Prophecy in Futility

And He said, "Go and tell this people:

'Keep on hearing, but do not understand;

keep on seeing, but do not perceive.'

Make the heart of this people heavy,

and shut their eyes;

lest they see with their eyes,

and hear with their ears,

and understand with their heart,

and return and be healed."

Isaiah 6:9-10, NKJV

How many times have we read the story, or heard it preached, of the call of the Prophet Isaiah. In the year that King Uzziah died, Isaiah was worshiping in the Temple and he had a vision of the Lord enthroned in glory, surrounded by angels whose singing and shouting shook the building to its doorposts. And Isaiah cried out, "I'm undone and no good! I'm not worthy to see the Lord."

An angel took a coal from the altar and touched Isaiah's lips, saying, "Now you're saved and sanctified."

Then the Lord asked, "Who will go and preach for Us?"

And Isaiah volunteered on the spot. "Here am I; send me!"

And most of the time, we stop right there. We talk about how admirable Isaiah was for signing up for the ministry, for responding to the call of God, for being ready, willing and able to go and proclaim the message of the Almighty. But have we read further? So many think the ministry of the prophet is running around predicting everybody's future, telling how God's going to use them and bless them and make them great. And I suppose there are times for that, if the Spirit is truly inspiring. But for the most part, Biblical prophets did 2 things: they called people to repentance, and prophesied doom and destruction if they didn't.

Israel had been in decline for 200 years, God had been calling them through the writing prophets for 100 years. And still the people did not respond. So now God says to Isaiah, "I want you to preach this message of repentance and judgment. They've heard it before, and ignored the warnings, and I've determined their doom. So you just keep preaching it until they tune you out. Preach it until their hearts harden and they grow blind and deaf to your message, because I'm finished with them, and I don't want them to repent."

Where are those prophets today? Is it possible that there are some individuals who have resisted God so long that they have passed the point of no return? Are there some churches which have died and are no longer useful to the Kingdom? Are there nations which have turned away from their righteous calling and pursued sinfulness so long that God is ready to overthrow them? And if so, where are the prophets that are calling for repentance?

Where are those prophets that will declare that kind of truth? Who will hear the call, know the message, and volunteer anyway. "Here am I, Lord, send me!"