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Lesson Nine -- Prophet 's Kingdom of Life
The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down
with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together;
and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the
bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat
straw like the ox. The infant will play near the hole of the
cobra, and the young child put his hand into the viper's nest.
They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for
the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters
cover the sea. ( 11:6-8)
Have you ever been to the zoo? Various animals and birds from
all over the world are placed in cages or behind fences so that
people can come and see. But why are the cages and fences necessary?
For the safety of the zoo-goers and for the safety of the animals.
Imagine if the tigers were allowed to go into the cages where
all the beautiful tropical birds live. What would you have? Soon,
you would have tigers with full bellies, but no more birds.
Strange as it may seem, there was a time when a tiger could
live side by side with a beautiful bird without trying to devour
it. When Allah created the world, animals did not devour each
other. All animals, even tigers and other now meat-eating beasts,
ate vegetation only:
And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the
air and all the creatures that move on the ground--everything
that has the breath of life in it--I give every green plant for
food. (, Genesis 1:30)
Here Allah is saying that at first, even tigers were to eat
vegetables and no meat. It appears that in the beginning there
was no death anywhere on earth amongst men or animals. Something
happened however, to cause animals to kill and devour one another.
Something happened to bring death into the world for the first
time. Sin came and brought death with it:
Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man,
and death through sin...(Holy , Romans 5:12)
For the wages of sin is death...(Holy , Romans 6:23)
When Adam (pbuh) sinned, he not only brought death upon
himself. He started a chain reaction which brought death into
the whole creation. As a result, today, sickness and death are
seen everywhere amongst man and beast. However, when Prophet Isa
Masih returns to earth, this will change. He will set up a very
special kingdom. In his kingdom, animals will no longer devour
one another:
The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will
eat straw like the ox...( 65:25)
The short life span which man and beast have today, will be
greatly enhanced:
Never again will there be in it an infant who lives but a
few days, or an old man who does not live out his years; he who
dies at a hundred will be thought a mere youth; he who fails
to reach a hundred will be considered accursed. ( 65:20)
Death will be rare. This scripture says that someone who dies
at hundred years of age will be considered a youth. If that is
true, then how many years of age will old people be? When death
does come, it will primarily come as a result of wickedness,
that is, rebellion against the authority of the king. Who is
this king? Prophet , he is the king. The following description
of his future coming shows how great will be his authority to
deal with wickedness:
I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white
horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice
he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and
on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that
no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in
blood, and his name is the Word of Allah. The armies of heaven
were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine
linen, white and clean. Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword
with which to strike down the nations. "He will rule them
with an iron scepter." He treads the winepress of the fury
of the wrath of Allah Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh
he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. (Holy , Revelation 19:11-16)
Prince of Peace
He will not be just a king among other kings. He will be the
king over all other kings. His kingdom will be worldwide and
full of peace and justice. The prophet (pbuh) was
given the following prophecy over 700 years before Prophet Isa
was born:
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government
will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor,
Mighty Allah, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase
of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign
on 's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding
it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this. ( 9:6,7)
In the above scripture, the word "peace" is repeated
twice. Everyone in the world wants peace today, but how can it
be obtained? Over the years, hundreds of peace treaties have
been made, but wars continue. It will take a very powerful, but
good leader to bring the kind of peace the world is seeking.
That leader is Prophet Isa, the "Prince of Peace". When
he reigns as king, peace will be everywhere in his kingdom. There
will be peace between nations, peace between people, and peace
in men's hearts.
One Thousand Years of Peace
There are various opinions about how long this kingdom of
Prophet will be. The Holy however, is the one
heavenly book which actually states how long it will be. Six
times in one section of Allah's Word, it speaks about a period
of a "thousand years". This portion immediately follows
one which describes the return of Prophet Isa to this earth in
qiyamat:
And I saw an an angel coming down out of heaven, having the
key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. He seized
the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is Iblis, or Satan,
and bound him for a thousand years. He threw him into the Abyss,
and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving
the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After
that, he must be set free for a short time. I saw thrones on
which were seated those who had been given authority to judge.
And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of
their testimony for Isa and because of the word of Allah. They
had not worshipped the beast or his image and had not received
his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life
and reigned with Masih a thousand years. (The rest of the dead
did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This
is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy are those who have
part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power
over them, but they will priests of Allah and of Masih and will
reign with him for a thousand years.
When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from
his prison and will go out to deceive the nations in the four
corners of the earth--Yujuj and --to gather them for battle.
In number they are like the sand on the seashore. They marched
across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of Allah's
people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and
devoured them. And Iblis, who deceived them, was thrown into
the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet
had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever
and ever. (Holy , Revelation 20:1-10)
According to the holy then, Prophet will reign
for one thousand years. Several things are said here about the
one thousand year period:
*Satan will be a prisoner during this time, unable to deceive
the nations.
*followers of Prophet Isa will be resurrected and reign with him.
*unbelievers will be resurrected after the 1000 years.
*Satan will be released to deceive after the 1000 years.
*Yajuj and Majuj (Gog and Magog) will attack Allah's people after
the 1000 years.
and Attack Isa 's Kingdom
You will say, "I will invade a land of unwalled villages;
I will attack a peaceful and unsuspecting people-all of them
living without walls and without gates and bars. I will plunder
and loot and turn my hand against the resettled ruins and the
people gathered from the nations, rich in livestock and goods,
living at the center of the land." ( 38:11,12)
Imagine, a world at peace for 1000 years, with no war or strife.
But then suddenly, a world war breaks out. What a shock it will
be for the peace-loving people in Prophet Isa's kingdom to be
attacked without warning. The event marking the end of the peaceful
kingdom of Prophet Isa on earth will be the attack by and
(Gog and Magog). Isa's capital city being Jerusalem, this
will be the center of the attack. , the ruler of the people
of , will lead a coalition of nations against Jerusalem
and surrounding area. These nations will come from every direction
to make war on the followers of Prophet Isa . The 38th chapter
of Prophet (pbuh)'s book names some of the nations which
will be involved in this attack on Prophet Isa's kingdom:
| Name of land in 38 |
Modern-day equivalent |
Direction from Palestine |
| Meshech and Tubal (v.2) |
eastern Turkey |
north |
| Persia (v. 5) |
Iran |
east |
| Cush (v. 5) |
Sudan and/or Ethiopia |
south |
| Put (v. 5) |
Libya |
west |
| Gomer (v. 6) |
southern Russia, Ukraine |
north |
| Beth Togarmah (v. 6) |
Armenia |
north-east |
Identifying the location of itself is difficult, although
some have suggested Russia as a possibility. Even still, these
present nations cannot be blamed for starting a war which will
not happen for over a thousand years. Giving the names only shows
that the enemies of Prophet Isa's kingdom will come from all directions
to attack Jerusalem.
Fire from Heaven
Even though enemies surround Allah's people, no harm can come
to them as long as Allah does not will it. The Lord will see
from heaven, and utterly destroy and :
When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from
his prison and will go out to deceive the nations in the four
corners of the earth-- and --to gather them for battle.
In number they are like the sand on the seashore. They marched
across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of Allah's
people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and
devoured them. (Holy , Revelation 20:7-9)
I will summon a sword against on all my mountains, declares
the Sovereign Lord. Every man's sword will be against his brother.
I will execute judgment upon him with plague and bloodshed; I
will pour down torrents of rain, hailstones and burning sulfur
on him and on his troops and on the many nations with him.
I will send fire on and on those who live in safety in
the coastlands, and they will know that I am Allah. ( 38:21-22; 39:6)
The End or the Beginning?
The attack of and seems to mark the end of Prophet
's kingdom, not because is victorious, but because
Prophet Isa is:
Then will the end come, when he hands over the kingdom to
Allah the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority
and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies
under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. (Holy
, 1 Corinthians 15:24-26)
In one way, the end of Isa's kingdom marks the beginning of
that which is best. The coming of the day when the "last
enemy" will be destroyed--the coming of the day that death
will die!
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QUESTIONS: -- Choose the most correct answers
1. According to the , in the beginning of creation,
men and animals
a. were meat-eating
b. ate only halal meats
c. ate no
meat
2. When the first man Adam sinned,
a. it had no ill effects
on anything at all
b. it only effected him
personally
c. it brought
death into the world, effecting all of Allah's creation
3. When returns to earth,
a. he will become
a local ruler in the Middle East
b. he will be a religious
leader only, not a political leader
c. he will
be universal ruler over all the earth, as king of all kings
4. In the future kingdom of ,
a. things will continue
much as they are today
b. lambs will eat wolves
c. people will normally
die at 100 years of age
d. bloodshed,
sickness and death will be very rare
5. The main characteristic of Isa's kingdom will be
a. control
b. division
c. peace
d. power
6. Prophet Isa's kingdom will continue in peace for
a. 40 years
b. 7 years
c. 1000 years
d. 12000
years
7. Afterward, war will break out briefly but in the end,
a. Prophet Isa will
die in battle and wait for the day of judgment
b. Jerusalem will be
utterly destroyed
c. fire from
heaven will destroy Allah's enemies
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