2:1a The presence of another superscription to the following prophecies (cf. 1:1), the only other one in Isaiah, bears witness to the composite nature of the book; it consists of several different prophecies. Probably one appears here to set off the prophecies that follow (in chs. 2-4 or chs. 2-5) from what preceded (in ch. 1).
2:1b-4 The glorious future of Israel presented here is in striking contrast to the condition of the nation in Isaiah's day described in chapter 1.29
"The last days"is a phrase that describes a distant time from the perspective of the prophet. The Hebrews regarded history as a series of days, the days of their lives.30When these days come to an end, in their last part, human history on this earth will end. New Testament Christians applied this term to the time following Messiah's coming (Acts 2:17; Heb. 1:2; James 5:3; 1 Pet. 1:5, 20; 2 Pet. 3:3; 1 John 2:18). Here it must mean after His second coming since these conditions did not follow His first coming.31
The term "mountain"is a symbol of a kingdom or nation elsewhere in the prophetic writings (e.g., Dan. 2:35; Amos 4:1). The ancients also regarded mountains as the homes of the gods. If Isaiah was using "mountain"as a figure of speech, he meant that Israel and her God would be the most highly exalted in the earth eventually. This will be the case during Messiah's earthly reign. The reference to "the mountain of the house of Yahweh"(v. 2), however, may indicate that the prophet had a more literal meaning in mind. He may have meant that the actual mountain on which the temple stood would be thrust higher in elevation. This may happen (cf. Ezek. 40:2; Zech. 14:4, 10), but the primary implication seems to be that Israel and Yahweh will be exalted in the world.
"The analogy of streams is particularly apt, because the major traditional oppressors of Israel were associated with great rivers--the Nile, the Tigris, and the Euphrates (cf. 8:6-8)."32
Israel's God would be recognized as theGod, and she would be seen as thenation among nations. Under the Old Covenant, the Israelites made pilgrimages to Jerusalem three times a year, but in the future the entire world will go there. In that day Yahweh's instruction will go forth from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth (v. 3). Jerusalem will be Messiah's capital city at this time.33He will judge everyone, and people will live in peace (v. 4).34Isaiah's description pictures a return to paradisiacal conditions (cf. 11:6-9).35
"From whence comes peace? From the recognition that God is the source of all good, that our needs and our destiny can be submitted to his judgment, and from the knowledge that he does all things well. . . . Until persons and nations have come to God to learn his ways and walk in them, peace is an illusion."36
Disarmament now is suicide because of man's greed and aggression. Nevertheless modern people should trust in the Lord more than in their military power, as the next section emphasizes.
