Isaiah 6

Isaiah says that in the year king Uzziah died, in his 52^nd year of reign in 743 BCE, he had a vision. It was during the three year resistance of Arpad running from 744 to 740 BCE as William Shea has shown. Isaiah wrote in panels and in vv. 1-4 he describes this vision: “I saw the Lord [Christ or Lord Almighty v. 3] sitting on a throne lifted up” (v. 1b). Christ will receive the throne from the Father (Luke 1:32-33) and the timing of that event is after the seventh angel sounded (Revelation 11:15). The moment of this vision cannot be 1844 which is the beginning of the heavenly Yom Kippur or Day of Atonement and cannot be 2013 since Christ is not King but High-Priest. When the Door of Mercy closes and His High-priestly role is done, then He will receive the Kingship and be King of Kings and Lord of Lords. But not until then. Thus, the scene of Isaiah is just after Christ received the Kingship, just after the completion of the heavenly Investigative Judgment. Angels were covering His Glory and said that the whole earth is full of His glory. During the Investigative Judgment the earth is not yet full of the glory of the Lord. It is a heavenly Sanctuary scene. It is not in history since there never was a time, except in unfallen Eden, when the glory of the Lord filled the earth. The foundations shook and the heavenly Sanctuary was filled with what appeared to Isaiah as smoke (v. 4). When Christ receives His Kingship, He is eager to come and get the saints, eager to Resurrect. It is at this point, as Isaiah’s eyes sees the King, the Lord of Hosts (v. 5d) that he felt his utter inabilities. “Woe is me, for I am cut off [Egyptian loanword dm(t) meaning cut with a knive], for I am a man of unclean lips” (v. 5a). Isaiah is a saved sinner. He is not living in sin for he is saved from sin. But, no-one can come in the presence of the Almighty and feel the same. Even the saints, perfect in character will during the Time of Jacob’s Trouble feel unworthy since the Holy Spirit will separate from them. They will also experience the “cut-off” anxiety that Christ experienced in Gethsemane. The Lord sitting on the throne (v. 1) is the King, the Lord of Hosts(v. 5d). He has not yet left the temple for the Second Coming. At this point, feeling his utter unworthiness and be in the presence of the All-Worthy Christ, an seraphim flew to him and touched his mouth “your iniquity is taken away and your sin is forgiven” (v. 7). This has nothing to do with the Daily Salvation process in the Priestly System of the Temple and Tabernacle described by Moses, it has nothing to do with the work of Christ in the Priestly area of the Holies before 1844 or even the work of Christ in the Holy of Holies during the Day of Atonement period between 1844 until the Door of Mercy closes. This is the typical action that all the saints will receive during the Time of Trouble. It is their perfection. Atonement is completed, Christ is no longer High-Priest but has become the King and thus this action will take place then at the beginning of the Time of Trouble short period. When the angel spoke in verse 8 it introduce a new project intended for the historical period that Isaiah and all the saints until the time of the end will endure: “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” It was a call to cooperation with heavenly beings in evangelism. Isaiah signed up and expressed his willingness (v. 8). The angel speaking knew that as long as the Great Controversy is lurking on earth, which is the period from Isaiah’s day until the Second Coming, “keep listening but you do not perceive, keep seeing but you do not understand” (v. 9). Satan “will cause to make the heart of these people insensitive” and “their ears are caused to make dull” and “their eyes is caused to make dim” (v. 10). It will be continuously from Isaiah’s day to the time of Jesus (John 12:39-41). It will be all the way to the church of Laodicea’s condition as the seventh and last church before the Eschaton as Revelation 3:15-18 indicates. Do what you want to do, evil included lest (pen) you see with your eyes and hear with your ears, understand with their hearts and return and be healed, says Isaiah (v. 10d-g). If they are so obstinate to do evil they will be kept in evil although conversion can bring healing. Isaiah desires the touching of his lips event for everyone. He wishes to see the Almighty more. He wishes that time to fast-forward soon and so he asked the question Daniel also asked after the long Daniel 11 vision and the Resurrection in Daniel 12:1: How long? (v. 11). The angel answered that the Time of Trouble near the Eschaton shortly before the Second Coming will be “cities devastated without inhabitants. Houses are without people” due to excessive migrationism (v. 11b-c). “The Lord has removed men far away” (v. 12) which is indicative of the call in Revelation that the saints must leave the cities and move to the countryside and elsewhere for safety. There are many forsaken places (v. 12b). There will be about 10% staying in the cities but it will also burn with persecution “will again be burning” (v. 13b). When a terebinth or an oak is felled a stump remains “which in the remaining of the felling in them”. It is a symbol of the saints during the Time of Trouble or Great Persecution that is the “holy seed fallen from it” meaning, the rest of the evil people suffers but the holy seed, 10% remains unharmed.

Dear God

Also us want to be like Isaiah touched on the lips to be without iniquity and clean. We also wish to be part of the unharmed during the Time of Great Tribulation to come. Grant that our eyes will also see the Lord of Hosts. Amen.

Koot van Wyk, (DLitt et Phil; ThD) Kyungpook National University, Department of Liberal Education, Sangju, South Korea; conjoint lecturer of Avondale College, Australia