Revelation 4:6-9

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Revelation 4:1-7

We have here an account of a second vision with which the apostle John was favoured: After this, that is, not only ?after I had seen the vision of Christ walking in the midst of the golden candlesticks,? but ?after I had taken his messages from his mouth, and written and sent them to the several churches, according to his command, after this I had another vision.? Those who well improve the discoveries they have had of God already are prepared thereby for more, and may expect them. Observe, I.... read more

Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Revelation 4:8-11

We have considered the sights that the apostle saw in heaven: now let us observe the songs that he heard, for there is in heaven not only that to be seen which will highly please a sanctified eye, but there is that to be heard which will greatly delight a sanctified ear. This is true concerning the church of Christ here, which is a heaven upon earth, and it will be eminently so in the church made perfect in the heaven of heavens. I. He heard the song of the four living creatures, of the... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Revelation 4:5-6

4:5-6a And flashes of lightning and voices and peals of thunder were coming forth from the throne. There were seven torches of fire burning before the throne, and these are the seven Spirits of God. And in front of the throne there was what I can only call a sea of glass like crystal. John adds more details to his mysterious and awe-inspiring picture of heaven. The voices are the voices of the thunder; and thunder and lightning are often connected with the manifestation of God. In the... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Revelation 4:6

4:6b-8 And, between the throne and the elders, in a circle round the throne, were four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind. The first living creature was like a lion; the second living creature was like an ox; the third living creature had what appeared to be a man's face; the fourth living creature was like an eagle in flight. The four living creatures had each of them six wings; and around and within they were full of eyes. Night and day they never rested from saying: ... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Revelation 4:6

What do these four living creatures symbolize? (i) They are clearly part of the imagery of heaven; and they are not figures whom the writer of the Revelation did not create, but whom he inherited from previous pictures. They may originally have come from Babylonian sources, and they may have stood for the four principal signs of the Zodiac and for the four winds coming from the four quarters of heaven. But the John who wrote the Revelation was not aware of that, and he used them simply as... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Revelation 4:6

It was not long before the early church found certain symbolisms in the living creatures, in particular of the four Gospels--a representation which is often to be found in stained-glass windows in churches. The earliest and the fullest identification was made by Irenaeus about A.D. 170. He held that the four living creatures represented four aspects of the work of Jesus Christ, which in turn are represented in the four Gospels. The lion symbolizes the powerful and effective working of... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Revelation 4:6

4:6b-8 Night and day the living creatures never rested from their doxology of praise: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord, the Almighty, Who was, and Who is, and Who is to come. Here is set out the sleepless praise of nature. "Man rests on the Sabbath, and in sleep, and in the end in death, but the course of nature is unbroken and unbroken in praise." There is never any time when the world God made is not praising him. As o'er each continent and island The dawn leads on another day, ... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Revelation 4:9-11

4:9-11 When the living creatures shall give glory and honour and thanksgiving to him who is seated on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, the twenty-four elders shall fall down before him who is seated on the throne, and worship him who lives for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, and say: It is right, our Lord and God, that you should receive the glory and the honour and the power, for you have created all things, and through your will all things exist... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Revelation 4:6

And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal ,.... By which is meant, not heaven, nor the souls of the blessed there, nor the multitude of the holy angels, nor the first converts to Christianity at Jerusalem; for those that got the victory over the beast are said to stand upon this sea, Revelation 15:2 , which these senses, especially the three last, will by no means admit of. Some by it understand the world, which may be compared to a "sea", for the multitude of... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Revelation 4:7

And the first beast was like a lion ,.... And this figure expresses the strength of the ministers of the word, the lion being the strongest among beasts, Proverbs 30:30 , to do the work they are called to, to endure hardness, as good soldiers of Christ, and to bear the infirmities of the weak; and also it denotes their courage and boldness in preaching the Gospel of Christ, without fearing the faces of men, or of being afraid of their revilings: and the second beast like a calf ; or... read more

Group of Brands