Isaiah 60:19-22 describes the coming days when God will make all things right in words that everyone living under the sun can appreciate:
" The sun will no more be your light by day,
nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you,
for the Lord will be your everlasting light,
and your God will be your glory.
Your sun will never set again,
and your moon will wane no more;
the Lord will be your everlasting light,
and your days of sorrow will end.
Then all your people will be righteous
and they will possess the land forever.
They are the shoot I have planted,
the work of my hands,
for the display of my splendor.
The least of you will become a thousand,
the smallest a mighty nation.
I am the Lord;
in its time I will do this swiftly."
If light represents joy, peace and fullness of life, and darkness oppression, mourning and sorrow, imagine living in the day when the light shines even more brightly than the sun, the day of the everlasting light that never fades nor sets, the day when darkness will be no more!
The coming of Jesus, the light of the world, assures us that Isaiah 60 is neither fantasy nor fiction (John 1:5, 9-10). His rejection by his people that led to his death on the cross reminds us that we still live in a world that would not receive him, a world that will continue to be marked by troubles and hardship. But his glorious resurrection from the dead reminds us that we no longer live in fear but in hope, for "Death has been swallowed up in victory" (Isaiah 25:8; 1 Corinthians 15:54), "Where, O death is your sting?" (Hosea 13:14; 1 Corinthians 15:55)
Indeed, Revelation 21:22-27 builds on Isaiah 60:19-22 in pointing us forward to life in the glorious city of God that "does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp". As surely as Jesus rose from the dead, that day shall surely come.
As we wait for the dawning of that day, while we continue living in this world where the sun still sets, where both light and darkness will continue to mark our daily experience, may we find assurance and comfort in these wonderful words the Lord Jesus (John 16:33):
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace.
In this world you will have trouble.
But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
