Bible Study Lesson for Isaiah 2:1-4: This Old Testament Prophet Speaks of the Last Days

(When I taught my two year long Bible study on Isaiah, I used The Pulpit Commentary Volume 10: Isaiah edited by H.D.M. Spence and Joseph S. Exell to give me a starting point and rough outline of the material covered in the chapters. In this article, when you read the phrase "my commentary", I am referring to this volume.)

When we read Chapter 2 we will find that Isaiah (with the exception of a small part in verse 3) does all the talking. He appears to be speaking to three distinct groups: God, Judah, and once more to a third party - some party which is neither God nor man. (Perhaps the Heavens and the Earth mentioned in Chapter 1.)

He uses four kinds of speech: statements regarding the present, prophecies regarding the future, commands or orders, and a rhetorical question. (Amazingly, in verse 9, he actually commands God to do something when he tells God not to forgive mankind.)

Read Isaiah 2:1-4. Now read Micah 4:1-3. The passages are almost identical. What is going on? Remember Micah was a prophet to Judah at about the same time as Isaiah. There are four possible explanations for the similarities:

Isaiah is quoting Micah.
Micah is quoting Isaiah.
They are both quoting some third, unknown prophet.
God gave both prophets the same message/vision, as a confirmation for each other.

Personally I go with the fourth explanation, based on what Peter says in 2 Peter 1:19-20. Isaiah says in his writings that "this is what Isaiah saw..." not "this is what Micah saw.." Also, Micah, at the beginning of his book claims that the word of the Lord came to him... Probably not a point worth arguing, but I believe that God spoke to both men. In other parts of Scripture when someone is quoting someone else, they usually say so.

"In the last days..." When exactly is this? All we know is that it is sometime in the future and that when these things occur, by inference we are closer to the end of time than to the beginning. God can see the end in sight, even if we can't.

As I studied these verses about the mountain of the Lord's temple I struggled with whether this was a real, physical place, or a symbol or metaphor for something else. I decided that it must be a symbol, just as in chapter 1 Jerusalem was called a harlot. I found myself pulling out the following words and phrases and pondering them:

Mountain of the Lord's temple
Chief among the mountains
All nations / Many peoples
House of the God of Jacob
Teach us his ways

My first question was "Why a mountain? Why would the Lord's temple be associated with a mountain? Why not a valley or an island?" So I did a mini word study on the word "mountain" in the Bible.

There are numerous instances in the Bible where God speaks of "My holy mountain" or "My holy hill." It is a very common symbol in Scripture. But what of actual instances where God is associated with a mountain? Two obvious ones that I could find were when God came down and spoke to Moses through the burning bush on Mount Sinai. Read Exodus 3:1-6

...and in the New Testament, when Jesus is transfigured and God the Father speaks from a cloud. Read Luke 9:28-36. Jesus, in fact, often went to the mountainside to pray. Read Matthew 14:22-23.

Moses actually sings, after crossing the Red Sea, of God's dwelling on a mountain. Read Exodus 15:17. I think that the symbol of the mountain and the temple share in that they both can symbolize a dwelling place for God; a place where God meets with man; a place of worship, communion, and prayer.

So, in the last days, there will be a place on earth where God will dwell with man and it will be "chief among the mountains." This led me to Psalm 2, which speaks of a King who will be over all the nations and will be a ruler. Amazingly this Psalm speaks of Jesus, the Messiah, the Son who will be the ruler on "My holy hill."

So this place will have the Messiah as its ruler, God will dwell there, will provide communion with God through worship and prayer (temple), as well as teaching (teach us his ways), and will be a place welcoming not only to the Jews (house of the God of Jacob), but also to the Gentiles! (all nations /many peoples). This place will also be established sometime in the future (it wasn't a part of Isaiah's time) and will be associated with the Jewish nation in some way. (house of the God of Jacob) What or where is this place?

One commentary I read - and which I think I agree with - said this mountain symbolizes the Church, established after Jesus' death and resurrection. It fits all the criteria above, including that Christianity is Judaism fulfilled (the Messiah has come). God's dwelling on earth, today, is in the hearts of His people, the people of his Church. So, by its very existence, I think the Church is a symbol that we are in "the last days."

Read Isaiah 2:4, then Joel 3:9-13 and compare the two images. Both passages describe God as judge. In the passage in Isaiah the nations have willingly accepted His authority to arbitrate among them and they are at peace. In Joel we have an image of battle and war, where God will judge the nations for their wickedness and there will be great slaughter.

During times of peace they will: "beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks..."

During times of war they will: "beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears..."

When and where will this time of peace occur, when God is a welcome judge? We really don't know. I think it would have to happen after Joel's prophecy, when the wicked are destroyed during the last battle; when Christ returns. One possibility is that Isaiah is alluding to when Christ rules on the earth during the Millennium.

Read Revelation 20:1-6. This particular passage has always been a mystery to me. When? How? It is a mystery and something to ponder.

To be continued...

Source
H.D.M. Spence and Joseph S. Exell (editors). The Pulpit Commentary Volume 10: Isaiah