I want to make two suggestions that will help you as you read and try to understand Isaiah. One is what you should do, and the other what you should not do. First, do NOT get bogged down in judgment passages. These are the majority of the material in the first 39 chapters. Since Isaiah is difficult enough to understand, don’t allow yourself to be derailed by these. Furthermore, they were more relevant to the Judeans who were going to experience that judgment than they are to you and me. Giving full attention to the judgment passages may make your mind numb so that when you get to a passage of glorious hope, you kinda fly right by it (and they generally are short).
Second, DO connect what you are reading to what Isaiah has ALREADY said. Remember, Isaiah wrote a book. He didn’t write disconnected poems or an anthology. To read it as a book, you have to be asking questions of the text. Again, this is particularly important in reading the sections of glorious hope. And it will be more important as we get further into the book. Since we ‘re fresh into Isaiah, we don’t have as much to look back to at this point, but we can certainly ask some important questions, and that’s what we ‘ll do now as we look at chapter 2.
Isaiah 2:1-4 (ESV) “The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. 2 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 lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it, 3 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 the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. 4 He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes 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 anymore.”
The first question that we get an answer for is when? When will this prophecy occur? 
Answer: “in the latter days.” You might dismiss that as unhelpful, but I would point out that it must mean one thing: this hasn’t already happened yet. (I know, you thought that the UN was the fulfillment; sorry to burst your bubble.)
The next question is where? The answer: Since this is a message to Judah and Jerusalem, and it mentions the “mountain of the Lord” twice, Zion once, and Jerusalem once, we don’t have to struggle on this one. But here I want to remind you of something: do not forget this when we come to later prophecies.
The “what” question is much bigger. What is this describing? I would sum it up this way: God will rule from Jerusalem with perfect justice in a time of perfect peace. Of course this raises more questions: Will the mountains be changed literally or is this just metaphorical language? How exactly will God rule in Jerusalem? Is this the same thing as his presence in the temple as was true in Isaiah’s day? Why (and how) will the nations submit to God?
It is important to ask questions. Some of them will be answered by Isaiah as we read further. Others will not be. But if you ‘re not asking questions, it’s possible that you ‘re not really thinking about what is going on.
Two observations in closing: First, there are two general approaches to reading future-oriented passages in Isaiah (and all the prophets). I ‘ll call them the painting and photograph approaches. The painting approach sees Isaiah as a literary Monet, brushing with broad strokes to give a general picture of future happiness. The photograph approach reads Isaiah for the details, believing that the prophet was very precise in his descriptions. The first approach doesn’t see the details as meaningful either because they don’t fit with what has already occurred and/or because they don’t seem to line up with what the New Testament seems to predict. For instance, Isaiah’s comment that Jerusalem will be “the highest of the mountains” is not true now and it won’t be true (physically) because there’s no place in the future when it can be true (so they believe). The second approach sees marvelous fulfillment in some of Isaiah’s prophecies (e.g., 7:14; 44:28-45:3; 52:13-53:12), sees similar prophecies in other prophets, and does not believe that the New Testament denies (or overrides or re-interprets) prophecies that have not yet been fulfilled. The latter approach is generally slapped with the label “dispensational,” and the former approach is more typical of everyone else.
Second, this exact same prophecy is given in Micah 4:1-3. Now, if you ‘re a scholar you get distracted by trying to figure out who copied whom. I suggest something else is more significant: the fact that God recorded it twice alerts us to its importance. My belief is that this passage has not yet been fulfilled, but will certainly be fulfilled, in its details. That doesn’t mean that I couldn’t understand the mountain being elevated as a metaphor. I think that’s 
possible. But my basis for making that decision is going to be based on the rest of the book. That’s an important point. Too many, I think, simply can’t conceive that land masses might move and therefore it automatically becomes figurative language. That is a premature conclusion. And if one makes that metaphorical, is the “beating of swords into plowshares” metaphorical? Why not? And if that, then is the “peace” that it is describing also metaphorical? In fact, we may be enjoying that peace right now. Maybe we are living in the “latter days” and Isaiah’s and Micah’s prophecies are now fulfilled in the our present experience of the kingdom of God. My response: read Isaiah more carefully. The only way you can get to a “present fulfillment of the kingdom of God” from Isaiah is by turning down the lights, taking off your glasses, crossing your eye
s, and just getting an “impression” from Isaiah, as you would from Monet. I can’t tell you what you ‘re missing! (Well, if you keep reading this series, I will!)
Hey Todd,
Thanks for all these posts on Isaiah. They are interesting to read, and so clear. Steve and I are really enjoying learning this book. Thanks for sharing.