By J. Vernon McGee
What is the Millennium?
Where is the Millennium?
When is the Millennium?
Who establishes the Millennium? And why is the Millennium?
Beginning with Isaiah and continuing through the Old Testament, there is a section of Scripture which is called the prophetic portion of the Bible. Although the predictive element bulks large in this section, the prophets were more than foretellers. Actually, God raised up these men in a decadent day when both priest and king had failed.
Isaiah and all the Old Testament prophets were extremely nationalistic. They rebuked sin in high as well as low places. They warned the nation. They pleaded with a proud people to humble themselves and return to God. Fire and tears were mingled in their message, which was not one of doom and gloom alone, for they saw the Day of the Lord and the glory to follow. All of them looked through the darkness to the dawn of a new day. In the night of sin they saw the light of a coming Savior and Sovereign; they saw the Millennial Kingdom coming in all its fullness. We must understand their message before we can correctly interpret the Kingdom in the New Testament. The correct perspective of the Kingdom must be gained through the eyes of the Old Testament prophets.
We shall confine our glimpse into the Millennium through the eyes of Isaiah, although throughout the pages of Scripture and especially in the Prophets, there is further information regarding this great subject.
Millennium. Where do we get the word? What does it mean? It is like several other important words that are essential for our understanding of the Bible but which do not actually appear in it. The word millennium does not appear in the Bible but words that mean millennium do appear repeatedly.
The word millennium comes from two Latin words: mille, meaning "one thousand" and annus, meaning "years." A millennium is one thousand years. In the Greek, the word used is chilia. You'll hear that term used by some theologians, and they are always coming up with words so that most people don't know what they're talking about! When theologians talk about chiliaism and millennialism, they are talking about the same event. Both words mean a thousand years, and they have to do with the thousand-year reign of Christ here upon this earth which is mentioned in chapter 20 of the Book of Revelation. That chapter is the only place that gives the duration of the Kingdom, and the phrase "thousand years" occurs there six times. However, the theme of the thousand-year Kingdom which is coming on the earth is a great subject of Scripture.
God's Magnificent Program
Actually, the Millennium is merely one phase of God's eternal Kingdom; that is, the "theocratic Kingdom," as Dr. George N. H. Peters calls it - and I like that term so much better. Actually, everything that has happened in history, that is happening in our day, and will happen in the future is all part of God's program in setting up His Kingdom here upon this earth.
Now the Millennium, one feature of God's eternal Kingdom, is a special dispensation that is yet future. The Millennial Kingdom will come to an end, and the eternal Kingdom will begin. That is stated clearly in Scripture. Over in 1 Corinthians 15, Paul gives the order of events, beginning with the resurrection of Christ in verse 20, then he says that those who are Christ's will be raised at His coming.
But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at His coming. (1 Corinthians 15:23)
After that, "Then cometh the end." The end of what? The world? No. The Bible does not teach the end of the world. This world that we live in will not come to an end but is going into eternity. Yes, it's to be renovated, made new, but it is going into eternity.
Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the Kingdom to God, even the Father ...
There does come a time when this thousand-year reign will be delivered up to God the Father,
... when he [Christ] shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. (1 Corinthians 15:24, 25)
Christ is coming into this world someday, and He will come in with great judgment. He will set up His thousand-year reign here upon this earth. And during that thousand-year reign, He will accomplish a purpose. Today He is accomplishing His purpose of calling a people out of this world unto Himself. During the millennial reign He's going to bring this earth under His rule. He will rule with a rod of iron. Those who oppose Him will be dashed in pieces like a potter's vessel. That is going to be a time when Christ will rule arbitrarily upon this earth.
Now let me make this very clear. We have not yet seen a real dictator rule. You wait till Christ rules. When He rules on this earth a bird won't even cheep, a rooster won't crow and a man won't open his mouth without His permission. That'll be a time when His will at last will be done on this earth. And, my friend, even the Millennium would be a hell for any man who is in rebellion against God.
The Bible tells us that there will be some in rebellion, and that rebellion breaks out during the Millennium. Christ will judge it immediately because He is going to bring this earth back under the rule of God. That is God's purpose for the earth.
For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him. And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all. (1 Corinthians 15:25-28)
Now what does that mean? It means simply this: The Lord Jesus will come to this earth, reign one thousand years, and bring this earth back under the rule of God. When this is accomplished, I take it that He will return back to His place in the Godhead. And this earth then will become what God intended it to be throughout the eternal ages of the future. This is the picture that the Scripture presents.
All the way through the Old Testament, and especially in the Prophets, this Kingdom, this thousand-year reign of Christ on the earth, is set before us. In fact, there is more Scripture - this may surprise you - on this subject than on any other subject in the Bible. The prophets had more to say about this coming Kingdom than anything else. It was their theme song. They sound like a stuck record, saying over and over that the King is coming, the Kingdom is coming, and great blessings will be on this earth.
Now, the prophets spoke of it as coming in the future. And from where you and I are today, it is still future. The conditions predicted have never been fulfilled in the past, and they are not being fulfilled yet, as we shall see.
The Kingdom of God will not be established by man's efforts, by human ability. The church is not building the Kingdom today, yet it is geared into a program that will see the coming of the Kingdom. It's not our business to build a Kingdom. This is one reason that I am thankful today to be out of the denomination I was raised in. I used to go to meetings in which there were always brethren building the Kingdom - and you ought to have seen the cheap little "chicken-coop" that we built! Yet we were always talking about building the Kingdom. My friend, when God is ready to set up His Kingdom, He won't need help from any church. In fact, He is going to remove His true church out of the world before He establishes His Kingdom here upon the earth. That is His plan, that is His program, if you please.
Now the Kingdom that we are looking at in these few pages will be confined to what Isaiah had to say on this subject. And believe me, he had a great deal to say about it.
The Kingdom of Heaven
This Kingdom - and this is important for you to understand - is the same as we find in the New Testament where it is called the Kingdom of Heaven. That was the message John the Baptist began with: "Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matthew 3:2). When the Lord Jesus began His ministry, He said the same thing.
Now neither John nor the Lord Jesus explained what that phrase meant. That seems to indicate to me that the only ones who miss this are theologians and seminary professors today who don't seem to know what's happening in this world. They try to make something very obtuse, something esoteric out of the Kingdom of Heaven. When you ask one of them what the Kingdom of Heaven is, he bats his eyes, and you think he's going off into a trance, and that it is something that only he and his little clique know. May I say to you that the common people who heard John the Baptist and the Lord Jesus understood what they were talking about. The Kingdom we are talking about is just what the Old Testament has been talking about: the Millennial Kingdom coming on the earth.
The Kingdom of Heaven is just simply this: the rule of the Heavens over the earth. When Heaven rules over this earth on which we live, we will have the Kingdom of Heaven condition.
Now look, I had to go to seminary to learn that! But that's all it means. And it's a shame to have to spend years in seminary and just make the discovery that the reign of the Heavens over the earth is all the Kingdom of Heaven can possibly mean.
The Millennium will be the time when there will be the full manifestation of the glory, the power and the will of God over this earth. And all agree that this is not in evidence today. You'll not have hospitals, you'll not have graveyards, you'll not have the suffering nor broken hearts and lives when Christ is reigning on this earth. And it's an insult to my Lord to say that the Kingdom of Heaven is being built today and is in existence on this earth. When He is reigning you won't have the tragedy that presently exists throughout the world.
Now we, of course, ask these questions. Why must we have tragedies? God has to vindicate Himself. Why is it that the earth is in such a deplorable condition? Why isn't God reigning on this earth now? Isaiah tells us how it all began. This is where sin began, and Isaiah deals with this subject.
Where Sin Began
In Isaiah 14:12 the prophet tells about the fall of God's highest creature and that this creature led a rebellion against God to set up a kingdom that was opposed to God. Here is the revelation concerning it, and it is startling indeed.
How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! (Isaiah 14:12)
The prophecy of Isaiah goes back into the past and then looks on into the future concerning this creature who is yet to be judged and brought down. Who is this creature that rebelled against God? He is the highest creature God ever created, Lucifer. We know him today as Satan and as the Devil. He has many different names. Our Lord even called him a liar and a murderer.
This highest of God's creatures, according to Ezekiel 28, was "full of wisdom and perfect in beauty." And Satan hasn't lost that beauty. If you could see him today, you would not see an ugly, fearsome being. He would be most attractive. He disguises himself as an angel of light, and his ministers as preachers of righteousness, according to 2 Corinthians 11:14, 15. I do not know why those of us who are gospel preachers can't be handsome, tall, robust fellows who speak with basso profundo voices. Most of us are an unattractive lot. But have you ever noticed Satan's preachers? I heard Judge Rutherford when I was a boy. I want to tell you, he was impressive. I've heard many others who are the leaders of cults, and they all look like ministers of righteousness. Satan, if you could see him today, would be the most beautiful creature you have ever seen. God created him that way.
Now what was it he did? This significant passage refers to the beginning of sin in the universe:
For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. (Isaiah 14:13, 14)
You see, Satan does not want to be unlike God, he wants to be like God. When Lucifer, son of the morning, said, "I will," sin entered the universe.
Way back in the past, and we're told practically nothing about this in the Bible, something happened to this earth. Apparently, it happened long before man got here. If you are in Southern California, you may have taken a trip over the Ridge Route and have gone down through that area where you see those great big rocks along the side of the highway. I said to a friend of mine who is a geologist, "When do you think that took place?" and he answered, "Oh, two or three million years ago."
And while out in Arizona another friend of mine, again a geologist with Cal Tech, said, "You want to see what's on top of that ridge?" He took his foot and kicked out the topsoil, and you know what was under that, what made the ridge? A petrified log!
I said, "My there must have been a forest here."
"No, there never was a forest here. These floated in here."
"Floated here - in this desert?"
"Yes."
"From where?"
"They floated in from California."
"Floated in from California! How long ago was that?"
"About two hundred fifty to three hundred thousand years ago."
All of this took place before man got to this earth. What does that mean? It means that a great catastrophe took place on this earth. When? The view that I favor is that this catastrophe took place between verses 1 and 2 of the Genesis account, and the earth became without form, and void. Also, I think that the catastrophe was connected with the fall of Lucifer, who became Satan, as we know him today. However, God has given us no details in the first chapter of Genesis.
In the third chapter of Genesis God does tell us that Satan had access to this earth and that he approached our first parents with the same temptations that had affected him - the desire to "be as gods, knowing good and evil."
This is the sin of man right now. This is our problem today. In Isaiah 53:6 he says, "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way" - those are the three words that tell what's wrong with all of us. You and I want our own way. Have you ever noticed how the little baby in the crib gets red in the face and yells and then holds his breath? You think he's going to die! Do you know why he does that? Because he wants you to pick him up. He wants his way. It's born in us. We have a nature that says, "We want our way." We don't want God's way. Mankind is in rebellion against God.
God says that He is going to establish His Kingdom on this earth. His way is going to prevail some day. That is the meaning of the rule of the Heavens over this earth.
Sin entered the universe when Satan rebelled. Then man rebelled against God - and continues to do so.
God's process by which the Lord Jesus will come to the throne - that is, the establishing of the Kingdom here upon this earth and the Millennial Kingdom - is part of the great theocratic Kingdom of God.
I want to hit only some high points. You may have noted that the difference today in eschatology - that is, the difference in interpretation of future things - is always centered around the Millennium. This controversy is not actually around the person of Christ, but rather centers around the Millennium. There is postmillennialism which holds that the church or Christian agencies will correct every evil in the world until Christ has a "spiritual reign" for a thousand years. And not until after that would He return in person to reign over the earth. However two world wars, a worldwide depression and then the atomic bomb put the postmillennialists out of business.
A new group has come up known as amillennialists. They were not much in evidence when I started in the ministry, but by the time I got to seminary they were very much in the fore. In fact, in seminary I was taught the amillennial position, which is that there will be no Millennium other than that which is in progress at the present time! It is because I studied the amillennial position in seminary that I am a premillennialist today. Years ago a man came up to Dr. Beaver and declared, "Dr. Beaver, I am not a postmillennialist and I'm not a premillennialist." Dr. Beaver looked at him and said, "That's preposterous." And to my judgment amillennialism is a preposterous position.
Now, premillennialism holds the position that in the present age, evil will increase and end in judgment at the second coming of Christ to the earth, at which time He will set up His Kingdom and reign in righteousness for one thousand years.
These are the three views of eschatology today, and they all center around the Millennium.
The amillennialist makes the charge against those of us who are premillennial that we believe in only a materialistic kingdom with physical blessings in the future. In fact, a professor at Westminster Seminary has said that what we believe in is a worldly kingdom. That is actually not true. I want to answer this, confining our answers at this time solely to the Book of Isaiah, and cite some of the spiritual blessings of the Kingdom that are yet to come.
Spiritual Blessings of the Millennium
Peace
This is one of those wonderful passages of Scripture:
And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. (Isaiah 2:4)
This will not be experienced until the Millennium. Only then will there be world peace. Until then, you'd better keep your powder dry. You'd better not believe that aggressive superpowers will quit filling their arsenals, because they have lied before and are very capable of doing that sort of thing.
But the day is coming when there will be peace. That peace will come when the Prince of Peace rules on this earth. In that day you can beat swords into plowshares. Peace is a great spiritual blessing that is yet in the future.
Righteousness
And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever. (Isaiah 32:17)
In Psalm 85 it says, "Righteousness and peace have kissed each other" - they aren't even on speaking terms today! One of the reasons we cannot have peace on this earth is because we do not have righteousness. However, righteousness will characterize the reign of Christ during the Millennium.
Holiness
And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem. (Isaiah 4:3)
Holiness is one of the things that characterizes the Millennium. The word holiness literally means separation, a thing set apart. A believer's spiritual birth, his salvation, sets him apart as holy - that is, separated unto God. But our salvation is in three tenses: I have been saved; I am being saved; and I shall be saved.
Our problem comes in the second tense: "I am being saved." We are told, "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure" (Philippians 2:12, 13). Yet the believer still has that old sinful nature, and the idea that we can get rid of it in this life is a tragic mistake. "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us" (1 John 1:8).
Not until we go to be with Christ will we experience the final stage of our salvation. "... We know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is" (1 John 3:2). Now, my friend, let's not beat around the bush about these things. We are not going to see holiness on this earth until Jesus Christ rules. Believe me, it's going to be holy when He is ruling during the Millennium.
Glory
Not only does Isaiah mention peace, righteousness and holiness, but we're also told here that glory is another spiritual blessing during the Millennium.
When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning. And the LORD will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night for upon all the glory shall be a defence. (Isaiah 4:4, 5)
Glory is another spiritual blessing during the Millennium.
Joy
Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. And in that day shall ye say, Praise the LORD, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted. (Isaiah 12:3, 4)
The phrase "in that day" in Isaiah and in all the Prophets is referring to the Kingdom, to the Millennial Kingdom. "And in that day shall ye say, Praise the LORD," and when you say "Praise the Lord" in your church in that day, people won't look at you as if something is wrong. You can say, "Praise the LORD, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted!"
Sing unto the LORD; for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth. (Isaiah 12:5)
Joy. That's one of the blessings that will characterize the Millennium. Joy does not characterize the world today. Instead there is dissatisfaction, loneliness, sorrow and heartbreak. But just imagine being on this earth when all is joyful, and everyone is filled with joy!
Comfort
There is also comfort in this same chapter, will you notice it:
And in that day thou shalt say, O LORD, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me. Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation. (Isaiah 12:1, 2)
Full Knowledge
Now here is another wonderful feature: there will be full knowledge in the Kingdom. Today we "see through a glass darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part, but then shall I know even as also I am known" (1 Corinthians 13:12) - full knowledge.
And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: and the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding ... the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD. (Isaiah 11:1, 2)
There will be knowledge in that day.
Instruction
Also it's going to be a time of instruction, a time when folks are going to go to school. Right now a great many young people are going away to college, going away to school, trying to learn something - and maybe some of them will. But ours is a day when a great many people are interested in knowledge. During the Millennium there will be great knowledge, and there'll be a great deal of instruction. I'm hoping the LORD will let me teach a class down on this earth, probably the kindergarten class, during the Millennium. I enjoy teaching today and I think I'll enjoy it more in that day.
And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. (Isaiah 2:2, 3)
There will be a great hunger and thirst for God, folks wanting to know about God. We are living in a day when men want to know about missiles, about electronics. But in that day there will be a great hunger and thirst after God - people wanting to know Him, wanting to know His Word.
I sure am looking forward to that!
Every now and then I see that eagerness to know God's Word. I think my Thursday night Bible study congregation represented a group like that. I also get a glimpse of it in letters I read from our radio listeners. When I was up at a Campus Crusade conference with a bunch of college kids, I never saw kids as alert as those young people were. And then when I was out in Flagstaff with the Indians one summer, those Indian believers - my, how eager they were - they just hung around me. They let me teach for an hour and a half and still wanted to hear more. It's amazing! We see little indications of thirst for God, but just think what it will be during the Millennium. It'll be wonderful!
May I say to you, I think you ought to equip yourself down here for what you are going to do over there. This is really a training place, a staging area, where we get ready to go over on the other side. And one of these days we are going to move over. So it's time to prepare ourselves for that.
I want to mention just three or four passages that have to do especially with the Millennium. This second chapter of Isaiah has these special features. So let me go over this again and call your attention to what I omitted. These are the special features - the person, the character and the physical facts of His Kingdom.
Special Features
The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow into it. (Isaiah 2:1, 2)
Jerusalem will become the capital of this earth in the Kingdom. Just as Babylon is to be the capital of Antichrist during the Tribulation, so Jerusalem will be the capital on the earth for the Lord Jesus Christ as the Messiah.
And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths:...
You'll have to go there to the university, in order to learn.
... for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. (Isaiah 2:3)
Now God names Jerusalem specifically, and this, of course, refers to the Kingdom.
And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people:...
This is a worldwide kingdom.
... they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. (Isaiah 2:4)
This is one of those remarkable passages.
Then there is another remarkable passage in the eleventh chapter, and let me call attention to several things:
Person
And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots. (Isaiah 11:1)
The Kingdom is never established by the church, never by an organization, never by a movement. The world will not grow into the Kingdom of Heaven. But the One who will establish the Kingdom is mentioned in this Scripture as the "rod" and the "Branch," The Messiah who is to come.
This is exactly what John the Baptist meant when he said, "The kingdom of heaven is at hand;" literally the Greek is "in your midst." The Kingdom of Heaven is in your midst because the King is here. And you can't have a kingdom without a king, any more than you can have a marriage without a bride and groom. They are essential. If I say that I officiated in a wedding, you know immediately that a bride and groom were there. There couldn't have been a wedding without them. And neither can you have a kingdom without a king. When John said, "The kingdom of heaven is at hand," he meant the King is here. It couldn't be otherwise, could it? The King had come.
Now, they rejected Him. But here the prophet is emphasizing the necessity of this One coming in the line of Jesse.
He is to come out of the stem of Jesse. Why didn't Isaiah mention David? Did Jesus come from the line of King David? Yes, but David's line had returned to peasantry by the time Jesus came. Jesse was a farmer from Bethlehem. The Lord Jesus was a carpenter from Nazareth - that's the way He was identified when He was here. The stem was of Jesse and a Branch would grow out of his roots.
Notice that the Messiah was to have the fullness of the Spirit:
And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD. (Isaiah 11:2)
In John 3:34 we are told that God gave to Jesus the Spirit without measure, the fullness of the Holy Spirit.
And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD.... (Isaiah 11:3)
One thing that will characterize the Kingdom is that the Lord is going to jack up the IQ of all the people. Won't that be wonderful! There will be no neurotics, no mentally retarded, no dull minds. There will be nobody in the class who will have to say, "Teacher, I didn't get that. Would you go over that again?" They will get the point immediately. I wouldn't mind having my IQ stepped up a little, and maybe you wouldn't either.
Character of Reign
Notice this as Isaiah continues:
But with righteousness shall he judge the poor,...
The poor have never had a square deal yet, have they? The politicians talk about all of us before election day, and then they forget us the day after election. The Lord Jesus shall judge in righteousness the poor man. Special interests and labor unions are not for the poor anymore. Capitalists have never been for the poor. Let's face it, friend, the poor man just doesn't have a chance in this world. Thank God for a King who is coming to judge in righteousness for the poor! He is the One I want to see rule on this earth. I like His platform.
... and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth; ...
Meek folk. He says in Matthew 5:5 that the meek are going to inherit the earth, and they are certainly not doing it today.
... and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. (Isaiah 11:4)
You may want to play that down, but the Word of God doesn't play it down. He will "break them with a rod of iron," according to the second Psalm. The Word of God is very specific. He intends to put down the wicked. He will make no treaty with the godless superpowers of this world. He will make no treaty with the combine of gangsters either in our own country or abroad. He intends to put them down - with no apology to anybody. He doesn't need their votes. He doesn't need their influence. He doesn't need their help. He intends to slay the wicked. Thank God, my friend, this earth is yet to get a square deal. And it will never get it until Christ comes. That's the reason the Millennium is quite a wonderful prospect for this earth.
And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. (Isaiah 11:5)
Righteousness and faithfulness are two additional spiritual blessings, and they are wonderful.
Physical Blessings
Now let's look at some of the physical blessings of the Kingdom.
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)
Apparently in the Garden of Eden there was no distinction between wild animals and domesticated animals. They were all tame. The animals would just walk right by Adam, and he named them. Then, after the fall, certain animals became wild, no longer friendly to man.
And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. (Isaiah 11:7)
A fellow came up to Dr. George Gill, a Bible teacher who had a very sharp mind, and said to him, "Doctor, that's ridiculous! Everybody knows that a carnivorous lion eats meat, not hay!" In his inimitable way, Dr. Gill said, "I'll tell you what we'll do. You make a lion; I'll make him eat hay."
If God made the lion and says he's going to eat hay, he will eat hay, my friend, and like it. This will be the Millennium.
And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice's den. (Isaiah 11:8)
Nothing that is poisonous will be on this earth.
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. 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. (Isaiah 11:9, 10)
Now he's going to talk about returning the Jews to their homeland:
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....
This is the nation Israel. There can be no Millennium until Israel is back in the land. There are so many things out of socket today. The devil is in the wrong place - he goes to and fro in this earth seeking whom he may devour. He has to be in the bottomless pit during the Millennium. He's out of place today. Christ is not in His rightful place for the Millennium. He will be on the throne of David reigning over this earth. The church is out of place today - it's in this world. The church is to be with Christ in the New Jerusalem. And Israel is out of place today, her people scattered throughout the world, and they must be back in their own land. There will be no Millennium until everything gets in its place.
In that day the Lord will recover the remnant of His people, who shall be left, ...from Assyria and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elan, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. (Isaiah 11:11)
This includes America.
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. (Isaiah 11:12)
Again, this is during the Millennium which is to be established on this earth.
One more reference that has to do with the physical characteristics of the Millennium is that wonderful thirty-fifth chapter of Isaiah. Now will you note this:
The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the LORD, and the excellency of our God. (Isaiah 35:1, 2)
The desert will blossom as a rose in the Millennium. The curse that's on this earth today will be removed. I thought of this again out in Arizona as I drove from Flagstaff all the way up to Page at the Glen Canyon Dam. That is a desolate country, friend, for miles and miles. Now I think there is a beauty in the desert. It's a desolate, stark, almost an ugly beauty, yet it is beautiful. But I said to the folk traveling with me, "You know, it would be wonderful to make this trip during the Millennium. Just think - mile upon mile of roses! The desert shall blossom as the rose."
That's not all. He says something else here:
Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompense; he will come and save you. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,...
There'll be no blind in the Millennium.
... and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. (Isaiah 35:3-5)
There will be no need for sign language to translate for those who do not hear. There will be no deaf in that day at all.
Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing....
Even I will be able to sing. I want to sing a solo for you then. It may not seem like the Millennium to have to listen, but I do want to sing along with those who haven't been able to speak. "The tongue of the dumb sing."
... for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. (Isaiah 35:6)
Now let me drop down to the final verse of this chapter:
And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. (Isaiah 35:10)
That is the Millennium; that is the hope of this earth. However, that is not the hope of the church. The church's hope is that one of these days we are to be caught up to meet the Lord in the air,
For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4:14-17)
He will take us to a place that, candidly, is going to be even more wonderful than this earth, the New Jerusalem. But I think we will be able to commute back and forth. What glorious things God has planned for our future!
I wonder today if you are on the way to the New Jerusalem. Our Lord Jesus said, " I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me" (John 14:6).
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