Isaiah 60:1-2 says, “Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. 2 For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, And deep darkness the people; But the Lord will arise over you, And His glory will be seen upon you.” This passage is prophetic of the beginning of Yeshua’s ministry in Galilee.
Isaiah 9:1-2 expresses the same theme: “But there will be no more gloom for her who was in anguish; in earlier times He treated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on He shall make it glorious, by the way of the sea, on the other side of Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles. 2 The people who walk in darkness Will see a great light; Those who live in a dark land, The light will shine on them.” (NASU)
Let’s fast forward to the time of Yeshua’s baptism. After being baptized in the Jordan, Yeshua was led by the Holy Spirit to be tempted by Satan in the wilderness. After enduring temptation, Yeshua went to Galilee. According to Matthew 4:14-16, Yeshua left Nazareth and dwelt in Capernaum. This city is by the sea; it’s in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali. He began His ministry by calling the people to repentance; He urged them to obey the commands of God and He fully preached Torah. By doing this, Yeshua fulfilled Isaiah 9:1-2.
John the Baptist testified that Yeshua was the true light. In John 3:19, Yeshua said that people loved darkness more than the light because their actions are wicked. If they truly loved God, they would have been obeying His commandments. Disobedience reveals the kind of darkness that Isaiah was speaking about. Although many Jews put their faith in Yeshua and although many Gentiles have repented and come to place their faith in Yeshua, more people than we’ve seen in the past two millennia need to turn from darkness to light.
In the future, Yeshua will return during a time when spiritual darkness covers the earth. This will be a time when thick darkness will cover the peoples; this time is very close at hand. It’s not only a time of deception but a time of enormous lawlessness. When the day of the Lord comes, the glory of YHVH will be seen. Not only will people see Yeshua like they did when He walked the face of the earth, the nations (goyim; Gentiles) and kings will come to His shining splendor. The abundance and wealth of the earth will be brought to Zion. These people will praise YHVH.
The rams of Nebaioth mentioned in Isaiah 60:7 will become offerings on YHVH’s altar as YHVH’s house is glorified. Since offerings will be made in the temple during the millennial reign of the Messiah as described by Ezekiel, this is an indication that Isaiah 60:7 is speaking of the 7th millennium (the time of the millennial reign of Yeshua) and not the 8th day.
Those who come to Zion will fly, come by boat, by animal, or by foot. The sons of foreigners will build up the walls of Jerusalem; again, this has to be a reference to the 7th day. This will be necessary because in His wrath, YHVH struck them. Despite His wrath, YHVH will have mercy on His people.
According to Isaiah 60:11, the gates of the city will be open continually; they will not shut during the day or night. This is not a reference to the past because after the return from Babylon, Nehemiah did not allow foreigners to help rebuild the wall. Not only that, after the wall of the city was rebuilt, the people were profaning the Sabbath by buying and selling. Nehemiah had to order the gates of Jerusalem to be shut when it began to grow dark before the Sabbath; the gates were not reopened until after the Sabbath was over.[1]
This prophecy in Isaiah 60 is not exactly a reference to the future 8th day either because the walls of the New Jerusalem are being built in heaven by God and not by the hands of foreigners. When it is time, the old heaven and earth will pass away; the sea will be gone and the New Jerusalem will be brought down to the new earth just as John described seeing it happen.
The prophecy in Isaiah 60 does contain a few similarities to the 8th day. Revelation 21:24-26 says, “And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it. 25 Its gates [of the New Jerusalem] shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there). 26 And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it.” Despite the similarities, Isaiah 60 is still describing the 7th millennium. I think it’s important to note that the gates of the city will be open but the gates of the temple will not always be open. This is so the wealth of the nations can be brought into the city.
Isaiah 60 tells us that the nations and kingdoms that won’t serve God’s people will perish and be ruined. The place of YHVH’s sanctuary will be made beautiful by the trees from Lebanon. Those who afflict Israel will bow down to them. This is so hard for us to imagine that this point in time. Israel’s enemies are so full of hate that it is hard to envision this happening. YHVH’s prophecies are true. It will happen! Jerusalem will be the permanent capital of the Holy One of Israel.
According to Ezekiel 48, a portion of land will be set aside next to the land for Judah. In this land, a holy district will be created that will be 25,000 cubits by 25,000 cubits and situated in the center of this portion of land. The land to the east and west of this district will belong to the prince. This holy district will be in 3 parts. The especially holy portion of the city is where the territory of the priests of Zadok will be; it will be 25,000 cubits in length [E/W] X 10,000 cubits in width [N/S]. The Levites will have a holy portion next to the priests that is of the same size. The city and its suburbs will be in the center of the remaining 5,000 cubits of width X 25,000 cubits length that remain; the city will be 4,500 cubits on each side forming a square and located in the center of this portion. This description shows that the temple is separate from the city; the temple will not be located inside the city itself. Even if the gates of city walls of Jerusalem never close during the 7th millennium, the gates of the temple will open and close:
- Ezekiel 44:1-3: “Then He brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary which faces toward the east, but it was shut. 2 And the Lord said to me, “This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter by it, because the Lord God of Israel has entered by it; therefore it shall be shut. 3 As for the prince, because he is the prince, he may sit in it to eat bread before the Lord; he shall enter by way of the vestibule of the gateway, and go out the same way.”
- Ezekiel 46:1-4: ‘Thus says the Lord God: “The gateway of the inner court that faces toward the east shall be shut the six working days; but on the Sabbath it shall be opened, and on the day of the New Moon it shall be opened. 2 The prince shall enter by way of the vestibule of the gateway from the outside, and stand by the gatepost. The priests shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings. He shall worship at the threshold of the gate. Then he shall go out, but the gate shall not be shut until evening. 3 Likewise the people of the land shall worship at the entrance to this gateway before the Lord on the Sabbaths and the New Moons.”
Isaiah 60:15 – 22 begins to describe something new. Yes, we are no longer reading about the 7th day or the 7th millennium; we are now reading about what happens after the 7th millennium. YHVH will make Zion an eternal excellence and a joy of many generations. There will be peace and righteousness during that time. During the 7th millennium, people were still learning to walk according to Torah because it had been said that it had been abolished for two millennia even though it hadn’t. Once the 8th day arrived, peace and righteousness existed and violence was no longer heard in the land. Destruction had ceased to be part of life. Imagine that the fear of terrorism will be gone. Their walls will be called Salvation and their gates will be called Praise.
Isaiah 60:19-21 says, “The sun shall no longer be your light by day, Nor for brightness shall the moon give light to you; But the Lord will be to you an everlasting light, And your God your glory. 20 Your sun shall no longer go down, Nor shall your moon withdraw itself; For the Lord will be your everlasting light, And the days of your mourning shall be ended. 21 Also your people shall all be righteous; They shall inherit the land forever, The branch of My planting, The work of My hands, That I may be glorified.”
This is in agreement with Revelation 22:5: “There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever.” At that time, there will be no temple because the Lord God Almighty and the lamb is the temple.” Not only will there always be light and no darkness, the city gates of the New Jerusalem will never close.
As we wait for the 7th and 8th day to arrive, let us not walk in darkness. Instead, live lawfully; be the salt and light on the earth!
Remember and do what Revelation 22:14-17 says: “Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. 15 But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie. 16 “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.” 17 And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.”
Don’t be on the outside; be on the inside!
[1] Nehemiah 13:18-19
Highway to Holiness 