Over the
last two weeks, the nations of the world have been battling in London for
athletic supremacy. Countries take great pride in their success at the
Olympics. I’ve even heard that some countries are planning to form commissions
to investigate why they didn’t win more medals!
This
competitive spirit shouldn’t surprise us, because its characterized the history
of our race. Ever since human beings were dispersed by God from the Tower of
Babel, our history has been marked by competition and conflict. Sometimes that
conflict has been waged on the ballfield, and sometimes it has been waged on
the battlefield, but the goal has always been the same—supremacy.
According
to the Bible, history is moving toward a period of time in which the nation of
Israel will be exalted over all the other nations of the world—not because
there’s anything particularly special about Israel, but simply because God has
chosen to stake His reputation upon her destiny.
If we are
to take God’s promises in the Old Testament at face value, then we must
conclude that there are glorious days ahead for the nation of Israel—not
because of anything they will accomplish, but because of the king who will one
day reign over them: the Lord Jesus Christ!
The final
chapters of Isaiah describe the climax of human history in which Israel will
play a leading role because of her coming King. This may seem like an odd step
for studying Isaiah, but I’d like to direct your attention first of all to the
last chapter of Zechariah. Zechariah 14 describes in very straightforward terms
the same events that Isaiah describes in more poetic terms. Sometimes, with
poetic language, its tricky to discern a precise sequence of events, so
Zechariah will give us the framework that will help us understand the prophecies
of Isaiah [READ Zechariah 14:1-19]. Let’s make sure we grasp the broad outline
of these verses. They describe a time when the Lord will physically appear in
Jerusalem to defeat some armies that are gathered there against the people of
Israel. The Lord will then become king over all the earth, and all the nations
will become subservient to Him. These are the events that we usually call the
Second Coming and the Millennium, and you can read more about them in
Revelation 19-20.
So with
this outline of events in mind, let’s look at Isaiah’s description of these
events in chapters 59-62. Our main points this morning focus on the metaphor of
a change of wardrobe that these chapters describe—first for the Lord, then for
His people.
I. The Lord puts on His battle
armor to come as a Savior to Jerusalem (59:14-21)
The
prophecy in Zechariah focused on the external threat to Jerusalem from foreign
armies. Isaiah focuses on the internal spiritual condition of Israel, and we
see that it will not be universally pleasing to the Lord [READ 59:14-20]. These verses describe the coming of
the Lord that we read about in Zechariah, when the Lord will come with
deliverance and protection for those who are in God’s family, and vengeance
against those who are not.
The Lord
will then establish His kingdom in Jerusalem, as Isaiah had already prophesied
in chapters 2, 9, and 11. Isaiah poetically describes this time as a change to
garments of praise rather than garments of mourning.
II. The Lord gives His people
garments of praise rather than mourning (60:1-62:12)
A.
The nations will be drawn to Israel with offerings and praise for her God
(60:1-9)
B.
The children of Israel will be gathered to the homeland that God promised to
their ancestor, Abraham (60:1-9)
These first
two points are both characteristics of this time that Isaiah describes in
60:1-9 [READ 60:1-9]. Verse 9 offers an
important point of emphasis. This passage describes a parade of people coming
to Israel with their wealth, but v. 9 emphasizes that these gifts are “for the
name of the Lord your God, and for the Holy One of Israel.”
Israel will
be blessed, however, because of their association with Jesus, their King. Think
of the way that friends and relatives of famous people tend to get special treatment—that’s
the basic idea.
C.
The children of Israel will enjoy peace, blessing, and security (60:10-12, 18)
[READ 60:10-12, 18] Since the time that the Jewish
people first settled in the Promised Land, it has hardly known a time of
extended peace, but such is the Lord’s promise for the time of His kingdom.
D.
The children of Israel will all embrace righteousness (60:21)
[READ 60:21] Notice again that all of this is for the
Lord’s glory. This point highlights the reason that this kingdom on earth has
been delayed for so long—the Jewish people as a whole have never embraced the
righteousness of God; they have never embraced His plan of salvation. When
Jesus first began to preach in the Gospels, His message was “repent, for the
kingdom of heaven is at hand!” The king was here, and I believe He was
genuinely offering to establish His kingdom, but the people were not
spiritually prepared for it, so He called them to repent. By and large,
however, Jesus was rejected by the Jewish people, but this rejection only
served to further God’s plan to provide forgiveness for sins by sending Jesus
to the cross. But when Jesus returns, there will be Jewish believers waiting to
greet Him, and they will be the foundation of a righteous remnant who will live
in Christ’s kingdom.
E.
Mourning and oppression will give way to comfort, gladness, and praise (61:1-4)
[READ 61:1-4]
F.
Jerusalem will be honored throughout the Earth (62:1-12)
[READ 62:1-7]
And so, in
the kingdom of Christ, God will finally fulfill all of the promises that He
made to the people of Israel—first to Abraham, then Isaac and Jacob, then to
all the people through Moses, then to King David, then to all the people again
through the prophecy of the New Covenant that Jesus referred to during the Last
Supper. But how does all of this apply to you and me—children of God living in
the here and now? Will we live in this kingdom on Earth? We certainly will!
When Jesus
returns to set up His kingdom, you and I will have already been taken out of
the world at the Rapture, but we will accompany Christ when He comes back into
this world. Zechariah 14:5 said that after the nations
have gathered against Jerusalem to battle, “then the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.”
So a group referred to here as “the holy ones” will be coming with Christ.
When we
compare this verse to the description of Christ’s coming in Revelation 19, we
can see that “the holy ones” are you and me! Turn with me to Revelation 19 [READ Rev. 19:11-14] Now these clothes of fine linen
were just mentioned in vv. 7-8 [READ Rev. 19:7-8].
So the clothes of fine linen represent righteous deeds done by the saints who
are part of the bride of Christ. And according to Ephesians 5, the bride of
Christ consists of believers from today—those who are living in what we call
“the church age.”
So when
Jesus returns to establish His kingdom, you and I will be in the cavalry right
behind Him! What an honor—to join our Lord in His glorious return and triumph!
We will be given a role to play in His kingdom based on our obedience to Him
today, and we will enjoy the blessings of that time when Jesus—the head of the
church—will be King and Lord over all things.
If you have
accepted Jesus as your Savior from your sins, welcome to your destiny!!
Someday, we will see this world the way that God created it to be in almost
every detail. Doesn’t it thrill your heart to think about it? It should, and
thinking about this glorious destiny can keep your joy from eroding today as
you face the temporary pressures of this world.
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