Heaven on Earth

By Pastor Matt Black

21 January 2006
Lord's Day evening
Isaiah 11:6-9

Open your Bibles to Isaiah 11.  The title of this evening’s message is “Heaven on Earth”.

Isaiah 11:6-9, “The wolf also 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. 7  And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8  And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ 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, as the waters cover the sea.”

Introduction:  The last few weeks as we have studied Isaiah, we have seen this awesome King of all kings, towering not only over the kings of Israel, but over the kings of all the earth.  A King we saw that is omniscient, that knows our frame, that judges perfectly.  This is a King that should have our unreserved trust.  He is a King like no earthly king—a ruler of perfect righteousness, faithfulness, and truth.  He is also a King who will not simply judge one nation or another, but the entire world will be judged: He shall “smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked” (verse 4).  This King, we are going to learn tonight, is the Messiah who will bring Heaven to Earth.  We are going to see two aspects of this tonight:

Introductory Thoughts on the New Creation. 

What is God doing in the future?  There’s going to be a New Creation (the future).

Verses 6 through 9 speak of a time of unparalleled peace on the earth, when there will be perfect harmony in nature, and perfect righteousness and universal knowledge of the Lord on the earth.

There are some who when they come to passages like this, they speak of a future reign of Christ on the earth for a thousand years.  That idea cannot be applied to these verses for several compelling reasons.

A. Scriptural Reasons why this cannot be a reference to a millennial earthly kingdom.

1. he creation groans for final redemption.  The whole creation groans under the weight of your sin and mine.  We read in Romans 8:22, “For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.”  This groaning will continue until the consummation (the Second coming) of Christ.

2. Second, when Christ comes again, he is coming to destroy this sin cursed earth.  Christ will reign after he has put all of His enemies are under His feet.

Now let us look at the actual order of events of the end of the world.

B. Order of events in Christ’s coming and the end of the world.

1. Life as usual.

a. First of all, unbelievers will be taken completely off guard. Matthew 24:37-39, “But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 38  For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, 39  And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.”

Just as in the days of Noah, there will be massive carnage in a very short amount of time.  It will be as 2 Peter 3:10 says, “The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.”

b. Of course believers are not caught off guard.  We are expecting His coming.  It most certainly does not overtake believers as a thief in the night.  We are the ones who are watching and waiting and living for that day.

1 Thessalonians 5:1-5, “But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. 2  For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. 3  For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. 4  But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. 5  Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.”

So we are watching and waiting and hoping.  For the lost—they are appointed unto wrath, but those who know Christ are appointed unto salvation.  That’s what verse 9 (of 1 Thessalonians 5) tells us, “For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ...”

So, it is life as usual for the lost, and the believers are watching and waiting.   They have oil in their lamps burning. They don’t leave their post for a moment.  Then all of the sudden…

2. The Last Trumpet.  The first thing that will happen is that there will be a mighty trumpet, and the dead in Christ will rise first.  Then we who know the Lord will be risen with Him in the air.

It will happen “in a moment”. So the redeemed are called up to Christ.  The Bride is for the first time in the history of the world all united. 

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17  Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”

Revelation 1:7, “Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.”

1 Corinthians 15:51-53, “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52  In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53  For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.”

3. A Day of Joy for the Saints and Terror for the Lost.  This Day when Christ comes is the Last day.  It is the Day of the Lord.  It is the day that time itself ends.  It is a day of destruction and misery for the lost and a day of great delight and joy for those who know Christ.  1 Thessalonians 1:7-10 tells us it is the day “when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, 8  In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: 9  Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; 10  When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe … in that day.”

4. The Destruction of the Earth. The earth is burned up.  It will happen so fast that the wicked will be utterly consumed with terrors.  The earth is completely consumed. That is why the end of the world is called the consummation. All wicked men perish. Christ burns this old world up.

Ø Psalm 73:19, “How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment! they are utterly consumed with terrors.”

Ø 2 Peter 3:10, “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.”

What should we say to these things?  Look down at the next verse.  Verse 11, “Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, 12  Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?

5. Last of all God creates in a moment the new heaven and the new earth. 2 Peter 3:13, “Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.

This is where our text in Isaiah begins tonight.  Turn back again to our text in Isaiah 11.  We are going to see in verses 6-16 that there is a day when Christ’s Kingdom will literally and physically come to earth forever—It speaks of Heaven on earth—a new creation!! 

Tonight we are looking at Heaven on Earth--the New Creation.  God’s wiped away all tears.  He makes His home among men.  There is “death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain…”  “The former things are passed away”!!   There is now a new heaven and a new earth. 

Look now at our text in Isaiah 11.  Verse 1-5 speak of the Messiah’s Kingdom.  He comes out of the cut down stump of Jesse, and He is awesome.  The Branch grows out of Jesse’s roots, and He towers  over all before Him.  He is omniscient.  Verse 3, “he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears”.  He is also omnipotent.  We see this in verse 4 as the Messiah is seen to be the Judge of all the earth.  We read “he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked”.  You see John 5:22 tells us that “the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son”.

So immediately after the Messiah has that final judgment for the wicked, there is a new heaven and a new earth created wherein dwells righteousness.  That’s what we see in verses 6-9 of Isaiah 11.

Exposition. 

Verses 6-9, “The wolf also 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. 7  And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8  And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ 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, as the waters cover the sea.”

I. What we see first is the total removal of the curse.  Here in these verses, Isaiah describes a total removal of the curse to the conditions of what the earth was like before Adam’s fall into sin.

The ultimate promise of 1 Corinthians 15:22 is brought to pass, “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.”  Christ now rules from His throne and says “Behold, I make all things new” (Revelation 21:5). 

So we see this awesome and radical removal of the curse first in the details of verses 6-8, but even more plainly we are given the reason in verse 9, “They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain”.

There is no more sin!  The curse has been removed.  Mankind on earth are now all regenerated.  All people on the earth are now inclined continually to do what is right! 

Christ has smitten the wicked with the Word of His mouth!  Sin is eradicated from the earth, and from men animals and nature.  The earth no longer groans! 

1. We see this in the nature of the animals (the actual nature of the wolf and the lion are changed)

2. We see this in the nature of people.  The child is not afraid of the vipers, nor of lions or wolves! 

II. What we further see is the total restoration of all things.  Here we see the total reversal of the curse of sin!  Finally we see the universal sovereignty and dominion of Christ over all things.  There is perfect peace—reconciliation—and harmony in the realm of men and in the animal realm.  This is the time referred to in Ephesians 1:10, “That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:”

III. Then we notice the result of the removal of this curse--there is perfect knowledge of the Lord throughout the earth.  Verse 9 again, “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.” (See also Habakkuk 2:14).

There is a beautiful verse in 1 Corinthians 13 that refers to this.  Verses 11-12, “When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 12  For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face…”

We learn so much about a lot of nonsense in this earth!  There is coming a time when we all will know the Lord fully.  Knowing the Lord is all that matters!  Take your time to get to know him.  All other knowledge will not ultimately help you.  Read the book of Ecclesiastes.  Solomon had all knowledge and wisdom.  He tried everything and did everything.  His conclusion?  “Vanity of vanities!” 

Conclusion: Friends all is vanity unless you know the Lord!!  As we close let us look at Revelation 21:3-4 and let’s read all that we have to look forward to when Heaven comes to earth.  “And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. 4  And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”  Friend, don’t put your trust in anything on this earth.  God is our hope.  He is our Judge.  He is our Saviour.  Praise be to His Holy Name.

Next week we are going to look at the inauguration of Heaven on Earth—the age of the church (the present)!  We are going to see how others come to this knowledge!!

Closing Hymn:  415 Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God