I have spent hardly any time at all actually “studying” Isaiah. I’ve read it a number of times, but not really have studied it. There are many passages that are Messianic in nature and can be taken several different ways. But what do I undestand.
So out of the gate comes Is 2:
2 In the last days
the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established
as the highest of the mountains;
it will be exalted above the hills,
and all nations will stream to it.
3 Many peoples will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the temple of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us his ways,
so that we may walk in his paths.”
The law will go out from Zion,
the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
4 He will judge between the nations
and will settle disputes for many peoples.
They will beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not take up sword against nation,
nor will they train for war anymore.
I continue to wrestle, is this the time of the Messiah? Not that he is reigning on earth but in a figurative way that those who follow him find arbitration and peace, and that the Gentiles will come to him. Or is this a time when some say Jesus will rule and reign on the earth for 1000 years?
First of all no one, and I mean no one got the first coming of Jesus right. They were able to see it after he arrived, but no one could have predicted how it all could have unfolded. I think the same is true with the second coming of Christ. No one will get it right in how it unfolds.
Having said that, our end times understanding does affect how we live. For example recently I’ve talked to several people that they have no concern about things getting hard or bad because Jesus is going to rapture them out prior to that. In some ways, this makes me a bit irritated. There’s a subtle condescension that says, ‘God won’t let me suffer.’ But there are many who are suffering right now in war. Whatever side you are on, the Ukrainian people are suffering terribly and they did not get raptured before their horror broke out.
There’s also a passivity that comes as a result of this belief. I don’t need to prepare for hard times or do the work I’m called to do because he is taking me out of this before it gets bad. When actually it’s for this very hour that we are called. We need to be prepared and be working, both practically, physically and spiritually.
So back to Is 2. What does this mean? It’s been eating at me for days. Every commentary has something different. I can see this both ways in which people may understand this.
What’s critical here: God is a God of peace. The fruit of righteousness is peace within conflictual relationships. It’s a laying down of the swords and working towards resolution. It doesn’t mean that there isn’t a time for war. The Bible makes this plain. But war is not his desire. Peace is his desire.
So in this I’m inclined to believe that this text is about the heavenly Jerusalem. That those who come to know the Messiah will become people of peace. They will be able to find forgiveness for the terrible things they have done, as well as to be able to forgive others who have hurt them so deeply. These things are the foundation of peace. Without repentance and forgiveness in Christ, there is no peace.
The more the world comes into relationship with Christ, the greater this world will experience peace. The more this world drifts from the foundations of God, conflict and war is inevitable.
