The main prophets are Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel. This does not mean their message was more important than that of minor prophets such as Amos. It only means that their books were bigger. These books were about the deportation of Israel to Babylon. North Israel was deported to Assyria in 722 BC; south Israel, or Judah, was deported in 677 BC. These are books where we see the love of God, longing for Israel to repent.
But they refused and kept believing pagan and false beliefs. They continued to worship other gods and practice things that the Bible does not teach. Bible commentary on Isaiah chapter 1 says that finally, after a long struggle and many calls, God had to deport all Israel to foreign nations. These books are an example for us today, as God deals the same way with all people, since God is a just and loving God.
The church today is no much better than the Jews of old, and it says that most churches today are corrupt and fallen. They are called Babylon — the mother, the papacy, and the Protestant daughters. But God has a remnant (Revelation 12:17). Yet this remnant is lukewarm and also in danger of soon receiving the punishments of God, to help her see that she is not doing her work of preaching the last message for planet earth, the three angels’ message.
IS 1:1 “The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.” This Bible commentary on Isaiah chapter 1 tells us this is about Israel. It gives us the time so we can check it in history, and truly these things happened exactly as the Bible predicted here, sometimes long before the event.
IS 1:2 “Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the Lord hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.” God gives us blessings every day, such as food, raiment, houses to live in, work, friends, love, peace, the Holy Spirit, the companionship of angels, success, and forgiveness, yet we are ungrateful to Him and do not follow God but seek to be with the world.
This is very sad for God, as what father who gives so much love to his children would not be greatly saddened to see that his children, whom he took so much pain to raise correctly, are ungrateful, unloving, and go in the wrong direction, when this loving father did everything he could to have them walk in the right path and give them success?
IS 1:3 “The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.” Even after those amazing blessings that God gives us every day, not counting the gift of eternal life, many in the churches today, as Israel of old, preferred to be friends with the world. They did not spend time in the Bible and prayer.
They did not want to be seen as different. And such a path leads to God not protecting that person, and that person not being influenced by holy angels. Their course will automatically be downward, to perdition.
This ungratefulness is very painful, as one of the most beautiful things we can give back to God is to be grateful to Him. Israel acted as if those things were owed to them and took for granted the blessings of God, as if they deserved any of God’s blessings.
IS 1:4 “Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.” They claimed, like the church today, to belong to God, but by their works they deny Jesus.
It’s a sinful nation, yet bearing the name of Jesus while their works show that they belong to Satan. By their works you shall know them. They were corrupters; it means they changed the Bible around — they followed part of the Bible and followed only what suited them. Instead of progressing in divine truth and getting more like Jesus, they each day resembled Satan more, being proud, selfish, unloving, unkind, dishonest, apathetic, and rude.
IS 1:5 “Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.” Some people, you can repeat to them 100 times what the Bible says about pride, selfishness, and dishonesty, and they will only follow society. If society does it, for them it means it is truth. They can read something in the Bible, but the strong current of evil is much stronger, and truth for them is like the pig — it is whatever the herd is doing. If the herd falls in a ditch, it becomes truth for them.
For some people, even the punishments of God are not enough. I remember a Bible verse that happened after a punishment. Some people said, “We will continue to worship the queen of heaven, as it went better with us when we worshipped idols.” It seems that truth does not seem as important to them as feelings and impressions.
Following God is not a guarantee that all things will be well. Also, a Satanist can be blessed and prosperous. Bible commentary on Isaiah chapter 1 tells us that one day the judgments fall. And after all, Solomon said, “I know that it shall be well with the righteous.” We should not do good by Jesus’ righteousness for selfish reasons, but because we love God.
IS 1:6 “From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.” Some people on earth seem clean, with suit and tie and proper language, yet their hearts, which only God can see, are filled with wounds and sores and worms. The Bible says that God will even judge the intentions of the heart. Bible commentary on Isaiah chapter 1 says that when we have passed the boundary of God’s forbearance, then God’s judgments will fall.
This will be a great surprise for many people who judge by appearances, by this society’s standards, which are against God and influenced by Satan. Being like Jesus is the whole goal of this life, also helping others be happy and know Jesus. Jesus was meek and lowly — are you meek and lowly? If we are not meek and lowly, then we have no hope for eternal life. The whole life could seem sound, but inside be filled with pride, selfishness, hatred of others, unlovingness, rudeness, and dishonesty. Those things we will not carry to heaven.
IS 1:7 “Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.” After many admonitions and warnings, God’s judgments have to fall on individuals and countries who pass the limit of God’s patience. Only God knows what this limit is. God can remove the blessings He intended to give, as He sees that we are not walking in His ways. God can allow enemies and servants of Satan to overcome us when He sees that we go opposite to truth and love.
IS 1:8 “And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city.” God leaves a remnant, as there have always been faithful people who followed God. From the ashes there can arise a pure church, ready to work for God, ready to tell others of the dangers they are in of eternal destruction, ready to preach the three angels’ message, ready to hold to the truth and not compromise with the world.
IS 1:9 “Except the Lord of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah.” Bible commentary on Isaiah chapter 1 tells us that all prophecies concerning old Israel are applicable to the end-time church, the three angels’ message movement, or the Seventh-day Adventist Church, as we have seen in previous articles.
IS 1:10 “Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah.” God goes so far as to call His people Sodom, the doers of evil. It shows that the name does not mean anything to God, yet this is such an important principle in our society, that the name means everything. Anyone can wear doctor’s clothing, but it does not make them a doctor. Yet people today believe it to be so. By their fruits you shall know them. It shows how important the Bible and the teachings of Jesus are, as we can escape from the lies society teaches us every day.
IS 1:11 “To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the Lord: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats.” Here we see legalism, another huge problem for the church today. Evangelical churches and atheists are not immune, as the evangelicals are in Babylon and the atheists worship human reasoning. In Bible commentary on Isaiah chapter 1, we see that the Jews thought that doing works would make them accepted of God and a good person.
This is the same lie taught in many churches today. Satan can do all the works he wants; it will not make him a good person. Works do not save us; works do not make us good. Who we are is what we shall take to heaven. Only God can change who we are. We cannot change ourselves. We cannot make one spot black or white. We have no righteousness in ourselves. Only God has righteousness. What is the great secret? Righteousness by faith.
IS 1:12 “When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts?” They were, like the Christian churches today, changing what God had said to establish their own rules, their own laws, and going so far as to tell God what to do. Today, Bible commentary on Isaiah chapter 1 tells us, people go so far as to believe their reasoning powers can decide what truth is.
This is how far from God our society has gone.
IS 1:13 “Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting.” This verse is not saying we should not keep the Sabbath. It means that the way people kept the Sabbath was an abomination to God.
With hearts filled with pride, selfishness, unlovingness, and unkindness, yet claiming to be like Jesus — oh, what an offense to God! It would be like Satan dressing like Jesus and saying, “I am Jesus,” when the heart is so filled with evil. The fruits we bear, who we are, shows to whom we belong. And there are only two masters: Jesus or Satan.
IS 1:14 “Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them.” Keeping things and doing works for selfish purposes, or believing that this is a good thing for God, when the Bible says that when we have done all, we are to say, “I am an unprofitable servant; I have done that which was my duty to do.” God looking at people doing church, dressing holy, and carrying a Bible, who are filled with pride, selfishness, and hate, is such an offense to Him.
IS 1:15 “And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.” The Bible says that if we have sin in the heart, our prayers are an abomination to God. It does not mean we should not pray, but people should study to know what sin is. Most Christians do not know what sin is; they repeat the same things — sex, abortion, drinking — yet many of them are filled with pride and selfishness, which is at the top of the list of things God hates.
IS 1:16 “Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;” This does not mean we can cleanse ourselves in our own strength. If this were the case, then we would not need God in sanctifying us. By God’s grace and righteousness, we can know first what evil is. We all have a conscience, and we know when we do evil even without reading the Bible.
When we read the Bible, we are even more responsible to know what is right and wrong. Those who try in their own strength to change themselves are attempting an impossibility, as only God can transform the heart. But here it speaks of people who refuse to follow truth, refuse to see their own evil course, refuse to accept what the Bible says, refuse to humble themselves to follow God rather than the crowd.
IS 1:17 “Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.” Here it says that Israel failed to love others; they failed to see other people’s needs and focused only on their own goals. We are not on earth to please ourselves only. God has placed us in society with other people so that we can help each other and lift up those who suffer. Failing to do this shows God that we are not fit for heaven, where the best person there is the one who loves the most.
IS 1:18 “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” There is still time for most people to repent, to come to their senses. God is very merciful and kind. God loves the sinner but hates the sin. If we would depart from dishonesty and pride, then God can take us back and will forgive all our sins. Will you return to God? Will you ask forgiveness now? Will you start spending time with the One who loves you, in prayer and reading the Bible?
IS 1:19 “If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:” The blessings of God are for those who follow Him. A father cannot bless a wicked, disobedient, and ungrateful child. We learn by those loving lessons. God chastises those He loves.
IS 1:20 “But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.” Most people think there are many ways to life. There are only two ways: either God or Satan. There is no middle ground. If we do not follow Jesus, we automatically choose Satan.
IS 1:21 “How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers.” Instead of love and kindness, and humility and truth, today churches are filled with pride and lies and pagan beliefs and are a hold of every unclean evil spirit.
IS 1:22 “Thy silver is become dross, thy wine mixed with water:” Mixing the truth with lies, such as the secret rapture, eternal hell, immortality of the soul, Sunday sacredness, and once-saved-always-saved, is from Satan, and it brings the wrath of God upon a people who do not care what they believe in.
IS 1:23 “Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them.” There is no difference between the world and the church — this is stunning. It’s not about sex outside of marriage, as we have seen previously that this is not a sin in this context, but it is about letting satanic beliefs into the church. Letting satanic behavior become okay, when God says all the proud will be ashes.
IS 1:24 “Therefore saith the Lord, the Lord of hosts, the mighty One of Israel, Ah, I will ease me of mine adversaries, and avenge me of mine enemies.” IS 1:25 “And I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin.” People think that God is too loving to punish. But God cannot destroy the world in a flood and today let wicked people run free all their lives. Because of others, God has to punish wicked people so that the rest can repent also and come to their senses.
IS 1:26 “And I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counsellors as at the beginning: afterward thou shalt be called, The city of righteousness, the faithful city.” “Zion shall be redeemed with judgment, and her converts with righteousness.” After punishments come, often many repent and come to their senses. They realize that they have followed society and the trends of the day, rather than following Jesus.
IS 1:28 “And the destruction of the transgressors and of the sinners shall be together, and they that forsake the Lord shall be consumed.” IS 1:29 “For they shall be ashamed of the oaks which ye have desired, and ye shall be confounded for the gardens that ye have chosen.” Soon the punishments of God will be falling like we have never seen before.
Then we will find out that the evil course they thought inoffensive brought the wrath of God upon them. They will find out God does not care about rank or who He is punishing. As a loving Father, He needs to try to bring His children to the right path. If they refuse, then they will have chosen eternal destruction.
IS 1:30 “For ye shall be as an oak whose leaf fadeth, and as a garden that hath no water.” IS 1:31 “And the strong shall be as tow, and the maker of it as a spark, and they shall both burn together, and none shall quench them.” At the end of the millennium, God will send a fire that will destroy the wicked and proud; it will leave neither root nor branch. Then, sadly, most people on earth will be destroyed.
First the plagues will fall, also God’s judgments on nature, to wake up humanity. Most people think society is okay and we should follow what people are doing. The Bible says that society is under the control of Satan and evil angels, and we should swim contrary to the strong current of evil by God’s righteousness. Repeat after me: Father God, please give us Your righteousness, bless, prosper, and heal us. Help us to know the truth and follow it, in the name of Jesus, amen.
I counsel you to read these two amazing books: The Great Controversy by Ellen G. White and Daniel and the Revelation by Uriah Smith.