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Eureka

AN EXPOSITION OF THE APOCALYPSE
Sixth Edition, 1915
By Dr. John Thomas (first edition written 1861)

 

 

Chapter 4

Section 4 

THE FOUR LIVING ONES


 
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In the midst of the throne and in the circle of the throne Four Living Ones being full of eyes before and behind" (Verse 6).

These four living ones being "in the midst of the throne and in the circle of the throne," must be symbolical of those represented by the twenty-four elders, that is, of the saints. The elders, as we have seen, are representative of the saints in the peaceful exercise of their sacerdotal and regal functions, "resting from their labors" performed in "the war of the great day of the almighty Deity", while the four living ones represent the saints in cooperation with the Spirit carrying on the war to its victorious consummation.

In the Common Version these four are styled "beasts." The word in the original is zoa, and signifies simply living ones. In Ezek. i. 5, they are styled chaiyoth, rendered in the E.V. "living creatures." They are symbols representative of what is to be, not of what is yet manifested. That which is to be manifested exists, but the form of manifestation does not. That which exists is the all-pervading spirit radiant from the Divine Substance; but the spirit-forms, which do not exist, are the dead saints. These must be raised, and then transformed into spirit-bodies, instinct with life and power omnipotent; a transformation which in all its elements is aggregately represented by these "four living ones full of eyes before and behind."

The Spirit of the Deity, then, is the great reservoir of power out of which they are born or developed. "That which hath been born out of spirit is spirit." These are the words of Jesus to Nicodemus. The glorified saints, glorified after resurrection, are therefore spirit multitudinously manifested, and isaggeloi, equal to angels. In his "Visions of Elohim," Ezekiel beheld this manifestation of the saints out of spirit in symbolic representation. He tells us that he was looking in a northerly direction, and in the distance behold "a whirlwind, A GREAT CLOUD, and a fire came out of the North." This was the Spirit in tempestuous and destructive operation. But to show that it was not free spirit, but embodied spirit, he goes on to say, that out of the midst of the fire issued forth "the likeness of four living creatures." He then describes their appearance, and afterwards remarks concerning their movements, that they were identical with those of the spirit; for "they went," saith he, "every one straight forward: whither the spirit was to go, they went"; and of this going, John says, it was "into all the earth." They went with the Seven Spirits of the Deity, for they will be the seven spirits embodied. Hence the terms applied to the seven spirits by John, are applied to the four by Ezekiel, who says they were like burning coals of fire and like lamps; and that out of the fire, that is, from them went forth lightning; and that they ran and returned as a flash of lightning.

But though Ezekiel introduces them as four living ones and four wheels in ch. i. 5,16, in referring to them in ch. x. 15, he speaks of them as one, saying, "this is hachaiyah, THE LIVING ONE." In other words, the individuals of whom this Spirit manifestation is composed are, in the aggregate, what the voice issuing from their midst proclaims without intermission day and night, namely, the thrice or superlatively holy YAHWEH, the Omnipotent Deity, who was, and who is, and who is coming (Apoc. iv. 8). These are the ONE BODY, nearly all the atoms of which are now in death, "sleeping in the dust." But, speaking of them as they are now in reference to its future, the Spirit styles them "My DEAD BODY, and says "they shall arise," and, in view of the resurrection, exclaims, "Awake and sing, ye that dwell in the dust." When they come forth from the dust they are no longer the Spirit’s Dead Body, but they become the Spirit’s Living One, and can then say, "I am the First and the Last, and the Living One: and I was dead, and behold I am living for the Aions of the Aions, the Amen." Jesus is the visible Head of these. Without Him the Living One would be incomplete (Isa. xxvi. 19; Apoc. i. 18).

Ezekiel clearly indicates what was represented by the four living ones and their wheels in ch. i. 24. He says, "The noise of their wings was like the noise of great waters, as the voice of shaddai, MIGHTY ONES, the voice of speech, as the noise of a host." This was equivalent to saying that their wings represented "great waters," which represented "Mighty Ones," who gave utterance to their will and purpose, and that there was a multitude of them. These were the waters John heard responsive to the voice issuing from the throne, saying, "Praise our Deity, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, small and great." "I heard," says he, "the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, hallelu Yah, praise ye YAH; for YAHWEH Elohim the Omnipotent reigns. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give the glory to him; for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready" (xix. 6). This glorious multitude will be the embodiment of the power that is "to execute vengeance upon the nations and punishments upon the peoples; to bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron; to execute upon them the judgment written:" that is to perform all those things I have sketched under the caption of "The Apocalypse Rooted in the Prophets" (Vol. I, Chap. I, sec. i, 4); to set up the kingdom and to establish glory to the Deity in the highest heaven, over the earth peace and goodwill among men.

These four living ones and the four wheels are "THE CHARIOT OF THE CHERUBIM." They are the chariot in which the Deity rides forth to battle against the enemies of the house of David, and upon which he sits enthroned over Israel. This appears from 2 Sam. xxii. 11, and Psa. lxxx. 1. In the former place, Yahweh is said to ride upon a cherub; and in the latter, to inhabit the cherubim. The etymology of the word is regarded as obscure. In view of this, I would suggest that we may take the root charav, as having been the same with kharav, to waste, to destroy, from which comes, kherev, a sword. This derivation is suggested by the text where kheruvim, or cherubim, first occurs in the scriptures; as, "Yahweh Elohim placed at the east of the garden of Eden the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned itself to guard the way of the tree of the lives." By rendering wav, by even, instead of "and," it would make the flaming sword expletive of the cherubim; as, "the cherubim, even the flaming sword" -- the flame containing the cherubic power, as Ezekiel’s "whirlwind, great clouds, and fire," did the four living ones he saw.

But, be the true etymology what it may, it is certain that they are symbols of a wasting and destroying power. When their wings are expanded they are in lightning operation; when let down, they are standing, and either preparing for action or "resting from their labors." They are "full of eyes before and behind;" or, as Ezekiel says, "their whole basar, flesh, even their backs, and their hand, and their wings, and the wheels, were full of eyes round about." An eye is the symbol of intelligence; and when a multitude of eyes are aggregated together, each eye indicates a particular or individual intelligence. Ezekiel informs us that the eyes were in flesh which was full of them. Each eye, then, was a flesh-intelligence; and, as the four had each a human face and hand, and were endowed with the faculty of speech, the intelligence was that of a man. Hence, each eye is representative of a man; and as the four sing, "Thou hast redeemed us," each eye is symbolical of a saint. The eyes are "a great multitude which no man can number;" yet they are symbolized by four, by 144,000, by a city lying four-square, and 144 cubits -- that is, these numbers are symbolical of the saints; first, in relation to their encampment; second to their nationality; third, to their municipality; and fourth to their corporation limit.

 

 


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