The Millennial Reign Of Christ

by G. Prasher | Category: God's Ways With Men | Aug 1932

"The whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now," being "subjected to vanity" (Romans 8.). Our minds are thus taken back to Eden, the fair garden of the LORD'S planting, and caused to think of Satan, Sin, and Sorrow. Satanic subtility seduced the simple, our mother Eve; while feminine fairness fascinated our father Adam. The curse upon the Serpent was above all cattle and above every beast of the field; and would seem to indicate that the curse likewise spread to these. Multiplication of sorrow and conception, with submission to her husband, was the judgment on the woman. "Cursed is the ground for thy sake," with its accompanying sorrow and sweat, and its thorns and thistles, was the sentence on the man (Genesis 3.). The groan and travail have been loud and long, but "the earnest expectation of the creation waiteth for the revealing of the sons of God" (Romans 8.). This expectation will be realised in the Millennium. So great will be the changes then, that the Lord Jesus Christ, when referring to this time, calls it the Regeneration (Matthew 19.). The curse, thank God, will be removed; the Edenic sentence will be revoked. "Creation itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the liberty of the glory of the children of God." Both sensuous and non-sensuous life will respond to the presence of the great Redeemer, who sold all that He had, to buy the field-the world. The great year of Jubilee will have arrived, when the loud trumpet will be sounded abroad. This occurred in Israel every fifty years (see Leviticus 25.), and was a period of release. Persons and things (with the exception of possessions within walled cities, which belonged not to the Levites) returned to their pristine place. Such a year of happiness it was! and foreshadowed the great Millennial age. We will now draw attention to a few scriptures which indicate

THE EARTH'S RELEASE

from the curse of sin, which will be accompanied with great fertility, and ideal beauty. "There shall be abundance of corn in the earth upon the top of the mountains; The fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon" (Psalm 72. 16). It is not usual to find the top of the mountains so fruitful, but rather scarceness of soil, and barrenness. "The wilderness and the parched land shall be glad; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and shall rejoice even with joy and singing; the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon" (Isaiah 35. 1, 2). "All the land shall be turned as the Arabah, from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem" (Zechariah 14. 10). There will also be great physical changes, as shown by this chapter. The mount of Olives will be cleaved in the midst by the touch of the once-pierced feet of the Lord; and a very great valley shall result, running eastward and westward. Living waters also shall go out from Jerusalem, towards the eastern and the western seas, which, doubtless will have much to do with the fertility of those parts, whither they flow. When we consider the tremendous increase in population which the Millennium will produce, we can see that the land will be called upon to meet these increased demands, and that it will respond worthily, under the blessing of the LORD. "The mirage shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water; for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert." "And I will make them and the places round about My hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in its season; there shall be showers of blessing. And the tree of the field shall yield its fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase, and they shall be secure in their land" (Ezekiel 34. 26, 27).

A COVENANT WITH THE ANIMAL CREATION.

Hugh Miller, in his Testimony of the Rocks, says, "Before man had sinned, or even appeared on the earth, in the animal creation there were those that preyed upon, and those that were preyed upon... I need scarcely say that the Paleontologist finds no trace in nature of that golden age of the world, of which poets delight to sing, when all creatures lived together in unbroken peace, and war and bloodshed were unknown." Now we are not Paleontologists, and we are unable to express any opinion from that point of view, but the Scripture leads us to a different conclusion respecting the past, and reveals a period when animals did not prey on each other-their food was "Every green herb" (Genesis 1. 30), we also know of a golden age that is to come, when carnivorous animals will be changed to eat straw like the ox, and the asps and basilisks shall lose their venom. "And in that day will I make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven, and with the creeping things of the ground" (Hosea 2. 18).

"And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the basilisk's den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy

mountain" (Isaiah 11. 6-9).

The Scriptures alone give us reliable information, either in regard to the future, or in regard to the past; and so, alongside this glorious future, when all creation will dwell together in amity, we place the scene presented in Genesis 2. 19, 20. "And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto the man to see what he would call them: and whatsoever the man called every living creature, that was the name thereof. And the man gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field." Peace, friendship, and goodwill are indicated here, and surely, prior to the fall of man, there was a golden age in which the lower creatures had their share.

"And dust shall be the serpent's meat" (Isaiah65. 25) in the future time of release. The fair morn of human innocence was beclouded by Satan using the serpent for his foul and crafty deed; and so in the bright Millennial day, though losing his poisonous venom, he will continue to lick the dust.

RETURN TO GREAT LENGTH OF LIFE.

Long lives marked the men who lived prior to the Flood. Methuselah, the son of Enoch, attained the ripest age, and fell short of a millennium by only thirty-one years. We cherish the thought that his long life was connected with the longsuffering of God, since at his death the Flood came. From that time man's years have been greatly reduced. "The days of our years are threescore years and ten, Or even by reason of strength fourscore years; Yet is their pride but labour and sorrow; For it is soon gone and we fly away" (Psalm 90.). In the reign of Christ, however, there will be a return to longevity upon the earth. "There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old, and the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed... They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree shall be the days of My people, and My chosen shall long enjoy the work of their bands" (Isaiah 65. 20, 22). Men will then complete the thousand years of life; and, indeed, there seems to be no thought of death, unless there be an outbreak of sin, when speedy judgment will engulf-the wicked. Furthermore, worry to make ends meet will be unknown, because a man with one young cow, and two sheep will eat of the fat of the land (see Isaiah 7. 21, 22).

EGYPT AND ASSYRIA A BLESSING.

No longer will God say, "what hast thou to do in the way to Egypt, to drink the waters of the Nile? or what hast thou to do in the way to Assyria to drink the waters of the Euphrates?" for there will be a high way out of Egypt to Assyria. Egyptians and Assyrians will worship together. The high way will lead to Zion, and these one-time enemies will be brought into blessing, and will be a blessing in the midst of the earth: "For that the LORD of hosts hath blessed them, saying, Blessed be Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel Mine inheritance" (Isaiah 19. 23-25). No longer a separated nation, but a united world of saved nations with Israel as their head, will enjoy the "cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flame of fire by night: for over all the glory shall be spread a canopy. And there shall be a pavilion for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a refuge and for a covert from storm and rain" (Isaiah 4. 5, 6). The hegemony of the world will be at last in rightful hands, and myriads will be "written among the living in Jerusalem."

Then all the world shall rise and bring

Peculiar honours to its King;

Angels descend with songs again,

And earth repeat the loud Amen.

Great Lord, we hail that glorious hour

When He from heaven will come with power,

His throne to take, the earth to dower;

For He must reign.

G. Prasher | Aug 1932
God's Ways With Men