The Significance of Wings
By Jonathan Mitchell

"Now (or: But), the folks who are continuously bearing up under God (or: who are habitually persevering in remaining under, so as to give support, by God; who are constantly dwelling under and settling below, by means of God) will progressively alter and change (or: exchange or make to be other than it is) [their] strength. They will progressively grow wings and put forth new feathers, like eagles. They will continuously run swiftly and keep on progressively spreading quickly, and yet, they will not progressively grow weary, nor keep on laboring. They will keep on walking, and proceed as if sailing, and yet, they will not repeatedly be hungry" (Isa. 40:31, LXX, JM).

For those familiar with my writings and translations, you may wonder why I frequently choose the Septuagint (LXX), rather than the Heb. text, when citing the OT. I recommend watching Kedem, the episode about the LXX by a Cambridge scholar, on Youtube: (The Septuagint Paved the Way for Christianity).

The eagle has been a time-honored symbol for both the normal realm of humanity, and for the spiritual realm of God and the "heavens." The sky (and especially our atmosphere), itself, is often used to represent either the ruling class in social organizations, or the sphere of God, or even the resurrected consciousness of spiritual gnosis within human beings. The eagle was a symbol of power and high status, both in the Roman Empire and in the original Republic of the United States of America - as well as elsewhere, throughout history.

In this essay, the theme will be the spiritual aspects of this symbol which can be observed in both the OT and the NT, and the specific focus will be on the metaphorical use of "wings" in prophetic, visionary and eschatological texts that have been selected.

In Ex. 19, Yahweh told Moses to announce the following to the "sons of Israel,"

"You people have seen these things - as many as I have done to the Egyptians - and I took (or: received) you folks up, as if upon wings of eagles, and then brought you to Me, face to face with Myself" (LXX, JM).

This metaphorical language of "eagles' wings" expresses a snapshot of the deliverance of Israel from the slavery in Egypt (at the time of the first Passover), and then their miraculous journey to Mt. Sinai, where Moses met with Yahweh and received the Law (as it were, the constitution) that made Israel a nation. These events, and their journey, are rehearsed in Deut. 32:9-12.

Our next encounter with "wings" is as a part of the cherubim, as given in their descriptions, in Ex. 25:20 and 37:9, where we find these spiritual representations as being a part of the mercy seat, God's throne in the midst of Israel. This denotes, symbolically, the fact that the Holy of holies (innermost chamber of the tabernacle) is a spiritual, or "heavenly," realm, where first Moses, and later the high priest, met and communed with God. Men no longer needed to meet God on a mountain top; God descended into the midst of the people, and lived there with them - even traveling through the wilderness with them, on their journey to the Promised Land. Seen as a corporate son of God (Ex. 4:22), God set a pattern, using the people as a whole: He put His tent within the midst of their tents, and thus lived in the midst of them.

We next find this word, "wing," used as a figure of shelter, protection and sustenance, in the book of Ruth, when Boaz tells Ruth,

"May [the] LORD (= Yahweh) repay your work, and may your recompense (wage) become full, from beside the LORD, God of Israel, to (toward; face to face with) Whom you came, even to have been persuaded, and to have put your trust, under His wings" (Ru. 2:12; [LXX, JM]).

Ps. 17:8 gives us a similar picture, as does Ps. 36:7, 57:1, 61:4, 63:7, and the famous Ps. 91:4, which reads:

"Within, and in union with (or: Centered in, and in the sphere of) the broad of His back, He will continuously shade you, and under His wings you will constantly place expectation. His Truth (or: The Reality of, from, and which is, Him) will keep on encircling you for a shield, and constantly surround you with a weapon" [LXX, JM; cf Eph. 6:10-18]

We see this same picture, expressed by Jesus, in Mat. 23:37,

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem! The one repeatedly killing the prophets, and habitually stoning the people sent off with a mission to her. How many times (or: How often) I wanted (intended; purposed; longed) to progressively gather your children together upon [Myself] in the manner in which a hen normally gathers her chicks together under [her] wings - and you did not want [it] (or: you do not intend [it])." [cf Lu. 13:34]

Thus far, we suggest that the wings of the cherubim, as an extension of the mercy seat (God's throne), show us the spiritual, or "heavenly," symbolism of wings - and they operate within our own atmosphere, within the Temple which we are. Added to that is the picture of "shelter, protection and sustenance," which we find in the presence of God, and in Christ.

A different use for the metaphor of "wings," a poetic use, is seen in Ps. 18:10,

"And then He mounted upon cherubim and suddenly flew, being caused to spread all over - He suddenly flew upon wings of winds!" (LXX, JM)

And in Ps. 104:3, we read of,

"The One repeatedly (or: habitually) covering His upper rooms of the house (or: the upper stories, which are Him,) with waters - as a roof; Who repeatedly places (or: sets; lays; constructs) a cloud [as; to be] His means of approach or access (something to step upon); Who is constantly walking about upon wings of winds" (LXX, JM).

And finally, Ps. 139:9-10,

"If I would take up my wings, in accord with dawn (or: in the sphere of early morning), and then sojourn (take up quarters abroad; settle down) at the farthest limits (or: last areas) of the sea, it follows that even there Your hand would constantly lead me and guide my path, and Your right hand will keep on holding me fast (or: continually hold me in line)" (LXX, JM).

These verses speak of the coming and going of God, within our atmospheres, and of our spiritual journeys or mental imaging, as we contemplate, or speculate about, the omnipresence of God (as in Ps. 139:7-8) in our lives and in His universe. So, in these verses, "wings" are figures for means of metaphorical transport within the realm of God and His kingdom, and within our imagination.

Now let us consider the function of "wings" in the sphere of visions and eschatological imagery. The next verses return us to the realm of God's temple - which, keep in mind, is a type and pattern for the body of Christ (1 Cor. 3:9-17; 6:19; 2 Cor. 6:16). Do not make the mistake of assuming that visionary creatures or entities are literal. Rather, they have a message for us within the picture presented to us, and they are as actors on a spiritual stage which gives the setting for the intended information which they represent.

Just as the lampstands of Rev. 1:20 are explained in the text as representing the called-out communities, open your thinking to both the furniture of the temple, and the visionary actors in the visionary temples, as laying out blueprints to help us understand how God's temple, in the NT, is a picture for connecting the Reality in Christ to the types within the old covenant Scriptures.

It is clear that the setting of Isaiah's vision, in 6:1-2, is the temple. It is the altar of incense (a figure of the prayers of the set-apart folks; cf Rev. 5:8), within the holy place of the temple, from which the seraph (in Hebrew, this means a "burning one") brings a burning coal, to touch Isaiah's lips. And so, we read:

"I saw the LORD sitting upon a high and raised up throne, and the House (= Temple) [was] full of His glory (His assumed appearance and manifest presence; = the shekinah of, and from, Him). And seraphim had taken a stand, and now stood in a circle around Him: each had six wings

[note: in symbolic numerology, six is the number of humanity - having been formed on the sixth day]

and, on the one hand, with the two they completely veiled and covered the face; on the other hand, with the two they completely veiled and covered the feet, and with the two they were from time to time flying through the air" (Isa. 6:2, LXX, JM).

Once again, take note that the description of these visionary beings was mainly about wings - symbolizing the sphere of the spiritual realm - and the context of their operation was the Temple (obviously, the spiritual Temple - later to be revealed as being the body of Christ). In this vision their function was that of a priest, removing the lawlessness from Isaiah and purifying his mistakes (vs. 7).

Let us now observe the vision in Ezk. 1, where we encounter "living beings" (which are seen again, in Rev. 4:6ff). This chapter opens with Ezekiel having

"the atmospheres (heavens) opened," and he saw, "visions of, and from, God."

In vs. 3, it states that,

"[the] Logos of (or: a Blueprint and conveyance of Meaning-bearing Information from) [the] LORD (= Yahweh) came to be face to face with Ezekiel."

Verses 4-28 give us this spectacular vision, in its various parts. Of significance is vs. 5, where, in speaking of the four living beings, it says,

"And this was the appearance of them: a likeness of a human being, upon them."

We see this as a key to their symbolic significance - just as we saw it in the "two witnesses" that were a part of the mercy seat in the Tabernacle, and the function of the seraphim (burning ones) in Isaiah's vision. We suggest that all the visions within both the OT and the NT are pictures that reveal aspects of, or which pertain to, humanity and life here on earth - the story of Humanity, from Genesis to Revelation.

To the point of this investigation, we note that in 1:6, each being had four wings - four being the symbolical number of worldwide significance. The color of their feet (vs. 7b) corresponds to the color of the feet of the visionary risen Christ, in Rev. 1:15. In vs. 9, in the Hebrew text, the wings are described as being

"joined, a woman to a sister."

Then, in vs. 8, we read that a hand of a man was under their wings, on their four parts, and, in vs. 10, that one of the faces was that of a human being. Now in vs. 13, we see that their appearance was

"like burning coals of fire,"

which call to mind the "burning ones" of Isa. 6. Verses 23-25 again speak of their wings.

We gave all those details in order to bring out the connection between a "heavenly humanity" - or a "spiritual priesthood in action" - and the repeated reference to their wings (and by the way, one of the faces of each being was "the face of an eagle" - vs. 10). We suggest that the wings signify one who is, "habitually walking about (= living your life) in spirit (or: by [the] Spirit; with a Breath-effect; [cf Rom. 8:4ff, 14, 23, 26])" (Gal. 5:16).

In Ezk. 10:1-22, we find another vision of "the cherubim," and they are associated with the "house" (temple) and,

"the glory (or: assumed appearance) of the LORD"

(vss. 4, 18). Mention of

"hands of human beings"

(vss. 8, 21) signifies that these folks do work and accomplish things in God's realm, and their ability to work is associated with their wings (the ability to move through the atmosphere - they are not "earthbound"). Verse 22 affirms that this second vision speaks of the same "living beings" that he saw in the first vision of chapter 1.

As referenced above, we find these same visionary pictures in the vision of Rev. 4:1-11. There, these living being have six wings (vs. 8), a numerical reference to human beings who live in the realm of God and function in the context of God's throne (vss. 2, 4). If we accept the view that the setting is once again the Temple (notice that white-robed elders of the people are also present), then once again we can understand that this is another visionary picture of the body of Christ, seen in symbolic form.

Mal. 4:2 speaks of

"the Sun of eschatological deliverance and rightwising into the Way pointed out,"

Who will progressively rise up, and "healing" will be

"in the sphere of His wings."

May the Spirit connect this proclamation with all that has been said, above, concerning the implications of this symbolic metaphor. The final verse that we are bringing to the table is Rev. 12:14,

"Then two wings of the Great Eagle were given to the Woman (or: are given for the Woman), to the end that she may progressively fly into the wilderness (desert; uninhabited region) - into her place - where (in which place) she is there continuously nourished a season, and seasons, and half a season [Dan. 7:25; 12:7], away from the serpent's face (= its presence and ability to observe; = its influence)."

We see this verse as tying in with the opening verse of this essay, Isa. 40:31. Although this latter verse most likely first applied to 1st century Christians, the spiritual, or figurative, meaning can be an encouraging word in any situation of distress. Christ, our Great Eagle, is our Rescuer - yesterday, today and on into the ages.

Jonathan

PS: The occurrence of wings in religious art and iconography should be understood as symbology, not as literal reality.

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