After Isaiah presented the LORD’s case against Judah and Jerusalem, he shifted gears and focused on the future. In the transition, Isaiah made it clear that God had given up on Judah’s kings. He no longer expected his people to do his will. Instead, the LORD would accomplish his purposes through a single person, the Messiah, who would once and for all triumph over God’s enemies.

Isaiah described the time period in the future he was referring to as “the last days” (Isaiah 2:2). The term “last days” is used frequently today in connection with Bible prophecy. The last days are always associated with the reign of the Messiah, but there is a discrepancy as to whether or not the last days occur before or after the return of Christ. According to Isaiah’s message, all nations would worship the LORD in the same location (Isaiah 2:2) and God’s law would be the law everyone was judged by (Isaiah 2:3).

Adistinct difference in the last days that indicates this time period has not yet occurred is there will be no war. It says in Isaiah 2:4, “they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nations shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.” This description is in stark contrast to what we are experiencing in the world today. At the time when Isaiah delivered his message, Judah’s army played an important role in the lifestyle of its people. The thought that weapons would no longer be needed must have made the people wonder if Isaiah had lost his mind.

Within the context of the last days, Isaiah talked about a day in which “the LORD alone shall be exalted” (Isaiah 2:11, 17). The Hebrew word translated day in this verse is yôwm (yome). Yowm can refer to a 24-hour period of time, but within the context of the last days, Isaiah was most likely focusing on the beginning or initiation of the last days, which would occur when the LORD was exalted over all other rulers on earth. “Yowm can also signify a period of time of unspecified duration” (3117). In that case, Isaiah may have been suggesting that the day of the LORD would begin during the last days and continue on for an indefinite period of time.

A characteristic of the last days that Isaiah made clear was that it would take place on this side of eternity. In other words, time will exist during the last days, so life as we know it will still be going on. With this in mind, it is understandable why the people thought the Messiah, Jesus, would establish his kingdom immediately. The point the people of Judah missed was that God’s kingdom would include everyone. The integration of Jewish and Gentile cultures had not taken place when Jesus was born. Therefore, God had to first make a way for everyone to know the LORD.