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. 4 Lift up your eyes all around, and see; they all gather together, they come to you; your sons shall come from afar, and your daughters shall be carried on the hip. 5 Then you shall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and exult, because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you, the wealth of the nations shall come to you. 6 A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come. They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall bring good news, the praises of the Lord.
Isaiah 60:1-6 (ESV)
I am utterly convinced that the glory of Israel can be found in no other place than in Christ. He is the only true and rightful heir of the promise of God made to Abraham for “Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ.” [Gal 3:16] The promise of God was reserved for Christ alone by God’s own will in the giving of the Law, which was “added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made.” [Gal 3:19]. All this so that the promises of God could only be inherited by those who have faith in His Son. [Gal 3:22] Through many tears the apostle Paul spoke of this truth to the church in Rome, and though he had great affection for his own Jewish people, it was his words penned under the inspiration of the Spirit of God that said “This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring.” [Romans 9:8]
With hindsight it is easy to see how the Jews rejected Christ as Messiah, largely because the glory that He ushered in was not that which they expected or wanted. The sad thing is however, that if we as believers now cannot see the glory either, but await the same as the Jews did then, where does that leave us? Are we going to find the same rebuke as did the apostles who, in the midst of their grief, could not see what was already a reality in Christ? “And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen.” [Luke 24:5-6]
When Christ came to earth, so did His Kingdom [Matt 12:28]. He was and is the great Light to whom the Old Testament prophets testified, and it was Christ Himself who testified from His own lips, ““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] And further on He also says, “”As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” [John 9:5] As His Body now in the earth, the same is now true of us, His elect. [Matt 5:14, Eph 5:8, Phil 2:15]
Whether or not another temple is built in Jerusalem, it will never again be the dwelling place of God, for Christ alone is the true Temple [John 2:18-21], and we (His Body) are the only true temple in the earth [1 Cor 3:16-17]. Even Solomon knew this when he said “But who is able to build him a house, since heaven, even highest heaven, cannot contain him? Who am I to build a house for him, except as a place to make offerings before him?” [2 Chron 2:6]. And even should an earthly temple be rebuilt, its sacrifices could never be acceptable before God for “when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent ( not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) 12 he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.” [Heb 9:11-12]
In Christ alone is the glory of Israel revealed, and the very mystery of the Gospel was that “the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.” [Eph 3:6], thus fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah above that said children will be brought in from all nations, as they come to the brightness of His rising. And it is through this one body, made up of Jew and Gentile alike, the ekklesia of God we know as the church that “the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.” [Eph 3:10] This was, is and always has been the purpose of God in Christ, by faith in Whom we boldly come before the Father in Heaven. [Eph 3:11-12]
If we see no glory in this age, what gives us confidence that we shall share in His glory in the age to come? Christ is already raised from death to life, and is enthroned on high above every name and power, both in this age and the age to come [Eph 1:20-21]. Right now He prepares a place for His Betroved in His Father’s house [John 14:2-3], accompanied with the promise to take us to be with Him. In the meantime we are sealed with His Spirit, guaranteeing our inheritance [Eph 1:13-14], for which we “groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.” [Romans 8:23] Right now our Beloved reigns from Heaven, right now His kingdom reigns within our heart, right now we are spiritually seated in heavenly places, and right now we are His and He is ours! Yet at His return, the glorious consummation will take place, and we will be with Him for all eternity. This is our blessed hope!
When Christ returns, it will not be in secret, to remove the church from the wrath to come. But “as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day.” [Luke 17:24] “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.” [1 Thess 4:16] It shall be no secret for every eye shall see Him, and His purpose shall be no secret, for small and great alike will be found “calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, 17 for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?” [Rev 6:16-17]
The glory of Israel is not a future earthly reign, but it is a reality that already has come. We have a Saviour who not only died for our sins, but has been raised to life by the power of God, and is right now seated in glory until all His enemies are put beneath His feet. He lives, and because He lives, so do we! By faith we have already passed over from death to life, and shall not be judged according to His wrath at His return. [John 5:24]
Do not be deceived. The glory of Israel has already been revealed in Christ at His first coming, and upon His return His glory will be made manifest amongst all who believe. He will return to judge the living and the dead, and will make all things new. In that day, every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that He is Lord, and those who are His will be revealed in the sight of all.
“For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. 24 Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27 For “God has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “all things are put in subjection,” it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. 28 When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all.” [1 Cor 15:22-28]
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