Isaiah 2:1-4

Isaiah 2:1-4

[1] The word  that Isaiah  the son  of Amoz  saw  concerning Judah  and Jerusalem.  [2] 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  [3] And many  people  shall go  and say,  ye, and let us go up  to the mountain  to the house  of the God  of Jacob;  and he will teach  us of his ways,  in his paths:  for out of Zion  shall go forth  the law,  and the word  from Jerusalem.  [4] 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.

What does Isaiah 2:1-4 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

The glorious future of Israel presented here is in striking contrast to the condition of the nation in Isaiah"s day described in chapter1. An almost identical prophecy appears in Micah 4:1-3 (cf. Psalm 2 , 46). Perhaps Isaiah quoted Micah here, or Micah quoted Isaiah , or both of them quoted another prophet. [1]
"The last days" is a phrase that describes a distant time from the perspective of the prophet. The Hebrews regarded history as a series of days, the days of their lives. The title of the Books of Chronicles means literally "the words of the days." When these days come to an end, in their last part, human history on this earth will end. New Testament Christians applied this term to the time following Messiah"s coming ( Acts 2:17; Hebrews 1:2; James 5:3; 1 Peter 1:5; 1 Peter 1:20; 2 Peter 3:3; 1 John 2:18). Here, it must mean after His second coming, since these conditions did not follow His first coming. [2]
"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." [3]
The term "mountain" is sometimes a symbol of a kingdom, nation, authority, or rule elsewhere in the prophetic writings (e.g, Daniel 2:35; Daniel 2:44-45; Amos 4:1; Revelation 17:9-11). The ancients also regarded mountains as the homes of the gods. If Isaiah was using "mountain" as a figure of speech, he meant that Israel and her God would be the most highly exalted in the earth eventually. This will be the case during Messiah"s earthly reign. The reference to "the mountain of the house of Yahweh" ( Isaiah 2:2), however, may indicate that the prophet had a more literal meaning in mind. He may have meant that the actual mountain on which the temple stood would be thrust higher in elevation. This may happen (cf. Ezekiel 40:2; Zechariah 14:4; Zechariah 14:10), but the primary implication seems to be that Israel and Yahweh will be exalted in the world.
"The analogy of streams is particularly apt, because the major traditional oppressors of Israel were associated with great rivers-the Nile, the Tigris, and the Euphrates (cf. Isaiah 8:6-8)." [4]
Israel"s God would be recognized as the God, and she would be seen as the nation among nations. Under the Old Covenant, the Israelites made pilgrimages to Jerusalem three times a year, but in the future the entire world will go there. In that day, Yahweh"s instruction will go forth from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth ( Isaiah 2:3). Jerusalem will be Messiah"s capital city at this time. [5] He will judge everyone, and people will live in peace ( Isaiah 2:4). There will be a rebellion against Messiah"s rule at the end of the Millennium (cf. Revelation 20:7-10), but this will involve unbelievers fighting against Him, not one another.
"The prophet saw the new Jerusalem of the last days on this side, and the new Jerusalem of the new earth on the other (Rev. xxi10), blended as it were together, and did not distinguish the one from the other." [3]
Isaiah"s description pictures a return to paradisiacal conditions (cf. Isaiah 11:6-9). The amillennial interpretation of this passage sees the church as fulfilling what Isaiah wrote of Jerusalem and Judah, and the gospel as going out to the whole world, as illustrated by the following quotation.
"Such instruments [7] are mentioned only as symbols" [8]
"From whence comes peace? From the recognition that God is the source of all good, that our needs and our destiny can be submitted to his judgment, and from the knowledge that he does all things well.... Until persons and nations have come to God to learn his ways and walk in them, peace is an illusion." [9]
Disarmament now is suicide because of man"s greed and aggression. Nevertheless, modern people should trust in the Lord more than in their military power, as the next section emphasizes.