Isaiah 2:4

King James Version (KJV)

And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

Adam Clarke
Bible Commentary

Neither shall they learn war any more - If wars are necessary, how deep must that fall be that renders them so! But what a reproach to humanity is the trade of war! Men are regularly instructed in it, as in any of the necessary arts.

"How to dislodge most souls from their frail shrines

By bomb, sword, ball, and bayonet, is the art

Which some call great and glorious!"

And is this a necessary part of a finished education in civilized society? O Earth! Earth! Earth!

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Albert Barnes
Notes on the Whole Bible

And he shall judge - Or he shall exercise the office of a judge, or umpire. This “literally” refers to the God of Jacob Isaiah 2:3, though it is clear that the meaning is, that he will do it by the Messiah, or under his reign. One office of a judge is to decide controversies; to put an end to litigations, and thus to promote peace. The connection shows that this is the meaning here. Nations that are contending shall be brought to peace by the influence of the reign of the Messiah, and shall beat their swords into plowshares. In other words, the influence of the reign of the Messiah shall put a period to wars, and reduce contending nations to peace.

And shall rebuke - Shall “reprove” them for their contentions and strifes.

Lowth: ‹Shall work conviction in many peoples.‘

Noyes: ‹He shall be a judge of the nations,

And an umpire of many kingdoms.‘

He shall show them the evil of war; and by reproving them for those wicked passions which cause wars, shall promote universal peace. This the gospel everywhere does; and the tendency of it, if obeyed, would be to produce universal peace. In accordance with predictions like these, the Messiah is called the Prince of Peace Isaiah 9:6; and it is said that of his peace there shall be no end; Isaiah 9:7.

And they shall beat … - They shall change the arts of war to those of peace; or they shall abandon the pursuits of war for the mild and useful arts of husbandry; compare Psalm 46:9; Hosea 2:20. A similar prophecy is found in Zechariah 9:10. The following extracts may serve to illustrate this passage: ‹The Syrian plow, which was probably used in all the regions around, is a very simple frame, and commonly so light, that a man of moderate strength might carry it in one hand. Volney states that in Syria it is often nothing else than the branch of a tree, cut below a bifurcation, and used without wheels. The plowshare is a piece of iron, broad but not large, which tips the end of the shaft. So much does it resemble the short sword used by the ancient warriors, that it may, with very little trouble, be converted into that deadly weapon; and when the work of destruction is over, reduced again to its former shape, and applied to the purposes of agriculture.‘

Their spears - Spears were much used in war. They were made of wood, with a sharpened piece of iron or other metal attached to the end. The pruning-hook, made for cutting the limbs of vines or trees, is, in like manner, a long piece of wood with a crooked knife attached to it. Hence, it was easy to convert the one into the other.

Pruning-hooks - Hooks or long knives for trimming vines. The word here, however, means anything employed in “reaping or mowing,” a sickle, or a scythe, or any instrument to “cut with,” as well as a pruning-hook. These figures, as images of peace, are often used by the prophets. Micah Micah 4:4 has added to this description of peace in Isaiah, the following:

But they shall sit

Every man under his vine,

And under his fig-tree;

And none shall make them afraid:

For the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken it.

Joel Joel 3:10 has reversed the figure, and applied it to war prevailing over peace:

Beat your plowshares into swords;

And your pruning-hooks into spears.

The same emblems to represent peace, which are used here by Isaiah, also occur in pagan poets. Thus Martial; Epigr. xiv. 34:

Falx ex ense.

Pax me certa ducis placidos conflavit in usus,

Agricolae nunc sum, militis ante fui.

So Virgil; Georg. 1,507:

Squalent abductis arva colonis,

Et curvae rigidum falces conflantur in ensem.

So also Ovid; Fast. 1,699:

Sarcula cessabunt, versique in pila ligones.

Nation shall not lift up … - This is a remarkable prediction of universal peace under the gospel. The prediction is positive, that the time will come when it shall prevail. But it has not yet been fully accomplished. We may remark, however, in relation to this:

(1) That the tendency of the gospel is to promote the arts, and to produce the spirit of peace.

(2) It will dispose the nations to do right, and thus to avoid the occasions of war.

(3) It will fill the mind with horror at the scenes of cruelty and blood that war produces.

(4) It will diffuse honor around the arts of peace, and teach the nations to prize the endearments of home and country, and the sweet scenes of domestic life.

(5) Just so far as it has influence over princes and rulers, it will teach them to lay aside the passions of ambition and revenge, and the love of conquest and ‹glory,‘ and indispose them to war.

(6) The tendency of things now is toward peace. The laws of nations have been established under the gospel. Difficulties can even now be adjusted by negotiation, and without a resort to arms.

(7) Wars are far less barbarous than they were formerly. The gospel has produced humanity, mildness, and some degree of justice even in war. It has put an end to the unmerciful treatment of prisoners; has prevented their being sold as slaves; has taught even belligerents not to murder women and children.

(8) Nothing remains to be done to make peace universal but to send the gospel abroad through every land. When that is done, the nations will be disposed to peace; and the prophet, therefore, has predicted the universal prevalence of peace “only” when all nations shall be brought under the influence of the gospel.

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Matthew Henry
Concise Bible Commentary

The calling of the Gentiles, the spread of the gospel, and that far more extensive preaching of it yet to come, are foretold. Let Christians strengthen one another, and support one another. It is God who teaches his people, by his word and Spirit. Christ promotes peace, as well as holiness. If all men were real Christians, there could be no war; but nothing answering to these expressions has yet taken place on the earth. Whatever others do, let us walk in the light of this peace. Let us remember that when true religion flourishes, men delight in going up to the house of the Lord, and in urging others to accompany them. Those are in danger who please themselves with strangers to God; for we soon learn to follow the ways of persons whose company we keep. It is not having silver and gold, horses and chariots, that displeases God, but depending upon them, as if we could not be safe, and easy, and happy without them, and could not but be so with them. Sin is a disgrace to the poorest and the lowest. And though lands called Christian are not full of idols, in the literal sense, are they not full of idolized riches? and are not men so busy about their gains and indulgences, that the Lord, his truths, and precepts, are forgotten or despised?

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SDA Bible Commentary (limited)
Volume 1-7

4. He shall judge. Not all of the peoples of earth would be willing to obey “the word of the Lord from Jerusalem” (v. 3). Those who refused to submit to the authority of God, exercised through the Jews as His chosen people, would band together to secure by force of arms that which they were unwilling to gain by bringing their characters into harmony with the law of God (Jer. 25:32; Eze. 38:8-12; Joel 3:1, 12; Zech. 12:2-9; 14:2). Upon reaching Jerusalem and laying siege to it, they would discover to their dismay that they had entered into conflict with the God of heaven (Jer. 25:31-33) and that He would judge (Joel 3:9-17) and destroy them there (Isa. 34:1-8; 60:12; 63:1-6; 66:15-18). When the heathen had assembled themselves in the vicinity of the valley of Jehoshaphat (Joel 3:2, 12), located immediately to the east of Jerusalem, God would “sit to judge all the heathen round about” (Joel 3:12). The word Yehoshaphat (Jehoshaphat) means literally, “Jehovah will judge.”

Rebuke many people. “All the people of the earth” are “gathered together against” Jerusalem (Zech. 12:3), but God will “defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem” (Zech. 12:8) and “destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem” (Zech. 12:9). The events here described were never fulfilled to literal Israel owing to the failure of the nation to comply with the mission committed to them. As pointed out by John the revelator, however (Rev. 20:7-15), this prophecy will have a degree of fulfillment when, at the close of the millennium, Satan deceives “the nations Ã¢â‚¬Â¦ of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle” (v. 8) and to compass “the camp of the saints about” (v. 9). The wicked “stand before God” and are “judged out of those things which were written in the books” (vs. 11, 12), “every man according to their works” (v. 13). The nations of earth will all “know” that the Lord is God (Eze. 38:23). Compare Zech. 12:4; Rev. 19:19-21.

Plowshares. Heb. ’ittim, agricultural instruments of some type, probably “plowshares,” or “mattocks.” In Akkadian the word means “plough beams.” The contrast is clearâ€”weapons of war are transformed into instruments of peace. When the foes of Israel have been vanquished, those who remain (see Zech. 14:16) will turn their weapons of war back into instruments of peace. This was God’s plan, which never came true for literal Israel.

Nation shall not. When the foes of Israel have been annihilated the nations that remain all voluntarily submit to Israel’s leadership. From the walls of Jerusalem “the dove of peace” goes “forth to all nations” (DA 577). Jerusalem is “safely inhabited” (Zech. 14:11). “No strangers pass through her any more” (Joel 3:17, 18). The city is true to its name, a “possession of peace,” or “foundation of peace.” Again, God’s original plan for Israel failed of fulfillment because of apostasy.

Learn war any more. Compare Hosea 2:18; Ps. 46:9. Those who believe that a literal return of the Jews to Palestine presages their restoration to the covenant status of OT times have interpreted Isa. 2:1-4 and its parallel passage in Micah (ch. 4:1-3) as a prediction of millennial peace, with the Jews ruling the earth and converting it to God. Such an interpretation is, of course, without any scriptural basis (see pp. 25, 37). In an attempt to disprove this unscriptural teaching some have proposed to explain these verses of Isaiah as referring to a counterfeit religious revival. This suggestion should be examined by comparing the passage in Isaiah with similar passages throughout the OT. As set forth in pp. 25-38, the Scriptures consistently apply the picture here presented to the situation that would have prevailed had Israel been faithful to God, that is, to the ingathering of the Gentiles. But literal Israel’s unfaithfulness made the realization of this objective impossible. Accordingly, fulfillment would be to spiritual Israel in the final proclamation of the gospel to the nations of earth (Rev. 14:9-11; 18:1-4; see pp. 35, 36).

In CT 454, 455, a portion of the parallel passage in Micah 4:1-3 is quoted, together with Isa. 54:11-14 and Jer. 31:33, 34, as one of many “practical lessons in the word of God, lessons that Christ would have teachers and parents present to the children in the school and in the home,” and as one of the passages of Scripture that “contain great encouragement” and “are a treasure house of precious pearls” (CT 456). If Isa. 2:1-4 and Micah 4:1-3 constitute a practical lesson of “great encouragement” for God’s people today, they would hardly seem to be descriptive of a counterfeit religious revival. However, it is when the words of Isaiah and Micah are considered in the setting and context of comparable OT passages that their import comes into sharp focus. Note the following:

1. Isaiah specifically states that the message of vs. 2-5 concerns “Judah and Jerusalem” (Isa. 2:1; cf. Micah 4:2), God’s chosen people. Throughout the OT “Judah and Jerusalem” are always God’s people, imperfect and defective though they be, and God recognizes them as such (see Num. 23:21). Those whom God does not recognize as His people are never spoken of as “Judah and Jerusalem.” He never addresses Babylon or Egypt or Edom as “Judah and Jerusalem.” Notice also the appeal to the “house of Jacob” in v. 5. The glorious prospect of the results of faithfulness to God should have proved a strong incentive to Israel to “walk in the light of the Lord” (see CT 455, 456).

2. Emphasis is sometimes placed upon the words “many people shall go and say” (v. 3) as evidence that what they say is in opposition to what the Lord has said. It should be noted, however, that what the “people” are here reported as saying is fully in harmony with the will of God as revealed elsewhere in His Word, and would be most appropriate on the lips of those who sincerely love the Lord. Furthermore, the very same thoughts, often in identical words, are placed on the lips of Gentile converts to Judaism throughout the OT. Compare, for instance, Zech. 8:21-23: “Let us go speedily to pray before the Lord, and to seek the Lord of hosts. Ã¢â‚¬Â¦ Many people and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the Lord. Thus saith the Lord of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you.” Here, the “people” of the “nations” say the very same thing as in Isa. 2:3, and God confirms their saying as representative of the ingathering of the nations to Israel. It would be difficult to construe the words of Isa. 2:2-4 to represent a false revival and those of Zech. 8:21-23 to represent a true revival. See also Deut. 4:6, 7; Isa. 45:14; 49:6, 12, 18, 22; 55:5; 56:6-8; 61:3-11; Jer. 3:17; 16:19; Zech. 2:11; 14:16; Mal. 3:12.

3. The words of Isa. 2:2 are the word of the Lord, not the word of “many people” (v. 3). It is God Himself who affirms in v. 2 the truth that “all nations” will “flow” to “the mountain of the Lord’s house.” To represent as a false religious revival what God calls for, is to deny that God knew whereof He was speaking. In v. 2 God says that “all nations” will “flow” to “the mountain of the Lord’s house,” and in v. 3 “many people” say, “Let us go up to the mountain of the Lord.” They are obviously in harmony with God rather than opposed to Him.

4. If the words the people speak in v. 3 represent a false religious revival, it would seem that similar expressions throughout the OT should be similarly understood.

5. To equate the words of Isa. 2:3 with the “peace and safety” cry of 1 Thess. 5:3 is to overlook the import of such OT passages as Ps. 46:9; Hosea 2:18. The added promise of Micah 4:4, spoken by the mouth of the Lord, together with the context (vs. 5-8), makes clear that these words refer to the eternal peace of the Messianic kingdom (see Isa. 32:15-18).

That there will be a great counterfeit religious revival in the last days is clearly set forth by Inspiration. But that Isaiah is not here speaking of such a revival seems to be indicated by the following evidence regarding that false revival.

Christ predicted that the message of the ministers of the false religious revival would be of such a nature that “if it were possible, they” would “deceive the very elect” (Matt. 24:23-27). “So closely will the counterfeit resemble the true,” we are told, “that it will be impossible to distinguish between them except by the Holy Scriptures” (GC 593). When that time comes, only a genuine love for the truth and the most diligent heed to directions given through the Bible and the Spirit of prophecy will protect us against the delusions of the enemy, the seducing spirits, and the doctrines of devils (Hosea 4:6; 2 Thess. 2:9-12, 6T 401; 8T 298; TM 475).

Except for those who know and love the truth, the whole world will be led astray by these delusions (see Rev. 13:13-15; GC 562). As the nominal Christian churches unite, popular religious leaders will see in this union a grand movement to evangelize the world; in fact, they specifically teach that all the world will be converted (GC 588, 589; EW 261; cf. 282). This counterfeit revival immediately precedes the proclamation of God’s last great message of mercy and warning, set forth in Rev. 18:1-4, and is an endeavor to prevent men from accepting that message (GC 464). This is the “peace and safety” cry, by means of which Satan would lull men into a false sense of security, one from which they will not awake until it is too late (1 Thess. 5:1-5; cf. Jer. 6:14; 8:11; EW 282; PP 104; GC 562; COL 411; 5T 715). In this great false religious movement all who have a form of godliness but deny the power thereof will unite (2 Tim. 3:1, 5).

Inasmuch as the counterfeit revival will closely resemble the true, Bible descriptions of the true will naturally, in a measure, be descriptive also of the false. Thus in such passages of Scripture as Rev. 14:6-11; 18:1-4; and others, which Inspiration clearly points out as descriptive of the true revival of godliness that will constitute the closing work of the gospel, it is possible, no doubt, to find points that Satan will endeavor to counterfeit. It is fitting and proper that we should study all that Inspiration has revealed concerning these things in an earnest endeavor to be prepared for the great crisis that lies ahead of the church.

In meeting the false claims and defective exegesis of Zionism and other movements that confuse and misapply OT prophecy by placing a fanciful interpretation upon it, “we should never allow ourselves to employ arguments that are not wholly sound. Ã¢â‚¬Â¦ We should present sound arguments, that will not only silence our opponents, but will bear the closest and most searching scrutiny” (5T 708). Concerning the counterfeit religious revival, Inspiration has provided a wealth of information, and in dealing with that important subject we can rely on the various passages of Scripture that clearly foretell such a movement. In this, as in all our study and exposition of Scripture, particularly of the messages of the OT prophets, we will do well to adhere closely to the principles set forth on pp. 25-38.

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