Monday, December 9, 2013
Isaiah 11:6-9 The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, The leopard shall lie down with the young goat, The calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; Their young ones shall lie down together; And the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play by the cobra's hole, And the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper's 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."
MESSIAH'S KINGDOM OF PEACE
That is one of the most beautiful descriptions of the peace that the Messiah would bring. Read it again and just try to picture it. It's like we're back in the garden of Eden before sin. There was nothing to fear. Predators and prey lived together in peace and harmony. So where is this peace? Many conclude that it is just a fanciful dream that will never come true. In the two thousand years since Christ was born, there have always been wars and disasters.
Others conclude that since we don't see this peace in the world now, it must be still coming. They make up their own dreams about a millennial kingdom which the Bible doesn't talk about. Still others think this is a description of what heaven will be like.
As always, we need to pay attention to the little details. God tells us where this glorious peace is to be found. He says in the last verse above, "They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain" (9). God is not promising world peace between the nations. He tells us explicitly that there will be wars and rumors of war and every type of disaster until the end of the world. This peace is only found in God's Holy Mountain.
Where is this holy mountain? In the Old Testament that was Mt. Zion where the Temple was built in Jerusalem. That was where the people came to worship God and where he was present with His people. In chapter two God prophesies, "The mountain of the LORD's house shall be established on the top of the mountains ... and all nations shall flow to it." That is a description of how God's kingdom will grow and people of every nation will come and dwell with God in peace.
It is the Messiah's Kingdom of Peace, where Christ rules in the hearts of every believer to give them peace -- peace with God now and forever.
