Isaiah 2 looks to God’s future reign over all nations through His Messiah, Yeshua. He will bring justice, peace, and universal worship—but first, human pride must be humbled and judged.
V 1-2 The Prophetic Vision of the Messianic Kingdom. “In the last days” – This is the End-Times Hope of God’s people, the city that the Lord will establish in the Messianic era in the millennium. This word looks ahead to Messiah’s reign from Jerusalem, echoing themes found in Micah 4 and Zechariah 14. The “Mountain of the LORD’s House” refers to Mount Zion, the site of the Temple.
In v. 3 Isaiah describes pilgrims going up to Jerusalem. “Many nations will come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord. This aligns with Zech. 8:23 In those days ten men from all the nations will grasp the garment of a Jew, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.” Israel will finally fulfill her role to be a nation of priests and a light to the nations. Both Israel and the nations must be humbled first and then they will learn of the Lord’s Law or ways. As David wrote in Ps 25:8-9 Good and upright is the LORD Therefore He instructs sinners in the way. He leads the humble in justice, And He teaches the humble His way.
V 4 Messiah will be Teacher and Judge over Israel and the nations “He will judge between the nations.”Yeshua is seen as the righteous Judge and Lawgiver. Isaiah 11:3–4, He will not judge by what His eyes see, Nor make a decision by what His ears hear; But with righteousness He will judge the poor, And decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth. True peace comes not from treaties but from submission to the reign of Messiah.
This verse famously ends with: “they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, And never again will they learn war.” This is inscribed outside the UN, but will only fulfilled under Messiah’s rule, not man’s efforts.
V 5 With such wonderful promises for the future Isaiah calls Israel to begin now by walking in the light of the Lord. On the very first day of creation God separated light from darkness in Gen. 1:2-5
The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.
The light God created that “separates” from darkness is not the light of the sun, but the light of the Lord that Isaiah is speaking of. Daylight that comes from the sun was created on the fourth day. There will be light in the absence of the sun when creation is restored. We learn of this in in Rv 22:5 And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign forever and ever. “Light” here represents God’s truth, righteousness, and holiness. Compare Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. John 8:12: I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”.
Israel’s and our calling is not to wait for future glory, but to live in the light now.
V 6-9 Isaiah then condemns Israel’s idolatry and pride. “They are filled with influences from the east… they strike bargains with the children of foreigners…” Judah’s embraced foreign customs and syncretism, violating their covenant with God. They were trusting in silver, gold, horses, and idols (v. 7–8)—not unlike modern reliance on technology, wealth, and power. They were assimilating with the nations by spiritually compromising God’s Word by not believing and obeying His commands. The humility that is spoken of here is a false humility before their idols and religious systems that will be judged in the coming day of the Lord. Isaiah calls God to not forgive them. They were stumbling blocks for His people Matt 18:7 “Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes!
V 10-11 The day of the Lord is coming where the lofty and self-righteous will be judged. Two things will happen in the future: (a) The splendor of God’s majesty will be revealed; and (b) The dread of God’s presence will cause people to hide (2:10). Men will try to hide but there is no hiding from God. As with Adam and Eve when they sinned in the Garden God calls out to them knowing exactly where they are. They tried to cover their sin with fig leaves and man does the same with religion. In Isaiah’s day it was idol worship and all the religious practices associated with it. The prophet emphasizes again and again that the proud will be humbled, and God alone will be exalted (2:11, 12, 17). This theme is central to all of Isaiah’s writings. This is a consistent theme throughout Scripture. We see it when God humbled the proud people who tried to build the tower of Babel we see it played out in the book of Revelation when spiritual Babylon will try to hide from God but will not be able to elude Him. Heb. 4:13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do. The revelation of God’s glory exceeds human comprehension. Isaiah’s experience of seeing the holy exalted glory of the King in Isaiah 6 was overwhelming for him. When such an event happens unrepentant people attempt to hide from God, or humble people will confess their sins, repent, and commit themselves to serving God (6:6–8). There is no way to escape from God (cf. Ps 139:1–16; Amos 9:2–4) or circumvent his sovereign holy rule of the earth, so every person in the past, present, and future must choose how they will respond to God, because one day everyone will meet him face to face.
Pride is the root sin. “The haughty looks of man shall be brought low… the LORD alone will be exalted.” Just as the nations will eventually come up to Zion in humility, so too must Israel and we as well. God is near to the brokenhearted but resists the proud. Our pride grieves God’s Spirit and causes us to stray from the way that leads to life
V 12-21 The Day of the LORD and the Coming Judgment. “For the LORD of hosts will have a day of reckoning…” (v. 12) The “Day of the LORD” (Yom Adonai) is a future time of divine judgment. “The idols will completely vanish” (v. 18) People will throw their idols “to the moles and bats”—symbols of darkness and filth. We see in Isaiah’s words the contrast between the darkness of the false gods while the true God dwells in light.
The “Day of the LORD” is a recurring biblical theme referring to the time of God’s judgment of evil and deliverance of His people, and the establishment His sovereign righteous rule. It encompasses both historical events such as judgment against the nations and Israel as well as a future fulfillment at the end of the age.
It is not a 24-hour day, but a period in which God acts powerfully and unmistakably in judgment and salvation. It involves both destruction for the wicked and deliverance for the righteous. Some key scriptures in the Old Testament include:
Isaiah 13:6, 9 “Wail, for the day of the LORD is near; it will come as destruction from the Almighty.” “Behold, the day of the LORD is coming, cruel, with fury and burning anger, to make the land a desolation…” The context is Judgment on Babylon, but also foreshadowing future universal judgment.
Joel 1:15; 2:1–2, 11, 31; 3:14 “Blow the trumpet in Zion… for the day of the LORD is coming…” (Joel 2:1) “The sun will be turned into darkness… before the great and awesome day of the LORD.” (Joel 2:31). Joel is a key prophet on this theme: it includes locust plagues, signs in the heavens, national repentance, and future judgment.
Amos 5:18–20 “Woe to you who desire the day of the LORD! … It is darkness and not light.” Here Amos warns that the Day will not bring automatic deliverance for Israel but will judge all unrighteousness, including God’s people if they are unfaithful.
Zephaniah 1:14–18 “The great day of the LORD is near… a day of wrath… of distress and anguish…”This a terrifying day of judgment.
Malachi 4:1–2 “The day is coming, burning like a furnace…“But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise…” The Day brings both judgment for the arrogant and healing for the faithful.
In the New Testament we see fulfillment and expansion of Old Testament Scriptures
Acts 2:17-21 from Peter’s perspective, the gift of the Spirit fulfilled the promise of Joel 2:28-32. While Christians are not unified on this, it seems to me that the day of Pentecost is only a partial fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy, “an already, but not yet” reality. The division between “the already” and “not yet” comes between vv. 18 and 19. The gift of the Spirit marked the beginning of the Holy Spirit’s work, but not the complete fulfillment of the events at the day of the Lord. We find this consistently in both Old and New Covenant passages.
For example, when Yeshua spoke in his home Synagogue in Nazareth in Luke 4:16-20. The portion of Scripture He was given to read was Isaiah 61:1 He stops in the middle of a sentence and then sits down. He read “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, Because the LORD has anointed me To bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to captives And freedom to prisoners; To proclaim the favorable year of the LORD…” What He didn’t read was “And the day of vengeance of our God; Here we get an idea of the already but not yet understanding of prophecy. In His first come he came to proclaim grace in the personality of a Lamb, but in His second coming He will bring judgment.
1 Thes. 5:2–3 “For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night…” Paul warns that it will come suddenly and
2 Thes. 2:1–3 “Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first…”Here Paul associates the Day with the rise of the man of lawlessness and a great rebellion.
2 Peter 3:10 “The day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away… and the earth and its works will be burned up.” Speaking of a final renewal and judgment.
The Day of the LORD ultimately culminates in the return of Yeshua the Messiah to judge the nations and establish the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven. We see the return of Yeshua in Matthew 24:29–31 with cosmic signs and Messiah’s return. In Revelation 6–19 we learn of the Unfolding judgments leading to Messiah’s return. And In Zechariah 14 The LORD fights for Jerusalem; His feet stand on the Mount of Olives. The Day of the LORD is a repeated and unified theme in both Testaments: A day of divine reckoning, universal justice, and covenantal fulfillment. It calls every generation to live in faithful anticipation of God’s righteous immanent intervention culminating in the return of Jesus.
V 22 ends with the call to “Stop regarding man, whose breath is in his nostrils…”A warning against trusting in human power, pride, or man-made religion. The only secure hope is in the LORD—not in idols, alliances, wealth, or even religious formalism.
This chapter tells us that Messiah will reign from Jerusalem and the nations will seek His Law (Genesis to Revelation). True peace comes only through Messiah’s reign. Now is the time to walk in His light and reject compromise with the world. All pride and idolatry will be brought low when the Day of the LORD comes. We are called to trust not in man, but in the One who will be exalted forever—Yeshua the Messiah.
