The Glorious Light of Divine Approval

The intensity of the light that shines upon Jerusalem is described by Jehovah when he states:  "For you the sun will no more prove to be a light by day, and for brightness the moon itself will no more give you light.  And Jehovah must become to you an indefinitely lasting light, and your God your beauty.  No more will your sun set, nor will your moon go on the wane; for Jehovah himself will become for you and indefinitely lasting light, and the days of your mourning will have come to completion."  (Isaiah 60:19, 20)  Jehovah will continue to be "an indefinitely lasting light" for his "woman."  He will never "set" like the sun or "wane" like the moon.  His constant light of approval  shines upon anointed Christians, the human representatives of God's "woman."  They, along with the great crowd, enjoy such a blaze of spiritual light that no darkness on the world's political or economic scene can diminish it.  And they have confidence in the bright future that Jehovah has set before them. -Romans 2:7; Revelation 21:3-5.

Regarding Jerusalem's inhabitants Jehovah goes on to say:  "As for your people, all of them will be righteous; to time indefinite they will hold possession of the land the sprout of my planting, the work of my hands, for me to be beautified."  (Isaiah 60:21)  When natural Israel returned from Babylon, they took "possession of the land."  But in that case, "to time indefinite" turned out to be until the first century C.E. when the armies of Rome destroyed Jerusalem and the Jewish state.  In 1919 the remnant of anointed Christians came out of spiritual captivity and took possession of a spiritual land.  (Isaiah 66:8) This land, or realm of activity, is marked by a paradisiac spiritual Israel as a body will not prove unfaithful.  Moreover, Isaiah's prophecy will also have a material fulfillment when the earth becomes a literal paradise  characterized y an "abundance of peace."  Then the righteous with an earthly hope will possess the land forever. -Psalm 37:11, 29.

At the conclusion of Isaiah chapter 60 can be found a solemn promise, which Jehovah guarantees by his own name.  He states:  "The little one himself will become a thousand, and the small one a mighty nation.  I myself, Jehovah, shall speed it up in its own time.:  (Isaiah 60:22)  When the dispersed anointed ones were restored to activity in 1919, they are "the little one."  But their number multiplied as the remaining spiritual Israelites were brought in. And the increase  become phenomenal as the gathering of the great crowd got under way.

Before long, the peace and righteousness existing among God's people attracted so many honesthearted ones that "the small one" literally grew into "a mighty nation."   At present it is more populous than a considerable number of the world's sovereign states.  Clearly, Jehovah, through Jesus Christ, has directed  the Kingdom work and has sped it up.  What a thrill it is to see the worldwide expansion of true worship and to have a part in it!  Yes, it is a joy to realize that this increase brings glory to Jehovah, who prophesied these things so long ago. 

Next time: Righteousness Sprouts in Zion, Chapter Twenty-Two

From the Book Isaiah's Prophecy Light for all Mankind, Volume II, 2001