“Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising. Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side,” Isaiah 60:1-4.
One thing is ever a source of displeasure when I turn to a chapter like Isaiah 60! It is the notes that most publishers of the Holy Scriptures have placed above the chapter in an attempt to supposedly help the reader understand its contents.
However, when it comes to prophetic chapters, the notes are too often erroneous and most misleading!
In my Bible the notes above Isaiah 60 read:—
1. The glorious access of the Gentiles into the church.
15. The blessings of the church after affliction.
These words are utterly wrong. This chapter is not about what happened after the crucifixion of Christ and the Gospel outreach which followed Pentecost. No, it is dealing with the conversion and the restoration of Israel to God’s favour and blessing at the second coming of Christ and what follows that glorious event amongst the Gentile nations.
Not the Church
Some verses plainly indicate that it is not the church but Israel that is referred to.
“And the sons of strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee: for in my wrath I smote thee, but in my favour have I had mercy on thee,” Isaiah 60:10.
The redeemed people of God, the church, has never been subject to wrath! Chastening yes, but WRATH, no!
“For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons,” Hebrews 12:6-8.
“As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent,” Revelation 3:19.
“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,” Romans 5:1.
“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit,” Romans 8:1.
Judgment
However, God’s wrath has rested upon Israel ever since they rejected the Lord Jesus Christ, their Messiah. That which they had experienced in a measure under the Babylonian captivity has been their experience to a much greater degree since their rebellion and rejection of their Messiah.
“And the heathen shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity: because they trespassed against me, therefore hid I my face from them, and gave them into the hand of their enemies: so fell they all by the sword. According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions have I done unto them, and hid my face from them,” Ezekiel 39:23-24.
Those words were written around 587 BC, and were a foretaste of that which would follow their even greater wickedness in the rejection and crucifixion of the Messiah.
Since AD 70, and the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the temple and the scattering of the nation, the Jew has been an outcast until this day.
Anti-Semitism
Surely the mounting opposition against the Jews, epitomised by the recent blasphemous claim of Donald Trump _— ‘Without me, there would be no Israel’, is but leading up to that period spoken of by the Saviour as the ‘Great Tribulation’ (Matthew 24:21).
When I read Donal Trump’s dreadful claim, I thought, ‘what a fool’! Where was he when Hitler attempted to destroy the Jewish people during the horrors of World War II? – not even born!!!
Great Tribulation
Yes, the age-long opposition to the Jewish people will intensify in the last three and a half years of this age but will end at the return of Christ.
“Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south,” Zechariah 14:1-4.
That is the time referred to in Isaiah 60.
I. IT IS A TIME WHEN THE DARKNESS WHICH HAS ENSHROUDED ISRAEL FOR CENTURIES WILL END.
“Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee,” verse 1.
It will be a time when darkness will cover the whole earth, for the Gentile nations, which had enjoyed the light of the Gospel increasingly, though intermittently, from the days of the apostles, will repeat the folly of Israel and reject the truth of God.
At the crucifixion of Christ, the Jewish people had declared, “Away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar,” John 19:15.
So the Gentile nations, which have enjoyed the Gospel, will, at the end of his age, apostatise and wonder “after the beast.” This is declared Revelation 13:3-7. “And all the world wondered after the beast. And they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations,” Revelation 13:3-7.
History most certainly will repeat itself for man is unchanging is his sinfulness and defiance of God and the ‘spirit of Calvary’ exists still amongst men!
But the rebellion on the part of Israel will end when the Saviour intervenes in mercy and saves the nation at His return in glory and great power.
“The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him. Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it. In that day, saith the LORD, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness. And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the LORD of hosts their God. In that day will I make the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem. The LORD also shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem do not magnify themselves against Judah. In that day shall the LORD defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the LORD before them. And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon. And the land shall mourn, every family apart; the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart; he family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of Shimei apart, and their wives apart; all the families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart. In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness. And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall no more be remembered: and also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land,” Zechariah 12:1-13:2.
II. THE DAWN ENJOYED BY ISRAEL WILL BENEFIT ALL MANKIND.
The redeeming of Israel will have a glorious impact upon the whole earth.
“And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising,” verse 3.
This will be so because “the glory of the LORD is risen upon” Israel. The Lord will gloriously, visibly and personally be in Israel. His “glory shall be seen” upon the nation of Israel! It is that which draws the Gentile. “And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising,” verse 3.
Romans
It was of this that Paul wrote.
“I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy. Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness?” Romans 11:11-12.
It was after Calvary and Israel’s rejection of their Redeemer, that the Lord turned to the Gentiles and the message of salvation through Jesus Christ spread across the world and countless millions have inherited eternal joy and peace and salvation as a result.
But an even more glorious turning to the Gentile nations will yet take place. As Paul says: “Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness?”
If the fall of the Jews from the favour of God brought such blessings to the Gentile nations, what will not the restoration of the Jew bring to those same nations?
Mercy
How merciful is God! There have been centuries of rebellion by the Jewish people and increasing apostasy by the Gentile nations, especially in these latter times (2 Timothy 3:1-5), and yet the Lord here in this prophecy reveals His glorious purpose in future times, times which are drawing ever nearer!
The scattered gathered!
For the Jews there will be a regathering of the scattered nation.
“Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side. Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces (riches, wealth) of the Gentiles shall come unto thee, . . . Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows? Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, unto the name of the LORD thy God, and to the Holy One of Israel, because he hath glorified thee,” Isaiah 60:4-5, 8-9.
To this redeemed Israel, with the mighty blessing of God resting upon it, will be gathered all nations in submission.
“And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem,” Isaiah 2:2-3.
Millennial Reign
This is the time of the 1000-year reign of Christ on the earth.
“And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years,” Revelation 20:4-6.
As the world in this Gospel age owes the eternal blessings of mercy and salvation it enjoys to the Jewish nation of Whom came the Redeemer of sinners, even so, in like fashion the world in the future will, to a very much greater degree, owe to a recovered, revived and restored Israel the blessings that will flow from that revisiting by the Lord of the ancient people of God.
Abraham’s promise
Truly, then will the promise to Abraham enter its overflowing fulfillment.
“And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed,” Genesis 12:2-3.
The God of promises never fails to keep what He promises!
III. THIS DELIVERANCE WILL BE ENJOYED TO A DEGREE NEVER KNOWN BEFORE!
“The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea,” Isaiah 11:6-9.
The scenes depicted here have not taken place upon the earth since Adam’s transgression and the curse of God which followed. All within the earth felt that curse.
“And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return,” Genesis 3:17-19.
Creatures
The creatures of the earth likewise were cursed and changed in their demeanour!
“And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof,” Genesis 2:19.
How docile were these creatures in the presence of Adam in the days before the fall. They will return to that again following the return of Christ and the institution of His reign on the earth — “the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice (snake) den.”
Extent
That passage in Isaiah 11, indicates how extensive will be the knowledge of God amongst the inhabitants of the earth. “The earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.” The depths of the oceans are very largely unexplored and unknown. There are mountains ranges there that dwarf those upon the surface of the earth. The longest mountain range on Earth is completely hidden underwater. Known as the Mid-Ocean Ridge system, this interconnected volcanic chain stretches approximately 40,000 miles around the planet. The tightest mountain on earth is actually based in the sea! Mauna Kea, is a dormant volcano in Hawaii, USA. While its peak is 13802.49 feet above sea level, its base sits on the ocean floor. From base to peak, it has a total height of 6.34 miles, almost a mile higher than Mt Everest!
Ocean depths
The deepest point in the waters of the world is nearly 7 miles, in the Pacific Ocean. Consequently, the fullness of the knowledge of the Lord that will be experienced during the Millennial reign of Christ will be approaching that of heaven’s.
The knowledge that Moses had when his face shone, because he had been in the direct presence of God on Mount Sinai, illustrates the greater knowledge which will be common on earth at that time!
“And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live. And the LORD said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock: and it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by: and I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen,” Exodus 33:20-23.
Something
The Lord showed Moses only ‘something’ of His glory. That is how it will be in that day spoken of by Isaiah. We will not see the Lord as He is seen in heaven but He will be seen in a vastly greater way than we can see Him today.
Presently, at best ,“we see through a glass, darkly,” 1 Corinthians 13:12. But there is coming a day when “Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him,” Revelation 1:7.
Not all will know Christ ‘savingly’ during Christ’s reign on earth, for there will be unconverted men amongst the nations, even as there were unconverted men who witnessed the power and glory Christ manifested during his first time amongst men.
Zechariah indicates the presence of the unconverted during the Saviour’s reign but conversion will be wrought amongst the most sinful of men.
“And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem (nations supporting the antichrist) shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles,” Zechariah 14:16.
Rebellion still
Nevertheless, there will be rebellion STILL amongst the nations.
“And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain. And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the LORD will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles. This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles,” Zechariah 14:17-19.
Even at the end of the Millennial reign there will be unregenerate men and women who, after Satan is released from the pit into which he had been cast by the Lord, will respond to his call to rebellion.
“And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever,” Revelation 20:7-10.
I believe that while the devil deceived the multitudes and gather them together to battle, they were judged before they could actually attack “the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city”; fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
It should be noted that his time in the pit had not reformed the devil and in spite of the time of unparalleled privileges of seeing and living under the gracious mercy of Christ and seeing what no generation of sinful men had ever seen on earth before, many will remain unconverted and ready to heed the devil and join him in defiance of God!
The prophet stated it well.
“Let favour be shewed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness: in the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of the LORD,” Isaiah 26:10.
What favour will be shown to mankind in the Millennial reign and yet there will be those who will remain in their sin.
It happened during the Saviour’s earthly ministry. Innumerable miracles were wrought before the eyes of thousands and yet Christ was crucified!
“And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name,” John 20:30-31.
How good it is, Christian, to be numbered amongst those of whom the Saviour said, “Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed,” John 20:29.
Yes, glorious times are planned by God that will take place in the future but we live in glorious times today! The voice of Christ may be heard calling to us and offering mercy, and pardon and eternal heaven!
“Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness,” Hebrews 3:7-8. But rather obey and believe and be saved.
“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me,” Revelation 3:20.
Oh, hear and heed today.
Rev Ivan Foster (Rtd)
Wednesday 1st July, 2026