As rumblings of war are reverberating in Ukraine, and troops are being deployed to Poland—it seems that yet, another war is on the horizon. War, combined with the other difficulties we face—sickness, worry, hate, etc., makes us all long for good news. We want to have hope for something much better! In my need for good news, God lead me to Micah’s prophecy about the Millennial reign of Christ:
Now it shall come to pass in the latter days That the mountain of the Lord’s house Shall be established on the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And peoples shall flow to it. Many nations shall come and say, “Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths.” For out of Zion the law shall go forth, And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge between many peoples, And rebuke strong nations afar off; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war anymore. But everyone shall sit under his vine and under his fig tree, And no one shall make them afraid; For the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken. For all people walk each in the name of his god, But we will walk in the name of the Lord our God Forever and ever. “In that day,” says the Lord, “I will assemble the lame, I will gather the outcast And those whom I have afflicted; I will make the lame a remnant, And the outcast a strong nation;” So the Lord will reign over them in Mount Zion From now on, even forever. (Micah 4:1-7)
As I read this passage, God gave me great joy in my imaginings of what life on earth will be like when He reigns and satan is bound for a thousand years. We will get a foretaste of the earth under God’s supreme rule. We will have life without war, where justice is done quickly. Where the lies of satan are not allowed to multiply and produce an environment of fear, envy, and hatred. Those who survive the Great Tribulation and who are afflicted or sick will be healed. We will do all the great and marvelous things we were created to do and the LORD will preside over all. We will live in harmony and reap the unfettered benefits of His gracious loving kindness. We will know TRUTH—God’s truth—and KNOW what TRUE freedom is.