What does Isaiah 24:6 mean?

Isaiah explained why the Lord will bring such all-encompassing and devastating judgment on the earth (Isaiah 24:5). The world has been defiled through human sinfulness; the Lord will defile the earth in response to our sin. We have rejected the natural, obvious covenant between the Maker and those He has made (Romans 1:18–32).

Here, Isaiah describes the result of this judgement. It will be an all-consuming scourge. No details are provided, but it might be a disease or environmental catastrophe. Whatever happens, the result is a hostile and sterile planet (Isaiah 24:7). This will be so extreme that extraordinarily little of earth will continue to support human life. Isaiah has described the planet as empty, plundered, and withered (Isaiah 24:3–4).

Without the earth's natural provision and protection, the vastly reduced population of the planet will suffer as a direct result of their own sin. They are guilty because all human beings are guilty (Romans 3:10, 23). Only when we are covered by the blood of Jesus for the forgiveness of our guilt (1 John 1:7) can we be cleansed of that sin. Those who remain in their sin and on the earth will be scorched during this time, fading, and withering until the end of days. Very few will remain.