Shabbat shalom kol beit Yisra'el and Mishpachah, welcome back to the 20th part of our study of the Book of Revelationn and to what I hope will be another exciting and stimulating teaching. I have, as I mentioned last week, been looking forward to this one enormously.

But first, as it our practice, and to properly focus the mind after a week's hiatus (gap), let's have a brief recap of last week's teaching to maintain continuity and give context. We're in the very heart of the universe now, the Throme Room of the Creator and our Heavenly Father, Yahweh-Elohim. There are flashes of lighning coming from His throne along with peals of thunder. Standing next to Him is the Son of Elohim (God), Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ). Above and around Him is this covenant-rainbow that reminds John of the properties emerald when light impacts it, and extending in all directions is this vast crytstal ocean like glass, bespeaking tranquility and purity.

Around Father and Son are 24 thrones on which are seated 24 crowned elders wearing white robes, whom we understood to be angelic beings and not redeemed human beings, whose chief calling is to manage worship, declaring and ascribing 'worth-ship' of the whole creation to the Creator. From these we acquire the notion of value, the worth of life and chief of all, the worth of the Life-Giver Himself. In receiving worth from the Creator, we in our turn are to extent worth or value to all life in acknowledgement of Him. It is this that gives us as human-being a sense of value - we are valuable, precious, of worth and needful of loving. The 24 elders (or 'heavenly Sanhedrin' [1] - AmpV) ensure that that remains at the heart of everything. Once we lose that core essence, we lose the purpose of existence. Very much interlinked to this is the principle of agency, freedom or liberty, for we must be free to grant the same value and worth to others as Yahweh has extended to us by creating us. This is why Calvinism and Islam, for example, horribly and perversely fail the test of heavenly authenticity. Whoever or whatever it is they worship, it is not Yahweh-Elohim, the true Creator of everything. Where life is cheapened, devalued or rendered worthless (by predestination to eternal torment, for example), there you have the complete opposite of the Divine Imperative. In word, you have satanism.

Last week we also saw how all of this was reflected on earth in Yahweh's mitzvah (commandment) to organise 24 courses of Levitical cohenim (priests) to serve in the Temple as well as a number of other functions of these priestly officers managing it. I reminded everyone of the 2015 Great Dedication of the Remnant of Messianic Israel and of the importance of the fiery Brazen (Bronze) Altar for the purging of sin and of the Brazen (Bronze) Lava or Bowl for the washing or purification of the cohenim (priests) before they could enter the Temple-proper.

The Sea of Glass around Yahweh is a representation of the cleansing waters of the round Bronze Bowl in the heavenlies. Thus we understood that the highest heaven was not for either lawless (rebellious) unbelivers or lawless (rebellious) believers but only for the the Torah-obedient, Messiah-trusting Remnant, the Bride, the 144,000, the Children of the First Resurrection, the Overcomers, the fully Redeemed out of the earth through covenant and by sacrifice for glory in the eternities, those who give their all.

I shared with you some things about the Divine Council and Council of Yah's Elohim and my experience in the garden which is a picture of Heaven. Finally, I make mention of the 7 lampstands which are the 7 Ruachot (Spirits) of Elohim (God) which I said we would return to today. I asked you to check Ezekiel 1 as part of your homework for today too, a reminder that you will get out of these studies infinitely more if you put something into them yourself. It is personal insight and revelation that I am seeking in behalf of all of you so that you can immerse yourself in the phronema of these scenes and connect to the Throne Room for praise.

Why don't we get straight into today's text as we have a lot to talk about! Let's turn to chapter 4 and pick up mid-verse in verse 6:

"6b And in the midst (middle) of the throne, and [all] around the throne, were four living creatures (Zoa - pronounced 'zoo'a') full of eyes in front and in back (behind). 7 The first living creature (Zoan - pronounced 'zooan') was like a lion, the second living creature (Zoan) like a calf (KJV, ASV, HRV, NASU, NASB, JBP, TEV, RSTNE) (Gk. moshos - young bullock) ('ox' - NIV, NEB, JNT, RSV, NRSV, NLT, ESV, Barclay, KNT, AmpV), the third living creature (Zoan) had a face like a man, and the fourth living creature (Zoan) was like a flying eagle. 8 The four living creatures (Zoa), each having [from its claws and upwards' - HRV] six wings (Is.6:2), were full of eyes around and within (inside) (Aram. lit. 'six wings, filled round about, and from within, with eyes' - HRV). And they do not rest day or night, saying:

'Qadosh, qadosh, qadosh (Holy, holy, holy),
Yahweh-Elohim Almighty (Lord God All-Ruling/All-Powerful/Omnipotent/Pantocrator/ El Shaddai (Gk.) - Aram. 'Mariya Alahah' = Yahweh-Elohim [2]),
Who was and is and is to come!'

"9 Whenever the living creatures (Zoa) give glory (tiferet) and honour and thanks (hodu) to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever (le-olam-va-ed), 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever (le-olam-va-ed), and cast (throw down) their crowns before the throne, saying:

11 'You are worthy, O Master (Lord),
To receive glory and honour and power;
For You created all things,
And by (because of) Your will they exist[ed] and were created.'"

(Rev.4:6b-11, NKJV).

What an amazing passage! I have been looking forward to discussing this with you for some time now. For starters, you will notice that there are two songs of praise in this passage, the first in verse 8 and the second in verse 11. In the first one of the songs, the four Zoa or 'living creatures' sing around the clock, day and night. They praise Yahweh as the Qadosh or Holy One and they praise Him as the Everlasting One le-olam-va-ed. We're going to look at these beings in some depth today because they're extremely important. You'll notice that I have given them their Greek designation of Zoa (or Zoan in the singular). But who, or what, are they exactly?

To answer that question, we must first seek them out in the Tanakh (Old Testament) where we will find them in Isaiah and Ezekiel. We'll begin with Isaiah's fantastic vision in the Temple, in chapter 6:

"1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw Yahweh sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. 2 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. 3 And one cried to another and said:

"Qadosh, qadosh, qadosh (Holy, holy, holy) is Yahweh-Tsevaoth (of hosts/Armies); The whole earth is full of His glory!" (cp. Rev.8:4b)

4 And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 So I said:

"Woe is me, for I am undone ('ruined' - NIV)!
Because I am a man of unclean lips,
And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips;
For my eyes have seen the King,
Yahweh-Tsevaoth (of hosts/Armies)."

6 Then one of the Seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth with it, and said:

"Behold, this has touched your lips; Your iniquity is taken away, And your sin purged" (Is.6:1-7, NKJV).

That is a passage most of us are familiar with. Here we learn two important things:

• 1. The Zoa of the Book of Revelation and the Seraphim appear to be one and the same;
• 2. Two wings cover their faces, two are used for movement (flying), and two cover their feet.

The Hebrew root for seraph is 'burn' which is appropriate for two reasons:

• 1. First, we see them 'burning' Isaiah's mouth with a red-hot coal from an atlar; and
• 2. Second, we see and understand that this has something to do with purity or purification.

The pieces of the puzzle start assembling themselves. We have already gathered that the Throne Room is an exceedingly pure place and we understood that a cohen (priest) had to make a sacrifice by fire in the Courtyard at the Brazen or Bronze Altar as the first of two steps before being allowed to enter the Temple-proper. This fiery 'coal' cleansed Isaiah of his impurity or iniquity and he no longer felt spiritually dirty. Seraphim or Zoa therefore have, as an important part their ministry, 'burning' or 'purification', to ensure that the Throne Room - the heart of creation - is always clean and pure. Last time, you will recall, I shared Avah's vision from the 2015 Dedication which explained how the New Covenant 'Brazen Altar' functions in purifying the Remnant Melchizedek Priesthdood.

Why are the faces of the Seraphim or Zoa covered here, in Isaiah, but not in the Book of Revelation? The explanation usually given by commentaries is that in the former, they were apparently facing Yahweh and were not allowed to gaze directly at the glory of Elohim (God), whereas, we're told, they must have been facing John in the Book of Revelation for him to be able to record what he saw and could therefore be uncovered as they had their back to Yahweh. Does that seem plausible to you? Personally I am not convinced. For one, it doesn't answer another question I would ask, which is, why were the feet covered? Because they would have been toasted facing Yahweh too? I don't think so. If so, then when they flew with their middle wings, their private areas would have been toasted too. There are lots of interesting questions we can ask, aren't there? Why, for instance, were the middle pair of wings used specifically for flying? For balance? Wings in general are used for flying, so why not all three pairs of wings? And are not the feet instruments of movement too? All the wings must somehow be connected with movement: 3 pairs of wings + one pair of feet = four sets of instruments for motion. Note the number '4' to which we shall return in a short while and also the '3+1' combination remembering that we as humans can only walk, not fly.

The problem with such questions - which I have deliberately asked to stimulate your thinking - is that they're the sort of questions that you'd expect Westerners to think! There is a rich and dense symbolism here which cannot be explained by a purely 'scientific' analysis. When I first read about these Zoa my scientific mind kicked in and I thought to myself, 'Well, dragon flies have two pairs of wings and the Membracidae or tree-hoppers have three pairs of wings' before I stopped and reminded myself that these are Eastern symbolic respresentations of non-physical, spiritual realities. I mean, common sense tells us that the Seraph didn't put a literal glowing coal on Isaiah's mouth else he would have screamed in pain and been horribly blistered with third degree burns, so the rest of what the navi (prophet) saw is most likely to be not literal but symbolic too.

A third witness as to who these divine creatures are is to be found in Ezekiel's own vision which we're going to look at now, in chapter 1 where we see, apparently, either a different order of the Zoa (and so not necessarily Seraphim or the same class of Seraphim in action again) but doing something rather different. And since their actions are different, they are represented differently pictorally too. Make detailed mental or written notes as we work through this for comparitive purposes with Revelation and Isaiah - I will emphasise the parts I want you to particularly note. So let's look at the text, beginning at verse 4:

"4 Then I looked, and behold, a whirlwind was coming out of the north, a great cloud with raging fire engulfing itself; and brightness was all around it and radiating out of its midst like the colour of amber, out of the midst of the fire. 5 Also from within it came the likeness of four living creatures (chayim). And this was their appearance: they had the likeness of a man. 6 Each one had four faces, and each one had four wings. 7 Their legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the soles of calves' feet. They sparkled like the colour of burnished bronze. 8 The hands of a man were under their wings on their four sides; and each of the four had faces and wings. 9 Their wings touched one another. The creatures did not turn when they went, but each one went straight forward. 10 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. 11 Thus were their faces. Their wings were stretched upward; two wings of each one touched one another, and two covered their bodies. 12 And each one went straight forward; they went wherever the ruach (spirit) wanted to go, and they did not turn when they went. 13 As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, and like the appearance of torches. Fire was going back and forth among the living creatures; the fire was bright, and out of the fire went lightning. 14 And the living creatures ran back and forth, in appearance like a flash of lightning.

"15 Now as I looked at the living creatures, behold, a wheel was on the earth beside each living creature with its four faces. 16 The appearance of the wheels and their workings was like the colour of beryl, and all four had the same likeness. The appearance of their workings was, as it were, a wheel in the middle of a wheel. 17 When they went, they went toward any one of four directions; they did not turn aside when they went. 18 As for their rims, they were so high they were awesome; and their rims were full of eyes, all around the four of them. 19 When the living creatures went, the wheels went beside them; and when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up. 20 Wherever the ruach (spirit) wanted to go, they went, because there the ruach (spirit) went; and the wheels were lifted together with them, for the ruach (spirit) of the living creatures was in the wheels. 21 When those went, these went; when those stood, these stood; and when those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up together with them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.

22 The likeness of the firmament above the heads of the living creatures was like the colour of an awesome crystal, stretched out over their heads. 23 And under the firmament their wings spread out straight, one toward another. Each one had two which covered one side, and each one had two which covered the other side of the body. 24 When they went, I heard the noise of their wings, like the noise of many waters, like the voice of the Almighty, a tumult like the noise of an army; and when they stood still, they let down their wings. 25 A voice came from above the firmament that was over their heads; whenever they stood, they let down their wings.

26 And above the firmament over their heads was the likeness of a throne, in appearance like a sapphire stone; on the likeness of the throne was a likeness with the appearance of a man high above it. 27 Also from the appearance of His waist and upward I saw, as it were, the colour of amber with the appearance of fire all around within it; and from the appearance of His waist and downward I saw, as it were, the appearance of fire with brightness all around. 28 Like the appearance of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the brightness all around it. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of Yahweh.

So when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard a voice of One speaking" (Ezek.1:4-28, NKJV).

First off, Ezekiel's 'living creatures' or Zoa have a completely different configuration. John's and Isaiah's creatures have three pairs or six wings each whereas Ezekiel's have two pairs or four wings. Remember, remember, that malakim or angels don't have literal wings - wings are symbolic of movement, power, authority and protection. I have seen, and been touched by, many malakim (angels) in my life and none of them ever had literal wings. They look like human beings though they are larger and have a different 'spirit' to them (remembering that, unlike us, they are supernatural beings). I'm not talking of visions here, but of physical manifestations as with the time a malak (angel) struck my shoulder to wake me up. Once in a vision I saw a malak (angel) who had a bright light coming from his back that looked like a pair of wings but they clearly were not of the feathery type even though there is one symbolic description of Yahweh having "feathers" and "wings" in Psalm 91:4 which the late Pentecostal Evangelist Percy Collet, who claims he saw them in an alleged journey to heaven, mistakenly insisted were literal.

But perhaps the biggest difference between Revelation/Isaiah and Ezekiel is that John's four Seraphim have different faces - lion, ox, man and eagle - whereas Ezekiel's faces are all identical, each Seraph having four faces - one to the front (a man), one on the right side (a lion), one to the left side (an ox) and one on the back (an eagle). Once we have understood what the lion, ox, man and eagle symbolise, we will understand why they are different; and the reason they are is because they are doing different things. There's a ton of things to unpack here so bear with with me.

It's an interesting puzzle, isn't it? The first clue to solving it concerns sequence. The first thing that is mentioned in every topic is the key to all that follows, including (and especially) the future 'Day of Yahweh'. So what is the first thing that John sees when he is taken through the door? A THRONE! That is the center of everything. It is the foundation of all that follows in the Book of Revelation hereafter so if we don't understand what that is - what it represents - we will have a distorted view of everything else.

Here the Psalms are full of useful information. The 103rd Psalm, verse 19, explains:

"Yahweh has established His throne in heaven,
And His kingdom rules over all" (Ps 103:19, NKJV).

Psalms 9 and 10 treat the coming Great Tribulation as the "times of trouble" (Ps.9:9; 10:1), and there the psalmist tells us what the Throne represents: "Yahweh has prepared His throne for judgment". Let's take a quick look at verses 4 to 7 of Psalm 11:

"Yahweh is in His qadosh (holy) temple,
Yahweh's throne is in heaven;
His eyes behold,
His eyelids (gaze) test[s] the sons of men.
Yahweh tests the righteous,
But the wicked and the one who loves violence His soul hates.
Upon the wicked He will rain coals;
Fire and brimstone (burning sulphur) and a burning (scorching) wind
Shall be the portion of their cup (punishment)
For Yahweh is righteous,
He loves righteousness;
His countenance beholds the upright ('those who do what is right will see His face' - NNLT)" (Ps.11:4-7, NKJV).

Are you beginning to understand what all those eyes in the Book of Revelation are doing in today's passage? Eyes see, observe, search, monitor, and evaluate for (amongst other things) judgment. But more than that, we need to understand what a face is, or does, and that is to see, gaze, and turn as in 'facing' someone. The expression on a face reveals what is going on in the soul, its activity and character. The Seraphim or Zoa have faces like a lion, ox, man and eagle because they represent attitudes or dispositions of being.

Think about what these animals represent. The lion is the universally acknowledged 'King of the Jungle' or 'King of the Wild Beasts', representing all the land predators - brute force or power. When Yahweh judges, so sometimes His judgment appears 'brutish' to us because it is uncompromising. He punishes the wicked. He is no 'snowflake'. Heavenly judgment is final. Once the final word of judgment goes out, it cannot be retracted.

The ox or calf is a large beast of burden. It is the leader, as it were, of all tamed or domesticated animals. It represents consistent hard work or labour. We, like Yahweh our Creator, were created for hard work, because hard work both enobles and satisfies. It gives us purpose and teaches us responsibility. All legitimate work is noble, from the janitor to the statesman.

The eagle, finally, is the undisputed King of the Birds, and has a fiercesome reputation as a hunter but especially noted for its amazingly keen eyesight. It is able to see objects even from a great height. It represents majesty, like the lion, as king of the air, wind, breath or spirit. It rises up above the mandane and gives us the 'bigger picture'. Both the lion and the eagle are common national emblems, as of the UK and USA, respectively. That tells you, if nothing else, how those nations view themselves.

Think, not 'fallen', but 'redeemed' - what these creatures stand for or represent in a perfected form, as you would expect them to be in the Millennium, and you will be well on your way to understanding not only how Yahweh is made up but how we, as divine images, are constituted too. These remarkable creatures do not merely surround Yahweh's Throne but are ready to do His bidding. Twice John tells us that they are full of eyes: unsleeping, keeping watch for Elohim (God) over His whole creation. As Yah'shua (Jesus) Himself reminded us, no single detail escapes His gaze, from the hairs on our head to the humble sparrow dropping dead (Mt.10:29-31; Lk.12:6-7).

Now the Throne of Yahweh itself means several things but one of them is a metaphor for judgment. Because He is Sovereign or King, He gets to make decisions or judgments concerning the workings of His Creation and the behaviour of all living things, including malakim (angels) and men. Man as a creature is one of four categories. As the perfect Judge you would expect Him to have perfect sight and understanding. We can never offer the excuse, as we might to others, 'Oh, you just don't understand me!' Well, He does understand us - perfectlt - so the moment He transfixes His gaze on us, then we know He knows everything about us and that we are beyond excuse. Don't even bother trying, it's pointless. We can no more hide from Him than Adam and Eve once tried to after the Fall. 'Fig leaves' and 'bushes' were their best - and father feeble - shot at concealment.

The navi (prophet) Daniel says something interesting about thrones. Let me read to you what he saw in vision in chapter 7, verses 9 and 10:

"As I watched, thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took His Throne; and His clothing was white as snow, and the hair of His head like pure wool; His Throne was fiery flames, and its wheels were burning fire. A stream of fire issues and from out from His presence. A thousand thousand (million) served Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand (100 million) stood attending Him. The court sat in judgment, and the books were opened" (Dan.7:9-10, NRSV).

Notice the "wheels" that Daniel saw, which we read of in Ezekiel's vision too? I don't have time to go into those today other than to say that they convey motion but may I at least say that this has nothing to do with what in 1974 NASA engineer, Josef F.Blumrich imagined to be an alien spacecraft. If you've never read it, his book, The Spaceships of Ezekiel is a fascinating read which, if nothing else, illustrates how heavenly realities, that mean something entirely different in the divine sphere, can be translated into all sorts of possibilities on our physical plane, with a little bit of tweeking of heavenly patterns (tavnith) because of the creative impulse. So, no, the Divine Throne isn't (or wasn't) a UFO that appeared to various earthlings throughout history! This isn't some von Däniken tale or some Sitchen fancy. UFOs are an entirely different phenomenon and no malak (angel) I ever saw turned up in one but simply materialised into our time and space. But then I don't remotely know everything! Suffice to say I have seen lots of UFOs with none of them or their occupants ever portending anything good, even the good-cop 'nordics'.

But I digress once again. The main reason I quoted Daniel to you was to point out the fact that there are many thrones, meaning that Yahweh also delegates certain kinds of judgment to lesser beings (like the 24 elders in the Throne Room), just as Moses delegated authority to various elders at the suggestion of his father-in-law, Jethro, to judge minor matters, but also to point out that these thrones were "set up" (NASU, NASB), "placed" (ASV), "set in place" (NIV, NEB), "placed" or "put in place" (NKJV, NLT) as nearly all modern translations correctly state, but not "cast down" as the King James Version (KJV) mistranslates it, giving the false idea that Yahweh is dethroning ungodly cosmic powers at this time, which He isn't, at least, He won't be until the very end. When a throne is 'set up' like this it means that judgment is about to be executed...a court is assembling to get court business done. This is when "books are opened", the record of human conduct consulted, the archived testimony of all those heavenly "eyes"

The important point to note is this: when the Throne of Judgment is present, the Throne of Grace likely isn't. Many evangelicals get the mistaken impression that, for them at least, there is only a Throne of Grace. True, Grace characterises this present messianic æon, age or time whereas Judgment, Righteousness and Justice will characterise what is coming - at least in its final sense. Nevertheless Judgment Thrones are being set up and removed all the time, as they now in this period of Penultimate Judgment.

When a Judgment Throne (or thrones) is being set up, the heavenly voice announces it:

"And they sing the song of Moses the servant of Elohim (God), and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, O Yahweh-Elohim, the Almighty; righteous and true are thy ways, thou King of the æons (ages) [3]" (Rev.15:3, ASV).

Yahweh decides on the timing, the point in the æon or age at which judgment is rendered. His judgment is just (Rev.16:5,7; 19:2,11) and timely. The righteous, on the other hand, are understandably impatient for justice to be rendered because of their suffering, which is perfectly natural, and we learn categorically that Yahweh does not judge the righteous martyrs (who are already justified through emunch/faith in Messiah) who cry out for justice, saying:

"How long, Yahweh-Elohim, qadosh (holy) and true, until You judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?" (Rev.6:10, NIV).

Yahweh responds by saying that their plea is not out of place, just premature, and asks them to wait a little longer. You know the saying which, paraphrasing, goes something like, 'a lie goes around the world several times before the truth catches up'. Well, justice can only be executed once the truth is manifest...when the books are opened for all to see. We are living through such an exposure time right now as the deeds of the wicked rulers of this world are laid bare for all to behold. No one can protest Yahweh's righteousness once the truth is manifest - then people will demand justice!

Now I know that a lot of people hate it when I talk about judgment. Why? Did you know that Yahweh commands us to rejoice at the execution of justice (Rev.18:20; 19:2), for it is written:

"Fear Elohim (God) and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come. Worship Him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water" (Rev.14:7, NIV).

Trust me, people who have been on the receiving end of injustice long for judgment and justice! Judgment is the final vision of the Book of Revelation (Rev.20:4) and is given to the qodeshim (saints, set-apart ones) who have overcome. I suspect the reason most hate judgment is that they have no intention of overcoming. Consider the heart of the psalmist and the cry of his soul:

"For Yahweh takes delight in His people;
He crowns the humble with salvation.
Let the qodeshim (saints, set-apart ones) rejoice in this honour
and sing with simcha (for joy) on their beds.

"May the praise of Elohim (God) be in their mouths
and a double-edged sword in their hands,
to inflict vengeance on the nations
and punishment on the peoples,
to bind their kings with fetters,
their nobles with shackles of iron,
to carry out the sentence written against them.
This is the glory of all His qodeshim (saints, set-apart ones).

"Praise Yahweh!" (Ps.149:4-9, NIV).

So the THRONE, which the first vision "in heaven" commences, is the great central object. We have to be absolutely clear about this. Those on the hyper-grace bandwagon of false theology are already way off track and that is why, no doubt, John Calvin never made a commentary on the Book of Revelation because it contradicted his beliefs through and through. I have gone to great lengths to emphasise the Throne again because this is what the Ruach (Spirit) laid strongly on my heart. Visually-speaking, we have no idea how to describe it, but we are told what it is like. Suffice to say, it possesses all the accessories of Judgment which inspires awe and which speak of coming wrath. Heaven is a place of glorious realities and not a place of unsubstanital shadows. One day we will see what John saw and know

But now, as promised, let us take a very close look at the Living Creatures, Seraphim or Zoa. I have already dropped a few clues so I am hoping these will have started coalescing in your minds into a meaningful form which we can then alter and reform as needs be. For now we must just believe until faith is exchanged for sight. Part of the purpose of these studies is to strengthen and justify your faith by giving you knowledge that will gradually make everything you read more concrete.

I have suggested that these creatures may represent living principles, at least on a non-corporeal level. However, if Yahweh is a literal Being or Person (which obviously He is) then so are the 24 Elders and the 4 Creatures too, so let's start there, with the pshat or 'plain sense' of the passage as far as that will take us: we are looking at literal entities but at the same time, being as they are supernatural and beyond our ken, they cannot be represented adquately to finite beings like us in anything but symbolic terms. And we have to be OK with that. You wouldn't be able to take any photograph any of these Entities! If you tried, you'd likely only get a giant blob of white light. And let's not forget that in addition to (1) Yahweh, (2) the 24 Elders and (3) the 4 Creatures, there are also (4) Yah'shua (Jesus) and (5) the Seven Ruachot or Spirits of Elohim (God). That's five categories of Being for whilst the seven Ruachot undoubtedly represent principles too (as, for example, when we speak of the 'spirit of justice'), they are also Beings closely connected to Yahweh Himself, and specifically the Ruach haQodesh or Holy Spirit who are Seven Persons and are female.

This is hard for orthodox Christians and Messianics to grasp but now is the time to set aside prejudices and traditions, however encrusted with age and apparent legitimacy they may seem to be, if you are to make sense of this last book of the Bible. We have got to be accurate. So we have 1+1+7+24+4 or 37 Persons in the Throne Room, of whom 9 are Elohim (God) and 28 are malakim (angels) that we know of! Now this number 9, which is rarely dicussed by Bible students, is most important. Mathematically it possess properties amd powers which are found in no other number:

• 1. The sum of the digits which form its multiples are themselves always multiples of 9, a reason this is a divine, Elohimhead or Godhead number (Father, Son & 7 Ruachot/Spirits). For instance, 2x9=18 and 1+8=9; 3x9=27 and 2+7=9; 4x9=36 and 3+6=9 and so on. And yes, it works with larger numbers too: 52,843x9=475,587 and 4+7+5+5+8+7=36 and 3+6=9. Interesting, isn't it?; and

• The sum of its multiples through the 9 digits=405 or 9x45.

Clearly, beyond a certain point, the Trinitarian model is seen to be an inadequate human approximation on only one level of an eternal and much more complex heavenly reality - a Kindergarten-level approach, as it were, that's often defended fanatically as though it were Scripture itself. My saying this now marks me down as a heretic by many, if not most, orthodox Christians. But this is what inevitably happens when finite minds, with limited knowledge and understanding, try to make infinite reality graspable. Saying the Councils that guided its formulation is mere supposition. That's not to say we are wrong for wanting to try to look deeper, a reason I don't go condemning Triniatrians as many of my messianic brethren do who struggle for words just as Trinitarians do. So we need to exhibit a little grace here even if Trinitarians can be pretty dogmatic at times. One thing I know is I'm not going to hell just because I don't accept their formulation. It was a good shot but falls short in many respect. not least the gender of the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit). Their reaction is an historical left-over from their fight centuries ago with the Arians who either denied the deity of Messiah or regarded Him as a lesser 'god', like the modern Jehovah's Witnesses. And even though irate Trinitarians sometimes accuse us of being Arians, we absolutely are not. Choosing between the two effectively boils down to a 'good cop' versus 'bad cop' choice which we are not obliged to make. That's an historical controversy that does not need resurrecting in the 21st century. We have moved on.

I think I may already have mentioned to you that 9 is a number closely tied in with judgment. It is related to the number 6, six being the sum of its factors (3x3=9, and 3+3=6) and it thus significant of the end of man, the summum bonum of his works. So 9 is also the number of finality or judgment which is committed to Yah'shua (Jesus) as the "Son of man" (Jn.5:27; Ac.7:31) and not only the "Son of Elohim (God)". The incarnation links 6 and 9. For human beings, 9 marks the completeness, the end or goal and issue of all things as pertaining to man - the judgment of man and all his works. So, surprise surprise, 9 is a factor of 666, which is 9x74. The number for Dan, which in Hebrew means a 'judge', is 54 or 9x6.

Speaking of the first generation of rebellious Israelites, Yahweh said:

"So I declared on oath in My anger (wrath), 'They shall never enter my rest'" (Heb.3:11, NIV).

So let's not be too surprised or disappointed if we can't nail down precisely what the four Living Creatures are but that doesn't mean we shouldn't have a shot at it. But I think, by the time we have finished today's and next week's teaching, we will have advanced the boundary of Scriptural knowledge considerably! To begin with, I hope you will agree with me, as I do with E.W.Bullinger, that the designation 'living creature' is really quite inadequate. And I'm only now understanding why Yahweh wanted me to spend two weeks preparing this topic and not one, a reason, I suspect, I was too ill to preach last week, because I was all gung-ho and ready to share what I knew back then which was incomplete and therefore inadequate, it seems. And, you know, when you're ill, you just want to rush things through to get them out of the way which is not a good way to prepare material like this.

First, let's deal with the terminology surrounding 'creatures', 'living things' and 'beasts' because words have changed meaning over the centuries. Today a 'beast' is largely descriptive of a savage animal whereas back in King Jimmy's days it was any kind of animal from a pet dog to a life-threatening dragon. That's why the King James Version translates zoon as "beast". Now when my parents were young, a wicked and cruel man would commonly be called 'a beast' by a woman being harrassed who would cry out, 'O you beast!' (I'm sure you've heard such lines spoken in the movies from the 1930's and 40's). It's the same with words like 'meat' which in King James Bible days referred to both animal and plant life that was edible. Today meat is reserved for animal flesh.

The faces of the four Creatures described in this chapter are the same as the "beasts" in Revelation 13 & 17 where the Greek word zo'on (or zoan) (pronounced 'zoo-on') is used and means, in principle, 'any living creature', as distinct from wild ones for which we have the Greek word thérion. 'Living creature,' then, is too vague and cumbersome and 'living being' implies too much of finite humanity. 'Living Ones' would certainly be better as "the Living One" is one of the titles of Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ). So why don't we just follow the Tanakh (Old Testament) practice in leaving the original term in either Hebrew or Greek - Seraph, Zo'an or Zo'on - untranslated? Personally I prefer the Hebrew so that is what we will stick with hereon. These are, then, Seraphim, of which there appear to be either at least two kinds, or just one that is able to operate in different modes. They is a closely related, though different order, of malakim (angels) described, in Genesis 3:24, as "the Cherubim" where we don't bother to translate the orginal Hebrew word because we don't know what the word literally means.

You will find those who believe these four Seraphim represent the Elohimhead or Godhead. My problem with that is that the Elohim (God) who commanded that no emblem or image of Deity should ever be made should make one Himself, especially one like "a bull, which eats grass" (Ps.106:20, NIV; cp. Dt.4:15-16; Rom.1:22-23). Moreover, the Seraphim offer worship but are never worshipped themselves (Is.6; Rev.4-5). Others think they represent the four Gospels Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, but animals can hardly represent books. Besides, it is difficult to see the point of the four Gospels guarding the Tree of Life, or occupying such a prominent place in the Tabernacle or in the Temple. We may return to how this interesting doctrine evolved another day if we have the time because it figures prominently in mediæval art.

And finally, they cannot represent the Messianic Community or Church, as some believe, for at least six good reasons:

• 1. Three of the four are animals and there must be some sort of congruence, agreement or consistency between even a symbol and the thing being signified;

• 2. They call for judgment (Rev.6) and give the bowls "full of the wrath of Elohim (God)" to the Seven Vial Malakim (Angels) (Rev.15). Now, surely, you'll all agree, this is not the work of the Messianic Community (Church), either now or in the future!

• 3. Nowhere in Revelation 9 or 10 do these Seraphim or Zoa ever speak of themselves as being redeemed, but rather completely distinguish themselves from folks like us;

• 4. They cannot be regular malakim or angelic beings because they are clearly distinguished from them in Revelation 5:8,11, the latter forming an outer circle beyond the 'Living Creatures'. Neither do they ever receive any commission as regular malakim (angels) always do. Quite the opposite - they are issuing orders!

• 5. They are permanently attached to the Throne of Yahweh and are never seen apart from it - that's what a Seraph is and does, where as regular malakim (angels) are sent off on various errands or missions; and

• 6. They are clearly closely related to the Cherubim which are first mentioned in Genesis 3:24 which reads:

  "After [Yahweh] drove the man out, He placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard (keep) the way to the Tree of Life" (NIV).

  The word for 'guard' or 'keep', means to preserve and care for (cp. Gen.2:15; 18:9, etc.). So we see them in connection with the Fall.

Now here's the vitally important point I want you to note and underline when speaking of either Cherubim or Seraphim: they are representative of ANIMAL (AND HUMAN) CREATION, hence their collective Greek name of Zoa, from which we derive the English word Zoology, the study of animals.

How many Seraphim or 'Living Creatures' are there in the Throne Room? Four. In Ezekiel's Throne-Chariot vision, how many faces did each of the Seraphim have? Four. How many instruments of motion do they have? What does the number 4 represent in Scripture? The Earth! The number 4 consists of 3+1, a combination that appears in the Seraphim several times - 3 pairs of wings + 1 pair of feet, for instance. Three is the number of Divine Perfection. Add the number 1 and you have 4, Yahweh-Elohim's creative works. The number 4 is always related to that which is created. There are 4 seasons (spring, summer, autumn/fall and winter), 4 points of the compass (north, south, east and west), 4 divisions of the day (sunrise, noon, sunset and midnight), 4 lunar phases (new, crescent, half and full), 4 divisions of the one River in Paradise (one of which, the Euphrates, still exists), and so on - we could spend a whole sermon on this number alone too! The Seraphim are therefore an important link between Heaven and Earth, between the Throne Room or Operations Centre and Creation. That is why the number 4 is associated with them. They have important responsibilities toward the created order.

Returning briefly to Point #6, if I may: Romans 8:19-21 informs us that the whole of creation partakes of the effects of the Fall, groaning and travailing up to today. So whilst the Seraphim are certainly a link or connection to humanity and the Messianic Community (Church), they can't actually be or represent the Messianic Community (Church) itself. They are, rather, Yahweh's interface with Creation, their name, Seraphim, meaning 'burning', indicating that they are a kind of filtering or purifying agency ensuring that the holiness of the Throne Room is not polluted by the effects of the Fall. You might even say they are a kind of door, gateway or 'Stargate', like the Cherunbim, who are also fiery beings with flaming 'swords', who prevent us from returning to Eden in a fallen condition, as they did with Adam and Eve.

You are all familiar with the Tabernacle (later, Temple) built by Moses at the command of Yahweh that was a carefully guarded portal to the heavenly Throne Room where Moses and Yahweh would meet as Adam once met regularly with Yahweh in the Garden of Eden before the Fall. But were you aware that another such Tabernacle or Temple has always existed on the earth? Moses was not the first to built one. It figures, otherwise man would have been cut off from Heaven and Satan would have had a free hand. Both before and after the Flood, Shem is spoken of as the custodian (rather like Moses) of this 'dwelling place'. The word 'placed' in Genesis 3:24 is the Hebrew shakan and means 'to station or dwell in a tabernacle' and is commonly spoken of as Elohim's (God's) dwelling among men and of His dwelling place. I will leave you to study this up for yourselves afterwards in Exodus 25:8, 29:45-46, Joshua 18:1, 22:19, 1 Kings 6:13, 8:12, 2 Chronicles 6:1, Psalm 48:18, and many, many more passages which you can search out too. It is from this verb that we have the word Shekinah, meaning the 'Divine Presence'.

Let's just read one of these passages as it pertains to Shem:

"Blessed be Yahweh,
The Elohim (God) of Shem,
And may Canaan be his servant.
May Elohim (God) enlarge Japheth,
And may he dwell (lit. 'place His tabernacle') in the tents of Shem;
And may Canaan be his servant"
(Gen.9:26-27, NKJV).

Now I don't know what you have been taught the meaning of this passage is but it is far, far more than about some Japhethites moving in to live with Shem in his homeland or 'tent'. It has nothing to to with immigration, as some are wont to interpret the passage, though I admit I have entertained this possibility in the past. Be very careful with this passage (which has nothing to do with modern Jews and has nothing to do with the fake Third Temple they want now to build in Jerusalem). This passage has many layers of meaning, but the most important one is that of the three patriarchal lines; Canaan (Ham) & Japheth (including the Ashkenazi Jews) represent two central lines while Shem and Yahweh-Elohim represent the two other lines. In other words, this Tabernacle of the Divine Presence (both literally and symbolically) continued among men down to the Flood, contained the Cherubim with the intersection between Heaven and the Earth being the Seraphim.

I wonder if you have ever heard of the Teraphim (nothing to do with terapins)? You may remember Rachel stole her father's teraphim' or 'images' (Gen.31) which were idols akin to the household idols of the Romans. The word Teraphim is a corruption of the words Cherubim and Seraphim, heavenly beings that became objects of worship. Remembrance of these was carried away by the scattered nations (Gen.11). The familiar Assyrian sculptures were later corruptions of the Seraphim, for they consisted of a man with an eagle's head and a lion or a winged bull with a human head. So much of the early paganism is bound up with a twisted version of these supernatural Throne Room and Tabernacle Beings.

Some of you may remember that I previously spoke about the archaeological discovery of what is now believed to be Melchizedek's small Tabernacle or Temple in ancient Jebus, later Jerusalem. Melchizedek was the Cohen Gadol or High Priest in this Tabernacle as Aaron would later become in the one restored through Moses. Whether Melchizedek was the original Shem (who occupied a similar office) or a later Cohen Gadol (High Priest) bearing the same name, we don't know for sure. But what we can, and do, know now is that the concept of a Tabernacle existed long before Moses. Given we know that Abraham observed the mitzvot (commandments), mishpatim (statutes), etc. (Gen.26:5), just as Moses did, we can reasonably conclude that Abraham had the same kind of access to the Throne Room through Melchizedek as Moses had through Aaron. What Moses did was nothing 'new' otherwise there would not have been a link between earth and heaven viâ Cherubim and Seraphim for millennia and we know that isn't true. Our own Third Book of Abraham speaks of this pre-Mosaic Tabernacle in great detail.

When Moses restored the Tabernacle by following divine instructions received on Mount Sinai, what was the first thing he he made? Not the Tabernacle itself but the Ark of the Covenant with its mercy-seat and Cherubim with extended wings on either side (Ex.25:10-12), representations of which would later be woven into the Veil (Ex.26:31; 36:25). These weren't real Cherubim, obviously, but earthly copies or symbols stationed at either end of the Mercy Seat, the earthly representation of the heavenly Throne where two worlds intersected.

What was the purpose of this? Well, for one, to show that the hope of creation was intimately tied up with 'the hope of Israel' and the House of Shem; and both were bound up in, and based on, the merits of atoning blood. Yahweh spoke, and there His glory dwelt, as in Heaven, as in the Throne Room because the Tabernacle was a kind of Divine 'Stargate' where Heaven and earth could intersect and meet, a rôle that would subsequently be performed by Yah'shua (Jesus) Himself who today, in the New Covenant, is the Living Tabernacle and Atonement for sin. From 'between the Cherubim' Yahweh spoke, and there His glory dwelt (1 Sam.4:4; 2 Sam.6:2; Ps.80:4,7,14,19; Is.37:16). The original Covenant with Adam, and with the Son of Man Himself, takes in the whole animate creation, and tells the story of the hope of its deliverance (Ps.8:6-8; 148:7-11). And millennial glory will not be complete without that hope being fulfilled (Is.11:6-9).

So what do we find in the Book of Revelation? In chapters 4 and 5 the Son of Man, Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ) is about to realise the hope of creation and therefore creation rejoices in the blessed prospect, which we will continue next week in an extra part as I know the modern Western attention-span is not so great for a variety of reasons and I myself am not so well! Had this been a Chinese audience we could have gone on all day! Interest is always a function of spiritual hunger. In the Chavurat Bekorot or Holy Order we go into a great deal more detail about the Throne Room, Tabernacle and the Zoa. I am having to condense everything here. Details about the Cherubim on the Mercy Seat are too sacred to be make public and even the writer of Hebrews, who was probably Paul, who most definitely understood these things, avoided saying more:

"Above the ark were the cherubim of the Glory, overshadowing the atonement cover (mercy seat). But we cannot discuss these things in detail now" (Heb.9:5, NIV).

Indeed, one of the pairs of their wings is to shield those who are either not allowed to, or who have not been purified from seeing sacred things, and you may remember the ends of the wings of the Zoa touched each other in a circle to hide the deeper realities of the Heavenly Throne Room from the profane. As above, so below, for in the earthly Tabernacle did two pairs of touching wings conceal what was going on on the Mercy Seat on the Ark too. On a human level, and in response to either shame or potential shame, we find a couple of negative parallel actions taking place after the fall of Adam and Eve, and after Noah's wine binge after the Ark landed on Mount Ararat.

As I was preparing this teaching for you visions were opening up to me about these things, more by way confirmation than as new revelation of things Yahweh has shown me before. But the fullness of the revelation of such things is given only to those who possess the fierce loyalty and leadership of the lion, the constancy in their approach to the sustained hard labour of the ox, the longing and sharpness of eye of the eagle soaring to spiritual heights flying in those exalted eddies where many eyes, inside and outside, are needed, and the loving humanity of man himself made in the image of Elohim (God) - only these can ever be dipped in such exalted heavenly reality. Some of these things can never be spoken of for in truth there are no words to describe them. That is what the Seraphim mediate to the pure of heart and to the animal kingdom in general: purifying, guarding, preparing, and integrating. Remember, our future is here on earth as resurrected beings, sharing a world with other creatures where all, finally, are at peace with one another, and with the Creator who may finally come and dwell with us once more, as in olden times. That is the hope, and that is the part the Seraphim, the Zoa, the Living Ones or the Living Creatures play in it, of which there is yet much more to be said!

This has been a little longer than teachings of late in part to make up for lost time owing to my indisposition last week. It is a battle now to get all this done and I am conscious of what yet must done before I yield this work to the one coming after me. The Seraphim are at work 24/7 like the 24 Elders, silently working in the background as servants of El Elyon, the Most High, as must the Elijah Prophets too in their several places and callings - purifying, clarifying, distilling, expanding, drawing, leading, and making whole/holy in the Ruach haEliyah (Spirit of Elijah). May the grace and peace of the countenance of our Abba shine upon you until we meet again, in the Name of Yah'shua (Jesus) our Mediator. Amen.

Endnotes

[1] Why Bible versions like the Amplified Version do this leaves one wondering. The Sanhedrin, though a court to be sure, had 71 members in it (which included the Cohen Gadol/High Priest and others who had held this office, as well as members of the high priestly families, older men, the heads of the tribes and families, and Torah-teachers/Scribes who were members of the sects of the Pharisees and Sadducees), not 24 per pro Revelation 4:4,10. So whilst there is certainly a precedent for a Council of 70 Elders taking responsibility for legal matters (Num.11:16-25), set up by Moses and then reorganised by Ezra after the return from exile, there is no evidence that 70 (or 71) older men sat as a single court to hear cases in those early days. The Sanhedrin was, in any case, largely a tool of the Roman authority, even if it was recognised by the Judahite diaspora (Ac.9:1-2). After the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, the Sanhedrin was abolished. I consider the Amplified Version to therefore be mistaken in making the comparison with the 24 Elders, as I do various messianic groups who claim to have 'restored' a modern 'Sanhedrin', for though one is mentioned in the New Testament, it was not set up by Yahweh and none is mentioned in the Torah
[2] We discussed this 3-elemented Aramaic term, which is found in Rev.1:8 too, in The 7 Ruachot & the Lesser Yahweh.
[3] Alternative readings include "nations" (KNT, NASU) and "saints (qodeshim)" (KJV, NKJV, RSTNE); the NIV & NEB use "ages" as does the Aramaic (HRV) which is why I personally believe it to be the accurate rendering

Acknowledgements

[1] Tom Wright, Revelation for Everyone - The New Testament for Everyone Commentary Series, Vol.19 (SPCK, London: 2011)
[2] E.W.Bullinger*, Number in Scripture (Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids, Michigan: 1967)
[3] E.W.Bullinger*, Commentary on Revelation (Kregel Classics, Grand Rapids, Michihan: 1984)
[4] E.W.Bullinger*, The Companion Bible being the Authorized Verion of 1611 with Structures & Critical Explanatory Notes (Samuel Bagster & Sons Ltd., London: 1974), pp.1883-1914

*E.W.Bullinger was a brilliant Anglican clergyman and scholar whose works merit careful study by serious students of the Bible. He was, however, seriously in error in at least three main areas, namely, (1) he believed the 'Church' has been raptured before the Book of Revelation opens, (2) he believed that the 7 churches in Revelation 2-3 are 7, literal Jewish churches or assemblies yet to come, and (3) he believed in a pre-tribulation, pre-millennial rapture.