Isaiah 2:10-21 - Twelve Predictions Unfulfilled!

  

10 Enter into the rock, and hide in the dust, From the terror of the Lord And the glory of His majesty. 11 The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, The haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, And the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. 12 For the day of the Lord of hosts Shall come upon everything proud and lofty, Upon everything lifted up — And it shall be brought low—13 Upon all the cedars of Lebanon that are high and lifted up, And upon all the oaks of Bashan; 14 Upon all the high mountains, And upon all the hills that are lifted up; 15 Upon every high tower, And upon every fortified wall; 16 Upon all the ships of Tarshish, And upon all the beautiful sloops. 17 The loftiness of man shall be bowed down, And the haughtiness of men shall be brought low; The Lord alone will be exalted in that day, 18 But the idols He shall utterly abolish. 19 They shall go into the holes of the rocks, And into the caves of the earth, From the terror of the Lord And the glory of His majesty, When He arises to shake the earth mightily. 20 In that day a man will cast away his idols of silver And his idols of gold, Which they made, each for himself to worship, To the moles and bats, 21 To go into the clefts of the rocks, And into the crags of the rugged rocks, From the terror of the Lord And the glory of His majesty, When He arises to shake the earth mightily. (Isaiah 2:10-21)

Isaiah is known for what he has to say concerning the coming of the Lord's Messiah. The issue is that some of those prophecies regard the first coming of the Lord and some of them regard the second coming; and in addition, some are very general and take both in view. What we must be careful to sort out as we read these prophecies is the difference between the three. If it is general, then we must leave it as such and not seek to assign it specifically and exclusively to either one or the other. With regard to the other two, we must take care to be sure to which the particular passage is speaking.

Here in Isaiah 2 we see the first opportunity to make a distinction between the two. In verse 10 we see the beginning of a set of verses that speak, not to the first coming but to the second coming. We know that because it offers a number of prophecies that were not (and are not) fulfilled at the time of the first coming.

1. People will enter into caves and dens of the earth for fear of God when Christ comes with power and glory to set up His kingdom ( Isa. 2:10 , 19 , 21 ; Mt. 24:29-31 ). This is not the same as the sixth seal of Rev. 6:12-17 , which will be fulfilled several years earlier than the second coming of Christ.
2. The pride of man will be humbled ( Isa. 2:11 , 17 ).
3. Jehovah alone will be exalted.
4. The day of the Lord will be upon all who are proud and haughty; and they will be brought low ( Isa. 2:12 ).
5. Judgment will fall upon the cedars of Lebanon and the oaks of Bashan ( Isa. 2:13 ).
6. Judgment will fall upon the mountains and hills ( Isa. 2:14 ).
7. High towers and fenced walls will be judged ( Isa. 2:15 ).
8. Ships of the sea will be destroyed ( Isa. 2:16 ).
9. Pleasant (desirable) pictures will be destroyed.
10. Idols will be utterly destroyed ( Isa. 2:18 ).
11. The Lord will personally come and shake the whole earth ( Isa. 2:19-21 Rev. 16:17-21 18:1-24 ).
12. Men will be so fearful that they will cast away their idols and objects of worship to the moles and bats ( Isa. 2:20-21 ).

None of these prophecies were fulfilled at the time of the first coming of Christ - leaving us with the inescapable conclusion that they apply to the second coming of the Lord.