CHAPTER 60

(698 B.C.)

THE FUTURE GLORY OF ZION

¹Arise, shine; for your light is come, and the Glory of the LORD is risen upon you. (The Speaker here is the Holy Spirit; the person spoken to is Israel. The words, Arise, shine, refer not necessarily to Israels light, for she has no light; rather she reflects the streams of Light that pour from the Person of Jehovah Whose Name is Christ. This Passage refers back to Psalms 67:1.

And the Glory of the LORD is risen upon you, refers to Israels Repentance.)

²For, behold, the darkness shall cover the Earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon you, and His Glory shall be seen upon you. (The darkness mentioned here speaks of the Great Tribulation, when the Church will have been Raptured away, thereby leaving the world without Light [I Thess. 4:13-18]; however, the darkness will be expelled by the Coming of the Lord, and the destination of the Glory will be Israel.)

GENTILES WILL WORSHIP ISRAELS GOD

³And the Gentiles shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising. (Your light, does not mean that such originated with Israel, but is to be poured upon her. Because of this, and it being overly obvious, the nations of the world will come to Israel; however, as always, that Light is Christ.)

⁴Lift up your eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to you: your sons shall come from far, and your daughters shall be nursed at your side. (Your sons and your daughters refer to Israelites still scattered among the nations, and then being gathered back to Judah. As stated, this will take place at the beginning of the Kingdom Age.

The words, shall be nursed at your side, speak of the hurts, wounds, suffering, and pains of the last 2,000 and more years. During this time, they have blamed Christ for their troubles. Now they will realize how wrong they were, and be healed of their stubbornness and rebellion, and know that Christ is the Source of their blessing, and not their bondage!)

⁵Then you shall see, and flow together, and your heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be con verted unto you, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto you. (The word fear should have been translated rejoice or tremble, i.e., tremble with holy joy. Verses 5 through 7 proclaim the abundance of material prosperity that will come to Israel as well.

The abundance of the sea shall be converted unto you, does not refer to maritime prosperity, but rather to the multitude of Gentiles, who will show great favor to Israel.)

⁶The multitude of camels shall cover you, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring gold and incense; and they shall show forth the praises of the LORD. (Multitude of camels, refers to a continual stream of caravans, implying that Jerusalem is not only the center of spiritual Glory, but also of economic power.

And they shall show forth the praises of the LORD, tells us that the prosperity of the world is tied to the Praises of the LORD.)

⁷All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together unto you, the rams of Nebaioth shall minister unto you: they shall come up with acceptance on My Altar, and I will glorify the house of My Glory. (And I will glorify the house of My Glory, should read I will beautify My beautiful house, that is, the palace at Jerusalem, which is to be built. It will be beautiful beyond words!)

⁸Who are these who fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows? (This refers to ships coming from all over the world to Israel, which, as stated, will take place in the coming Kingdom Age.)

⁹Surely the isles shall wait for Me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring your sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, unto the Name of the LORD your God, and to the Holy One of Israel, because He has glorified you. (Surely the isles [maritime countries] shall wait for Me, refers to Christ being the focal point of all that is done. Once again, Israels blessing is totally dependent upon the Lord, as in fact all blessing is totally dependent on the Lord!)

MILLENNIAL GLORY; GODS BLESSINGS

¹⁰And the sons of strangers shall build up your walls, and their kings shall minister unto you: for in My wrath I smote you, but in My favour have I had mercy on you. (The sons of strangers refer to the allegiance of the Gentiles concerning their favor toward Israel. The words, In My wrath I smote you, refer to Titus, who in A.D. 70 destroyed Jerusalem, killing over one million Jews. From that point on, they were scattered all over the world as outcasts.

But in My favor have I had mercy on you, strongly implies that the mercy was not deserved, and in fact cannot be deserved.)

¹¹Therefore your gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night; that men may bring unto you the forces of the Gentiles, and that their kings may be brought. (The forces of the Gentiles speak of the wealth of the Gentiles. And that their kings may be brought, refers to the leaders of nations coming to Israel and actually being forced to come by their subjects, who know that their own prosperity is involved in complete submission to Christ in Zion. They will, therefore, compel their kings to come and render their homage in person, so there will be no doubt about their allegiance!)

¹²For the nation and kingdom that will not serve you shall perish; ye s, those nations shall be utterly wasted. (The implication is that some nations and kingdoms possibly will not desire to serve the Lord; however, there will be no opportunity for them to respond. They shall perish and be utterly wasted. How the Lord will do this, regarding these nations, we arent told; however, to be sure, it will happen exactly as predicted.)

¹³The glory of Lebanon shall come unto you, the fir tree, the pine tree, and the box together, to beautify the place of My Sanctuary; and I will make the place of My feet glorious. (And I will make the place of My feet glorious, refers to Christ literally walking on Earth, and in this beautiful capital building, which will be befitting of His Presence [Ezek. 43:7; Zech. 14:4].)

¹⁴The sons also of them who afflicted you shall come bending unto you; and all they who despised you shall bow themselves down at the soles of your feet; and they shall call you, The city of the LORD, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel. (Of them who afflicted you, concerns the nations of the world that have grandly opposed Israel; however, those nations shall come bending unto you. At the soles of your feet, guarantees total submission; however, it will not be a forced submission, but a voluntary submission!

The last phrase refers to the enemies of Jerusalem, which once bestowed disparaging names on her, such as forsaken or desolate. Now they will substitute for such names titles of honor, such as City of Jehovah and Zion of Israels Holy One. In fact, the Holy One is the cause of all blessing and prosperity!)

¹⁵Whereas you have been forsaken and hated, so that no man went through you, I will make you an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations. (Israel has been hated from her very beginning in the days of Abraham, because of animosity against the Lord. Tragically, the True Israel, i.e., Christ, was hated upon His First Advent; however, all of this will change in the coming Kingdom Age.)

¹⁶You shall also suck the milk of the Gentiles, and shall suck the breast of kings: and you shall know that I the LORD am your Saviour and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob. (Suck the milk of the Gentiles, refers to a continual stream of material sustenance to help in the restoration of Jerusalem and all of Israel, and to carry on the universal missionary program of the Millennium [Zech. 8:12].

The continuous emphasis by the Holy Spirit relates Israels blessings to the LORD your Saviour. This is the Lord Jesus Christ, your Redeemer. Only He can redeem!)

¹⁷For brass I will bring gold, and for iron I will bring silver, and for wood brass, and for stones iron: I will also make your officers peace, and your exactors righteousness. (The material splendor throughout the whole description is, no doubt, typical in the main of spiritual glories and excellencies, as well.

I will also make your officers peace, and your exactors righteousness, refers to the rulers of Israel, who will be officers of peace, and the tax collectors, who will be honest, equitable, and righteous.)

¹⁸Violence shall no more be heard in your land, wasting nor destruction within your borders; but you shall call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise. (The entire cessation of war and violence is one of the most characteristic features of the Kingdom Age, when swords shall be beaten into plowshares and spears into pruninghooks. The Prince of Peace shall ultimately establish peace.

Your Land refers to Israel. It is emphasized because it has known nothing but war almost from its very beginning. Only during the times of Solomon did it know peace, because Solomon was a Type of Christ, and the Israel of that day, a type of the coming Kingdom Age.

During that coming time, even the very walls will be called Salvation, and the gates Praise, because of such perfect conditions.)

¹⁹The sun shall be no more your light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto you: but the LORD shall be unto you an Everlasting Light, and your God your glory. (The splendor of such will make Jerusalem the joy of the whole world. While the sun and moon will continue to shine as always, still, the Glory of the Lord will be of such magnificence that the light of those orbs will go unnoticed!)

²⁰Your sun shall no more go down; neither shall your moon withdraw itself: for the LORD shall be your Everlasting Light, and the days of your mourning shall be ended. (The phrase, Your sun shall no more go down, does not mean that the rotation of the Earth will cease, but rather that its rising and its setting will not be noticed at all, due to the Glory of God filling the city with light both day and night. As well, this Light will be an Everlasting Light.

And the days of your mourning shall be ended, means exactly what it says!)

²¹Your people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land forever, the branch of My planting, the work of My Hands, that I may be glorified. (The reason for the suffering being ended is because your people also shall be all righteous. Now, the Land that was promised to Abraham in the beginning will be theirs forever. It is called the branch of My planting, the Work of My Hands. Their full occupation of it, with His Blessings, will also bless the entirety of the world.

All of this will glorify the Lord, because it proclaims His Word coming to pass in totality.)

²²A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation: I the LORD will hasten it in His time. (The little one refers to the little flock who will ultimately inherit the Kingdom [Lk. 12:32]. This little one will grow into a countless multitude [Rev. 7:9]. In His time, refers to the fixed time in Gods Counsels for the final establishment of Christs Kingdom. If it is to be noticed, it doesnt say in our time, but rather in His time, meaning that the times and the seasons are in the Power of the Father, and not in the power of the Church, etc. [Acts 1:6-7].)