Isaiah 60:1
Stand and Shine
The book of Isaiah is often compared to the Bible. The Bible has
66 books and Isaiah has 66 chapters. The first 39 books of the Bible
make up the Old Testament, a section of the Bible dealing with law
and justice. The last 27 books of the Bible make up the New
Testament, dealing with grace and mercy. The first 39 chapters of
Isaiah use the law to condemn Israel’s sins and to judge Israel. The
last 27 chapters of Isaiah use grace to console Israel and to build
her up.
We are in one of the most prophetical books in the Bible. Although
given more than 2200 years ago, this book is still a newspaper for
today’s events and a roadmap for future ones. The chapter that we
are about to read is itself a wealth of prophetical information.
Isaiah 60:1 Arise, shine; for thy light is come,
and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.
I. \\#1\\ A Prophesied Command
A. The command is to Israel.
1. They are commanded to stand and shine.
2. Too long the nation of Israel has been a trifling heap of
disgrace to the God who created, called, preserved, and
cherished them, but God has appointed a time—and it is
hastening toward us—when they will stand in glory of the
Lord.
3. While I do not know the exact calendar date when the Jews
will stand and shine, I know that it will immediately
follow another day, also mentioned in this verse.
B. That is the day when their "light will come."
1. Israel has been in darkness for too long, since even
before Jesus was born.
2. Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, spoke
prophetically of his son:
Luke 1:76 And thou, child, shalt be called the
prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before
the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;
79 To give light to them that sit in darkness
and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet
into the way of peace.
3. And has much good as John the Baptist did for Christ, for
Israel, and for the church, he was not strong enough to
break the hold of darkness that engulfed that nation for
the nation rejected both him and the Messiah that he came
to announce.
a. Yes, that was the will and the plan of God based on
God’s foreknowledge of what Israel would do; but
considering the power of God that was unleashed on
this earth during that time, it provides a sad
testimonial to the power of the devil’s darkness.
(1) What makes the devil’s darkness so strong?
(2) What is this power that has held the nation of
Israel so firmly in its grasps for so many
millenniums?
(3) My best guess would be what John wrote as he
began his gospel:
John 3:19 …and men loved darkness rather than
light, because their deeds were evil.
(a) It is not just that men loved darkness.
(b) It is that men loved THEIR darkness because
their deeds are evil, and they can be
better enjoyed in the darkness of the
devil’s presence.
b. Sadly, this darkness has spread around the globe and
pulled into its realm a once brighter country and
world, our country and our world.
(1) Until the day that the light shines upon Israel,
and after, I fear that our nation will joyfully
enter further into the blackness that obscures
the sinner and gives false comfort to him.
(2) Indeed, I am confident now that the day will come
when Israel stands and shines in the light of
God’s glory only to have America stand against
her and God.
(3) May God keep it from ever being so!
II. \\#2\\ A Prophesied Condemnation
Isaiah 60:2 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.
A. God wrote His view of the world’s present condition when the
present was still the future.
1. God’s view is that it is in darkness.
2. And God’s view is fact not fiction.
a. It is not based on polls, fads, or the shifting sands
of culture.
b. God has a degreed right from wrong, good from evil,
fact from fiction, and real from imaginary; and no
one is going to prosper who thinks he is smarter than
God!
B. Some foolish Christians are thinking that the things happening
today in the political and cultural realms are good and of
God As for me, not so much.
1. I don’t want to condemn everything that is going on in the
world.
2. If we can do something that would please God, let’s do it!
3. If we can eliminate racism, let’s do it.
a. Whites don’t have the best record of treating others
with compassion but no nation does.
(1) Pity the red man at the hands of the white if you
like, but the red men attacked one another long
before the white man ever set foot on this
continent.
(2) Pity the black man at the hands of the white if
you like, but the black men attacked one another
long before the white man ever sailed to Africa
to pick up slaves.
(3) Pity the Asian man, the Hispanic, the brown, and
every other race you wish, but the truth is that
all of mankind is sinful and all of mankind has
attacked one another since Cain slew Abel on the
outskirts of the Garden of Eden.
(4) The white did not start all of these.
(a) Granted, he found a way to profit from most
of them when perhaps he should have worked
harder to stop them all together.
(b) But if you expect the white man to
deliberately quit coming out on top of a
fight for his life, I’m not going to help
you.
(c) I don’t care who starts a fight, me, you,
or him, once it’s started, I want to come
out on top just like everyone else does.
b. If we can stop these things, let’s do it; but let’s
not call reverse racism anything other than racism.
4. If we can even slightly reduce the population of the
world’s poor, sick, and needy, let’s do it.
a. But don’t be foolish enough to think any government’s
conscience is strong enough to appoint them to do it.
b. After 15 months of shut down, our government has only
parted with three (maybe four) nickel and dime checks
while scooping up tens of billions of dollars for its
own greed.
5. If there is any way to eliminate the injustices of this
world, let’s do it!
a. If we can fix it so that every human gets a fair
shake, gets equal breaks, and gets the same
opportunities, let’s do it.
b. But if you think the "woke" movement is going to get
us there, you are not just a brick short of a full
load, you are a whole wheel barrow short of a load!
C. The darkness is not loosening its grip.
1. There is no light in the majority of what is happening
today.
2. But as Isaiah wrote would happen, the darkness that covers
the earth is becoming a gross darkness over the people.
a. The darkness is becoming thicker, more gloomy.
b. And while I wish the glory of the Lord would break
through the darkness, I see no breaks in it thus far.
III. A Prophesied Condition
A. These are the glorious conditions that will cover Israel and
this earth when the darkness is abolished and the whole world
stands in the light of God’s glory!
1. I cannot give you a single Bible reference concerning this
future condition for most of the last 39 chapters are
filled with the conditions that shall arise on Israel and
the whole world when the glory of the Lord finally breaks
through the long-standing darkness.
2. Some of the prophecies will be fulfilled in the
millennium.
3. Some will be fulfilled in eternity.
B. Let’s note some of them:
1. Israel shall be loved and served by all nations.
Isaiah 60:3 And the Gentiles shall come to thy
light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.
4 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.
5 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 of the Gentiles shall come unto
thee.
a. The fear spoken of in \\#5\\ us the a fear that Israel
will have when they see how much they are loved and
helped by other nations.
b. During the millennium, the nations of this world will
serve Israel.
(1) Some want to condemn God for not abolishing
slavery.
a. First, God did not start slavery
b. Man did.
c. Man can also stop it whenever he wants.
(2) However, servitude will continue through the
millennial reign of Jesus.
(1) Every nation that has ever stood against
Israel will have to bow before them and
serve them.
Isaiah 60:14 The sons also of them that
afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee; and
all they that despised thee shall bow themselves
down at the soles of thy feet; and they shall
call thee, The city of the LORD, The Zion of the
Holy One of Israel.
(b) As of this present hour, America MIGHT be
able to enter into the millennium without
being a servant; but with each passing day,
I have less and less hope that will be case.
c. I know some would say, "I won’t." Some because they
don’t want to be a servant and some because they
don’t believe in servitude, today would boast that
they will never participate in servitude.
(1) First I’d say that a lot of people are going to
be very surprised how soon they will be bowing
down to another just for the morsel of bread
and an ounce of water.
(2) However, second I’d say, "God will not force
you. He will simply destroy you."
Isaiah 60:12 For the nation and kingdom that
will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those
nations shall be utterly wasted.
2. Israel shall be wealthy beyond measure.
Isaiah 60:17 For brass I will bring gold, and
for iron I will bring silver, and for wood brass,
and for stones iron….
a. If God restores the forests of Israel to the land, it
will not be for timber and wood.
b. They will build their structures out of brass, iron,
and gold.
3. Israel will finally have peace.
Isaiah 60:18 Violence shall no more be heard in
thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy
borders; but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation,
and thy gates Praise.
a. The first thing I noticed once we walked out of
Israel’s airport were the guards carrying their
rapid-fire guns.
(1) They were everywhere.
(2) Every teenager in Israel is required to serve in
the military.
(3) I doubt if there is 12,000 square miles anywhere
on this planet where the citizens are better
armed and trained than in the land of Israel.
(4) No matter how old they are, every adult in that
nation would have been trained in combat and
weaponry.
(5) Why? Because they live in under the constant
threat of war.
b. But there is better day coming!
c. A day when walls won’t be needed.
d. Sadly, that day is not here yet, and worse days must
come before better ones will.
IV. Preacher, this is all great and wonderful; but what does it
have to do with me? Why preach on a nation that is not ours and
about a time for which we will not be here? Three reasons:
A. You and I need to know the plan of our God.
1. It is to save the people of Israel in the land of Israel,
with the blood of the Messiah of Israel—Jesus.
2. God has not changed His people, His Messiah, or the title
to the Jewish land.
3. The land has not changed owners.
a. It was given to Abraham by God in Genesis 12, and the
deed is still theirs.
b. Being out of the land for almost 1800 years, did not
change the deed.
c. Others moving in during that time and claiming it, did
not change the deed.
(1) I can feel for the people who were evicted and
removed from their land in 1948, just like I can
feel for the Jews that were completely expelled
from their land by Emperor Hadrian in 136 AD.
(2) But giving them or anyone the notion that they
will ever get that land back for a possession is
a fool’s dream that needs to be extinguished for
their own soul’s sake.
4. America and especially Christians, don’t you side with the
enemies of Israel!
B. You and I need to know God’s Word still stands.
1. I do not understand those who call themselves Christians:
a. doubting the Bible.
b. slandering the Bible.
c. attempting to change the Bible.
d. dismissing the Bible.
e. disobeying the Bible.
2. How can anyone do that when:
a. The Bible is happening!
b. The Bible works!
3. The Bible is happening right in front of our eyes.
a. Israel is a nation—after a gap of 1800 years.
b. The world is in darkness.
c. It is getting worse.
d. And while the last two are generic prophecies, you can
take the Bible apart and study it with a microscope
and you will see detailed prophecy after detailed
prophecy fulfilled!
4. The Bible works!
a. I read an article about a month ago and did not
bookmark it. It was an interview with a new mayor in
with one the Democratic cities where crime and
violence are running away, and she was explaining why
she was for defunding the police. Her statement was,
"We have to try something. Nothing else we have
tried has worked!"
b. Lady, you have not tried anything until you have tried
the Bible.
(1) What do you think took this lawless, seek-your-
own-justice, war-torn western and wild frontier
of the 1880s and made it into the Norman
Rockwell paintings of the 1950’s?
(2) In just 70 years, we went from strap-on-a-six-gun
and hang-em-from-a-tall tree to a nation of
idyllic communities of paved roads, kids in
school, ladies of etiquette, and men of formal
dress.
(3) How? They preached, honored, and obeyed the Word
of God!
(4) That was seventy years with two world wars in
them!
c. If the Bible worked for that generation, it will work
for this one!
C. Most importantly, let’s understand that the only way to break
the hold of darkness that engulfs us is to turn to Jesus
Christ, individually, as families, as communities, as places
of employment, as local, state and federal governments.
1. It does not matter what darkness holds you—drugs, lusts,
meanness, laziness—Jesus Christ is the cure.
2. It may sound like a cliche, but it true.
God is in control and the book of Isaiah, like all of the Bible,
makes that abundantly clear. Let's stand and shine for Him, not in
the future, but right now!
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