The Placement of the Cherubim
With man’s expulsion from the garden, we are introduced to one of three mysterious spiritual creatures about which little seems known: the cherubim. [1] The episode of the Fall ends with man driven from Eden and cherubim stationed at the east entrance to the garden:
22 And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” 23 So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. 24 After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.
Placement of the Cherubim at the entrance to the garden blocks their re-entry, but suggests their expulsion is not permanent. Though man has now been separated from God, preservation of the entrance anticipates a way will be made to regain paradise. Yet the flaming sword (likely lightening) suggests the cherubim were entrusted with the authority to prevent access to the garden while the flames suggest judgment and purification.
Their placement at the east end of the garden suggests access is through one entrance only, predetermined on the east. [2] The cherubim guard the entrance, implying Eden remains the place of God’s presence.
Placement of Cherubim in the Tabernacle
While little information is given regarding their Edenic placement, clues can be gleaned from frequent references to cherubim in the tabernacle and temple. Exodus 25:17-22 specifies that two cherubim were positioned on top of the Testimony (the tablets of the ten commandments) as a covering.
The cherubim were to face each other, peering down upon the cover with wings to over shadow the Ark. God specified that He would meet with Moses above the cover and between the cherubim “and give you all my commands for the Israelites” (vs 22).
Much is disclosed regarding the purposes of the cherubim from their position above the Ark. Given Jewish belief that the Torah was a tree of life, their placement over the Ark recapitulates Eden. [3] They guard the way to life. Atop the atonement cover and looking toward it ties the cherubim to atonement as they seem to overshadow and cover the Ark, the symbol of God’s law.
It speaks of the need for a covering for man’s failure to meet God’s righteous requirements. That the law is called the Testimony points to their responsibility to guard and oversee the witness of God’s righteousness. That God meets Moses above the cover suggests they guard God’s throne and thus access to Him, a further recapitulation of Eden. They prevent entrance of the profane into God’s presence.
The wings of the cherubim overshadow the cover, also called the mercy seat (AV), suggestive the cherubim play a role in the place where God is “seated” to judge and dispense righteousness and mercy. Cherubim are associated with God’s provision of mercy needed in light of the death penalty mankind faced. It would seem that the cherubim, in guarding the path to life, also mark the place from where God’s mercy flows, a reminder of God’s commitment to restore life. Exodus 26 gave instructions that cherubim were also to be embroidered on the curtains of the tabernacle:
1 “Make the tabernacle with ten curtains of finely twisted linen and blue, purple and scarlet yarn, with cherubim worked into them by a skilled craftsman.
The curtains were representative of the heavens and the firmament. Cherubim on the curtains suggest that these celestial beings flew in the heavens below or at the separating firmament.
Placement of Cherubim in the Temple
Cherubim were also on the curtain in the temple. The curtain was the separating veil between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies, guarding the entrance to Yahweh’s presence:
The images of the cherubim were woven into the veil of the temple, and they symbolically barred access to the presence of God. The rending of the veil coincided with the sacrifice of Christ’s body, throwing open once again the “way which he dedicated for us, a new and living way” to the tree of life (Matthew 27:51; Hebrews 10:20). [4]
Like the curtains, cherubim were also found carved on the temple walls (1 kings 6:23-35), supportive that these creatures surrounded and guarded God’s heavenly throne. Solomon’s temple also included two large carved cherubim placed on the floor of the Holy-of-Holies and carved cherubim overlaid with gold throughout the temple walls and on the entrance-doors to the Holy-of-Holies (1 Kings 6:23-35).
The two large cherubim in the Holy-of-Holies overshadowed the Ark of the Covenant much as the two cherubim on the cover of the Ark overshadowed the Testimony. Their wings spanned the length of the Holy-of-holies, indicative of guardianship of the throne of God. That cherubim were carved on the walls with palm trees and flowers recapitulates Eden, enhancing that these creatures attest the promise of Edenic restoration through the means of atonement.
The Significance of Cherubim “Dwelling”
The placement of cherubim seems uses the Hebrew word שכן shakan, to dwell or tabernacle. It points to permanent placement with God, a reminder Eden is God’s dwelling place. That shakan can mean tabernacle also hints at a priestly, temple role. The flaming sword symbolizes loss of free access to God’s presence.
Access to God was guarded, limited and conditioned upon sacrifice. The word shakan features prominently in prophecy including Genesis 9:27; 16:12 and Numbers 23:9. Other uses of shakan apply to the Lord dwelling with the Israelites. It was upon Mount Sinai that God dwelt with Moses (Exodus 24:15) and from which Moses was instructed to make a sanctuary that would allow God to dwell with His people:
8 “Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them. Exodus 25
The frequent reference to God dwelling with His people is a motif in prophecy – though God’s Edenic command had been broken and God could no longer dwell unconditionally with sinful man, it was God’s purpose through redemption to restore man into covenant relationship and dwell eternally with Him.
Nehemiah 1:8-9 reminds the Jewish remnant of God’s promise to re-gather the dispersed remnant and establish them permanently in the land – a land God chose for His dwelling:
8 “Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, “If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations, 9 but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.” (Emphasis mine)
Isaiah and Jeremiah both develop this prophetic motif by predicting a coming Messiah:
And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains: and mine elect shall inherit it, and my servants shall dwell there. Isaiah 65:9 (AV) (Emphasis mine)
5 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. 6 In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: The Lord Our Righteousness. Jeremiah 23:5-6 (Emphasis mine)
Zechariah extends this motif to show that the Messiah’s dwelling place among the Israelites will be in Jerusalem.
10 “Shout and be glad, O Daughter of Zion. For I am coming, and I will live among you,” declares the Lord. 11 “Many nations will be joined with the Lord in that day and will become my people. I will live among you and you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you. 12 The Lord will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land and will again choose Jerusalem. Zechariah 2:10-12 (Emphasis mine)
3 This is what the Lord says: “I will return to Zion and dwell in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth, and the mountain of the Lord Almighty will be called the Holy Mountain.” Zechariah 8:3 (Emphasis mine)
7 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “I will save my people from the countries of the east and the west. 8 I will bring them back to live in Jerusalem; they will be my people, and I will be faithful and righteous to them as their God.” Zechariah 8:7-8 (Emphasis mine)
Shakan also appears in Ezekiel 43:7, 9 to describe the infilling of the promised, restored temple in which Ezekiel envisions a return to Eden (47:1-12). John also envisions a restored Eden in which God proclaims that He will dwell (tabernacle) with His people in the new Jerusalem forever.
The later prophetic uses of shakan suggest that God would not leave mankind driven from the place of God’s presence permanently, nor should he expect restrictions conditioning his approach to be forever. Though driven from the garden – the place of God’s presence and tree of life, God’s plan was to re-establish unrestricted and eternal relationship with man in an Edenic garden in the future.
That the cherubim not only guard but dwell at the entrance to Eden and subsequently dwell in the tabernacle/temple affirms the promise of restoration. The link to the land of Palestine and infilling of God’s final temple assures return to the land with the promise of restored relationship with God.
The Form & Purpose of Cherubim in the Old Testament
Scriptural references to cherubim are numerous (near one hundred in the AV) but our knowledge of these creatures is limited. Gesenius’ Lexicon defines Cherub (Hebrew כרוב Kĕruwb) as:
a being of a sublime and celestial nature, in figure compounded of that of a man, an ox, a lion, and an eagle (three animals which, together with man, symbolize power and wisdom, Ezekiel 1 and 10).[5] A keeper, warder or guard of the deity. Josephus said no one in his day could even conjecture the shape of the cherubim that Solomon made for the Holy of Holies (Ant. Viii. 3, 3f). [6]
The challenge in understanding the cherubim’s form is a lack of early descriptions. Cherubim are undescribed in Genesis 3, and though numerous instructions are given about their placement and presence in the tabernacle and temple, oddly they are left without description in the building instructions!
The Cherubim & the Ensign of Israel in the Wilderness
Lack of description is quite unexpected given that both the tabernacle and Solomon’s temple were patterned after God’s throne room in heaven. [7] It is not until Ezekiel’s vision that we receive detail beyond the presence of wings. The closest we come to additional detail on cherubim in the tabernacle may be hinted in Rabbinical tradition regarding the ensign of the tribes encamped on each side of the tabernacle:
Scott observes that ancient rabbinical writers declared that the tribes of Israel pitched their tents and standards on the four sides of the Tabernacle in this same order; namely, the tribe of Judah, a lion; the tribe of Ephraim, an ox; the tribe of Reuben, a man; the tribe of Dan, an eagle (cf. Numbers 2:2). [8]
It hints of Israel’s election as God’s redemptive partner, with their wanderings ordered by division advancing to the promised land, emblematic that God dwells with Israel. That Israel is “ordered” in the wilderness after the cherubim suggests that God is with Israel during her wilderness wanderings. It provides a public witness to the surrounding nations. It also suggests – as we shall now see, that Israel is God’s throne-chariot during her travels to the land.
The Cherubim as God’s Chariot
Ezekiel’s Description in Chapter 1
When we confront Ezekiel’s description of the “four living creatures” he observed in Ezekiel 1:10, it becomes clear that the encampment standard is consistent with the various faces of the living creatures Ezekiel saw in his inaugural vision:
4 I looked, and I saw a windstorm coming out of the north—an immense cloud with flashing lightning and surrounded by brilliant light. The center of the fire looked like glowing metal, 5 and in the fire was what looked like four living creatures. In appearance their form was that of a man, 6 but each of them had four faces and four wings. 7 Their legs were straight; their feet were like those of a calf and gleamed like burnished bronze. 8 Under their wings on their four sides they had the hands of a man. All four of them had faces and wings, 9 and their wings touched one another. Each one went straight ahead; they did not turn as they moved. 10 Their faces looked like this: Each of the four had the face of a man, and on the right side each had the face of a lion, and on the left the face of an ox; each also had the face of an eagle. 11 Such were their faces. Their wings were spread out upward; each had two wings, one touching the wing of another creature on either side, and two wings covering its body. 12 Each one went straight ahead. Wherever the spirit would go, they would go, without turning as they went. 13 The appearance of the living creatures was like burning coals of fire or like torches. Fire moved back and forth among the creatures; it was bright, and lightning flashed out of it. 14 The creatures sped back and forth like flashes of lightning. 15 As I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the ground beside each creature with its four faces. 16 This was the appearance and structure of the wheels: They sparkled like chrysolite, and all four looked alike. Each appeared to be made like a wheel intersecting a wheel. 17 As they moved, they would go in any one of the four directions the creatures faced; the wheels did not turn about as the creatures went. 18 Their rims were high and awesome, and all four rims were full of eyes all around. 19 When the living creatures moved, the wheels beside them moved; and when the living creatures rose from the ground, the wheels also rose. 20 Wherever the spirit would go, they would go, and the wheels would rise along with them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. 21 When the creatures moved, they also moved; when the creatures stood still, they also stood still; and when the creatures rose from the ground, the wheels rose along with them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. 22 Spread out above the heads of the living creatures was what looked like an expanse, sparkling like ice, and awesome. 23 Under the expanse their wings were stretched out one toward the other, and each had two wings covering its body. 24 When the creatures moved, I heard the sound of their wings, like the roar of rushing waters, like the voice of the Almighty, like the tumult of an army. When they stood still, they lowered their wings. 25 Then there came a voice from above the expanse over their heads as they stood with lowered wings. 26 Above the expanse over their heads was what looked like a throne of sapphire, and high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man. 27 I saw that from what appeared to be his waist up he looked like glowing metal, as if full of fire, and that from there down he looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded him. 28 Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. When I saw it, I fell facedown, and I heard the voice of one speaking.
The Meaning of the Four Faces
Ezekiel’s description is mind-numbingly complex. [9] There appears to be a theophany (vs 4) with a windstorm, cloud, lightening, fire and brilliant light. Amidst a fire are four living creatures in the form of a man (including hands of a man) but with four faces, four wings and feet of a calf, burnished like bronze. With two of their wings, they covered their bodies and with two they apparently could fly, though their movement seems animated and coordinated by the Spirit. Like the temple, the wings for flying touched one another.
The four faces were that of a man, a lion, an ox and an eagle. What the four faces mean is difficult for the modern mind to ascertain. Yet iconography of the Ancient Near East was replete with these types of images and carvings. Similar statues were often found at the entrance to palaces and temples, raising the possibility that some may have been representations of cherubim.
Assyrio-Babylonian Shedu had a human face, wings and the body of a bull. Shedu were often found guarding the entrance to important buildings. Hittite griffin, with wings, the body of a lion and the head of an eagle guarded important treasures. Lammasu were winged beings having the head of a man and the body of a lion. Some scholars see Lammasu as the basis of Israelite cherubim. Others see sphinx as cherubim:
The emplacement of guardian figures to protect holy precincts from those who would defile is pervasive in the iconography of the ancient orient. Composite sphinx-like figures guarded the entrance to Assyrian palaces (called kuribū, cf. Keel, Symbolism, p. 123). The avenue of Amon sphinxes guarded the entrance to Karnak in the Egyptian Thebes. In Greek literature a sphinx likewise guarded the Thebes of Thessaly. [10]
Allen documents other Near Eastern iconography suggestive of cherubim:
Four-winged humanoid figures support on their heads a platform that represents the sky, above which sits the enthroned figure of Yahweh. This conception appears to be a fusion of at least two separate, well-attested traditions of religious iconography. In the first tradition two lions, bulls, or cherubs (two-winged animals with human heads) supported a platform above which stood a throne on which the deity sat . . . The second tradition relates to two- or four-winged genii who support with their upper wings and/or hands the wings of the sun or sky . . .The upper part of the skybearers’ bodies has a human form, while the lower part takes the form of a bull: this feature of bullmen was taken over from the neo-Assyrian and neo-Babylonian depiction of skybearers. [11]
Many have proffered that the four represent the king of their species with man the greatest of all with the Spirit’s breath in him, the lion as greatest among wild beasts and often emblematic of royalty, the ox greatest or strongest among domesticated beasts making it of great value in antiquity, the eagle greatest and most stately of flying creatures.
Block has suggested these are divine attributes of omnipotence and omniscience, declaring His strength and majesty (the lion), His swiftness and mobility (the eagle), His procreative power (the bull) and His wisdom and reason (the man). [12] He also noted the traditional Jewish Midrashic interpretation from Exodus Rabbah 23:13:
“Four kinds of proud beings were created in the world: the proudest of all – man; of birds – the eagle; of domestic animals – the ox; of wild animals – the lion; and all of them are stationed beneath the chariot of the Holy One.” [13]
Others have argued that the combination of these species together with the number four suggests that the cherubim represent all created life, though such a claim must exclude fish and crawling things. [14]
The Wheels of God’s Throne-Chariot
Integral with these living beings are wheels that gyroscopically allow movement in all four directions though their structure is difficult to imagine. These wheels are covered with eyes, though Block has suggested the Hebrew עַיִן `ayin was translated sparkle or gleam in vss 4 and 16, leading one to believe these are eye-shaped stones revealing Akkadian/Babylonian influence. [15] If true, it conflicts with John’s vision in Revelation 4:6, 8 where he describes the living creatures covered in eyes (ὀφθαλμός ophthalmos), a word not indicative of stones.
The Cherubim and Ophanim (Wheels) are God’s Throne-Chariot
What is described is an ancient, royal, four-wheeled chariot that served as Yahweh’s throne during His travels. Ancient Jewish tradition reveals numerous heavenly chariot-passages such as 2 Kings 2:11, the chariot that carried Elijah to heaven; 1 Enoch 70:2, the chariot of the spirit that carried Enoch for his final assumption; Sirach 48:9, a description of the chariot, the whirlwind and fiery horses that carried Elijah to heaven; Testament of Abraham 9-10 and Life of Adam and Eve 25:3, the chariot that temporarily brought Abraham and Adam to heaven; and Testament of Job 52:9, the chariot that brought Job’s soul to heaven after his death. [16]
The wheels signal the structure is a chariot and the four living creatures signal guardianship of God. The rushing sound of the wings signals the departure or arrival of the chariot, hence Ezekiel’s description of the theophany as a windstorm. These characteristics seem confirmed in other scriptures: [17]
11 He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared on the wings of the wind. 2 Samuel 22:11
He also gave him the plan for the chariot, that is, the cherubim of gold that spread their wings and shelter the ark of the covenant of the Lord. 1 Chronicles 28:18b
The “Expanse” or “Vault” Over the Heads of the Cherubim
Notably, there is an expanse over their heads, רָקִיעַ raqiya`, a word that describes the firmament or vault of heaven that separated the heavens from the earth (Genesis 1:6). It suggests that the living beings reside below the firmament, with the ability to fly through the visible heavens but restricted from God’s heavenly Holy-of-holies.
That they are below the firmament suggests an earthly dwelling, consistent with their placement at the entrance to Eden. They are present in the cosmic Holy-Place at the entrance to the cosmic Holy-of-holies, consistent with their placement in the tabernacle/temple which served as a cosmic model. [18]
Above this vault was a throne where God was seated. From Ancient Near Eastern iconography, we know of multi-headed composite beasts, often with heads of a man or beast that were depicted as holding up the firmament, above which were the gods. These “sky-bearers” were typically at the four corners of the earth to hold up the vault of heaven. It suggests that the cherubim may have also served the role of sky-bearer, holding up the vault above the stars, a platform upon which sat the throne of God above the visible heavens.
If true, it gives a depth of meaning to Revelation 7:1 where four angels are described as standing at the four corners of the earth to hold back the four winds of the earth. Could it be that John envisioned these angels as sky-bearers who held up the vault of heaven and by whose wings the winds blew?
Ezekiel’s Description in Chapter 10
Ezekiel’s later vision in chapter 10 confirmed that the living creatures he had seen in chapter 1 were cherubim (10:20). [19] One can now appreciate their placement in the tabernacle and Solomon’s temple. If the tabernacle/temple was a model of the cosmos, then these creatures could be envisaged as holding up the vault of heaven while also guarding the entrance into God’s cosmic throne room above the heavens.
Though holding up the vault of heaven is not explicitly stated, it would seem that the cherubim do serve at the vault, at minimum guarding the way through the vault. Such a view is supported in 1 Enoch 14:8-22; 71:7). The purpose of the cherubim becomes clearer in Ezekiel’s later vision:
1 I looked, and I saw the likeness of a throne of lapis lazuli above the vault that was over the heads of the cherubim. 2 The Lord said to the man clothed in linen, “Go in among the wheels beneath the cherubim. Fill your hands with burning coals from among the cherubim and scatter them over the city.” 3 Now the cherubim were standing on the south side of the temple when the man went in, and a cloud filled the inner court. 4 Then the glory of the Lord rose from above the cherubim and moved to the threshold of the temple. The cloud filled the temple, and the court was full of the radiance of the glory of the Lord. 5 The sound of the wings of the cherubim could be heard as far away as the outer court, like the voice of God Almighty when he speaks. 6 When the Lord commanded the man in linen, “Take fire from among the wheels, from among the cherubim,” the man went in and stood beside a wheel. 7 Then one of the cherubim reached out his hand to the fire that was among them. He took up some of it and put it into the hands of the man in linen, who took it and went out. 8 (Under the wings of the cherubim could be seen what looked like the hands of a man.) 9 I looked, and I saw beside the cherubim four wheels, one beside each of the cherubim; the wheels sparkled like chrysolite. 10 As for their appearance, the four of them looked alike; each was like a wheel intersecting a wheel. 11 As they moved, they would go in any one of the four directions the cherubim faced; the wheels did not turn about as the cherubim went. The cherubim went in whatever direction the head faced, without turning as they went. 12 Their entire bodies, including their backs, their hands and their wings, were completely full of eyes, as were their four wheels. 13 I heard the wheels being called “the whirling wheels.” 14 Each of the cherubim had four faces: One face was that of a cherub, the second the face of a man, the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle. 15 Then the cherubim rose upward. These were the living creatures I had seen by the Kebar River. 16 When the cherubim moved, the wheels beside them moved; and when the cherubim spread their wings to rise from the ground, the wheels did not leave their side. 17 When the cherubim stood still, they also stood still; and when the cherubim rose, they rose with them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in them. 18 Then the glory of the Lord departed from over the threshold of the temple and stopped above the cherubim. 19 While I watched, the cherubim spread their wings and rose from the ground, and as they went, the wheels went with them. They stopped at the entrance to the east gate of the Lord’s house, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them. 20 These were the living creatures I had seen beneath the God of Israel by the Kebar River, and I realized that they were cherubim. 21 Each had four faces and four wings, and under their wings was what looked like the hands of a man. 22 Their faces had the same appearance as those I had seen by the Kebar River. Each one went straight ahead.
The Meaning of Ezekiel’s “Cherubic” Vision
The vision shows Yahweh’s presence exiting the Solomonic temple due to Israel’s sins (Ezekiel 8:1- 9:9), which had defiled His House. The cherubim, together with the ophanim (wheels), represent Yahweh’s chariot with guards mounted, preparing to exit the temple.
However, before His exit, judgment is passed upon the residents of Jerusalem. The righteous are marked and the unrighteous are sentenced to death at the hands of angelic powers (9:1-11). The angelic figure who marked the righteous, is then commanded to go in among the ophanim, take burning coals from the fire and scatter them over the city.
As the man enters, it is one of the cherubim who takes the coals from the fire, giving them to the man with the inkhorn. [20] It suggests that the cherubim have a role in the judgment upon Jerusalem or possibly a purifying role. [21] Their bronze feet may enhance this view.
In addition to having four wings, Ezekiel’s vision describes the cherubim having bodies entirely covered with eyes. The eyes suggest that the cherubim watch over all the events of God’s created order and reinforce the notion of God’s omniscient presence. [22]
Possibly those entrusted with authority to dispense judgment are all seeing. Smith suggests that eyes are a symbol of life. [23] Revelation 5 provides the best clue of the meaning of the eyes:
6 Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.
Horns in Scripture typify authority, power and kingship. The eyes and horns would be emblematic of the seven characteristics of God’s spirit. The presence of eyes throughout the cherubim and ophanim suggest the Spirit is present in these creatures. Such a position would be consistent with the term ζωα, ”living creature” which itself is suggestive of the presence of the Spirit. [24]
It is possible that these creatures positioned around the throne are the king’s eyes, watching all activities throughout His creation, seeing God, and doing His will. [25] Beale notes this view is consistent with Rabbinic tradition in Targum Ezekiel 1:14, which asserts that “the living creatures are sent forth to do the will of their Master.”[26] Smith adds:
In Zechariah 4:10, God’s angels are “his eyes,” and in Persia the ministers of state are “the king’s eyes.” In the East servants watch the hands of their master, receiving orders and directions by motion of the hand. [27]
Gesenius agrees:
(a) To see the face of a king, is said of his ministers, who are received to his presence, 2 Kings 25:19; Jeremiah 52:25; Esther 1:14. – (b) To see the face of God, i.e. to be admitted to behold God, a privilege conferred, according to the Old Testament, to very few mortals; as to the elders of Israel in the giving of the law, Exodus 24:10 (compare Psalms 11:7; 17:15); to Moses, Exodus 33:20. [28]
Form & Purpose of Cherubim in the New Testament & Their Implications
In Revelation 4:6-11, John had a vision of the throne room in heaven in which he saw four living creatures located around the throne, each having a different face: one a lion, the second an ox, the third a man and the fourth an eagle. Each living creature also had six wings:
In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. 7 The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. 8 Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.” 9 Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, 10 the twenty‑four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne, and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say: 11 “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.”
In calling them living creatures (ζωου zōon), John echoes Ezekiel 1 (the LXX translates Ezekiel’s cherubim/living beings as zōon). His description of their four faces affirms Ezekiel’s identification of cherubim. Their appearance throughout the Apocalypse reveals involvement in judgments (Revelation 6:1, 6; 15:7), following the model introduced by Ezekiel.
Yet they are also seen associated with redemption given their presence in passages such as Revelation 4 and 5 (see especially 5:9) and Revelation 7:9-12; 14:1-5; 19:4-8. Their presence is thus seen in both judgment and mercy passages, consistent with Ezekiel 9-10, affirming their role in redemptive activities of purification. That they play a role in redemption is acknowledged by commentators. [29]
Yet John introduces new aspects to the cherubim. They are now seen to have six wings and they lead heavenly worship of God, much as the seraphim were envisioned in worship in Isaiah 6:2-3. Bauckham concludes John’s vision conflates seraphim and cherubim. [30]
Their leadership in worship is centered upon the Lamb’s exaltation for His blood purchase and upon His ascension to kingship, two elements indicative of the consummation of God’s redemptive plan.
A New Dwelling “Around the Throne”?
There may be a third innovation introduced in their presentation “around the throne” (4:6) when one considers that the vision begins with John’s translation into Yahweh’s heavenly, throne room (vs 1). The cherubim are envisioned in heaven, signaled by the words “come up here” (vs 1). They are no longer on earth, no longer at the footstool of God’s throne.
Rather, they are gathered around it, inexact though the description is. The firmament prior envisioned above their heads by Ezekiel is not present in John’s vision. If so, there is deep eschatological and theological significance in this change.
A Change in “Standing”?
Christ’s death rent the firmament in heaven, conflating God’s heavenly Holy-of-holies with His earthly Holy-place, symbolized in the rent curtain in the Herodian temple. Yahweh’s cosmic temple was permanently transformed, allowing believers in Christ to have direct access to God’s throne. That John’s enthronement scene lacks a firmament and envisions the cherubim in heaven is thus expected.
The implications however, are unparalleled. John envisions the four living creatures with the twenty four elders around the throne and with legions of angels around them (5:11). Revelation 4 and 5 always give preeminence to the four living creatures over the twenty-four elders by listing them first, suggestive they are beings of the highest order, with the twenty-four elders second.
This view is enhanced by John’s notation that the four living creatures lead worship with the twenty-four elders following (4:9-10). When the ranks of the angels are seen in 5:11, they surround the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders implying they are of yet lower order.
If this ordering is correct, it suggests that none of the angelic ranks were allowed into the direct presence of God until after Christ’s propitiatory sacrifice. All were barred from His heavenly throne room. This certainly appears to be the perspective of the author of 1 Enoch, who when describing the throne of God in heaven, noted:
14 And behold there was another habitation more spacious than the former, every entrance to which was open before me, erected in the midst of a vibrating flame. 15 So greatly did it excel in all points, in glory, in magnificence, and in magnitude, that it is impossible to describe to you either the splendour or the extent of it. 16 its floor was on fire; above were lightnings and agitated stars, while its roof exhibited a blazing fire. 17 Attentively I surveyed it, and saw that it contained an exalted throne; 18 The appearance of which was like that of frost; while its circumference resembled the orb of the brilliant sun; and there was the voice of the cherubim. 19 From underneath this mighty throne rivers of flaming fire issued. 20 To look upon it was impossible. 21 One great in glory sat upon it: 22 Whose robe was brighter than the sun, and whiter than snow. 23 No angel was capable of penetrating to view the face of Him, the Glorious and the Effulgent; nor could any mortal behold Him. A fire was flaming around Him. 1 Enoch 14 (Emphasis Mine in vs 23)
If correct, far-reaching consequences are seen with Christ’s propitiatory sacrifice upon the unseen spiritual world. His sacrifice brings redemption and restoration to the visible cosmos, but also allows entry of the unseen spiritual, angelic powers in the heavens. They now also have access into the presence of God.
God’s redemptive plan is seen to be far greater, impacting all creation. It means that redemption changes the “standing” of even God’s spiritual beings – His angels!
If one asserts that the cherubim represent all created lifeforms, or perhaps all physical lifeforms, it implies that Yahweh’s order for His creation places His redeemed creation above that of angelic powers. While such a view is tempting in light of 1 Corinthians 6:3, one must explain why the twenty-four elders would have a lower order than all of restored creation.
In light of these difficulties, it may be best to understand the cherubim as God’s emblems of His redemptive promise. Their presence in heaven before the throne of God in Revelation 4 signals the completion of God’s grand redemptive plan for His creation. [31] These mysterious beings participate in God’s redemptive activities and thus can rejoice and worship God with its realization. They are also the place where God’s presence was most immanent, providing a second ground for the order of their presence directly before God’s throne. [32]
Concluding Reflections
The analysis of the cherubic creatures opens a minefield of interpretative challenges. Differences are found in the various passages that complicate understanding. Despite the difficulties, some valuable insights can be gained. Berman has noted that the garden-narrative reveals that the cherubim are representative or prototypes of the environment, if not also the conditions, under which man encounters God. [33]
The cherubim are seen only in regard to the garden, the tabernacle/temple and Yahweh’s throne-chariot – which itself represents a Holy-of-holies. It reveals the character of man’s encounter in temple-terms. In an age in which the temple is neither understood nor considered of import, the realization of our encounter with God in the setting of a temple points to improved knowledge of God’s house.
That New Testament authors describe the church corporately as God’s temple should prompt contemplation. That these strange creatures are positioned closest to God, that they were located on the atonement cover above the Testimony of the Law, also seems symbolic. That they guard the way to God’s presence and also to eternal life restored, encourages reflection.
Those who wish to be encounter God must realize their transgressions require atonement. As guards, cherubim would not permit an encounter with God without atonement secured. While this may seem obvious, our sins of omission and commission must be viewed as impermissible for those who wish to encounter and commune with God. It is not just the lost who are cut off, but all who violate the covenant.
This lesson seems emphasized by Ezekiel’s lament of the king of Tyre. While some have postulated the king of Tyre represents Satan, most have concluded that Ezekiel’s lament is a recapitulation of the adamic Fall. Like Adam, the Tyran king wishes to be like God (28:1) and has gained a heart full of pride from the wealth he has amassed (vss 4-5).
He thinks himself a god (vss 6, 9) and so God has determined to humble him by bringing his reign to a violent end (vs 8). He will die at the hands of foreign invaders (vs 7), a recapitulation of Israel’s curse-judgments, and he descends into the pit, the heart of the seas, a picture of the Abyss (vs 8). His descent recapitulates both Eden’s and Israel’s curse-judgments, expelled from the mount and garden (vs 16), exiled from the land of the living.
The judgment reveals the extent of the king’s fall as he is later called a “model of perfection”, residing “in Eden”, (vss 12-13), adorned with precious stones (vs 13) like a priest (cf. Exodus 28) and “anointed as a guardian cherub”, “ordained” of God, resident “on the holy mount of God”, walking “among the fiery stones” (vss 13-14), “blameless . . . from the day you were created” (vs 15). [34]
Like primeval Adam, He was given a position of leadership and dominion. Yet he failed because wickedness was found in him (vs 15). His wisdom became corrupted because of his splendor (vs 17) and wealth.
A key comparison is the parallel Ezekiel draws between the king and a cherubic guard in Eden. Such a parallel should apply to God’s covenant-community. It suggests that a key function of God’s people is to serve as guardians to His presence in His new Edenic garden.
Such a picture is consistent with the Israelite ensign in the wilderness, a cherubic arrangement around the tabernacle. That Israel in the wilderness formed such an arrangement points to the church in a similar structure guarding God’s presence.
It follows that the church corporately should guard the way to life and to God’s presence by serving as an atoning covering over God’s covenantal commands. [35] Like the cherubim, we are “living ones” that point the way to God and thus life. It suggests that the church has a responsibility to guard the way to God’s presence, assuring that those who wish to enter have their sins atoned, and are thus blameless.
It also suggests that the church’s guardianship must assure that those who wish to encounter God understand and abide by God’s covenantal commands and laws. The church must appropriately balance God’s covenantal laws while extending grace for those who seek repentance.
If true, then the symbolism of the cherubs gains deeper significance. That they are covered with eyes suggests that the church should serve as the body that sees the requests from the throne and executes them while also watching over God’s creation and His new garden, having the discernment to see and differentiate the profane from the holy, safe-guarding the garden from unauthorized entry of the profane, never sleeping.
Like the cherubim, the church should be animated by the Spirit, operating in sync as one, modeling God’s throne-chariot, bringing the world to an encounter with God. These cherubic parallels show responsibilities consistent with those of the church as a kingdom of priests. The cherubic parallels then, may provide a parallel and expanded picture of the responsibilities of God’s people.
These responsibilities should considered carefully. In Revelation, John reveals a personage he calls the mother of prostitutes. Her calling is cherubic, a guardian, arrayed in beautiful priestly clothes and bejeweled like a priest. Yet she is also accused of being full of pride, obscenely wealthy and behaving lawlessly as if she is a god.
Like the king of Tyre, she deceives herself into thinking she is safe in an Edenic garden, like him expelled, like him destroyed, like him burned with fire, like him descending into the Abyss, like him, excepted from mercy. She was non-compliant with God’s covenantal laws and thus failed to require covenantal faithfulness from her members.
Proper guardianship leads others to life and involves more than leading others to God’s altar for forgiveness. Proper guardianship brings others to purification through appropriate separation of the profane from the holy.
Israel’s history may provide an enlightening example. Instructions were given for adorning the tabernacle, Solomon’s temple and Ezekiel’s final temple with cherubic images. Their placement in the temple affirms these structures as God’s dwelling place.
Conspicuously absent are descriptions of the cherubim from the temple constructed in Ezra’s day. Also absent from this second temple was the Ark of the Covenant, another symbol of God’s presence, uniquely associated with cherubim. When considered in light of Ezekiel’s second vision of God’s throne, the teaching is clear.
God’s presence had abandoned Solomon’s Temple before its destruction in 587 B.C. The people were driven from the land in judgment for their sin, recapitulating Adam’s Fall in Eden. Ezekiel’s third vision of the future Temple shows God’s departed presence would return with the establishment of Ezekiel’s eschatological temple (435); likely why there was no description of cherubim in the temple of Ezra’s day.
Despite the return of the remnant and rebuilding of the temple under Ezra, Israel’s prior desecration of Solomon’s temple had long term consequences. God had abandoned His dwelling and would not return until His kingdom was established at the end of the ages.
This account provides a warning to the church to avoid desecrating God’s new eschatological temple – the church. Failure to guard and keep God’s eschatological temple from the profane comes with dire consequences. God may choose to abandon that part of His temple of living stones that is defiled with sin.
[1] The other two being the Seraphim and Ophanim, who like the cherubim are seen around God’s throne.
[2] There is deep symbolism in facing the east direction seen in the placement of the cherubim in the garden, the east-facing tabernacle and temple, the orders for Moses and Aaron to encamp facing east (Numbers 3:38) and the instructions for sprinkling the blood of the bullock in front of (or possibly eastward) in the Holy of Holies (Leviticus 16:14). Contrast Moses who encamped on the east side of the tabernacle with One greater-than-Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15-19) to appear in the east (Matthew 24:27).
[3] See Tree of Life Traditions in Antiquity for the Jewish beliefs on the tree of life.
[4] Gage, Warren Austin, The Gospel of Genesis, Winona Lake IN, Carpenter Books, 1984, p. 104
[5] Gesenius’ Lexicon, available @ www.blueletterbible.org
[6] Smith, Dr. William, Smith’s Bible Dictionary, Philadelphia, PA, A.J. Holman Company, Revised Edition, p. 54
[7] The lack of detail may have been deliberate so that the children of Israel would not fashion cherubim of wood, stone or molten gold to worship as idols.
[8] Walvoord, John F., The Revelation of Jesus Christ, Chicago, Moody Press, 1965, p. 110. See also Beale, G. K., The Book of Revelation, A Commentary on the Greek Text, Grand Rapids MI, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1999, p. 331
[9] The description here and in Ezekiel 10 are of sufficient complexity that scholarly arguments concerning the details and meaning are numerous and difficult. For a discussion of some of these difficulties, see the write-ups of Ezekiel 1 and 10 in Allen, Leslie C., Word Biblical Commentary, Volume 28, Ezekiel 1-19, Nashville TN, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1994
[10] Gage, Warren Austin, The Gospel of Genesis, Winona Lake IN, Carpenter Books, 1984, p. 57 Footnote 39
[11] Allen, Leslie C., Word Biblical Commentary, Volume 28, Ezekiel 1-19, Nashville TN, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1994, p. 27-28. Allen’s sky-bearer depictions show only two sky-bearers holding up the platform but notes that the carvings are two dimensional. The simple depictions were intended to represent four sky-bearers located at each of the four corners of the earth holding up the sky. This conception then opens the possibility that the sky-bearers would also have four faces. Such an assumption might also cover the cherubim of Ezekiel’s vision of the final eschatological temple in which the carved cherubim have two faces (41:17-20). Ezekiel’s vision is unique in that his cherubim have different faces, an unparalled development in the ancient near east. Ezekiel’s cherubim seem to displace the traditional sky-bearer and may be envisioned holding up the firmament, the vault of heaven.
[12] Block, Daniel I., The Book of Ezekiel, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Grand Rapids MI, Wm. B. Eeredsmans Publishing Co., 1997, p. 96
[13] Ibid, p. 96, footnote 49
[14] This view seems to be held by the majority of commentators. Beale notes that this seems to be the view of later Rabbinical tradition, referencing Midrash Rabbah Canticles 3.10.4, Midrash Rabbah Exodus 23:13, Midrash Psalms 103:16, Tanna debe Eliyyahu 161, Babylonian Talmud Hagigah 13:b. Beale, G. K., The Book of Revelation, A Commentary on the Greek Text, Grand Rapids MI,Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1999, p. 329-330
[15] Block, Daniel I., The Book of Ezekiel, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Grand Rapids MI, Wm. B. Eeredsmans Publishing Co., 1997, p.100
[16] Bauckham, Richard, The Climax of prophecy, Edinburgh, T&T Clark Ltd, 1993, p. 155
[17] There are a number of scriptures best understood as cherubic including the sheltering canopy, “I will abide in Thy Tabernacle forever; I will trust in the covert of Thy wings” (Psalms 61:4); “He shall cover thee with His feathers; and under His wings shalt thou trust” (Psalms 91:4); “Hide me under the shadow of Thy wings” (Psalms 17:8).
[18] See The Temple for an explanation of the temple and its relationship with creation.
[19] It would appear that Ezekiel was shocked by what he saw in the inaugural vision in which the identity of the living creatures was unclear. Ezekiel’s absence from the temple (in Chaldea) together with Josephus’ claim that the shape of the temple cherubim was not known, suggests that Ezekiel struggled to decode their appearance with the chariot of Yahweh in the first theophany. With the later vision of the chariot in the temple, he apparently realized their significance as cherubim, perhaps due to the inclusion of Solomonic cherubim in his vision? It suggests that the head of an ox was the basis of the traditional view of a Hebrew cherub. Aune has noted that Ezekiel 10:14 is not present in the LXX. He has suggested it may have been a later gloss. Given its absence from the LXX, it may be best if the change from the face of an ox to that of a cherub is not overemphasized. Aune, David E., Revelation 1-5, Word Biblical Commentary, Dallas TX, Word Books, 1998, p. 298
[20] One of the controversial aspects of the passage is the occurrence of cherub singular and plural, which has garnered numerous explanations. Strong proposes a novel interpretation of Ezekiel 10 that relies upon the distinction between the singular and plural occurrences of cherub. He argues that the singular cherub is a arms bearer who dismounts from Yahweh’s chariot of four cherubim to set up a base camp. Yahweh’s presence leaves the temple to do battle. Though not explicitly stated, the remaining cherubim apparently serve as token and pledge that Yahweh’s presence would return to the temple after completion of the battle. If true, it suggests the possibility that cherubim could be temporarily “apart” from Yahweh, but symbolize His promise to return. Concerning Strong’s proposal, let each decide for oneself. Strong, John T., God’s Kābôd: The Presence of Yahweh in the Book of Ezekiel, published in Odell, Margaret S., and Strong, John T., The Book of Ezekiel, Theological and Anthropological Perspectives, Atlanta, Society of Biblical Literature, 2000, p. 87-88
[21] Some commentators contest a purifying role of the cherubim given their role in the destructive judgment upon Jerusalem. However, they are also associated with giving coals from the fire of God to the man with ink horn, who marked the righteous, saving them from the judgment. As purification is often defined scripturally as a separation of the righteous from unrighteous, it supports that the cherubim play a role in the purification of God’s people.
[22] Walvoord, John F., The Revelation of Jesus Christ, Chicago, Moody Press, 1965, p. 109
[23] Smith, Dr. William, Smith’s Bible Dictionary, Cherubim, Philadelphia, PA, A.J. Holman Company, Revised Edition, p. 54
[24] A further confirmation is found in Ezekiel 1:12 where the cherubim are described as going in whatever direction the spirit would go without turning their heads. They are actualized by the spirit.
[25] If cherubim are full of eyes because they see God, then the term “watcher”, Aramaic iyr, used three times in Daniel 4 and also used in the Book of Enoch may possibly be a manifestation of a cherub or a rank within a cherubic order of angels.
[26] Beale, G. K., The Book of Revelation, A Commentary on the Greek Text, Grand Rapids MI,Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1999, p. 330
[27] Smith, Dr. William, Smith’s Bible Dictionary, Eye, Philadelphia, PA, A.J. Holman Company, Revised Edition, p. 101
[28] Strong’s Concordance & Gesenius’ Lexicon, available @ www.blueletterbible.org
[29] Bullinger describes them as “symbolical . . . of the future new creation”. Bullinger, E.W., A Critical Lexicon and Concordance to the English and Greek New Testament, Grand Rapids, MI, Kregel Publications, 1908, p. 85. Habershon ties them to redemption given their presence on the mercy seat. Habershon, A. R., The Study of the Types, London and Glasgow, Pickering & Inglis, Seventh Edition, p. 63-64
[30] Bauckham, Richard, The Theology of the Book of Revelation, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1993, p. 33. 1 Enoch 61:10 and 1 Enoch 71:7 picture the seraphim, cherubim and ophanim together around God’s throne with 71:7 adding “And these are they who sleep not and guard the throne of His glory.” Placing these creatures together in position and function around the throne may justify John’s conflation of the features of the living creatures he envisions. 1 Enoch 71:7 also provides some insight into these creatures being covered with eyes as they sleep not, guarding and watching the throne.
[31] This view is supported in their last appearance in Revelation 15 in which it is said “it is done” after the out-pouring of the seventh bowl-judgment. With the completion of redemption, these creatures fade from view.
[32] So Berman, Joshua, The Temple, Its Symbolism and Meaning Then and Now, London, Jason Aronson Inc, 1995, p. 79
[33] Ibid, p. 22
[34] Block notes Tyrian art showing cherubim decorated with gemstones, some showing the face of the king on the cherub with tulip gardens and mountains at their feet, attesting to the familiarity of Ezekiel’s picture to both the Tyrian king and Jewish people whose temple was adorned with Tyrian-type cherubim. Block, Daniel I., The Book of Ezekiel, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Grand Rapids MI, Wm. B. Eerdsmans Publishing Co., 1997, p. 113 (Footnote 120).
[35] It further hints at a parallel structure between God’s unseen angelic order in heaven and His “seen” church order here on earth.