Commentaries:
Man is proud of his powerful computers, satellites, modern scientific labs, and medical discoveries. In spite of this, he fights with nature and other men. Crime, drug abuse, sexual perversions, and all sorts of other evils escalate. The deaf and blind go unhealed. Man pollutes his air, water, and soil because he does not know how to manage a civilization. With all his technological advances, man cannot get along with his neighbor.
The earth being "full of the knowledge of the LORD" means far more than "everyone will go to the right church"! God's knowledge is vast; He knows how to make a civilization work—even a high-tech one! In the Millennium, man will be at peace. Nations, neighbors and even spouses will not fight. Cancer, diabetes, heart disease, blindness, and deafness will be eradicated. Eyeglasses and braces will be found only in museums. The deserts will produce bountiful harvests. The animal kingdom will peacefully co-exist with humanity. All this will be the result of an unprecedented explosion of knowledge in how to do things right!
Staff
Holy Days: Feast of Tabernacles
We will have the opportunity to build a totally new world of peace, happiness, and prosperity, and we will accomplish this by teaching and enforcing obedience to God's laws throughout the whole earth. This will be our main responsibility during the thousand-year reign of Christ.
Earl L. Henn (1934-1997)
Basic Doctrines: The Reward of the Saved
Why Are Animals Hostile and Violent Toward Humans and Animals (Isaiah 11:6)?
There is a reason the world—including the animal kingdom—suffers strife and violence. In Genesis 2 and 3, we see that in the beginning, before sin entered the world, God's creation had been one of total harmony and peace! God offered our first parents a way of life which would lead to every blessing imaginable and, ultimately, to eternal life.
However, they rejected God's way, choosing the way of Satan the Devil instead. Because of their disobedience and rebellion, God told Adam and Eve the earth would come under a curse (Genesis 3:17-19). The result of sin is misery, suffering, violence, and death. This is why even the nature of most wild animals was changed, becoming fierce and hostile toward man and each other. Instead of assisting man during his lifetime, the earth became a hostile environment in which to live.
Thankfully, Jesus Christ will soon intervene in the affairs of mankind and establish God's Kingdom on earth. When this occurs, there will be a "restoration of all things" (Acts 3:21). God's creation will be restored to its original state before sin entered the world. Then the nature of animals will again be gentle and tame. There is a specific prophecy about this in Isaiah 11:
The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play by the cobra's hole, and the weaned child shall put his hand in 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 the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. (verses 6-9)
When Jesus Christ establishes God's government on the earth and imprisons the Devil (Revelation 20:1-3), the cause of sin will be removed. The nature of the animals—including poisonous snakes and spiders—will be changed, and the entire earth will experience peace and prosperity men have only dreamed of!
Additional Reading:
Holy Days: Feast of Tabernacles
Just What Do You Mean . . . Kingdom Of God?
Feast of Tabernacles Basics
The Challenge of Growth in the New Eden
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