Cherubim are mentioned in Biblical Scripture as the guardians of the tree of life, when Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden.

They are clearly an order of spiritual creation, different from angels, seraphs or humans.

They guarded the Jewish Ark of the Covenant in the Tabernacle.

They are described as large creatures with bodies like men, winged, and have the faces of animals.

Excavations at Byblos, Egypt, Assyria and other Semitic regions have revealed huge statues of winged creatures with heads of bulls or lions and the body of a man. They often guarded temples and main city gates.

Griffins -- winged sphinxes having lions' bodies and eagles' heads were familiar to the Hittites.

Biblical descriptions in the Book of Ezekiel show them as having human characteristics but with heads of a lion, bear, and eagle. They have four wings covered with eyes and hands of humans beneath the wings.

Wheels within wheels surround them, and as the Cherubim move, the wheels move with them.

Clearly, the Cherubim have to do with holiness and purity. They are guardians of God's holiness and sinlessness.

Four Cherubim surround God's Throne in Heaven.