60:1 “Arise! Shine! For your light arrives! The splendor of the Lord shines on you!
Isaiah looked into the future and saw the coming of the Messiah. He will come to Israel as the Shechinah Glory in five different ways. First, the Shechinah Glory will be present in the Holy of Holies of the Millennial Temple, just as He was present in Solomon's Temple (Ezekiel 40-48). Second, the Shechinah Glory will be a wall of fire around Jerusalem (Zechariah 2). Third, the Shechinah Glory will hover over the Millennial Mount Zion (Isaiah 2). Fourth, the Shechinah Glory will hover over all of the land of Israel (Isaiah 60). Fifth, the Shechinah Glory will be present in the visible image of the Messianic person of the Lord Jesus Christ on earth.
In this verse, the Shechinah Glory arrives in Israel, just as was promised in Isaiah 59:8.
60:2 For, look, darkness covers the earth and deep darkness covers the nations, but the Lord shines on you; his splendor appears over you.
During the Great Tribulation, the nations will be living in the darkness of the reign of the Antichrist. During the last three days of the Great Tribulation, Israel and the world will be living in their darkest period of history. At this time, the Antichrist will lead a one-world Gentile army against the Jewish people. His goal is to exterminate the Jews, so that they cannot call out for their Messiah. If it was possible for the Antichrist to become successful in his attempt at genocide of the Jews, then there would be no more Jews left on the earth to cry out "Blessed is he who ones in the name of the Lord." Jesus told the Jews that He would not return until they make this cry. If the Jews are not around to make this cry, then Jesus would not return. The devil would remain in control of this world. There would be no Millennial Kingdom on earth. The world would remain under the control of the devil. Therefore, this time period will be the darkest time of world history. The Messiah will arise as the Shechinah Glory. Every eye will see Him. He will shine His Shechinah Glory light during the darkest hour of the Great Tribulation He will shine his light upon not only the Jewish believing remnant, but upon the entire Gentile world as well.
60:3 Nations come to your light, kings to your bright light.
All Jews and Gentiles will enter the Millennial Kingdom as believers. The Jewish children who will be born into this kingdom will become believers as well. The Gentiles who are born into this kingdom will be born as unbelievers, but many of them will choose Christ, depending upon their calling. The light of the Messiah will bring many of the Gentiles to salvation. With the Messiah present in bodily form in Israel, then Israel will become the center of Gentile attention.
60:4 Look all around you! They all gather and come to you— your sons come from far away and your daughters are escorted by guardians.
Isaiah looks into the Millennial Kingdom and sees Jews leaving Gentile lands and coming to Israel. Gentile sheep will escort Israel back into her land.
60:5 Then you will look and smile, you will be excited and your heart will swell with pride. For the riches of distant lands will belong to you and the wealth of nations will come to you.
Isaiah sees Israel returning to her land with great wealth from the Gentile nations.
60:6 Camel caravans will cover your roads, young camels from Midian and Ephah. All the merchants of Sheba will come, bringing gold and incense and singing praises to the Lord.
During the Millennial Kingdom, most of the major trade routes will travel through Israel. The Midianites were descendants of Abraham and his third wife, Keturah. Ephah was the son of Midian and the grandson of Abraham. Sheba is modern Yemen. These families will populate the Millennial Kingdom. They will become prosperous traders. There will still be trade and commerce in the Millennial Kingdom.
60:7 All the sheep of Kedar will be gathered to you; the rams of Nebaioth will be available to you as sacrifices. They will go up on my altar acceptably, and I will bestow honor on my majestic temple.
Kedar was the second son of Ishmael. Ishmael was the son of Abraham and Hagar.
The Nabaioth are today called the Nabateans. They were a branch of the Edomites. The Edomites came from Esau, who was the twin brother of Jacob. The Nabateans built the rock city of Petra. The future importance of Petra will be described in detail in Isaiah 63.
During the Millennial Kingdom, Israel will offer sacrifices which look back to the atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ. They will receive the sacrificial sheep from the Ishmaelites. They will receive the rams from the Edomites. During the Millennial Kingdom, the Jews, Ishmaelites, and the Nabateans will all worship together as a single body of believers.
60:8 Who are these who float along like a cloud, who fly like doves to their shelters?
Isaiah looked into the future and saw a sight that he could not explain. Many modern commentators see this as a vision of jets, airplanes and helicopters which will be transporting the Jews back to Israel. This interpretation could be a possibility. Isaiah asked the question, because he may not have possessed the vocabulary to describe it. This is one of the many verses which will be explained in the Millennial Kingdom.
60:9 Indeed, the coastlands look eagerly for me, the large ships are in the lead, bringing your sons from far away, along with their silver and gold, to honor the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has bestowed honor on you.
These ships of Tarshish were colonies which were established by the Phoenicians. These colonies were located in Tyre, Africa, Spain, and England, These Gentiles of the Phoenician colonies will be involved in the regathering of the Jews back to Israel.
The Gentile sheep will look eagerly to the Messiah. They will worship with the Jews in Jerusalem. They will bring great wealth to the Millennial Temple. They will also transport Jews who will be scattered all over the world and in every continent into Israel.
60:10 Foreigners will rebuild your walls; their kings will serve you. Even though I struck you down in my anger, I will restore my favor and have compassion on you.
The cities of Israel will be destroyed during the Great Tribulation, but the Gentiles will rebuild their walls during the Millennial Kingdom. During the Great Tribulation, Jehovah was angry at Israel, so He smashed her. During the Millennial Kingdom, Jehovah will show compassion on Israel and bandage her wounds. He will restore and rebuild Israel to become the leading nation of the Millennial Kingdom.
60:11 Your gates will remain open at all times; they will not be shut during the day or at night, so that the wealth of nations may be delivered, with their kings leading the way.
During the Millennial Kingdom, there will be no need for closed gates. The Messianic King will not allow any wars upon the earth. During the Feast of Tabernacles, Gentiles from all over the world will make pilgrimages to Jerusalem (Zechariah 14). The Gentiles living during the Millennial Kingdom will offer their wealth to Jerusalem.
60:12 Indeed, nations or kingdoms that do not serve you will perish; such nations will be totally destroyed.
Gentile nations who do not serve Israel during the Millennial Kingdom will be destroyed. Those nations who do not make pilgrimages to Israel during the Feast of Tabernacles will be punished. One of the punishments will be national drought (Zechariah 14).
60:13 The splendor of Lebanon will come to you, its evergreens, firs, and cypresses together, to beautify my palace; I will bestow honor on my throne room.
Gentiles will also use their wealth to aide in the rebuilding of the Millennial Temple. The cedar trees of Lebanon will be used to rebuild the Millennial Temple. The Shechinah Glory will return to the Millennial Kingdom (Ezekiel 40-48).
60:14 The children of your oppressors will come bowing to you; all who treated you with disrespect will bow down at your feet. They will call you, ‘The City of the Lord, Zion of the Holy One of Israel.’
The anti-Semitic Gentile nations who formerly despised Israel will now show great respect for her. They will recognize that Jehovah dwells in Jerusalem.
60:15 You were once abandoned and despised, with no one passing through, but I will make you a permanent source of pride and joy to coming generations.
Israel was a despised and orphaned nation among the Gentiles, but she will become a permanent pride and joy to future generations of Gentiles. Jerusalem was once a despised city, but she will become the most beloved city of the Millennial Kingdom.
60:16 You will drink the milk of nations; you will nurse at the breasts of kings. Then you will recognize that I, the Lord, am your deliverer, your protector, the powerful ruler of Jacob.
The other Gentile nations will nurse Israel like a baby. During the Millennial Kingdom, all Jews will recognize that Jehovah is her deliverer, her protector, and her Messianic King.
60:17 Instead of bronze, I will bring you gold, instead of iron, I will bring you silver, instead of wood, I will bring you bronze, instead of stones, I will bring you iron. I will make prosperity your overseer, and vindication your sovereign ruler.
Israel will be extremely prosperous during the Millennial Kingdom. The cities will be made of gold, silver, bronze, and iron. They will be led by righteous men who possess strong Bible doctrine.
60:18 Sounds of violence will no longer be heard in your land, or the sounds of destruction and devastation within your borders. You will name your walls, ‘Deliverance,’ and your gates, ‘Praise.’
During the Millennial Kingdom, there will be no murders, violent crimes, or wars. The names of walls will not be named after influential men of the satanic world system. The walls will be named “Salvation” and “Praise.” The names of walls and gates will glorify God instead of men.
60:19 The sun will no longer supply light for you by day, nor will the moon’s brightness shine on you; the Lord will be your permanent source of light— the splendor of your God will shine upon you.
The sun and moon will still exist, but the light of Israel will be provided by the Shechinah Glory.
60:20 Your sun will no longer set; your moon will not disappear; the Lord will be your permanent source of light; your time of sorrow will be over.
More details of this supernatural light are given in Revelation 20.
60:21 All of your people will be godly; they will possess the land permanently. I will plant them like a shoot; they will be the product of my labor, through whom I reveal my splendor.
All of the Jews will become “godly,” because they will become believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. They will possess the land of Israel for the entire Millennial Kingdom period. Jehovah will plant them in the land and they will grow rapidly in population. There will be no more attempted genocides upon them. The Messianic Jews will be the produce of Jehovah’s labor. He worked hard to get them to produce good fruit. The Shechinah Glory will be revealed to Millennial Israel.
Notice that "all" of Israel will be saved. The "all" Israel will be those Messianic Jews who will survive to the end of the Great Tribulation. The Jewish rabbi misinterpret this verse to mean "all" Jews of "all of history." However, this rabbinic interpretation does not fit the context of this chapter. The time period of this chapter is the end of the Great Tribulation and the beginning of the Millennial Kingdom. This chapter is not about all of the Jews of world history.
60:22 The least of you will multiply into a thousand; the smallest of you will become a large nation. When the right time comes, I the Lord will quickly do this!”
There will be a Jewish population explosion in Millennial Israel. Satan has always attempted to reduce the population of the Jews. God will increase their numbers. The Jewish population of the Millennial Kingdom will be compared to the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. When the Millennial Kingdom begins, then this Jewish population increase will happen very quickly.