Seven centuries before the birth of Jesus Christ, the prophet Isaiah wrote about
the future coming of the Messiah Christ Jesus and His Kingdom. In symbolism, he wrote:
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.
"And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, Who shall stand as a banner to
the people; For the Gentiles shall seek Him, And His resting place shall be
glorious." Isaiah 11:6-10
What is the Holy Mountain? Isaiah told us in chapter 2 that the Holy Mountain is the church, God's house, the prediction of the coming church, the Christian Age. This whole chapter is about the Gospel Age. for more see The New Heavens and The New Earth (Heaven) and The New Earth/Jerusalem
First, let's make it clear. The "kingdom age" is not in the future. Those who have obeyed the gospel
of the Son of God are in the Lord's kingdom now.
Jesus declared that the new birth introduces one into the kingdom (John 3:3-5),
and early saints were described as being citizens in God's kingdom (Colossians
1:13; Revelation 1:9). The communion supper was to be observed in the kingdom
(Luke 22:29-30). This is all happening now. see
The
Church/Kingdom
Second, the language of Isaiah 11:6 is obviously symbolic. One of the rules for
determining when a passage is figurative is when it involves an impossibility.
This context has lions eating straw! Lions are carnivorous; they can't digest
straw.
Is the Lord going to redesign the entire animal kingdom for the alleged
future millennium? We're in the kingdom now, The Church
the body of Christ!
Third, the premillennial view totally ignores the New Testament explanation of
this Old Testament prediction.
The prophet declares that the gospel will flow throughout the entire earth
(Habakkuk 2:14; Luke 24:47; Acts 1:8), which was accomplished even before the
first century had expired (Acts 17:6; Romans 10:18; Colossians 1:6,23). In verse
ten, Isaiah 11:10, Isaiah speaks of the Gentiles seeking rest in "the root of Jesse" (Christ).
Now here is the clincher: Paul quotes this passage in his
letter to the Romans 15:12. He applies it to the Gentile reception of the
gospel in this age-not in some future millennium.
Premillennialists are wrong in their view of Isaiah 11:6-9.
Isaiah 65:25
The Book of Isaiah uses metaphors. Metaphors are word pictures. The Promised
Messiah is described in Isaiah as a "tender shoot" or a "root" (incidentally,
both metaphors occur in Isaiah 11). These word pictures of the Christ paint Him
as the hope of Israel and One who would be born as a child and grow. The
particular metaphors in question: the wolf, is frequently used in the Old
Testament to speak of Israel's enemies. For example, Jeremiah speaks of Israel's
enemies as a lion, a wolf, and a leopard.
Jeremiah 5:6
Israel is frequently described as lambs, or sheep. To speak of wolves
and lambs laying down together, is to describe the effect of the New Covenant.
That is, the largely ethnically-centred Old Covenant, would one day be replaced
by the for-all-the-world-New-Covenant where Jew and (the previously hostile
enemy) Gentiles are brought together under the same Covenant.
Ephesians 2:11-14
The context of Isaiah 11 is the ministry and achievement of the Messiah. The
New Covenant would make peace between formally hostile enemies. There
are some prophetic metaphors in Isaiah 11 which describe this. Such as
verse 18, The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the
weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den. This is not a picture of a
Utopian Golden Era, referred to as The Millennium, rather it was a prophetic
picture of the resultant peace from the spread of the New Covenant. How far will
this New Covenant spread? Isaiah 11:9
Of course, these various ideas come to affect how we understand the Book of
Revelation. Some will continue to think that the Bible forecasts an earthly
Utopia just as some continued to think that the Sun went around the earth in
Copernicus's day. To be sure, one day Christ will return, as the ancient creeds
say, to judge all people and bring our dimensions to an end. In a sense, the New
Heaven and the New Earth speaks of the New Covenant but it ultimately speaks of
a time to come when -
Revelation 21:4
In the meantime, the wolf lays down the lamb every time an Arab and a Jew find a
common bond in knowing Christ as the Promised Prophet, Messiah and Saviour. And
this is happening today perhaps more than people realise.
The image of the lamb and the lion lying down
together is a familiar one, typically representing "peace on earth." Many
Christian groups use this image, and many organizations have "Lamb & Lion" as
part of their name. This phrase is based on the prophecy in Isaiah 11.
As you read this prophecy, you may notice one little thing, it
doesn't exactly say that the lamb and the lion will be lying down together. It
mentions that the lamb will live with the wolf and the young lion will lie down
with the leopard, but the familiar phrase of the lamb and the lion lying down
together doesn't actually appear.
Regardless of which species is lying down with which, the prophecy still tells
us of a time when there will be complete peace within the kingdom (The Church). We refer to that period of time as the
"peaceful reign".
Although the lamb and the lion don't appear together in Isaiah's prophecy, there
is a noteworthy mention of a lamb and a lion in Revelation 5. In that chapter,
there is a book that is sealed with seven seals, and no man is found worthy to
open the book. Finally, the "Lion of the tribe of Judah" agrees to open the
book. A few verses later, the same man is referred to as "the Lamb that was
slain." Who is the lion and the lamb of this chapter? Of course, it's Jesus, the
"lion" of the tribe of Judah (his earthly lineage) and also the Lamb
of God who was slain for our sins.
So, even as we look forward to a time of peace on earth signified by the lamb
and the lion coexisting together, let's remember that we can have peace in our
lives today by following Christ Jesus who can also be referred to as both the
lamb and the lion.
Isaiah 11:1-10 - POWERFUL PORTRAIT OF THE
MESSIAH'S KINGDOM
What an intriguing section of Scripture ... a wolf peacefully co-existing with
a lamb ... a little child leading wild and domesticated animals (11:6) ... a
Rod and Branch of Jesse (11:1,10). What does it all mean? It is a prophecy of
the coming kingdom of the Christ - a prophecy which the prophet made about 700
years before Jesus' birth.
Definitely a Messianic prophecy - "There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of
Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots" (11:1). Jesse was the father of
King David, who already was dead at the time Isaiah wrote this message. The
simple point is that the Messiah will be from the lineage of Jesse through
David. Jesus certainly fits that criteria, as we read in the very first verse of
the book of Matthew. In the writings of the prophets, it is common for the
Christ to be pre-pictured as a Branch (11:1; Zechariah 6:12-13). In Jeremiah
23:5-6, the Christ is described as "a righteous Branch ... THE LORD OUR
RIGHTEOUSNESS." In the New Testament, Jesus of Nazareth is identified as Lord,
Jehovah (Isaiah 6:5; John 12:37-41), and our righteousness (1 Corinthians 1:30).
He alone fulfills the foretelling of Jesse's Branch.
Reign of righteousness - With the Spirit of the Lord resting on Him, coupled
with His own fear of the Lord (11:1-2), the Messiah would not judge according to
outward appearance (11:3). Instead, He would judge "with righteousness" (11:4),
having righteousness as the girdle of His loins (11:5). Any judgments which He
would make and any actions which He would carry out would be done in harmony
with God's standard of righteousness. How refreshing to learn that at least one
Ruler and Judge will carry out His judgments properly and not be swayed by the
positions, power, or money of men. The Lord's Kingdom is not a material-oriented
plan for carnal-minded humans, "but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy
Spirit" (Romans 14:17). Jesus is, indeed, "the righteous judge" (2 Timothy 4:8),
and His final judgment on the world will be done "in righteousness" (Acts
17:31).
Reign of peace - How does Isaiah portray the peace of the Messiah's rule? By
using animals and showing activities that would never occur under ordinary
circumstances. Isaiah speaks of a wolf with a lamb, a leopard with a young goat,
and a calf with a young lion. And the irony is, these creatures, which normally
would never dwell together peaceably, live side by side without conflict or
carnage (11:6). To top it all off, a little child will be their leader (11:6).
And, there will be no danger for a child in the presence of a cobra or viper
(11:8). All of these thoughts are used as symbols to show that during the reign
of the Christ, peace will prevail. Jesus is the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6),
His message is "the gospel of peace" (Ephesians 6:15), and for His followers,
there is a blessed happiness for those who are peacemakers (Matthew 5:9). And
for those that read this as literal and do not study the truth behind it. You
have to be in God's Kingdom on this earth not of this world before you can get
to God's Kingdom in Heaven.
Definitely fulfilled during the gospel era - Is the Messiah now reigning in
righteousness and peace, or will that occur only in the future? Many believe
that Jesus' peaceful reign will not take place until after He comes again, at
which time literal animals will live together on the earth in the fashion which
Isaiah foretold. If the animals living on friendly terms with one another is to
be interpreted literally, then we also should interpret the "stem" and "Branch"
of Jesse literally (11:1). It is absurd to think of Jesus as a literal stem or
Branch.
Second, Jesus is reigning as King now, as His
Kingdom has already come
(Colossians 1:12-14). Third, the Holy Spirit nails down the time element of the
fulfillment of this Isaiah 11 prophecy. In Romans 15, we read the apostle Paul's
quotation of several Old Testament passages about the Messiah, in each case
showing that they were fulfilled in Jesus. Start in Romans 15, verse 8 - Jesus;
verse 9 - Jesus and Gentiles; verse 10 - Jesus and Gentiles; verse 11 - Jesus
and Gentiles; verse 12 - Jesus and Gentiles. This last verse, Romans 15:12, is a
quotation of Isaiah 11:10, where it is written, "And in that day there shall be
a Root of Jesse, Who shall stand as a banner to the people; for the Gentiles
shall seek Him, and His resting place shall be glorious." In the
Christ, the Gentiles are now the recipients of the Messiah's blessings, and the
message of Isaiah 11, including the picture of peace in the Christ's Kingdom
(non-friendly animals living together in a friendly, non-warring fashion) is
being fulfilled right now in the Lord's church! In the Christ, we have peace in
our hearts, peace with one another, and peace with God (Ephesians 2:13-18).
World-wide knowledge - Isaiah foretold that during the Messiah's reign, "the
earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea"
(11:9). What a fascinating thought! Can you imagine a world in which the whole
world knows of Jehovah and His will? God not only imagines it, He wills it to be
so! How is it possible for the world to be filled with the knowledge of the
Almighty? Via the most important education system ever - God's children teaching
the gospel to every person on the planet. That is exactly what King Jesus told
His followers to do (Mark 16:15). Let's plan. Let's propose. Let's pray. Then,
let's get busy and preach, preach, preach. Precious souls need to be educated
about the Christ and His Kingdom!
Notice what Isaiah says: 6 " 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. 7 The cow and the bear
shall graze; Their young ones shall lie down together; And the lion shall eat
straw like the ox.
In each case you have what the Jew would call a clean animal and an unclean
animal. A docile animal and a ferocious aggressive carnivorous animal. The four
carnivorous animals mentioned are a lion, a leopard, a bear and a wolf. These
same animals, at least three of the four, are mentioned in Daniel chapter 7 as
Gentile nations that rose up in the persecution of the Jews. The first of the
four beasts was like a lion, the second like a bear, the third like a leopard,
the fourth is not said to be a wolf but is simply described as an indescribable
ferocious beast. Its not called a wolf but it is interesting that in the New
Testament Jesus and the Apostles warned us about wolves - but the interesting
thing here is that the Gentile nations in Daniel are described as these very
same animals.
And then, of course, the docile animals, the clean animals, are all sacrificial
animals. The cow, the lamb, the kid, all the things mentioned here that lie down
peaceably with the ferocious animals, are pictured as the clean animal. Now,
when God said you should not plow with an ox and an ass together, which means
you cannot put them under one yoke, the reason being the ox was a clean animal
and the ass an unclean animal. Paul told his hearers to not be equally yoked
together with unbelievers. Implying the clean and unclean animals. This is a
spiritualization of God's people and those who are not God's.
Now look at Ezekiel 34. Here we have a parable, more or less, a figurative
prophecy where Israel is compared to God's flock. The leaders of Israel are
compared to the shepherds, and he is decrying the shepherds for the improper
shepherding saying: Woe to the shepherds that feed themselves, should not the
shepherd feed the flock. And He goes on that He is going to replace those
shepherds of Israel with a Shepherd (meaning Jesus).
23 I will establish one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them-My servant
David. He shall feed them and be their shepherd.
But the interesting thing here is the part of the new covenant that Jesus will
establish. He says in verse 25:
25 "I will make a covenant of peace with them, and cause wild beasts to cease
from the land; and they will dwell safely in the wilderness and sleep in the
woods. 26 I will make them and the places all around My hill a blessing;... 28
And they shall no longer be a prey for the nations, nor shall beasts of the land
devour them; but they shall dwell safely, and no one shall make them afraid.
I believe this is Hebrew parallelism when beasts of the land are identified with
the nations (heathen). What I am saying here is that the Hebrew prophets would
sometimes compare the Jews with clean animals and compare the Gentiles, who are
unclean, with unclean animals. There has always been hostility between the
nations and Israel just has there is between the ferocious animals and the
docile. But in Christ, these would lie down peaceably.
Looking now at Ephesians 2: 12-16 we read from Paul what exactly Jesus did
accomplish.
12 that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth
of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and
without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off
have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
14 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the
middle wall of separation, 15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is,
the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one
new man from the two, thus making peace, 16 and that He might reconcile them
both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.
Of the two, Jesus has taken the believing portions of the Jews and the believing
portions of the Gentiles and made one - the body of Christ, the church. And he
is saying that God has removed the enmity that existed between the Jew and the
Gentile and in Christ God has made them one.
I am personally convinced - you are free to disagree - that Isaiah is speaking
figuratively of this very thing. That the clean animal and the unclean animal,
formerly hostile to one another, as a result of Jesus coming has made us one in
Him. They are harmoniously one together.
Now, if we need any further evidence, turn to Isaiah 11 again and see at the end
of verse 6 where it says:
And a little child shall lead them.
Jesus made that statement also in Matthew 18:1-4
1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who then is greatest in the
kingdom of heaven?" 2 Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the
midst of them, 3 and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted
and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.
4 Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the
kingdom of heaven.
Then back to Isaiah 11:8-9;
8 The nursing child shall play by the cobra's hole, And the weaned child shall
put his hand in the viper's den. 9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My
holy mountain, For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD...
Would I be taking too many liberties in saying that these poisonous snakes could
refer to demons or to the devil which is commonly in Scripture referred to as a
serpent or a dragon? If I say that, then what we see is the most vulnerable of
God's people, the little children themselves have authority over the serpent.
[The] child shall play by the cobra's hole, And the weaned child shall put his
hand in the viper's den.
Let's look at Luke chapter 10:17 Here is where Jesus says to the 70:
17 Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons are
subject to us in Your name." 18 And He said to them, "I saw Satan fall like
lightning from heaven. 19 Behold, I give you the authority to trample on
serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall
by any means hurt you.
When Jesus said, " and nothing shall by any means hurt you." I hear an echo of
Isaiah saying: 9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain.
I think Jesus is referring back to this passage saying; "You little children, I
have given you authority over the serpents. Nothing shall hurt you, they shall
not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain".
1 John 4, talking about the spirit of the antichrist, then says in verse 4:
4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in
you is greater than he who is in the world.
This is about the spirit of the antichrist - the demonic powers that seek to
keep people in darkness - and little children have overcome these. We are God's
little children.
Is. 11:8 The nursing child shall play by the cobra's hole, And the weaned child
shall put his hand in the viper's den. 9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all
My holy mountain, For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD...
In my opinion, these are spiritual fulfillments in our own lives today. I don't
see the end of verse 9 completed yet because but I do think each generation
heads in that direction. Because Jesus came, this is how it will all end up, and
because Jesus came, because He has given authority to His people to stomp down
the devil (the adversary), because of the great commission and the new life in
Christ, this message will be carried to others forever.