Seraphim - A Sacred Mystery
Seraphim! This is a mystery that will be unfolded on this
page! 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. 3 And one cried unto
another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is
full of his glory. 4 And the posts of
the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with
smoke. 5 Then said I, Woe
is me! for I am undone;
because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of
unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. 6 Then flew one of
the seraphims unto me,
having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the
altar: 7 And he laid it
upon my mouth, and said, Lo,
this hath touched thy lips; and thine
iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. (Isaiah 6:1-7) Justice to the Left –
Mercy to the Right. Do you
remember the left and right hand of Jesus (i.e. Justice and Mercy)? This is
also present with the Father; here, in Isaiah, represented by two Seraphim
(Seraph is in plural properly written Seraphim, not Seraphims). The above account of Isaiah’s calling as
a prophet, which was preceded
by his repentance and a cleansing, showed how he knew how he was under
condemnation, confessed his sins with a contrite heart, and he was cleansed and
forgiven. saraph {saw-rawf'} Hebrew: noun
masculine Possible Definitions: 1) serpent, fiery serpent 1a) poisonous serpent (fiery from burning
effect of poison) 2) seraph, seraphim 2a) majestic beings with 6 wings, human
hands/voices in attendance upon God. (Lexicon of Old Testament
Hebrew) Left Seraph – Justice. In order to understand this more fully, let us look
closely at the account of Isaiah. There he was, in the presence of the God, and
all his hosts of Heaven and earth. We can understand this since his train
(entourage) flooded from his throne in the heavens and filled the temple on
earth. In this gathering of holy individuals, the Seraph on the left side of
God cried to the Seraph on the right hand of God, saying: “Holy, holy, holy, is
the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory”. This communication
from the left Seraph was not intended for the right Seraph, since they had all
knowledge in common, living in the presence of God, as they obviously did. Who
was the guest in this company? Isaiah, of course, and the words were intended
for him to hear, and for everyone who would enter into the temple. Who were
they who would enter into the temple? The people of God, the House of Israel! So, when the house of
Israel, among whom where Isaiah, heard the powerful and undeniable voice of the
Seraph to the left, proclaiming the holiness of the LORD of Hosts, it had the
effect to make them see their own unworthiness before that holy being. This
filled them with fear, and justice was upon them (“And the posts of the door
moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke”). One
might say that the Seraph on the left side of God was the Seraph of Justice. Right Seraph – Mercy. We then hear the words of Isaiah, who fears for the
welfare of his soul:” Woe is me! for
I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a
people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts”.
He is very much in a state of repentance. “This was the queue
for the Seraph on the right side of God to do his part: “Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live
coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: And he
laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and
thy sin purged”. If the Seraph to the
left was the Seraph of Justice, this Seraph, the Seraph on the right side of
God was the Seraph of Mercy, or salvation. The Seraphim – a
Symbol of Jesus Christ as Judge and Savior. Let us look a bit closer at the Seraph to the right. He
cleanses Isaiah from his sins! 12 Neither is there
salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among
men, whereby we must be saved. (Acts 14:12) So, if a Seraph from
the presence of God cleanses Isaiah from his sins, and there is no one but
Jesus who can save man from his sins; who is the Seraph on the right side of
God? Do we not have supportive
testimonies of holy men testifying that they have seen Jesus on the right hand
of God? Did not Jesus himself say to Pilate that he would be seen on the right
hand of God? So, if the seraph to
the right is Jesus, who is the Seraph on the left side of God? 22 For the Father judgeth no man, but hath
committed all judgment unto the Son (John 5:22) If the Seraph on the
left is the Seraph of justice, it would make sense that this seraph is also
Jesus Christ, being the judge of all. Put in another way; the Seraphim
represent the two functions that must come together at the last day, Justice
and Mercy. Jesus is the great judge of all men, and so he is the great Seraph
on the left side of God. All those who fear God, like unto Isaiah, and come unto
Christ, will meet complete mercy from the great Seraph of Salvation and Mercy.
So, justice and mercy have merged into one and the same being; justice in his
left hand, mercy in his right hand.
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