"MINISTERING SPIRITS"

The Cherubim And Seraphim

INTRODUCTION
  1. The Old Testament certainly has much to say about angels...
    1. Their service to God and to His people
    2. Carrying out God's will as messengers and in other ways
  2. Also serving God are two other classes of spiritual beings...
    1. Cherubim (singular, cherub or cherubim) - a word whose etymology is uncertain
    2. Seraphim - a word meaning "fiery ones"
  3. What were these spiritual beings...?
    1. They certainly fall into the category of 'ministering spirits'
    2. Are they angels, perhaps of a higher order or class?

[We may not know the answer this side of eternity, but let's see what the Bible reveals...]

  1. THE CHERUBIM
    1. AS GUARDIANS OF PARADISE...
      1. Placed by God after Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden - Gen 3:24
      2. "In their function as guardians of Paradise the cherubim bear an analogy to the winged bulls and lions of Babylonia and Assyria, colossal figures with human faces standing guard at the entrance of temples (and palaces), just as in Egypt the approaches to the sanctuaries are guarded by sphinxes." - ISBE
      3. No description is given, but note the mention of "flaming sword"
    2. AS BEARERS OF THE THRONE...
      1. As attendants of God, they bear the throne upon which He descends from His high abode - Ps 18:9-10a
      2. Through the use of synonymous parallelism they are described as "the wings of the wind" - Ps 18:10b; cf. Ps 104:3
      3. Thus God is described as "enthroned above the cherubim" - Psa 80:1; 99:1; 1Sa 4:4
    3. AS WINGED CREATURES OF FIRE...
      1. "...the function of the cherubim as bearers and movers of the Divine throne is brought out most clearly in the vision of Ezekiel" - ISBE
        1. In chapter 1 the prophet designates them as 'living creatures' - Eze 1:4-5
        2. He later perceives that the living creatures were 'cherubim' - Eze 10:15,20
        3. The chariot or throne, from which the glory of God went up, is spoken of as a cherub - Eze 9:3
      2. The cherubim as seen by Ezekiel were four living creatures, each having...
        1. Four faces: man, lion, ox (replaced in the parallel chapter by cherub) and eagle - Eze 1:10; 10:14
        2. The figure and hands of men - Eze 1:5,8
        3. Straight legs, with the soles of their feet like that of calves, sparkling like burnished bronze - Eze 1:7
        4. Four wings
          1. Two stretched upward, meeting above and sustaining the 'firmament', the bottom of the Divine throne- Eze 1:11, 22; 10:1
          2. Two stretched downward, covering their bodies - Eze 1:11, 23
          3. Having the noise of many waters, like the voice of the Almighty, the tumult of an army - Eze 1:24
      3. The cherubim as seen by Ezekiel in appearance were...
        1. Surrounded by coals of fire - cf. Eze 10:2,6
        2. Like burning torches, the fire flashing up and down among the creatures, out of which went lightning - Eze 1:13
      4. The cherubim as seen by Ezekiel...
        1. Run back and forth in appearance like a flash of lightning - Eze 1:14
        2. Do not turn as they changed direction, but always go straight forward - Eze 1:9,17; 10:11
        3. Each had beside them a wheel - Eze 1:15-21
          1. Like the color of beryl (sea green or gold colored) - Eze 1:16
          2. Like a wheel within a wheel - Eze 1:16
          3. That did not turn aside as they went in the four directions - Eze 1:17
          4. With rims high and awesome, full of eyes - Eze 1:18
          5. Which followed the cherubim wherever they went - Eze 1:19
          6. The spirit of the cherubim provided the direction of the wheels - Eze 1:19-21; 10:16,17
      5. Above the cherubim (living creatures) was...
        1. A firmament like the color of an awesome crystal - Eze 1:22-23
        2. A voice from above the firmament - Eze 1:25
        3. A throne like a sapphire stone, on which sat one with a likeness of a man - Eze 1:26
          1. His waist upward was the color of amber, like fire all around - Eze 1:27
          2. His waist downward like fire with brightness all around - Eze 1:27
        4. The brightness like the rainbow all around - Eze 1:28
        -- Which Ezekiel described as the likeness of the glory of the Lord - Eze 1:28; cf. Re 4:2-6
    4. AS ORNAMENTS IN THE TABERNACLE AND TEMPLE...
      1. In the tabernacle
        1. On the mercy-seat covering the ark were two cherubim of solid gold
          1. Facing each other, with wings outstretched above - Exo 25:18-20; 37:7-9
          2. On which the glory of the Lord appeared, and from which He spoke - Exo 25:22; Num 7:89; cf. 1Sa 4:4; 2Sa 6:2; He 9:5
        2. On the curtains were woven artistic designs of cherubim - Exo 26:1; 36:8
        3. On the veil of the tabernacle also - Exo 26:31; 36:35
      2. In the temple of Solomon
        1. In the inner sanctuary, the Most Holy Place - 1Ki 6:23-29; 2Ch 3:10-13
          1. Placed over the ark of the covenant - 1Ki 8:6-7; 2 Chr 5:7-8
          2. Where God's presence was manifested - 2Ki 19:15; Psa 80:1; 99:1
        2. On the veil - 2Ch 3:14
        3. On the walls and door - 1Ki 6:29-35; 2Ch 3:7
        4. On the ten carts and ten lavers - 1Ki 7:29,36
      3. In the temple of Ezekiel
        1. That is, the temple seen by Ezekiel in a vision - Ezek 41-43
        2. The inner walls of the temple were carved with alternating palm trees and cherubim, each with two faces, a lion on one side, a man on the other - Eze 41:18-20
        3. The doors of the sanctuary were carved with cherubim - Eze 41:23-25
      4. In the temple of Herod
        1. "There were no cherubim in the temple of Herod, but the walls were painted with figures of them (see Talmud)." - ISBE
        2. "In the times of Josephus no one knew what the Scriptural cherubim looked like (Ant., VIII, iii, 3)." - ISBE

        [Unlike the cherubim, there is only one specific mention of the seraphim in the Bible...]

  2. THE SERAPHIM
    1. AS SEEN IN ISAIAH'S VISION...
      1. The Lord is on a throne in the temple, high and lifted up - Isa 6:1
      2. The seraphim are above the throne - Isa 6:2a
      3. They had six wings - Isa 6:2
        1. Two covered the face
        2. Two covered the feet
        3. With two they flew
      4. One cried to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory!" - Isa 6:3
      5. One flew to Isaiah - Isa 6:6-7
        1. With a live coal in his hand taken with tongs from the altar
        2. Touching Isaiah's mouth with it, saying: "Behold, this has touched your lips; your iniquity is taken away, and your sins purged."
    2. AS DESCRIBED IN VARIOUS SOURCES...
      1. "This word means fiery ones, in allusion, as is supposed, to their burning love. They are represented as 'standing' above the King as he sat upon his throne, ready at once to minister unto him. Their form appears to have been human, with the addition of wings." - Easton's Dictionary
      2. "Nowhere else applied to God's attendant angels; but to the fiery flying (not winged, but rapidly moving) serpents, which bit the Israelites (Num 21:6), called so from the poisonous inflammation caused by their bites. Seraph is to burn; implying the burning zeal, dazzling brightness (2Ki 2:11; 2Ki 6:17; Eze 1:13; Mt 28:3) and serpent-like rapidity of the seraphim in God's service. Perhaps Satan's form as a serpent (nachash) in his appearance to man has some connection with his original form as a seraph of light. The head of the serpent was the symbol of wisdom in Egypt (compare Num 21:8; 2Ki 18:4). The seraphim, with six wings and one face, can hardly be identified with the cherubim, which had four wings (in the temple only two) and four faces (Eze 1:5-12). (But compare Rev 4:8). The 'face' and 'feet' imply a human form; something of a serpentine form (perhaps a basilisk's head, as in the temples of Thebes) may have been mixed with it: so the cherub was compounded of various animal forms. However, seraph may come from a root meaning 'princely,' applied in Dan 10:13 to Michael [MAURER]; just as cherub comes from a root (changing m into b), meaning noble.'" - JFB
      3. "The most that can be said with certainty about the seraphim is that they were a separate group of attendants who praised God at His throne." - ISBE (revised)
CONCLUSION
  1. Whether seraphim or cherubim can rightly be called angels may be uncertain...
    1. Perhaps they are a higher class or order of angels - cf. He 1:7
    2. If they are akin to the 'living creatures' in the book of Revelation, they seem to be distinguished from angels - cf. Re 4:6-8; 5:11
  2. In either case, they were certainly 'ministering spirits' whose service reminds us...
    1. Of the glory and majesty of Him who sits on the throne
    2. Of the mercy and forgiveness of the God Whom they praise

Do we like the cherubim over the mercy-seat long to behold the mercy God extends to His people? Do we like seraphim find the holiness of God worthy to be praised? We should...

"But you [are] a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once [were] not a people but [are] now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy." (1Pe 2:9-10)
Have you accepted the gospel call that qualifies you to live a life of praise and service to such a wonderful God...? - cf. 2Th 2:14; Col 1:12-13