Archive for Isaiah 6

Angels: Seraphim

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Angels with tags , , , , , , on July 21, 2019 by paulthepoke

How many types of angels are there? Well, that depends. Scholars throughout history have debated this question. When people look at the Biblical text, generally the answer can vary from 7-11 different types of angels.

As you read this, please keep in mind this is not a comprehensive or conclusive list. There is much speculation and conjecture with this topic.

Angels do have structure and order. There is much debate as to which group of angels is the most powerful.

Art: Petite-Emi
https://www.deviantart.com/petite-emi/art/Seraphim-Angel-Commission-215275814

Seraphim: The term is simply defined in the Hebrew as a fiery serpent. Seraphim is the plural form with the -im ending. Context of Biblical verses would suggest they are copper or amber in color. The most comprehensive verse of description for seraphim is in Isaiah. The scene is in Heaven.

Isaiah 6:1-4 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.

Heat and fire apparently do not burn them.

Isaiah 6:6-7 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.”

There is the incident in the wilderness with Moses and the “the fiery serpent.”

Numbers 21:6-9 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.

The interesting part of the story is the language used by the LORD verses the language used by Moses and the people. When the LORD is talking, the term saraph or seraphim is stated.

When Moses and the people are talking, the term nachash is used. Nachash is translated as snake or serpent. Nachash is the term used of the snake in the Garden of Eden. (Definitions provided by Strong’s Concordance.)

Seraphim are utilized by God as an instrument of judgment towards the people in the desert. The LORD sent seraphim.

Seraphim are involved with types and shadows of the atoning power of Jesus Christ. Seraphim are the instrument God uses in examples. It is not the saraph that atones for sin. In Isaiah 6:7, it is the burning coal carried by the saraph that removes the sin. The fire cleanses and purifies in the example.

The LORD told Moses to make a “saraph”. Moses made a bronze “nachash” and placed it on a pole. When the people put their faith in God’s word to look at the bronze serpent for healing, they were spared their human lives at that time.

Seraphim were involved in examples of the Promise to come.

Colossians 1:20 and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.

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Isaiah 6:11-13 The Time is Coming…

Posted in Isaiah with tags , , , , , , , on December 9, 2012 by paulthepoke

Isaiah 6:11-13 Then I said, “Lord, how long?” And He answered, “Until cities are devastated and without inhabitant, houses are without people and the land is utterly desolate, “The LORD has removed men far away, and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land. “Yet there will be a tenth portion in it, and it will again be subject to burning, like a terebinth or an oak whose stump remains when it is felled. The holy seed is its stump.”

Isaiah asks a question with a time marker, “how long?” God replies with a set of circumstances. God does not say when. But He does give the end results.

Many people have the same condition today when asking about the Lord’s return. We all want to know when. God does not tell us when. But He does tell us what will happen along with specific events before Christ’s return.

God is very specific. Cities will be ruined and there will be nobody left. Houses will be devastated, abandoned and there will be nobody left. There will be nobody left in the land. People will be moved from the land of Israel. Four times we are told there will be nobody left. Just in case a few are missed and left over, God will make sure that nobody is left. I take it, nobody will be left.

Historically, that is what happened to the Jewish people. This prophecy was written approximately 100 years or more before their deportation. The Jews were completely exiled to Babylon in approximately 587 BC. The process had started roughly 10 years earlier in 597 BC. Jerusalem and the land were absolutely destroyed. Those who did survive were taken into captivity. See specific details in 2 Chronicles 36:15-21.

The destruction was completely to the ground. God did promise to leave the stump. An oak or a terebinth tree can sprout and grow again if the stump is left in the ground. That stump can regenerate from the noted destruction and death. The nation will be back. Any guess who that “holy seed” or stump is?

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Isaiah 6: 8-10 The Senses Are Dulled

Posted in Isaiah with tags , , , , , , on December 2, 2012 by paulthepoke

Isaiah 6:8-10 Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I. Send me!” He said, “Go, and tell this people: ‘Keep on listening, but do not perceive; keep on looking, but do not understand.’ Render the hearts of this people insensitive, their ears dull, and their eyes dim, otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and return and be healed.”

Isaiah volunteers to God’s call. God wants Isaiah to go tell His people the following. How would you like to send this message to a group of people? Your senses are dulled. You have a limited ability to hear. You are not really capable of comprehension. And your ability to see things accurately is a bit blurry.

Judgment on Israel has been pronounced and there is no turning back at this time as far as God is concerned.

This dulling of the senses has been the case from the beginning with Israel. Prior to going into the land, God is discussing this very topic with Moses. Despite all the miracles Israel had witnessed coming out of Egypt, they still did not believe. Despite the provisions during the wandering in the desert for 40 years, Israel did not believe. The result is Deuteronomy 29:4 “Yet to this day the LORD has not given you a heart to know, nor eyes to see, nor ears to hear.

Other prophets have reminded Israel their senses are dulled. Take Jeremiah and Ezekiel.

Jeremiah 5:21 ‘Now hear this, O foolish and senseless people, who have eyes but do not see; who have ears but do not hear.

Ezekiel 12:2 “Son of man, you live in the midst of the rebellious house, who have eyes to see but do not see, ears to hear but do not hear; for they are a rebellious house.

Fulfillment of the Isaiah 6:9-10 passages are noted in Matthew 13:14-15 when Jesus began speaking in parables about the kingdom of Heaven.

The Apostle Paul in Romans 11:8 referred to these Israelites who did not believe. In the previous verse Paul indicates people were “hardened”. The Greek word is poroo. According to Strong’s Concordance it means: to cover with a thick skin, to harden by covering with a callus, to make the heart dull, to grow hard, become dull, lose the power of understanding.

This is what happens to people when they reject God’s word. They become calloused and cynical toward what the Bible has to say. It is read and it has no meaning. Eventually, God leaves people to their own devices. The result is Psalm 81:11-12 “But My people did not listen to My voice, And Israel did not obey Me. So I gave them over to the stubbornness of their heart, to walk in their own devices”. To see what humanity is capable of doing when left to their devices, see Romans 1:18-31. A little taste of humanity making decisions apart from God…Romans 1:29-31 being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful…

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Isaiah 6:6-7 Mercy, Grace, Forgiveness, the Old Testament

Posted in Isaiah with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , on November 25, 2012 by paulthepoke

Isaiah 6:6-7 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.” 

The events above are taking place in the presence of God in the throne room of Heaven. The concept of burning coal from the altar in front of God in Heaven is consistent with the Aaronic ordinances given in Leviticus 16:12 “He shall take a firepan full of coals of fire from upon the altar before the LORD and two handfuls of finely ground sweet incense, and bring it inside the veil. What is done on earth is a picture of Heaven. This brings meaning to the phrase, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven”.

your iniquity is taken away… The Hebrew word for iniquity is ‘avon. As defined by Strong’s Concordance it means: perversity, depravity, iniquity, guilt or punishment/consequence of iniquity.

Burning coal is a symbol of cleansing. Fire purifies. Sin is taken away and removed in the presence of God. This is the Old Testament. Critics have often stated that removal and forgiveness of sin are New Testament ideas. Critics will say the God of the Old Testament is a mean ogre who is cruel and punishing, ready to crush with His thumb. There are many examples of mercy, grace, and forgiveness of sin in the Old Testament. These are Biblical concepts from beginning to end.

Psalm 32:1-2 How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered! How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit! These verses were written by David. He is clearly a man who had committed a transgression or two (murder, lust, adultery) in the events surrounding Bathsheba. He understood that God was merciful and gracious when it came to sin. In Psalm 32:5, David confessed his sins, and then You forgave my sins.

Psalm 51 is written with David’s adultery being at the forefront and focus of the Psalm. David knows he is guilty and he has sinned against God. David is in despair and desperate. Verse 1 Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; according to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.  He also knows God can take care of his short comings. Verse 7,9 Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Hide Your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquities. There is plea bargaining and begging. David is playing “Let’s Make a Deal”. Verse 14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, the God of my salvation…

Critics will argue Isaiah was written after Jesus’ death and resurrection to fit and fulfill prophecy and doctrine. Unfortunately for the critic, Isaiah was copied in the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the Septuagint, approximately 330 years before the birth of Christ (Israel My Glory, November/December 2012, p. 8). Isaiah 53 foreshadows Jesus’ work on the cross. Verse 5-6, 11b, 12b But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him. By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, as He will bear their iniquities. Because He poured out Himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet He Himself bore the sin of many, and interceded for the transgressors.

God has always been and will always be merciful, gracious, and forgiving.

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Isaiah 6:5 Facing the Lord

Posted in Isaiah with tags , , , , , , , , , on November 18, 2012 by paulthepoke

Isaiah 6:5 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.” 

In the presence of God, Isaiah realizes his personal sin and the sin of his fellow countrymen. He is in the presence of perfection in the throne room of Heaven. There is no comparison.

Peter has the same experience in the New Testament with a record hall of fish. He realizes he is in the presence deity. Luke 5:8 But when Simon Peter saw that, he fell down at Jesus’ feet, saying, “Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!” 

Isaiah has Exodus 33:20 in mind when he sees the Lord in person. He feared for his life.

Exodus 33:20 But He said, “You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!” This is God talking.

Prior to God’s direct revelation in Exodus, this concept is understood by Jacob. Jacob wrestles with the Lord in Genesis 32:30 and has the following response. So Jacob named the place Peniel, for he said, “I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been preserved.”

The fear of seeing the Lord and subsequent death has been engrained in Jewish culture in the Old Testament. The same concern is expressed by Manoah in Judges 13. Manoah and his wife had encountered the Angel of the Lord. Their response was to bow their faces to the ground. Judges 13:22 So Manoah said to his wife, “We will surely die, for we have seen God.”

Gideon has an encounter with the Angel of the Lord in Judges 6:22-23 When Gideon saw that he was the angel of the LORD, he said, “Alas, O Lord GOD! For now I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face.” The LORD said to him, “Peace to you, do not fear; you shall not die.”

As one can see, death does not occur to all who see and are face to face with the Lord. He is merciful and gracious. It is God’s choice. Exodus 33:19b… “and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion.”

It is clearly a humbling experience to be face to face with the Lord.

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Isaiah 6:3-4 Angels and Worship

Posted in Isaiah with tags , , , , , , on November 11, 2012 by paulthepoke

Isaiah 6:3-4 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. 

Note the consistency from the Old Testament to the New Testament. Angels are making the same proclamation of “Holy, Holy, Holy” in the throne room of Heaven in Revelation 4:8b …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.” 

We know from the text that angels are able to speak and communicate. They can be understood by humans. They can at the least speak Hebrew.

Angels worship God. Nehemiah 9:6b …You give life to all of them and the heavenly host bows down before You. “Host” or tsaba’ in the Hebrew can refer to an army or angels. The host is worshiping God. The Hebrew word for bow down is shachah. According to Strong’s Concordance, it means: to bow down, prostrate oneself before superior in homage, before God in worship.

Angels worship Christ. Hebrews 1:6 And when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says, “AND LET ALL THE ANGELS OF GOD WORSHIP HIM.”The Him is Jesus and He is the firstborn in a matter of rank.

God’s angels are obedient to Him. Psalm 103:20 Bless the LORD, you His angels, mighty in strength, who perform His word, obeying the voice of His word!

Psalm 148:2 Praise Him, all His angels; Praise Him, all His hosts!

Angels do not accept worship. John had bowed to an angel in the previous verse. He was promptly corrected by the angel. Revelation 22:9 But he said to me, “Do not do that. I am a fellow servant of yours and of your brethren the prophets and of those who heed the words of this book. Worship God.”

We, humans, are not to worship or pray to angels. The apostle Paul says it is pointless. Why pray to an angel when you can communicate directly with the God of the universe? Colossians 2:18 Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind… The point is to focus on Christ.

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Angel Info

Posted in Creation, Isaiah with tags , , , , , , , on November 4, 2012 by paulthepoke

What does the Bible have to say about Angels? God’s word does not give an account about how angels were created. The Bible does not say when angels were created. But we do know that angels were created before the universe and humanity. Job 38:7 When the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy? The context of this verse is a line of questioning directed to Job by God. Job is being asked if he was present prior to the creation of the world. God is explaining to Job that He laid the foundation and measured it out. Then God informs Job that the “morning stars” and the “sons of God” observed this event, sang, and shouted. “Sons of God” is an idiomatic expression for angels in the Old Testament. “Morning stars” is a term for angels. These beings saw God create the earth.

We do know that God, specifically Christ, created the angels in Colossians 1:16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him.

Jesus tells us that angels are immortal and they do not marry in Luke 20:35-36. He is comparing angels to resurrected humanity. But those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; for they cannot even die anymore, because they are like angels, and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.

There are two groups of angels, the elect and those fallen. There are the angels who follow Christ as noted in 1 Timothy 5:21 I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of His chosen angels, to maintain these principles without bias, doing nothing in a spirit of partiality.

The fallen angels are those who are evil and follow Satan. Of the fallen angels, there are two groups. Some of the fallen are incarcerated. 2 Peter 2:4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment… Some of the fallen angels are currently loose and free. Jesus encounters these demons in Luke 8:30 And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion”; for many demons had entered him.

Man will ultimately judge angels. The Apostle Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 6:3 Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more matters of this life?

Humanity was not created to go to a fiery end. Man was originally created perfect and eternal. Hell was designed for fallen angels. Jesus Himself tells us in Matthew 25:41 “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels.

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Isaiah 6:2 Seraphim in the Throne Room

Posted in Isaiah with tags , , , on October 28, 2012 by paulthepoke

Isaiah 6:2 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.

This passage is one of the better verses in the Bible to physically describe what a seraph looks like. The Hebrew word is seraph. Seraphim is the plural form of the word. According to Strong’s Concordance, the word isdefined asserpent, fiery serpent, poisonous serpent (fiery from burning effect of poison). The word literally means burning one.

There are other terms for angels in the Bible. They include: sons of God, holy ones, morning stars, cherubim, ministering spirits, and watchers.

The creature has six wings. One interesting note is the part of the verse in reference to covering his feet. Some scholars have suggested this is an idiomatic reference to genitals. Revelation 4 does mention creatures with six wings in the throne room of Heaven. Revelation 4:8 And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within. Previous verses in Revelation indicate the faces of the creatures are different from each other.

The word seraph can also be translated as a poisonous snake. See Numbers 21:6 The LORD sent fiery serpents (seraph) among the people and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. A second example is Deuteronomy 8:15. “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.

In Isaiah 14:29, seraph is translated as a flying snake. “Do not rejoice, O Philistia, all of you, because the rod that struck you is broken; for from the serpent’s root a viper will come out, and its fruit will be a flying serpent (seraph).

The Hebrew word for angel is malak in the Old Testament. Malak defined means: messenger, representative, angel, the theophanic angel or the Angel of the Lord.

The Greek word for angel is aggelos in the New Testament. Aggelos defined means: a messenger, envoy, one who is sent, an angel, a messenger from God.

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Isaiah 6:1 A Shift in Scenery

Posted in Isaiah with tags , , , , , on October 14, 2012 by paulthepoke

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, the scene shifts to the throne room of Heaven.

King Uzziah was the tenth king of Judah. His name means: strength of Jehovah according to Strong’s Concordance. 2 Chronicles 26:1 And all the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in the place of his father Amaziah. 2 Chronicles 26:3 Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem…He generally did what the Lord approved according to 26:4. Military strength was a hallmark of his reign. Later in life, his pride got the best of him. 2 Chronicles 26:16 But when he 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. In 2 Kings 15:1-8, Uzziah is also called Azariah. King Uzziah is in the family tree of Jesus (Matthew 1:8-9). His death is estimated to be in the year 740 BC.

The Hebrew word for Lord is adonai. It can be a reference to men or to God. In the case of God, it is capitalized. It means master or sovereign according to Strong’s. Adonai is plural and it recognizes His greatness and majesty (Systematic Theology, Chester McCalley).

The greatness and majesty is also emphasized with the throne room in Heaven. The adjectives that describe the throne room include: dignity, authority, power, lofty, and exalted. The robe filling the throne room is another symbol of His greatness.

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