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The cry of the Seraphim, 'Holy, holy, holy', is associated with a
prophetic statement: 'The whole earth is full of His glory' (Isa. 6:3).
Let
us read once more the parallel passage in Revelation:
'And the four living creatures had each of them six wings about him;
and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night,
saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is
to come ... Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and
power: for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are
and were created' (Rev. 4:8 -11).
In Isaiah the Hebrew word eretz is translated 'earth', 'land' and
'country', and it is consequently necessary to examine the context before
drawing conclusions. There are seven undoubted references to 'the whole
earth' in Isaiah which will illuminate the prophecy of the Seraphim. Let us
observe both the references and their correspondence.
'The whole earth' in Isaiah
A
6:3.
The whole earth is full of His glory.
A great forsaking (12).
B
12:5. Excellent things (Heb. Geuth).
Water.
Salvation (3).
C
14:7.
Rest (blessing).
The grave for king of Babylon (9,11).
D
14:26.
The purpose upon the whole earth.
Assyrian broken (24,25).
C
25:8.
Rest (judgment, 10).
Death swallowed up in victory (8).
B
28:22.
Crown of Pride (Heb. Geuth) (1,3).
Water (17). Consumption (22).
A
54:5.
Husband, Redeemer.
God of the whole earth.
Forsaken for a moment (7).
The purpose of the ages, set forth in prophetic type by the Cherubim,
and foreshadowed by the utterance of the Seraphim, is expressed in this
sevenfold reference to the whole earth. The reader is urged to examine the
context of each reference and to see the way in which all opposition is
broken down; death swallowed up in victory, pride overthrown, and the Lord
alone exalted in that day, and how, just as the Assyrian invasion occupies
the centre of the whole prophecy, so the Assyrian occupies the centre of this
sevenfold reference.
We observe that the Authorized Version gives in the margin of Isaiah
6:3 the note: 'Heb. His glory is the fulness of the whole earth', while
Rotherham translates the passage: 'The fulness of the whole earth is His
glory'. Isaiah observed that the train of the Lord's garment filled the
temple (6:1), and that the house was filled with smoke (6:4).