“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 into it. 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” (Isaiah 2:2-3).
In these prophetic words of Isaiah, written in the 8th century BC, we have one of the most obvious allusions to the church age that we find in all of Old Testament Scripture. It begins by telling us when these things will come about, ‘in the last days.’ We know that the last days began with the coming of Messiah and the birth of the church. How do we know? Because in Acts 2:17-18, the apostle Peter declared to the Jews gathered in Jerusalem from all the nations on the Day of Pentecost, that hearing the word of God proclaimed to them in their own language (tongues) by Galileans who could not speak in their tongue, was the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy, “And it shall come about ‘in the last days,’ saith God, I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of My Spirit, and they shall prophesy” (Ref. Joel 2:28-29).
Now it is interesting that the words of Isaiah 2:2-3 are all but identical to Micah 4:1-2, so this was obviously something that the Holy Spirit wanted clearly proclaimed. And why not, it pointed to the most important time in all of history, to the time of Messiah and His kingdom that was to come.
As explained in Benson’s commentary, “The Jews divided the times into three ages or periods: the first, before the law; the second, under the law; the third, under the Messiah, which they justly considered as the last dispensation, designed to remain till the consummation of all things.” So, it was this third dispensation that Isaiah 2:2-3 pointed to, and it tells us that it would be during this time that ‘the mountain of the LORD’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains and be exalted above the hills.’ Now Isaiah 66:20 clearly identifies God’s holy mountain as Jerusalem and Isaiah 2:2-3 declares that during this time ‘many nations’ (Gentiles) ‘would flow into it’ (be drawn to it) so that God could teach them His ways so that they might walk in His paths (obey His commands), for “out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.”
This is exactly what happened with the birth of the church. It began in Jerusalem and the Apostles (especially Paul) took the message of salvation throughout the world and the Gentiles were converted to Christ, having forsaken paganism, adopted Christianity as their religion (which emanated from Jerusalem).
The church age began with the first coming of Christ, it will end at His Second coming. All who do not enter into His kingdom during this time will be like the people of Noah’s day when it began to rain. It says in Genesis 7:13-16 that when his family and all the animals were aboard the ark, that the LORD shut them in. The LORD shutting them in meant the only way in was sealed and those inside were safe. It also meant that no one on the outside could now enter.
Now, we do not know when the church age will end, but when it does (at the 2nd coming), all that are not part of Christ’s kingdom will be shut out. So while we still have time, let us all be about the LORD’s business and share the message of salvation with all the nations of the world (beginning here in Columbia, SC). With all that we see happening in our world today, the day of salvation (the church age) may very well be drawing to a close.
For God’s glory and His alone,
Pastor Terry.