Isaiah 6:1–3 (The Holy Vision)
Prophets / Isaiah · The celestial throne room and the Trisagion of burning seraphim
- First attested
- 7th century BCEGreat Isaiah Scroll (1QIsa-a) from Qumran; Masoretic Text.
“In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings. And one cried to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!”
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Encountering sacred transcendence purifies human perception to perceive divine glory everywhere.
Isaiah 6:1–8 (Tanakh); Masoretic Text.
The prophetic vision of the celestial throne and burning seraphim chanting the Trisagion.
In Isaiah 6, the prophet Isaiah receives his divine commission in the year King Uzziah died, beholding the Lord sitting on a high and exalted throne with the train of His robe filling the temple. Above Him stood the six-winged Seraphim ("the burning ones"), chanting to one another: Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh ("Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!"). This visionary encounter forms the liturgical core of Jewish Kedushah and Christian Eucharistic Sanctus.
Light
Transcendent awe, sacred purification, clear moral purpose, and dedicated service.
Shadow
Paralyzing guilt, unworthiness, and fanatical self-abnegation.
