Micah 4:1–3

Micah 4… denounces Jerusalem and declares that she will be ploughed as a field. It then declares that in the last days all will be changed. The mountain of Jehovah's house will be established on the tops of the mountains, and exalted above the hills. And the peoples (not "people" — a frequent unhappy mistake in the English version) will flow to it. Many nations will come, and full blessings are promised to Zion in the last days after judgment.

The meaning seems to be the supremacy God will give, in the last days, to Mount Moriah. That mountain is the seat and centre of the worship of Jehovah. Zion was and will be the seat of royalty, given in the grace of God after man's king had failed. When the mountain of Jehovah's house is so exalted above all rivals, great or small, all nations shall flow to it. For the city of the great king — the earthly Jerusalem under the Messiah and the New Covenant — is the destined capital of the world during the millennium. The New Jerusalem of John is another and a higher thing, not referred to here.

Rivers naturally flow down. Instead, the peoples will flow up around the sanctuary of Jehovah, then indeed a house of prayer for all. The change will be supernatural everywhere. Heaven and earth will gladly witness to the glory and the power of Jehovah — yet displayed in the man Christ Jesus, and in those who are His above and below. That day will proclaim the Lord. It will sweep away everything man prides himself in. Man may have done his best, but the time has come for God to show His unquestionable superiority.

Not that Micah copied Isaiah, nor Isaiah Micah, but the same Spirit gave to the men the same prophecy. It concerns the latter days, which means the coming of Messiah's kingdom on earth. These days are not yet here. To apply these words, even in a spiritual way, to the present age, or to the Church, is a serious mistake. The house of the Lord is not the Church, but the house in Jerusalem, to which in the kingdom the nations will come to worship the Lord of hosts.

The last day to man has always the sound of death and judgment: to him no funeral note is so terrible. In other days he may find fuel for pride. This one rings his own death-knell, with a dread of eternity he cannot describe… To the believer, the last day is a prospect of perfect unending joy, blessedness, light, and glory. It is the day when righteousness and truth will have the upper hand. It is the day when man will be most truly lifted up, because God is exalted. How can there be real order and due honour if God does not have His supremacy?

Of course, God has His thoughts and counsels for His heavenly people, as well as for those whose blessing will be on the earth. … We are to bear the image of that Son, and as His brothers to share His place in the Father's love. … All this (and there is more that might be told) far surpasses the portion that will be given to Israel, which the prophets describe. But the same glorious Person will be the centre of both the heavenly and the earthly spheres of blessing. And He is worthy!

The last verse predicted the long desolation and ruin of Zion. At once a great prophecy follows, about the future glory in store for Zion... It concerns the latter days, which means the coming of Messiah's kingdom on earth. These days are not yet here. To apply these words, even in a spiritual way, to the present age, or to the Church, is a serious mistake. The house of the Lord is not the Church, but the house in Jerusalem, to which in the kingdom the nations will come to worship the Lord of hosts.

The certain fact is that one prophet uses another prophet's words. The only changes are the ones the inspiring Spirit was pleased to allow. In the same way we find Daniel drawing light from the word of Jehovah to Jeremiah, which was still waiting to be fulfilled (Daniel 9:2).

Rivers naturally flow down. But the peoples will flow up around the sanctuary of Jehovah, which will then truly be a house of prayer for all. The change will be supernatural everywhere.

It means much that the house of the Lord is called here "the house of the God of Jacob." By then God will have plainly triumphed over the self-centred crookedness that marked Jacob and has carried on in his descendants. This will be so clear that all nations will flow to the house to learn of God, so that they may walk in His law. Once God has carried out judgment, men will be marked by obedience toward Him, and as a result by peace among themselves.

According to the Bible, that is the reign of peace — then, and not before. In the meantime, every effort of peace societies is at best a pleasant illusion, at worst an unbelieving trust in man, and always ignorance of God's word... It is certain that wars have their roots in the passions and lust of man: to escape the bad fruit you must first make the tree good.

The meaning seems to be this: the supremacy God will give, in the last days, to Mount Moriah. That mountain is the seat and centre of the worship of Jehovah, just as Zion was and will be the seat of royalty, given in the grace of God after man's king had failed... The city of the great king, the earthly Jerusalem under the Messiah and the New Covenant, is the appointed capital of the world during the millennium. The New Jerusalem that John describes is another and a higher thing, and is not in view here.

It is quite true, and agreed, that there is to be a millennial time of blessing on the earth. How will it be brought in? The same Scripture that reveals that blessed change tells us. The Lord Himself will bring it in when He comes and strikes down the wicked one. In other words, it comes by judgment, and not by the preaching of the gospel... When judgment has had its full course, then the Lord will send out His servants. The Lord will give the word, and great will be the company of those that publish it.

It concerns the latter days, which means the coming of Messiah's kingdom on earth. These days are not yet here. To apply these words, even in a spiritual way, to the present age, or to the Church, is a serious mistake. The house of the Lord is not the Church, but the house in Jerusalem, to which in the kingdom the nations will come to worship the Lord of hosts. He will judge and rebuke the nation, and His glorious throne will stand in Jerusalem. Then, and only then, comes the time of universal, world-wide peace.

The Lord Jesus will have dealt with every expression of Satan's power and control in the world, through the terrible judgments we read of in Revelation. He will deliver His people and establish righteousness in the whole world, and so the blessing of God will flow out through Zion to the ends of the earth. The centre of government during the reign of Christ will not be Washington, London or Moscow, or any other powerful place, but it will be Jerusalem. The whole world will come to acknowledge it and so will be blessed.

Then, under His generous rule, men will hurry to beat their swords into ploughshares. His judgments will have subdued them, and His mercy will have spared them. Each man will invite his neighbour to sit with him under the vine and fig tree. Riots, bloodshed, turmoil, strife and crime continue in the world to this day, despite all its boasted progress. The reason is that men reject the rightful King. They refuse to acknowledge the Prince of Peace. They will not have Jesus as Lord.

Our Lord predicted that throughout this age, down to its end, nation would lift up sword against nation. That prediction then comes to an end, and a new order of things begins.

Such, according to the Bible, is the reign of peace then, and not before. Meanwhile, the efforts of peace societies are at best a pleasant illusion. At worst they are a faithless trust in man. They always show ignorance of God's word. They may possibly have influence in isolated cases. It is certain that wars have their roots in the passions and lust of man. To escape the bad fruit, you must first make the tree good. But the day of the Lord will deal with man in righteousness and power, and peace will result according to His mind and glory.

"Come, behold the works of the LORD, how he has brought desolations on the earth. He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the chariots with fire." The slow and gradual progress of peaceful principles will not end the strife and wars that have ruined the earth for so many ages. God's solemn intervention in judgment at the coming of the Lord will. That is what brings in the period of universal peace.

This blessedness is not introduced by the gospel of grace. The special teachings of faith come to an end first. Then comes the time when the nations are judged. Only after that does the glory of Christ as King appear. During that terrible period, sin will reach its fullest growth, so these judgments are a divine necessity. Otherwise there could be no joyful time of peace for the earth. So judgment is first, then peace.