Who is the serpent in Genesis, and is it an actual snake?

Several different strands of evidence point to the serpent being not an animal, but a shining, serpentine angelic being.

Are cherubs just palace guardians?

Steve Hays argues that my view of Eden as the divine council meeting-place trades on ignoring the role of cherubs as defensive rather than administrative beings. I reply with a three-pronged rebuttal.