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The looks of the devil is confusing. In

Revelation 20:2, He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years;

the devil is described as an old serpent which is very much related to the story of Eden. In God's creation Seraphim "fiery serpents" have a similar look. But

Ezekiel 28:14 “You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones.

suggest that he was a cherub which is a completely different look than the serpent. This passage is also supported by the verse

1Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

where he is like a lion (The look of a Cherub)

Now I'm unable to come to conclusions of his looks. Could some one help?

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  • 1
    Have you not answered your own question?
    – Dottard
    Jul 26, 2021 at 7:33

5 Answers 5

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Satan הַשָּׂטָן is not described having six כְּנָפַ֛יִם K'nafayim (wings) like the שְׂרָפִ֨ים Seraphim in [Isaiah 6:2].

Neither does Ha-Satan's voice shake the doors of the Temple in [Job 2:1-7] like Seraphim do in [Isaiah 6:4].

Unlike Ha-Satan, Seraphim are not "adversaries". Seraphim worship YHVH together in vibrant harmony, as stated in the Hebrew scroll of "Isaiah" | יְשַׁעְיָ֣הוּ Yeshayahu - Chapter 6, verses 2-4.

"Seraphim stood in attendance on Him. Each of them had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his legs, and with two he would fly." ( שְׂרָפִ֨ים עֹמְדִ֤ים מִמַּ֙עַל֙ ל֔וֹ שֵׁ֧שׁ כְּנָפַ֛יִם שֵׁ֥שׁ כְּנָפַ֖יִם לְאֶחָ֑ד בִּשְׁתַּ֣יִם יְכַסֶּ֣ה פָנָ֗יו וּבִשְׁתַּ֛יִם יְכַסֶּ֥ה רַגְלָ֖יו וּבִשְׁתַּ֥יִם יְעוֹפֵֽף )

"The doorposts would shake at the sound of the one who called, and The-House kept filling with smoke." ( וַיָּנֻ֙עוּ֙ אַמּ֣וֹת הַסִּפִּ֔ים מִקּ֖וֹל הַקּוֹרֵ֑א וְהַבַּ֖יִת יִמָּלֵ֥א עָשָֽׁן )

While Seraphim radiate the fiery presence of YHVH , the rebuked Ha-Satan הַשָּׂטָן stands alone beside his accused as stated in "Zechariah" | זְכַרְיָה֙ Zekaryah 3:1-2.

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Chapter 28 of Ezekiel clearly states in verse 1 that this is meant for the king of Tyre. There is no mention of Satan at all.

  1. He was proud. V. 2
  2. He claimed to be a god.. v. 2
  3. God calls the king a mere mortal. V.2
  4. By wisdom and understanding he gained wealth. V. 4
  5. He amassed gold and silver. V. 4
  6. He used skill in trading. V5
  7. He became proud because of wealth. V. 5
  8. God says He will bring foreigners against this king. V. 7
  9. God says the king thinks he is wise as a god. V. 6
  10. God says He will bring ruthless nations against this king with swords. V. 7
  11. The king will die a violent death in the heart of the seas. V. 8
  12. God asks if this king will still claim to be a god while he is being killed. V. 9
  13. God calls this king mortal. V. 9
  14. God says this king will die at the hands of foreigners who are uncircumcised ( gentiles). V. 10
  15. Again this this king is called the king of Tyre. V. 11
  16. Seal of perfection, wisdom, beauty are king like traits that adorn a king. V. 11
  17. This verse is puzzling but describes several priestly ornaments. V. 13
  18. The description here is probably of the Satanic influence over this king, referring to the devil. V. 14-15
  19. Back to the king and his widespread trade,violence, and sin. V. 16
  20. Reference back to the devil and his influence. V. 16
  21. God speaks of the king's pride of his beauty, corrupted wisdom, and splendor. V. 17
  22. God made a spectacle of this king before other kings. V. 17
  23. God punishes this king openly for sins, dishonest trade, and desecrated sanctuaries. V. 18
  24. God pronounces final judgement on the king of Tyre and destroys him as the nations are appalled. V. 19 These verses make a clear case for this being the king of Tyre that God is judging. Only verses 13 and 14 are in question at all and they are understood as satanic influence. This is obviously not the fall of Satan.
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Is the devil a Cherub or a Seraph? There is no distinction between these two. You seem? to suggest that the Bible has differing descriptions, but if you look at all the descriptions of the Cherubim, you can easily ‘see’ the same descriptors, fiery, wings, etc.

But none of this analysis is actually needed. It’s only in Isaiah that we ‘see’ Seraphim, where as Cherubim are found in several books. Isaiah’s ‘view’ was influenced by Egypt. So for example when Isaiah is considering the fiery serpent that Moses constructed in the Wilderness …

NUMBERS 21:6 Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people,

He would have likened that to the fiery serpents common in Egypt. Much of the earlier chapters in Isaiah were focussed on Egypt, and the symbolism that Egypt represents in Hebrew thinking.

seraph (/ˈsɛrəf/, "the burning one"; The image of the seraph as a snake os seen in Egyptian iconography. (The term ‘seraph’ means both fiery and snake;). The ‘cobra’ was a common idiom for a ‘fiery snake’.

So the point being that Isaiah’s Seraphim and elsewhere the Cherubim are in fact the same. That is, they are referring to the exact same heavenly creatures.

(Edit - added in respect to a request/comment. For a scholarly overview, see Here )

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  • Intrigued. Answer needs more support. Please quote and analyze verses that support your point that Cherubs and Seraphs are the same.
    – Austin
    Jul 27, 2021 at 6:20
  • @Austin For a scholarly overview, see Here
    – Dave
    Jul 27, 2021 at 19:29
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    Thanks for the link. I still think your answer regarding Cherubs and Seraphs require more support in your answer. The video makes interesting points that you could reference.
    – Austin
    Jul 29, 2021 at 1:59
  • The linked video doesn't give any good reason to think that cherubim and seraphim (and the living creatures of Revelation) are the same creatures. The argument there is basically "don't worry about the differences, that would be literalism. It's all symbolic." Without saying why the author reached that conclusion.
    – LarsH
    May 24, 2023 at 19:33
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If I understand the OP's question correctly, the objection to Satan being a Cerub is that it "is a completely different look than the serpent". However, this objection is on the basis of what is UNKNOWN - because neither cherubim nor seraphim are described in the Bible.

However, unless we are told something different, the closest we have to a description of the devil before his downfall is the title of the one of the classes of angelic beings, namely, "Cherub" (Eze 28:14) - and I have no reason to doubt it.

Such beings, cherubim and seraphim, are nowhere described and so we have no idea what they looks like.

The language of Rev 12:7-9 and Rev 20:2 about the devil is highly symbolic (or metaphoric), just as in 1 Peter 5:8, and so does not enlighten us about the appearance of the Devil either before or after his fall. Indeed, the devil is described in the same verse (Rev 12:8) as both a serpent and a dragon; and also in 1 Peter 5:8 as a roaring lion - VERY different appearances, and all highly symbolic!

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  • There is also the whole issue if words like "cherub" and "seraph" are "types" or "ranks".
    – T. Sar
    Jul 27, 2021 at 19:32
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    "Such beings, cherubim and seraphim, are nowhere described and so we have no idea what they look like." -- Ezekiel 10 (and 1) describe (some) cherubim at length. Isaiah 6 gives some details about seraphim (number of wings, hand, voice). You may argue that descriptions are symbolic, but it's not true that they are nowhere described.
    – LarsH
    May 24, 2023 at 18:38
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"In God's creation Seraphim "fiery serpents" have a similar look. No, It's wrong. Infact "fiery serpens" are cherubin's swords as confirmed at gn3,24.

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