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Rev 4:6-7 The Four Beasts – Part 2B

In our last study we covered the first two of five differences between the descriptions of the four beasts of Ezekiel one and Ezekiel 10. In this study we will cover the last three of those differences.

Third Difference:

The feet of the cherubims are described in chapter 1, but are not mentioned in chapter 10.

Eze 1:7 And their feet were straight feet; and the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calf’s foot: and they sparkled like the colour of burnished brass.

Doesn’t “feet like brass” sound familiar?

Rev 1:13 And in the midst of the seven candlesticks [one] like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.
Rev 1:14 His head and [his] hairs [were] white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;
Rev 1:15 And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.

What the copper feet, both of these creatures and of Christ, reveal to us is that Christ and these “four living creatures” have one and the same experience walking in bodies of sinful flesh. It is a fiery experience, and it is experienced in sinful flesh, typified by copper as the best the flesh has to offer. That is the spiritual significance of the best of the base metals, copper. That is the spiritual significance of “feet of fine brass as if they burned in a furnace.”

For an in depth study of the spiritual significance of copper read this link:

Metals: Copper Part 1/

It is of utmost spiritual significance that the only copper in the tabernacle of Moses was the sockets which supported the pillars in the door of the sanctuary. The sanctuary is the first room of the tabernacle, which housed the golden candlestick, the table of showbread, and the golden altar.

Exo 26:36 And thou shalt make an hanging for the door of the tent, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, wrought with needlework.
Exo 26:37 And thou shalt make for the hanging five pillars of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold, and their hooks shall be of gold: and thou shalt cast five sockets of brass for them.

We all must become familiar with the things of the sanctuary before we can be the cherubims which shadow the throne of God and do and perform the work of that throne. As we come into the holy place, called the sanctuary, we must first pass through the door to the first of the two rooms of the tabernacle called ‘the holy place.’ The copper sockets supporting the pillars of the door of the tabernacle signify the fact that we all come to God by coming out of the earth, where we were all dust to begin with. We have to be copper before we can become gold, just as we have to be the first Adam with “all that is in the world” before we can become Christ and “the things of the heavens themselves.” The only way to God is through the ‘five golden pillars, standing on sockets of brass in the house of God.’ Knowing this makes this promise much more meaningful:

Rev 3:12 Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, [which is] new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.

Fourth Difference:

The fact that the wings are joined together is mentioned in chapter 1, but not in chapter 10.

Eze 1:9  Their wings were joined one to another; they turned not when they went; they went every one straight forward.

The very mention of wings reveals that the spirit is involved in this revelation. Wings are peculiar only to the fowls of the air, and Christ Himself tells us that the fowls of the air represent the spirit world – be it the dove which represents the holy spirit or the evil spirits which devour the seed planted in the soil of our souls. The wings being “joined on to another” is telling us that these ‘cherubims’ and the saints who they signify are “of one mind and one spirit” as we will see when we discuss the spiritual significance of the sound of the wings being as the voice of God.

Rom 12:16  Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.

Rom 15:5  Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus:
Rom 15:6  That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

1Co 1:10  Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

Mat 3:16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:

Mat 13:4 And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:

Mat 13:19 When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.

While these “wings… joined one to another” are not specifically mentioned in the tenth chapter, the spiritual significance of this phenomenon is mentioned in chapter 10 when we are told:

Eze 10:5 And the sound of the cherubims’ wings was heard even to the outer court, as the voice of the Almighty God when he speaketh.

“The sound of [their] wings… as the voice of the Almighty God when He speaks” is an incredible spiritual concept. For “their wings [to be] joined one to another,” as they are in flight, these “living creatures” must of necessity be “of one mind and of one judgment”; a concept completely foreign to the churches of Babylon and to the mind of the natural man. Yet that is what we are told of these four living creatures. Now, who in the New Testament are commanded to be “of one mind?”

Rom 15:5  Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus:
Rom 15:6  That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

1Co 1:10  Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

2Co 13:11 Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you.

Php 1:27 Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;

Php 2:2 Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.

1Pe 3:8 Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous:

Here we have eight verses of scripture commanding us to “be of one mind… one spirit… the same mind”. That is the spiritual significance of “Their wings were joined one to another… the sound of the cherubims’ wings was… as the voice of the Almighty God when he speaketh.” These “wings joined one to another” signify the spiritual mind which belongs to all those who are these cherubims:

Isa 40:31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

Fifth Difference:

The fifth thing mentioned in chapter 1 which is not mentioned in chapter 10 is the fact that there is a rainbow around the throne of God.

Eze 1:26 And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it.
Eze 1:27 And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about.
Eze 1:28 As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake.

The colors of the rainbow are first mentioned here and in Genesis 9, where we read:

Gen 9:8 And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying,
Gen 9:9 And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you;
Gen 9:10 And with every living creature that [is] with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you; from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth.
Gen 9:11 And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth.
Gen 9:12 And God said, This [is] the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that [is] with you, for perpetual generations:
Gen 9:13 I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.
Gen 9:14 And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud:
Gen 9:15 And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.
Gen 9:16 And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.
Gen 9:17 And God said unto Noah, This [is] the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that [is] upon the earth.

The not too subtle reminder in promising not to destroy all flesh with water, is that God has indeed destroyed all flesh in the past, and He is quite capable of doing so in the future. The fact that the promise is “the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh” is actually a warning that there are other means at God’s disposal with which he will destroy all flesh. The destruction of all flesh is essential to the destruction of death. If there were not two resurrections, we could conclude that the kingdom of God within us is the fullness of that kingdom. However, there are two resurrections. The first is “the resurrection of life” which is the ‘blessed and holy firstfruits’, and the second resurrection is the “resurrection to judgment” which will include all others who have ever lived and who were not given to have a part in the “blessed and holy… first resurrection” at the beginning of the thousand year reign of Christ and His Christ:

Joh 5:28  Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
Joh 5:29  And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the [first] resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the [second] resurrection of damnation. [G2920: krisis, judgment, “great white throne… judgment/ lake of fire/ second death]

This second resurrection will accomplish the destruction of both death itself and the destruction of Satan himself.

1Co 15:24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.
1Co 15:25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
1Co 15:26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

Col 1:20  And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things [including Satan and his angels] unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.

The only way to destroy death is to destroy all flesh. If flesh is being perpetuated, death is being perpetuated, and Satan is still ruling over death. However, Satan will himself be destroyed, and then death will also be destroyed. It is through death that salvation comes to all of God’s creation:

Heb 2:14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
Heb 2:15 And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

The rainbow, whether it is “in the cloud” or “around the throne,” both are in the clouds.

Eze 1:4 And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness [was] about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber, out of the midst of the fire.

The clouds typify “so great a cloud of witnesses.”

Heb 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset [us], and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
Heb 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of [our] faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

The “great cloud” of Ezekiel 1 and the “great cloud” of Hebrews 12 are the same “cloud of witnesses” in whom God dwells and in whom is the “throne of God.” It is by the clouds the Lord rules this earth:

Job 36:29  Also can any understand the spreadings of the clouds, or the noise of his tabernacle?
Job 36:30  Behold, he spreadeth his light upon it, and covereth the bottom of the sea.
Job 36:31  For by them [the clouds] judgeth he the people; he giveth meat in abundance.
Job 36:32  With clouds he covereth the light; and commandeth it not to shine by the cloud that cometh betwixt.

1Co 6:2  Do ye not know that the saints [the clouds] shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?

The rainbow in the cloud reminds us that God rules both on earth and is heaven. Both Joseph and the daughters of the king wore coats of many colors as a sign of the rulership they were given.

Gen 37:3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he [was] the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours.

Gen 37:7 For, behold, we [were] binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf.

2Sa 13:18 And she had a garment of divers colours upon her: for with such robes were the king’s daughters that were virgins apparelled. Then his servant brought her out, and bolted the door after her.
2Sa 13:19  And Tamar put ashes on her head, and rent her garment of divers colours that was on her, and laid her hand on her head, and went on crying.

God’s elect are to be a nation of kings and priests, and are to be seated with Christ in His father’s throne in the heavens where that “bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain” is located:

Rev 3:21  To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.

The Lord’s throne appears as the brightness of that rainbow.

Eph 2:6 For he raised us from the dead along with Christ, and we are seated with him in the heavenly realms— all because we are one with Christ Jesus.(NLT)

Let’s now quickly review the five characteristics of chapter 1 which are not mentioned in chapter 10.

The fact that Ezekiel saw this vision of the Lord’s throne, which ‘throne’ is our hearts and minds, coming out of the north signifies the judgment which we endure now and will administer in the thousand years and the great white throne judgment/lake of fire/ second death:

2Th 2:4  Who [our old man] opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God [“which ye are” (1Co 3:16)] shewing himself that he is God [On God’s throne].

Rev 2:26  And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:
Rev 2:27  And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.

Rev 20:4  And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Rev 20:5  But the rest of the dead [who are not reigning with Christ during the thousand years] lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
Rev 20:6  Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

2) The fact that these “four living creatures have the likeness of a man” tells us that these four living creatures are just who they tell us they are in Revelation 5.

Rev 5:9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;

3) Christ’s feet and the feet of His Christ are both of fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace. They are the same ‘feet of brass’ found on these four living creatures. Brass feet are the symbol of our walk in these ‘clay vessels which are marred in the hand of the Potter” (Jer 18:4). The fact that the only copper found in the tabernacle of Moses, is the sockets which support the five gold covered pillars through which all who enter the tabernacle must pass signifies that God’s elect, like Christ, become the door to salvation for all men of all time. The brass sockets of that door remind us of our earthy origins and the fact that God is calling light out of darkness, and this fact:

1Co 15:44  It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
1Co 15:45  And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
1Co 15:46  Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.

Jer 18:4  And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another [spiritual] vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.

The only copper found in the tabernacle of Moses is the sockets which support the five pillars through which all who enter the tabernacle must pass, reminding us of our earthy origins and the fact that God is calling light out of darkness, and the fact that “that is not first which is spiritual but that which is natural, and afterwards that which is spiritual” (1Co 15:44). The feet of these cherubims and Christ’s feet are both said to be copper. We walk upon our feet, and we saw that the walk of Christ and the walk of these four living creatures has both been in bodies of sinful flesh, “vessels of clay… marred in the hand of the Potter.” Copper being the best of the base metals, is not seen in the tabernacle of God except as the feet or “sockets” of the pillars which comprise the door to the tabernacle through which all must pass. No one comes to God except through this door, and Christ is that door. In Him we, too, are that door with five pillars standing on sockets of brass, or more correctly copper.

4) We saw that the spiritual significance of “their wings were joined one to another” is telling us that these creatures and those whom they typify, are of absolute necessity “of the same mind.” Having “wings” tells us that there is a spirit in these “four living creatures.” It tells us that the spirit in them is “one spirit.” Anything less is disastrous and will lead to spiritual death.

Rom 15:5  Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus:
Rom 15:6  That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Rom 15:7  Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God.

Php 1:27  Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;

5) Finally, we saw that the rainbow in the clouds mentioned in chapter one is the sign of the power and rulership of God both in heaven and on earth.

Job 36:31  For by them [the clouds] judgeth he the people; he giveth meat in abundance.

Psa 76:8 Thou didst cause judgment to be heard from heaven; the earth feared, and was still,

Coats of “many colors” were worn both by Joseph and by the daughters of the king because they were rulers.

Gen 37:3  Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours.

Sa 13:18  And she had a garment of divers colours upon her: for with such robes were the king’s daughters that were virgins apparelled. Then his servant brought her out, and bolted the door after her.

In our next study we will see more of the spiritual significance of the wings of these four living creatures. We will see two examples which will demonstrate for us that when the wings of these creatures are “lifted up from the earth”, God’s elect are elevated into the heavens and proclaim heavenly words from the mouth of God. That will be but one of many of the similarities between these two chapters. That is what we will examine next week as we see the things which both chapters have in common.  This is all “a door opened in heaven,” to show us “the patterns of the heavenly things themselves.”

Rev 4:1  After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in [our] heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.