That last verse, Isaiah 24:23!
“Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.”
It certainly refers to that future Time when the “Lord of Hosts” (one of Isaiah’s several Names for Jesus) “reigns” (as in the Kingdom, as in the Millennium) on this earth! Look … “in Jerusalem!”
(Jesus has not yet done that, literally … not yet sat on a Davidic Throne and reigned in that great City!)
“Mount Zion” can even be a reference tot he Temple area, the “Temple Mount!”
And apparently many “ancients” (very old people, likely including resurrected Old Testament saints) will be present in that future Administration!
Then too notice the adverb (in English) … “gloriously!” In Hebrew, the word is “kabod,” in “great honor!” The most effective Leadership this world has ever known!
But look, there’s something here about the “moon” and the “sun” also. Two parallel verbs, “confounded” and “ashamed” apply to those heavenly bodies. Each word has the idea of something becoming “ineffective,” or placed under “reproach,” or even (when its perceived “root” word is studied) “being sought,” as if the moon and sun had disappeared!
I think I know what Isaiah means! His thought is duplicated elsewhere in the Millennial Passages of the Bible. THE GLORY OF JESUS, RADIANCE OF HIS PRESENCE WILL BE SO BRIGHT … THE SUN AND MOON WILL NO LONGER BE VISIBLE, OR EVEN USEFUL! They will “dim” in comparison to His Aura!
Now watch. Revelation 22:5 … “And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.” Probably even describing the “eternal state,” forevermore!
Better yet … Revelation 21:23 … “And the city (New Jerusalem) had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.”
But then Isaiah himself will amplify his God-given thought, later in his Book. Isaiah 60:19-20 … “The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the LORD shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory. Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the LORD shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended.”
Wow!
Next time you see a sunrise or sunset … or a full moon … get a good view! The Day will come when they will be considered “obsolete!”
I am thinking of the Transfiguration of Jesus now! Matthew 17:2 … “And (Jesus) was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.”
Or Mark 9:3, the same historical Event … “And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them.”
Wow!
Jesus really IS the Light of the World!
— Dr. Mike Bagwell
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