Consider the following passage in Matthew 3:3:
“For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying: “The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the LORD;
Make His paths straight.’ ”” [1]
This is a quotation from Isaiah 40:3. The context of this passage is one going before the Lord at His coming to point to Him, at a time of restoration and correction. This verse is applied to John the Baptist, who, as previously discussed, in passages such as Matthew 11:13-15 is revealed as the one who would come to declare the Lord Jesus.
When the Lord Jesus came He offered the kingdom to Israel, but was rejected. If the nation of Israel had not rejected Him, it is certain that He would still have gone to the cross, though with the opposition of the people to the Roman decision, as the sacrifice for sin. He still would likely have needed to return to heaven for a time, but would probably have returned much earlier, perhaps around AD 70, the lead up to which would have been more intense, as it would have been the tribulation, the Day of the Lord.
This passage in Isaiah has a near and a far fulfillment. It was partially fulfilled during the first coming of the Lord Jesus. There was a voice crying in the wilderness to prepare the way of the Lord. There was correction, bringing down the proud and exalting the humble, straightening the crooked and smoothing out many who were rough. The glory of the Lord was revealed.
However, these things were not completely fulfilled. There is much that must still be corrected, many who still are living out of balance in spiritual or other areas of their lives. The glory of the Lord has not been revealed to each person, though the gospel goes out available to each person. The coming day will bring the physical reign of the Lord Jesus Christ to every single person on earth, His glory will be revealed for all to physically see, and sin will be dealt with swiftly and righteously. At that time Israel’s “warfare is ended” (Isaiah 40:2), which has not happened yet.
This verse can be interpreted literally, with the understanding that the prophecy was only fulfilled in a restricted extent during the Lord’s life on earth, and looks to a further, richer, future fulfillment.
An allegorical interpretation method is also possible.
[1] New King James Version, 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc.
[2] The Moody Handbook of Messianic Prophecy, 2019, The Moody Bible Institute of Chicago, Chicago , IL.
Thinking About The Truth 