SERAPHIM
The highest order of angels in Heaven. They have been described as incorruptible, brilliant and powerful. They are the closest angels to God and are in direct communication with Him. It is said that they are so radiant that not even the Cherubim and the Ophanim can look upon them. If humans stood in their presence, they would be incinerated. They control the motion of the Heavens as it flows out from God. Their essence is love, and they are called the Angels of Love. Through their purifying powers, they move humans to a love of God. They surround God's throne continuously singing the Trisagion, a song of celebration. The Book of 3 Enoch (26:9-12) says that there are four Seraphim corresponding to the four winds ot the world. They each have six wings corresponding to the six days of creation. Each wing is the size of Heaven. The name Seraphim is a combination of the Hebrew word Rapha, which means "healer" and ser which means "higher being." They are represented by the serpent, which is a symbol of healing. The leader of the Seraphim is Serapiel. The ruling princes are Michael, Serapiel, Jahoel, Uriel, Camael, Metatron, and Nathanael. They are also called Seraphs. (Taken from The Encyclopedia of Angels by Constance Victoria Briggs, published 1997 by the Penguin Group)

Most sources agree with this description of Seraphim describing them as six winged, surrounding the throne of God singing ceaselessly, "Holy, Holy, Holy". They are angels of love, light, and fire.

An interesting interpretation in Breath of God (by Emily Hahn and Barton Lidice Benes, published 1971 by Doubleday and Company Inc., Garden City, New York) points out that the Hebrew word saraph could possibly be the origin of the world seraph, and it means "serpent". Seraphim, it mentions, is translated as "burning ones" and portrays a seraph as a supernatural serpent with a fiery bite, a mosaic of which exists high up on a wall in an ancient church in Istanbul. The authors also portray seraphims as being six winged and four faced, children of adders, although the exact passages that these interpretation came from were not specified. It refers to the following passage from Isaiah: "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. 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."

The prophetic books refered by Hahn and Lidice are the writings of the prophets dating from the time of the divided kindgom in the eighth century B.C. through the period of the exile of the Jews to Babylon and the return of a small group to Israel in the fifth century B.C., to the time of the last prophet in the Old Testament, Malachi, who lived in the late fifth century B.C. Not every prophet mentioned angels, but in Ezekiel, Daniel and Zechariah, they were featured, and they were mentioned in Isaiah and Hosea.

In Isaiah 6:2,6, Seraphim were described as flying above God's throne. Issiah,alone,described six winged angels who hovered over God's throne and praised him with the cry, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts" (6:2,3). Isaiah identified these angels as seraphim, and, despite their wings, apparently have human features, for the text speaks of their faces, feet and hands. The name "burning ones" has been taken by many to indicate a burning devotion to the Lord; but in light of other passages which indicate that the natural form of angels is fiery, the name more likely indicates that seraphim burn with flame of greater intensity, reflecting their closeness to the throne of God.

In his vision Isaiah saw the Lord and was overcome by a sense of his own sinfulness. He was cleansed by a burning coal carried from heaven's altar by a seraphim (6:6). Once cleansed, Isaiah responded when God called for a volunteer to perform a mission.

The position of the seraphim, their cries of "Holy, holy, holy.." and their mission to cleanse Isaiah all suggest a close association with the holiness and the glory of God. This is the first indication in Scripture that: - angels have wings. - angels fly - angels participate in the cleansing - purging - of the sins of human beings.

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