Who are the seraphim called the gatekeepers and what is their purpose?

Answer 1

The word Seraphim which originates from Hebrew, is the plural version of the word Seraph. So obviously when you say Seraphim, you are referring to more than one Seraph angel. The Seraphim are a high ranking class of celestial beings, which were first mentioned in the Old Testament of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh as it's properly called. Subsequent references to the Seraphim then appeared in further Hebrew religious scripture, where they became slightly more developed, and described as having a human like form.

During later Biblical periods the Seraphim also passed into Christian writings, where they would eventually be incorporated into the Christian angelic hierarchy, and listed as the highest order of angels. The early Christians placed more emphasis on them than they had ever been granted previously in Jewish scripture, thus redefining them in the process. Most of the early Christian scripture that contained direct references to the Seraphim, were noncanonical, meaning that these writings are not considered official.

The one reference to the Seraphim in the Old Testament, can be found in Isaiah Chapter 6, verses 1 through 3, which is Isaiah's vision. The passage reads, "In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were Seraphs, each with six wings, with two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another, holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty, the whole earth is full of his glory".

In Orthodox Judaism, the Seraphim are part of a unique and complex angelic hierarchy, where they occupy the fifth rank out of ten ranks of angels, all of which are outlined within the exposition of Maimonides. To highlight the importance of these angels within the Jewish religious context, the prophet Isaiah's vision of the Seraphim is repeated in prayer several times throughout a typical Jewish religious service. Orthodox Judaism holds the traditional belief in many angels, including frequent references to the Seraphim in Jewish scripture.

When it comes to the literal belief in angels within Judaism, it should be noted that it is not universal among all practicing conservative or orthodox Jews. Jewish reformists and re-constructionists generally do not believe in angels at all, although they do retain written references to them for strictly metaphorical purposes. A similar parallel can also be found within Christianity as well, with many conservative Christians believing in angels and spiritual beings, and then on the other hand there many who do not believing them.

Within Christian theology, the Seraphim occupy the highest rank of angels, and are the direct caretakers of God's throne. Circling the heavenly seat, they are locked in an eternal song referred to as the Trisagion song. The first mention of the Seraphim within the Christian New Testament is in the Book of Revelation Chapter 4, verses 6 through 8. This verse goes on to describe them in more detail than the first mention of them in the Old Testament, and has allowed scholars to understand them more. For the scripture excerpt, read on.

And before the throne there was a sea of glass, and in the center and around the throne, four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind. The first creature was like a lion, and the second creature like a calf, and the third creature had a face like that of a man, and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle. Each of the four living creatures had six wings and were full of eyes inside and out. Without stopping day or night they were saying, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, who is, and who is coming very soon.

Far outside of the traditional Christian or Judaic religious context, one can find a seemingly unlimited number of references to the Seraphim, from New Age or Neopagan religious scripture, to music, art, comic books, commercial brands, and video games. Over the centuries the Seraphim have in very many ways transcended their historic religious origins, and risen to the elevation of a near universal human icon, open to unlimited cross cultural interpretation. One may even go so far as to say they represent human aspirations.

Where the Seraphim will journey from here, is anyone's guess. They've quite literally become a part of human expression altogether, though references to their attributes are as old as written language itself, the Age of Information has taken them to many new shores. One quite notable example is in the extremely popular Japanese video game franchise Final Fantasy, where the main villain Kafka of Final Fantasy VI, attains the power of the Three Goddesses, and is transformed into a Seraph with six large golden wings.

The gatekeepers are the Seraph that are under the archangel Metatron to help oversee the alternate time lines and the "gates" of the alternate dimensions. They are special set of heavenly beings special set of seraph that have an energetic signature of both the higher angelic realms as the celestial realms. it is my opinion that like Metatron they at some point were human like and were transformed and elevated to this station. The also act as liaisons to the human-like races and the heavenly realms. They would be similar to what we term a the elite special forces unit and Metatron is their commanding officer. Metatron is called the lesser Yahweh the voice and scribe of God. The one who sits the closest To God. In Earthly terms He oversees the that the will of God is impeccably carried out .He is the highest ranking General>