1This is what Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
2It shall happen in the latter days, that the mountain of Yahweh’s house shall be established on the top of the mountains,
and shall be raised above the hills;
and all nations shall flow to it.
3Many peoples shall go and say,
“Come, let’s go up to the mountain of Yahweh,
to the house of the God of Jacob;
and he will teach us of his ways,
and we will walk in his paths.”
For the law shall go out of Zion,
and Yahweh’s word from Jerusalem.
4He will judge between the nations,
and will decide concerning many peoples.
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 any more.
Even in the midst of us reading about God’s anger and judgment against sin, we can see clear signs of hope and salvation. God is persistent about restoring us to intimate fellowship with himself, He is faithful to his promises.
Through his Word, the Bible, God gives us hope and an eternal perspective, and its images of salvation stir the heart. If we didn’t know His promises, the hatred between nations would seem unsolvable, and any efforts at peace would seem pointless. But God promises that he 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.” For “in the last days” all nations will stream in to recognize and honour the Lord.
Isaiah saw days of blessing emerging in the very places where God’s people were caught in a lifestyle of sin. Isaiah saw far into the future to a time “in the last days” when many would say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord …” It took several hundred years before those prophetic words were fulfilled. But those words became a reality on the day of Pentecost.
That was the beginning of the spread of the gospel. From Jerusalem the gospel has been proclaimed to the entire world (Acts 1:8). The redeeming and unifying truth of Christ is spreading to all nations. It has reached you and today it will reach others for the first time.