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Isaiah 60 speaking about the New Jerusalem.
Isaiah 60 1. Arise, shine; for your light is come, and the glory of the
Lord is risen upon you. 2. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the
earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon you,
and his glory shall be seen upon you. 3. And the nations shall come to
your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising. 4. Lift up your
eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they
come to you: your sons shall come from far, and your daughters shall be
nursed at your side. 5. Then you will see, and flow together, and your
heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea
shall be converted unto you, the wealth of the Gentiles shall come unto
you.......9. Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of
Tarshish first, to bring your sons from far, their silver and their gold
with them, to the name of the Lord thy God, and to the Holy One of
Israel, because he has glorified you. 10. And the sons of strangers
shall build up your walls, and their kings shall serve you: for in my
wrath I struck you, but in my favor have I had mercy on you. 11.
Therefore your gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut
day nor night; that men may bring to you the wealth of the nations, and
that their kings may be brought. 12. For the nation and kingdom that
will not serve you shall perish; yes, those nations shall be utterly
wasted 13. The glory of Lebanon shall come to you, the fir tree, the
pine tree, and the box together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary;
and I will make the place of my feet glorious. 14. The sons also of them
that afflicted you shall come bending to you; and all they that despised
you shall bow themselves down at the soles of your feet; and they shall
call you; The city of the Lord, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel. 15.
Whereas you hast been forsaken and hated, so that no man went through
you, I will make you an eternal excellence, a joy of many generations.
16. You will also suck the milk of the nations, and shall suck the
breast of kings: and you will know that I the Lord am your Savior and
your Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob. 17. For brass I will bring gold,
and for iron I will bring silver, and for wood brass, and for stones
iron: I will also make your officers peace, and your exactors
righteousness. 18. Violence shall no more be heard in your land, wasting
nor destruction within your borders; but you will call your walls
Salvation, and your gates Praise. 19. The sun shall be no more your
light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light to you:
but the Lord shall be to you an everlasting light, and your God your
glory. 20. Your sun shall no more go down; neither shall your moon
withdraw itself: for the Lord shall be your everlasting light, and the
days of your mourning shall be ended. 21. your people also shall be all
righteous: they shall inherit the land for ever, the branch of my
planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified. 22. A little
one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation: I the Lord
will hasten it in his time.
Jesus quotes Isaiah in reference to his
followers.
Matthew 5:14. Ye are the light of the world. A city
that is set on an hill cannot be hid. 15. Neither do men light a candle,
and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it gives light to
all that are in the house. 16. Let your light so shine before men, that
they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in
heaven.
Jesus quotes Isaiah 61:1-4 in reference
to himself, the rest of the chapter paints a picture of what Christ's
followers would do in the earth.
Isaiah 61:1. The Spirit of
the Lord God is upon me............4. And they shall build the old
wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall
repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations. 5. And
strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien
shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers. 6. But you will be named
the Priests of the Lord: men shall call you the Ministers of our God:
you shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory shall you
boast yourselves. 7. For your shame you shall have double; and for
confusion they shall rejoice in their portion: therefore in their land
they shall possess the double: everlasting joy shall be unto them. 8.
For I the Lord love judgment, I hate robbery for burnt offering; and I
will direct their work in truth, and I will make an everlasting covenant
with them. 9. And their descendants shall be known among the Gentiles,
and their offspring among the people: all that see them shall
acknowledge them, that they are the descendants which the Lord has
blessed. 10. I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful
in my God; for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has
covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself
with ornaments, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. 11. For
as the earth brings forth her bud, and as the garden causes the things
that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord God will cause
righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.
Here Daniel is spelling out that the
government of God is given to the people of God and they guide the
affairs of mankind with their truth and their judgment.
Daniel 7:9. I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the ancient of
days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head
like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels
as burning fire. 10. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before
him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten
thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were
opened.............13. I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like
the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient
of days, and they brought him near before him. 14. And there was given
him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and
languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion,
which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be
destroyed. 15. I Daniel was grieved in my spirit in the midst of my
body, and the visions of my head troubled me. 16. I came near unto one
of them that stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he told
me, and made me know the interpretation of the things. 17. These great
beasts, which are four, are four kings (empires), which
shall arise out of the earth. 18. But the saints of the most High shall
take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and
ever. ........ 22. Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was
given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints
possessed the kingdom........... 27. And the kingdom and dominion, and
the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to
the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an
everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.
Paul reiterates the same thing to the church
in Corinth. That it is their word and their judgment that will set the
standard some day for all the nations.
1 Corinthians
6:2. Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world?.........
A few references to the Word of God being the
instrument that brings righteousness, and if righteousness is rejected
then judgement.
Isaiah 11:4. But with righteousness shall he
judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and
he shall smite the earth: with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath
of his lips shall he slay the wicked.
Revelation 1:16. And he had in
his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp two edged
sword: and his countenance was as the sun shines in his
strength......19:15. And out of his mouth goes a sharp sword, that with
it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of
iron: and he treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of
Almighty God.
Ephesians 6:......and the sword of the Spirit, which is
the word of God:
Finally a reference to nations that are guided
by the saints judgment become the ministers of God to the world for
good. But if you do that which is evil, be afraid; for he bears not the
sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, an avenger to execute
wrath upon him that does evil; Romans 13:4 as articulated in:
Psalm 144:....6. Let the high praises of God be in their mouth,
and a two-edged sword in their hand; 7. To execute vengeance upon the
heathen, and punishments upon the people; 8. To bind their kings with
chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron; 9. To execute upon them
the judgment written: this honor have all his saints. Praise the Lord.
Another Reference to the New Jerusalem and
that the Gospel and the Holy Spirit are to heal the nations. (For those
of you who just don't get it. Why would the nations in a new universe
with a visible kingdom of God need healed when there is no need of
"healing" in this new place that you imagine?)
Revelation
22:1. And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal,
proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.2. In the midst of
the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of
life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every
month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
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