ISAIAH
Isaiah contains far more millennial passages than any other book in Scripture, including some of the most descriptive and comprehensive. Following the classic depiction of the Millennium in Isaiah 11:6-9, is the instructive 11:10-12:
In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples—of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious. In that day the Lord will extend his hand yet a second time to recover the remnant that remains of his people, from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the coastlands of the sea. He will raise a signal for the nations and will assemble the banished of Israel, and gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
The root of Jesse, the Messiah (cf. Is. 11:1; Rom. 15:12; Rev. 5:5; 22:16), will be sought by the nations. This is what we see in Isaiah 2:2-4 with the nations coming to Jerusalem to learn from the LORD. This cannot begin until after Jesus returns. Indeed, the second gathering of the Jewish people back to the land[1] will occur at the Second Coming (cf. Matt. 24:30-31). Furthermore, Jewish people coming from the coastlands of the sea does not fit in the Eternal State, because there will be no more seas in that time (Rev. 21:1).
Isaiah 19:24-25:
In that day Israel will be the third with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, whom the LORD of hosts has blessed, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria, the work of my hands, and Israel my inheritance.”
God actually refers to Egypt as my people! This is the position of intimacy that God often used of Israel in describing her as His own possession out of all the other nations on the earth (Deut. 7:6-8; 14:22; Ps. 135:4; Is. 43:1-3; Jer. 31:1-4; Ezek. 36:28; Joel 3:1-2; Rom. 11:2; and many others). Egypt and Assyria, once enemies of Israel, will become affixed to her as one commonwealth of God’s people. This is truly incredible. The new relationship begins in that day (i.e. the day of the LORD), after the return of the Messiah (cf. Zech. 14:9). It cannot begin in the Eternal State, as everyone on the new earth will be God’s people. The contrasting nature of the three nations set against the others is typical of millennial narratives.
Isaiah 24:21-23:
On that day the LORD will punish the host of heaven, in heaven, and the kings of the earth, on the earth. They will be gathered together as prisoners in a pit; they will be shut up in a prison, and after many days they will be punished. Then the moon will be confounded and the sun ashamed, for the LORD of hosts reigns on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and his glory will be before his elders.
During the day of the LORD, He will separate the human authorities and the fallen angels from the world to cease their influence over it. The period of imprisonment will be for many days, with a final punishment to follow. This matches the description of Satan’s imprisonment during the Millennium, eventually ending with him, the false prophet, the beast and anyone’s name not found in the book of life being cast into the lake of fire (Rev. 20). Wicked rulers are myriad in the present age and Satan is free to roam about like a roaring lion, looking for people to devour (1 Pet. 5:8). Since the period of many days is limited and ends with a judgment, it would hardly fit in the Eternal State when all final sentences have been handed down. Here, then, is a clear reference to a transitional period that can only indicate the Millennium.
Isaiah 56:7:
these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.”
Gentiles (cf. Is. 56:6), will be taken to Jerusalem’s great mountain of Isaiah 2:2-4. They will be allowed to worship in the temple and even offer sacrifices. This was never permitted in any of the previous temples, nor will it be in the final one of this age (cf. Rev. 11:1-2). There is no temple at all in the Eternal State (Rev. 21:22). The verse summarizes what will happen in the Millennial Temple that will be constructed under the supervision of the Messiah after He returns (Zech. 6:12-13, 15; cf. Ezek. 40-48).
Isaiah 60:12:
For the nation and kingdom that will not serve you shall perish; those nations shall be utterly laid waste.
Isaiah 60 describes Jerusalem’s future glory, with many of the verses signaling that they belong in the Millennium. Verse 12 is the most concise in this regard. Nations have never before faced destruction for not serving Jerusalem, nor is this reasonable to expect before Jesus returns. There will be no nations that would even consider opposing God’s directives in the Eternal State.
Isaiah 65:20:
No more shall there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not fill out his days, for the young man shall die a hundred years old, and the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed.
When, since Isaiah penned this prophecy, was a centenarian considered young? And yet, despite the great extension in age, there is still death and the sin that leads to it. The passage does not describe the present age and cannot fit within the Eternal State, where there is no death (Rev. 21:4).
DANIEL
Daniel 2:44 and 7:11-12:
And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever,
“I looked then because of the sound of the great words that the horn was speaking. And as I looked, the beast was killed, and its body destroyed and given over to be burned with fire. As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.
The kingdom will suddenly come to destroy and replace the kingdoms of man (cf. Dan. 7:14, 27). At the beginning of God’s eternal kingdom is a season, during which the peoples of man’s kingdom are allowed to continue. This transitional period happens after Jesus returns to establish the kingdom but before the Eternal State where there will be no remnants of man’s kingdom (Rev. 21:3).
[1] The first regathering was the return from the Babylonian captivity in 537 B.C.
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