Characteristic

Isaiah 6

Ezekiel 1

Ezekiel 10

Ezekiel 28

Revelation 4-5

Name

Seraphim, 6:2, 6

Chayyah, Living Beings, 1:5, 13-15, 19-22

Cherub, Cherubim, 10:1-9, 14–20

Cherub, 28:14, 16

Zoa, Living Creatures, 4:6-9; 5:6, 8, 11, 14

Number of Beings

Unspecified

4, 1:5, 18

4, 10:8-9, 14

1, 28:14, 16

4, 4:6-8; 5:6, 8, 14

Called “Living Beings / Creatures”

1:5, 13-15, 19-22

10:15, 17, 20

4:6-9; 5:6, 8, 11, 14

Verbally worshiping God, Jesus

6:3

4:8-9; 5:8-12, 14

Associated with Fire

6:6-7

1:4, 13, 27

10:2, 6-7

28:14, 16, 18

4:5

Impervious to Fire

1:13

10:7

Initially, 28:14

Associated with a Throne

6:1-2

1:26

4:2-6, 10; 5:1, 6-7, 11, 13

Rainbow around throne

1:27-28

4:3

Human vs. Animal / Non-Human Characteristics

Some of the characteristics of these beings are human or human like; others are animal characteristics; yet others are quasi-mechanical characteristics (wheels).

Human Hands

1:8

10:7-8, 21

Human Form

1:5

Wheels

1:15-16, 19-21

10:2, 6, 9-10, 12-13, 16-17, 19

Multiple Eyes

Wheel rims full of eyes all round, 1:18

On bodies, backs, hands, wings, wheels, 10:12

Full of eyes, front and back 4:6

Wings, # of

6, 6:2

4, 1:6

4, 10:21.

See also 10:5, 8, 12, 16, 19

6, 4:8

Eyes on Wings

10:12

wings full of eyes around & within 4:8

Multiple Faces

4 faces each, 1:6, 10

4 faces each, 10:14, 21

1 face each 4:7

Cherub

1^st face, 10:14

Man

Each had the face of a man 1:10

2^nd face, 10:14

3^rd creature had a face like a man 4:7

Lion

Each had the face of a lion 1:10

3^rd face, 10:14

1^st creature like a lion 4:7

Bull / Calf

Each had the face of a bull 1:10

2^nd creature like a calf 4:7

Eagle

Each had the face of an eagle 1:10

4^th face, 10:14

4^th creature like a flying eagle 4:7

Feet like a

calf’s hoof

1:7

Observations

1.

Clearly, Ezekiel states that the beings he saw in Ezek. 10, which he identifies as cherubim, are the same living beings he saw in Ezek. 1 (Ezek. 10:15, 20, 22).

2.

Yet there are striking differences. For example, Ezekiel stated that the beings by the river Chebar had eyes around the rims of their wheels (Ezek. 1:18). Yet he observed that the cherubim associated with the temple had eyes on their bodies, backs, hands, and wings, as well as on their wheels (Ezek. 10:12). Furthermore, in Ezek. 1:10, he observed that each had the face of a bull. Yet in Ezek. 10:14, that characteristic is omitted. Instead, each of the cherubim is said to have the face of a cherub. In both chapters, the other three faces are identical.

3.

Interestingly, the seraphim Isaiah saw (Isa. 6:2) and the living creatures John witnessed (Rev. 4:8) are stated to have six wings, while the living beings / cherubim Ezekiel observed had only four (Ezek. 1:6; 10:21). Elsewhere, cherubim are depicted as having only two wings (1 Kings 6:24, 27; 2 Chron. 3:8, 10-13).

4.

The cherubim Ezekiel observed each had four faces (Ezek. 1:6, 10; 10:14, 21), whereas the living creatures John was shown had only one face each (Rev. 4:7). In John’s case the aggregate description of the four creatures he saw (Rev. 4:7) matches the description of the faces Ezekiel recorded in Ezek. 1:10, but not in Ezek. 10:14.

Conclusions

1.

We can conclude that the beings labeled cherub or cherubim are the same class of angels (1 Kings 6:24, 27; 2 Chron. 3:8, 10-13; Ezek. 1; 10; 28:12-19, etc.). However, we cannot conclude that all cherubim always look the same. Some cherubim have multiple faces, multiple eyes, four wings, and accompanying wheels. Others apparently have only two wings, and nothing unusual is stated about their faces or their eyes or the presence of any wheels.

2.

The word seraphim is used only twice in Scripture (Isa. 6:2, 6). We cannot conclude that the living creatures in Rev. 4-5 are seraphim merely because they also, like the seraphim, have six wings and are associated with the throne of God.

3.

Nor can we conclude that the living creatures in Rev. 4-5 are cherubim because they are associated with the throne of God and because each of the four have a single face that coincides with one of the four faces that each of the cherubim in Ezekiel 1 has.

4.

We can only conclude that God has a number of different kinds of angels, with varying physical characteristics and varying assignments. Even though some have animal-like characteristics, they are beings of great intelligence and power, fully able to worship God.