Flaming sword

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Painting by Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix of an angel expelling Adam and Eve with a flaming sword.
Painting by Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix of an angel expelling Adam and Eve with a flaming sword.

A flaming sword is a fictional sword glowing with flame by some supernatural power. Flaming swords have existed in legend and myth for thousands of years.

According to the Bible, a Cherub with a rotating flaming sword was placed by God at the gates of Paradise after Adam and Eve were banished from it (Genesis 3:24). Eastern Orthodox tradition says that from the time Jesus was born, the flaming sword was removed from the Garden of Eden, making it possible for humanity to re-enter Paradise[citation needed].

A flaming sword with immense destructive power appears in Norse mythology. It is said to be wielded by Surtr, the leader of the giants of Muspelheim.

Examples of swords glowing with flame in fiction include some magic swords used in the game Dungeons and Dragons. A priest wielding a flaming sword appears in A Song of Ice and Fire.

Flaming Sword is also the title of a song by the British New Wave group Care.

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