Off the Beat: Prophet Isaiah’s House in Niagara Falls, NY

Photo Credit: Fred Scruton Photography & Videography fredscruton.com

One of the most overused words in the English language is “awesome,” but observing the power of Niagara Falls does generate wonder that elevates to awe. The Falls are awesome. They shall become even more so if Prophet Isaiah Robertson’s prophecy is right and Niagara Falls becomes the site of the Second Coming of Christ.

If you find yourself in, or on your way to or back from, the U.S. side of the Falls, swing by 1308 Ontario Avenue in Niagara Falls, NY. There, a temple stands next to a small house, both so brightly adorned with massed symbols in painted wood cut-outs that, together, they give the appearance of a stationary kaleidoscope. The work is from the hands of Isaiah Henry Robertson and, thus, can be considered his creation. But it isn’t really – not according to him.

“This is not the work of a man,” he has often said. “No man could be capable of this.” He believes he is a conduit for the message of God, and visitors from everywhere are attracted, and welcomed, to come and survey the glorification. As to the prophesied Final Judgement, Prophet Isaiah is the gentlest, calmest purveyor of fire and brimstone imaginable.

The story goes that as a child in his native Jamaica, just before her death when he was 12 years old, Robertson’s mother received a vision from God that there was something special about her son. Like Jesus himself, the boy became a carpenter – without any training in carpentry. As an adult he moved to Canada and worked in the building trade, then crossed the border to Niagara Falls, NY where his work suddenly became more exquisite – with no training in art - and a force began directing him to fashion the parabolic decorations for his home and the temple.

The neighborhood is otherwise ordinary. Some travelers, who may have led more sheltered lives, have gone so far as to call it “sketchy” or even “crummy.” The neighbors are nearly unanimously supportive of the oddity of Robertson’s home which, according to Fred Scruton - a videographer who has documented Prophet Isaiah’s work and the works of many other “Yard Artists” - is rare in these situations. Most visitors just drive by slowly, often snapping photos. If Prophet Isaiah happens to be driving home in his familiar black truck or out retouching the artworks with fresh paint as a visitor comes by, he has been more than willing to have a chat, in his Jamaican English, with intonations at once clipped and lilting, about the meanings of the symbolism. Occasionally he invites those with the inclination to linger, inside, which is nearly as dense with ornamentation as the outside. The embellishments are not all from Christianity; there are Jewish Stars of David and Islamic symbols as well. Throughout are stars representing the scattered believers of the world.

“All of us is a star, praise God,” Robertson says.

“Praise God,” and “Praise the Lord,” are phrases Prophet Isaiah uses like punctuation at the end of his sentences or, as blogger and one-time visitor Rich Gabe says, “like ‘Over,’” in a ship-to-shore radio communication. Gabe blogs on the art environments of outsider artists and both he and videographer Scruton agree on the exceptional quality of the work here. Gabe says, “The craftsmanship on Prophet Isaiah’s house is really impeccable and it’s really well cared for.”

Robertson matter-of-factly pontificates about the reckonings to come. He prophesizes that the Rapture, the Second Coming - when the “sheep” will be separated from the “goats” and those who refuse redemption will burn in the “lake of fire” - will happen right there in Niagara Falls and souls will pass by his house. Originally, the prophecy was set for the year 2014 when he said of the glorification work on his home, “Ten years, five months, and nineteen days and now it’s completed…”

“Whoopsie,” Gabe gently quipped in his blog, adding to me over the phone, “I guess for a lot of prophets it just works best if they move the finish line.”

I found it surprising that this person, so spiritual as to seem almost o

ther-worldly, has a spouse. When I spoke to Miss Gloria, his wife, she said of “Rob,” “When he talks, the candles dance.”

Prophet Isaiah has experienced some health problems of late so the site may not currently be quite as superbly pristine as he has always maintained it. (The message here, says Scruton, may be, “Get off your rears and go now!”) But he assures me that when he gets stronger, he will resume the spiffing and keep it, “real, real, real pretty.”