Who are the 4 living creatures/beings and 24 elders of Revelation 4, 5 and 19? (The KJV uses the word 'beasts' but many other translations use 'living creatures' or 'living beings' (including both the Complete Jewish Bible and the Orthodox Jewish Bible). 'Beast' has a connotation of animalistic so I have chosen to use living creatures. The 24 elders are also mentioned in Rev 11 but without the living creatures.
Is there anything significant in the use of "living" as an adjective for the 4 creatures. In both chapters they worship and they speak. This would seem by itself to indicate they were/are alive, so why the explicit adjective? In Rev 4 these living creatures are described as looking like 1) a lion 2) an ox 3) a man and 4) a flying eagle (wings spread?). All are "covered in eyes, front and back ... even under its wings" and all have 6 wings. What is the significance of these descriptions?
The term "elder" has a connotation of a role of wise leadership or advisorship (due to extensive experience that only time can ensure) in churches but also in traditional societies. To and for whom are these elders leaders or advisors, and why 24? (The Amplified Bible, Classical Edition has a note on Rev 4:4 referring to George R. Berry, Greek-English New Testament Lexicon, the 24 elders on their thrones suggest "the heavenly Sanhedrin")
Ezekial saw "four living creatures" in one of his visions, but all had the appearance of "human beings" except that they had four faces, so these would seem to be different from the living beings that John writes of in Revelation.
Hello, consider please,
“Living Creatures”:
Ezekiel 1:5,13,14,15,19, 3:13, 10:1,2,3,5,6,7,8,9,15,16,18,19,20, 11:22; “four beasts”: Revelation 4:6,8, 5:6,8,11,14, 6:1,6, 7:11, 14:3, 15:7, 19:4.
“Four and Twenty Elders”, the leaders of the other unfallen worlds:
Revelation 4:4,10, 5:5,6,8,11,14, 7:11,13, 11:16, 14:3, 19:4,
see also “ancients”: Isaiah 24:23
In short, the 4 "living creatures", or the "four beasts" are all the unfallen peoples of the unfallen worlds, a represenation of the universal Kingdom of God. A beast in prophecy, is a Kingdom, or Nation, or political body of persons [Daniel 7:17,19 KJB, etc, such as: Genesis 49:9; Isaiah 27:1, 46:11; Jeremiah 4:7, 5:6, 12:8, 25:38, 49:19, 50:44; Ezekiel 17:3,7, 32:2; Daniel 7:7,19,23, 8:20,21; Joel 1:6; Micah 5:8; Revelation 13:1,2,3,7,11,12, 17:3,7,8,11,12, etc., KJB].
The number 4, is the universal number [Genesis 2:10; Exodus 20:8-11 KJB, see four winds, north, south, east and west, four corners, four quarters, the four things in Proverbs, etc, etc], the number of the 4 quarters of space and time [as in the 4th generation]. Thus they represent all of the Heavenly kingdom of God before His throne, all the unfallen worlds circling the throne of Deity. Each of the four faces, represent a character of God, Godly, Kingly, Exalted, Humble, even as the Four Gospels portray Jesus, etc.
In short, the 24 "Elders" or "ancients", are the Heavenly council, the 'presbyters' [if you please], of the unfallen Leaders of the unfallen worlds, the very
“sons of God” who rule the unfallen worlds, as Adam [Luke 3:38 KJB], the first [1 Corinthians 15:45,46,47 KJB], on earth had [Genesis 1:26,28; Psalms 8:5 KJB] before his fall, and the angelic
“morning stars. They are the central representation of all the unfallen worlds, the General Conference of Heaven if you please. They are
not human [but take the prayers of the saints on earth before God, Revelation 5:7-8 KJB, as this is what unfallen Heavenly beings do, Daniel 9:21-23; Matthew 18:10; Acts 10:3-4 KJB, etc]. Also there are 24 hours in a day, which also corresponds with time, 12 hours in the daytime [John 11:9 KJB], 12 in the nighttime [Genesis 1:4; Ezekiel 18:25,29 KJB], as there are 12 Patriarchs in the OT [Genesis 35:22 KJB, etc], and 12 Apostles in the NT [Matthew 10:2; Luke 6:13, 22:14; Revelation 21:14 KJB]. 12 Gates and 12 Foundations [Revelation 21:12,13,21 KJB] of the Heavenly city, New Jersualem [Galatians 4:26; Revelation 3:12, 21:2,10, 22:19 KJB].
Each of the 24 Elders have crowns already [thus are not the redeemed, who do not get crowns until after the resurrection, and they already existed in the OT] and white [Light] raiment as Adam did when he was given dominion [stewardship] of this world, before sin.
See:
Ezekiel 1:10, 10:14;
Numbers 1:50-53, 2:2-3,5,7,9,10,12,14,16,17,18,20,22,24,25,27,29,31,34;
Numbers 3:17,23,29,35,38,
Revelation 5:5.
The earthly model on earth, with Moses in the wilderness, with the peoples Israel and the 12 tribes, were a represtantion of the Heavenly government [which occultists twist, "As above, so below"]:
Deuteronomy 1:15 KJB - So I took the chief of your tribes, wise men, and known, and made them heads over you, captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, and captains over fifties, and captains over tens, and officers among your tribes.
Matthew 6:10 KJB - Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Luke 11:2 KJB - And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.
Let us see these things, again in brief, for a fuller documentation, I can post, but it is lengthy:
Unfallen beings, on unfallen worlds [no, not little green, grey or reptilian, etc, that is satan's mockery of heaven,a mischaracterization, a misrepresentation, for Heavenly beings are glorious to behold, shining as the light]:
The unfallen
“worlds”, and the unfallen beings therein which
“went not astray”, being
“just persons, which need no repentance”:
Hebrews 1:2 KJB - Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
Hebrews 11:3 KJB - Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
Side note, those of man-kind, which are in Christ Jesus, are the 'aliens' to the wicked, for we are the very strangers and pilgrims [Satan has counterfeited and reversed this] in the universe. In reverse, the unfallen worlds are the natural, and sinners are the unnatural, thus are alienated from God:
Hebrews 11:13 KJB - These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
We are that one lost world, whom the Son of God, 'Jesus', left the
'99' for in Heaven to come and save us, that he might come from that
“far country” and deliver us, and
“return home” with us, that we may once again have a
“place” among those
“many mansions”:
Matthew 18:11 KJB - For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.
Matthew 18:12 KJB - How think ye? if a man have
an hundred sheep, and
one of them be gone astray, doth he not
leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray?
Matthew 18:13 KJB - And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that [sheep], than of
the ninety and nine which went not astray.
Luke 15:4 KJB - What man of you, having
an hundred sheep, if he
lose one of them, doth not
leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and
go after that which is lost, until he find it?
Luke 15:5 KJB - And when he hath found [it], he layeth [it] on his shoulders, rejoicing.
Luke 15:6 KJB - And when
he cometh home,
he calleth together [his] friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice
with me; for
I have found my sheep which was lost.
Luke 15:7 KJB - I say unto you, that likewise
joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over
ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.
Revelation 12:12 KJB - Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.
John 14:1 KJB - Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
John 14:2 KJB -
In my Father's house are
many mansions: if [it were] not [so], I would have told you. I go to prepare
a place for you.
John 14:3 KJB - And if I go and prepare
a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that
where I am, [there] ye may be also.
If any would like more on the unfallen worlds, the unfallen beings, the order of God's Heavenly government, I can post that [it is looong], or share a link to whre you may DL the materials and read them individually:
Here:
Any may download the structure of Daniel and Revelation here - Link
Any may download the great Study here on the Michael the Archangel, The Character that will Stand in the Last Day [see sections [3] and [4] which covers the Angels, Archangels, Unfallen worlds and beings thereof] - Link
Glad to meet you, God bless you 
