And-he-will-be  in-last-of  the-days  he-will-be  mountain-of  temple-of YHWH  being-established  as-chief-of  the-mountains  and-he-will-be-raised  he  above-hills and-they-will-stream   to-him  peoples.  And-they-will-come  nations, many-ones,  and-they-will-say  “Come!  and-let-us-go to mountain-of YHWH and-to  house-of God-of  Jacob.  And-he-will-teach-us  of-ways-of-him  so-we-may-walk  in-paths-of-him.  Micah 4:1-2  Kohlenberger Interlinear NIV Hebrew-English Old Testament

And-he-will-be  in-last-of  the-days  being-established  he-will-be mountain-of  temple-of  YHWW  as-chief-of  the-mountains  and-he-will-be-raised  above-hills  and-they-will-stream  to-him  all-of  the nations.  And-they-will-come,  peoples,  many,  and-they-will-say,  “Come!  and-let-us-go-up  to  mountains-of  YHWH,  to house-of  God-of  Jacob.  And-he-will-teach-us  of-ways-of-him so-we-may-walk  in-paths-of-him.  Isaiah 2:2 Kohlenberger Interlinear NIV Hebrew-English Old Testament

          We have used the Hebrew interlinear above, which gives a word for word translation; the hyphenated English words are a single Hebrew word.  It shows two very important things about these two passages.  First, while similar in large degree, Micah’s prophecy is definitely different from Isaiah’s.  Micah, writing about twenty years after Isaiah, is quoting YHWH, not Isaiah.  (Micah 3:5)  He is in fact establishing the subject matter of the prophecy as a second witness to Isaiah, according to the law of the double witness.  (Deuteronomy 19:15, Matthew 18:16)

          The second important thing: The subject of these prophecies is clearly NOT an “it”.  Rather, the subject is a “he”, and the “he” is none other than YHWH-Jesus.  The Hebrew word translated “and-he-will-be” is repeated twice by both writers for emphasis in the opening words of each passage.  The passages are emphatically personal throughout.

He will be being established, he will be…..

He will be raised up, he……

They will stream to him, all of the nations…..

They will come to him, many nations……

He will teach us his ways……

So we may walk in the paths of him……

          It is the emphatic repetition by which the Holy Spirit signifies that the subject is a masculine person, as opposed to a masculine, but inanimate, noun like “house.”

          The phrase, “the last of the days”, in Hebrew is “acharet hayamim.”  It has special prophetic significance, and is believed by many Jews to refer to the rule of Messiah.  We believe they are correct.  (See for example, Hosea 3:5, where the sons of Israel will come trembling to YHWH and to His goodness.)

          When will these “latter days” occur?  Many claim to know, and have said so.  However, we are content to wait until the time that is appointed has actually arrived.  From the texts we can see that the process of “being established” will be on-going. 

          “Established” is the Hebrew word “kun” (Strong’s Conc. #H3559). The breadth of its many applications illustrates its utility in meaning a process.  It can mean a) to be set up, fixed in a permanent sense, b) to be directed rightly, c) to prepare and to be prepared, and d) to be arranged and to be ready.

          We believe the first sense is intended, because the text complements this meaning by also saying “he is being raised up”, not just in a resurrection sense.  Rather, He will be given authority over the kings (mountains) of the earth, as well as other rulers (hills), probably referring to elected officials.  This of course could happen overnight, but we believe a longer period of time will be involved as the stone kingdom grows into a mountain.  (Daniel2:35, 44)

          The symbolism used in Daniel is the same as the texts here.  The symbol “mountain” is to be taken for the King inseparably united with His kingdom.  Daniel says the kingdom will fill the whole earth and will endure forever (Hebrew, “olam”, meaning an indefinite period).

          The passage in Daniel creates a large problem (no pun intended) for those who insist that Isaiah and Micah are talking about Jerusalem as it is located today and a “house of God” meaning a Third Temple.  No one has seriously contended the physical city, much less a physical building within that city, will expand to fill the whole earth.  If Daniel, Isaiah, and Micah are all talking about the same occurrence and even use the same symbolism, who decided Daniel was figurative but Isaiah and Micah were literal, or vice versa?

          If this is a physical house, having a physical location, then there is another problem lurking beneath the translation.  It is the small prepositon “to”.  As used in the above texts, it is only a single Hebrew word that can be used in different ways.  Does it mean “in the general direction of”?  Or does it mean “into”, denoting motion from the exterior towards the interior?  Clearly, the nations and the streaming people have a destination in mind.

          In the Greek language, the preposition “into” is the word “eis“.  It is used as a mathematical and geometric term.  Think about a straight line, one end of which dead-ends into the center of a circle, and you have the idea.  “Eis” means motion along the straight line into the interior of the circle as a destination.  (See The Companion Bible, Appendix 104, Bullinger, for an excellent discussion of prepositions used in scripture.)   In the Septuagint, an ancient Greek translation by Hebrew scholars of the Old Testament, the word “eis” is used to translate the “to” used in each of our texts.  The result was translated this way:

Come! Let us go up INTO the mountain of YHWH, (and) INTO the house of God….

          Here is the point the Holy Spirit wants us to get:  YHWH-Jesus IS the mountain AND the house of God!  He is the desire of all nations–all will want to be IN Him.  All will want Him to teach them His ways.  All will want, from the bottom of their hearts, to walk as He Himself walks.  To know Him is to love Him.

          He has promised to write His laws, teachings, precepts, commandments, and instructions on the hearts of all men, from the greatest of them to the least.  Jeremiah said so; the writer to the Hebrews established it according to the law of the double witness.

“BEHOLD, DAYS ARE COMING, SAYS THE LORD,
         WHEN I WILL EFFECT A NEW COVENANT
         WITH THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL AND WITH THE HOUSE OF JUDAH; 
   
    10FOR THIS IS THE COVENANT THAT I WILL MAKE WITH THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL
         AFTER THOSE DAYS, SAYS THE LORD:
         I WILL PUT MY LAWS INTO THEIR MINDS,
         AND I WILL WRITE THEM ON THEIR HEARTS.
         AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD,
         AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE.
    11AND THEY SHALL NOT TEACH EVERYONE HIS FELLOW CITIZEN,
         AND EVERYONE HIS BROTHER, SAYING, ‘KNOW THE LORD,’
         FOR ALL WILL KNOW ME,
         FROM THE LEAST TO THE GREATEST OF THEM. Hebrews 8:8,10-11 New American Standard Bible

          When all men see that He is what they have desired all along, they will want to walk in His ways, as John said in his epistle.

6the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.  1 John 2:6

          The house of God is not now, and will not be, a church, a mosque, or a temple, or any other structure built by the hand of man, any more than the “house of Israel” is.  It will not be “located” here, or there, or in the wilderness–if you  hear of such, do not go.  Where the carcass is, there will the buzzards be gathered.  Meaning, if you are looking for a new and living way, an incorruptible way, it has been inaugurated through the veil of His flesh, which is never to die or become corruptible again.  Buzzards aren’t really interested in living things.  Look up, for your redemption draweth nigh.

Blessed are you, O Lord.  Our wonderful God, you are the mountain that will fill the whole earth!

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