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A
Selective Comparison of Angelic Beings
Isa.
6; Ezek.
1, 10, 28; Rev.
4-5
with
cross references to 1
Kings 6:24, 27; 2
Chron. 3:8, 10-13
by James T. Bartsch, WordExplain
Characteristic
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Isa. 6
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Ezek. 1
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Ezek. 10
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Ezek. 28
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Rev. 4-5
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Name
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Seraphim,
Rev. 6:2, 6
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Chayyah,
Living Beings, Ezek. 1:5, 13-15, 19-22
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Cherub,
Cherubim, Ezek. 10:1-9,
14–20
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Cherub,
Ezek. 28:14,
16
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Zoa, Living
Creatures, Rev. 4:6-9; 5:6, 8, 11, 14
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Number of Beings
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Unspecified
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4.
Ezek. 1:5, 18
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4. Ezek.
10:8-9, 14
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1.
Ezek. 28:14, 16
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4.
Rev. 4:6-8; 5:6, 8, 14
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Called
“Living Beings /
Creatures”
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Ezek. 1:5, 13-15, 19-22
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Ezek. 10:15, 17, 20
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Rev. 4:6-9; 5:6, 8, 11, 14
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Verbally
worshiping God, Jesus
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Isa. 6:3
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Rev. 4:8-9; 5:8-12, 14
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Associated
with Fire
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Isa. 6:6-7
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Ezek. 1:1:4, 13, 27
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Ezek. 10:2, 6-7
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Ezek. 28:14, 16, 18
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Rev. 4:5
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Impervious
to Fire
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Ezek. 1:13
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Ezek. 10:7
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Initially, Ezek. 28:14
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Associated
with a Throne
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Isa. 6:1-2
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Ezek. 1:26
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Rev. 4:2-6, 10; 5:1, 6-7, 11,
13
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Rainbow
around throne
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Ezek. 1:27-28
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Rev. 4:3
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Human vs.
Animal / Non-Human
Characteristics
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Some of the characteristics of
these beings are human or human like; others are animal
characteristics; yet others are quasi-mechanical characteristics
(wheels).
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Human Hands
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Ezek. 1:8
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Ezek. 10:7-8, 21
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Human Form
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Ezek. 1:5
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Wheels
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Ezek. 1:15-16, 19-21
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Ezek. 10:2, 6, 9-10, 12-13,
16-17, 19
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Multiple Eyes
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Wheel rims full of eyes all
round, Ezek. 1:18
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On bodies, backs, hands, wings,
wheels, Ezek. 10:12
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Full of eyes, front and back Rev. 4:6
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Wings, # of
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6.
Isa. 6:2
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4.
Ezek. 1:6
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4.
Ezek. 10:21.
See also Ezek. 10:5, 8, 12, 16, 19
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6.
Rev. 4:8
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Eyes on Wings
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Ezek. 10:12
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wings full of eyes around
& within Rev. 4:8
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Multiple Faces
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4
faces each. Ezek. 1:6, 10
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4
faces each. Ezek. 10:14, 21
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1
face each. Rev. 4:7
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Cherub
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1st
face. Ezek. 10:14
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Man
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Each had the face of a man Ezek. 1:10
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2nd
face. Ezek. 10:14
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3rd
creature had a face like a man Rev. 4:7
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Lion
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Each had the face of a lion Ezek.
1:10
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3rd
face, Ezek. 10:14
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1st
creature like a lion Rev. 4:7
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Bull / Calf
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Each had the face of a bull Ezek.
1:10
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2nd
creature like a calf Rev. 4:7
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Eagle
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Each had the face of an eagle Ezek.
1:10
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4th
face, Ezek. 10:14
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4th
creature like a flying eagle Rev. 4:7
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Feet like
a
calf’s hoof
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Ezek. 1:7
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Observations
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1.
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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).
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2.
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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.
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3.
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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).
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4.
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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.
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Conclusions
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1.
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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.
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2.
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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.
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3.
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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 Ezek.
1 has.
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4.
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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.
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Prepared
by James T. Bartsch
June,
2008
Published
Online by WordExplain.com
Email Contact: jbartsch@wordexplain.com
Scripture
linked to the NEW
AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE ®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971,
1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. Used by
permission. (www.Lockman.org).
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Completed Initially November
8, 2010
Updated February 7, 2022
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