ISAIAH 2


[Yeshayah 2 Orthodox Jewish Bible (OJB)]


1 The word [Davar] that Isaiah the son of Amoz [Yeshayah ben Amotz] saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem [Yehudah and Yerushalayim].

2 And it shall come to pass in the last days [acharit hayamim], that the mountain [ Har Beis] of Yahweh's house shall be established in the top [rosh] of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations [Goyim] shall flow unto it.


Let us reflect upon the subject in a statistical point of view. In the first place, we are struck by the evidence which it affords of the immense progress of mankind in the arts of locomotion, so as to render so long a journey secure, convenient, or even possible, when the multitude of travellers is considered.

In the next place, it is proof of the wealthy and prosperous condition of all classes of the people. What working man would now be able to take a journey to Palestine? How much less could he bring his family along with him, or provide for their support during his absence.

Again, what would be the effect of a general emigration in suspending the agricultural and manufacturing industry of nations? The world could not go on-the course of society would come to a stop-public and private misery would ensue, and the human race would sink into universal insolvency.

The present state of things is so artificial, so complicated, and so liable to mutation, that it could not endure, year after year, the attacks of these vast interruptions. The whole fabric would be shaken to pieces by this annual movement of its supporting columns.

But not so during the reign of Christ. What is impossible or dangerous now, will then become practicable and safe. The stability of the divine government will prevent all mutation-the presence of the Great King will shed fertility and wealth upon all the earth-whatever is done shall prosper, and none shall make them afraid. When the Lord shall be King over all the earth, he will fulfill the long delayed promise of the seventy-second psalm:

-"In His days shall the righteous flourish, and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth."

Thus every man shall prosper in the work of his hands, and possess both the means and the courage to undertake the pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Whole families will unite together-whole neighborhoods vie with each other, with a holy emulation in contributing either to the numbers or to the expenses of the pilgrims.

For the first time since the creation, mankind shall be aroused to universal movement without the scent of blood! The vile thirst of gold, which now agitates the world, shall be changed for a nobler passion-the desire to behold The King in his glory. And every man who lingers at home, will be reproached as insensible to his highest privilege, and be shamed into compliance with the world-wide impulse.

This universal pilgrimage is also an evidence of the peace and security of those times. At present, it would be equally unsafe for large bodies of men to quit their own country, and leave it open to the enemy; or to permit the passage of whole nations through intervening kingdoms. Pillage, violence, and bloodshed, have invariably accompanied great movements of mankind, however peaceable their original intentions.

The consciousness of numbers has encouraged the wandering hordes to indulge their love or spoil; and the apprehensions of the nations whom they approached, have called forth every feeling of hostility.

But, under the reign of Christ there will be no more hostility-nothing to interrupt the intercourse of nations, or to deter the most timid from venturing upon the longest journey.

There will be then no peace society to stir up war, and to encourage men to revolution and massacre. No benevolent society to take the part of murderers and pirates against the interests of true men. The government of Christ and of his saints will be one of perfect uprightness as well as of absolute power. He will proclaim peace first, and afterward enforce the proclamation with honesty and decision, so that they shall no longer hurt nor destroy.

Nothing less than this, indeed, would enable so great a multitude from the ends of the earth to go up in safety to Jerusalem; and thus the very existence of so vast a movement as that foretold by Zechariah is a certain indication of the general tranquillity of the world. It is also an indication of the general diffusion of wealth and prosperity, which will enable men of every rank to undertake so remote a pilgrimage.

Herald of the Kingdom and Age to Come, June 1856



The Temple

Solomon, Zerubbabel, and "the Branch' are the great temple builders of the kingdom. The third temple which Jesus shall erect on Moriah, will be more magnificent than any building that has yet adorned "the City of the Great King."

It will be renowned throughout all the earth, and will be frequented as "the House of Prayer for all nations," ...

"Because of his temple in Jerusalem shall kings bring presents unto God."—Ps. 68:29.

St. Peter's at Rome, St. Paul's at London, St. Sophia at Constantinople, &c., will all be deserted for the temple of Yahweh in Jerusalem.

Herald of the Kingdom and Age to Come, Sept 1851



3 And many people [amim rabbim] shall [come] go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain [Har] of Yahweh, to the house [Beis] of the Elohim of Jacob [Ya'akov]; and he will teach us of his ways [Derakhim], and we will walk in his paths [Orakhot]: for out of Zion [Tziyon] shall go forth the law [torah], and the word [Devar] of Yahweh from Jerusalem [Yerushalayim].

SUMMARY-STATEMENT AND DEDUCTIONS.

1st. That when God in time past selected for himself a people, appointed the form of their government, and ordained their worship, he specially designed and caused to be constructed, first a tent, and then a Temple in connection with His people: the former to be used during their sojourn in the wilderness, and the latter when they were settled in the land of promise in peace.

2nd. That he designed and specified all the details of both structures : He provided the materials for their construction, and endowed those with wisdom who were to fashion the buildings to the pattern given.

3rd. That God has still a purpose with this people, viz., with the Israelitish nation, whom he watches and esteems as " the apple of his eye". He will restore them to the land of their fathers ; regenerate the land ; rebuild the city; re-organise the people as a nation, and make them the foremost people on the face of the earth. He will restore their worship : give them peace,and bestow blessing upon them far exceeding those received in the most palmy days of their existence.

4th. That all the nations of the earth will, concurrently with Israel, participate in the blessings of the age. All will rejoice in the glory of the new order of things, and every inhabitant of the earth, both Jew and Gentile, will obey the

" law which goes forth from Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem".

5th. That the law which goes forth from Zion, among other enactments, will require all the families of the earth to go up, from year to year, to worship the Lord of Hosts in Jerusalem.

The logical deductions from these premises are as follows:-

a. That as God so minutely and so particularly specified the nature and construction of the

Temple and Tabernacle in the day of small things, He would be sure to precisely and

carefully specify the constructive character of the Temple of His glory.

b. That inasmuch as the Temple of God's people in the past was ordained for the use of a

comparatively small number, and inasmuch as all the peoples of the earth are to worship

at Jerusalem, we may expect to find in any prophecy exhibiting the future building,

specifications of a vast structure equal to the necessities of the case.

c. Prima facie, then, we may reasonably expect that the hitherto obscure prophecy of Ezekiel does describe such a building ; and that it is a vast structure, with constructional features so minutely and clearly delineated by the prophet as to be capable of being reduced to paper, for the instruction and enlightenment of all whom it may concern.

These conclusions appear so obvious to the writer that he deems it unnecessary, and a waste of time, paper and ink, to discuss the suggestions made by some that Ezekiel only depicts a building 500 cubits square.

The Temple of the future age is to be " a house of prayer for all people."

Let the reader then open his mind to the bearing of the testimonies already laid before him. Let him be prepared to realize the stupendous character of the structure set forth in the

Ezekiel measurements, and the abundant provision for universal worship foreshadowed by them.

BRo Sulley




4 And he shall judge among the nations [Goyim], and shall rebuke many people [arbitrate for amim rabbim]: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation [Goy] shall not lift up sword [cherev] against nation [Goy], neither shall they learn war [train for milchamah] any more.

5 O house of Jacob [Bais Ya'akov], come ye, and let us walk in the light [Ohr] of Yahweh.


This testimony shows the nations will be reduced to abject submission, even the most powerful among them. Their courage and means of resistance will have departed; for by the sword of the Lord and of Israel they will have been subdued. At this crisis, however, they will find a Deliverer in Him who hath overcome them (Rev. 17:14;19:11-21). "Look unto Me," saith He, 

"and be ye saved all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is none else. 

I have sworn by Myself,"

 to Abraham,

 "the word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, that unto Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear, saying, surely in the Lord have I righteousness and strength: even to Him shall men come" (Isaiah 45:22, 23).

If we turn to this oath of subjection and future blessing, we shall see what is meant by every knee bowing to the Lord. "By Myself have I sworn," saith the Lord, 

"for because thou, Abraham, hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea-shore; and thy Seed (Christ) shall possess the gate of His enemies; and in thy Seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed My voice" (Gen. 22:16-18).

The nations being prepared by coercion, the formula of political adoption is promulgated to them. This is contained in the law which goes forth from Zion. The details of this law are not all specified. In the general, it establishes the power of the Lord, then becomes "a great mountain filling the whole earth" (Dan. 2:35), above all other powers; and constitutes the newly erected Temple in Jerusalem "the house of prayer for all nations" (Isaiah 56:7).

This law gives the kingdom to the daughter of Jerusalem which is Zion; where the Lord reigns over them henceforth for ever (Mic 4:7, 8). The nations accept the law which saves them from extermination. This is evinced by the effects which follow its promulgation.

They all flow to Jerusalem as the centre of the world, and fountain of all blessings; for "My springs," saith the Lord, "are in thee."

They go thither for instruction in the ways of the Lord, and return to walk in His paths, to live at peace among themselves, to abandon the study of war, and to devote themselves to agriculture commerce, and the arts (Isaiah 2:2-4) This is the millennial future state.

Abraham and Jesus are, then, the greatest personages upon the earth; the former being the spiritual father of Jesus and the saints, and the political father of a multitude of nations, over whom Christ and His brethren rule until "the end" (1 Cor. 15:24).

Such is "the world" of which Abraham and his Seed are the heirs.

Elpis Israel 2.2

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6 Therefore thou hast forsaken thy people the house of Jacob, because they be replenished from the east, and are soothsayers like the Philistines, and they please themselves in the children of strangers.

7 Their land also is full of silver and gold, neither is there any end of their treasures; their land is also full of horses, neither is there any end of their chariots:

8 Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made:

9 And the mean man boweth down, and the great man humbleth himself: therefore forgive them not.

10 Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of Yahweh, and for the glory of his majesty.



11 The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and Yahweh alone shall be exalted in that day.

This necessitates instructors, and a system of instruction, such as does not exist on earth at this time -- an enlightening power no less than divine. It also requires a disposition, a child-like disposition, which exists not in the public mind, neither in the ignorant people, nor in their blind and conceited guides.

To correct this fatal evil, and to break the power of ignorance, which is "the power of Satan," the angelic "pillars of fire" must march through the land; for it is written,

"When the judgments of Yahweh are in the earth the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness" (Isa. xxvi. 9; Apoc. xv. 4).

And when they have learned this lesson, so difficult for individuals and nations, their lofty looks will be humbled, and their haughtiness will be bowed down, and Yahweh alone will be exalted.

...Popular sovereignty will be a dead putrescent carcass; and all who derive their power and authority from it will be abased. Such a consummation as this, and so devoutly to be wished, can only be developed by Omnipotence -- by the powerful angel of the covenant.

Eureka 10.8.



The lofty looks of man shall be humbled

Self-importance has been blown into gigantic dimensions. Human pride has budded and blossomed into a stupendous tree. Nations bursting with so-called patriotism, and individuals assiduously cultivating much-commended "self respect," "in duty to myself," and strutting forth on the stage of life with high-sniffing lordly gait erect, and estimated by a foolish generation according to the height of their own self-estimate - have set heaven at defiance.

It is for the children of God to hold fast their integrity in the midst of a "crooked and perverse generation". We know where the brazen folly will end. We know who has proclaimed concerning the very epoch in which we live.

"The harvest is ripe: their wickedness is great."

We know what came of a similar state of things in Israel and in the Roman Empire: disaster and woe swept over the face of society and laid the pride of man in ghastly ruin.

"the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day."

Seasons 2. 56


12 For the day of Yahweh hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low:

13 And upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan,

14 And upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up,

15 And upon every high tower, and upon every fenced wall,

16 And upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all pleasant pictures.


16 And upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all pleasant pictures.

He will command the ships of Tarshish, and they will obey; for what is testified they do, is done in obedience to his will. The last chapter of Isaiah and the nineteenth verse, testifies of the angel proclamation to Tarshish, and the next verse records the result.

The "sounders of the truth" are effective bowmen. Their words move the nations of Tarshish, Pul, Lud, Tubal and Javan, to do the will of Yahweh, and to bring His people as an offering to Him in Jerusalem. Thus they "fly as a cloud, and as doves to their windows," in the fleet ships of Tarshish, which convey the sons of Zion from far with their silver and gold, to the place where the Name of Yahweh is enthroned (Isa. 60:8,9; 18; Jer. 3:17).

Thus the Angel proclamation recruits the population of the little kingdom of Judah, which, in its beginning, is smaller than the little kingdom of Greece (Matt. 13:31,32). During this decade, the settlers in the midst of the land are

"at rest, dwelling safely without walls, and having neither bars nor gates" (Ezek. 38:11,12);.

and are in league with the wide-shadowing land beyond the rivers of Khush - "Sheba, Dedan, and the Merchants of Tarshish" - which holds a similar relation to the kingdom of Judah under the "greater than Solomon," that Tyre did in the days of Hiram to the kingdom of David's Son.

The peoples of the British Isles afar off from Jerusalem, having accepted the proclamation, the government will have been transferred from the hands of sinners such as now possess it, to the Saints; so that the constitution of the United Kingdom will be no longer the old British, but

"the law which goes forth from Zion" (Isa. 2:3).

This will account for the harmony and concert of action between Israel and Britain in the latter days.

But a like result does not obtain in relation to all the powers to which the proclamation is addressed. Matthew 25:32 shows the separation of the nations into two classes in the day when the Son of Man shall come in his glory. This separation results from the conclusions at which they arrive with respect to the subject-matter of the proclamation.

Eureka 14.6.


17 And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low: and Yahweh alone shall be exalted in that day. 

High and pompous ecclesiastical titles will then be at a discount; and regarded only by those who come to obey the proclamation, as the tinsel bespanglement of vain and foolish men. The occupation of the clerical False Prophet of the world will be gone; for the loftiness of man shall be bowed down

Eueka 14.6.




18 And the idols he shall utterly abolish.

19 And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of Yahweh, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.





20 In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats; 

Considering the scriptural evaluation of the flesh, we can see why such are chosen. These two are the most outstanding examples in the animal kingdom of the flesh's primary characteristic-they love darkness rather than light.

That principle goes far deeper than we self-righteously realize. Anything foreign to the pure and gentle Spirit mind is darkness. The mole spends his time in darkness, burrowing in the dirt, undermining, digging away in secret, and he is content. He literally has eyes but cannot see. Bats, too, have a strong aversion to light. They hide away in the daytime and confine their activities to the night. And both are classed as unclean creatures.

Such is the flesh, but the picture would not be complete without presenting another angle. There is no cause for despair, or even regret, that we are made so. All is for a good purpose-

"The creation was made subject to vanity by reason of Him Who hath subjected the same in hope, because the creation itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God."

...Our present state is a necessary step in the eternal purpose. It is not a gloomy picture, but rather one of bright promise and hope. The only danger is refusal to face and admit the facts-running from the light-drawing back fearfully into the darkness-hesitating to concede the miserable deceptiveness of the flesh-excusing it and glorifying it-calling its vicious traits by fair and flattering names. Paul flatly declares (Rom. 7:18)-

"In me-that is, in my flesh-dwelleth no good thing."

Frankly and honestly admit that to ourselves, and at least we are off to a good start.

Bro Growcott - BYT 4: 22



21 To go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of Yahweh, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.

How the Latter Days May be Known

The Image represents this catastrophy in the latter days. But it may be asked, How are we to know the latter days? By the signs given. Thus, Yahweh saith,

"The children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice; afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the Lord their God, and the Beloved (Dawid) their king: and shall fear Yahweh and his goodness in the Latter Days."

Have the Isrselites returned and sought David II their king? No. Then the Latter Days of Hosea are in the future. Again,

"I will bring again the captivity of Moab in the latter days, saith the Lord;" and "Moab shall escape out of the hand of the king of the north."

This is not yet accomplished; therefore the latter days of Jeremiah are still future. And again, Balaam showed the king of Moab what Israel should do to his people in the latter days. Hear his words. Speaking of Israel he says,

"His kingdom shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom more highly exalted." "I shall see Him, but not now: I shall behold the event though it is not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptred chief shall arise out of Israel, who shall smite the princes of Moab, and destroy all the sons of tumult. And Edom shall be a possession, Seir also his enemy shall be his possession; and Israel shall do valiantly. Out of Jacob shall come He that shall have dominion, and shall destroy him that remaineth of the City."

These are events that have never come to pass yet, therefore the Latter Days of Balaam are still in the future. In these texts the original words for "in the latter days" are be acharith hayyamim. They occur in all the passages cited below as well as in Daniel 2:28, the only difference in this place being the difference between Chaldee and Hebrew, as be-acharith yomayya.

It is well to observe this, because in Isaiah and Micah the common version renders the words "in the last days." This phrase is the same as "in the latter days," being the same in the original, and therefore to be regarded as referring to the same time.

Now, Isaiah and Micah both testify in the texts below that in the days under notice

"the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it."

The meaning of this is thus given by Jeremiah in prophecying theL return of Israel from the land of the north, or Assyria;

"It shall be, saith the Lord, when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the Name of Yahweh, to Jerusalem."

Still living in their own countries they shall be gathered to Jerusalem as the metropolis and seat of the government then ruling the world. "Then," continues Micah,

"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. And he shall rule (veshanplat) many peoples, and he shall cause to conquer with respect to strong nations atar off; and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into scythes: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid."

None of these events have happened yet, therefore the latter days in which they are to occur must still be in the future.

Herald of the Kingdom and Age to Come, Jan 1852



22 Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of ?