What is God's holy mountain (Isaiah 11:9)?

A good deal of Judaism is mixed up in many Christian minds. There is no "place of worship" on earth now, as was once the case. Since Christ's death and ascension, we have no temple on earth (Acts 17:24) for us Christians. Our worship is in "the holies" (Heb. 10:19) where Christ is entered, even into heaven itself (ver. 24). The Father and the Son are the objects of worship, and the Holy Spirit is given to us as the power for it, and heaven the place. We are detached entirely from the world, and we are connected with heaven. It is damaging to the soul when we get on Jewish ground. The house of Isaiah 2 is the temple; and Jehovah's holy mountain the city, though sometimes the expression has a wider meaning than that of the land as e.g., in the verse "they shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain." Blessing will extend all over the world, but Jerusalem will be the centre. It will be the metropolis. The Lord Jesus will reign over all the world, but His throne will be in Jerusalem. Instead of Israel being the tail, it will be the head. And it will be a favour for the saved of the Gentiles to serve the Jews in that day. The top of the mountain will be above all other powers.

Now, sweet and worthy of God as all this is, it is not heavenly nor eternal in the full sense, though an earnest of final blessedness. It is God's vindication of His character on earth and of His faithful promises to Israel there, when power shall be on the side of righteousness, and the works of the devil shall be manifestly destroyed here below. Not even disappointment shall be known for before men call, Jehovah will answer and will hear while they speak. And the long-groaning earth, freed from its travail, shall yield her increase. The very beasts shall share the general joy, with one solemn and marked exception. Did the enemy of God and man choose one animal to be the vehicle of his temptation with the mother of all men? Even in the otherwise universal joy God cannot forget this, and would have men also to remember it when that active spirit of evil is debarred from his ravages. So if "the wolf and the lamb shall feed together," and the lion shall eat straw like the ox, none the less shall dust be the serpent's meat. "They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, says Jehovah." There emphatically, and not there only, is the power of evil broken to the glory of God.

Nothing can be plainer, my brethren, to return to Romans 8, than that the manifestation of the sons of God is what ushers in the deliverance of creation. When the moment for this arrives, it is not only that Israel shall be restored, the Gentiles made happy, and all mankind be blessed under the reign of Christ and his saints in glory — creation itself shall be delivered. I know no better clue to the meaning of this expression in the eighth of Romans, than what we find again and again in the Old Testament; as for instance in Isa. 11:6-9: "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf, and the young lion, and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den. 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." Will not creation be delivered then, when even the tribes of savage beasts shall have ceased to devour each other; and when the most savage and venomous shall be the harmless playmates of the little child? "A little child shall lead them!" There will be one exception, and only one, to the deliverance of creation. In Isa. 65:25, after a magnificent description of millennial blessing, and of the longevity of the inhabitants of the millennial earth, we find that while all creation besides is delivered and made happy, the curse remains on that tribe from which Satan selected one to be his instrument in deceiving the mother of our race. "The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord."

For God does mean to bless this long-groaning creation, and He inspired the mouth of His holy prophets to speak of it since time began. They therefore do greatly err who deny the immense and universal blessing in store for Israel, the nations, the earth, yea, even the lower creation. They do not know how God intends to crown men here below with loving-kindness and tender mercies, when He shall open His hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing. Judgment, undoubtedly, must fall previously; and Jehovah shall punish the host of the high ones on high, and the kings of the earth on the earth. Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when Jehovah of hosts shall reign in Mount Zion and Jerusalem, and before His ancients gloriously. For the great distinctive feature is to be, along with the exclusion of Satan and his power, the mighty and beneficent presence and reign of Jehovah-Jesus, Who with righteousness shall judge the poor and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth, after He shall smite the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips shall slay the wicked. 'And righteousness shall be the girdle of His loins, and faithfulness the girdle of His reins. The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice's den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Jehovah as the waters cover the sea. And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse which shall stand for an ensign of the peoples: to it shall the Gentiles seek and His rest shall be glorious' (Isa. 11:5-10).

Then in Isaiah 11 we have a glowing picture of the reign of the Messiah. He comes forth as a rod out of the stem of Jesse — a branch growing out. Then we get the character of His reign. "But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf, and the young lion, and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed: their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice den. 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" (verses 4-9). A marvellous day for the earth, and the, at present, groaning creation, will it be. It will be the fulfilment of the statement, "The creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the liberty of the glory of the children of God. For we know that every creature groans and travails in pain together until now" (Rom. 8:21-22). We shall then have the curse removed, and the brute creation — at least as far as "my holy mountain" extends — brought into touch with the mind of God, and all will be equally fitting, and beautiful.

In "that day" will surely be "the regeneration," and the creature will be delivered into a state suited to Christ. An allegorical sense does not consist with the exactitude of the language; the simple grammatical or literal force is in unison with the Old Testament prophecy and New Testament doctrine. For as we were shown the setting aside of the antichrist at the end of this age, we have next a display of the reign of the true Christ and its beneficent effects. "And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the she-bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the adder, and the weaned child shall put forth his hand to the viper's den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea" (vv. 5-9).

197 In verses 5-9 we see the fruit of the curse gone from the earth, which, by the presence of Christ and the Spirit poured from on high, shall be full of the knowledge of Jehovah as the waters cover the sea. Christ here is not glorified above, nor is it the gospel here below.

The very habits and instincts of the brute creation shall be changed. "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice's den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain." (Isaiah 11:6-9).

The Israelites were here called to remember that their God, Jehovah, the only unerring moral governor, is the blesser, and that His blessing makes rich. The day comes when Messiah shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall reign in judgment. In that day, as the role, false appearances shall not flourish. The vile person or fool shall be no more called liberal, nor the churl said to be bountiful. The work of righteousness shall be peace, and the effect of righteousness quietness and confidence forever. The very wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad; and no wonder, when He reigns who made all very good, before the sin of man brought in confusion and every evil work. But then shall the wolf dwell with the lamb, and the leopard lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp (or adder), and the weaned child shall put his hand on the viper's den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain. In that day will it be seen by every eye that the blessing of Jehovah makes rich, and He adds no sorrow to it. But even in this day of man when sin still reigns in death, godliness with contentment is great gain, whatever be the outward circumstances.

With regard to the creation, we are told in the eighth chapter of Romans that "the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now." There is not an animal upon the earth that is exempt from pain; but we are told in the twenty-first verse that there is to be a different state of things — "Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty [or liberty of the glory] of the children of God." This is to my mind the key to the eleventh chapter of Isaiah, and other portions which speak of the wonderful blessings of creation that will be connected with the reign of Christ. We are told in Isaiah, that when the King reigns in righteousness, "the wolf also shall dwell with the Lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the failing together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den. 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." This will have a literal accomplishment; so that not only the Church of God, and Israel, and the nations, but creation also will be brought into marvellous blessing. The Lord will be King over all the earth. And not only will He bring every thing into subjection to Himself, and put all enemies under His feet, but the whole earth will be filled with blessing. All the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord. All nations will call Him blessed. Well might the psalmist exclaim in anticipation of that day, "Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof. Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein: then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice before the Lord: for He cometh, for He cometh to judge the earth: He shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with His truth." The same time is described also in the eighth Psalm: "What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: all sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; the fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas. O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!" Well may Israel sing then, "Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all my diseases; who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; who satisfied thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's." The 98th Psalm also refers to millennial times. "O sing unto the Lord a new song; for He hath done marvellous things: His right hand, and His holy arm, hath gotten Him the victory. The Lord hath made known His salvation: His righteousness hath He openly shewed in the sight of the heathen (Gentiles). He hath remembered His mercy and His truth toward the house of Israel: all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise." In the book of Revelation, too, we find reference to the same period. In the latter part of the fifth chapter we read, "And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever." Then, according to the epistles of Colossians and Ephesians, all things, whether things in heaven or things on earth, will be reconciled unto Himself. Then all things will be gathered together in one in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth, even in Him. So much for the mid-day glory of the millennial reign of Christ. Now for a word as to the shades of evening, the closing part of the thousand years.