Day of Praise

Wed, 12/28/16, 4th Day of Christmas, "Day of Praise"

"Around the throne, and on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with a face like a human face, and the fourth living creature like a flying eagle. And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and inside. Day and night without ceasing they sing, 'Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God the Almighty, who was and is and is to come.'" - Revelation 4:6-8

On the fourth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me four living creatures that are talked about in today's verses from Revelation and in the Bible book of Ezekiel. 

The symbolism here is simple and amazing, or, shall we say, simply amazing. So, knowing there's always more we could say, let's keep it simple. 

First, in the Bible, multiples of four always have to do with God's work to increase faith, especially 4, 8, 12, 24, 40, 400, and 4,000, as in 40 years of wilderness for the Israelites and Jesus feeding the 4,000. 

Second, four is also the number of the earth and all humanity, as in all people from all four corners of the earth: north, south, east, and west. 

And, third, four is the number of Gospel books in the Bible, as in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, where the Gospels are traditionally associated with the lion, ox, man, and eagle that are spoken of in today's Bible verses. The matching of the pairs varied amongst the now-famous early Christians: Irenaeus, Augustine, and Jerome. 

If you put the last three paragraphs together, this is what you get: God wants faith in the good news of Jesus, which is known as the Gospel, to be built up in all the earth and to touch all creatures of land, sea, and air. This is prophesied by God in Isaiah 65:25 and 11:6, saying, "The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them." The "little child," of course, is fulfilled in Christmas, the birth of the baby Jesus. 

Merry Christmas Day #4! May God build up your faith through the good news of Jesus so that you know God's powerful and peaceful presence wherever you go over all the earth. 

Praise God!

Pastor Chris 
"The gospel is the story of Jesus [what God's only Son has done for us that we can't do for ourselves], spoken as a promise." - Robert Jenson