God's Eternal Kingdom: No Predators, Only Peace

Most mainline scholars believe the book we call “Isaiah” is a composite work, joining material from two or three prophets. “While a few scholars maintain that the whole book originated with Isaiah, most scholars speak of the book’s primary divisions as First Isaiah (Isa 1-39); Second Isaiah (Isa 40-55); and Third Isaiah (Isa 56-66).” * If so, today’s second passage echoes a vision of God’s future first voiced by “Isaiah of Jerusalem” perhaps 150 to 200 years earlier.

• The lyrical picture of God’s eternal “holy mountain” in today’s passages pictured a whole collection of animals living in peace with one another, and with humans, in God’s eternity. “Animals in heaven?” is not a silly or trivial question. It takes us back to creation. Saying animals we love will miss out on eternity would suggest that God is only interested in human beings, not in all creation. How does God’s creation of animal life strongly suggest that animals will be part of eternity?
• The first gospel writer said at Jesus’ temptation “he was among the wild animals” (Mark 1:12-13). “Mark alone among the Gospel writers alludes to ‘wild beasts’…. Exciting is the possibility that Mark saw this as a messianic touch; many prophecies… pictured the age of the Messiah as a time when the wild beasts become tame and docile (e.g. Isaiah 11:6).” ** Jesus launched God’s future kingdom, but not fully. How will your world be better when Isaiah’s vision of God’s love fully defeating all that hurts or destroys comes true?