four faced creatures

Question: "Who are the four living creatures in Revelation?"

Answer: The four living creatures are found in Revelation 4:6–9; 5:6–14; 6:1–8; 14:3; 15:7; and 19:4. The texts that describe these creatures do not indicate that they are figurative—they are real, actual beings. The four living creatures (literally “beings”) are a special, exalted order of angelic being or cherubim. This is clear by their close proximity to the throne of God. Ezekiel 1:12–20 suggests that they are in constant motion around the throne.

Revelation 5:6–14 describes the duties or purposes of the four living creatures. They fall down and worship the Lamb, Jesus Christ, offering the same reverence to Him that they did to the Father (Revelation 4:10), proof positive of the deity of Jesus Christ. Along with the 24 elders, they have “harps and golden vials full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.” Harps are frequently associated with worship in the Old Testament, as well as with prophecy (2 Kings 3:15; 1 Chronicles 25:1). Incense represents the prayers of the saints. Therefore, taken together, the four living creatures and twenty-four elders hold in their hands all that prophets ever prophesied and believers ever prayed for—all about to come to pass.

The purpose of the four living creatures also has to do with declaring the holiness of God and leading in worship and adoration of God, and they are involved in some way with God’s justice, for when He opens the first four seals and sends out the four horsemen to destroy, their powerful voices, like thunder, command “come” (6:1–8). The horsemen respond to the summons of the four powerful creatures, indicating the power the creatures possess. That power is seen again in Revelation 15:7 when one of the four unleashes the last seven plagues of God’s wrath on mankind.

The four living creatures are very similar, if not the same, beings as those in Ezekiel 10:2, 14, and 20 and Isaiah 6:1–3. They are four in number, full of eyes, have faces like the beings in Ezekiel 1:10, have six wings (Isaiah 6:2), and offer worship as the beings in Isaiah 6:3, saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord.” They may not be the exact same beings, but they definitely are comparable and probably of the same order.

In summary, these beings are an exalted order of angels whose purpose is primarily that of worship (Revelation 19:4). They are very similar to the beings in Ezekiel 10 and Isaiah 6:1–3, and they are in some ways involved in God’s divine justice.

The four faces represent the four domains of God's rule: the man represents humanity; the lion, wild animals; the ox, domestic animals; and the eagle, birds. ... Three of the four faces are the same – man, lion and eagle – but where chapter one has the face of an ox, Ezekiel 10:14 says "face of a cherub."

This was Wikipedia definition

1. The creatures that Ezekiel saw had 4 wings, versus when john saw them they had 6 wings. The anthem that the cherubims and 24 elders sing is that [we] they have been redeemed from the earth. This point is exemplified in a 2 part perspective.
2A. The 4 faces (notice that number of faces has not changed, but the number of wings did change from 4 to 6) represents the creatures that were created from the dust of the earth.
*[[Gen 2:19]] KJV* And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.
*[[Gen 2:20]] KJV* And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.

Adam gave names to everything that moves upon the ground, that was created from the ground. These creatures are the central focal point of who was to be destroyed in the flood.
*[[Gen 6:7]] KJV* And the LORD said, I will destroy MAN whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and BEAST, and the CREEPING THING, and the FOWLS of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
THESE were all destroyed by the flood, except for what Noah saved alive. But there is another point.
2B. But when man sinned in the garden, God cursed the ground, and apparently everything that originated with the ground.

*[[Gen 3:17]] KJV* And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
*[[Gen 3:18]] KJV* Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
*[[Gen 3:19]] KJV* In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

Apparently, when God cursed the ground, everything that was created from the ground [beasts, fowls, cattle, and man] suffers from the curse. Genesis refers to these creatures as possessing life. This is not referring to eternal life but life emanating from a flesh and blood body, that would now be subject to death and decay. I.e., the curse. So, the 6 winged creatures, cherubims, have 6 wings because they have been redeemed from the curse of death and decay. To be redeemed means to be rescued from the curse... the curse of death upon creatures made from the dust of the earth. The fact that the 24 elders are also found singing this song of redemption, tells me that they too were/ are redeemed from the curse of death. My personal thoughts about the 24 elders would include the idea that God requires 2 or 3 witnesses to establish every word and they will be giving testimony to all of history.
Blessings
The PuP