We have been examining mysteries in the Bible. I hope you are enjoying this series. We’ve discussed the mystery of thrones and what they represent in the Bible. We took a look at the cherubim. In that study we answered the questions of what they are, what their faces could mean, and their function in the kingdom of God. 

Today we are going to take a look at some other angelic beings that surround the throne of God, seraphim. What are they? Where do they dwell? We will answer these questions today. So buckle up! 

Mentions of Seraphim

“In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 

And one called 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 shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” 

Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”  Isaiah 6:1-7 (ESV)

What we learn about Seraphim from this passage:

• The cherubim reside below the throne of God while the seraphim are above the throne. 
• The seraphim have 6 wings: 2 covers their face, 2 covers their feet, and they use 2 to fly
• They call out to each other, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” 
• They have access to the altar of the Lord of hosts and are given authority to take burning coals from the altar.
• They were given the authority to declare freedom from guilt and sin: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.” 

This is the only mention of these angelic beings in the Bible. However the word seraph is used quite a lot in the Bible. 

First Mention

The first time something is mentioned in the Bible is always important. Where are seraphims (seraph is the singular word) first talked about in the Bible? 

1st mention: “From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way. And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.” Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.” Numbers‬ ‭21‬:‭4‬-‭9‬ ‭(ESV)‬‬

We see here that God’s people were impatient, ungrateful, and just complaining about their current circumstances. So the Lord sent fiery serpents or seraphs to the people. These seraphims (the im ending indicates plurality) came and bit the people and killed many of them. 

The people then repented, changed the way they were thinking, and the Lord gave Moses the strategy to cure the people from the seraphim bites. The Lord tells Moses to make a pole with a seraph on the top. When the people looked at the seraph they would be healed. 

Lessons we learn about seraphim in this passage:

• Seraphim are sent as judgement. 
• They are described as “fiery”. Does this mean they were literally fire serpents? I’ve come to believe that the Lord says exactly what he means. There is a mindset that if we can’t see something in the physical then the descriptions are simply metaphorical. I no longer believe that. I do think there is a great likelihood that these serpents were literally on fire and would bite the people. This indicates that Seraphim are serpentine who are on fire. 
• The idea of the seraphim being on fire also makes sense as to why they would grab a burning coal and touch Isaiah’s lips to it. They have the ability to touch the fire of God and not be destroyed. 
• The Seraphim are also used for healing. The people had to look at a seraph in order to be healed. This also goes along with the burning coal. The seraph touched Isaiah’s lips and healed him from his sins. 

New Testament Verses Regarding Serpents:

Do you recall Jesus makes mention of this seraph on a pole? 

When Jesus was talking to Nicodemus Jesus says,

“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.” ‭‭John‬ ‭3‬:‭14‬-‭15‬ (‭ESV‬‬)

The seraph on the pole was a predecessor to Jesus being lifted on the cross to save all mankind. Just like the Israelites, we must look to Jesus for salvation. When we look to Jesus, he will heal us from all of our sin, transgression, and iniquity. It’s only by looking to Jesus we will receive this healing. 

Serpent = Bad

When you think of serpents, what do you think of? Something bad right?! Maybe you think of the serpent in the Garden of Eden who tempted Eve. We know that particular serpent was really Satan disguised as a serpent. 

Later in the New Testament we hear Jesus say things like: 

“And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”” Luke‬ ‭10‬:‭18‬-‭20‬ ‭(ESV‬‬)

Jesus gives his followers authority to tread on serpents and scorpions-aka demons and enemy forces. This is called deliverance. However, we are told not to rejoice in the fact that we have authority over the enemy, rather we should be rejoicing because we have our names written in heaven. Is your name written in heaven? If not, I encourage you to talk to someone you know who has a relationship with Jesus about it. 

1st Mention of Serpent in the New Testament:

Let’s take a look now at the first mention of serpent in the New Testament. 

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” Matthew‬ ‭7‬:‭7‬-‭11‬ ‭(ESV)

‬‬Jesus is teaching us to not be afraid of the Holy Spirit. The Father will give good things to those of us who ask, and this includes the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Father won’t give us demons when asking for his Spirit. 

Again, we see the serpent representing a negative gift. Why would an earthly father give his son a snake when he asked for a fish? There is so much more to this passage. For example, did you notice the two gifts requested by the son? Bread and fish. Jesus is the bread of life and tells us to be fishers of men. These requests are not a coincidence. So, when we, as children of God, ask for Jesus, the bread of life, or to learn how to be fishers of men, we will not be given anything else. Our good Father will give us exactly what we ask for and it will be good. This includes the Holy Spirit!

Why do Serpents Represent Satan?  

In Ezekiel we learn something interesting regarding Satan:

“In the abundance of your trade you were filled with violence in your midst, and you sinned; so I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God, and I destroyed you, O guardian cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.” Ezekiel‬ ‭28‬:‭16‬ ‭(ESV)‬‬

We learn he was once a cherub. As you recall cherubim are the four living creatures that surround the throne of God. God’s throne is above them. These cherubim have four faces: lion, ox, eagle, and man. This begs the question: Why is Satan associated with dragons and serpents? This is the question I have been asking the Lord since I started studying about the cherubim. 

Here’s my theory. I think that perhaps Satan wasn’t happy being a cherub. He wanted to be above God’s throne, not below it. We know the Seraphim are above the throne of God.

“In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim…” Isaiah‬ ‭6‬:‭1‬-‭2a‬ (‭ESV)‬‬

Is it possible that Satan saw the seraphim as of greater importance to the cherubim? Because the seraphim were above the throne and he was below the throne, he saw them as more important. Perhaps at first he wanted to be a seraphim. We know without a doubt that one of Satan’s goals was to set his throne above the throne of God.

“How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit.” Isaiah 14:12-15 (ESV)

So, perhaps as part of Satan’s plan to set his throne above God’s throne, he shape shifts into dragons and serpents. He has deceived himself into thinking the seraphim are greater than God himself and disguises himself as one. After all, I do think that the cherubim are shapeshifters. I think they can actually shapeshift to be a lion, ox, eagle, or man depending on what is needed at any given moment. Not to mention we are told: 

“And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.” 2 Corinthians‬ ‭11‬:‭14‬ ‭(ESV‬‬)

Why not disguise himself as a dragon or serpent? Again, this is my theory. What do you think?

Seraphim are Good and Have an Important Job

God created seraphim for an important purpose. They are flying above his throne, proclaiming,  “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” 

They can clearly see the holiness of God and declare his holiness to all of creation. I wonder if one of their jobs is to take care of the altar next to the throne of God. Why do I say this? Well, in Isaiah we learn:

“Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”” Isaiah‬ ‭6‬:‭6‬-‭7‬ ‭(ESV‬‬)

And in Revelation we see an angel at this altar once again. This time he takes a golden caesar of incense that is the prayers of the saints. 

“And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne.” Revelation 8:3 (ESV)

Could this angel really be a seraphim? Maybe. Maybe the seraphim tend to this altar since we see they have access to this altar. This also begs the question: Was the coal that the seraphim touched Isaiah’s mouth with made out of the saint’s prayers? Again, maybe. Maybe this coal was the prayers of many people seeking forgiveness for sins. It could even be Isaiah’s prayer for forgiveness.  I don’t know, but I do know this coal took his sins away. I’m not saying any of this is true. I am simply speculating. 

Regardless, let’s thank the Lord for these amazing creatures called seraphim. Let’s join them in declaring,  “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”