Introduction
Ezekiel 1:5-11 Also from within it came the likeness of four living creatures. 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 color 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 stretched upward; two wings of each one touched one another, and two covered their bodies.
This is a the parallel portion of scripture in Revelation.
Revelation 4:6-8 Before the throne was a glassy sea, similar to crystal. And in the center of the throne, and around the throne, were four creatures covered with eyes front and back.
7 The first creature was like a lion, the second creature like an ox, the third creature had a face like a man, and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle.
8 Each of the four creatures had six wings covered with eyes outside and inside. And they take no rest day or night, saying: “Holy, holy, holy, Master God, SOVEREIGN OVER ALL, who was, and is, and who is to come.”
Meaning
In Ezekiel 1:5-21, the four faces of the four creatures are oriented towards the four points of the compass, and they do not change their orientation when they move. Ezekiel saw the four creatures coming towards him out of the north.
The face of each creature that he saw towards him (south) was the Man; the face of the Ox on each creature was towards the left (west); the face of the Lion was towards the right (east); the face of the eagle towards the rear (north).
The Lion of Judah is a representation of Jesus as the Anointed King (Rev. 5:5).
The Lion faces east because the arrival of His Kingdom is likened to the dawn (Mal. 4:1-3). In Zech 6:2 LXX, a prophecy of the name of the Messiah is found. Zechariah was instructed to fashion crowns of silver and gold and place them on the head of Jesus (Joshua) the High Priest. Then he prophesied saying: “Behold the Man, the East, the name is in Him”. When Jesus returns, He will appear out of the east and streak across the sky as lightening (Matt. 24:27).
The ox symbolizes Jesus’ mission extended through His Emissaries, bringing the Good News of the Kingdom to all nations (1 Cor. 9:1-27).
1 Corinthians 9:9 For it is written in the law of Moses, “YOU SHALL NOT MUZZLE AN OX WHILE IT TREADS OUT THE GRAIN.” Is it oxen God is concerned about?
The Breath of God moved the Gospel steadily west from Jerusalem through Turkey. Paul was forbidden by the Breath from going east (Acts 16:6-12). Instead, the Breath of God swept the Gospel across the Roman Empire all the way to Great Britain. From there the Breath moved the Gospel westward to America, and from America across the Pacific westward to the Far East. From China it is now marching west as the Breath moves through Muslim countries, and will eventually reach Jerusalem again when the Jewish remnant embraces Christ as His coming.
The face of a Man symbolizes the full humanity of Jesus, who will reign over the creation as “Man” (Gen. 1:26, 28; Psalm 8:4-9; Heb. 2:5-9). He faces south because He comes to the land from the sky.
The Eagle symbolizes the preexistent Logos, the one who “ascended and descended” (Prov. 30:4; John 3:13; Eph. 4:8-10). He faces north looking back towards the Father in the sky (Isa. 14:13) from where He came (John 6:38; John 16:28).
According to Isaiah 6:2,6, the six-winged creatures are “Seraphim,” plural of “Seraph,” which means “burning.”
Living as a Christian in this World 