Notice what was happening here in the first four verses of Isaiah 6. The king dies during great political turmoil (the Assyrians are on the warpath). For Isaiah, it could have been a fearful time when he was not sure who was in control.
 And then—what happens? While taken in vision, Isaiah gazed upon the blazing glory of God upon His throne, heard the antiphony of shining seraphim (“burning ones”) calling out the words “holy, holy, holy,” felt the resultant seismic shaking of the floor beneath him, and peered through swirling smoke as it filled the temple. It must have been a stunning experience for the prophet. For sure, Isaiah now knew who was in control, despite outward events.
 Where is the Lord in this vision? (See Isa. 6:1.) Why would the Lord make an appearance to Isaiah here, as opposed to anywhere else? See Exod. 25:8; Exod. 40:34-38.
 Ezekiel, Daniel, and John were in exile when they received their visions in Ezekiel 1; Daniel 7:9, 10; and Revelation 4, 5. Like Isaiah, they needed special comfort and encouragement that God was still in charge, even though their world was falling apart. (Daniel and Ezekiel were captives in a pagan nation that had destroyed their own, and John had been exiled to a lonely island by a hostile political power.) No doubt, these visions helped give them what they needed to stay faithful, even during a crisis situation.
 “As Isaiah beheld this revelation of the glory and majesty of his Lord, he was overwhelmed with a sense of the purity and holiness of God. How sharp the contrast between the matchless perfection of his Creator, and the sinful course of those who, with himself, had long been numbered among the chosen people of Israel and Judah!” — Ellen G. White, Prophets and Kings, p. 307.
 The transcendent holiness of God, emphasized in Isaiah’s vision, is a basic aspect of his message. God is a holy God, and He demands holiness from His people, a holiness He will give to them if only they will repent, turn from their evil ways, and submit to Him in faith and obedience.