The Guards of The Garden of Eden-Flaming Sword

While to us, this pic would be
considered a flaming sword:

it is not what is referred to in Genesis 3:24, when God tell us that He placed Cherubims (plural) and a flaming sword which turned every way.


It is cherub, in the singular.

Cherubims is pronounced "ker-oob"; the 'ims' is silent.

Cherub is pronounced "kheh-reb".

Neither is a naked baby with ribbons and musical instruments, as is often brought to mind when we try to picture a cherub.

What God creates, the devil often imitates; he has no original thought except to disobey God. So he mocks what God creates.

And just like the Cherubims, the Cherub is quite large, mobile and swift. Though many may search for the garden of Eden in their lifetimes, they will never find it. God's guards are always on duty.

Both angelic hosts that we know of in Scripture, seraphim and cherubim, are God's ministers. Hebrews 1:7 "And of the angels He saith, Who maketh His angels spirits, and His ministers a flame of fire."  Isaiah 6:2-3 "Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. --And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is The LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of His glory."

The Guards of The Garden of Eden-Cherubim

I have heard it said that the apple is the tree of knowledge, while some contend that the pomegranate is. Neither is true. We just don't know what that fruit actually was or looked like, or even tasted like. Why? Because it grows in the garden of Eden. And Eden is blocked from our view and reach.


While Scripture does not reveal how many are guarding it, we do know that Cherubims prevent us from accessing it. The garden must be very large, because a small garden would only require one Cherubim, as they are very huge, according to the descriptions given throughout Scripture.
Exodus 37:6-9 describes the making of the Mercy Seat with the two Cherubims over it. And while I have found a variety of images that could give us a visual description of it, this is the best I could find:

One cubit equals 18-inches. The Mercy Seat in the tabernacle was 45 inches long and 27-inches wide. The cherubims were made out of one piece of pure gold, including their wings, which covered the Mercy Seat they faced.





The description given in 1 Kings 6:23-30 is of the cherubims filling the oracle within the house of The LORD that King Solomon built for God. The cherubims carved of olive tree wood were ten cubits high. Verse 24 says their wings were 5 cubits each from tip to tip. Fifteen feet high and, wing-wise, seven and one-half feet wide; HUGE. Verse 27 "And he (King Solomon) set the cherubims within the inner house: and they stretched forth the wings of the cherubims, so that the wing of the one touched the one wall, and the wing of the other cherub touched the other wall; and their wings touched one another in the midst of the house(of God).

The Book of Ezekiel has various descriptions of the actual cherubim who are always with God. Ezekiel 1:5-25; Ezekiel 41:18-19. Other references are made to cherubs in his visions, but these two sections are descriptive. Each cherub has two faces, one a man and one a lion; one face faces one direction, the other face faces the opposite direction.

But how big do you suppose the Cherubims actually are? Let's search the Scriptures and see what they do;

Isaiah 37:16---wherein God dwells
Psalm 99:1---The LORD sits between them
2 Kings 19:15; Psalms 80:1---where God dwells
Psalm 18:10--The LORD rides upon a cherub

They are The LORD's throne and chariot. They are many and do many things, as we see here. Throne; chariot; guard. I like that description in Ezekiel 1 of their movement. (I could actually visualize it this time.) These are they who stand guard over the garden of Eden.