Ok, so this is right on the tail of the previous post, but I am so blessed I have to share it now and it was too long to tack onto the end of the previous, so here goes:

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.
Gen. 3:24

A very sad scene. A flaming sword is a clear symbol of God's just judgment. If God is going to someday bring Satan to justice, He must prove Himself just in all his dealings, including with Man. So Man can look to the flaming sword and be reminded not only of the justice being met on himself, but also the justice to come against the serpent.

But why cherubim? In Ezekiel 1, they are described as "four living creatures. They had a human likeness, but each had four faces, and each of them had four wings... As for the likeness of their faces, each had a human face. The four had the face of a lion on the right side, the four had the face of an ox on the left side, and the four had the face of an eagle."

Ezekiel goes on: "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." (v. 26-28).

They appear again in Revelation: "And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!” (4:6b-8)

We also see them in the Tabernacle: "And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work shall you make them, on the two ends of the mercy seat. Make one cherub on the one end, and one cherub on the other end. Of one piece with the mercy seat shall you make the cherubim on its two ends. The cherubim shall spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings, their faces one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubim be." (Ex. 25:18-20)

The Tabernacle was a reflection of the heavenly Tabernacle: "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!” (Isa. 6:1-3)


Consider how Jehovah is described:
1 Samuel 4:4 - "the Lord of hosts, who is enthroned on the cherubim."
2 Samuel 6:2 - "the Lord of hosts who sits enthroned on the cherubim."
Psalm 80:1 - "You who are enthroned upon the cherubim"
Psalm 99:1 - "He sits enthroned upon the cherubim"
Isaiah 37:16 - "O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim."

So, these cherubim are intimately related to God - in very close proximity. I think they show a hope of restoration - of returning to the intimate presence of God. Here's why:

Revelation 2:7 - "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God."
Revelation 22:14 - "Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates."

Jesus told His disciples that this way would not be guarded forever: "And you know the way to where I am going... I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:4, 6)

The way is only guarded until "no longer will there be anything accursed" (Rev. 22:3), until the servants of God "wash their robes" (22:14).

The cherubim and flaming sword, in some way, promise that Creation will be restored:

But what is it that the servants of God enter by washing their robes? The holy city Jerusalem, the Bride, the wife of the Lamb. "And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." (Rev. 21:3, 4)

The Tabernacle, the dwelling place of God, is once again with Man.
But notice, there is no mention here of cherubim. "No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads." (Rev. 22:3, 4)

"After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

"Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

“Therefore they are before the throne of God,
and serve him day and night in his temple;
and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.
They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore;
the sun shall not strike them,
nor any scorching heat.
For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd,
and he will guide them to springs of living water,
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” (Rev. 7:9-17)

So, the cherubim were shadows of what we, in Christ, become.