The Gravity of Glory Text: Isaiah 60:1-9
Introduction: A World Bathed in Light
We live in an age of managed despair. Our cultural overlords, having rejected the God of Scripture, are left with only two options: a frantic, nihilistic hedonism or a grim, joyless pessimism. They see history as a meaningless cycle of power struggles, culminating in either a bang or a whimper, but certainly not in victory. They are merchants of gloom, peddling the notion that the world is a sinking ship and the best we can do is rearrange the deck chairs or, for the more pious among them, build a few lifeboats to get ourselves out before it all goes under.
Into this thick, self-imposed darkness, the prophet Isaiah speaks a word that is as jarring and unwelcome to the modern ear as it was to the ancient. This is not a word of quiet comfort for a beleaguered remnant. It is a trumpet blast announcing a global conquest. It is a prophecy of such staggering, optimistic, and worldwide victory that it makes our modern, timid, and defensive forms of Christianity look like a completely different religion. What Isaiah describes here is nothing less than the successful completion of the Great Commission. This is the postmillennial hope in high definition.
We must be clear on what we are reading. When Isaiah speaks of Zion and Jerusalem, he is not talking about a geopolitical entity in the Middle East. The New Testament is abundantly clear that the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ is the Jerusalem from above, the mother of us all (Gal. 4:26). We are Mount Zion, the city of the living God (Heb. 12:22). This prophecy, therefore, is about the Church. It is a promise made to you, if you are in Christ. It describes the historical destiny of the Bride of Christ in this age, before the Lord returns. And that destiny is not to be huddling in a bunker, but to be a city on a hill, so radiant with the glory of God that the entire world is drawn to her light.
This passage is a direct assault on every form of defeatist eschatology. It demolishes the idea that the world must get darker and darker until Jesus comes to rescue us from the mess. No, the world gets darker, true enough, but the Church gets brighter. And the light wins. The light is not just holding its own; it is advancing, expanding, and swallowing up the darkness. This is the future of the world, because the glory of Yahweh has dawned upon His people.
The Text
"Arise, shine, for your light has come, And the glory of Yahweh has risen upon you. For behold, darkness will cover the earth And dense gloom the peoples; But Yahweh will rise upon you, And His glory will appear upon you. Nations will come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising. Lift up your eyes round about and see; They all gather together; they come to you. Your sons will come from afar, And your daughters will be carried on the nurses’ hip. Then you will see and be radiant, And your heart will tremble and be large with joy; Because the abundance of the sea will be turned to you, The wealth of the nations will come to you. A multitude of camels will cover you, The young camels of Midian and Ephah; All those from Sheba will come; They will bring gold and frankincense, And will bear good news of the praises of Yahweh. All the flocks of Kedar will be gathered together to you; The rams of Nebaioth will minister to you; They will go up with acceptance on My altar, And I shall adorn My glorious house with beautiful glory. Who are these who fly like a cloud And like the doves to their lattices? Surely the coastlands will hope in Me; And the ships of Tarshish will come first, To bring your sons from afar, Their silver and their gold with them, For the name of Yahweh your God, And for the Holy One of Israel because He has adorned you with beautiful glory."
(Isaiah 60:1-9 LSB)
The Great Commission to Shine (vv. 1-2)
The prophecy begins with a command, an imperative rooted in a glorious indicative.
"Arise, shine, for your light has come, And the glory of Yahweh has risen upon you. For behold, darkness will cover the earth And dense gloom the peoples; But Yahweh will rise upon you, And His glory will appear upon you." (Isaiah 60:1-2)
The Church is commanded to "Arise, shine." This is not a suggestion. It is a marching order. But notice the basis for the command. We are not told to generate our own light. We are not instructed to muster up some internal luminescence through sheer effort. The reason we are to shine is because "your light has come." The light is an external reality that has dawned upon us. The Church is like the moon; it has no light of its own. It only reflects the glorious light of the Son. Jesus said, "I am the light of the world," and then He turned to His disciples and said, "You are the light of the world." The glory of Yahweh, which is the very presence and character of God revealed in Jesus Christ, has risen upon us like the sun at dawn.
Verse 2 sets up the great contrast that defines history. "Behold, darkness will cover the earth and dense gloom the peoples." This is not a surprise. The world, in its rebellion against God, manufactures its own darkness. It is a spiritual, moral, and intellectual darkness. But this is not the end of the story. The "but" in this verse is one of the most powerful hinges in Scripture. "But Yahweh will rise upon you, and His glory will appear upon you."
This is not a 50/50 struggle between two equal forces. The picture is of a sunrise over a dark landscape. The darkness is total, but it is passive. It has no power to resist the dawn. When the light comes, the darkness must flee. The central reality of our age is not the encroaching darkness, but the dawning glory of God upon His people. Our problem is that we spend too much time studying the darkness and not enough time looking at the sun. We are commanded to arise and get to the business of shining.
The Global Gravitational Pull (vv. 3-4)
The effect of this shining is not localized. It is global and magnetic.
"Nations will come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising. Lift up your eyes round about and see; They all gather together; they come to you. Your sons will come from afar, And your daughters will be carried on the nurses’ hip." (Isaiah 60:3-4)
This is the Great Commission in prophetic language. The result of the Church shining with the glory of Christ is that the nations are irresistibly drawn in. They do not come begrudgingly. They are attracted to the light. And it is not just a handful of individuals who are saved out of the nations. The promise is that "Nations" plural will come, and "kings" will be drawn to the brightness. This is a picture of societal transformation. It means that the gospel will so profoundly impact cultures that rulers and political structures will bend the knee to Jesus Christ. They will bring their authority, their "brightness," and lay it at the feet of the Church, acknowledging the King of kings.
Because we are so accustomed to our defensive crouch, God commands us to "Lift up your eyes." We are to stop staring at our shoes and look at the horizon. What do we see? A great ingathering. "They all gather together; they come to you." This is the great harvest of souls from every tribe and tongue. The "sons" and "daughters" are the elect of God, scattered throughout the world, being brought into the covenant family of the Church. They are coming from afar, a testament to the global reach of the gospel. This is not a picture of a failing mission; it is a picture of a wildly successful one.
The Consecration of Wealth (vv. 5-7)
This global conversion has massive economic implications. When people are saved, their stuff is saved with them, which is to say it is repurposed for the Kingdom.
"Then you will see and be radiant, And your heart will tremble and be large with joy; Because the abundance of the sea will be turned to you, The wealth of the nations will come to you... All those from Sheba will come; They will bring gold and frankincense... All the flocks of Kedar... the rams of Nebaioth... will go up with acceptance on My altar, And I shall adorn My glorious house with beautiful glory." (Isaiah 60:5-7)
The response to seeing this ingathering is joy, a heart that trembles and swells. And why? Because the economic engines of the world are being converted. "The abundance of the sea," a metaphor for commerce and trade, and "the wealth of the nations" are redirected. This is not a promise of personal enrichment for greedy Christians. It is about the resources of the world being brought into the service of the King.
The camels of Midian, the gold and frankincense of Sheba, the flocks of Kedar and Nebaioth, these represent the economic output of the Gentile world. In the Old Covenant, these nations were often enemies. In the New Covenant, their productivity, their wealth, their very identity is brought to be offered on God's altar. This is the sanctification of business, of art, of agriculture. It is all brought to adorn God's "glorious house," which is the Church. When the nations are discipled, their GDP is discipled along with them. They learn to use their resources not for idolatry or oppression, but to "bear good news of the praises of Yahweh."
The Joyful Homing Instinct (vv. 8-9)
The prophecy concludes with a beautiful image of this great migration, and the ultimate reason for it.
"Who are these who fly like a cloud And like the doves to their lattices? Surely the coastlands will hope in Me; And the ships of Tarshish will come first, To bring your sons from afar, Their silver and their gold with them, For the name of Yahweh your God, And for the Holy One of Israel because He has adorned you with beautiful glory." (Isaiah 60:8-9)
The prophet asks, "Who are these?" He sees a cloud of people moving with urgency and purpose, like doves flocking to their home at dusk. This is not a forced march. This is a joyful, eager return. This is what the new birth does; it gives people a homing instinct for Zion, for the people of God. They are flying to safety, to community, to worship.
The "coastlands," the remotest parts of the earth, will place their hope in Christ. And the "ships of Tarshish," representing the pinnacle of global trade and maritime power, will lead the way. The most powerful and influential elements of human civilization will be dedicated to this great ingathering. They will use their strength to bring God's scattered children home, and they will bring their wealth, "their silver and their gold with them."
And here is the ultimate reason for this astonishing global transformation. It is all "For the name of Yahweh your God." It is for His reputation. God is making His Church glorious. He is adorning her with "beautiful glory" for a purpose: so that the world would see her beauty and be drawn to the God who made her so. Our glory is a reflected glory, and its purpose is evangelistic. God saves us, He beautifies us, and He makes us shine so that the whole world will see and be saved.
Conclusion: Stop Admiring the Problem
This is the destiny of the Church. This is the future of the world. The central task for Christians in our generation is to believe it. We have spent far too long admiring the problem of the world's darkness. We have written books about it, held conferences on it, and developed entire theological systems around our expectation of its triumph.
God's command to us is simple: Arise and shine. Stop negotiating with the darkness. Stop being impressed by the gloom. The light has come. The glory of the Lord has risen upon you. Your job is to reflect it, to live in such a way that your families, your churches, and your communities become outposts of this heavenly light.
We are to preach the gospel with confidence, build institutions that will last for a thousand generations, and raise our children to be kings and queens who will bring the wealth of their inheritance into the kingdom. We do this not with fleshly arrogance, but with a quiet and unshakable confidence in the God who promised that His glory would not just visit the earth, but cover it as the waters cover the sea. The victory has already been won in Christ. Our task is simply to implement it. So let us get to it.