Warm hellos once again friends, brethren, fellow laborers, spiritual family, and scattered children of God from here on the Gulf Coast. My wife and I pray and hope this finds you doing well, and that again your week has been blessed.

Personal Bible Study is always a fascinating opportunity to not only examine ourselves in our relationship with God and others, but also offers insight into the mind of God.

I’ve considered Colossians 1:16 is an interesting verse. Starting in verse 12 we see clearly that Christ and God the Father intricately planned and created all that exists. It states, “For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.”

Often we read right over verses, sometimes in an attempt to cover a chapter a day, or some goal we might have set for ourselves. Of and by itself this is fine, but if we are not careful we miss nuggets of insight into God’s realm and might not even realize it. I find a slow, methodical study into God’s Word for personal growth a better approach, and often when I read something end up in a longer study as I ask “what’s that?”

So in verse 16 “all things were created” means everything! In messages on the Sabbath I’ve often talked about Genesis 1:1, again reaffirming this, everything that exists above and below this tiny planet you and I live on.

I remember being asked “What about the four unusual beings mentioned in Revelation 4”? There are sure some interesting and fascinating beings described in the Scriptures. Even the ordinary angels have the amazing ability to appear as visible human beings.

I thought it could be helpful to examine the description of these 4 and other amazing beings mentioned in the Bible.

Four living creatures are described in Revelation 4:6-8; 5:6, 11; 6:1; 7:11 and 19:4. These creatures are obviously some kind of spirit beings that evidently remain constantly in the presence of God and His throne.

They each have six wings and each of the four is described with a different face. They are there to praise the Lord God. They may have other functions but that is not specifically described. Nothing more is known of their function except that which is revealed above.

Notice carefully the description: “The first living creature was like a lion, the second living creature like a calf, the third living creature had a face like a man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle.” 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!” (Revelation 4:7-8)

It’s likely that these four creatures are also the ones described in Isaiah chapter 6. Let’s take a moment to examine the descriptions in that chapter. “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!” (Isaiah 6:1-3) Just like the creatures described in Revelation, these unusual beings each have six wings and they cry out “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD.” They also are described as having hands [and I think it would be safe to assume arms also]. “Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal. . .” (v.6) Then the seraph speaks to Isaiah in the vision. (v.7) So it’s clear that they do convey verbal messages no doubt as directed by God.

Next, let’s look at the descriptions of the creatures described in Ezekiel 1 where Ezekiel has visions of God. (v.1) Ezekiel sees a flaming cloud with bright light radiating from it. Then he also sees, “from within it came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance: they had the likeness of a man. Each one had four faces, and each one had four wings. . . The hands of a man were under their wings on their four sides; and each of the four had faces and wings”. (vv. 5-6, 8)

What we can note is that these four creatures are very similar to the four creatures described in Revelation 4 but they are described with having four wings rather than six. Two of their wings were stretched upward and touched the wings of the others. Two of the wings covered their bodies. (vv.9, 10) Another unusual feature concerns the faces of the creatures. “As for the likeness of their faces, each had the face of a man; each of the four had the face of a lion on the right side, each of the four had the face of an ox on the left side, and each of the four had the face of an eagle.” (v.10) When these creatures moved, they moved in the direction that the particular face looked and so they moved without turning and moved at right angles when they changed direction. They moved very quickly like a flash of lightning. (vv. 12-14)

To add to the unusual and mysterious description of these creatures, Ezekiel goes on to describe a wheel-like structure that was either beside or alongside each of the four creatures. But then the description of the wheels states, “their appearance and their workmanship was like a wheel in the middle of a wheel “. (v.16)

Okay then, what comes to mind for me is, what does this mean, how does it appear, and how is this constructed? We’ll continue with further examination next time. God is an awesome creator and we marvel at the diversity of beings and creatures he has brought into existence! They all have purpose that is often not fully revealed to us…at least not yet!

Arms up friends! Our sincere prayers and thoughts are with you daily. Thanks in advance for your heartfelt prayers for us.