A glimpse at the coming kingdom of God - Isaiah 2:1-5

Isaiah 2:1–5 KJV 1900

1 The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. 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. 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. 4 And he shall judge among the nations, And shall rebuke many people: And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruninghooks: Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war any more. 5 O house of Jacob, come ye, And let us walk in the light of the Lord.

Introduction

Isaiah starts a new section of his book in chapter 2.

This section extends through to chapter 5.

It is believed that this part of the book was written during the reign of King Uzziah.

If you look back at what we just read, you will see 13x when Isaiah speaks of the future

what shall be

what will be

This all ends in verse 5 with an invitation for present change.

Isaiah’s goal is to show God’s vision for His world through His house, and to leverage that vision to motivate his audience to change their current actions..

The first thing we see is the future exaltation of Zion.

The location of Zion has changed multiple times throughout the Bible.

It is clear from the context in this passage that Isaiah is referring to is the Temple Mount.

God shares a futuristic view of the importance that the Temple Mount will hold in the coming Kingdom.

In those days, Zion will be the most important mountain in the world.

Zion is not the highest mountain out there.

It isn’t even higher than the Mt. of Olives right next to it.

God doesn’t need the biggest in order to do something special.

The glory of Zion will be impressive.

It will be the known and revered throughout the world.

We will see in a moment that it will become THE destination for all people on earth.

At the time of writing this was not the case.

It wasn’t even revered as it should have been by the people of Judah.

Though Solomon’s Temple was still standing, the people were treating it with an increasing amount of casualness.

The people of Zion were in a period of decay and would soon enter a period of exile.

God, however, has far-reaching, long-term plans for Jerusalem and the Temple mount.

Plans that are still in place today.

In the last days, God will take up His ancient people and make Jerusalem His throne city.

We believe in a literal reign of Jesus on this earth that is yet future.

The conditions that we see in this passage can only be fulfilled by a physical reign on this earth.

Jesus will reign over the whole earth from Jerusalem and we that are believers will reign with Him.

There will still be normal people on the earth at that time.

Isaiah gives us a glimpse into coming response of the international community to God’s rule.

Isaiah highlights the international response to God’s kingdom.

Endless streams of people from around the world will come to Jerusalem to visit the Lord’s house in Zion.

People will come to Zion because others are inviting them.

They will say to each other, “let us go”

There is a motivation to go to Zion.

What is feeding that motivation?

People will come to Zion because they are dissatisfied with their lives.

They know that if they go to Zion they will receive something they didn’t previously have.

What is that?

It is the truth.

They say, “He will teach us of His ways”

This is the reason for going to Zion.

It is to learn.

Only God can teach truth.

Parents, preachers, and counselors can only help other people so long as their message is founded in the Bible.

People are not just driven by a desire to learn God’s word.

They want to change the way they are living based on what they hear.

They say to each other, “we will walk in his paths.”

This is the outcome of going.

This overwhelming pilgrimage to Zion, ultimately results in a world ruled by God.

A world ruled by God is like a life that is ruled by God.

Everything changes!

God’s authority impacts everything on this earth.

All of the things that you and I look at in our world and cringe will be set right under the Jesus administration.

Just think about something in our world that you know is not right.

Child abuse

Slavery

Unjust politicians and judges.

War

Check out Isaiah’s description of this period and tell me if you aren’t looking forward to it.

We see three direct results of Jesus’ reign of righteousness.

There is an economic result.

What would the cessation of military spending mean for our world?

At a price $2.1 trillion Globally/annually that is a lot of money spent every year on the world’s ability to kill each other.

Under Jesus’ reign, the resources that were dedicated to military spending will go to other causes.

This is illustrated in the well known quote “and they shall beat the swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks.”

A plowshare refers to that broad knife that is attached to the end of a plow.

A pruning hook is a knife used by a vine dresser.

There is also a political result of Jesus’ reign.

Isaiah says there will be peace between nations.

Nation shall not lift up sword against nation.

We don’t have time to get into all of it, but this doesn’t mean there won’t be the occasional international dispute.

Under Jesus’ global reign, these disputes will not be settled through war.

Instead, they will be settled through arbitration.

The arbiter will be Jesus.

He will judge among the nations.

He will rebuke those that are in the wrong.

Finally, we see that there will be an effect on militaries of the world.

Without international conflicts, there will be no need for a military force.

This will lead to the end of military training.

As people cease to learn or practice war, eventually, the knowledge of war will be lost.

Over the course of 1,000 years of peace, the memory of humanity’s wars will fade.

This will be one of the most beautiful periods in all of human history.

We who have trusted in Jesus will experience this time.

We don’t have to wait until the millennial reign to get a taste of this.

Neither did Isaiah’s first readers.

Isaiah extends an invitation for Judah to get a sneak peek at what this will be like.

The kingdom of God is both future and present.

Those who expect to see all wars ended and righteousness everywhere established in this age are doomed to bitter disappointment.

The purpose for describing God’s future kingdom was to present a vision for what God will do.

Jesus will reign from Jerusalem.

All nations will submit to His authority.

Righteousness will be the prevailing trait of the Millennium.

During that time there will be peace on earth.

These things were not presently seen in Isaiah’s day.

Nor, are they seen in our day 2100 years later.

But, Isaiah tells Judah that they can live in light of what they’ve learned.

God’s authority and His house may not be exalted in the eyes of the world, but they can be in the eyes of Judah.

The world’s population at large may not look to the word of God for direction, but His people could.

War and injustice may not cease in the world, but the people of Judah could have peace if they would let God reign in their lives.

Isaiah presents a vision of the future God has planned.

The hearer must then decide whether to be a part of that vision or to reject it.

Experience personally the reign of God in their life.

Or, keep doing things their own way.

God cannot change.

We see the effects that come from His rule over the world.

Why wouldn’t the individual expect to see similar effects on their own life if they submitted to God’s authority>

Why wouldn’t the nation of Judah expect to see similar effects if they corporately submitted to God?

Isaiah shines a light on the future God has planned, anyone that will walk in this light can experience these results in their own life.

Are you looking forward to God’s coming kingdom?

Reading about the Millennial reign and thinking about it super fun.

Jesus, physically present on this earth.

Ruling from Jerusalem.

An extended period of peace and righteousness such as has never been experienced on the earth before.

What an awesome thing to look forward to.

What if you didn’t have to wait until then to get a taste of that?

Would you like to experience the blessings of His reign right now?

Well, good news, you can.

We can enjoy a personal taste of His kingdom in our lives right now.

Place a priority on meeting with Jesus.

The same Jesus that will be sought by the world in the Millennium is seeking a relationship with you right now.

The Jesus to whom unending streams of people will flow is the same Jesus that so often gets pushed out of our lives.

If you want to reap the benefits of Jesus’ reign, then prioritize meeting with Him.

When you meet with Jesus, keep an open mind.

Let Jesus teach you what is true.

Don’t come to Him with your own preconceptions of what you should do.

Let Jesus set the framework for how you view your life.

Walk in the way that He prescribes.

Let God arbitrate your battles.

Think about all the resources, time, and lives that will be saved when there are no more wars.

Now, think about all of the resources, time, and relationships that could be saved if we let God fight our battles for us.

One day Jesus’ reign on earth will be unmistakeable.

That doesn’t mean we have to wait until then to see the blessings of His reign in our own lives.

Are you looking forward to His coming kingdom?

Are walking in the light of that kingdom personally tonight?