Isaiah Chapter 6

Today, in Isaiah 6, we're going to see how God called and converted Isaiah. We're going to see a lot of parallels with the way God worked with Isaiah back in that day, with how God's working with us today. I think we're going to enjoy that. My theme, or the theme that I'm seeing in Isaiah 6, is this. God called Isaiah to do God's work, not just to have a personal relationship with him. Called to do God's work, not just a personal relationship with him. And that's something Herbert Armstrong stressed over and over and over again. Before we get into the book of Isaiah itself, I'd like to give you a little bit of a backdrop so we understand where Isaiah, where placing Isaiah at this particular time. Right now, 740 BC, critical time in the history of the nation of Judah and Israel, King Uzziah was either dying or had died. Under Uzziah's leadership, the nation had flourished economically and militarily. You know, back in the 60s, for those of you who can remember the 60s, those of you who were around in the 60s, those of you who are in the 60s, you remember our President Lyndon Johnson talking about guns and butter. How we were going to have a strong military, how we were going to have a strong economic system in the country, and we had that. Very similar to the time when God began to call Isaiah. Under Uzziah's leadership, his leadership brought tremendous prosperity to the nation. He launched a massive program of public works, construction projects. He strengthened the military. As a result, there was almost no unemployment in the nation. The people were successful in their businesses, agriculture, and ranching ventures. Almost everyone was enjoying a prosperous lifestyle. Uzziah reigned for 52 years, and many scholars would say that the only king that probably exceeded or kings that would exceeded his rule would have been David and Solomon. So, a very, very great time in the land. But there are some dark clouds as well. Let's take a look at 2 Chronicles 26. I'm not going to do a lot of discussion about what we're reading here. I think a lot of it's just going to be very... tell the story on its own.

2 Chronicles chapter 26 starting in verse 1.

Now all the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was 16 years old, and made him king instead of his father Amaziah. 16! How can you imagine yourself being a king or queen at the age of 16, ruling over a mighty nation? A very prosperous nation? Well, he's going to make it very prosperous. It wasn't as prosperous when he first started. He built Elath and restored it to Judah after the king rested with his fathers. Uzziah was 16 years old when he became king, and he reigned 52 years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jekaliath of Jerusalem, and he did what was right in the sight of the Lord according to all that his father Amaziah had done. So here we see where as a 16 year old, Uzziah is getting off to a great start. Well, let's keep that in mind. That's one thing to get off to a great start, but you don't want to end poorly. Verse 5, he sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding and the visions of God, and as long as he sought the Lord, God made him prosper. Now he went out and made war against the Philistines and broke down the wall of Gath, the wall of Jebna, the wall of Ashdod, and he built cities around Ashdod and among the Philistines. God helped him against the Philistines, against the Arabians who lived in Gerbale, and against the Mianites. Also, the Ammonites brought tribute to Uzziah. So we can see that this is a man who had a strong military, and because he was obeying God, God was giving him favor. Now, again, put this in your life, think about this in terms of framing this in terms of your life, as you and I please God, God will help us win the battles that we face. It doesn't mean the battle is going to be won very quickly. Sometimes they're lifelong battles, but God will be with us to win those battles.

His fame, middle of verse 8, His fame spread as far as the entrance of Egypt, for he became exceedingly strong, and Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the corner gate, the valley gate, at the corner buttress of the wall. He fortified them. He also built towers in the desert. He dug many wells, for he had much livestock. So he wasn't just concerned about the city of Jerusalem, the capital. He was concerned about the whole nation, not just the people who live in the cities, but people who are on the farms. Verse 11, Moreover, Uzziah had an army of fighting men who went out to war by companies, according to the number of their role, as prepared by Jillel, described in Manasseh the officer under the hand of Hananiah, one of the king's captains. Most scholars at this point would say what you're looking at here is probably more of a special forces, special ops group that was also part of his military for a special assignment. The total number of officers, chief officers of the mighty men of valor, were 2,600, and under their authority was an army of 307,000, army 307,500 that made war with mighty power to help the king against the enemy. So 307,500. When Uzziah prepared for them, the entire army, shields, spears, helmets, body armor, bows, slings, and cast stones. When you're fielding an army this large, that costs a lot of money. You don't just do this on the cuff. You don't borrow money for something like this. So it's showing that he had not only a strong military, but the wherewithal to outfit them and to have them do what they needed to be doing. And he made devices in Jerusalem invented by skillful men to be on the towers in the corners to shoot arrows and large stones. So they had catapults and things of that nature. So his fame spread far and wide for his marvelously helped till he became strong. Till he became strong. Lessened for us, let's not get too big for ourselves and our own sight. But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction. For he transgressed against the Lord as God by entering the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense. He had a close relationship with God, but he became presumptuous. He decided he can go in and offer what only the priest should be able to offer.

He was arrogant. And a man who was so close to God, this was tragic. So Azariah the priest went in after him and with him 80 priests of the Lord, valiant men. So these priests were not exactly shy. They were people who were, as a success here, valiant men. And they was stood King Uzziah and said to them, It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord, for for the priest, the son of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense. Get out of the sanctuary, for you have trespassed, you shall have no honor from the Lord your God. Powerful lessons for us to understand. He had a great beginning. He was doing many marvelous works. God was with him. But then he got too big, as they say, in his south for his britches. And he became arrogant. And he was presumptuous. Then Uzziah, verse 19, became furious. And he had a censer in his hand to burn incense. And while he was angry with the priests, leprosy broke out on his forehead. Before the priests in the house of the Lord, besides the incense, altered. And Uzziah, the chief priest, and all the priests that looked at him, and there on his forehead, he was leperous. So they thrust him out of that place. A mighty king with a mighty army was thrust out. He was kicked out of the... You know, he was doing things he shouldn't be doing. He was kicked out of church, so to speak. Indeed, he also hurried to get out because the Lord had struck him. So he began to realize he's incurring God's wrath. King Uzziah was a leper until the day of his death. He dwelt in an isolated house because he was a leper, for he was cut off from the house of the Lord. Then Jotham, his son, was over the king's house, judging the people of the land. Now the rest of the Acts of Uzziah, from the first to last, the prophet Isaiah, the son of Amos, wrote, so Uzziah rested with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in a field of burial which belonged to the kings. For they said, he is a leper. Then Jotham, his son, reigned in his place. So here's a man who was mighty indeed, helped the country to become very, very strong, very prosperous. He became presumptuous. God smote him with leprosy, and he was not buried with royal honors. He was buried in a plain field, buried in a plain field. Lesson to be learned. Uzziah, Solomon, and the New Testament Demas are all examples of people who had a tremendously good beginning, but a tragic ending. They lost their first love. Brethren, let's you and I make sure that that is never the case for us. As we think about the life of Isaiah and all that he is going to be teaching us, this is the time he was being born into. Remember, I said this is 740 BC. Isaiah is living in Jerusalem.

20 years down the road, Israel goes into captivity. This happens in Isaiah's life. This happens at the beginning of his ministry. He watches his sister nation, Israel, go into national captivity. Now, it was unknown to Isaiah and the people of that day, but this is a turning point in the nation of Judah. Following the reign of Uzziah, the prosperity and the peace that the nation had known began to decline. They were on a spiritual downward spiral. There was a bit of a renaissance under Hezekiah, but that quickly evaporated after Hezekiah, and again the nation began that downward spiral again that would lead to their utter destruction.

Let me give you an outline of Isaiah, what we'll be covering today. Verses 1 through 4, Isaiah's calling.

Verses 5 through 7, Isaiah's conviction.

In verses 8 through 13, Isaiah's commission.

So, Isaiah's calling, Isaiah's conviction, Isaiah's commission. With that in mind, let's now turn over to Isaiah 6.

Let me just read the first section here. Isaiah's calling from God. I'm going to read these first four verses and then we're going to go through and analyze them. In the year that King Uzziah died, most scholars again would say that was 740 BC, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and to train in His robe, fill the temple. Above it stood Seraphim, each one had six wings. With two He covered his face, with two He covered his feet, with two He flew. And one cried to another and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of His glory. And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of Him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.

So, here we see in verse 1 the difference between a earthly king and a heavenly king, the heavenly king. Uzziah became leprous. He was not allowed to be buried alongside of his peers, the other kings. He was buried in a field. It was owned by the kings, but he wasn't buried with his peers. He was buried apart from them. By contrast, we see the Lord on His throne, high above everything. High above everything. Lift it up, it says, and a train of His robe filled the temple. That shows a majesty, a glory that the God of the universe, the King of the universe, is exemplifying. Now, in this section, we're looking at the calling, not the conversion yet, but the calling of Isaiah. I made mention when we were going through the background to the book, why do we even study prophecy? I think I want to just restate that now. The overall purpose of Bible prophecy is to encourage us to change our lives. As we read about Isaiah here, as we see him and God working with him, we see Isaiah saying he needs to change. The overall purpose of Bible prophecy is to encourage us to change our lives and to help us see what we must be doing to be at one with God. And we're going to see that here. So, as you have been studying prophecy in your life, brethren, how has God prepared you to do the work God has called us to do? What are we doing with the preparations that have brought us to this place in our life?

In this year, 740 BC, God gave Isaiah an extraordinary vision of himself. It was a wake-up call for him. And as he received this wake-up call, he realized he needed to do something. He needed to get fully on board with the great God. Now, this chapter, many people would say, would be an inset chapter because God was dealing with him prior to what we've been reading to this point, chapters 1 through 5. This is kind of like a flashback, as you see in the movies. I also made mention to you when we're going through the background of this book that Isaiah and Paul, their lives are very similar. Both were highly educated men. Both wrote foundational material that would become a part of God's inspired word. Both received a very special calling, a special vision from God. Now, put a marker here in Isaiah chapter 6. Let's go over to Acts chapter 9. We're going to see Paul's calling over here. Acts chapter 9. There are four things here that I want to emphasize that show the way that God was using Isaiah and Paul very similarly in terms of their calling. First, Isaiah's faith, like Paul's, needed to be strengthened. We're going to see that as we work our way through Isaiah chapter 6. But let's take a look here at Acts chapter 9 and the Apostle Paul. Acts chapter 9 verse 3. Paul is on the road to Damascus so that he can get information to, as it says there in verse 2, and ask letters from him the synagogues of Damascus so that if he found any who were the way, whether a man or woman, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. As he journeyed, he came near Damascus and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. Then he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? Why are you persecuting me? So here we see a man being humbled. He's being brought down by God. His faith is going to be tested here. And he needs that. He needs his faith to be strengthened. He needs to know both Paul and Isaiah beyond any shadow of a doubt who's behind their ministry.

Verse 4. So in verse 1 through verse 2 and 3 basically are saying that Paul's faith is going to be strengthened because God is now intervening in his life, just like God intervened in your life. Acts chapter 9 verse 4. Then he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? And he said, who are you, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus who you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads. You drop down to verse 8. Then Saul arose from the ground and when his eyes were opened, he saw no one, but they led him by the hand and brought him to Damascus. And he was three days without sight and he didn't either ate or drank. So here we see Saul, who became Paul, being humbled, much like we're going to see Isaiah being humbled. He needed to be shown what a terrible sinner he was. Isaiah needed to see what a terrible sinner he was. We need to see what terrible sinners we are. The third thing where Isaiah and Paul have in common is they needed a sense of urgency. They needed a sense of urgency for the message they were preaching. In Isaiah's case, as I said, it was 20 years after he started preaching, that the nation of Israel fell. In all the various things that Israel was doing, Judah was doing.

But here in Acts 9, we drop down to verse 15. Here we see the commission of the Apostle Paul. Acts 9, verse 15. But the Lord said, "...For he is a chosen vessel of mine to bear my name before Gentiles." That's one part of his commission. Kings, that's the second part of his commission, and the children of Israel, the third part of his commission. So he wasn't just to the Gentiles, he was to the Gentiles, the kings, and the children of Israel. So he had a very special commission. And the fourth thing I want to point out that connects Isaiah and Paul is they needed to appreciate that the ministry they were going to embark upon was very, very challenging. Very, very difficult. Acts 9, verse 17. And Anas went his way and entered the house and laying his hands on him. He said, Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you might receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit. Immediately they fell from him, eyes suddenly like scales, and he received his sight at once, and he rose and was baptized. So when he received food, he was strengthened, and Saul spent some days with his disciples at Damascus. And I'll drop him going back to verse 16. For I will show him how many things he must suffer for my name's sake. Yes, God removed the scales. God picked him up, stood him up. But then God also said, You're going to go through a lot of suffering. A lot of suffering. So now we go back to Isaiah chapter 6.

Verse 2. Above it, above the throne of God, stood Sarah Phim. Now this is the only place in the Scriptures where these beings are made mention. Above it stood the seraphim. Each one had six wings. With two he covered his face. With two he covered his feet. And with two he flew.

Now there's a subtext here. God is working with Isaiah's mind. In verse 1, we see a comparison between an earthly king, Uzziah, and the king of the universe. So God is getting Isaiah's mind prepped. In verse 2, we see the seraphim.

Now the subtext here is what the seraphim stood for.

These beings are flying above the throne. And the word seraphim means burning ones. Burning ones. They were shiny. They were bright. Spiritually, all of God's angels are angels of light. But these had a special glow about them, a special burning quality about them. They were in God's presence, and so they were considered holy beings. And so, as many commentators would point out, the fact that they were named seraphim means burning. Suggest a purity among them. Suggest a zeal among them. Suggest a consuming of God's way of life among them. And that is part of the subtext of what God wants Isaiah to be thinking about. Just as he is about to serve God, God says, I want you to be like the seraphim. Again, we don't know for sure why the six wings and why two cover to face, two cover to feet, two flew. But again, many commentators would say that they conjecture, and I'll just leave it at that, the two that covered to face were showing humility. The two that covered to feet were showing being aware of the way of God, and the two with which they flew, showing that they were going to do the will of God on a regular basis at all times. So here's a subtext that's now going in Isaiah's mind. Verse 3, and one came to another and said, Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of His glory. So this was the primary ministry for Isaiah. He was to bring the people of Israel, for a short time, the people of Judah, for a much longer time, an idea as to who the Holy God was and is.

Three can represent the number of completeness, and these angels had volleys one to another. One would say, Holy, Holy, Holy. The other would say, Holy, Holy, Holy, and so forth. Verse 4. We've looked all about the altar in these first three verses. Now we're going to look at the person who's sitting there on the throne. And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke. You know, you can go back to Exodus chapter 19, which I'm not going to do. And when you go back to Exodus 19, you can see when God was talking to the nation of Israel, how his voice thundered, how people were so afraid of the voice of God and God's power, they said, Moses, we are afraid of this being. Would you please go and talk to him, and then talk with us, and be our intermediatory, our intercessor? Because we're too afraid of that God. And it says here, the house was filled with smoke. When Israel left Egypt, there was a pillar of fire, and there was a pillar of a cloud of smoke that protected them, that led the way. So this show, and again in Exodus chapter 19, when God was giving his commandments, you've got this smoke that is there representing the great God.

So what is our spiritual takeaway to this point in the chapter?

Let's go over to Romans chapter 3.

Romans chapter 3, in verse 3, Romans 3, 3, For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. As Isaiah was standing in vision before that throne, he saw the magnificence of the great God. He saw the magnificence, obviously to a much lesser degree, of the seraphim, the burning ones, how they lived their lives. He's thinking in his own mind, how am I living my life? As God is now calling him, he's beginning to see his weaknesses spiritually.

In your notes, you can write down Acts chapter 10 in verse 34. I want to quote this in several versions. Acts 10, 34. In God's word, it reads this way, then Peter said, Now I understand that God doesn't play favorites.

The King James says, Then Peter opened his mouth and said of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons. And in Weymouth translation, then Peter began to speak, I see clearly, he said, that God makes no distinctions between one man and another. So what was true for Isaiah, what was true for Paul, is true for us, in terms of the way God is working with us and God calling us. Our takeaway here is the same powerful, majestic being that was working with Isaiah and Paul is working with us. And as we examine the God we serve, we too should understand how sinful people we are and how we need to be people who are repenting. Let's go back to Isaiah chapter 6.

The next section, verses 5 through 7, talks about Isaiah's conviction from God. Isaiah's conviction from God. Let me just read this and then we'll go through it. So I said, Isaiah says, Woe is me, for I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips. For my eyes have seen the king, the Lord of hosts. Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal, which he had taken with the tongs from the altar.

And he touched my mouth with it and said, Behold, this has touched your lips. Your iniquity is taken away, and your sin is purged. So this is a vision of God's majesty, his holiness, and it helps Isaiah realize he is a sinner. He is a sinner. Notice verse 5. Woe is me, for I am undone. Because I'm a sinner, there's a certain faith that awaits unrepentant sinners. Isaiah's not going to stay in that state. He doesn't want to stay in that state. He needed you and I. Woe is me, for I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips.

Why that phraseology? In your notes, you might want to jot down Matthew chapter 12 and verse 34. Matthew 12, 34. Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth, or the lips speak. So the lips represent what's in the inward part of a man or a woman. Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth, or the lips speak. And he says he's an unclean person. He says the people spiritually are unclean.

And notice end of verse 5. For my eyes have seen the king, the Lord of hosts. Going back to verse 1. He sees what his goal is. We need to always realize what our goal is. Our goal is to make sure that we are following God and following Him completely. Verse 6. Then one of the seraphim, one of these burning ones, one of these bright ones, one of these shining ones, ones that did the work of God, ones that always were talking about the holiness of God and themselves, or making sure that they were beings that were fit to serve the great God at His throne.

One of the seraphim flew to me, having his hand a live coal, which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. So, realizing Isaiah, realizing his impurity, God wanting to know what his heart was, knowing that he was in a repentant frame of mind here, that he didn't want to stay in this state of unclean lips, in a nation of unclean lips, unclean heart, that the seraph took one of these coals from the altar.

Now, it doesn't specify which altar the coal came from. It could have been from the altar of burnt offering. I've discussed that with you in the past. The burnt offering showed a total dedication to God and dedication to God's way of life. And this angel touched the lips of Isaiah with something that represented total obedience, total following of God. If it wasn't that altar, it could have been the altar of incense, where the incense was burned each morning and evening.

In other words, it was a perpetual offering. In either case, whether we're talking about a burnt offering or a perpetual offering, these both were things that God wanted Isaiah to be thinking about, and he was thinking about these. I need to give my life as a burnt offering, a total complete sacrifice, and I need to do it perpetually. And as we see in verse 7, he touched my mouth and said, Behold, this has touched your lips, your iniquity is taken away, and your sin is purged.

So Isaiah was symbolically cleansed, illustrating that God forgave his sins. He was a man of God. We can assume here, from the way this is written, that he had a repentant frame of mind. He wanted to turn from where he was and what he had been doing.

Typically, you and I would have looked at his life at this point and said, He's a pretty nice guy. But he realized, nice guys, that's not the point. It's not just a matter of being a nice guy, it's a matter of being a godly guy. And so he was cleansed. He gave him personal atonement. He was reconciled with the great God.

Our takeaway in this section of Scripture. Like Isaiah, we too, through repentance and prayer, can come boldly before the throne of grace.

Like Isaiah, we too can, through repentance and prayer, and here we see him talking to God, that's prayer, come boldly before the throne of grace.

That brings us to the last section of the chapter. Remember verses 1 through 4. Isaiah is being called by God. Isaiah verses 5 through 7. He's convicted. His sins are forgiven. And now, the last section, verses 8 through 13, Isaiah is commissioned to do a job. And brethren, that's true for us as well. We don't receive salvation just for our own personal interests.

You know, over the years, I've known people who simply want to come to church, they want to get baptized, and as soon as they get baptized, there's not been many. There have been a few. They get baptized, and you never see them again.

You know, they say all the right things about, oh, I want to come, and I want to worship God, and blah, blah, blah. And then they get baptized, and boom, where are they? Well, I can listen to the broadcast on the TV, or I can listen on radio, or on my computer, I can read all the literature. I don't need to come to church. Well, we are commanded to come to church. We're commanded to come to church. We're commanded to fellowship. And for us to just simply think by doing something for ourselves is all that God requires. That's basically being selfish. God wants us to do a work. And again, Herbert Armstrong talked about that time and again. So let's go back to starting here in verse 8, talking about Isaiah's commission. And I'm going to read this verse by verse. Also, I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Who shall I send? Who will go for us? Then I said, Here I am, send me. So here we see Isaiah taking a page out of Abraham's book. As soon as Isaiah had been cleansed from his sins, he immediately heard the booming voice of God calling for a volunteer. He said, I want to do the work of God. I want to do it. I want to minister to God's people. He wasn't hesitating. He said, Here I am, send me. Now, that immediate response shows a number of things to us. Things that you and I should be meditating on and asking where we are with all of that. When we are reading the Scriptures and we see God saying something to us, maybe not really quite understood before or saw before in us, things that need to change, do we have that same spirit Isaiah had? Here I am, I'll do the job. In other words, Isaiah was showing a spirit of readiness. He had a desire and a willingness to serve God. Over the years, I've seen too many people who come in strong in the faith. They get baptized. They're around for a few years. They do a lot of good works. Then after about five years or so, they disappear. Where are they? It's like a shooting star. They just kind of flame out. So Isaiah here is showing a spirit of readiness. He's also showing a spirit of resolve. A spirit of resolve. He's determined to go and do what needs to be done, no matter what the cost, no matter how high the price. He's resolved in his mind. He also here in verse 8 shows a spirit of trust, realizing that his success is up to God. His success is defined by God. That's going to be something we're going to read here in just a couple of moments. I think I want to spend just a couple of moments on verse 9 and 10.

God said, Go and tell those people, keep on hearing, but don't understand. Keep on seeing, but don't perceive. Make the heart of those people dull, and their eyes heavy. Shut their eyes, lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and return and be healed. What? So God gives Isaiah this message, and God says, You know, I'm sending you out. You're going to have all sorts of hard times, but people aren't going to listen to you. People aren't going to heed what you say. They're not going to come to church. They're not going to come to church. You know, brethren, I think sometimes we have been a little frustrated because we've been doing a work for generations now. In our midst here, we've got people who've been in the church for, and their families been in the church for generations, and we're still just Gideon's army. Does that mean we're not successful? Is our success pinned on the fact how many people come to church here in Beloit or Chicago? Not according to this. We've got a work to do. We are told to witness. We're not told to fill the church. That's God's responsibility. If God wants to fill the church, the church will get filled. Our responsibility is to get the witness out, get the warning out, get the message out. Now, we want to do that the best way possible. We don't want to walk up to people, so to speak, and slap them in the face and say, well, you know, you've got to repent, you dirty sinner. You know, we want to be, make the truth appetizing.

Graceful words, season was sold. And again, Herbert Armstrong and Ted Armstrong were very good at that. I mean, I remember back in the day when God called me, those of you who came in as first-gen people, first generation, you remember always when God called you. Remember listening to that radio coming out of CHYR, Leamington, Ontario, Canada. And God said, I was asking all these questions, and said, yeah, what is the answer to that? Yeah, what is the answer? This guy's got a lot of questions, but he doesn't give me any answers. So I had to start writing, getting literature. See, he wasn't just saying, you know, America's going down, you're all dirty rotten sinners. Goodbye, America. You know? No, he made it interesting. He made it, you know, captivating. You know, I got that, one of the first booklets I got was United States and Britain in Prophecy. I thought, man, I can't put this thing down. I was reading over and over, and that's the booklet I read that taught me about the Sabbath. So we want to do a work. We want to be gracious people. We want to give reasoned responses. We want to be nice and kind and all those wonderful things. But despite all of that, our goal is not to fill the church unless God wants the church to be filled. Our goal is simply to do what God tells us to do, just like Isaiah. Just like Isaiah. Success is not determined by the number of people we have sitting in a church. Pure and simple. Verse 11. Then I said, Lord, how long? He said, until the cities are laid waste and without inhabitant. The houses are without a man. The land is utterly desolate. How long am I to preach? Some people would say, well, we're done preaching with the death of Herbert Armstrong. Where does the Bible say that? Here, Isaiah was to say, you preach until the captivity comes. The same thing is true in our day. The same thing is true in our day. How long do we preach until there is no more work to do the preaching? And then the two witnesses come, and then they do the preaching.

But verse 11 and 12 here are more, there's a prophecy, you know, prophecy is dual. This prophecy was true for Isaiah's day. It's more true for our day. How long, O Lord, shall we do this work? Until the cities are laid waste and without inhabitant. Now, that wasn't true back in the day Isaiah wrote this. The houses are without a man. The land is utterly desolate. That wasn't true. It was true maybe in a few cities back in those days. It is going to be more true, more the case in our day to day. The Lord has removed men far away and forsaken places are many in the midst of the land. So back in the day of Isaiah, there were a few forsaken places, not many forsaken places. So we've thought prophetically that this utter devastation and national captivity are more fulfilled in our day than in Isaiah's day. Verse 13, But yet a tenth will be in it, and will return and be for consuming, as a terebinth tree and as an oak, whose stump remains when it is cut down. So the holy sheath shall be its stump. So here is a not perhaps the best phraseology for this translation. The Living Bible's paraphrase is yet a better translation here. The Living Bible says yet a tenth, a remnant, will survive following the captivity of the previous verse. And though Israel is invaded again and again and destroyed, yet Israel will be like a tree cut down whose stump still lives to grow again. So after this horrible captivity, we know comes the millennium. We know comes the kingdom of God. Now, I'm done with Isaiah, but I'm not done with the sermon. Let's go over to Ezekiel 5.

Ezekiel 5, starting in verse 1, because this bears very much upon the prophecy that Isaiah was talking about. And you, Son of Man, take a sharp sword, take it as a barber's razor, and pass it over your head and your beard, then take scales to weigh and divide the hair. So this shaving that we're seeing here is a sign of humiliation. It's a sign of disgrace. It's a sign of what's going to be happening to our nation. Verse 2, you shall burn with fire one third in the midst of the city when the days of the siege are finished. So notice there's a siege taking place. When a siege takes place, you've got people going hungry. You've got people dying. You've got disease as a result of so many deaths. And, you know, what do we do with all the bodies?

One third, burn one third in the midst of the city when the days of the siege are finished. Then you'll take one third and strike it around with the sword. So here you see more warfare. And one third you shall scatter in the wind, and I'll draw a sword after them. Now, there's a lot happening here in verse 2. In verse 2, you see seals number 2, 3, 4, and 5. You see war. You see the Great Tribulation. You see famine. You see pestilence. And you see bodies being burned because of the disease, because of the death. Verse 3, again, something for us today. You shall also take a small number of them and bind them in the edge of your garment. Now, we've always taught that this represents the Church of God. It doesn't represent any particular organization. God's Church is an organism. But God's people, who are being faithful to God, some of them, you know, some will be martyred. We see that in Revelation chapter 6. We see that in Matthew 24 and other places. But some will be spared. Some will be saved. But then, verse 4, then take some of them again and throw them into the midst of the fire and burn them into fire. So here we've got some that escaped all these horrors. And they were faithful people, much like the apostles were faithful people, much like the people of Hebrews chapter 11 were faithful people. Just because you're a faithful member of the Church doesn't mean you're going to go through all of this unscathed. People in Hebrews chapter 11 very much had their horrible trials. Jesus Christ, who we follow, was absolutely perfect, yet He was crucified. So verse 4 talks about some of those who are faithful people even being tried. Now, what God's purpose is for that? That's God's mind. Maybe it's going to help those who are being persecuted that way and martyred that way to be even stronger. Maybe it's going to help those around them and watch that get stronger. But that's God's mind. So, brethren, today we've taken a look at Isaiah. We've taken a look at how God worked with him. We saw how God called him. We saw what He did with that calling, how He was convicted. We saw how He was forgiven. We saw how He was given a work to do. And that work didn't mean something, as I keep on saying, that, you know, He was to fill up a church or something like that. He was to proclaim the Word. And that's what we are to do to proclaim the Word. How much growth God gives, that is up to God. That's not up to us. That's up to Him.