In this sermon, the speaker discusses the importance of working diligently and being fully committed to serving God. He refers to the six wings of the heavenly creatures mentioned in Isaiah chapter six, highlighting their swiftness and completeness. The speaker emphasizes the need to have the characteristics of these creatures, such as being bold like a lion and being diligent like a man. He also mentions the transcendent nature of God's throne and how studying the book of Revelation can bring new understanding and blessings.

One hundred and seventy-five, please. Nine, seven, five. The pounds of time are sinking, the dawn of heaven breaks, the summer morn I've tried for, the fair sweet morn awakes. Dark, dark hath been the midnight, but day-spring is at hand, and glory dwelleth in Emmanuel's land. Nine, seven, five, please. And we're looking very closely from verse six to the end of the chapter this evening. Six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven. Just six verses this evening. Book of the Revelation, chapter four, from verse six to the end of the chapter. And I want to impress upon you that the theme that we're studying this evening is in heaven. You remember in the first three chapters of the Book of the Revelation that John the Apostle, who is the writer here, he was on the isle called Patmos. One day while I was flying over the Aegean Sea, I asked the pilot, could he point out Patmos to me? And he not only did so, but dropped the plane down and let me have a sort of look at it. So it's a way down in the heart of the Aegean Sea there, and that's where John was situated in the first three chapters of the Book of the Revelation. And not only do we see John on Patmos in those chapters, but we see our Lord Jesus walking in the midst of the churches. But last week we found out that the theme changed at chapter four. See, verse one, John said, after this, I looked and behold a door was opened in heaven, and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me, which said, Come up, heaven. And verse two says, and immediately I was in the spirit, and behold a throne was set in heaven. So in chapter four, John was taken from Patmos, the island, to paradise, to heaven. And the scene is now in heaven. Last week we looked up the journey of John from earth to heaven, just in a moment of silence. And you know, I believe it prefigured the time when the Lord Jesus will come to the air and He will shout. And if you had asked me what He was shouting, I should have to say, He's shouting, Come up, heaven, for the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven one of these days with a shout and with the voice of the archangel. And the dead who have died in Christ will rise first, and we believers which are alive and remain at that moment will be caught up together with them to meet the Lord in the air. Just in a moment of time, that's how the Bible describes it. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. What a blessed moment that will be for some of us. That would end the problems and the difficulties and the darkness and the dangers of the day. And Jesus will most surely come again. And we looked up the journey of John last week, and we looked up the confidence of Christ, because it was Christ who said to John, Come up, heaven. He was quite confident that he had power to take John immediately from Passamoth to paradise. He hadn't any doubts at all about it. And he was quite confident about this. He said, Come up, heaven, and I will show thee things which must be hereafter. You see, our Lord Jesus Christ knows every step of the success. He was quite confident that he could outline the things which must be hereafter. And it's true that in this chapter and in the next one, chapters four and five, we're just looking up a thing in heaven. Wonderful things, this thing is in heaven. But when we get along to chapter six, we begin to see the things that must take place on earth hereafter. And they are dreadful things. And when we start chapter six, friends, there will be times when you will quake as you see the things that must take place in this very world of ours. So last week we looked up the journey of John and the confidence of Christ, and then we looked up the transcendence of the throne. I pointed out to you about six or seven different things about the throne of God last week. And so many came, and others had been ringing up, and I've had a letter or two saying that God really blessed them. There's an old saint here, a dear saint, I should say. And he said to me, I've studied this book of Revelation all my life, and it was only last week that I was beginning to see things. And that's a very great compliment to me. And so we looked last week at the journey of John and the confidence of Christ and the transcendence of the throne. Now, in these verses this evening, in these six verses, we don't look up the excellency of these elders. We just touched on their identification last week. But you'll notice we're going to have a good look at their position. They're seated in heaven. And we're going to look at their possessions, what God is crowned with. And we're going to look at their performance and their persuasion and their faith. We're going to take time to look at the excellency of the elders. And then we'll spend most of the time looking at the business of these beasts. Because there are four beasts mentioned in this paragraph this evening, and they seem to puzzle many expositors, and I don't know why. But we're going to look at the excellency of the elders and the business of the beasts this evening. Just for some of you who were not here last week, who are these elders? Look at their store. And round about the throne were four and twenty seats. And upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment, and they had on their heads crowns of gold. And you might rightly ask, who are these elders? Well, the very fact that they're called elders will teach you that they are not angels. No fair in this book is an angel ever called an angel. So we'll rule out the angels. Who are these elders? If you slip into chapter five, and we'll do this properly when we come to the chapter, but let me steal this bit out of it now, verse eight. And when he, the Lord Jesus, had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them hot and golden vials to the border of which are the prayers of saints. And they sung a new song, that is, the elders sung this new song, saying, Thou art worthy, they're saying to the Lamb, Thou art worthy to take the book and to open the seals thereof, for Thou wast slain, and the men bring salvation, and hast redeemed us to God by Thy blood. And people in Nathanael, you should have no trouble with it after that. These elders are the redeemed in heaven. It's one of the figures of speech that the Lord takes to let us see the whole redeemed force in heaven. Why twenty-four? Well, if you go back to the old economy, the state in the old economy came from the twelve tribesmen. And if you take the church in the new economy, it was founded on the twelve apostles. It was built on the apostles and prophets. And I think the two twelves put together, making twenty-four, brings us a full old picture of all the redeemed. Old and new. Because they without us shall not be made perfect. I don't think there are any arguments left about who they are. They're redeemed out of every kindred and tongue and people and nation, and they owe everything to the man that was slain and the blood that was shed. So I don't think there's any problems with the identification. Now, there's something here when you see them seated. You see, upon the seat I saw four and twenty elders sitting. You know, when our Lord Jesus Christ went back to heaven, you remember that he left the Mount of Olives, and he was taken up, and the clouds received him out of the sight of his beloved followers. And it said this, when he had by himself purged our sin, he sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high. What a wonderful moment it was when Christ went back to glory. And the moment that he entered the glory land, all the angels in heaven bowed before him. And he went right up through the center of that long avenue of millions, of millions. They say, sit thou here. And he sat down. And he sat down because the work of redemption was finished. It was finished. On Calvary he finished. And when our saints preached, now the saints are sitting down in this chapter. The battle is over. The wilderness hath been traversed. Tonight the Lord is praying to us, Go ye into all the world. Why the Lord is teaching us today to run the race that is set before us. We're to go, we're to run. We're to earnestly contend for the faith. We're to fight the good fight of faith. We're to finish the course. You can't sit down until it's finished. So you can see that they're seekers. And he's just proclaiming that the work is finished. But don't only look at their position. Just look for a moment at their possessions. You can see these four hundred and twenty elders seated. Now they're clothed in white raiment. In leatheriness. And they had on their heads crowns of gold. You know, I think this is very special for all you who follow dispensational and prophetical truth. I think you know this about me turning to it, that when Paul talks about finishing the course, and he talked to Timothy in 1st Timothy, 2nd Timothy, chapter four, he said, I've fought the fight, I've fought the faith, I've finished the course. Then he said, whose fault there is made up for me a crown, a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give to me at that day, and not to me only, but to all them that love his appearing. And you know, Paul knew that although he was finishing the course just then, and in the moment or two he would be absent from the body and present with the Lord, he would not be crowned until the Lord would come for the rest of the saints. Oh well, they're all crowned here. Do you know what it means now? It means we're on the other side of the Lord's coming. He has come and he has taken us up, and whatever crowns could be righteously given to you, have got them. You know, Peter talks in his epistle that when the chief shepherds shall appear, and so many titles in this book about Christ's coming, sometimes it says the Lord himself shall appear, sometimes it says the righteous judge shall appear, sometimes it's the master of the house, sometimes it's the bridegroom. Peter calls him the chief shepherd. When the chief shepherds shall appear, he gives crowns of glory to those who were under shepherds all those who have fed the flock, who have opened the book, who have tried to teach its truths, who have got away from the bigotry of meetings. Some people may live for meetings. Oh, we pray. But those who have honestly dared to feed the flock, when the chief shepherds shall appear, they will receive a crown of glory which fadeth not away. I think that this is teaching us tonight that the Lord hath truly come at this place, and all the saints of whom, twenty-four elders is the figure of speech, and their crowns, whatever crowns rightfully belong to them, they have received them. And they're not only crowned, they're clothed. You know, this is very interesting that they're clothed in white raiment. Have a look at the book of the Revelation, chapter 19 just for a moment. The book of the Revelation, chapter 19, and verse 6. Revelation 19, verse 6. And John is speaking again and saying, And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thundering, saying, Alleluia, for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice and give honour to him, for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife, that is the bride, his wife hath made herself ready, and to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white, for the fine linen is the righteous net of saints. You see, I'm concluding that as we look into chapter 4 this evening, that surely we're seeing a scene in heaven after the Lord Jesus hath come and called his wishing people home. And here you see all the saints, all the redeemed, those who can sing, Thou hast redeemed us from every kindred and tongue and people and nation, and the rewards and the crowns have been given out. And here's the bride. She hath made herself ready, clothed in white, which is the righteousness of the saints. And I think you must notice this in this evening. You look at their performance, look down the chapter a little bit, you see verse 9, Revelation 4 verse 9, and when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth forever and ever, the four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne. You can see them bowing down and worship him that liveth forever and ever and count their crowns before the throne. There's not only a bowing down, there's a counting down. I remember Dr. Ironside saying in one of the meetings once, he said an old lady came to me once and said, Is it true that there will be rewards for those who have been faithful to the Lord at the end of the day? Yes, said the doctor, there will be rewards. There is the crown of righteousness. Of course it will only be given to those who have been really righteous. There is the crown of glory for shepherds or elders who have honestly fed the flock. There is the crown of rejoicing for those who have one man and woman for Christ. Of course it will be a great joy to see them in the glory. Old Rutherford said, If just one soul from my little village appears in heaven, then my heaven will be two heavens in Emmanuel's land. And the doctor went over all the crowns that's in this booklet, the rewards that will be. And the old lady said, tell me this Dr. When you live for God's arm here, are you really thinking about getting these crowns? I'm doing everything I can to get all. She said, I thought you just loved the Lord. She said, I didn't think you were looking for something. Then he said, you know what? But do you, the crowns when you get them, they cast them up and say, Do you have a crown? You might be just saved and no more. And so you can see them dying down and casting down. And then I want you to look at their persuasion. See verse 11. The 24 elders have just cast their crowns before the throne saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power for Thou hast created all things. Well, there'll be no Russell Lacks there. That's one thing sure. Because I can tell you that the Russell Lacks don't believe. They will never recognize. They'll know who the creator is. I'd be amused at these dopes, you know, that go around the doors. I'd be amused. They're always carrying a Bible below their arm and they don't seem to open it. But any one of them could look at chapter 1 of John's Gospel, could look at chapter 1 of the letters to the Colossians, and look at chapter 1 of the letters to the Hebrews, and go, let's do it from a young age. We read John's Gospel and read chapter 1. John 1. John begins his gospel like this. John chapter 1. In the beginning was the birds. And you'll notice there's a capital W after the word words. Now, if you look at the phrase carefully, you're bound to notice the word was. And it says, in the beginning was. The word. It simply means, when anything that ever had a beginning began, at that moment when anything that ever had a beginning began, the word was. The word never had a beginning. In the beginning, when anything that ever had a beginning began, the word was. So the word must be eternal then. And actually at the end of that verse it says, the word was God. I wonder that they can't read this. And it actually says, in the next verse, look at it, verse 2, the same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him. And without Him, was not anything made that was made. You know, the word was the maker. This is a really wonderful thing, you know. And yet, you know, when you go down the chapter to verse 14, you'll find that the word was made flesh and breath among us. And we beheld His glory. You know, here's the mystery of the information. Paul was right when he said this. He who was in the form of God, the thought of not offering to be equal with God, he humbled himself, he took upon him the form of a peasant, he made himself of no reputation. The word was made flesh. The whole deep truth is this, that God was manifest in flesh. My friends, surely you can see why. See, there's no problem at all. Have a look at Colossians 1, do you see? Philippians. Colossians. And there can be no mistakes about this one. Paul's talking about Christ in verse 14. He says, In whom, that is, in Christ, in God's Son, we have redemption through His blood. Even the forgiveness of sins. There's a whole lot of folks talk to me that you can't have forgiveness of sins until you're in eternity. I can tell you Paul didn't believe that's right. Paul says we have redemption through Christ's blood, even the forgiveness of sins. And this is what Paul preached. When he preached in the synagogue, he said, through this man has preached unto you the forgiveness of sins. This is what Peter preached. Peter said, to whoever believeth in him hath remission of all things. Yes, you know, Paul's talking about Christ and through His blood we have forgiveness of sins. He says, Who is the image of the invisible God? It's when He was down here, you know. People could see God in Him. No man has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, He hath declared Him. He came down here to let us see what God was like. And here's what it says about Him now. It says, For by Him, verse 16, by Him, were all things created that are in heaven, that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be forms or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created by Him and for Him. And He is before all things. And by Him all things consist. And He is the Head of the Body, the Church. It's Christ we're talking about. Surely you can see the Creator there. Have a look at Hebrews 1, do you see? And you young people remember, it's John 1, it's Colossians 1, it's Hebrews 1. This fills me because God the Father is talking to the Son here. See, verse 8, and remember it's God the Father who is speaking. The children may not ponder it at times, but we'll tidy it up sooner or later. The Father is speaking. Verse 8, But on through the Son, He says, thy throne, O God, He calls Him God. It's God the Father and God the Son together. Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever. A sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness and hated iniquity. Therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thyselves. And thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the works of thine hands. Surely you can understand that. Yes, you know our Lord Jesus laid the foundation of the earth. And you see all these planets that move round the sun in their orbits. We're learning so much more about this great, majestic solar system of ours, the heavens. Well, they're the works of Christ's hands. You know, when we go to heaven, we're going to worship Him as the Creator. They were persuaded about this. Let's get back to chapter 4. Because they're talking to Him and saying, verse 11, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power for Thou hast created all things. And here's the bit they were persuaded about. And for Thy pleasure they are, and they're created. You see, they are persuaded that He is the Creator. And they're persuaded that the creation was made for His pleasure. And I can tell you, He'll fill this earth with joy. And the glory of the Lord shall cover it one day as the waters cover the sea. If these elders, you can see them in all their excellency, you saw their position, seated, their possessions, clothed and crowned, their performance bowing down and casting down their persuasion, He is the Creator and the creation is for Him. Notice their praise. This is something that I'm thrilled about. It says in verse 10, The four and twenty elders fall down before Him that sat on the throne and worshipped Him. You know, if Jesus Christ is not God, you cannot worship Him. If they can fall down and worship Him, you know, even when He came to Bethlehem later through the desert desert and was born there and was laid in the manger, the wise men came from the east and fell down. And when He came to the throne, everybody in the boat fell down and worshipped Him. And John McNeill talks about that throne. He says there wasn't a unitary to be good old preacher then. Now here they'll worship again. Now here's something I want you to see. You know, as they cast their crowns before the throne, they look into His face and say, Thou art worthy, O Lord. You know, they're speaking to Him. Looking into His face. They're not far away from Him when you stay down. You're always better near the person. Thou. Now, when we consider these four beasts in a moment or two, let's go into chapter 5 just to get the hold of this before I go on. It says in verse 10, verse 11, chapter 5, And I beheld, that is, John was looking, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne, and the beasts, and the elders, and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands. And we're talking about angels there. I want you to get the picture. So the angels were round about the throne, and they were round about the beasts and round about the elders. You see, as I get the picture, I can see the throne that we looked at in all its transcendence last week. And then you can see the four beasts, and then you can see the elders, all the saints. And then on the outside of all that, you've got the angels. They're way on the outer flanks, you know. And I want you to notice this. The number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands. Over a million angels there, if you like to pick it up. Now, I want you to notice what they're doing. Saying with a loud voice. They're at the back of the crowd, you see. But they're saying this, Worthy is the Lamb. Now that's different from looking into a space and saying, Thou art worthy. Do you see the difference? Do you see these ones that are drawing near and saying, Thou art worthy. They've had the great experience of redemption. But you know, there's an old hymn that says, And when I go to heaven, angels fold their wings. For angels never knew the joy that my salvation brings. They were never saved, you know. They just know a thing or two. They just know that he's worthy. But they can't draw near and say, Thou art worthy. They just shout from the back of the crowd, Worthy is the Lamb. It's quite different. Can you say it? Could you look into a space that you're not into much? Could you speak into a hand and say, Thou art worthy, Lord. You have an experience of it. I think you can see the excellency of these elders. But I think the greater problem in the chapter is is not the transcendence of the throne or the excellency of the elders. I think it is beasts that give the trouble. Now let's get this very clear just now. We're at verse six. 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 who abide 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 of a man and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle. And the four beasts had each of them six wings about them and they were full of eyes within and they this, not they, and might saying, Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God Almighty which was, which is and is to come. And it's the whole story that's there. Now there have been great talks and arguments sometimes debates, very foolishly, about these beasts in heaven. Now there's another old translation that I have and it doesn't use the word beasts at all. And I think it's nearly the truth of the Greek that was really given at the beginning. It talks about four living creatures. I think the moment you put the word beasts in you get off the track in your mind somehow. Think of some sort of animal creature. I don't think it's like that at all. Let's go back to Ezekiel. The prophecy of Ezekiel and read chapter one. Ezekiel, chapter one. Take your time now and find the place. By Jeremiah, lamentation, Ezekiel. By Jeremiah, lamentation, Ezekiel. And Daniel after that. If you're at Daniel you go backwards. If you're at Isaiah you go forwards. Take your time now, you young ones. Find the place. But in the truth he led us. Once upon a time I couldn't find much more. We're at Ezekiel chapter one. It says therefore, And I looked and beheld a world when it came out of the north, a great cloud and a fire enfolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof of the colour of amber, out of the midst of the fire. Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. You see how they got it back there? I can't understand our translators sometimes, because they say four living creatures back here. They say four beasts in Revelation. And sometimes it takes us off the track. You see verse six, Everyone had four faces. Everyone had four wings. Verse ten, And as for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of the man on the right side. They four had the face of an ox on the left side. They four had the face of an eagle. Now, let's get the hold of this if we can. We've been looking at this thing in heaven, and the church has been translated, and all the redeemed are there. And we can see the glory of this throne, and we can see the one who sat upon it, the one who was the first and the last, the one who was God, the one who created all things. Now, round about the throne are these four living creatures. I think the moment we start saying it like that, we'll begin to get light. You see, we sort of differentiate between man and angel. Man and angel. And we also differentiate. I think that that's where we begin and end. We admit that the angels are superior to us, both in wisdom and power. And we know the angels are not men. You know, I've married a great many just at the front here, and sometimes when he stands there, and she's dressed lovely in white, veil on and all the rest of it, he thinks she's an angel. But he wakes up and says, you know about the couple, and one night he goes, well, that was it. And she said in a voice that she thought he wouldn't know, I'm the devil himself. He says, give me your hand, I've been married to you. Well, we make the difference. But I think if we studied this book a little bit more, we would find there are beings in heaven superior to angels. There are cherubims in heaven. And that's another order. Angels and cherubim. And there are seraphims. You're not quite as conversant with cherubims and seraphim as we are with angels. And we don't know the differentiation, but we often are. There are men and angels, and cherubims and seraphims, and there is only one archangel. I hear them talking sometimes about archangels, but I don't find it in this book. There is just one archangel, his name is Michael. And then of course there was Lucifer, who was higher than all we thought of. Man and angel and cherubim and seraphim and archangel and Lucifer, they're not there. Because he was made the highest of all. And so these living creatures, I believe, are the cherubims, are the seraphims. And I think we're going to see something about them. Let's have a look at Isaiah for the moment. We're going backwards now. Isaiah chapter six. Isaiah six, verse one. In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up on his throne to the temple, and above it stood the seraphims. As it were, each one had six wings, with twin he covered his face, with twin he covered his feet, with twin he did fly. And one cried unto another and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of his glory. Now I think it's these seraphims that we are dealing with tonight, but let's get back here to the book of Revelation. And we'll not say four beasts anymore, because I think this puts our thinking wrong. Particularly our translators didn't keep to what they had begun way back in the Old Testament. Now these four living creatures, Joseph says, and in the midst of the throne, and right about the throne, were four living creatures, full of eyes, before and behind. Now, why is that put just exactly like that? You see, I'm sure that these four living creatures have a lot to do with this earth, and especially with Israel. Because you can see that when Ezekiel was there, then these four living creatures appeared. And when Isaiah was being commissioned, then of course, here they come again. And we're just about to enter into chapter 6, where God is going to deal with this earth, and especially with Israel, because the church has gone home. Now I'm sure that these four living creatures have a lot to do with this earth, and its judgment, and especially with Israel. And I think that God has given them a knowledge of all that is past. That's the eyes behind the vision of the past. And I think that God has given them a vision of everything that's going to happen that must come to pass hereafter. I think they know it all. Don't limit them to your little mental ability. They know all that's past, and they know all that's to come. I think it's very wonderfully beautiful. Let's skip all of this. I think you can see the fullness of vision that's there. And then I want you to see this bit. It says verse 7, and the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf or an ox, and the third beast had a face of a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle. Now these are characteristic features of these beings. And I can tell you that this is very thrilling. You see, they are servants of God, and they've got some sort of business with this earth, and especially with Israel, and this is how they serve God. But I've noticed this, that it matters not who serves God. They will need to have these four characteristic features. If you take our Lord Jesus Christ, and he was the great servant, God looked at him and said, Behold my servant whom I oppose, my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. There were times when Christ had the face of a lion. Look at the Pharisees, and say, Woe unto you, Pharisees! Christ's death occurs. Full of dead men, bones and rottenness, how can he escape the damnation of hell? It took a big man to do that. When he walked into the temple and took the end of the table of the money changers, and toppled an armory, you can hear the clatter of the money. It took a great man to do it. And if you're going to be any good for God, there are times when you have to have the face of a lion. Because every servant of God needs to be like the ox or the cow. You see, this is the beast of burden in the Far East, and sometimes the only sacrifice is there. And our Lord Jesus Christ was a great labourer. Yet, he took the yoke on his neck, and at the end sacrificed himself. And I don't know any other way of serving God. There is one thing that must always be in the servant of God. There are times when he must look you full in the face and tell you what he thinks. And he would be no use to God if he doesn't. He has to be like a lion. He has to return to work like the ox, and maybe die in sacrifice. He has to be a man. He has to have all the feelings of a real man. Sometimes the kids come in here, I call them kids, their glasses are 21, 22, some of the boys, sit down and tell me their problems. And I swear to poor God, never to tell any woman of her problems. They think I don't know sometimes. They think I don't know their temptations. They think I don't know anything about it, and I know everything, because I know nothing. And they have to come and fight with me. And I have to be, I have to be able to cry with those that cry. I have to sit down and understand what a wee fellow, what a wee lass is going through. One of them came to me not so long ago, and cried and said, when I tell you this, you'll be mad. And then when I understood and left with her, she told a friend, she said, you know, you wouldn't think there was any sympathy in them. But there is, you know. You come and try me, PC. Oh, I know I have to go about like a lion here sometimes. But I'm a very human being. And I'd be no use to God if I'm not. You know, the eagle is the bird that lives in the heavens. And I assure you that I was at this book this morning before you were out of your bed. I was at the book at half four this morning, and I'm sure you weren't out of your bed. And I have to live on half of the day in the heavens if I'm going to get any life or any health at all. It's got to be up there, most of it. Yes, these characteristic features of these great serpents are the characteristic features that within the Lord, if you like to prove it through young folks, that within John the Baptist, that within Paul, that needs to be in every servant. Sometimes I'm asked along to a pastor's induction when a young man is going to take over a church, they ask me along to give them the charge, what is to do, and how often I've taken these four features and I've said, you will need to be like a lion. Don't let them scare you. You bother scaring me. And you won't scare me. Now, you won't muzzle me either. Listen, I need to be like a lion. You need to look as you're going to be in this business. If you've got emotion that you can quite go for, we can come here and keep this flock here also. You need to work the shirt of your back. You need to be a man all the time. You need to be able to laugh and cry. But you'll need to live in the heavens. Yes, these great characteristic features are here. And you can see the completeness of the union that they make. And I want you to look at this. You see the six wings that are here? It has them. And the four beasts have each of them six wings about them. And I call that the swiftness of action. But if I were going back to Isaiah chapter six, you would find that with two wings he covered his face, and with two wings he covered his feet. You know, he was very quick to cover himself. That's where the swiftness came in. He was quick to cover himself. He made the Lord to get all the glory. And he was quick to do the Lord's will. There were two wings still left. They're great creatures. And you can see that, can't you? Not only is the bigness of the beast seen in the fullness of vision and the completeness of union and the swiftness of action, but look at the restlessness of adoration. And the four beasts had each of them six wings about them and there were two divides within. And they rest not day and night. Some old critic came to me once and said, why did John say day and night? Sure, there's no night in heaven. There's no night there. He said, that's very true. But I would like you to get the idea into your mind that when John here is in heaven, he's prefiguring the church in heaven, all the redeems. I will, at that moment, there's a lot of things going on on earth. And these four beasts have to do with earth. And they stop not day and night. It's just because they have to do with earth and it's the language of earth. I don't know what they get things like that to talk about for. I want you to get the hold of this. Do you see what they say? Rest not day and night saying, Holy, Holy, Holy. Is there a reference to the Trinity there? I believe there is. Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God Almighty. Is there a reference to the Almighty there? And there is. Now watch this. Which was and is and is to come. Is there a reference to the eternal there? I think the Trinity and the Almighty and the eternal are ever in the mind of these great servants and that should be so with us. So we've got through the chapter. Next week we're starting into a great one. And then when we conclude chapter five, we're into the things that must take place hereafter on this very planet of ours. Take time to sing a couple of verses tonight. One, six, three please. One hundred and sixty three. It may be at morn when the day is waking, when sunlight through darkness and shadow is breaking, that Jesus will come in the fullness of glory to receive from the world his own. First and last verses. One, six, three please. Dear Lord, part us in thy fear and with thy blessing take us to our homes and station through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.