Cast Out of
Part 2: Angels with Swords
"Had man after
his fall been allowed free access to the tree of life, he would have lived
forever, and thus sin would have been immortalized. But cherubim and a flaming
sword kept 'the way of the tree of life', Genesis
We are told that the
Lord "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." Genesis 3:24. It has been
suggested that these were the first policemen appointed in the Universe, and it
looks that way. But knowing God's character of unchanging, unselfish love, it
might be worth our while to question our preconceived ideas of just what these
angels were doing there with swords in their hands.
Were those flashing
swords instruments of coercion, threatening all who passed by with death at
God's hands? What are the swords of angels anyway? We know that "from
Christ's kingdom every carnal weapon, every instrument of coercion has been
banished." The Acts of the Apostles, 12. So
these flaming swords clearly cannot be swords as we know them. Yet, at the same
time, these angelic swords were quite enough to deter Satan and his angels from
taking possession of the tree of life and turning the Paradise of God into an
everlasting hell. What, besides the use of force, could ever deter Satan?
The original Hebrew is
far more explicit than our English versions in telling us what those angels
were doing there. For when it says that "He placed cherubim" there,
the word "placed" is almost identical to the word that is used for"neighbors", reminding us of Jesus' story of
the Good Samaritan—the misunderstood man who came to the aid and relief of his
wounded brothers. And who was the neighbor? The one who
brought relief.
A further clue comes
from the fact that this word "placed", shakan,
Strong's Concordance, #7931 is also used in Exodus 24:16 to describe the pillar
of fire dwelling with God's people through their wilderness travels. In fact,
it is from this very phrase shakan that we have
acquired the word Shekinah: the presence of God with
us. Gesenius' Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon, 823. Shakan is comparable to skenoo in
the Greek section of Strong's Exhaustive Concordance, #4637, which further
indicates that these angels were encamped at the gates of Eden with same
intention that God had in dwelling in the tabernacle—as a symbol of protection
and communion.
Moreover, when we are
told that the angels were "to keep the way of
the tree of life," it literally meant that they were stationed
there to preserve the way that God would court us back to life. Therefore, the
very angels who came with swords in their hands, came
to woo us back to loving God again.
The word "keep"—Strong's Exhaustive Concordance, #8104 shamar—has the sense of watching over someone in 1
Samuel 26:15. It is the same word that means "my
brother's keeper"in
Genesis 4:9 and in Psalm 121:4, it refers to God being the Keeper of Israel. In
fact, it is most often used of God as guarding men from danger.
That wooing us back to
God has always been the purpose of the good angels is confirmed in The Desire
of Ages, 21: "The angels of glory find their joy in giving—giving love
and tireless watchcare to souls that are fallen and
unholy. Heavenly beings woo the hearts of men; they bring to this dark world
light from the courts above; by gentle and patient ministry they move upon the
human spirit, to bring the lost into a fellowship with Christ which is even
closer than they themselves can know."
Policemen? Hardly. It is only because
of our own misconceptions of God's character that we have seen this placing of
angels at the gates of
But,
there still remains the mystery of the flaming swords which they held in their
hands. Our first clue comes from
the Hebrew phrase indicating the purpose of these swords in contrast to human
weapons—"to keep the way of the tree of
life." Surprisingly, it is the same phrase which God uses to
command Abraham in Genesis
And it must be admitted
that the angels at the gates of
This is verified in the
Spirit of Prophecy, where Sister White says that this flashing sword was not an
instrument of force such as men would later invent, but rather beams of light. The Story of Redemption, 41. This conclusion is in keeping
with the Hebrew, for chereb is the word for sword
(poetically reminiscent of the cherubim themselves) which often refers to
lightning. And that is exactly the picture we see in the statement that "around
these angels flashed beams of light having the appearance of a glittering sword."Patriarchs and Prophets, 68. What then were these beams of light?
Whenever we seek to
define a word in Scripture, we must find its definition elsewhere in the
Scriptures, and not in our own dictionaries, for God assures us that "My ways are higher than your ways."
Isaiah 55:8-9. When He says He placed cherubim at the gates of
When He speaks of
swords, however, He intends for us to remember that He has specified elsewhere
that "the sword of the Spirit... is the Word of
God." Ephesians 6:17. For "the Word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any
two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and
of the joints and marrow, and is discerner of the thoughts and intents of the
heart." Hebrews 4:12. In that case, the sword which these
angels held in their hands, was nothing more nor less than the Word of God
itself.
"The sword of
the Spirit, which is the word of God, is the only sword which I can safely use."The Adventist Home, 180.
]"We, as the
representatives of Christ, are to meet every thrust of the enemy with the Word
of the living God. Never should we allow ourselves to follow the trail of the
serpent.... Satan can never gain advantage of the child of God who relies on
the word of God as his defense."
Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 9:68-69.
If the Word of God is to
be our only weapon, would that not be true for all of Christ's representatives,
even the angels? "If there is retaliation on our part, Satan's hosts
triumph. He has found a weak place in the armor.... Show that you handle no
such weapons.... Keep back the sharp thrusts; do not learn in Satan's school
his methods of warfare. The Holy Spirit does not inspire [even] the words of censure."Testimonies to Ministers, 248.
Clearly, then, the
angels at the gates of
Is it possible that we
have misunderstood the swords at the gates of
By the same token, the
swords of angels are indelibly connected with the love of God, for we are told,
"'Herein is love.' They grasped the imparted gift [love], and what
followed? The sword of the Spirit, newly edged with power and bathed in the lightnings of heaven, cut its way through unbelief."
The Acts of the Apostles, 38.
The swords the angels
held at the gates of
If you do not have
confidence in God's love for you, you will naturally disobey and make your own
plans. And it is this very unbelief in God's goodness that darkens our path and
bars the way back to fellowship with Him. But the beams of light that the
angels brought that day to Eden, were a foretaste of the Sword of the Spirit
"bathed in the lightnings of heaven,"
cutting its way through unbelief and enabling them to grasp the imparted gift
of His everlasting love once again.
When Adam and Eve
believed the lies of Satan instead of their Heavenly Father, they gave away
their lamps of God's word about Himself, Psalm 119:105, and began to stumble
about in the labyrinth of dark doubts which Satan had proposed instead. But
within moments of their blinding, the angels came bringing with them beams of
light to illuminate the way back home. "Angels will come as messengers
of light to the help of those who will do all that they can on their part, and then trust in God to co-operate with their
efforts." Gospel Workers, 79.
"Heavenly angels
bend lovingly over them and are as a wall of fire round about them." The Sanctified Life, 13. This interposition of guardian
angels between a repentant Adam and Eve and the schemes of Satan was crucial,
not only to prevent Satan's creation of an everlasting hell, but also to bring
light to God's now blinded children.
"When they
listened to the voice of the tempter and sinned against God, the light of the
garments of heavenly innocence departed from them and imparting with the
garments of innocence, they drew about them the dark robes of ignorance of
God.... Deprived of that heavenly light, the posterity of Adam could no longer
trace the character of God in His created works." The S.D.A. Bible Commentary, Vol. 1:1084.
Consequently, those
guardian angels who suddenly appeared at the gates of
When we are told that
they were sent to keep the way of the tree of life, the Scriptures define that
way as being in the Sanctuary: "Thy way, O
God, is in the Sanctuary." Psalm 77:13.
At first glance, this
seems surprising. What could the angels at the gates of
Our first clue comes to
us in the Hebrew word for the tree of life. It can just as easily be
translated, the Carpenter of Life. And that is exactly
what the angels came to reveal at the gates of
"Through sin man
shut himself off from access to the tree of life. Now, life and immortality are
brought to light through Jesus Christ." Medical Ministry, 233.
After the entrance of
sin, the heavenly Husbandman transplanted the tree of life to the
This is confirmed by the
secondary meaning of the phrase,"to keep"
the way of the tree of life. Just as the tree of life from the beginning was a
symbol of Jesus, so the angels were to keep the way of Jesus, by revealing that
the way home was "fastened with nails and thorns." Gesenius' Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon,
838, on #1804, for the word shamar.
"At the
cherubim-guarded gate of
This further assures us
that those angels with their swords standing at the gates of
Have you caught the
picture in your mind's eye of the Garden of Eden, with two angels at its gate
and a flashing beam of light between them? First there was an altar of
sacrifice, then a gate between, next two angels bending over flashing beams of
light and between them the Divine Glory revealed. Of what is that a picture?
The Sanctuary,
precisely! The place of the flashing swords was the first "most holy
place" on Earth. Can there be any doubt left what those swords were
intended to convey?
There would, of course,
be later, more detailed demonstrations of God's way in the sanctuary when Moses
built the tabernacle according to the heavenly plan. And further down the line,
this picture of the way back home would be presented in its fullest, most
perfect form at
"Not until the
providences of God are seen in the light of eternity shall we understand what
we owe to the care and interposition of His angels. Celestial beings have taken
an active part in the affairs of men. They have appeared in garments that shone
as the lightning... They have acted as guides to benighted travelers. They have
thwarted the spoiler's purpose and turned aside the stroke of the destroyer....
They have defeated purposes and arrested evils that would have brought wrong
and suffering to God's children...What will it be to hold converse with [them]
and to learn the history of divine interposition in the individual life, of
heavenly co-operation in every work for humanity! All the perplexities of
life's experience will then be made plain. Where to us
have appeared only confusion and disappointment, broken purposes and thwarted
plans will be seen a grand, overruling, victorious purpose, a divine
harmony." Education,
305.
Just as a toddler may,
in childish irritation, think of his guardian as the police officer on his
block, so have we often misinterpreted the actions of these magnificent
neighbors of ours. But hopefully, the child one day grows up and comes to
appreciate all that he has been protected from. So let us also "go on unto perfection." Hebrews 6:1. For,
"when I was a child... I thought as a child; but
when I became a man, I put away childish things." 1 Corinthians
13:11.
God's angels—guardians
sent to bring us life, or policemen sent to keep us
from life? Can there be any doubt? If it were not for the unswerving
guardianship of those angels at the gates of Eden, Satan would have created an
everlasting hell by carrying through his plan of making sin and sinners last
forever. And without their bright beams of light, flashing like swords into our
minds and lighting the path, how deep would be our darkness, how little our
understanding of God's way in the sanctuary.
Thank God for angels
with swords in their hands.