The Seraphim
(Part 4)
Pub. #91.97
IN THE YEAR KING UZZIAH DIED
"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....Then said I, woe is me! For I am undone..." (Isaiah 6:1,5).
Isaiah’s world came to a crashing end when Uzziah died; but with that end came also a new beginning. Prior to the king’s death, and though he was a prophet, he had never seen the Lord in such majesty. And shall it be different with the elect of God? We believe not, for it is clear that every son either presently has or has had king Uzziah ruling over him. This king can be honorable, like the meaning of the name Uzziah, Strength, or Might of God, as mentioned in Publication #97.90.
Uzziah can also represent presumption, arrogance, and self-aggrandizement, which reflects the character and spirit of the man. Such traits are seen throughout the world. A large number live blatantly contrary to God or anything good — they delight in sin. On a different scale, the rule of Uzziah is rampant in the church as well, and it is not uncommon to see it among the sons. No one is immune to the power of this self-serving king.
We may be quick to say there is but one King who has the right to rule over anyone, and it is Jesus Christ. We know that He alone bought every man, woman, and child that has ever been or shall ever be. Jesus spent His redeeming blood that all might live. In doing so, He became the King of the whole earth and heir of all. We attest to all these wonderful things. What we say and believe, however, has not kept us from bowing to other kings, specifically to the one named Uzziah. Let us notice a brief history of this king, as it is recorded in 2nd Chronicles 26:8-21, and see how closely it relates.
For whatever reason, the Ammonites gave gifts to Uzziah. The Ammonites were the inbred descendants of Lot, and like Lot, when men become intoxicated on the wine of the world, they will do what Lot did. They will lay with the fruit of their own loins, figuratively speaking. They will lay with what their own carnal minds have conceived and birthed. The offspring of such incestuous relationships will certainly reward them; but such rewards will be that of the earth and not of the heavens. Make no mistake about it — those temporal things will be their only reward.
Their names may spread abroad, even outside the corridors of the church and into the far reaches of the world, as it was with Uzziah. But this avails nothing. Unless their mighty exploits are due to Jesus Christ raising them up, every thing they have accomplished is in their name and not the name of Jesus. They may attach the word Jesus to what they are doing, but it takes more than dropping His name here and there to make it in His name.
Uzziah strengthened himself exceedingly. Paul said something about this to the Galatians when he upbraided them for finishing in the flesh what had begun in the Spirit (Gal 3:1-3). At almost every turn we can see parallels of church leaders today and king Uzziah. To maintain his/their power and fame, he/they built fortified towers all around Jerusalem.
Towers are for the purpose of guarding a city, and warning the inhabitants against anyone who might be a threat to the king’s empire. There can be a number of things that would be a person’s city, but in religion, a ministry or congregation fits very well. Nothing will go unnoticed by those who stand guard over these cherished cities. A man’s Uzziah will cover every side and corner of what he has accomplished to ensure against harm from any potential threat. Those of the church system, as well as kingdom meetings, will let various teachings and other ministers go unnoticed, that is, until the people they are ‘protecting’ get interested in someone else or the word they are bringing out. At the slightest threat to their empire an alarm will be sounded.
Men, like Uzziah, will muster a host of fighting men. They not only fight on the home front for the safety of their city, but those building kingdoms send out bands of warriors to conquer, strengthen, and build a greater church, ministry, or any prized work of an individual or body of people. It is like Jesus said, "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves" (Mat 23:15). Such is the king that sits upon the carnal throne of mens’ minds, or upon the throne called the pulpit of many churches and television platforms around the world.
The saga of Uzziah’s exploits continues with him having prepared for his warriors (proselytes) shields, and spears, and helmets, and habergeons and bows, and slings to cast stones. Like Uzziah, men will do the same. They make sure those who defend them are equipped with ‘their’ shield of presumptuous faith; ‘their’ spears and swords, of persuasive doctrines; ‘their’ helmets of pseudo salvation; ‘their’ habergeons (Heb., breastplates) of self-righteousness; ‘their’ bows and arrows of human reasoning and convincing words of the letter that killeth; and slings to cast stones of cruel accusations. Their defense is truly a religious counterfeit of Ephesians 6:14-17.
Uzziah made engines, invented by cunning men. If the people knew the contriving that goes on behind the closed doors of many religious leaders (in ‘Kingdom’ circles also), their faith and trust in anything that goes by the name of Christ would be terribly shaken. Even on the single scale of a person who has no ‘following’, he or she will contrive and create mechanisms to make their scheme of things work. That is, until Uzziah dies and the true King sits as Lord.
The lust for power and fame worked upon this king until he was exceedingly strong. It was then that his heart was lifted up to his own destruction. Pride is such a deceiving snare, and untold numbers come to know its evil grip before their fall. The root of pride is in most people, and it doesn’t take much to quicken it. Prosperity, for instance, can cause it to spread like wildfire in one’s soul. Prosperity itself is not bad; but the lust of prosperity is an unholy portent. When physical wealth is watered by fame and power, pride can grow in a person’s life until he is consumed by it. Although God may have set him in a high place; with pride at the helm, he will think more of himself than he ought. Uzziah’s final undoing came in this prosperous, but deceptive, arena of life, or rather death. That which he trusted in could not save him. Neither he, his fortune, his fame, his name, nor his vast armies could deliver him from HIS OWN destruction.
Uzziah was lifted in his own self-worth because of what he had done. Let us suppose for a moment that he gave God credit for his great victories and unparalleled achievements. He, no doubt, felt it was due to God finding favor in him for being such a great guy. Either way, pride was a strong factor. Like the proud spirit of many who usurp the place of Christ Jesus, Uzziah rushed in where angels fear to tread. He went into to the holy place to burn incense. In His pride he transgressed against the LORD his God. He went into the temple, not as a humbled lamb who had laid his life down, but he charged in as a proud bull.
If you will lend your ear to the Spirit, you can hear him, and many others, echoing the words of Isaiah 12:13-14, "For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High (by the power of my own strength)." (Parenthesis for emphasis). Those bowing to Uzziah today, those who look to their own self-rule, do not have the mind of Jesus. Although in the form of God, He did not think it robbery to be equal with God. No, this is not translated well enough to convey the proper meaning. Check most other translations and you will see that it should read: "Who, being in the form of God, had no plundering thoughts of grasping after equality with God" (Phil 2:6). Uzziah had such thoughts, and so do men today, but Jesus didn’t. Not like the seekers of fame and power, it goes on to say in verses 7 and 8 that He made Himself of no reputation, humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. With these credentials (no reputation, humbled, and dead to self and I will), God therefore, highly exalted Him, and gave Him a name which is above every name.
We are overrun with these glory-hounds and power-mongers of Uzziah. You can hardly turn on the TV or attend a church without seeing such men and women touting their great knowledge of the Bible. On one hand they are ruthless charlatans, and on the other they are spiritual dwarfs playing church. Either way, they have no business going into the holy place and ministering the bread of the Lord — they are blemished. We see all this and cry out, "How long, O Lord? How long before you bring and end to this ignorance and hypocrisy?" Not long brethren, not long, for as with Uzziah, so shall it be with those usurpers of God’s glory. The end of Uzziah in the church (and the world), and all those bowing to him, will come with the Help of the God.
He will send the son of Zadok, Azariah the high priest, along with eighty other priests of the LORD, that are valiant men. The Hebrew word for valiant is, "chayil". It means, "a force, whether of men, means or other resources; an army, wealth, virtue, valor, strength." (Strong’s). Who among us today are ‘valiant’ men of God? Who will not compromise when their king conflicts with God’s way of doing things? That king, of course, is their pastor, their leader, their desires, or their own cunning ideas.
The son of Zadok, (Heb., to be or make right), Azariah (Jah, or God has helped), and the eighty valiant ones shall be the catalyst of bringing the old to death and the new to life. The uncompromising integrity of Azariah — those born of the One who is Right and the One who will make Right — will withstand that powerful carnal machine and all its working parts called Uzziah. With one voice across the land, they shall declare, "It appertaineth not unto thee, Uzziah, to burn incense unto the LORD, but to the priests the sons of Aaron, that are consecrated to burn incense: go out of the sanctuary; for thou hast trespassed; neither shall it be for thine honour from the LORD God. Then Uzziah was wroth, and had a censer in his hand to burn incense: and while he was wroth with the priests, the leprosy even rose up in his forehead before the priests in the house of the LORD, from beside the incense altar. And Uzziah the king was a leper unto the day of his death, and dwelt in a several house, being a leper; for he was cut off from the house of the LORD: and Jotham his son was over the king's house, judging the people of the land."
Leprosy is a blood disease and is manifested in the flesh after coursing throughout the body for a time. Spiritually speaking it is sin. The forehead, of course, represents one’s soul — his mind, will, emotions, and intellect. A man is looking for trouble when he bows himself to his own carnal worth, which is leprous, and he lifts himself up as God. That scheming sin of rebellion will eventually surface in the sight of those in the house of God. His every thought and action is diseased, and those with eyes to see (discernment) can see it.
The church system is full of Uzziahs. Their fabrications are phenomenal. They are masters at mixing doctrinal potions that sedate religious people into childlike stupors. Some have the art of crafting mind boggling teachings from seemingly insignificant words and scriptures of the Bible. Their followers say of them, "No man has ever spoken like this man. He is a God!" And these men and women grow so accustomed to being worshiped by the people that they begin to believe it. Sadly, the people fail to see the leprosy that has infected their worshipful master’s life, but in time they will see it. He may enter the house of God as a proud high priest; but he will leave a humbled leper. He is already a leper inwardly, but it goes unperceived by most. When the time comes for his reign to end, all will see what was always there. And like Uzziah of old, he will remain prostrate all the days of his natural life in the sickhouse of lepers. He may repent in sackcloth and ashes, and come to know Jesus as His Lord and King; but he will not likely ever rise again to grandeur while in his mortal body.
Although he may continue ‘ministering’ in a small way to the people in ‘his’ church, and to ‘his’ flock who receive his tapes and literature, he is not ministering in the house of the Lord, for he is a leper. It is forbidden (rf. Lev. 21:17-23, Lev. 22:2-6). Leprosy is a very contagious and defiling disease, and God will not allow it in His house. Therefore, when spiritual lepers rule, you can know that their rule is not in the house of God — but in several houses or leper colonies.
Let me hasten to tell you, and please remember this, my dear friends — people who hang around lepers for very long invariably come down with the same disease. They don’t even smell the stink of rotting flesh, for theirs is in the same condition. Therefore, let us with all diligence take heed of who, what, and how we hear, as Jesus warned (Mark 4:24 Luke 8:18). Leaven of the Pharisees is deadly, but leprosy is not only deadly, it is repulsive. Therefore, stay away from the dinner tables of lepers; unless, however, you are sent to heal them.
Brethren, let us know one thing; regardless of how strong or far-reaching we have built our sanctimonious cities, or how influential, ecumenical, and loved we may be, our ‘king Uzziah’ will be stricken with leprosy to never rise and rule again. It is then that God’s glory will be seen. His fire in the hand of the seraphim will reach to the depths of hell and consume every carnal thing. Nothing shall remain, not even a twig.
"For a fire is kindled in Mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains" (Deut 32:22). What mountain, or man’s kingdom, does this exclude? None — absolutely none! The foundations of every kingdom established by the arm of flesh shall burn with fire. But first, the Holy men of God, such as Isaiah, will have their tongues touched by a live coal of fire, and their lives will be transformed forever. The others shall fair less fortunate.
What, or who, do you suppose this fire is? No doubt, much of God’s fire is His burning Word of truth within, and also the fiery circumstances without, but there is more. Concerning Isaiah, it had to do with the seraphim (the burning ones) having a live coal (a living Word tried seven times, Psa 12:6) from the altar. With the rest of the world, it is also the seraphim, yet they come in God’s heated anger. This anger, of course, is not in the unforgiving anger that the church system envisions of God. It is the anger that breaks rebellion and brings restoration.
His voice shall be heard, not from within as the gentle words of correction, but from the thundering voice of the flaming seraphim. "And the LORD shall cause His glorious voice to be heard, and shall show the lighting down of His arm, with the indignation of His anger, and with the flame of a devouring fire, with scattering, and tempest, and hailstones" (Isa 30:30).
Please be reminded that God’s ‘glorious’ voice in the above verse speaks of His voice being declared as fire. Also, glory, light, and fire are synonymous terms that speak of God. It is His Voice, His Word, His Spirit, and His People being manifested, and they all come as fire. Therefore, when God causes His glorious voice to be heard and His presence is seen, we can count on people’s lives changing. God’s furnace will melt the hardest of hearts and consume the most rebellious spirit.
Isaiah 31:9 tells us, God’s fire is in Zion, and his furnace in Jerusalem. Now, we don’t for a moment believe this is a natural fire or furnace, do we? Of course not! This fire is His Word going forth to refine those of the Kingdom of God and they who dwell in His City of Peace. God’s fire speaks of those who endure to the end, and are raised in His glory. They are His flames of fire around the heavenly throne that He sends into the church and the world. They are God’s seraphim — His lightning, His glory. And they go forth from the throne to execute judgment upon both the good and the evil (Ezek 1:13-14).
Who could imagine the grand kingdoms of renowned men being brought down, especially those that are so strong and seem to be doing so much ‘good’? Most would think it an impossibility for anyone or anything to be able to break their ranks or weaken them to any degree. But when God sends His burning ones, i.e., the seraphim, we will see the impossible so easily achieved.
RESTORATION
I suppose that one of the gravest misconceptions about God concerns His judgment upon humanity, especially when it comes to judgment by fire. It is broadly believed that most of earth’s inhabitants will either live throughout eternity in an inextinguishable lake of fire, or God will burn them to ashes and they will be forever forgotten. A few say that there is nothing beyond the last heartbeat, but perhaps they don’t believe Romans 11:36. Such views are so far from the truth that if so many people didn’t believe these fabricated scenarios, it would be almost humorous.
We do not, of course, make light of God’s judgments; for they can be very severe, painful, and most exacting. When God’s mighty left hand of judgment falls upon people, they will tell you that all hell has broken loose. And when a river of fire streams from the mouths of His flaming seraphim, the pain to the carnal soul can be overwhelming. Nevertheless, once that phase of judgment has worked its purpose, God’s right hand of glory is seen. It comes in downpours and swells of life, bringing liberty and joyful peace for evermore. In this judgment "The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the LORD, and the excellency of our God" (Isa 35:1-2).
There is a time for the destroying fire; but there is also a time for the restoring rain: "For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the LORD for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off" (Isa 55:12-13).
Contrary to what is often believed and thought, God does not send fire without sending rain afterwards. He is the One who gives "...beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified" (Isa 61:3).
With both, the work of the fiery seraphim and the rain dropping from the cloud of the corporate body, God’s glory is seen and His praise heard throughout every realm of His Kingdom, first in the heavens and then the earth: "God came from Teman, and the Holy One from mount Paran. Selah. His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of His praise. And His brightness was as the light; He had horns [rays of power, Heb.] coming out of His hand: and there was the hiding of his power. Before Him went the pestilence, and burning coals went forth at his feet. He stood, and measured the earth: He beheld, and drove asunder the nations; and the everlasting mountains were scattered, the perpetual hills did bow: His ways are everlasting" (Hab 3:3-4,6).
Brethren, He doesn’t just do such awesome feats without His elect. He inhabits His body, His people, and it is in and through them that His bright glory and fire are manifested. Such scriptures that Habakkuk wrote remind us so much of Thomas Wyatt’s vision we noted in Publication #96:88.
What a wonderful and tremendous work of goodness awaits not only the sons, but all the saints, not to mention the rest of the world. The power of God’s goodness is unmeasured by man, and grossly misunderstood. It was His goodness that delivered Israel out of Egypt and led them through the wilderness. Other glorious events are described in the Bible as His powerful goodness. On mount Sinai the presence of His power was seen as devouring fire. Our dear friend and anointed writer, J. Preston Eby, penned a timely word on this subject in Part 24 of THE LORD’S PRAYER:
"Now when you think of God’s goodness, set aside that kind of ‘niceness’ our culture has so often portrayed as goodness. God’s goodness is powerful. So powerful that the tiniest portion of it could wipe out all the sin that ever existed in a millisecond. That’s why in Old Testament times, when the glory manifested, God covered it with a cloud. He had to protect mankind from it to keep it from obliterating them. You can see an example of that in Exodus 24, when God appeared to Israel at mount Sinai. ‘And the glory of the Lord abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days: and the seventh day God called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud. And the sight of the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire on top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel’ (Ex. 24:16-17).
"Make a mental note here of the fact that the glory of God appeared as ‘a devouring fire.’ As we search the scriptures, you’re going to see that fire again and again." He continues by shedding light on the above scriptures we quoted above from Habakkuk about God having horns coming out of His hand, and hiding His power:
"One translation calls them lightning-like shafts of splendor. The Bible tells us that in these fiery, lightning-like shafts lies the hiding place of God’s power. That alone is enough to let us know that experiencing the glory is more than having a warm, ‘spiritual’ feeling. It’s an encounter with the very nature, being and power of God because His nature, being, and power is His glory! The prophet Ezekiel gives a strikingly similar picture of God’s glory. He says, ‘Then I beheld, and lo a likeness as the appearance of fire: from the appearance of His loins even downward, fire; and from His loins even upward, as the appearance of brightness, as the color of amber’ (Ezk.8:2)." — End Quote.
The above scriptures and thoughts speak volumes to us in this late hour. In the natural, we see God’s glory in pictures, movies, and upon the backdrop of our own minds; but these glowing pseudo lights are products of our imaginations. God manifests His glory through people, as mentioned above. That is His way, to come forth from those who possess His glory, and that glory, of course, is Jesus Christ.
As He was the Light of the world (John 9:5), they are also the light of the world (Matt 5:14). The winged seraphim of fire soar throughout the heavens and round about the throne shining brightly with Christ’s glory. Their presence is beheld in the earth also. They are seen by some as God’s feet of burning coals treading out the winepress. From that shall come the spirit of praise that will fill the whole earth.
The seraphim are not seen but twice in our English Bibles; but after we see how they represent God’s glory, His Word, His flaming ministers, and His substance of consuming fire — they are seen everywhere in the scriptures. They are all over the place, specifically in reference to the close of this age. It is a wonder we never saw it before. Of course, what is revealed by the Spirit is always simple and easily seen. Until then, no amount of human reasoning will open the heavens to such glorious sights and holy manifestations. Man in the height of his glory has failed in his attempts to shine with God’s glory. Men of the earth have no brilliance of God with which to manifest righteousness, but those in the heavens do. It is the heavens that declare His righteousness, and all the people shall see His glory (Psa 97:6). When this God-fire is heralded across the earth, all who serve the graven images of their own minds, they who bow to and boast themselves of their own cunning idols, shall be confounded (Psa 97:7).
Therefore, let the heathen rage and imagine a vain thing — their ranting and idols will avail nothing. They are not here to stay. Their day will end when our God sends His glorious seraphim of fire to the uttermost parts of every man’s earth, and they too shall say, "Woe is me, for I am undone." Praise God!
Elwin R.
Roach
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