PART 2 INVISIBLE FORCES

2.

What Is a Cherub and for What Purposes Were They Created?

The word cherubim, plural for cherub, was first mentioned in the book of Genesis.

Genesis 3:24

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

These beings are denoted as heavenly creatures that were stationed to the east of the entrance to the Garden of Eden, preventing access to the Tree of Life following the removal of Adam and Eve, who had disobeyed God’s one prohibition, which was to not eat of the fruit of one the trees namely of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. In this context, we could say that cherubim were guardians of a sacred place, i.e., the Garden of Eden, so that after the fall, no one else would be allowed to enter.

Another place that mentions cherubim is found in the book of Ezekiel.

Suggested Reading: Ezekiel Chapters 8-10

Ezekiel 8:1, 3, 6

And it came to pass in the sixth year, in the sixth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I sat in mine house, and the elders of Judah sat before me, that the hand of the Lord God fell there upon me. And he put forth the form of an hand, and took me by a lock of mine head; and the spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heaven, and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the inner gate that looketh toward the north; where was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provoketh to jealousy. He said furthermore unto me, Son of man, seest thou what they do? even the great abominations that the house of Israel committeth here, that I should go far off from my sanctuary? but turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations.

This story depicts the prophet Ezekiel being given a glimpse in a vision of the different blasphemies that were taking place in the outer and inner courts of the temple complex at Jerusalem.

Ezekiel 9:2-4 And, behold, six men came from the way of the higher gate, which lieth toward the north, and every man a slaughter weapon in his hand; and one man among them was clothed with linen, with a writer's inkhorn by his side: and they went in, and stood beside the brasen altar. And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub, whereupon he was, to the threshold of the house. And he called to the man clothed with linen, which had the writer's inkhorn by his side; And the Lord said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.

Eventually, he was informed of the punishment to be inflicted upon the idolatrous inhabitants of Jerusalem by six men. A seventh man, clothed with linen with a writer’s inkhorn on his side, was commissioned by the Lord to initially go into the city and place a mark on the foreheads of each person who, when approached, expressed disdain concerning the abominations that were taking place at the sacred place of worship.

Ezekiel 10:2-3 And he spake unto the man clothed with linen, and said, Go in between the wheels, even under the cherub, and fill thine hand with coals of fire from between the cherubims, and scatter them over the city. And he went in in my sight. Now the cherubims stood on the right side of the house, when the man went in; and the cloud filled the inner court.

And by the way, these six men were actually cherubim.

Daniel 10:5 Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz:

As to the identity of the man dressed in linen, some speculate this is the same one who was seen in a vision by Daniel. Commentators speculate this was a theophany, a visible manifestation of the pre-incarnate Christ. After this man’s mission was accomplished, the six cherubim would go into Jerusalem and slay anyone, young or old, who didn’t receive the mark.

In this instance, the cherubim were commissioned to carry out divine punishment upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem who, by not expressing disdain for the evil practices carried out by those attending the temple, were thereby supporting such actions.

Are you aware that in America, there are laws that if broken would bring about harsh penalties upon the offender (e.g., treason, aggravated kidnapping, drug trafficking, etc.) but there’s only one crime that would bring about the death penalty? Here’s a brief article that tells us about such a thing.

 

DEATH PENALTY FOR OFFENSES OTHER THAN MURDER

As it relates to crimes against indi­vid­u­als, though, the death penal­ty should not be expand­ed to instances where the victim’s life was not taken.

�" Former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, writ­ing for the major­i­ty in Kennedy v. Louisiana (2008)

 

Introduction

The death penalty in the United States is used almost exclusively for the crime of murder. Although state and federal statutes contain various capital crimes other than those involving the death of the victim, only two people were on death row for a non-murder offense (Patrick Kennedy and Richard Davis in Louisiana) when the U.S. Supreme Court addressed this issue in 2008. No one has been executed for such a crime since the death penalty was [reinstated] in 1976.

In 1977, the U.S. Supreme Court in Coker v. Georgia, 433 U.S. 584, held that the death penalty for the rape of an adult was “grossly disproportionate” and an [“excessive punishment”] and hence was unconstitutional under the Eighth Amendment. The Court looked at the relatively few states that allowed the death penalty for rape and the few death sentences that had been handed down.

Some states passed new laws allowing the death penalty for the rape of a child. In 2007, the Louisiana Supreme Court upheld the death sentence for Patrick Kennedy for the rape of his step-daughter, LOUISIANA v. KENNEDY (No. 05-KA-1981, May 22, 2007). Kennedy was convicted in 2003. However, Louisiana’s law was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court on June 25, 2008. See Kennedy v. Louisiana for more information. This decision also held that the death penalty would be disproportionate for any offense against an individual that did not involve [the] death of the victim. ²