Isaiah 2

Isaiah 2:1-4 (NKJV) 1 The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. 2 Now it shall come to pass in the latter days That the mountain of the Lord’s house Shall be established on the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And all nations shall flow to it. 3 Many people shall come and say, “Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. 4 He shall judge between the nations, And rebuke many people; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war anymore. Micah 4:1-4 (NKJV) 1 Now it shall come to pass in the latter days That the mountain of the Lord’s house Shall be established on the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And peoples shall flow to it. 2 Many nations shall come and say, “Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths.” For out of Zion the law shall go forth, And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. 3 He shall judge between many peoples, And rebuke strong nations afar off; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war any more. 4 But everyone shall sit under his vine and under his fig tree, And no one shall make them afraid; For the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken. There is some discussion as to whether Isaiah copied from Micah or whether both copied from the prophet Joel. Regardless of who said it first, it is considered to be such a strong prophetic word that it is repeated – this gives weight to the inspiration of the words as being from God. In reading Hebrew and more properly in understanding it, it is important to look at idioms as well as exact translations of specific words. For example – if you looked up “latter” it would mean “latter” and “days” would mean “days”, but the phrase “latter days” means at the end of time i.e. when God brings all things to a conclusion. The expression “the last days” (acharith hayyamim, “the end of the days”), which does not occur anywhere else in Isaiah, is always used in an eschatological sense. It never refers to the course of history immediately following the time being, but invariably indicates the furthest point in the history of this life - the point which lies on the outermost limits of the speaker's horizon. K&D

Likewise, the word “mountains” means mountain or hill – but it is a very common Middle Eastern expression for “nations” or “kingdoms”. Even on the nightly news, you can hear Ahmadinejad talking about how Islam will rule over all the other “mountains.”

In interpreting the passage prophetically, I agree with the following: 2:1–5. The phrase The word that Isaiah … saw indicates that this is a separate prophecy from that of chapter 1. These verses are repeated in a somewhat different form in Micah 4:1–4. We are now transported into the messianic age when the Holy City shall be the center of the earth and all nations shall come to it to learn the ways of God. It should be noted that this universal emphasis will not be fulfilled in the days of Israel’s earthly kingdom, nor in the days of the church, but in the last days. This points our attention to the millennial future when Israel’s kingdom shall become a reality only during the time when the Messiah shall rule after the church age. The mountain of the LORD’s house refers to Mount Zion, formerly known as Mount Moriah, on which the various temples of Israel were built. In Isaiah’s day, the Temple of Solomon was still standing. The implication of this passage is that in the millennial kingdom there will once again be a Temple in Jerusalem which shall serve as the focal point of the worship of Jesus Christ during His kingdom rule on earth. God’s kingdom is pictured as being exalted above the hills, i.e., the kingdoms of this world. All nations refers to the gentile nations (Heb goyim). Both the law (torah) and the word (debar) are pictured as continually (present tense) going forth from the presence of the Lord. Christ Himself shall judge among the nations. This will be that time when He shall rule with a “rod of iron” (Rev 2:27) upon the earth and compel all nations to practice justice toward one another. This will be a time of complete international peace and safety unlike any other time in the history of the world. To try to apply this passage to the church age is ridiculous. Notice that Christ Himself is pictured as the judge (shaphat) who shall discern and direct the affairs of all nations during His millennial kingdom. Thus, the weapons of war shall be turned into tools of peace and economic productivity. KJV Bible commentary At the end of the tribulation, all of the nations led by the prince (chief) Gog come up against the Messiah Jesus. During the millennium, Jesus will be the only chief prince of the nations. H7218 – chief

‫ראש‬ rô'sh BDB Definition: 1) head, top, summit, upper part, chief, total, sum, height, front, beginning 1a) head (of man, animals) 1b) top, tip (of mountain) 1c) height (of stars) 1d) chief, head (of man, city, nation, place, family, priest) 1e) head, front, beginning 1f) chief, choicest, best 1g) head, division, company, band 1h) sum

From Zion-Jerusalem there would go forth thorah, i.e., instruction as to the questions which man has to put to God, and debar Jehovah, the word of Jehovah, which created the world at first, and by which it is spiritually created anew. Whatever promotes the true prosperity of the nations, comes from Zion-Jerusalem. There the nations assemble together; they take it thence to their own homes, and thus Zion-Jerusalem becomes the fountain of universal good. K&D H8451 - law ‫ תורה‬/ ‫תרה‬ tôrâh BDB Definition: 1) law, direction, instruction 1a) instruction, direction (human or divine) 1a1) body of prophetic teaching 1a2) instruction in Messianic age 1a3) body of priestly direction or instruction 1a4) body of legal directives 1b) law 1b1) law of the burnt offering 1b2) of special law, codes of law 1c) custom, manner 1d) the Deuteronomic or Mosaic Law H1697 - word ‫דבר‬ dâbâr BDB Definition: 1) speech, word, speaking, thing 1a) speech 1b) saying, utterance 1c) word, words 1d) business, occupation, acts, matter, case, something, manner

Jesus Christ will be in charge during the Millennium - justice will be done because the Chief Justice will be Jesus! What a glorious day that will be!