CHERUBIM AND SERAPHIM: Heaven's Beasts and Other Assorted Beings, Events, and Places Associated with Them

By Drew Worthen

Who or what are cherubim and seraphim? I never gave much thought to the question until I was teaching through the book of Ezekiel. Despite "scholars" defining them as angels, upon further study, it became clear that cherubim and seraphim are anything but angels. This book takes a deep dive into the real nature of these creatures by using all the biblical texts that are applicable to them in both Old and New Testaments. In the pursuit of exegeting the related Scriptures concerning this class of being, I was forced to consider other classes of beings that surround the throne of God together with historical events and places that are linked with the cherubim and seraphim, thus the subtitle to the book: "Heaven's Beasts and Other Assorted Beings, Events, and Places Associated with Them."

This is why it was necessary to travel side paths that intersect with these creatures in question. Examples include cherubim and seraphim's role in the throne room of God, the Holy of Holies. Thus, I show their relation to the Ark of the Covenant, the mercy seat, and all creatures that attend God in this holy place.

I also speak to the present heaven whom many assume is only spiritual, and yet the Scriptures give us a much different picture. Traveling further down this path, I then address the ultimate kingdom of God the Scriptures call the new heavens and new earth, which is the final destination for all believers in Christ.

Upon discovering the real nature of the cherubim and seraphim, I also make the connection to what Ezekiel describes as the spirit of the living beings residing in their wheels and the spirit of earthly animals in which resides the "breath of life," revealing where that animal's spirit goes at death. Yes, this means all animals with the breath of life, including your pets, have a life after death. Is there a "doggie" heaven? This book answers that question and much more while focusing on the life of the cherubim and seraphim and their role in the kingdom of God.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Covenant Books, Inc.
• Release date: May 30, 2024
• ISBN: 9798891122529

Book preview

Table of Contents

Title

Copyright

Defining Cherubim and Seraphim

Seraphim in Isaiah

Wings of the Seraphim

A Physical Heaven?

Elijah and Elisha Part Ways

Seraphim in the Book of Revelation

Seraphim Are Angels?

Seraphim Full of Eyes in Front and Behind

The Number Four

God's Altar

Altar of Burnt Offering

Altar of Incense

Why Do We Need an Altar in Heaven?

Another Pattern in the Heavenlies

Back to the Seraphim in Isaiah

Cherubim

Off with Their Heads or Something Like That

New Mount Zion

Back to the Cherubim Found in Exodus

The Cherubim/Priests of Israel

Flaming Sword

The Sword Speaks Life

Adam as Anointed Cherub

Satan Is an Angel, Not a Cherub

Adam as a Cherub

The Day the Music Died

What Was the Death That Adam Died?

A Brief History of the Ark of the Covenant

David's Eternal Kingdom

Solomon's Temple Sanctuary

All That Glitters

Back to the Garden

The City/Sanctuary of God

The Holy City Is a Holy People

The Bride and the Bridegroom

Measure Twice, Cut Once

Examination Time

Measured, Coming Up Short

Sun and Moon Destroyed?

Will Time Cease at the End of This Present Age?

Autumn, Winter, Spring, and Summer Eternally?

Solomon's Cherubim

Mount Zion, the Holy Sanctuary

Cherubim in the Book of Ezekiel

Ezekiel's Fours

Four Faces of Ezekiel's Cherubim

Ezekiel's Four-Winged Cherubim

Ezekiel's Wheels

Cherubim Life Source

Breath of Life

Man's Essential Parts

Do Animals Have Souls?

Animals Under God's Covenant

One Very Special Animal That Speaks for All

All Creation Made New

Animals Resurrected?

God's Original Mandate to Man

Back to Ezekiel and the Cherubim

God's Presence Removed from the Temple

Cherubim and Seraphim: Matching Creatures

Varieties of Gifts, but the Same Spirit

Archangels

Power Behind the Kings of Persia

Mankind Seeks That Which It Loves, Darkness

Forbidden Dark Arts

Touched by an Angel

Full Armor of God

Benediction

Summary of the Cherubim and Seraphim

Parting Thoughts

About the Author

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CHERUBIM AND SERAPHIM

Heaven's Beasts and Other Assorted Beings, Events, and Places Associated with Them

Drew Worthen

ISBN 979-8-89112-251-2 (Paperback)

ISBN 979-8-89112-252-9 (Digital)

Copyright © 2024 Drew Worthen

All rights reserved

First Edition

All Scripture references in this manuscript are taken from the NAU translation of the Bible unless otherwise noted.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

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There is a fascination among young and old with mythical characters embedded in stories that are meant to both scare and tease the imagination of its audience. We cringe at monsters who rise out of the depths or ghosts who appear out of nowhere, and yet somehow, we can't seem to turn away as we imagine that Sarah Connors of Terminator fame will come to the rescue or Scooby Doo and his friends will unveil the crook masquerading as a phantom trying to ward off intruders from a stolen treasure.

Scooby Doo and friends

Stories of dragons, half-human, half-beasts, along with aliens resembling humanoids or reptiles, all come under the category of fiction. And, of course, fiction is the palette upon which we paint anything that comes into our imaginations which is the stuff of entertainment.

However, this line of thought is not restricted to Trekies or Comic-Con devotees who can't seem to get enough of their favorite works of altered reality. There are actually those in the Christian community who conclude that the Bible is full of fictional characters that any well-balanced person knows are placed there to either scare or caution the unwary into a certain type of behavior, kind of like the boogeyman, stories some folks told their kids to keep them in line.

What is troublesome, however, is that many people who claim themselves Christian, who express a belief that the Bible is the Word of God, will oftentimes pick and choose what is fact or fiction based on what the culture deems appropriate for the times. Essentially, they turn the word of God into the word of men as a kind of smorgasbord for the spiritual appetite. We get a taste of this from an article entitled Most Christians Don't Believe Satan, Holy Spirit Exist.

The majority of American Christians do not believe that Satan is a real being or that the Holy Spirit is a living entity, the latest Barna survey found. Nearly six out of ten Christians either strongly agreed or somewhat agreed with the statement that Satan is not a living being but is a symbol of evil, the survey found. Most Americans, even those who say they are Christian, have doubts about the intrusion of the supernatural into the natural world, commented George Barna, founder of The Barna Group and author of books analyzing research concerning America's faith. Hollywood has made evil accessible and tame, making Satan and demons less worrisome than the Bible suggests they really are, he said. It's hard for achievement-driven, self-reliant, independent people to believe that their lives can be impacted by unseen forces. (Jennifer Riley, Christian Post)

From another article entitled, What Is a Cherub? The Cherubim in the Bible, the author concludes,

The cherubim were symbolical. They were intended to represent spiritual existence in immediate contact with Jehovah. Some have regarded them as symbolical of the chief ruling power by which God carries on his operations in providence (Psalm 18:10). Others interpret them as having reference to the redemption of men, and as symbolizing the great rulers or ministers of the church… On the whole, it seems to be most satisfactory to regard the interpretation of the symbol to be variable, as is the symbol itself. (Christianity.com)

Of course, who could blame someone from concluding that cherubim or seraphim are only symbolical figures when they're represented in the Scriptures as having, among other things, four heads, four to six wings, and cruising around on their own set of wheels, chock full of eyes, that enable them to flit anywhere they choose? In fact, the very description of these characters can conjure up images that might be more familiar in a Harry Potter thriller.

But is it really the case that the Word of God introduces characters like Satan, the Holy Spirit, or even cherubim and seraphim as mere fictional symbols representing some incomprehensible supernatural power in an otherwise natural world?

I would agree that sections of the Word of God contain much symbolism that paints an exalted picture of heavenly realities. But that doesn't preclude that all heavenly descriptions are mere symbols. I would certainly not agree that Satan is only a symbol of evil or that the Holy Spirit is a mere symbol of some unseen force. However, those are subjects to be dealt with another time since my present focus is on cherubim and seraphim. And as we'll see, these two classes of beings are anything but fictional characters.

But as was demonstrated in the Barna Survey, there seems to be real confusion among some people who profess to be Christian as to who or what is real in the Bible and what is symbolic. This would certainly include seraphim and cherubim, which is why there are varying descriptions of these beings ranging from some form of angel to mere figurative depictions of the holiness or power of God on His throne. But when we begin to look at what the Scriptures themselves teach us, as we examine these cherubim and seraphim, some of the smoke and mist begins to clear.

The word cherub or cherubim (singular and plural respectively) appears in some seventy-eight verses in the Word of God, most often in the Old Testament (OT). There is one reference found in the New Testament (NT) (Hebrews 9:5) in association with the OT Ark of the Covenant.

When it comes to the words seraph or seraphim (again, singular and plural respectively) there are several places in the Word of God where these terms are used as we'll see shortly. Only two specific verses use this designation as it relates to what is traditionally thought of as heavenly creatures around God's throne, both found in the book of Isaiah. In the following pages, I will also argue that implicit references to these same creatures are found in the book of Revelation.

Many writers take the position that these fanciful-looking creatures are merely borrowed representations of similar symbolic creatures found in other ancient cultures. In this sense, they are nothing more than products of man's fertile imagination to depict super beings who are capable of either protecting or judging people on earth. In some cases, they are a type of benign creature that annexes our calendars a few times a year, depending on how many seasonal cards Hallmark wants to sell.

Cupid

Our modern culture represents one form of cherub, for example, as a chubby little nymph with stubby little wings. Some of these creatures spend their days stalking unsuspecting lovers as they impale them with arrows that cut to the heart, literally, of their newfound feelings for one another. This would appear to establish what many contend is a truism brought to light by the Scottish hard rock band Nazareth in their 1975 international hit Love Hurts, though it was originally written by Boudleaux Bryant in 1960 and recorded by the Everly Brothers in July of that same year. But I digress.

Of course, there are those in the church who have written on this subject of cherubim and seraphim, often from a perspective that is extrabiblical in nature as they downplay what God's Word actually says on the subject. And so I will attempt to exegete those related Scriptural passages regarding these creatures and try to arrive at what I believe is a proper biblical understanding of these living beings and their place in the Kingdom of God.

Defining Cherubim and Seraphim

What is interesting about the cherubim and seraphim is that there appears to be no universal consensus concerning the defining of these terms, though some suggest that the designation seraphim, for example, may be indicating fiery ones. But even this description falls short of being definitional.

They would move toward this fiery identification by utilizing passages that use the word seraph in a context that is dealing with actual earthly animals. Isaiah, for example, when rebuking Israel for their reliance on Egypt without consulting God, uses the term seraph in such a way that bundles it together with other known animals of the Negev.

Everyone will be ashamed because of a people who cannot profit them, who are not for help or profit, but for shame and also for reproach. The oracle concerning the beasts of the Negev. Through a land of distress and anguish, From where come lioness and lion, viper and flying serpent [seraph], they carry their riches on the backs of young donkeys and their treasures on camels' humps, to a people who cannot profit them. (Isaiah 30:5–6, emphasis added)

The designation flying serpent is also translated as flying fiery serpent in the ESV and KJV. The NET translates it as darting adders, while the NIV designates them as darting snakes. Some commentators have suggested that Isaiah is referencing flying fiery serpents that could be a form of animal that lived among dinosaurs. It is called a pterosaur, whose fossilized remains have been discovered all over the world with their wing span ranging from ten inches to thirty feet.

This is from an article entitled The Fiery Flying Serpent:

European reports of flying serpents living in Egypt persist through the 1600's. The Italian naturalist Prosper Alpin (1979, pp. 407–409) wrote a fascinating natural history of Egypt in the 1580s. He describes their tail being thick as a finger, their length being as long as a palm branch, and their leaf-shaped tail. All is precisely like modern fossil reconstructions. Among several such depictions from that era, a French woodcut image, dating from the 17th century, displays remarkable features of a pterosaur, including tail vane, crest and hints of claws on the wings." (Creation Research Society Quarterly, vol. 42, no. 4, March, 2006, pp. 241–251)

Pterosaur

Whatever the actual animal is that is being described by Isaiah, it was understood to fall into a category of beasts that lived alongside the lioness and the lion. But it seems to be differentiated from the viper as it inhabits a world with human beings in the mix.

We see similar mentions of seraphim out of the context of what we usually think of as it relates to heavenly beings around the throne of God. When addressing rebellious Israel, Moses confronts the nation with their forgetfulness of God as he acknowledges how the Lord judged them with fiery serpents.

He led you through the great and terrible wilderness, with its fiery serpents [seraph] and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water; He brought water for you out of the rock of flint. (Deuteronomy 8:15; emphasis added)

Of course, Moses was referencing the fiery serpents that bit and killed many of the Israelites in the desert. Subsequently, Moses was given the remedy from God by constructing the likeness of one of these fiery serpents out of bronze and placing it on a staff for all to see as they looked upon it for their healing/redemption.

The Lord sent fiery serpents [seraph] among the people and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. (Numbers 21:6)

Then the Lord said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent [seraph] and set it on a standard; and it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, he will live." (Numbers 21:8)

Bronze Serpent

What should be noted about this recorded encounter in Numbers 21 with the seraph (fiery serpents) is that Moses actually identifies these seraph as real snakes in verses 7 and 9 by appropriating the Hebrew word for snakes or serpents, nachash.

So the people came to Moses and said, "We have sinned, because we have spoken against the Lord and you; intercede with the Lord, that He may remove the serpents [nachash] from us." And Moses interceded for the people. (Numbers 21:7; emphasis added)

And Moses made a bronze serpent [nachash] and set it on the standard; and it came about, that if a serpent [nachash] bit any man, when he looked to the bronze serpent [nachash], he lived. (Numbers 21:9; emphasis added)

Therefore, it seems reasonable to conclude that at least in this case, seraph can be associated with some sort of snake that presumably has a fiery or deadly bite. But does this mean that the word seraph refers to a deadly snake, or serpent, in every other context? What about Isaiah's depiction of seraphim in Isaiah 6:2, 6 and related passages in Revelation, where seraphim have wide-ranging features that transcend any snake?

We'll look at this momentarily. But as it relates to the overall classifications of these heavenly creatures, cherubim and seraphim, there seems to be a consensus among some biblical scholars. It turns out that this is also the default position of the Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, where it defines cherubim this way: meaning uncertain. And then it goes on to give it a decisive meaning: one of a rank of angelic beings.

The same encyclopedia defines seraphim thus: meaning questioned and then definitively answers the question by stating, rank of angelic beings.

So it would seem that the implied answer is that we don't know specifically what cherubim and seraphim are, but they must be a type of angel since they're in heaven, ranked in some fashion like the archangel, who is only explicitly mentioned in two places in all of Scripture.

For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. (1 Thessalonians 4:16; emphasis added)

But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him a railing judgment, but said, The Lord rebuke you! (Jude 1:9; emphasis added)

The inferred reasoning for identifying cherubim and seraphim as angels is that since there appears to be one specific type of angel in a particular category called Archangel, there must be other categories of angels (ranks) to which the cherubim and seraphim presumably belong.

By the way, Michael is the only one directly identified in the Word of God as an archangel. Some believe that Gabriel is also an archangel, partly because of the apocryphal book of Enoch which identifies Gabriel as such. Of course, the book of Enoch also identifies the sons of God in Genesis 6 as angels who married and procreated with the daughters of men producing offspring (angel/human?) up to six thousand feet tall. You can check out my book on these sons of God in Genesis and Job, called War of the Seeds, where I believe I put forth a consistent biblical answer as to the real identity of the sons of God in those and other related portions of Scripture.

Though Michael is the only one identified as an archangel, it is certainly possible that there are other archangels that are inferred, as seen in an incident in the Word of God, related to an angel that was sent by Lord to the prophet Daniel.

But the prince of the kingdom of Persia was withstanding me [an angel] for twenty-one days; then behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left there with the kings of Persia. (Daniel 10:13)

Michael is described as one of the chief princes, which leads to the real possibility that he is one of a larger group who possesses God-ordained power and authority that other angels do not possess. In the passage in Daniel, it states Michael had to come to the rescue of the angel attached to the prophet as that angel was held up for twenty-one days by the prince of the kingdom of Persia, a designation of an evil angel.

So with this description of Michael as one of the chief princes, we can safely conclude that the term archangel is interchangeable with the term prince in the context of Daniel. As a result, there may be others with this designation who are not named in the Word of God. Later in this study, we will revisit the archangels to discover the possibility of this rank of angel being applied to demons as well.

Seraphim in Isaiah

So how do we begin to biblically identify these cherubim and seraphim? Well, a good place to start is in the very sections of the word of God that specifically address these creatures. Since the fewest number of references that directly deal with the seraphim around God's throne are in only one book of the OT, I thought that would be an ideal place to begin.

In the year of King Uzziah's death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called out to another and said, Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory. (Isaiah 6:1–3 NAU; emphasis added)

Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs. (Isaiah 6:6; emphasis added)

The book of Isaiah was written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit with the intent to warn Israel of God's impending judgment for their unfaithfulness to the Lord. In light of this judgment, Isaiah also shows how God would restore the true eschatological Israel to a glory that would far exceed any glory they had ever previously experienced culminating in what Isaiah describes as new heavens and a new earth.

For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former things will not be remembered or come to mind. (Isaiah 65:17; emphasis added)

"For just as the new heavens and the new earth Which I make will endure before Me, declares the Lord, So your offspring and your name will endure." (Isaiah 66:22; emphasis added)

It is in this context that Isaiah is given a vision of God's rule from His throne. By the way, it is not a coincidence that both Isaiah and the apostle John in the book of Revelation are given similar visions of the throne room of God where, in the beginning of both books, the seraphim are introduced as six-winged creatures (Isaiah 6:2; Revelation 4:8). At the end of both books, this throne room scene opens up to new heavens and a new earth (Isaiah 66:22; Revelation 21:1). I'll reference this connection throughout this study.

But in Isaiah 6:1–6, we see the introduction of these seraphim, where in the preceding immediate context, chapter 5, God warned rebellious Israel that He would decree and subsequently deploy a foreign nation to destroy them.

On this account the anger of the Lord has burned against His people, and He has stretched out His hand against them and struck them down. And the mountains quaked, and their corpses lay like refuse in the middle of the streets. For all this His anger is not spent, but His hand is still stretched out. He will also lift up a standard to the distant nation, and will whistle for it from the ends of the earth; and behold, it will come with speed swiftly. (Isaiah 5:25–26; emphasis added)

So let's deal with these specific passages that contain the introduction of the seraphim as God is showing himself to be a judge of the nation that belongs to him by covenant.

In the year of King Uzziah's death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. (Isaiah 6:1 NAU)

Here Isaiah is giving us a time frame as to when he received this vision as he cites the year of King Uzziah's death, which was somewhere in the middle of the eighth-century BC. The vision clearly identifies the glorious setting in which the seraphim will be introduced as God is portrayed as lofty and exalted. His presence is described with His kingly attire that fills the entire space of the throne room with His magnificence.

King Uzziah, also known as Azariah (2 Kings 15:1–2), was one of the Kings of Judah, who generally did good in the sight of the Lord. But as we'll see, God's patience begins to come to an end as Uzziah's self-perceived strength results in a condition inflicted by God that proved to be symptomatic of the entire nation's overall spiritual rottenness.

But when he [Uzziah] became strong, his heart was so proud that he acted corruptly, and he was unfaithful to the Lord his God, for he entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense. Then Azariah the priest entered after him and with him eighty priests of the Lord, valiant men. They opposed Uzziah the king and said to him, It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord, but for the priests, the sons of Aaron who are consecrated to burn incense. Get out of the sanctuary, for you have been unfaithful and will have no honor from the Lord God. But Uzziah, with a censer in his hand for burning incense, was enraged; and while he was enraged with the priests, the leprosy broke out on his forehead before the priests in the house of the Lord, beside the altar of incense. Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked at him, and behold, he was leprous on his forehead; and they hurried him out of there, and he himself also hastened to get out because the Lord had smitten him. (2 Chronicles 26:16–20; emphasis added)

Uzziah died a leper at the age of sixty-eight somewhere between 730 and 750 BC, which is the general time frame in which Isaiah receives this vision from the Lord. This vision is in association with God's judgment on Judah, which would come to fruition around 140 years later, as the Babylonians begin their conquest of Judah. This is what the beginning of the book of Isaiah is essentially all about, and so when we look at this vision of God's throne, this must be kept in mind as it relates to seraphim being introduced around the throne of God.

But the book of Isaiah reveals more than God's judgment on His nation as he also points to the One who would redeem a people for Himself. Jesus Christ would be the fulfillment of this promise as he makes this abundantly clear during His earthly ministry as He demonstrates that a stiff-necked and unbelieving people during Isaiah's day remain stiff-necked and unbelieving during His day as Isaiah spoke regarding their Messiah.

But though He had performed so many signs before them, yet they were not believing in Him. This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet which he spoke: Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the lord been revealed? For this reason they could not believe, for Isaiah said again, "He has blinded their eyes and He hardened their heart, so that they would not see with their eyes and perceive with their heart, and be converted and I heal them." These things Isaiah said because he saw His glory, and he spoke of Him. (John 12:37–41; emphasis added)

John 12:40 is taken from the immediate context of chapter 6 and verse 10 of Isaiah. It is here we find these seraphim surrounding the throne of God where the glory of the Lord is revealed to Isaiah, as John points out. And so with this short background, let us continue with the scene Isaiah shares, which includes the seraphim surrounding the throne of God, filled with His majesty.

Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called out to another and said, Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory. And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke. (Isaiah 6:2–4)

The first thing we notice is that in the context of God filling the temple with His glory, the seraphim are also in the temple but are standing/flying above the Lord. In a vision context (keeping in mind that part of the genre of Isaiah is prophetic/apocalyptic) this is another way of describing how these seraphim take a prominent role in the temple scene. In this setting, they assume their assigned responsibility in praising God above His throne as we will see in a moment. But let's look at how Isaiah identifies these seraphim in the context of this vision.

Each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. (Isaiah 6:2)

The issue has been raised that since this is a vision, none of what is seen in this vision can be taken literally. And so things like wings and the number of wings or even the existence of a creature like seraphim around the throne are not meant to describe a literal creature called seraphim. Rather, this is some sort of spiritual reality wrapped in symbolic language, addressing the glory (or fire) of God that surrounds His throne.

And to the degree that Isaiah is given a vision of the throne room of God (thus potentially, these creatures are therefore mere symbols), this may hold some water. But the fact is, there is someone else prominently displayed in this same throne room distinct from the seraphim, whom no one questions was there, namely God Himself, who is not a symbol but the very Creator.

Simply because this is a vision, it does not necessarily negate the fact that seraphim are real beings. Does this mean that seraphim have six wings, or is Isaiah simply seeing what God wants him to see? In other words, are the wings symbolic of something that is identified with seraphim but are not really part of their essence?

This is actually a fair question. In prophetic/apocalyptic biblical literature, symbolic language is often employed to paint a picture of one thing while not actually suggesting that that thing is what it appears to be in the vision. Let's look at an example from God's Revelation to John that essentially identifies the same throne room that Isaiah saw.

I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a book written inside and on the back, sealed up with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book and to break its seals? And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the book or to look into it. Then I began to weep greatly because no one was found worthy to open the book or to look into it; and one of the elders said to me, "Stop weeping; behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals." And I saw between the throne (with the four living creatures) and the elders a Lamb standing, as if slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent out into all the earth. (Revelation 5:1–6 NAU; emphasis added)

There's a lot going on in this passage, not the least of which is the identification of four living creatures in verse 6. These same living creatures were introduced earlier in chapter four and bear a strong resemblance to the creatures we have before us in Isaiah who have six wings.

And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within; and day and night they do not cease to say, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come." (Revelation 4:8; emphasis added)

It should be noted that the One who sits on the throne in the vision given to John (Revelation 5:1) is necessarily Jehovah. And yet between the throne (that is between the four living creatures and the elders) there is a lamb standing, as if slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent out into all the earth.

This Lamb is identified with the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David. Isaiah addresses this Root of David as being associated with King David's father, Jesse.

Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, and a branch from his roots will bear fruit. (Isaiah 11:1 NAU; emphasis added)

And then finally, Jesus Himself tells us who this Root of David is.

I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star. (Revelation 22:16 NAU; emphasis added)

What was symbolic in both Isaiah and the book of Revelation on one level of disclosure is made clear in another, and so we know who this Lamb is. Therefore, it is important to understand that simply because John sees a vision with this slain Lamb figure standing before him in Revelation 5, it does not mean that the figure is identical to the real nature of the being in question or that the being does not exist at all, in this case, Jesus Christ himself.

Therefore, one cannot conclude that Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God who came to take away the sin of the world, is not a real person simply because symbolic language in apocalyptic genre depicts Him in a way (that of a slain lamb) that appears in conflict with His real essence, the God/man. In the same way, we cannot automatically conclude that there are not real heavenly beings called seraphim simply because they are depicted in ways that may seem strange to us, where in other portions of God's Word, more light is shed on their real nature. And we'll dive into all of this as we move along in this study.

Wings of the Seraphim

So let me go back to my original question that relates to this whole issue of something being depicted in symbolic language. Are the wings in Isaiah 6:2 symbolic of something that is identified with seraphim but not necessarily part of their actual being? That is certainly possible. But let's ask a related question: Is it possible that a being, albeit a heavenly being, could have wings that includes more than one pair of wings? Let's start there.

We know in our present world that many insects have two pair of wings to help in flight. But insects are one thing; surely there could not be an animal that has more than two wings.

From the National Geographic website, we read this:

Then, in 2003, the prolific Chinese dinosaur-hunter Xing Xu found an actual four-winged dinosaur. He called it Microraptor gui. Xu saw the outlines of feathers clearly splaying from the creature's legs as well as its arms. These were clearly traces of long, flat and asymmetric plumes, much like those that keep today's flying birds aloft. While it lived, Microraptor probably looked like a starling wearing flares. Xu suggested that it may have used its leg wings to help it glide, while others later suggested that it could have flown like a biplane.

Xu went on to find other dinosaurs with long leg feathers, such as Anchiornis, Pedopenna and Xiaotingia. For a time, it looked like these feathers disappeared before true birds arrived on the scene, but Xu is now back with 11 new fossils that discount that idea.

The specimens include species like Sapeornis, Confuciusornis, Cathayornis, and Yanornis. All of them are early birds, perched on primitive branches of the group's family tree. All of them lived in China during the Cretaceous period. And all of them had four wings, with long feathers on their legs.

You can see them in the images throughout this post—dark shadows protruding from the bones of the lower leg. In some of the specimens, the leg feathers show a stiff, curved central rod (or rachis) with symmetrical vanes sticking out from either side. They protrude from the bones at right angles and seem to form a large flat surface."

Microraptor gui

The point is that God's creation is very diverse, and though modern birds only have two wings, it does not mean that four wings were ever out of the question for the Creator as it relates to birds. So what may seem strange to us today was actually in existence thousands of years ago pre- and, certainly, post-flood.

With that said, it doesn't seem so strange that a heavenly creature could have four or even six wings especially in light of the fact that Scripture defines the purpose of each set of wings for seraphim.

Again, unless we limit God to surrounding His throne with beings that only look humanoid (angels and deceased saints), then it should not surprise us that He may also surround Himself with beings that have actual wings or, for that matter, four legged horses that pull chariots (2 Kings 2:11). So let's go back again to the only text of Scripture that explicitly addresses seraphim around God's throne.

In the year of King Uzziah's death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called out to another and said, Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory. And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke. Then I said, Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs. He touched my mouth with it and said, Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away and your sin is forgiven. (Isaiah 6:1–7 NAU; emphasis added)

Keeping in mind that this is a vision, Isaiah sees the Lord on His throne with the seraphim praising God in that same setting. Six wings are said to have a particular function which are all related to the worship of God. With the first set of wings, he covers his face. In Scripture, the covering of the face is a means of humbling oneself, especially as it relates to being in the presence of God.

I will establish My covenant between Me and you, And I will multiply you exceedingly. Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying… (Genesis 17:2-3; emphasis added)

He said also, I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Then Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. (Exodus 3:6; emphasis added)

But He said, "You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live! Then I will take My hand away and you shall see My back, but My face shall not be seen." (Exodus 33:20, 23; emphasis added)

And so, when we are told that one of the seraphim had a set of wings to cover his face, this may be symbolic of his humbleness to be in the presence of the Lord. But again, at this point, we cannot exclude the possibility that this is a real set of wings.

The second set of wings, in the context of Isaiah 6, are said to cover the feet of the seraphim. This may seem a strange thing, but again, a little reflection on this act reveals another aspect of humbling as in the case of Moses standing before the Lord.

Then He said, "Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground." (Exodus 3:5; emphasis added)

We see a similar incident with Joshua as he is poised to cross the Jordan River into the Promised Land as Israel is about to be used by the Lord to conquer Jericho.

The captain of the Lord's host said to Joshua, "Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy." And Joshua did so. (Joshua 5:15 NAU; emphasis added)

And so removing the sandals from the feet is a sign of humbling oneself before the Lord and acknowledging His holiness. In a similar way, the seraphim (since they don't apparently wear shoes as we'll see later) cover their feet with their wings in the presence of the Lord, which speaks to this same thing.

By the way, the captain of the Lord's host (Joshua 5:15a) who speaks to Joshua is identified with the Hebrew word sar. This is the same word that identifies Michael the archangel as prince in Daniel 10:21. Again, this may indicate that there are additional archangels, princes/captains other than Michael, as we'll see later in this study. But let's move to the last function of the seraphim's wings.

The last set of wings also has a purpose, which is to fly. This would make sense since that's what wings are also designed to do, which begs a question if these are real wings. Flight takes place in an atmosphere where lift is involved. From the website of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA, we are told that wings are shaped to make air move faster over the top of the wing. When air moves faster, the pressure of the air decreases. So, the pressure on the top of the wing is less than the pressure on the bottom of the wing. The difference in pressure creates a force on the wing that lifts the wing up into the air.

This general principle of divergent pressures holds true for any animal that God created for flight. But the operative force for flight can only apply when air is present. It may seem strange to us, but could it be that what is being described, albeit in a vision, is a heaven with an atmosphere where air is necessarily present to support flight?

Now before someone protests that heaven is a spiritual, not a physical place, let me remind you that the present heaven is portrayed in countless sections of Scripture as much more than a mere spiritual habitation. But it does raise other questions. Where is heaven, and what heaven are we talking about? The short answer is there are ultimately two heavens. The present heaven is displayed in Scripture as somewhere above the earth.

We get a glimpse of this when considering Stephen's vision of heaven during his stoning (Acts 7:55–56) or in the dream Joseph had with angels descending and ascending into heaven Genesis 28:12). Therefore, the present heaven that is alluded to as up there is a place from which God rules now.

But there is an eternal future heaven. This will be a separate place where God will dwell and rule in the age to come on planet earth. Isaiah, along with the apostles Peter and John, identifies this as the new earth (Isaiah 66:22; 2 Peter 3:13; Revelation 21:1).

As to the present heaven, it is the same place identified in Isaiah where believers in the Messiah go to be with the Lord when they die. The apostle Paul makes this clear when he declares that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8).

This present heaven is an inclusive place for all believers at any time in redemptive history. Most people consider the present heaven as purely spiritual. And why wouldn't they? Our physical bodies die, and it is our spirits