ISAIAH’S END-TIME TIMELINE

Isaiah’s End-time Timeline Chapter 60

THE FIRST RESURRECTION, ARISE AND SHINE

1 Corinthians 15:49, 52, Matthew 13:43, Daniel 12:2-3, Philippians 3:11, 20-21

Verses 1 and 2: “Arise and shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.”  These 2 verses are declarations of the impact of the Redeemer’s future presence in this World, with an allusion to an associated event; that being the First Resurrection. The Light being the Redeemer come, suitable to both His first and second comings. Which is what the last chapter, 59, predicts and celebrates. And He does not come finally until the entire earth is covered in spiritual, moral and physical darkness, at the end of this Age, as every Age ends in apostasy. It’s the days of Noah again, and then He will come in His Glory.

Preceding His manifest Coming on the Earth, is that momentous moment Paul declares in two places. [1 Corinthians 15:52 and 1 Thessalonians 4:16,17] “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first, and they which are alive and remain shall meet Christ in the clouds.” It is in this event the called out ones of God, throughout all the 6000 years preceding, realize most fully the impact of Isaiah’s words, “Arise and shine…”

This event also being the fulfillment of John’s prophetic words of the “harvest” in Revelation 14:15. “And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.”

Although Isaiah 60 describes the Lord’s promised gathering of the living dispersed Jews back to Israel, and the Millennial Age conditions of justice under righteous government, it is also the spiritual [Romans 11:15b] and literal fulfillment of the first of two Resurrections. [Revelation 20:4-6]

The Earth’s surviving people, at the close of the Great Tribulation/Jacob’s Trouble/Great Temptation, being in spiritual and physical darkness, is contrasted, in Isaiah 60, with the brilliance and glory of the Lord seen upon those raised up out from among the dead. That is to say, out of Hades (the intermediate place of the dead). These are ONLY the judged worthy faithful unto God (Luke 20:35, Philippians 3:11), ever since Adam, who are brought up to share in the government, or participation in the promised inheritance of the Millennial Kingdom of glory in the Seed of Abraham.

Matthew 13:43 reads, “Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.”  Which echoes Daniel 12:2-3: “Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, (and later at the 2^nd Resurrection) others to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.” For Scriptural examples of this glorious brilliance, see also Revelation 1:13-16, Acts 9:3-6, along with Paul’s words in Philippians 3:20,21. “For our conversation (citizenship) is in heaven (s); from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body…..”

*Take note also what is being declared here by Paul in the realities of the First Resurrection. Philippians 3 (verse 11) says: “If by any means I might attain unto the (first) resurrection (that is out from among) the dead.” Those 2 realities are: 1.) That attaining (see Greek) is a reference to the struggle for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. (2.) In the attaining; at that First Resurrection; is to first experience the Lord’s glory and then the glorious change of our reunited body into a heavenly body, and all this only at the time of the return of Jesus Christ to this World. It then is not at death, without a heavenly body that we are caught up into the heavens, but instead at the first resurrection.

“But some … will say, How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come?”  Immediately after His resurrection, Jesus’ resurrection body closely resembled his physical body, in that He was recognizable in His appearance. He carried the scars, and He ate. Though we might say with some changes, in that He could pass through walls and appear and disappear at will. But this was something He did also before His Resurrection, presumably in the power of the Holy Spirit.  Are the First Resurrection bodies of the Bride of Christ to be like that? Or will their bodies resemble Jesus’ resurrected body after His ascension into heaven and His Coronation, where Jesus’ body was further glorified, in that it took on a form like that of the Father, as seen in Matthew 17, Luke 7, Mark 7, Acts 9:3-6, Revelation 1:13-16, with Daniel 9:6. And at least, to some extent, the heavenly hosts. [Matthew 28:2,3 Hebrews 1:7, Acts 12:7]

THE FATHER’S GLORY

Ezekiel 1:26-28 reads: And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it. And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about. As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about.

Paul said there were different glories related to the Resurrection.  1Corinthians 15:49 says,“…..we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.” With verses 41,42: “…for one star differeth from another star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead.” To quote Matthew 13:43 again, “Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.”

We therefore remain in the intermediate place, with all the dead over the last 6000 years, awaiting His return from Heaven to the heavens associated with this World, until, we either experience the glory of the First resurrection, or we don’t. And if we don’t, we remain 1000 years in Hades, until the 2^nd resurrection; where we will be then resurrected and restored to our inglorious earthly bodies; and stand in final Judgment at the Great White Throne. Where our deeds & works having been recorded, expose our want of worthiness for the First Resurrection; and where judgment proceeds to declare our future fate.

Scripture declares our whole triune makeup. [2 Thessalonians 5:23 with Hebrews 4:12] And James 2:26, which says: “…as the body without the spirit is dead…” And Solomon reveals in Ecclesiastes 12:7: “Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.” So then we may understand Christ’s Words at His Death of Luke 23:46: “….Father into your hands I commend my spirit….” In essence, it is that “spirit”, now custom-filled with glory, that returns unto its original possessor at the First Resurrection. This life-giving power raising the soul out from among the dead and either reanimating the original carnal body or in itself being that New Creation heavenly body (each individually according to Christ’s assessment at our sowing; that is to say at our death, in harmony with 1Corinthians 15:35-44 or in the case of some; upon being caught up alive verse 51,52) Either way, this glorious one-time event is the essence of the: salvation of the soul. [Hebrews 10:39, James1:21, 1Peter 1:9] And was the goal of all the ancients, lost today in His Church.

ISAIAH 60 with Ezekiel 37 – 38

The restoration of all the tribes of Israel is intrinsically linked with the First Resurrection out from among the dead. When Ezekiel’s words in these verses are taken literally, it requires us to believe God intends to not only bring the living Jews from all over the Earth, but also raise some of them also out from among the dead at the First Resurrection. Righteous Israelites, and place them in the Land according to the Tribal inheritance, in the promised expanded state of Israel. [Isaiah 60:4,8, 21]  These being resurrected then, add even more credence and purpose to the references to the Gentiles wealth, and is typed by Egypt in the exodus of old; bringing their “forces” unto Israel for the support of many of God’s anointed; fresh from the grave who are found worthy to receive their portion in the inheritance appointed unto Abraham’s faithful seed. [Isaiah 60:3, 5,11,12,14,16]

The state of these is the less glorious resurrected state, most likely revealed to us in the Lord’s first resurrected state. The type and shadow of the resurrection of that body with Holy Spirit-given abilities in the latter rain (as that was/is the sign of Jonah to the Jew. [Matthew 16:4] But not in the brilliance or glory-filled heavenly body as Jesus Christ was discovered in later, nor the Bride of Jesus Christ who are raised up into that heavenly realm with promised (and supposed essential) heavenly like-Christ bodies.

Together raised up; they fill with meaning the promise to Abraham, “That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.” And verse 8 of Isaiah 60 says, “Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows”? Is probably an allusion to both.

Interestingly, of further note is that it becomes more and more evident from Scripture that the standard nature of heavenly beings is luminescent. Angels are referred to as Stars. Presumably this world’s firmament having been created with the Angels in God’s mind, as Stars/stars are all representative of God who is light. [1 John with Revelation 21:23]

Darkness is the antithesis of light. Spiritual Darkness is the state of the heart that can look like light. Matthew 6:23 says, “…..But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!” This is Darkness that can appear to be an angel of light to human beings. [2 Corinthians 11:14] “And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.”  The connotation from the word transformed meaning; taking on counterfeit true nature, not having the inherent brilliance of the life and light of God. Satan no longer having the glory and brilliance of the life/light of God within, must now magically defraud with an appearance of “light”. Especially difficult for human beings to discern, who have never met or have met but stopped growing in the knowledge of the true brilliance of glory. Satan is a spirit-being, created in the spirit realm and is eternal. But it is safe to say without God’s life/light, internally that would reflect externally, as the falling of Luke 10:18** intimates. Thus he is without the brilliance he once had as a star/son of God, and owns the original “experience” of dead, that is to say: without the “light/glory” of God.

Our “spirit”, was/is covered in the darkness of our flesh. That is to say unseen, and unknown to many; yet is the possessor of that little spark of light / life. All mankind is born with that spark for physical life/light/with God-given conscience, but when he passes from this earth, the “spirit” that God gave him, returns back to Him. [Ecclesiastes 12:7] Although he, himself, yet remains an eternal being in existence; but now in the intermediate place of the dead, there is no necessity there, as there was on this earth, to retain that “conscience” unto light, so essential to pleasing God in faith, communion and spiritual growth throughout his stay, in the state of darkness on the earth.

**(Christ’s Coming is also compared to Lightning, but Light retained.)

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