Isaiah 63–65. The Second Coming and Millennial Reign of Jesus Christ

Isaiah teaches us about the second coming:

Isaiah 63

1 Who is this that ^acometh from ^bEdom, with dyed garments from Bozrah?

this that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength?

I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save.

2 Wherefore art thou ^ared in thine apparel,

and thy garments like him that treadeth in the ^bwinefat?

3 I have trodden the ^awinepress alone;

and of the people there was none with me:

for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury;

and their blood shall be ^bsprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment.

Doctrine and Covenants 133 similarly says:

46 And it shall be said: ^aWho is this that cometh down from God in heaven with dyed ^bgarments;

yea, from the regions which are not known, clothed in his glorious apparel,

traveling in the greatness of his strength?

 47 And he shall say: ^aI am he who spake in ^brighteousness, mighty to save.

 48 And the Lord shall be ^ared in his apparel,

and his garments like him that treadeth in the wine-vat.

 49 And so great shall be the glory of his presence that the ^asun shall hide his face in shame,

and the moon shall withhold its light, and the stars shall be hurled from their places.

 50 And his ^avoice shall be heard:

I have ^btrodden the wine-press alone, and have brought judgment upon all people;

and none were with me;

 51 And I have ^atrampled them in my fury, and I did tread upon them in mine anger,

and their blood have I ^bsprinkled upon my garments, and stained all my raiment;

for this was the ^cday of vengeance which was in my heart.

Edom means red and Bozrah signifies one who processes grapes into wine. Isaiah is written in a poetic style that repeats the same thoughts using different words to bring out a deeper meaning. These verses are an example of this poetic style. Isaiah tells us the saviors garment will be dyed red with the blood he shed to free us from sin, the cleansing blood, and the blood of the wicked destroyed to bring about justice. Edom is also another form of the word Idumea meaning the world. More specifically Edom was a land in the ancient near east and Bozrah was the capital. This could symbolize the center of wickedness of the world. When he talks about tredding the winepress alone, it brings to mind the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus was left all alone as He atoned for our sins. These verses refer to both the first coming and the second coming. The second coming is when he will come to sweep wickedness off the earth and bring about justice for all the injustices of the history of the world. 

Isaiah 63

11 Then ^ahe remembered the days of old, Moses, and his people, saying, 

Where is he that brought them up out of the ^bsea with the ^cshepherd of his ^dflock?

Where is he that put his holy Spirit within ^ehim?

 12 That led them by the right hand of ^aMoses with his glorious arm, 

^bdividing the water before them, to make himself an everlasting name?

 13 That led them through the deep, as an horse in the wilderness, 

that they should not stumble?

 14 ^aAs a beast goeth down into the valley, the ^bSpirit of the Lord caused ^chim to rest:

so didst thou lead thy people, to make thyself a glorious ^dname.

 15 ¶^aLook down from heaven, and behold from the habitation of thy ^bholiness and of thy glory: where is thy zeal and thy strength, ^cthe sounding of thy bowels and of thy mercies toward me?

are they restrained?

 16 Doubtless thou art our ^afather, though Abraham ^bbe ignorant of us,

and Israel acknowledge us not: thou, O Lord, art our father, our redeemer;

thy name is from ^ceverlasting.

 17 ¶O Lord, why hast thou ^amade (suffered) us to err from thy ways, 

and ^bhardened (to harden) our heart from thy fear?

Return for thy servants’ sake, the tribes of thine inheritance.

 18 The ^apeople of thy holiness have possessed it but a little while:

our adversaries have ^btrodden down thy sanctuary.

 19 We are thine: thou never barest rule over them;

they were not called by thy ^aname

Isaiah 64

1 Oh that thou wouldest ^arend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down,

that the ^bmountains might flow down at thy ^cpresence,

 2 As when the melting fire burneth, the fire causeth the waters to boil,

to make thy name known to thine adversaries, that the nations may ^atremble at thy presence!

 3 When thou didst ^aterrible things which we looked not for, thou camest down,

the ^bmountains flowed down at thy presence.

 4 For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear,

neither hath the ^aeye seen, O God, beside thee, 

what he hath ^bprepared for him that waiteth for him. 

D&C 133

52 And now the year of my ^aredeemed is come;

and they shall mention the loving kindness of their Lord,

and all that he has bestowed upon them according to his ^bgoodness,

and according to his loving kindness, forever and ever.

53 In all their ^aafflictions he was afflicted.

And the angel of his presence saved them;

and in his ^blove, and in his pity, he ^credeemed them, and bore them,

and carried them all the days of old;

The second coming will be a day of justice. Wickedness will no longer rule. It will be swept from the earth. The heavens will open and the veil of darkness will be rolled away like a scroll. The mountains will flow down like molten lava and the seas will boil. The wicked will fear and all nations will tremble.

The righteous or the redeemed will talk about the loving kindness of the Lord. Even in their mistakes He showed mercy. He called to them time and time again in their sin. Even before they responded he paid the price for their sin so all they needed to do was turn their hearts back to him. He carried them in times of tribulation. He redeemed them. Now he comes to make right all the wrongs and dispense justice long due.

Isaiah 65 speaks of the state of the earth during the millennium.

17 For, behold, I ^acreate new ^bheavens and a ^cnew ^dearth:

and the ^eformer shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.

18 But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create:

for, behold, I create Jerusalem a ^arejoicing, and her people a joy.

19 And I will ^arejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people:

and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying.

20 There shall be no more thence an infant of days,

nor an ^aold man that hath not filled his days:

for the ^bchild shall die an hundred years old;

but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed.

21 And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; 

and they shall plant vineyards, and ^aeat the fruit of them.

22 They shall not build, and another inhabit;

they shall not plant, and another eat:

for as the days of a ^atree are the days of my people,

and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.

23 They shall not ^alabour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble;

for they are the ^bseed of the blessed of the Lord, and their ^coffspring with them.

24 And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will ^aanswer;

and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.

25 The ^awolf and the lamb shall ^bfeed together,

and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock:

and dust shall be the serpent’s meat.

They shall not ^churt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord.

The Doctrine and Covenants helps to clarify a couple of these verses:

D&C 101

30 In that day an ^ainfant shall not die until he is old;

and his life shall be as the age of a tree;

31 And when he dies he shall not sleep, that is to say in the earth,

but shall be ^achanged in the twinkling of an eye,

and shall be ^bcaught up, and his rest shall be glorious.

During the millennium both the earth and the heavens will be different than what they are now. The people will rejoice. There will be no more weeping and crying. Children will not die before their time. All will live to the age of a tree or about 100 years. They will not taste the pains of death but will be changed from mortal to immortal in the twinkling of an eye. We will still be building houses and planting vineyards and eating the fruit of the vineyards. We will enjoy the fruit of our labors. It will be a time of peace and prosperity. Revelation from the Lord will be abundant. Even the animals will be at peace with one another. The wolf and the lamb shall eat together. There will be no disease or destruction.

The thing I would most love to experience is the lack of disease, the abundance of revelation from the Lord, and the peace and prosperity. What would you most like to experience if you were to live during the millennium?