In Reply to: Re: A vain God? posted by FRED on February 20, 2006 at 05:02:10:
Hi FRED,
You asked, I still don't understand even if its not literal tha God created these beasts to worship Him 24/7 But then is that the right translation of the text?
In your original post you also asked a question re: what is the correct text of the Bible, & when I get some time I’ll give a brief synopsis on textual transmission, translation, understanding text in its cultural context, etc. but for now the text in question reads, they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty. Obviously, this is a symbolic word-picture, since there is probably neither day nor night in heaven, since the city has no need of the sun or the moon to shine in it (Rev.21:23). Good thing, I guess, since the pyramid sex-city is hidden inside the moon where the moon’s light couldn’t reach it. (Oops, slipped back into my cult mindset for a second. I rebuke thee, Oplexicon! .... There, I’m better now.)
As far as worshiping God 24/7, or day & night, all the time, I think it’s like if I could paint (I can’t) & I made a beautiful oil painting, the painting would ‘praise’ me in the sense that it is an enduring testimony to the talent & creativity I had. Everyone who saw it would oooh and ahhh over it if it was truly good -- like what I said about a beautiful butterfly going past. By it’s very existence, it’s praising God. Without a word or a sound, without even thinking of God or knowing he exists, the butterfly is praise. I think the four beasts serve a similar purpose
As you probably know, it was a common thing for kings to have chained beasts around their thrones. King Solomon didn’t have the live ones, but he had six golden lions on both sides of the steps leading up to this throne. Many commentators believe the four beasts serve that purpose, that they are there as symbolic honor guards.
BTW, more indication that these beasts are symbolic: when they appear in Revelation, one beast was like a lion, one like a calf, one like a man & one like an eagle (Rev.4:7). Yet in Ezekiel 1:10 EACH of the four beasts had all four of the faces on them. This stuff is clearly symbolic.