Study Notes

Isaiah 2-4

Review

Last week, we began our study of the book of Isaiah, getting through the entirety of chapter one. We found out who Isaiah was, when he prophesied, and to whom. Then we heard God's rebuke of the Jews for allowing sin to make them so stupid that they forgot their God. He said that the practice of their religion was worthless, because it was all action, and no emotion. They were to literally turn or burn.

Now, as we pick up in chapter two, Isaiah receives another word from God...

2:1-4 In The Last Days

Isaiah says, "in the last days." That is a term which is often applied to our time. "Are we in the last days?" people ask. "Look around," preachers shout. "The world is full of sin and debauchery. Certainly, we are in the last days!"

But the last days that Isaiah is talking about describes things that certainly haven't happened yet. The nations aren't streaming to hear the Law go forth from Zion, are they?

In Hebrew, "akh-ar-EETH yome" basicallly means the "afterward times." When the prophets wrote of the last days, they were often speaking of the Millennial Kingdom. But they didn't exclusively use the term for that time period. They also referred to the church age. Remember that almost 2,000 years ago, the writer of Hebrews said,

Heb. 1:1-2 God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son...

And Peter referred to our time when he said,

2Pet. 3:3-4 ...in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming?"...

All of these time periods were the "afterward times" from the perspective of the prophets, who lived so long ago.

The Mountain

During the thousand years that Jesus reigns on the earth (Rev. 20:4-6), He will build the Millennial Temple (Zech. 6:12-13), and it will be the focal point of the earth. Every mountain and island will have disappeared from the planet because of the huge earthquake during the Great Tribulation (Rev. 16:20). There will be hills restored during Christ's rule on earth (Mic. 4:1), but Jerusalem's mountain will be raised up high (Ezek. 40:2), and will be the chief of the mountains.

He Will Judge Between The Nations

Every nation on the earth will be directed that they are to come up to the temple to hear the Lord teach them His ways. But not every nation will. In the book of the prophet Zechariah, we read,

Zech. 14:16-19 Then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Booths. And it will be that whichever of the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, there will be no rain on them. If the family of Egypt does not go up or enter, then no rain will fall on them; it will be the plague with which the LORD smites the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths. This will be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths.

Not everything is so perfect during the Millennium. There will be a righteousness in the earth, but it will be an enforced righteousness. Some of the nations will be disobedient, and will have to be ruled with a rod of iron (Psa. 2:9; Rev. 19:15).

There will be conflicts between the nations as well. However, they will not be allowed to manufacture weapons or go to war. Their differences will be judged at the throne of Jesus Christ.

2:5-9 The Idolatry Of The People

In contrast to the Millennium, when God's people will be coming to hear from God, in Isaiah's day they were going to hear from soothsayers. Instead of pursuing righteousness, they were pursuing wealth. Instead of worshiping God, they were worshipping idols.

Isaiah's exhortation is, "Hey everybody! We're going to be doing it in the Millennium, so we should be starting now! Let's walk in the light of the Lord today, folks!"

2:10-22 A Day Of Reckoning

The term "day of reckoning" in verse 12 isn't quite there... In Hebrew it actually reads, "For the day of the Lord of hosts will be against the proud..." But the idea is the same. Isaiah tells his fellow Jews that the day of the Lord will come, a day when all pride will be broken, and He will be exalted. He tells them to hide in the rocks. Interestingly, the proudest men on earth in that day will be trying to hide in the rocks. John wrote in the Revelation,

Rev. 6:15-17 Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; and they *said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”

On the day the Lord returns, no one will be able to be proud but the Lord. The enemies of God will be destroyed, while the people of God will have been moments from annihilation. God says,

Zech. 14:2-4 "For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured, the houses plundered, the women ravished and half of the city exiled, but the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city. Then the LORD will go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fights on a day of battle. In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives..."

When people are running to hide themselves in the caves, they will be tossing anything that slows them down, including their money and their idols. It won't mean anything when they are trying to flee from God Who is coming to judge the earth.

3:1-7 Supply And Support Removed From Jerusalem And Judah

We must not forget that the Great Tribulation is not just for God to judge the world. Those final seven years of man's reign on the earth are devoted to the Jews, Daniel was told. The final week of years is for the Jews and Jerusalem (Dan. 9:24). It is called "the time of Jacob's trouble" (Jer. 30:7).

For the Jews, things will be terribly difficult. There will be such a shortage of men that they will be turning to anyone to help them. Even a teenager, if he has a little more than they do, will seem like a good candidate for a leader at the time, even if he protests.

3:8-15 Displaying Their Sin

Why was God telling the Jews about the wrath to come? Because of their blatant, unrepentant sin. Both their speech and their actions were against God. They had rebelled against Him, and weren't even bothering to try to conceal their sin any longer.

Sin has an interesting progression. At first, we are ashamed of it. We do it in secret, hoping nobody will find out. But as our hearts get harder, we grow less concerned. Eventually, we don't care who sees it.

The homosexual lives in fear of his family discovering his secret. But after years practicing that sin, he may end up dressed in leather flaunting himself in a gay parade.

The alcoholic at first tries to disguise his drinking. But eventually, he's at the bar, or even stumbling down the street, not caring who sees.

Is. 3:9 ...And they display their sin like Sodom; They do not even conceal it. Woe to them! For they have brought evil on themselves.

God tells them that they will reap what they sow. It will go badly for the wicked, but it will go well for the righteous. They will benefit from their righteousness.

3:16-4:1 Proud And Seductive Women

One thing that marked the anti-God society was the promiscuous way that the women dressed. Ladies, I don't know what women are thinking today. Showing off their bellies, wearing pants cut so low that their underwear is fully visible. Tight t-shirts, and words printed across their backsides. It's obscene, and it causes men to stumble.

Luke 17:1(NLT) One day Jesus said to his disciples, “There will always be temptations to sin, but how terrible it will be for the person who does the tempting.

Rom. 14:13 ...determine this—not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother’s way.

God will judge women who dress in a way that flaunts their sinfulness.

4:2-6 The Branch Of The Lord

"The Branch of the Lord" (Heb: "TSEH-makh Yahweh") is a title of Jesus Christ. It refers to Him who would be a branch, or descendant of, Jesse through King David.

In the book of Zechariah, Joshua the high priest was told that he and the priests who served with him were a symbol, a picture, or a type of "My servant the Branch" (Zech. 3:8). Later, he was told,

Zech. 6:12 ...“Behold, a man whose name is Branch, for He will branch out from where He is; and He will build the temple of the LORD.

And the Lord promised Jeremiah,

Jer. 33:14-15 ‘Behold, days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘when I will fulfill the good word which I have spoken concerning the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch of David to spring forth; and He shall execute justice and righteousness on the earth.’”

Jer. 23:5-6 “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the LORD, “When I will raise up for David a righteous Branch; And He will reign as king and act wisely and do justice and righteousness in the land. In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely; And this is His name by which He will be called, ‘The LORD our righteousness.’

One thing to notice about this title of Jesus is that it is only applied to Him when referring to His reign on earth for a thousand years, in the Millennial Kingdom.

Jerusalem Will Be Called Holy

The last verse of the book of Ezekiel tells us that the name of Jerusalem is going to be changed in the Millennium. Right now, its name is prophetic, for "Jerusalem" means "Vision of Peace." But there is a time coming, when Jesus rules and reigns from Jerusalem, that the prophetic name will no longer be needed. The peace will no longer be a vision, but a reality. And so...

Ezek. 48:35 “...the name of the city from that day shall be, ‘The LORD is there.’”

Jerusalem will be renamed, "Yahweh-Shammah," meaning, "the Lord is there." It will be a holy city, and the Lord will have purged the filthiness of sin from the place.

All of Mount Zion will be covered with the canopy of a cloud and fire, in similar fashion to the way He led the Israelites out of Egypt and through the wilderness:

Ex. 13:21-22 The LORD was going before them in a pillar of cloud by day to lead them on the way, and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.

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