Fire in the Bible Part 4 – Fire and the Cherubim
Fire is God’s way of showing that He is there in spirit.
Chapter 8 Fire and the Cherubim
God often used fire as a representation of His spirit being present when it was used in combination with the Cherubim. Before we can look at this we need to briefly look at what the Cherubim was.
What is a Cherubim?
The Cherubim of the Old Testament was associated with the manifestation of God to the nation of Israel. They were first heard of in Genesis where they were placed as guards at the east of the Garden of Eden. In the wilderness tabernacle of Moses, they, in combination with the mercy seat were set on top of the Ark of the Covenant. In Solomon’s temple they were of wood overlaid with gold, standing some 16 feet high with wings outstretched over the mercy seat.
The Cherubim was a living creature with the body of a man but with four faces and four wings. The Cherubim had feet like the soles of calf feet and they shone like polished brass. The four faces of each one consisted of a face of a man, a face of a lion, one of an ox, and one of eagle.
What did the Cherubim represent? The Cherubim represented the saints working with the spirit in its war against sin. After they had completed this task then they would be active in governing the nations. Why were there four living creatures to be used to represent the saints carrying on their military and civil administration? It was because four is the number of perfect administration. For example, the twelve tribes of Israel marched out from Sinai in four divisions.
Now that we have briefly established this, let’s look at the connection between the Cherubim and fire. Have a look at Isaiah chapter six and verses one to three.
In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”
The Seraphim
We have read of Isaiah seeing above the throne upon which Christ is sitting, two seraphim. You might ask at this point: I thought we were talking about Cherubim, how did we all of a sudden start talking about something called a seraphim? It is because Seraphim are basically identical with cherubim in their symbology. They are winged creatures like the cherubim.
The seraphim come from the Hebrew word “Saraph”. Saraph means a burning poisonous serpent. In other words, it is a fiery serpent which was copper in colour. It was something that would consume it’s enemies with fire. It is the same fiery serpent that the children of Israel saw in the wilderness with Moses. The Hebrew word for the serpent in the wilderness is also “Saraph”.
The seraphim or fiery serpent represents flesh tried by fire. Christ was the obvious example of this. But the seraphim also will represent the saints, who being incarnations of the Spirit will stamp out the evil powers of this world. Seraphim, as I mentioned before, are identical in symbology to Cherubim.
There is more on the fiery serpent in part 5 of this series.
Cherubim and the Garden of Eden
The first mention of Cherubim’s in the Bible was the instance of the Cherubim and the flaming sword at the entrance of the Garden of Eden. Have a look at Genesis chapter 3 and verse 22 to 24.
Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.
God is represented among other things by light, spirit and fire. It can be ascertained therefore from this verse in Genesis that the flaming sword showed the presence of God to any man who tried to find the tree of life. A flaming sword showing that no man was going to come to the tree of life and attain everlasting life whilst he had sin within him. If a man did try to approach the tree he would be destroyed by the flaming sword. So this first reference to cherubim showed the presence of God with the cherubim, by the use of fire.
The four living creatures
The use of fire with Cherubim is further seen if we look at Ezekiel Chapter 1 verse 4 to 5.
As I looked, behold, a stormy wind came out of the north, and a great cloud, with brightness around it, and fire flashing forth continually, and in the midst of the fire, as it were gleaming metal. And from the midst of it came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance: they had a human likeness,
This likeness of four living creatures is in other words the Cherubim. Ezekiel goes on to describe this creature’s appearance until we read in verse 13 of the same chapter.
As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, like the appearance of torches moving to and fro among the living creatures. And the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning. And the living creatures darted to and fro, like the appearance of a flash of lightning. Ezekiel 1:13-14.
The fire described by Ezekiel represented the spirit of God through his representatives the Cherubim. Why did God choose fire to be used here to represent himself? Because it was normal for God to answer men by fire, he had done it on numerous occasions through the Old Testament when some great principle or new institution was to be established. We looked at some of these in my previous parts of this series. To refresh your memory:
There were the times all those years back when men went to sacrifice before Him where they would present their offerings. If these were according to God’s commands, then he would accept them and answer the person making the offerings by fire flashing from the cherubic glory, and this fire would consume the sacrifice upon the altar. Have a look at Leviticus Chapter 9 and verses 22 to 24 for a further illustration of this.
Then Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people and blessed them, and he came down from offering the sin offering and the burnt offering and the peace offerings. And Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting, and when they came out they blessed the people, and the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the pieces of fat on the altar, and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces.
If the sacrifice wasn’t acceptable before the lord then the sacrifice would not be consumed with fire. This is what is recorded in verses one and two of the next chapter.
Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them. And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord.
Fire and the spirit of God
Fire represents the consuming power of God’s spirit.
Other examples of fire representing the spirit of God were the time when there was the covenant with Abraham which was confirmed with fire, there was also the time when the plague was stopped at the intercession of David. In this instance the lord answered David by fire from heaven upon the altar of burnt offering, and thus indicated the place he had chosen to place His name there.
So you can see that it would have been fairly certain that God would have used fire to represent his spirit in combination with the cherubim in those verses we read in Ezekiel chapter one a few minutes ago.
As well as the fire representing the spirit of God it also represented the glory, or brightness, of the Messiah as he will appear upon his throne. This is what is revealed in Ezekiel Chapter 1 and verses 26 to 28.
And above the expanse over their heads there was the likeness of a throne, in appearance like sapphire; and seated above the likeness of a throne was a likeness with a human appearance. And upward from what had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were gleaming metal, like the appearance of fire enclosed all around. And downward from what had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and there was brightness around him. Like the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud on the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness all around.
These verses are describing the Lord Jesus Christ as he sits on the throne of David at the kingdom to come. Again you will note that the presence of God is there with the Lord Jesus Christ this is proved by the fact that Christ has the appearance of fire all round about him. Christ was in fact surrounded by the spirit or glory of God.
This vision of Ezekiel is similar to the vision of John in the Book of Revelation. Have a look at Revelation Chapter 4 verses 2 to 5.
At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads. From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God,
Note the last half of verse five which says that the seven lamps of fire represent the seven spirits of God. So we can see from this proof that fire which is also light is representative of God’s spirit.
If further proof is necessary have a look at Acts Chapter 2 verses 2 to 4. In these verses we read of the outpouring of the spirit on Pentecost and at the house of Cornelius.
And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
If you were still unsatisfied turn to Matthew Chapter 3 and verses 11 and 12. This is John talking of Christ’s baptism.
“I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
So there it is, fire represents the spirit of God.
The glory of God
As a further enhancement on this idea of fire representing the spirit of God there is also the concept that when we see this fire or light covering men or things it is known as glory or majesty. We read a few minutes ago in Ezekiel of that vision of Christ sitting on the throne of David and being surrounded by the appearance of fire. Let’s read those words again:
"And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his lions even upwards, and from the appearance of his lions even downwards, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it brightness round about". Ezekiel 1:27
That was the glory of God covering Christ. Another example of this was at the transfiguration of Christ where he was covered in a blinding light which we are told is the glory of God.
The important thing to remember though is that this glory or brightness which covered Jesus will also clothe the saints when they appear at the kingdom of God.
We know this from a multitude of verses like the one we read before in the early part of Ezekiel chapter one which said that the cherubim came out of the midst of a fiery cloud. We know that the cherubim represent the saints so we can therefore deduce that the saints in the kingdom will be covered in the glory of God.
Let each one of us make this our primary goal to be clothed in this brightness. To achieve this we need to be baptised and then live our life dedicated to God using his son, the lord Jesus Christ, as the example.
Let us return to Ezekiel – this time to chapter 8. We read in these verses that Jerusalem had been carrying out many terrible works like worshipping idols. This is what it says in verse seventeen of the chapter eight.
Then he said to me, “Have you seen this, O son of man? Is it too light a thing for the house of Judah to commit the abominations that they commit here, that they should fill the land with violence and provoke me still further to anger? Behold, they put the branch to their nose.
and also verse ten
So I went in and saw. And there, engraved on the wall all around, was every form of creeping things and loathsome beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel.
The people were involved in all sorts of violence and idolatry. What was God’s response to this? Let’s read from verse one to seven of Ezekiel chapter 10.
Then I looked, and behold, on the expanse that was over the heads of the cherubim there appeared above them something like a sapphire, in appearance like a throne. And he said to the man clothed in linen, “Go in among the whirling wheels underneath the cherubim. Fill your hands with burning coals from between the cherubim, and scatter them over the city.” And he went in before my eyes. Now the cherubim were standing on the south side of the house, when the man went in, and a cloud filled the inner court. And the glory of the Lord went up from the cherub to the threshold of the house, and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was filled with the brightness of the glory of the Lord. And the sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard as far as the outer court, like the voice of God Almighty when he speaks. And when he commanded the man clothed in linen, “Take fire from between the whirling wheels, from between the cherubim,” he went in and stood beside a wheel. And a cherub stretched out his hand from between the cherubim to the fire that was between the cherubim, and took some of it and put it into the hands of the man clothed in linen, who took it and went out. Ezekiel 10:1-7
These verses are telling us of a man dressed in linen going up to the cherubim which were in the inner court of Solomon’s temple in Jerusalem and taking a handful of fiery coal which was between the cherubim. What this was saying in symbol was that Jerusalem was about to be judged by God because of their idolatry and violence.
We should know by now, from what you have read in these articles that fire, this time in the form of coals, represents his fiery judgement on those who disobeyed. And so it was that these coals were scattered over the city.
Summary
So let’s stop for a minute and summarise what we have been looking at. We know that fire represents the spirit of God. God will use this fire to either confirm his approval or to show his disapproval by destroying with that fire. At the coming kingdom he will show his approval by enveloping those true believers in glowing fiery cloud.
The symbolism he uses to show this fiery judgement is through the creatures known as the Cherubim and Seraphim. The Seraphim occur in Isaiah and the Cherubim occur in Ezekiel and Revelation. The visions of these creatures by Ezekiel, Isaiah and John in Revelation all symbolise the same thing. They represent the theocratic government of the Millennium. In the Old Testament it is in the form of National Israel, in the New Testament it is in the form of Christ’s dominion over the gentile powers.
In Ezekiel and Isaiah, their visions have to do with the house of Israel. The glory of the Lord is to visibly fill their new temple to be built in Jerusalem by the Lord.
In Revelation it is the same manifest glory seen by Israel; but on a larger scale. John in Revelation is looking at the whole world with Christ as king over all nations. However whilst the Lord’s spiritual temple is filled with the smoke of his wrath, the throne will be confined to Israel. The Lord will ride in his cherubic chariot and will deliver judgement on all those who are responsible, with the end result that the kingdoms of this earth will be given to the saints of the Most High.
Jesus and his saints enveloped in glory will be there judging and ruling the nations and peoples of the world. They will bring into being the three pillars of good government that is justice, mercy and truth. These three pillars have been crumbling away to the stage these days that they are almost non-existent. So it will indeed be a great place to be living in where once again we may be ruled by a government that firmly believes in justice, mercy and truth.
At this place all peoples will flow to Jerusalem, to hear wisdom and to see the glory of he who is greater than Solomon. These people will pay homage and worship the King of Kings. It will be at this place that candidates seeking eternal life and glory in the post-millennial age will be numbered in hundreds of millions. The Christ enthroned in Zion will be the focal point of the attention of both Jew and Gentile.
The temple of Ezekiel’s vision will stand there shining in the sunlight being a House of Prayer for all nations. A centre for all spiritual life and wisdom among all nations and people. It will be the Lord’s sanctuary and will be filled with the Glory of the Lord. Will you be there?
