Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Isaiah 11:12

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

The Messiah’s kingdom (11:1-12:6)

A leading theme of this part of the book is that God preserves a remnant out of the destruction of Israel and Judah. Earlier this remnant was likened to the stump of a tree from which springs new life (see 6:13). The remnant is now identified with the royal line of David (son of Jesse) from which comes the Messiah (11:1). The Messiah reverences God and, having the Spirit of God in unlimited measure, knows how to apply God’s wisdom in ruling God’s people. He is the Prince of Peace who governs with perfect love and perfect justice. He is not deceived by outward appearances, and has a particular concern for those who are the victims of injustice and oppression (2-5).
In the Messiah’s kingdom there is no hate, fear, cruelty or danger, but perfect peace and harmony. People truly know God, and therefore they no longer do evil to each other (6-9).
The blessings of the Messiah’s kingdom were foreshadowed in the return of the Jews from their captivity in Babylon. The prophet pictures God’s people coming from many nations to dwell together under the Messiah’s rule (10-12). The tension that once existed between Israel and Judah is now gone, for the two kingdoms are united again. They work together in overpowering any nation that threatens the peace of the messianic kingdom (13-14). In a migration of people likened to the exodus from Egypt, those held in foreign captivity return to their homeland (15-16).
Just as Moses and his people sang a song of praise to God for his deliverance from Egypt, so the returned exiles sing their praise to God for his deliverance from Babylon. Now that he has forgiven them, they have no need to fear. God’s salvation brings with it confidence, strength, refreshment and joy (12:1-3). Those who have received this salvation not only want to praise God, but they also want to tell others of him and all that he has done (4-6).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

“And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord will set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, that shall remain, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam and from Shinar, and from Hamath and from me islands of the sea. He will set up an ensign for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and they that vex Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim. And they shall fly down upon the shoulder of the Philistines on the west; together shall they despoil the children of the east: they shall put forth their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them. And Jehovah will utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea a with his scorching wind will he wave his hand over the River, and will smite it into seven streams, and cause men to march over dryshod. And there shall be a highway for the remnant of his people, that shall remain, from Assyria; like as there was for Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt.”

The highly figurative and symbolical nature of the prophecy continues here. What is depicted is the gathering of the Jews, scattered throughout the earth, following the Roman destruction of Jerusalem, “from the four comers of the earth,” along with Gentiles from every nation on earth into the kingdom of God by the preaching of the gospel. This is made certain by the words, “The Lord will set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people that shall remain, there being only two times that God ever did such a thing, once following the Assyrian captivity, and again the second time in the ingathering from the preaching of the gospel. We can find no basis whatever for agreeing with those scholars who speak of the Exodus from Egypt as the first time. In the Exodus, God did not gather his people from “the four comers” but from one nation, not from any scattering or dispersion, but from a concentration in one place, namely, the land of Goshen. This passage speaks of a second gathering from a widespread dispersion: (1) the first following the Assyrian captivity, and (2) the second being the Roman dispersion in A.D. 70.

As Hailey put it, “The first time that God set his hand to recover the remnant involved the Jews under Zerubbabel; and now this passage states that in the days of the Branch (the days of Christ) God would set his hand a second time to recover the remnant from all parts of the earth.”Homer Hailey, p. 124,

Paul quoted Isaiah 11:10 here (Romans 15:12) as a reference to the calling of the Gentiles in Christ.

This whole paragraph continues to be a picture “of the Messianic age.”T. K. Cheyne’s Commentary, p. 79

We should not be surprised that the promise of victory in Jesus Christ is expressed in terms of the personal wishes and desires of a more primitive age of morality than the one to which we are now accustomed.

“Israel’s most persistent and bitterest enemies throughout the centuries had been the very peoples mentioned in these closing verses; and “They are here taken as types of the enemies of God’s church; and the victory over those enemies promised in Isaiah 11:14,”The Pulpit Commentary, p. 205. is a reference to the spiritual victories in Christ over all of the obstacles in the way of faith.

“There shall be a highway” This subject will come up again in Isaiah, the meaning being that God will open the way for honest and good hearts to come unto him in Christ Jesus. The reference here to smiting such barriers as the Red Sea and the Euphrates actually promises the removal of all tribal and national boundaries. “Under this new order all barriers will be removed by the power of Jehovah,”Homer Hailey, p. 125. so that “Whosoever will may come!”

God’s special concern for this “Highway” will be discussed at greater length in Isaiah 35:8 ff.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

And he shall set up an ensign - See Isaiah 11:10. The Messiah shall stand in view of the nations, as a standard is erected by a military leader. An ensign or standard was usually lifted up on the mountains or on some elevated place (compare Isaiah 18:3); and the meaning here is, that the Messiah would be the conspicuous object around which the nations would rally.

And shall assemble - This word, אסף 'âsaph, properly means, to gather, collect, to assemble together, as fruits are collected for preservation Exodus 23:10; to collect a people together Numbers 21:16; to gather or collect gold; 2 Kings 22:4. It may also mean to gather or collect anything for destruction Jeremiah 8:13; and hence, to take out of the way, to kill, destroy; 1 Samuel 15:6. Here, it is evidently synonymous with the word ‘recover’ in Isaiah 11:11. It cannot be proved that it means that God will “literally” re-assemble all the scattered Jews, for the “collecting them,” or regathering them to himself “as his people,” though they may be still scattered among the nations, is all that the words necessarily imply. Thus when the word is used, as it is repeatedly, to denote the death of the patriarchs, where it is said they were ‘gathered to their fathers,’ it does not mean that they were buried in the same grave, or the same vicinity, but that they were united to them in death; they partook of the same lot; they all alike went down to the dead; Genesis 25:8; Genesis 35:29; Genesis 49:29; Numbers 20:24; Deuteronomy 32:50.

The outcasts of Israel - The name ‘Israel,’ applied at first to all the descendants of Jacob, came at length to denote the ‘kingdom of Israel,’ or of the ‘ten tribes,’ or of ‘Ephraim,’ as the tribes which revolted under Jeroboam were called. In this sense it is used in the Scriptures after the time of Jeroboam, and thus it acquired a technical signification, distinguishing it from Judah.

The dispersed of Judah - ‘Judah,’ also, though often used in a general sense to denote the Jews as such, without reference to the distinction in tribes, is also used technically to denote the kingdom of Judah, as distinguished from the kingdom of Israel. The tribe of Judah was much larger than Benjamin, and the name of the latter was lost in the former. A considerable part of the ten tribes returned again to their own land, with those of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin; a portion remained still in the countries of the East, and were intermingled with the other Jews who remained there. All distinctions of the tribes were gradually abolished, and there is no reason to think that the ‘ten tribes,’ here referred to by the name ‘Israel,’ have now anywhere a distinct and separate existence; see this point fully proved in a review of Dr. Grant’s work on ‘” The Nestorians, or, the Lost Ten tribes,”’ in the “Bib. Rep.” for October 1841, and January 1842, by Prof. Robinson. The literal meaning here then would be, that he would gather the remains of those scattered people, whether pertaining to ‘Israel’ or ‘Judah,’ from the regions where they were dispersed.

It does not necessarily mean that they would be regathered in their distinctive capacity as ‘Israel’ and ‘Judah,’ or that the distinction would be still preserved, but that the people of God would be gathered together, and that all sources of alienation and discord would cease. The meaning, probably, is, that under the Messiah all the remains of that scattered people, in all parts of the earth, whether originally pertaining to ‘Israel’ or ‘Judah,’ should be collected into one spiritual kingdom, constituting one happy and harmonious people. To the fulfillment of this, it is not necessary to be supposed that they would be literally gathered into one place, or that they would be restored to their own land, or that they would be preserved as a distinct and separate community. The leading idea is, that the Messiah would set up a glorious kingdom in which all causes of alienation and discord would cease.

From the four corners of the earth - Chaldee, ‘From the four winds of the earth.’ The Septuagint renders it, ‘From the four wings (πτερύγων pterugōn) of the earth.’ It means, that they should be collected to God from each of the four parts of the earth - the east, the west, the north, and the south. The Hebrew word rendered here ‘corners,’ means properly “wings.” It is applied, however, to the corner, or border of a thing, as a skirt, or mantle 1 Samuel 24:5, 1 Samuel 24:11; Deuteronomy 23:1; and hence, to the boundaries, or corners of the earth, because the earth seems to have been represented as a quadrangular plain; Ezekiel 7:2.

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

12.And he will lift up an ensign to the nations. This verse contains nothing more than the explanation of the former verse. The language is metaphorical, and admits of two meanings; either that, by giving an ensign, he will terrify adversaries, so that they will not dare to prevent his people from returning, or that he will give an ensign to the wretched exiles not to hesitate to make preparations for their return. But even at the present day this doctrine is highly useful among us; for as an ensign is lifted up in the army, that the soldiers may assemble, and that every one may follow and may keep his proper place, so a banner is here held out to us, that we may assemble to it, namely, the gospel, which the Lord has lifted up among the Gentiles, by which Christ is preached to us. ⁽¹⁸⁸⁾

And will gather together the dispersions of Judah. Hence we ought to conclude, that we cannot be gathered by the Lord unless we assemble to this ensign, and be joined to him by faith; for there is no other way in which he acknowledges us to be his sheep, than when, after having been scattered, we are gathered together, and meet in the same assembly under this ensign; as he says,

My sheep hear my voice and follow me. (John 10:27.)

The word gather is repeated. He will gather together the outcasts of Israel, and will gather together the dispersions of Judah. He shows how efficacious God’s calling will be; for as soon as he shall give the slightest indication that such is his pleasure, he will restore the people. Dispersion is a collective noun, for it means the Jews scattered in all directions; and he appears to allude, as he often does elsewhere, to similar passages in the writings of Moses, in which the Lord promises that he will gather the people, though they were scattered to the farthest parts of the world, and to the four winds of heaven. (Deuteronomy 30:3.) Now, this was done under the direction of Christ. Under the same leader we ought at the present day to expect the restoration of a wretched and scattered Church; for there is no hope of gathering the remnant but by the elect looking to this ensign. We ought frequently, therefore, to call to remembrance those promises, that by relying on them we may more and more strengthen our hearts.

(188) “Set up his standard on an eminence, the signal for the soldiery to assemble round their commander. Caesar terms it vexillum proponere, quod erat insigne, cum ad arma concurri oporteret . B. Gall. See Ammian, Hist., 27:10.” — Rosenmuller.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Shall we turn to Isaiah, chapter 11, for the beginning of our study this evening.

In the tenth chapter, the closing part of chapter 10 of Isaiah, and again, let me remind you that the chapter distinctions were made by men, not by the authors. But years later, in order that we might be able to ready reference scriptures, in order that you might be able to find them easily, they divided the Bible into chapters and verses. And that is only for our benefit so that we can reference. And so in the dividing of the Bible into the chapters and verses, this is not the way the Bible was written, but is only divided that way for our benefit so that we can find a passage more easily. Rather than saying, "Well, it's in Isaiah," we can say, "Well, it's in Isaiah the eleventh chapter in the first verse." And that way we can find it and it makes it much easier for us. But in the dividing, they did their best to make the proper divisions of chapters, but unfortunately, many times they cut off a thought, more or less, in the middle. And because we are in a habit of reading a book a chapter at a time, sometimes we start the new chapter without reference to the previous chapter in reading the Bible. Or we start just in one area and we just quit at the end of the chapter, and many times the thought is carried over right on into the next chapter.

Now this is one of those areas where the thought in the end of chapter 10 is that God in His judgment is going to cut down the nations like the trees of Lebanon. Just going to hew them down and there's just going to be stumps. God's going to wipe out the nations and all, leaving just sort of stumps. And so with all of these stumps,

There shall come forth [a stem or] a rod [a branch] out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots ( Isaiah 11:1 ):

So you have the picture now of the nations being leveled. Looking like just a forest that has been cut down; down to the stumps. But out of one, and that is out of Jesse, there is going to be a new life, a new branch coming forth, a stem. And, of course, this is a beautiful prophecy concerning Jesus Christ and the Kingdom Age. As the nations have been leveled as the result of the battle of Armageddon and out of the debris the new life will arise and Jesus the Branch out of the stem of Jesse.

And so this again is a prophecy concerning the Messiah, declaring that He shall come actually from the house of Jesse, which, of course, was the father of king David. And so it is a reaffirmation of God's promise to David that God would build David a house. That out of David's lineage the Messiah would come.

And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and ( Isaiah 11:2 )

Heroic actions would be a better translation of the Hebrew word that is translated might. Not only does He make the right decisions, but He has the power to work these decisions out, to put them into action. A lot of times we may know the right thing to do, but we haven't the capacity to do it. His is not only the counsel, the knowledge of what to do, but the ability to carry it out. "The spirit of counsel and heroic actions."

the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD; And he shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked ( Isaiah 11:2-4 ).

Now this is a reference to the second coming of Jesus Christ. This branch that is growing out of the roots of the tribe of Judah, the house of Jesse, the lineage of David. When He arises, the anointing of God's Spirit upon Him, and, more or less, is referred to as the sevenfold anointing of the Spirit.

In Revelation you read in the reference to the Holy Spirit there around the throne of God, and the seven spirits which are before the throne of God. A difficult verse to interpret. We know that there is one Holy Spirit. What is the reference to the seven spirits that are there before the throne of God? There have been many suggestions that have been offered as to the possible interpretation of the seven spirits. Some have declared that there are seven archangels such as Michael and Gabriel. And in one of the books of the Apocrypha, the book of Esdras, you have Sanskrit, and Uriel and Raphael, and you have the names of seven what they call archangels or chief angels. And some believe that the seven spirits refer to the seven chief angels or archangels that are before the throne of God. That is one possibility.

Another possibility is that the seven spirits before the throne of God are a reference to the sevenfold working of the Spirit in Jesus Christ. As we find here in the use, this eleventh chapter verses Isaiah 11:2 , and Isaiah 11:3 , as a reference for the interpretation of the sevenfold working of the Spirit in Jesus Christ: the spirit of wisdom, understanding, the spirit of counsel, and the spirit of might, or the heroic actions that we mentioned, the spirit of knowledge, and the fear of the Lord, and of quick understanding--the sevenfold working of the Spirit. So which is the correct interpretation? Well, I just suggest you look into it and pray about it and find out what you're comfortable with. No way you can be dogmatic in that. They are both possible that they are correct, and it's possible that they're both wrong and that there is something else that we'll discover when we get to heaven. We'll say, "Oh, that's what they're talking about seven spirits before the throne. All right, you know."

So I've got a lot of things that are filed up here in a catalog that says, "Wait for further information." And so I hesitate being dogmatic on some of these issues. Where the Bible doesn't speak clearly on a subject it's only sheer presumption for me to speak dogmatically. And I don't like to do that unless there is a clear indication in the scriptures. But those who say that it is the sevenfold or the complete working, seven being the number of completeness, complete working of the Spirit in the life of Christ that's manifest in the life of Christ, use this passage as a reference to that idea.

Now, He is coming to judge the earth and His coming in the brightness of His coming is said that the antichrist, the beast, will be destroyed with the sharp sword that goes forth out of His mouth. Now the Word of the Lord is like a sharp, two-edged sword. And there is such power in the Word of God and God said, "Let there be light: and there was light" ( Genesis 1:3 ). It's known as divine fiat, the ability of God to speak something into existence. The tremendous power in God's Word. God no sooner says it than it exists. It's a reality. The moment God declares it, it comes into existence or into being.

So here is this antichrist, the man of sin, son of perdition, who has demonstrated such marvelous power that all the world is wondering after him. Doing all of these wonders and signs and miracles so that the whole world is enthralled by this man of sin. Creating such a powerful military force that they say, "Who is able to make war with the beast?" ( Revelation 13:4 ) Seemingly to overcome everything that gets in his path. He starts moving down to conquer Africa. He passes through Egypt, gets to the borders of Libya and Ethiopia when the news comes that China is invading from the east. And so he takes his troops and returns from the invasion to Africa to meet this invasion from China. And they meet together there in the valley of Megiddo. And as these tremendous forces of man are in this horrible war there in these plains of Jezreel, the valley of Megiddo, Jesus comes again.

And this man who has deceived the world, this man who has caused the world to stand in awe and wonder at his power and all, this man who the world looks up to as the greatest leader the world has ever seen, the most powerful man who has ever lived, for Satan invests this man with all of his power and with all of his authority. Satan does for him what he volunteered to do for Jesus Christ if Jesus would bow down and worship him. When he took Jesus up into a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and said, "All of these will I give unto thee if You will bow down and worship me. And the glory of them for they are mine. I can give them to whomever I will." Jesus refused it, but this man accepts, and Satan gives to him his throne, his authority. And this man is ruling over the world with the powers of Satan behind him and the whole world stands in awe.

The two witnesses that God has sent that are anointed with power. Elijah and Moses or Enoch, whoever else is Elijah's companion, this man has power to put them to death. And thus, he asserts his power over God. Greater than God. And the whole world is wondering after him and saying, "Who can make war with him?" And Jesus comes and says, "You've had it." And the guy goes. And just the word that goes forth out of the mouth of Jesus Christ is all that's necessary. He doesn't get in a big conflict with him. Doesn't get into battle with him. He just speaks the word and the guy is totally wiped out. Oh, the power of the word of Jesus Christ.

Now He is coming then, He begins to judge, He gathers the nations together for judgment when He returns, Matthew 25:1-46 . Now when He judges, He doesn't call for witnesses. He doesn't need to. He doesn't need for someone to come in and testify against anyone else. In fact, when Jesus was here, John tells us that, "He didn't need that anybody should tell Him about any man, for He knew men, and He knew what was in man" ( John 2:24-25 ). That can be a rather frightening thing if you're on the wrong side of the fence.

To know that here is a man and that's what the woman at the well of Samaria when she went and told her friends. "Come and meet a man who told me everything I've ever done." Oh man, that's sort of heavy. Of course, that's the thing that attracted Nathanael when he met Jesus. He said, "Wow, behold an Israelite in whom there is no guile." He said, "How did you know me?" He said, "Well, when you were over there sitting under the fig tree I saw you." "Oh, truly You are the Messiah, the Son of God." He said, Jesus said, "You believe just 'cause I tell you I saw you on a fig tree? Stick around, you're going to see a lot more than that." But he realized that Christ had this perception, the ability to see right into a man.

And Jesus exercised this perceptive ability, that of being able to see right into it. And so He does not judge by hearing testimony or witness, He knows. I mean, He judges by that thorough, total knowledge that He has of each of us. The Bible says that "everything is naked and revealed before Him with whom we have to do" ( Hebrews 4:13 ). I mean, you can't hide or cover a thing when you stand before the Lord. He looks right through you and He sees everything. His x-ray vision perceives all. I'm thankful that I have the shield of, it's not a lead shield, but it's a blood shield. The blood of Jesus Christ that just wipes out all of the past. And I'm so glad for that forgiveness and that cleansing of the past through the blood of Jesus Christ so that when He looks at me, He sees me pure, righteous and holy. And that's the only way I want it. I want to stay in Christ. I want to abide in Him. I don't want to have to stand before Him and have Him look through me and read me off and all. I like it living in Christ where "there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus" ( Romans 8:1 ).

So He does not reprove after the hearing of the ears. He doesn't have to have anybody give testimony. "But in righteousness shall He judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and will smite the earth with the rod of His mouth." The Bible tells us that in the Kingdom Age, He'll rule with a rod of iron. "And with the breath of His lips shall He slay the wicked."

And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins ( Isaiah 11:5 ).

Now the conditions that will exist when He reigns upon the earth:

The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them ( Isaiah 11:6 ).

We see not the world that God created. We see a world that is suffering the curse because of man's sin. And the curse has spread out into the animal kingdom. It's spread out into the areas, the whole area of the earth. The earth is cursed. "Thorns and thistles shall the ground produce" ( Genesis 3:18 ). The animals at war with each other. That's why nature does not give us a true picture of God. It can declare to us His glory, His power, His majesty, His might, but it doesn't declare His love, because the earth is in rebellion against God. But when Jesus establishes His kingdom, even the animal kingdom will be at peace. And I can see a little child taking a lion by the mane and dragging it around, you know. What a tremendous pet that's going to make. My little daughter... my little daughter, that's been a while. My grown daughter, Cheryl, now a mother, as she was growing up always had a great fascination for lions. Loved to draw lions. She wanted a lion for a pet. Never got it, but the day will come when a little child will lead them about.

The cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like an ox ( Isaiah 11:7 ).

No longer carnivorous.

And a nursing child shall play on the hole of the asp [very poisonous snake], and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea ( Isaiah 11:8-9 ).

Now that's what you're praying for when you pray, "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven" ( Matthew 6:10 ). As I say, you do not see the earth today as God created it, as God intended it. You see the earth as it is suffering as the result of man's rebellion against God. And that is why it is manifestly wrong to blame God for all of the pain and the hurt and the bloodshed and the evil and the hatred that is in the earth today and demonstrated in all of these horrible things. It won't be that way when Jesus comes to reign.

And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for a sign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious ( Isaiah 11:10 ).

Now this is what the disciples were expecting Jesus to do when He came. And that is why they were so upset and disappointed when He was talking to them about the cross, about His death. "But Lord, when are You going to set up Your kingdom? When are You going to make this glorious ensign that all of the Gentiles will come flowing to Jerusalem and all to receive of the benefits and the glory?" But this remains with the second coming of Jesus Christ.

And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left ( Isaiah 11:11 ),

Now, God is gathering now, and has gathered now, the Jews back to Israel. In the process of gathering them back as the nation has been re-established, but not all are going back, not all are even interested in going back. There are many of them that are now leaving Israel because of the prohibitive taxes and inflation. And it's just difficult to live over there right now, and some 22,000 people left Israel last year and moved to other parts of the world because of the difficulty of living there under these trying conditions. So God will gather them the second time. When? When Jesus Christ comes again. Then He's going to gather together His elect from the four corners of the earth.

In verse Isaiah 11:12 :

And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the eaRuth ( Isaiah 11:12 ).

Now in Matthew's gospel chapter 24, those people who take a post-Tribulation rapture position usually use Matthew 24:1-51 as one of their key texts for proving their point. Where Jesus in talking to His disciples about the signs of His coming and the end of the age declares, "Immediately after the tribulation [verse Matthew 24:29 ] of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: and then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four [corners of the earth or from the four] winds, from one end of heaven to another" ( Matthew 24:29-31 ). And they say that that is when the rapture takes place as the Lord at that point gathers together His elect and His elect, they say, is the church.

Now they take that position because they are not thoroughly familiar with the Old Testament and God's dealing with the nation Israel. For Isaiah tells us, and he is referring to this very same event that Jesus referred to, as the elect are gathered together that the elect are actually from the house of Judah and they are the outcasts of Israel. They are not the church. And, of course, also Isaiah further confirms that in the twenty-seventh chapter and in verses Isaiah 11:12 , and Isaiah 11:13 , which, of course, we'll be getting to in a few weeks. "And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall beat off from the channel of the river unto the stream of Egypt, and ye shall be gathered one by one, O ye children of Israel. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the great trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt" ( Isaiah 27:12-13 ). So it's speaking of the trumpet and the gathering of the people together.

And in verse Matthew 24:31 of Matthew, "And they shall send His angels with a great sound of the trumpet" ( Matthew 24:31 ). Again, a reference to the gathering together of the Jews after His return. As He sets up the ensign and gathers together the Jews from the four corners of the earth where they have been driven in the dispersion. So that gives you a scriptural, clear understanding of Matthew 24:1-51 and shows that the elect cannot be the church.

I do not know why some men persist in their teaching that the church is going to have to go through the Great Tribulation. It is something that it seems that Walter Martin gets on almost every broadcast. He's like on a one-stringed guitar or something. It's about the only thing he can get wound up in. And it's really too bad because he has a very vast knowledge of the cults. Excellent knowledge of the cults. And he is a good teacher, but he seems to constantly be harping on this issue. But it's a harp with only one string and it doesn't make much music. I love Walter Martin. He's a good friend of mine. But we just happen to disagree at this point. And the unfortunate thing is he always puts his programs right around mine and where we only bring up the subject occasionally as we are teaching the whole gospel and declaring to you the whole truth of God, and I'm not out on a bandwagon to defend the position. It's just whenever we go through the Bible in declaring the whole counsel of God, we show you what the Bible teaches. But it seems that he has to harp every single broadcast on this particular issue. But I wish he'd get a few more strings in his harp. I'll hear from him on this and we'll have a good time. We really have a great love for each other. It's just that we have a good time when we get together. It's always exciting. I'm not through with it. We're going to pick it up again when we get to chapter 13. But we've got other things between now and then to talk about. We've got a lot of things to talk about.

So God is gathering together His elect from Israel, from Judah, from the four corners of the earth, Matthew 24:1-51 .

The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah ( Isaiah 11:13 ),

Now, of course, there was great jealousies and envies. There were civil wars between the Northern Kingdom and the Southern Kingdom. Ephraim representing the Northern Kingdom, and Judah, of course, the Southern Kingdom. And there won't be any more conflict between them. They'll be one as in the prophecy of Ezekiel, God said, "When He gathers them back together into the land, they will no longer be two nations but one nation" ( Ezekiel 37:22 ). This division between the northern and southern will be over and they will be one nation on the face of the earth. But rather than being on each other's throat, they will be on those around them.

And they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west; they shall spoil them ( Isaiah 11:14 )

That's the area of Gaza, the Gaza strip. And, of course, Israel did pounce upon them and destroyed them and took that territory.

They shall spoil them of the east together ( Isaiah 11:14 ):

That would be those of Jordan and the West Bank that they have taken.

they shall lay their hand upon Edom and Moab ( Isaiah 11:14 );

Jordan is modern Moab.

and the children of Ammon shall obey them. And the LORD shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river, and shall smite it in the seven streams, and make men go over dryshod. And there shall be a highway for the remnant that will come from Assyria; like as it was to Israel in the day that he came out of the land of Egypt ( Isaiah 11:14-16 ). "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

The return under the Shoot 11:10-16

The rebellion of one Davidic king, Ahaz, would result in the defeat and dispersion of God’s people (Isaiah 8:6-8), but the righteousness of another Davidic king, Messiah, would result in their revival and return to God and the Promised Land.

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

The standard He lifts up for the nations is the flag of His kingdom; His will be an earthly kingdom. He will assemble under this banner a remnant of Jews from both the Northern and the Southern Kingdoms who will be living all over the earth then. The northern tribes of Israel were not lost, as some cults claim. They have a future as Israel.

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

And he shall set up an ensign for the nations,.... For the gathering of them, for the calling of the Gentiles, that is, the Lord would do it; he who before is said to set his hand a second time to recover his people, whether among Jews or Gentiles; this he has done in the ministration of the Gospel, in which Christ is lifted up and held forth as the only Saviour of lost sinners, the sole author and glorious Captain of salvation, for them to flee to, and lay hold on; and this he still does, and will continue to do, until all his people are gathered in from the several parts of the world:

and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel; so those of his people among the ten tribes, that were scattered about in various countries, when the Gospel was preached throughout the world by the apostles, were called by it, and gathered into Gospel churches among the Gentiles, of whom the first churches of Christ consisted; and so it will be in the latter day, when all Israel shall be saved:

and gather together the dispersed of Judah; the Jews, scattered about like lost sheep, among each of the nations of the world; some of which were looked up, and found out, and brought into the sheepfold, in the first times of Christianity; and others will be in the latter day:

even from the four corners of the earth: which shows that this cannot intend the return of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity, which was only from one corner of the earth; The Targum is,

"from the four winds of the earth;''

a phrase the same with that in Revelation 7:1.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      10 And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.   11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.   12 And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.   13 The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim.   14 But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west; they shall spoil them of the east together: they shall lay their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them.   15 And the LORD shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river, and shall smite it in the seven streams, and make men go over dry-shod.   16 And there shall be a highway for the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria; like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt.

      We have here a further prophecy of the enlargement and advancement of the kingdom of the Messiah, under the type and figure of the flourishing condition of the kingdom of Judah in the latter end of Hezekiah's reign, after the defeat of Sennacherib.

      I. This prediction was in part accomplished when the great things God did for Hezekiah and his people proved as an ensign, inviting the neighbouring nations to them to enquire of the wonders done in the land, on which errand the king of Babylon's ambassadors came. To them the Gentiles sought; and Jerusalem, the rest or habitation of the Jews, was then glorious, Isaiah 11:10; Isaiah 11:10. Then many of the Israelites who belonged to the kingdom of the ten tribes, who upon the destruction of that kingdom by the king of Assyria were forced to flee for shelter into all the countries about and to some that lay very remote, even to the islands of the sea, were encouraged to return to their own country and put themselves under the protection and government of the king of Judah, the rather because it was an Assyrian army by which their country had been ruined and that was not routed. This is said to be a recovery of them the second time (Isaiah 11:11; Isaiah 11:11), such an instance of the power and goodness of God, and such a reviving to them, as their first deliverance out of Egypt was. Then the outcasts of Israel should be gathered in, and brought home, and those of Judah too, who, upon the approach of the Assyrian army, shifted for their own safety. Then the old feud between Ephraim and Judah shall be forgotten, and they shall join against the Philistines and their other common enemies, Isaiah 11:13; Isaiah 11:14. Note, Those who have been sharers with each other in afflictions and mercies, dangers and deliverances, ought in consideration thereof to unite for their joint and mutual safety and protection; and it is likely to be well with the church when Ephraim and Judah are one against the Philistines. Then, whatever difficulties there may be in the way of the return of the dispersed, the Lord shall find out some way or other to remove them, as when he brought Israel out of Egypt he dried up the Red Sea and Jordan (Isaiah 11:15; Isaiah 11:15) and led them to Canaan through the invincible embarrassments of a vast howling wilderness, Isaiah 11:16; Isaiah 11:16. The like will he do this second time, or that which shall be equivalent. When God's time has come for the deliverance of his people mountains of opposition shall become plain before him. Let us not despair therefore when the interests of the church seem to be brought very low; God can soon turn gloomy days into glorious ones.

      II. It had a further reference to the days of the Messiah and the accession of the Gentiles to his kingdom; for to these the apostle applies Isaiah 11:10; Isaiah 11:10, of which the following verses are a continuation. Romans 15:12, There shall be a root of Jesse; and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles, in him shall the Gentiles trust. That is a key to this prophecy, which speaks of Christ as the root of Jesse, or a branch out of his roots (Isaiah 11:1; Isaiah 11:1), a root out of a dry ground,Isaiah 53:2; Isaiah 53:2. He is the root of David (Revelation 5:5), the root and offspring of DavidRevelation 22:16.

      1. He shall stand, or be set up, for an ensign of the people. When he was crucified he was lifted up from the earth, that, as an ensign of beacon, he might draw the eyes and the hearts of all men unto him,John 12:32. He is set up as an ensign in the preaching of the everlasting gospel, in which the ministers, as standard-bearers, display the banner of his love, to allure us to him (Song of Solomon 1:4), the banner of his truth, under which we may enlist ourselves, to engage in a holy war against sin and Satan. Christ is the ensign to which the children of God that were scattered abroad are gathered together (John 11:51), and in him they meet as the centre of their unity.

      2. To him shall the Gentiles seek. We read of Greeks that did so (John 12:21, We would see Jesus), and upon that occasion Christ spoke of his being lifted up, to draw all men to him. The apostle, from the LXX. (or perhaps the LXX. from the apostle, in the editions after Christ) reads it (Romans 15:12), In him shall the Gentiles trust; they shall seek to him with a dependence on him.

      3. His rest shall be glorious. Some understand this of the death of Christ (the triumphs of the cross made even that glorious), others of his ascension, when he sat down to rest at the right hand of God. Or rather it is meant of the gospel church, that Mount Zion of which Christ has said, This is my rest, and in which he resides. This, though despised by the world, having upon it the beauty of holiness, is truly glorious, a glorious high throne,Jeremiah 17:12.

      4. Both Jews and Gentiles shall be gathered to him, Isaiah 11:11; Isaiah 11:11. A remnant of both, a little remnant in comparison, which shall be recovered, as it were, with great difficulty and hazard. As formerly God delivered his people, and gathered them out of all the countries whither they were scattered (Psalms 106:47; Jeremiah 16:15; Jeremiah 16:16), so he will a second time, in another way, by the powerful working of the Spirit of grace with the word. He shall set his hand to do it; he shall exert his power, the arm of the Lord shall be revealed to do it. (1.) There shall be a remnant of the Jews gathered in: The outcasts of Israel and the dispersed of Judah (Isaiah 11:12; Isaiah 11:12), many of whom, at the time of the bringing of them in to Christ, were Jews of the dispersion, the twelve tribes that were scattered abroad (James 1:1; 1 Peter 1:1), shall flock to Christ; and probably more of those scattered Jews were brought into the church, in proportion, than of those which remained in their own land. (2.) Many of the nations, the Gentiles, shall be brought in by the lifting up of the ensign. Jacob foretold concerning Shiloh that to him should the gathering of the people be. Those that were strangers and foreigners shall be made nigh. The Jews were jealous of Christ's going to the dispersed among the Gentiles and of his teaching the Gentiles,John 7:35.

      5. There shall be a happy accommodation between Judah and Ephraim, and both shall be safe from their adversaries and have dominion over them, Isaiah 11:13; Isaiah 11:14. The coalescence between Judah and Israel at that time was a type and figure of the uniting of Jews and Gentiles, who had been so long at variance in the gospel church. The house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel (Jeremiah 3:18) and become one nation (Ezekiel 37:22); so the Jews and Gentiles are made of twain one new man (Ephesians 2:15), and, being at peace one with another, those that are adversaries to them both shall be cut off; for they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines, as an eagle strikes at her prey, shall spoil those on the west side of them, and then they shall extend their conquests eastward over the Edomites, Moabites, and Ammonites. The gospel of Christ shall be successful in all parts, and some of all nations shall become obedient to the faith.

      6. Every thing that might hinder the progress and success of the gospel shall be taken out of the way. As when God brought Israel out of Egypt he dried up the Red Sea and Jordan before them (Isaiah 63:11; Isaiah 63:12), and as afterwards when he brought up the Jews out of Babylon he prepared them their way (Isaiah 62:10; Isaiah 62:10), so when Jews and Gentiles are to be brought together into the gospel church all obstructions shall be removed (Isaiah 11:15; Isaiah 11:16), difficulties that seemed insuperable shall be strangely got over, the blind shall be led by a way that they knew not. See Isaiah 42:15; Isaiah 42:16; Isaiah 43:19; Isaiah 43:20. Converts shall be brought in chariots and in litters, Isaiah 66:20; Isaiah 66:20. Some think it is the further accession of multitudes to the church that is pointed at in that obscure prophecy of the drying up of the river Euphrates, that the way of the kings of the east may be prepared (Revelation 16:12), which seems to refer to this prophecy. Note, When God's time has come for the bringing of nations, or particular persons, home to himself, divine grace will be victorious over all opposition. At the presence of the Lord the sea shall flee and Jordan be driven back; and those who set their faces heavenward will find there are not such difficulties in the way as they thought there were, for there is a highway thither, Isaiah 35:8; Isaiah 35:8.