The Animal Kingdom will be Changed.

We are continuing our meditation on the topic of the Millennium, the thousand-year reign of Jesus. When Christ comes, those who have given their lives to Jesus are given new, incorruptible bodies (1 Corinthians 15:54). At that time, God will change the nature of the animal kingdom:

¹⁹The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. ²⁰For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope ²¹that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. ²²We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time (Romans 8:19-22).

When Paul the apostle wrote to the church in Rome about the creation, I wonder what was in his mind? I think he was referring to the animal kingdom that is so fearful of humankind. Since the Fall of Man, the relationship between humanity and the animal kingdom has suffered. Today, we see the devastating effects of modern agriculture and livestock farming methods bringing great suffering to the creation. This suffering is not what God intended, and the animal kingdom is suffering, along with humanity. The inner longing and groaning of all the animal kingdom are for the changing of their nature of fear toward humanity and one another. Isaiah the prophet also has something to say about what it will be like for the animal kingdom when Christ, the root of Jesse, will sit on the throne of the world:

⁴but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips, he will slay the wicked.⁵Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist. ⁶The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. ⁷The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. ⁸The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child put his hand into the viper's nest. ⁹They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. ¹⁰In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his place of rest will be glorious (Isaiah 11:4-10). 

Isaiah starts out by talking about the One who will bring about this time of change. Out of one of the descendants of David (Jesse was David’s father) will come forth a King who will judge and change the earth. Animals that are opposites to one another will feed together (vs. 6-7). The wolf and the sheep lying down with one another at night—living with one another. The lion, one of the most carnivorous animals on the planet, will eat straw in the same way an ox does (v. 7). Then, there will be children reaching into the dens of adders and playing with the venomous snakes (v.8). When this prophecy was given 600 years before Christ, ferocious animals were abundant in Israel, but Isaiah prophesies of a time when children will play with the animals, and the earth will be at peace. In fact, Isaiah says that the goyim, the Gentile nations, because knowledge of God will cover the earth, will place their trust in Him, and His rest will be glorious (v. 10). It will be the Sabbath 1000-year rest. The prayer for peace on earth and good will towards men will finally be answered. God’s presence and reign will accomplish this. The Lord Jesus will slay the wicked with the breath of His lips (v. 4), and all of His creation will finally live in peace. His rest to our souls will be glorious (v. 10).

Taken from the series Insights into Eternity found in the All Studies box on the Home Page. Click on the study The Millennium. Keith Thomas