Isaiah 2:2

King James Version (KJV)

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.

Adam Clarke
Bible Commentary

In the last days "In the latter days" - "Wherever the latter times are mentioned in Scripture, the days of the Messiah are always meant," says Kimchi on this place: and, in regard to this place, nothing can be more clear and certain. And the mountain of the Lord's house, says the same author, is Mount Moriah, on which the temple was built. The prophet Micah, Micah 4:1-4, has repeated this prophecy of the establishment of the kingdom of Christ, and of its progress to universality and perfection, in the same words, with little and hardly any material variation: for as he did not begin to prophesy till Jotham's time, and this seems to be one of the first of Isaiah's prophecies, I suppose Micah to have taken it from hence. The variations, as I said, are of no great importance.

Isaiah 2:2. הוא hu, after ונשא venissa, a word of some emphasis, may be supplied from Micah, if dropped in Isaiah. An ancient MS. has it here in the margin. It has in like manner been lost in Isaiah 53:4; (note), and in Psalm 22:29, where it is supplied by the Syriac, and Septuagint. Instead of הגוים כל col haggoyim, all the nations, Micah has only עמים ammim, peoples; where the Syriac has עמים כל col ammim, all peoples, as probably it ought to be.

Isaiah 2:3. For the second אל el, read ואל veel, seventeen MSS., one of my own, ancient, two editions, the Septuagint, Vulgate, Syriac, Chaldee, and so Micah, Micah 4:2.

Isaiah 2:4. Micah adds רחק עד ad rachok, afar off, which the Syriac also reads in this parallel place of Isaiah. It is also to be observed that Micah has improved the passage by adding a verse, or sentence, ( Micah 4:4;) for imagery and expression worthy even of the elegance of Isaiah: -

"And they shall sit every man under his vine,

And under his fig tree, and none shall affright them:

For the mouth of Jehovah, God of hosts, hath spoken it."

The description of well established peace, by the image of "beating their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks," is very poetical. The Roman poets have employed the same image, Martial, 14:34. "Falx ex ense."

"Pax me certa ducis placidos curvavit in usus:

Agricolae nunc sum; militis ante fui."

"Sweet peace has transformed me. I was once the property of the soldier, and am now the property of the husbandman."

The prophet Joel, Joel 3:10, hath reversed it, and applied it to war prevailing over peace: -

"Beat your ploughshares into swords,

And your pruning-hooks into spears."

And so likewise the Roman poets: -

- Non ullus aratro

Dignus honos: squalent abductis arva colonis,

Et curvae rigidum falces conflantur in ensem.

Virg., Georg. 1:506.

"Agriculture has now no honor: the husbandmen being taken away to the wars, the fields are overgrown with weeds, and the crooked sickles are straightened into swords."

Bella diu tenuere viros: erat aptior ensis

Vomere: cedebat taurus arator equo

Sarcula cessabant; versique in pila ligones;

Factaque de rastri pondere cassis erat.

Ovid, Fast. 1:697.

"War has lasted long, and the sword is preferred to the plough. The bull has given place to the war-horse; the weeding-hooks to pikes; and the harrow-pins have been manufactured into helmets."

The prophet Ezekiel, Ezekiel 17:22-24, has presignified the same great event with equal clearness, though in a more abstruse form, in an allegory; from an image, suggested by the former part of the prophecy, happily introduced, and well pursued: -

"Thus saith the Lord Jehovah:

I myself will take from the shoot of the lofty cedar,

Even a tender scion from the top of his scions will I pluck off:

And I myself will plant it on a mountain high and eminent.

On the lofty mountain of Israel will I plant it;

And it shall exalt its branch, and bring forth fruit,

And it shall become a majestic cedar:

And under it shall dwell all fowl of every wing;

In the shadow of its branches shall they dwell:

And all the trees of the field shall know,

That I Jehovah have brought low the high tree;

Have exalted the low tree;

Have dried up the green tree;

And have made the dry tree to flourish:

I Jehovah have spoken it, and will do it."

The word ונתתי venathatti, in this passage, Ezekiel 17:22, as the sentence now stands, appears incapable of being reduced to any proper construction or sense. None of the ancient versions acknowledge it, except Theodotion, and the Vulgate; and all but the latter vary very much from the present reading of this clause. Houbigant's correction of the passage, by reading instead of ונתתי venathatti, ויונקת veyoneketh, and a tender scion which is not very unlike it, perhaps better ויונק veyonek, with which the adjective רך rach will agree without alteration - is ingenious and probable; and I have adopted it in the above translation. - L.

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Albert Barnes
Notes on the Whole Bible

In the last days - הימים באחרית be'achărı̂yth hāyâmı̂ym In the “after” days; in the “futurity” of days; that is, in the time to come. This is an expression that often occurs in the Old Testament. It does not of itself refer to any “particular” period, and especially not, as our translation would seem to indicate, to the end of the world. The expression properly denotes “only future time” in general. But the prophets were accustomed to concentrate all their hopes on the coming of the Messiah. They saw his advent as giving character, and sublimity, and happiness to all coming times. Hence, the expression came to denote, by way of eminence, the times of the Messiah, and is frequently used in the New Testament, as well as the Old, to designate those times; see Acts 2:17; compare Joel 2:28; Hebrews 1:2; 1 Peter 1:5, 1 Peter 1:20; 1 John 2:18; Genesis 49:1; Micah 4:1; Deuteronomy 4:30; Jeremiah 48:47; Daniel 11:28.

The expressions which follow are figurative, and cannot well be interpreted as relating to any other events than the times of the Messiah. They refer to that future period, then remote, which would constitute the “last” dispensation of things in this world - the “last” time - the period, however long it might be, in which the affairs of the world would be closed. The patriarchal times had passed away; the dispensation under the Mosaic economy would pass away; the times of the Messiah would be the “last” times, or the last dispensation, under which the affairs of the world would be consummated. Thus the phrase is evidently used in the New Testament, as denoting the “last” time, though without implying that that time would be short. It might be longer than “all” the previous periods put together, but it would be the “last” economy, and under that economy, or “in” that time, the world would be destroyed, Christ would come to judgment, the dead would be raised, and the affairs of the world would be wound up. The apostles, by the use of this phrase, never intimate that the time would be short, or that the day of judgment was near, but only that “in” that time the great events of the world‘s history would be consummated and closed; compare 2 Thessalonians 2:1-5. This prophecy occurs in Micah Micah 4:1-5 with scarcely any variation. It is not known whether Isaiah made use of Micah, or Micah of Isaiah, or both of an older and well-known prophecy. Hengstenberg (“Chris.” i., pp. 289,290) supposes that Isaiah copied from Micah, and suggests the following reasons:

1. The prediction of Isaiah is disconnected with what goes before, and yet begins with the copulative ו (v ), “and.” In Micah, on the contrary, it is connected with what precedes and follows.

2. In the discourses of the prophets, the promise usually follows the threatening. This order is observed by Micah; in Isaiah, on the contrary, the promise contained in the passage precedes the threatening, and another promise follows. Many of the older theologians supposed that the passages were communicated alike by the Holy Spirit to both writers. But there is no improbability in supposing that Isaiah may have availed himself of language used by Micah in describing the same event.

The mountain of the Lord‘s house - The temple was built on mount Moriah, which was hence called the mountain of the Lord‘s house. The temple, or the mountain on which it was reared, would be the object which would express the public worship of the true God. And hence, to say that that should be elevated higher than all other hills, or mountains, means, that the worship of the true God would become an object so conspicuous as to be seen by all nations; and so conspicuous that all nations would forsake other objects and places of worship, being attracted by the glory of the worship of the true God.

Shall be established - Shall be fixed, rendered permanent.

In the top of the mountains - To be in the top of the mountains, would be to be “conspicuous,” or seen from afar. In other words, the true religion would be made known to all people.

Shall flow unto it - This is a figurative expression, denoting that they would be converted to the true religion. It indicates that they would come in multitudes, like the flowing of a mighty river. The idea of the “flowing” of the nations, or of the movement of many people toward an object like a broad stream, is one that is very grand and sublime; compare Psalm 65:7. This cannot be understood of any period previous to the establishment of the gospel. At no time of the Jewish history did any events occur that would be a complete fulfillment of this prophecy. The expressions evidently refer to that period elsewhere often predicted by this prophet Isaiah 11:10; Isaiah 42:1, Isaiah 42:6; Isaiah 49:22; Isaiah 54:3; Isaiah 60:3, Isaiah 60:5, Isaiah 60:10; Isaiah 62:2; Isaiah 66:12, Isaiah 66:19, when “the Gentiles” would be brought to the knowledge of the true religion. In Isaiah 66:12, there occurs a passage remarkably similar, and which may serve to explain this:

‹Behold I will extend peace to her (to Zion) as a river;

And the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream.‘

Under the Messiah, through the preaching of the apostles and by the spread of the gospel, this prophecy was to receive its full accomplishment.

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Matthew Henry
Concise Bible Commentary

The calling of the Gentiles, the spread of the gospel, and that far more extensive preaching of it yet to come, are foretold. Let Christians strengthen one another, and support one another. It is God who teaches his people, by his word and Spirit. Christ promotes peace, as well as holiness. If all men were real Christians, there could be no war; but nothing answering to these expressions has yet taken place on the earth. Whatever others do, let us walk in the light of this peace. Let us remember that when true religion flourishes, men delight in going up to the house of the Lord, and in urging others to accompany them. Those are in danger who please themselves with strangers to God; for we soon learn to follow the ways of persons whose company we keep. It is not having silver and gold, horses and chariots, that displeases God, but depending upon them, as if we could not be safe, and easy, and happy without them, and could not but be so with them. Sin is a disgrace to the poorest and the lowest. And though lands called Christian are not full of idols, in the literal sense, are they not full of idolized riches? and are not men so busy about their gains and indulgences, that the Lord, his truths, and precepts, are forgotten or despised?

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SDA Bible Commentary (limited)
Volume 1-7

2. It shall come to pass. Various interpretations have been given to the message of vs. 2-4: (1) that it refers to a millennium, when there will be peace on earth, when the Jews will be restored to their ancestral home and to their former status as God’s chosen people, and rule the earth and accomplish the conversion of the world; (2) that it describes a counterfeit religious revival to take place at the close of earth’s history, sponsored by apostate Christianity and designed to convert the world, such as is alluded to in 1 Thess. 5:1-5; Rev. 13:11-17; etc.; (3) that it describes God’s original plan that literal Israel should become His agency for the salvation of the world, but that, owing to Israel’s failure and rejection, the prediction here made will be fulfilled by God’s chosen people today in the giving of the gospel message to earth’s remotest bounds.

As with every other passage of Scripture, the only way to determine the true meaning of Isa. 2:2-4 and its significance for the church today is to study it in the context of the Scriptures as a whole, in terms of what the Bible itself has to say to on the subject. For a careful survey of the teachings of the Bible relative to the basic problems involved in various fanciful interpretations, to the return of the Jews to Palestine, and to the role of Israel in the divine plan, see pp. 25-38. For Ellen G. White comments on the parallel passage in Micah 4:1-3 as one of many “practical lessons” that contain “great encouragement” for the church today, see CT 455, 456.

It should be noted that Micah 4:1-3 is practically identical, word for word, with Isa. 2:2-4. A study of the context in Micah will be found helpful in clarifying the parallel passage in Isaiah. Isaiah and Micah were contemporary for a number of years.

The last days. Heb. ’acharith hayyamim. ’Acharith, “last,” generally designates the close of whatever period of time the speaker has in mind, whether the period be short or long. ’Acharith is used of: (1) the close of the 430 years of sojourn (see on Gen. 15:13, 16) when Israel would possess Canaan (Gen. 49:1); (2) the close of the wilderness wanderings (Deut. 8:16); (3) the close of a future period of tribulation and exile (Deut. 4:30; Hosea 3:5); (4) the close of a period of history (Deut. 31:29); (5) the end result of a course of action (Prov. 14:12; 23:32; Isa. 47:7); (6) the “end” of the year (Deut. 11:12); (7) the close of a period of trial and testing in a man’s life (Job 42:12). In Bible prophecy it is used of: (1) the end of the power of God Greece (Dan. 8:23); (2) the close of the 1260 and 2300 days (Dan. 10:14; 8:19): (3) the in gathering of the Gentiles at the close of the age (Isa. 2:2; Micah 4:1); (4) the battle of Gog and Magog immediately prior to the establishment of the Messianic kingdom (Eze. 38:6, 7, 16); (5) the great day of final judgement (Jer. 23:30; 30:24); (6) the final “end” of the wicked (Ps. 37:38).

’Acharith is commonly translated in the LXX by eschatos, “last,” “end.” It is the opposite of re’shith, “beginning” (see on Gen. 1:1), as is apparent from Isa. 41:22; 46:10, where “former” and “beginning” stand in contrast with “latter end” and “end.”

Biblical usage of ’acharith makes it evident that the context must, in each case, determine how far in the future “last” is. The context of “the last days” in Isa. 2:2 refers to the manifestation of the “majesty” of God (v. 10), to “that day” in which “the Lord alone shall be exalted” (vs. 11, 17), to “the day of the Lord” (v. 12), to the time “when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth” (v. 19). Compare Isa. 2:10-21 with Rev. 6:14-17. The context of the parallel passage in Micah 4:1-4 mentions the time when “the Lord shall reign over them in mount Zion from henceforth, even for ever” (v. 7), and refers to the time of restoration of the “first dominion” to Zion (v. 8) from Babylonian captivity (v. 10). Hence the “last days” of Isa. 2:2 immediately precede the establishment of the Messianic kingdom.

According to the principles of interpretation set forth on pp. 29, 30, the Messianic age, in God’s original plan for Israel, was to have come as the climax to the period of restoration following Babylonian captivity (see PK 703, 704). But Israel failed to meet the conditions under which God could have fulfilled the many promises of national glory and universal dominion for Israel, and as a result the prediction of Isa. 2:14 was never fulfilled to literal Israel.

The mountain of the Lord’s house. The LXX of Isa. 2:2 reads, “the mountain of the Lord and the house of God.” “The Lord’s house,” or “house of the Lord,” is the usual OT designation for the Temple (1 Kings 8:63; etc.), which was situated on Mt. Moriah (see on 2 Chron. 3:1; cf. Jer. 26:18; Micah 3:12). This, the “place” the Lord chose as a center for His worship (Deut. 12:5, 6, 14; 16:16), became the center and symbol of Judaism (1 Kings 8:29, 30; etc.). The Jewish religious system was so intimately bound up with the Temple and its service that the desolation of the latter in 586 b.c. and again in a.d. 70 rendered the system largely inoperative. When Jeremiah foretold the desolation of the Temple the religious leaders of the nation clamored for his death (see Jer. 26:1-9). The erroneous charge that Jesus had said He would destroy the Temple was the worst accusation the false witnesses could manufacture against Him (Mark 14:58; 15:29; cf. John 2:19). The inner courts of the Temple were the only places in Jerusalem from which Gentiles were excluded on pain of death (see Acts 21:28-31).

Thus, to say that “the mountain of the Lord’s house” would be exalted to “the top of the mountains” was equivalent to saying that the God of Israel would be honored above other religions and gods. For the word “mountain” as a symbol of power, and thus of national power, see Isa. 2:14; Jer. 51:25; Eze. 6:2, 3; 36:1, 4; Zech. 4:7; Rev. 17:9, 10. Daniel refers to the kingdom of God becoming “a great mountain” that “filled the whole earth” (Dan. 2:35). For other illustrations of the Gentiles coming to the “holy mountain” of God, see also Isa. 11:1, 10; 56:6-8.

In the top of the mountains. Heb. bero’sh heharim, which may also be rendered “on the top of the mountains,” “on the chief of the mountains,” or “as the chief of the mountains.” In any case the meaning is the same. If “the mountain of the Lord’s house” is a figurative expression for the religion of Israel, then “the mountains” must be the other religions of earth. Being closely identified with Judaism as a religious faith, Israel as a nation would accordingly be “established” above other nations of earth (see pp. 27, 28; PP 314).

All nations shall flow unto it. According to God’s original plan for Israel as His chosen instrument for accomplishing the salvation of the world, the time was to come when the nations of earth would acknowledge the superiority and leadership of Israel as a nation (pp. 28-30). The glorious picture of the exaltation of Israel as a nation is repeated again and again throughout the writings of the OT prophets, especially in the prophetic messages of Isaiah (PK 367, 368). He speaks of the Gentiles running to Israel because of the Lord their God (ch. 55:5), of the nations coming from afar (chs. 45:14; 49:6-8, 12, 18, 22) to join themselves to Israel (ch. 14:1) and to the Lord (ch. 56:6), of God personally conducting them to His “holy mountain,” which would as a result become “an house of prayer for all people” (ch. 56:7, 8), and of the Gentiles bringing their wealth to Jerusalem (ch. 60:3-11). Jeremiah speaks of all the Gentile nations coming “from the ends of the earth” (Jer. 16:19) and being gathered “to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem” (Jer. 3:17). Zechariah foresaw the time when “many nations” would be “joined to the Lord” and be His people (Zech. 2:11), and “many people and strong nations” would come “to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem” (Zech. 8:21, 22; cf. Zech. 14:16). Thus, eventually, the kingdom of Israel would embrace the entire earth (COL 290; Zech. 9:9, 10). Nations that refused to cooperate with God’s plan and to unite with Israel were to “perish” (Isa. 60:12; cf. 54:3) and to be “dispossessed” (COL 290). This glorious picture of the eventual triumph of truth was never fulfilled to literal Israel, but will be to spiritual Israel. Isa. 2:1-5 thus becomes a picture of the glorious triumph of the gospel through God’s chosen instrument in our own day, His church (see on Rev. 18:1; see also pp. 35, 36).