CHAPTER 35
(713 B.C.)
MILLENNIUM: LAND RESTORED; PEOPLE HEALED; HIGHWAY OF HOLINESS
1The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. (This pertains to the coming Kingdom Age. The previous Chapter, which was the first part of this Prophecy, proclaims the cause of all sorrow, pain, heartache, and destruction, which is sin and mans rebellion against God, which will be destroyed by the Lord Jesus Christ; this Chapter, the concluding part of the Prophecy, portrays what God can do in a heart and life that is yielded to Him. As the spiritual renewal takes place in hearts and lives, the material, economic, domestic, and physical renewal will take place over the entirety of the Earth.)
2It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the Glory of the LORD, and the excellency of our God. (The Glory of the LORD, and the excellency of our God is the cause of the abundant blossoming and the rejoicing even with joy and singing.)
3Strengthen y ou the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. (With these exceeding great and precious Promises, the servants of Truth are commanded to strengthen trembling and apprehensive Believers. With the Glory of the LORD now paramount, even the weak gain strength, and feeble knees are no longer so.)
4Say to them who are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; He will come and save you. (This Passage expresses again the Doctrine of the Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. As well, this Verse points to the period predicted in II Peter 3:10 and Rev. 19:11-21. However, we greatly shortchange the Scriptures if we limit this Passage only to the Second Coming of Christ. Its words are pointed at every Child of God in every period.
The sentence, He will come and save you, actually says, He will come Himself to save you. There is One Alone Who can save, and He must do it Himself; to do it, He must come to us.)
5Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. (Verses 5 and 6 had a fulfillment in the Messiahs First Advent, but their moral and plenary fulfillment belong to His Second and future Advent. Christ did not work miracles in His First Advent as mere wonders, but because it was predicted here that when He came, He would work miracles of this nature; hence, His performing these particular Miracles proved Him to be the predicted Messiah. But His rejection postponed to the future the wonders and blessings of this entire Chapter.)
6Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. (The entire complexion of that future Glad Day [the Millennium] will be changed. Sickness and disease will be at an end. Then the lame man will not only be able to walk, but will have such freedom of movement that he will be able to leap as an hart. Then the bound tongue will not only be able to speak, but sing, as well!
However, in the spiritual sense, this has even a greater meaning! Due to the Fall, men have been spiritually lame as well as spiritually dumb. Then all such will dance in the Spirit and sing His praises!
Due to the Fall, the world is a wilderness. But at that time, the waters and streams, signifying the Holy Spirit, will make the desert blossom as the rose.)
7And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes. (Jackals make their home in the sandy desert. They will be banished and their haunts turned into verdant meadows. Many nations of the world presently cannot now feed themselves due to parched ground. This Passage proclaims the fact that all the Earth will then become fertile. Springs of water will burst through the desert floor, which will then be turned into a garden. Areas deserted and given over to desolation will then be fat pastures grazed by cattle.)
8And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of Holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein. (The Scripture definitely predicts a literal highway that will be built from Egypt through Israel to Assyria [Isa. 11:6; 19:23-25]; however, these Passages do not refer to that particular highway, but to The way of Holiness.
It is proclaimed by the Holy Spirit that the way is holiness. Holiness characterizes all that God is and does.)
9No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there (such proclaims the Truth that Satan, as a roaring lion, shall not have access to The way of holiness; demon spirits, i.e., ravenous beasts also shall not be found there; therefore, the victory that every true Child of God earnestly desires is found in The way of Holiness.
Its complete fulfillment portrays the Millennial Reign, when Satan and all his minions of darkness will be locked away; consequently, only the redeemed shall occupy this highway):
10And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. (Verses 8 through 10 can be summed up by saying, The unclean shall not pass over it, for He shall be with them walking in the way; so even the simple shall not go astray therein. It shall be the Way of the Lord [Mal. 3:1] and, therefore, not only will His companionship exclude evil and assure arrival, but it will protect from peril.
With such a Keeper on the way and such a harbor at the close, it is not to be wondered at that the ransomed of the Lord shall be characterized by songs, joy, and by gladness.
Sorrow and sighing shall flee away, that is, the bliss of the redeemed shall not in the perfect state be liable to be broken as was the innocent joy of Edens Garden.)