In the Old Testament

This section focuses on presenting the findings of the canonical survey in the OT

passages. This section begins with the passage of the fall of Adam and Eve (Gen 3). The

second biblical narrative presented in this section is the destruction of Sodom and

Gomorrah (Gen 18 and 19). The third passage in this survey describes the role of angels

in the story of Job (Job 1 and 2).

The fourth passage details the role of angels in the first eleven chapters of the

book of Ezekiel. The fifth passage refers to the narrative of Dan 4. This section closes

with the role of angels in the Final Judgment as presented in the vision of Dan 7. The

report of findings in this canonical survey includes implications to better understand the

broader issues of the Final Judgment and angelology and to tackle the theological

impasse of the determinist model and the collaborative model.

In the fall of Adam and Eve. This chapter describes the fall of Adam and Eve.65

The elements in this Divine Judgment are significant considering the participants (God,

Adam, Eve, and the serpent) as well as their responses and actions.66 This narrative

contains an interrogation and a series of sentences to the serpent (Gen 3:14-15), Eve

65
This is the first trial in the Scriptures. Claus Westerman affirms, “The purpose of the
trial is to make clear to the man and the woman what they have done.” Claus Westermann,
Genesis 1-11: A Commentary, trans. John J. Scullion (Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg, 1974), 254.
66
According to Kenneth A. Mathews, the structure of Gen 3 begins with a dialogue
between the serpent and Eve (3:1-5), followed by a dialogue between Adam and Eve (3:6-8),
afterwards God questions both (3:9-13) and pronounces judgments (3:14-21), and closes with
Adam and Eve being expelled (3:22-24). Kenneth A. Mathews, Genesis 1-11:26, NAC 1A, 226-
258. Among authors who consider this event as a Divine Judgment are the following: Robert
Jamieson, A. R. Fausset, and David Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole
Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1871), 1:19; Doukhan, Genesis, 113; John H. Sailhamer,
The Pentateuch as Narrative: A Biblical-Theological Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI:
Zondervan, 1992), 105-110; James McKeown, Genesis, The Two Horizons Old Testament
Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2008), 36-38.

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(3:16), and Adam (3:17-19); “each oracle consists of a divine penalty followed by a

description of the consequences.”67 Adam and Eve lived in the Garden of Eden with a

specific task “to work it and keep it” (Gen 2:15), an activity that has been linked by some

scholars to the priestly function in the earthly sanctuary/temple.68 This so-called guarding

function was removed from them when they sinned and was transferred to the Cherubim

(Gen 3:24).69 The role of the Cherubim in the Judgment setting of Gen 3 is not active

67
Matthews, Genesis 1-11:26, 243. Mathews affirms, “There is a clear tie between the
serpent’s actions and the punishment that follows. God does not render judgment arbitrarily or
capriciously . . . there is a correspondence between the nature of the judgment and the crime
committed.” Ibid. Furthermore, in an interesting comment, Mathews asserts that God questioned
Adam and Eve regarding their actions before announcing their verdict, while there is no inquiring
from God to the serpent. Ibid. Therefore, it is possible to imply that the enquiring of serpent’s
sinful action (Satan) took place before (cf. Ezek 28 and Isa 14).
68
The actions of keeping and guarding are given to the priests, “And you shall keep guard
over the sanctuary and over the altar” (Num 18:5-6). Gregory K. Beale and Mitchell Kim suggest,
“The priests are to keep the sanctuary from corruption and defilement and do the work of service
in the tabernacle. In the same way, Adam serves God in the temple as a priest and keeps the
Garden-temple from corruption. Similarly, Ezek 28:13 shows Adam in Eden, clothed like a priest.
. . . After Adam is commanded to keep the Garden, he is also instructed to keep God’s
commands.” Gregory K. Beale and Mitchell Kim, God Dwells Among Us: Expanding Eden to the
Ends of the Earth (Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2014), 22, 24, 25. The obedience of these commands
included the prohibition of eating from the tree of knowledge. They also affirm that a tripartite
structure exist in the Garden; the Holy of Holies is linked to Eden, the Holy Place to the Garden,
and the outer court to the outer world. Doukhan elaborates on the idea of responsibility in the
action of keeping, not only of the physical world but also of God’s revelation (law) and statutes.
These two words juxtaposed are associated with the priestly work in the earthly tabernacle.
Doukhan, Genesis, 78-79. Among the commentators on the priestly duty in the actions of
“guarding” and “keeping” are Mathews, Genesis 1-11:26, 209; Gregory K. Beale, The Temple
and the Church’s Mission, New Studies in Biblical Theology 17 (Downers Grove, IL:
InterVarsity, 2004), 68-69; John H. Sailhamer, “Genesis,” The Expositor’s Bible Commentary,
ed. Frank E. Gæbelein (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1990), 2:45; Sailhamer, The Pentateuch as
Narrative, 100-101.
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Adam and Eve were not able to access God’s presence and the tree of life because of
their sin. They failed in guarding the Garden of Eden/temple that became “defiled” by obeying
the serpent. “They lose their priestly role, and the two cherubim take over the responsibility to
‘guard’ the Garden-temple.” Beale and Kim, God Dwells Among Us, 27, 170. In a similar
manner, the Cherubim took care of the Ark of the Covenant, which is the symbol of God’s
presence.
For a further study on the Cherubim and/or their close relationship to judgment, see
Adam Clarke, Clarke’s Commentary on the Whole Bible; vol. 1, Genesis to Deuteronomy (New
York, NY: Abingdon, n.d.), 56-57; Herbert C. Leupold, Exposition of Genesis: Chapters 1-19
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while the enquiring or the pronouncing of verdict takes place, nevertheless their presence

is in some sense implied during this judgment and a function is given to them after the

pronounciation of verdict.

The imagery and allusions of the earthly sanctuary is prominent in Gen 3:24.70

These allusions are the easterly direction of the Garden of Eden, the cherubim being

“‘placed’ (šākan),” as well as to “guard/care for (šāmar)” the tree of life.71 These

Cherubim and the “flaming sword”72 now guard the free access to the tree of life and the

presence of God. The reconnection with God after the fall is possible only through the

sacrifice of an innocent blood and the “audience with God was the exclusive privilege of

(Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1942), 1:183-184; Victor P. Hamilton, The Book of Genesis: Chapters
1-17, NICOT (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1990), 210.
70
Sailhamer, “Genesis,” 2:59.
71
The east side of the Garden connotes the direction that the tabernacle in the wilderness
should face, the path that Cain followed, the location of the Tower of Babel, etc. Returning “from
the east” is turning back from Babel, Sodom, and sinful connotations. Ibid. The placing of
Cherubim is linked with the tabernacle motif (miškan). Mathews, Genesis 1-11:26, 257-258; G.
Beale, The Temple, 70-71; V. Hamilton, Genesis: Chapters 1-17, 210. Doukhan affirms, “The
strong allusion to the sanctuary in the Garden of Eden presents a cosmic dimension indicating the
other sanctuary, the heavenly abode of God, which precedes and transcends the Garden of Eden. .
. . Furthermore, Scripture explicitly identifies this heavenly temple as “Eden” (Ezek 28:13-14),
thus indicating that the earthly Eden sanctuary functioned as an earthly sign of the preexisting
heavenly Eden sanctuary (cf. Heb 8:5)” (emphasis in original). Doukhan, Genesis, 113-114. See
also C. John Collins, Genesis 1-4: A Linguistic, Literary, and Theological Commentary
(Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R, 2006), 185-186.
72
In Gen 3:24 the text reads, “He placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned
every way” where, according to some interpretations, the sword might be a separate symbol and
not in the hand of the cherubim. The literal translation could be “the flame of the whirling sword”
which implies some sort of “representation of the lightning.” John Skinner, A Critical and
Exegetical Commentary on Genesis, ICC (Edinburg, UK: T. & T. Clark, 1980), 89; John William
Wevers, Notes on the Greek Text of Genesis, Septuagint and Cognate Studies Series 35 (Atlanta,
GA: Scholars, 1993), 50; Umberto Cassuto, A Commentary on the Book of Genesis: Part I From
Adam to Noah Genesis I-VI 8, trans. Israel Abrahams (Jerusalem, Israel: Magnes, 1978), 174-177.
Some biblical passages where the word “to place” (šākan) have a related dwelling significance
are Exod 24:16; 25:8; 40:35; Lev 16:16; Num 9:17; Ps 78:55, etc.

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Aaron’s lineage”73 on the Day of Atonement before the symbolic presence of Cherubim

placed above the mercy seat. In this way, the Cherubim became the enforcers of God’s

verdicts, the one in charge of the observance of God’s statutes, and those who would take

care of who had access to the tree of life (symbol of eternal life); as observed in the

previous section, angels were the givers of the law (see Acts 7:53; Gal 3:19).

In the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. The narrative of the destruction of

Sodom and Gomorrah is widely recognized as a Divine Judgment event.74 The NT quotes

the destruction of these cities as an “example of what is going to happen to the ungodly”

(2 Pet 2:6).75 This section does not intend to recount all the judgment details involved,

rather on the actions of angels and the significant motifs that might shed light to the

purpose of this topic. As already noted in Gen 3, God enters in an interaction (dialogue)

with the participants previous to the verdict. Before the destruction of the cities, the Lord

Himself approaches Abraham saying, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to

do?” (Gen 18:17-18).76 According to Gen 18:21, the verdict seems not final yet, the Lord

73
Mathews, Genesis 1-11:26, 258; Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown, Commentary Biblical
and Explanatory, 1:20; Bellah, Celestial Visitors, 16-18; Henry M. Morris, The Genesis Record:
A Scientific and Devotional Commentary on the Book of Beginnings (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker,
1976), 132. See the comment above on the “long to look” action of angels in 1 Pet 1:10-12.
74
The terms “righteous,” “Judge,” and “sin” appear continually in these chapters (see Gen
18:19, 20, 23-32; 19:9, 13). Ephraim A. Speiser comments, “The basic sense of the stem špt is ‘to
exercise authority’ in various matters, hence ‘govern, decide,’ and the like; and the noun signifies
norm, standard, manner.” Ephraim A. Speiser, Genesis, AB 1, 134. For a commentary on these
chapters as a unity and their structure, see Gordon J. Wenham, Genesis 16-50, WBC 2, 40-45;
Kenneth A. Mathews, Genesis 11:27-50:26, NAC 1B, 208-213. Some of the commentators that
regard the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah as a Divine Judgment are Skinner, Genesis, 303-
310; Mathews, Genesis 11:27-50:26, 208-241.
75
Cf. Matt 10:15; 11:23-24; Luke 10:12; 17:29; Rom 9:29; Jude 7.
76
Amos 3:7 reads, “For the Lord GOD does nothing without revealing his secret to his
servants the prophets” (cf. Gen 20:7). Some commentators affirm the role of Abraham as a
prophet, see Wenham, Genesis 16-50, 44, 50, 53. Some others see a “covenantal terminology” in

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