Angels in Scripture: Cherubim Guarding the Tree of Life

Angels in Scripture: Cherubim Guarding the Tree of Life.

Angel in Eden.

“So Yahweh expelled them from the Garden of Eden and sent them to work the ground, the same dirt out of which they’d been made. He threw them out of the Garden and stationed angel-cherubim and a revolving sword of fire east of it, guarding the path to the Tree of Life.” (Genesis 3:24, MSG).

In the center of the Garden of Eden, God planted two trees: the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, and the Tree of Life. Adam and Eve were forbidden to eat of their fruit. The Tree of the Knowledge was an opportunity… It was a test of obedience. God gave them the freedom to choose to disobey God or obey Him. The other Tree was put there to fulfill man’s destiny of eternal life, the fruit of immortality. The problem after the Fall is that mankind fell into a state of sin, they were no longer innocent. To eat of the Tree of Life would now lead to a hopeless life, a sinful life with no hope of ever achieving innocence, a sinful life that would never end. God would not want sinners to eat of the Tree of life, He would not want anyone under the power of sin to have eternal life. So God needed to protect the Tree of Life at all costs. God knew that if Adam and Eve were willful enough to disobey God with the one Tree, they could sooner or later disobey Him with the other Tree. This would be a catastrophe.

The first appearance of a heavenly fire in Scripture is in the Garden of Eden. God couldn’t stomach the idea that someone with a sinful nature could eat from the Tree of Life and achieve immortality in a fallen state, forever wicked. So Adam and Eve had to leave the Garden. To make sure He barred access to the Tree of Life, God stationed cherubim, we don’t know how many, to guard the Tree. Cherubim, those mighty and fearsome winged creatures created by God in heaven before the world began, who serve as God’s ministering angels and represent His invisible presence and authority. Cherubim, those highly important angel servants of Yahweh found throughout the Bible:

• Whose images were embroidered into the beautiful blue, purple and scarlet curtains of the Tabernacle ( 26:1) and the holy veil separating the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place, guarding the entrance to the Holy of Holies much like guarding the entrance to the Garden of Eden (Ex. 31);
• Whose golden images spread their wings over the Mercy Seat of the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies where God spoke to Moses ( 25:18; Numbers 7:89). The human faces of these two golden angels are facing each other but looking downward in reverence and awe;
• Whose two towering sculpted images dominated the inner sanctuary of the Jerusalem Temple, made of olivewood and covered in gold, reaching seventeen-and-a-half feet high and with a wingspan of the same length (1 Kings 6:23);
• Whose images represented the presence of Yahweh in Solomon’s Temple, and were seemingly everywhere…. Engraved on the walls, carved onto the doorposts and into the doors as well (1 Kings 6);
• Featured as main characters accompanying God’s glory and flanking His throne in the fantastic, heavenly visions of Ezekiel; the four cherubim each had four faces and four wings, with wheels within wheels that allowed them to flash back and forth like lightning. The other-worldly bodies of the cherubim were covered with eyes. They held flaming coals of fire between them  (Ezekiel 1 and 10);

Swords of Fire. We don’t know what the Garden’s cherubim looked like, because they weren’t described. We do know they were appointed by God to remain at the east end of the Garden of Eden with one mission… to guard the Tree of Life. Each angel wielded an awesome weapon, a revolving sword of fire, a flaming blade forged in heaven, that constantly turned in every direction, a fiery sword that flashed back and forth to protect the Tree of Life from being violated. This fire came from the celestial consuming fire, the glory of God.

No Cherubim Needed. “I’m about to call each of My conquerors to dinner in paradise. I’m spreading a banquet of Tree of Life fruit, a supper plucked from God’s orchard.” (Rev. 2:7). Because of Jesus’ death and Resurrection, the power of sin has been broken, and the Tree of Life is now ready to fulfill the destiny of mankind… eternal life. This Tree is available in paradise. God wants to restore the Garden of Eden in the new heaven and the new earth, and so, sure enough, God has placed the restored Tree of Life in the middle of heaven. The Tree’s roots are watered by the living water flowing from God’s throne. This Tree is now open for business, it bears a nourishing fruit that is ripe for each of the 12 months. And it has leaves that are intended for the healing of the nations, the constant nurture and care of all people. The restored Tree of Life reverses the curse of the Garden. So one can see that this Tree is in many ways the Cross of Christ. Jesus’ death has destroyed the power of sin, and paved the way for believers to have eternal life. The Cross is our source of life, and has taken away the curse of sin. Jesus promises that all the overcomers, the victorious ones, will eat the fruit of this Tree, destined for those who participate in Christ’s victory and salvation.