The Four Faces Of The Cherubim And The Beasts

The Four Faces Of The Cherubim And The Beasts

Ezekiel 1:10 As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle.

Ezekiel 10:14 And every one had four faces: the first face was the face of a cherub, and the second face was the face of a man, and the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.

Revelation 4:6-7 And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind. And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle.

I always wondered why there were three different orders given for the faces of the cherubim in Ezekiel and the beasts presented in Revelation. These are not the same creatures. Each cherubim has four different faces. There are only four beasts, and each one has only one face, but we see that all four faces are represented between them. These four faces picture the Lord Jesus Christ in His fourfold presentation in the Gospels.

The face of a lion - Matthew, the King of the Jews, the King of Kings.

The face of an ox/calf/cherub - Mark, the servant of the Lord.

The face of a man - Luke, the perfect Man, the Son of Man.

The face of an eagle - John, the Son of God, Jesus' deity.

Regardless of their order, all four faces picture the Lord Jesus Christ, but what is the significance of these different presentations? Here are my thoughts.

1) Revelation 4:6-7 And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind. And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle.

I find it intriguing that the exact order of the four beasts shown in Revelation 4:6-7 is the same order as the books in our New Testament - and this was given by God in the last book of the Bible as it was written, before it was compiled together as one volume (by man). God determined the order of the books in our New Testament, not man.

Now back to Ezekiel.

2) Ezekiel 1:10 As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle.

We first see the cherubims described with the face of a man, then a lion, then an ox, and finally as an eagle. Ezekiel is the Old Testament book that uses the title or name son of man the most. In fact, it is used 93 times in reference to Ezekiel - a prophet, a servant, a human - and after the time of the prophets, this term became associated with the Messiah, and is used that way in the New Testament. Jesus is both the Son of God and the Son of Man - God manifest in the flesh, God and Man in one.

We have first the humanity of Jesus being emphasized - that humanity was evenly split between Jesus being the King and the Servant. In fact, His first coming was as a servant:

Luke 19:10 For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.

His second coming will be as the King:

Revelation 19:16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

But behind all this, the Messiah was still God!

3) Ezekiel 10:14 And every one had four faces: the first face was the face of a cherub, and the second face was the face of a man, and the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.

If you compare these three passages, you will find the face of a cherub is the same as the face of an ox and a calf. This indicates the Messiah would be a servant, a beast of burden going to the sacrifice. This makes sense if you consider that angels are meant to be servants as well - servants both to God and man. (See Hebrews 1:14.)

So here we have Christ presented as a Servant, lowest of the low, then as a Man. Jesus showed His submission to the Father by leaving Heaven to become a servant, a Man. Then we see Him as king. First as a servant, then as a King. Then ultimately, ruling and reigning - not just as a king, but as God.

We see the same thing presented in the following passage:

Philippians 2:5-11 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Humbled as a Servant, leaving Heaven’s glory to become a Man, then exalted as King of kings, exalted in His heavenly glory.

There are no unnecessary words or descriptions in the Bible. Each word serves its part and presents the pictures the Holy Spirit chose to portray from all eternity.

June 28th, 2026
Jerry Bouey

For a more indepth look at the Bible's fourfold presentation of Jesus Christ, please read the following studies:

Behold: A Fivefold Picture - Part One

Behold: A Fivefold Picture - Part Two

Israel Coming Together As A Nation In 1948

Israel Coming Together As A Nation In 1948

Have you ever read Robert Anderson’s The Coming Prince? In the book he calculated how to show when the Old Testament showed the Messiah would come. Using Daniel’s prophecy of the 70 weeks (70 x 7 years, 490 years). According to the context, the weeks referred to are weeks of years - ie. each week is seven years; therefore 70 weeks would equal 490 years.

Daniel 9:24-27 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

The first 69 weeks (483 years) led to Messiah the Prince (the last seven being the 7 year tribulation period, which is still to come and which the book of Revelation primarily focusses on). Dating from the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem - which historically was 445 BC - 483 years comes out to April 6, 32 AD, to the exact date.

Nehemiah 2:1 And it came to pass in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that wine was before him: and I took up the wine, and gave it unto the king. Now I had not been beforetime sad in his presence.

See also Nehemiah 2:2-8. Nehemiah spoke to king Artaxerxes, and a decree was made in the twentieth year of his reign that Jerusalem could be restored and rebuilt.

Robert Anderson got his calculations by taking 483 years, times 360 days per year (as Revelation shows the Jewish year is), divided by our calendar year of 365 days a year. (See Revelation 11:2-3. 42 months for the last 3 1/2 years times 30 days a month equals 1260 days.)

483 x 360 (the Jewish year) = 173,880 days

Divided by 365 (our modern calendar year) = 476.38 years

Minus 445 BC takes us to 31.38 AD (now add one year because there is no year 0)

That takes us to April 6, 32 AD.

Several years ago, I was reminded of something I had read where the calculations of several Bible passages also came out to 1948. I did not create this formula, but tried to recreate something I had read 20 or more years prior to this.

I was reading Ezekiel 4 this morning.

Ezekiel 4:4-6 Lie thou also upon thy left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it: according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon it thou shalt bear their iniquity. For I have laid upon thee the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days: so shalt thou bear the iniquity of the house of Israel. And when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on thy right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed thee each day for a year.

Using the same calculations Robert Anderson used to calculate the date when Jesus came riding into Jerusalem on a donkey (Palm Sunday, April 6, 32 AD).

Ezekiel 4:1-8: 390 days + 40 days = 430 days.

A day for a year: 430 years. Minus 70 years of captivity. 360 years then times 7.

430 days - a day for a year - 430 years minus the seventy years in Babylon. Then times 7 according to Leviticus 26. Please see the whole chapter for context.

Leviticus 26:18 And if ye will not yet for all this hearken unto me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins.

Leviticus 26:21 And if ye walk contrary unto me, and will not hearken unto me; I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins.

Leviticus 26:23-24 And if ye will not be reformed by me by these things, but will walk contrary unto me; Then will I also walk contrary unto you, and will punish you yet seven times for your sins.

Leviticus 26:27-28 And if ye will not for all this hearken unto me, but walk contrary unto me; Then I will walk contrary unto you also in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins.

If Israel kept walking in rebellion against the Lord, they would be punished seven times more for their sins. Only some of the nation went back to Jerusalem after being released from their Babylonian captivity. The final judgement in Leviticus 26 was for the Jews being scattered around the world in exile, in the lands of their enemies.

Now consider the following calculations, using the same method that Robert Anderson used to determine when Jesus entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday in AD 32. There are yet 360 years of punishment remaining out of the 430 years that God said He would judge them and scatter them among the nations.

360 years x 7 = 2520 years

2520 x 360 days a year (for the Jewish year) then divided by 365 days a year (for our years)

2520 x 360 = 907,200 days

divided by 365 = 2485.48 (rounded up)

According to Wikipedia, the seventy year Babylonian captivity ended in 538 BC

2485.48 minus 538 gives us 1947.48 years (add one year because there is no year 0)

If this part matters, it should be easy to verify again, but from what I recall, when they were released from the Babylonian captivity, it was supposedly in the fall. 1948 and 1/2 years brings us to spring 1948.

Using Robert Anderson's calculations (which MANY believe are right on), and several Bible passages about judgement on the nation of Israel, we can see that this presents a pretty clear calculation to the year 1948, when Israel became a nation again on May 14, 1948.

Some food for thought for those who deny that the nation of Israel that came together in 1948 is in fact the same nation that God made His everlasting covenant with all those years ago. Though they were put on the shelf for close to 1900 years, God is not finished with them yet!

Written out on July 6th, 2026
Jerry Bouey