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Articles 2014-2017
Arise, shine; for your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. 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.
The Lord promised a dawning glory upon His people. Of course, we love to read such statements. But then He added that deep darkness would first cover the earth.
In its original context, the Lord was speaking to the Jewish people. There would come a dawning light, an emerging glory. But the darkness that was already upon the earth would continue, would increase, and would become great darkness. Sure enough, the Babylonian Empire was ascendant in those days. They invaded and conquered Judah and carried the nation off into captivity, into a godless, pagan empire. Then the Persians conquered Babylon. But then, their dominance was cut short when Alexander the Great defeated them in battle. As Alexander took over that part of the world, the darkness continued to spread and to grow deeper as the pagan, idol-worshiping empire of Rome arose crushing everything in its way. Indeed, great darkness covered the face of the earth.
However, God’s promise remained.
But the Lord will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you. The Gentiles (Hebrew, GOY – the nations) shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.
There in the midst of incredible darkness, Jesus was born. Thirty years later, after His 40 day trial in the wilderness, He came into the region of Galilee. Notice Matthew’s application of the prophet Isaiah’s words in Isaiah Chapter 9 and how they harmonize with his words in Isaiah Chapter 60.
”The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned.” From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
God started turning up the rheostat and the light began to increase in Israel. In fact, He who was the very glory of the nation (Luke 2:32), who gave definition to Israel’s identity, calling, and purpose stepped out of obscurity and very quickly into national prominence.[22] And out of that initial dawning, nations have been affected and to some degree over the last two thousand years have come to the brightness of Heaven’s rising. For example, think about what Europe looked like prior to the Reformation as over against afterward. Nations were changed because of the gospel. Isaiah also said that kings would come to the increasing brightness. As a result, we acknowledge that a number of presidents in our own country were believers in the Lord Jesus. My understanding is that the previous Prime Minister of Canada is also a solid Christian. And I am sure there are many other examples of political leaders over the last two thousand years who have trusted Christ as their Lord.
Lift up your eyes all around, and see: they all gather together, they come to you; your sons shall come from afar, and your daughters shall be nursed at your side. Then you shall see and become radiant, and your heart shall swell with joy; because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you, the wealth of the Gentiles (the nations) shall come to you. The multitude of camels shall cover your land, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come; they shall bring gold and incense, and they shall proclaim the praises of the Lord. All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together to you, the rams of Nebaioth shall minister to you; they shall ascend with acceptance on My altar, and I will glorify the house of My glory.
Isaiah gives us a picture of nations from all across the earth flowing into the work God initiated in Israel. The Lord would reach out from the Jewish nation and many would turn to Him. The wealth of the nations, the abundance of the sea would be brought in. And it would all add up to this crowning statement. I will glorify the house of My glory.
For two thousand years Christ has been building His Church and revealing to some degree His glory in it. And yet as we stand at the beginning of 2016, our hearts cry out for more of His majesty to be revealed among us. Isaiah reiterates this truth again in verse 13 where he mentions many different types of people symbolized as trees coming to His house. Through them He will beautify the place of His sanctuary and make the place of His feet glorious. Indeed, the magnificent Head of God’s Church is in heaven. But His intent is that on earth, the place of His feet will also become glorious.[23]
Having said all of the above, I believe that the Lord would have me exercise some prophetic license. In other words, having considered one perspective of Isaiah’s words in their historical context spoken to Israel, I would like to now step out of that context and apply them to our present situation. It is at this point that all readers should exercise caution and evaluate whether or not the Lord is actually speaking.
I believe the Lord spoke to me at the end of 2015 by quickening to me Isaiah’s words – “Arise shine, your light has come. The glory of the Lord is risen.”
But again, notice what happens.
Behold the darkness is going to cover the earth and deep darkness the people, but the Lord will arise over you and His glory will be seen upon you. I believe the Lord said that we (I am speaking in the context of his people in America) are in a dark era. And this age of darkness has been increasing for a generation. In fact, pretty much all we have really known in this nation over the last fifty years is an expansion of darkness. While it is true that we have experienced Holy Spirit visitations such as the Latter Rain revival that began in Saskatchewan, Canada, the healing revivals in the 1940s and 1950s, the Charismatic renewal, etc., yet the darkness continues not only to spread across western Europe and North America, it is growing and it seems to be accelerating. We are in an expanding era of darkness.
For years I have been preaching that while there is great darkness, God will arise and push it back. I still believe that. But consider this. The greatest light that ever dawned in human history was Jesus of Nazareth, and He came at a very dark time. He was the greatest manifestation of the glory of God in history; He was God put into human terms. But when we consider the Scripture and Church history, the darkness did not immediately disperse. In fact, it intensified in its reaction to Him. We see darkness’ response all through the gospels as well as in the book of Acts. His enemies crucified Jesus and persecuted His followers.
And it took about three hundred years from when Jesus was born to when Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire. If it took a few centuries to see a rolling back of darkness when God himself came to earth to start the process, then what are we facing now?[24] And how long will this dark era persist?
Again, although we are in a dark time, I believe that God intends to arise again. And as we face a growing intensity of evil in our nation, we are beginning to see economic persecution, one of the major elements of Satan’s attack against God’s people. Those who refuse the beast’s mark, who refuse to act or think in harmony with the ruling powers, will not be able to buy or sell (Revelation 13).[25] It is already happening. If you are a School Teacher in America and you put a Bible on your desk, you can be fired. Not too long ago, a football coach at a particular school prayed with his players on the field and was suspended. When a certain town official who is a believer refused to certify gay marriages, many said that she should just resign. Here is economic persecution for one’s beliefs.
Something is happening in our culture, in “the land of the free.” We have even begun to see martyrdom. Recently, a man began shooting students at a school in Oregon. My understanding is that he specifically had the Christians identify themselves so that he could execute them. Many said that he was crazy. But it is more than that. There is a spirit operating in our culture and it has been manifesting itself among us for many years. While we are not yet seeing overt government sponsored persecution of Christ’s Church (and I am not saying that we will in the next five, ten or twenty years. I do not have a timetable for this), the increasing darkness is picking up speed, and intensifying in this generation. I am not trying to provoke a fear of the future, but rather to confirm what is already going on around us.
But God’s promise is clear. He will arise over us and His glory will be seen upon us and nations will come to our light and kings to the brightness of our rising. There is a coming impact upon the nations of the earth because of the dawning illumination of God upon His people. It is true that we cannot change the earth. But we can cry out for the Lord to arise among His people and to unveil His beauty and glory among us. He is so attractive to the human heart when the ugliness of darkness is most manifest. And He will arise not because we have gotten our act together or made ourselves worthy but because His name is at stake.
Our God has determined to make His name known among the nations. As the Scripture says, salvation is of the Lord; He is the only One who can turn hearts in His direction, who can shift the way people think. One of the greatest marks of His power in John the Baptist’s life was that He used John to turn the hearts of many to himself (Luke 1:16). Though John came in the spirit and power of Elijah, he did no visible miracles. But he did turn the hearts of many toward the God of Israel. Such an effect is more miraculous than calling down fire from heaven. It is more extraordinary than raising someone from the dead. When God arises and turns the hearts of men, it brings an internal and eternal change. That is far more consequential than physical healing. As wonderful as physical healing is (and may it increase among us), the alteration of the human heart has much greater and far–reaching consequences. And God intends to arise and release His power in the gospel through His people, for the nations cannot continue in their present course. But as He arises it will bring an intensified reaction from the darkness.
It is not that God wants us to look for trouble. Rather, He is drawing us to love Him with all of our hearts and those around us will react or respond in some measure as a result.
I was recently drawn into a conversation with a man I identify as a thinking unbeliever. He wanted to talk about the darkness (the term he used) in our nation that is affecting all of Western Civilization. Amazingly, I had just been reading Isaiah Chapter 60 that very morning. But every time I mentioned the Lord Jesus he would turn the conversation in a different direction. He wanted to talk with me about the problem, but he did not want to talk about the One I saw as the solution. Since he had lived behind the Iron Curtain and had left Europe to live in the greater freedom of America, he was depressed because he could see the spiritual darkness he had experienced there spreading here. In the course of our conversation, He even acknowledged that it was not the Enlightenment but the Great Reformation that had effectively turned Europe in the direction of an enlightened, prosperous, and free society. For an unbeliever this seemed to me to be incredible insight. Our educational system consistently tells our youth that it was the Enlightenment that was the key to Europe’s success. But in many ways, the Enlightenment brought spiritual darkness. It was in the time of the Great Reformation that God arose, increased His spiritual light among men, and over many years brought change to Europe.
When you see unbelievers recognizing and talking about spiritual darkness and wondering what to do, you know that God has His hand upon them. Such people do not just strike up such conversations with believers unless the Lord is already speaking to them. They are in a wrestling match with the God of heaven. And something I have learned over the years is that He is out of my weight class. If I will just submit, I can save myself a lot of pain.
Lift up your eyes all around, and see: they all gather together, they come to you; your sons shall come from afar, and your daughters shall be nursed at your side. Then you shall see and become radiant.
Isaiah says that we shall see. Truly, God has already brought us out of darkness and opened our eyes to see eternal light. But there is so much more to perceive. The Church at Ephesus had received foundational instruction from the apostle Paul and had been filled with God’s presence, yet he wrote to them that he was praying for the eyes of their hearts to be enlightened to see the hope of their calling (Ephesians 1:18). As much as they already grasped, the apostle knew that they needed to see so much more.
You and I simply do not see as much as God intends for us. But as He arises in a time of increasing darkness and begins to unveil greater dimensions of His available grace to stand in the increasing spiritual gloom, so shall our spiritual eyesight sharpen. Our strategy will not be about demonstrating, marching in the streets, or raising our voices at the wicked. No. God’s kingdom is not revealed in that manner (Isaiah 42:1 - 4). As we press into His presence, He will open our eyes. And we will see certain actions to take and certain words to speak that will “fit” our increased perspective of Heaven’s priorities and purpose. Lives lived appropriate to a God-given increased insight is Heaven’s strategy. It has always been so.
Today we see a measure of God’s power in the Church – healings and miracles do occur. But these are only a taste of what is coming. When the Lord arises among us and upon us, our perception of Him will increase. At that point, sick bodies will respond to our words of salvation and wholeness for we will be speaking from an increased awareness of Heaven’s reality. Such impact will not come from our trying to visualize it. One cannot “work up” the Kingdom of God; we cannot force its presence from heaven. But, like Paul, we can cry out for God to come and open the eyes of our hearts.
Isaiah informs us that many will flow into God’s glorious house and our hearts will swell with joy. Our hearts will not be filled with depression because of the darkness in our nation but with great joy because the abundance of the sea and the wealth of the nations will be flowing into God’s house.
In scripture, the sea is a picture of the nations in turbulence (Isaiah 17:12; 57:20). The prophet Daniel spoke of beasts arising out of the sea, of empires rising up out of the turbulence of the nations. In our own day a beast is arising in the Middle East and extending its tentacles across the earth. But scripture promises that out of the abundance of the sea will come many flowing into God’s house. And when He mentions gold, silver, and the wealth of nations flowing in, it seems that He is referring primarily to the souls of men. The real wealth of any nation is not its financial riches, but its people. God is not impressed with gold; He so loved the world’s people that He came to die for them.
All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together to you, the rams of Nebaioth shall minister to you; they shall ascend with acceptance on My altar, and I will glorify the house of My glory.
Kedar and Nebaioth were the two oldest sons of Ishmael. Surely God is speaking here of the Arab nations in the Middle East. Their flocks shall ascend with acceptance on God’s altar and He will glorify the house of His glory. Today, Islamic worship is not accepted before God. Such worship reflects a great deception, a great darkness that sometimes is being propagated by extremist elements through the slaughter of men, women, and children, and the subjugation of women as second–class citizens. Such darkness is not going up with acceptance on God’s altar. But He has promised to arise into the Middle East and a pure worship will be established in these nations. In other words, many will turn in repentance to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Right now many Christians see the growing darkness and are concluding that Jesus must come soon and take His people out of the conflict. My own concern is that as the darkness intensifies in our nation, Christians will fall away because Jesus did not return when many Bible teachers assured them He would. “How come Jesus hasn’t returned. Look at the persecution. Christians should not have to go through this type of thing. I thought we’d be raptured out before such tribulation occurred! Where’s Jesus?”
Actually, He is in the same place He has been since the resurrection – at the right hand of the Father, ruling, pouring out His grace, and extending His Kingdom on earth. Let us continue to believe in Him and help those who have been falsely comforted through teaching that has not prepared them for what is coming.
In closing, I want to share two visions a friend of mine in one of the churches received recently.
A runner was stripped down and running in a race. He seemed to be handing off a baton.
A black Pharaoh wearing an Egyptian headdress could be seen through a slight mist.
Since Egypt is a type of the world (Israel delivered from Egyptian slavery symbolizing our deliverance from the world), a Pharaoh seems to picture a ruling spirit of darkness. A black Pharaoh would speak of a limited season for its influence. The black Pharaohs (the Cushites) ruled Egypt for a period of about 100 years or less. So the darkness we are experiencing is not the final word concerning this nation’s identity. Though I believe that tough times lie ahead for the Church and that the coming generation will have a more difficult warfare than this present one, yet God has plans for our land. I believe that He will arise again with nation-altering power so as to give us a future and a hope.
I also believe that because there was a mist, the ruling spirit of darkness in our nation has not yet come into its full clarity, but it is close.
Therefore, we must faithfully run the race in our generation and hand off to the next one a clear vision of God’s person and purpose.
Let us cry out to the Lord that in the midst of judgment, He would remember mercy and pour out His Spirit upon our nation. May we be faithful in this generation, and may the coming one go further and deeper into Him and in His purpose. Amen.
Donald Rumble – February 2016
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