☦️ Revelation 4:8, English Standard Version

[sprinkleeninow]

"And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!"

[Martin68]

1. How do you interpret the meaning of this passage? What do the "four living creatures" represent?

[sprinkleeninow]

2. ☦️ Orthodox Christianity:

Revelation 4:6-11:
There are Old Testament references to the four living creatures in Ezekiel (1:5,18,21) and Isaiah (6:2). Who are represented in traditional icons in the form of man, lion, calf, and eagle? (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John).

The Revelation was written by St. John the Apostle while in exile on the island of Patmos during the fierce persecution of the Emperor Diocletian around AD 95. The early Church believed that the second coming of Jesus Christ was near, especially in these times of persecution. John is reminding them to hold fast their faith in tribulation and assuring them of the ultimate triumph of the Kingdom of God. While chapters 2 and 3 are clearly letters written to individual churches of the day, much of the book is prophetic and is full of vivid and sensational imagery. Because this book can be so easily misinterpreted (and has been in Church history), it is the only book not read publicly in the services of the Orthodox Church.