Prophecy of Isaiah – Isa 6:2-3 What Are The Seraphims?

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Isa 6:1  In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.
Isa 6:2  Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.
Isa 6:3  And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory

What are "the seraphims"?

We spent our entire last study discussing why it was "in the year Uzziah died", that Isaiah was given to see the Lord's high and lifted up throne within His temple, which was filled with His train. We saw in our study that we are the Lord's temple and that Isaiah as a type of us, was given to see the Lord's throne in the year Uzziah died because Uzziah was a presumptuous king whose way produced a leprous king. As such Uzziah typifies our own leprous condition as the presumptuous, proud, self-righteous, rejected anointed of the Lord who we all are before we die to that old man of sin.

King David signifies God's "very elect", but he is preceded by King Saul who symbolizes the Lord's rejected anointed. This is what David said to King Saul while David, God 'very elect' was fleeing for his life from King Saul, God's rejected anointed:

1Sa 26:23  The LORD render to every man his righteousness and his faithfulness: for the LORD delivered thee [King Saul] into my hand to day, but I would not stretch forth mine hand against the LORD'S anointed.

King Saul had been told that God had rejected him and would replace him because of presumptuously disobeying the Lord's commandment to destroy all that pertained to the enemy of Israel. King Saul did not want to give up his kingdom just because he had presumptuously rebelled against the Lords commandment. Our old man within us does not want give up his kingdom and die. He really does not want to lose his kingdom, and he will not willingly die.

1Sa 15:22  And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.
1Sa 15:23  For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king. 

We saw in the story of presumptuous King Uzziah another example of the Lord's rejected anointed. King Uzziah was stricken with leprosy and was cast out of the temple by the Lord's faithful priests. The message we are being given here is that those who see the Lord's throne within His temple are only those 'priests' who do not tolerate the presumptuous false doctrines of all who do not "tremble at the word" of God. Those few 'priests' who are granted to oversee the Lord's temple must be able and willing to "try the spirits" and to say boldly with Christ and with His Christ, "We are of God, he that knows God hears us: he that is not of God hears not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth and the spirit of error":

1Jn 4:1  Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
1Jn 4:2  Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:
1Jn 4:3  And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.
1Jn 4:4  Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
1Jn 4:5  They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.
1Jn 4:6  We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.

The message in those verses is the same as the doctrine of Christ when He told the established apostate church leaders of His day:

Joh 8:55  Yet ye have not known [the Father]; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his saying.

Those in whom the Lord dwells are His temple, and they are also those who make up His train, because His train is who He is, and this is who He tells us He is:

Mat 25:40  And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

Act 22:7  And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
Act 22:8  And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest

Christ knows God. It is He Himself who tells us that He is living His life in us. Therefore the 'Jesus of Nazareth' who Saul of Tarsus was persecuting can boldly say with Christ: "We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error." Those who know God also know and recognize who are those who are not speaking the words of God, because they "try the spirits to see whether they are of God", and if they find any who are not speaking the words of  Christ, then they flee from that prophet who is spreading that false spirit, that false doctrine.

Joh 10:5  And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.

Those who are the temple of God, those who make up His train, know His voice, and the verses about these 'seraphims' we are examining today typify those who know how to distinguish the spirit of truth from the spirit of error, and like Christ and John, they do not hesitate to say "We are of God: he that knows God hears us; he that is not of God hears not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth and the spirit of error."

The different symbols of God's elect

Those who "know God" are symbolized by the temple in which God dwells, they are symbolized by His train, and they are also symbolized by the seraphims, the cherubims and the four and twenty elders which are within His temple and are around His throne.

Isa 6:1  In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.
Isa 6:2  Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.
Isa 6:3  And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.

The books of Ezekiel and the book of Revelation speak of ' four living creatures' and 'four beasts' being around the throne of God:

Eze 1:4  And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber, out of the midst of the fire.
Eze 1:5  Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man. 
Eze 1:6  And every one had four faces, and every one had four wings. 

These 'four faces' are the same 'four faces' of the same 'four living creatures' which are also called 'cherubims', both here in Ezekiel and in Revelation:

Eze 1:10  As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle.

In Ezekiel 10 these same "four living creatures" are called "cherubims":

Eze 10:1  Then I looked, and, behold, in the firmament that was above the head of the cherubims there appeared over them as it were a sapphire stone, as the appearance of the likeness of a throne.

Eze 1:10  As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle.

Just as in Isaiah's vision of the seraphims, the visions of Ezekiel in Ezekiel chapters one and ten and in the book of Revelation, all concern what is on and about "the throne" of God.

Eze 1:26  And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it.

Eze 10:1  Then I looked, and, behold, in the firmament that was above the head of the cherubims there appeared over them as it were a sapphire stone, as the appearance of the likeness of a throne.

Rev 4:6  And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind. 

It is in Revelation 5 that these "four beasts", as well as "the four and twenty elders", inform us whom they symbolize:

Rev 5:8  And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.
Rev 5:9  And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;
Rev 5:10  And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

That is both an inward and an outward promise:

1Co 6:2  Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the [inward and outward] world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
1Co 6:3  Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?

I remember as a child hearing of these 'seraphims' in the sermons which were preached in the church, and I asked my father, who at that time seemed to me to know so much about the Bible, "What is the difference between the cherubims and the seraphims? Both are said to be located in the presence of God. Both are in or near the throne of God, both have six wings, and both say "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts." Why", I asked my father, "is one called 'seraphims', and the other is called 'cherubims'???"

Let's notice what we read here in Isaiah six about these 'seraphims' which we are told are "Above... the throne". "Above it stood the seraphims..." This is not to be taken as the seraphims themselves being more prominent or being superior to the Lord's throne. The Hebrew word translated here as the English word 'above' is 'maal', H4605, and it is the same word translated as "on high" in this verse:

Exo 25:20  And the cherubims shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces shall look one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubims be.

So it is with these 'seraphims'. It is "the throne... the mercy seat" which is the center of the attention of these seraphims, and their entire existence centers "around the throne" just as do the 'cherubims' of Revelation 5.

Now let's notice how similar these words describing "the seraphims" here in Isaiah 6 are to what we are told about the "four beasts" in the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ:

Rev 4:7  And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle.
Rev 4:8  And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come 

Both are "around the throne, [both have] six wings, [and both] say, Holy, holy, holy."

In seeking to know "the sum of [God's] word" (Psa 119:160) on this subject, going back to Ezekiel one, this is what we read of these exact same four beasts round about the throne of God in the book of Ezekiel:

Eze 1:5  Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man.
Eze 1:6 And every one had four faces, and every one had four wings.
Eze 1:7  And their feet were straight feet; and the sole of their feet [was] like the sole of a calf’s foot: and they sparkled like the colour of burnished brass.
Eze 1:8  And they had the hands of a man under their wings on their four sides; and they four had their faces and their wings.
Eze 1:9  Their wings were joined one to another; they turned not when they went; they went every one straight forward.
Eze 1:10  As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle.

Each beast has with him an accompanying wheel, with which we are told:

Eze 1:14  And the living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning. 
Eze 1:15  Now as I beheld the living creatures, behold, one wheel [was] upon the earth beside the living creatures, for each of the four faces of it.
Eze 1:16  The appearance of the wheels and their work was like a beryl. And those four had one likeness, and their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel within a wheel
Eze 1:17  When they went, they went in their four directions. They did not turn when they went. 
Eze 1:18  As for their rims, they were high and fearful. And those four had their rims full of eyes round about. 
Eze 1:19  And when the living creatures went, the wheels went beside them. And when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up.
Eze 1:20  Wherever the spirit was to go, they went; there the spirit was to go. And the wheels were lifted up beside them, for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.

All of that: "Wherever the spirit was to go, they went... for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels... a wheel within a wheel... running and returning as the appearance of a flash of lightning", has been interpreted so many different ways down through the years. Some who are not given spiritual eyes that see and spiritual ears that hear interpret "a wheel within a wheel [moving] as the appearance of a flash of lightning" to be some kind of a heavenly UFO operating as a gyroscope. Such speculations are as numerous as the individual imaginations of those who express their own interpretive speculation. A much more Biblical understanding of what we are being told here is this simple spiritual Truth:

Joh 14:20  In that day ye will know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.

Ezekiel one tells us of these four living creatures, "they had the likness of a man".

Eze 1:5  Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man.

But we are also told they each had four faces: "...they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle." Chapter ten reiterates that each cherubim had "four wings", but instead of the word "ox" we are told one of the faces was the face of a cherub:

Eze 10:14  And every one had four faces: the first face was the face of a cherub, and the second face was the face of a man, and the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.

What this tells us is that the face of a 'cherub' of chapter ten, is the same as the face of the 'ox' of chapter one. 'Wealth', we are told, ' is by the strength of the ox', and the ox was the ultimate sacrifice one could offer to God. That is very likely why Israel made a golden calf in the wilderness and why Jereboam made two golden calves, one in Dan, in the north of his kingdom, and one at Samaria, in the south of his kingdom, to entice Israel into idolatry and to keep them from returning to Jerusalem and the temple there.

In Ezekiel chapter ten we are also told that both the wheels which were by the cherubims as well as the cherubims themselves were "full of eyes..." and the cherubims having "the form of a man's hand under their wings" is reiterated in both chapters:

Eze 10:8  And there appeared in the cherubims the form of a man's hand under their wings. 
Eze 10:9  And when I looked, behold the four wheels by the cherubims, one wheel by one cherub, and another wheel by another cherub: and the appearance of the wheels was as the colour of a beryl stone.
Eze 10:10  And as for their appearances, they four had one likeness, as if a wheel had been in the midst of a wheel. 
Eze 10:11  When they went, they went upon their four sides; they turned not as they went, but to the place whither the head looked they followed it; they turned not as they went.
Eze 10:12  And their whole body, and their backs, and their hands, and their wings, and the wheels, were full of eyes round about, even the wheels that they four had.

These creatures are capable of looking all around in every direction within as well as looking all around in every direction without.  Here is the spirit full of eyes which is within these four creatures and their four wheels. Here is also the meaning of "a wheel within a wheel":

Rev 5:6  And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.

Christ in us is the mystery of  "a wheel within a wheel... full of eyes" within us. It is Christ who tells us so:

Joh 14:20  In that day ye will know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.

Col 1:26  Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:
Col 1:27  To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in youthe hope of glory:

When Christ is in us we are "full of eyes... [within and without], seven eyes... the seven spirits of God sent forth into all the earth."

Eze 10:12  And their whole body, and their backs, and their hands, and their wings, and the wheels, were full of eyes round about, even the wheels that they four had.

Eze 10:20  This is the living creature that I saw under the God of Israel by the river of Chebar; and I knew that they were the cherubims.
Eze 10:21  Every one had four faces apiece, and every one four wings; and the likeness of the hands of a man was under their wings.
Eze 10:22  And the likeness of their faces was the same faces which I saw by the river of Chebar, their appearances and themselves: they went every one straight forward.

Christ and all in whom He dwells are single-minded in their obedience to His and our Father. "They [go] every one straight forward... [they] turn not to the right hand nor to the left":

Deu 5:32  Ye shall observe to do therefore as the LORD your God hath commanded you: ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.

2Ch 34:2  And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the ways of David his father, and declined neither to the right hand, nor to the left. 

Pro 4:27  Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.

If these "four creatures" are Christ in us, then we will "remove [our] feet from evil... in this present evil world", and in time we will be given spiritual bodies as "the redemption of the purchased possession" at the resurrection, then we will be capable of 'running and returning as the appearance of a flash of lightning':

Eze 1:14  And the living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning.

Even now, through His Father's spirit, Christ is within His people the world over. "As He is, so are we in this world" (1Jo 4:17). In Him we, too, are where we are needed, and we are there, and we return "as the appearance of a flash of lightning".

1Co 5:3  For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed,
1Co 5:4  In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,
1Co 5:5  To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. 

Why do the seraphims call to each other, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord?

Isa 6:3  And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.

This is the spiritual meaning and the spiritual benefit of us telling each other that our holy Father is sovereign over all His creation, and that He is a loving heavenly Father who is working all things together for good after the counsel of His own will (Rom 8:28 and Eph 1:11). This is what that does for us.

Mal 3:16  Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name.
Mal 3:17  And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.
Mal 3:18  Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.

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