Revelation 5:13Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

And I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, and of the living creatures and the elders. For God is glorified by all things spiritual and sensible, living and simply existing. He is the cause and beginning of all being. He is the Son of God, Only-begotten and consubstantial, who granted renewal to men and restored them to their original dignity. Yet it is written that He received authority over earthly and heavenly things as man.

He does not say of Christ God, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom (Col 2:3), that He Himself receives this wisdom. Rather, he speaks of the manhood assumed by Him and of His body, which is the Church, or of her martyrs who suffered in His name. For in her Head the Church receives all things, as it is written: how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? (Rom 8:32). For the Lamb Himself receives, He who says in the Gospel: All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth (Mt 28:18). That is, He receives according to His humanity, not according to His Godhead.

All creation, represented in the four living creatures, also offers a fourfold thanksgiving. The one like a lion offers dominion. The one like a calf offers honor. The one like a man renders glory. The one like a flying eagle offers blessing. They begin and end the hymn because they represent all that exists outside God. The twenty-four elders join the Seraphim, then the angels, and one flock is formed, giving praise to the one Shepherd. With such solemnity the Lamb receives the book, to loose the seals and reveal the mysteries.