Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of Yahweh has risen upon you. For, behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the peoples; but Yahweh will arise upon you, and his glory shall be seen upon you. And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.

"Whereas you have been forsaken and hated, so that no man passed through you, I will make you an eternal excellency, a joy of my generations. You shall also suck the milk of the nations, and shall suck the breasts of kings; and you shall know that I, Yahweh, am your Savior, and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob. For bronze I will bring gold, and for iron I will bring silver, and for wood bronze, and for stones iron. I will also make your officers peace, and your exactors righteousness. Violence shall no more be heard in your land, desolation nor destruction within your borders; but you shall call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise. The sun shall be no more your light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light to you: but Yahweh will be to you an everlasting light, and your Elohim your glory. Your sun shall no more go down, neither shall your moon withdraw itself; for Yahweh will be your everlasting light, and the days of your mourning shall be ended. Your people also shall be all righteous; they shall inherit the land forever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified. The little one shall become a thousand, and the small one a strong nation: I, Yahweh, will hasten it in its time." (Isaiah 60:1-22).

One of the most inspiring passages of promise in the sacred Scriptures that the Bible student can read is this 60th chapter of Isaiah. It describes the construction phase of the governing city of Jerusalem from which the Kingdom of Yahweh will rule during the millennium. These promises penned by the prophet Isaiah are not simply idle words or hyperbolic statements. On the contrary, they are certain and sure, something for all True Worshipers to receive with rejoicing. Notice that the focus of the chapter is on light beginning with the very first verse, "…  for your light has come." The parallel clause explains: "The glory of Yahweh has risen upon you." So we understand that the light of the governing city of the earth during the Kingdom Age comes from Almighty Yahweh, and it emanates from Yahweh’s own glory. It comprises a reflection of Yahweh’s brightness.

Meanwhile, spiritual darkness covers the earth and gross darkness the peoples. But Yahweh will arise upon the True Worshipers, because the passage asks the question: "Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows?" (Isaiah 60:8). This discussion indicates it will be at the time of the Second Coming of Yahshua and the gathering together of the saints of Yahweh as they rise to meet Him in the air, whereupon they accompany Yahshua to positions of rulership over this earth. Thenceforth their home will be the mansions (abiding places) of Yahweh, as we read in John 14:1-4.

Spiritual darkness in the world today sadly is growing ever deeper. When we read articles in newspapers and in the national news magazines, we can perceive the growing evidence of widespread evil acts such as violence, sadism, and pornography. When the author was a young man society was not like this, even though we thought the world was bad enough in those days. Today, it can be accurately described as evil, wretched and continually becoming worse

Our subject is "The Seven Lamps of Yahweh." In this series of articles, we will be concentrating on the seven assemblies of Revelation chapters 2 and 3. The subheading is taken from Revelation 1:19-20: "Write therefore the things which you saw, and the things which are, and the things which shall come to pass after this." The instruction is given to the author, the Apostle John, telling him to write, or record what he sees.

Paul, in writing to the Corinthian Assembly in chapter 12, of 2 Corinthians, informs his readers that he was told not to write the vision of the heavens he saw. He explains in verse 4 that he heard unspeakable things which it is not lawful for a man to utter. The man to whom he refers is obviously himself. Although he apparently saw prophetic visions similar to those seen by John, Paul was told not to write the visions of the heavens depicting the Kingdom of Yahweh. John, however, was told to write down or record the vision. Yahweh selected the author. Remember, the Bible is Yahweh’s book. It is His end-time message to us.

Consequently, a magnificent light emanates from Almighty Yahweh, our Heavenly Father. Yahshua the Messiah, as the Creator, as His first act of restoration created light on this earth with the power invested in Him from Yahweh in Genesis 1. The description of Yahshua in Revelation chapter 1, also concentrates on the element of light when describing His eyes, which are like a flame, and His feet, which appear as if they burned in a furnace. His countenance (His face) was as the sun shines in its strength. This fearful sight certainly made John fall down as one dead. See Acts 9:4.

The seven assemblies represent the light of Yahweh as symbolized through the tabernacle and temple menorah. Could this message also be for our time?

There are various theological interpretations (most of which I consider to be false) that are attached to the seven assemblies of Asia. A popular interpretation claims that the congregations to which these mini epistles were sent do not actually mean anything, that they are merely cities on an ancient Roman mail route. This is one interpretation which the True Worshiper cannot accept. Perhaps the Romans did indeed deliver mail to each one of these cities, but it is doubtful that the Romans had anything to do with what Yahweh was trying to show us by delivering messages through Yahshua the Messiah to these seven assemblies. There is much more revelation to be learned from the selection of these seven cities.

Ephesus (the location of the first assembly addressed by Yahshua the Messiah) was once the capital of the province. It provides a good example with which to guide our thoughts. The members of the Assemblies of Yahweh who resided there possessed good spiritual values and they were bearing good fruit, but they also displayed some adverse characteristics. Those are the unfavorable traits for the True Worshipers to avoid. Such a warning appears in 1 Corinthians 10:11, "Now these things happened to them by way of example; and they were written for our warning, upon whom the ends of the ages have come." They are examples for us to take for our correction.

The author believes that there were sizable Apostolic Messianic Assemblies in each one of these seven cities. We should accept an example of the sound spiritual values and the good, commendable spiritual fruits that these assemblies brought forth. Conversely, we also must take warning from the improper characteristics that appeared inherent in some of these assemblies. Let us scrutinize the assembly of Ephesus more closely.

When Yahshua the Messiah preached His sermon on the mount (on the Horns of Hattin), He was sitting on a very high mountain from which He could look even farther up into the hills of Galilee. In the distance He could see Safad, which had been a major center for the study of Torah (law) for many years. At night the lights of Safad can be plainly seen from a great distance. The author remembers riding the elevator on the outside of the hotel in Tiberias, where we stayed on one of our visits to the Holy Land. When you have access to a nice outside elevator, you can see the lights of Galilee and the region as the elevator ascends. As we ascended on the elevator we could see the hills of upper Galilee and there were the lights of the city of Safad clearly visible.

"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid." Safad could not be hid; it was highly visible, its lights were brightly shining. Why would people illuminate so many lights in a city that the lights could be seen from such a distance? The answer is, in the Messiah’s time they were studying Torah (Law) at night. "Neither do men light a lamp, and put it under a bushel, but on the stand; and it shines to all that are in the house. Even so let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven."

One of the people in our locality here at Bethel remarked one time to me, "You have many critics because of what you teach." I replied, "I do not doubt that one bit." Then he said, "But I come to your defense, and I tell them these people are not a cult. They are very moral." Is that not what Yahweh’s instruction means? "Let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven."

This is a tremendous passage of Scripture, but for the most part the world rejects the book of Revelation. If they were to study this passage as Yahshua the Messiah presented it to John, and as we have received it in our Bibles, we must conclude that it would change their lives, it would change the world, and it would keep everyone looking steadfastly toward the Kingdom of Yahweh.