What will the Lord’s kingdom on Earth look like?
I suspect that most of us grace believers have a basic, high-level understanding of the Millennial Kingdom. The kingdom is literal, physical, and visible. The kingdom be established right here on this Earth after the Lord’s Second Advent.
When you read the Bible, Jerusalem means Jerusalem. Zion means Zion. And the Earth means the Earth.
Isaiah would write, “He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till He have set judgment in THE EARTH” (Isa. 42:4). Jeremiah would say that a “A King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in THE EARTH” (Jer. 23:5). In fact, Isaiah would also say the “THE EARTH shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord” (Isa. 11:9).
This will be a literal, physical, and visible kingdom here on the Earth. This kingdom will have a capital city. That city will be Jerusalem, and the Lord will sit upon a new mountain in the southeastern corner of that city, and that new mountain will be called Zion.
Isaiah wrote that, “Out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem” (Isa. 2:3). He also wrote that, “The Lord of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem” (Isa. 24:23). Jeremiah would write that “At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord” (Jer. 3:17).
This new kingdom shall be a theocracy. God Himself will reign in the person of Christ. Isaiah would famously write that “They shall call His name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us” (Isa. 7:14, Matt. 1:23). Zechariah would write, “The Lord shall be king over all the earth” (Zech. 14:9).
Isaiah would also famously write in Isa 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Isa 9:7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this. That verse says Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end. In other words, we cannot conceive of the exercise of all the power and authority vested in Christ, and all of that power will be comparable to all of the peace that will exist under His rule. There will be no end to His authority just as there will be no end to the peace that’ll be across the universe.
We also know that Christ’s rule will extend over the entire earth. David would write, “Yea, all kings shall fall down before Him: all nations shall serve Him” (Psa. 72:11). Daniel would write, “And there was given Him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve Him” (Dan. 7:14). Zechariah would write, “Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the Lord” (Zech. 8:22).
Plus, this is that kingdom that was promised to David when God made a covenant with him. It is this very kingdom that was offered to Israel in the Gospels during the Lord’s earthly ministry when they all proclaimed, “The kingdom is at hand!” That was a good faith offer, which Israel rejected when they crucified their Messiah.
The offer was extended again at Pentecost in the early part of Acts. Again rejected. And now that we have in our studies gone through the Tribulation, and the Lord has returned, now the kingdom has been delivered. It was promised. It was offered, and now it’s been delivered.
So how can we visualize the kingdom? What will it look like?
Isa 60:1 Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee. Isa 60:2 For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. Isa 60:3 And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.
Also look at Isa 60:19 The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the LORD shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory. Isa 60:20 Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the LORD shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended. Isa 60:21 Thy people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land for ever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified. Isa 60:22 A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation: I the LORD will hasten it in his time.
I found these passages to be endlessly fascinating and a little tricky. Do these passages mean there will be no sun and no moon in the kingdom? I don’t think so. It’s not that there won’t be anymore sun. It’s that the sun shall be no more thy light by day. The sun will still exist, but they won’t be using it for light anymore. Certainly not in Jerusalem.
Look at Isa 30:26 Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the LORD bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound. According to this passage, the sun and the moon will still exist in the kingdom. What this verse is talking about is how bright Jerusalem will be in the kingdom. On the other side of the globe, there will be normal day and night with the sun and the moon.
But, in Jerusalem, with the combination of the sun and the glory of the Lord shining atop Mount Zion, perhaps also the glory of the Father, because Rev. 22:1 tells us He’ll have a throne next to His Son, and the glory of the Body of Christ in the heavens, and the glory of all the heavenly host, the entire Promised Land, but especially Jerusalem, will be during the daytime, seven times brighter than it is now from the sun.
Can you believe that?
Do you remember Matt. 17 and The Transfiguration? Do you remember how bright the Lord was? His raiment was white as the light and His face did shine as the sun. The brightness from His face wasn’t worse than the sun but only AS the sun. The glory of His face was comparable to the sun. So, in the kingdom, you have the sun being its usual bright self over Jerusalem. You also have the glory of the Father, the Body of Christ in their Heavenly seats, and the glory of the heavenly host, and you also have the glory of the Lord as the sun shining atop Mount Zion. The result will be that daylight in Jerusalem will be seven times brighter than it is now.
When nighttime comes, Isaiah says the moon shall be as the light of the sun. How do we see the moon now? It’s reflecting the light from the sun. But during the kingdom, the moon will not only reflect the light of the sun, but the moon will also reflect the glory of the Lord and the Father, which will always in Jerusalem cause the moon to be as the light of the sun!
In Jerusalem, during the kingdom, there will be no nighttime. Christ will never sleep. The Father will never sleep, and I don’t think any of the resurrected saints will ever sleep again.
Only the normal mortal, sin-corrupted humans will sleep. Nighttime in Jerusalem will simply mean it’s just not as bright as it is during the day.
The brilliance of these passages in Isa. 60 is the connection between how the Lord was the light of Israel in their hearts and how His light will literally shine in the kingdom here on Earth. The Lord was their light in the sense that He was their guide. He revealed truth and the glory of all that He was in His wisdom, His holiness, His righteousness, His goodness, His mercy, His love, etc. When Israel by faith embodied His righteousness, the rightness of His ways, when they were obedient to the law, they were His light in the world, because they were exhibiting His righteousness in the world. He was the light of their lives.
John, who wrote the Gospel of John and who was a witness at His transfiguration, would write in Joh 1:4 “In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe…” John was a witness to His light in a literal and spiritual sense so that many may believe on Christ as Israel’s Messiah. He was a testifier of the fulfilled prophecies in the person of Christ, and he testified that God is light (1Jn_1:5) and that the life of Christ was the light of men. His life brought light into the world by exposing sin, by revealing truth, by unveiling the will and wisdom of His Father in Heaven by which men could obtain eternal life.
Even the Lord Himself said in Joh 8:12, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. The knowledge and the acceptance by faith of all that He was produced the light of life in men, eternal life that came from the eternal light. He was the light, and eternal life was the result of their acceptance of Him by faith. The eternal light and eternal life would coexist in the souls of His followers. He is a light that will never extinguish, and His life will never die. When Christ was transfigured into the form of God before His disciples, He appeared in light, the most glorious light. He is the Sun of righteousness, the Light of the world. At His transfiguration, all his body was altered, as His face was, so that beams of light shot out from every pore of His being through His clothes, making them white, glittering, because of the pureness of His holy essence.
And now, in the kingdom, the Lord Himself in all His glory will literally be the great light of the world, and He will also be the moral, spiritual light of the world because of His reign and the rightness of His ways. Here, in vs. 1, Isaiah said, “the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee,” and in vs. 2, he tells them, “his glory shall be seen upon thee.” The resurrected saints of time past will reflect His glory in a literal sense. Glory will shine from their bodies, just as Moses’ face shined in glory after being in His presence, and His people will also be a reflection of His light in a spiritual and moral sense, too, because they’ll perfectly exhibit His righteousness in the world.
I also loved the brilliance of vs. 3 when he said, “And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.” When you think about how bright Jerusalem will be, it’s amazing all these normal people, Gentiles, will want to seek that out!
Better bring sunglasses.
What was always just a light in the hearts of true Israel is now manifest as a real light, and the Gentiles will come to Zion to seek out what had always been a Jews’ hidden light, a light that was in their hearts now literally manifest in the world in the person of Christ. He will be the light of the world. The fact that there will be no more nighttime in Jerusalem is also reinforced in Rev 22:5. John writes, “And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.”
Sin Curse Lifted Off of Creation
This brings us to our next point. The sin-curse will be lifted off of creation.
Look at Isa 35:1 The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. Isa 35:2 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. Isa 35:3 Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. Isa 35:4 Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you. Isa 35:5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Isa 35:6 Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. Isa 35:7 And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes. Isa 35:8 And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein. Isa 35:9 No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there: Isa 35:10 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.
In vs. 1, we were told, The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad, and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose... Vs. 2 would tell us that not only will the desert blossom abundantly but the desert will also rejoice even with joy and singing. All of this is such a stark contrast to the sad state we’re in now. I’m reminded of Paul telling us in Rom 8:19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. Rom 8:21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. Rom 8:22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. Creation likewise groans like we do and it’s waiting for its deliverance from the curse of sin when Christ returns. It’s anxiously waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God. When is that? Manifestation is apokalupsis. It’s a revelation, it’s an unveiling. Creation itself cannot wait until the Second Coming of Christ when we take up our heavenly seats and we have the resurrection of all the saints of time past, because it’s then that the sin-curse will be lifted.
Plus, there will be so much abundance of fertile natural life, nature everywhere, without any disease or death (or need for bug spray or weed killer). There will be such an abundance of nature teeming with life, it’ll be as if all of creation itself is rejoicing and singing in praise to God. Isaiah would write in Isa 51:3, “For the LORD shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.”
He is saying that all of Jerusalem and the deserts of the middle east, they will all be like the Garden of Eden. The Garden of Eden. There will be no more dangerous places on the Earth. You can go anywhere. Any forest you may randomly decide to visit, you will never be scared. You will always discover in every forest, something to rejoice about, an abundance of beauty, fresh healthy fruit, overwhelming fertility in the land, natural spring water, a tamed friendly animal creation, and the natural reaction for every person on Earth will be overwhelming joy, gladness, thanksgiving, while also hearing the voice of melody – you’ll often be hearing others singing praises to God.
Ezekiel would also write in Eze 36:35, “And they shall say, This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are become fenced, and are inhabited.” So we know from that verse there will be memory of the past. They will remember what certain places of the Earth used to be like, and they will compare the past of that location to how it is now in the kingdom, and they’ll be stunned by how gloriously transformed it is, like night turned into day, and the inevitable result will of course be to praise the Lord.
Remember how Isaiah wrote in Isa 35:1 The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose and blossom abundantly and rejoice even with joy and singing… Isaiah had a lot to say about how deserts would be transformed in the kingdom.
Did you notice in vs. 6, he wrote, Isa 35:6 Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. Isa 35:7 And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes. There will still be deserts, but they will no longer be the barren death traps we know them as now. They’ll blossom as a rose. It will open up to reveal the beauty within. The wasteland will become a paradise. The deserts will be teeming with life and trees with flowing streams of water.
Isa 41:17 When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I the LORD will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them. Isa 41:18 I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys: I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.
Is that not amazing? The whole Earth will be brimming with life but if you happen to be one of the mortals and you’re poor and needy in the kingdom and you happen to be somewhere and you’re thirsty and you can’t find water, the Lord will miraculously make water available to you. The Lord said, “I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys: I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.” Can you believe that? Nature will, at the direction of the Lord, serve the physical needs of the people wherever they are. If you’re out in the woods and you didn’t bring any supplies with you and you’re dying of thirst, suddenly, you will see a fountain of water spring out of the Earth.
Isa 41:19 I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the shittah tree, and the myrtle, and the oil tree; I will set in the desert the fir tree, and the pine, and the box tree together: Isa 41:20 That they may see, and know, and consider, and understand together, that the hand of the LORD hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it.
Again, notice what He said about the desert. There will still be deserts, but they will have fir trees and pine trees and box trees, which are thought to be a subspecies of cedar trees. Cedar trees in the desert! Pine trees! Imagine that!
Notice what he says back in Isa 35:7 And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water… Any piece of land thirsty for water shall never thirst again. The mirage shall become a real oasis. Where once there was no water, water will now abound. You’ll never have to water your lawn again.
He also says in the second half of vs. 7, in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes. No land will ever be thirsty again and natural life will be everywhere. Isaiah mentions dragons quite a few times. Great, wild beasts. He may even mean beasts that are now extinct, like dinosaurs.
Joel would write in Joe 3:18 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth of the house of the LORD, and shall water the valley of Shittim. Even Joel gives this sense of overflowing abundance of life in nature, a creation that’s brimming with inexhaustive life. And Joel says that the mountains shall drop down new wine.
How does that work?
Bullinger said new wine here in the Greek is mead, which is fermented honey and water, which is an alcoholic beverage. What is ordinarily obtained through labor and toil, all of that shall now be springing forth naturally and spontaneously by this over fruitful creation. Amos would have a similar verse. He’d write in Amo 9:13 that the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt. There will be mountains and hills in the kingdom, but the point here is that there will be so much teeming natural life on the hills, that nature will so overwhelm hills in the kingdom that it will just appear as if that hill has melted.
Isaiah would also write about how easy it’ll be to farm in the kingdom. He’d write in Isa 65:21 And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. Then he would write in Isa 65:23, They shall not labour in vain… There will be no such thing as laboring in vain when you’re farming in the kingdom. When the sin curse is lifted, there is such abundance of natural life, they’ll want for nothing. It’s as if creation itself is rejoicing that the Lord is here. Everywhere you turn, everything you see in creation, will cause all you to continually rejoice and praise God for the glory of His work on this Earth. And if anyone farms, there will be no such thing as laboring in vain. It is the glory of the natural life found in Heaven that has now come down to the Earth.
Conclusion
I want to close with the exegesis on the last few verses of Isa. 35. We’ll start with Isa 35:8 And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein. Today, we have all these nations, all these cultures and lifestyles, but in the kingdom, there is only one culture. There is only one way to live, and that is the way of holiness.
The Lord will have all the people of Earth moving in the same direction, like traffic on a highway, and that direction is the way of holiness. That highway means everything. Access to God is through that highway. To gain access to the highway means you must be holy. To become holy in the kingdom, you must have God’s righteousness imputed to you. To have God’s righteous imputed to you, like all the other saints who ever lived, you must accept by faith that Christ sitting on top of His mountain in Jerusalem, generating all that light, He is all that He says He is – the Son of God, the Son of Man, the Messiah of Israel, the Creator of the universe.
That’s step one. That gets God’s righteousness imputed to you. You are righteous in His eyes. That gets you on the highway.
Then you gotta move down that highway. You gotta learn the righteous ways of Christ. You gotta master holiness in your life. Then you’ll find yourself speeding down that highway into the presence of God. The way of gaining access to God, the way of gaining His blessings, is the way of holiness. That highway represents the timeless principle that the way into God’s presence is ever the way of holiness. In the second half of that verse, he writes, the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein. The sense here is that the way of salvation shall be so obvious, so simple, that no one, however ignorant or foolish, could possibly misunderstand it.
But for Israel and all the saints of time past, Isaiah’s verse about the highway called the way of holiness is a source of comfort. For them, this highway means that when they’re resurrected into His kingdom, they will always have easy access to their land, easy access to Zion, and to their Messiah atop the Mount.
Isa 35:9 No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there:
Of course, the animal creation will be tamed, but the sense here is that there will be no dangers to believers in the kingdom. No difficulties for you going down that highway called the Way of Holiness. No animals waiting to attack you. No bad weather. No sin-curse to make your life difficult. No demonic realm doing their best to deceive you. It’s just you, your eyeballs, your ears, and the truth.
I loved vs. 10. Isa 35:10 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.
He starts by saying And the ransomed of the LORD shall return… Everyone who ever got saved in time past, they are all the ransomed of the LORD. Christ is the ransom for all, the counter payment for all sin. And all the redeemed will be resurrected into His kingdom, and they’ll head up that highway, the way of holiness, and they will come home and they will return to the Lord, and they will be singing songs of praise, and they will be feeling overwhelming, everlasting joy. And that is another visual worth remembering, the extremities of joy that we will feel and see in all His people. Everlasting joy is upon their heads. Their resurrection in their glorified bodies, freed from the presence of sin, filled with the Spirit, living a perfectly righteous life, having access to the land and their Creator, is the height of human joy. Their emotions will be so overwhelming, all they can do is sing as they head home.
SUPPLY OF GRACE 