Concise Bible Dictionary:
These in Ezekiel point symbolically to the attributes of God in connection with His throne, and His acting upon earth in His judicial government and providence. There were wheels on earth, and there was a wheel within a wheel. These wheels acted in concert with the living creatures; for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. The faces of these living creatures correspond with the faces of the “four beasts” (which should be translated “living creatures,” the word being ζῶον, and not θηρίον, which occurs for the “beasts” of Ezekiel 13) in Revelation 4, etc. Each living creature had four faces: the first was the face of a man, which speaks of “intelligence”; the second the face of a lion, which symbolizes “strength”; the third the face of an ox, representing “patient endurance”; and the fourth the face of an eagle, which implies “swiftness of execution.” All show perfect organization for carrying out the government of God according to His righteous judgment (Ezek. 1:5-25; Ezek. 3:13; Ezek. 10:15-22). See CHERUBIM.