The word which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
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 raised above the hills;
and all the nations shall flow to it,
and many peoples shall come, and say:
"Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,
to the house of the God of Jacob;
that he may teach us his ways
and that we may walk in his paths."
For out of Zion shall go forth the law,
and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
He shall judge between the nations,
and shall decide 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 any more.
Isaiah 2:1–4 (RSV)
The word that came to Isaiah is a vision of what is to come in the 'latter days.' It is a beautiful vision where all people come to the Lord to be taught by Him, to walk in His paths, and the violence of war will be forgotten. God will be amid all peoples, their hearts tunes to Him alone, and everyone is alive in His love. There will be justice and peace where none shall suffer for any want.
These are not the latter days. The nations are not of one heart and mind. None seek after the justice of the Lord nor seek to walk in HIs paths. There is no peace among nations as more and more is spent on weapons we must use and weapons we dare not use.
For long ages, Israel hoped that the coming of the Messiah would bring about these days. They prayed for it with aching hearts, wanting the endless wars to be no more. They sought after the days when no one would hunger, and each person would be treated as one worthy of God. 'When the Messiah comes, all will be well,' they said to one another.
But their Messiah fueled dreams did not lead to the days of Isaiah's vision. People sought their ways, worshiped all manner of things instead of God, and deafened their ears to the Lord's teachings. Swords and spears were kept sharp and ready for war.
When Messiah came, lived among them, preaching, teaching, healing, feeding, casting out demons, and raising the dead, they nailed Him to a cross. They could not, would not, face the truth that they may have spoken of God's Kingdom, but none wanted it. All were too concerned with themselves to require a Messiah.
Jesus' resurrection signaled the beginning of the fulfillment of Isaiah's vision. Jesus has called those who are baptized in His Name to live the fulfillment. We do not live in the disappointment of our failures to follow Him. We repent of them, rejecting the folly of our race and ask to be made new.
The day will come when Isaiah's vision will be fulfilled when we cannot say. We ask that Jesus make us a new creation today, forgiven and called. Called to follow our Lord as best we can until the latter-day arrives.