“It shall come to
pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be
established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the
hills; and all the nations shall flow to it, and many peoples shall come, and
say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God
of Jacob, that He may teach us His ways and that we may walk in His
paths.’ For out of Zion shall go the
law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many
peoples; and 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.” –Isaiah
2:2-4 (ESV). (See also Micah 4:1-3).
Of the Old Testament prophecies
concerning the Messiah, Isaiah is by far
the most prolific writer concerning the coming of the Holy One from God who
will set things right, bring peace, establish justice, and bring salvation to
all peoples. According to scholars (and
the list of Messianic Prophecies I am consulting for references) the focal
passage for today is the first of Isaiah’s at least 35 prophecies concerning
Messiah. Almost the same wording as we
read in Isaiah 2:2-4 we also read in Micah 4:1-3 (please see this
reference). These two prophets were
contemporaries. We do not know if they
had talked to each other and shared their ideas about God’s future provision of
a Messiah who would extend his concern and salvation to all nations. Or, maybe separately and in their own
revelation from God, they foresaw this vision that gives hope not only for Zion
(the nation of the prophets) but for the whole world. It is extremely significant that the two
prophets shared the same expectation of God’s purpose for all nations. In Luke 24:47 we read the fulfillment of this
prophecy: “repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to
all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.”
When will this event occur that will
have such a world-shaking effect? “The
latter days” has different specific time designations. One was the time when the Messiah actually came
to earth. And I use past tense, for us
in this A. D. time, we know that the wonderful advent of His birth, His life on
earth, His death, burial, resurrection and ascension have already
occurred. And the Christian Era was
ushered in, not as the Jews expected with a reigning Messiah breaking their
bondage from an over-riding power such as they knew under Roman rule, but with
the Great Commission and the preaching of the good news of the kingdom to all
nations. “Latter days” can also have
reference to the last days before the end of the age and the time before the
expected second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, an event yet in the future. In Isaiah’s wonderful Messianic prophecy, he
sees all nations honoring and exalting the Lord God and the Gentiles abandoning
all other religions to accept and worship the one true God. So very much of this beautiful prophecy from
Isaiah has come true. The Messiah did
come! And in obedience to His command,
the gospel “began first in Jerusalem,” and has, since that date sometime around
33 A. D. “gone out into all the world.”
We today, well over two centuries later, stand amazed and saved and
rejoice that the gospel came to us, changed us, on its way to someone
else! We have yet to see the time when
all weapons of war shall be used for peaceful means and when nations shall not
war any more. But in God’s providence,
those who know the Prince of Peace have in their hearts a “peace that passes all understanding.”
And in that way this Messianic prophecy of Isaiah (and of Micah) has
been and is being fulfilled, one individual at a time. Praise be to God!
Prayer.
Thank you that in each believing heart can be the abiding peace of Your
presence. Amen.
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