The Sure Hope of Future Glory for All God's People - Isaiah 60

One of the ways we determine the main point of a passage of Scripture is by looking for prominent words.  As I looked at our text for today, one word stood out far above the others simply because it was used so many times.  From Isaiah 59:20 to chapter 60:22, the word “you” or “your” is found 57 times in 24 verses.  It is as though God is saying, "Yeah, I'm talkin' to you!"  In these verses, God is speaking, and He is obviously speaking to someone personally, referring to them as “you”.  God is telling them what will happen in the future.  The task, then, is to figure out who “you” and “your” refers to, and if possible, determine when these prophesied events take place.  

Last week we looked at chapter 59.  There, we saw that the people of Judah were far from God while they simultaneously wondered why He was not blessing them with righteousness and justice.  God was far from them and truth was no where to be found because their sin had separated them from God.  They sinned with their lips and with their mouths through the words they spoke.  They sinned with their hands which were covered with blood because of their violence.  Their feet were swift in running after sin.  Their minds made up new ways of doing evil.  The people of Judah were fully engaged--heart, soul, and body--in wickedness. 

Verse 15 of chapter 59 says God was displeased that there was no justice among His people.  So God determined to take matters into His own hands.  He took it upon Himself to bring justice to bear upon the people, to punish the wicked, to bring back righteousness, and to bring salvation by means of a Redeemer who would come for those who repented and turned from transgression.

Then in 59:21, God declares His covenant with “them”.  Who is “them”?  “Them” refers to those who repented and to whom God sent a Redeemer.  In New Testament terms, we would call them the Christians.  They are those whom God would bring to repentance by means of the wickedness and unrighteousness of their fellow Jews.  Through the misery of their own sin, His elect people would finally be done with wickedness and turn from transgression.  God takes it upon Himself to Redeem them.  Then He says this in verse 21:

[21] “And as for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the LORD: “My Spirit that is upon you, and my words that I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, or out of the mouth of your offspring, or out of the mouth of your children's offspring,” says the LORD, “from this time forth and forevermore.”  (Isaiah 59:21 ESV)

This is not something He is commanding them to do.  Rather this is a promise to do something for them.  God promises that the work He is going to do in those who turn from their sins will be a permanent change.  He will grant them both His Spirit and His Word forever.  That is exactly the same thing He has done for every New Testament believer.  When God brings us to repentance of our sins and to faith in Christ, we are granted the Holy Spirit and the word of truth.  The Spirit never leaves us, and He causes us to persevere in the faith.  His Spirit and His word are given to us forevermore.

That is how chapter 59 ends.  But it leads immediately into a long list of promises which God gives to the repenters in Judah.  They are promises concerning the future of His peculiar people.  He speaks directly to them by saying “you, you, you, you,” again and again.  

READ Isaiah 60:1-22 ESV.

In addition to the key word “you”, we find in verse 1 of chapter 60, a second key word: “Light”.  

In chapter 59, we read these words:

[9] Therefore justice is far from us, and righteousness does not overtake us; we hope for light, and behold, darkness, and for brightness, but we walk in gloom. [10] We grope for the wall like the blind; we grope like those who have no eyes; we stumble at noon as in the twilight, among those in full vigor we are like dead men.  (Isaiah 59:9-10 ESV)

Isaiah used “light” and “darkness” to describe the spiritual climate in Judah.  Darkness is very often associated with spiritual deadness and wickedness.  In the day of judgment, those who have not believed in the Lord Jesus will be cast into the outer darkness (Matthew 8:12, 22:13, 25:30).  In 1John 1:5, we’re told that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.  

In 1Timothy 6, we read of the Lord Jesus who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light.

Colossians 1:11-13 (ESV)  

[11] May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, [12] giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. [13] He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son . . . .”

Isaiah 50, we read:

Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the voice of his servant?  Let him who walks in darkness and has no light trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God.  (Isaiah 50:10 ESV)

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined.  (Isaiah 9:2 ESV)

The idea of darkness and light being descriptive of spiritual death and spiritual life is seen throughout the Scriptures.  I’m sure you can think of many passages I haven’t mentioned.  So as we look at Isaiah 60 today, we are moving from the spiritual darkness and deadness of Judah in chapter 59, into the spiritual light and life of chapter 60, and 61, and all the way to the end of the book of Isaiah in chapter 66.  So when Jesus said things like, "I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." (John 8:12 ESV), the Jewish leaders fully understood He was claiming to be the Redeemer whom God promised to bring them out of sin and into eternal life.  

Now, as we look at all the wonderful things God is promising to His people in the future, the question we want to answer is “When?”  When is all of this going to happen?  Many Old Testament prophecies have both near and far future fulfillments.  Isaiah is speaking of the spiritual and physical restoration of Israel in the near future after their time of captivity in Babylon.  Jerusalem will be rebuilt, the Temple will be restored, God’s anger against them will have subsided, life will return to what it once was and they will again become a nation.  

But Isaiah is also speaking here of the future of the Israel of God, the eternal, heavenly, new Jerusalem where there is no night or darkness, but God Himself is the light of that place.  That is the far future fulfillment of God’s promise to His people.  In Revelation 21, the apostle John is speaking of the New Jerusalem, the glorious City of God that comes down to the new earth from Heaven:

[22] And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. [23] And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. [24] By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, [25] and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there.  (Revelation 21:22-25 ESV)

That is exactly what Isaiah speaks of in 60:19&20.

[19] 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. [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 shall be ended.  (Isaiah 60:19-20 ESV)

The Lord tells His people there are days of incredible blessing ahead which are nearly unbelievable.  And not only days of blessing, but blessings that will last forever.

[60:1] Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. [2] For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. [3] And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.  (Isaiah 60:1-3 ESV)

Do you see here that not only has God sent a Redeemer to those who have turned from transgression, but this Redeemer brings light to deliver them from their darkness.  The nations will receive thick darkness, but God’s people will be granted a light and a spiritual illumination that will draw people from all the nations of the earth.  

Once again, God’s people receive preferential treatment.  They are the recipients of peculiar and particular blessing: darkness shall cover the earth, . . . but the LORD will arise upon you.  

In verses 4 through 7, God promises His people immense blessing: He will bless them with children, with the wealth of nations, with gold and frankincense, with camels and sheep, and in verse 7 the Lord says, and I will beautify my beautiful house.  He is not talking about the Temple, but about Israel, about His family, His house, His people.  He will make His people beautiful not only in His own sight, but in the eyes of the world.  

Then you shall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and exult. (v5)

Verses 8 & 9 - The nations of the world will bring the scattered people of God to the New Jerusalem, with their silver and their gold, for the name of the LORD your God, and for the Holy One of Israel, because he has made you beautiful.  

All of these blessings are ours, brethren.  Was Isaiah only speaking to the Jews of his day?  Was he speaking only to Jews?  Was he only speaking to so-called Messianic Jews?  Was he not speaking of the New Jerusalem of which we read in the book of Revelation?  Are these promises made for us or only for them?  Are Isaiah’s words for Christians?  Do we not also have a heavenly inheritance from God which we will receive?

[3:1] For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles— [2] assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace that was given to me for you, [3] how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. [4] When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, [5] which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. [6] This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.  (Ephesians 3:1-6 ESV)

[27] For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. [28] There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. [29] And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise.  (Galatians 3:27-29 ESV)

Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.  (Hebrews 9:15 ESV)

Turn to Romans 8 with me please.

[14] For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. [15] For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” [16] The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, [17] and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. 

[18] For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. [19] For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. [20] For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope [21] that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.  (Romans 8:14-21 ESV)

What Isaiah is talking about in chapter 60 is the glorious future of all of God’s people, both Jews and Gentiles.  He is talking about the coming of Christ in His magnificent glory, and about the New Jerusalem in all its radiance, and about the splendid glorification of His people, His Bride whom He loves and whom He has cleansed to remove every spot.

I will greatly rejoice in the LORD; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.  (Isaiah 61:10 ESV)

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.  (Isaiah 62:5 ESV)

 . . . Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, [26] that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, [27] so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.  (Ephesians 5:25-27 ESV)

Isaiah is telling us what that future glorious state looks like.  Christ will come upon this fallen world in radiant light and in all His glory.  He will deliver us from this groaning, sinful existence, and grant us incorruptible, undying, new bodies fitted for eternity.  And His people who were once considered to be of no more value to the world than sheep for the slaughter, will be His spotless, righteous, holy, sinless Bride whom He loved even to death.  We will receive a new heavens, a new earth, a new city of God called the New Jerusalem.  According to Isaiah, God will beautify His beautiful house.  He will make us beautiful.

The sons of those who afflicted you shall come bending low to you, and all who despised you shall bow down at your feet; they shall call you the City of the LORD, the Zion of the Holy One of Israel.  (Isaiah 60:14 ESV)

I will make you majestic forever, a joy from age to age.  (Isaiah 60:15b ESV)

. . . the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory.  (Isaiah 60:19c ESV)

. . . and your days of mourning shall be ended.  (Isaiah 60:20 ESV)

Beloved, eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.  (1 Corinthians 2:9 NKJV).  What sounds too good to be true, IS true!  Christ Himself has gone to prepare a place for us.  For US!  So that we might be with Him in all of His light, and radiance, and splendor, and magnificence, and eternal glory.  Not only will we be with Him, but we will share in that glory.  He will make His Bride whom He loves, glorious.

Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace.  (2Peter 3:14 ESV)

Until He comes, we must be diligent to live in a manner that would be pleasing to the One who has loved us so much.  We need not worry or fear.  For Isaiah reminds us: 

I am the LORD; in its time I will hasten it.  (Isaiah 60:22 ESV)

Come quickly, Lord Jesus.  Amen.

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[12] Now when he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee. [13] And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, [14] so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: 

[15] “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,

the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—

[16] the people dwelling in darkness

have seen a great light,

and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death,

on them a light has dawned.”  (Matthew 4:12-16 ESV)