Come to the Temple of God
One of the most beautiful pictures of restoration between people and God and between one another is found in the following passage in Isaiah 2:2-5.
In the last days
the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established
as the highest of the mountains;
it will be exalted above the hills,
and all nations will stream to it.
Many peoples will come and say,
‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the temple of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us his ways,
so that we may walk in his paths.’
The law will go out from Zion,
the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
He will judge between the nations
and 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.
Come, descendants of Jacob,
let us walk in the light of the Lord. (Isaiah 2:2-5 NIV)
It is primarily a prophecy “concerning Judah and Jerusalem” (Isa. 2:1) and fulfilled in Christ. The New Testament authors describe the era since Christ as the “last days” (Isa. 2:2 cf. Acts 2:17, 2 Tim. 3) and speak of Jesus and the Church as the temple of God (see John 2:19, Rev. 21:22, and 1 Cor. 3:16, 1 Pet. 2:5).
Isaiah 2 describes peace and joy for all people of every nation who go “up” to God and have their hearts and ways changed toward Him and one another. It does not claim a time of worldwide peace and joy for everyone. Corroborating this, the book of Revelation indicates that both the righteous and unrighteous will exist alongside each other until they are both judged, as do other passages in the New Testament (Matt. 13:29).
We see the fulfillment of Isaiah 2 as people from every nation come to Christ’s Church, “the New Jerusalem” (Rev. 21:2), and “Israel of God” (Gal. 6:16). Those in Christ have changed hearts and learn not to war with each other. Isaiah 2 captures the idea of a time of change rather than a final outcome, for those who go to God are being taught new ways, and disputes are being settled (Isa. 2:3-4).
The Church Reigns as Priests in God’s Kingdom of Peace
This passage matches the 1000-year reign of Christ and His saints (i.e. the Church) in Revelation 20 where John used the number 1000 to symbolically refer to the entire Church period in which all believers are a kingdom of priests (Rev. 20:4; 1 cf. Pet. 2:5,9). During this age, Satan is “bound” (Rev. 20:2) by Christ and the power of the gospel (Rom. 1:16) and “the kingdom of God of . . . righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 14:10) is extended to all who believe (John 1:12).
Note: The idea of a literal 1000-year reign that some teach undermines the full extent of the message of peace and joy entirely applicable to the whole Church era. It also undermines the idea that it is the entire Church who are the “priests of God and of Christ [who] reign with Him for a thousand years” (Rev. 20:5). For it is the Church who “[sing] a new song: ‘Worthy are You . . . because You were slain, and by Your blood You purchased for God those from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign upon the earth’” (Rev. 5:9-10).
A Metaphor of Salvation and Judgment
Sadly, this passage that metaphorically begins by so beautifully describing those who receive salvation gets immediately contrasted with verses of wrath toward those “of Jacob” (Isa. 2:6) who reject God and who, under judgment, “flee . . . from the fearful presence of the Lord” (Isa. 2:19,21).
The entire picture in Isaiah 2 is a metaphor pointing forward to the Church era where people are coming to Christ and being changed by Him, while He simultaneously brings judgment on those who reject God. As for this latter issue, Jesus Christ has been deemed “[w]orthy to take the scroll and open its seals” (Rev. 5:9) which are the judgments He brings upon the peoples of the earth, as He has on “the descendants of Jacob” (Isa. 2:6) who rejected Him.
This is not foreign to the rest of the word of God, for Hebrews 10:30-31 says, “For we know him who said, ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ and again, ‘The Lord will judge his people.’ It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
So, although these passages of salvation and judgment were initially intended for Judah, they are, by implication, extension, and application, for everyone who likewise accepts or rejects God and His salvation in Christ. May everyone consider God’s gift of salvation available to all who come to Him.
Rob Morley
Restore the Word 