ISAIAH, chapters 56 and 57, constitutes a literary unit, a single sermon. In order to see any of the verses in their proper setting, a person should read both chapters at one sitting.

The verses which deal with the subject of the rapture are 57:1,2. "The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart; and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come. He entereth into peace; they rest in their beds, each one that walketh in his uprightness." It is clear from the reading of these verses that the prophet was talking about a time when the righteous people of the world are perishing. This prophecy doubtless is a reference to the dying off and the passing away of the godly from this life. The prophet follows this prediction by telling us that merciful men are taken away. When this event occurs, there will be no one who understands God's gracious plan and purposes in removing the righteous from the earth. Isaiah, however, explains that these righteous ones are gathered and taken away from the evil to come, from some great impending devastating calamity.

In order, then, to see what the prophet had in mind, a person must look at the facts of the context.

The prophet begins his discourse with the following commands: "Keep ye justice, and do righteousness; for my salvation is yet to come, and my righteousness is to be revealed. Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that holdeth it fast; that keepeth the sabbath from profaning it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil" (56:1,2). It is quite evident that the prophet saw the time when God's salvation is at hand and His righteousness is about to be revealed to the world. When this language is studied in the light of such passages as Isaiah 40:3-5, it is clear that he was speaking of the second coming of Christ, when "the glory of Jehovah shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together."

In view of this fact it is quite evident that Isaiah was carried forward in vision by the Spirit of God across the centuries to the end of this age, when the glory of God shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together. Certain promises are held out to the foreigners and to the eunuchs who are faithful and true to God and to their conscientious convictions. To them the promise is made that they shall have a place in the house of God which will be called "a house of prayer for all peoples." The prophet in his vision was standing in the early glow of the dawning of that great era of peace and of righteousness when the glory of God will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea.

The following paragraph, verses 9-12, is a scathing condemnation of the irresponsible leaders of Israel, both political and religious, of the end time. According to Isaiah's prediction they will be seeking their own pleasure and satisfaction and not taking the duties and the responsibilities of their offices seriously. They, of course, come in for a scathing rebuke by the prophet.

In this same paragraph Israel is pictured as a flock of sheep in their own land. Their shepherds and watchmen, officials, not being interested in the people at large, but only concerned with carnal, fleshly pleasures, pay no attention to the welfare of the people in general. Thus the prophet calls to the nations of the world, that are here presented symbolically as beasts, to leap upon the defenseless flock of Israel and to destroy it.

At the time when these things are transpiring, the prophet utters the prediction which is under consideration, and which deals with the snatching away of the people of God from the earth.

Following this prediction is an address by the prophet to certain ones to whom he speaks: "But draw near hither, ye sons of the sorceress, the seed of the adulterer and the harlot" (Isa. 57:3). This language is very peculiar. Certain ones are spoken of as being the offspring, the progeny, of "the sorceress" and of their being "the seed of the adulterer and the harlot." According to this verse there is something or someone who is called the adulterer and another who is called the harlot. This harlot is called the sorceress. When this verse is studied in the light of the unveiling found in the Book of Revelation, chapter 17, concerning "BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH," it becomes clear that Isaiah was speaking of this same religious system of the end time. In Revelation, chapter 17, John the apostle saw the scarlet-colored beast, the symbol of the world political organization of the end time. Riding upon this beast is a woman upon whose forehead is "a name written, Mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of harlots and of the abomination of the earth" (Rev. 17:5). A pure chaste virgin is the symbol of the true Church of Jesus Christ. A wicked harlot, an adulteress, is the symbol of the false religious system of that time. We have every reason to believe that this woman who rides upon the symbolic beast is the great religious octopus that extends its tentacles out to the ends of the earth, embraces all nations, and brings under its control all phases of the religious life of that day and time. She is the mother of the harlots and the abominations of the earth. She will be the mistress of all the various cults, philosophies, and theosophies of that day.

That this conclusion is correct is seen by an examination of the verses that follow, Isaiah 57:4-8, which speak of the rapid rise, the unhindered spread, and the temporary triumph of idolatry. According to several predictions there will be a resurgence of idolatry in the very end of the age.

Finally, according to Isaiah 57:9,10, all idolatry and religious sects and organizations will be suppressed. Then will be substituted in their place the worship and the adoration of the king, who can be none other than the antichrist. As we learn from related passages, this one will oppose all that is called God or that is worshipped as God, will sit in the Temple of God, that will be rebuilt at Jerusalem, and will set himself up before the world as God. His dictatorial usurpation of authority in all realms of life and activity is set forth in verses 9 and 10. "And thou wentest to the king with oil, and didst increase thy perfumes, and didst send thy ambassadors far off, and didst debase thyself even unto Sheol. Thou wast wearied with the length of thy way; yet saidst thou not, It is in vain: thou didst find a quickening of thy strength; therefore thou wast not faint." In the middle of the Tribulation the king assumes dictatorial powers over every phase of life throughout the world. When we examine the Book of Revelation, we find that idolatry will spread all over the world in the beginning of the Tribulation, but in the middle of it the antichrist will become so very egotistical and spiritually blind that he will think that he is God and will demand the service and adoration of all men.

But we know, from other passages which speak of the same times, that there will be a mighty revival that will break out and that, like a prairie fire, will envelop the globe and bring hundreds of millions of people to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Following this prophecy concerning the temporary triumph of idolatry in its different phases is a paragraph addressed to the honest, conscientious, sincere souls in Israel who will be searching for the truth (Isa. 57:11-13).

The next item in this unfolding drama of the end time is a command that the Lord gives to those who are able to carry out His instructions: "Cast ye up, cast ye up, prepare the way, take up the stumbling-block out of the way of my people" (verse 14). When this language is studied in the light of the fuller statement found in Isaiah 62:10-12, it becomes apparent that God wants his people, who now have the message of grace and comfort, to give it to His Chosen People, Israel. By so doing, they who carry out this command will be casting the stones out of the path of Israel so that the remnant can come to the Redeemer and be saved.

Thus the message closes with the following words in Isaiah 57:18-21: "I have seen his ways, and will heal him: I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him and to his mourners. I create the fruit of the lips: Peace, peace, to him that is far off and to him that is near, saith Jehovah; and I will heal him. But the wicked are like the troubled sea; for it cannot rest, and its waters cast up mire and dirt. There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked." To all Israel who turn to the Lord, He will bring healing and comfort--yes, to all who are real mourners because of their sins. But to the wicked there will be no peace. They will be like the troubled sea.

We have gone through Isaiah's entire sermon, noting the time elements of its setting and have found that it deals with the end time, prior to and during the Tribulation. The judgments of that period of wrath will be threatening to fall upon an unrepentant world.

With the scene of the end time before the prophet's mind, he declared, "The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart; and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come. He entereth into peace; they rest in their beds, each one that walketh in his uprightness" (Isaiah 57:1,2). The first statement of this prediction is that the righteous are perishing. The word righteous, though used in the singular number, stands for the entire class of righteous people the world over. Doubtless this sentence refers to the dying of those who have been made righteous by accepting and clothing themselves with the righteousness of God in Christ. When the Son of Man returns, as is foretold in Luke 18, shall He find faith upon the earth? By this rhetorical question Christ meant to imply that there will be very little faith, comparatively speaking, upon the earth when the Lord returns; moreover, the prophet stated that no one will be laying that situation to heart; in other words, the people of the world will not become alarmed when they see that the number of outstanding Christian people is being constantly decreased daily by death. Following this statement, Isaiah declared, "and merciful men are taken away." The word loving kindness in the Old Testament is the term which corresponds to the New Testament word grace. We could just as appropriately render this expression, "men of grace are taken away." It cannot possibly refer to men who are gracious and kind, and who, on account of that characteristic, are taken away. When this passage and its expression are read in the light of the teaching of both the Old and New Testaments, it becomes evident that they refer to men who have accepted God's grace and love. We may be certain that Isaiah was speaking about the people who by faith have accepted the gospel of the grace of God, and salvation through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Isaiah tells us that these men, saved by grace, are taken away. The word rendered taken away means primarily to gather or to remove. The form of the verb appearing in this text is in the passive voice and means either that they are gathered together or that they are removed or taken away. This form of the verb frequently occurs in the Old Testament and is often applied to the death of some one who is said to "have been gathered to his fathers." In our passage Isaiah speaks of these men of grace and of their being taken away from the evil to come.

What is meant by the term evil? This word may refer to moral evil or it may be used in the literal sense of judgments and calamities, wars, pestilences, earthquakes, and the like are called evil--things that plague the human family.

Isaiah sees these men of grace removed from the evil of the Tribulation. The translators of the American Standard Version have added the infinitive to come to the noun evil. From the facts of the context it is quite evident that they were correct in inserting this added phrase.

The prophets constantly spoke of a time of wrath when God will pour out His judgments upon the world. These evils will be of various kinds. God in His wrath must send this punishment upon the world. He did it once by sending the Flood upon the antediluvians. It was an expression of His anger at sin, unrighteousness, and wickedness. In the Prophets, and in the Book of Revelation especially, do we learn about this period of wrath, of judgment, and of evil to come, which will continue for seven long years. By this wrath the wicked ones who refuse stubbornly to accept the atoning work of the Lord Jesus Christ will be liquidated. Israel will be brought to his senses and will repudiate the national sin of rejecting Christ. Countless hundreds of people, when this wrath is upon the world, will see their need of the Savior, will turn to Him, and be gloriously and eternally saved.

When we take all the facts of the passage into consideration, it becomes quite evident that Isaiah saw the rapture of the Church of God which occurs before the day of Jehovah, before the Tribulation begins.