Isaiah 60–62

Hi, everybody. We're going to get into Isaiah tonight. So open your Bibles to Isaiah chapter 60. Boy, we're zeroing in on these final chapters of the prophecies of Isaiah. And we're going to be looking at 3 chapters tonight. And we're going to start off here looking at some things that I'm going to show you on the screen. Because Isaiah 60 contains prophecies about, The Day of the Lord and how God is going to make Jerusalem the center of the earth during the time of the Millennial Kingdom. And that's what we're, that's going to be the predominant theme here going into these chapters. So I want you to be thinking about essentially the Millennial Kingdom. But the Millennial Kingdom, which is the 1,000 year reign of Christ on the earth, is followed closely, or I should say preceded closely by several events there at the end of the great tribulation that we have to keep in mind. Because the prophecies of Isaiah in these chapters are going to talk about and touch on some of those events. So I thought what might be good for us to do here starting off this study here in Isaiah was to go through and remind ourselves of just the outline of, The Day of the Lord. And we'll put these up on the screen for you so that you can see them. The Day of the Lord  The catching away of the Church  The antichrist is revealed  The Great Tribulation begins  The nations gather to destroy Israel  Jesus returns/ Battle of Armageddon  Jesus establishes His throne in Jerusalem  The Millennial Kingdom begins The Day of the Lord is essentially kicked off with the catching away of the church. So that's the first thing. Now we call that the rapture. So the church is caught up to be with the Lord, meet the Lord in the air.

And shortly after that period, the antichrist will be revealed to the world and the Great Tribulation begins at that point. Now, the Great Tribulation, of course, is a 7 year period of time. There's a whole lot going on during that time. But at the very end of the Great Tribulation period, the nations will gather to destroy Israel. And it will look very much like they're about to accomplish that. And that is when Jesus is going to physically return to the earth. The Battle of Armageddon is what will ensue against the nations and Jesus. And of course, He will overcome the armies that are arrayed against Him and against Israel. And after that great victory, the Lord will establish His throne in Jerusalem. And that will begin that period of time that we call the Millennial Kingdom, or that 1,000 year reign of Christ. This is a very interesting sort of a timeline for us to keep in mind as we begin to enter into these passages. But I want to actually begin our study of Isaiah tonight with some passages from the Book of Zechariah and I want to show you these on the screen. First of all, from Zechariah 14:2-4. This is a prophecy about the nations coming against Jerusalem at the end of the tribulation period. And it says,

For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken and the houses plundered and the women raped. Half of the city shall go out into exile, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle. On that day (Now, listen, look at this. This is incredible.) his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east...Isn't that an amazing prophecy?

So it tells us that there's going to be this attack from the nations against Jerusalem. And it will look very dire for the people of Jerusalem at that time. It tells us here that the nation will be plundered the women will be ravaged and many of the people from the city will be carried off into some sort of an exile. But some will remain in the city and Jesus will then return. And it is interesting that it says "the Lord will go out and fight against those nations..." And the word Lord there is the tetragrammaton "Yahweh." Yahweh will go and fight. And we know that is Jesus. So that is yet another distinctive marker concerning Jesus and His deity. But I want to show you what Zachariah goes on to say in the same chapter, as we skip down to verses 8 and 9. Look at this, Zechariah 14:8-9 (ESV)

On that day, living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea and half of them to the western sea. It shall continue in summer as in winter. And the LORD (and again YAHWEH) will be king over all the earth. On that day the LORD will be one and this name one. So incredible prophecies from the Book of Zechariah that are going to figure very prominently into our study of Isaiah. Chapter 60, if you have your Bible open, we're getting and we'll get a great deal of prophetic insight here concerning the Millennial Kingdom. But I want to remind you as we get into this chapter and the following chapters as well, these prophecies pertain to Israel. That's so important. Don't read the church into these prophecies, okay. The church is not involved in these, in this prophetic insight. These pertain to Israel, alright. That, very important that we keep that clear. Let's begin. Verse 1,

Those first 2 verses are such an incredible picture of the Tribulation Period. The Tribulation Period will be a time of intense darkness that will cover the land, and cover the peoples of the earth. And yet at the very conclusion of the Great Tribulation, when the Lord returns in what we call the second coming. The light of the Lord, the glory of the Lord will rise upon the nation of Israel. And that is what this prophecy is saying. Even when all this thick darkness is covering the peoples of the world, the glory of the Lord will be seen upon Israel. God is going to honor Israel in ways that they have never been honored before. And we're going to see that throughout the course of these chapters. Look what it goes on to say in verse 3,

These 2 verses are also incredible. It says that, all the nations, and this is after the defeat of Armageddon and after the war, when the Lord has established his throne in Jerusalem, the nations that are remaining are going to come to Israel. And they are going to seek the face of the Lord. Not only that, but they're going to bring Jews with them who have been said, who had settled in their lands. They're going to bring sons and daughters back to Israel when they come. And it says, and that's why it says that your sons and your daughters will be carried on their, on the hip. They will be literally brought to you, back to the place. Now not just the sons and daughters will be brought. I want you to see what it goes on to say in verse 5, "Then you (and again, you as Israel) shall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and exult, because the abundance of the sea (And by the way, the word sea is often a picture of the nations, okay. So the abundance of the sea) shall be turned to you, (and) the wealth of the nations shall come to you."

So during this time, after the Great Tribulation, we're now into the Millennial Kingdom, the prophecy of Isaiah says that, the nations that surrender to the Lord Jesus Christ, recognizing His lordship, recognizing His rulership of the world over the world at that time, they're not only going to bring the sons and daughters of Israel back to their homeland to live, but they're going to bring wealth. And they're going to bring restoration. Because you see, the nations of the world will have pillaged and plundered Israel for the last several years. And they're going to be returning all those things. They're going to be bringing that back and more. They're going to be bringing their own wealth. And Israel will be restored through the wealth of the nations. In verse 6, it goes on to say that,

They're going to bring good news and the praises of the Lord. The nations are going to come to Jerusalem and they're going to bow down before the Lord. And they're going to praise Him and worship Him. And they're also going to bring testimonies of God's goodness and so forth. And it's going to be an incredible time at the very beginning of the Millennial Kingdom. Verse 7 says,

And again, you, is Israel, Zion, if you will. He has made, the Lord is going to make Jerusalem, Israel...Jerusalem is going to be the capital of the world during the Millennial Kingdom.

It's interesting, isn't it, that just recently through the United States of America,... Jerusalem was once again recognized as the capital of Israel. Well, that's a small step in the right direction. But it's going to be the capital of the world one day, with Jesus ruling and reigning from that place. Incredible time. Look what it goes on to say in verse 10,

Isn't that amazing? So we're told that provisions and blessings are literally going to pour into the city of Jerusalem day and night. They're not even going to close the gates at night because there's going to be this constant flow of provisions coming from the nations of the world. And that it's just going to be hard to even hold it all. He says in verse 13,

15 Whereas you have been forsaken and hated, with no one passing through, I will make you majestic forever, a joy from age to age." People are going to literally speak of Jerusalem now where they used to speak negatively about the city of Jerusalem. They're going to come and they're going consider it majestic because the Lord is there. "16 You shall suck the milk of nations; you shall nurse at the breast of kings; and you shall know that I, the LORD, (YAHWEH) am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob. 17 Instead of bronze I will bring gold, (You remember bronze is the metal of sin, but the Lord says now, "instead of bronze I will bring gold") and instead of iron I will bring silver; instead of wood, bronze, instead of stones, iron. I will make your overseers peace and your taskmasters righteousness." Oh, that's incredible. See the change that's going on for Israel. Whereas, their overseers and their task masters were the nations that conquered them over the years. Their new overseer during the time of the Millennial Kingdom, is going to be peace. Their new taskmaster is going to be righteousness. "Violence (verse 18) shall be no more heard in your land, (And that'll certainly be a change for Israel, won't it) devastation or destruction within your borders; you shall call your walls (excuse me) Salvation, and your gates Praise. 19 The sun (Now this is very interesting. The sun) shall be no more your light by day, nor for brightness shall the moon give you light; but the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory.” The supernatural glory of the Lord is going to outshine the light of the sun and the light of the moon. Verse 20, "Your sun shall no more go down, nor your moon withdraw itself; for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your days of mourning (and that's not mourning as in M O R N, but mourning as in M O U R N, your days of mourning) shall be ended. 21 Your people shall all be righteous; they shall possess the land forever, the branch of my planting, (that's Israel the branch of the Lord's planting) the work of my hands, that I might be glorified. 22 The least one shall become a clan, and the smallest one a mighty nation; I am the LORD; in its time I will hasten it." In other words, when these things begin to happen, they will happen quickly. So, Isaiah chapter 60 is just full of incredible prophecies of the coming of the Lord, the restoration of Israel, the glorification of Israel, which brings glory to the Lord Himself. And how the nations will come seek the Lord, and restore Israel with their wealth and beauty. So what an incredible passage. Now Isaiah chapter 61 continues prophecies concerning the Millennial Kingdom. But we do know that the first couple of verses of this chapter relate to our Lord's first coming. Look what it says, verse 1,

2

3

Now you'll remember, if you remember your gospels pretty well, that Jesus came into the synagogue in Nazareth, the area where He was raised. And He was asked to read from the scriptures and comment, which was often allowed when traveling rabbis would go to a new area. And we're told that Jesus opened up the scroll to the prophet Isaiah, and He read this passage. (Luke 4:18-21) But you'll notice if you read about that, we're not going to take time to do it this evening, but when you read that passage, for example, in Luke, you'll find that Jesus stopped in the middle of verse 2, and He did not read on. In fact, He ended by saying "to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." And then He stopped there. But did you notice what it goes on to say? It goes on to say, "and the day of vengeance of our God." Well, that's not what Jesus came to do in His first coming. And so up through the middle of verse 2, that applied to Jesus's first coming. How do we know that?

Well, it's because Jesus rolled up the scroll, sat down, and addressed the people in the synagogue, and He said, "This day, the prophecies of Isaiah are fulfilled in your hearing." And of course, you'll remember that caused quite a stir there in the synagogue that day. But He specifically stopped in the middle of verse 2. And of course it's verse 2 to us. There weren't verse divisions and chapter divisions in the Lord's day. As we've mentioned previously or recently verse and chapter divisions didn't come around till the 16th century. So Jesus simply opened up a scroll and began to read. But He stopped in what to us is the middle of verse 2. Because the rest of it has to do with His second coming. Has to do with the judgment and the vengeance of the Lord that is brought upon the face of the earth in His second coming. So this is a very important thing that we see in the prophecy of scripture. That sometimes we can have one single passage that encompasses 2 very separated events in Biblical history. Verses 1 through the middle of verse 2 pertains to the first coming of Jesus. The middle of verse 2, or the last part of verse 2 and onward, refers to His second coming. And so right now, we've got about 2, 000 years between those 2 sections. But if you don't understand that, and if you don't understand that prophecy can do that, you're going to be confused by a lot of prophecy by trying to clump it all into the same time frame. Look what it goes on to say in verse 4,

This is another prophecy about the nations after the time of judgment during the Millennial Kingdom, who will return to build up the city of Jerusalem. And the, I'm assuming many other cities in Israel. It says,

So once again, we see that the Lord is prophesying this great time of blessing, when Israel will be considered blessed by the Lord, the ministers of the Lord. Verse 7 says,

This is going to be an incredible time during the Millennial Kingdom. When the righteousness, the beauty and the peace that God establishes in Zion, in Israel and in the capital city of Jerusalem that will now spill over into the nations. It's just going to be an amazing time when people are going to turn to the Lord. Now chapter 62 is going to continue with the theme of Israel's future glory, when the Lord establishes His throne in Zion during the Millennial Kingdom. Verse 1,

(So Israel is going to receive a new name from the Lord.)

3 You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God. 4 You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate, but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her, and your land Married; for the Lord delights in you, and your land shall be married. 5 For as a young man marries a young woman, so shall your sons marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you. (The Lord is speaking here to Jerusalem) 6 On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have set watchmen; all the day and all the night they shall never be silent. You who put the Lord in remembrance, take no rest, 7 and give him no rest until he establishes Jerusalem (And look at this) and makes it a praise in the earth." The Lord is going to make Jerusalem a praise in the earth. But He sets these watchmen, if you will, on the walls to continue to remind the Lord of these promises until they are fulfilled. Incredible picture. "8 The Lord has sworn by his right hand and by his mighty arm: "I will not again give (you) grain to be food for your enemies, and foreigners shall not drink your wine for which you have labored; 9 but those who garner it shall eat it and praise the Lord, and those who gather it shall drink it in the courts of my sanctuary." This is a reference to something that's been happening way back in the days of judges. We begin to read about how when the nation of Israel walked in disobedience to the Lord, God would raise up one of their neighbors to come and plunder them. And they, the Jews, would raise up their crops and begin to harvest their grapes from the vineyards and their wheat from the fields and so on and so forth. And just at the time of harvest, those other plundering nations would come raging into the land. And they would steal everything that the Jews had worked so hard to make and to grow. And now the Lord promises in verses 8 and 9, that no longer will foreigners drink their wine. No longer will others come and eat what they have labored for. But they, themselves will receive the blessing of their own work and they will praise the Lord for it. Verse 10 says,

Wow! These are such incredible chapters here in the Book of Isaiah. Such beautiful passages that speak of the Millennial Kingdom. The restoration of Israel and how it's going to happen. How those things are going to take place. And how the beauty of the Lord ruling and reigning from Jerusalem will go out and affect the rest of the world. These are such lovely, lovely passages. Now a lot of people ask, where's the church at this time? Because I've been very clear to tell you these prophecies have to do with Israel and not the church. And that's true. They are not speaking of the church. They're speaking of the people of Israel. They're speaking of the glory of Israel, the blessings of Israel. And that is what God is going to do mightily through that time of the great or the Millennial Kingdom. So where is the church at this time? Well, the church is the bride of Christ. The church is like any bride, right beside her husband. And we will be there. And we will be ruling and reigning with Him during that time. We're told in the New Testament, how exactly that rulership is going to be seen or played out. And what role we're going to play during the Millennial Kingdom. We're not completely sure of the details. The Lord has kept us from having a many of those details. But we simply know that we will rule and reign with Him during that time, just as the bride, the wife literally of the King normally would also rule by His side. And remember the church is the bride of Christ. So that's where the church is going to be. We are going to return with the Lord to the earth. We're going to be coming back with Him. And how much we're going to be involved in the Battle of Armageddon, I don't know. But we are going to be returning with Him and ruling and reigning with Him as well. So that's where we're going to stop for tonight and we're going to carry on in chapter 63. And I'm not exactly sure how far we're going to get next week.

--- Depends on how quickly we get through. We might be able to get through all the remaining chapters of Isaiah. Or we might take an extra week after that we'll just have to wait and see. But either way, these are beautiful and incredible verses to look at. So let's close in prayer, shall we? Heavenly Father, we thank You. We thank you for Your goodness. We thank You for the prophetic insight that You give here in the book of Isaiah. We thank You for the rich blessing of being able to have these insights from the scripture, to know Your plan for Israel, Your plan for Zion. And Lord, it's a glorious plan. And we just rejoice in it Father, and we rejoice in You through Jesus Christ, our Lord. And we thank You, God, that You've given us these scriptures to pour through and to study and to learn and to understand more about "the Day of the Lord." Father, prepare our hearts. Prepare our hearts for what is to come. Prepare our hearts for the world in which we live and the things that are happening all around the world. And I pray, Lord God, that You'd keep us in the hollow of Your hand. Protect us, guide us, direct us. Our prayer, Lord, is for the peace of Jerusalem. And our prayer is for the coming of our Lord. Come, Lord Jesus. We ask this in that precious name. The precious name of Jesus Christ, our Savior, amen. Thanks so much. God bless you. ---