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CHERUBIM
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`disapproved'. The subject under discussion is that of winning a prize or crown, and the idea implied in the word
translated `castaway' is that of being `disqualified' as a contestant in a race. For no man is crowned `except he
strive lawfully' (2 Tim. 2:5). This matter will be found more fully handled under the headings HOPE2 and PRIZE3, to
which the reader's attention is directed.
CHERUBIM. The cherubim do not figure in Paul's ministry except for one reference, which but introduces them only
to dismiss them with the comment `of which we cannot now speak particularly' (Heb. 9:5). The passage in the
epistle to the Hebrews, referring back as it does to the tabernacle, is the only occurrence of `cherubim' in the New
Testament. These symbolic creatures however, are mentioned again, but they are referred to in the A.V. as `beasts'
in the book of the Revelation. This is a pity, because, there is `the beast' the great dictator of the time of the end
who justly merits that name and this rightly translates the Greek word therion which means `a wild beast' as in Mark
1:13 and Acts 10:12. The other word translated `beast' in the Revelation is zoon `the living creature' (Rev. 4:6,7,8
etc.) and refers back to Ezekiel 10:20, where the four, four-faced living creatures are already described in Ezekiel
1:5-10.
`This is the living creature that I saw under the God of Israel by the river of Chebar: and I knew that they were
the cherubim' (Ezek. 10:20).
Genesis 3
The serpent (`Beast' in verse 1 is the Hebrew chalyah `living creature').
A 1-5.
(Procuring man's downfall and loss of the tree of life).
B 6.
Tree of knowledge.
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*
*
B 22-24. Tree of life.
A -24.
The cherubim (`living creature' Ezekiel 1:5; Revelation 4:6)
(Pledge of man's restoration to the tree of life).
It is a mistake to speak of cherubims, as the Hebrew ending `im' is itself the sign of the plural. The first
occurrence of cherubim in Scripture is in Genesis 3, and its relation to the tragic story of that chapter, and its
correspondence with the serpent, can be seen in the structure of that chapter.
Here is the pledge of Paradise restored, placed at the gate of the garden, upon the fall of man and his expulsion
from Eden. It is to be noted moreover, that the word `placed' in Genesis 3:24 is the Hebrew shaken which means `to
dwell', and with the prefix mi (mishkan) it becomes `tabernacle'. For example:
`Let them make Me a sanctuary; that I may dwell (shaken) among them. According to all that I shew thee, after
the pattern of the tabernacle (mishkan)' (Exod. 25:8,9).
The cherubim meet us again in Exodus, in the tabernacle, in the book of Kings in the temple, in Ezekiel
associated with the departing and returning glory of the Lord from Jerusalem, and finally under the title, `the four
living creatures' in the book of the Revelation, where the primeval promise of Genesis 3 reaches its fulfilment, but
only so by reason of the atonement prefigured by the ark and the mercy seat. There is, however, more than this to be
noted, for in Ezekiel 28 we meet with the title cherubim once again in a context that demands careful attention. The
appearances therefore of the term `cherub' and `cherubim' in Ezekiel are as follows:
a from threshold.
A 1-11. The cherubim. Glory departing
b from east gate.
c from midst of city.
B 28. The anointed cherub `cast out as profane'.