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"IN THE SUN"

 

The expression "in the sun" is used three times in the Bible; and in each instance, the expression has a prophetic application having to do with the presence of Christ. We will list the three verses and then we will repeat them with our comments.

Isa 38:8
Behold, I will bring again the shadow of the degrees, which is gone down in the sun dial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward. So the sun returned ten degrees, by which degrees it was gone down.

Luk 21:25
And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;

Rev 19:17
And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;


The first instance of "in the sun" is found in Isaiah; and it has to do with Israel losing and regaining its place in Christ.

Isa. 38:8
Behold, I will bring again the shadow
[A shadow is caused by something between the light and an object--cf. Judges 9:36] of the degrees [Except for the 15 Psalms (See Psalms 120-143)identified as the Psalms of degrees—known for their praise of God because of His mercy in judgment  — this particular incident with Hezekiah is the only mentioning of degrees in the Bible. In addition, when the number fifteen is associated with God’s judgment, the element of mercy is included. (Go to our TREASURE CHEST of BIBLE STUDY AIDS, click on Gateway Bible or the Blue Letter Bible, type in "fifteen" and enjoy.)], which is gone down in the sun dial of Ahaz [In this case, the light is Jesus; and Israel, represented by Ahaz’s sundial, is between Him and the rest of the world.], ten degrees [The number 10 stands for the fulfillment of God’s responsibility to man and it usually entails the cooperation of man in the effort.] backward. So the sun returned ten degrees, by which degrees it was gone down.

Let’s go now to II Kings chapter 20 and read of the incident in its context. If you’ll recall, Hezekiah, the king of Israel, had become gravely ill and was told by the prophet Isaiah to set his house in order, that he was going to die. Hezekiah prayed earnestly for fifteen years more of life and God answered "yes." The narration picks up at this point.

II Kings 20:

8 And Hezekiah said unto Isaiah, What [shall be] the sign that the LORD will heal me [As the king of Israel, Hezekiah typifies the nation.], and that I shall go up into the house of the LORD the third day? [In prophecy, a day often stands for a duration of time. In this case, the third day will be the Kingdom Age—the first two days being the Age of the Law and the Age of Grace.]

9 And Isaiah said, This sign shalt thou have of the LORD, that the LORD will do the thing that he hath spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten degrees, or go back ten degrees? [Although Hezekiah was given a choice, his choice wouldn’t have changed what God had determined to do. Either way, Israel was given the time it needed to conquer its enemy. The same applies to the prophetic application. God will do with Israel what He planned, when He planned. Consequently, in mercy, God will regather Israel after He meets his responsibility to man during the Church/Grace Age; and either choice would bring Israel to its regathering at the end of our age. Had Hezekiah chosen for the "shadow to go forward," the interpretation would be that after their dispersion/the Grace Age, she would be regathered. Had he chosen for the "shadow to go backward—which he did", the interpretation is that after her dispersion/ the Church Age, Israel would be reinstated as a nation with which the world would have to deal.]

10 And Hezekiah answered, It is a light thing for the shadow to go down ten degrees: nay, but let the shadow return backward ten degrees. [Remember, in Hezekiah’s day. the ten degrees on Ahaz’s sundial was a symbolic unit of measurement that applied to the nation Israel, God’s chosen vessel to bring His salvation to the world. However, instead of this term applying to Israel during the Grace Age, because they rejected their Messiah, the term applied instead to the NT Church. But after the ten degrees/Church Age, for the duration of the first 3 ½ years of Daniel’s 70th Week, Israel will once again be the only "called out ones" left on the earth to represent God.] 

11  And Isaiah the prophet cried unto the LORD [Isaiah’s cry typifies the prophets and the people of Israel at the awful time of tribulation at that will bring our age to an end.]: and he brought the shadow ten degrees backward, by which it had gone down in the dial of Ahaz. [What God has promised, He will bring to pass. Israel will be regathered and re-established as a nation; and after the Rapture of the Church, she will again be under God’s watch care!]


The second mentioning of "in the sun" is found in the Luke 21:25; and it has to do with the happenings at the end of our age. Let’s look at it in its context.

Verses 20- 24 are prophecies about the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 and Israel’s entering into her dispersion.

Luke 21:20-27

20 And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.

21 Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter there into.

22 For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.

23 But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people.

24 And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.

Then with verse 25, as prophecy often does, the revelation jumps in time—this time, to the end of our age.

25 And there shall be signs (For our study of the end-time signs, go to booklet 5 of our on-line book CLOCK OF THE AGES) in the sun [Who will be "in the sun" at this time? It will be the NT Church. And sadly, the signs prophesied for the Church at this time are not very flattering. She will drift into the great falling away (II Th. 2:3) . She will heap unto herself teachers having itching ears (II Tim. 4:3). And as we can see in retrospect, she will turn in on herself and, for the most part, abandon her Great Commission.], and in the moon [The "moon" represents the nation Israel under the law. Unlike the NT Church which is a temple of the Holy Ghost by virtue of the new birth, the Spirit of the Lord fell upon the Israelites  when there was a need for the Lord's power.  Consequently, they could only reflect the Light of Heaven.], and in the stars [The "stars" speaks to the individual Hebrews of faith (Genesis 15:5 cf. Judges 4:2-3; 5:20) as well as the wise man of any dispensation who "saves souls" (Daniel 12:3).]; and upon the earth distress of nations [We already see this in the many starving and war-torn countries of our world. If this is only the beginning—ouch!], with perplexity [Already we see that no matter how hard peaceful nations strive for peace, the parties that are breaking the peace are unwilling to change.]; the sea and the waves roaring; [Although we are now seeing the "sea" (i.e., the mass of people without a covenant with God) grumbling (and in some cases, crying out), we can expect this outcry to greatly magnify.]

26 Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. [Sometime before our Lord returns for His Church, Satan and his fallen angels will be cast out of heaven and confined to the earth. As we’ve already noted in this study, the devil will come at man in a rage, knowing that his time is short. Although we are seeing disrespect on every hand, an almost total abandonment of the morals set forth in the Scriptures among those in authority, and violence as a major part of this generation’s entertainment, nevertheless, I don’t feel that we have reached a saturation of these things. Jesus says that as it was in the day of Noah when the whole world was filled with violence and man’s every imagination was evil continually, so it will be before He returns. Although I look forward to our Lord’s return, I fear for the world because of what must yet take place before He comes in the clouds.]

27 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.


The third mentioning of "in the sun" is found in our study of Revelation; and it has to do with those things that will take place at the end of the Kingdom Age.

Rev 19:17
And I saw an angel standing in the sun
[During Hezekiah’s day, Israel stood "in the sun" and was supposed to reflect the Light of Heaven to the earth. During our age, the Church is supposed to be the light of the world and to let our lights so shine that men may see our good works and glorify our Father who is in heaven. But during the Kingdom Age, the angels will be preaching; and it will be their turn to stand "in the sun."]; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;


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