Scripture References for Four Living Creatures and Cherubim

Genesis 3:24

So, he drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.

 

Revelation 4:6-8

6   Also in front of the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal.

In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back.   7   The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle.   8   Each of the four living creatures   had six wings   and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night   they never stop saying:

“‘Holy, holy, holy

is the Lord God Almighty,’

who was, and is, and is to come.”

 

Revelation 5:6-14

6   Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures   and the elders.   The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes,   which are the seven spirits[a]   of God sent out into all the earth.   7   He went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne.   8   And when he had taken it, the four living creatures   and the twenty-four elders   fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp, and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers   of God’s people.   9   And they sang a new song, saying:

“You are worthy   to take the scroll
           and to open its seals,
because you were slain,
           and with your blood   you purchased   for God
           persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.
10   You have made them to be a kingdom and priests   to serve our God,
           and they will reign[b]   on the earth.”

11   Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand.   They encircled the throne and the living creatures   and the elders.   12   In a loud voice they were saying:

“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
           to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength
           and honor and glory and praise!”

13   Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth   and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying:

“To him who sits on the throne   and to the Lamb
           be praise and honor and glory and power,
for ever and ever!”

14   The four living creatures   said, “Amen,” and the elders   fell down and worshiped.

 

Revelation 6:3-8

3   When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature   say, “Come!”   4   Then another horse came out, a fiery red one.   Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth   and to make people kill each other. To him was given a large sword.

5   When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature   say, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a black horse!   Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand.   6   Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures,   saying, “Two pounds[a]   of wheat for a day’s wages,[b]   and six pounds[c]   of barley for a day’s wages,[d]   and do not damage   the oil and the wine!”

7   When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature   say, “Come!”   8   I looked, and there before me was a pale horse!   Its rider was named Death, and Hades   was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.

​

Ezekiel 1:4-9

4     I looked, and I saw a windstorm     coming out of the north—an immense cloud with flashing lightning and surrounded by brilliant light. The center of the fire looked like glowing metal,  5     and in the fire was what looked like four living creatures.     In appearance their form was human,  6     but each of them had four faces     and four wings.     7     Their legs were straight; their feet were like those of a calf and gleamed like burnished bronze.     8     Under their wings on their four sides they had human hands.     All four of them had faces and wings,  9     and the wings of one touched the wings of another. Each one went straight ahead; they did not turn as they moved.

​

Ezekiel 1:15

Now as I looked at the living creatures, behold, a wheel was on the earth beside each living creature with its four faces.

 

Ezekiel 10:1-20

  I looked, and I saw the likeness of the throne of lapis lazuli above the vault that was over the heads of the cherubim.  2 The Lord said to the man clothed in linen, “Go in among the wheels beneath the cherubim. Fill your hands with burning coals from among the cherubim and scatter them over the city.” And as I watched, he went in.

3 Now the cherubim were standing on the south side of the temple when the man went in, and a cloud filled the inner court.  4  Then the glory of the  Lord  rose from above the cherubim and moved to the threshold of the temple. The cloud filled t. temple, and the court was full of the radiance of the glory of the Lord.  5  The sound of the wings of the cherubim could be heard as far away as the outer court, like the voice  of God Almighty[a]  when he speaks.

6 When the Lord commanded the man in linen, “Take fire from among the wheels, from among the cherubim,” the man went in and stood beside a wheel.  7 Then one of the cherubim reached out his hand to the fire that was among them. He took up some of it and put it into the hands of the man in linen, who took it and went out.  8 (Under the wings of the cherubim could be seen what looked like human hands.)

9 I looked, and I saw beside the cherubim four wheels, one beside each of the cherubim; the wheels sparkled like topaz.  10  As for their appearance, the four of them looked alike; each was like a wheel intersecting a wheel.  11  As they m. d, they would go in any one of the four directions the cherubim faced; the wheels did not turn about[b]  as the cherubim went. The cherubim went in whatever direction the head faced, without turning as they went.  12  Their entire bodies, including their backs, their hands and their wings, were completely full of eyes,  as were their four wheels.  13 I heard the wheels being called “the whirling wheels.”  14 Each of the cherubim had four faces:  One face was that of a cherub, the second the face of a human being, the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.

15 Then the cherubim rose upward. These were the living creatures I had seen by the Kebar River.  16 When the cherubim moved, the wheels beside them moved; and when the cherubim spread their wings to rise from the ground, the wheels did not leave their side.  17  When the cherubim stood still, they also stood still; and when the cherubim rose, they rose with them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the

18 Then the glory of the Lord departed from over the threshold of the temple and stopped above the cherubim.  19 While I watched, the cherubim spread their wings and rose from the ground, and as they went, the wheels went with them.  They stopped at the entrance of the east gate of the Lord’s house, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them.

20 These were the living creatures I had seen beneath the God of Israel by the Kebar River, and I realized that they were cherubim.  21 Each had four faces and four wings, and under their wings was what looked like human hands.  22 Their faces had the same appearance as those I had seen by the Kebar River.  Each one went straight ahead.

​

Ezekiel 11:22

So, the cherubim lifted up their wings, with the wheels beside them, and the glory of the God of Israel was high above them.

​

Ezekiel 41:18

And it was made with cherubim and palm trees, a palm tree between cherub and cherub. Each cherub had two faces,

​

Ezekiel 41:20

From the floor to the space above the door, and on the wall of the sanctuary, cherubim and palm trees were carved.

​

Ezekiel 41:25

Cherubim and palm trees were carved on the doors of the temple just as they were carved on the walls. A wooden canopy was on the front of the vestibule outside.

​

Exodus 25:17-22

17  “Make an atonement cover     of pure gold—two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide.     18     And make two cherubim     out of hammered gold at the ends of the cover.     19     Make one cherub on one end and the second cherub on the other; make the cherubim of one piece with the cover, at the two ends.     20     The cherubim     are to have their wings spread upward, overshadowing     the cover with them. The cherubim are to face each other, looking toward the cover.     21     Place the cover on top of the ark     and put in the ark the tablets of the covenant law     that I will give you.     22     There, above the cover between the two cherubim     that are over the ark of the covenant law, I will meet     with you and give you all my commands for the Israelites.
 

Exodus 26:1

 “Moreover, you shall make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine woven linen and blue, purple, and scarlet thread; with artistic designs of cherubim, you shall weave them.

 

Exodus 26:31

 “You shall make a veil woven of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen. It shall be woven with an artistic design of cherubim.
 

Exodus 36:8

 Then all the gifted artisans among them who worked on the tabernacle made ten curtains woven of fine linen, and of blue, purple, and scarlet thread; with artistic designs of cherubim, they made them.

 

Exodus 36:35

And he made a veil of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen; it was worked with an artistic design of cherubim.
 

Exodus 37:7

He made two cherubim of beaten gold; he made them of one piece at the two ends of the mercy seat:

 

Exodus 37:8

One cherub at one end on this side, and the other cherub at the other end on that side. He made the cherubim at the two ends of one piece with the mercy seat.

 
 

Exodus 37:9

 The cherubim spread out their wings above and covered the mercy seat with their wings. They faced one another; the faces of the cherubim were toward the mercy seat.

 

Numbers 7:89

 Now when Moses went into the tabernacle of meeting to speak with Him, he heard the voice of One speaking to him from above the mercy seat that was on the ark of the Testimony, from between the two cherubim; thus, He spoke to him.

 

1 Samuel 4:4

So, the people sent to Shiloh, that they might bring from there the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts, who dwells between the cherubim. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.

 

2 Samuel 6:2

And David arose and went with all the people who were with him from Baale Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, whose name is called by the Name, the Lord of Hosts, who dwells between the cherubim.
 

1 Kings 6:23-35

For the inner sanctuary he made a pair of cherubim    out of olive wood, each ten cubits high.    24    One wing of the first cherub was five cubits long, and the other wing five cubits—ten cubits from wing tip to wing tip.    25    The second cherub also measured ten cubits, for the two cherubim were identical in size and shape.    26    The height of each cherub was ten cubits.    27    He placed the cherubim    inside the innermost room of the temple, with their wings spread out. The wing of one cherub touched one wall, while the wing of the other touched the other wall, and their wings touched each other in the middle of the room.    28    He overlaid the cherubim with gold.

29    On the walls    all around the temple, in both the inner and outer rooms, he carved cherubim, palm trees and open flowers.    30    He also covered the floors of both the inner and outer rooms of the temple with gold.

31    For the entrance to the inner sanctuary he made doors out of olive wood that were one fifth of the width of the sanctuary.    32    And on the two olive-wood doors    he carved cherubim, palm trees and open flowers, and overlaid the cherubim and palm trees with hammered gold.    33    In the same way, for the entrance to the main hall he made doorframes out of olive wood that were one fourth of the width of the hall.    34    He also made two doors out of juniper wood, each having two leaves that turned in sockets.    35    He carved cherubim, palm trees and open flowers on them and overlaid them with gold hammered evenly over the carvings.

 

1 Kings 7:29

 On the panels that were between the frames were lions, oxen, and cherubim. And on the frames was a pedestal on top. Below the lions and oxen were wreaths of plaited work.
 

1 Kings 7:36

 On the plates of its flanges and on its panels, he engraved cherubim, lions, and palm trees, wherever there was a clear space on each, with wreaths all around.

 

1 Kings 8:6-7

6 Then the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place, into the inner sanctuary of the temple, to the Most Holy Place, under the wings of the cherubim. 7 For the cherubim spread their two wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim overshadowed the ark and its poles.

 

2 Kings 19:15

 Then Hezekiah prayed before the Lord, and said: “O Lord God of Israel, the One who dwells between the cherubim, you are God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth.

 

1 Chronicles 13:6

And David and all Israel went up to Baalah, to Kirjath Jearim, which belonged to Judah, to bring up from there the ark of God the Lord, who dwells between the cherubim, where His name is proclaimed.

 

1 Chronicles 28:18

 and refined gold by weight for the altar of incense, and for the construction of the chariot, that is, the gold cherubim that spread their wings and overshadowed the ark of the covenant of the Lord.

 

2 Chronicles 3:7-14

7     He overlaid the ceiling beams, doorframes, walls and doors of the temple with gold, and he carved cherubim     on the walls.

8     He built the Most Holy Place,  its length corresponding to the width of the temple—twenty cubits long and twenty cubits wide. He overlaid the inside with six hundred talents[e]     of fine gold.     9     The gold nails     weighed fifty shekels.[f]     He also overlaid the upper parts with gold.

10     For the Most Holy Place he made a pair     of sculptured cherubim and overlaid them with gold.     11     The total wingspan of the cherubim was twenty cubits. One wing of the first cherub was five cubits[g]     long and touched the temple wall, while its other wing, also five cubits long, touched the wing of the other cherub.     12     Similarly one wing of the second cherub was five cubits long and touched the other temple wall, and its other wing, also five cubits long, touched the wing of the first cherub.     13     The wings of these cherubim     extended twenty cubits. They stood on their feet, facing the main hall.[h]

14     He made the curtain     of blue, purple and crimson yarn and fine linen, with cherubim     worked into it.

​

2 Chronicles 5:7

Then the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place, into the inner sanctuary of the temple, to the Most Holy Place, under the wings of the cherubim.

 

2 Chronicles 5:8

 For the cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim overshadowed the ark and its poles.

 

Psalm 18:9-10

9 He bowed to the heavens also and came down.

With darkness under His feet.

10 And He rode upon a cherub and flew.

He flew upon the wings of the wind.

 

Psalm 80:1

Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock; You who dwell between the cherubim, shine forth!

 

Psalm 99:1

The Lord reigns; Let the people tremble! He dwells between the cherubim; Let the earth be moved!

 

Isaiah 37:16

“O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, the One who dwells between the cherubim, you are God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth.
 

Hebrews 9:5

And above it was the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail.

​

Revelation 7:11

 All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God,

 

Revelation 14:3

They sang as if it were a new song before the throne, before the four living creatures, and the elders; and no one could learn that song except the hundred and forty-four thousand who were redeemed from the earth.

 

Revelation 15:7

 Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God who lives forever and ever.

 

Revelation 19:4

 And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sat on the throne, saying, “Amen! Alleluia!”