Millennium Superworld
Chapter 9: Millennial Peace
| Nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. |
| —Micah 4:3 |
| And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever. And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places. |
| —Isaiah 32:17-18 |
| Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. |
| —Luke 2:14 |
| The Lord will bless his people with peace. |
| —Psalm 29:11 |
| I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream. |
| —Isaiah 66:12 |
| I will also make thy officers peace, and thine exactors righteousness. |
| —Isaiah 60:17 |
The Millennium, that grand age when Jesus Christ shall reign and earth shall gradually take on the likeness of heaven, will also be an age of uninterrupted peace.
We have talked about many aspects of that age. But the Bible tells us more, much more. Let’s think about some of the benefits that will extend to all who live in that blessed time.
With trouble in every corner of the globe today, no word is sweeter than peace. But today, despite mammoth efforts in its direction, peace still remains a vision and a dream; war-like human beings resist every effort.
To the inhabitants of the Millennium, peace will be a solid reality. It is the promise of the Word of God: “He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire” (Ps. 46:9).
“The meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace” (Ps. 37:11).
After the ravages of war through century after century, and after the final holocaust of Armageddon, peace will be more than welcome. Peace among the mortals of the new age will not come suddenly, or all at once, but it will grow and continue to grow. Once full-grown, it will last: there will be an “abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth” (Ps. 72:7). Says the Lord, “Behold, I will bring it health and cure, and…will reveal unto them the abundance of peace and truth” (Jer. 33:6).
Military schools will be closed. there will be no armies, or armories; no war machines or war-torn areas, no strife and no enemies. Armaments will be converted into implements of peace. “Nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more” (Mic. 4:3). Or as paraphrased in the Living Bible, “there will be universal peace, and all the military academies and training camps will be closed down.”
What a change!
How will the people of the New World feel secure with none to protect or defend? There will be no defense because there will be no enemy and no danger. Defense will be of another sort. “Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise” (Isa. 60:18). Who will be the aggressor? Against whom will the defense be needed when “the Lord shall be king over all the earth”? (Zech. 14:9).
Isaiah pictures the peaceful scene. “Look upon Zion, the city of our solemnities: thine eyes shall see Jerusalem a quiet habitation, a tabernacle that shall not be taken down;…there the glorious Lord will be unto us a place of broad rivers and streams; wherein shall go no galley with oars [no warship], neither shall gallant ship pass thereby” (Isa. 33:20-21). And this peacefulness will not be limited to one area; it shall extend over the whole earth.
What will bring about the state of peace? Says the prophet Isaiah, “When thy [God’s] judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness” (Isa. 26:9). Righteousness—upright living, right conduct, obedience to divine law—will not be an option; it will be required. What will be the result? “And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever. And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places” (Isa. 32:17-18).
In Isaiah 11, the state of universal peace is symbolized by wild beasts and children playing together absolutely unafraid. All evil will be restrained; none will live in fear or danger. All wild, beastly natures will be either voluntarily controlled or forcefully silenced. And the result: “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” (Isa. 11:6-9).