Book of Isaiah
Chapter 8-3 The Ministry And Personal Life of Isaiah
Isaiah's ministry began in the reign of Uzziah (Is. 1:1); Uzziah died with Judah prosperous and stable. However, the prophecies of Isaiah 1-5 speak of a time when Judah was breaking up and under threat of imminent invasion; they must therefore have been given at some time after Uzziah's reign. Yet 6:1 speaks of Isaiah having a vision in the year Uzziah died. As is common with the major prophets, Isaiah isn't a chronological prophecy; it's a compilation of various prophetic events given at various times and that compilation isn't necessarily in chronological order. I'd therefore suggest that chapter 6 is the initial commissioning of Isaiah. He realized his call to be a prophet, but he needed to be convicted first of his own sin and inadequacy, and of the greatness of the Lord. He was then commissioned to go out and preach: "Hear!" (Is. 6:9)- which is exactly how he begins his preaching in Is. 1:2. So I suggest that all his prophecies were preceded by the vision of chapter 6. He saw "the Lord high and lifted up", enthroned in the temple, with an earthquake, the temple filled with smoke, the doorposts that held up the veil being shaken (with the implication that the veil falls; 6:4). Note how Rev. 15:5-8, building on this passage, has the veil being removed, the Most Holy opened, and the temple filled with smoke. This sends the mind straight to the rending of the temple veil at the crucifixion and the earthquake (Mt. 27:51). The Lord "high and lifted up" (6:1) is a phrase that occurs later in Isaiah (52:13), concerning the crucified Lord, lifted up and exalted "very high" by the cross. John 12:37-41 tells us that Isaiah 6 is a vision of the Lord Jesus in glory; and in this passage John quotes both Isaiah 6 and 53 together, reflecting their connection and application to the same event, namely the Lord's crucifixion. So it is established that Is. 6 is a vision of the crucified Lord Jesus, high and lifted up in glory
Isaiah's ministry began in the reign of Uzziah (Is. 1:1); Uzziah died with Judah prosperous and stable. However, the prophecies of Isaiah 1-5 speak of a time when Judah was breaking up and under threat of imminent invasion; they must therefore have been given at some time after Uzziah's reign. Yet 6:1 speaks of Isaiah having a vision in the year Uzziah died. As is common with the major prophets, Isaiah isn't a chronological prophecy; it's a compilation of various prophetic events given at various times and that compilation isn't necessarily in chronological order. I'd therefore suggest that chapter 6 is the initial commissioning of Isaiah. He realized his call to be a prophet, but he needed to be convicted first of his own sin and inadequacy, and of the greatness of the Lord. He was then commissioned to go out and preach: "Hear!" (Is. 6:9)- which is exactly how he begins his preaching in Is. 1:2. So I suggest that all his prophecies were preceded by the vision of chapter 6. He saw "the Lord high and lifted up", enthroned in the temple, with an earthquake, the temple filled with smoke, the doorposts that held up the veil being shaken (with the implication that the veil falls; 6:4). Note how Rev. 15:5-8, building on this passage, has the veil being removed, the Most Holy opened, and the temple filled with smoke. This sends the mind straight to the rending of the temple veil at the crucifixion and the earthquake (Mt. 27:51). The Lord "high and lifted up" (6:1) is a phrase that occurs later in Isaiah (52:13), concerning the crucified Lord, lifted up and exalted "very high" by the cross. John 12:37-41 tells us that Isaiah 6 is a vision of the Lord Jesus in glory; and in this passage John quotes both Isaiah 6 and 53 together, reflecting their connection and application to the same event, namely the Lord's crucifixion. So it is established that Is. 6 is a vision of the crucified Lord Jesus, high and lifted up in glory