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Micah 4:1. And in the last days the mountain of the Lord will be revealed, prepared above the tops of the mountains, and will be exalted above the hills, and people will rush towards it, Micah 4:2. And many nations shall come, and say, Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob: and they will show us His way, and let us walk in His paths, for out of Zion shall the law go forth, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem, Micah 4:3. And he will judge among many people, and will expose strong tongues even to the farthest land: For the gospel and divine preaching spread to the extremes of the earth, according to the prophecy of the Lord contained in the sacred Gospel. The Lord said: “This gospel will be preached in every tongue as a testimony to them” (Matthew 24:14). And He commanded the holy Apostles: “Go and teach all languages, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all the things given to you” (Matthew 28:19-20). This gospel law and this apostolic word, beginning from Jerusalem as if from some source, flowed through the entire universe, bringing water to those who approached with faith. One can also see the houses of God, among cities, villages, fields, in the most remote places, distinguished by greatness and beauty, so that they are more significant and visible than the most lofty mountains. If anyone wants to understand by hills and mountains the churches of destructive demons that were on them in ancient times; then he will find that the prophetic word is in agreement with the truth; because these churches have been ruined to the ground and completely destroyed, but the churches of God are likened to the stars of heaven in their multitude and beauty. But the Jews do not want to understand this in this way; they claim that this is a prophecy about the return from Babylon. And it is not at all surprising that they understand this because of their lack of meaning; for, in accordance with their other misunderstandings, this is also a false concept of prophecy. But the fact that some of the teachers of piety introduced this interpretation into their scriptures is, in my opinion, intolerable and does not deserve any excuse. For what nations, both near and far, upon returning from Babylon, flocked to the church of the Jews, joyfully accepting their law and loving the word that came from there? Among what nations, or “many people,” did this word judge, denouncing what evil they had done? And immediately after this, what was added by the Prophet exposes the falsity of this interpretation. For, upon returning from Babylon (as those who understand this passage about returning will agree), Gog and Magog took up arms against the Jews along with many nations, all their neighbors did not stop waging war against them, on the one hand the Edomites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, on the other the Philistines and Samaritans, and after not much time they suffered the disasters from the Macedonians, described in the books Maccabees. The prophetic word promises deep peace here. And they will cleave their swords into rawls, and their swords into pruning hooks, and for this reason they will not understand the tongue of the sword, and they will not learn to fight. Micah 4:4. And every one shall rest under his vine, and every one under his fig tree, and there shall be no one to fear, And proving the untruthfulness of what is being uttered, the Prophet declares to the listeners how worthy of belief the One who spoke it is. Before the mouth of the Lord Almighty spoke this verb. Micah 4:5. all people will go each on their own way, but we will go in the name of the Lord our God forever and beyond. The fact that this cannot be applied to the Jews is evidenced by the events themselves, because the Jews, expelled from Jerusalem, became strangers in the whole universe, wandering wanderers, and do not have the opportunity to perform Divine services according to the law. The prophetic word promises that those who believe “in the name of the Lord” will go “to the ages and beyond.” And what is meant in the prophecy is the time after the coming of the Lord, speaking about this almost in a living voice, they give such evidence of the event. For before the Roman kingdom, peoples often rebelled against each other, since each nation had its own separate kingdom. When all power passed to the Romans, and the separate kingdoms of each people were destroyed with the coming of the Savior; then deep peace arose in the universe, so that peoples no longer took up arms against each other, but, because of the peace given from above, they transform military weapons into agricultural ones, and, engaged in agriculture, fearlessly enjoy the benefits of it, and just like those living in the world, they are engaged in all sorts of other crafts, some practice arts of all kinds, others have chosen trade and navigation, others, striving for perfection, They preferred the divine path and pleasing the Lord to earthly benefits, and for this they will inherit eternal life. The Prophet adds to this: Micah 4:6–7. On that day and at that time I will gather up the broken, and I will accept the rejected, and I will reject them, and I will put the broken in the remains, and the rejected in the strong tongue, And clearly showing that this was not about the Jews, he added: and the Lord will reign over them in Mount Zion from now on and forever. Therefore, if the kingdom of Judah resides in Zion, and the Jews enjoy the eternal and unceasing providence of all Gods for them, then both the Jews themselves have the right to apply the prophecy to themselves, and those who understand it equally with the Jews have the right to be in agreement with them. If the kingdom of Judah ended long ago, and the Jews, living far from Jerusalem, are in slavery, and are clearly deprived of God’s care for them; then let the Jews not talk vainly, and the teachers of the Church stand on the side of the truth. For the Prophet calls souls serving piety “contrite” and “rejected,” for the sake of whom the only begotten Word of God became man “appearing on earth and living with men” (Bar. 3:38). And the Lord Himself is a witness to this, Who says to the Jews: “They do not require the health of a doctor, but those who are sick” (Matthew 9:12); and: “I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Mark 2:17). Why, having gathered into one the publican, the harlot, the robber, and others like them, and changing their morals for the better, the Lord revealed the holy Church to the world, reigning over them “from now to eternity.” So the Prophet, having foreshadowed the Church of the Gentiles, returns to the accusatory word against Jerusalem. Micah 4:8. And you, the pillar of the shadowy flock, daughter of Zion, will come to you, and the power of the first kingdom will come from Babylon. This is how blessed Isaiah allegorically names Jerusalem, or rather, through his mouth the God of all things Himself. For having said: “I planted a chosen vine, and a fountain of graves in it,” he added: “And I built a pillar in the midst of it” (Is. 5:2), calling the church a pillar, from which, apparently, the grapes guarded it. Blessed Micah calls this pillar “dark” for the wickedness of the Jerusalemites; because, having disturbed the purity of life according to the law, he instilled his own wickedness as a kind of darkness. The Prophet threatens them with the army of the Babylonians; because Nebuchadnezzar, as soon as he unfurled the scepter, took up arms against them in the third year of the reign of Joachim. Why did the Prophet call the Kingdom of Babylon “the first power,” since Nebuchadnezzar soon after his accession to the kingdom entered into a campaign. Then, as if chuckling, the Prophet asks: Micah 4:9. And now have you known all this evil? wouldn't you have a king? or will your advice perish, because you have suffered from illness, like giving birth? Why, says God to Jerusalem, have you experienced these calamities? you had advisers who were able to find what was needed; For this reason, you asked the king to be exposed to dangers and battles for you, and you immediately received it; because I have fulfilled your request. Therefore, know that advisers, the prudence of advisers, and the royal protection will not bring you much benefit. Micah 4:10. Be sick and take courage, and draw near, daughter of Zion, as she is in labor: Like a wife giving birth, endure the pain of birth, and just like her, seeing threatening suffering, be stung by grief. Before now you have come out of the city, and have settled in the land, and have come to Babylon: from there will you be swept away, and from there will the Lord your God deliver you out of the hand of your enemies. Do not now expect deliverance from the evils that threaten you; because you must be expelled from this city, and when they take you where it happens, you will have shelter on the way, and you will live in Babylon for a long time, and after that you will receive freedom and return to your homeland. Thus, having foreshadowed the captivity and return of the Jews, the Prophet begins a prophecy about the Scythian peoples, who took up arms against the Jews upon their return. Micah 4:11–12. And now many nations are gathered against you, saying: Let us rejoice, and let our eyes look upon Zion. These, however, did not understand the thoughts of the Lord, and did not understand His counsel, as if they were gathered together like sheaves of humus. God gathers without coercion or coercion, but by condescending to desire and giving room to freedom. We showed this by explaining other Prophets. Micah 4:13. Arise, and wear them out, daughters of Zion, for I will make your horns of iron, and your nails I will make copper, and you will thin out many people, and you will present their multitude to the Lord, and their strength to the Lord of all the earth. Using My providence for you and acting from Me with the power imparted to you, as if by certain iron horns and copper nails, you will completely destroy them all and betray them to final destruction, giving Me a military victory over them, and openly confessing that I have granted it to you.