“In that day the branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious; and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and appealing for those of Israel who have escaped” (Isaiah 4:2, NKJV).
All through the Old Testament, the branch that is mentioned as coming forth is none other than Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. According to Isaiah, there will be a church to whom he will appear beautiful, excellent and comely. They will be passionately in love with a man whom they see as glorious.
Right now, there is a remnant church that desires nothing but Christ. He is the center of attraction, and the people focus totally on him. These are the ones Isaiah refers to as being “…escaped of Israel.” Indeed, the last-days church that will be filled with God’s glory is more than just a forgiven church. It is a holy church, one that has been purged by the consuming fire of God’s convicting Word. Holiness and purity characterize its people. Isaiah adds, “He that is left in Zion…shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem” (Isaiah 4:3).
The best evidence here that Isaiah is referring to the last-days church is found in the next verse. “And the Lord will create upon every dwelling place…a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night” (Isaiah 4:5).
Isaiah is predicting that God will create a new pillar and cloud to cover his people. We know that when Isaiah prophesied this, the pillar and cloud in the wilderness had already passed away. Obviously, this was something that had yet to be created.
The cloud has to do with direction and comfort, with preservation from evil and terror, and with guidance. This means God’s last-days remnant people will have clear direction.
God is saying, “I am going to see you through. Even in the worst storm, you will have clear direction from me because I will give you a pillar of fire to lead you as I did Israel in the wilderness!”