Key Themes: Purification – Remnant – Judgment – Restoration – Kingdom
Isaiah Chapter 4 is a continuation of the prophecy from Chapters 2 and 3.
Chapter 2 foretells the establishment of God’s kingdom and the exaltation of His law.
Chapter 3 deals with divine judgment upon Judah and Jerusalem, with specific condemnation of corrupt leadership and worldliness.
Chapter 4 presents the outcome: after the purging, a holy remnant remains and God's visible presence is restored to Zion.
Isaiah prophesied during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah—times of both prosperity and apostasy.
The sins of Judah (pride, idolatry, vanity) led to the Assyrian threat and ultimately captivity.
Isaiah 4 points beyond his day to a future cleansing of God’s people.
📚 EGW – PK 725:
“The visions that Isaiah saw were for all time. The rebuke for pride and vanity is for the church in our day.”
📚 VTH – 1TG 8:24:
“Isaiah 4 is a prophetic picture of the purified church, emerging from the judgment described in Isaiah 3.”
📖 “And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach.”
Seven women: Symbolic of churches (seven is the number of completeness – AA 585; Rev. 1:20; Jer. 6:2).
One man: Christ (cf. Isaiah 9:6; Jeremiah 33:15–16).
Eating own bread: Choosing their own doctrines (cf. Matt. 4:4).
Wearing own apparel: Their own righteousness (cf. Rev. 3:17; Isa. 64:6).
"Let us be called by Thy name": A profession of Christianity without surrender to Christ.
📚 EGW – DA 309:
“Many are satisfied with a form of godliness without the power thereof.”
📚 VTH – 1TG 41:17:
“This verse reveals the Laodicean state of the church — desiring salvation without sanctification.”
📖 “In that day shall the branch of the Lord be beautiful and glorious...”
📖 “And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion… shall be called holy…”
“Branch of the Lord”: Refers to Christ and His righteous Kingdom (cf. Jer. 23:5–6; Zech. 3:8).
“Left in Zion”: The purified remnant who survive the judgment.
This separation is similar to Ezekiel 9 — the sealed are spared.
📚 EGW – 5T 211–212:
“Not one of us will ever receive the seal of God while our characters have one spot or stain upon them.”
📚 VTH – 1SR 37:
“The righteous are those left behind in Zion after the destruction — they are called holy because they are purified.”
📖 “When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion... by the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning.”
Washed away filth: Removal of sin, pride, and worldliness (cf. Isaiah 3:16–24).
Spirit of judgment: Divine scrutiny (cf. Mal. 3:1–3).
Spirit of burning: Symbolizes destruction of the unfaithful (cf. Matt. 3:11–12).
📚 EGW – GC 425:
“The investigative judgment must pass upon the living as well as the dead.”
📚 VTH – 1TG 5:5; 2TG 5:7:
“The ‘burning’ refers to the judgment of Ezekiel 9 — a literal event that purifies the church before the Loud Cry.”
📖 “The Lord will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion… a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night...”
Echoes the pillar of cloud and fire in the Exodus — symbolizing divine protection and presence (Exo. 13:21).
Indicates God will visibly dwell among His purified people — pointing to the restored theocracy (Isa. 2:1–4).
📚 EGW – PK 725:
“In the time of the end, God will manifest His glory among His faithful people.”
📚 VTH – 1TG 8:25:
“When Zion is purified, the visible presence of the Lord returns to guide and protect His people as in ancient days.”
📖 “And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain.”
Symbolizes spiritual and physical protection amid worldwide calamities.
The purified church becomes a place of refuge during the great time of trouble.
📚 EGW – GC 634:
“God’s people are not left to perish… Angels shield them from destruction.”
📚 VTH – 2TG 5:8:
“This protection comes after the church is cleansed. Only then will she be a refuge for the nations.”
The purification of the SDA Church (antitypical Zion)
The judgment of the living (Ezek. 9; Mal. 3)
The separation of wheat and tares (Matt. 13)
The visible restoration of God’s glory
The establishment of the Kingdom on earth before the Second Advent (cf. Dan. 2:44; Micah 4:1–4)
📚 EGW – 5T 80:
“The church may appear as about to fall, but it does not fall. It remains while sinners in Zion will be sifted out.”
📚 VTH – 1SR 22:
“Reformation begins with judgment. God cannot entrust the Loud Cry to a defiled church.”
Isaiah 4 reveals God’s final work for His church.
Before the gospel can go with power to the world, God must first cleanse His own house (cf. 1 Pet. 4:17).
The result will be a glorious, holy people filled with the presence of God and protected in the time of trouble.
📖 Isaiah 4:3 – “He that is left in Zion… shall be called holy.”
📚 EGW – COL 414:
“Christ is waiting with longing desire for the manifestation of Himself in His church.”
📚 VTH – 1TG 8:26:
“Isaiah 4 is a picture of what the church must become before the final harvest. It is a call to prepare for the Kingdom.”