Isaiah 64:2Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

The prophet further elucidates, stating, "Thou shalt open the heavens," alluding to the divine wrath descending as it did during the time of the flood, with "the gates of heaven" being opened (Gen. 7:11). In this context, the mountains symbolize not literal mountains but rather the forces of evil, which, in their pride, can be aptly compared to towering peaks. Those powers, fed by hubris, will tremble before the Lord and be consumed as wax melts in fire. The consuming fire of wrath will bring destruction upon those who oppose your decrees, and the glory of the Lord will manifest in those who resist you.

What does this signify? The sovereign God frequently performs wonders, showcasing the immensity of His inherent might and authority. Through such acts, He has chastised the wicked and unveiled His wrath against them, as seen when fire rained down upon Sodom or when He afflicted the obstinate Pharaoh with numerous plagues. Hence, the plea arises, O Lord, do not display your majesty or your name through anger directed at us, but rather let it fall upon the malevolent forces or those who openly defy your glory, drawn in by their overwhelming pride. For even in this way, your magnificence will shine forth: when you have made your might known, the mountains will tremble before you. The same is reiterated concerning those mountains previously mentioned.

Since our foes have trampled upon Your holy place, we have reverted to our former state, when we did not call upon Your name; we beseech You, Oh, if You would rend the heavens and descend, and in keeping with Your promises, fulfill what was once foretold. This was declared before the Savior had come, before He took on our human nature and essence from the virgin womb, to redeem us, so that we might reflect the heavenly ideals, just as we have borne the image of earthly creations (1 Cor. 15). They claim that if You had accomplished this, and if the heavens had been opened at the revelation of Your majesty, the mountains would have quaked and vanished, much like wax melts away in the flames. Ezekiel experienced the opening of the heavens and beheld a profound vision (Ezek. 1). Likewise, in the blessings found in Deuteronomy, Moses prayed, “May the Lord open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to bestow blessings upon you” (Deut. 28:12). The Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 3) recounts how John the Baptist witnessed the heavens parting and the Spirit of God descending upon the Lord as a dove. The mountains, at the coming of the Lord, who is described as "a consuming fire" (Deut. 4:24), are symbolic of the forces opposed to You, and all who rebel against Your will, referenced in the ninety-sixth psalm: “Look, the earth trembles. It melts like wax before the Lord, before the God of all the earth” (Psalm 96:3-4). If You had indeed descended and fulfilled Your promises, the waters of the sea would have vanished (as interpreted by Symmachus), and all their saltiness would have been consumed by flames. It is also proclaimed in another Psalm: “As smoke dissipates, so shall they perish; as wax melts before the fire, so will the wicked perish before God” (Psalms 67:3). It should be noted that when the sea’s waters are consumed by divine fire, the name of the Lord Savior will be revealed to His enemies, of whom it is written in the sixty-seventh Psalm: “The tongue of your dogs shall taste of the enemy” (Psalms 67:24), that those who were unaware of Your goodness may come to know You through the ruin of their city and their own captivity. From Your presence, the nations shall be set in motion, as the Hebrew elaborates, so that those who were previously stagnant might attain salvation. When You manifest wondrous deeds and display signs in the gospel as You did in Egypt and the wilderness, they will acknowledge that they cannot withstand Your arrival, for fear will grip the mountains. The Hebrew beautifully conveys the essence of their plea, stating, “Oh, if You had torn the heavens and come down, the mountains would have fallen from Your presence,” then they affirm, “You have come down; the Word became flesh and dwelt among us,” indeed, Immanuel, which means God with us. Hence, all the mountains we previously mentioned have fallen from Your presence. The Hebrews interpret this passage as the fire will burn away the wicked, just as the waters boil in the flames, asserting that by 'amasim' is signified not devastation and melting, but the downfall of the wicked.

The astonishing signs of God's anger directed at the Chaldeans will have a beneficial impact on the surrounding nations: in the presence of the Lord, that is, through the manifestation of His glory, the Gentiles will tremble—they will come to both fear and rejoice before the one true God.