The Millennium
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Isaiah
We will not be
writing the whole portion of Scripture in the article, so you will have to have
your Bible open and follow along, as I attempt an expository lesson. Here,
very near the beginning of his book, Isaiah refers to the Millennium. There
will be more references to follow.
3. An expository study of Isaiah, chapter 2
Knowing that there have been, and still are, wonderful
Christians, who do not believe in a literal millennium, I hold the conviction
that every true Christian should
believe in the literal thousand-year reign of Christ, along with His saints, on
the earth. Historically, there are many, who did not and I can understand their
conclusions, due to the fact that in their day signs did not exist, such as
those we are seeing today. Jonathan Edwards, in writing to other Christian
leaders in the 18th Century, stated that it would be impossible to
ascertain prophetical accuracy until the church drew near to the time of
Christ’s second return. He was echoing Daniel’s frustration at the end of his
book: “I heard but could not understand; so I said, ‘My lord, what will be the final end of these events?’ He said, ‘Go
your way, Daniel, for these words are concealed and sealed up until the end time’” (Dn.12:8,9). Even
the tremendous intellect of Edwards couldn´t grasp them.
However, a great and clear sign appeared around the
turn of the 20th Century that had men, such as J. C. Ryle and C. H.
Spurgeon, talking about the literal fulfillment of Ezekiel 37. This chapter,
2500 years old, and many other Old Testament prophecies spoke of the literal
return of the Jews to their promised land and their sovereign self-government. This
is to happen in preparation to the literal reign of Christ from Jerusalem. “Behold, I will take the sons of Israel
from among the nations where they have gone, and I will gather them from every
side and bring them into their own land; and I will make them one nation in the
land” (Ez.37:21,22). This mass movement was underway as the 20th
Century began and on May 14, 1948, Israel became a sovereign nation! On that
day, the displacement theory (the assumption that the Church had replaced
Israel) should have been thrown out the window, along with all the theories
that the fulfillment of such prophecies was spiritual, not literal.
It frightens me to hear the vague and ethereal
eschatology of the amillennialist and post-millennialist over the clear and
precise prophecy of Revelation 20, as well as the passage that lies before us
in Isaiah 2, among many others. If they had been so loose and liberal with the prophecies
of the first coming of Christ and the doctrines of salvation, creation, the
trinity and the resurrection, we would have to declare them heretics. How could
we then trust the biblical revelation of a literal heaven? The cultists have
not done much worse with their peculiar doctrines. However, these good men tell
us that we are now living in the millennium. I can’t think of a more
discouraging or ridiculous point of view. If this is the millennium, and the
devil is now bound in the abyss, shut and sealed, then how can it be that “evil men and impostors will proceed from
bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived” (2 Ti.3:13)?
The
joy of awaiting the millennium
I feel sorry for those who deny the literal
millennium. They have distanced themselves from a great joy that the Bible has
provided for them. We used to sing the happy song in the church of my youth:
“Oh our Lord is coming back to earth again,
Yes, our Lord is coming back to earth again,
Satan will be bound a thousand years, we’ll have no
tempter then,
After Jesus shall come back to earth again.”
Since Adam, the world has reeled drunkenly for
thousands of years under the rulership of man. Did God make a mistake in creating
something which has produced chaos, almost since its beginning? Oh no! Under
the last Adam, the Son of God, the God/Man, the world will know peace,
righteousness and joy. We will witness the wisdom of God on this planet for a
thousand years, through which He proclaims to men and angels, “Creation was not
a mistake. Now you are seeing My perfect purposes, which are never frustrated;
the things which I had in mind from the very beginning. Through the restoration
of all things, I have brought all creation to perfection. This is my beloved Son in Whom I am well pleased!” His purposes
will never suffer defeat or a setback; through all time, He has been marching
forward to arrive at this end.
Isaiah´s
first reference to the Millennium
Already in chapter two, Isaiah sees by vision a
restored Israel and a world population that is hungry to learn from the mouth
of Israel’s Messiah (v.1). He takes the earnest reader to the end times to Mount
Zion, the small hill on which the city of David was built, exalted over Mt.
Everest, Mt. McKinley and all the mighty heights throughout the world (v.2). It
is God’s way, is it not, to take the lowly and insignificant and crown it with
glory and honor? It becomes the greatest attraction on this planet.
On every continent from east to west, from north to
south, the chief subject of conversation will be Mount Zion in Jerusalem, where
Christ has come to His house and set up His throne. They happily call to one
another, “Come, let us go up to the
mountain of the Lord… that He may teach us concerning His ways and that we may
walk in His paths…” (v.3). Catch the joy and the wonder, my friend, of a
world hungry and thirsting for righteousness, of the sovereign Christ, taking
His rightful, sovereign place on this earth! He judges in perfect
righteousness; war comes to an end. The chaos of man’s reign is over (v.4). The
house of Jacob surrounds that throne, all Israel is saved and walks in the
light of the Lord (v.5).
The second coming of Christ is the hope and future of
Israel and the nations. The first coming required spiritual eyes to see the
glory of Jesus of Nazareth, the legal son of Nazareth’s carpenter. He has
returned in majesty and power for all to see. Well may the remnant in Judah in
Isaiah’s time look ahead and the Church today recite in desperate prayer, “Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on
earth as it is in heaven” (Mt.6:10). Earlier on the prophetic clock, the
prayers of all the saints (in Rev.8:3-5) have been offered with incense upon
heaven’s altar and the prayers went up before God. They will be fully answered,
when Christ sits upon the throne.
Glory
to God by the debasement of men
Israel’s history has been dark, because of worldly,
demonic influence, which caused the abandonment of God, from the times of the
Caesars to the time of Hitler, (v.6). They have borrowed godlessness from the
east, from the Philistines and from foreigners because of their lust for gold
and silver. They have served Mammon, the god of this present world and the root
of all evil, and Mammon has rewarded them with the idols of earthly treasures
(v.7), horses and chariots. They worship the abilities, talents and craftiness
of natural man and have abandoned the omnipotent God (v.8). Therefore, God has
righteously abandoned them.
His forgiveness has been withheld and small and great
have fallen under the curse. In their history they hid themselves in God; now
they are hiding from Him “It is a
terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God,” (He.10:31) warns
the writer of Hebrews in the New Testament. Above all sins, God hates the pride
and arrogance of men and by abasing and humbling him, He alone is exalted (v.9-11). Isaiah looks ahead to salvation’s
provision, achieved alone through His own work on the cross. Therefore sinners
are humbled to deep and thorough repentance and salvation is offered by
unmerited grace alone, “so that no one
may boast” (Eph.2:9).
The Terror
of the Lord
Look now at the symbols of the high and lofty, the
same ones which are presented by the prophet Zechariah, under the same anointed
inspiration of the Holy Spirit: “Wail, O
cypress, for the cedar has fallen, because the glorious trees have been destroyed;
wail, O oaks of Bashan” (Zech.11:2). None can be left standing, if God is
to receive the glory due to His name (v.12). He hates pride, because “no flesh may glory in His presence” (1
Co.1:29). Pride robs Him of His rightful glory. You may stand in His presence
with your arms upraised, but you will never truly bring glory to God until you
humble yourself under His mighty hand.
The cedars of Lebanon, the oaks of Bashan, the lofty
mountains and the hills that are lifted up represent the natural arrogance in
the heart of fallen man (v.13-14). The high tower, the fortified wall, the ships
of Tarshish, the beautiful craft, all represent the proud works of men (15-17).
Therefore salvation cannot be by works. Repetition, the oath of God, that
confirms the word that needs no confirmation, brings two immutable things into
play, by which it is impossible that God should lie (v.17 with 11).
Idolatry means all the imaginations of men’s thoughts,
whether they remain in his mind or are carried out by his works. Therefore
Christians are exhorted by the Apostle Paul about “destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the
knowledge of God” (2 Co.10:5). These crumble and are ground to powder
before the “splendor of His majesty,
when He arises to make the earth tremble” (v.18-21).
Who among God’s people today know “the terror of the Lord”? (another repetition: v.19,21). The terror of the Lord is simply a
stronger expression for the fear of the
Lord. Recently I heard a friend speak on the fear of the Lord and I wrote
to him that the proper reaction to his message should have been widespread
panic. He preached also about the people, to whom he was speaking, having much
more fear of men than fear of God.
I don’t think that many took his message to heart.
They are so idolatrous, so deceived by the authority of men over
their lives. They are given over to seeking “glory (or honor) from one another and you do not seek the glory that is
from the one and only God” (Jn.5:44). Jesus asks them, “How can you believe?” How can they say that they have true faith
and confidence only in God, when they are so devoted to men? Perhaps
the only remedy is for Christians to “go
into the caverns of the rocks and the clefts of the cliffs… when He rises to
make the earth tremble” (v.19,21). Try as we may, it seems that, like the
prophet, our words fail to penetrate to the heart and conscience, when we
preach, “Stop regarding man, whose
breath of life is in his nostrils; for why should he be esteemed?” (v.22).
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