The book of Isaiah presents many details of how God planned to restore Israel, establish His Messianic kingdom here on earth, and then expand His people until they included all the nations of the earth (Christ Object Lesson, p. 290). It was his purpose to set them “on high above all the nations on the earth”(Deut. 28:1). Unparalleled temporal and spiritual prosperity was to be the reward for putting into practice the principles of heaven (Deut 4:6-9). Thus the Old Testament prophecies concerning the future were a declaration of God’s purpose for literal Israel, and their fulfillment was strictly conditional upon Israel’s faithfulness to the covenant. Unfortunately, the nation of “Israel did not fulfill God’s purpose” (Christ Object Lesson, 290), and these promises were never literally fulfilled. “That which God purposed to do for the world through Israel, the chosen nation, He will finally accomplish through His church on earth today” (PK, 713). The church established by Jesus constituted the faithful remnant of Israel through which God’s message of salvation will reach the nations of the earth in fulfillment of Genesis 12:1-3.
Other aspects of Isaiah’s prophecies focus on divine judgment. Besides the many warnings of judgment against Israel and Judah scattered through the first half of the book of Isaiah (see, for example, Isa. 1:7, 8, 24, 25; 2:10-12; 3:25, 26; 5:25-30; 8:5-8; 9:19-21; 22:1-8; 28:21-29), the prophet also depicts God announcing judgment against the nations of the earth. “The land shall be entirely emptied and utterly plundered” (Isa. 24:3). “For the indignation of the Lord is against all nations …; He has utterly destroyed them, He has given them over to the slaughter… . All the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled up like a scroll” (Isa. 34:2-4).
God would spread death and destruction across the earth, but it would not be total. Many of the nations would survive and would, under God’s leading, help His scattered remnant return to Palestine. The theme of the exiles restored to Judah and Israel is woven throughout the book.
After He brought the captives back to the Promised Land, God would transform the land. At one time, the forest had covered perhaps 60 percent of Palestine. An expanding population had cleared much of it for cropland. Then military invasions had repeatedly devastated the land. Such enemy forces would cut down large numbers of trees to construct siege machines and fortifications. It was also common for marauding armies to chop down orchards and destroy vineyards to weaken the local population by reducing its food resources. The disruption of normal farm activities and the deportation of the peasants allowed the soil of agricultural terraces to erode or become overgrown with briars and other wild vegetation. The fragile ecology of Palestine unraveled under such assaults. But God would now make Zion’s “wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord” (Isa. 51:3).
Then, in their revitalized home, the people of Judah and Israel—now one people—would glorify the Lord (Isa. 49:3) as they witnessed and praised His power and the fact that He is the only true God (Isa. 43:10, 21; 44:8). They would be “as a light to the Gentiles, that You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth” (Isa. 49:6; cf. Isa. 42:6, 7). The Lord would send representatives from His people to other nations (Isa. 66:19; cf. Isa. 42:12). Observing what God was doing with His people, the Gentiles would acknowledge how He blessed His people (Isa. 61:9) and that their God was indeed the only true God (Isa. 45:14). The light of truth would shine from Jerusalem (Isa. 2:3; 60:3). God would call to all humanity, “Look to Me, and be saved, all you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other” (Isa. 45:22).
People from all parts of the globe would flock to Palestine (Isa. 14:1; 45:14; 49:12, 18, 22; 56:6, 7; 60:3). The divine blessing showered on Israel would attract the attention of nations that had never previously heard of God’s chosen people, and they would come to Jerusalem (Isa. 55:5). The temple in Jerusalem would be called “a house of prayer for all nations” (Isa. 56:7). Inspired by what they saw, and wanting to participate themselves, the nations would bring their wealth and service to Jerusalem (Isa. 45:14; 60:1-11; 61:5, 6)—resources that God’s people could use to reach still other nations. Even God’s former enemies would worship the Lord and be His people (Isa. 19:18-24). “Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit” (Isa. 27:6). The whole world would become the Promised Land.
Notice that in the book of Isaiah, God primarily transforms the world gradually. It does seem to involve a catastrophic global conflict. Therefore we need to incorporate the eschatology of Isaiah into the rest of the eschatology of the Bible. The nearest the book comes to a violent struggle are hints in such chapters as Isaiah 6, 8, 13, 17, 60, and 66. In fact, Isaiah 66:15 and 16 refer to God coming in fire to destroy the wicked (v.24). Besides, Isaiah does mention that the Lord would destroy Babylon (Isa. 13), a symbol of universal and even cosmic evil.