Revelation 4 Footnotes

4:6-8 The “four living creatures” are angels. They are similar to—if not the same as—the cherubim in Ezk 1 and 10. Those angels were in proximity to a throne and accompanied the Shekinah glory as it departed the temple before the Babylonians destroyed it. Since the divine glory is to return to some future temple (Ezk 43:1-5), perhaps the four living creatures remain in the presence of God’s glory, awaiting that return.