Can there be any richer passages of Scripture that those for today? Have we said that before???

There will be only Believers in Jesus in the Millennial Kingdom.  Imagine that!

Isaiah 60:1-3 tells what will happen as the glory of the Lord rises. Chaos and evil and darkness may surround us but Jesus is our Light.  However, if we make these passages personal and applicable to today, we can be encouraged that we, as Believers, must rise and shine even though spiritual darkness covers the earth.  His glory can be seen in us.  Others will come to that light.

In many of the prophetic writings, the prophets speak layered prophecies. Isaiah 60 is a perfect example of prophecies of the Millennium as well as prophecies concerning eternity.  Often these prophecies are contained in the same chapter, or even the same verse.  It is important for us to read carefully to determine which prophecy is which. The following verses in Isaiah 61 give a perfect example of two prophecies at least 2,000 years apart contained in the same verse. 

Isaiah 61:1 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. 

The word poor doesn't mean lack of money.  It means meek, lowly, or downcast.  What better news can there possibly be for people who are downcast than the good news of salvation through Jesus! 

Jesus read this passage of Isaiah in the synagogue in Nazareth at the beginning of His earthly mission. 

Luke 4:18-20 The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."  Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down.  The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him.  He began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." 

Jesus stopped reading right before, "the day of vengeance of our God."  This part of the Isaiah prophecy had not been fulfilled yet.  It won't be fulfilled until the year-long Day of the Lord or the time of the wrath of God.  We are living in the mercy, patience, learning age.

Isaiah 61:7 Instead of shame my people will receive a double portion.

In the Millennium God's people will receive a double portion. This refers to land masses and their wealth for the tribes.  Their land allotment will be significantly larger than they had before the Millennium. Also in the Millennium, the Gentiles will serve the tribes of Jacob. 

Isaiah 61:10-11 describes for us what happens when we make that decision to believe that Jesus is our Lord and Savior.  We are clothed with garments of salvation and arrayed in a robe of righteousness.

Isaiah 63:1-6 speaks of treading the winepress and having blood-stained garments. Revelation 14 tells us about the winepress and Revelation 19 about the robe dipped in blood worn by Jesus.  

Isaiah reminds the people of how God interacted with them in the past and mentions His presence with them.

Isaiah 63:9 In all their distress he too was distressed, and the angel of his presence saved them.

This presence has been with them (and us) since the beginning as recorded in Genesis 3:8 and Exodus 33:14 as well as many other passages.

Isaiah 63:11-12 where is he who set his Holy Spirit among them, who sent his glorious arm of power to be at Moses' right hand.

What confirmation of the interaction of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in the Old Testament!

In Isaiah 63:15-19 we read "For a little while your people possessed your holy place, but now our enemies have trampled down your sanctuary."  Read Ezekiel 23 to understand what they were doing for God to withdraw His presence from the temple.  It is not a pretty picture.

Isaiah 64:1 Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down...

Praise God, He DID rend the heavens and come down in the form of Jesus!  And He will rend the heavens again and return.

Isaiah 64:4 All of us have become like one who is unclean and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags

What we call righteous is not necessarily what God calls righteous.  What may be politically correct is not necessarily biblically correct.  Some forms of tolerance, for example, among many, many others.

What must the people have thought when Isaiah tells them about the burning of the temple and the ruin of the treasures there as recorded in Isaiah 64.  At that time the temple was still standing.

What a great picture in Isaiah 60 of people being gathered together and what will be happening during the Millennial Kingdom! As we put the pieces of the prophetic puzzle together for the book THESE LAST DAYS we wondered about this verse. “Who are these that fly along like clouds, like doves to their nests?” Does this mean that there will be forms of transportation in the Millennium that we know nothing of now???

Isaiah reports that the Lord will be the light.

Isaiah 60:19
The sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory.

Zechariah gives us another view.

Zechariah 14:7
It will be a unique day, without daytime or nighttime-- a day known to the LORD. When evening comes, there will be light.

And John had this to say about the eternal heavenly kingdom. God gives the light. Jesus is the lamp.

Revelation 21:23
The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.

Which brings us back to the beginning.

Genesis 1:1-3
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.

The light that God created first was not the light of the sun, but the light of the son! He was there in the beginning and will be there for eternity!