Isaiah 60:6-17 “The multitude of camels shall cover your land, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come; they shall bring gold and incense, and they shall proclaim the praises of the Lord. (7) All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together to you, the rams of Nebaioth shall minister to you; they shall ascend with acceptance on My altar, And I will glorify the house of My glory. … (13) “The glory of Lebanon shall come to you, the cypress, the pine, and the box tree together, to beautify the place of My sanctuary; And I will make the place of My feet glorious.”
We have already looked at the above quoted passage of scripture when we discussed the various tributes that the unsaved nations will bring to Jerusalem during the millennium. Nevertheless this passage is also pertinent to this section, because it mentions the multitude of camels, dromedaries, flocks and rams that will be brought to the city of Jerusalem, clearly indicating that farming of livestock will be a major industry in the earth during the millennium. This passage also mentions cypress, pine and box tree wood being brought to Jerusalem, indicating that forestry will be another industry that will be practiced in the earth during the millennium. The passage also mentions incense being brought to the Lord during the millennium, again indicating that plantations will be part of the agricultural society at that time.
Isaiah 2:4 “He shall judge between the nations and rebuke many people; They shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.”
We have already looked at the above quoted passage of scripture when we discussed the prohibition of war during the millennium. Nevertheless it is important to mention this passage in this section as well, because it highlights the fact that when the edict of the prohibition of war is declared, that all weapons of war will be changed into implements for farming. The reason the Holy Spirit reveals that to us is because He wants to clearly show us that agriculture will be the main industry during our Lord’s millennial reign.
Ezekiel 47:9-10 “And it shall be that every living thing that moves, wherever the rivers go, will live. There will be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters go there; for they will be healed, and everything will live wherever the river goes. (10) It shall be that fishermen will stand by it from En Gedi to En Eglaim; they will be places for spreading their nets. Their fish will be of the same kinds as the fish of the Great Sea, exceedingly many.”
In the above quoted passage of scripture the Holy Spirit clearly reveals to us that there will be a vibrant fishing industry during our Lord’s millennial reign, for the context of this passage is referring to that period. And so we see that fishing will also form part of the millennial agricultural society, along with the farming of crops and livestock, etc. But I want you to notice the type of fishing mentioned, for this passage speaks of fishermen standing and spreading their nets. In other words this is simple offshore fishing and not deep-sea fishing that we see taking place in the earth today. The reason for that is because none of the deep-sea fishing trawlers that are in the earth today will be present in the millennium.
Ezekiel 39:9-10 “Then those who dwell in the cities of Israel will go out and set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and bucklers, the bows and arrows, the javelins and spears; and they will make fires with them for seven years. (10) They will not take wood from the field nor cut down any from the forests, because they will make fires with the weapons; and they will plunder those who plundered them, and pillage those who pillaged them," says the Lord God.”
The above quoted passage of scripture is very enlightening for us, because it describes what conditions will be like during our Lord’s millennial reign. In context this passage describes the aftermath of the battle that will take place at the end of the millennium, when the rebelling armies of Gog and Magog are destroyed. One of the points I want to mention from this passage is the weaponry that will be used, i.e. shields, bucklers, bows and arrows, javelins and spears. As we have already mentioned, society during our Lord’s reign will be similar to the agricultural society that existed when Jesus first came to the earth. When our Lord was first on the earth, the armies at that time used weaponry such as shields, bucklers, bows and arrows, javelins and spears. This passage teaches us that prior to this battle, the saints would be using wood cut down from the forests for firewood. This passage goes on to teach us that after this battle there will be so much firewood available from the abandoned weapons, that for the next seven years the saints will not need to cut down any trees in the forests. The point that I wanted to highlight in this section however, is that firewood will be used during the millennium. So why will the saints need to use firewood? We know that it won’t be for heating purposes, because the saints will be living in a perfect environment protected from the elements under the cloud of the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 4:2-6). Clearly the firewood will be used by the saints for cooking purposes. And so we see that this is just another indication as to the type of society that will exist in the millennium, i.e. there will be no such thing as electricity, gas stoves or even coal stoves, because firewood will be used by the saints (more specifically their servants) to prepare their food.
Michael E.B. Maher
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