23 October 2006

Forcing Peace (Isaiah 2:4)

In the past, whenever I have read Isaiah 2:4, I have read it as a time when the Lord would live on this earth and "fix all its problems," specifically that he would bring about world peace:

"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."
As I read it this year, something stood out to me: the verse doesn't say anything about the Lord establishing peace. He will "judge" and he will "rebuke," but it is the people that will abandon war, thus ushering in a time of unprecedented peace.

(Of course, the Lord's judgments and reproofs will undoubtedly play an important role in bringing about the necessary changes of heart.)

2 comments:

Todd Wood said...

Brian, even among evangelicals, there is difference of opinion about eschatology. But I clearly see that we need the Lord's direct intervention for ushering in the millennium

BrianJ said...

Todd Wood: thanks for stopping by. I certainly don't dispute your statement. My question is: when he "ushers in" the millennium, will we be "ushered out" because we are too war-loving, or will we have heeded his judgements and reproofs and put away our weapons of war and therefore be "ushered to" a front-row seat?