Apocalyptic Theme: Beasts, Dragons, and Rainbows

In chapter 4 of the Book of Revelation, we move from John's immediate world (letters to the 7 churches) to those things that will be hereafter. (Rev. 4:1)

John was shown a doors opened in heaven and John, in the spirit, enters the door and sees a throne set in heaven. (Rev. 4: 2) 

On the throne, he sees the perfected, celestial Christ. He is described as having a brightness and glory such that it was like looking at magnificent jewels. Surrounding the throne are 24 elders sitting on golden chairs, dressed in white, with gold crowns upon their heads.  In front of the throne, there were 4 strange beasts.  Most interesting to me is the rainbow which surrounds the throne, a token of an ancient covenant.

The only other place that we meet the rainbow is in the Book of Genesis.  In that context, the rainbow is introduced as a token of the covenant between God and the entire earth, not just with man, but with creatures as well.  Seeing Christ on His throne, surrounded by the rainbow, is God's reminder of the covenant that God will not destroy the earth as He promised.  He will destroy the wicked off the earth, but those who keep their covenants will not be destroyed.

Joseph Smith taught that the four and twenty elders were real men, priesthood holders and apostles. I can imagine Peter and James, Paul and Stephen.  How thrilling that must have been to John, who had known these men in life, to see them in a glorified celestial state surrounding Christ's throne.  In Hebrew, the number 12 is the number of the priesthood and 24 would be double 12, indicating the many who will be saved.

In front of the throne, John saw four strange beast full of wings and eyes.  These beasts are symbolic of real animals who have been resurrected with knowledge (the eyes) and wisdom, capable of knowing and worshipping Christ, their Creator.  John tells us that they rested not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty . . .. (Rev. 4: 7-8)

(If you have ever wondered if dogs really do go to heaven, apparently they do!)

Other Beasts

Later in John's book we meet other beasts representing degenerate kingdoms of the earth, similar to the ones described by the Prophet Daniel in chapter seven of his book. In Revelation, we also meet these degenerate beasts, as well as a lamb with horns, a monster coming from the sea (chaos) and a dragon, representing Satan (just as it did as a serpent in Genesis.  I will discuss these in length in a future post.

One of the key themes in Revelation is the ongoing battle between good and evil.  It began in the preexistence with a war in heaven (Rev. 12:7) and has continued throughout human history. One facet of this war is Satan's propensity to create counterfeits and the Book of Revelation is full of them. These counterfeits and the war they represent will be discussed later.  It behooves us to understand them so that we can see in our own day and time people who masquerade as lambs but who are inwardly ravenous beast who serve the dragon.

© December 25, 2019, Kathleen Rawlings Buntin Danielson