Christ Fulfilling Isaiah 11, 12 and 13
Revelation 1:11-20: The appearance of Christ in His majesty in the heavens is a fulfillment of the promise of Isaiah 11:1: “And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots.”
This “Rod” is to stand as an Ensign of the people, (Isaiah 11:10). The ensign was the banner that served to signal the people to gather. The signal would be observed and obeyed by the Gentiles. In Isaiah 12, this Host of the Lord, the true Zion, praises Him. He is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of Zion, His regathered people. We see this “Banner” again in Isaiah 13:2:
Lift ye up a banner upon the high mountain, exalt the voice unto them, shake the hand, that they may go into the gates of the nobles.
These who gathered to this “Banner” were the sanctified ones, them that rejoice in the righteousness of the Lord. They are a mighty army. They are about to witness the destruction of “Babylon“, (Isaiah 13:1); for it is the “Day of the Lord“.
The Ensign, Banner, Diadem:
Revelation 1:11-20 shows Christ in His position of the exalted Banner of God. The Hebrew word for ‘ensign’, ‘banner’, ‘diadem’, is nâçaç II, ‘To lift up, to exalt’, whence a form of the word is found in Zechariah 9:16: “They shall be as stones of a diadem, (RSV: “Jewels of a Crown”), lifting themselves up in his land,” (RSV “They shall shine on”). A related word, nêzer, that is, (1), the diadem or token by which anyone is separated from the people at large, (2) consecration…the consecrated head.’ We see these jewels shining in the New Jerusalem of Revelation 21:18-21.
Another closely related word is nêç, ‘something lifted up, a token to be seen far off, specially, (1) a banner, such as went up on high mountains, esp. in case of an invasion, when it showed the people where to assemble, as in Isaiah 5:26; 11:12; 18:3; 62:10; Jeremiah 4:6, 21; Psalms 60:6, (vs. 4 KJV),….(2) a standard, or flag, as of a ship… (3) a column or lofty pole, as in Numbers 21:8,9, (4) Metaphorically, a sign by which anyone is warned, as in Number 26:10.
Used as an active participle, nəçibâh it means ‘bringing about the guidance of God’. This ‘Ensign, Banner, Diadem’ was the guiding Light of God when the Christians were called out of Jerusalem as foretold by Isaiah 52:11, 12: “And the God of Israel will be your gathering place, (or “glory of the Lord shall be thy gathering place.”) Then verse 13: “Thy servant… he shall be exalted and extolled and be very high.” The outcasts of Israel were to be gathered to this Banner, (Isaiah 10:12).