Introduction: In our journey at looking at Christ in the book of Isaiah, the prophet of Isaiah has taken from Christ's first advent with His birth, His ministry and His sacrificial death. Isaiah has also given us a glimpse into the future where at the end of the Tribulation Period, Christ will return once more to establish His kingdom for a thousand years and those who accept Him as their Savior will enter into His kingdom. It will be during this time period that God will fulfill His promises to Abraham, Jacob and Isaac of Land, Seed and Blessing to the restored nation of Israel. God will also fulfill His promises to king David. Isaiah has given us a glimpse of that life with how Christ will rule and reign, and what the living conditions will be like on the earth at that time. This week, we will get a glimpse of what the spiritual life will be like during this time in the Messiah's kingdom.

Transition: Spiritual life in the Messiah's Kingdom will be. . .

I. A Time Of Spiritual Truth.
1. All Will Know God's Principles and His Word (Isa.11:9; Hab.2:14).

A. Isaiah 11:9, "They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD As the waters cover the sea."

1) "knowledge," ("de`ah" {day·aw}); information about a person, with a focus on the relationship with that person

2) This means more than people knowing intellectually about the Lord, but the idea is that people everywhere will live according to God's principles and Word (BKC).

B. Habakkuk 2:14, "For the earth will be filled With the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, As the waters cover the sea."

1) "knowledge," ("yada`" {yaw·dah: Qal Inf}); to know. to know by experience, to recognize, admit, acknowledge, confess. To have knowledge.

2) The Lord's glory and majesty will be made evident in the Millennium and thereby acknowledged throughout the earth (BKC).

Transition: Not only will the earth be filled with the knowledge of God, but. . .

2. All Will Have God's Law In Their Hearts.

A. Isaiah 59:20-21, "'And a Redeemer will come to Zion, And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,' declares the LORD. 'And as for Me, this is My covenant with them,' says the LORD: 'My Spirit which is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your offspring, nor from the mouth of your offspring's offspring,' says the LORD, 'from now and forever.'"

- There will not be any who will be able to claim ignorance of God's Law during the Millennial Kingdom, because God will put it in their hearts.

B. Jeremiah 31:33-34, "'But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,' declares the LORD, 'I will put My law within them, and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. And they shall not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, "Know the LORD," for they shall all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,' declares the LORD, 'for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.'"

1) Ultimately the New Covenant will find its complete fulfillment during the Millennium when Israel is restored to her God (BKC).

2) When the New Covenant is fulfilled, God will put His Law into the hearts of men so that all will know His Law and His desires for their lives.

Transition: The Millennial Kingdom will also be. . .

II. A Time Of Spiritual Indwelling.
1. God Will Pour Out His Spirit Upon All.

A. To the Nation of Israel.

1) Isaiah 44:3, "For I will pour out water on the thirsty land And streams on the dry ground; I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring, And My blessing on your descendants;"

A) The Lord will revive Israel physically and spiritually (BKC).

B) This outpouring of the Spirit will occur when the people have returned in belief to the land just after the Messiah's second coming to establish the Millennium (Ezek.36:24, 27; Joel 2:25-29: BKC).

2) Ezekiel 39:29, "'And I will not hide My face from them any longer, for I shall have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel,' declares the Lord God."

B. To all the world.

1) Joel 2:28a, 29, "And it will come about after this That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind. . .And even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days."

- "pour out," ("shaphak" {shaw·fak: Qal Impf}); pour out; the Qal means "be empty," so the pouring out generally involves the emptying of a container.

2) God will also pour out His Spirit on all mankind during the Millennial Kingdom.

2. God's Spirit Will Manifest Itself.

A. Joel 2:28b, ". . .And your sons and daughters will prophesy, Your old men will dream dreams, Your young men will see visions."

B. The outward manifestations of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit will be the exercise of prophetic gifts which in the past had been limited to a select few (BKC).

1) This extensive outpouring of the Spirit will signal the advent of divine blessing which is in contrast to the Old Testament where the absence of prophetic visions characterized a period of sin and judgment (BKC).

2) 1 Samuel 3:1, "Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the LORD before Eli. And word from the LORD was rare in those days, visions were infrequent."

Transition: The Millennial Kingdom will also be. . .

III. A Time Of Spiritual Worship.
1. Jerusalem Will Be The Worship Center Of The World.

A. Everyone will worship God in Zion.

1) Isaiah 2:2-4, "Now it will come about that In the last days, The mountain of the house of the LORD Will be established as the chief of the mountains, And will be raised above the hills; And all the nations will stream to it. And many peoples will come and say, 'Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; That He may teach us concerning His ways, And that we may walk in His paths.' For the law will go forth from Zion, And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. And He will judge between the nations, And will render decisions for many peoples; And they will hammer their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, And never again will they learn war."

A) When these events take place many nations will be attracted to Jerusalem and to God's house (the temple, Isa.2:2: BKC).

(1) The attraction will be the Lord's ways… paths… Law, and Word which will be made known from that place.

(2) the Lord Himself will give forth the Law (Isa.51:4).

B) In the Millennium, people everywhere will realize that God's revelation is foundational to their lives, and they will want to know it and to live according to it (BKC).

2) Isaiah 56:7a, "Even those I will bring to My holy mountain. . ."

- As God promised Abraham, through him all peoples of the world will be blessed (Gen.12:3), Gentiles will be gathered to Zion along with Israel, where they too will worship the Lord in prayer and offerings (BKC).

3) Isaiah 66:20a, "'Then they shall bring all your brethren from all the nations as a grain offering to the LORD, on horses, in chariots, in litters, on mules, and on camels, to My holy mountain Jerusalem,' says the LORD. . ."

- Gentiles will mobilize their transportation facilities to carry dispersed Israelites back to the land, as if they were bringing an offering to Jehovah (BBC).

B. There will be a unified worship.

1) Isaiah 45:23, "I have sworn by Myself, The word has gone forth from My mouth in righteousness And will not turn back, That to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance."

- Men will someday acknowledge the Lord Jesus as the only source of righteousness and strength (BBC).

2) Isaiah 27:13, "It will come about also in that day that a great trumpet will be blown; and those who were perishing in the land of Assyria and who were scattered in the land of Egypt will come and worship the LORD in the holy mountain at Jerusalem."

- Regathered Israel will come to Jerusalem to worship the Lord (BBC).

Transition: Not only will God's Word be important, but. . .

2. Prayers will still be given.

A. Isaiah 65:24, "It will also come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear."

1) There will be no more hindrances to prayer (BBC).

2) God will speedily answer their prayers (BKC).

B. Isaiah 56:7b, d, ". . .And make them joyful in My house of prayer. . .For My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples."

- The temple will then be a house of prayer for all nations, not just Israel (BBC).

Transition: Not only will people pray as a part of worship during the Millennial Kingdom, but. . .

3. The Temple Will Be Restored.

A. Temple Rebuilt (Ezek.40:1-46:24: WGB).

1) Its purpose.

A) To provide a place for the glory cloud of God (Ezek. 43)

B) To provide a center for the King of glory (Ezek.43:7)

2) Its priesthood.

A) Those priests from the line of Zadok (Ezek.40:46).

B) Zadok was a high priest in David's time (the eleventh in descent from Aaron).

(1) His loyalty to the king was unwavering.

(2) Because of this, he was promised that his seed would have this glorious opportunity (1Sam.2:35; 1Ki.2:27, 35).

3) Its unique features.

A) No veil.

(1) This was torn in two from top to bottom (Matt.27:51) and will not reappear in this temple.

(2) Thus there will be no barrier to keep man from the glory of God.

B) No table of shewbread.

- This will not be needed, for the Living Bread himself will be present.

C) No lampstands.

- The Light of the World Himself will personally shine forth.

D) No Ark of the Covenant.

- The Shekinah Glory himself will hover over all the world, as the glory cloud once did over the ark.

E) East gate to be closed (Ezek.44:2).

(1) This will be the gate by which the Lord Jesus Christ enters the temple.

- As a mark of honor to an eastern king, no person could enter the gate by which he entered.

(2) It was from the eastern gate that the glory of God departed for the last time in the Old Testament (Ezek.10:18-19).

- By sealing the gate, God reminds all those within that his glory will never again depart from his people.

F) It will have a river flowing from beneath it (Ezek.47:1-12).

- It will flow to Dead Sea and Mediterranean Sea

G) The Temple will measure almost (aprox. 5,250 ft) 1 mile square (Ezek.42-15-20: NIBC).

B. Offerings Reinstated.

1) Isaiah 56:7c, ". . .Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be acceptable on My altar. . ."

2) Isaiah 66:20b-23, ". . .just as the sons of Israel bring their grain offering in a clean vessel to the house of the LORD. 'I will also take some of them for priests and for Levites,' says the LORD. 'For just as the new heavens and the new earth Which I make will endure before Me,' declares the LORD, 'So your offspring and your name will endure. And it shall be from new moon to new moon And from sabbath to sabbath, All mankind will come to bow down before Me,' says the LORD."

A) Sacrifices will be reinstated as a memorial system (WGB).

(1) It will be a reminder to all of the work of Christ on their behalf.

(2) It will be an object lesson of the costliness of salvation

(3) It will be an example of the awfulness of sin

(4) It will be an illustration of the holiness of God

B) Isaiah also mentioned the New Heaven and New Earth which will take place at the end of the Millennial Kingdom as all believers will enter into eternity (Rev.21:1).

C. Feast of Booths Reinstated.

1) Zechariah 14:16-21, "Then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Booths. And it will be that whichever of the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, there will be no rain on them. And if the family of Egypt does not go up or enter, then no rain will fall on them; it will be the plague with which the LORD smites the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths. This will be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths. In that day there will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, 'HOLY TO THE LORD.' And the cooking pots in the LORD's house will be like the bowls before the altar. And every cooking pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to the LORD of hosts; and all who sacrifice will come and take of them and boil in them. And there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts in that day."

2) Surviving Gentile nations will come to Jerusalem annually to worship the Kind, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles (BBC).

- Unger explains that the Feast of Tabernacles is the only one of the 7 Jewish festivals which is represented in this prophecy as being observed in the kingdom age because it is the only one which at the time will be unfulfilled typically and the only one which will be in process of fulfillment by the kingdom itself.

3) Those refusing to come and worship will suffer drought (BBC).

- Egypt is mentioned specifically as one of the countries that will have no rain in they are disobedient.

Transition: What can we learn from the spiritual life in the Messiah's Kingdom? . . .

Truths To Ponder:
1. The hope of mankind isn't found in the efforts of man.

A. Sinful man is only capable of producing sinful actions.

B. Only when the sinless Son of God returns, the Prince of Peace, will the earth truly find a lasting peace.

- Especially to those who call themselves Christians.

A. It should be focused towards God and not ourselves.

B. It should be based ON and IN God's Word at its center.

C. It should be bathed in the sweet aroma of our prayers as an offering to God.

D. The Apostle Paul sums up what our attitude should be in Romans 12:1-2, "I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect."

BBC - Believer's Bible Commentary, William MacDonald, Thomas Nelson Publishers
BKC - Bible Knowledge Commentary, John Walvoord & Roy Zuck, Victor Books
NIBC - New Illustrated Bible Commentary, Radmacher, Allen & House, Thomas Nelson Inc.
POC- Portraits Of Christ In Isaiah, Arthur B. Walton, Regular Baptist Press
WGB - Willmington's Guide to the Bible, H.L. Willmington, Tyndale House