The Throne Of God Above The Cherubim
Part 2: Two Cherubim Or Four In The Holy of Holies?
By Ed Tarkowski

The four living creatures are those which transport the throne of God as can be seen by Ezekiel 1:4-5,26-28 (not that God has to be transported anywhere):

4 And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber, out of the midst of the fire.
5 Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man. . . .
26 And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it.
27 And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about.
28 As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake.

It would be hard to doubt that these were cherubim which transported the throne of God. Further research would seem to indicate the same conclusion. The ark, for instance, had two cherubim embedded on it as described by Moses:

Exodus 37:6 And he made the mercy seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half was the length thereof, and one cubit and a half the breadth thereof.
7 And he made two cherubims of gold, beaten out of one piece made he them, on the two ends of the mercy seat;
8 One cherub on the end on this side, and another cherub on the other end on that side: out of the mercy seat made he the cherubims on the two ends thereof.
9 And the cherubims spread out their wings on high, and covered with their wings over the mercy seat, with their faces one to another; even to the mercy seatward were the faces of the cherubims.

Isaiah said that God dwelt between the cherubim, and the ark depicted just that:

Isaiah 37:16 O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, that dwellest between the cherubims, . . .

Exodus 25:20 And the cherubims shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces shall look one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubims be.
21 And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee.
22 And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.

That there were two cherubim on the mercy seat is a well established fact, but were there two more of these angelic beings in the Holy of Holiesbesides those its walls? Scripture seems to indicate there were:

2 Chronicles 3:10 And in the most holy house he made two cherubims of image work, and overlaid them with gold.
11 And the wings of the cherubims were twenty cubits long: one wing of the one cherub was five cubits, reaching to the wall of the house: and the other wing was likewise five cubits, reaching to the wing of the other cherub.
12 And one wing of the other cherub was five cubits, reaching to the wall of the house: and the other wing was five cubits also, joining to the wing of the other cherub.
13 The wings of these cherubims spread themselves forth twenty cubits: and they stood on their feet, and their faces were inward.

These could not be the two cherub on the mercy seat because the mercy seat with its two cherubs were much smaller while the other two cherubs extended 20 cubits wing to wing across the Holy of Holies:

Exodus 25:17 And thou shalt make a mercy seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof.
18 And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat.
19 And make one cherub on the one end, and the other cherub on the other end: even of the mercy seat shall ye make the cherubims on the two ends thereof.
20 And the cherubims shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces shall look one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubims be.
21 And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee.

The wings of the cherub on the mercy seat were to touch, covering the mercy seat, meaning, they could only at best be two and half cubits long. The other two cherubs extended a length of 20 cubits. Scripture tells us that David had made the Holy of Holies 20 cubits in width and 20 cubits in breadth, the exact length of the two cherub wings wingtip to wingtip:

2 Chronicles 3:8 And he made the most holy house, the length whereof was according to the breadth of the house, twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof twenty cubits: and he overlaid it with fine gold, amounting to six hundred talents.

In other words, these were not the two cherubim on the mercy seat. These two "stood on their feet, and their faces were inward," and were associated with the chariot of God in the Holy of Holies:

1 Chronicles 28:18 And for the altar of incense refined gold by weight; and gold for the pattern of the chariot of the cherubims, that spread out their wings, and covered the ark of the covenant of the LORD.
19 All this, said David, the LORD made me understand in writing by his hand upon me, even all the works of this pattern.

Of these cherubim, Jamieson, Fausset and Brown state:

"1 Chronicles 28:18, 19. the chariot of the cherubim--The expanded wings of the cherubim formed what was figuratively styled the throne of God, and as they were emblematical of rapid motion, the throne or seat was spoken of as a chariot (Ps 18:10; 99:1). It is quite clear that in all these directions David was not guided by his own taste, or by a desire for taking any existing model of architecture, but solely by a regard to the express revelation of the divine will. In a vision, or trance, the whole edifice, with its appurtenances, had been placed before his eyes so vividly and permanently, that he had been able to take a sketch of them in the models delivered to Solomon."

The two scriptures they mention are these:

Psalm 18:10 And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind.

Psalm 99:1 The LORD reigneth; let the people tremble: he sitteth between the cherubims; let the earth be moved.

The wheels Ezekiel saw support the idea of these cherubim as God's chariot. It is from here that God:

1. spoke to Moses,

Numbers 7:89 And when Moses was gone into the tabernacle of the congregation to speak with him, then he heard the voice of one speaking unto him from off the mercy seat that was upon the ark of testimony, from between the two cherubims: and he spake unto him.

2. displayed His glory,

Ezekiel 11:22 Then did the cherubims lift up their wings, and the wheels beside them; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above.

It would seem at this point that the cherubim of Ezekiel are the same as those in Revelation, though the descriptions are somewhat different. But what happens in the midst of the four cherub also has remarkable similarities between the two books. The cherubim of Ezekiel are associated with God speaking from His throne above the cherubim. In Revelation, the four living creatures are also there between the 24 elders and the throne, much like in Ezekiel (the elders are not depicted in Ezekiel). Therefore, the four cherubim in the temple of Solomon could easily be representative of the four living creatures of Ezekiel and Revelation.

Part 1: The Four Living Creatures In Ezekiel And Revelation
Part 2: Two Cherubim Or Four In The Holy of Holies?
Part 3: Do The Four Cherubim Return With Christ?
Part 4: Seraphim Compared to Cherubim
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