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The History of the Ages – Lesson 66

Now, we’ll finish with a few miscellaneous points regarding the Millennium. These mostly have to do with physical conditions on the earth.


  1. The natural instincts of animals will change back to their original state. On the 5th and 6th days of the restoration of the earth God made the living creatures that live in the sea, the birds of the air and the animals that live on dry land (Genesis 1:24-25). Then, in Genesis 1:30 we see this, “And to every animal on the earth and to every bird of the air and to every animal that moves on the ground – to everything that has the breath of life – I have given every green plant for food.” So, in the beginning all animals were herbivores. They had no natural enemies – they didn’t eat one another. And, coincidentally, man was to be vegetarian, as well (Genesis 1:29). The change in animal nature takes place in Genesis 3:14a, “And the Lord God said to the serpent, Because you have done this, you are cursed above every domestic animal and every wild animal of the field.” What most people fail to realize is that God didn’t curse only the serpent, but all of the animal kingdom. The curse involved animals, with a special provision for snakes (3:14), Satan (3:15), the woman (3:16), the man (3:17, 19) and the ground (17, 18). Going forward in time, Genesis 9:2 confirms that animals were given a fear of man and some of the larger, more powerful animals became natural enemies of man. In the future God would use wild animals to punish Israel for their sin (see Leviticus 26:21-22 for an example). Then in Genesis 9:3 God gives man permission to add animals to his diet. Now, for the reversal of the curse, Isaiah 11:6-8 tells us wild and domestic animals will live together, they will all be herbivores again, children will play with them (their natural fear of man will be gone) and snakes that were formerly aggressive and poisonous are no longer dangerous. Isaiah 65:25 says much the same thing, only with reference to snakes the curse is not taken from them. Now, one question remains: if man was originally vegetarian, will he be vegetarian in the Millennium and on into the eternal earth? The New Testament (“testament”, meaning covenant or agreement) confirms that animals will always be permitted in man’s diet. This confirmation further emphasized that God no longer made any distinction between clean and unclean foods, that all are now permissible (Acts 10:12-14; Romans 14; Colossians 2:14-17 and I Timothy 4:1-5).
  2. In the Millennium light from the sun and the moon will be increased. “Moreover, the light of the moon will be as bright as the sun, and the light of the sun will be seven times brighter.” (Isaiah 30:26a) In Zechariah 14:6-7 we see a similar statement. Depending on what translation you read, these verses may seem a little confusing. I think this is pretty close, “And it will come to pass in that day that it will not be light in some places and dark in others. It will be one continuous day which will be known to the Lord, not day and night, but in the evening it will still be light.” So, why must the intensity of light be increased? This is one of the factors that will cause plant production to increase so dramatically during the Millennium, contributing to the universal prosperity we’ve already talked about. Of course there is the problem of life (man, animals and plants) being able to survive this increase in light and heat. The answer to this, presumably, is that the cloud canopy that was restored on the second day in Genesis 1:6-8 and then collapsed in Genesis 7:10-12 to cause Noah’s flood must be restored again (more on this towards the end of this section). And, as was discussed before in reference to this time, it is evident this earlier canopy provided this kind of protection and contributed to the longevity of those who lived before the flood (see the genealogies listed in Genesis 5). Then there is a seemingly contradictory passage in Isaiah 60:19-20 that says the sun will not give light during the day nor will the moon during the night, but the Lord will be an everlasting light. So, we need to sort this out. This passage refers only to the city of Jerusalem during the Millennium and on throughout eternity. The glory of the Lord will always light “The city of the Lord, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel” (compare Isaiah 60:1 with 14). This is not to say there will be no light from the sun or moon, but they will not be the source of light for earthly Jerusalem. The glory of the Lord must be noticeably different than natural light. This brings some clarity to the verses that talk about people being drawn to Jerusalem during the Millennium the see the glory of Christ that is manifest there (Isaiah 66:18-21). Then there is a passage in Isaiah 4:5-6 that might tie some loose ends together. These two verses talk about two things the Lord “creates” in Jerusalem in the millennium: a pillar of cloud by day and fire by night over every dwelling place and public meeting, a manifestation of His presence just like He did in Exodus 13:21-22 (verse 5); and a covering to protect them from the increased heat of the sun (I’m assuming this is the cloud canopy that will cover the whole earth) (verse 6). That the sun and moon will provide light for the earth throughout eternity is clear (Psalm 89:35-37; Jeremiah 31:35-36). On the other hand, later when we look at the Heavenly City the New Jerusalem that comes down out of heaven from God, the description is similar to earthly Jerusalem – the city will have no need of the sun or moon to give it light, because the glory of God will be its light (Revelation 21:23-25).
  3. The topography of the earth will change dramatically beginning immediately with the 2nd coming of Christ. “And His feet will stand in that day on the Mount of Olives, which lies before Jerusalem to the east, and the Mount of Olives will split in two from the east to the west creating a great valley, with half of the mountain moving toward the north and half to the south. And you will flee by the valley of My mountains, for the valley will reach to Azal, and you will flee as you did from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah the king of Judah; and the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with Him.” (Zechariah 14:4-5) The moment Christ physically touches the earth; it will begin to change. These verses in Zechariah describe the great valley that is created to make way for the rebuilding the eternal city of Jerusalem, the capital city of the earth that has already been described. They also describe the unprecedented earthquake described in Revelation 16:18 when the 7th bowl judgment is poured out. This is the same earthquake described in Revelation 11:12-13, when the two witnesses are resurrected and a great earthquake destroys part of the city and 7,000 people are killed. Two things should be noted here. The meaning of “Azal” is not clear.  

It may be a geographical place near the western edge of the valley that is created, or it may have a symbolic meaning, suggested as, “the way of escape is clear”. I can’t definitively prove either one. The other is the phrase “and the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with Him”. I’ll not address that here, but will deal with it in the next lesson. The measurements of the city are given in Ezekiel 48:30-35. The measurement is given in reeds, not measures or cubits, as in some translations. The measurements for portions of land reserved for different purposes starts in 48:8 and are given in reeds, and that standard should be used consistently throughout the rest of the chapter. The measurements of the land reserved for the city are given in 48:15 and describe the valley as 12 miles long (north to south) and 60 miles wide (east to west). The city is described as approximately 10 ¾ miles on each side with three entrances on each side. And on each entrance will be the name of one of the 12 tribes of Israel. The city will sit in the middle of this 12 by 60 mile valley, leaving an approximately 12 by 24 mile portion on each side for “suburbs” (48:15) and for farm land that supplies food “for those who work in the city” (48:18). I have noted before the similarities between the earthly Jerusalem and the Heavenly City the New Jerusalem that descends from God in Revelation 21:2. By comparison, the New Jerusalem is much larger, as we will see in a future lesson. There will be other major changes as described in the passages in Isaiah 65 and Revelation 21 in regards to the “new” heavens and “new” earth. We will deal with those when we get to the lessons on the eternal earth. 

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