How does the Bible describe Cherubim Angels?

Angels, Into the Mind of Lucifer, Christian Novels, Christian Fantasy, Christian Author

One of the oddest angels described in the Bible is the Cherub. Before discussing the character description, be aware that plural for Cherub is not Cherubs, it is Cherubim (at least in the Bible). This is because “im” is usually used to indicate masculine plural in Hebrew. So two of these Cherub angels is written as “Cherubim.”

In regard to a Cherub's description, we look to the prophet Ezekiel where God presented him with a vision of a Cherub. I will start with the faces. “Their faces looked like this: Each of the four had the face of a human being, and on the right side each had the face of a lion, and on the left the face of an ox; each also had the face of an eagle. Such were their faces.” (Ezekiel 1:10-11).

Later in the chapter, the face of the ox is described differently. “Each of the cherubim had four faces: One face was that of a cherub, the second the face of a human being, the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.” (Ezekiel 10:14 NIV). You may ask, “Why does he describe one of the four faces as a cherub?” Other translations have “ox” or “bull.” Applying the discipline of “using Scripture to interpret Scripture,” Revelation 4:7 describes a “living creature” like a cherub. “The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle.” I am taking the position that one of the faces looked like an ox based on the two overt descriptions. I will discuss the “living creature” spiritual being in another post.

Moving down to the wings, a Cherub has only four, not six wings as a Seraph. (I will discuss Seraphim in another post who usually are described as having six wings). “They each had two wings spreading out upward, each wing touching that of the creature on either side; and each had two other wings covering its body.” (Ezekiel 1:11) These two Cherubim touching wings is interesting when observing the traditional description of the Arc of the Covenant. I will also be discussed in another post.

Lastly, we lower our gaze to a Cherub's wheels. (Notice how Ezekiel uses the term “living creatures.”) “As I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the ground beside each creature with its four faces. This was the appearance and structure of the wheels: They sparkled like topaz, and all four looked alike. Each appeared to be made like a wheel intersecting a wheel.” (Ezekiel 1:15-16) Also notice that Ezekiel uses the phrase, “appeared to be.” We will see other vague references in Revelation as John writes “looked like” when describing his vision. The assumption of these writing styles is that human languages fall short in describing heavenly images, therefore, the observer had to qualify their descriptions.

I worked with my book cover artist to create this strange angel on the cover of Into the Mind of Lucifer. (Disregard the order of my book cover's faces since I needed the ox in front and no human face). This literary piece is a free Prequel to my Angelic Wars musical novel series. In these series I use the Bible to guide me as to the descriptions of a Cherub and Seraph. There are other enhancements to angels outside the Bible based on lore. I chose to ignore those sources, instead relying on the Word of God.

How does the Bible describe Cherubim Angels?

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