First, go back to Isaiah chapter 2, it just says it so clearly, that the time is coming for that to happen. Now lets begin with verse 2, and this will be when Jerusalem, as the capital of this coming Kingdom on earth, is going to be the very fountainhead of everything.
Isaiah 2:2 "And it shall come to pass (when the Bible says, ‘this is going to come to pass, it’s going to, we don’t care what the theologians say, it’s going to come. So it shall come to pass) in the last days, that the mountain (kingdom. The word mountain and kingdom are synonymous) of the LORD’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, (or the Kingdoms, spiritual Zion is over all the other kingdoms) and shall be exalted (that’s also the word the Bible uses for Christ’s position as King. He will be exalted) above the hills (nations): and all nations shall flow unto it."
Get the picture? Just like the spokes in a wheel, everything will go to the very vortex of that Kingdom, which will be the New Jerusalem. Now as we come through the Book of Isaiah, there is a constant reference to this coming Kingdom. So as we’re turning, to see one in Isaiah chapter 11. We like this, especially when people ask us if we can have our pets when we get to glory. Well we don’t think we’ll have pets in the heavens of Heaven, but when this earthly Kingdom comes about, every animal is going to be a household pet. The lions and tigers and everything else will be part and parcel of that glorious Kingdom that is coming. And let’s just jump in at verse 6. Now this is just a little preview:
Isaiah 11:6-7 "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, (remember at that time, the curse will be lifted. The whole ecology will be made right as it was in the beginning) and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; (or baby goat) and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. (or play amongst them) 7. And the cow and the bear shall feed: (they’ll forage in the same meadow) their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox." Now what does that tell us? Come back to Genesis chapter 1 verse 30 and let’s see how it was in the beginning. This is what makes Bible study so interesting, because everything fits. And the reason we’re coming back is because Isaiah says that the lion is going to eat forage much like cattle do. Well here’s the reason, the curse will be lifted, and everything will revert back as it was originally before Adam fell.
Genesis 1:30 "And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creeps upon the earth, wherein there is life, (God says) I have given every green herb for meat: (food) and it was so." What does that mean? Everything ate of what grew naturally. Nothing killed something else for its sustenance as in our present day ecology (this was changed after the flood as found in chapter 9 verses 3 and 4). So it’s all going to revert back to this, where everything will feed on the things that grow naturally. Now coming back to Isaiah chapter 11 and continuing on in verse 7.
Isaiah 11:7b-8 "…and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8. (and again the reference to little children) And the sucking (nursing) child shall play on the hole of the asp, (that poisonous snake of the middle east) and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den." All to show that we’re going to have various stages of children, but now verse 9.
Isaiah 11:9 "They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: (this 1000-year Kingdom) for the earth (We’re not talking about heaven, it’s going to be here on the earth) shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea."
Well, we could take verse after verse, coming up through the Old Testament, that are references to this coming glorious Kingdom on earth. But let’s jump all the way up to Daniel chapter 2, where Daniel of course gives several views of this coming Kingdom. The first one is in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, we’ll just jump in at verse 35, and it’s from this passage that we understand the Gentile empires that would be the precursor of this glorious Kingdom that is coming upon the earth. The one that the nation of Israel is looking for and expecting as a material manifestation with a king after David's and Solomon's reign in likeness.
Daniel 2:35 "Then (after he sees this huge image in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream) was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floor; and the wind carried them away, (everything that was ever part of these tremendous Gentile empires will disappear) that no place was found for them: and the stone (Christ is the stone here referenced, the second coming of Christ) that smote the image became a great mountain, (Christ's fame is even now filling the whole earth, Kingdom, spiritual Zion) and filled the whole earth."
Let’s move on up to chapter 7. Daniel of course sees these same Gentile empires coming down through the corridors of time, only as animals, as beasts of prey, rather than metals in a statue of a man, but what we want all to see this in verse 13. This is all the same Kingdom where Jesus is the King over all kings (Mountains or the nations). We’re not talking about different ones, but rather about the one and only Kingdom in Scripture, the Zion of God's home.
Daniel 7:13 "I saw in the night visions, and behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days (another name or title of Christ Jesus), and they brought him near before him."
Look at Revelation chapter 5, where we have the same set of circumstances, where God the Son comes before God the Father, and we think we have the same personalities here in verse 13. Now verse 14.
Daniel 7:14 "And there was given him (the Son. The One we’re talking about in our study of Hebrews. And there was given Him) dominion and glory, and a kingdom, (and in this Kingdom) that all people, nations, and languages, should serve Him: (they’ll be under His domain) His dominion (His power, His government) is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom (that He’s going to set up is one) that which shall not be destroyed."
We understand that He Himself will do it in an interlude leading into eternity, but nevertheless we always maintain that this 1000-year earthly Kingdom will be just the precursor of the eternal state. Now let’s turn to Joel chapter 3. We're just hitting a few of them. Some evening just grab your Bible and start flipping through the Old Testament, and wherever you see these Kingdom references just stop and read them. They’re almost always toward the end of these prophetic Books, and the reason, the first part of these prophecy books will be dealing with Israel’s near-term judgment of one sort or another, whether it’s the Babylonian captivity, or the Syrians or others. But almost in every case, by the time we get to the end of these prophecy books, we have the promises of the Hebrews being restored, and enjoying this earthly Kingdom. And this is what we have here in Joel chapter 3 verses 17 and 18.
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