by Yvette van Niekerk
Genesis 3: 23 - 24 AMP "therefore the Lord God
sent Adam away from the Garden of Eden, to till and cultivate the ground from
which he was taken. So God drove the man out; and at the east of the Garden of
Eden He [permanently] stationed the cherubim and the sword with the flashing
blade which turned around and around [in every direction] to protect and guard
the way (entrance, access) to the tree of life."
The Cherubim are referenced several times in my
Nave's Topical Bible. Are they the same as the seraphim? No, Ezekiel had a
vision, and this is what we read he saw. Ezekiel 10 verse 21 AMP "Each one
had four faces, and each one had four wings, and beneath their wings was the
form of human hands." These angels had four faces and four wings, and the
seraphim six wings, and both creatures have hands.
According to Ezekiel, there was a stormy wind from
the north, with a great cloud with fire flashing continually from it. A very
bright light all around it and within it to the core, something like glowing
metal amid the fire. Inside of this cloud, there were four living beings. They
looked like humans, and each one of them had four faces and four wings. Their
legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like a calf's hoof, and
they sparkled and gleamed like shiny bronze. Under their wings on their four
sides, they had hands like humans. Their wings touched one another, their faces
did not turn when they moved, and each went straight forward. This was what
their faces looked like: each one had the face of a man facing to the front,
and each had the face of a lion on the right side, and the face of an ox on the
left side and all four also had the face of an eagle at the back of their
heads. Their wings were stretched out upward; two of each one was touching
another, the wings of the beings on either side of it, or the remaining two
wings of each being were covering their bodies. They each went straight
forward; wherever the spirit was about to go, they would go without turning as
they. Among the living beings, there was something that looked like burning
coals of fire, like torches moving back and forth among the living beings. The
fire was bright, and lightning was flashing from the fire. And the living
creatures rushed back and forth like the flash of lightning.
He was looking at the angel's faces. We can also
see something of the Lord Jesus. The face of a man speaks of His humanity; the
face of the lion speaks of His authority and the face of the ox speaks of His
sacrifice on the cross and the face of the eagle speaks of His deity. Now I
believe that these angels were on a mission, where the Holy Spirit leads they
went.
Another feature of these angels was they were as
fast as lightning. We read from verse 13 and 14, among these living beings,
there was something that looked like burning coals of fire, like torches moving
back and forth among the living beings. The fire was bright, and lightning was
flashing from the fire. And the living creatures rushed back and forth like
flashes of lightning. We see they were attached one to the other and still
moved very fast, and they look like they are red-hot burning fire.
Then we see in verse 15 and 16, and the four
creatures have a wheel on the ground beside each one of them. The wheels were
identical, sparkling like a diamond in the sun. Wheels within wheels, like a
gyroscope.
We see the wheels as describe from verse 17 to 21,
"They went in any one of the four directions they faced, but straight, not
veering off. The rims were immense, circled with eyes. When the living
creatures went, the wheels went; when the living creatures lifted off, the
wheels lifted off. Wherever the spirit went, they went, the wheels sticking
right with them, for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels. When
the creatures went, the wheels went; the creatures stopped, the wheels stopped;
when the creatures lifted off, the wheels lifted off, because the spirit of the
living creature was in the wheels." Again we cannot imagine what God has
created, it sound so awesome. It far beyond what I could even comprehend my
imagination is lacking when it comes to even imagining God's remarkable creatures.
In the following verses, 22 – 24, we read
"over the heads of the living creatures was something like a dome,
shimmering like a sky full of cut glass, vaulted over their heads. Under the
dome one set of wings was extended towards the other, with another set of wings
covering their bodies. When they moved I heard their wings – it was like the
roar of a great waterfall, like the voice of The Strong God, like the noise of
a battlefield. When they stopped, they folded their wings." As I focus and
meditate on this scripture its clear, I cannot imagine God's angels looking
like something filled with eyes and wheels.
Then Ezekiel describes the noise that these angels
made, I think there must have been a multitude to create the noise. He said
that it sounded like rushing water of Victoria falls perhaps. I believe Ezekiel
experience an incredible vision, seeing all these angels carrying the glory of
the Almighty forward as they moved. God is above them – bring glory and praises
to the Lord God Almighty. Reading from verses 25 – 28 "And then, as they
stood with folded wings, there was a voice from above the dome over their
heads. Above the dome, there was something that looked like a throne, sky-blue
like a sapphire, with a humanlike figure towering above the throne. From what I
could see, from the waist up he looked like burnished bronze and from the waist
down like a blazing fire. Brightness everywhere! The way a rainbow springs out
of the sky on a rainy day – that's what it was. It turned out to be the Glory
of GOD! When I saw all this, I fell to my knees, my face to the ground. Then I
heard a voice."
Glory to God Almighty, this is so awesome, God we love you!
Yvette van Niekerk
