Genesis 3:24 (NKJV) “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.”
While this form of translation has been what we have depended on most of our lives, it just seems like there is more to the story than this.
Genesis 3:24 (Tree of Life Version (TLV) “And He expelled the man; and at the east of the Garden of Eden He had cheruvim dwell along, with the whirling sword of flame, to guard the way to the Tree of Life.”
To “expel” comes from the Hebrew word garash {gäw·ddrash’} meaning to drive out from a possession.
Now, we have always looked at this backwards. Most all Theologians have viewed this picture of God DRIVING the man from the hedge of His pleasure. But what we are not seeing is that it was Holy Spirit who immediately began to drive man away from his possession of mistaken identity, and toward that which Adam did not choose. Holy Spirit began to drive mankind away from a wrong mindset because of the Father’s great love for His creation.
Genesis 3:24 (MSG) “He threw them out of the garden and stationed angel-cherubim and a revolving sword of fire east of it, guarding the path to the Tree-of-Life.”
Even the Strong’s Concordance says that the word for “cherubim” is of uncertain derivation or an unknown origin. But he does define it as an imaginary figure.
Genesis 3:24 (New English Translation (NET Bible) “When he drove the man out, he placed on the eastern side {qedem, keh’·dem meaning, to place in front} of the orchard in Eden {ā’·den, or pleasure} angelic sentries who used the flame of a whirling sword to guard the way to the tree of life.”
The cherubim in the Bible seems to be a class of angels, also known as messengers from the unseen realm. Therefore, they are heavenly beings who are spirit and their main task seems to be guarding the way to the tree of life. So, how are they guarding the way?
Yet, most scripture does not use the word “guard,” but to “keep” the way. The word “way” as used here comes from the Hebrew word derek {deh’·ddreh} meaning a road, figuratively a course of life, as in a path. The word for “guard” or “keep” comes from the Hebrew word shamar {shäw·merdd’} which basically means to protect the way, but not to keep mankind from the tree of life.
John 14:6 (NKJV) “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
It is the light of the knowledge of the fullness of God that draws the mind of mistaken identity to the way, the truth, and the life. But how did God draw Adam and Eve? The scripture said that He used a “flaming sword” to “guard” or to “keep” the way to the tree of life.
The Hebrew for a “flaming sword” simply means a bright messenger. This phrase “the flame of a whirling sword” can be translated to read, “the flame of the sword that turns round and round.” In other words, it is the light of truth that turns the thinking of mankind around from a mistaken identity, to his rightful God-identity. And it was the “flame of light” which was created in mankind from before time began.
John 1:4-5 (NKJV) “4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.”
For me, this means that any time you are in darkness, or without the illumination of truth even for a moment where truth does not seem to be shinning within your memory, Holy Spirit will remind you that even darkness cannot overtake the light of the mind of God that is within you. Mankind was created with the understanding of truth and not even the appearance of darkness can overcome the truth.
Even as Adam and Eve, Holy Spirit never runs away from you, nor does He drive you away from the hedge of pleasure and protection, but we see that even in this earthly realm, Holy Spirit remains attached to the creation of God. Holy Spirit manifests, or figuratively influences mankind to make the right decisions toward the tree of life, which represents the true God-identity you were created with. And this was the work of Holy Spirit in the Life of Christ who remains attached to the Son of God, who manifested in this earthly realm of awareness to “guide” you into all truth, as in to “keep” the way open for you.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NASB) “He has made everything appropriate {Literally, beautiful} in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart {Or, awareness, feelings, will, and intellect}, yet so that man will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end.”
In other words, no one who continues to operate in mistaken identity will find the path to truth, without the revelation of “Eternal Christ” who declares the end from the beginning.
Ecclesiastes 3:15 (GW) “Whatever has happened in the past is present now. Whatever is going to happen in the future has already happened in the past. God will call the past to account.”
Father God prepared the way to the tree of life within you from the beginning of time, and that means that the course for mankind has been set by God. Therefore, when Christ came, Holy Spirit simply worked within Him to show you the path that has been set before you. …Think about it!