The Glory of the Lord Shall Rise Upon You!

The Glory of the Lord Shall Rise Upon You!

“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 Gentiles shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.” Isa. 60:1-3.

The literal fulfillment of this scripture belongs to the earthly Israel, and we have seen the beginning of it for some time. Israel’s history illustrates that God’s Word is the glory of the Lord. When Israel kept God’s Word and paid heed to His commandments, their earthly glory became great. They did not have to work every seventh day and every seventh year. Lev. 25:17-22. But if they did not keep His commandments and laws, their land would become a wilderness. Lev. 26:34-35. Everything depends on whether one keeps God’s commandments and laws or not. This does not just apply to Israel, which God has chosen to be an example, but it applies to all the nations and to every person.

Since Pentecost, the church has experienced the spiritual fulfillment of this Word. “So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.” Acts 2:46-47. “And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all. Nor was there anyone among them who lacked.” Acts 4:33-34.

There is no glory in the religious denominations, because they have rejected God’s Word. There is strife, envy, and division; consequently, power to bring God’s Word is lacking. Yet in spite of all this need, none of them acknowledge that they have rejected God’s Word. They all say how glad they are for the Bible, each denomination interpreting it in its own way, always learning but never coming to the acknowledgment of the truth. 2 Tim. 3:7. Just learning or hearing God’s Word does not produce glory; only if a person does God’s Word will he experience the glory. We have rejected all the Word of God that we know but do not do.

When He came into the world, Jesus said, “Behold, I have come . . . to do Your will, O God.” Heb. 10:7. Consequently, God’s glory rose over Him; He arose from the dead, and the upright seek out His light. One day the entire earth will be filled with His glory. The church, which is the body of Christ today, will also experience this. Eph. 4:15-16. The church consists of those who do God’s Word.

The person who wants to be the greatest shall be the servant and slave of all! “All of you be . . . clothed with humility . . . .” “Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine . . . .” “Bear one another’s burdens . . . .” “Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification.” If we don’t do what it says in these scriptures, we reject them, and the church will become a religious denomination—a desert. If we do them, it will become glorious, and the glory of the Lord will arise over us. Then we are building the church. The upright seek His light. This is how the church—the body of Christ—comes into being. In the body there is comfort of love, fellowship of the Spirit, compassion and mercy, whereas deep darkness covers the people. “Lift up your eyes all around and see: They all gather together, they come to you.” This is not only what Israel is experiencing these days, but also the church. We can clearly see this when people arrive for the conferences. They do not come to hear preachers, but rather to “exhort each other to love and good works,” and to be built up as living stones to a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 1 Pet. 2:5.

The glory becomes great by doing God’s Word in spite of the fact that the entire world is under the sway of the wicked one. And just as “a city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden,” so the church cannot be hidden for the upright who are in deep darkness. As the glory of the Lord rises over the church, God will lead the upright out of this deep darkness.

Are you along, dear brother and sister, in increasing the glory of the Lord over the church and thereby helping the upright, or are you making it difficult for them???