely, to those who have a hearing ear, the Word of God has, throughout history, continually borne WITNESS and testified to the glory of the Father.”
We move on to Verse 9 in our next post.
VERSE 8 continued, “The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!”
As taken from The Keys of Revelation.
Wings are used in Scripture to denote the Word of God. For example, “He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler” (Psa. 91:4). Separately, the feathers may represent some of the more individual promises, or other singularly outstanding component parts or doctrines of the Bible. Collectively, the feathers comprise the Word of God as contained in both the Old and the New Testaments (the two wings).
The Mosaic Law permitted the use of a fowl as a sacrificial offering upon the altar and in the sealing of a covenant. Such practice often involved the laying open of the chest cavity; that is, the fracture of the bird, after it was slain, along the line or length of its backbone. However, the complete severance of the bird and, consequently, its wings—the “dividing” asunder into two separate parts or halves—was prohibited.
Hence the power of the symbolism was preserved, emphasizing (a) the inseparability of both the Old and the New Testaments, neither of which, when properly viewed, is designed to be whole or complete by itself; and (b) the close relationship that exists between the two parts (the two wings), as recorded in Ezek 1:9, 11—
“Their wings…joined [Hebrew chabar, i.e., were paired as a couple] one to another.”
In harmony with this thought, the wings are consistently referred to in Scripture in the plural sense, always being mentioned in pairs. The tenderness of this union is noted:
“The wings…touched [Hebrew nashaq, i.e., kissed] one another” (Ezek. 3:13).
The function of the six wings in verse 8 is best explained by the apparent parallelism of Isaiah 6:2—
“With two [one pair or two wings] he [the seraph] covered his face, and with two [one pair or two wings] he covered his feet, and with two [one pair or two wings] he did fly,” totaling three pairs or six wings.
Two lessons may be drawn: (1) The principles of the divine government and the divine character are represented by the face, and (2) God’s overruling providence—both His movement and His authority—in the affairs of earth is represented by the feet. The face and the feet are covered or hidden to the world (1 Cor. 2:9, 14), yet revealed to the Lord’s saints (1 Cor. 2:10, 16) by the same Word of God (the wings).
A third lesson is that the divine attributes (the seraphim or living ones) always act (fly) in harmony and cooperation with the wings.
Furthermore, verse 8 reveals that the wings “are full of eyes all round and within” (Revised Standard Version). The point is that even the nominally believing world recognizes the Bible as the most outstanding book of all ages; that is, the enlightened public can perceive externally the wisdom contained in Holy Writ, which is (“full of eyes [intelligence] all round [about on the outside]).” On the other hand, the child of God is additionally enabled to see, shrouded internally (“full of eyes…within”), the mysteries of the Kingdom (Matt. 13:11).
The four creatures or living ones “rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.” Not only does He that keeps Israel neither slumber nor sleep, but the principles of His government have ever been (in the past), are (in the present), and forever will be (in the future) ceaselessly active in the planning and/or execution of the works of Him that ever lives (Psa. 121:4).
Contrary to logical assumption, the text does not specifically state that the repeated utterance of the righteous acts of Jehovah proceeded forth from the mouth of each of the four creatures. Rather, the sound was produced by the WINGS, which acted as a loudspeaker, broadcasting forth the praise due His holy name. This detail of information is supplied in Ezek 1:24; 10:5 (compare Isaiah 6:3), where the wings are said to generate a most awesome and majestic sound, duplicating and simulating the commandments and the instructions of the Creator Himself. The realization that the wings function as an agency to transmit information pertaining to God leads to a more refined interpretation of the substantive matter in verse 8; namely, to those who have a hearing ear, the Word of God has, throughout history, continually borne WITNESS and testified to the glory of the Father.”
We move on to Verse 9 in our next post.
