Isaiah 2:2-5
In
the last days the mountain of the LORD's temple will be established
as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and
all nations will stream to it. 3
Many peoples will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the
mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach
us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths." The law will go
out from Zion, the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 4
He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many
peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears
into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor
will they train for war anymore. 5
Come, O house of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the LORD.
Patrick
did a nice job of presenting the concept of the “Already but Not
Yet” in Day 4's entry. This is another great illustration of the
prophecy being already fulfilled at one level though not yet
completely fulfilled. Isaiah 2 was written over 500 years before the
birth of Christ and we see fulfillment of the already - “He will teach us his
ways, so that we may walk in his paths.” After the resurrection and
ascension of Jesus, we saw many nations coming not only to Jerusalem
but to Christ on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2). Yet with the
situation in Iraq, Afghanistan, the Sudan and so many other war-torn
parts of the world, we still see a large “not yet” that we long
for even though we cannot see it on the horizon.
What
we want to be sure not to miss is our own possible role in God
bringing these words to completion. Though the temple in Jerusalem
has been destroyed, we as members of the Body of Christ are the
Temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6). Born-again believers all over the world
now constitute the House of the Lord. Check out Ephesians 2:11-20. We
have the calling and privilege of showing how God in Christ is able
to reconcile people who ordinarily wouldn't get along. We have the
opportunity to teach His ways and walk in His paths. How I long to
see peoples from all nations streaming to the House of the Lord. It
will be worth the wait.