Changed Conditions on Earth

Picture the Israelite who has just learned of Cyrus' decree that the Jews return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple. Will he leave the security of Babylon to make the long trip home?  During Israel's 70-year absence, the deserted fields have become overgrown with weeds. Wolves, leopards, lions, and bears now freely prowl those fields.  Cobras too make their home there.  The returning Jews will have to depend on domestic animals for survival-flocks and herds will provide milk, wool, and meat, and oxen will pull the plow. Will these fall victim to predators? Will small children be bitten by snakes? What about the danger of being ambushed on the journey?

Isaiah now paints a heartwarming picture of the conditions that God will bring about in the land.  He says:  The wolf will actually reside for a while with the  male lamb, and with the kid the leopard itself will lie down, and the calf and the  maned  young lion and the well-fed animal all together; and a mere little boy will be leader over them.  And the cow and the bear themselves will feed; together their young ones will lie down.  And even the lion will eat straw just like the bull. And the sucking child will certainly play upon the hole of the cobra; and upon the light aperture of a poisonous snake will a weaned child actually put his own hand.  They will not do any harm  or cause any ruin in all my holy mountain; because the earth will certainly be filled with the knowledge of Jehovah as the waters are covering the very sea."  (Isaiah 11:6-9)   Do these words not touch the heart?   Notice that the peace described  here results from the knowledge of Jehovah.  Hence, more is involved than mere safety from wild animals.  the knowledge of Jehovah will not change the animals, but it will affect the people.  Neither on the  way home nor in their restored land will the Israelites need to fear wild beasts nor beastlike men. -Ezra 8:21, 22; Isaiah 35:8-10; 65:25.

This prophecy, however, has a larger fulfillment.  In 1914, Jesus, the Messiah, was enthroned on heavenly Mount Zion. In 1919 the remaining ones of "the Israel of God" experienced release from Babylonish captivity and shared in the restoration of true worship.  (Galatians 6:16)  As a result, the way was opened for a modern-day fulfillment of Isaiah's Paradise prophecy.  "Accurate knowledge,"  the knowledge of Jehovah, has changed personalities.  (Colossians 3:9, 10)  Formerly, violent people have become peaceable.  (Romans 12:2; Ephesians 4:17-24)  These developments have now affected millions because Isaiah's prophecy  has come to include  a rapidly increasing number of Christian with an earthly hope.  (Psalm 37:29; Isaiah 60:22)  These have learned to look to the time when the whole earth will be restored as a secure, peaceful paradise, according to God's original purpose. -Matthew 6:9, 10; 2 Peter 3:13. 

In that restored Paradise, will Isaiah's prophecy have a further, perhaps more literal, fulfillment?  It seems reasonable to think so.  The prophecy gives to all who will  live under the Messiah's rule the same assurance that it gave to the returning Israelites; they and their children will not feel threatened by harm from any  source-human or animal.  Under the Messiah's Kingdom rule, all earth's inhabitants will enjoy peaceful conditions like those that Adam and Eve enjoyed in Eden. Of course, the Scriptures do not reveal every detail of what life was like in Eden-or of what it will be like in Paradise. We can be confident, though, that under the wise and loving rule of the King Jesus Christ, everything will be just as it should be.

Next time: Pure Worship Restored Through the Messiah

From the Book Isaiah's Prophecy  Light for all Mankind, 2000