He Will Lift Up an Ensign
Isaiah chapter 5 is one of those passages that it is easy to look at and see nothing. Like so much of the prophets it can feel as if our eyes are passing over the words but they are not connecting with anything. It reads like a litany of complaints about the people of Israel and, surprise, surprise, what’s going to happen to them because they are too stiff-necked to repent.
Bible commentaries make a lot of connections between Isaiah 5 and other prophecies but it appears that no one makes a connection to Revelation and the plagues of the Tribulation. The connection would appear to be obvious from the context given us in v. 30: the light is darkened in the heavens thereof.
Summary of Isaiah 5
- Isaiah 5:1-7 – The song of the vinyard
- Isaiah 5:8-23 – The Condemnation in 6 Woes
- 8-10 – Woe to real estate developers
- 11-17 – Woe to entertainers
- 13 – Therefore the people are in captivity
- 14 – Therefore hell is expanding
- 15-16 – Trumpet/Vial 5
- 17 – The Millennial Kingdom
- 18-19 – Woe to those who provoke God
- 20 – Woe to those who misrepresent truth
- 21 – Woe to those who think that they are clever
- 22-23 – Woe to bartenders
- Isaiah 5:24-25 – Trumpet/Vial 7
- Isaiah 5:26-29 – Trumpet/Vial 5
- Isaiah 5:30 – Trumpet/Vial 4
Let’s break it down
Isaiah 5:15-16, 26-29
And the mean man shall be brought down, and the mighty man shall be humbled, and the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled: But the LORD of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and God that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness.
( Isaiah 5:15-16 ) KJV
This verse clearly the 5th and 6th trumpet/vials. There is another section of this chapter which refers to this event. It is a description of an army which is coming. It is easy to suppose that this refers to an imminent situation faced by the inhabitants at that time, but it will be placed into its correct context by the last verse of the chapter.
26 And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth: and, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly:
( Isaiah 5:26-29 ) KJV
27 None shall be weary nor stumble among them; none shall slumber nor sleep; neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed, nor the latchet of their shoes be broken:
28 Whose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent, their horses’ hoofs shall be counted like flint, and their wheels like a whirlwind:
29 Their roaring shall be like a lion, they shall roar like young lions: yea, they shall roar, and lay hold of the prey, and shall carry it away safe, and none shall deliver it.
5th Trumpet/Vial
The Fifth Trumpet/Vial Summary
| Event | Description |
| Seal 6 Rev 6:15-16 | .. hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains .. |
| 5th Trumpet Rev 9:1-11 | .. I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit .. And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit .. And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth .. And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them. And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon. |
| 5th Vial Rev 16:10-11 | .. the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast .. .. and they gnawed their tongues for pain .. |
| Scripture | Prophecy |
| Isaiah 2:10 | Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust .. |
| Isaiah 2:17-22 | .. they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth .. .. go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks .. |
| Isaiah 5:26-29 | .. they shall come with speed swiftly: .. None shall be weary nor stumble among them .. .. their horses’ hoofs shall be counted like flint .. Their roaring shall be like a lion .. |
| Isaiah 24:17, 21-22 | Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth. .. the LORD shall punish the host of the high ones .. .. as prisoners are gathered in the pit .. |
| Joel 2:1-2 | .. let all the inhabitants of the land tremble .. A day of darkness and of gloominess .. .. a great people and a strong .. |
| Joel 2:3-9 | The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses .. Like the noise of chariots .. .. a strong people set in battle array. Before their face the people shall be much pained .. |
Isaiah 5:24-25
24 Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the LORD of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
( Isaiah 5:24-25 ) KJV
25 Therefore is the anger of the LORD kindled against his people, and he hath stretched forth his hand against them, and hath smitten them: and the hills did tremble, and their carcases were torn in the midst of the streets. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
This part is rather vague and could easily be simply a reference to the present circumstances, however, the context is given later at the end of the chapter.
7th Trumpet/Vial
The Seventh Trumpet/Vial Summary
| Event | Description |
| Seal 6 Rev 6:12-17 | .. the stars of heaven fell unto the earth .. .. heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together.. .. every mountain and island were moved out of their places. .. the great day of his wrath is come .. |
| 7th Trumpet Rev 11:15, 19 | .. there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail. |
| 7th Vial Rev 16:17-21 | And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent .. |
| Scripture | Prophecy |
| Christ Returns | |
| Isaiah 42:13-15 | The LORD shall go forth as a mighty man .. I will make waste mountains and hills .. I will make the rivers islands, and I will dry up the pools. |
| Matthew 24:30 | .. the Son of man coming in the clouds .. |
| Mark 13:26 | .. the Son of man coming in the clouds .. |
| Rev 19:11-21 | .. I saw heaven opened .. .. his name is called The Word of God. .. he should smite the nations .. .. KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. |
| Psalms 22:27-28 | All the ends of the world shall .. turn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee. For the kingdom is the LORD’S: and he is the governor among the nations. |
| Great Earthquake | |
| Psalms 99:1-9 | .. let the earth be moved. The LORD is great in Zion; and he is high above all the people. .. worship at his holy hill .. |
| Isaiah 2:1-5 | .. it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. |
| Isaiah 2:17- 22 | .. the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day. .. when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth. |
| Isaiah 11:10-16 | .. the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people .. .. from the islands of the sea. .. from the four corners of the earth. .. the LORD shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea .. .. and make men go over dryshod. .. there shall be an highway for the remnant of his people .. |
| Isaiah 24:18-20 | .. the foundations of the earth do shake. The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly. The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage .. |
| Zech 14:4-5 | .. the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst .. .. and there shall be a very great valley .. .. ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah .. |
| Millennial Kingdom | |
| Psalms 66:4 | All the earth shall worship thee .. |
| Psalms 67:1-7 | O let the nations be glad and sing for joy .. for thou shalt .. govern the nations upon earth. .. all the ends of the earth shall fear him. |
| Psalms 98:1-9 | .. his righteousness hath he openly shewed in the sight of the heathen. .. all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth .. .. for he cometh to judge the earth .. |
| Isaiah 2:10-12 | .. the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day. |
| Isaiah 11:6-9 | They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD |
Isaiah 5:30
30 And in that day they shall roar against them like the roaring of the sea: and if one look unto the land, behold darkness and sorrow, and the light is darkened in the heavens thereof.
( Isaiah 5:30 ) KJV
The last verse of this chapter puts everything into perspective. What have we been talking about all along? The great and terrible day of the Lord when the sun and moon will be darkened.
4th Trumpet/Vial
4th Trumpet/Vial Summary
| Event | Description |
| Seal 6 Rev 6:12, 14 | .. the sun became black, .. the moon became as blood; |
| Trumpet 4 Rev 8:12 | .. the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars, .. so the third part of them was darkened .. |
| Vial 4 Rev 16:8-9 | .. poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire. |
| Scripture | Prophecy |
| Sun and moon become brighter | |
| Isaiah 30:26 | .. light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun .. .. the light of the sun shall be sevenfold .. |
| Sun and moon become darker | |
| Isaiah 5:30 | .. the light is darkened in the heavens thereof. |
| Isaiah 13:10 | .. the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light .. .. the sun shall be darkened .. .. the moon shall not cause her light to shine. |
| Isaiah 24:23 | .. the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed .. |
| Joel 2:2 | A day of darkness and of gloominess .. |
| Joel 2:10 | .. the sun and the moon shall be dark, .. and the stars shall withdraw their shining: |
| Joel 2:30-31 | .. I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, .. blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, .. and the moon into blood |
| Joel 3:15 | .. The sun and the moon shall be darkened, .. and the stars shall withdraw their shining. |
| Matthew 24:29 | .. the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light.. |
| Mark 13:24 | .. the sun shall be darkened and the moon shall not give her light.. |
| Sun and moon will glow dimly | |
| Isaiah 42:16 | .. I will make darkness light before them .. |
| Zech 14:6-7 | .. that the light shall not be clear, nor dark .. .. not day, nor night: .. at evening time it shall be light. |
Matty (Headwind) 