These four verses are very profound and deep in their meaning. They tell us that upon the heads of the four living creatures there is the firmament or the expanse which we call the sky. The appearance of the sky is like the terrible crystal. It is so clear that it looks terrible. This sky stretches forth over the heads of all the creatures. Then it says that under this kind of sky the living creatures stretch their two wings straight. In the last chapter we saw that the straight wings are stretched forth and joined one to the other. Then it says that the four living creatures use the other two wings to cover their body. Whenever they move and whenever they act, a voice or a sound comes from the wings. The voice that comes out of their wings is like the voice of great waters and also like the voice of the Almighty, that is, the Almighty God. It is also the voice of a tumult, like the voice of an army. The word "host" here means army, so the sound is like that of an army. Furthermore, when they stop and stand still, they lower their wings. At that time a voice comes from the firmament above them. When the voice comes, they stand still; they stop and lower their wings. We must look into the spiritual significance and application of all these points.
We must realize that these four verses are based upon the preceding verses. Please remember that first we experience a storm with the wind blowing, which brings in the cloud of God's presence to overshadow us. As we enjoy the presence of the Lord, the cloud brings in the fire to burn us. Out of the burning fire, we gain the electrum and become a living creature. As a living creature we can then express Christ with others in a coordinated way. We have four faces to express the all-inclusive, corporate Christ. Then we must experience and enjoy the eagle's wings, that is, we must move by the divine power, the divine strength, and by the grace of Christ. We must also be able to cover ourselves, to hide ourselves, under His overshadowing wings, that is, under His grace. We must also learn how to work as a proper man by using the man's hands. Furthermore, we need to learn how to walk on the calf's straight feet, having no crookedness. Our Christian walk should be straight, frank, honest, sincere, and faithful. This will qualify us to have the proper coordination. Within the coordination, the fire will be going up and down as coals to burn us and as torches to enlighten us. At such a time, the holy God, as the consuming fire, will be among us in a corporate way, burning and moving. In addition, there will be a high and dreadful wheel beside us, meaning that we have God's move on this earth by us and with us. Within that wheel is a wheel, signifying that within our move is the Lord's move. He is moving within us and along with us. By having such a move, we will be full of eyes, having the insight and the foresight.
After we have experienced the items of the first twenty-one verses, the sky over our heads will be crystal-clear (1:22). It will be like a big expanse of crystal. We will have a wide, clear expanse above us. This means that above us is an open, clear heaven. The sky signifies the heaven.
Not only is the sky clear above our head; it is also expanding. This is very meaningful. It is not just a matter of having a clear sky, vertically, from the heaven to the earth, but it is also a matter of having a clear sky, horizontally, which means it is expanding. Our sky should be clear and expanding. Before we were saved, our heavens were dark, cloudy, foggy, and even smoggy. It was also very narrow. There was no wide expanse. There was hardly any heaven and hardly any sky. But one day we repented, confessed our sins, and accepted the Lord Jesus as our Savior. The more we confessed our sins, the more the sky was cleared up for us. After such a thorough confession, we had, for the first time, the sensation that our sky was clear. There was the sense that the day was dawning, that the clouds were leaving, and that the fog was lifting.