Page 87 - Foundations

• The cherubim in verse 24 stand in the way of man to prevent him from violating Yahweh’s
commandment.

• Satan, as the first of the cherubim entices Adam to eat from the fruit of the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil.
• The cherubim of verse 24 block the way before Adam, hindering him from eating of the fruit
of the tree of life.

• The result of the first cherub’s actions was that death immediately began working in the
creation.
• The result of the last cherubim’s actions was the future promise of the end of death and an
entrance into eternal life in Christ.

A further argument in favor of Satan having acted through an actual serpent is that the things Yahweh
spoke as a curse on the serpent are true of the beast in a physical sense even as they are true of Satan
in a spiritual sense. The serpent does crawl on its belly. The serpent does seem to lick up the dust, and
one day dust will be its only food. There is enmity between humanity and serpents, especially the
venomous varieties. All of these things are inexplicable if there was no actual beast present in the
temptation of the man and woman.

Had Satan appeared as an anointed cherub in all his glory in the garden, his aspect would truly have
been impressive and his enticements persuasive. In such a case, I think Yahweh would have warned
Adam to beware of cherubim. Instead we find Yahweh exhorting Adam to “subdue the beasts and rule
over them.” Such a commandment would have been sufficient had Yahweh known that Satan would
attempt to approach the man and woman through one of the beasts God had created. If some are
inclined to think otherwise, I am at peace.

Having addressed the identity of the serpent, and the heavenly being that was influencing/controlling
it, we can now turn our attention to identifying what type of being Satan was and is.

Replica of the Ark of the Covenant

Ezekiel identifies Satan as “the anointed cherub who covers.” If you were to do a search for images