“They shall not hurt or destroy
in all my holy mountain;
for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.
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.” (Isaiah 11:9-10)
In Advent we look forward to the Second Coming of Christ. Isaiah’s words present us with a vision what the world will look like following that event. It will be the time when the Lord will reign supreme, a time of perfection and absolute peace. All creation will be changed. No animal will be dangerous or predatory for they will have become as they were before the fall of Adam, before sin had its ill effects on the whole of the creation. Every animal will be docile and if we do any eating in heaven we will all be vegetarians!
Isaiah tells of the time when the Messiah, the root of Jesse will reign. He will bring peace to all humanity. In this age to come then there will be no strife, no war, murder, bloodshed or crime. This is the age all humans long for but never achieve. Thomas More wrote of Utopia, the ideal place, but one which, as the title suggests is nowhere. Many other authors, TV and film writers have written of similar times and places where life is peaceful and ideal, but all humans can do is dream. Sin is so firmly entrenched in our world that though we all long for peace, we find that we actually work against it. Violence and oppression will not cease until King Jesus recreates the earth and rules with justice, love and mercy.
Just because we have to wait for the return of Jesus does not mean we have to curtail our efforts to achieve peace and harmony. We should work at it as much as possible, being careful not to be sources of hate and strife ourselves. And yet the very gospel message we preach of faith in Christ alone will engender strife for many do not want to hear about the cross of Jesus for it runs counter to their selfish ways of living. The truth will lead many to Christ but it will also condemn those who reject and oppose Him. And despite that we still must preach the truth of the Gospel for we have been as the agents of the Kingdom of God.