5 Interesting Facts About The Ark of the Covenant

2. The Cherubim were Judgement Angels with Four Faces

God commanded the Israelites to create the lid for the top of the Ark of Covenant with cherubim. The cherubim were first revealed in the Bible in Genesis 3:24 where they guarded the way to the tree of life after Adam and Eve had sinned and they wielded a flaming sword that turned in 4 directions. This indicated that the cherubim were judgement angels and guardians of God's holiness, when the blood was sprinkled their judgement was stayed. The prophet Ezekiel in chapter one had a vision of the LORD's glory and saw four living creatures with four faces, the face of a lion, an ox, an eagle, and a man. Later in chapter 10 they were revealed as cherubim. The Biblical description is much different than the cherubs of ancient Egypt and other cultures who were seen as squatting down with wings outstretched upward and downward. The Bible reveals that both wings of the cherubim were outstretched upward. (See Ex. 25:18-22, Gen. 3:24, and Ez. 1)

Painting of the Cherubim as with 4 Faces

2/5