Old Testament - Isaiah 60 & 61- October 5, 2022

 10/5/2022 – Isaiah 60 & 61

Isaiah 60: Isaiah continues with prophecies of events that will occur in the last days, as well as during and after the Millennium. He begins with the positive statement: “Arise, shine; for thy light is come and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.” (v1) And then he prepares us for the difficult things that will happen before the Lord makes His appearance: “For, behold, the darkness [ignorance and wickedness] shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise [shine upon, illuminate thee], and his glory shall be seen upon thee.” (v 2)

V 3 then tells us “and the Gentiles shall come to thy light…” The Church is growing. Isaiah encourages us to “lift up thine eyes round about and see…” (v 4)

Then in v 5, he warns us that “…thine heart shall fear and be enlarged…” 

There is a lot in this chapter that I am far from understanding. But I know that the Lord knows exactly what will happen. My part is to stay close to Him, follow His commandments, and rely on the love and comfort that comes from being close to Him. We will need to remind ourselves that we can be loving and kind to one another, even in the most difficult of times—And that is probably the most important time to love and support and aid one another.

It is somewhere in this time that Isaiah is telling us that the saints will build “the City of the Lord, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel.” (v 14) Isaiah tells us that in this city, “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.” (v 18).  Isaiah tells us that our solar system will change: “Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended. Thy people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land for ever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands that I may be glorified. A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation; I the Lord will hasten it in his time.” (v 20-22). Do I understand this? Not really. But I do understand that the Lord is preparing us for difficult times, but He also includes His promise that He will be near us if only we seek His presence. All of these terrible times will lead to what the earth was intended to become from the very beginning: a place for us all to live together, to grow together, to serve the Lord, and to continue on on our eternal path. I think our banner should be “Press forward saints with steadfast hope in Christ.” That sounds to me like a very safe path that will lead us to a place we long to be in.

Isaiah 61: This chapter speaks about the Savior’s mission. His mission wasn’t over when He left this earth—His mission will continue until this earth is changed….even celestialized. 

V 1 struck me when I read Isaiah’s words: …the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound.” That has been and still is Christ’s calling. The phrase that struck me most was that He preaches good tidings unto the meek. We need to truly be meek in order to understand and accept the gospel, in order to see others in their very best way, in order to help all with love and true concern. This is an important reminder to me!

Hard times don’t need to be times that destroy us. Christ is appointed: “unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord that he might be glorified.” We are certainly planted here on earth, and there is no question that He has given us an excellent road map to follow.

Basically, when Christ comes He will continue to teach us and bring to us hope, healing, liberty, and comfort. Once again, He will come and teach us and help us to go forward in our eternal growth. Isaiah describes this in v 10: “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness…”

The final verse in this chapter (v 13) tells us that the last days will break forth as spring from a desolate winter. I hope that if I live through these hard times of spiritual winter that will proceed the best of times, that I will provide myself with spiritual coats of faith, of love, of belief, and of work…meaning work for and with Him.


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