“[2] And it must occur in the final part of the days that the mountain of the house of Jehovah will become firmly established above the top of the mountains, and it will certainly be lifted up above the hills; and to it all the nations must stream. [3] And many peoples will certainly go and say: ‘Come, you people, and let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will instruct us about his ways, and we will walk in his paths.’ For out of Zion law will go forth, and the word of Jehovah out of Jerusalem. [4] And he will certainly render judgment among the nations and set matters straight respecting many peoples. And they will have to beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning shears. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, neither will they learn war anymore.”

First, we must acknowledge that our Creator, Jehovah, has the right to instruct us “about his ways,” which, as Isaiah later recorded, are ‘higher than our ways.’ (Isaiah 55:9) Many people, especially self-important world leaders, find this a difficult thing to acknowledge. Only their own ways are right in their own eyes. Still, the fact that their ways have not led to world peace and disarmament surely shows the futility of continuing to pursue such a course.

Second, note the needed earnest desire of individuals to conform to God’s laws: “We will walk in his paths.” Only on that basis will swords be beaten into plowshares and spears into pruning shears on a global scale. How can such a longed-for goal ever be attained?

Divine Instruction

Many people have a copy of the Bible, the book that contains Jehovah God’s instructions, but more is required than the mere possession of it. Isaiah says that Jehovah’s law and words emanate from “Jerusalem.” What does that mean? In Isaiah’s day, the literal city was the source of kingly authority to which all faithful Israelites looked. (Isaiah 60:14) Later, at the time of the apostles of Jesus Christ, Jerusalem was still the focal point for instructions that came from the Christian governing body in that city.​—Acts 15:2; 16:4.

The prophet states that “the mountain of the house of Jehovah will become firmly established above the top of the mountains” and “lifted up above the hills.” In ancient times, some mountains and hills served as sites for idolatrous worship and for sanctuaries of false gods. When King David brought the sacred Ark to the tent he had pitched on Mount Zion (Jerusalem), some 2,500 feet [760 m] above sea level, he was evidently acting upon divine direction. Later, when the great temple of Jehovah was built on Mount Moriah, the term “Zion” came to include the temple site, so the temple enjoyed an elevation higher than that of some surrounding pagan locations. Jerusalem itself was also called his “holy mountain”; thus, worship of Jehovah remained in an exalted position.​—Isaiah 8:18; 66:20.

So today, the worship of Jehovah God has become elevated like a symbolic mountain. Its prominence is for all to see, as it has done something that no other religion has been able to do. What is that? It has unified all worshipers of Jehovah, who have gladly beaten their swords into plowshares and are learning war no more. National and racial barriers no longer divide them. They live as a united people, a brotherhood, even though they are scattered throughout the nations of the world.​—Psalm 33:12.