Isa 11:9 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.

Isaiah 11 is a prophecy about the reign of the Messiah. The shoot that will come out of the stump of Jesse and the Branch that will grow out of its roots is Christ. Paul quotes from Isaiah 11:10 and says the prophecy is fulfilled in Jesus Christ (Romans 15:12). What is the reign of Christ like? Recall in Isaiah 9:6 that He is called “The Prince of Peace”.  Therefore, peace shall be His reign: “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” (v.6-9). The Premillennialists err in taking a literal interpretation of Isaiah’s prophecy and say when Christ shall reign over His kingdom for a thousand years, there will be peace even in the animal kingdom. The whole doctrine of Premillennialism is a false doctrine. You will not find it in the Bible. Leopards and lions will only eat young goats and cows; not eat with them. Lions will never become vegetarians. Mothers will never let their children play in a hole full of poisonous snakes. The language used by Isaiah is symbolical. The holy mountain (v.9) is the church. The animals are symbolical of different kinds of people in the kingdom dwelling together in peace. The person who has a fierce temper as a lion will be tamed and become a person meek like Christ. The person who has a poisonous heart of a snake will be tamed and become a person of compassion and kindness. The result is: “They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain” (v.9a). They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain – The “holy mountain” is the church (Isaiah 2:1-4). Citizens of Christ’s kingdom will not devour, quarrel, and fight, among themselves in the kingdom of Christ. The Prince of Peace has changed them to become children of peace: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law” (Galatians 5:22, 23). But, some will argue: “But I see strife and quarrels in the church.” Yes, it’s true. Strife and quarrels existed since the first century when the church started. What was the problem? The problem is not with God’s design. The problem lies in its citizens. Citizens of the kingdom who are truly converted will bear the fruit of the Spirit. They will walk in love. They will walk as children of Light. But, some do not have the love of God in them. They are not walking in the Spirit but as men. Paul wrote: “For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?” (1 Corinthians 3:3). To be carnal is to walk after the flesh. It is to walk according to the men of this world who are unbelievers. Such people produce the works of the flesh listed in Galatians 5:19-21. In that list given by the apostle Paul, we see these words: “hatred, variance (strife, quarrel), emulations (jealousy), wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envying, and murders”. Those who walk after the flesh will not uphold peace: “From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?” (James 4:1). Perfect peace will exist in the eternal kingdom of Christ when He shall have separated the goats from the sheep. Let us pray that we are sheep in His kingdom when that day comes.