God’s world and his creatures are truly fascinating, and one wonders if the creatures described in Ezekiel are given an earthly form or if that description indicates their real spiritual form. Whatever might be the case, more than one Cherub was placed at the entrance of the Garden, when God intended to keep man from re-entering (Gen. 3:24). Perhaps there was more than one Cherub at the entrance but only one flaming sword that turned every direction, or maybe one each? In any case, men of old knew what the cherubims looked like before Ezekiel’s vision because they were carved and entwined in the temple tapestry, on the lavers and other prominent places. Two fully formed Cherubims carved from the almond tree and covered with gold were on either side of the ark. Did the two on the ends of the ark have more than one face, and, if so, which face did Moses understand would be facing toward each other?
IN EZEKIEL’S VISION OF THE TEMPLE THERE WERE CHERUBIM.
Ezekiel 41:18-20—And it was made with cherubims and palm trees, so that a palm tree was between a cherub and a cherub; and every cherub had two faces; 19 So that the face of a man was toward the palm tree on the one side, and the face of a young lion toward the palm tree on the other side: it was made through all the house round about. 20 From the ground unto above the door were cherubims and palm trees made, and on the wall of the temple.
Ezekiel 41:25—And there were made on them, on the doors of the temple, cherubims and palm trees, like as were made upon the walls; and there were thick planks upon the face of the porch without.
THERE WAS ALSO A FIGURATIVE USE OF THE WORD CHERUB.
Ezekiel 28:14—Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.
Ezekiel 28:16—By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.
IT APPEARS THERE MAY BE A SYMBOLIC USE OF THE WORD CHERUBIMS IN EZEKIEL 1:1-28 AND EZEKIEL 10:1-22.
A symbol represents something without being the thing itself something used for or regarded as representing something else; a material object representing something, often something immaterial; emblem, token, or sign.
Ezekiel 1:28 says the vision/picture given was “the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord.” The word ‘likeness’ could be understood to be similar or representative of the glory of the Lord. In that sense it could be a symbol.
It also could represent the different types/kinds of creation, but if that understanding is true, it appears to leave out the creatures in the ocean.
All of this kind of thinking is guesswork and leads to ones own interpretation, which could be fatal! (2 Pet. 1:20-21).
We know they were involved in the vision, which depicts God’s throne, but obviously God’s throne is spiritual so this must be representative. The description in Revelation 4:6-9 is somewhat the same, though instead of cherubim there are four beasts each with a different face instead of four faces in one living creature. One might say they were not cherubim, because in verse 8 that they had six wings round about them. Typically the cherubims were described with four. They could be representative, but adding to or taking from the book of Revelation might be fatal! (Rev. 22:18-19). There is little enough said that we don’t know much about them. The beasts appear to be at least like the cherubim, though each one has only one face. Each face was different but still the same as the four faces each creature had in Ezekiel’s vision.
–Beth Johnson
MULIEBRAL STUDIES http://pilgrimstranger.wordpress.com/
MULIEBRAL VIEWPOINT http://pilgrimstranger39.wordpress.com/ or http://helpmeettohim.org
BOOKS http://tinyurl.com/km5blyo