This chapter begins with a look at things that will come to pass in the last days. Verse 2 reads,
“It shall come to pass in the latter days
that the mountain of the house of the Lord
shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
and shall be lifted up above the hills;
and all the nations shall flow to it,”
The last days refer to the time after Jesus comes as the Messiah, Our Savior. In this verse the mountain of the house of the Lord refers to His temple. His temple is no longer the brick building so well built by Solomon. That was destroyed. Now the temple is His people. You and I, Believer are the temple of the Lord. We as His people, His church are exalted above other religions and spiritual philosophies because we are not just a religion or philosophy. We are the church of the One True Living God, heirs with Christ, united with Him and filled with the Holy Spirit. We are light stands to be seen by everyone, calling everyone to Him. And people are coming. They are coming from every nation, every religion, philosophy, and culture. They don’t come just to stare in awe. They don’t come just to have an experience. He teaches His ways, and they walk His path. (Verse 3). Are you a lampstand or are you in need of oil to burn a bit brighter? Are you on a hill or hiding under a bed? Are you walking in His ways and teaching others to do the same or are you sitting in indecision, wallowing in sin and leading people the wrong way? Who is your Lord, you or Jesus? You are called to shine brightly not flicker dimly.
Verse 4 reads,
“He shall judge between the nations,
and shall decide disputes for many peoples;
and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war anymore.”
When Jesus is once and for all Our Judge, Our King, Our Lord, we are drastically changed. We no longer need to wage the wars ourselves, we don’t need the weapons of warfare because we let God take care of the fighting and the justice. This verse also gives us a peek at the time after The Day of Judgment when there will be no more wars, no more fighting, no more enemy. It will be us and God in peace for eternity. Praise God! Imagine the perfection, joy and peace of our hope! But we have it now! Jesus is our King, our Judge, and our Prince of Peace. We are sealed by The Holy Spirit. (Ephesians 1:3) He is inside us. We are untouchable to the enemy. (1 John 5:18). Get that? He can’t touch you. And Our Father is taking care of you, providing your every need. We have eternity now. We live in a fallen world. A world that desperately needs Jesus. We have the special privilege of being able to bring people into The Kingdom of God with us.
We no longer need our physical weapons, but we are still fighting the spiritual war. (Ephesians 6:10-13). But remember we’ve already won that war. (1 Corinthians 1:24-26). We are the victors. We fight for the souls of the lost who have no idea there is a war waging over them. We fight to remain effective for our King of kings. We fight to shine with His intense and penetrating light.
Verse 5 reads,
“O house of Jacob,
come, let us walk
in the light of the Lord.”
I encourage you to walk (actively follow Christ) in the light of the Lord. Be a light, follow His path. Shine the Light of God into the darkness and bring people into His Kingdom which is here now and will come soon. Be the light. Shine for Him. Can anyone see your light in the darkness? Are you waking or wallowing?