Therefore, the prophet would have ministered for at least 60 years in an effort to bring the nation back to God. Assuming that he was a young man at the death of Uzziah in 742 B.C.when his official ministry began, he might have been 70 or 80 at the time of his death (ca. He prophesied in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, and also may have lived past Hezekiah into the reign of Manasseh. The messenger of the message of salvation is the prophet Isaiah, whose name means “salvation of Yahweh,” or “Yah saves.” He was the son of Amoz he may also have been related to the royal family, perhaps King Manasseh, by whom he was believed to have been sawn asunder (see the Apocryphal literature Heb. When the holy God would make the remnant holy, then He would use them to rule over the nations rather than allow the nations again to discipline them. On the basis of such cleansing and purification, God would then establish the golden age, a time of peace and prosperity that the world has never known.
And even though the judgment of the captivity would punish sin and destroy the wicked unbelievers, the removal of iniquity would ultimately be the work of the Servant of the LORD, the promised Messiah. So God would use the pagan nations to chasten Israel for its sins and cleanse it from iniquity.
Before the nation could inherit the promises made to the fathers, it would have to be made holy. There would be a purging of the nation because God is holy. To these and many other questions the book addresses itself. In view of the fast-changing international scene, the people of Israel would be concerned about their lot in life-what would become of the promises of God? How could the chosen people survive, let alone be a theocracy again? And must the remnant of the righteous also suffer with the nation that for all purposes was pagan? The kingdom of Assyria had dominated the Fertile Crescent and posed a major threat to both kingdoms and the kingdom of Babylon was gaining power and would replace Assyria as the dominant threat. The northern kingdom of Israel had been carried into captivity (722 B.C.), and the kingdom of Judah was in the middle of idolatry and evil. There was, according to these writings, no hope in anything that was made by people. The book is a collection of oracles, prophecies, and reports but the common theme is the message of salvation. While little is known of the personal life of the prophet, he is considered to be one of the greatest of them all. The Book of Isaiah is one of the most important books of the Old Testament.