Hello, my “Walking with Jesus” friends,
At times in the past year, the darkness of despair and near hopelessness has crept over Jerusalem and several parts of Israel. For the people who live there, always listening for the sirens of incoming rockets, then grabbing their children and rushing into bomb shelters, I’ve wondered if they have nearly given up that Israel will ever again be a peaceful, joyful place to live and raise their family. For the families of hostages still held, this year has seemed like an endless nightmare. For the spouses and children of those who have been called to put on the IDF uniform, take up weapons and go to war defending their little nation, each day they hold their breath and pray that their soldier will be safe.
And yet the determination of so many to see Israel destroyed and Jews annihilated remains steadfast and therefore the rockets rain down, they keep digging tunnels, they keep producing and buying horrific weapons, they keep planning terrorism. So, is there any hope for Israel as they and we look into the future? YES, is God’s answer and today let’s look at how God proclaimed that through the prophet Isaiah about 2700 years ago when it was a similarly dreadful time to be living in the land of Israel.
Isaiah 60 is a powerful and wonderful view of a future time when it will be anyone’s great privilege to live and raise your family in Israel. Really? Oh yes, my friends, listen to Isaiah 60:1… “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth, and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and His glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.” (Is. 60:1-3) So my friends, who is the “YOU” in these verses? For whom is God declaring such a glorious future?
It’s the city of Jerusalem, Zion and God’s people who will be living there in these glorious future days. As verse 4 says, people will come from far and wide seeking the privilege to live there. The bounty of the world will be drawn there, as it says in verse 5 “…to you the riches of the nations will come…All from Sheba will come bearing gold and incense and proclaiming the praise of the LORD.” (Is. 60:4,5) What do you think it means my friends, what miracles will need to occur in order for the present-day trauma and tragedy to be transformed to such a glorious time for Israel?
Oh, there’s more yet, listen to vs. 10 “Foreigners will rebuild your walls and their kings will serve you. Though in anger I struck you, in favor I will show you compassion. Your gates will always stand open, they will never be shut, day or night, so that people may bring you the wealth of the nations… For the nation or kingdom that will not serve you will perish; it will be utterly ruined.” (Is.60:10-12)
Yes, God acknowledges that He poured out His judgment on Jerusalem and Israel in response to their rejection of God, their embrace of idols and their immoral wickedness, and that was accomplished several times in history as God allowed foreign armies to invade, conquer and destroy Jerusalem and ravage the nation of Israel. But here God promises His favor and blessing will one day be poured out upon Israel and it will flourish as never before.
Did you notice God’s warning that those nations which oppose Israel and seek to destroy it, will themselves be destroyed? Have you ever thought about the miracle of the existence of Israel and Jerusalem today while all the great empires of the past which sought to destroy Israel have themselves been destroyed? The great and vast empires of Egypt, Babylon, Assyria, Persia, Greece and Rome have all been destroyed over the centuries, while Israel and Jerusalem stand today, by God’s grace!
I wonder if the prophet Isaiah kept wiping the tears of joy from his eyes as the Spirit of God led Isaiah to write this chapter. Could Isaiah even imagine what such a future for Israel and Jerusalem would be like? Listen to what Isaiah wrote next: “No longer will violence be heard in your land, nor ruin or destruction within your borders, but you will call your walls Salvation and your gates Praise!” (Is. 60:18) Now my friends, this statement is one of several which lets us know that while there have been sometimes of peace in Israel’s distant past, this statement has never been fully realized and certainly this description of peace in Israel and Jerusalem seems almost impossible in our day, doesn’t it?
So how will it come to pass, you ask? Look at God’s next statement to Isaiah: “The sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. Your sun will never set again, and your moon will wane no more; the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your days of sorrow will end!” (Is. 60:19,20) Oh my, can you even imagine this my friends?
There are two times in the future when I see this glorious 60th chapter of Isaiah becoming reality for Israel.
First is the 1000 years reign of Jesus Christ in Jerusalem during what is often called the Millennial Kingdom. It is described in Revelation 20 and will have several features. First, Satan will be bound in the Abyss and therefore NOT leading his dark, evil kingdom in opposing Jesus and God’s people during those 1000 years! (Rev. 20:1-3)
Secondly, Jesus and resurrected martyrs from the Tribulation era, will reign in full authority from Jerusalem! (Rev. 20:4-6) With Jesus Christ, King of kings and Lord of lords reigning in His supremacy from Jerusalem, His truth, His righteousness, His holy justice, His unlimited power will reign over all and thus Jerusalem and Israel will be living in this utopia described in Isaiah 60.
But I wonder how long it has been since you’ve read of a time even further into the future, as described in Revelation 21? A time of a new heaven and a new earth and especially a new Jerusalem. Listen to this: “I did not see a temple in the city because the LORD God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor to it. On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there…” (Rev. 21:22-27) Do you see how this is almost a word for word description of Isaiah’s prediction? So, what does it all mean for us today my friends?
It means God is timeless and eternal, and God’s love for His people Israel will NEVER be extinguished nor run out. It means God fully understands the terror and tragedies of what’s happening in the middle east today, but God sees a future when King Jesus will reign and Isaiah 60 will be seen on earth in Jerusalem and Israel! It means God is Sovereign over all things, at all times, and nothing can shake His future reality!
These words from God through Isaiah proclaim the certainty of what I’ve just said: “I am God and there is no other, I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please… what I have said, that I will bring about; what I have planned that I will do…” (Is. 46:9-11) I’m standing firm on those words of God even while the world around me seems to be imploding. What about you, my friends?
So, here’s an old song, sung in a country way, proclaiming confidence in God’s promises… do you know this song and is it your story?
