<p>4:6 <em>And in front of the throne there was as it were a sea of glass like a crystal- </em>Here there is a tranquil &ldquo;sea of glass&rdquo;, but this is the very same symbol as used in Rev. 15:2 concerning how this situation is arrived at <em>after</em> and <em>as a result of</em> the fiery judgments upon God&rsquo;s enemies in the last days. This confirms the suggestion on :1 that we have here a vision of the state of things in the last days, seen from Heaven's perspective. This glass sea is &ldquo;clear as crystal&rdquo;- which is the very metaphor used to describe the Kingdom conditions (Rev. 21:11; 22:1). Again and again, Revelation 4 uses the language of the period surrounding the establishment of God&rsquo;s Kingdom on earth. It&rsquo;s a prophetic vision of the things which shall be &ldquo;hereafter&rdquo; (4:1), rather than a description of how things were in Heaven at John&rsquo;s time and how they have been &lsquo;up there&rsquo; for the last 2000 years.</p><p>In confirmation of this, note that the whole scene happens &ldquo;in front of the throne&rdquo;, but this phrase is repeatedly used later in Revelation to speak of the situation before the judgment throne of the Father and Son, when this as it were is set up on earth. Before that throne the faithful shall be found faultless (14:5), and they sing before that throne a new song because of their triumph (14:3). Those who overcome the tribulation of the last days are found &ldquo;before the throne&rdquo; (7:9,11,15). So what we are seeing in chapter 4 happening &lsquo;before the throne&rsquo; is not a mere description of &lsquo;what was going on before God&rsquo;s throne at John&rsquo;s time, and has been going on all along since then&rsquo;. No. This is about what shall happen before that throne <em>at the day of judgment at the second coming</em>. That is the time referent of Revelation&rsquo;s language of &ldquo;before the throne&rdquo;. For the sea of humanity is hardly calm as crystal glass before His throne, and will not be until the last day.</p><p><em>And in the midst of the throne and round about the throne, four living creatures full of eyes before and behind</em>- There are evident similarities between Ezekiel's cherubim, and the four living creatures of Rev. 4. They are both described as &quot;full of eyes&quot; (Ez. 1:18 = Rev. 4:6), with four very similar faces (lion, calf, man, eagle in Rev. 4:7 = lion, ox, man, eagle in Ez. 1:10); and both have wings (Rev. 4:8 = Ez. 1:8). Yet the living creatures of Revelation speak of being redeemed by the blood of Christ and made king-priests in God's Kingdom (Rev. 5:8-10)- as if they are the redeemed people of God. The four faces are likely to be connected with the four standards of the tribes of Israel (Lion = Judah, Man = Reuben, Ox = Ephraim, Eagle = Dan). Each of those tribes had two other tribes assigned to them in the encampment procedures of Num. 2. There is extra-Biblical tradition that the cherubim in Solomon's temple had the same four faces which Ezekiel saw on the cherubim- lion, ox, man and eagle. Those to whom Ezekiel related his vision would have immediately understood the point- that the earthly sanctuary was a reflection of the Heavenly, and that above that was a huge Angelic system operating, which also represented God's people- them. But that huge system was to remove to Babylon, and then the final visions of Ezekiel show that glory returning. Ezekiel, as the representative &quot;son of man&quot; as he's so often styled, was caught up within that system and transported at ease between Babylon and Jerusalem- and those who wanted to opt in with God and His Angels could likewise be taken to Babylon and returned. Those who chose to remain in Babylon were therefore resisting being part of an awesome system of God manifestation and Angelic operation. We have that same choice in things great and small today.</p><p>We have just read that the faithful shall share His throne (3:21). And exactly there is where we find the living creatures. The &quot;four living creatures&quot; are a means of expressing God's manifestation, be it in Angels or Israel in the past. But now, at the point of the last day of which this vision speaks, the reference is to us. This is why we / they are both in the midst of the throne and round about it. We are in one sense before the throne, receiving His grace, casting our crowns there (:10); and in another sense, sharing with Him in His throne itself.</p>