Isaiah chapter 2:1-5
Isaiah 2:1 The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
The chapter begins with Isaiah's vision of the "last days" of the third age. That may need a little explanation first. Peter gave us the key in 2Peter 3:8. The verse needs to be read in context:
2Peter chapter 3:
2 I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles.
3 Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires.
4 They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.”
5 But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water.
6 By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed.
7 By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.
8 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.
There's so much to parse here, but I will try not to squirrel. 🐿 The chief point Peter is making is about the seven days of Creation, that each literal day is also a prophecy about the thousand years it represents of earth's 7000 year age span. It was such an important point that it was the ONE THING he wanted us to remember, his parting words to us as he was heading out the door to his own upside-down crucifixion.
The early church fathers taught that there are three 2000-year ages, followed by one 1000 year age, otherwise known as the Millennial Kingdom. Ken Johnson has published many works on his studies of the Bible and the Dead Sea Scrolls as well as the works of the early church (pre-Rome). He is a huge gift and blessing to students of the Bible, and he teaches at a Calvary Chapel church as well as at Bible and prophecy conferences. His work is solid, always affirming the inerrancy of the 66 books of the Bible. He compares the other works to Scripture in a very helpful way.
Anyway, here are some quotations pulled from his book, The End Times by the Ancient Church Fathers.
Barnabas, AD First Century:
"Therefore, children, in six days, or in six thousand years, all the prophecies will be fulfilled. This signifies at the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus. He will destroy the Antichrist, judge the ungodly, and change the sun, moon, and stars. Then He will truly rest during the Millennial reign, which is the seventh day.
—Epistle of Barnabus 15:5-7
Ireneaus, AD 180:
"The day of the Lord is as a thousand years; and in six days things were completed. It is evident, therefore, they will come to an end in the six thousandth year."
—Against Heresies, 5:28
Hippolytus, AD 205:
"The Sabbath is a type of the future kingdom... For "a day with the Lord is as a thousand years." Since, then, in six days the Lord created all things, it follows that in six thousand years all will be fulfilled."
—Fragment 2: Commentary on Daniel 2:4
There are other works that speak of Elijah's teachings via the School of Prophets that he started, and which culminated in the Essenes of Jesus' time. John the Baptist was the last of the leaders of these prophets, which is why Jesus called him Elijah (but the real Elijah was raptured without death, like Enoch, and I expect they will be the Two Witnesses of Rev. 11:3).
Elijah taught that there are three 2000 year Ages—the first, the Age of Chaos from Adam to the calling of Abram; the second, the Age of Torah (Law) from Abram to Jesus; the third, the Age of Grace from Jesus to the end of the Tribulation, also known as “the Day of the Lord.” Not the Day of Christ—that’s the Rapture. And the Day of God is the new heavens and new earth.
There are always side trips with me. 😄 Back to chapter 2!
Isaiah describes his vision of the Millennial Kingdom, the "last days" of earth's allotted time.
Isaiah 2:2
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.
This is Jerusalem, raised to the top of the mountains. This can't happen unless there is some serious terraforming of the Middle East.
It so happens that the Great African Rift fault runs right up the Jordan River Valley, where a giant earthquake is prophesied to spread these two sides apart. The old Jerusalem and 3rd Temple built during the Tribulation will be destroyed, but a new Temple will be built (the 4th Temple described by Ezekiel). Isaiah here says that Jerusalem will be on the highest peak, and that all nations will come to worship the King there.
v.3 describes how the Gentiles, who have not had the law and who came late to faith, will want to know how to live righteous lives:
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.
Note that the law and the Word will proceed "out of Zion" and Jerusalem. This is the government of the King. Remember that we who will be resurrected and raptured and the Tribulation saints who will be resurrected will together be King Jesus' government, because we will rule and reign with Him (see also 2Tim 2:11-12 and Rev. 5:10):
Rev 20:6 Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.
Returning to Isaiah 2, verse 4 says Jesus will judge between the nations, just as the judges did in the book of Judges. He will hear complaints and settle disputes with more wisdom than Solomon.
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.
This is a contrast to Joel's word from the Lord in Joel 3:10, which is addressed to the nations living in the false peace of the Tribulation:
Joel 3:10 Beat your plowshares into swords
And your pruning hooks into spears;
Let the weak say, 'I [am] strong.' "
This repurposing of metal in Joel is to prepare for Armageddon in the Valley of Jehoshaphat (“Jehovah judges”), also known as the Valley of Decision, probably the Kidron Valley, where Jesus will return and defeat the Antichrist and all the armies that come against Israel.
But Isaiah's words are addressed to the nations for the period AFTER Jesus has returned, telling them to stand down, turn their weapons back into agricultural implements and use them for farming, not war. Farming will be the industry of Jesus' kingdom. Hallelujah for that!!
The section ends with Isaiah issuing a call to Israel at the beginning of the Millennial Kingdom:
5 O house of Jacob, come and let us walk
In the light of the LORD.
Notice this is not addressed to Judah, which is his 8th century B.C. audience as prophet; he is now speaking to the whole house of Jacob; that includes the northern kingdom of Israel, the ten tribes that are to be the “ten lost tribes” when Assyria deports them. I wonder if, in Isaiah's vision, he has seen himself be resurrected along with all Israel, and he is speaking to them, as it were, after God’s sheep and goat judgment of the tribes of Jacob. We know that Daniel was told by the Lord that he will rest (die) and be resurrected and receive his inheritance:
Daniel 12:13 “But you, go your way till the end; for you shall rest, and will arise to your inheritance at the end of the days.”
Isaiah's call to Jacob ends the introductory summary, so this is where he stops the narrative, hits reverse, and next delivers the backstory of The Day of the Lord. Wherever this phrase occurs, it means God's judgment during the seven year Tribulation on the rebels and idolators, as well as the enemies of Israel. It also continues into the Millennial Kingdom, since the Day of the Lord is the seventh “day” of rest. It will begin with a terraforming of earth, a scouring of evil, and leads into the fulfillment of God’s covenant with Israel for a thousand years. It is a day both to dread and to long for, depending on who you have put your faith in.
BONUS RABBIT TRAIL:
Look how many times the phrase “the day of the Lord” occurs.
This one particularly stands out to me today. Compare these two translations:
Ezekiel 30:3 NKJV For the day [is] near, Even the day of the LORD [is] near; It will be a day of clouds, the time of the Gentiles.
NIV:
For the day is near, the day of the LORD is near— a day of clouds, a time of doom for the nations.
Aren't search engines great? I had identified this verse as Messianic in my study Bible, but it's been a while since I read Ezekiel, and meanwhile I have a better understanding of the larger End Times picture. The “day of clouds” refers to the Rapture, when Jesus will catch His believers up to Him in the clouds; after that happens, the “day of the Lord is near,” and it will be a time of doom for the nations, because it will end in their judgment.
Though the 70 weeks of Daniel’s prophecy all refer to Judah, the last seven years (Daniel’s 70th week) of the Age of Grace also belong to the Gentiles, because if they miss the Rapture they can still come to faith in Christ and be added to Jesus’ government after their resurrection, to rule with the bride (the Raptured church) after the Tribulation is over. This week is also the final persecution of Jacob, known as Jacob’s Trouble.
Perhaps this verse is the origin of Paul's phrase "the fullness of the gentiles" in Romans 11:12 and 11:25. The Strong's number for plērōma is G4138, and the definition that makes sense in context is "completeness or fullness of time," while the word for "time" in Ezekiel 30:3 is ʿēṯ, Strong's number H6256, meaning "a fit or proper time," according to Gesenius. That makes it clear that “fullness” is about the completion of a time period.
Next up: Isaiah chapter 2:6-11
###