Message Four

The Vision of Christ in Glory

Scripture Reading: Isa. 6:1-8; John 12:38-41

Isa. 6:1-8  In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting on a high and lofty throne, and the train of His robe filled the temple. 2Seraphim hovered over Him, each having six wings: With two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3And one called to the other, saying: Holy, holy, holy, Jehovah of hosts; / The whole earth is filled with His glory. 4And the foundations of the threshold shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 5Then I said,Woe is me, for I am finished! / For I am a man of unclean lips, / And in the midst of a people of unclean lips I dwell; / Yet my eyes have seen the King, Jehovah of hosts. 6Then one of the seraphim flew to me with an ember in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. 7And he touched my mouth with it and said,Now that this has touched your lips, / Your iniquity is taken away, and your sin is purged. 8Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send? Who will go for Us? And I said, Here am I; send me.

John 12:38-41  That the word of the prophet Isaiah which he said might be fulfilled, ¡°Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?¡± 39For this reason they could not believe, because again Isaiah said, 40¡°He has blinded their eyes and He hardened their heart, that they might not see with their eyes and understand with their heart and turn, and I will heal them.¡± 41These things said Isaiah because he saw His glory and spoke concerning Him.

                  I.    ¡°In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting on a high and lofty throne, and the train of His robe filled the temple¡±¡ªIsa. 6:1:

Isa. 6:1  In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting on a high and lofty throne, and the train of His robe filled the temple.

                           A.    The One who was seen by Isaiah was Christ as the Lord, the King, Jehovah of hosts¡ªv. 5b:

Isa. 6:5b  Yet my eyes have seen the King, Jehovah of hosts.

                                      1.    John, in his account of Christ¡¯s living and working on earth, said that Isaiah ¡°saw His glory and spoke concerning Him¡±¡ªJohn 12:41.

John 12:41  These things said Isaiah because he saw His glory and spoke concerning Him.

                                      2.    In order to see the vision of the glorious enthroned Christ, we need to take heed to Isaiah¡¯s warning word (Isa. 6:9-10) by exercising our spirit to pray that the Lord would open our inner eyes, soften our heart, and keep our heart turned to Him so that we may receive His inner healing of our blindness and sickness (John 12:38-40; Matt. 13:14-17; Acts 28:25-27; Rev. 3:18; 4:2; 2 Cor. 3:16-18).

Isa. 6:9-10  And He said to me, Go and say to this people, Hear indeed, but do not perceive; / And see indeed, but do not understand. 10Make the heart of this people numb; / Dull their ears, / And seal their eyes; / Lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears, / And their heart perceive and return, and they are healed.

John 12:38-40  That the word of the prophet Isaiah which he said might be fulfilled, ¡°Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?¡± 39For this reason they could not believe, because again Isaiah said, 40¡°He has blinded their eyes and He hardened their heart, that they might not see with their eyes and understand with their heart and turn, and I will heal them.¡±

Matt. 13:14-17  And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, ¡°In hearing you shall hear and by no means understand, and seeing you shall see and by no means perceive. 15For the heart of this people has become fat, and with their ears they have heard heavily, and their eyes they have closed, lest they perceive with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart, and they turn around, and I will heal them.¡± 16But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. 17For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous men have desired to perceive the things that you see, and have not perceived them, and to hear the things that you hear, and have not heard them.

Acts 28:25-27  And when they disagreed with one another, they departed, Paul saying one word to them, Well has the Holy Spirit spoken through Isaiah the prophet to your fathers, 26Saying, ¡°Go to this people and say, In hearing you shall hear and by no means understand, and seeing you will see and by no means perceive; 27For the heart of this people has become fat, and with their ears they have heard heavily, and their eyes they have closed, lest they perceive with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart, and they turn around, and I will heal them.¡±

Rev. 3:18  I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined by fire that you may be rich, and white garments that you may be clothed and that the shame of your nakedness may not be manifested, and eyesalve to anoint your eyes that you may see.

Rev. 4:2  Immediately I was in spirit; and behold, there was a throne set in heaven, and upon the throne there was One sitting;

2 Cor. 3:16-18  But whenever their heart turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17And the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18But we all with unveiled face, beholding and reflecting like a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord Spirit.

                           B.    The vision of Christ in glory was seen by Isaiah in his depression¡ªIsa. 6:1, 5; cf. 22:1; 2 Chron. 26:3-5, 16-22:

Isa. 6:1  In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting on a high and lofty throne, and the train of His robe filled the temple.

Isa. 6:5  Then I said,Woe is me, for I am finished! / For I am a man of unclean lips, / And in the midst of a people of unclean lips I dwell; / Yet my eyes have seen the King, Jehovah of hosts.

Isa. 22:1  The burden concerning the valley of vision: What then troubles you / That all have gone up to the housetops?

2 Chron. 26:3-5  Uzziah was sixteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem; and his mother¡¯s name was Jechiliah, from Jerusalem. 4And he did what was right in the sight of Jehovah, according to all that Amaziah his father had done. 5And he set himself to seek after God during the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the vision of God; and as long as he sought after Jehovah, God caused him to prosper.

2 Chron. 26:16-22  But when he had become strong, his heart became uplifted, to his own destruction. And he trespassed against Jehovah his God and went into the temple of Jehovah to burn incense upon the incense altar. 17And Azariah the priest went in after him, and with Azariah were eighty priests of Jehovah who were valiant men. 18And they withstood Uzziah the king and said to him, It does not belong to you, Uzziah, to burn incense to Jehovah, but to the priests, the sons of Aaron, who have been consecrated to burn incense. Go out of the sanctuary, for you have trespassed and there will be no honor for you from Jehovah God. 19Then Uzziah became angry, and in his hand was a censer for burning incense. And when he became angry with the priests, leprosy broke out on his forehead before the priests in the house of Jehovah beside the incense altar. 20And Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked at him, and there he was, leprous on his forehead; and they rushed him out of there, and he himself also hurried out to go out, for Jehovah had stricken him. 21So Uzziah the king was a leper until the day of his death; and he dwelt in a separate house as a leper, for he was cut off from the house of Jehovah. And Jotham his son was over the king¡¯s house, judging the people of the land. 22And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, wrote down the rest of the acts of Uzziah, the first and the last.

                                      1.    In spite of the rebellion, iniquities, and corruptions of God¡¯s chosen and beloved people, Christ is still sitting on a high and lofty throne in glory¡ªIsa. 6:1-4; Lam. 5:19; Rev. 22:1.

Isa. 6:1-4  In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting on a high and lofty throne, and the train of His robe filled the temple. 2Seraphim hovered over Him, each having six wings: With two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3And one called to the other, saying: Holy, holy, holy, Jehovah of hosts; / The whole earth is filled with His glory. 4And the foundations of the threshold shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke.

Lam. 5:19  You, O Jehovah, abide forever; / Your throne is from generation to generation.

Rev. 22:1  And he showed me a river of water of life, bright as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb in the middle of its street.

                                      2.    Christ is the unique good thing in the universe; we must look at Him with undivided attention by turning away from every other object; we should not look at anything or anyone other than Christ¡ªHeb. 12:1-2a.

Heb. 12:1-2a  Therefore let us also, having so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, put away every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us and run with endurance the race which is set before us, 2aLooking away unto Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith,

                                      3.    On this earth everything changes and fluctuates, but Christ remains the same today and forever; hence, we should not look down at the situation on earth but should look up to Christ on the throne¡ªv. 2; 13:8.

Heb. 12:2  Looking away unto Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down on the right hand of the throne of God.

Heb. 13:8  Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, yes, even forever.

                                      4.    Christ¡¯s long robe signifies His splendor in His virtues, expressed mainly in and through His humanity; that Christ was wearing a long robe indicates that He appeared to Isaiah in the image of a man; Christ is the enthroned God-man with the divine glory expressed in His human virtues¡ªIsa. 6:1; cf. Ezek. 1:26, 22; Acts 2:36; Heb. 2:9a.

Isa. 6:1  In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting on a high and lofty throne, and the train of His robe filled the temple.

Ezek. 1:26  And above the expanse that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, like the appearance of a sapphire stone; and upon the likeness of the throne was One in appearance like a man, above it.

Ezek. 1:22  And over the heads of the living creature there was the likeness of an expanse, like the sight of awesome crystal, stretched forth over their heads above.

Acts 2:36  Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made Him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you have crucified.

Heb. 2:9a  But we see Jesus, who was made a little inferior to the angels because of the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor,

                II.     ¡°Seraphim hovered over Him, each having six wings: With two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to the other, saying: Holy, holy, holy, Jehovah of hosts; / The whole earth is filled with His glory¡±¡ªIsa. 6:2-3:

Isa. 6:2-3  Seraphim hovered over Him, each having six wings: With two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3And one called to the other, saying: Holy, holy, holy, Jehovah of hosts; / The whole earth is filled with His glory.

                           A.    Isaiah saw the long robe signifying Christ¡¯s splendor in His virtues, and the seraphim were praising Christ in His holiness and declaring that the whole earth is filled with Christ¡¯s glory.

                           B.    Isaiah saw Christ in His divine glory with His human virtues and His holiness based on His righteousness:

                                      1.    The seraphim signify or represent the holiness of Christ, the embodiment of the Triune God; they were standing there for Christ¡¯s holiness.

                                      2.    Christ¡¯s holiness is based on His righteousness; because Christ was always righteous, He was sanctified, separated, from the common people¡ª5:16.

Isa. 5:16  But Jehovah of hosts is exalted in judgment, / And the holy God shows Himself holy in righteousness.

              III.     ¡°And the foundations of the threshold shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. Then I said, Woe is me, for I am finished! / For I am a man of unclean lips, / And in the midst of a people of unclean lips I dwell; / Yet my eyes have seen the King, Jehovah of hosts¡±¡ª6:4-5:

Isa. 6:4-5  And the foundations of the threshold shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 5Then I said, Woe is me, for I am finished! / For I am a man of unclean lips, / And in the midst of a people of unclean lips I dwell; / Yet my eyes have seen the King, Jehovah of hosts.

                           A.    The shaking of the foundations of the threshold signifies solemnity, and the house being filled with smoke signifies glory burning in awe¡ªcf. 4:5.

Isa. 4:5  Jehovah will create over the entire region of Mount Zion and over all her convocations a cloud of smoke by day, and the brightness of a fiery flame by night; for the glory will be a canopy over all.

                           B.    As a result of seeing this vision, Isaiah was terminated, finished, realizing that he was a man of unclean lips, dwelling in the midst of a people of unclean lips¡ª6:5:

Isa. 6:5  Then I said, Woe is me, for I am finished! / For I am a man of unclean lips, / And in the midst of a people of unclean lips I dwell; / Yet my eyes have seen the King, Jehovah of hosts.

                                      1.    Revelation comprises seeing as well as killing; the greatest thing in the Christian experience is the killing that comes from light.

                                      2.    The more we see God, the more we see what we are and the more we deny ourselves and hate ourselves¡ªJob 42:5-6; Psa. 36:9; Eph. 5:13; Luke 5:8.

Job 42:5-6  I had heard of You by the hearing of the ear, / But now my eye has seen You; 6Therefore I abhor myself, and I repent / In dust and ashes.

Psa. 36:9  For with You is the fountain of life; / In Your light we see light.

Eph. 5:13  But all things which are reproved are made manifest by the light; for everything that makes manifest is light.

Luke 5:8  And when Simon Peter saw this, he fell down at Jesus¡¯ knees, saying, Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, Lord.

                                      3.    Everyone who truly sees a vision of the Lord in His glory is enlightened in his conscience concerning his uncleanness¡ªcf. v. 8.

Luke 5:8  And when Simon Peter saw this, he fell down at Jesus¡¯ knees, saying, Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, Lord.

                                      4.    A great percentage of the words that we speak are evil because most of the words are words of criticism; if we eliminate gossip, murmuring, and reasoning, we may find that we have very little to talk about¡ªPhil. 2:12-14; cf. Luke 6:45; Eph. 4:29-30; 1 Pet. 1:15-16.

Phil. 2:12-14  So then, my beloved, even as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only but now much rather in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; 13For it is God who operates in you both the willing and the working for His good pleasure. 14Do all things without murmurings and reasonings

Luke 6:45  The good man, out of the good treasure of his heart, brings forth that which is good, and the evil man, out of the evil treasure of his heart, brings forth that which is evil; for out of the abundance of his heart his mouth speaks.

Eph. 4:29-30  Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but only that which is good for building up, according to the need, that it may give grace to those who hear. 30And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed unto the day of redemption.

1 Pet. 1:15-16  But according to the Holy One who called you, you yourselves also be holy in all your manner of life; 16Because it is written, ¡°You shall be holy because I am holy.¡±

                           C.    How much we realize concerning ourselves depends upon how much we see the Lord; for this reason we need a revival every morning; morning revival is the time for us to see the Lord¡ªMatt. 5:8; Psa. 27:4, 8.

Matt. 5:8  Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Psa. 27:4  One thing I have asked from Jehovah; / That do I seek: / To dwell in the house of Jehovah / All the days of my life, / To behold the beauty of Jehovah, / And to inquire in His temple.

Psa. 27:8  When You say, Seek My face, / To You my heart says, Your face, O Jehovah, will I seek.

                           D.    The more we see the Lord and are measured by the Lord, the more we are cleansed, supplied, and transformed¡ªEzek. 40:3; 47:3-5.

Ezek. 40:3  And He brought me there, and there was a man, whose appearance was like the appearance of bronze, with a line of flax and a measuring reed in His hand, standing in the gate.

Ezek. 47:3-5  When the man went out to the east with the line in His hand, He measured a thousand cubits; and He led me through the water, water that was to the ankles. 4Then He measured a thousand cubits and led me through the water, water that was to the knees. Then He measured a thousand cubits and led me through the water, water that was to the loins. 5Then He measured a thousand cubits, and it was a river that I could not pass through; for the water had risen, enough water to swim in, a river that could not be crossed.

                           E.    Seeing God transforms us because in seeing God, we gain God and receive His element into us¡ª2 Cor. 3:18.

2 Cor. 3:18  But we all with unveiled face, beholding and reflecting like a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord Spirit.

              IV.     Then one of the seraphim flew to me with an ember in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. And he touched my mouth with it and said, Now that this has touched your lips, / Your iniquity is taken away, and your sin is purged¡±¡ªIsa. 6:6-7:

Isa. 6:6-7  Then one of the seraphim flew to me with an ember in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. 7And he touched my mouth with it and said, Now that this has touched your lips, / Your iniquity is taken away, and your sin is purged.

                           A.    After Isaiah realized that he was unclean, he was purged by one of the seraphim, signifying the holiness of God¡ªv. 6a.

Isa. 6:6a  Then one of the seraphim flew to me with an ember in his hand

                           B.    Isaiah was purged with an ember from the altar; the application of this ember by the seraphim signifies the effectiveness of Christ¡¯s redemption accomplished on the cross and applied by ¡°the Spirit, the Holy¡± in His judging, burning, and sanctifying power¡ªvv. 6b-7a; 4:4; cf. Luke 12:49; Rev. 4:5.

Isa. 6:6b-7a  with an ember in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. 7aAnd he touched my mouth with it

Isa. 4:4  When the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and has cleansed away the bloodstains of Jerusalem from her midst, by the judging Spirit and the burning Spirit.

Luke 12:49  I have come to cast fire on the earth, and how I wish that it were already kindled!

Rev. 4:5  And out of the throne come forth lightnings and voices and thunders. And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God;

                           C.    This purging by the seraphim with an ember from the altar took away Isaiah¡¯s iniquity and purged his sin¡ªIsa. 6:7b.

Isa. 6:7b  Now that this has touched your lips, / Your iniquity is taken away, and your sin is purged.

                V.     ¡°Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send? Who will go for Us? And I said, Here am I; send me¡±¡ªv. 8; cf. John 17:21; 20:21-22:

Isa. 6:8  Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send? Who will go for Us? And I said, Here am I; send me.

John 17:21  That they all may be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us; that the world may believe that You have sent Me.

John 20:21-22  Then Jesus said to them again, Peace be to you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you. 22And when He had said this, He breathed into them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit.

                           A.    Seeing God issues in being purged and cleansed by God, and being cleansed by God issues in being sent by God¡ªIsa. 6:6-8; 1 John 1:7-9.

Isa. 6:6-8  Then one of the seraphim flew to me with an ember in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. 7And he touched my mouth with it and said, Now that this has touched your lips, / Your iniquity is taken away, and your sin is purged. 8Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send? Who will go for Us? And I said, Here am I; send me.

1 John 1:7-9  But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from every sin. 8If we say that we do not have sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

                           B.    The words I and Us indicate that the One speaking is triune and that this One is not merely Christ but Christ as the embodiment of the Triune God¡ªIsa. 6:8a; Col. 2:9.

Isa. 6:8a  Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send? Who will go for Us?

Col. 2:9  For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily,

                           C.    The Triune God sends us to bring His chosen people into a state of living Christ so that they might express Him in His glory, be saturated with His holiness, and live in His righteousness¡ªIsa. 6:8b; Acts 13:47; Isa. 49:6; Phil. 1:21a.

Isa. 6:8b  And I said, Here am I; send me.

Acts 13:47  For so the Lord has commanded us, ¡°I have set you as a light of the Gentiles, that you would be for salvation unto the uttermost part of the earth.¡±

Isa. 49:6  He says, It is too small a thing that You would be My Servant / To raise up the tribes of Jacob / And bring back the preserved of Israel; / I will also set You as a light of the nations / That You may be My salvation unto the ends of the earth.

Phil. 1:21a  For to me, to live is Christ