Angels are often portrayed as messengers, yet the prophet Isaiah describes a very different type of "angelic" encounter with 6-winged flying creatures bathing in smoke. Isaiah doesn't even seem that surprised to see them - perhaps there's a reason for that? Oh, and we'll talk about the Angel of Death. Not his real name, but he's kind of a big deal.
Books:
1. "Sarapu." In The Assyrian Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. Chicago: Oriental Institute, 1962. Pgs. 102-5.
2. John Walton. "Demons in Mesopotamia and Israel." In Windows to the Ancient World of the Hebrew Bible. Bill Arnold, Nancy Erickson, and John Walton, eds. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2014. Pgs. 229-45.
3. T.N.D. Mettinger. "Seraphim." In Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible. Karel van der Toorn, Bob Becking, Pieter van Horst, eds. Leiden: Brill, 1999. Pgs. 742-4.
Music:
Clip from The Ten Commandments. Paramount Pictures, 1956.
Clip from Evan Almighty. Universal Pictures, 2007.
Alexander Nakarada. "Vopna." Creative Commons license. www.serpentsoundstudios.com
Artwork:
Seraphim, from the Hagia Sofia, Istanbul. Unknown date and artist.
