Micah — Chapter 4

Et erit in novissimo dierum praeparatus mons

'And it shall come to pass in the last days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be prepared on the top of mountains.' À Lapide identifies the mountain of the Lord as the Church, elevated above all earthly kingdoms by divine authority. The flowing of all nations to it figures the conversion of the Gentiles. He cites Augustine: 'The mountain of the Lord is Christ; the house upon it is the Church.'

Et iudicabit inter populos multos

The great peace oracle: swords into ploughshares, spears into pruning-hooks, nation not lifting sword against nation. À Lapide reads this as fulfilled historically in the Pax Romana that facilitated the spread of the Gospel, and eschatologically in the final peace of the Kingdom of God. He is careful not to project a utopia within history, following Augustine's caution about the earthly city.