שרפים
‘There are more things in heaven and Earth, …. Than are dreamt of in your philosophy..’
Please bear with the non-biblical quote for a moment – it’s there to make a relevant point.
Above is the well known phrase used by the title character in the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare; when Hamlet is speaking to Horatio, (Hamlet 1.5.167-8), He says, your philosophy (i.e., philosophy or learning in general). Hamlet suggests that human knowledge is limited: There are more things in heaven and Earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy [science].
The emphasis here should really be on “dreamt of”, as Hamlet is pointing out how little even the most educated people can explain.
The relevant point being, just how true this is, for in reality we know so very little about everything!! As the scripture says ‘Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.’
A fool is one who denies the reality of his creator. As usual, the Bible says it best in
Romans 1:22: “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.”
In our humanity we often see things in a way that makes us feel comfortable, by adjusting our viewpoint. However, this can often means that our concept of those things is not as they really are.
It’s all a matter of perception.
We draw on personal experience and try to define an image from previously gathered information, which is not necessarily accurate, or relevant, to the new thing in front of us which is requiring definition.
A good example is what angels look like.
HUH?
In a previous post, we examined the descriptions of the seraphim on the mercy seat and the heavenly beings around Fathers’ throne; discovering they are not like the everyday creatures that we are familiar with. We have formed mental images of angels, gained mostly from paintings provided primarily by renaissance artists. Many of whom were under contract to the Vatican and religious authorities, who commissioned what they wanted for themselves and also what they chose the public should see.
The other beings mentioned along with the cherubim are the seraphim.
Seraphim
Hebrew: שָׂרָף śārāf, (sarap) this word seraph in the original
Plural שְׂרָפִים śərāfîm;
Latin: seraphim and seraphin (plural)
Greek: σεραφείμ serapheím
These are noted as the highest order or choir of angels according to christianity and the fifth rank of ten in the Jewish angelic hierarchy.
Remember the seasonal Carol?
They are the angelic beings who are attendants or guardians before God’s throne. They continually praise and glorify God, calling,
“Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of Hosts”.
The only Bible reference is Isaiah 6:1-7.
Seraphim means Burners, the burning ones/glowing ones or Destroyers and as the closest Attendants at the Throne of God, they are represented as “standing” above the King as He sat upon His throne, ready at once to minister unto Him. This word, in the original, שָׂרַף, is used elsewhere only of the “fiery serpents” Numbers 21:6,8; Deut 8:15
The root-verb שרף (sarap) means to burn, and this is always in a literal sense. There are up to fifteen words in Hebrew that mean to burn, but sarap is used mostly in the sense of consuming or destructive burning.
The verb used to describe these Heavenly living creatures may hint that they glow brightly! Similar to how Moses’ face glowed brightly following his close proximity to God’s glory on Mount Sinai.
When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, and the people saw that the skin of his face was shining like a bright light, they were afraid to come near him.
Isaiah (6:2) saw the seraphim in a vision standing above the Father as He sat upon His throne. He described them as each having three pairs of wings,
with one pair they covered their faces (a token of humility);
with the second they covered their feet (a token of respect);
while with the third they flew.
They seem to have presented a general resemblance to the human figure as recorded in verse 6.
He saw their occupation as two fold:
First, to celebrate the praises of His holiness and power, verse 3; and
2. to act as the medium of communication between heaven and earth, verse 6.
Seraphim are so close to God that they are thought to be the angels of God’s unfathomable and endless love.
Scholars propose that in their true appearance they are so bright, that no mortal man could gaze upon them. However, they can apparently change their appearance when delivering messages to the human world. Isaiah was cleansed from sin by a seraph who touched a burning coal to his lips.
(Isaiah 6:6) Here one of them was the agent for burning the sin from the lips of the prophet with a coal off the altar.
The Hebrew word seraphim ser’-a-fim is not really a name as such, but rather what might be considered a category or group, a species or class of The First and Highest Order of created spiritual beings/entities.
The masculine noun שרף (sarap) denotes a fiery serpent and is used five times: Numbers 21:6 and 21:8, Deuteronomy 8:15, Isaiah 14:29 and 30:6. The exact same word is used in Isaiah 6:2 to describe the angelic beings known as Seraphim!
Sharrapu was a Babylonian name for the fire-god, Nergal. In Egypt there have been found eagle-lion-shaped figures guarding a grave, which have had the name seref applied. “Griffin” is the equivalent term in English.
First Mentioned: 3300-3100 BC
The griffin, griffon, or gryphon is a legendary creature with the body, tail, and back legs of a lion; the head and wings of an eagle; and sometimes an eagle’s talons as its front feet.
In heraldry, the griffin’s combination of lion and eagle gains in courage and boldness. It is used to denote strength and military courage and leadership.
in Hebrew theology as the three highest orders of attendants to the Father, Seraphim are connected with Cherubim and Ophanim, and are superior to the angels who are messengers sent on various errands.
The word Angel means messenger.
The Archangels that we are familiar with are:
Michael meaning He who is like God;
Gabriel = God is my strength;
Raphael = healer of God;
Uriel = God is my light.
As the cherubim were often represented by the storm-clouds, so the seraphim were symbolized by the serpentine flashes of the lightning; but we read none of this in Isaiah’s vision.
In the New Testament/Brit Chadashah, in Rev 4:5, the only possible equivalent is, the living ones (mistranslated as beasts in the KJV) etc.
In the Greek ζῷον verse 6 Strongs 2226 zoon (zoology) – A Living Creature, animal, a living being; not therion – translated beast.
These then appear to be literal angelic beings and are clearly different from the:
Redeemed Elders of Rev. 4:9-11,
Ordinary angels in Rev.5:1-12,
Seraphim in Is. 6:1-8 and
Cherubim of Ezek. 1:4-28; 10:1-22
Here, as in Isaiah, they appear nearest the Father’s throne, supreme in praise of His holiness.
1 Peter 1:16 (Lev.)
Young’s Literal Translation because it hath been written, ‘Become ye holy, because I am holy;’.
(16) Be ye holy; for I am holy.—
The better reading here is, Ye shall he holy; it is still, however, a command, not a promise—except that all God’s commands are promises. The command comes some five or six times in the Book of Leviticus, addressed not only to the Levites, but to all the people. It would, therefore, apply twice over to the recipients of this letter by virtue of their twofold consecration, in the old and in the new Israel.
8270 holiness, as SET APART for God: Believers are holy, in that they are to BE SET APART from the world as God’s own people. Just as certain days and items are holy because they are set apart for God alone.
8271 holiness, purpose of: God in His holiness desires a holy people amongst whom He can dwell, and who can effectively worship, witness to and serve Him as they prepare for a future with God and to be like God.
The cherubim as we saw in previous post, Ezek. 21:22 Each one had four faces and each had four wings, with the form of human hands under the wings
They all had 4 faces: calf, eagle, man and lion.
It appears that the Seraphim,
who are known in our culture as
handsome human-like angelic creatures,
were known to the Hebrews as
snake-like fireballs!
We like to designate creatures either according to what they look like, or else by some terminology that only covers their specific species.
e.g. A horse is a horse and we are not too concerned with what the word horse might actually mean.
A horsetail is a plant that looks like the tail of a horse, and a sea horse is a fish with a horse-like head.
In Hebrew, however, creatures are known mostly according to their behavior. Since creatures usually display multiple defining behaviors, many creatures are known by more than one name — one of the words for lion (ari) comes from the verb to gather— and it also means that one description often covers more than one creature.
e.g., the word סוס (sus), meaning to flash or dart, denotes both a horse and a swallow.
This is Hebrew thought, and in this thinking, to be, IS to do.
In the Bible, the word שרף (sarap) is used in two different scenes. In the most recognized one, it denotes the flying, supernatural six-winged creatures that surround God’s throne in the vision of Isaiah.
In Revelation 4 john also has a vision of God’s throne and sees what seems the same creatures. However, here they have only one face each. One has face like a lion the second face of a calf the third face of a man and the fourth an eagle.
(Revelation 4:8).
Both Isaiah, in
Strong’s Number: 06918 
Transliterated: Qadowsh
Phonetic: kaw-doshe’
Definition: sacred, holy,
Holy One, saint, set apart
and John hear these creatures cry “Holy, holy, holy”.
Greek λέγω
legó: to say, command.
These creatures became known as the Seraphim, and although artists have tried to depict them, we really don’t have a clue what they may look like. To begin with, we don’t know their size, so they may be very small; small enough even to appear on someone’s head?? (Acts 2:3). Since their name is derived from a verb meaning, to burn, they may look like flames. However if their name was designed to indicate that is what they looked like, they would have been known by a word that means flame or fire. This is not the case because they are known as Burners or Destroyers.
They have six wings (Isaiah 6:2),
There is Scripture that seems to record that God has wings too!! (Psalm 17:8, 36:7, 57:1, 61:4, 91:4). Since we are made in God’s image and likeness (Genesis 1:26), do we have “wings” as well?? The Seraphim’s wings may not look at all like birds’ wings that we imagine and are familiar with.
Seraphim have faces but their wings cover them, so they may look like anything. They have feet, also covered by their wings, but not necessarily human feet; and the word for feet is so general, that we still really don’t know much about their appearance.
The point is, that they are not what we are used to seeing, as far as creatures go, and their appearance is secondary to their raison d’etre. Their prime mission is to guard the throne and serve the Lord.
The word CRIED, or SAID, here, is not meaning a whispered religious tone,
but it’s a declaration,
a command,
an actionable directive;
because holy = kadosh = set apart;.
Separate and set aside (for His purposes).
The word CRIED in this verse is Strong’s Number: 07121 
Transliterated Qara’
Phonetic Spelling kaw-raw’
Definition: to call, call out,
utter a loud sound,
recite, read, cry out, proclaim
And the next few words record
The posts (‘ammah) of the door (caph = threshhold) moved
Strong’s Number: 05128 
Transliterated: Nuwa`
Phonetic: noo’-ah
Definition: to quiver, totter, shake, reel, stagger, wander, move, sift, make move, wave, waver, tremble, vibrate
It would appear that the voices of the seraphim were loud enough to cause vibration and shaking which changes the understanding of this scene entirely!
The question of whether or not Seraphim are ‘angels’, remains a question. Biblical angels usually either look like humans or sound like them, and we don’t know if there are separate species of angels, or even if they exist as autonomous individuals.
Angels, Seraphim, Cherubim and spirits were created beings that’s about all we know, apart from what the scriptures tell us.
What we do know is that the Bible clearly indicates that there is much, much, more to creation than just us, even if we cannot see it all because it exists in another dimension beyond the scope of our physical eyes. Sometimes God opens our eyes like He did for Elisha and the chariots 2 kings 6:17-20
The other famous scene in which the word seraphim is prominently featured deals with the attack of the “fiery serpents” on Israel in the wilderness (Numbers 21:6).
It literally reads, “And God sent among the people the fiery serpents נָחָשׁ שְׂרָפִים
[saraphim naphashim] seraphim serpents”.
The word for serpent, nahash, is related to the words for bronze and the verb to divine, and the serpent scene of Numbers 21 may be about more than just an animal attack.
It has been suggested by certain Bible scholars over the years that that the creature referenced here may be the flying serpents.
Matthew Henry, in his famous Commentary on the Whole Bible writes:
They had impudently flown in the face of God himself, and the poison of asps was under their lips, and now these fiery serpents (which, it should seem, were flying serpents, Isaiah 14:29) flew in their faces and poisoned them.
The Lord then instructs Moses to create a שרף (sarap) and set it on a standard. Moses interprets the making of a seraph by making a “bronze serpent” — a nahash, nachash, nahashet; twice the word nahash, a fiery, burning, majestic being — and anyone who looks upon it is saved from the real ones.
Was the bronze image a Seraphim? One of Gods’ fiery attendants?
Apparently, the image of the bronze serpent was so impressive that the Israelites gave it a name —Nehushtan — and burned incense to it until king Hezekiah destroyed it (2 Kings 18:4).
Later still, Yeshua/Jesus compares His imminent crucifixion to Moses’ raising of the bronze serpent (John 3:14, also see 8:28 and 12:32).
Verse 8: “And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.”
This passage is a beautiful picture of how those bitten by the Satanic curse of sin cannot heal themselves from sure death; but they need only look in faith to Christ’s work on the cross to live. Indeed, Christ applied this passage to himself: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:14-15). Yet it seems strange to employ the cursed snake (a symbol of Satan from Genesis 3:1 to Revelation 20:2) as the parallel of Christ.
While the Hebrew word naphash is clearly the word for common snakes, these commentators have concluded that the compound word saraphim – naphashim, should be translated “fiery flying serpents.”
It would appear that the saraph was a reptilian, snake-like creature, distinguished from common snakes predominantly by their ability to fly. the pterosaur identification is most reasonable. These flying snakes, or pterosaurs, could have attacked and overcome the Israelites from the air.
They would have formed an ideal picture of the Messiah, in that Christ was made like us, (made sin for us according to 2 Corinthians 5:21), but he was still fundamentally different (divine).
The winged serpent incorporates simultaneously the appearance of the snake and the lofty ability of flight in a unique animal. Moreover, the outstretched pterosaur on the pole would have formed a perfect cross!
It is likely that the New Testament author also referenced these fiery winged seraphim when writing to the Hebrews? “Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire” (Hebrews 1:7). The emphasis then, it would appear, is on the saraph’s bright, fiery nature.
The serpentine seraphim return in Isaiah 14:29, where the prophet foretells the destruction of Philistia, “from the root of the snake (nahash) comes a viper (tzepa, a word that indicates a snake producing venom), and his fruit (is) a flying seraph”. Actually, the word “flying” may also mean “dark”; see the name Ephah. The flying or dark seraph returns in Isaiah 30:6, where it is listed among the beasts of the Negev.
The other place where the term nacash is used is in connection with the garden of eden where the nachash conversed with eve. Well it was probably not a talking serpent but taking Ezek s description in 28:14 of the devil he was the covering cherub and Isaiah 14:12-14; the angel Lucifer as being one of the created chief beings within the angelic class of creation of God. 
Ezek. 28:13 Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.
Eve was probably accustomed to seeing the cherubim, seraphim and angelic host, seeing as they walked with God in the cool of the day. Neither did they show surprise at Lucifers presence, nor of the cherubim that blocked their return to the garden. So his appearance was not a shock or unusual to them.
This individual has a covering of 9 precious stones.
Here is a fascinating parallel of the earthly Israel’s High Priest’s breastplate that also was covered with precious stones. These 9 stones that covered Satan are an exact match for 9 of the 12 stones found on the High Priest’s covering (Exodus 28:17).
Does this verse in Ezekiel reveals that Satan was a High Priest for God in heaven before he came to the earth? Are these stones and coverings just a amazing coincidence or is there some mystery information that God is revealing here? On the High Priest’s breast plate there were 4 rows of three stones each. Each row consisted of a different set of stones and each stone was unique. We are told that these 12 stones on the High Priest’s covering were engraved with the names of 12 tribes of Israel. However by matching off the stones found on Satan’s covering from the stones found on the High Priest’s breastplate it appears that Row 3 is missing completely. One would think this is not an accident, it’s mathematically impossible for this to be a coincidence. What does it all mean? We could conclude that Satan lost three things that Israel had, or maybe Israel was given three things that Satan didn’t have? 
Anointing? Covenant? Relationship?
Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Darby Bible Translation Thou wast the anointed covering cherub, and I had set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou didst walk up and down in the midst of stones of fire.
Anointed comes from a Hebrew root word that means to smear with oil. David was anointed king this way by Samuel.
But this word here means to “spread like wings” and it is the only time this word occurs in the whole Bible.
However, it is still important to see that Satan is said to be “anointed” of God. This is a direct comparison to Jesus who was also said to be “anointed” of God with the Holy Ghost and power in Acts 10:38. God anoints people in the earth to perform specific tasks. What this represents is a special divine ability to perform the duties being assigned to them. From this verse we understand that angels can also be anointed by God to do specific jobs and assignments. An anointing can involve supernatural ability and power, divine knowledge or wisdom to do what we do not fully understand how to do. This reveals a lot about Satan and his abilities.
Then Satan is called a “cherub”
Information is revealed about angels and God’s relationship with Satan before he sinned. Is it possible that one of these two cherubs either side of God’s throne in heaven was originally Lucifer? Now Yeshua/Jesus is at the right hand of the Father could that mean Yeshua/Jesus has taken Lucifer’s old place of authority and power?
Ezekiel 28:14 is how God describes Satan to us, that he was an anointed cherub and that his job or assignment was to “cover”.
This Hebrew word means to cover as a protector or as a guard. It can also mean a fenced in hedge of protection. It can also mean to entwine as in join together.
Amazing definitions for they imply a covenant relationship and that is very important to know. was God in covenant with the angels of Heaven, including Satan?
In Isaiah 6:2 there is a word describing what appears to be an angelic being. This is also a winged creature that clearly flies using their wings. It is not clear that this is describing Satan unless you look up the definition of the Hebrew Word “seraphim” in Strong’s. This word is many times translated as “fiery serpent” seems to describe Satan very well. We clearly know from Genesis and Revelation that Satan is the “serpent” so we have a link to a new titled reference for this spiritual being. A fiery serpent is a great symbolic representation for Satan.
Was a created being (Eze 28:13)
Not created with evil in him (Eze 28:15)
Was found with iniquity in him (Eze 28:15)
Was in covenant with God the Father? (Gen 2-3, Gal 4)
Was anointed by God for specific purposes (Eze 28:14)
Was in a class of angels called “Cherubs” (Eze 28:14)
Was also described as a “Seraphim”; winged fiery serpent (Isa 6:2)
Was a Priest unto God? (Eze 28:13).
Was called Lucifer a son of the early light (Isa 14:12)
Named Lucifer means “Bright Morning Star” (Isa 14:12)
Over the years Biblical scholars have speculated about the nature of the creature described in the Authorized Version as “the fiery flying serpent.”
“The burden of the beasts of the south: into the land of trouble and anguish, from whence come the young and old lion, the viper and fiery flying serpent,” (Isaiah 30:6).
Creationists over the years have suggested that this flying reptilian creature was a living pterosaur, still known in the region of Palestine at the time of Isaiah’s prophecy.1 Bible commentators have differed in their interpretation of these passages.
For example, E. J. Young writes of Isaiah 14:29:
“From one snake will come a poisonous serpent, and that poisonous serpent will produce another that is burning and flying.”2 He holds that Isaiah 30:6 references a real winged serpent and cites Herodutus 11.75; iii.109; and Ammianus Marcellinus xxii.15.3 (Marcellinus wrote in the fourth century about the ibis being a sacred bird in Egypt because of their encountering flocks of winged snakes, coming laden with poison from the marshes of Arabia, and overcoming them in the air, and devouring them before they quit their own region.) Motyer seems to side with the minority NIV translation “darting venomous serpent” but mentions “fiery flying one” as an alternate translation.4 The NAS renders this creature “flying serpent.” The Septuagint translation of Isaiah 14:29 is ofei petamenoi, which are clearly words for a flying reptile with no variants. From a more liberal scholarship perspective, the authors of the Revised Standard Version translate it “fiery flying serpent.” The BDB lexicon authors also render the creature “a flying serpent or dragon ” but go on to suggest that it had its origin in the Egyptian Serref and was “mythically conceived with serpent’s bodies (serpent deities).”
Since they are called seraphim…a term elsewhere applied to serpents (Num. 21:16; Isa. 14:29, 30:6), some scholars believe that they were serpentine or dragon-like in appearance. (Job 21.)
However, the chief meaning of the term may be “fiery” (Num. 21:6), so that the name of the snake is merely derivative (referring to their bite), and the use of the term for the ministering beings would indicate they were “fiery ones.”
There is no reason to dismiss automatically either of these possibilities. Composite figures are known from all over the ancient Near East, and while none is so far attested in Israel, it is possible that use was made of them. Such mysterious, awesome beings would be quite appropriate in this sort of vision. On the other hand, fire is everywhere associated with God’s holiness…so that it would be entirely appropriate for those who declare that holiness (v.3) to be “fiery” in their appearance.
Although to us its seems mythical, there are some historical and archaeological evidence in support of a pterosaur interpretation of these Old Testament passages.
Note that the nation of Philistia referenced in Isaiah 30 is geographically intermediate between the land of Israel and Egypt. This is the same region from which the ancient reports of pterosaurs come. Various historians told of small flying reptiles in Arabia and Egypt, recounted the virility of their poisons and described their predator, the ibis bird.18 The ancient authors Aristotle, Philae, Aelianus, Ammianus, Mela, Solinus, anonymous 4’th century Coptic monks, the 13’th century Armenian historian Matthew of Edessa, Solinus, Cicero, Aristotle, and Philae all reference flying serpents.
The well-respected Greek researcher Herodotus wrote:
There is a place in Arabia, situated very near the city of Buto, to which I went, on hearing of some winged serpents; and when I arrived there, I saw bones and spines of serpents, in such quantities as it would be impossible to describe. The form of the serpent is like that of the water-snake; but he has wings without feathers, and as like as possible to the wings of a bat.
In his third volume Herodotus goes on to tell how these animals could sometimes be found in the Arabian spice groves. He describes their size, coloration, and reproduction. It seems flying serpents were infamous for hanging in frankincense trees. When workers wanted to gather the tree’s incense, they would employ putrid smoke to drive the flying reptiles away.
Josephus’ account is particularly lucid. He tells of Moses, while still living in Pharoah’s court, leading an Egyptian army against Nubia: …but Moses prevented the enemies, and took and led his army before those enemies were apprised of his attacking them; for he did not march by the river, but by land, where he gave a wonderful demonstration of his sagacity; for when the ground was difficult to be passed over, because of the multitude of serpents, (which it produces in vast numbers, and indeed, is singular in some of those productions, which other countries do not breed, and yet such as are worse than others in power and mischief, and an unusual fierceness of sight, some of which ascend out of the ground unseen, and also fly in the air, and so come upon men at unawares, and do them a mischief,) Moses invented a wonderful stratagem to preserve the army safe, and without hurt; for he made baskets, like unto arks, of sedge, and filled them with ibes, and carried them along with them; which animal is the greatest enemy to serpents imaginable, for they fly from them when they come near them; and as they fly they are caught and devoured by them, as if it were done by the harts;
The Greek word used by Josephus for “snake” is the same one employed by Christ in John 3 (and also by Paul in I Corinthians 10:9) to describe the attacking serpents in the wilderness (ophis or ophesi in its the masculine, dative, plural form).
It is also the same as the Septuagint version of the wilderness account.
This is the common Greek word for snake, so perhaps there was no unique Greek word for pterosaur like the Hebrew “saraph.” Instead the Greek authors fell back on the phrase “flying serpent” as the way to distinguish the winged reptilian creature, just like the KJV translators did in English.
One thing is for certain there are more things in heaven and earth than we have any concept of even in our wildest dreams and imagination.
And just because it does not fit into our idea of what they should look like; the heavenly creatures that surround the throne, are there by Fathers’ choice, and His concepts and ways are not ours.
We may should get prepared to be truly wowed by the things that are prepared for us in our future, for as yet eye has not seen some of these magnificent and heavenly creatures
who serve Him day and night and while still on earth we can join them in their singing – LOUD VIBRATING COMMAND HOLY HOLY HOLY is the Lord of Hosts the whole earth is full of His Glory.
Don’t leave this page without knowing that you are full of His Glory and saved by His Mercy
Remembering here, that mercy is also rachum racham, rachem.
Rachem/racham being the word for WOMB.
So the mercy seat could be said to be a kind of womb (prophetically), where the spiritual new birth was to be initiated/conceived and ratified in Jesus/Yeshua’s blood.
Out of the mercy/womb seat came new resurrected life FOR THE LIFE IS IN THE BLOOD and the reconciliation to the Father.
and Grace,
Mercy and Grace is the WAY
ADDED AS AN INTERESTING EXTRA..
Brief yet fascinating report of a creature called a Ropen:
Although some superstition surrounds this remarkable creature, there are consistencies in the accounts from around the island regions (peoples that do not have any communication links) that lend credibility to the claims. The most remarkable part of the description is that the creature is reported to have a biolumiscent capability, like a firefly. Carl Baugh of the Creation Evidence Museum conducted two Ropen expeditions to PNG with Jim Blume, one to the island of Umboi and another further north to the Manus region. While exploring around the Manus islands, it became clear to Blume and Baugh that the pterosaur-like creature reported in that region were a different species from those observed further south. It was smaller (about 1 meter wingspan), tan in color (by native reports), and reddish in its glow. Coloration in the reports from Umboi, on the other hand, vary from glittering black to a very dark grey. The bioluminscence color is described as a white/bluish glow. Indeed, many who see the glowing creature fly past them describe it as a shimmering white light with a rainbow of colors being thrown off.
On one expedition to PNG, Blume and Baugh followed up on reports from a particular island in the Manus group that claimed these creatures were living in the caves dotting the island. While in a boat in the early evening they observed what appeared to be an oval shaped luminscent flying object gliding from the hillside down along the bay. After observing the pulsing light-greenish light and looking through a monocular night scope for about 20 minutes they lost contact with the object. The next morning, Baugh snapped a picture of a strange clawed print on the muddy beach.
Could it be that a living pterosuar still exists today in PNG? Is this strange luminescence the reason that the ancient prophet refers to the flying serpent as “fiery”?
It seems that the Ropen posseses the ability to turn its internal light on and off at will. Also, reports suggest the presence of a secretion that drips behind when the underbelly glows. Reports suggest that this secretion is alkaline and burns the skin of those who come in contact with the creature!
PNG IS PAPUA NEW GUINEA FOR MORE INFO AND PICTURES GO TO
http://www.livepterosaur.com/ropen-info/
