Isaiah 11:6-9 says, “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.”
Isaiah says “And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den.” Could it be that what we’ve interpreted as some far off utopian paradise actually be speaking in parabolic language of the new birth? Believe it or not, but this describes the power of the Born again believer as a little child over the works of the enemy! Verses one through five explain Christ on earth at his first coming and his second coming in one broad stroke. He also explains the Spirit of Christ would reprove with equity for the meek of the earth. When the Holy Spirit gives you power over the works of the devil, what was able to destroy you will not hurt nor destroy in all the holy mountain of the Lord. Jesus says the same wording in Luke 10:19 says, “Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” Isaiah also gives us a view of the Holy mountain of the Lord. This of course is the heavenly Jerusalem which was created after Christ’s resurrection and became a reality when the Holy Spirit came on the day of Pentecost: Isaiah 2:1-4 says, “The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.” We know that the last days of first century Jerusalem was when Christ appeared on the earth. After the sending of the Holy Spirit, the law of the Spirit of life went forth rebuking many of the Jews and Gentiles to the point where their swords turned into plowshares and their spears into pruninghooks. But you may ask the question how could this be? Plowshares and pruninghooks is the language of the kingdom, meaning they became sowers of the word. Hebrews chapter twelve shows us this holy mountain in Hebrews 12:18-22 says, “For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest, And the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard intreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more: (For they could not endure that which was commanded, And if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a dart: And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake:) But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,” Also in Galatians 4:21-27 Of the Passion Translation says, “Tell me, do you want to go back to living strictly by the law? Haven’t you ever listened to what the law really says? Have you forgotten that Abraham had two sons; one by the slave girl, and the other by the freewoman? Ishmael, the son of the slave girl, was a child of the natural realm. But Isaac, the son of the freewoman, was born supernaturally by the Spirit-a child of the promise of God! These two women and their sons express an allegory and become symbols of two covenants. The first covenant was born on Mt. Sinai, birthing children into slavery-children born to Hagar. For “Hagar” represents the law given at Mt. Sinai in Arabia. The “Hagar” metaphor corresponds to the earthly Jerusalem of today who are currently in bondage. In contrast, there is a heavenly Jerusalem above us, which is our true “mother.” She is the freewoman, birthing children into freedom! For it is written: “Burst forth with gladness, O barren woman with no children! Break through with the shouts of joy and jubilee, for you are about to give birth! The one who was once considered desolate and barren now has more children than the one who has a husband!” This last verse taken from Isaiah 54. The heavenly Jerusalem came down of heaven from God once the earthly was destroyed in A.D. 70. And it will appear when Christ comes at the end of history. Isaiah 65:17-18 says, “For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.” Isaiah says this New Heaven and New Earth is the New Jerusalem! Jeremiah 3:16 says “And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the Lord, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the Lord: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more.” Notice the phrase ‘…neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it…’ another passage sounds quite the same in this regard: Isaiah 65:17 says “For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: AND THE FORMER SHALL NOT BE REMEMBERED, NOR COME INTO MIND.” The reason that the Ark would not be remembered is because it was passing away. The Ark was a symbol of the Old Covenant.”
-Anthony D. Booker
The GATHERING Place 