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Tony, you did a credible job of explaining Isaiah chapter 2 verse 4, what about the above verses 2 and 3? I'm assuming that relates to Christ's first advent?
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Indeed, the last days of Isiah chapter 2 prophesies of the New Testament dispensation that started with the coming of Christ.
Hebrews 1:2- "Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;"
"The last days" here illustrates that the Kingdom of Christ prophesied in the Old Testament had come, and this is what is being foretold in Isaiah chapter 2. It's not a future reference, it's what took place with Christ's first advent.
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Isaiah 2:2
And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD'S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
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Mountains in Scripture are interpreted by God as Kingdoms, thus the mountain of the Lord's house is a reference to Mount Zion and represents the Kingdom of God. It was established (
as was prophesied) by Christ's ascension to the throne to rule over the nations. This signified by Christ ascending to the throne, where He is exalted above all mountains or kingdoms.
Ephesians 1:19-21- "And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,
- Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,
- Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:"
As Isaiah 2:2 foretold, Christ has already established His mountain or kingdom above all, and He has already ascended to the throne, where He is exalted above all the mountains or kingdoms, once again fulfilling Isaiah's prophesy that the non-Jews or Gentiles (
nations) would flow into His kingdom.
Romans 9:24-26- "Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?
- As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved.
- And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God."
This is the fulfillment of the Kingdom being established above all, and the nations (
or Gentiles) flowing into the kingdom of God.
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Isaiah 2:3
And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
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The house of God is the congregation.
1st Timothy 3:15- "But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth."
In Isaiah chapter 2 again we see the mountain is revealed to be the "kingdom" or house of the God of Jacob. And the many people who come to be taught of God (1st John 2:27) are the nations who flow into His house in the millennial reign of Christ, which started at His first advent. Such as also prophesied in Psalms 86.
Psalms 86:9- "All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy name./i]
- For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone.
- Teach me thy way, O LORD; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name."
And how does the Lord "teach" the servants of God his ways, as Isaiah 2:3 also declared? By the Holy Spirit poured out at Pentecost He teaches us of his ways, so that we can walk in his paths. It is fulfilled in the Kingdom of Christ as out of Mount Zion the law has gone forth, and the Word of the LORD from Jerusalem. Fulfilled! Christ teaching us of His ways was established as a reality when He came to Israel and preached the gospel from Jerusalem, and taught us of His ways that we might abandoned the crooked paths and walk in His paths. Even as the rebellious leaders of Christ's own congregation (
without even realizing it) prophesied of this in their rejection of Him.
John 7:35- "Then said the Jews among themselves, Whither will he go, that we shall not find him? will he go unto the dispersed among the Gentiles, and teach the Gentiles?"
Israel was blinded, eyes that they would not see that they would not find Him. And indeed Christ did go to teach the Gentiles after He (
their foundation stone), was rejected, where they to this day have not found Him. Well has John 7:35 prophesied. From that mountain (Zion and the Kingdom Christ established) from Jerusalem, the gospel went to all the world just as prophesied in Isaiah. That is when the word and the law of the Lord went out from Jerusalem, that we might walk in His paths. All of this was fulfilled with the first advent of Christ.
Of course, this is difficult for those indoctrinated into the idea that Isaiah 2 is some future fulfillment where Lambs and Wolves frolic around together in heaven, nevertheless, it is true. The lamb is unafraid of the wolf not because the wolf becomes a herbivore in heaven, but because the Lamb and wolf are synonyms in God's word for His Servants and those who would devour them. The wolf cannot hurt the lamb because as God declared, "they will not hurt nor destroy in My Holy Mountain." It is
because there in this kingdom of Christ is the peace and safety of Israel. Not in strong walls and a great military,
only in Christ Jesus.
Luke chapter 10 verses 19 and 20 give us a similar illustration of this same principle of how with the coming of Christ's Kingdom they cannot be hurt by the enemies of God. The Lord sends out 'seventy' (
a spiritually significant number) disciples with the gospel to witness in twos (signifying truthful witness) with this information and instruction.
Luke 10:19- ""Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you."
Is the Lord giving His servants a power to go around the countryside and be immune to being hurt by enemies that are literal snakes and scorpions? No, not at all. The serpent and Scorpion signify and
represent the power of Satan, just as the wolf does. If you walk through the desert, will physical/literal snakes and scorpions clear a path for you and not hurt you because you are a servant of God? Not at all, and this is
not what Christ is teaching here. Being bitten by a snake is not the force of the enemy that Christ gives us power over. The power of the enemy Jesus speaks about here is the power of that Scorpion from the pit and that old Serpent Satan. Those who are spiritually serpents and scorpions (
those of Satan) are the ones who God is teaching cannot harm us. Yes, even today we have some misguided souls calling themselves Christians going around handling snakes because they can't see the forest for the trees. The truth is, God has given us safety from the antichrist spirit Satan, who desires to deceive, seduce and devour us.
1st Peter 3:12-13- ""For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.
- And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?"
The answer to this rhetoric question is that there is no one who can haurt or destroy you you when you are a follower of Christ. So when we ask, what does the Lamb not being afraid of the Wolf in the Lord's holy mountain mean, it means the servant of God cannot be hurt by the wolf, nor the wolves in sheep's clothing that are among the lambs. It's not really that difficult to discern because Christ used this same vernacular with us very plainly during His ministry.
Matthew 10:16- "Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves."
There is the answer to the relevant question concerning the mountain of the Lord, and also the passages that follow verses 2 and 3. Christ didn't send us out among wolves to be hurt, He assures that they will not hurt nor destroy us as we abide in His holy Mountain. Again, not because the wolf has a new nature, but because we are sealed, secured in Christ and cannot be spiritually hurt by Satan or his minions. The kingdom reign and peace prophesied in Isaiah is the peace of Christ, and the cessation of the sword of warfare, turned into another job of cultivating the Lord's plantings, is by the New Spirit of Christ within us as we ar reconciled with God.
I hope that helps a little.
"
nosce te ipsum"
Peace,
Tony Warren
"I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah. -Psalms 32:5"
Topic: Beat their Swords into Plowshares and their Spears into Pruninghooks (Read 12173 times)