My HOUSE will be called a house of prayer for ALL the nations

When will this be fulfilled?

Isaiah prophesied in 56:

6 The foreigners who join themselves to the LORD to minister to Him, to love the name of the LORD, and to be His servants— all who keep the Sabbath without profaning it and who hold fast to My covenant—

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Foreigners join the Jews to keep the Sabbath.

7 I will bring them to My holy mountain and make them joyful in My house of prayer.

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They are happy in God's house.

Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on My altar,

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They offer animal sacrifices.

for My house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations.”

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Isaiah described a future scene where foreigners from all the nations pray and offer animal sacrifices in God's house. It was a grand vision of international worship in God's temple. Some Jews see this as a prophecy to be fulfilled in the Messianic era when the Third Temple will be built in Jerusalem.

Now in the NT, Jesus cleansed the temple in Mk 11:

15 And they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. 16 And he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. 17 And he was teaching them and saying to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.”

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At Jesus' time, Is 56:6-7 was fulfilled in a limited sense. There were not many gentile converts offering animal sacrifices in the temple.

Parallel account in Mt 21:

13 He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.”

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Jesus quoted Is 56:7 but dropped the phrase "for all the nations". Perhaps Is 56:6-7 will be fulfilled in Jesus' second coming. Elsewhere, Jesus quoted only the first half of Is 61:2 for a similar effect.

Other Christians find complete fulfillment of Is 56:6-7 in the church by spiritualizing God's house as the universal church and Jesus fulfilling the Sabbath and animal sacrifices.

There are 3 interpretations:

1. When the Third Temple is built, it will be fulfilled literally in a grandiose way.
2. It was partially fulfilled around Jesus' first coming; it will be completely fulfilled by the 2nd coming in greater numbers.
3. Jesus had already completely fulfilled it in the church.

#2 is probably the most likely.