Revelation 4:7

And the first living creature was like a lion: and the second living creature like a calf: and the third living creature, having the face, as it were, of a man: and the fourth living creature was like an eagle flying. We should ask the …

And the first living creature was like a lion, etc. These living creatures are interpreted in various ways. But blessed Augustine, according to the order of this book, says that Matthew is understood in the lion, who narrates the royal lineage of Christ, who also …

John says in the Apocalypse that the four living creatures stood around God's throne, and that the first had the face of a lion, the second that of an ox, the third that of a man, and the fourth that of an eagle: but he …

And the first - Just such were the four cherubim in Ezekiel, who supported the moving throne of God; whereas each of those that overshadowed the mercy-seat in the holy of holies had all these four faces: whence a late great man supposes them to have been emblematic of the Trinity, and the incarnation of the second Person. A flying eagle - That is, with wings expanded.

And the first beast was like a lion,....

In this glory the prophet saw Christ, and spoke of him. He heard the adorations of the four-and-twenty elders, that is, of the Christian people represented by them; the ministers led, and the people followed, in the praises of God,

And the first beast was like a lion - A general description has been given, applicable to all, denoting that in whatever form the divine government is administered, these things will be found; a particular description now follows, contemplating that government under particular aspects, as symbolized by the living beings on which the throne rests. The first is that of a lion. The lion is the monarch of the woods, the king of beasts, and he becomes thus the emblem of dominion, of authority, of government in general. Compare Gen 49:9; Amo 3:8; Joe 3:16; Dan 7:

calf--"a steer" [ALFORD]. The Septuagint often uses the Greek term here for an ox (Ex 22:1; 29:10, &c.). as a man--The oldest manuscripts have "as of a man."

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase

The first beast was like a lion - It is supposed that there is a reference here to the four standards or ensigns of the four divisions of the tribes in the Israelitish camp, as they are described by Jewish writers. The first living creature was like a lion; this was, say the rabbins, the standard of Judah on the east, with the two tribes of Issachar and Zabulon. The second, like a calf or ox, which was the emblem of Ephraim who pitched on the west, with the two tribes of Manasseh and Benjamin. The third, with the face of a man, which, according to the rabbins, was the standard of Reuben who pitched on the south, with the two tribes of Simeon and Gad. The fourth which was like a flying (spread) eagle, was, according to the same writers, the emblem on the ensign of Dan who pitched on the north, with the two tribes of Asher and Naphtali. This traditionary description agrees with the four faces of the cherub in Ezekiel’s vision. See my notes and diagrams on Numbers 2. Christian tradition has given these creatures as emblems of the four evangelists. To John is attributed the Eagle; to Luke the Ox, to Mark the Lion, and to Matthew the Man, or angel in human form. As the former represented the whole Jewish Church or congregation, so the latter is intended to represent the whole Christian Church.

In one of Stevenson's letters there is a characteristically humorous remark about the appalling impression produced on him in childhood by the beasts with many eyes in the Book of Revelations: "If that was heaven, what in the name of Davy Jones was hell like?" …